Thursday, October 11, 2001
Officers were told they'll likely see more coordination between local, national and even international law enforcement agencies.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Winning the war on terrorism at home will prove even more important than fighting the war overseas and local law officers will find themselves on the front lines, NATO's former supreme commander said.
"If we're going to be successful in this war on terrorism ..., then we're going to have to not only be successful abroad, but even more importantly, we're going to have to succeed at home," retired U.S. Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark said Wednesday. Clark served as NATO's supreme allied commander from July 1997 to May 2000.
Changes to come: Clark, in town to speak to a conference of more than 900 law enforcement officers from across Ohio, said police officers can expect changes in how they do their work as they work to prevent future terrorist strikes.
"It's a defensive fight here," said Clark. "They want to strike us here."
Officers will likely see more coordination between local, national and even international law enforcement agencies, Clark said. Other changes could include greater efforts to track travelers and visitors to this country and even more emphasis on providing security, he said.
Heightened cooperation between law enforcement agencies is something Clark hopes will happen with the establishment of the Cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security. President Bush has tapped former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to head the federal agency.
"Hopefully one of the things we'll see from Gov. Ridge is a move to tighten linkages from top to bottom of the law enforcement chain," said Clark, who's now a consultant for Stephens Group Inc., an investment banking firm.
Tracking visitors: Despite possible constitutional and privacy concerns, Clark said the government should explore the tracking of foreign visitors to the U.S.
"Every other country does this," Clark said. "We haven't done a very effective job of doing this in the past."
Clark said most people already have unique identifiers such as Social Security numbers.