The Homeland Security Hash

Four years after it opened its doors, the Department of Homeland Security is by general agreement one of the most troubled cabinet-level agencies in the federal government. Hardly a day goes by without some fresh report on a contract gone bad, a new technology that does not work, a new Coast Guard cutter that is not seaworthy, or more cargo that slips through port without inspection. Year after year, virtually every assessment, including those by Congress, the 9/11 Commission, and the department's own inspector general, has given the department the same mediocre grades. "While the terrorists are learning and adapting, our government is still moving at a crawl," said 9/11 ­Commission chairman Thomas Kean in December 2005.