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Senate Releases Report on Failure to Capture Bin Laden

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations committee has released their report, "Tora Bora Revisted: How We Failed to Get Bin Laden and Why it Matters Today."  According to the executive summary, "The reasons behind the failure to capture or kill Osama binLaden and its lasting consequences are examined over three sections in this report. The first section traces bin Laden’s path from southern Afghanistan to the mountains of Tora Bora and lays out new and previous evidence that he was there. The second explores new information behind the decision not to launch an assault. The final section examines the military options that might have led to his capture or death at Tora Bora and the ongoing impact of the failure to bring him back ‘'dead or alive'.’’

Click here to view the full report.

HHS Will Re-examine its Disaster Preparedness Plan

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today that her department would review its disaster preparedness plan in the wake of difficulties to manufacture and distribute H1N1 vaccine for this year's flu season.

To view the Reuters story, click here.

DHS Unveils Critical Infrastructure Website for the Public

DHS this week unveiled a new website, "Critical Infrastructure Protection," as part of the agency's attempt to raise public awareness of the importance of critical infrastructure and key assets (CIKR).  The page contains links to critical infrastructure protection programs and plans, as well as resources.  The page is geared toward the general public and the familiar layout is the same as other DHS pages.

See the Critical Infrastructure Protection website here.

Federal Judge Rules Corps Responsible for Katrina Flooding

A federal judge this week ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "negligent failure to maintain and operate the MRGO properly was a substantial cause for the fatal breaching of the Reach 2 Levee and the subsequent catastrophic flooding of the St. Bernard Polder. This Court is utterly convinced that the Corps’ failure to provide timely foreshore protection doomed the channel to grow to two to three times its design width and destroyed the banks which would have helped to protect the Reach 2 Levee from front-side wave attack as well as loss of height. In addition, the added width of the channel provided an added fetch which created a more forceful frontal wave attack on the levee.”

The ruling -- if upheld -- is expected to open the door for individuals seeking recompense for flood damages against the federal government.

To read the entire ruling, click here.

Sec. Napolitano on Immigration Reform

DHS Secretary Napolitano spoke Monday at the Center for American Progress, outlining the Obama administration's support for reforming immigration laws and making clear her own commitment to the same.  Napolitano spoke about an approach she called a three-legged stool: "a commitment to serious and effective enforcement, improved legal flows for families and workers, and a firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here."

To access a full transcript of her remarks, click here.  If you'd rather view a video of the speech, you can do so here.

Capacity to Respond to 'Rare Events'

The DOD asked the MITRE Corporation to assess the United States' ability to anticipate and asess the risk of "rare events," which are defined as catastrophic terrorist attacks, including the use of WMDs.  The report points out that the use of predictive models may be of little help, given that the models have not been validated due to the absence of a rare event to evaluate.  The authors also point out that rare event assessment is also a matter of human behavior, which likewise is impossible to accurately model.  Recognizing that their task was very hard, the authors nevertheless offer some suggestions for the way forward.

To read the entire report, click here.

RAND Issues New Report on Cybersecurity

The RAND Corp. has released "Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar," a new look at the protection of cyber infrastructure.  Pointing out that the protection of cyberspace has become a national priority since cyberspace is now the dominant information medium, the report argues that cyberwar and cyber defense are nothing like traditional defense and warfare.  "Cyberspace has its own laws; for instance, it is easy to hide identities and difficult to predict or even understand battle damage, and attacks deplete themselves quickly. The author explores these in detail and uses the results to address such issues as the pros and cons of counterattack, the value of deterrence and vigilance, and other actions the United States and the U.S. Air Force can take to protect itself in the face of deliberate cyberattack."

To read the full report, click here.

INSA Calls for Public-Private Partnership to Address Cyber Security

The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) has just released a white paper on cyber security, "Addressing Cyber Security Through Public-Private Partnership."  The paper proposes that a public-private partnership is the best approach for addressing cyber security issues and examines three existing models as examples of successful partnerships. The paper argues that private industry should set cyber security standards, while the federal government -- led by DHS -- should be responsible for cyber regulation, enforcement of laws, defense against threats, and response to threats.  INSA believes that a public-private partnership for cyber security can be initiated by private industry, presidential initiative, or Congresssional initiative, but stresses that no matter who takes ownership, it is crucial that one entity take ownership now and begin to systematically address the cyber security issue through a partnership comprised of all stakeholders.

To read the entire paper, click here.

DHS Inspector General Releases Report on CBP's Ability to Detect Biological and Chemical Threats in Maritime Cargo Containers

This IG report focuses on CBP's capability to detect and target biological and chemical threats in maritime cargo containers.  The review examines the information, tools and guidance that CBP agents use to examine containers at high risk of holding biological or chemical agents.  The IG asserts that CBP has initiated measures to mitigate the threat of radiological and nuclear threats in maritime cargo, but more is needed to mitigate the threat posed by chemcial and biological dangers.  The IG found that CBP needs new, improved technologies, as well as new procedures and policies for conducting inspections of cargo that might pose chemical and biological threats.

The complete report (with redactions) can be found here on the DHS website.

DOT Releases National Transportation Recovery Strategy

The Department of Transportation has released a National Transportation Recovery Strategy.  According to the document, the strategy is "designed to help transportation industry stakeholders and local, tribal, and State government officials prepare for and manage the transportation recovery process following a major disaster.  The overall goal of this Strategy is to promote a recovery process for transportation networks -- and subsequently of communities in general -- that results in a greater leavel of resilience."

To enhance the strategy, DHS and DOT are working jointly to release products, reports, best practice after-action reports, guidance and planning documents through http://www.dot.gov/disaster_recovery .

To read the entire strategy, click here.