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 Local Government Resources Are National Assets in a DisasterBy Ken Parker
Published 8/20/2008summary -Ken Parker, City Manager of Port Orange, FL, describes local emergency response practices, shows how informal interstate assistance led to formal Emergency Management Assistance Compacts, and discusses the National Emergency Management Network.
 Strengthening the Nonprofit Community's Response to the National Capital Region's Next DisasterBy Multiple authors
Published 7/1/2008summary -When disaster strikes the National Capital Region, the success of the response depends largely on the ability of the organizations and the people of these jurisdictions to coordinate their efforts and resources. They rely in turn on an extensive array of nonprofit organizations to deliver critical services. Yet until fairly recently, not much had been done to help the region's nonprofits improve their preparedness, either as individual organizations or as a community. With a unique corporate-nonprofit partnership taking shape, the situation is beginning to change.
Soft Systems Methodology Applied to Systematic Screening at U.S. AirportsBy Multiple authors
Published 6/3/2008summary -Philip R. Hammar, Brian Sauser, and John Boardman apply soft systems methodology to the problem of passenger screening at airport checkpoints, using systemigrams to represent the relationships between the stakeholders in providing security and value to the commercial air transportation system.
The Changing Role of Physicians in Disaster Management and Hospital Incident CommandBy Multiple authors
Published 5/13/2008summary -The multidisciplinary position of medical/technical specialist for disaster medicine and hospital incident command will assist the incident commander in disaster-related decision making. Multiple functions of this position will increasingly be performed by physicians who are expert in the field. As physician training and certification in disaster medicine develop, physicians will become increasingly responsible for hospital disaster response.
Gastrointestinal Anthrax: The ThreatBy Multiple Authors
Published 5/1/2008summary -The United States has not thoroughly considered the possibility of gastrointestinal anthrax (versus inhalational or cutaneous anthrax) as a terrorist weapon and needs to research and prepare a defense against it.
Risk-Based Strategies for Allocating Resources in a Constrained EnvironmentBy Multiple Authors
Published 3/14/2008 11:57:00 AMsummary -In an environment where resources are decreasing as operation tempo increases, a risk-based
evaluation is required to defend budgets and provide necessary resources to the
Navy warfighter. The model described in this article allows decision makers to plan
future budgets after carefully considering the threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences of
an incident, with a focus on the organization's antiterrorism capabilities.
 Immigration Posses: U.S. Immigration Law and Local Enforcement PracticesBy Kevin Fandl
Published 2/19/2008summary -Many state and local law enforcement agencies and policymakers are advocating, and often enacting, legislation intended to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in their county or state. However, immigration law is federal law, and enforcement of such laws is entrusted to federal agencies. Have local authorities overstepped their bounds, or are they acting reasonably in light of federal inability to pass comprehensive immigration reform?
 A Networked Approach to Improvements in Emergency ManagementBy Robert O'Neill
Published 2/6/2008summary -O'Neill describes why changes are needed and offers specific recommendations for improvements in our intergovernmental system. Building on lessons learned from recent disaster experiences, he lays out an ambitious new approach based on a network of partnerships among cities and counties and supported by state governments and a sophisticated database.
 Technology-Independent Metrics That Bound the Special Nuclear Material Detection ProblemBy Robert A. August
Published 1/7/2008summary -August seeks to derive very simple boundary conditions to the problem of detecting special nuclear material in a real-world environment, expecting that such boundary conditions will serve as guides to investment.
 Establishing a Comprehensive Antifraud Plan for FEMABy Quin Lucie
Published 12/12/2007summary -In "Establishing a Comprehensive Antifraud Plan for FEMA," Quin Lucie argues that FEMA has no scalable, integrated plan to combat fraudulent disaster assistance claims and the external misuse, waste, and abuse of its property during disaster operations and while providing assistance. Reductions in the fraudulent and improper payments under just the Individual Assistance Program for a disaster the size of Hurricane Katrina (approximately 2.5 million applications for individual assistance) could save FEMA and U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Problem of Errors, DHS, and the "False Positive" StandardBy Multiple authors
Published 10/24/2007summary -James Giermanski and Peter Lodge of Belmont Abbey College discuss the problem of false positives in shipping container scanning.
