'Away From the Politics of Fear'
SNIP:03/16/2009
Janet Napolitano, 51, is President Obama's new Homeland Security Secretary. She spoke with SPIEGEL about immigration, the continued threat of terrorism and the changing tone in Washington.
SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word "terrorism." Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?
Napolitano: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word "terrorism," I referred to "man-caused" disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.
AP
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
SPIEGEL: This sounds quite different from what we heard from the Bush administration. How will the new anti-terror policy differ from the previous one?
Napolitano: Our policies will be guided by authoritative information. We also have assets at our disposal now that we did not have prior to 9/11. For example, we are much better able to keep track of travellers coming into the US than we were before. The third thing is to work with our international partners and allies to make sure that we are getting information and sharing information in an appropriate and real-time fashion.
SPIEGEL: This weekend you met in Berlin with six European Union interior ministers. What should Europeans expect of you and the Obama administration?
Napolitano: Well, vis-à-vis working with me, what they can look forward to is a spirit of cooperation and coordination. Our approach will be not so much focused on protocol but on what steps each of us needs to accomplish to make our countries more secure.
SPIEGEL: What would you like to hear from your German counterpart, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble?
Napolitano: The Bundestag (eds note: German parliament) soon has before it a vote to increase information-sharing, on criminal information, with us. This exchange is vital.
SPIEGEL: You would like the German authorities to share personal data of terrorism suspects, such as fingerprinting and DNA?
Napolitano: That is exactly right. We will also want to share some experiences with counter-radicalization, how the radicalization of young Muslims in our countries can be prevented.
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http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,613330,00.html