The cataclysmic changes that took place in Central and Eastern Europe inevitably changed the face of politics in Europe and in the Western world as a whole. The civil war in Yugoslavia was, and continues to be, the first case of ethnic conflict in Europe along with the Arab Spring in North Africa in the post Cold War order.
On 11 September 2001 (9/11), the international community was introduced to a new type of terrorism, one that was truly global in its organization and its impact. In Europe, United States and Asian, it was immediately clear that an effective response would require new levels of cooperation on intelligence-sharing.
The post 9/11 along with the terrorist acts in March 11th 2004, in Madrid, July 7th 2005 in London, July 18th 2012 in Burgas, Bulgaria, has challenged governments, policy-makers, religious leaders, the media and general public to play both critical and constructive roles in the war against international terrorism.
Today, Greece is surrounded by unhappy neighbors, stuck in the middle of one of the shakiest regions of the world, faced with a clear and not too subtle Turkish threat, and exposed to an unstoppable wave of illegal arrivals that could be carrying dangerous operatives concealed within the throngs nobody can realistically expect to monitor, this country urgently needs a re-think of its overall homeland security policy and act without delay.
One must ask; is the time mature for Greece to think of a Department of Homeland Security? The answer is Yes! Greece cannot afford the luxury of experimenting with its law-Enforcement and Intelligence services. The country urgently needs a Department of Homeland Security in order to coordinate the intelligence-sharing among the Greek intelligence service (NIS-EYP), anti-terrorism squad intelligence unit and preparedness of the Greek police operational Information analysis system (KESYDEP), coast guard intelligence branch and armed forces Intelligence directorate (E-2).
RIEAS has repeatedly written in this web site that subordinating law-enforcement and intelligence agencies to cabinet ministries, instead of keeping intelligence separate, independent, and directly accountable to the highest authority of the State, has been cited more times than we care to remember as one significant step in the wrong direction.
Even though the Greek economy is in recession for several years, the creation of a Department of Homeland Security is not an option but an urgent mission of the Greek government. Reform(s) and restructuring of the Law-Enforcement-Intelligence Community should occur wherever in order to increase the efficiency of combating against internal and external threats in Greece!
