Talk:National Special Security Event

Super Bowl XLI
Was this event an NSSE? KyuuA4 22:26, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Super Bowl XL was a NSSE http://www.fema.gov/emergency/reports/2006/nat020606.shtm There is no equivalent statement for Super Bowl XLI from FEMA, including here http://www.fema.gov/emergency/reports/2007/nat020507.shtm Maybe someone just forgot to include it. But the State Department has a fuller list here http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/95048.pdf It is more complete than the current entry's list and some of the dates differ. It is my belief that 9/11 was also designated a NSSE, but of course you would never get a straight answer as to whether that was before or after planes started hitting buildings. I expect Congress has been told either way but in closed session. BTW The recent coincidental cutting of internet cables from the Middle East is an eery parallel with the shutting down of Middle Eastern-oriented websites just prior to 9/11. Good thing the Super Bowl is a NSSE, or maybe not. LimitedNews (talk) 11:30, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

NPOV
The first section of the article seems to argue against many "uninformed" points of view on NSSEs. It would be better if such POVs were not attacked, but listed as concerns.


 * I agree. Apparently this edit added a pretty much all of the ridiculous POV.  A (cited) section on concerns and common misunderstandings would be great, but when it's the entire entry and it's phrased like "Dear reader, you are wrong", it's bad.  I'm reverting the top section to the pre-that-edit state. -- Plutor 14:28, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

List of past NSSEs
Hard to find a definite list. This page says that there have been 20 so far, and it was published before the two 2004 national conventions. That is the best I can do so far. - Plutor 19:29, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * A few more listed here: - Plutor 19:33, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * One more, the G8 summit:


 * Great job finding that info, Logan! --Gerald Farinas 19:37, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * Thanks. This article says that the 2004 State of the Union address, G8 summit, Reagan's funeral, and the two conventions are the only NSSE's for the past year.  And that also implies to me that the 2003 State of the Union was probably also an NSSE.  I will get this entire list, I swear it!  - Plutor 12:47, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I just overhauled the article. I fixed up the table so it's sortable also, and added some references. The table isn't complete though: --Closeapple (talk) 10:14, 1 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Someone ought to have a complete list of NSSEs from at least 2000-12-19 on, since the law started requiring a list of events be reported to Congress every year.
 * Super Bowls and Academy Awards shows have no references yet.
 * I didn't list State of the Union addresses before 2006 because it is unclear from the 2008 DHS press release which "last three State of the Union Addresses" they mean. It could mean 2008, 2007, and 2006; or it could mean 2007, 2006, and 2004 because inaugural speeches (2005) usually aren't considered a State of the Union; or it could mean 2007, 2006, and 2005 if some inaugural speech to Congress was inaccurately included by DHS.  Past DHS press releases might clarify it.


 * Source here lists 28 events through Jan. 28, 2008 Rackham (talk) 08:06, 5 November 2008 (UTC)
 * I Added missing events to the list, but refrained from removing those not listed in this source for now. The older source (no 4) now produces a 404 error, should it be removed? Rackham (talk) 09:12, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Article movement
User:SNIyer12 copy and paste method of moving this article from this namespace National special security event to National Special Security Event was stopped. Please use the move features when doing so. If it doesn't allow you to move an article, please leave a message at my talk page (or any other administrator's page) so I can delete the offending namespaces to allow you to move articles where they should be. --Gerald Farinas 19:13, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * I must add that I think I understand your reasoning for moving the article. National Special Security Event is a proper name for a policy and therefore all words must be capitalized.  --Gerald Farinas 19:14, 29 Apr 2005 (UTC)

American Idol
Someone added that American Idol is an automatic NSSE? I need source citation on that or else it needs to be deleted. Gerald Farinas

