Printed in Washington Times: Letter to the Editor: Sept 21, 2022 (International Peace Day)
"The
piecemeal approach will fail"
Rep. John Katko nails the details of the
institutional, economic and systemic barriers present in the Department of
Homeland Security (“The Department of Homeland Security: 21 years after 9/11,”
Web, Sept. 16). He correctly asserts that “[t]he threats facing the country now
are even more malignant than they were in 2001.”
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen
Easterly offered this profoundly truthful quote less than a year ago:
“Everything is connected, everything is interdependent, so everything is
vulnerable. … And that’s why this has to be a more than whole of
government, a more than whole of nation [effort]. It really has to be a global
effort.”
It should be obvious to all that without significant
transformation of our government it remains mission impossible for DHS to
effectively protect American lives, property and future prosperity using
independent agencies. By definition independent agencies cannot effectively
respond to interdependent threats, domestic or international.
We have recently learned of the glaring and costly
failures of independent local, state, national and international governments in
responding to COVID-19. This should have made Easterly’s quote and Katko’s
analysis a self-evident truth. Unfortunately, most of us are too busy swatting
at bees to come together and deal with the vipers at our feet.
President Trump’s creation of CISA, the newest of
all federal agencies, may be his greatest national security achievement.
It is tragic that both major political parties and the current U.S. president
will never act on the advice of CISA’s director.
Without global investments in truly preventative measures to reduce the growing, ominous threats that are immune to independent actions, there will never be enough money in any budget to fulfill the only legitimate goal of any government: to protect the freedom and security of its people.
Chuck Woolery
Former Chair, United Nations Association Council of Organizations.
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