Volume 1, Issue 4

If suicide bombing campaigns begin in America, U.S. law enforcement will be faced with a pressing need: development of effective preventive policies to stop suicide attacks before they can occur. Potential components of a policy are developed here by examining the general incidence of suicide bombings, exploring the political economy and sociology of the suicide bombing infrastructure, and recognizing the possible reasons why other than the 9-11 attacks there has been no other sustained campaign of suicide tactics occurring in the U.S. From this, six possible components of effective local policies might include (a) consideration of the basic information needed to prevent suicide bombing attacks; (b) modifications to protocols and procedures used currently in bombing situations; (c) use of deadly force policies; (d) profiling strategies; (e) the use of advanced technologies; and (f) target hardening practices. The alternative is trial by death--on-the-job training in response to future attacks.

Coupled with the improved economic efficiency that information technology (IT) has generated are the adverse national impacts. A markedly increased reliance on IT and on the Internet has increased the complexity of our information systems because of the added interconnectedness and interdependencies between and among the infrastructures. This reliance has reduced the operational buffer zone in most infrastructures because of the ever-increasing adherence to the “just-in-time” philosophy as a vehicle for cost reduction and efficient operation, and it has enhanced accessibility of would-be terrorists to our telecommunications, defense, banking and financial institutions, as well as to other critical infrastructures.When the operability of IT-based controls and equipment is affected by acts of terrorism, then the performance of critical interdependent infrastructures such as railroads, electric power grids, or oil and gas pipelines is profoundly affected. Such information technology includes supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, the global positioning system (GPS), and satellites.A detailed discussion is presented on the SCADA system and its use by railways. Hierarchical holographic modeling (HHM) and control objectives for information and related technology (CobiT) are introduced and used to identify sources of risk to SCADA systems in the railroad sector. The vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks of IT, SCADA, GPS, and satellites are explored. The risk assessment and risk management process is demonstrated on a railway system. In quantifying the probability of an attack, the intent and capabilities of terrorists are used as surrogates. The following terms are defined: vulnerability, threat, risk, intent, and capability.Given the growing interdependency among our critical infrastructures and sectors of the economy, increasing Internet capability and user reliance on it, and on commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) products, SCADA, geographical positioning systems (GPS), and satellites systems, the trade-offs between efficiency (reliance on technology) and reliability, availability, and security may have to be reevaluated, and appropriate risk assessment and management strategies must be developed.

The threat of bioterrorism has led to a reinvestment in public health, but not necessarily in a manner that ensures efficient, reliable and cost-effective improvement in services. Public health officials fear that homeland security is distorting the priorities of public health and diverting resources from the essential work they are already doing. They fear that homeland security requirements may have erosive effects on confidentiality and in compromising their core mission of health promotion and disease prevention. Specific issues include cutbacks in promised support, diversion of funding to single-purpose projects, concerns over maintaining confidentiality of client services, abuse of the extensive police powers given by state legislation to public health authorities, and lack of integration with existing public health systems. The reasons for these concerns are deeply rooted in the history of public health, in which the legal authority of health agencies included police powers and even detention. Public health leaders would prefer a policy of “dual use” or “dual benefit” in which capacity is added to enhance the operation of the public health system in general while adding new capability in emergency response. Such a policy would ensure benefit from the investment even if no bioterrorism event ever occurred locally and would enhance the reliability of the system. For example, a single-purpose surveillance program for bioterrorism is likely to have an unacceptably a high risk of failure and unreliability in a bioterrorism event if it is not regularly tested by the type of outbreak that occurs many times a week in every metropolitan health department. A small but articulate group of public health leaders, led by Victor W. Sidel, have even questioned the ethics of collaboration between public health and police or intelligence services. This article suggests that such cooperation is actually necessary and recommends advance guidelines and policies, legal clarification, combined multidisciplinary training, and mutual trust and understanding among public health, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals, in order to protect the integrity of essential services and the valid concerns of the public health system.

Homeland security has become a national priority, with programs at the national, state, and local levels being pursued to increase the safety and security of U.S. communities. This article describes issues of volunteerism and mechanisms for involvement, using the case example of the AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) program. Based on research carried out by Westat on the behalf of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the study suggested that avenues for harnessing volunteers effectively may exist, and that programs such as the AmeriCorps*NCCC are well positioned to leverage existing community efforts. Further, these programs can make significant contributions to homeland security activities in American communities. Most notably, AmeriCorps*NCCC appears to have the ability to help communities “jump-start” disaster preparedness efforts and begin to make them safer and better prepared for both natural and human-induced disasters. Further research, however, is needed to assess the longer term efficacy of these preparedness efforts.

