Key Congressman Questions Watchlist Technology

By: Dan Farber
Topics: In The News

(CBS/ AP)

In his review of the Northwest Flight 253 bomb attempt, President Obama acknowledged that the U.S. intelligence community failed to collect and share data that could have potentially uncovered and disrupted the plot.

The review didn't attribute the failure to connect the dots to barriers in information sharing among agencies and departments, as was the case at the time of 9/11.

The president didn't assign blame to particular individuals or agencies.

The root of the failure, according to report, is that the U.S. intelligence community didn't increase resources working on the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) threat.

The overall White House message is that the intelligence community is doing a good job but needs to be more accountable and focused. Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan said the intelligence community worked "seamlessly well" following the Christmas day incident.

But something in the intelligence community appears to be broken. Data was not correlated and turned into actionable information, despite a number of signals, including the Nigerian bomber's father's warnings.

The White House review almost skipped over what is likely a significant smoking gun in the U.S. counterterrorism apparatus.

"Information sharing within the CT (counterterrorism) community did not sufficiently allow the correlation of data that would have enabled analysts to highlight the relevant threat information," the White House review stated.

Computer systems, not humans, are really good at correlating data, connecting the dots from a database with millions of bits. Humans can do a good job of analysis; but if the data isn't correlated and then surfaced, terrorists can board planes.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked during the daily press briefing Friday whether incomplete and faulty database searches, as well as the information technology within the counterterrorism community, were culprits in the Abdulmutallab incident.

Gibbs didn't answer question specifically. Instead he talked generally about improvements and technological advances since 9/11, and knocking down walls between databases.

"…we have to ensure, as the president did in his individual recommendations -- ensure that there is the assignment of responsibility and the quick dissemination of all of that information, and that we do so in a technological way that allows us to keep up with the constant flow of important information that's coming in," Gibbs said.

(CBS/ AP)

But the chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight for the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology isn't convinced that the intelligence community is on track with its technology. The committee, headed by Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., seen at left, handles investigations into corruption, secrecy and junk science involving tax dollars.

Sixteen months ago, Rep. Miller sent a letter to Inspector General Office of the Director of National Intelligence requesting an investigation of the technical failure and mismanagement of Railhead, a half-billion dollar program that was intended to update and enhance the National Counterterrorism Center's TIDE (Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment) database. TIDE is the core of the FBI's consolidated terrorist watchlist.

"The end result is a current IT (information technology) system used to identify terrorist threats that has been crippled by technical flaws and a new system that if actually deployed will leave our country more vulnerable than the existing yet flawed system in operation today," Rep. Miller wrote on Aug. 21, 2008.

"We heard from whistleblowers, contractors and NCTC (National Counterterrorism Center) personnel," Rep. Miller told CBS News on Friday.

"They said the computer program was a mess, in a state where the program not only couldn't connect the dots, it couldn't find the dots. There was also poor management and a lack over government oversight and turf battles among contractors. It seemed the system was unable to do things that Google does routinely, such as identify similar name, and based on the Christmas day event, it apparently still can't do that."

The White House review released Thursday noted that a misspelling of Abdulmutallab's name in a database could have led to his detention prior to getting on a plane.

Directive from President Obama
Summary of White House Review

"Mr. Abdulmutallab possessed a U.S. visa, but this fact was not correlated with the concerns of Mr. Abdulmutallab's father about Mr. Abdulmutallab's potential radicalization. A misspelling of Mr. Abdulmutallab's name initially resulted in the State Department believing he did not have a valid U.S. visa. A determination to revoke his visa however would have only occurred if there had been a successful integration of intelligence by the CT community, resulting in his being watchlisted."

(CBS/AP)

NCTC Chief Response

Michael Leiter, at left, director of the
NCTC, disputed Rep. Miller's critique. Leiter, who has been in the news for going on vacation the day after the failed bomb attack , wrote a letter to the editor published by the New York Times on Aug. 25, 2008:

"To suggest that the National Counterterrorism Center's support to watchlisting is 'on the brink of collapse,' as the subcommittee press release stated, is patently ridiculous.

