Posted on 02/25/2005 4:39:30 PM PST by Libloather
United States still faces obstacles after tackling many security issues
By Adam Hines
Staff Writer
The United States has hit and destroyed the terrorist beehive, but there are still bees left to kill, said a former national security adviser.
Sandy Berger, who served with the Clinton administrations, said that America has made a lot of strides when it comes to homeland security and the war on terror, but it’s not done yet.
"To me the great danger is the complacency we have fallen into three and a half years after 9/11," she said.
Berger was part of a cast that included a former White House Chief of Staff, a former CEO of American Airlines, a former Federal Communications Commission chairman, a former United Nations chief nuclear weapons inspector and a cyberterrorism expert that talked about national security Thursday night.
The group was drawn to campus by the TechChallenges lecture series, a part of Engineering Week.
Entitled "Homeland Security: Engineering a Safer Tomorrow," the discussion drew a full crowd of students and faculty to the South Ballroom of the Union.
The conflict between individual rights, societal rights and overall well-being dominated the discussion for much of the hour and a half.
"Privacy is great, but you have to be alive to enjoy it," said Robert Crandall, former CEO of American Airlines.
Another concern the panel noted was the growth of the bureaucracy.
John Sununu, Chief of Staff for George H.W. Bush, said, "The bureaucracy is hindering development."
UN weapons inspector David Kay said that the general hold-up was the development of "power relations" in which state or local officials refuse to yield their information to sources higher up, so they can stay in the loop.
One possible solution for this communication breakdown is the development of large wireless networks. FCC Chairman Reed Hundt said it was important to continue to develop these kinds of networks so that first responders had all the available information at their fingertips.
The Internet and large networks however can be a double-edged sword.
"Our greatest opportunity is also our threat," said Jonathan Zittrain, the cyberterrorism expert.
Concern was on the fact that terrorist could begin to hack the network. More realistically, however, is the likelihood that communication on such a wireless fidelity network would take longer because it all would have to be encrypted to prevent outside sources from accessing it.
Sununu, the moderator, opened up the floor to questions after an hour.
One audience member framed his question in such a way as to rebuke those in power for not firing the ones responsible for the breakdowns during Sept. 11.
Sununu replied that those who held up communications or were likely to refuse giving up power did so because they thought it was the best thing to do for their constituency.
"I have often been rebuked as a politician, but the problem lies with the people, they need to communicate clearly what they want to us to do," said Sununu.
Derek Facklis, a freshman in the College of Education said that is what he discovered from the whole discourse.
"I think the main thing that I learned is how important it is to let our government representatives know how we really feel when it comes to issues like homeland security," said Facklis.
Even though he came to get extra credit in his political science class, Facklis said that he had fun because of the panel’s humor.
"I mean it’s kind of scary the ways that we can still be attacked, but these guys were hilarious," said Facklis.
Indeed, the humor of the panel was not lost on the audience. Sununu’s spy joke following Hundt’s disclosure that he had once been in the FBI director’s office that was swept for wire taps and listening devices during a one-on-one meeting, drew a large laugh from the crowd.
As the end of the panel’s time approached, the serious nature of the subject shone through once again.
Berger, seeking to sum up the discourse, said that there were three steps to stopping terrorism.
Number one, the United States must continue its offensive, seeking out terrorist cells. Number two, the United States must strengthen its defenses by reducing the number of "soft" targets.
Finally, Berger said that the United States must win the war of ideas with Islamic Fundamentalism.
"We need to make sure that the American dream is perceived as positive throughout the world," said Berger.
"Just raise your hands and drop your trousers, Sandy."
His idea is you put documents in your pants, their idea is that you put a bomb in them. They just might like the idea of committing crimes that don't involve suicide.
Ah, yes. It's rather typical that Sandy, "code-word" Berger has something to say about security. That Clintinoid maggot is the biggest security risk on the planet.
And why is this low life out of jail?
Post#1. Please change title from:
"United States still faces obstacles after tackling many security issues (Sandy Berger speaks)"
To:
United States still faces obstacles after tackling many security issues (Sandy Burglar speaks)
Thanks,
Defender2
:-)
He's got the "Secret Ways to Protect Us" stuffed in his socks. Oops! How's they get there?
Why isn't his theiving butt in prison? I don't give a rip what that guy thinks.
Speaking of flying monkeys, check out my post here (#41)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1351178/posts?page=41#41
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