Enough time has passed to identify some important, early lessons from the tragic events surrounding the bombing of the Boston Marathon. Here are a few things that, even now, are evident: Practice does make perfect. The response to the Boston tragedy was exemplary. First responders were able to effectively and …
The Pentagon announced this week that those service members who had been wounded during the deadly attack at Fort Hood, Texas, perpetrated by Major Nidal Hassan would not be considered eligible for the Purple Heart medal. This is a wrong-headed decision. The Purple Heart, one of America’s oldest military awards, …
On March 12 the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) released a report on the “Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community.” The report stated the following: Senior personnel losses in 2012, amplifying losses and setbacks since 2008, have degraded core al-Qa’ida…. However, the group has held essentially the same …
At the end of February, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) certified that another six states are REAL ID compliant. Nearly eight years after Congress first passed the REAL ID Act—which calls on the states to implement minimum security standards in issuing driver’s licenses and state IDs—progress is finally being …
Three individuals are currently under arrest in Malaysia for their alleged involvement in terrorist recruitment. Two of the individuals were charged with planning acts of terrorism that would have affected Syria. One of the suspects, Yazid Sufaat, was previously a high-profile individual arrested for his purported involvement in chemical and …
Lost amid the scuffle of fiscal cliff negotiations and holiday preparations was the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) December 20 statement confirming that only 13 states were deemed REAL ID compliant and that the remaining states would receive another extension. Unfortunately, that means DHS isn’t sure whether 37 states are …
Yesterday marked the 11-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, which was launched just three and a half weeks after the 9/11 attacks. Recently, U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan reached the 2,000 mark. These markers—combined with the horror of “insider attacks” by Afghan soldiers against allied fighters—beg an accounting …
