Editorial: Our failure to communicate

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 | 7:13 a.m.

One of the more alarming findings after 9/11 was that emergency responders were out of radio contact with each other. Last year Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that little progress has been made, despite billions in federal spending by the Homeland Security Department.

"The feds are killing us. The DHS loves to have meetings and meetings. We don't have the time," the head of Philadelphia's emergency management department recently told Newhouse News Service. And a National Guard communications specialist said, "(Homeland Security) threw a lot of money at trying to connect the dots, but all they did was create more dots."

What is especially aggravating about the lack of communication so long after 9/11 is that technology exists to solve the problem. Some National Guard units are now outfitted with an electronic device that can connect incompatible local radios, according to the Newhouse story.

So why are most local jurisdictions still lacking this technology, or another networking plan that would speed responses in times of disaster? The Homeland Security Department needs to do a better job of fanning out across the country and showing leadership in this area. Nearly five years after such a profound weakness was discovered, it is shocking that it remains.