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CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
The US "Secure Flight" Program

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

The United Nations annual General Assembly meeting is underway. Secretary General Kofi Annan opened the session with a call to world leaders to rally behind the rule of international law that today is at risk because it "is riddled with gaps and weaknesses. Too often it is applied selectively and enforced arbitrarily". Full coverage of the meetings is at http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/59/

North Korea's lethal capacity appears to be on the increase amid reports that they are planning missile tests and have more than 100 tons of sodium cyanide, a chemical weapons precursor.

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2. Africa

Burundi's Tutsi parties say the new constitution approved by the transitional parliament violated both the transitional constitution and peace agreement and instead have presented an alternative constitution that alternates governance rather than establishing quotas.

In Democratic Republic of Congo a communal dispute between Lendus and Hema in Ituri killed 14 and left 91 homes burned to the ground.

DRC and Rwanda agreed to establish a technical group called the Joint Verification Mechanism with experts from both countries and the UN. Beginning in October they will address border security issues and thereby help improve bilateral relations.

Liberia's disarmament has progressed well but funding for reintegration of the 70,000 disarmed former combatants is needed. This is among the findings of the latest UN report to the Security Council. http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/2004/725

Nigerian forces fought a militant Islamic group known locally (in the northern Borno state) as the Taliban, killing 27 militants. Two police also died. The group had previously attacked police stations and had amassed a significant arms cache. Sporadic fighting has continued. The increased violence in the Niger Delta has led Shell oil to withdraw staff from two oil facilities in the area.

In Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, UN peacekeepers have handed control of security to local forces.

Sudan reluctantly accepted it would comply with last Sunday's Security Council resolution but said that the threat of sanctions was unfair. Meanwhile, the violence continues including an increase in rebel attacks. Darfur rebels launched attacks in West Kordofan state in which eight people were killed. In North Darfur fresh fighting has displaced thousands more people. Kidnapping has been added to the rebel tactics, although the hostages have been released. The total number of internally displaced people has reached nearly 1.5 million. Many refugees and IDPs refuse to go to camps because militiamen connected with Janjaweed have been integrated into police forces that are now responsible for guarding the camps.

Ugandan forces operating at the Sudan borders report they killed at least 25 rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army. In separate operations to stamp out cattle rustling, seven Karamojong warriors were killed.

Zimbabwe's continued economic decline is connected to inappropriate policies, corruption, the human rights record and lack of clarity about property rights, according to the findings of the International Monetary Fund's Executive Board. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43272 http://www.imf.org/external/country/ZWE/index.htm

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3. Americas

Brazilian drug baron Jose Carlos dos Reis Ecina (""Escadinha", "Stepladder"), founder of the notorious Red Command gang, was ambushed and shot dead by two motorcyclists as he traveled to his prison work release program.

Canada's military is the subject of a special report by the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, "Tug of War". It provides an historical perspective and looks at today's challenges of military spending versus military commitments and other national priorities. http://www.canada.com/national/features/tugofwar/index.html

Hurricanes across the Caribbean have devastated much of the region. Haiti was particularly badly hit with as many as 2,000 people are feared dead.

Chilean government divers recovered pieces of rail allegedly used to sink bodies of government opponents killed under the Pinochet dictatorship. A Chilean judge interrogated Pinochet at his home for about an hour, now that his legal immunity has been lost. US support for covert intervention in the 1964 elections is revealed in new documents obtained released by the State Department. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/johnsonlb/xxxi http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20040925/index.htm

Colombian paramilitary leader Miguel Arroyave and his bodies of the elf-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) were assassinated. Reports attribute responsibility to an internal rift or an attack by Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.

A US federal judge ordered the government must provide the charge or factual basis for the detention in Guantanamo Bay of 60 people who have sued the government, starting at once and completed by October 18. Meanwhile, at least 10 detainees have been transferred from Guantanamo to Afghanistan.

