Homeland Defense and Homeland Security for the Next Administration (Day 1)

Day 1 | Day 2

September 11, 2001 ushered in the largest government reform since World War II, enacting new programs, policies and initiatives. The transition to a new administration in January 2009 will mark the first time the government will take a fresh look at the institutions and programs that were put in place to support our nation’s homeland defense and security. What direction should the next president take? How will and how should the new executive team adapt its policy initiatives to best accomplish any changes to the missions, organizational cultures, and activities of the agencies it inherits?

Please join the Consortium for Homeland Defense and Security in America*, November 19-20, 2008, at the Third Annual Symposium on Homeland Defense and Security: Looking at the Next Administration. From strategy and oversight, to critical infrastructure protection and disaster response, the symposium will take a hard look at the key issues facing the next administration in domestic security.

Agenda: November 19

8:30am Registration

Audio Panel 1 (mp3, 01:29:36) | Video (wmv, 01:29:58)
9:00am Panel 1 - The Strategic Direction of the Department of Defense in Homeland Defense and Civil Support

Since September 11, 2001, the Department of Defense has appreciably realigned its structure and its thinking to meet requirements surrounding the domestic security of the United States. Responding to the horrific manifestations of a new age threat, the United States Northern Command, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs, and deliberately focused directorates on the Joint Staff were established to oversee the military's preparation and response to natural and manmade threats to our society.
Developed "on the march," these new entities, and partner agencies inside and out of the Pentagon, have addressed the complexities of plans to defend within our nation's borders.  Simultaneously, they have worked to meet the challenges of a purposely supportive role to civil authorities at all levels of government. This panel will address the strategic thinking that has emerged out of both sets of challenges, and the likely direction this thinking will take in the new Administration.

Panel Members

• The Honorable Paul McHale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs
• Major General George Jude Smith, USAR, Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Lieutenant General William G. Webster, Jr., USA, Deputy Commander, United States Northern Command
• Bert Tussing, Director, Homeland Defense and Security Issues Group, Center for Strategic Leadership, United States Army War College (Moderator)

10:30am Break

Audio Panel 2 (mp3, 01:26:45) | Video (wmv, 01:25:47)
10:45am Panel 2 - Disaster Preparedness and Response: What’s Next?

After Hurricane Katrina it was quite clear that the responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security was much broader that protecting the homeland from terrorist attacks, but encompassed all catastrophes natural or man made. The inability of all forms of our government to effectively respond to Katrina made improving our nation’s disaster response a high priority. Since then, much has been done to address the shortfalls. This panel will discuss if there has been any progress in building our disaster preparedness and response capabilities, and answer key questions facing the next administration like, is it better to rely on the federal government or local communities, and whether or not FEMA should remain in DHS.

Panel Members
                                 

• Daniel J. Kaniewski, Counselor, Homeland Security Policy Institute; Former Special Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Response Policy
• Matt Mayer, Visiting Fellow, The Heritage Foundation; Former Counselor to the Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Michael Wermuth, Director, RAND Homeland Security Program, RAND Corporation; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Drug Enforcement Policy
• James Carafano, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Defense and Homeland Security, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, and Assistant Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies, The Heritage Foundation (Moderator)

Audio Lunch Speaker (mp3, 00:24:45) | Video (wmv, 00:31:10)
12:15pm Lunch - The Presidential Transition
  Alan Cohn
  Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy (Strategic Plans)
  U. S. Department of Homeland Security

Audio Panel 3 (mp3, 01:25:35) | Video (wmv, 01:25:36)
13:15pm Panel 3 – Building a More Secure and Resilient Infrastructure: Public-Private Partnerships
The critical structures, systems and resources that sustain our daily lives are also essential to our homeland security: they can provide protection against possible terrorist attacks, and vital resources to get us back on our feet following a disaster. Efforts over the past seven years have varied from new regulations to standing up government/ sector coordinating councils, each effort with different levels of success. Integrating private sector activities into the government’s security mission, however, will be one of the key challenges of the next administration. This panel will explore what the best model for public-private cooperation is, and how can it be best implemented?

Panel Members

• Margaret Grayson, President, Coalescent Technologies; Co-Chair of the NIAC Critical Infrastructure Partnership Strategic Assessment Study
• Mike Hickey, Vice President, Verizon; Chair for the Communications Sector Coordinating Council
• James A. Lewis, Ph.D, Director and Senior Fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Project Director, Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency
• David Heyman, Director and Senior Fellow, Homeland Security Program, Center for Strategic and International studies (Moderator)

14:45pm Break

Audio Panel 4 (mp3, 01:00:17) | Video (wmv, 01:00:51)
15:00pm Panel 4 - The Evolving Role of the National Guard and the Services' Reserves in Homeland Defense and Civil Support  

The traditional role of the reserve components of the United States military has been strikingly shifted since 9-11, away from the predictable casting as "strategic reserves" envisioned for a nation-at-war, to an operational reserve serving alongside their active component counterparts. Paralleling the rigors of the overseas requirement has been the development of an increasingly important role in homeland defense and civil support, wherein the National Guard is most frequently the military component of choice for domestic crises.
Hosted by the United States Army War College, this panel will address the still evolving nature of the role of the Guard and Reserves as a part of the national response to homeland security requirements.

Panel Members

• COL (P) Leslie J. Carroll, USAR, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, United States Army Reserve Command
• Major General Timothy J. Lowenberg, ANG, Adjutant General of the State of Washington
• Christine Wormuth, Senior Fellow, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Bert Tussing, Director, Homeland Defense and Security Issues Group, Center for Strategic Leadership, United States Army War College (Moderator)

16:30pm End

* The Consortium for Homeland Defense and Security in America is a partnership of leading defense and security think-tanks, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the U.S. Army War College’s Center for Strategic Leadership (USAWC), The Heritage Foundation (THF), and the George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI).