Merging the National and Homeland Security Councils

The Washington Post reports that President Obama is moving forward with the concept of merging the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.

President Obama announced yesterday that he will merge the staffs of the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council to speed up and unify security policymaking inside the White House. [see WH announcement here]

The combined national security staff, about 240 people, will report to national security adviser James L. Jones.

The White House also will add new offices for cybersecurity, for terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction, and for "resilience" -- a national security directorate aimed at preparedness and response for a domestic WMD attack, pandemic or natural catastrophe, officials said.

"The challenges of the 21st century are increasingly unconventional and transnational, and therefore demand a response that effectively integrates all aspects of American power," Obama said in a statement.

This is a good thing. The HSC was too understaffed to seriously look at international terrorism and the many homeland security issues that require address, and the NSC was too overworked (or overburdened with Middle East concerns) to seriously address the military aspects of homeland defense. Homeland security is a national security issue, and I don't think you lose anything in this merger. No one is suggesting that homeland security is a lesser priority; this just is a more efficient way of merging it into the broader landscape of national security policy. I can think of more than a few WMD terrorism issues that will benefit from this merger, if (and this is a big if) the new staffers can think clearly about the threat and the costs/benefits of particular approaches to planning for and responding to WMD terrorism.

Also see these posts at the Homeland Security Watch.

Comments

[Ray]

Just two cents worth- competition between security departments may increase if understaffed, underpaid etc. It's a devil to deal with and as you know interferes in all sorts of ways. A merger might dispel this canker- although I am not suggesting that this "devil" existed for the US departments concerned.
R.