The US Department of Homeland Security launched the "Ready Business" campaign to help small and mid-size companies prepare and respond to attacks. http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=4035

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4. Asia Pacific

Australian Prime Minister Howard has proposed establishing special counterterrorism centers in southeast Asia, also suggesting preemption as an acceptable tactic. http://www.liberal.org.au/PM_media/ Malaysia rejected the proposals and insisted it could deal with all threats. Indonesia and the Philippines also rejected the plans. None of the countries had been consulted in advance of the announcement. http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=93725
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,4386,20340,00.html

Indonesia's former security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is well ahead in the presidential poll and is likely to win, although incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri has not yet conceded defeat. The results will be announced on October 5. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) says their fight will continue even if Bambang, who was instrumental in arranging the 6-month ceasefire in 2003, is elected. Indonesian police have arrested a fifth person possibly connected with the Australian Embassy bombing.

Kazakhstan's ruling party claimed victory in parliamentary elections but election observers said the voting fell short of international standards because of lack of transparency and media bias. Nonetheless, they were an improvement over prior elections.

Philippine rebel groups were connected to the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group in an Australian intelligence report that also called the southern Philippines the nerve center of regional terrorism. They suggested that Abu Sayyaf, The New People's Army (NPA) and factions in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were providing sanctuary and support to JI. MILF warns that efforts to link their separatist movement with Jemaah Islamiah could have a negative effect on peace negotiations. MILF has opened their camps to ceasefire monitors.

Thailand has promised tougher measures against militants in the south, following the murder of a judge last week.

Uzbekistan reports an increase in crime and addiction attributed to the opium cultivation in neighboring Afghanistan.

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5. Europe

Bosnia has reached a milestone with the return of more than one million refugees returned to their homes.

Croatian border police detained a group of Slovene citizens including the opposition party leader for refusing to show identity cards in a disputed border area. Slovenia's prime minister suggested this action showed Croatia was unfit to join the EU.

Ireland's Minister of State Kitt and Northern Ireland Secretary Murphy continued meetings during the week, some including the parties, to continue efforts to restore Northern Ireland's assembly.

Italian paramilitary police carried out anti-Mafia operations in 'Ndrangheta region of Calabria. More than a hundred arrests were made there and in other areas, countering operations extending to Rome and Lombardy.

Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov responded to his colleague Shamil Basayev's admission of responsibility for the Beslan school siege with calls for his trial. He insisted his government was not associated with the incident and that at the conclusion of the war for independence Basayev and others would be brought to justice. Hundreds of the hostages are still unaccounted for. http://www.beslan.ru Meanwhile, The parliament is debating tough new anti-terrorism laws and police have detained some 11,000 people, mostly illegal immigrants from former Soviet republics.

In Spain, Sebastian Rodriguez won a gold medal in the Athens Paralympics. He lost use of his legs in 1990 after a 432-day hunger strike in 1990 connected with his membership in the First of October Revolutionary Group (GRAPO).

Switzerland has signed a cooperation agreement with Europol.

In Turkey, a bomb placed under a police car at a concert exploded injuring 14, at least two critically. A second suspicious package at the concert was destroyed.

The British government has ordered a public inquiry into the 1989 murder of Pat Finucane, in which police collusion is suspected. The government insisted it would not be a cover-up, but terms of the investigation to not meet the key standards recommended by Judge Cory. http://www.nio.gov.uk/media-detail.htm?newsID=10299

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive reported that more than 1,200 people were intimidated out of their homes last year. http://www.nihe.gov.uk/news/news.asp?Id=679

In Scotland, a journalist posing as a workman was able to break into Holyroodhouse, the Queen's palace in Edinburgh. It follows other security incidents at parliament last week and investigations are under way.

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6. Middle East

The Mideast Quartet of the EU, Russia, the UN and US, met to review the Road Map peace plan. They reaffirmed their support for the plan and expressed concern over the lack of progress. They cited a bad month in which Palestinian suicide bombings inside Israel resumed along with deadly Israeli military operations and no progress in the peace plan. http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=70&Body=Palestin&Body1= The UN Conference on Trade and Development warned that the prolonged conflict had led to profound structural distortions that have caused the Palestinian economy possibly irreparable damage. http://www.unctad.org

In Gaza three Palestinian gunmen infiltrated a Jewish settlement and fought a gun battle that killed three Israeli soldiers before they were killed. Shelling at a Jewish settlement in Gaza killed one woman and injured a second.