Is the United States Ready for Future Catastrophes?By Multiple authors
Published 9/4/2007summary -This article addresses the effectiveness of emergency organizations in the United States to respond to catastrophes since the events of 9/11. A theoretical model is suggested that investigates the influence of a set of interorganizational and intra-organizational factors on organizational responsiveness. The results of a web-based survey show, first, that the interorganizational model is a powerful predictor of organizational responsiveness to disasters and, second, that work politics in the organization is the most important cultural predictor thereof. In view of these findings, emergency organizations in the United States need to focus on establishing ways of working with one another but also on fostering a sound internal work climate.
Understanding and Defending Against Foreign Cyber-ThreatsBy Peter Allor
Published 8/30/2007summary -The private sector is working in concert with branches of the federal government to develop new defenses against foreign-borne cyber-attacks designed to either cripple our mission-critical systems or steal from our private citizens. These threats may vary in their end goal, but whether financially or politically motivated, all cyber-crime requires a coordinated, vigilant, preventive effort by the private sector. However, to implement defenses against these types of attacks, we must understand the current landscape and the motivations of these cyber-terrorists and criminals.
Developing Homeland Security Partnerships: A Comparative Analysis From the Area of Financial SecurityBy Amit Kumar
Published 8/17/2007summary -Amit Kumar examines the evolution, development, and maintenance of three forms of partnerships in the banking and finance critical infrastructure protection area of homeland security to analyze the role of the government in partnership development, to explore the information-sharing processes across partnerships, and to delineate the dynamics of accountability mechanisms.
Securing Collegiate Sport Stadiums in the 21st Century: Think Security, Enhance SafetyBy Multiple Authors
Published 8/7/2007summary -Collegiate sport programs must take the lead and realize the risk that exists today. Their athletic facilities may be considered soft targets, since they are not as nationally recognized as professional sport stadiums.
New Body Scanner Protects Travelers' Safety (and Their Dignity)By Suzanne Finch
Published 8/1/2007summary -Suzanne Finch of the Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology discusses EMIT Technologies non-intrusive full-body security scanner People Portal II.
A Working Group Consensus Statement on Mass-Fatality Planning for Pandemics and DisastersBy Elin Gursky
Published 7/6/2007summary -Elin Gursky, on behalf of the Joint Task Force Civil Support Mass Fatality Working Group, presents the results of a two-day working group conference in March 2006 at the Joint Task Force Civil Support headquarters. Participants were senior civilian and military experts representing the broad range of professions within the fatality management community. Experts agreed that mass-fatality planning and preparation must occur against a national set of uniform procedures and strategies. The consensus working group supported instituting a separate Emergency Support Function within the National Response Plan to comprehensively plan for and respond to mass-fatality events.
Determining Risk Assessment Using the Weighted Ordinal Agreement MeasureBy William J. Tastle
Published 6/28/2007 1:15:00 PMsummary -The information-theoretic measures of consensus, dissent, and agreement are used to address the problem of assigning a threat level based on expert opinions. The use of weights, applied to both the experts and their opinion, is examined. All three measures are bounded, taking values in the unit interval. The measure of consensus is interpreted as an indicator of cohesion and concentration. The agreement measures how close the data are to a target. The agreement of experts for each targeted threat level can be calculated, and the threat level with the highest agreement value is the one chosen to represent the expert's judgment.
 Home-Grown Nihilism: The Clash Within CivilizationsBy Bill Durodié
Published 5/3/2007summary -In “Home-Grown Nihilism: The Clash Within Civilizations,” Bill Durodié of Cranfield University discusses what produces home-grown terrorists in Britain: Islamist radicalization or a nihilism bred by society?
 Satellite Control and the Future of Container SecurityBy Jim Giermanski
Published 4/20/2007summary -In “Satellite Control and the Future of Container Security,” Jim Giermanski, Ed.D., Professor and director of the Centre for Global Commerce at Belmont Abbey College, as well as chairman of the board of Powers International, Inc., discusses the role of satellites in container security as well as the shortcomings of radio-frequency identification as a container security
A Battle at the Border: Coping with Carrizo CaneBy Gail Cleere
Published 4/3/2007summary -In “A Battle at the Border: Coping with Carrizo Cane,” Gail Cleere of the Homeland Security Department’s Science & Technology Directorate discusses ways to reduce the cover provided by Carrizon cane (a foreign plant) along the U.S.-Mexican border.
