Bush on Homeland Security
IN RECENT DAYS, both President Bush and Vice President Cheney have accused the Democrats of using 'scare tactics' against the American People, on issues of homeland security and the economy, among other things. That's pretty incredible, considering that the Republican's only rhetoric this year has been hammering us all about 9/11 and how they're the only ones that can save us from 'another attack'. Of course, their "terrorist alert system" is completely useless, and does nothing except scare people with heightened alerts and "No Specific Threats". It's worth reviewing the Bush/Cheney record on Homeland Security....Whose side are they on, anyway?
The Bush Record: Homeland Insecurity
Despite a lot of rhetoric, Bush has failed to provide adequate homeland security. After initially opposing the creation of a Homeland Security department, Bush has inadequately funded the department as well as starving state and local security efforts, including police, fire and health first-responders. Federal funding of local anti-terror efforts has been restricted. And security surrounding chemical plants, airports, airlines, ports, borders and other terror-sensitive points still is lacking.
Bush Opposed the Creation of a Homeland Security Department
In Spite of 9-11, Bush was Slow to See the Need for a Department of Homeland Security. Bush opposed the creation of a cabinet agency for homeland security until Congress passed legislation creating it in November 2002, thus delaying its launch until February 2003. Former press secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush told Congress "there does not need to be a Cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security," and Tom Ridge, then director of the non-agency White House Office of Homeland Security, said "I'd probably recommend that he veto" any bill creating a new agency. [White House Press Briefing, 10/24/01; National Journal, 6/5/02; George W. Bush, 11/19/02]
Security Focus Wanes, Government Inspires Complacency
GOP-Led Terrorism Panel Warned of Extensive Problems in Bush's Homeland Security Focus. The Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, which assessed America's domestic terrorism preparedness, reported "serious concern about the current state of homeland security efforts" in its report issued in December 2003. The commission, chaired by former Republican Party head and VA Governor James Gilmore, found that momentum for security had "waned," and blamed the government for causing complacency. It also found "fragmentation" of efforts and "that scarce resources may not be prioritized and applied most effectively." [Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, Forging America's New Normalcy, 12/15/03]
Bush Cuts State and Local Funding to Deal With Terror Threats
Bush Cuts Funding for State and Local Homeland Security Grants by $800 Million. Bush cut funding to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Domestic Preparedness, which supplies a variety of first-responder grants to state and local governments, by $800 million, to $3.6 billion in 2005 from $4.4 billion in 2004. [Department of Homeland Security, 2005 Budget in Brief, www.dhs.gov; Congressional Quarterly, www.CQ.com]
Bush Gives Short Shrift to First-Responders
Bush Cuts Resources for Firefighters. Bush cut FIRE Act grants for equipment and personnel to local fire departments by $246 million in his 2005 budget. According to the International Association of Firefighters, "The FIRE Act grant program has received $5 billion worth of requests," and "has awarded grants totaling just 10% of that need." Kevin O'Connor of the International Association of Firefighters said, "This [2005] budget is profoundly disappointing to first responders ... It's a continuation of the president's lack of commitment to first responders in general and firefighters in particular." [Department of Homeland Security, 2005 Budget in Brief, www.dhs.gov; Intl. Assoc. of Firefighters, www.iaff.org; United Press International, 2/2/04; www.cfr.org]
Bush Cut State and Local First Responder Training by Nearly Half.Bush cut state and local grant funding for first responder training, exercise, and technical assistance by nearly half, from $320 million in 2004 to $178 million in 2005. According to the House Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee, analysts estimate that funding for "critical needs" of emergency responders will fall $98.4 billion short over the next five years. [Budget of the United States, www.omb.gov; Democratic Members of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, America at Risk, 1/04]
Police Chiefs: Police Funding "Unacceptable." The International Association of Chiefs of Police said in February 2004: "Targeting law enforcement assistance programs for reductions of this magnitude [in the Bush 2005 budget] has the potential to significantly weaken the ability of state and local law enforcement agencies to protect our communities from both traditional acts of crime and the new specter of terrorism. This is unacceptable." [IACP, www.theiacp.org]
Local Governments Complain About Homeland Security Shortfalls