Two parallel worlds emerged in Iraq last week. On the one hand were Presidents Bush and Allawi praising freedom and promising elections. On the other was the security situation on the ground where attacks against US and coalition troops, Iraqi forces and contractors occur daily and an insurgency that is expanding in number and range. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani warned he could withdraw support for elections if the security situation is not resolved. A number of high profile kidnappings and executions dominated the headlines as did the dispute over the detention of biological-weapons scientist Noori Abdul Raheem (Dr. Germ). The Iraqi government announced an imminent release, (this would have addressed a kidnapper demand), only to be promptly contradicted by US authorities. As one headline put it "US sets 'sovereign' Iraq straight on Dr Germ".

Two Israeli policemen were killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber as they stopped her for questioning in a Jerusalem suburb. She was the seventh woman used as a suicide bomber.

Israel violated Lebanese airspace nine times in one 24-hour period even while Syrian forces were being re-deployed towards the Syrian border. The troop withdrawal comes 19 days after a UN Security Council resolution demanded foreign troops leave the country and stop interfering in Lebanese internal affairs. Meanwhile, the government says it has arrested ten suspected members of an al Qaeda cell that was planning an attack against the Italian embassy in Beirut.

In the latest attack against foreigners in Saudi Arabia, a Frenchman was shot dead. These attacks have been linked to al Qaeda attempts to destabilize the regime.

A car bomb in Damascus, Syria, has killed Izz El-Deen Sheikh Khalil, a senior member of Hamas. Hamas blames Israel for the assassination. There are reports that the Syrian government has ordered Hamas and other Palestinian organizations to close offices operating in Syria.

In the West Bank Palestinian gunmen killed two suspected informers.

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7. South Asia

The International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF) mandate in Afghanistan was extended for another year. Additional forces are required for the upcoming presidential elections. Crop failures in Afghanistan mean that some six million people need food aid. The poppy crop, however, has done extremely well, with an increase in cultivation of forty percent. Reports of election intimidation are already coming out, including accusations that the US has told people not to compete against President Karzai and, most recently, tribal leaders telling its members they must vote for Karzai or face having their houses burned down.

Bangladesh chair of the New Revolutionary Communist party, Manoranjan Gosal Mrinal, was found dead in West Bengal, India, apparently at the hands of his rivals.

India's Prevention of Terrorism Act has been repealed following receipt of presidential assent. In Andhra Pradesh state talks between the state government and rebel People's War Group are scheduled to begin October 2.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, police report killing four militants in two separate incidents.

Nepal's prime minister appealed for peace talks which the Maoist rebels promptly rejected, saying the government has no authority and talks must be with the King directly.

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers have shot dead the brother of dissident leader Colonel Karuna. Meanwhile, government forces and rebels met in eastern Batticaloa to discuss ceasefire issues.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

Symantec published its latest Internet Security Threat Report. It finds "over the first six months of 2004, Slammer and Gaobot were the most common attacks. E-commerce was the most highly targeted industry. The average time between the public disclosure of a vulnerability and the release of an associated exploit was 5.8 days. The number of distinct variants of bots rose by 600 percent. The first malicious code for mobile applications, named Cabir, was developed. In the near future, Symantec expects phishing attacks to become a serious security concern". http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com/content.cfm?articleid=1539

McAfee's Anti-virus and Vulnerability Emergency Response Team (AVERT) announced their identification of the 100,000th malicious threat, a Sdbot variant. http://www.mcafeesecurity.com/us/about/press/mcafee_enterprise/2004/20040920_085956.htm

Microsoft announced it is making Office 2003 source code available to international government agencies.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/sep04/09-19OfficeGSPPR.asp

AOL is implementing "PassCode Premium Service" with a key-tag device provided by RSA Security that generates new access codes every minute. http://media.aoltimewarner.com/media/newmedia/cb_press_view.cfm?release_num=55254205

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9. Finance

An Indonesian police report suggests that the money used for the Australian Embassy bombing was probably taken from money left over from the funds provided for the Marriott Hotel bombing last year. http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,20340,00.html

Libya is still classified by the US as a state sponsor of terrorism but dismantling its nuclear program has led both the US and EU to lift most sanctions that had been imposed against the country. This frees up compensation payments to families of US Lockerbie victims. President Bush's lifting of economic sanctions unfreezes $1.3 billion in assets and permits for the first time direct scheduled air service and passenger charter flights. http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js1932.htm http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040920-5.html

