Management,
Organizational, and Resource Problems Related to Homeland Security
by David A. Nuttle
President, Needful Provision, Inc. (NPI)
September 11, 2003
Presented To: Management Club, Northeastern State University
(NSU)
Summary
Since the horrific terrorist attacks two years ago, on 09/11/01, America has changed in many ways, and we have a new focus called homeland security. My purpose, today, is to discuss the new management, organizational, and resource problems created by all these changes and new realities.
One of the new realities is that terrorists can attack the United States and cause very significant damage. We also know that terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda, are seeking portable nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons that can be easily used as part of an attack in the U.S. Overall, the terrorists are becoming more sophisticated to include the employment of cyberterrorist tactics that could be used to disrupt our economy. The U.S. has a “target-rich” environment, and we do not have the resources to protect each and every potential target on a sustained basis.
Our
new awareness, of the terrorist problem, has made us realize
that
many people do hate the U.S. Government (USG) for some of its past and current
policies and actions. There are numerous terrorist and
narcoterrorist groups, including 17 organized within the U.S., dedicated to
the eventual destruction of the USG as we know it today. The basis of
support, for these terrorist groups, includes nearly 2 billion people living
under conditions of extreme poverty. These poor populations generally resent
Americans for their wealth, and the poor provide manpower, and other resources
to help destroy the USG. Other issues, such as religious and ideological differences
are used as motivational factors to
help sustain the dedication of some terrorists.
Terrorists
seek to avoid most conventional conflict, while focusing
on surprise types of attacks designed to create massive fear and disrupt
normal activities. The terrorists have an opportunity to destroy a
targeted government if they can sustain higher and then higher levels of
fear ---or cause the target government to take extreme repressive actions
that will alienate their own populations, thereby causing loss of support.
In brief, the terrorists do have some opportunity for victory ----- and
that hope is what has sustained long years of Palestinian terrorism against
the State of Israel. Viet-Cong (communist) terrorism, in Viet-Nam, created
the conditions ultimately resulting in victory by the North Vietnamese Army
(NVA).
In
Iraq and Aghanistan, we are now seeing Viet-Cong and al-Qaeda
types of terrorist tactics being used to frustrate American efforts to
rebuild those nations after the wars to remove Saddam Hussein and the
Taliban. These terrorists are convinced that they can act in a manner that
will result in eventual victory. (Most terrorist groups think in terms of
years and decades, not days or months.)
The
above background comments were made from my perspective as a
former GS-14 CIA Special Operations Officer, with extensive training and experience
in counterterror and homeland security, overseas. My comments on subject are
based on experience as President of a public corporation, and currently as
President of a charity (NPI). Added to this, I have worked with 42 Third World
nations in helping them with homeland security and counterterror related issues.
Homeland
security, and the War on Terrorism, are expected to continue
for many years to come. As we have already observed, both of
these efforts require massive human and financial resources.
The new challenge for resource management is to do far more with
far less. Objectives and related priorities must be carefully
determined, and actual allocation of resources must match those
priorities. At times, the best defense against terrorists will
be a good offense. However, there will be other times when there
will be no substitute for a good defense. The secret is to know
which time is which. Insofar as financial resources are concerned,
we must keep in mind that some $50 billion annually remains outside
the banks in the “underground” economy. Terrorist
groups continue to have access to some of these funds. Our best offense and
defense will therefore be real maximization of our resources, while minimizing
terrorist resources.
There
is a general realization that our organizational means has many
disadvantages when it comes to homeland security. As a result, the U.S. Dept.
of Homeland Security (DHS) was created to provide a more efficient governmental
organization to help counter the terrorist threat. Businesses are adding to
their organizational structure to improve security against new threats like
cyberterrorism ---and they are working to develop many new products to help
meet the needs of Homeland Security, and the War on Terrorism.
The
U.S. Military is changing its organization to increase mobility
and
“firepower” while adding new capabilities in the areas of military
civic
action and “nation building.” For local communities, city and county
governments are being reorganized to improve their abilities to respond to
any terrorist attack. First responders (police, fire, & medics) have been
forced to add training, equipment, and communications while organizing to better
coordinate their efforts during and after a terrorist attack. Hospitals
and health facilities are reorganizing to better prepare for
bioterrorism or other NBC-type attacks upon large numbers of our
population.
New types of management, and new management structures will be needed in view of all the above changes. Management must also be concerned with improving the public image of the U.S. government and businesses. Our current poor international image is part of the reason for terrorist attacks. Corruption, apparent greed, environmental abuses, obvious waste, and lack of concern for the poor, have all helped to recruit the manpower needed to sustain various terrorist organizations. The dramatic display of corruption, by Enron, WorldCom, and others, has caused great harm to our Homeland Security efforts.
Management for image and apparent social good (MISG) has become an essential means of enhancing overall management during the War on Terrorism. Our immediate, real challenge is how to best organize MISG systems for businesses and government.