The 90-day strategy surfaces at a time when the effectiveness of homeland security has become a key issue in the presidential campaign.
The Bush administration and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge have been warning that the nation can expect another terrorist attack, but homeland security officials have also trumpeted as successes a series of initiatives designed to make America safer.
Officials have emphasized improvements in several areas, among them border security, the inspection of cargo containers brought in from overseas and the screening of visitors to the United States.
On Aug. 31, U.S. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar declared at a news conference in Laredo, Tex., that his agents are securing the Southwest's border against illegal immigrants. "Even if they get past the border, they're going to be caught up in that net of enforcement," he told the Associated Press.
In September, Robert C. Bonner, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, told the U.S. Marine Security Conference and Expo: "We assess the risk of every ocean-going container headed for the U.S." Six months earlier, he told Congress, "We're inspecting all high-risk containers for terrorist weapons."
Last month, C. Stewart Verdery Jr., assistant secretary for Border and Transportation Security Policy and Planning, told a House Homeland Security subcommittee that "enforcement capabilities are growing by leaps and bounds" with help from US-VISIT, a new program. It is aimed at using computer technology to identify and track the entry and exit of every traveler to the United States.
On Oct. 7, a border protection agency fact sheet stated: "Following 9/11, under the leadership of President Bush, we developed and implemented a smart cargo container security strategy to identify, target and inspect cargo containers before they reach U.S. ports."
But government audits and investigations have detailed numerous shortcomings and continuing problems in those initiatives. Some security analysts say homeland security has improved but officials sometimes overstate the advances.
"We're getting security through rhetoric," said Stephen E. Flynn, a former commander of the U.S. Coast Guard whose work on border and port security has been cited in Bush administration reports and speeches. "Is it better than what we had before? Absolutely. Is it sufficient? No."
The 90-day strategy was given to the public affairs field officers in mid-September at a planning meeting in Washington.
The document contains sections titled "MESSAGE," "OBJECTIVE," "AUDIENCE," "STRATEGY" and "TOOLS." It also contains an action plan that calls on the public affairs officials to "Maximize media" and "Brand CBP."
"America is safer today because of U.S. Customs and Border Protection," states the section labeled "MESSAGE." It continued: "Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency is doing everything in its power to protect our nation at and beyond her borders from terrorists and terrorist weapons, while facilitating global trade routes and fostering economic security."
Under the section labeled "OBJECTIVE," the document states: "To change perception through continuous, consistent and highly credible information."
The document also suggests the use of "surrogates" to spread the agency's message and to "Implement a 'theme of the month.' " It proceeded to list them: "OCTOBER: Border Patrol. NOVEMBER: Agriculture. DECEMBER: Trade."
In one related document labeled as a draft, October is listed as "National Border Protection Month."
One action listed in the draft document, a news conference with Bonner on the use of FBI fingerprint technology at the borders as a "web of enforcement," took placed as scheduled during the week of Oct. 4.
The document stated a message: "In this time of increased security, the United States Customs & Border Protection Agency is controlling and securing our nation's border: preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the U.S.; and, preventing illegal aliens, smugglers, and other contraband from entering the U.S."
To get that message out, the document proposed pitching stories to the "Editorial Board with Washington Times," to "Morning Shows" and to "pitch exclusive" to "FOX 3-4 part series ending with the Commissioner Live in studio. Geraldo or as backup Dr. Bob Arnot with MSNBC."
Research editor Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.
