As I get older, my memory gets worse. But, as I recall the events post-9-11 that put the new Department of Homeland Security in place, the lack of cooperation between agencies was the key reason for the birth of this huge new bureaucracy.
After 78 hours of tennis and golfing and relaxing on the beach in Hawaii, someone finally told President Obama he needed to say something about the little incident in Detroit. He made a typical Obama statement that said nothing. Six minutes of Obama gibberish. Filling the void, Janet Napolitano made the statement that the “system worked” then said they notified all planes in the air at the time to be on alert. After being taken to the woodshed by someone who was still working in the Obama administration, she then said her comments were taken out of context.
Next, someone told President Obama he needed to place some blame for this and take it a little more seriously. He came out with guns blazing and blamed everyone in his entire security group. Everyone except Napolitano. He said it was a failure of various agencies to communicate a clear and present danger.
That brings me back to original purpose for the Department of Homeland Security, to insure that never happened again. Here’s the taxpayer tab for that service for 2009. Of course, Obama added to the budget over the 2008 budget.
Since 2001, the Administration has:
•Established the Department of Homeland Security, merging elements of 22 disparate agencies into a department of 166,234 personnel and $40.7 billion in resources.
•Funded nearly 11,000 new Border Patrol agents, acquired nearly 13,000 new detention beds, and constructed close to 100 miles of new border fencing.
•Provided over $27 billion to State, local, and tribal governments to enhance first responder preparedness.
•Created TSA, hired and trained a workforce, and deployed sufficient technology to electronically screen 100 percent of airline passengers and checked baggage.
•Strengthened marine transportation system and cargo supply chain security through the Container Security Initiative, Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, and the Maritime Transportation Security Act; and awarded more than $1 billion in port security grants to enhance the physical security of the Nation’s seaports.
•Created the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to detect, identify, and track down the origins of nuclear and radiological materials and help prevent terrorism.
•Successfully protected the Nation’s leadership and visiting heads of foreign countries against potential terrorism and other threats, and helped maintain the integrity of the Nation’s currency and financial systems, through the vigilant work of the U.S. Secret Service.
Department of Homeland Security
The President’s 2009 Budget will:
•Increase the Department’s capabilities;
•Strengthen border security, interior enforcement, and immigration services;
•Enhance the security of the Nation’s transportation system;
•Reinforce maritime safety and security;
•Fortify cyber security across the Federal Government;
•Improve BioWatch capabilities; and
•Expand the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s operational capacity
Cost: $44.4 Billion.
Since inception, we have spent nearly a half trillion dollars for this new agency.
Yet, when it fails, it’s no one’s fault. Seems like the Commander in Chief is the one who should be responsible. But, that rarely happens since the Truman era, so it must next fall on the Director of Homeland Security. Nope, not her, she wrote an editorial today and found others to blame. The President is giving her a vote of confidence.
When GM tanks, Obama fires the CEO. When Homeland Security tanks, it’s some clerk in Nigeria.
You can spend another trillion on the Department of Homeland Security and if you have incompetent people at the top of the house, it will accomplish nothing.
Soon Obama will be hearing from his favorite nemesis, Dick Cheney, about the things that went wrong on the Detroit attack. I can hardly wait.
