Center of Excellence

By Caitlin Harrington, CQ Staff

Terrorists are increasingly likely to favor weapons of mass destruction, according to a new statistical analysis, and a terrorist attack killing or injuring as many as 10,000 people involving conventional weapons will likely occur by the year 2080.
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By Tim Starks, CQ Staff

DP World’s decision to submit to a new investigation of its takeover of operations at major U.S. ports may have staved off congressional action to block the deal — for now. But some lawmakers said they still believe Congress needs to have the authority to veto the takeover when the investigation is complete.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., helped broker a deal with the United Arab Emirates-controlled company over the weekend in a bid to avoid a showdown that would have pitted most Republicans against their own president. The Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which approved the deal, has agreed to conduct the second-level, 45-day review.
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By Zack Phillips, CQ Staff

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may be filling one of its leadership vacancies with an existing leader. The department will appoint Dr. Jeffrey Runge — currently its Chief Medical Officer — as DHS’ acting undersecretary for Science and Technology, according to a release Monday from Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee. As of press time, DHS officials had not returned calls seeking confirmation of the appointment.
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By Benton Ives-Halperin, CQ Staff

Congress should consider giving the Department of Homeland Security regulatory authority over security at the nation’s chemical plants, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Monday.

“Given that the nation’s chemical facilities pose significant risks and the extent of security preparedness is largely unknown, [new regulatory authority] could help to better protect these facilities against a potential terrorist attack,” wrote government auditors in an 81-page report. The study echoed similar findings from a 2003 GAO report.
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By Eileen Sullivan, CQ Staff

Hurricane Katrina was the National Response Plan’s first major test, and it failed, lawmakers and officials have said.

But before Katrina and the National Response Plan (NRP), there was Hurricane Andrew and the Federal Response Plan. Andrew was that plan’s first test in 1992, and many at the time said it failed as well.
It’s been 14 years and dozens of disasters since Andrew, and the administration again plans to tweak the country’s blueprint for disaster response.
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By Benton Ives-Halperin, CQ Staff

The Department of Homeland Security is readying a contract potentially worth more than $1 billion for a nuclear screening system for cargo containers, according to a solicitation posted this week.

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) — the part of DHS responsible for detecting illicit nuclear material — put out a formal solicitation for a contract to build a Cargo Advanced Automated Radiography System (CAARS). The project could take as long as seven years and the amount awarded could exceed $1.3 billion, according to DHS.
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By Benton Ives-Halperin, CQ Staff

The Department of Homeland Security is readying a contract potentially worth more than $1 billion for a nuclear screening system for cargo containers, according to a solicitation posted this week.

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) — the part of DHS responsible for detecting illicit nuclear material — put out a formal solicitation for a contract to build a Cargo Advanced Automated Radiography System (CAARS). The project could take as long as seven years and the amount awarded could exceed $1.3 billion, according to DHS.
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By Tim Starks, CQ Staff

A business deal granting operational control of terminals at six U.S. ports to a United Arab Emirates company last week sparked a contentious debate, exacerbated by post-Sept. 11 concerns, over what role national security should play in commercial decisions.

In this case, the fight deepened a fissure between Bush and lawmakers from his own party, who sought to distance themselves from the administration’s decision to approve the transfer of management at the ports to Dubai-owned DP World, in a move that would make it the third-largest global operator of cargo container terminals.
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By Jeff Stein, CQ Staff

I got access to a computer at FBI headquarters this week and took the opportunity to see what they had on me. A lot, as it turned out. Up popped my name in an investigation of Scott Ritter, the former top Iraq arms inspector turned administration critic. I’d interviewed him on the telephone several times in the late 1990s.

Scrolling down, I also saw a note on my 1972 membership in a group of graduate students and faculty who wrote scholarly articles against the war in Vietnam, evidently related to an investigation of Jane Fonda. There were also excerpts of articles I’d written over the years that mentioned bombings and the FBI.

And there were what looked like my bank transactions, past addresses and telephone numbers.
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Cases in U.S. Poultry Could Result in Significant Economic Disruption

Boston, MA — The latest national poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Project on the Public and Biological Security finds that at the moment, the majority of the American public is concerned about the threat of avian flu, but only a small proportion is very concerned. However, should cases of avian flu emerge in poultry or humans in this country, the public reaction could lead to significant disruption of the economy and the health care system.
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Cases in U.S. Poultry Could Result in Significant Economic Disruption

Boston, MA — The latest national poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) Project on the Public and Biological Security finds that at the moment, the majority of the American public is concerned about the threat of avian flu, but only a small proportion is very concerned. However, should cases of avian flu emerge in poultry or humans in this country, the public reaction could lead to significant disruption of the economy and the health care system.
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