WASHINGTON, May 27, 2008
Report: Troubling Gaps In Port Security
Homeland Security's Partnership With Shippers Lacks Safety Assurances, According To GAO
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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer stops a truck towing a cargo container in the lane of a radiation detection device at Port Newark in this Feb. 24, 2006 file photo, in Newark, N.J. (AP)
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Interactive America On Guard The Homeland Security Department, the terror alert system, preparedness quiz and more.
The report by the Government Accountability Office, being released Tuesday, assesses the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a federal program established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to deter a potential terrorist strike via cargo passing through 326 of the nation's airports, seaports and designated land borders.
Under the program, roughly 8,000 importers, port authorities and air, sea and land carriers are granted benefits such as reduced scrutiny of their cargo. In exchange, the companies submit a security plan that must meet U.S. Customs and Border Protection's minimum standards and allow officials to verify their measures are being followed.
A 2005 GAO report found many of the companies were receiving the reduced cargo scrutiny without the required full vetting by U.S. Customs, a division of DHS. The agency has since made some improvements, but the new report found that Customs officials still couldn't provide guarantees that companies were in compliance.
Among the problems:
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"Until Customs overcomes these collective challenges, Customs will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies that have been granted reduced scrutiny of their U.S.-bound containerized shipments actually employ adequate security practices," investigators wrote. "It is vital that Customs maintain adequate internal controls to ensure that member companies deserve these benefits."Until Customs overcomes these collective challenges, Customs will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies... actually employ adequate security practices.
From GAO reportThe GAO urged Customs and Border Protection to require consideration of third-party and other outside audits and take steps to make certain companies comply with any additional security improvements requested. The report also calls for some technological improvements to help improve consistency and better information-gathering in Customs' security checks.
Responding in part, Customs officials in the report agreed they could do more to follow up on suggested security improvements but noted that employees often use their expert discretion in assessing the potential danger before certifying a company. The agency has also said the program overall has made the nation safer.
Congress has been working to improve port security after the independent Sept. 11 commission cited the potential dangers in its 2004 final report. The commission stated that compared to commercial aviation, "opportunities to do harm are as great, or greater, in maritime or surface transportation."
DHS has said that while the likelihood of terrorists smuggling weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. in cargo containers is low, the nation's vulnerability and consequences of such an attack are potentially high.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the report shows the importance of the private sector's continued cooperation in helping improve port security. "I will continue to work with DHS and the private sector to ensure the effectiveness of the crucial port security program," she said.
The GAO study examined a sample of 25 company reviews by Customs and Border Protection from March 1, 2006 through Sept. 30, 2006. Investigators interviewed officials, reviewed documents and studied the agency's minimum security criteria to see if standards were being met.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 34 CommentsA SAD FACT FOLKS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER, gw IS BUT THAT IDIOT DOES NOT COUNT.
FRANK BOWERS OF AUSTIN, TX
how many are expected to make an impact?
How many did it take last time? Please understand that in the game of terrorism, the short-term goal is to instill fear, not necessarily to kill a lot of people. One of the definitions of terrorism follows:
"Terrorism is the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to attain political, religious, or ideological goals by instilling fear or using intimidation or coercion. (Army Regulation 190-52 as cited in Training Circular 19-16, April 1983)"
Bottom line: Make people afraid and you have power and a strong voice (even if people despise you). What happens after that all depends on how the game is played. Terrorists don''t need a high body count, they just want to make you feel vulnerable. This ultimately gives them recognition and a voice, something they must have to achieve their long term goals. One of the worst things you can do to a terrorist is to ignore him and not report on his organization because then he has no voice.
What people in the U.S. don''t understand is that terrorism is about "political, religious, or ideological goals" and not about how much death and destruction can be wrought. That''s just the path that draws the most attention.
[Posted by buttonjockey at 04:09 PM : May 27, 2008]
a terrorist invasion? over the mexican border? how many are expected to make an impact?
Folks, I know that there are terrorists out there who don''t like us but if it mattered so much to them to come and bomb us, they could do it tomorrow because our southern border is wide open.
This news story, while true, is another attempt to validate the Dept of Homeland Security and to remind us that we should be scared.
Once again: If terrorists wanted to invade they''d have taken a lesson from those who already do and would have done it by now. But the day will come when they really DO invade EXACTLY this way and yet our government refuses to get tough on illegal border crossing.
We''ll spend many billions a month in a fruitless war overseas and we won''t use that money instead to fight the real problem that we have at home.
-- Start questioning the messengers, above all, never put blind trust in our government, it''s why we have a Constiturion & oversite the GOP won''t ever give you.
It''s not wrong to expect competence from our govenment.... Most of this is no big secret & hasn''t been.
Common sense has went out the door in this country & replaced by political ignorance & the Good Old Boy''s Club politics.
Posted by gopsoccermom at 09:53 AM : May 27, 2008
Congress wasn''t considered liberal from 2000 - 2006. Spin it all you want, but the GOP had control of everything during that time frame.
Every peice of information that needs to be given to Americans to get action & competent security & to assist in any manner they can
For the past 8 years of a GOP administration we have not only an information VOID - We''ve had 8 years of HYPE & LIES
That would be PUBLISHING THEM in an online NEWSPAPER!
Posted by DaVicar2 at 01:10 PM : May 27, 2008
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What if it results in the gaps being closed because of the public scrutiny?
it''s all in the hands of the shippers ... they wouldn''t do anything wrong ... we''re the ones everyone loves.
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