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Executive Summary Getting the national homeland security enterprise right is among the most difficult challenges in Washington because the problems in protecting the homeland are rooted in overcentralization, pervasive complacency, and entrenched politics—problems that often cause Washington to not work properly. This report marks a path through this obstacle course.The recommendations in this report are essential steps in establishing the right type of homeland security for the United States—one that is enduring and efficacious. The experience of the past decade is a better guide to the future than what was thought in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. These recommendations are...

A woman has filed a complaint with federal authorities over how her elderly mother was treated at Northwest Florida Regional Airport last weekend. Jean Weber of Destin filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security after her 95-year-old mother was detained and extensively searched last Saturday while trying to board a plane to fly to Michigan to be with family members during the final stages of her battle with leukemia. Her mother, who was in a wheelchair, was asked to remove an adult diaper in order to complete a pat-down search. “It’s something I couldn’t imagine happening on American...

WASHINGTON — The Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee said they want the head of the Transportation Security Administration to explain how racial profiling became a common practice among TSA screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) are both seeking answers from TSA Administrator John Pistole, after a federal report found several behavior detection officers, or BDOs, had singled out Mexican and Dominican passengers for special scrutiny, bag searches, questioning and document reviews in 2008 and 2009.

I suppose his actions qualify him as posing a severe domestic terrorist threat.

Tech industry wary of domain name seizuresBy Sara Jerome - 04/06/11 04:16 PM ET The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) expressed concern Wednesday about government efforts to seize rogue websites in the name of intellectual property enforcement. Michael Petricone, senior vice president for government affairs at CEA, said government seizure of domain names "is a blunt instrument capable of causing significant collateral damage to innocent individuals and businesses." He said CEA is committed to fighting copyright infringement, but he cited instances in recent months where the seizure approach to IP enforcement has negatively impacted non-offenders. The efforts have resulted in "the...

A TSA supervisor stole money from passengers who went through his security checkpoint and accepted bribes and kickbacks from a colleague. Michael Arato, a supervisor at Newark Liberty Airport, admitted on Monday that he regularly took money from passengers during security screenings and deliberately targeted foreigners who could not speak much English. The 41-year-old, from Ewing, admitted in federal court that he permitted a worker he supervised to steal $10,000 to $30,000 in cash from traveller's bags over a 13-month period.

At Homeland Security Hearing, Congressman Questions DHS Secretary on 'Anti-Tax Groups'By MICHAEL WARREN 2:48 PM, Feb 9, 2011 Despite concern from the left about the potential for Rep. Peter King's Homeland Security Committee hearings would unfairly "[single] out an entire community, such as Muslim Americans," this morning's hearing with Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano and Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, focused primarily on the efficacy of the government's counterterrorism efforts with regard to homegrown Islamic terrorism. But for a brief five minutes, Democrat Bennie Thompson, the ranking member on the committee, brought the focus to...

Quote from the homepage of the website: "This domain name has been seized by ICE-Homeland Security Investigations, Special Agent in Charge, New York Office, in accordance with a seizure warrant obtained by the United States Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York...."

Security experts: Homeland Security faces hurdles in replacing terror alertsBy Jordy Yager - 01/30/11 12:27 PM ET National security experts applauded the decision to end the color-coded threat advisory system, but said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to ramp up information-sharing and messaging efforts if a new system is going to succeed. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced last week the agency’s plan to drop the Bush-era advisory system that used colors to indicate the level of threats to the U.S. In its place, DHS plans to deliver “formal, detailed alerts” about “a specific or credible terrorist threat”...

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will be Emory University's commencement speaker during the May 9 ceremony. Napolitano, the former governor of Arizona, was the first woman to chair the National Governors Association. "As our graduating students set forth to shape their own lives and careers, they will be well served by the example of Janet Napolitano, who has used her exceptional intelligence, integrity and humanity in behalf of positive transformation in the world," Emory President James Wagner said in a news release. About 3,600 students are expected to graduate. The ceremony will be held on the university quadrangle on...

Suspecting overseas counterfeiters would target fans eager for NHL Winter Classic memorabilia, three federal agencies conducted a joint operation they say intercepted 792 items of fake sportswear. If the items were legitimate, they would be worth about $137,000, said Joseph Klaus, Customs and Border Protection port director for Pittsburgh. The fake sports memorabilia is a small part of the millions of dollars worth of counterfeit items that agents believe come into the Pittsburgh area annually, he said. "This is just something that will highlight the counterfeit problem we're facing," he said Wednesday while displaying some of the seized Penguins jerseys....

At an all-day White House conference on "environmental justice," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that her department is creating a new task force to battle the effects of climate change on domestic security operations.

Washington, D.C. - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the expansion of the Department's national "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign to hundreds of Walmart stores across the country - launching a new partnership between DHS and Walmart to help the American public play an active role in ensuring the safety and security of our nation. "Homeland security starts with hometown security, and each of us plays a critical role in keeping our country and communities safe," said Secretary Napolitano. "I applaud Walmart for joining the ‘If You See Something, Say Something' campaign. This partnership...

The next step in tightened security could be on U.S. public transportation, trains and boats.

Have Arizona pass a law saying that illegal aliens will be subject to these procedures as well! The federal government would immediately ask a judge to ban full-body scans.

Well, it was only a matter of time. But people are pushing back because … for the most part they don’t think this makes them safer. This is just one of the stories on the new TSA pat downs. Steve has posted on it here. But the push back from travelers, flight attendants and pilots continues. HS Secretary Janet Napolitano has asked for cooperation from travelers … but that’s easier said than done. Witness the push back from a San Diego traveler.

A Transportation Security Administration supervisor has been arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars in cash from passengers going through an airport checkpoint. As passengers -- mostly foreigners heading home -- came through the checkpoint at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, the supervisor and another TSA agent would subject them to secondary searches and allegedly take cash from their carry-on bags. The supervisor, Michael Arato, 41, of Ewing, N.J., was changed with one count of accepting bribes, one count of conspiring to commit theft and three counts of theft by a government employee. The other TSA worker is now...

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has adopted new procedures for using the Defense Department’s vast array of cyberwarfare capabilities in case of an attack on vital computer networks inside the United States, delicately navigating historic rules that restrict military action on American soil. The system would mirror that used when the military is called on in natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfires. A presidential order dispatches the military forces, working under the control of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

When Mohamed Elibiary was appointed earlier this year to the Department of Homeland Security’s newly-formed Countering Violent Extremism Working Group, it was done quietly and without fanfare. It’s hard to believe that this silence was accidental, considering Elibiary’s appearance at a conference honoring Ayatollah Khomeini, his attacks on prosecution of terrorist fundraisers, his active promotion of jihadist ideology godfather Sayyid Qutb, and the threat he made against a Dallas Morning News journalist who repeatedly exposed his extremist views. But none of that has stopped Mohamed Elibiary from promoting himself as a “de-radicalization” expert courted not only by Janet Napolitano and

The Most Transparent Administration Evah has yet another example of doublespeak and opacity uncovered by the Associated Press. A lengthy investigation shows that the Department of Homeland Security investigated people making Freedom of Information Act requests for their politics, and delaying legally mandated disclosures based on political considerations. The demands for information included the party affiliation of those making the requests, a policy that came from the top: For at least a year, the Homeland Security Department detoured requests for federal records to senior political advisers for highly unusual scrutiny, probing for information about the requesters and delaying disclosures deemed...