Obama Sets Homeland Security Priorities

Senator Obama seen at a July 16 Purdue University roundtable on new threats.

The Obama campaign committed significant resources to Homeland Security policy development. While the issue never broke into the first-tier of election issues, the campaign's paper trail suggests a substantive shift from the last seven years.

According to campaign documents, "Barack Obama and Joe Biden's strategy for securing the homeland against 21st Century threats is driven by the twin goals of preventing terrorist attacks on our homeland and investing in national resilience that enables people closest to a crisis to act and achieve an rapid return to normal." This strategy will be advanced through:

1. Preparedness for catastrophic risk,
2. Prevention and mitigation of catastrophic risk, and
3. Partnership with the states, localities and the private sector in prevention, mitigation and preparedness.

On October 19 the campaign released a long-vetted position paper (pdf) on Homeland Security. In thirteen pages the document outlines a wide range of policies. A one-page campaign summary (pdf) gives particular priority to defeat terrorism worldwide, combat 21st Century threats, secure our border and strengthen our infrastructure, and work effectively with state and local governments and the private sector.

The specific threats given most attention are nuclear terrorism, bioterrorism, cyberterrorism, and natural catastrophes. These are threats that can challenge any real recovery.

The Obama strategy leads with prevention. Almost all of the counter-terrorist tactics discussed are prevention-oriented. Improving the intelligence function receives the expected nod. But there is also a specific commitment to "establishing a grant program to support thousands more state and local level intelligence analysts and increasing our capacity to share intelligence across all levels of government."

Headline attention is given to "Prepare Effective Emergency Response Plans." This is something to which the President-elect gave attention as a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Some campaign insiders expect this to morph into giving much more priority to local and regional preparedness, prevention, and mitigation planning. Rigorous local plans - instead of detailed DHS requirements - will become the foundation of national risk management.

Woven consistently into the Obama plan is an emphasis on - perhaps even a deference to - local leadership. The campaign policy statement includes, "The risks facing this nation cannot be effectively prevented or managed by the federal government alone. Barack Obama knows that prevention, mitigation, response and recovery are primarily local issues... The federal government must begin by listening to local concerns and acknowledging local priorities. The private sector has proven its willingness and ability to work in support of our nation’s security, but they have not been fully engaged as a partner by the federal government. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will reach out to the private sector in order to leverage its expertise and assets to protect our homeland. Our city police, county sheriffs, firefighters, state police, public health professionals, EMTs, hospital staff, public works personnel, emergency managers, electric utilities crews, transportation workers, Red Cross volunteers – and so many more hometown heroes – must be confident of federal competence, cooperation, and support before, during, and after a disaster."

Also referenced in the campaign documents is, "He (Obama) will invest in strengthening our aging infrastructure to improve both safety and security." This Homeland Security tactic is likely to be amplified as the federal government makes major infrastructure investments as part of its economic recovery effort.

The exegesis could continue. The Obama Homeland Security policy documents are dense and detailed. Many more policy papers remain in campaign (now transition) files, ready to be used. But if even these few strategic priorities are effectively implemented it will mark a decided shift in the Department of Homeland Security and in how our nation engages risk.