An Update on Inquiries about Readiness -– Plus the 'Unreported' News from the Summit
The Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit and Exposition came and went last week in Honolulu with not as much attention paid to natural disasters as some might have hoped. That’s not a criticism, just a fact. The Summit gave participants a good look at the processes crisis planners use to prepare for the next (first?) terrorist act in Hawaii, and the implication was that their response to natural disasters is thereby enhanced.
That’s probably true, but it’s also true that crafting a simple letter response to an inquiry about Hawaii’s preparedness for our next major hurricane before the Summit was beyond the grasp of the State and County civil defense agencies and the Honolulu FEMA office.
County CD director Bill Balfour (a long-time acquaintance) was apologetic for not getting around to responding in the lead-up to the Summit and said he would.* State vice-director of CD Ed Teixeira, momentarily put off by the suggestion that his office needs a routine way to respond to citizens’ inquiries, nevertheless was cordial and basically agreed with the suggestion.**
* 9/29 update: Bill Balfour did respond by saying the questions in the original inquiry letter deserve answers; he offered to cosign a letter from State Civil Defense, which he believes is the appropriate agency to provide the response. Also, Balfour reports that FEMA Pacific Director Woody Goins told him Goins does not reply to letters but assigns them to someone else (who don't reply either).
** 9/30 update: Ed Teixeira's letter arrived on this date with a detailed response to several questions directed to him earlier this month. A future post to this web log will include the points made in his letter.
The "Unreported Summit Comment of the Week"
Honolulu’s two daily newspapers gave scant coverage to the Summit and missed what this participant and others -- judging from the reaction of fellow delegates -- believe was among the most important comments of the week.
Speaker Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore and an expert on terrorism, responded to a question from the floor about his observation that conditions in Iraq are now favorable for recruitment of terrorists into Al Quida and other groups. I asked him if those conditions could have been predicted before March 2003. The following is a condensed version of Dr. Gunaratna’s response. Only his comments that were taken down verbatim are in quote marks; the rest are paraphrased:
I am among friends here in Hawaii and I will respond with frankness and hope my remarks will not offend my friends. The top-level officials in Washington, D.C. lacked a deep understanding of the Middle East, and this is what led to the invasion of Iraq. Europeans have a better understanding and did not support the invasion.
“America has made a fatal mistake by invading Iraq. You and your European friends will suffer.” “ It will be an even greater mistake to withdraw from Iraq.” America must work with friendly nations to stabilize Iraq with their troops. If you don’t, Iraq will produce even more attacks, inside and outside of that country. This is a man-made threat that will be a problem for years. “I doubt very much that (Hawaii Adjutant General) Lee will be able to bring his troops back next year. I fear he’ll have to keep his troops there for many years.”
Dr. Gunaratna received a standing ovation from the audience of several hundred that included many uniformed members of the U.S. armed forces.
That’s probably true, but it’s also true that crafting a simple letter response to an inquiry about Hawaii’s preparedness for our next major hurricane before the Summit was beyond the grasp of the State and County civil defense agencies and the Honolulu FEMA office.
County CD director Bill Balfour (a long-time acquaintance) was apologetic for not getting around to responding in the lead-up to the Summit and said he would.* State vice-director of CD Ed Teixeira, momentarily put off by the suggestion that his office needs a routine way to respond to citizens’ inquiries, nevertheless was cordial and basically agreed with the suggestion.**
* 9/29 update: Bill Balfour did respond by saying the questions in the original inquiry letter deserve answers; he offered to cosign a letter from State Civil Defense, which he believes is the appropriate agency to provide the response. Also, Balfour reports that FEMA Pacific Director Woody Goins told him Goins does not reply to letters but assigns them to someone else (who don't reply either).
** 9/30 update: Ed Teixeira's letter arrived on this date with a detailed response to several questions directed to him earlier this month. A future post to this web log will include the points made in his letter.
The "Unreported Summit Comment of the Week"
Honolulu’s two daily newspapers gave scant coverage to the Summit and missed what this participant and others -- judging from the reaction of fellow delegates -- believe was among the most important comments of the week.
Speaker Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore and an expert on terrorism, responded to a question from the floor about his observation that conditions in Iraq are now favorable for recruitment of terrorists into Al Quida and other groups. I asked him if those conditions could have been predicted before March 2003. The following is a condensed version of Dr. Gunaratna’s response. Only his comments that were taken down verbatim are in quote marks; the rest are paraphrased:
I am among friends here in Hawaii and I will respond with frankness and hope my remarks will not offend my friends. The top-level officials in Washington, D.C. lacked a deep understanding of the Middle East, and this is what led to the invasion of Iraq. Europeans have a better understanding and did not support the invasion.
“America has made a fatal mistake by invading Iraq. You and your European friends will suffer.” “ It will be an even greater mistake to withdraw from Iraq.” America must work with friendly nations to stabilize Iraq with their troops. If you don’t, Iraq will produce even more attacks, inside and outside of that country. This is a man-made threat that will be a problem for years. “I doubt very much that (Hawaii Adjutant General) Lee will be able to bring his troops back next year. I fear he’ll have to keep his troops there for many years.”
Dr. Gunaratna received a standing ovation from the audience of several hundred that included many uniformed members of the U.S. armed forces.
posted by Doug Carlson at 11:18 AM
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