A new report released yesterday by the Department of Homeland Security concluded that the United States has made significant progress in securing the nation from terrorism since the September 11, 2001 attacks, but that the evolving nature of terrorist threats facing the country continues to leave much work still be done.
“America is stronger and more resilient than ever before,” said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, in announcing the report on the Department’s blog. “But threats from terrorism persist. And challenges remain.”
The new report outlines the Department’s progress implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, originally released in July 2004 to assess the circumstances surrounding 9/11 and to identify ways to guard against future terrorist attacks.
The areas in DHS where some of the most significant progress has been made include:
- Expanding information sharing
- Strengthening airline passenger pre-screening
- Targeting terrorist travel
- Enhancing screening for explosives
- Protecting cyber networks and critical physical infrastructure
- Bolstering the security of U.S. borders and identification documents
- Ensuring robust privacy, civil rights and civil liberties safeguards
The report “Progress Toward a More Secure and Resilient Nation,” does not identify who wrote the 67 page report. But it credits former Homeland Security Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff; the 9/11 Commission and its Chair and Vice Chair Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton; the Congressional Homeland Security Committees, including Senators Joseph Lieberman and Susan Collins and Representatives Peter King and Bennie Thompson, as well as “many others” for helping to assess the Department’s progress.
More specifically, the report highlights a variety of areas representing substantive progress:
Building the Homeland Security Enterprise
Fusion Centers: DHS supports 72 state and major urban area fusion centers through personnel, training, technical assistance, exercise support, security clearances, connectivity to federal systems, technology, and grant funding.
Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative: An administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and enhance the sharing of those reports with law enforcement across the country.
Grant Funding: Since fiscal year 2003, DHS has awarded more than $31 billion in preparedness grant funding based on risk to build and sustain targeted capabilities to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism.
Preventing Terrorist Travel and Improving Passenger Screening
Advance Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record Data: To identify high-risk travelers and facilitate legitimate travel, DHS requires airlines flying to the United States to provide Advance Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record (PNR) Data prior to departure. During 2008 and 2009, PNR helped the United States identify individuals with potential ties to terrorism in more than 3,000 cases, and in fiscal year 2010, approximately one quarter of those individuals denied entry to the United States for having ties to terrorism were initially identified through the analysis of PNR.
Visa Security Program: Through the Visa Security Program (VSP), with concurrence from the Department of State, ICE deploys trained special agents overseas to high-risk visa activity posts in order to identify potential terrorist and criminal threats before they reach the United States. The VSP is currently deployed to 19 posts in 15 countries.
Pre-Departure Vetting: DHS has strengthened its in-bound targeting operations to identify high-risk travelers who are likely to be inadmissible to the United States and to recommend to commercial carriers that those individuals not be permitted to board a commercial aircraft through its Pre-Departure program. Since 2010, CBP has identified over 2,800 passengers who would likely have been found inadmissible upon arrival to the United States.
Secure Flight: Fulfilling a key 9/11 Commission recommendation, DHS fully implemented Secure Flight in 2010, in which TSA prescreens 100 percent of passengers on flights flying to, from, or within the United States against government watchlists before travelers receive their boarding passes. Prior to Secure Flight, airlines were responsible for checking passengers against watchlists. Through Secure Flight, TSA now vets over 14 million passengers weekly.
Enhanced Explosives Screening: Prior to 9/11, limited federal security requirements existed for cargo or baggage screening. Today, TSA screens 100 percent of all checked and carry-on baggage for explosives. Through the Recovery Act and annual appropriations, TSA has accelerated the deployment of new technologies to detect the next generation of threats, including Advanced Imaging Technology units, Explosive Detection Systems, Explosives Trace Detection units, Advanced Technology X-Ray systems, and Bottled Liquid Scanners.
Strengthening Surface Transportation Security
Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response Teams: TSA has 25 multi-modal Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) Teams working in transportation sectors across the country to prevent or disrupt potential terrorist planning activities. Since the VIPR program was created in 2008, there have been over 17,700 operations performed.
Baseline Surface Transportation Security Assessments: Since 2006, TSA has completed more than 190 Baseline Assessments for Security Enhancement for transit, which provides a comprehensive assessment of security programs in critical transit systems.
Strengthening Global Supply Chain Security
Air Cargo Screening: Fulfilling a requirement of the 9/11 Act, 100 percent of all cargo transported on passenger aircraft that depart U.S. airports is now screened commensurate with screening of passenger checked baggage and 100 percent of high risk cargo on international flights bound for the United States is screened.
Container Security Initiative: The Container Security Initiative (CSI), currently operational in 58 foreign seaports in 32 countries, identifies and screens U.S.-bound maritime containers that pose a potential risk.
Detecting and Preventing Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Threats
Detection at Ports of Entry: DHS has deployed radiation detection technologies to seaports, land border ports, and mail facilities around the world. These systems scan 100 percent of all containerized cargo and personal vehicles arriving in the U.S. through land ports of entry, as well as over 99 percent of arriving sea containers.
State and Local Radiological Emergency Preparedness: DHS’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has made radiological and nuclear detection training available to over 15,000 state and local officers and first responders.
BioWatch: The Department’s BioWatch system is a federally-managed, locally-operated, nationwide bio-surveillance system designed to detect the intentional release of aerosolized biological agents.
Protecting Critical Infrastructure
Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards: DHS has implemented Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards to regulate security at high-risk chemical facilities. To date, approximately 4,500 facilities have been preliminarily identified as high-risk, resulting in the development and submission of Security Vulnerability Assessments.
Critical Infrastructure Security Assessments: DHS has conducted more than 1,900 security surveys and 2,500 vulnerability assessments of the nation’s critical infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities and provide recommendations on protective measures.
Training and Education: DHS has developed a variety of infrastructure protection training and educational tools for its partners at the state and local level. In total, more than 35,000 partners have taken risk mitigation training on a range of topics.