Homeland Security means more than just preventing terrorism

The traditional media often has the tendency of using the phrase "homeland security" one-dimensionally to refer only to terrorist-related precautions.  But as most Americans would agree, homeland security is about a lot more than just preventing violent extremists from harming our civilians.  To have a truly secure homeland, we need crime-free neighborhoods, we need clean air so we can breathe easier, we need economic stability for the middle class and we also need an efficient emergency response system in place.  Last year, hurricane Katrina taught us that we have a long way to go in terms of preparing for natural disasters.

When it comes to emergency response immediately following disasters, a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) illustrated how we are too one-dimensional in our approach to homeland security.

GovExec.com outlines the new GAO report:

  One of the reports (GAO-06-618)called for greater cooperation among all levels of government when thenext disaster strikes, more thorough testing of operational strategies,and improved and continuous communication from federal entities down.

"Leadership in the form of legal authorities, roles andresponsibilities, and lines of authority at all levels of governmentmust be clearly defined, effectively communicated, and well understoodin order to facilitate rapid and effective decision-making," the reportnoted.

In other words, we need greater communication and transparency so that each agency knows exactly what its role is.  It goes on:

Comptroller General David M. Walker in a Wednesdayevent unveiling the reports criticized DHS' National Response Plan forhandling disasters. He said the guidelines used in the response toHurricane Katrina were geared more toward a terrorist attack than anatural disaster and left states and local entities ill-prepared tomeet their responsibilities. That plan has since been updated, but the changes remain untested, according to GAO's report.

Again, terrorism is not the only part of homeland security.  We need to be ready for natural disasters as well.

The GAO released yet another report -- this time on Katrina -- saying that taxpayer money going to rebuild the Gulf Coast must be accounted for:

  A second report (GAO-06-834)published Wednesday called for better disclosure of federalexpenditures from Katrina. "FEMA does not have a mechanism to report onthe financial activity of the agencies performing work on its behalf,"the report stated.

That report also recommended that theOffice of Management and Budget improve the transparency surroundinghurricane-related funds. GAO reported that $88 billion has beenappropriated to 23 different agencies for recovery efforts, but thereis no centralized database with information on how those funds havebeen spent.

In other words, we have a long way to go in terms of being fully prepared for the next disaster, whenever it happens.  Many Americans would like to see the same amount of energy that is currently being spent on politicizing 9/11 to go towards putting together a national task force of doctors, geologists, scientists and other disaster experts to advise our government how to fulfill its obligation of protecting its citizens when the unthinkable happens.

The USA Today also has an article about the GAO report in Thursday's newspaper.