Wednesday, July 12, 2006
protecting america's most valuable assets
the extent to which this seems like it MUST be a joke does, of course, make it less amusing. but it's still good for a look of incredulous disbelief...
Come One, Come All, Join the Terrorist Target List
by Eric Lipton, nytimes, july 12, 2006
It reads like a tally of terrorist targets that a child might have written: Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn factory, the Mule Day Parade, the Sweetwater Flea Market and an unspecified “Beach at End of a Street.”
But the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, in a report released Tuesday, found that the list was not child’s play: all these “unusual or out-of-place” sites “whose criticality is not readily apparent” are inexplicably included in the federal antiterrorism database.
The National Asset Database, as it is known, is so flawed, the inspector general found, that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites than New York (5,687) and more than twice as many as California (3,212), ranking the state the most target-rich place in the nation.
(link to full article may not work if you don't register.)
the report offers a good explanation for how new york's homeland security funding ended up getting cut. it also offers a good explanation for why so many people use the phrase 'homeland security department' in so many jokes these days.
Come One, Come All, Join the Terrorist Target List
by Eric Lipton, nytimes, july 12, 2006
It reads like a tally of terrorist targets that a child might have written: Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn factory, the Mule Day Parade, the Sweetwater Flea Market and an unspecified “Beach at End of a Street.”
But the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, in a report released Tuesday, found that the list was not child’s play: all these “unusual or out-of-place” sites “whose criticality is not readily apparent” are inexplicably included in the federal antiterrorism database.
The National Asset Database, as it is known, is so flawed, the inspector general found, that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites than New York (5,687) and more than twice as many as California (3,212), ranking the state the most target-rich place in the nation.
(link to full article may not work if you don't register.)
the report offers a good explanation for how new york's homeland security funding ended up getting cut. it also offers a good explanation for why so many people use the phrase 'homeland security department' in so many jokes these days.
# posted by orange @ 11:24 AM 
