Homeland Security in Disarray

corduroid

Alarming, but not surprising. Interesting read.
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Homeland Security in disarray, officials warn
Boston Globe | November 30, 2008

WASHINGTON - As the Department of Homeland Security prepares for its first transition, a series of major projects - including a communication network linking state and locals officials in a crisis, a system to scan shipping containers for terrorist weapons, and a massive border-control initiative - face serious technical delays or cost overruns.

In addition, the agency is struggling in its relationship with Congress, where it answers to dozens of committees with jurisdiction over its operations - a chaotic structure that requires a large number of personnel simply to respond to lawmakers' requests.

And with an estimated three-quarters of its headquarters staff having less than two years of experience managing the agency's $50 billion-a-year operation, there is an urgent requirement to invest in "human capital," according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former senior government officials.

The result, they say, is disarray at the federal department responsible for developing the nation's defenses against terrorism and natural disasters. With a variety of key security measures in limbo - the department has yet to implement laws requiring that maritime cargo be scanned for nuclear materials and that hazardous materials be rerouted around urban areas - the incoming Obama administration is facing what one adviser to the president-elect described as a "superhuman task."

"There are significant and pervasive management challenges," said David Heyman, director of the Homeland Security Program at the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and coauthor of a new report ...

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/11/30/homeland_security_in_disarray_officials_warn/

digster

corduroid wrote:

the department has yet to implement laws requiring that maritime cargo be scanned for nuclear materials

How the fuck could these people be so incompetent that they have not done at least THIS already?

corduroid

hartamh wrote:

I am not surprised, :rolleyes: :eek: but very nervous!

Me also ... this is an area that really deserves a fresh and sober look under the new administration and Congress.

I think people tend to be unaware of - or are simply in denial over - the colossal magnitude and inefficiency of DHS's bureaucracy.

It's very unsettling

digster

I mean, I really don't understand why those in power for the past eight years have been unable to accomplish this. Are they waiting for someone to smuggle a nuclear weapon into downtown New York?