Security adviser role becomes permanent

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Tim Daniel figured the job would take a year or less.

As the first state-level "homeland security" adviser in the nation, the recently retired Army colonel and former Pentagon strategist had planned to thoroughly review Missouri's security measures and recommend improvements to the governor.

Then maybe he'd move on to something else. Play more golf, perhaps.

Now nearly a year after the Sept. 11 attacks, Daniel has become an indefinite part of state government -- suggesting the once-foreign phrase of "homeland security" has a place in the American vocabulary and a long-term spot in state government.

Daniel's hiring was announced by Gov. Bob Holden on Sept. 26 -- 15 days after the terrorist attacks and six days after President Bush named former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to a similar national position.

At least publicly, Daniel described his role as temporary when Holden introduced him last year at a command bunker for the State Emergency Management Agency.

But "in the back of my head, there was kind of a feeling that this was going to turn into probably a more permanent position," Daniel said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "I had recognized as a nation we had moved into a different security environment."

New environment

In today's environment, there is a greater emphasis on detecting and preventing terrorism, and more advance coordination on how to respond to an attack.

Missouri is among the leading states in developing plans to protect its critical assets -- the Arch in St. Louis, the Callaway nuclear plant, the state Capitol and about 60 other sites identified as potential targets, Daniel said.

But "we clearly are not where we'd like to be in being able to detect terrorist activity," Daniel said.

That's one reason why Daniel -- or someone else in his position -- may be a part of state government for quite some time.

"None of this is overnight kind of work," Daniel said.

Nonetheless, some of Daniel's suggestions have been implemented quickly.

Within two weeks after Daniel's arrival, guards, metal detectors and photo identification badges became part of the Capitol and other key government buildings. Similar steps had been rejected after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

Within Daniel's first few months, the state convened an advisory panel that held homeland security hearings around the state. The state also adopted an emergency alert system, even before the federal government came out with its color-coded security level standards.

Based partly on the advisory panel's findings, state lawmakers enhanced terrorism-related criminal codes, expanded some emergency police powers and closed some government and utility records to the public.

Money troubles

Daniel says Holden has rejected none of his suggestions. But there's a lot more that could be done -- if the state had the money.

Through early August, the state had spent just $1.8 million in response to the attacks, budget officials said. It also has received another $19.8 million in federal bioterrorism grants, roughly four-fifths of which is going to local communities, Daniel said.

During the next year, the state expects an additional $31 in federal bioterrorism grants and around $60 million in federal first-responder grants aiding all types of emergency services, he said.

Daniel would like to use part of that federal money to purchase an Internet computer system that would allow anyone from the governor to county emergency officials to type in a password and get an up-to-date snapshot of the state's emergency capabilities. For example, the system could keep track of the precise number of critical care hospital beds available around the state.

But the federal funding is neither final nor certain, and so neither are state and local emergency preparations -- perhaps Daniel's biggest frustration in his first year.

Ideally, Daniel said, the state could use a $200 million communication system that could allow various police, fire and ambulance agencies to talk to one another and to the state.