Cohen Sketches Future of Homeland Defense

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2000 -- What happens if a terrorist
sarin gas attack occurs in New York or Washington or Los
Angeles -- or all three at once? Who is to respond?

Defense Secretary William S. Cohen asked these questions
Oct. 2 in a speech to the Center for Strategic and
International Studies here. The answer, he said, is the
Department of Defense.

Cohen said when he first proposed formation of a
"commander-in-chief for homeland defense" the idea was
controversial. "Immediately there were questions being
raised as to whether or not this would intrude upon the
constitutional prohibitions of getting our military
involved in domestic affairs," he said.

But a terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction
would quickly overwhelm any local response. "Is there any
other institution in this country that has the
organizational capability, the logistics capability, other
than the Department of Defense, to respond, to provide
transportation, to move medicines and personnel, provide
the hospital beds, etc.?"

Cohen said the United States must deal with the question
now. "I believe that we, as a democratic society, have yet
to come to grips with the tension that exists between our
constitutional protection of the right to privacy with the
demand that we made on the need to protect us," he said.

He cited what DoD is doing now to support first responders.
He said the department is working with officials in 120
U.S. cities to ask and answer questions now so they won't
have to be answered in an actual attack. The issues DoD and
cities are addressing include how to protect the fire
fighters, police and other first responders on the scene,
and how first responders would identify the agent used.

He said DoD trainers are going over all contingencies with
city officials. One he noted was what cities should do with
contaminated casualties.

"Right now we're preparing the local agencies from the
fire, the police, the health care facilities, the National
Guard under the governor's jurisdiction," he said. "But if
you start to have multiple attacks with mass casualties,
then I think that it will be very logical and probably
imperative that you have to turn to the Defense Department
to provide assistance.

"We need to work this out in advance so we don't have the
kind of constitutional challenge or confusion taking place
in those times of crises."

Cohen said the American people also should debate what
changes, if any, need to be made regarding the right of
privacy. He said the best way to defend against terrorists
is to make sure their attacks do not succeed. Greater
intelligence capabilities are needed to stop terrorists, he
suggested.

The United States and its friends and allies already share
information on terrorists because terrorism knows no
national boundaries, he noted. But, he said, sources are
needed in the United States -- Timothy McVeigh was not a
foreign terrorist.

"Greater information means a greater invasion of privacy,"
Cohen said. "Do you start to profile? Do we say certain
types of people are more likely than others to be carrying
these noxious weapons?

"We have to be very careful how we go about gathering
greater information and greater intelligence, because that
comes right up against the wall of constitutional
protections against your right of privacy."