After the Harding Withdrawal, Whither TSA?
In the next several days, there will likely be a lot written about the debacle of the nomination, then withdrawal, of General Robert Harding to be Administrator of TSA. There will be many opinions, strident posturing and more than...
DetailsA new TSA Administrator nominated – Will his fate be different from the last one?
Yesterday afternoon, President Obama announced that he will nominate Retired Army General Robert Harding to be the TSA Administrator. Harding is a well-known and highly respected military and intelligence officer, and under normal circumstances, his nomination should sail through...
DetailsRand Beers commits candor – and it was refreshing
Following his testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee where he testified about chemical security, DHS Under Secretary Rand Beers met with national security bloggers for an "on the record" session hosted by the Heritage Foundation....
DetailsHouse Science Committee hearing on passenger screening technology begins bizarrely
Well, it was just weird. The House Science subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing today on next generation passenger screening technologies, or at least, I thought that was its purpose from the title of the hearing. From...
DetailsYet again we hear it. Is Congress listening?
Among the many important findings in the Report Card issued by the co-chairs of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Commission, Congress's failure to consolidate oversight of homeland security received a big fat "F." The co-chairs, former senators...
Details88, Count ‘Em: A Continuing Embarrassment on the Hill
Last Friday, the editorial board of the New York Times added its considerable weight to the growing list of thought leaders advocating the completion of the 9-11 Commission recommendations – namely, the consolidation of congressional oversight of the Department...
DetailsThe Year in Washington
2009 almost went out with a “bang” and it is that failed attempt by a young Nigerian radical that has dominated the political scene for the last week of the year. But in many respects the almost immediate partisan...
DetailsCongress Heal Thyself (Con’t – ad nauseum)
Once again it is time to revisit the issue of Congressional meddling into the operations of DHS. As has been well established by many commentators, myself included, the only item from the 9-11 Commission’s Report that has yet to...
DetailsA Lack of Imagination Led to a Lack of Preparation – A Report From Mumbai
As the anniversary of another terrorist attack approaches, the questions remain: Are we safer than we were before the attacks, and are we doing the right things to prevent another attack? Those were the questions on the minds of...
DetailsS&T Bloggers Roundtable finds sparse attendance for a substantive message
Several years ago I had the privilege of speaking at an Associated Press Editors meeting in Alpena, Michigan. As things turned out, I was the only passenger on a rather large Northwest commuter airplane that went from Detroit to...
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