Your Tax Dollars at Work: New DHS Study Outdated at Release
The Department of Homeland Security paid an independent organization $450,000 to make recommendations on a classified terrorism program. The study took two years to complete, and was released the end of September, 2008. So why is the report already outdated?
DHS asked the National Academies to review its Bioterrorism Risk Assessment tool in 2006. The tool is a presidential mandated program that assesses millions of potential bioterrorist attack scenarios, such as anthrax that is widely dispersed in a major city. For each scenario, it defines the likelihood of the attack happening and what the consequences would be.
According to the committee that wrote the report, the review took two years to complete because it took one year to hold five meetings on it, six months to do an internal review process with 10 separate reviewers, and six months for the Homeland Security Department to review it.
In its report, the National Academies recommended that DHS simplify the formula, create a standard lexicon, and think of terrorists as ‘intelligent adversaries’ who know about US defenses.
But the DHS had already updated its program to include several of these points. A DHS spokesperson said that in other instances, the Academies’ recommendations were contrary to what the department and other leading academics consider are the best methods.
To review the report, click here.
Tags: bioterrorism
