U.S. rewriting homeland security strategy

WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- An effort is under way within the Bush administration to revise its homeland security strategy to give more weight to protection from natural disasters.

The new strategy will also outline a more aggressive posture towards terrorism and use risk management to drive the allocation of federal resources.

“That is something that is being worked on,” a senior administration official authorized to speak to the media told United Press International Thursday.

“Discussions (about changes to the existing July 2002 strategy) are ongoing with officials across the government and at a state and local level,” the official said.

Earlier this week homeland security blogger and business executive Jonah Czerwinski posted PowerPoint slides used by White House Homeland Security Council staff to brief others on the effort.

He told UPI that staff had been briefing with the slides all week, and that a set had been posted on the Web site of the Indiana state Department of Homeland Security.

The slides say a rewrite of the strategy is necessary to address the changing nature of the threats to the United States and to “align dozens of existing (policy) initiatives, and subordinate strategies, plans, and reports.”

The slides say the definition of homeland security should be changed to reflect the dangers of natural disasters.

A new strategy will also help the administration “use risk management to drive resource allocation.”

The rewrite needs to “reflect the evolution of the homeland security enterprise” since the first National Strategy for Homeland Security was released.

Among the developments since then are the Pentagon’s stand up of U.S. Northern Command -- the first time in modern history the U.S. military has had a combat command whose area of responsibility includes the continental United States -- and the establishment of the director of national intelligence to oversee the nation’s espionage agencies.

The slideshow says the new document must “articulate a capstone strategy to organize and unify the national effort," adding the strategy should include the “disruption” as well as “prevention” of terrorist attacks.

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Shaun Waterman, UPI Homeland and National Security Editor