Tala Dowlatshahi interviews Vanessa Cardenas

Tala Dowlatshahi Interviews Vanessa Cardenas, Director of Ethic Media for the Center for American Progress, January 19th, 2009 (05:57).

Communication key to security

In a discussion at the Center for American Progress (CAP), Former Director of the New York City Department of Emergency Management Jerome Hauer said there is "a loss of credibility" at the Department of Homeland Security. He said that the Bush administration has tried to "distract the public" on homeland security while not basing their warnings on solid evidence. Hauer said the American public does not like getting security warnings "on a regular basis," and the next administration cannot look like they are "crying wolf."


Former Assistant to President Bush on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Frances Townsend said that while the Bush administration struggled to communicate security issues, there is "no playbook to play off of." She said that communication has to be improved at "a grassroots level." Townsend said the next administration should form a communications plan quickly.

Director of Homeland Security at the CAP Action Fund P.J. Crowley said Al Qaeda has "the capability and the intent" to attack the U.S. on a big scale. He also criticized the Bush administration saying that while we lost up to $200 billion in the September 11 attack, we will spend over $1 trillion in our response. Director of the CAP Homeland Security Presidential Transition Initiative Michael Signer warned the public and the next administration saying "the threat level will likely be elevated during the new president's first year."

If you are not outraged, you're not paying attention.

State Senator Jonathan Harris (D-Conn.), chairman of the Human Services Committee, said that two factors contributed to his state taking action in the "fight" against poverty: moral outrage and fiscal necessity.

At a discussion at the Center for American Progress (CAP) on "Tackling Poverty: The Role of State and Local Governments." Harris about the increasing poverty problem in his home state of Connecticut. Harris explained that even though Connecticut is the wealthiest state in the U.S., poverty rates, especially child poverty, have been high and continue to increase.

Harris created a Child Poverty Council to report annually on strategies and gains in child poverty reduction, and enacted legislation requiring the reduction of child poverty by 50 percent by 2014, or within 10 years. Harris also helped develop a community-state plan to embed proven strategies with an "untapped federal funding stream" from the Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) 50-50 match program, which strives to bring community and state together to reduce child and family poverty.

Joy Moses of the Half in Ten Campaign and policy analyst at the Poverty Program at the CAP Action Fund, talked about both organizations and their roles in fighting poverty. She explained that the most recent report set a national goal of cutting poverty in half within ten years and gave twelve policy recommendations on how to achieve this goal. Four of these twelve recommendations were proven to be successful: income tax credit, child tax credit, child care, and minimum wage.

Susan Golonka, program director of the Human Services Social, Economic, and Workforce Programs Division of the National Governors Association, said that states are finally using the word "poverty," and different commissions have been created around the world to help in solving the poverty problem. Golonka explained that the newest effort, the Governors Summit on Poverty, works to educate new leaders on the poverty issue while formulating state-wide comprehensive plans to reduce poverty through public-private partnerships.

Military going soft

Panelists discussed “Humanity as a Weapon of War,” a new report on the military's role in humanitarian assistance written by Reuben Brigerty, at the Center of American Progress. Brigerty, Director of the Sustainable Security Program at CAP, said decisions being made at the Pentagon suggest the military is realizing that force alone is not an effective strategy in warfare.

Brigerty said his paper outlines the US military’s shift from a direct line of approach in times of conflict, a “kill or capture” technique, to a softer approach that recognizes the causes of insurgencies and works to alleviate them. He said the Department of Defense is beginning to see that humanitarian efforts are not only moral undertakings, but also national security operations. According to Brigerty, the US military benefits from humanitarian ventures by showing American goodwill to skeptical populations and by planting people in the field that can observe local sentiment. He also said the US public must realize, despite written evidence, that US security interests rely on diplomacy and the military equally.

Elisabeth Kvitashvili, deputy assistant administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development, expressed discomfort with the military’s role in humanitarian efforts. She said USAID has called upon the military in the past to assist in a supportive role and added that civilian agencies like USAID and the Department of State should continue to lead development efforts. Kvitashvili said workers at the DoS and USAID have been trained development methods and that large-scale military participation in humanitarian assistance may cause recipients of aid to doubt the neutrality of non-military organizations.

Uniting the United States

Between cheers of support, former Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) discussed ways to end poverty in the United States at the Campus Progress of the Center for American Progress Convention in Washington. Edwards urged college students in attendance to lead the fight against “America’s great moral shame,” 37 million Americans living in poverty, and to fight against President Bush’s “war on work.”

Edwards cited past efforts by Presidents F. Roosevelt and Johnson that helped to alleviate poverty, adding that the United States has failed to focus on poverty as a major issue for 40 years. He recommended fixing economic shortfalls by raising the minimum wage, increasing tax breaks, and restoring child tax credits to all taxpayers. Edwards said Americans should no longer tolerate hungry children, inadequate public education, lack of healthcare availability, and veteran suicide rates.

To involve students more in the fight against poverty, Edwards encouraged convention goers to become involved in Half in Ten, Edwards’s campaign dedicated to reducing poverty levels by half in ten years. Edwards told students not to sit on the sidelines and become active in helping those most in need.

Edwards also told students that youth movements have historically brought social change and encouraged youth to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and unite the country for change. He said the “two Americas” divide is growing and that the indifferences associated with it are turning into the status quo.