Specialist in Terrorism and National Security Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division John Rollins mentions that the attack on the U.S. embassy in Yemen might have been an attempt to influence the election.
Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) explains how terrorists have a history of striking at times of governmental transitions (0:31).
According to the Senate Republican Conference, offshore oil drilling will help mend the economy, increase jobs, lower gas prices, and strengthen national security.
“Last year Americans sent more than $700 billion overseas in the form of oil payments, this is the largest wealth transfer in the history of the world,” said Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) during a hearing on domestic energy supplies.
“That is $700 billion in foreign bank accounts that could have been invested in American firms, local communities, and American jobs.”
Associate Director of the Center for Energy Studies at Louisiana State University David E. Dismukes touched upon the potential energy supply, claiming that there are 41 billion barrels of oil and 210 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in the restricted areas of the outer continental shelf.
Environmental concerns were addressed as well. Group Director for Upstream and Industry Operations for the American Petroleum Institute Doug Morris explained,
“The offshore industry today has an outstanding environmental record. According to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, since 1980 offshore operators have produced 4.7 billion barrels of oil and the total spills equal only 0.001 percent of this amount.”
The Internet has evolved into a tool of war.
“The Georgia-Russian conflict, perhaps, that is the first instance of a military action containing a clear cyber component. Denial-of-service attacks were launched by Russia against Georgia,” said Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Paul A. Schneider during a forum on the nation’s cyber security posture.
“There were large swaths of Georgians that could not access any information about what was happening in their country. Government websites were defaced and the delivery of government information was seriously curtailed”.
To meet high-tech threats such as these the DHS has rolled out a series of safety measures called the Cyber Initiative, with the goal of strengthening the security of both federal and private sector networks, operating and defending in real time, and expanding counter intelligence capabilities against foreign governments.
“Intelligence is one of our best preventative tools. I don’t have to go into any detail, you all know the examples…up through World War II with the use of radar. We need to have similar types of tools in order to make better use of intelligence in the cyber domain in order to stop our adversaries before they can launch attacks against us,’ said Schneider.
Another important aspect of the initiative is to create a more centralized manner of dealing with cyber threats. The National Security Cyber Center has been recently created to coordinate protection across the federal networks, including the .mil and .gov domains.
Schneider addressed concerns that the initiative could violate the privacy of citizens.
“If someone is seeking to access our systems and possibly inject some sort of malware it is perfectly within our right to take a closer look and see whether that code poses a threat, just as you would ask a few questions from a stranger who would want to enter your house.”
Democrats criticized the Republicans for being weak on national security at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) forum. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) said the Democrats need to develop more allies than the Bush administration has done. Bayh said that the U.S. needs “other people standing by our side in our national security interests.”
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) said Afghanistan was “strategically, the most important place in the world.” She said that because of its lack of resources and structure, many terrorists have gone there to congregate and regroup. Retired Marine Corps Col. T.X. Hammes said the current U.S. mission in Afghanistan will never be successful until we develop a national security strategy. He also said that an influx of troops will not change the situation there if national security options continue to be “knee-jerk decisions.”
The Bush administration “has failed to lead non-proliferation,” Tauscher continued. There will soon be 500 nuclear power plants, and 40 will be able to make nuclear weapons on short notice, the congresswoman warned.
Reza Aslan, author of the book “No God but God: the Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam,” said that the U.S. is asking “Why do they hate us,” when it should ask, “Who the hell are they?” A feeling has developed in the Middle East that the “war on terror” is a “war on Islam.” He said that U.S. efforts in that region have radicalized the terrorist groups there.
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) says that the “war on terror” not only has human cost, but financial costs as well. (0:38)
Reza Aslan says we need to understand the dynamics of the Middle East much better. (0:34)
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) thinks that national security is linked to many other issues. (0:24)
Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio.) believes that America is at a high national security risk. Voinovich cited that due to high energy costs and relationships with foreign governments America is reliant on countries that wish the Unted States harm. In addition, Voinovich commented that according to the Stanford University Modeling Forum the odds of a foreign oil disruption happening over the next ten years are slightly higher than 80 percent. If global production were reduced by more than 2.1 percent that would have a serious effect on oil prices and our economy. This would be more so than Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (0:49)
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security, Alan Cohn says that the DHS is committed to producing the best researched document to the best of it’s ability. Outside assistance of contractors and private enterprises is helpful to provide an objective review of the Department. Cohn says the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review is a tremendous opportunity and a tremendous challenge. (0:55)
