(Article information from NTI Global Security Newsletter)

The White House is considering whether to support a proposal to create a national director of intelligence to oversee the entire U.S. intelligence community, Bush administration officials said earlier this week.

The proposal, which was initially drafted more than a year ago, is being reviewed now as a possible response to charges by the national commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that the current intelligence system is too fragmented, officials said. There are concerns, though, that the U.S. Defense Department's reluctance to give up its share of the $40 billion intelligence budget, as well as a common belief that competition among intelligence agencies is beneficial, may hinder efforts to modify the existing system, Bush administration officials said.

In his appearance before the Sept. 11 commission Wednesday, CIA Director George Tenet seemingly acknowledged flaws in the current structure of the intelligence community but warned against separating the position of CIA director from the overall head of intelligence, according to the New York Times.

The leaders of institutions operating San Antonio's three Level I trauma centers and the president of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio recently announced the formation of the Trauma Institute of San Antonio, Texas (TRISAT), an innovative and intensive project to more effectively marshal the region's Level I trauma resources. University Hospital, Wilford Hall Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center receive the most seriously injured patients from 71 emergency medical services (EMS) agencies and 30 hospitals located in a 22-county region of South/Central Texas.

TRISAT funding is from a $2.1 million congressional appropriation made possible in large part by the leadership of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.

Wilford Hall Medical Center and Brooke Army Medical Center operate the only Level I trauma centers in the U.S. Department of Defense. As such, the military depends on them to train thousands of physicians for trauma service readiness during wartime.

A Level I trauma center provides "comprehensive trauma care, serves as a regional resource, and provides leadership in education, research, and system planning," according to guidelines from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). A Level I center is required to have immediate availability of trauma surgeons, anesthesiologists, physician specialists, nurses and resuscitation equipment. Texas has 12 Level I centers.

The IEEE Dallas CVT Society and the DFW Homeland Security Alliance are holding a joint symposium on Communications and Security Tomorrow (CAST) Symposium on Tuesday, April 20 beginning at 7 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Select located at Central Expressway south of Campbell Road.

Topics to be discussed include wireless applications for homeland security, securing communication against terrorism and a panel discussion on a first response scenario in the event of an attack.

There is a $40 charge for members of either IEEE CVT or the DFW Homeland Security Alliance and a $55 for non-members. For more information or to register, see http://www.cvt-dallas.org/details.htm.

Worldwide threats to peace and security, including arms proliferation, human rights abuses and the aftermath of war, will be detailed and discussed by a group of high-level experts at the 2004 edition of the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Lecture Series, to be held at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) on April 29-30.

The event, titled "21st Century Challenges: International Security, Non-Proliferation, Democracy and Human Rights," is sponsored by the Cecil and Ida Green Center for the Study of Science and Society on the UTD campus. It will be free and open to the public.

Scheduled to speak at the event are:
-Patricia Lewis, director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva and former director of the London-based Verification Technologies Information Center.
-Joseph Cirincione, senior associate and director of the Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., and author of the book Deadly Arsenals: Tracking Weapons of Mass Destruction.
-Marie Chevrier, associate professor of political economy in UTD's School of Social Sciences and former associate director of the Harvard Sussex Program on Chemical and Biological Warfare.
-Robert Jordan, who served as the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia from October 2001 to December 2003.
-Joe W. "Chip" Pitts III, an international businessman and lawyer who serves on the board of director of Amnesty International U.S.A.

The event was organized by Chevrier, who less than a month ago was appointed by the International Committee of the Red Cross to a select group of experts whose mission is to help halt the development and spread of biotechnology weapons.

The series of lectures will kick off at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, with a keynote address by Lewis titled "Disarmament and Security Challenges Today and Tomorrow." At 9:30 a.m. the next day, Cirincione will discuss "How to End Proliferation Threats Through Diplomacy and Cooperation;" that will be followed by a talk at 11 a.m. by Chevrier on "Reconstructing Peaceful Society: Bosnia After Dayton."

The luncheon speaker will be Jordan, who beginning at 12:30 p.m. will discuss "Achieving Democracy in the Middle East: Prospects and Challenges." The event will conclude with a lecture by Pitts at 2:30 p.m. on "Human Rights Challenges of the 21st Century."

All of the activities will be held at the UTD Conference Center on the university's campus in Richardson. For additional information about the event, or to make required reservations for the lunch on April 30, please contact Janie Jury at the Green Center, 972-883-2555 or jjury@utdallas.edu.

The Third Annual San Antonio - Austin Regional BioDefense Summit hosted by the SanAntonio Austin Life Science Association - will be held on Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30 at the T Bar M Ranch Texas Sage Room located at 2549 Highway 46 West in New Braunfels, Texas.

Registration fees, including both days events and meals, are $125/SALSA members and $150/non-SALSA members. (Late registration fees take effect April 26th, 2004.)

Summit registration may be accessed online. The online registration site will manage all participant registration, including guests, speakers, and sponsors. All attendees and sponsors must register through the website in order to ensure that they receive participant materials and invoicing statements/receipts. See http://www.bio-salsa.org/ for more information.

San Antonio-Austin Life Sciences Association (SALSA) is a regional organization combining the unique strengths of San Antonio's $10 billion biomedical business sector and military support with Austin's multi-billion dollar information technology strengths and investment capital to create one dynamic "biotech corridor." SALSA has unified scientists, biomedical professionals, service providers, academic and government representatives, and high-tech specialists from these neighboring cities to create a mutually beneficial relationship to attract business and spur technology transfer.