It has been a while since I looked at this page. In my view, the NSSE entry is now fairly vapid and inaccurate in important respects. For example, the current entry states that once DHS declares an NSSE, the DHS assumes "federal control of security measures normally employed by local law enforcement." That interpretation directly contradicts the nuanced information in the "DHS National Special Security Event Fact Sheet" cited at the end of the entry. The current NSSE entry also says "It [NSSE designation] also releases federal funding for security plans." In my expereince, that is not the case. I would welcome the chance to learn when it was the case. There are what i consider to be at least two other equally significant errors. I am interested in discussing the changes made on March 12, 2006 with whoever made them. I have some experience with the internal dynamics of NSSE designation and implementation. But i can also learn from the experiences of others. Bellavita 01:38, 4 February 2007 (UTC)bellavita

This article appears to contradict itself.
The article says that "the first NSSE after the September 11, 2001 attacks was Super Bowl XXXVI [of 3 February 2002]" and then immediately goes on to say that United Nations General Assembly 56th session of November 10-16, 2001 and the State of the Union Address of January 29, 2002 as NSSEs. --71.178.77.170 (talk) 07:24, 24 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Fixed--76.216.9.107 (talk) 02:25, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Article Overhaul Needed
First, thank you to those who created and worked to improve this article. It is an important topic, about which there is a lot of misinformation. Second, while I have been an avid Wikipedia reader for years, I have no experience or expertise in writing or editing Wikipedia articles, and am admitedly somewhat intimidated by the formatting and syntax. However, I have been deeply involved with NSSEs since PDD 62 and want very much to see corrections in this article involving several inaccuracies and omissions. An illustration of my Wiki-ineptitude is seen below, where I created a listing of NSSEs in neat columns that ended up in a big blob of words and dates.

For starters, a clearer and more accurate introductory paragraph might be:

A National Special Security Event (NSSE) is an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity. NSSE designation requires federal agencies to provide full cooperation and support to ensure the safety and security of those participating or otherwise attending the event and the community within which the event takes place, and is typically limited to specific primary event sites for a specified time frame. An NSSE designation puts the United States Secret Service in charge of event security; the Federal Bureau of Investigation in charge of intelligence, counter terrorism, hostage rescue and investigation of incidents of terrorism or other major criminal activity associated with the NSSE; and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in charge of recovery management in the aftermath of terrorist or other major criminal incidents, natural disasters or other catastrophic incidents. NSSE designation is not a funding mechanism, and currently there is no specific federal "pot of money" to be distributed to state and local governments within whose jurisdiction NSSEs take place.

The most glaring problem with this article is with the list of NSSEs. There have NEVER been any NSSEs involving Academy Awards shows or Super Bowls (other than Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans in the wake of 9/11). The following is a complete and accurate list of all NSSEs, including those that have been designated as NSSEs, but which (as of this date) have not yet taken place.

