In our Articles numbered 23, 30 and 33, in this Vol. III, we covered the many criticisms being leveled at the Department of Homeland Security. These criticisms were launched from government sources, such as Congress and the GAO ( e.g., Ms. Wrightson and Mr. Stana), as well as from concerned citizens and organizations, such as Dr. Flynn, Mr. Chris Koch, the International Trade Commission, The Maritime Safety Committee of The International Maritime Organization, The International Herald Tribune, and from DER SPIEGEL as well. A number of maritime countries have even gone on record to protest the dictatorial stance taken by the DHS, but in spite of these protests the Department admits to no shortcomings and no serious deficiencies in its mode of operations. The DHS points to the fact that it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. and overseas ports in its efforts to detect the presence of U.S-bound radioactive material.

Dr. Benn Tannenbaum, in his testimony before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee last Tuesday, referred to “dirty bombs” as “weapons of mass disruption”, and stated that this type of a device would spread radioactive material over wide areas but would not cause the numbers of fatalities of a nuclear bomb. The key component of a nuclear weapon, Dr. Richard Wagner of the Los Alamos National Laboratory reminded the subcommittee, is highly enriched uranium, but port radiation detection devices are not effective in detecting these radioactive substances, he said.

So, in spite of persistent DHS denials, there are serious deficiencies which merit attention. Ms. Bethann Rooney, Security Manager at the Port of New York and New Jersey, is one who cannot be considered opinionated. If she’s anything at all, she’s accurate and determined. In her testimony before the subcommittee, Ms. Rooney said the port receives “about 150 alarms a day” from the 22 radiation portal monitors at the site, a rate more than 10 times the number of false alarms originally expected.

Mr. Gene Aloise of the Government Accountability Office stated that such high numbers of false alarms are not limited to the NY/NJ port, and Rep. William Pascrell, D-NJ, expressed concern that this high number of false alarms might convince Customs agents to reduce the sensitivity of the detectors, making them less effective in spotting real danger. That tipoff first appeared in an overseas newspaper (DER SPIEGEL) when it was reported that, “To this day, the harbor nuclear detectors are incapable of distinguishing between bombs and kitty litter or bananas, leading frustrated customs officials to simply shut them down. The new $ 1.2 billion explosives detectors for the Transportation Security Administration, are equally unreliable”.

That overseas reporter, if you’ll recall, included this comment in his opening paragraph; “ … the U.S. government continues to spend billions of dollars on a variety of different Homeland Security programs. The only problem? Most of them are useless.” The above testimonies lend credibility to that man’s report, except for just one inaccuracy. “Useless” programs aren’t the “only problem”.

What about Bethann Rooney and the other guardians we’re depending upon? If the unthinkable takes place, will they be accused of sleeping on watch? Will they be the “fall guys”?