Mayors Gripe That Cities "Lost Ground" in Many Homeland Security Funding Categories. The US Conference of Mayors survey on homeland security funding reported that "for some programs, we have actually lost ground" since the first survey in August 2003. The mayors reported an increase in cities that are not expecting Urban Area Security funding, are dissatisfied with the state planning process, have not been reimbursed for increase homeland security enforcement costs, are not receiving Port Security Grant money and are not getting Mass Transit Security Grant Program funds. [US Conference of Mayors convention, Homeland Security Panel, 1/22/04]
Mayors Complain That First-Responder and Domestic Preparedness Funding to Cities Falls "Far Short." The U.S. Conference of Mayors survey on homeland security funding reported that while federal funding to cities for federal first responder/critical infrastructure and state domestic preparedness programs had improved somewhat, they "continue to fall far short of meeting this nation's goal of homeland security for our cities," and are "still far short of an acceptable level." Seventy six percent of cities reported that they had not yet received first-responder/critical infrastructure funding. [US Conference of Mayors convention, Homeland Security Panel, 1/22/04]
Bush Leaves Chemical Plants, Air Traffic, Ports, Other Sensitive Targets Under-Protected
Federal Auditors: Security Oversight of Chemical Facilities Lacking. A Government Accounting Office report released in March 2003 noted that even though U.S. chemical facilities were "attractive targets for terrorists," the ability of any facility to respond to an attack was "unknown." GAO found that the chemical industry was not required by law to assess vulnerabilities or take action to secure its facilities, and that "the federal government has not comprehensively assessed the chemical industry's vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks." A chemical plant attack, according to the GAO, could endanger more than 1 million Americans; the Justice Department has called the terrorist threat to chemical plants "real and credible." The GAO also found that the administration backed down from new regulations due to "concernsÂ…[of a] significant litigation risk" from the chemical industry. [GAO, Voluntary Initiatives Are Under Way at Chemical Facilities, but the Extent of Security Preparedness Is Unknown, March 2003; Democratic Members of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, America at Risk, 1/04]
Federal Airport Screener Force Cut by Thousands and Counting. The initial federal air security screening force of more than 55,000 has been cut by thousands after being attacked by the GOP. Rep. Harold Rogers, chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on the Appropriations Committee, said the Transportation Security Administration "threw money at the employee and screening deadlines in a shotgun fashion and over-hired." TSA reports that its force will number only 48,000 screeners by the end of 2004, and the GOP-controlled House Appropriations Committee has required TSA to cut the force even more, to 45,000 screeners. [HR 2555, 2003; Transportation Security Admin., www.tsa.gov; Associated Press, 4/30/03; Washington Post, 5/1/03]
TSA's Air Cargo Plan Leaves Major Gaps in Security. TSA's air cargo inspection program only provides for limited random inspections performed by shippers and freight forwarders. The next level in TSA's plan, screening 100 percent of "high-risk" cargo, will not be implemented until 2005, and may be of questionable value because TSA "has no experience classifying cargo by risk," and does not even possess a "fully developed database" on authorized cargo shippers. [Democratic Members of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, America at Risk, 1/04]
TSA Tried to Cut Air Marshals' Flights to Save on Hotel Fees Just One Day Before DHS Issued New Hijacking Alert. Just one day before the Homeland Security Department issued a warning about airline hijackings, air marshals in the Washington, DC, area had been told to cancel long flights with hotel stays due to "monetary considerations." [Washington Post, 7/31/03]
Bush Proposed Massive Cuts in Port Security Grant Funding. Bush's 2005 budget calls for $50 million for port security grants, down from $200 million in his 2004 budget. Seven million cargo containers arrive in US ports each year, but as few as 2 percent of those are screened. The CIA reported, "The United States is more likely to be attacked with a weapon of mass destruction smuggled into the country aboard a ship than one delivered by a ballistic missile." And a 2003 Pentagon simulation found that even a "minor" attack on a US port could shut down all the ports for a month. [Budget of the United States, www.omb.gov; Journal of Commerce, 3/24/03; Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 7/10/03; Portland Press Herald, 7/5/03; Boston Globe, 6/21/03]
Bush's Container Security Program Has Serious Gaps, is "Inherently Dangerous." Bush's Container Security Initiative uses ships' manifest data, which the GAO called "one of the least reliable or useful for targeting purposes," to evaluate risk. Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Stephen Flynn called the program "inherently dangerous." The president of the American Association of Port Authorities, Kurt Nagle, said: "It's disheartening that port facilities have been neglected as a key player. Port authorities and facility operators are expected to comply with the new security regulations, at a cost of billions of dollars. Federal help is simply imperative in order to make that expectation reality." [Sunday Telegram, 3/30/03; House HS Committee Democrats, America at Risk, 1/04; Congressional Quarterly, 2/9/04]
