Security

Staying alive at DHS is a full-time occupation. One slip-up, the chain quivers, the blame starts its downward flow, and if you’re an agent, you’re pulling duty in Pembina, ND, or spending the rest of your working life doodling on a yellow legal pad in an empty room at HQ/DC. So believe me when I tell you that it takes more than a fit of pique to file a legal complaint against DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, as the National Ice Council has done on behalf of eleven agents who believe that recent policy directives on prosecutorial discretion and the Dream directive on deferred action—are forcing them to choose between enforcing immigration and deportation laws passed by the US Congress in 1996 and their professional careers. Christopher Crane, head of the Council, reports that agents who continue to enforce laws currently on the books—ignoring policy directives from the top instructing them neither to apprehend, arrest, or depart aliens who’ve entered the US illegally or who’ve overstayed their visas (even illegals serving time in US prisons for felonies and misdemeanors)—are targets for disciplinary action….

I appeared on the talk show “The Fresh Outlook“ this weekend to discuss cybersecurity issues and China.  Here is a link to the video. I argued for a more nuanced, less panicky approach when dealing with China on this sensitive subject.
Here are some more thoughts:
The most …

My colleague Dr. Greg Austin and I wrote a short discussion paper titled “Cybersecurity: Crime Prevention  or Warfare?”  for the 49th Munich Security Conference which took place this February in Munich, Germany. We identified some of the top challenges pertaining to cybersecurity …

 
From a global perspective, any new entry into the “nuclear club” is high undesirable as such: With every new entrant, there is an exponential increase in the political complexity of achieving total nuclear disarmament — or, to put it more simply, there is an additional obstacle in the way of …

Hillary Clinton’s testimony before Congress the other week brought the country’s attention back to the Benghazi attack of Sept. 11, 2012. It is a topic that I find fascinating, less for what it says about U.S. foreign policy than for what it says about domestic politics and the processes of …

Judging by the budget gridlock the answer seems to be no.  As mentioned in my last blog, I spent last week in San Diego attending West 2013, a Navy/ Marine focused conference co-sponsored by AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute.  The conference theme was:  Pivot to the Pacific What …

Departing Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s farewell letter is not the usual five paragraphs consisting of gradiose claims and bromides for the ages. At more than 3,750 words, it is the length of a college term paper or a magazine feature article. As …

This film is riveting.
It is a fictional look at the hunt for and eventual killing of Osama bin Laden, the man who is believed to have masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Jessica Chastain rightfully won the best actress in a drama at the Golden Globes. …

I first became fully politically aware around the age of 10. Since that time there have been three speeches that resonated with me, meaning I felt the speakers were expressing their true beliefs as opposed to simply spouting political rhetoric. The first was President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration address. The …

Last week most stories about Afghanistan focused on the meeting between Afghan President Hamaid Karzai and President Obama.  The President announced that starting in the spring U.S. troops would only play supporting role.  Of note he gave no information on troop withdrawal schedule but did indicate there would be a …

Nearly nine years ago, Senator Hagel charted out “A Republican Foreign Policy” in the July/August 2004 issue of Foreign Affairs. Hagel summarized this foreign policy with seven principles:
1)      Leadership in the Global Economy: “The rule of law, property rights, advances in science and technology, and large …

A few years ago, while being interviewed on a radio show, I was asked what I thought of President Bush.  I reminded the host that while in the military the President was my Commander-in-Chief.  I said my views of the President were probably similar to many employees in other professions.  …

With the retirement of Senator Jon Kyl and defeat of Senator Richard Lugar — of the unprecedented Nunn-Lugar initiative — Congress’s 113th session will see a significant lacunae in arms control and nuclear nonproliferation expertise.  While I am hard-pressed to call Kyl an “expert” — someone who repeatedly questioned the …

On Wednesday, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) successfully launched a long-range rocket, in defiance of U.N. resolutions against the DPRK using ballistic missiles. The launch of the missile is said to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong Il (December 17) and included …

Shifting red lines in Syria undermines the tough rhetoric toward Tehran
Many observers have connected the civil war raging in Syria to the broader U.S. standoff with Iran.  Critics of the Obama administration’s extremely cautious approach on Syria argue that pushing more forcefully for the demise of …