Former DHS IG: U.S. only “marginally safer” than it was in 9/11

Published 2 May 2006

Former DHS IG, described by colleagues as a “mild-mannered Texas Republican,” says DHS has made he U.S. safer, but only marginally so

In memoirs released yesterday, former DHS inspector general, Clark Kent Ervin, argues that DHS has made the United States only marginally safer than it was before 9/11. Ervin, described by acquaintances as a mild-tempered Texas Republican, was a top aide to George Bush when Bush served as governor of Texas. He is now a security expert at the Aspen Institute. His book, Open Target: Where America is Vulnerable to Terrorism, outlines security gaps at U.S. airports, in mass transit systems, and at borders. It points to the sluggish and ineffective response of DHS to Hurricane Katrina as proof that the department remains unprepared for threats. “Clearly, the Homeland Security Department has served to make us only marginally safer, and in the age of terror, marginally safer is not enough,” Ervin wrote.

DHS spokesman Russ Knocke disputed Ervin’s conclusions, pointing to safeguards that he said “simply didn’t exist on 9/11.” : “We’re the first to admit that there’s more that we want to accomplish,” Knocke said. “But I think it’s disingenuous to make the suggestion that somehow only marginal progress has been made.”