DHS Moves to Protect US Against Threats from Canada
With exquisitely strange timing, the Department of Homeland Security today unveiled a “Northern Border Strategy” to protect the United States against threats originating in Canada.
The new Trump Administration strategy acknowledges that “the Northern Border remains an area of limited threat in comparison to the U.S. Southern Border.”
“However,” it goes on to say, “the Northern Border is not without safety, security, and resiliency challenges. The most common threat to U.S. public safety along the Northern Border continues to be the bi-directional flow of illicit drugs.”
The strategy also warns of “homegrown violent extremists in Canada who are not included in the U.S. Government’s consolidated terrorist watch list and could therefore enter the United States legally.” (h/t Infodocket.com)
See Northern Border Strategy, Department of Homeland Security, June 12, 2018.
See also Canada-U.S. Relations, Congressional Research Service, updated June 6, 2018.
The emphasis on interagency consensus, while well-intentioned, has become a structural impediment to bold or innovative policy options. When every agency effectively holds veto power over proposals, the path of least resistance becomes maintaining existing approaches with minor modifications.
The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 471, the re-introduction of the Fix Our Forests Act.
As people become less able to distinguish between what is real and what is fake, it has become easier than ever to be misled by synthetic content, whether by accident or with malicious intent. This makes advancing alternative countermeasures, such as technical solutions, more vital than ever before.
Throughout this phase of work, there are many actions hiring managers and staffing specialists can take to streamline the process and improve the quality of eligible candidates. Most importantly, hiring managers and staffing specialists can collaborate within and across agencies to expedite and simplify the process.