Non-Subscriber Extract
US terrorist watch list remains fundamentally troubled
07 November 2007
The terrorist attacks against the United States on 11 September 2001 exposed numerous flaws in data sharing among the country's government agencies. The most serious weakness may have been the ineffective list of terrorist suspects who should have been denied entry to the US or the opportunity to fly on civilian airliners. Yet, the quadrupling of the list's size between 2004 and 2007 has raised concerns that the process of compiling and managing the list is problematic.
In September 2003, President George W Bush established the Terrorist Screening Centre (TSC), run jointly by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, to compile a 'master watch list' of suspected terrorists worldwide. The centre's mission includes providing round-the-clock operational support for thousands of federal screeners throughout the US for such tasks as screening individuals who apply for an entry visa, attempt to board an airplane or who are detained for questioning by local law enforcement officers.
The centre assembles these lists by using data from a variety of sources, including information provided by the CIA as well as the departments of justice, state, and homeland security. The intelligence information typically consists of field reports, captured documents, media sources and data provided by friendly countries.
In addition, different US government agencies loan personnel to the TSC. This practice of inclusive staffing can help the centre gain diverse perspectives on how to identify and catch suspected terrorists. It also promotes communication between US government agencies and harmonises the procedures of thousands of diverse federal terrorist hunters. The centre can also tell intelligence and law enforcement officers who inquire about an individual on the list if other agencies are pursuing the same person.