DAVID WARTOFSKY'S
NATIONAL SECURITY PARABLES
12-11-06
ON INTER-AGENCY COORDINATION
After '911, all of a sudden the Potomac Airfield became a matter of national security.
At that time, the only 'government agencies' at the table were USSS and FAA,
with the White House watching quietly nearby.
TSA did not yet exist.
Ah, those were the days...
So here's the parable...
Once upon a time, there was an "Agency That Thought It Was In Charge."
Traumatized by 911, the Agency was terrified of any decisions being made without
its 'approval.'
But of course, no one at the Agency would actually sign or approve anything.
They actually had no authority under which to approve, or
deny, anything.
Nor was any
individual within the Agency ready to toss their 'John Henry' around so easily.
In other words, Agency approval would be required to do anything, ..but the Agency would never actually approve anything be done.
Welcome to my world!
-----------
So imagine, in this parable, that I'm willing to play
along with this....
One day I discover have a broken door knob.
My broken
door knob at Potomac Airfield is now a matter of national security, requiring
Agency
approval.
After all, the Agency does not want me doing anything without it's
approval.
Regardless of whether or not it actually has any authority at all.
So, enjoying a little sport now and again, I send my request to change my door knob over to the Agency, in triplicate.
The Agency doesn't know what to do.
There are no standards or procedures
for 'door knob repair, sub-paragraph "national security."
My doorknob is not
anything on the Agency's books, they really have no precedent for any of this.
The Agency is not trying to avoid me, they want to be helpful, but from within their
world, no answer exists.
They simply don't know what to do.
After months of anxious bewilderment, perhaps lashed into motion
by some loud pings coordinated from Congress,
The Agency eventually goes to the USSS, presenting my request for "authorization to change
a doorknob."
The Agency says to the USSS:
"We have a request from Mr. Wartofsky dated six months ago for our approval to change his doorknob, and we need your approval"
The USSS looks at the FAA for a few polite moments, searching for the right words.
Finally USSS responds to the Agency,
"That's nuts. Don't bother us with such nonsense. Go away. Make your own decisions."
THUS, some six months after my initial submission to the Agency for approval to change my doorknob, the Agency finally comes back to me, hat in hand, and says:
"We were unable to get USSS approval, to change your door knob."
See how it works?
It's ALWAYS 'their fault.'
So what do you do?
Do you sit there with a broken door knob, waiting for an approval that no agency can
ever give?
No, that would be silly.
You know the right thing to do, so you do the right thing.
You keep fully informed those that need to know, what they need to know.
"Hey guys. Next Tuesday I'm going to a hardware store to buy a new doorknob."
"If you are concerned about my doorknob, let me know before Tuesday"
If they have concerns, or something to contribute, the
informal channels of communication are wide open.
They know and appreciate that they are being
kept fully informed, (sometimes painfully so).
They also know that they
are given every opportunity to throw in their own two cents,
without any 'jurisdictional' or 'legal' or
'regulatory' complications for either of us.
"Dave. Those cheap door knobs don't hold up
well."
"We think the good stuff is really worth the extra five bucks."
"Great! Thanks guys. Good suggestion, that's what I'll get."
And so, "in consultation with," (should anyone else be worried about where I obtained approval) I replace my door knob.
FINIS
So some months later the Agency comes in to visit and notices the new door knob that has been replaced without their approval.
They demand to know, "We never approved your new door knob! Who authorized you to replace your doorknob?"
I reply, "I'm sorry, as a matter of national security, that's classified."
Have a nice day.
David Wartofsky