Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   A bit off topic, but I'm curious Date:   3/7/2012 5:08:02 PM

Your question is a good one, and I don't have a good answer.  Presumably, the National Security Advisor spend their time working out the issues between the Defense and State Departments to propose a coordinated national security recommendation to the President.  But, is it needed?  Don't know.  I'm not a huge fan of the NSC and whenever I have been summoned there on a issue by the staffers, as far as I was concerned it only served to muddy the water; 

In my mind, the Department of Homeland Security's biggest problem (besides its current leader) is that even years after its creation it is still not a fully integrated Department.  My observation is that a good portion of it's mission is not clear.  My interface with them had to do with some technology that they were considering buying (they look at world wide sources), but did not have the technical staff to evaluate.  It seems to me, they get a lot of money, and they are not sure what to do with it.  And from what I've heard from a few people I knew that worked over there, no one had ever been able to assimilate the cultures of the multiple agencies that were thrown together to make it up. 

I'd be the very last person to tell you that I think the government is efficient or well organized or even especially well managed.  Despite encouragement to "think outside the box" the fact is that no one really wants that, and when it happens the thinker will likely be ostracized. For the most part, the political appointees do not trust the civilian workforce, nor does the civilian workforce trust the political appointees and nobody trust the Hill or it's staffers. So a lot of time gets wasted. And the first year of any Admnistration, nothing gets done while all the "key" players are going through confirmation processes.  So the first year, nothing much of any consequence will be accomplished.

I don't feel animosity towards the government.  Despite the inefficiencies things do get done.  The government is good at coming up with frameworks under which things can operate.  I'm not a person that believes that businesses will ever be self-regulating.  It's a nice thought, but frankly, nothing I've ever seen would lead me to believe that.  Some of the biggest Defense companies in this country would sell out our technology base and advantages for quarterly earnings.  It's not that they are bad people, it's just that is the nature of business.  They focus on the short term.  Under the best circumstances government focuses on the long term.