Security Beat

October 2003

Information Barriers Hamper Anti-Terror Efforts

by Geoff S. Fein

The inability to flow information from federal agencies down to local law enforcement could hamper the government’s ability to root out terrorists, according to a General Accounting Office survey released in August.

Of the 40 states that responded to the agency’s survey, only 35 percent reported that “sharing with the federal government was effective or very effective.”

No level of government was satisfied that it received enough information, according to GAO. For example, 98 percent of the large cities that responded said they need information on the location of known terrorists. But only 15 percent of the respondents said they actually receive this information, said GAO.

In addition, no level of government was satisfied with the timeliness, accuracy or relevance of the information it received. Information passed on to states and cities about threats often is untimely, inaccurate or irrelevant, the GAO found.

The federal government continues to perceive the fight against terrorism as its responsibility, the report said. “That belief potentially undermines the unity of effort between federal, state and city governments needed to effectively secure the homeland,” said GAO. “Consequently, the federal government still has not established comprehensive policies or procedures to effectively integrate state and city governments into the information sharing process or even routinely recognize their role [in] the process.”

A majority of states and cities surveyed said they did not have the opportunity to be involved in national policy making on information sharing, said GAO.

“As a result, opportunities are routinely missed to engage state and city law enforcement officers in obtaining and providing the federal government with information that could be vital in the war against terrorism,” said GAO.

Securing classified information was one example cited by federal agencies in preventing them from sharing threat information with states and cities. However, perceived barriers can be overcome, said GAO. For example, local law enforcement routinely handles sensitive information in criminal cases.

Another issue limiting the sharing of information is the problem of acquiring new technologies. “All categories of survey respondents identified the lack of integrated information systems as the single most common barrier to information sharing across all levels of government,” said GAO.

In a report by the Markle Foundation, a New York organization promoting information and communication technologies, federal agencies view the information and homeland security problem as one of obtaining new technology. For example, “for fiscal year 2003, the FBI budgeted $300 million for new technology, the Transportation Security Administration has budgeted $1 billion over several years, and the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (whose function is now within the Department of Homeland Security) has a 5-year plan for $550 million,” said GAO.

However, the foundation reports that almost none of this money is being spent to solve the problem of how to share this information between federal agencies and with the states and cities, according to GAO. “The foundation’s report states that when it comes to homeland security and using integrated information systems, adequate efforts and investments are not yet in sight,” said the report. DHS should create a clearing house to coordinate various information-sharing initiatives to eliminate confusion and duplication; integrate cities and states in the national policy making process for information sharing, and identify perceived barriers to federal information sharing, said GAO.

DHS and the Defense Department concurred with the GAO report, but the Department of Justice disputed the findings. According to written comments, DOJ believes the study reaches sweeping and negative conclusions about the adequacy of information sharing to prevent terrorism. DOJ said “the conclusions were incorrect and unsupportable; the GAO study was beyond its purview, and that an evaluation of information sharing requires a review of intelligence sharing, which by long standing practice the executive branch provides to Congress, but not to GAO.”

However, according to GAO, it has broad statutory authority to evaluate agency programs and activities, and investigate matters related to the receipt, disbursement and use of public money.

Foreign Service on the Front Lines

Foreign service officers are on the front line of national security, according to a former State Department official.

“Diplomacy must carry, in my view, a particularly heavy load in building peaceful constructive relationships between nations,” said Norman Neureiter, the former science and technology adviser to the secretary of state.

“Diplomacy will, by necessity, be a primary instrument for security in this post Cold War Era,” he told an Office of Naval Research conference. “Remember that phrase the ‘New World Order?’ We do not have a New World Order, we have a new world of inordinate disorder.”

The list of people who recently have died in the diplomatic service is growing, he said. Many officers take immense chances living in dangerous environments, such as Pakistan, for example, “but they are out there doing it,” Neureiter said. “Unless you try to understand what is going on in these countries, unless you can report back, and unless you can work on building relationships with the people who support you out there, it would be very tough to carry on.”

Science and technology—the development or the lack thereof—are major considerations in foreign policy, said Neureiter.

“It’s a world today that is totally driven by technology,” he said. “That is a major challenge for all of us when…terrorism proliferates to a degree that will be unbelievable.”

The proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), cyber security and global networks, and biotechnologies are “huge issues, which are going to affect every one of you in your international relationships,” he told the conference.

Added to the list are export controls, the dilemma of what to do with Iraqi weapons scientists, or how to keep Russian scientists occupied constructively. Infectious disease, such as the rapid spread of SARS or AIDS, also becomes a stringent diplomatic issue, he said.

A four-year old study by the National Academy of Science pointed out that out of 16 stated foreign policy goals, 13 of them involved significant consideration of science, technology and health, according to Neureiter. Nevertheless, the State Department has not been adequately equipped, for a while, to infuse these considerations into the foreign policy initiatives.

Things are starting to change now, however. Partnerships with industry are starting to grow, The State Department has implemented a science exchange program with other organizations, and is beginning to create science and technology advisers at embassies around the world.

Simulation Tests Homeland Defense Efforts

A homeland defense exercise to test U.S. Northern Command’s ability to respond to multiple, simultaneous contingencies demonstrated that the command is ready to handle military operations inside the United States, officials said.

The exercise, called Determined Promise ‘03, proved the need to build relationships between various responding agencies, as well as federal, state and local governments, said a NORTHCOM official.

In a press statement, Air Force Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, NORTHCOM commander, said he will “certify through the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the secretary of defense, that Northern Command is ready for what we call full operational capability.”

The week-long multi-agency exercise, held in Clark County, Nev., simulated a category-three hurricane in Florida, wildfires in the Northwest, a munitions-train derailment in Kentucky, a plague outbreak in Las Vegas, an air threat over Alaska and the interception of a shipment of biological weapons bound for a U.S. port.

More than 2,000 personnel took part in the exercise, including 1,500 from the Defense Department, said Lt. Gen. Ed Anderson, deputy commander of NORTHCOM. Organizations as diverse as the Defense Intelligence Agency, the American Red Cross, the American Association of Railroads, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state of Nevada took part, said Anderson, at the sixth annual Space and Missile Defense conference in Huntsville, Ala. National Guard troops from Nevada, Rhode Island and Alabama, as well as 28 military units, also participated.

In addition, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) did a live-fly exercise to test its ability to handle airborne threats and interface with NORTHCOM.

Determined Promise ‘03 began on Aug. 18, when a simulated terrorist group released pneumonic plague along the Las Vegas strip. The outbreak rapidly escalated, leading Las Vegas officials to seek state and federal assistance. As the events unfolded around the country, the Department of Homeland Security called the Defense Department to assist Clark County officials with the health emergency. NORTHCOM brought in its Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS), from Fort Monroe, Va. to deal with the bioterrorism incident.

The Nevada National Guard, FEMA Region IX, and JTF-CS all deployed personnel and equipment to assist Clark County. JTF-CS provided logistical support in areas such as medical, communications and mortuary affairs, according to NORTHCOM.

The biological attack led the governor of Nevada to impose a quarantine in the county. Enforcing the quarantine was left to state and local police. Under the Posse Comitatus act, federal troops are prohibited from handling law enforcement. More than 1,400 participants were dispatched to locations across the country to deal with the various situations.

NORTHCOM is in the process of doing an after-action report. According to spokesman Lt. Col. A.J. Johnson, the command has up to 60 days to complete it. The report then will be sent on to the Joint Forces Command for review.

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