Says Sharing Information Is Critical To National Security

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to President Barack Obama detailing the problems with our national security infrastructure which need to be addressed and reformed following the terrorist attack on December 25.

“To achieve success in keeping the homeland secure we must bring to bear sufficient resources and energy to better the watchlisting process, ensure information sharing and improve intelligence analysis, and adopt better screening technologies," Thompson (pictured) said in releasing the letter. "While no system can be perfect, we must create a layered security approach to ensure we have the best infrastructure in place to counter the threat of terror.”

In the letter, Thompson calls for more cooperation between the nation's intelligence agencies. "[P]rogress is unlikely if timely actions are not undertaken by the entire intelligence community, the Departments of Homeland Security and State and the Congress," he wrote. "To achieve success we must bring to bear sufficient resources and energy to tackle the longstanding and well-understood stovepipes in information sharing, enhance the watch list process, and strengthen all layers of our border security, including the visa-issuance process."

Thompson says there is a need to foster an intelligence community that considers everyone form CBP officers to Federal Air Marshals as contributors to the final product, as well as a move "away from the culture of 'need to know' to a culture of 'need to share'." He says it is critical that "sound intelligence" be used when adding names to the no-fly list, and that the process of reviewing new screening technologies be reformed.  On that, however, he says the President must "continue engaging the American Public in a national discourse" as a way to "ensure that new technologies can be effectively deployed."

Thompson closes the letter with a call to fill the vacancies at the top of Customs and Border Protection, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and TSA. "Swift Senate action on qualified candidates to fill these posts is essential to ensure that the lessons we learn from this incident (the Christmas day bombing attempt) translate into systemic reforms."

FMI: http://homeland.house.gov