Chertoff addresses power of judges at home and abroad

With increasing economic regulation and new national security challenges against terrorism, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said judges will be treading into an area of decision making with little precedence. At the 2008 National Lawyers Convention by the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy, Chertoff (who is not a member of the Federalist Society) said “with the emerging issues in national security, both domestically and over seas, the question of the judge’s proper role is once again going to come to the floor,” Chertoff said.

Judicial modesty, or restrictions on the ‘judicial creativity and manipulation’ of lawyers and judges, should be a “transparent, open, and objective process” said Chertoff. He added that partisanship should be subordinate to judicial modesty, even if it means passing law against one’s subjective interpretation of the law.

Chertoff described four problems that will arise from lack of judicial modesty: 1.) Private interpretation of an objective law, 2.) Deficient separation of power, 3.) Lawmakers’ skill sets aren’t adequate for all areas, and do not always have complete information (i.e. in the case of military strategy), 4.) Accepting rulings as authoritative and correct without legitimacy.

How America defends itself

General Victor E. Renuart, Jr., gave a speech at the Brookings Institute about how the United States has restructured its homeland security and defense system for the 21st century. General Renuart is the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, and the United States Northern Command, or NORTHCOM.

Both NORAD and NORTHCOM work to establish a unity of command for homeland defense. NORAD is a joint organization with Canada that monitors the airspace in North America. NORTHCOM monitors the domains of sea, land, air, space, and cyberspace in North America and works with 50 states and 60 federal agencies to enforce homeland security.

NORTHCOM was created after 9/11, and works not only to protect and defend North America from foreign attacks, but also to respond to domestic crises such as fires and hurricanes. NORTHCOM also works with Mexico in helping to combat narco-terrorism. We don’t just command and control, said General Renuart, “we also collaborate and communicate...with multiple services and with the National Guard Bureau.”

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."

Terrorists may target transition

As the Bush administration reaches its final days the U.S. will be faced with its first presidential transition since Sept. 11. This period will come with a supposed great deal of risk.

“History-- including the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the October 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, as well as more recent attacks in Madrid, London, and Glasgow-- suggests that terrorists may target the times shortly before and after governmental transitions,” said Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) during a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s post-election plans.

There has been concerns over whether DHS is ready to meet these risks. DHS has been marred with a high turnover rates and numerous vacancies in executive positions and have faced numerous accusations of mismanagement.

However DHS has taken a series of steps to prepare, including a the security clearances for members of the next administration, performing a number of training exercises, and hiring more executive staff.

“We have been able to reduce our vacancy rate from about 20 percent...to about 13 percent. We have another 35 selections pending so with that...we’ll have our vacancy rate under 10 percent for the first time,” said DHS Undersecretary for Management Elaine C. Duke.

Specialist in Terrorism and National Security Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division John Rollins explained that the proximity of the transitional period may have already sparked a terrorist attack.

“Some national security observers suggest that the attacks that took place in Yemen yesterday may have been taken with the desire to seize the U.S. embassy, thus creating a protracted situation that could influence the U.S. election.”

Homeland Security's $15 billion dollar problem

"A casual look at some of the Department's efforts lead to disturbing findings," said Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MI) during a house committee meeting on the mismanagement of the Department of Homeland Security.

"Five-million-dollar- a-mile for a fence...cards that can't be read; ships that don't fit into ports; formaldehyde laced trailers that make occupants sick, and an information sharing program that law enforcement personnel do not want to use."

Thompson explained that the combined total of these, and other, failed projects reached almost $15 billon.


Deputy Chief of Procurement Officer Richard K. Gunderson and Deputy Inspector General James L. Taylor appeared before the committee to defend DHS, explaining that the department had gone through one of the largest reorganizations in government history and was still evolving and dealing with problems as they came up.

In regards to the claims of wasteful spending, Gunderson countered, "A lot of times these contracts have dealt with what I call pre-production environments, where we're dealing with a lot of design and development, and testing. And we're qualifying things before we move out into production. I think it's the same thing you would find at DoD."

However there has been doubts whether or not DHS have been fixing the mistakes they've encountered.

"There haven't been changes in our recommendations in the areas that we have discussed to date," said Directory of Acquisition and Sourcing Management for the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

"I think that the fact that process has been in revision since 2005 raises questions about if there are serious impediments that are keeping us from making this process a little healthier than not... I guess I'm hoping we start seeing a little more closure on some of these activities."