Are there any specific weaknesses in national security?
We still need considerable work in the area of bioterrorism. I think there is a lot at play in terms of the technology of detection. But we’re still not at the point where I think we are prepared to ramp up on an emergency basis the kind and quality of vaccinations and antidotes we might need. Even when we get to that point, we still have work to develop a mass national distribution system. In the area of bioterror, some infrastructure work needs to be done. There’s a clear way ahead, but it’s going to take time. In retrospect, was it a mistake to merge all the agencies into one department? One of the things I left on the shelf when I left office is that I wanted to decentralize some of things we were doing in Washington, D.C. To take some of the oversight, the coordination, the preparation and response out of D.C., drive it down to the regional level. For a variety of reasons, that was never done. There’s nothing wrong will pulling together these 20-plus agencies, but once you’ve deve
