In the LA Times this morning, ASP Board Members Sen. Gary Hart and Norman R. Augustine wrote an oped on the Congressional oversight over homeland security issues.

They noted:

In February 2001, a bipartisan federal commission on which we served warned that terrorists would acquire weapons of mass destruction and mass disruption. “Attacks against American citizens on American soil, possibly causing heavy casualties, are likely over the next quarter-century,” the Hart-Rudman Commission said. “In the face of this threat, our nation has no coherent or integrated governmental structures.” We added: “Congress should rationalize its current committee structure so that it best serves U.S. national security objectives.”

They went on to say:

Put bluntly, congressional oversight of homeland security remains an organizational maze. Instead of doing what our group and the 9/11 Commission recommended, Congress has made matters worse. After the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, oversight was claimed by 79 committees and subcommittees, but that number has expanded to at least 108.

They concluded by saying:

Must the country suffer another devastating, potentially preventable attack before more of its turf-protecting elected representatives forgo “prerogative and privilege” for the sake of our nation’s security?

You can read the full op-ed here:

Why 9/11 can happen again

You can click here to read more about ASP’s terrorism and asymmetric operations work.

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