Homeland Insecurity

February 4, 2004

As the Bush administration continues to hedge its claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the lack of progress in protecting the homeland against chemical and biological attacks was made painfully clear on Tuesday. Law enforcement officials discovered the deadly poison ricin in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist – forcing the entire Senate office complex to close for an undetermined period of time. Unlike the anthrax attacks in 2001, anti-terrorism experts agree the ricin mailings will likely be more disruptive than lethal given the properties of the poison. But the question still remains: more than two years after 9/11 – and following two wars abroad – how much safer are we from terrorist activities at home?

• Strategic thinking about homeland security is still inadequate. Even with the new Department of Homeland Security, America lacks a comprehensive vision for how best to guard against terrorists attacks on U.S. soil. The nation’s ports, borders, and food and drinking supply remain highly vulnerable to biological and chemical attack. America’s health care system remains woefully unprepared to handle the aftermath of an attack. And gaps remain in the readiness of cities and states to deal with the likely economic and social fallout from possible attacks. A new GAO report concludes that 28 months after 9/11, "no single plan 'addresses all of the elements of resources, investments, and risk management or integration and implementation,'" in protecting the homeland.
• State and local emergency and law enforcement personnel are drastically underfunded. The Bush administration has proposed a 10 percent overall increase for homeland security funding in its 2005 budget, but plans to slash $800 million from the Office of Domestic Preparedness – the office responsible for distributing antiterrorism funds to states and localities. The funding cuts will only exacerbate an already tenuous position for emergency and law enforcement personnel. As the U.S. Conference of Mayors reports, "By the end of December 2003, 76 percent of the survey cities had not received this first responder/critical infrastructure funding through their states."
• Real accountability, transparency, and comprehensive threat assessment still lacking. Two years after 9/11, we still do not know the full story of what went wrong prior to the attacks or who or what was responsible for any failures. We do not know who carried out the anthrax mailings in 2001. And we still do not have a clear understanding of who crosses our borders and for what reasons.

Daily Talking Points is a product of the Center for American Progress, a non-partisan research and educational institute committed to progressive principles for a strong, just and free America.