Challenges have to be met. The best way to do so is to arm oneself with knowledge, skills and technique. All this comes through training, more training and education. That is what IISSM is aiming at in its forthcoming XIVth Annual International Seminar , scheduled in the city Hyderabad, India, on November 23-26, 2004. The venue is Hotel Taj Krishna and the broad theme is “Professional Excellence Through Continued Training and Education”. Eminent faculties from far and wide have confirmed joining and sharing their expertise. The names of some of them could be seen in the Seminar brochure has been hosted at the website. A PDF version of this brochure can also be downloaded from the Training Folder of the Newsletter. Interaction with top level training Institutes like the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) and the Sardarvallabhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), both located in Hyderabad, has been worked out. Enthusiastic local response has already been noticed. Brig. (Retd.) P.N. Rao, VSM, a senior faculty with the IISSM, now settled in Hyderabad, has been nominated as the Conference Coordinator. Two IISSM members of long standing, namely, Mr. M. Giridhar, MD, Reliable Security Services, and Mr. C. Bhaskar Reddy, MD, Excel Security Services, have joined hands in order to make IISSM-2004 a memorable event in Hyderabad. Mr. Reddy will function as the Conference Manager and Secretary, Organising Committee.
IISSM also feels happy to announce that necessary working-level contact has been established with international associations like the CII (Council for International Investigators), WAD (World Association of Detectives) and APSA (Asian Professional Security Association).
By all indications, IISSM-2004 is likely to be a landmark for security professional.
9/11 and all that: A View
The September 11 commission has come out with a report pointing to the missed opportunities that left the United States open to attack from al-Qaeda. According to the report, the WTRC attacks “were a shock, but they should not have come as a surprise”. The administration opposed the setting up of the commission and lobbying has already begun against one of its principal recommendations – the establishment of a cabinet-level intelligence tsar. This is because current institutions - the CIA, FBI and the National Security Council would have to shed their control over some of their functions to the new authority. But the commission found it difficult to get an answer to the question: who is in charge? This is a theme not dissimilar to the one that confronted the Kargil inquiry where intelligence agencies and the army shifted blame on each other and in the end all escaped censure. The 9/11 attack was a traumatic event for a country that prides itself in maintaining the security of its homeland. The US distraction in Iraq has prevented it from pursuing the war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan more vigorously. Pakistan remains a problem and a potential pool for a new generation of terrorists. Of the greatest concern for everyone is the possibility of terrorists accessing nuclear or bio-war materials. Perhaps the biggest challenge for the US is to get the world campaign against terrorist back on the rails and to pursue it with renewed and relentless determination.
Hindustan Times – July 24, 2004.
D. C. Nath, IPS (Retd.)
Former Special Director, IB (MHA), Govt. of India
Editor-cum-Executive President & CEO
International Institute of Security and Safety Management
New Delhi, India.
