Signal fiasco should remind us that complacency invites catastrophe

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The writer was the rating of the US House of Representatives since 9/11. He is the author “Insanity Defense

During this week, Washington reported that President Donald Trump’s senior national security team used an undisclosed message program to discuss sensitive military operations and thus accidentally journalist. The fact that the political consequences are in the center of attention, the greater the danger abroad. Where allies can now question that they can trust our most sensitive intelligence. This loss of trust can create dangerous blind spots in detection of threats.

I first saw how intelligence failures lead to disaster. After the classification of the House Intelligence Committee after 9/11, I helped investigate two of the most powerful differences in modern history, the missed warnings before the attacks and the perfect assessments of the Iraqi mass destruction. Since then, the intelligence community has worked hard to strengthen information and analyze the analysis.

But those interests are fragile. More than a quarter of Americans were not born at 9/11, and the urgency of that moment was extinguished for many others. Today we are once again distracted, party fights, economic uncertainty, and a political uprising at home, like our opponents. Can we meet another major attack on American land? My answer is yes.

From Russian cyber invades to Iran’s secret threats against US officials, China’s expanding cyber espionage and geopolitical exercises, these opponents are already operating American vulnerability. Meanwhile, Isis and Al-Qaeda are active.

The classes of 9/11 were painful. There are disaster. Our facial threats are real, and to prevent another attack requires decisive action. So what is the US to do?

Wake up first. National security is not only the government’s job. It also requires a informed and involved public. The Americans must recognize the risks that we face today and require responsibility for the leaders to ensure security.

Second, we need to double the exchange of intelligence and intelligence. The five-eye partnership with Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is instrumental to disrupt terrorist plots against the United States. However, recent reports suggest that some allies will reconsider their intelligence cooperation with Washington. Restoration of trust with our allies and strengthening of intelligence exchange agreements should be a national priority.

Third, the United States must strengthen the main areas of federal and state responses. The Father’s Security Department was established after 9/11 as an integrated protection, a wide range of threats. But DHS is in the center of attention and resources to execute immigration, and we are witnessing the exit of skilled specialists from other national security agencies. We are at risk of losing the institutional examination, which is necessary to prevent terrorist attacks, while resources deviate from costly projects, as “golden dome for America”.

Fourth, Congress must return to the game. The Congress must restore the monitoring of the bi-Community with the action of other intelligence and protection tragedy. Legislators must finance critical cyberies and anti-Migration critical programs, ensuring that national security is not sacrificed for a short-term political struggle.

Finally, we must use all the elements of the national strength. As a commission of the National Defense Strategy, which I was chairing, it stressed that it is not only about military force. It requires an authorized approach, which integrates diplomacy, economic strategy, intelligence, technological innovation, plus partners and allies.

I have vivid memories of the US Capitol on the morning of September 11, not aware that the building was the target target of 93 of the unified flight. Only to save the selflessly of his life to the uncountable others. At that time, Capitol deployed the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, which operated on a bilateral basis, united in their mission to protect the country.

Now more than two decades later, we face a risk of new warnings and intelligence than more serious than the exchange of sensitive plans in the unexpected messaging appendix. The question is that we will repeat our mistakes, or yet worse, make bigger mistakes.