Flynn: DHS set up to fail
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is fighting a losing battle because it doesn't have the resources to prepare the nation to deal with a terror attack or natural disaster, Stephen Flynn, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and authority on border and transportation security, said Monday.
Flynn said dedicated DHS officials are working overtime to try and protect the nation, but the department's performance remains poor. He spoke on National Public Radio's 'Diane Rehm Show' as part of a media tour to promote his new book, 'The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation.'
'The department was set up to fail and it has succeeded largely at that. The staffing is woefully inadequate. There is no dedicated civil service corps building up capacity. A lot of their work is contracted out. A lot of the contracts don’t go well. We’re not building any institutional capacity.
'Of the top 60 people in the department, only five of them have been around since 2003 when the department was stood up. How could you run any major organization when you have a 90 percent turnover in the top leadership?' Flynn said.
Flynn: DHS set up to fail