Bush is Letting Border Security Slide
Less Than 10 Percent of the Nation's Border Agents Secure the Northern Border. Only 1,000 border agents patrol the United State's border with Canada, compared to 9,500 that patrol the nation's southern border. While the US-Mexico border is 2,000 miles long, the US-Canada border is 5,000 miles, meaning that only one agent patrols for every 5 miles of border. The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, Canada's domestic anti-terrorism agency, has acknowledged that Al Qaeda maintains cells and personnel in Canada, which possess "the capability and conviction to provide support for terrorist activities in North America." [Deseret Morning News, 7/20/03; Washington Post, 12/25/02]
Bush's Bioterror Security Response Fragmented and Neglected
Bush Allowed Smallpox Vaccination Program to Wither Away. Bush's plan for vaccinating first responders for smallpox evaportated after it failed to garner the expected number of volunteers and was criticized for not taking into account possible health problems and workers' concerns. The program was supposed to encompass up to 10 million first responders but was said by a CDC official in October 2003 to have "ceased," with only 38,549 vaccinated. An official of the AFL-CIO, Robert McGarrah Jr., blamed the missed target on, "the administration [refusal] to listen to the concerns of patients, doctors, nurses and other health care workers." During a Senate hearing on January 29, 2003, health care professionals expressed "serious doubts" about Bush's smallpox vaccination plan. In particular, the chief of pediatrics at the largest children's hospital in the nation, said his hospital would not participate because "The virus might spread from the arm of a health care worker to a hospitalized child." [New York Times, 1/30/03, 3/7/03; Washington Post, 2/24/03; Associated Press, 4/2/03; USA Today, 10/16/03]
Bush Proposed Separating Vaccine Stockpile From Homeland Security Department. Bush's 2005 budget proposed transferring the Strategic National Stockpile, the reserves of vaccines for possible bioterror incidents, from DHS to the Department of Health and Human Services, splintering it from the coordinated anti-terror response efforts of Homeland Security. [Department of Homeland Security, 2005 Budget in Brief, www.dhs.gov]
Intelligence Sharing Still Not a Reality
Homeland Security Intelligence Still Not Shared With Federal and State Officials. A Government Accounting Office survey found that only 13 percent of federal officials and 35 percent of state officials believed that the level of intelligence sharing between federal, state, and local officials was adequate and effective. [Select Committee on Homeland Security Democrats, 1/04]
Bush's Actions Have Hindered US Intelligence Integration. DHS reported that focus and funding to integrate intelligence agencies through the DHS has largely been redirected to the FBI and the CIA. The report explained, "Since the establishment of DHS, two even newer entities, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, run by the CIA, and the Terrorist Screening Center, run by the . . . FBI, have been created that have . . . responsibilities that overlap with, duplicate, or even trump those of" DHS. [Congressional Quarterly, 2/20/04]
Even the Heritage Foundation and Republican Senators Criticize Bush's Intelligence-Sharing Efforts. The conservative Heritage Foundation said: "It is deeply troubling that the [Department of Homeland Security], as the primary consumer of intelligence for providing domestic security, does not have primary control over the mechanisms for fusing and disbursing informationÂ…[DHS has become] little more than just another intelligence end user, competing with other members of the national security community to ensure that its priority requirements are met." And the Republican-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee said: "Post-September 11 reforms were intended to consolidate and unify intelligence-gathering, analysis and enforcement. Instead, we now have more agencies and organizations in the counter-terrorism game than ever before." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/16/03, 3/04/04]
Years After 9/11 Attacks There is Still No Unified Terrorist Watch List. Months of bureaucratic infighting have delayed the integration of various terrorist watch lists to the extent that two years after the 2001 terrorist attacks, no one agency maintains a comprehensive list or database. In addition, the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Turner noted in March 2004, "[Recently,] a senior DHS official suggested that a consolidated watch list would not be necessary." [Congressional Quarterly, 03/02/04]
Well folks, since the Republicans have been working hard to keep you scared and subservient since September 12, 2001, I'll ask you all this question:
DO YOU FEEL SAFER TODAY THAN YOU DID ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2001?
