A Call to Service: on Homeland Security

The New War: We are no longer safe at home

The proliferation of international criminal gangs and narco-terrorists in the 1990's-a subject I wrote about I my 1997 book, The New War, was a warning that we were no longer safe at home from the dark underside of a global society. Any lingering doubt about that reality was dramatically dispelled on 9/11.

Modernize the Middle East to prevent future terrorism

There are no full-fledged democracies among the 16 Arab states of the Middle East and North Africa. More than half of Arab women are still illiterate. These countries are among the most economically isolated in the world, with very little trade & investment and little income apart from the oil royalties. With a landscape marked by political oppression, economic stagnation, staggering unemployment, lack of education, poverty, and rapid population growth, is it any wonder these Islamic countries are recruiting grounds for terrorists?

We need more than a one-dimensional war on terror. We must engage in a smarter, more comprehensive, and more farsighted strategy for modernizing the greater Middle East. It's no more ambitious-and no less necessary-a task than the rebuilding of Europe that we undertook at the end of World War II.

Invest billions to secure loose nukes abroad

Instead the Bush administration tried to slash federal funding for these Nunn-Lugar initiatives the moment it took office, an effort it continued well after 9/11 starkly illustrated the potential costs of letting terrorists get control of weapons of mass destruction. More recently the administration has offered more support for Nunn-Lugar initiatives, but we must match that with broader, multilateral framework for identifying & securing nuclear materials wherever they may be and in whatever quantity. As Nunn and Lugar have long argued, we must help those in possession of deadly materials who lack the financial and technical means to control them to become responsible stewards under international supervision.

Focus on first responders instead of duct tape

I've proposed a First Defenders Initiative to help both firefighters and police staff up against crime and terrorism and give homeland security forces the same degree of support we've given our armed forces overseas. This initiative includes efforts to bring 21st century technology to the war on terror so that first defenders can communicate and share lifesaving information.