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| Opportunities & Exposures: Policy |
Fortress America
Stephen E. Flynn
07/01/2005
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The security version of the Fed would have a national board of governors, 10
regional homeland security districts and 92 local branches called Metropolitan
Antiterrorism Committees. The objective of this system would be to identify
security protocols and monitor compliance, so that all of the companies that
make up the nation’s critical infrastructure would have to play by the same
rules.
The districts would be assigned support staffs comprised of both full-time,
public-sector employees and industry experts, nominated by the private sector
and taking a two-year leave of absence from their regular jobs. As in the
Federal Reserve, these private-sector appointments would be highly selective and
desirable opportunities for talented midlevel executives.
The FSRS would establish and oversee a mandatory program requiring owners and
operators of critical infrastructure to carry adequate levels of terrorism
insurance. The insurance would not simply reduce the reliance on public
resources, but also create incentives for the insurance industry to become a
partner in ensuring that the private sector does not neglect its security
responsibilities.The Federal Reserve describes itself as a system that is “independent within the
government.” This means it must work within the overall objectives established
by Congress, but its decisions do not have to be ratified by the executive
branch. This level of independence is justified as both a check on executive
power and as a way to manage the risk that decisions directly affecting the
operation of the marketplace might become dangerously politicized. The case for
a similar approach to homeland security is compelling. In both instances, the
goal is to better align commercial interests with public interests—in the case
of security, to give Americans a real alternative to placing their fate in the
success of foreign military campaigns.
Art by Matt Mahurin.
Stephen E. Flynn is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow in National
Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of
America the Vulnerable.
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