a. Topic Statement The case study The Blast in Centralia no. 5: A mine Disaster No One Stopped is a useful lens through which to identify potential pitfalls for national security organizations. The most powerful lessons that ought to be learned by the case study are twofold. First, political interference in the work of governmental organizations can lead to dysfunction and mission failure. Second, the failure to conduct independent oversight over a governmental organization—especially when its performance has been openly questioned—permits that dysfunction to continue unabated. b. Introduction On March 25, 1947, the Centralia no. 5 mine in Illinois exploded, claiming 111 lives (Martin, 31, 42). The apparent cause was determined to be inadequate mine maintenance by the operator—coal dust had built up on the floor and walls of the mine, creating conditions conducive to a chain reaction of explosions that would kill most of the workers inside of the mine. However, this was not the root cause of the disaster; it was the outcome of a systemic failure within the state government of Illinois. Despite the continuous warnings of a state mining inspector and a chain of notice letters sent from the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals notifying the mine operator—the Centralia Coal Company—of the dangerous conditions in its mine, the disaster was not averted. The disaster occurred because both the mine operator and the Department itself dismissed the inspector’s warnings. The real, indispensable culprit of the disaster at Centralia no. 5 was political interference within the Department and the failure to conduct independent oversight over it. These failures are near universally applicable to national security organizations and their less... ... middle of paper ... ...ntal organizations. Additionally, failure within an organization to conduct independent oversight can fail to detect problems when they would otherwise become readily apparent. These lessons are readily applied to any national security organization, and as seen in the failures within the case studies, ought to be. Works Cited Casamayou, Maureen. “The Columbia Accident.” Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Stillman, Richard Joseph. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 105-114. Martin, John. “The Blast in Centralia No. 5: A mine disaster No One Stopped.” Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Stillman, Richard Joseph. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 31-44. Taubman, Philip. “Death of a Spy Satellite Program.” Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Stillman, Richard Joseph. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 361-369.
Kross, Peter. The. The “George Washington: America’s First Spy Master”. Military Intelligence, Jan-Mar 1991, Vol. 17, Issue 1, p. 6.
In order to better understand the historical context of nuclear development it seems to me as though Iversen dove into a fair amount of investigative journalism. The book focuses primarily on the events of Rocky Flats and her life through a narrative nonfiction interpretation. By providing a journalist approach, Iversen makes it easy for the reader to build a relationship with the characters presented throughout the book. At times I found myself visualizing the intensity of the fires, the whirlwind of emotions from locals, and the lasting environmental impacts that would not only plague Colorado, but taint the reputation of what it means to be human.
Guilford, CT: Dushkin/ McGraw-Hill, 1997. Chiatkin, Anton. A. Treason in America. Washington DC: Executive Intelligence. Review, a review of the book, Divine, Breen, Frederickson, and Williams. America Past and Present.
Centralia Coal Company was owned by Bell & Zoller Coal & Mining Company. Herbert E. Bell was the Chairman and William P. Young was the Vice President. Illinois ranked third in coal production. Four agencies had authority over coal mining at the time; the state of Illinois, the United States Government, Centralia Coal Company and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). The explosion in Centralia No. 5 occurred on March 25, 1947. Beginning with his appointment in 1941, State Mine Inspector Driscoll O. Scanlan sent inspection reports to the Department of Mines and Minerals (DMM) Director Robert M. Medill. The U.S. Bureau of Mines inspected Centralia No. 5 the first time in September 1942. Findings and recommendations were the same in all reports. Scanlan requested maintenance related to safety issues. The U.S. Bureau of Mines report supported his findings. In all this time nothing was done.
Sulick, Michael J.. Spying in America espionage from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the Cold War., Georgetown University Press, 2012
The US government hid a deadly secret in Rocky Flats. The department of Energy set up a nuclear plant for manufacture of plutonium triggers for use in nuclear weapons during the Cold War in 1950s and 1960s. For years, residents believed that the plant made industrial detergent (McGrath). During her childhood, Iversen inquired of her mother of the sole business of the Rocky Flats. Her mother said, “I think [Rocky Flats] makes cleaning supplies, scrubbing bubbles or something.” (Iversen 12). This was indeed a lie propagated among the Coloradans. Full Body Burden reveals cover-up of US government mistakes in justification of its security concerns. Establishment of the plant by the government resulted into radioactive emissions into the environment. Ef...
We once again hear problems with governmental agency overly using their power and taking away rights of citizens unjustly. With these problems comes societies weary eye over the government, should society trust them or fear them. With internal problems also come international problems. Oil runs the world and the United States can’t have small oil producing countries have to much power over them. However if these countries wanted they could slow the world down and create huge problems. This is what happened in the nineteen seventies, when a few of the OPEC countries decided that they wanted more money. This caused many problems in the United States and other countries; here in the US the auto industry had to change their thinking on car and engine size. With the CIA committing illegal acts against the public and OPEC raising the price for oil, the United States had many problems to face at this time. The government caused these to happen, they allowed the CIA to go on unchecked in their performance and activities.
Watson, Robert P., Devine, Michael J. and Wolz, Robert J. eds., The National Security Legacy
Huber, Walt Roy. California State and Local Government In Crisis. 3rd Ed. California: Educational Textbook Company. 1997,1995,1992.
Gordon, K., & Emerson, J. (2010). Governing through a disaster: Lessons from the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Retrieved from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2010/08/07/206563/governing-through-a-disaster/
American policy was conflicted on multiple fronts. There was a high-perceived threat, but the means devised to cope with it fell short o...
Throughout the summer of 1958, explosions rocked the hills and hollows near Coalwood, West Virginia. The first blasts terrified miners and their families. Had the mine blown up? Were the Russians attacking? But when the echoes died away, folks shrugged and said, "It's just those damn rocket boys!"
The discovery of Klaus Fuchs’s espionage, more so than the news of Soviet nuclear test, marked the start of the Cold War and a worsening of Soviet-American relations. The case again raised the American public’s feelings against Communism. Similarly, it caused a cooling of Anglo-American relations, and dashed hopes of Britain to cooperate with America on nuclear projects in the future. In addition, Britain paid notice to the “incompetence which constitute the history of the British security” for the MI5 cleared Fuchs at least eight times. The British public asked in shock, “How did Dr. Fuchs, a confessed Communist, get away with it for seven years? Why did the tip that led to his arrest have to come from the United Stated Federal Bureau of Investigation rather than from the M. I. 5?” As result, “loud demands were being made today for a thorough overhaul of Britain’s security arrangements as a result of… the trial of Dr. Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs,” including a reorganization of “anti-espionage precautions at all the secret establishments,” an reexamination of “personal records of all the 3,000 persons employed at the atomic energy plants,” and doubts about “whether the policy of granting asylum to political refugees would be
The study of public administration only continued to grow over the course of the next two decades. As the study of public administration expanded, so did the development of s...
Woodrow Wilson’s purpose in writing “The Study of Administration” is to bring awareness that the government systems in place need to be re-evaluated and improved. Wilson encourages we need to examine the history of administration set forth by others in determining certain needs to be accomplished in effective ways and methods. Wilson’s desirable outcomes for research within the public administration field are for government systems to become more productive and organized.