The Bush Record: Homeland Insecurity
Despite a lot of rhetoric, Bush has failed to provide adequate homeland security. After initially opposing the creation of a Homeland Security department, Bush has inadequately funded the department as well as starving state and local security efforts, including police, fire and health first-responders. Federal funding of local anti-terror efforts has been restricted. And security surrounding chemical plants, airports, airlines, ports, borders and other terror-sensitive points still is lacking.
Bush Opposed the Creation of a Homeland Security Department
In Spite of 9-11, Bush was Slow to See the Need for a Department of Homeland Security. Bush opposed the creation of a cabinet agency for homeland security until Congress passed legislation creating it in November 2002, thus delaying its launch until February 2003. Former press secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush told Congress "there does not need to be a Cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security," and Tom Ridge, then director of the non-agency White House Office of Homeland Security, said "I'd probably recommend that he veto" any bill creating a new agency. [White House Press Briefing, 10/24/01; National Journal, 6/5/02; George W. Bush, 11/19/02]
Security Focus Wanes, Government Inspires Complacency
GOP-Led Terrorism Panel Warned of Extensive Problems in Bush's Homeland Security Focus. The Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, which assessed America's domestic terrorism preparedness, reported "serious concern about the current state of homeland security efforts" in its report issued in December 2003. The commission, chaired by former Republican Party head and VA Governor James Gilmore, found that momentum for security had "waned," and blamed the government for causing complacency. It also found "fragmentation" of efforts and "that scarce resources may not be prioritized and applied most effectively." [Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, Forging America's New Normalcy, 12/15/03]
Bush Cuts State and Local Funding to Deal With Terror Threats
Bush Cuts Funding for State and Local Homeland Security Grants by $800 Million. Bush cut funding to the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Domestic Preparedness, which supplies a variety of first-responder grants to state and local governments, by $800 million, to $3.6 billion in 2005 from $4.4 billion in 2004. [Department of Homeland Security, 2005 Budget in Brief, www.dhs.gov; Congressional Quarterly, www.CQ.com]
Bush Gives Short Shrift to First-Responders
Bush Cuts Resources for Firefighters. Bush cut FIRE Act grants for equipment and personnel to local fire departments by $246 million in his 2005 budget. According to the International Association of Firefighters, "The FIRE Act grant program has received $5 billion worth of requests," and "has awarded grants totaling just 10% of that need." Kevin O'Connor of the International Association of Firefighters said, "This [2005] budget is profoundly disappointing to first responders ... It's a continuation of the president's lack of commitment to first responders in general and firefighters in particular." [Department of Homeland Security, 2005 Budget in Brief, www.dhs.gov; Intl. Assoc. of Firefighters, www.iaff.org; United Press International, 2/2/04; www.cfr.org]
Bush Cut State and Local First Responder Training by Nearly Half.Bush cut state and local grant funding for first responder training, exercise, and technical assistance by nearly half, from $320 million in 2004 to $178 million in 2005. According to the House Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee, analysts estimate that funding for "critical needs" of emergency responders will fall $98.4 billion short over the next five years. [Budget of the United States, www.omb.gov; Democratic Members of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, America at Risk, 1/04]
Police Chiefs: Police Funding "Unacceptable." The International Association of Chiefs of Police said in February 2004: "Targeting law enforcement assistance programs for reductions of this magnitude [in the Bush 2005 budget] has the potential to significantly weaken the ability of state and local law enforcement agencies to protect our communities from both traditional acts of crime and the new specter of terrorism. This is unacceptable." [IACP, www.theiacp.org]
Local Governments Complain About Homeland Security Shortfalls
Mayors Gripe That Cities "Lost Ground" in Many Homeland Security Funding Categories. The US Conference of Mayors survey on homeland security funding reported that "for some programs, we have actually lost ground" since the first survey in August 2003. The mayors reported an increase in cities that are not expecting Urban Area Security funding, are dissatisfied with the state planning process, have not been reimbursed for increase homeland security enforcement costs, are not receiving Port Security Grant money and are not getting Mass Transit Security Grant Program funds. [US Conference of Mayors convention, Homeland Security Panel, 1/22/04]
