The Century Foundation Announces new initiative on Homeland Security

Feb 3, 2002

Authors: admin

Publisher(s): The Century Foundation

Contact:
Christy Hicks, 212-452-7723

THE CENTURY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES
NEW INITIATIVE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

February 4, 2002, — The Century Foundation today announced the launch of an initiative intended to contribute to the nation's search for new programs and policies addressing homeland security issues. The Century Foundation Initiative on Homeland Security brings together a diverse group of former public officials, distinguished Americans, experts in homeland security and governance, journalists, and others. This multiyear project is supported in part by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The effort will be guided by a steering committee cochaired by Tom Kean, the former New Jersey governor and current Drew University president, and Richard Celeste, the former Ohio governor and ambassador to India. The steering committee will develop recommendations arising from analysis produced by expert working groups focusing on four topics:

• the mission, boundaries, structure, and strategy of the federal Office of Homeland Security;
  
• the interrelationships between the federal government and state and local agencies with homeland security responsibilities;
  
• the role of the media in covering homeland security news stories, the obligations of the government in disclosing information, and certain related privacy and civil liberties issues;
  
• emerging issues involving immigration as it relates to national security

Since the September 11 attacks, homeland security has become a central concern of government officials, legislators, and the American public, said Richard C. Leone, president of The Century Foundation. The work ahead, obviously, involves an unnerving profusion of challenges that we are only beginning to comprehend. We hope our working groups will be able to help government officials develop strategies for protecting the nation against future attacks while preserving the fundamental character of American life.

In addition to preparing policy recommendations, TCF will attempt to inform homeland security debates through a variety of publications that derive historical lessons, explore relevant case studies, examine how other nations have responded to domestic terrorism threats, and highlight trade-offs connected to different courses of action. The foundation also plans to organize public forums and to operate a comprehensive website (www.homelandsec.org).

The working groups will focus on the following activities:
1) The Office of Homeland Security - Former White House chiefs of staff Kenneth Duberstein and John Podesta are codirectors of this group, which also includes former president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Century Foundation senior fellow Morton Abramowitz and former White House counsel A. B. Culvahouse, among others. University of Maryland political scientist I. M. Destler and Ivo Daalder of the Brookings Institution are co-authoring a paper analyzing alternative models for designing the office. Other papers will deal with the role of Congress, budgetary issues, the implications of the Reconstruction-era Posse Comitatus Act for the scope of Department of Defense participation, the challenges related to integrating intelligence with law enforcement, and lessons from other countries.

2) Federal-State/Local Relations - University of Wisconsin professor Donald Kettl is executive director of this group, which will construct a web-based overview of developments in each state related to homeland security. The group will explore topics that feature an analysis of responses to past crises such as Oklahoma City, Three Mile Island, and the Tokyo subway attacks; an evaluation of best practices in -governance; and an assessment of what went right and what went wrong in the immediate aftermath of both the 9-11 attacks and the anthrax mailings.

3) The Media and Public Disclosure - This group of media professionals, former government public affairs officials, and media scholars will explore the role of the media in covering homeland security news stories, the obligations of the government in disclosing information, and certain related privacy and civil liberties issues. John Seigenthaler, founder and president of Vanderbilt University's First Amendment Center, David Burke, former CBS News president, and former Time magazine editor John Stacks are among the participants. This group will focus on case studies such as the nationwide public alerts, the anthrax scares, the questioning and detainment of Muslims, the administration's request to networks to refrain from airing bin Laden videos, and coverage of military action in Afghanistan and of forthcoming trials.

4) Immigration - This working group will be cosponsored with the Migration Policy Institute, which is directed by immigration expert Demetrios Papademetriou. It will focus on the intersection between security, immigration, and individual freedoms as well as on protecting the nation from undesirables before they reach U.S. borders. The topic will be approached from the standpoint of the long-term national interest in policies that support and protect all immigrant and ethnic communities. Issues to be scrutinized include tracking of foreign-born individuals, detention and deportation, employment verification and other labor market controls, strengthening of identification documents, integration of newcomers and community relations, visa issuance reform, and harmonization of immigration and refugee/asylum policies in North America.

For more information about the project, contact Christy Hicks at (212) 452-7723 or hicks@tcf.org.

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