The March 2006 furor over a Dubai firm's attempt to purchase the company managing some U.S. ports illustrates the difficult homeland security challenges that exist at the nexus of privately owned critical assets as well as global interdependence. Unfortunately, nearly five years after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., federal efforts to enlist the private sector in bolstering homeland security remain largely stillborn.
Neglected Defense offers a thoughtful and tightly reasoned analysis of why that is so. It presents a way forward for strengthening cooperation between the private sector and government on homeland security. The report begins by laying out the policy dilemma in detail. It offers a recent history of the security role of the private sector, and highlights specific problems that have kept public-private security partnerships from maturing. It concludes with a series of recommendations—for Congress, the Bush administration, and the private sector—to better secure the homeland.