Mayors Complain That First-Responder and Domestic Preparedness Funding to Cities Falls "Far Short." The U.S. Conference of Mayors survey on homeland security funding reported that while federal funding to cities for federal first responder/critical infrastructure and state domestic preparedness programs had improved somewhat, they "continue to fall far short of meeting this nation's goal of homeland security for our cities," and are "still far short of an acceptable level." Seventy six percent of cities reported that they had not yet received first-responder/critical infrastructure funding. [US Conference of Mayors convention, Homeland Security Panel, 1/22/04]
Bush Leaves Chemical Plants, Air Traffic, Ports, Other Sensitive Targets Under-Protected
Federal Auditors: Security Oversight of Chemical Facilities Lacking. A Government Accounting Office report released in March 2003 noted that even though U.S. chemical facilities were "attractive targets for terrorists," the ability of any facility to respond to an attack was "unknown." GAO found that the chemical industry was not required by law to assess vulnerabilities or take action to secure its facilities, and that "the federal government has not comprehensively assessed the chemical industry's vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks." A chemical plant attack, according to the GAO, could endanger more than 1 million Americans; the Justice Department has called the terrorist threat to chemical plants "real and credible." The GAO also found that the administration backed down from new regulations due to "concernsÂ…[of a] significant litigation risk" from the chemical industry. [GAO, Voluntary Initiatives Are Under Way at Chemical Facilities, but the Extent of Security Preparedness Is Unknown, March 2003; Democratic Members of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, America at Risk, 1/04]
Federal Airport Screener Force Cut by Thousands and Counting. The initial federal air security screening force of more than 55,000 has been cut by thousands after being attacked by the GOP. Rep. Harold Rogers, chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on the Appropriations Committee, said the Transportation Security Administration "threw money at the employee and screening deadlines in a shotgun fashion and over-hired." TSA reports that its force will number only 48,000 screeners by the end of 2004, and the GOP-controlled House Appropriations Committee has required TSA to cut the force even more, to 45,000 screeners. [HR 2555, 2003; Transportation Security Admin., www.tsa.gov; Associated Press, 4/30/03; Washington Post, 5/1/03]
TSA's Air Cargo Plan Leaves Major Gaps in Security. TSA's air cargo inspection program only provides for limited random inspections performed by shippers and freight forwarders. The next level in TSA's plan, screening 100 percent of "high-risk" cargo, will not be implemented until 2005, and may be of questionable value because TSA "has no experience classifying cargo by risk," and does not even possess a "fully developed database" on authorized cargo shippers. [Democratic Members of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, America at Risk, 1/04]
TSA Tried to Cut Air Marshals' Flights to Save on Hotel Fees Just One Day Before DHS Issued New Hijacking Alert. Just one day before the Homeland Security Department issued a warning about airline hijackings, air marshals in the Washington, DC, area had been told to cancel long flights with hotel stays due to "monetary considerations." [Washington Post, 7/31/03]
Bush Proposed Massive Cuts in Port Security Grant Funding. Bush's 2005 budget calls for $50 million for port security grants, down from $200 million in his 2004 budget. Seven million cargo containers arrive in US ports each year, but as few as 2 percent of those are screened. The CIA reported, "The United States is more likely to be attacked with a weapon of mass destruction smuggled into the country aboard a ship than one delivered by a ballistic missile." And a 2003 Pentagon simulation found that even a "minor" attack on a US port could shut down all the ports for a month. [Budget of the United States, www.omb.gov; Journal of Commerce, 3/24/03; Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 7/10/03; Portland Press Herald, 7/5/03; Boston Globe, 6/21/03]
Bush's Container Security Program Has Serious Gaps, is "Inherently Dangerous." Bush's Container Security Initiative uses ships' manifest data, which the GAO called "one of the least reliable or useful for targeting purposes," to evaluate risk. Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Stephen Flynn called the program "inherently dangerous." The president of the American Association of Port Authorities, Kurt Nagle, said: "It's disheartening that port facilities have been neglected as a key player. Port authorities and facility operators are expected to comply with the new security regulations, at a cost of billions of dollars. Federal help is simply imperative in order to make that expectation reality." [Sunday Telegram, 3/30/03; House HS Committee Democrats, America at Risk, 1/04; Congressional Quarterly, 2/9/04]
