The good news is that the two-foot-long drone that crashed inside the White House grounds Monday was flown not by a terrorist, but by a drunken intelligence agency employee who had no intention of breaching presidential security.
The terrifying news is that — despite a ban on drone flights inside Washington, despite technologies meant to block them from flying in unauthorized areas, this device, available at Radio Shack, flew, unimpeded, into what should be one of the most secure places imaginable.
The drone was, apparently, too small to be caught on radar. Incredibly, it was the same model that the Department of Homeland Security has just displayed at a conference, outfitted with three pounds of fake explosives. A counterterrorism official told The New York Times that such small devices could also be used for a chemical or biological attack.
That Monday’s crash was a mishap, and not an attack, was a blessing. But it was not a sign of competent policy.
In fact, it was a second warning. Last summer, another hobbyist flew a device just a block from the South Lawn, according to a report filed with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Monday’s crash must be the last such warning before the Secret Service does what’s necessary to keep the President and his family secure.
In just the last six months, the Secret Service has let one man hop the White House fence and another with a knife run into the White House. A Department of Homeland Security report says the agency is stretched “beyond its limits.”
The assessment is frightening, preposterous and inexcusable.
The Secret Service must expand its so-called limits to deal with newfangled threats of today, like drones.
The technology is real, right now. It offers tremendous boons, like packages delivered directly to our doorsteps. But it must be regulated and controlled to ensure the safety of all Americans, and the President most of all.
The Secret Service must not drone on.
