Homeland Security fails to provide information public can use
Editor’s Note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.I find it ironic that I am writing this letter. An hour or so before the “preemptive strike” of the preemptive war with Iraq began, I returned home from the National Archives in College Park, Md.
I was there continuing my research for my dissertation on the Federal Civil Defense Administration, the first real homeland security agency, where I read through numerous letters to its administrators, Govs. Millard Caldwell, Val Peterson and Leo Hoegh, from citizens like myself.
However, I was not inspired to write because of those letters, but rather because of a conversation my husband and I had last night.
He asked if I’d ever seen the chain e-mail that discussed the nature of chemical and biological attacks.
Like all of these chain e-mails we receive, he was not sure if the information and recommendations contained were fact or fiction. I had not seen it, nor could I share any information about the nature of these types of attack (though I could tell him pretty much everything he needed to know about a nuclear attack). I thought, my God, we really do not have any real information about these new threats, even though we have been following events pretty closely.
I went to the Ready.gov Web site. It did not provide any valuable information beyond common sense recommendations, like to wash after exposure, which the FCDA once recommended for ridding oneself of radiation after a nuclear attack.
The FCDA’s favorite bit of information about how to survive a nuclear explosion was “Don’t be there.” Maybe you should include this tip in your common sense advice pages. I followed this advice myself when I cut my research trip short. I did not want to be in the D.C. area when the war started and a possible retaliation strike occurred.
There were many things I could not find at Ready.gov that I did want to know. Where is the information on how these biological and chemical agents will likely be physically released (small explosion, aerosol spray)? What are the agents most likely to be used? How long will the different potential agents be active, or what are their life spans? For x amount of agent, what is the radius of initial contamination? How far can the actual agents themselves travel (not counting people passing them on to one another)? Like fallout, does this depend on meteorological conditions? Is it possible for a biological or chemical agent to be released at different altitudes in order to infect a greater percentage of the population?
Knowledge is power. The administrators of the FCDA realized this. That organization was a success because it taught the public about the nuclear threat. I had not realized this until I began researching this topic four years ago.
I thought civil defense was a joke because it was impossible to protect the entire population from a nuclear attack. But that was not the point.
The goal of civil defense was to combat the terror or “psychological” implications of the bomb. This should still be one of the most basic goals of civilian defense: To combat terror. After all, isn’t that what terrorists seek?
The terror that now grips the nation is an unnecessary and unfortunate victory for the terrorists of the world.
I’ll admit that I helped lose this battle by my own retreat from the D.C. area, but it was because of my ignorance and my terror concerning these new types of attacks.
After browsing your Web site, I’m still in the dark. Shouldn’t I be able to learn more from the Department of Homeland Security or do I have to rely on chain e-mails?
This terror that we all share could be reduced to a healthy fear by disseminating better and more complete information to the public about the real nature of the threat.
A policy of “candor” would be more helpful than the vague “orange” of the color-coded national threat level system.
The run on duct tape a few weeks ago is evidence that the public is listening and responsive, as well as eager for more information. Can you help us out?
Rachel M. Mihalovich-Cook is a resident of Uniontown.