Bush Is to Propose Broad New Powers in Domestic Security

The New York Times ^ | 07/16/2002 | ELIZABETH BECKER

[Pokey78]

WASHINGTON, July 15 — The Bush administration's broad new proposal for domestic security, to be made public on Tuesday, calls for sweeping changes that include the creation of a top-secret plan to protect the nation's critical infrastructure and a review of the law that could allow the military to operate more aggressively within the United States.

Tom Ridge, the president's adviser on domestic security, has been at work on the plan for more than eight months — beginning long before the proposal for a new department of homeland security, which was hastily announced last month as Congressional investigators were making public new information about intelligence lapses before Sept. 11.

The administration could impose some changes on its own authority, while others would require Congressional action. Dozens of the recommendations are familiar initiatives that the government has tried to enact for years but are newly popular to help reach the goal of preventing terrorist attacks within the United States. Many fall outside the scope of the proposed new department.

Given the difficulties the president's proposal for the department is facing in Congress, the idea that this new plan could be enacted as written is questionable.

These are among the administration's proposals:

¶Establish national standards for state driver's licenses.

¶Create an "intelligence threat division" in the new department that uses what the plan calls "red teams" of intelligence experts. These teams would act like terrorists and plot attacks on vulnerable new targets in the country so that means of preventing such attacks can be devised.

¶Increase inspections of international shipping containers before they leave foreign ports and as they cross United States borders.

¶Ensure that government agencies can communicate with one another, something successive administrations have tried and failed to do.

The plan also calls for the first thorough inventory of the country's critical infrastructure — both public and private — followed by a secret plan to protect it. The inventory would include, for example, highways, pipelines, agriculture, the Internet, databases and energy plants.

"That's one of the big points," said a senior administration official, who provided a copy of the plan to The New York Times. "The whole society is vulnerable with hundreds, thousands of targets we have to protect, but the most important stuff we do won't be released."

In a letter accompanying the plan, also provided by the official, President Bush said that the federal, state and local governments and private companies should share the responsibility for — and the $100 billion annual cost of — combating what he called the greatest threat to the United States this century. It was a sign that full financing for his plan would not come from the federal budget.

"We must rally our entire society to overcome a new and very complex challenge," Mr. Bush said.

The senior official said that the idea for the homeland security department actually grew out of the secret deliberations on this broader plan. But the official insisted that the administration actively fought Congressional efforts to legislate a new department throughout the winter and spring because the White House wanted to keep deliberations secret.

"People were asking for a strategy, but we weren't ready," the senior official said. "We announced the department first because we had finished that part of the study."

Congressional Democrats are openly criticizing the White House for having been too closed and secretive in the development of what amounts to the largest reorganization of government in 50 years.

Democratic lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee issued a statement today complaining that the legislation for the security department was written by White House political appointees without proper consultations. "That kind of secretive and arrogant behavior has produced a plan that, in many areas, is poorly constructed and complicates Congress's ability to produce a good final bill," said David Sirota, a committee spokesman.

The plan begins with an acknowledgment of the difficulty of defining the problem: "Terrorism is not so much a system of belief, like fascism or communism, as it is a strategy and a tactic — a means of attack."

Domestic attacks like Timothy J. McVeigh's on Oklahoma City in 1995 and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon should be treated as terrorism even if the motives may differ widely, according the study. For that reason, it proposes to make better use of the military to counter domestic threats.

Before today, senior Pentagon officials had repeatedly said that they had no plans to ask Congress to revamp the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which sharply restricts the military's ability to participate in domestic law enforcement.

In a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee in May, Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, asked Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld whether the administration was hoping to make changes in the act.

"No, Senator, we're not," Mr. Rumsfeld replied. "We're not looking for any long-term or short-term change with respect to Posse Comitatus."

But the Bush plan says that "the threat of catastrophic terrorism requires a thorough review of the laws permitting the military to act within the United States in order to determine whether domestic preparedness and response efforts would benefit from greater involvement of military personnel, and if so how."

Adding these initiatives could only complicate relations with Congress, where members of both parties insist that the administration's proposed department is conceptually too unwieldy. A series of House committees, controlled by Republicans, essentially rewrote the Bush plan last week, voting not to move the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a large part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to the department.

Mr. Ridge, appearing today before a special House committee that is managing the legislation on the department, said the administration opposed each of those changes and more demanded by lawmakers.

"The president's reorganization is well planned and well thought out, based on input from every level of government, the private sector, the academic community and of course the Congress of the United States," Mr. Ridge said.

He also said the department must have wide-ranging flexibility to move money to different uses as needs arise.

The chairman of the special committee, Representative Dick Armey of Texas, the House Republican leader, told Mr. Ridge flatly that "it's not likely that that's going to happen," but Mr. Ridge said the usual close Congressional oversight could cripple the new department's ability to respond to terrorism.

"We're at war," Mr. Ridge said. "The enemy — if you agree that they're agile, that they'll move and change targets — we ought to be able to give the secretary some flexibility to target some of these resources based on the threat, based on the vulnerability."

[glorygirl]

I think Drudge was just updating with the 1984 headline.

[joyful1]

I'm on board with this one!

On one condition, legislation and laws MUST require racial and ethnic profiling. Militant Islam is the problem, and we must focus on that.

[MissAmericanPie]

In a way I see it. But it is the militaries duty to protect our borders, that is a limited assignment with boundires and chains on their parameters.

This other thing, mentioned in this article is way to vague, and is truly a Pandora's Box.

