Report: Troubling Gaps In Port Security

(AP)  A Department of Homeland Security program to strengthen port security has gaps that terrorists could exploit to smuggle weapons of mass destruction in cargo containers, congressional investigators have found.

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:

A company is generally certified as safer based on its self-reported security information that Customs employees use to determine if minimum government criteria are met. But due partly to limited resources, the agency does not typically test the member company's supply-chain security practices and thus is "challenged to know that members' security measures are reliable, accurate and effective."

Customs employees are not required to utilize third-party or other audits of a company's security measures as an alternative to the agency's direct testing, even if such audits exist.

Companies can get certified for reduced Customs inspections before they fully implement any additional security improvements requested by the U.S. government. Under the program, Customs also does not require its employees to systematically follow up to make sure the requested improvements were made and that security practices remained consistent with the minimum criteria.

"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."

The 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.

[frankbowers]

yEAH, THE HOMNELAND SECURITY FORGOT ALL ABOUT THE MEXICAN BORDER AND THE ILLEGALS FOR THE PAST 7 YEARS WHICH HAVE SENT ANOTHER 20 MILLION UP SINCE JAN. 2000. NOT THINKING OF WHAT THE BROUGHT OTHER THAN A BIG SPERM BANK TO HELP THE HOSPITALS TO GO BROKE WHEN DEPOSITING THEM IN THE WOMEN THEY BOUGHT WITH THEM ALL ILLEGAL NOW GETTING ALL THE BENEFITS THEY ARE STEALING.
A SAD FACT FOLKS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER, gw IS BUT THAT IDIOT DOES NOT COUNT.
FRANK BOWERS OF AUSTIN, TX

[buttonjockey]

a terrorist invasion? over the mexican border?
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.

[bobnjersey]

[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.]
[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?

[buttonjockey]

This is pretty fishy to me. Do you really think terrorists are going to go through the hassle of hiding things in food containers? REALITY CHECK: Illegal drugs are flown into this country by the ton every night and it gets the blind eye. Who monitors that cargo? Foreign people flood across our borders by the hundreds every night. Who is stopping that?

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.

[j-whitman]

The Best Choice is not repeating the bad choice - We don''t need a Bush 3 or more corporate control of our government & security

[j-whitman]

Bronco Bomber ??? That''s a good one I haven''t heard before, I assume you are talking about McBush (Bomb Bomb Iran)

[j-whitman]

DaVicar2,,,, Again, how many times over the past 8 years has the GOP fought oversite on our ports & Homeland Security ??? --- Continously for 8 friggin years.

[j-whitman]

DaVicar2,,,, All you have to do is pay attention, when one news source keeps championing "Mission Accomplished" & "Everythings Rosey" when the others don''t --
-- 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.

[j-whitman]

DaVicar2,,,, You want more of the same ?? Then vote for McBush & his GOP ----- Personally, I don''t think it''s such a smart idea

[j-whitman]

DaVicar2,,,, We expect our newspaper to be delivered on our porch instead of to the wrong neighbor or through our window -- We expect McDonald''s to put out a clean hamburger

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.