DHS Inspector General John Roth on CBP UAVs
This morning, Tom Temin interviewed DHS Inspector General John Roth about the report his office issued, which severely criticizes the DHS CBP Office of Air & Marine’s use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for border surveillance purposes.
DetailsAfter DC Metro Fire, Questions About Interoperability
The recent fire in the Washington, DC, subway system that killed one passenger and injured more than 80 others reveals ominous signs for the Nation’s Capitol. Most concerning are reports that the Fire & Rescue Services radios did not...
DetailsObama MIA as Leaders Gather in Paris
On Sunday, after a terrorist attack that murdered a dozen French citizens, 4 million people gathered in Paris to stand together and say they would not be afraid. While leaders from around the world came to Paris to join...
DetailsHow TSA Changed its Public Reputation, Enhanced Security and Improved Employee Morale
In 2010, the Transportation Security Administration's public image was getting worse by the day. There were stories about long lines and less-than-professional interaction between agent and airline passenger. It was then that Administrator John Pistole came to TSA with...
DetailsDHS Inspector General Says CBP Drone Program is of “Dubious” Benefit
DHS Inspector General John Roth dropped a powerful present on the front doorstep of Customs and Border Protection on Christmas Eve. News of the report is just coming out this week. It is about time a DHS official questioned...
DetailsLooking Back and Looking Forward – DHS Moves into 2015 Amid Uncertainty and Hope
By most objective measures, 2014 was not a good year for the Department of Homeland Security. As we enter 2015, I sense there is a slight bit of subjective optimism that, under the leadership of DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson,...
DetailsAnniversaries are More Than Just Days to Remember
Twelve years ago last week, President Bush signed the act creating the Department of Homeland Security. It came into formal existence on March 1, 2003. Anniversaries are days to reflect on broader issues, and it is a good time...
DetailsA Suspect Decision and a Poor Choice – The Ebola Czar
Obama Administration’s fumbled response to the Ebola threat has both political parties giving the President’s team a resounding thumbs down. To calm an anxious public, the President decided to tap a veteran Washington political insider, Ron Klain, to coordinate...
DetailsSave the Bagpipes From the Federal Bureaucracy
Every so often, a federal agency does something so questionable that it makes one shake his head in disbelief. This is about saving bagpipes and other musical instruments from seizure by federal officials at the U.S. border. It is...
DetailsCongress Heal Thyself – 120 Reasons to Address Congressional Oversight
Is momentum building again to fix the debacle of overlapping congressional oversight of DHS? I sure hope so.
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