[Old philosopher]

I know the Bush Bots will say that this is a necessary step to insure our "Safety" , but this is another Bush grab for power. As we frogs sit in the warming water we are lulled into complacency as this administration turns up the heat under the pot, soon a little more of our freedom will be gone. At the rate the Bush Administration is taking away our freedoms and subverting the Constitution it will only be a few more years until we have less freedom of action in the United States than what the Germans had under Hitler. It seems as though every week GW comes up with another "needed" restriction on liberties in this country.

For more than 50 years I have spoken out against our gradual loss of freedom, bu in the last year and a half I have watched in horror as the American Sheeple have allowed GW Bush to steal our freedoms under the guise of needed security for our safety. The Patriot Act passed after 9/11 was just the first major step, by the end of his term GW will be a Dictator with Supreme Powers, we peasants will have no freedom left, and we will be completely controlled by a "Ruling Class". Make no mistake, our current crop of politicians are power hungry, and will stop at nothing to completely subjugate us.

It appears to me that the "War on Terror" has become simply a method of sustaining Bush's popularity, and making a grab for more power, it is going nowhere and has been unable to find Osama Bin Laden (if he is still alive). Every week we get another "Terrorist Alert" from the administration. Like the "Boy who Cried Wolf" these alerts seem more for the purpose of keeping the public aware of our great leader than fact. Bill Clinton used to lament that he did not have a war on his watch to make him appear great in the eyes of the public. It appears to me that GW has taken a page from Klinton's book, for by keeping the (undeclared) war alive he can keep his popularity ratings high.

When will the public wake up?

That's My opinion.

[Sabertooth]

But it is the military's duty to protect our borders, that is a limited assignment with boundaries and chains on their parameters.

Are the Illegals limited to the areas along the borders?

How would such a military assignment be limited?

[Wm Bach]

Domestic attacks like Timothy J. McVeigh's on Oklahoma City in 1995 and the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon should be treated as terrorism even if the motives may differ widely.

Or even if they are exactly the same.

[Sabertooth]

I am sticking with my own conspiracy theory on this one. The administration is ready to take a real shot at illegal aliens under the color of martial law. In my opinion it is the only scenario that makes logical sense.

I've slep on it, and just don't see the President jumping rails from pushing Amnesty to modifying Posse Comitatus for the purpose of rounding up Illegals.

There has to be another reason why they're contemplating using the military in this way...

How about quarantine and mass vaccination following a bio-attack?

[iconoclast]

Seal those borders yet George? All the rest is expensive hocus when they can simply walk across.

Absolutely.

Also,

1)Freeze immigration? .........NO!

2)Arm pilots? ......................................NO!

3)Provide reality-based airport security? ..........NO!

BUT ...

"Deputize" every Barney Fife mailman, deliveryboy, and meter-reader to perform warrantless searches and invasion of privacy......YES(?)!

What the he!!'s going on in this country?

[hedgetrimmer]

Maybe the citizen informers can watch the borders and tell the border patrol when someone suspicious walks in?

[MissAmericanPie]

In a perfect world, those illegals in the country would be delt with by local cops, pulled over and held for the INS. The troops on the border would deter and detain illegal crossers at the border only.

[freeeee]

These are among the administration's proposals: Establish national standards for state driver's licenses.

Yeah, "national standards" like biometric markers including fingerprints and retina scans.

These "national standards" will also include a smart chip, giving the technology needed for a cashless society.

And a huge new database to go along with it.

People, this is

NATIONAL ID

The same exact one that GW said he wouldn't support. Looks like he < gasp! > lied.

[FITZ]

I don't the internment camps in this ---maybe I'm missing something. I know the INS is going down to places like Cancun and Chihuahua to train to do inspections. A lot seem to be going, supposedly they'll have INS stationed down there to inspect boxes before they're put on planes and trucks headed to the US. I don't know what I think about it and I wonder what Mexicans think about it.

[Valin]

What about illegal immigrants...they don't have drivers licenses

Wanna bet?

[FITZ]

They do. I know one guy who has one and he got a traffic ticket the other day and was complaining how costly they are around here. He even uses "illegal" to describe his status, not "undocumented" because at least he's not politically correct which is worse than being illegal.

[serinde]

When GWB goes out of office and when a DEM goes in the sheeple will realize just how much they have allowed government to take over. Then it may be too late. How can they cry foul when they cheered it on for all the years Bush was in office setting it up? Never ever pass any new law or create any new government position or office without first considering seriouslly the dangers it holds and leads too in our nations future.

The key to understanding the American system is to imagine that you have the power to make nearly any law you want. But your worst enemy will be the one to enforce it. ~~ Rick Cook

[Valin]

These teams would act like terrorists and plot attacks on vulnerable new targets in the country so that means of preventing such attacks can be devised.

The Air Force(and I'm sure the other branches do also) runs these kinds of exercises all the time. back in the 60s they stopped making them so realistic as people started getting killed.

[a merkin]

I understand the Taleban received some $5,000,000 from Enron prior 9-11.

Do you think that this money was handed over without the approval of our government?

[Admin Moderator]

While I think the uproar over TIPS is silly (after all, it is no different than asking people to call the FBI if they say they have seen something suspicious and promising that what is reported will be considered, it is just putting a catchy name to it and setting up a website, in other words, political gamesmanship), there was no reason to post this:

When I need crap from an Aussie I’ll kick it out of him.

Please stop instigating flame wars. It is getting real old, real fast. Thanks, AM

[Marine Inspector]

The administration is ready to take a real shot at illegal aliens under the color of martial law.

Not a chance in hell. Jorge "Open Borders" Bush is a "Once your in, Your in" President. He may try to shut off the flow, but he won't touch what is already here.

245(i) is just his first step. More amnesties will follow if he is successful.

[Valin]

"Deputize" every Barney Fife mailman, deliveryboy, and meter-reader to perform warrantless searches and invasion of privacy......YES(?)!

Time for your meds.