Bush is Letting Border Security Slide
Less Than 10 Percent of the Nation's Border Agents Secure the Northern Border. Only 1,000 border agents patrol the United State's border with Canada, compared to 9,500 that patrol the nation's southern border. While the US-Mexico border is 2,000 miles long, the US-Canada border is 5,000 miles, meaning that only one agent patrols for every 5 miles of border. The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, Canada's domestic anti-terrorism agency, has acknowledged that Al Qaeda maintains cells and personnel in Canada, which possess "the capability and conviction to provide support for terrorist activities in North America." [Deseret Morning News, 7/20/03; Washington Post, 12/25/02]
Bush's Bioterror Security Response Fragmented and Neglected
Bush Allowed Smallpox Vaccination Program to Wither Away. Bush's plan for vaccinating first responders for smallpox evaportated after it failed to garner the expected number of volunteers and was criticized for not taking into account possible health problems and workers' concerns. The program was supposed to encompass up to 10 million first responders but was said by a CDC official in October 2003 to have "ceased," with only 38,549 vaccinated. An official of the AFL-CIO, Robert McGarrah Jr., blamed the missed target on, "the administration [refusal] to listen to the concerns of patients, doctors, nurses and other health care workers." During a Senate hearing on January 29, 2003, health care professionals expressed "serious doubts" about Bush's smallpox vaccination plan. In particular, the chief of pediatrics at the largest children's hospital in the nation, said his hospital would not participate because "The virus might spread from the arm of a health care worker to a hospitalized child." [New York Times, 1/30/03, 3/7/03; Washington Post, 2/24/03; Associated Press, 4/2/03; USA Today, 10/16/03]
Bush Proposed Separating Vaccine Stockpile From Homeland Security Department. Bush's 2005 budget proposed transferring the Strategic National Stockpile, the reserves of vaccines for possible bioterror incidents, from DHS to the Department of Health and Human Services, splintering it from the coordinated anti-terror response efforts of Homeland Security. [Department of Homeland Security, 2005 Budget in Brief, www.dhs.gov]
Intelligence Sharing Still Not a Reality
Homeland Security Intelligence Still Not Shared With Federal and State Officials. A Government Accounting Office survey found that only 13 percent of federal officials and 35 percent of state officials believed that the level of intelligence sharing between federal, state, and local officials was adequate and effective. [Select Committee on Homeland Security Democrats, 1/04]
Bush's Actions Have Hindered US Intelligence Integration. DHS reported that focus and funding to integrate intelligence agencies through the DHS has largely been redirected to the FBI and the CIA. The report explained, "Since the establishment of DHS, two even newer entities, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, run by the CIA, and the Terrorist Screening Center, run by the . . . FBI, have been created that have . . . responsibilities that overlap with, duplicate, or even trump those of" DHS. [Congressional Quarterly, 2/20/04]
Even the Heritage Foundation and Republican Senators Criticize Bush's Intelligence-Sharing Efforts. The conservative Heritage Foundation said: "It is deeply troubling that the [Department of Homeland Security], as the primary consumer of intelligence for providing domestic security, does not have primary control over the mechanisms for fusing and disbursing informationÂ…[DHS has become] little more than just another intelligence end user, competing with other members of the national security community to ensure that its priority requirements are met." And the Republican-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee said: "Post-September 11 reforms were intended to consolidate and unify intelligence-gathering, analysis and enforcement. Instead, we now have more agencies and organizations in the counter-terrorism game than ever before." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/16/03, 3/04/04]
Years After 9/11 Attacks There is Still No Unified Terrorist Watch List. Months of bureaucratic infighting have delayed the integration of various terrorist watch lists to the extent that two years after the 2001 terrorist attacks, no one agency maintains a comprehensive list or database. In addition, the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Turner noted in March 2004, "[Recently,] a senior DHS official suggested that a consolidated watch list would not be necessary." [Congressional Quarterly, 03/02/04]
Well folks, since the Republicans have been working hard to keep you scared and subservient since September 12, 2001, I'll ask you all this question:
DO YOU FEEL SAFER TODAY THAN YOU DID ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2001?
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