 Identity and Security: Moving Beyond the 9/11 Staff Report on Identity Document SecurityBy Janice L. Kephart
Published 3/28/2007summary -In “Identity and Security: Moving Beyond the 9/11 Staff Report on Identity Document Security,” Janice L. Kephart, former counsel to the 9/11 Commission and president of 9/11 Security Solutions, LLC, discusses the policy backdrop for the legislation that creates minimum standards for state issuance of identity documents known as Real ID, the act’s content, and what is at risk if it fails.
Transportation Security: A Systems ApproachBy Theophilos Gemelas and Captain Mark Johnson, U.S. Coast Guard (ret.)
Published 3/1/2007summary -In “Transportation Security: A Systems Approach,” Theophilos C. Gemelas and Captain Mark Johnson, U.S. Coast Guard, argue that we must view the transportation network as an integrated system that incorporates resources, use of technology, utility of people, and appropriate policies and procedures to manage risk.
 Improving the Visa Waiver ProgramBy Richard Weitz
Published 2/21/2007summary -In “Improving the Visa Waiver Program,” Richard Weitz discusses the program’s advantages and hazards
 A Prescription for Safeguarding Against Terrorist AttackBy George Stungis et al.
Published 2/16/2007summary -George E. Stungis et al. describe a Terrorist Target Selection and Prioritization Model.
 Detection of Chemical and Biological Weapons Using Canines.
By Dawn Rumuly
Published 2/16/2007summary -In “Detection of Chemical and Biological Weapons Using Canines,” dog handler and instructor Dawn Rumuly discusses the role of trained canines in detecting chemical and biological threats. Routine screening by canine teams can minimize threats and harden targets.
Strategic Management Simulations to Prepare for VUCAD TerrorismBy Multiple Authors
Published 6/22/2006summary -In Strategic Management Simulations to Prepare for VUCAD Terrorism, Usha Satish and Siegfried Streufert discuss training that can aid in dealing with unanticipated complex terrorist activities that can create stressful situations involving volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, and delayed feedback and information flow (“VUCAD”).
 Challenges to the UK’s Intelligence ServicesBy Nigel West
Published 6/7/2006summary -In Challenges to the UK’s Intelligence Services, Professor Nigel West of the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies discusses the lessons to be learned and to be acted upon from the 7 July 2005 attacks on the London rapid transit system.
Assessing the Foreign Language Needs of the Department of Homeland Security By Medha Tare
Published 6/1/2006summary -In Assessing the Foreign Language Needs of the Department of Homeland Security: A Government-Wide Effort, Medha Tare says that DHS should put in place a foreign-language system that will grow with the young department rather than wait to address this issue and have it emerge as a weakness.
The 25% Challenge: Speeding Cross-Border Traffic in Southeastern MichiganBy Douglas Doan
Published 4/19/2006summary -The 25% Challenge: Speeding Up Cross-Border Traffic in Southeastern Michigan, by Douglas Doan, describes how a public-private partnership met and exceeded Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge’s goal to reduce cross-border transit times in southeastern Michigan within one year. Doan at the time worked for DHS’s Office of the Private Sector. The bridge and tunnel owners came up with shared metrics and innovative methods to speed crossings without expensive new infrastructure.
Norfolk Southern Rebuilds After KatrinaBy Multiple Contributors
Published 4/4/2006summary -Norfolk Southern Rebuilds After Katrina Hurricane Katrina washed 4.7 miles of track off Norfolk Southern’s Lake Pontchartrain rail viaduct and severely damaged the lakefront trackage. Norfolk Southern’s Chief Engineer–Atlanta, Jeffrey McCracken, described how the railroad restored its line in less than two weeks
 Enhancing Disaster Management Through an All-Hazards Continuity-of-Operations ContinuumBy Rob Propst
Published 3/21/2006summary -At the heart of every enterprise’s efforts lies the ability to sustain operations in all conditions, regardless of the challenges imposed by the environment. Operational continuity is best achieved by applying an eight-step continuum—threat assessment, criticality assessment, vulnerability assessment, risk assessment, planning, training, exercising, and program management leading to mitigation of the negative impacts of wide-ranging hazards (weather, geophysical, accidents, crime, terrorism) through a structured approach that minimizes resource (time, people, money) output and maximizes effective response. The recommended continuum works across all hazards, all actors, and an all-inclusive timeline from pre-incident ramp-up through post-incident response and recovery.
