President Bush seeks to reorganize the federal government to more effectively combat terrorism. This seems to be a logical move in light of the apparent failure of various government agencies to prevent the attacks of September 11, 2001. A watchful eye must be ever vigilant, both in defense of our way of life, and in the expansion of government.

The reorganization will create a new department of government and an additional cabinet post, the first since the Department of Veterans Affairs. The trepidation going in is that another bureaucratic morass will be created that will take on a more voluminous role in the future. The opposition applauds the measure because it is their way of solving a problem. If a child is hungry, do not feed the child. Instead, create a new agency to study the problem, come to a flawed resolution based on perfectibility, and then implement it to better society. What is left is the hungry child, empty of nourishment, love, and family. Well, the state is their family according to the intelligentsia.

There is little room for argument that the agencies within the massive federal bureaucracy are often times located in odd places. The United States Coast Guard is under the auspices of the Department of Transportation. This makes little sense. The Coast Guard works to prevent drug smuggling. They are responsible for marine immigration enforcement, terrorist infiltration by sea going vessels, and the rescue of those who are in need of water rescue. Common sense dictates that the Coast Guard's roles call for it to be a member of the same department as those charged with similar tasks. The Drug Enforcement Agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and agencies committed to homeland defense perform better if they can coordinate activities with little inter-agency interference.

The dilemma for those who believe in limited government and scoff at waste is what will become of this vast agency? Certainly there is an argument that this is the role the government should be playing; that of defender of our borders. Those experienced in the ways of Washington understand that this agency, once created, will spiral into something larger. The budget will increase, which is understandable if it meets the level of threat posed, year after year. However, these agencies tend to develop a life of their own, feeding themselves beyond what is called for. Such is the life of government.

Support for the presidents' plan is bi-partisan though the debate looming in Congress will not be a rubber stamp. Some fear another bureaucratic nightmare, and rightfully so. However, the United States must retain the ability to challenge any threats to her existence as a free democracy. Let us take solace in the words of English Statesman Edmund Burke: A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.

J Thomas Lowry may be contacted at: JTL@AmericanCommentator.us

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