Aviation Daily on Airports: New!! Towers and Tarmacs - The Radio Show!
I’m a big fan of Podcasts. I have at least 10 different shows loaded on my iPod, and most of them update their shows daily or weekly. So the light bulb went on - why not do one for Towers and Tarmacs?
There’s [...]

Every organization, regardless of whether it’s in the public or private sector, has its forward-leaning parts. In those parts of the organization, they often operate with three key factors in their operational culture – they foster an open dialogue with multiple parties; they willingly engage the public; and have operational transparency.  But then there are [...]

On Monday afternoon (May 19, 2008), I had the opportunity to participate in another Bloggers Roundtable with DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA Administrator David Paulison. The theme for our discussions was the Department’s preparations for Hurricane Season 2008 and the readiness of the hurricane prone states/communities and their citizens for Mother Nature’s potential fury.

CQ Homeland Security’s Dan Fowler (subscription required):
While the nation may be prepared for this year’s hurricane season, questions remain about individual readiness, says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
“I think the country is prepared,” Chertoff said Tuesday at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hurricane Awareness Day. “I think the big question is are individuals taking steps [...]

CQ Politics | Film Exposes the Seduction of Secrecy
This vivid and disturbing exposure of the human dimension of the conflict between the government’s duty to keep secrets and the peoples’ right to know deserves a national audience.
One of its more interesting insights is how sexy secrets are.
“Secrecy is something like forbidden fruit,” former NSA official [...]

Homeland Security Watch » DHS Promotes DIY for Hurricane Prep
Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff and FEMA Administrator Paulison sat down yesterday with HLSwatch.com, Rich Cooper of SecurityDebrief, and John Solomon of In Case of Emergency Blog to discuss the Department’s preparedness efforts as hurricane season approaches. The dominant theme was devolution: states and individuals can and [...]

Schneier on Security: Airlines Profiting from TSA Rules
Before 9/11, airlines and security personnel — and I use the term “security personnel” loosely — might have let a nickname or even a maiden name on a ticket slide. No longer. If you have the wrong name on your ticket, you’re probably grounded. And there are two [...]

During my 25 years in the public sector including my tenure overseeing preparedness at DHS and now through my involvement in similar issues in the private sector, there has been so much progress in our nation’s preparedness and response capabilities, but America has a long way to go. Here are my thoughts on how to proceed.

From MaineSecurity.com:
The counter-terrorism community is becoming increasingly concerned with “home-grown extremists inspired by militant Islamic ideology” that is operationally controlled by al-Qaeda. This ideology is being spread rapidly throughout the world and here in the United States via the Internet. Read an interesting commentary on this topic entitled “Virtual Jihad”, Forbes.com, May 19, 2008. Read [...]

With just days before the official opening of Hurricane Season 2008, Sunday’s Washington Post Outlook Section provided an excellent guest editorial on the role of preparedness. Written by John Solomon, the piece (”It’s an Emergency. We’re Not Prepared”) offers a citizen’s view of where we are as a nation in our readiness to deal with the next disaster.

Spencer Hsu has a good article in the Washington Post that highlights the political schizophrenia that exists among the political class in this country with regard to illegal immigration. In the abstract, the majority of Americans demand that government crackdown on illegal immigration. In the concrete reality of such crackdowns, American communities and local economies can be gravely disrupted, producing inevitable outcries from local politicians.

From the Counterterrorism Blog:
It is interesting to note the first major conviction in the United States in a drug case tied to radical Islamist movements, in this case, the Taliban. (Many more case documents can be found here.)
“As an enemy of the United States, Khan Mohammed intended to ship heroin to the United States and [...]

From Danger Room:
In late January, the Air Force banned TogetherWeServed.com, a military-themed social networking site, for being a security “nightmare.”  Now, Air Force officials are admitting “to unfairly singling out” the site, which “does not pose any extra risk than most chat rooms or other online communities,” Stars & Stripes’ Leo Shane reports. “Site owners [...]

From DHS Leadership Journal:
Baker: “E-Verify is simple, free, and highly effective in preventing illegal work. It works, and maybe that’s what the interests arrayed against E-Verify don’t like. Whatever the reason, opponents of E-Verify have resorted to charges that just don’t hold up. In this series, I debunk the myths.”

Each day, airports work to ensure that air travel is safe and secure. In fact, it is the industry’s number one priority. Partnering with airlines; tenants; the Transportation Security Administration (TSA); and federal, state and local law enforcement, airports are working aggressively to enhance security. Last week, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced the “Biometric Enhancement and Airport Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2008,” which would direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a study on how airports can transition to biometric control systems for airport workers who have unescorted access to secure or sterile areas of the an airport.

Donnie Wahlberg set for new TNT drama - TV Squad
The title may change, but the set up is Donnie as a war hero who becomes an officer for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). His beat is Boston, Donnie’s hometown. The show is being scripted by Walon Green (Law & Order) and Avent will direct the [...]

Yesterday, Colombian officials announced that they were extraditing 14 suspected drug traffickers to the United States to face a host of charges ranging from conspiracy to import to cocaine manufacturing. Within the law enforcement and drug control community, the Colombian government’s move is unprecedented. The country has long maintained a tradition of refusing to extradite even its most notorious drug cartel leaders.

Homeland Security Daily Wire has the inside take on new propulsion technology that could potentially fuel the next generation of surveillance machines:
Here is a question from High School science class: Pass a current or magnetic field through a conducting fluid — and what will happen? Answer: it will generate a force. Numerous aerospace engineers have [...]

Recently, I came across an editorial titled “Vigilantes at ICE” that was critical of ICE worksite enforcement initiatives, indicating that the agency was operating outside its intended mission - national security - and specifically, was failing in its goal to protect the U.S. from the next terrorist attack. The editorial was personally insulting to me and greatly mis-represented reality. Although resources are limited, no one has forgotten the “core mission” of national security that is the number one priority for ICE and the Department as a whole.

When former Secretary Tom Ridge departed DHS, the international registered traveler program was placed on hold with the new leadership focused on a range of other significant international travel issues. However, CBP continued to press the case for its risk management tool and DHS approved the initiative earlier this year which was branded Global Entry and announced in April of this year. To truly succeed in fulfilling its potential, however, the Global Entry program will need a number of important enhancements.