A Duty to EducateBy Multiple Authors
Published 3/7/2006summary -We as a nation have a responsibility to educate and train the next generation of homeland security professionals, say Andy Altizer, Nicole Bradshaw, Peter Courtney, Roby Hill, and Erum Jilani. Some of the current generation of professionals had homeland security responsibilities thrust upon them, but preparedness means professional education for the future.
Terrorism Preparedness Two Years After the Bioterrorism Preparedness Accountability Indicators ProjectBy Multiple Authors
Published 12/7/2005summary -Meredith Gaskins, Peter D. Rumm, Curtis E. Cummings, and Xiaohua Hu look at bioterrorism preparedness surveys and assessments conducted by the government or professional organizations from 2002 through 2004. They note that the surveys commonly found some progress but also deficiencies in training, funding, and isolation procedures.
 Terrorism and Altruism—From Philosophy to Security: Can We Lessen the Danger of Terrorism?By Vladimir Koshkin
Published 11/15/2005summary -Why has terrorism become the most fearful danger for humanity just now? What are the roots of its mass support? What is the terrorists’ weapon that cannot be produced by the humanistic world? Is there any way to resist the terrorism challenge? Professor Vladimir M. Koshkin of Kharkov State University, Ukraine, proffers answers to these questions in his article “Terrorism and Altruism—From Philosophy to Security: Can We Lessen the Danger of Terrorism?”
 Catastrophic Risks, Resource Allocation, and Homeland Security
By Richard Posner
Published 10/26/2005summary -Richard A. Posner - Senior lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School. He was a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 1993 and was chief judge of the court from 1993 to 2000. He has written more than a dozen books. This article is based on two of them: Catastrophe: Risk and Response, chapter 3 (Oxford University Press, 2004), and Preventing Surprise Attacks: Intelligence Reform in the Wake of 9/11, chapter 3 (Hoover Institution and Rowman & Littlefield, 2005).
 Anti-Terrorism Technologies For Homeland UseBy Wendy Howe
Published 5/23/2004summary -In “Getting Anti-Terrorism Technologies Out for Homeland Use—That’s Why It’s Called the SAFETY Act,” Wendy Howe, Acting Director of the SAFETY Act at the Institute for Defense Analyses, provides details on how the application process is working for companies that need liability protection in marketing homeland security.
 Defending the Fleet in HarborBy Steve Dunham
Published 4/20/2004summary -Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, NJ, is studying ways to protect U.S. Navy ships in harbor from attacks by small boats and swimmers.
Training and Planning Prepare the Joint Task Force-Civil Support for EmergenciesBy John Conger
Published 4/1/2004summary -Joint Task Force–Civil Support must plan for and integrate Defense Department domestic support to a lead federal agency for consequence management of an incident involving a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive weapon. Being ready requires specialized training and planning.
Smallpox Strikes Puerto Rico in Bioterrorism Exercise: Lessons Learned From Exercise Blue Advance-02By Joint Center for Lessons Learned
Published 3/20/2004summary -Originally published in the Joint Center for Lessons Learned Bulletin, December 2003. Reprinted with permission of the Joint Center for Lessons Learned and the authors. The articles have been cleared for public release.
 Improving Laboratory Capabilities for Biological Agent IdentificationBy Debra Niemeyer
Published 3/19/2004summary -In “Improving Laboratory Capabilities for Biological Agent Identification,” Lt Col Debra Niemeyer, U.S. Air Force, describes how the Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System exemplifies the new Defense Department approach to acquisition of products and materials. This program constitutes the department’s first effort to develop and field, in large quantities, a common medical test platform that will identify biological warfare agents and pathogens of operational concern.
 Terrorists Are Made, Not BornBy Anthony Stahelski
Published 3/17/2004summary -Sociologists and social psychologists have discovered that terrorist groups use cult-like conditioning techniques to convert normal individuals into remorseless killers. The limited global counterterrorism resources should focus on eradicating the terrorist group training camps where the conditioning takes place, rather than on trying to find terrorists after they have already been conditioned.
