Critical Releases in Homeland Security: August 8, 2007

"The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, cost insurers of all types nearly $36 billion in insured losses, reducing both their financial ability and willingness to cover future acts of terrorism. Global reinsurers-private firms that purchase portions of the policies and premium income generated by other insurers-covered the majority of losses but subsequently limited the availability of that coverage sharply or priced it at such elevated rates that it was virtually unattainable. With the exit of private reinsurers from the marketplace and the reluctance of primary insurers to assume risk for acts of terrorism, the insurance industry began to show signs of disruption, which had the potential to reduce economic activity. In response to that market contraction, lawmakers passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) in November 2002. Intended as a temporary measure, the law was designed to help insurers recover from the economic shock of covering catastrophic losses and to give the industry time to develop more accurate ways of modeling terrorism risk. Another motivating factor was that the inability of private firms to obtain terrorism coverage seemed to exacerbate an already existing slowdown in the construction industry and a related loss of jobs. The TRIA program provided federal reinsurance to private insurers, increasing the availability of coverage and lowering the price of obtaining such coverage. Because the market disruption was expected to be short-lived, TRIA was set to expire at the end of calendar year 2005, and federal reinsurance was offered without charge."

"Between July 2004 and March 2005, the Department of Defense (DoD) conducted Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT's) for 558 detainees being held at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GTMO). The DoD's objective in conducting this tribunal process was to determine whether those detainees continued to warrant the 'enemy combatant' designation through a non-adversarial, administrative status review process. In early 2005 DoD (the Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants) released 517 CSRT (pronounced 'see-cert') unclassified summaries. These unclassified summaries, prepared in advance of the actual hearings, informed the detainees about the unclassified basis for their detention as enemy combatants. Of the 517 unclassified records, one of those records is a duplicate, which brings the total of CSRT unclassified summaries to 516. The DoD posted those 517 unclassified summaries (including the one duplicate) on its public website in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. In 2007, the Office of Detainee Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, asked faculty at the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point to review information recorded in the 516 CSRT unclassified summaries (hereinafter referred to as 'CSRT records') and provide an objective assessment of this information. After querying the 516 CSRT unclassified summaries, the CTC found that 73% of the unclassified summaries meet the CTC's highest threshold of a 'demonstrated threat' as an enemy combatant. The CTC established two other categories with four discrete proxy characteristics in each ('potential threat' and 'associated threat') in order to help assess whether the information in these records indicated these individuals posed or potentially posed a threat as an enemy combatant. The CTC found that six of the publicly available CSRT unclassified summaries contained no evidence that fit any of the CTC's twelve threat variables."

"This publication provides doctrine for the defense of the US homeland across the range of military operations. It provides information on command and control, interagency and multinational coordination, and operations required to defeat external threats to, and aggression against, the homeland. This publication has been prepared under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It sets forth joint doctrine to govern the activities and performance of the Armed Forces of the United States in operations and provides the doctrinal basis for interagency coordination for defense of the homeland. It provides military guidance for the exercise of authority by combatant commanders and other joint force commanders (JFCs) and prescribes joint doctrine for operations and training. It provides military guidance for use by the Armed Forces in preparing their appropriate plans. It is not the intent of this publication to restrict the authority of the JFC from organizing the force and executing the mission in a manner the JFC deems most appropriate to ensure unity of effort in the accomplishment of the overall objective."

"On August 29,2005, Hurricane Katrina caused unprecedented damage to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Congress responded quickly, and appropriated record amounts of federal funds for response and recovery, totaling approximately $87.75 billion. Congress remains concerned that such emergency circumstances provide the opportunity for fraud, waste and abuse that would deprive the affected individuals the full benefit of the funds to be spent on the recovery. As a result, Congress relies on the Inspectors General as a principal line of defense against fraud and abuse in their respective departments and agencies. Congress and the Inspectors General recognize that the coordination of efforts is critical to effectiveness, especially when the work is to be performed in a short time frame under complex conditions. The attached FY 2007 PCIEECIE Annual Performance Plan of Disaster-Related Activity presents an overview of the audit and investigative efforts being undertaken by the participating Offices of Inspector General (OIGs) and, in some cases, provides a brief description of the OIG's plan."

"We are pleased to transmit the final report of the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors, created March 6, 2007. To arrive at our recommendations, the Commission has visited a number of DOD facilities, VA hospitals, and other care sites across the country. We have listened to injured service members, their families, professionals who provide medical and rehabilitative services, program administrators and many, many others. Our recommendations are few, but they are actionable. They are based on the priorities of patients and families. Essentially, our recommendations hope to accomplish three goals: to serve those injured in the line of duty while defending their nation; to support their recovery and successful rehabilitation; and to simplify the sometimes overly complex systems that frustrate some injured service members and their families and impede efficient care. Our charge was to address the needs of the current generation of 'wounded warriors,' but if implemented, they will help other deserving veterans as well."

"This 14th Quarterly Report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) provides comprehensive reporting on the $44 billion in taxpayer dollars that the United States Congress appropriated for the relief and reconstruction of Iraq. This $44 billion is part of the $99 billion in total Iraq reconstruction funding provided through U.S., Iraqi, and international donor sources since 2003. Section 2 of this Quarterly Report contains a complete review of funding sources and their uses within the reconstruction program. Section 3 provides details on SIGIR's audits, inspections, and investigations this quarter; Section 4 summarizes other agency oversight work in Iraq."