From The New York Times (via The Ledger): U.S. to Spend Billions More to Alter Security Systems.
In its effort to create a virtual shield around America, the Department of Homeland Security now plans to spend billions of dollars more. Although some changes are being made because of technology that has emerged in the past couple of years, many of them are planned because the devices currently in use have done little to improve the nation’s security, according to a review of agency documents and interviews with federal officials and outside experts."Everyone was standing in line with their silver bullets to make us more secure after Sept. 11," said Randall Larsen, a retired Air Force colonel and former government adviser on scientific issues. "We bought a lot of stuff off the shelf that wasn’t effective." ...
“After 9/11, we had to show how committed we were by spending hugely greater amounts of money than ever before, as rapidly as possible,” said Representative Christopher Cox, a California Republican who is the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. “That brought us what we might expect, which is some expensive mistakes. This has been the difficult learning curve of the new discipline known as homeland security.”
UPDATE -- May 10: This cartoon appears in today's Investor's Business Daily and The Detroit News.
Posted by Forkum at May 8, 2005 05:35 PM
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