Homeland Security National Review Dialogue Round 2 – QHSR
On Monday afternoon I had the opportunity to participate in a Department of Homeland Security Blogger’s Round Table. The round table was held to not only kick-off the second part of the National Homeland Security Dialogue but also to discuss the results from the first dialogue.
It was an honor to be invited and included among such an outstanding group of blogger’s including two of my favorites, John Solomon of InCaseofEmergencyBlog and Christopher Bellavita of Homeland Security Watch . If you don’t have these two sites bookmarked, you’ll want to add them. Both are incredibly articulate, informative writers who regularly put forth some of the best, most insightful ideas and approaches to homeland security and preparedness that you’ll find anywhere.
Back to the QHSR. Now I could provide a lot of the details from the meeting upfront, however if you don’t read the entire post you’ll miss the most important takeaway from it, so here it is.
If you’ve registered and are participating in the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR),your comments are being read, your voice is being heard, and your ideas are being considered and discussed at the highest levels in the Department of Homeland Security.
One brief but convincing example to illustrate this point would be the removal of the term “man made disaster” from the lexicon shortly after the first dialogue. Comments in regards to the term were brought up, considered by the working group and based on feedback from round one it was immediately removed. DHS is not only listening, they’re engaged and responding to your ideas and comments… And they want more.
I encourage you to not take this lightly. You’re making a difference and helping to shape at least the next four years of Homeland Security strategy and policy. This is a unique and very rare opportunity, one that I know many of you have hoped for, for a very long time. If you haven’t participated up to this point, it’s not too late. Now is the time to register and get involved. Register here.
Alan Cohn, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Strategic Planning for the Department of Homeland Security was the moderator for the round table and he shared the results from the first dialogue with the group. Over 20,000 individuals have visited the site, with over 8200 participants and over 200 separate proposals. Many of YOU are included in these numbers. Outstanding results for a new initiative such as this.
It was obvious from his comments and enthusiasm that he and the various working groups at DHS are very excited with the participation thus far and hopeful that even more of you submit your ideas and comments for consideration in this second round.
The second round will run through September 6th so time is short. With the Labor Day weekend coming up, don’t delay in submitting your ideas and comments early.
To participate, you can go to directly to the site at www.homelandsecuritydialogue.org
Once logged in, the online tool allows you to prioritize the objectives in the various categories by allocating points to each objective. You can allocate points in increments of 10 and the number of points you have to allocate per goal is dependent on the number of objectives in each goal. (This will make more sense once you log in)
You can assign negative points to objectives that you think are less important resulting in more points for you to assign to other objectives.
The categories are as follows:
- Counterterrorism and Domestic Security
- Securing Our Borders
- Tough, Smart Enforcement of Immigration Laws
- Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters
- Homeland Security Nation Risk Assessment
- Homeland Security Planning and Capabilities
If you’ve been an armchair Homeland Security quarterback in the past (and I know there’s many of you from the comments and emails I receive daily) now’s the time to step up, get in the game and get your ideas on the table. The primary goal in this second round is simple; increase participation, comments and ideas.
This really is your opportunity to make a difference, take advantage of it.
Homeland Security – Napolitano Offers Shift in Tone
Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano on Wednesday called for closer collaboration with foreign partners, more intensive cooperation with local law-enforcement officials, and greater involvement by citizens in watching for and responding to terrorist threats.
“For too long, we’ve treated the public as a liability to be protected rather than as an asset in our nation’s collective security,” Ms. Napolitano said during a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. “This approach, unfortunately, has allowed confusion, anxiety and fear to linger.”
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“The terror threat is even more decentralized, networked and adaptive than on 9/11,” she said. “The United States needed an approach that was “more layered, networked and resilient.”
In her speech, Ms. Napolitano seemed intent on a shift of tone, a recasting of the way Americans view the terror threat. Implicitly, she seemed to rebuke the approach taken by the Bush administration, which critics said too often seemed to exaggerate threats and sow a sense of fear.
[...]
Ms. Napolitano said she had traveled 30,000 miles just in the past few weeks — “from Islamabad to Seattle” — while brokering new international agreements to improve security arrangements that would be effective even before potential terrorists reached American shores.
She also emphasized the importance of the facilities, called intelligence fusion centers, that have been set up nationwide to improve and streamline communications between the local officials most likely to see the first signs of suspicious activity — like a flight school student showing interest in learning to take off but not to land a plane — and state and federal officials.
Homeland Security To Reveal Terror Prevention Plans
July 28, 2009 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to reveal on Wednesday the Obama administration’s domestic policies to prevent terrorist attacks, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.
In an interview, Napolitano said the new strategy is expected to rely largely on refining and expanding initiatives launched under former President George W. Bush, the paper reported on its website.
The new plans are part of a wider effort to significantly increase the cooperation Napolitano’s agency has with state and local governments in the United States, the paper said.
Napolitano is also expected to call for more civic awareness and involvement to prevent attacks, the paper said, adding that she is likely to discuss efforts to work closer with foreign governments, from sharing airline-passenger data to intelligence about potential plots.
“We live in a world now where no one department of government can be held to be the sole repository of protecting security,” Napolitano told the paper in an interview on Monday. “There is a role to be played at every level.”
