Smarter Security, Not More Cash, Key for Travel Safety

Conn Carroll / January 01, 2010

On New Year’s Eve, the House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) sent a letter to President Barack Obama reading in part:

I understand that there were failures across the government and the international community that quite frankly, eight years after the attacks on 9-11, should not have happened.

Failures, to include proper information sharing across all agencies, continue to challenge our ability to identify potential extremists poised to strike. Given the technologies available and the high quality personnel serving in our government, there is no excuse for the left hand not to know what the right hand is doing. Policy directives regarding our VISA programs and travel screenings procedures must be reviewed and updated. We must continue to develop and utilize state-of-the-art technology to enhance our security measures. Above all we must take a hard look at the watchlist and screening procedures developed under the last administration. (more…)