Nuclear Detection Office to Congress: Your Money or Your Life

On the anniversary of the September 11th tragedy, I find myself completely amazed that we are this stupid as a country to allow something as trivial as money to stand in the way of protecting ourselves.

There aren’t many things I can find George Bush doing right these days, but I do have to say that his plan to utilize new anti-radiation detection technology along our borders is a plan that I feel strongly about since I don’t want me or my family irradiated any time soon.

The project, involving three contractors, has been embroiled in allegations that the department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office misled Congress about testing, cost, and effectiveness of the machines, known as advanced spectroscopic portal monitors or ASPs.

Didn’t we learn anything about knowledge sharing from seven years ago? Didn’t we learn that an open-flow of information would be the only way to protect ourselves in the future? In fact, weren’t we promised this? And out of complete disrespect for the dead, we have fallen right back into the loving arms of incompetence and ignorance.

Anyway….

The report is the latest blow to one of the Bush administration’s most prominent homeland security initiatives. In announcing the $1.2 billion program two years ago, Department of Homeland Security officials said the costly monitors were vital to national security, would dramatically improve the detection of nuclear materials and reduce false alarms experienced by current equipment.

This just reeks of a pork barrel buffet if ever there was one with the winner getting these things built in their home state and the loser coming out publicly claiming we don’t need them or they are too expensive.

The review found that contracts for the development of the machines “have already experienced unfavorable cost and schedule variances” since the contracts to three firms were awarded in July 2006. Contractors include Raytheon, Thermo Eberline and Canberra.

One contract is 25 percent over budget and 23 percent behind schedule, the report said, without providing details about the contractor. “These unfavorable variances are not likely to improve, but quite likely will worsen, over the course of the ASP contracts,” the report said.

This is where having a Michael Bloomberg or Mitt Romney would come in handy! Someone that has experience in massive scale budgeting and deliverability….oh, and accountability. The level of incompetence within the agencies designed to protect us is mind-boggling, it screams Peter Principle from the roof tops.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee plans a hearing about the report and related matters Sept. 25. Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), whose staff has been conducting a parallel investigation, said the program was “a mission where failure is not an option.”

Of course, let’s have more effing meetings. Let’s keep finger pointing and blaming the other side until one day, someone steps off the A-train in Times Square and does the unthinkable, then we can have more meetings and more hearings about how we should have protected ourselves. I can’t friggin wait until Election Day!