On October 9, 2006 in open defiance of previous United Nations Security Council resolutions conducted its first nuclear weapons test. On October 14th. the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1718 in response. This resolution called for a range of sanctions against North Korea. Less than a month earlier the U. S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issued a report entitled Recognizing North Korea as a Strategic Threat: An Intelligence Challenge for the United States to assess the threat. But does the UN's latest resolution make the United States, or any other part of the world safer ? Using the House Committee Report as a guide, I want to take a look at that question.

THREAT: Conventional Military

North Korea has an active duty military of over 1.2 million people, with 5 million more in reserve. The Resolution 1718 does forbid the sale of tanks and other heavy military goods to the North Koreans. So there is some help here if the sanctions can be effectively enforced, and this is a big if.

THREAT: Nuclear Weapons Program

This is the big one ! The Resolution 1718 was enacted specifically to counter this threat. Even if the resolution makes us safer in some ways, yet this threat continues the resolution will have failed. Sanctions passed include a ban on trade with North Korea in any materials, services, expertise than can be used to make a nuclear weapon. All nations are also required to ban travel by, and freeze financial assets of anyone connected to North Korea's nuclear program. However as in the above example, it remains to be seen if the sanctions can be effectively enforced.

THREAT:Chemical and Biological Weapons

Sanctions are also included in the resolution to counter this threat, particularly if delivered by ballistic missile. If anything the chemical and biological threat from North Korea is believed to be bigger than the nuclear one. Here too enforcement will be the key. Even though the resolution calls on all nations to board and inspect all ships entering or leaving North Korea, its a big ocean !

THREAT: North Korea as a Criminal Enterprise

The House report identifies North Korea as the only nation/state that could also be regarded as an ongoing criminal enterprise. There is wide evidence of their involvement in counterfeiting ( They are by far the world's largest source of so called "supernotes".) This alone puts the financial sector of every country in the world in danger. They are also believed to have been involved in kidnapping, and narcotics for many years. The resolution at best touches on the edge of these threats. While we are boarding ships looking for baned items we might accidentally stumble on something. However I don't find "might accidentally" very reassuring.

THREAT: North Korea as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

The United States State Department has listed North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism for many years. The House report does not address this issue as a separate item. There is also little in the latest U.N. resolution that might counter this threat. To be fair Resolution 1718 is narrowly focused on the nuclear threat, and the Security Council was not asked to address any other threat formally. Its worth noting that terrorism is not likely to be conducted by the North Korean government directly.
This threat is probably conducted through various surrogate organizations. North Korea's role is in providing financial and other assistance to these surrogate groups. In my view this may well be the biggest threat to the U.S. homeland. Terrorist delivery of a nuclear device, as opposed to delivery by ballistic missile is more likely. It is also more in line with the size and weight of the device they are believed to have developed. There is little or no help in the resolution on this threat.

ARE WE SAFER ?

The North Koreans through their United Nations Ambassador immediately Resolution 1718. In fact their representative stormed out of the Security Council Chamber in protest. The success of most of the sanctions we were able to get through the Security Council are heavily dependent on the reluctant cooperation of nations such as Russia, and China. Success of the sanctions are also dependent on our ability to enforce them. Enforcement will take place from afar, including on the high seas. This will make enforcement challenging ! Personally I feel the increase in world peace, and safety will be minimal at best. In the worst case the sanctions will cause the North Korean government to fail, completely destabilizing an already fragile country. If this happens nobody really knows what will happen. If anything is scarier than North Korea with a nuclear device, its the thought of nobody knowing the location or having control over the nuclear devices the former North Korea used to have. The October 14th resolution may have a small positive effect. However North Korea is one of the biggest reasons this is a dangerous world, and this resolution by itself is too weak to change that.

Earlier today President George Bush Signed the Safe Port Act into law. During his remarks about the act he said "Protecting our homeland also requires protecting our seaports. Our seaports are a gateway to commerce, a source of opportunity, and a provider of jobs. Our ports could also be a target of a terrorist attack, and we're determined to protect them."

The act contains contains provisions authorizing the use of high tech tools to protect our ports from radiation threats. This technology which still is in development is required by the act to be deployed in our 22 busiest ports by the end of next year.

The act also makes the Safe Container Initiative law. it is this initiative which has deployed inspectors to ports worldwide, where they examine containers before they are ever loaded on ship.

Under the act the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism also becomes law. This program includes incentives to private shippers to improve their own physical security. Among these incentives is expedited clearance through customs for participating cargo.

The act also provides additional authority for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. The mission of this agency is to guard against terrorists smuggling nuclear weapons into the U.S.

