Thu, Jan 14, 2010
Says Sharing Information Is Critical To National Security
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House
Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to President Barack
Obama detailing the problems with our national security
infrastructure which need to be addressed and reformed following
the terrorist attack on December 25.
“To achieve success in keeping the homeland secure we must
bring to bear sufficient resources and energy to better the
watchlisting process, ensure information sharing and improve
intelligence analysis, and adopt better screening technologies,"
Thompson (pictured) said in releasing the letter. "While no
system can be perfect, we must create a layered security approach
to ensure we have the best infrastructure in place to counter the
threat of terror.”
In the letter, Thompson calls for more cooperation between the
nation's intelligence agencies. "[P]rogress is unlikely if timely
actions are not undertaken by the entire intelligence community,
the Departments of Homeland Security and State and the Congress,"
he wrote. "To achieve success we must bring to bear sufficient
resources and energy to tackle the longstanding and well-understood
stovepipes in information sharing, enhance the watch list process,
and strengthen all layers of our border security, including the
visa-issuance process."
Thompson says there is a need to foster an intelligence
community that considers everyone form CBP officers to Federal Air
Marshals as contributors to the final product, as well as a move
"away from the culture of 'need to know' to a culture of 'need to
share'." He says it is critical that "sound intelligence" be used
when adding names to the no-fly list, and that the process of
reviewing new screening technologies be reformed. On that,
however, he says the President must "continue engaging the American
Public in a national discourse" as a way to "ensure that new
technologies can be effectively deployed."
Thompson closes the letter with a call to fill the vacancies at
the top of Customs and Border Protection, the Office of
Intelligence and Analysis, and TSA. "Swift Senate action on
qualified candidates to fill these posts is essential to ensure
that the lessons we learn from this incident (the Christmas day
bombing attempt) translate into systemic reforms."
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