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Dennis Treece and Massport: Safe Harbor

From Boston's Logan Airport to the city's waterfront shipping facilities, Massport CSO Dennis Treece patrols an anxious perimeter.

But customer convenience is no longer the only, or even the prime, directive. At Logan and elsewhere in townthe Tobin Memorial Bridge, the Conley Container Terminal in South Boston, Hanscom Field in nearby Lexington and Worcester Regional Airportsecurity is Massport's main deliverable.

"Remember that the nation is at yellow alert. [Editor's note: At the time of the interview, Homeland Security's advisory system was at the yellow level, indicating "significant risk" of terrorist attack.] And yellow alert means that there's a significant chance of terrorism from those who have declared war against our civilization," says Treece. "So we have in place today what we call 'yellow plus.' We've done more [at Logan] than we think is absolutely necessary. And the reason for that is that we do not expect to get actionable intelligence telling us that the threat will increase."Getting Ahead of the CurveIn fact, one of Treece's laments about the homeland defense effort to date is that there have been no effective mechanisms developed to get meaningful intelligence out to people who could put it to good use. "We've got to figure out how to get U.S. intelligence into the hands of first responders, including guys like me who have to develop plans and procedures based on the magnitude of the threat," he says. "If you can't tell me what the magnitude of the threat is, don't expect me to be on top of it; expect me to be reactive. And I hate being reactive. I want to be proactive. I want to get ahead of the curve."

To that end, he stays in touch with former colleagues in the intelligence communitythough there are strict limits to what they can share with him because he lacks an intelligence clearance. (That may soon be remedied. Treece has applied for a clearance, through the TSA as his sponsor, which he expects will be granted.)

Still, even given his background (or maybe because of it), Treece thinks that intelligence can be overrated. "I'm not convinced that the United States has all the information that we need," he says. "These are the most difficult types of intelligence operations you can [attempt]. Penetrating al-Qaida's got to be next to impossible."

Lacking reliable intelligence, you use your imagination. "These [terrorists] do not give you any warning. These people strike. And we're doing everything we can to anticipate the next type of attack," says Treece. "The more difficult we make it to steal an airplane and use it as a missile, the less likely that becomes. So what's next? I spend an awful lot of my time thinking about that and then developing security around those [potential] things."