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How America Responded to Terrorism: 2001-2008

CNP was pleased to welcome former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff for a wide-ranging off-the-record discussion on the major challenges he faced in office from 2001- 2008, as well as those that will be confronted by DHS in the future.  This event was part of the Center's ongoing series of presentations by outgoing administration officials talking about lessons learned during their tenure in office and the major challenges to be addressed by their successors.

Chertoff began by laying out what he feels is the core mission of the Department of Homeland Security: keeping dangerous people out of the country, keeping dangerous things out of the country, protecting and hardening our infrastructure and having plans for effective response in place in the event of a disaster occurring. He spoke about the efforts made towards achieving these goals while he was at DHS, including enhanced screening and documentation technology.  He also spoke about three remaining and emerging threats that will be faced by the current administration: (1) The legal, technical and political issues complicating the effort to combat cyber attacks; (2) the increasing violence and unrest in Mexico is another, and (3) the general issue of ungoverned spaces around the world, from the FATA in Pakistan to vast swaths of Somalia and other global hotspots.

Chertoff also answered questions on effective organization and management of DHS, the Congressional oversight of DHS and how it could be improved, and the importance of information sharing between federal, state and local officials.