"The Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment continues to do exactly what it was designed to do: serve as the nation's database of terrorist information. In early 2008, the National Counterterrorism Center identified a number of issues associated with the Railhead contract. Corrective actions were initiated and the center briefed Congressional oversight committees.

"The subcommittee's chairman, Brad Miller, and his staff never engaged with the National Counterterrorism Center to address their concerns. Mr. Miller, his committee and ultimately your readers would have been better informed had such basic steps been taken."

Responding Friday to Leiter's past remarks, Rep. Miller said he was unable to engage with the National Counterterrorism Center because whistleblowers working in the intelligence bureaucracy could not receive legal protection.

"The distinct impression I had was the NCTC wanted no part of oversight or criticism. They offered belligerent assurance that nothing major was wrong. They said they had no idea what we were talking about and prevailed upon the Intelligence Committee to assert jurisdiction," Rep. Miller said. "The law would not allow us to protect whistleblowers, so we couldn't proceed with an investigation."

"It sounds like everything that failed with the Christmas bomber was what the computer system was supposed to handle — taking information from a lot of sources and if it pertained to the same guy, it would go ding, ding, ding."

Next week, Rep. Miller plans to talk to his House Science Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee staff to discuss how to move forward on this issue.

"Someone needs to figure what has gone on with IT programs that we heard a year and a half ago were a mess," he said.

Dan Farber is editor-in-chief of CBSNews.com

14 Comments Have Your Say
Email Story Send to a Friend
Share This Tell Your Friends
Tweet This Tweet This
More Share It

Add a Comment See all 14 Comments


by Recovering-WL-Vendor January 12, 2010 12:58 AM EST: I hope Brad Miller conducts a full investigation into the IT failures of Railhead.

Regardless of the partisan BS, I think it's about time IT contractors are held accountable for the products that they promote.

There is absolutely no IT accountability and we, the taxpayer, pay for these expensive failures.

This lack of accountability puts ALL of us at risk -- regardless if you are a democrat or republican. Where does the money go and why is there no oversight? And more importantly, why isn't Obama holding people accountable?

We waste (now and historically) so much money on Information Technology and yet there is no oversight.

I believe that this oversight failure started many Administrations ago, but I also thought that Obama's Administration would address this as a major national security problem.

I am disappointed.; Reply to this comment

by burneb January 10, 2010 4:49 PM EST

Any database with half a million names, mostly inherited from unverified sources years ago, is guaranteed to ensure data overload. The sheer volume of new potential threats to follow up on every day, and the sheer volume of names means that any efforts will be something less than 100.00% effective.

That said, the overall system apparently worked well enough to cramp Abdulmutallab's plans. He was limited to a type of explosive difficult to ignite in furtive fashion, and a small quantity unlikely to bring down a large airplane.

Not that he ever should have gotten an American visa or a boarding pass to begin with, but we are too politically correct to recognize that actual experience shows that a name and background like Abdulmutallab's is worth a closer look.

Reply to this comment


by Lerianis4 January 10, 2010 6:10 PM EST: Hit the nail on the head..... this listing should have NEVER included names from unverified and not well respected sources around the world.

Yes, these people are worth a closer look... however, it should be done BEFORE they get to the airports. That's the main reason why I support for visitors and workers visas, to have them applied for AT LEAST 6 months ahead of time, unless the company or person in question is on a 'precleared' listing.


by skeetchamp January 9, 2010 9:06 PM EST: here we go again, Republicans hoping for a terrorist attack for their political gain.; Reply to this comment


by Clemsson January 9, 2010 5:18 PM EST: Who could have possibly guessed that Obama's handling of national security would be termed a "debacle?"; Reply to this comment

by nowhiningallowed January 9, 2010 2:53 PM EST

Start profiling and stop all of the hassle and inconvenience to the passengers. Profiling would have caught this guy. The screening didn't work.