Event	                                               Location	        Date(s) <<1>>	World Energy Council Meeting	                       Houston, TX	     September 13 - 17, 1998 <<2>>	NATO 50th Anniversary Celebration	               Washington, DC	     April 23 - 25, 1999 <<3>>	World Trade Organization Meeting	               Seattle, WA	     November 29 - December 3, 1999 <<4>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     January 27, 2000 <<5>>	IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting	                       Washington, DC	     April 14 – 17, 2000 <<6>>	International Naval Review (INR)/OpSail                New York, NY         July 3 – 9, 2000 <<7>>	Republican National Convention	                       Philadelphia, PA     July 29 – August 4, 2000 <<8>>	Democratic National Convention	                       Los Angeles, CA      August 14 – 16, 2000 <<9>>	Presidential Inaugural          	                Washington, DC 	     January 20, 2001 <<10>>	UNGA 56	                                               New York, NY   	     November 10 – 16, 2001 IMF/World Bank Fall Meetings*                          Washington, DC       October 1 – 3, 2001 <<11>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     January 29, 2002 <<12>>	Super Bowl XXXVI	                               New Orleans, LA	     February 3, 2002 <<13>>	Winter Olympic Games	                               Salt Lake City, UT   February 8 – 24, 2002 <<14>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     January 20, 2004 <<15>>	Reagan State Funeral	                               Washington, DC                      	        		                                                        Los Angeles, CA      June 10, 2004 <<16>>	G-8 Summit	                                       Sea Island, GA	     June 8 – 10, 2004 <<17>>	Democratic National Convention	                       Boston, MA	     July 26 – 29, 2004 <<18>>	Republican National Convention	                       New York, NY	     August 30 – September 2, 2004 <<19>>	Presidential Inaugural	                               Washington, DC	     January 20, 2005 <<20>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     February 2, 2005 <<21>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     January 31, 2006 <<22>>	Ford State Funeral	                               Washington, DC	     December 30, 2006 – January 2, 2007 <<23>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC 	     January 23, 2007 <<24>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     January 28, 2008 <<25>>	Democratic National Convention	                       Denver, CO	     August 25 – 28, 2008 <<26>>	Republican National Convention	                       St. Paul, MN	     September 1 – 4, 2008 <<27>>	G-20 Economic Summit	                               Washington, DC	     November 14 – 15, 2008 <<28>>	Train Stop – Philadelphia, PA	                       Philadelphia, PA     January 17, 2009 <<29>>	Train Stop – Wilmington, DE	                       Wilmington, DE	     January 17, 2009 <<30>>	Train Stop – Baltimore, MD 	                       Baltimore, MD	     January 17, 2009 <<31>>	Lincoln Memorial Rally	                               Washington, DC	     January 18, 2009 <<32>>	56th Presidential Inauguration	                       Washington, DC       January 20, 2009 <<33>>	Presidential Address to a Joint Session of Congress    Washington, DC       February 24, 2009 <<34>>	Pittsburgh Summit	                               Pittsburgh, PA	     September 24 – 25, 2009 <<35>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     January 27, 2010 <<36>>	Nuclear Security Summit	                               Washington, DC	     April 12 – 13, 2010 <<37>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     January(TBD), 2011 <<38>>	APEC Summit	                                       Honolulu, HI	     November 7 – 14, 2011 <<39>>	State of the Union Address	                       Washington, DC	     January(TBD), 2012 <<40>>	NATO Summit	                                       Chicago, IL	     May 17 – 19, 2012 <<41>>	G-8 Summit	                                       Chicago, IL	     May 17 – 19, 2012 <<42>>	Republican National Convention	                       Tampa, FL	     August 27 – 30, 2012 <<43>>	Democratic National Convention	                       Charlotte, NC	     September 3 – 6, 2012


 * NOTE: the 2001 Fall Meetings of the IMF/World Bank were designated as NSSEs, but were canceled less than 2 weeks out – due to events of 9/11/01

Finally, I have several corrections/additions to other sections of this article, notably the "Authority" and "Procedure" sections, as well as the description of a "typical" NSSE and the security measures employed during "typical" NSSEs. I hope that the above edits may be incorporated into this article by someone who is more proficient in Wikipedia than me (a very low threshold to achieve).NsseSemiExpert (talk)

I believe the article is inaccurate when it claims the US Secret Service is "in charge" of NSSEs.
Wikipedia entry on National Special Security Events (NSSE) indicates the US Secret Service is in charge of NSSEs; the evidence cited to support that claim is 18 U.S. Code § 3056 - Powers, authorities, and duties of United States Secret Service. That source does not verify the "in charge" claim, but instead only indicates the USSS may participate in such events.

In addition, when one looks at the source in the original entry for the "in charge" claim (https://web.archive.org/web/20110712031817/https://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1167323822753.shtm), the source says the the secret service is the lead federal agency, not that the USSS is "in charge." Specifically: "When an event is designated a National Special Security Event, the U.S. Secret Service assumes its mandated role as the lead federal agency for the design and implementation of the operational security plan and Federal resources are deployed to maintain the level of security needed for the event and the area. The goal of such an operation is to prevent terrorist attacks and criminal acts.

I've tried to make the change in the NSSE section. The effort has not been successful.