 CAPPS II: Red Light, Green Light, or 'Mother, May I?'By Jill Rhodes
Published 3/9/2004summary -CAPPS II can be a viable system if it is developed appropriately. TSA needs to be more transparent with the system and its functioning in order to build the citizen trust that is needed for it to not only be effective, but supported by Congress and the general public. Until this occurs, skepticism will underlie any discussion about its effectiveness in balancing the protection from terrorism with respect for individual liberties.
Wireless Messaging for Homeland SecurityBy Peter Kapsales
Published 3/3/2004summary -Narrowband PCS has demonstrated compelling benefits in terms of functionality, geographic coverage, in-building penetration, and the ability to support reliable delivery in difficult environments. It is positioned to be extremely helpful to emergency personnel for public safety and other homeland security applications through its wireless instant messaging, broadcast messaging, email, and location capabilities. The Nevada Test Site is a successful implementation of narrowband PCS by several government agencies and departments and will serve as the model for future implementations. The inherent strengths of narrowband PCS features and functionality will provide an excellent means of communication as a primary or backup system for emergency personnel and homeland security.
Applying Risk-Based Decision-Making Methods and Tools to U.S. Navy Antiterrorism CapabilitiesBy Charles
Miller
Published 2/1/2004summary -In “Applying Risk-Based Decision-Making Methods and Tools to U.S. Navy Antiterrorism Capabilities,” Charles Mitchell and Chris Decker describe how the Navy is implementing risk-based decision-making methods and tools that are proving effective in the security risk-management field. The examples they give may serve as a model for other organizations wrestling with many of the same issues.
Recurring Pitfalls in Hospital Preparedness and ResponseBy Jeff Rubin
Published 1/1/2004summary -Despite general preparedness requirements within the industry, hospitals typically are a weak link with respect to community disaster preparedness, particularly for those incidents involving contaminated patients. To facilitate hospital and community preparedness, there are some essential needs that require not just a federal but a national approach.
 Cyber Attack: The National Protection Plan and Its Privacy ImplicationsBy Frank Cilluffo
Published 3/22/2003summary -Frank J. Cilluffo is a Senior Policy Analyst and Deputy Director of the Global Organized Crime Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he is also chairing two multi-agency committees on homeland defense. He has coauthored and edited several works, including Global Organized Crime: The New Empire of Evil; Russian Organized Crime; and Cybercrime, Cyberterrorism, Cyberwarfare.
Securing Rail FreightBy Steve Dunham
Published 3/20/2003summary -In “Securing Rail Freight,” ANSER editor and regular Virginia Railway Express (VRE) passenger Steve Dunham looks at the terrorist threats to movement of freight by rail and what the railroads are doing to bolster security.
 Strategies for Countering Terrorism: Lessons from the Israeli ExperienceBy Jonathan Tucker
Published 3/1/2003summary -The United States needs to address the roots of Islamic terrorism, which lie in the chronic lack of political freedom and economic opportunity in the Arab world, while aggressively pursuing those extremists who seek to kill Americans,” writes Jonathan B. Tucker in “Strategies for Countering Terrorism: Lessons from the Israeli Experience,” He says that “Israel’s long experience demonstrates that a variety of policy tools—military, political, economic, and diplomatic—will be required over a protracted period.
 American Deterrence Theory and Homeland DefenseBy George Quester
Published 10/22/2000summary -Most Americans have come to terms with the fact that their homeland has not been physically secure since World War II. The introduction of nuclear weapons, with the airplanes and missiles to deliver them, has meant that our homes and lives could be destroyed within less than an hour of Moscow’s decision to attack.
 Military Support of Civil Authorities—A New Focus for a New MillenniumBy Bruce Lawlor
Published 10/22/2000summary -Joint Task Force Civil Support is the primary command and control headquarters for Department of Defense elements responding to a weapon of mass destruction incident in the United States, its territories, and its possessions. Part of an emerging federal, state, and local parternership, Joint Task Force Civil Support will manage assets of our uniformed services as they respond to requests from communities in need of assistance. As a leader in the planning and development of new doctrine for responding to such events, Joint Task Force Civil Support is at the vanguard of our nation’s consequence-management capability.
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