Future of the Homeland Security Council

For those of you interested in the grand debate over whether the Homeland Security Council in the White House should be expanded or folded into the National Security Council there is a new report that provides some insight into that discussion. Published by the George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI), the report (The Homeland Security Council: Considerations for the Future) is a general review of the issues involved. According to the HSPI press release:

“The report is the product of a bipartisan Task Force composed of former senior federal officials, practitioners at the state and local levels, and subject matter experts in the area of homeland security policymaking. Co-chaired by HSPI Director Frank Cilluffo and Deputy Director Daniel Kaniewski, the Task Force identified and reviewed arguments for and against merging the Homeland Security Council and National Security Council, and also assessed crucial factors that merit consideration whether or not there is a merger.”

Personally I think the issue boils down to who the President is and the strength of the advisors that he brings with him. A President who is focused on foreign affairs will allow the National Security Council to predominate whether or not the two councils are blended or not. Since many of the policy setters (politicians not staff) in Executive Branch are on both Councils, combing the two will reduce the number of meetings that they would have to attend, but it would also likely extend the length of that meeting to ‘cover all the issues’. But my opinion has little sway in this discussion. The list of the Task Force members, on the other hand reads like a list of the movers and shakers in Washington politics. Former elected politicians, political appointees, high-level staffers and Think Tank executives are all well represented. This is a document that will at least be read and quoted, and it may even influence the outcome of the debate.