MY OWN COMMENTS

I think that the Safe Ports Act is a big step in the right direction. However my biggest concern is some of its potentially useful provisions depend on technology that still must be developed. Congress' timetable for using yet to be developed technology to increase radiological protection in our 22 busiest ports for instance may be too ambitious. Still even if they don't make year end '07, if you don't start you don't finish.

I live and work near one of our nation's largest ports. Without question we must protect the largest and most vulnerable first. However we cannot completely neglect those measures which protect all of our over 300 ports. I think this act strikes a good balance between the two, but more needs to be done.

I also don't want protection of our ports to fall victim to the same kind of thinking that hit our intelligence community prior to 9/11. Many believe that one of our biggest problems prior to the WTC attacks is that our intelligence community had come to rely too much on technology instead of what are referred to as "human assets." The brave men and women on the front lines of homeland security need more than the latest high tech toys. They need additional eyes, ears, hands, and feet. They do need the technology, and we should get it to them as quickly as possible, but we also need to get them the additional bodies.

One of the few things I know for sure in homeland security is there will never be enough money, and other resources to do everything we should. Our nation's security depends on us to choose our priorities carefully, and yet strike a reasonable balance between competing demands.

Yesterday Rep. Peter T. King, chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee released the report of their investigation into funding in the aftermath of 9/11.view report The investigation lasted for 6 months, and included three full hearings. The investigation was conducted by the Subcommittee of Management Integration and Oversight chaired by Alabama Republican Mike Rogers. The subcommittee reviewed records and testimony of senior federal officials, sate and city development agencies, private integrity monitors, and federal and local prosecutors among others.

Speaking of the report's findings King said, "If agencies responding to Hurricane Katrina had implemented lessons learned from New York's experience, we could have prevented the loss of tens of millions-possibly hundreds of millions-of taxpayer dollars."

The committee identified 5 "major systemic problems" associated with funding the relief effort.

1) Lack of information sharing and cooperation.
2) Inadequate verification prior to disbursing funds.
3) duplicate payments
4) Relaxed or ineffective controls
5) Weak oversight of procurement

They also identified ten best practices that they encourage the use of in the future.

1) Private integrity monitors.
2) Database searches to screen contractors.
3) Mandatory regular audits.
4) Dedicated Temporary Oversight Office.
5) Full-time independent oversight agency which prevents fraud.
6) Temporary fraud prevention task force.
7) Fraud awareness training.
8) Fraud tip lines.
9) Controlled access to disaster sites.
10) Contractor employee screening

MY OWN OBSERVATIONS

I have not yet had the chance to pour over every detail of the report. However some things are already starting to leap out at me.

In our haste to assist lives and property, we cannot forget the basics. Do we really need to be told to control access to our disaster sites ? This is particularly true of terrorist incidents, which of course are also crime scenes. Even if they weren't crime scenes, only by controlling access can we prevent additional people from becoming victims.

We must prepare, prepare, prepare and do so in advance.We can't wait until an incident has occurred to screen contractors and their employees for example. This would only needlessly delay response. Standby contracts need to be in place. People with specialized expertise like accounting (fraud prevention) will be much easier to find pre-incident than during. If they are in place pre-incident,that can also put the needed financial controls in place in advance.

Train wide and often ! I note that one of the best practices mentioned is fraud prevention training. We in the homeland security and emergency management communities are not stupid. We know that fraud and waste have been part of every large disaster response, and many smaller ones. Why isn't training aimed at keeping this to a minimum part of our regular training rotation ? Are their other topics that come up during the response phase that get put on the back burner until the next incident reminds us of their importance ?

We need to communicate and cooperate better ! We have to get serious about NIMS and ICS and other methods designed to integrate the agencies and jurisdictions involved in an incident. We also have to quit playing lip service to communications interoperability. Lives depend on our ability to talk agency to agency, jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I have listened to first responders ask for this since the eighties. We need to make it happen !

We in the homeland security/emergency management communities have a bad habit of repeating the same mistakes. We need to make beter use of best practices, and lessons learned documents. New online tools are increasingly making this easier. We need to use them, and learn from each other. Together the first responders of this country make up an incredible critical mass of knowledge and experience. Let's learn to share !

Homeland Security and the military are somewhat related. When the military opens a new unit it is said to have "stood up." Homeland Security HQ has now stood up and is open for business.

In this blog I will post not only training/educational articles, as well as discuss current issues (political and otherwise) which affect Homeland Security in the United States. Anyone, anywhere in the world interested in this topic is invited to visit often, and participate.

Posting will vary, but I hope to have at least a couple of new items each week.

Welcome
Robert A. Crutchfield
Admiral, Texas Navy (honorary)
Editor, Homeland Security HQ