Are We Safer Now?

Articles

Michelle Malsbury

Are We Safer Now?
July 8, 2004

The White House would like us all to believe that we are safer in the wake of terrorist acts like 9/11 with the development and deployment of a new department called Homeland Security. But are we?

As the election draws nearer many eyes and ears will be focused on how the candidates intend to handle homeland security and numerous other tasks. Let’s take a look at what has transpired over the last year and try to discover if we are actually safer now.

According to the web site www.whitehouse.gov/homeland dated May 25, 2004, the newly devised department of homeland security is now developing another department that is supposed to target “interoperability and compatibility”. What exactly is that? The aforementioned web site describes their job as that of reducing “duplication of processes…” What duplication? If we truly had duplication we would all be on the same page and it is quite obvious that we are not. For information regarding this issue one has to look no further than the 9/11 Commission.

In addition to this new department, the department of homeland security awarded them, the department of interoperability, etc., $79M (www.whitehouse.gov/homeland) to begin pilot projects in only 17 counties that continue through 2005. That sounds like a lot of money to me, especially to circumvent “duplication of processes” in 17 counties. But are we safer because of this?

There has been a lot of attention regarding the insecurity of our borders and ports via the media. With regard to the ports, The Bush Administration (www.whitehouse.gov/homeland) says that they will make things safer in our ports by September 30, 2004. Why has this taken so long and how will this be achieved? Supposedly, they have beefed up security in the Los Angeles Port and that of Long Beach Port, which they say accounts for 80% of our trade. (June 21, 2004) But is that enough?

Let me ask you this, if we are unable to stop the war on drugs, through our borders and ports, how do they effectively and intelligently think they are going to be able to stop this war on terror before the election this fall?

Amidst new threats by Al Qaida, according to breaking news on CNN News (July 8, 2004), there is a high likelihood that there will be a new terrorist act on US soil before this year’s election. The Bush Administration says that this comes from credible people, but that the intelligence provided may not be as credible as the people supplying it. So why highlight it? Is this Bush politics or is there a vein of truth to it? Time will tell, but we need to coordinate intelligence, follow leads, and report the findings to the citizens of the United States.

The web site www.dhs.gov confirms what CNN reports, but says that they are not convinced enough to raise the threat level to orange. We are currently at yellow. If these accounts prove to be real are we going to be asleep at the wheel once more?

None of this assures me that we are a bit safer than we were prior to 9/11. Are you convinced? However, it does provoke more questions that deserve to be answered. Some of those questions follow;

Don’t we as American’s want to know what our government is doing for us specifically? Shouldn’t we as American’s have the first hand accounts of what the 9/11 Commission found before making a judgment call in the upcoming election? Does the President have the right to keep this sensitive information from us? These. and questions like them, will help us all be better informed thus allowing us to make informed decisions and perhaps be safer too, but can we get a straight answer?

Reference:

www.whitehouse.gov/homeland

CNN News, July 8, 2004

www.dhs.gov

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About the author: Michelle Malsbury was born and raised in Champaign, Illinois. She attended Parkland College and the University of Illinois before graduating from the University of Phoenix with her degree in Business Management. Currently she is working on her master’s degree in Organizational Management while concurrently pursuing her lofty writing ambitions. Ms. Malsbury moved to south Florida in 1983 and resides between the Keys and Apalachicola, allowing her to experience the southernmost and nearly northernmost beauty in the state of Florida.

Travels have taken her from Europe through the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and across much of the United States. Michelle has been a bartender, real estate agent, flight attendant, beauty contestant, yacht broker, and commodities broker over the years, but writing is her passion.

She enjoys outdoor activities like sailing, waterskiing, hiking, and fishing as well as reading, music, playing with her pets, and writing.

“Three Years With Adonis” is the first to be published of several books that she has written. In addition to “Three Years With Adonis”, she has authored four other books and three screenplays while continuing to explore all that life hands her.

"Three Years With Adonis" will be available eary 2005.

Email Michelle Malsbury: abuchez@mchsi.com

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