This article examines chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological, and explosives (CBNRE) preparedness exercises in the United States. The paper argues that not only are preparedness exercises designed to test for weaknesses in the internal security and public health apparatus, but are also explicitly designed forms of information warfare and perception management that are targeted at both reassuring the population of the ability of the state to respond to weapons of mass destruction incidents, and to communicate a message of deterrence to potential enemies, be they domestic or transnational terrorist networks, criminal organizations or states. The paper locates the current counterterror and homeland security mobilization in a broader historical context by comparing current preparedness exercises and guidelines to civil defense exercises and guidelines of the Second World War and Cold War. In the paper we utilize the Darkwinter and TOPOFF (Top Officials) 1 and 2 preparedness exercises that have taken place in the last several years as case studies. We examine: 1) the discourse used by the planners and participants in these exercises at both the federal, state and local levels; and 2) media coverage of these exercises. The case studies are designed to answer the question included in the title of the paper; do these exercises demonstrate prudence or panic? Are the exercises necessary tests of the capacity of internal security apparatus and public health system to cope with imagined scenarios that are likely to occur? Or are the exercises staged events and perception management that are largely ineffective at either testing the capacity of the government to respond to such threat, assuring the general public and participants in the exercises, and communicating a message that will deter potential enemies?

This article addresses critical infrastructure protection and homeland security, to include issues concerning information sharing, public policy considerations, cyber security, and corporate responsibility.

Asia Stages a Dismal Response to Bird Flu Virus: An Emergency Management Diagnosis

Managing the homeland security mission is a critical, but complicated task. Due to the ever-changing nature of terrorist threats, the homeland security mission will remain one of the country’s most difficult endeavors. The challenges to the successful implementation and integration of homeland security goals are considerable. This article addresses three of those challenges and analyzes how to improve the quality of homeland security at the federal, state, and local levels. The three challenges explored here include: The challenge of improving coordination and communication between agencies responsible for collecting, evaluation, and disseminating intelligence information; the challenge of structuring a workforce capable of carrying out the homeland security function; and the challenge of achieving preparedness at the state and local levels and integration of federal, state, and local homeland security efforts.

Terrorist activity has the potential to cause mass casualties. The number of victims often overwhelms the ability of local jurisdictions to identify the causalities in an accurate and timely fashion. Most identifications are usually made through the comparison of ante mortem dental records with post mortem radiographic and clinical findings. Conventional radiographic procedures using film and processing solutions are time consuming and fraught with complications. This paper presents a relatively new technology called Digital Radiography. It reviews the science behind the technology, its use in previous mass disaster incidents and its potential to increase the speed and accuracy of the identification process in the future.

William Nicholson has created a unique textbook for professors of law, law students, and practicing attorneys continuing their legal education. This textbook presents emergency response and management case law, as well as supplemental information on FEMA, the Federal Response Plan, and the attorney’s role in emergency management, to name a few. H. Joseph Flynn takes a closer examination of Emergency Response and Emergency Management Law: Cases and Materials in this review.

Ugo Morelli examines the agenda and research plans for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) as presented in Preventing Earthquake Disasters - The Grand Challenge in Earthquake Engineering. The NEES report opens with a discussion of seismic hazards and a review of major achievements in earthquake engineering. It then discusses seven areas of earthquake studies, outlining important research challenges in each area and how to meet those challenges. The seven areas are: seismology, tsunamis, geotechnical engineering, buildings, lifelines (e.g., pipelines, bridges), risk assessment, and public policy.

Healthcare leaders today must assume new responsibilities and roles in order to address the threat of terrorism. Terrorism and Disaster Management: Preparing Healthcare Leaders for the New Reality, edited by K. Joanne McGlown, examines these expanded responsibilities. Some of the issues challenging healthcare workers that McGlown addresses include: the role of healthcare institutions in emergency planning and response; the infrastructure, standards and guidelines for managing disasters; and command structures.

System Under Stress: Homeland Security and American Politics by Donal F. Kettl examines the development of homeland security policy and administration. Creation of the Department of Homeland Security has brought together disparate fields with a new common goal. Kettl synthesizes policy from these fields while examining how federal, state, and local government officials responded to the 9/11 disaster and the anthrax letter incident.