Your choice for Homeland Security Secretary

Bertie Wooster · Post by **Bertie Wooster** » 2004-11-30 07:14pm

Who would you pick to run the Dept. of Homleand Security? Or, would you abolish the Department altogether?

Your choice must have a reasonable chance to be approved by Congress (sorry, no Al Sharpton).

Please give some rationale for your choice.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2004-11-30 07:23pm

Abolish the current idea of the Homeland Security Department
Also however I would

Abolish the CIA, NSA, NRO(possibly the FBI as well in some respects)
And combine them, Run it the old model
One "Intellgence Office"
Half the problems we have nowadays result from fighting between the branchs combined with Laws making it illeagal for the other Branches to talk to each other(In the FBI's case it means that if the CIA finds something intresting or bad they need Congressional aproval to share it with the FBI depending on the method the informaiton was obtained)

In the end the CIA, NSA, NRO and FBI have the same boss, (The CiC) but they sure as hell don't act like it

Combine them into the same Org, each old entity simply becomes a Department therein and its headed by the Defense Sec

Of course this would never happen as each last one of them would fight tooth and nail to not give up their power and people would fear any Police officer who has the ability to not only run their plates but everything else as well

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2004-11-30 10:02pm

I'd probably abolish it, since it doesn't seem to do much for the War on Terror besides give us pretty colors to look at.

However, if I had to keep it, I'd probably appoint a Democrat nobody's ever heard of, ignore everything he says, and point to it as proof that I'm not filling my cabinet with yes-men who tell me everything is great, even if it isn't.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-11-30 10:53pm

Its a bloated federal bureaucracy that often seems like nothing more than a pork-delivery machine (bullet proof glass for PDs in Montana, anyone?) painted with PR.

Dismantle it.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-11-30 10:55pm

I echo the points made. Eliminate the redundancy.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-11-30 11:00pm

The FBI needs to be cut completely out of the loop. It has never and will never be an agency for countering international terrorism, its law enforcement investigate after the fact approach simply does not work for that. People have been saying that and been correct about it for decades.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-11-30 11:11pm

So you think the CIA should be given expanded authority and power and the ability to gather intelligence and investigate domestically?

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2004-12-01 11:11am

I would get rid of the DHS. What purpose does it actually serve?

Jalinth · Post by **Jalinth** » 2004-12-01 11:20am

Mr Bean wrote:Abolish the current idea of the Homeland Security Department
Also however I would

Abolish the CIA, NSA, NRO(possibly the FBI as well in some respects)
And combine them, Run it the old model
One "Intellgence Office"
Half the problems we have nowadays result from fighting between the branchs combined with Laws making it illeagal for the other Branches to talk to each other(In the FBI's case it means that if the CIA finds something intresting or bad they need Congressional aproval to share it with the FBI depending on the method the informaiton was obtained)

In the end the CIA, NSA, NRO and FBI have the same boss, (The CiC) but they sure as hell don't act like it

Combine them into the same Org, each old entity simply becomes a Department therein and its headed by the Defense Sec

Of course this would never happen as each last one of them would fight tooth and nail to not give up their power and people would fear any Police officer who has the ability to not only run their plates but everything else as well

All I would add is splittng the FBI. The counterintelligence side (anti-terrorism, counterspy, etc...) goes to the new organization. The criminal side (with arrest powers) stays. Have the new FBI create equivalent of the UK's "Special Branch" - where the police make any arrests on behalf of the intelligence folks. I would be very distrustful of any intelligence organization that big which had arrest powers - too great a chance that arrestees might get "lost" and that unjust arrests would increase.

I'd be tempted to not have the Defense Secretary run this - avoids having the military dominate the process and also sheer task overload.

Ma Deuce · Post by **Ma Deuce** » 2004-12-01 11:22am

Iceberg wrote:I would get rid of the DHS. What purpose does it actually serve?

After all, the US government already had a National Security Agency:

Department of Homeland Security is redundant even in it's name...

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2004-12-01 12:12pm

I'd be tempted to not have the Defense Secretary run this - avoids having the military dominate the process and also sheer task overload.

He already has the Joint Chief's to do his thinking for him NTM the various heads of the military, his job is to take things he knows nothing about(Or if he's acutal servered) take two or three branches he knows nothing about and hopefuly make an intellgence call on them

Putting him in charge of this new, Department of Security(Or what have you) simply gives him more thinks per day to say yes or no on of things he does not understand

tharkûn · Post by **tharkûn** » 2004-12-01 12:26pm

Homeland security is an abomination, unfortunately it is an abomination that causes warm fuzzy feelings among certain elements of the electorate and would be politically risky to dissolve. I opt for the co-opt to destroy approach. Start by appointing a popular democrat to the post, then slowly transfer functions from their control over to somebody else. Eventually the budget and powers of the secretary will wither and retract to such a degree that you can move the entire department that remains under a prexisting branch. At which point it falls from the political radar and can be cannabilized.

It is utterly useless, but I don't think the political capital is there to destroy it outright.

Xon · Post by **Xon** » 2004-12-01 06:53pm

Illuminatus Primus wrote:So you think the CIA should be given expanded authority and power and the ability to gather intelligence and investigate domestically?

Hell yes. The whole idea of dividing your intelligence gathering forces into logical units which actively fight each other in political games is horrribly stupid.

This isnt making government bigger, its cutting the port off.

I'ld also establish a clear hierarchy were international/intelligence forces trump National level police which trump local/state police. As it is, its a legal mine field which looks to be designed to make the system horrible useless.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-12-01 08:31pm

Ma Deuce wrote:Department of Homeland Security is redundant even in it's name...

Well, they couldn't use Fatherland 'cause a lot of old germans are going, "That's a good one!"

Robin Willaims speaks through me once again...