Homeland Security

The next administration will face substantial choices on nuclear security issues. Its decisions will have serious implications, not just for the future of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, but for U.S. national security.  

Clear thinking will be needed from whoever wins in November to confront four main nuclear security challenges.

While the issue of Immigration Policy was not addressed in the first Presidential debate, it is a topic that both progressives and conservatives know must soon be dealt with. Both campaigns are promising as much. Therefore, I would like to address some of the ideology that goes into conservative thought on this subject. Specifically, I would like to address the relationship between immigration policy and the concept of “personal responsibility.” The idea of accepting personal responsibility is central to the fundamental tenets of conservative political ideology. It is also fundamental to the tenets of immigration policy. More specifically, we have to look at the whole concept of comprehensive immigration reform through the “personal responsibility” lens. Please allow me to flesh out the specifics and reasoning behind this statement.

When we talk about comprehensive immigration reform, we are talking about border security, worksite security, visa security, visa allotment, and visa realignment. All of these issues are part and parcel of any discussion of reform. However, the most difficult aspect of reform, and the “elephant in the room,” in any reform discussion, centers on the question of the 11,000,000 undocumented immigrants, and how we should treat them through any reform.

A few days ago in Denver, Mitt Romney said he would honor Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for undocumented youth, or DREAMers, who have already been accepted and use the 2-year window to work on immigration reform. DACA is the program, which allows undocumented youth who were brought to the United States to remain without worry about deportation and obtain work permits.

Although this sounds like good news for DREAMers, his campaign also made it clear that he would not continue the program. While Mitt Romney continues to be vague on other issues like tax and healthcare, he is no longer fuzzy on immigration.

Today, a major cybersecurity summit is occurring in nation's capital. The all-star list of attendees includes Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of both the NSA and Central Intelligence Agency, and former Homeland Security Secretary Gov. Tom Ridge. The roster also includes a number of technology leaders from the business community.
 
This event couldn't come at a better time. In both the public and private sectors, cybersecurity is seriously underfunded. There needs to be renewed focus on evolving the country's defenses to ward off hackers, with particular emphasis put on improving cyberresiliency -- that is, the ability not only to prevent breaches, but to withstand and recover from them when they do inevitably occur.

The specter of sequestration looms heavily over U.S. defense strategy and politics. As the Pentagon contemplates a long, overdue pivot to Asia, the question of how to accomplish this new strategic direction in an environment of fiscal uncertainty places added pressure on all services of the U.S. military — no more so than on the U.S. Air Force.
 
At first glance, the USAF, along with the Navy, appears well-placed to capitalize on the Pentagon’s shifting strategic priorities at the expense of the Army and, to a lesser degree, the Marine Corps. However, numerous scandals, combined with a drawn-out fight with the Guard and Reserves over budgetary cuts, have left the USAF running on empty — politically speaking. Read more...

Two weeks ago Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz released his report detailing many of the failures within the department and its operations related to Operation Fast and Furious. Immediately after, this administration and numerous media outlets kicked their spin machines into high gear in defense of Attorney General Eric Holder. Their number one mission: convince the American public that the search for answers is over and celebrate the exoneration of Attorney General Holder.  

After 20 months, the inspector general concluded his investigation and published a report on the Department of Justice’s handling of “Operation Fast and Furious.” Inspector General Horowitz had a difficult job, and he did it well. While congressional oversight of “Fast and Furious” is by no means complete, the issuance of the inspector general’s report provides an appropriate opportunity for reflection. 

There are at least three major takeaways from the Inspector General’s report:

Last week, after an 18-month investigation, the Department of Justice’s Inspector General (IG), Michael Horowitz, released his 471-page investigative report and findings on Operation Fast & Furious. While many in Washington lined up to claim victory and vindication, the details of the IG’s findings present a sobering assessment of a Department of Justice (DOJ) and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that suffers from both failures in leadership and communication. It also underscored their unwillingness to work with Congress to discover the truth. The harsh reality of this negligence left a U.S. Border Patrol Agent and Michigan native, Brian Terry, dead and his family left wondering why it happened.

Since Operation Fast and Furious came to light, it is apparent that the Department of Justice (DOJ) could benefit from institutional change. All government bureaucracies have silos of authority and individuals that reject the thought of outside oversight. But, every agency also understands that the federal government is a glass house with millions of taxpayers gathered around the windows to evaluate our performance and second-guess every decision. The American people trust when they can verify and lose trust when accountability and oversight are delayed or deflected.

Last week the Inspector General of the Department of Justice released an exhaustive 471 page report on the Fast and Furious gunwalking operation. In preparing the report the inspector general reviewed more than 100,000 pages of documents and interviewed 130 witnesses.
 
In a Congress marked by unnecessary and counterproductive partisanship, the hearings held by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Fast and Furious stood out for the degree of partisanship and for the level of rhetoric attacking the executive branch of our government. In particular, Attorney General Holder has been unjustly singled out for attacks without any evidence or reason to believe he was responsible. As a result of the hyper-partisan tenor of the hearings they become fodder for an array of partisan blogs which sought to use them for a variety of inflammatory campaigns.