Reply to this comment


by msimamaji January 9, 2010 4:11 PM EST: Nowhiningallowed needs to read Ask a Pilot by Patrick Smith, a regular contributor to Salon.com. Smith pointed out that the screening techniques that work in Israel are effective because Israel has only one major airport. The USA has hundreds of airports. The profiling techniques that nowhiningallowed advocates are not particularly effective with the number of airports the USA has.
In addition, what does nowhiningallowed mean by "profiling."? Remember, Richard Reid was a British citizen. According to an article I read in the recent edition of der Spiegel, the Wahabbists of Saudi Arabia are building a lot of mosques and Koranic schools in places like Bosnia. With profiling, all al Qaeda has to do is to select terrorist who do not "look" like Muslims.
According to Smith, 500,000 people are on the TIDE list. Even if we put all 500,000 names on a no-fly list, that's a lot of people to keep track of. According to an article by Christopher Dickey in Newsweek Magazine, al Qaeda gets its appeal because many Muslims believe they are persecuted by the United States. We occupy their lands, kill their people, and defile their religious beliefs. Any thing we do to confirm that image - al Qaeda can use to get new recruits, and eventually our data base will collapse under its own weight.
If we want to win the war against terrorism, let's fight smart. Let's not confuse a war on terrorism with a war on Islam. This is precisely what al Qaeda wants us to do and it will guarantee them a victory.

by wyodutch January 9, 2010 8:22 AM EST

Can you believe the insane over-reaction to some guy trying to burn his shorts?
.
Good God... We didn't panic like this when we went to a nuclear alert back in 1973. Course... back then, Americans still had a bit of spine in them.

Reply to this comment


by Lerianis4 January 10, 2010 6:12 PM EST: Good point... today, Americans (especially on the conservative side) are scared whiny babies who **** their pants at every single 'danger' to them no matter how remote.

by bruce789 January 8, 2010 10:05 PM EST

I don't know what they're doing with this half a billion dollar software for the watch list, but they aren't informing the airports who's on it. Seams like one simple operation for a computer to perform. Ultimately you have to trust someone to assess the risk from information on the list, but after this latest incident, it's time we do.

Reply to this comment


by msimamaji January 9, 2010 4:18 PM EST: Maybe bruce789 needs to ask a Pilot - that in fact is a regular feature on Salon.com. In a recent article about the TSA, the author, Patrick Smith, a professional airline pilot, points out that TIDE already has a list of 500,000 names. We can transfer all those names to a no-fly list, but is sorting through 500,000 names an easy task for computers at hundreds of airports? What happens if we add 1 million or 5 million names to that list. This is certainly what's going to happen if the Republicans get control and turn the war on terror into a war against Islam.
Obama fortunately recognizes the difference between a handful of terrorists and Muslims. He also recognizes that as long as our troops occupy Islamic countries al Qaeda will recruit more terrorists rather than less - one big reason for setting a pull out date for Afghanistan. If this country follows the GOP approach - which involves running around scared s**less like Chicken Little, and starting a jihad against Islam, there is NO WAY any computer will ever be able to keep tabs on all the people in the Islamic world who will learn to hate this country.


by RegVoter January 8, 2010 9:26 PM EST: And just what is Brad Miller's technical degree/expertise that gives him this superior knowledge about this system, and how it works or does not work?; Reply to this comment

by cbsblogger January 8, 2010 9:03 PM EST

Japan has been questioning the entire War on Terror and the reasons for it. Why is not the USA? And why haven't the US media reported this?

http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/24-japan-questions-9-11-and-the-global-war-on-terror/

Reply to this comment


by Lerianis4 January 10, 2010 6:14 PM EST: Because the United States media have been cowed by the conservatives yelling out everytime they criticize what is being done to try to prevent terrorism, accusing them of being 'unAmerican' and wanting America to be attacked by terrorists.... what else do you expect them to DO in that situation but not cover things that will give the Repukes ammo?