Mullin warns terrorists, cartels are joining forces against US
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin joins ‘The Sunday Briefing’ to outline federal efforts against Mexican cartel alliances, evolving drone and foreign cyber threats and calls by progressive lawmakers to reduce funding for border enforcement agencies.
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Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin revealed on “The Sunday Briefing” that DHS is changing its seal, which depicts an eagle holding a palm leaf in one talon and a bundle of arrows in the other. The new seal will show the eagle facing toward the arrows rather than the palm, a symbolic shift Mullin said reflects the department’s daily fight against threats to the country.
Ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Mullin declared that the department is “at war every single day” against bad actors targeting the United States, from Islamic terrorists to drug cartels.
The DHS seal depicts an eagle. Centered on the eagle’s breast is a shield divided into three sections containing elements that represent the American homeland: air, land, and sea. The top element, a dark blue sky, contains 22 stars representing the original 22 entities that have come together to form the department. (Department of Homeland Security)
Mullin said the direction the eagle faces carries symbolic meaning, explaining that looking toward the palm represents peace while facing the arrows represents war. He tied the change to what he described as an increasingly fluid threat environment spanning terrorism, cartels, cyberattacks, drones and violence against public officials.
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“If you look at most of our seals throughout all the agencies, the eagle looks to the palm because that’s in a time of peace. We’re actually changing our seal to make it look towards the arrows, because when it looks towards the arrows is when it means we’re at war.”
Asked about the leading threat to the homeland today, Mullin said terrorism still tops the list, but it looks different than it used to.
“It’s still terrorists, but the terrorists have joined with the cartels,” said Mullin, pointing out that fentanyl overdoses have killed more Americans than the Vietnam War and praising President Donald Trump for adding cartels to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
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Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin addressed governors on immigration policy before facing criticism over comments about legal immigration reform. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Image)
“We’re seeing the Islamic terrorists joining with the Mexican cartels that are trying to use all the resources to come after us. And then, we’re seeing the drone attacks that are starting to take place,” Mullin said.
“We have tried to protect our sensitive areas with fences and armed security guards. Now we’re having to realize that the threat comes from the air, too, with simple drones that people can buy online on Amazon.”
Given that Labor Day serves as the traditional kickoff to campaign season, Mullin also reflected on the threats faced by political candidates.
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“I would say you’re never safe when you’re [in the] public eye,” he said, calling for cooler heads to prevail.
“The American people have to realize that we do have a republic, and the republic has different opinions. And it’s okay to have different opinions, just when you cross the line and say that that different opinion needs to be silenced, needs to be silenced through violence — that’s where Homeland comes into place, that’s where we’re going to stop that violent act.”
That’s not to mention the new frontier of cyber threats. Mullin identified Iran, North Korea, China and Russia-linked actors as some of the main sources of today’s cyberattacks, which number in the hundreds of thousands each week, according to the DHS chief.
He emphasized the importance of staying agile in the face of an ever-changing risk environment.
“Every single day, I get a briefing. Every single day we have new threats, and every single day the threats are changing,” Mullin said. “Every time we stop a threat, a terrorist act or a criminal activity that’s taking place, they also change their tactics. We have to be constantly moving from cyber to sea to air and to land.”