The US House Financial Services Committee held hearings on "Legislative Proposals to Implement the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission". Proposals include requiring Treasury develop a national money laundering strategy; granting SEC emergency response authority to extraordinary disturbances; boosting FinCEN's authority; making possession of counterfeiting tools with intent equal to the act of counterfeiting; barring Internet gambling sites access to financial services; and establishing an international terrorist finance coordinating council. http://financialservices.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=334

Northern Ireland's chief constable Hugh Orde and Garda Siochana Commissioner Noel Conroy launched the first Cross Border Organized Crime assessment, emphasizing the need for law enforcement to leverage close cross-border cooperation much as organized crime gangs do. This cooperation includes operations against drug, fuel and counterfeit crime. http://www.nio.gov.uk/media-detail.htm?newsID=10285

The Northern Ireland Assets Recovery Agency has seized assets of Jim Johnston's estate exceeding GBP 1 million. It is the first action of its kind, part of an agreement in settlement of his estate. Johnston was a member of the Red Hand Commando loyalist paramilitary organization who was murdered in a revenge killing in May 2003.

The US and EU met to discuss coordinating efforts against the use of charities and cash couriers to finance terrorism.
http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/News/200409/2aa3c856-0c19-4629-9043-62f696703ccc.htm

A global study by KPMG finds that banks have increased spending on anti-money laundering systems by 61 percent over the last three years, driven primarily by transaction monitoring. This has resulted in an increase in the volume of suspicious activity reporting for 67 percent of banks reporting. http://www.kpmg.co.uk/news/detail.cfm?pr=2058

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10. Human Rights

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has adopted voluntary guidelines to support the right to adequate food. The guidelines "take into account a wide range of important principles, including equality and non-discrimination, participation and inclusion, accountability and the rule of law, and the principle that all human rights are universal, indivisible, inter-related and interdependent. http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/50821/index.html

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) warns that HIV/AIDS, which has already killed over 20 million people since 1980, will cause up to 100 million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa by 2005. http://www.un.org/esa/desa.html

Britain and Russia are working on a new Security Council resolution to prevent people that commit, support or finance terrorist acts from sheltering behind refugee status. http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391629&a=KArticle&aid=1095424876966

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Hammadi Afandi, detained in Spain since July in connection with the March 11 train bombings, has been released but had to hand in his passport and charges were not dropped.

Mikhail Artamonov, a Russian police captain, has been detained in connection with the August plane bombings.

Sajid Badat pleaded not guilty in British court to charges of conspiring to blow up an aircraft and possessing an explosive.

Djamel Beghal and five colleagues have been ordered to stand trial in connection with a 2001 plot against the US embassy in Paris.

Yuri Budanov, a Russian army colonel convicted of the kidnap and murder of a young Chechen woman, was on the verge of being pardoned but after large demonstrations against the action he has withdrawn his appeal.

Ahmad al-Halabi, a US military interpreter, had been accused of spying. The government has dropped the espionage charge and he will instead plead guilty to lesser charges.

Yaser Hamdi, a US citizen held without charge as an "enemy combatant", in solitary confinement for nearly three years, will be released and sent to Saudi Arabia. http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/September/04_opa_640.htm

Justin McAuliffe has been arrested in England on suspicion of sending 33 letter bombs to various addresses.

Federico Merida, a US soldier, has been sentenced to 25 years prison for the murder of an Iraqi national guard in May.

Athanase Seromba's genocide trial has begun. The Catholic priest is accused of herding 2,000 Tutsis into his church then bulldozing it and killing any survivors.

Ali Al-Timimi, a Virginia Islamic Center lecturer, has been charged with counseling others to engage in a conspiracy to levy war against the US and related crimes.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae/ArchivePress/SeptemberPDFArchive/04/TimimiPR092304.pdf

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12. Transportation

The US Customs and Border Protection C-TPAT initiative has exceeded 7,000 members. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/press_releases/09212004.xml

The Washington DC Metro has begun a training program to teach selected passengers disaster procedures for safely escaping trains and tunnels. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48615-2004Sep24.html?referrer=email

140 kg of weapons-grade plutonium has set forth on a sea voyage from Britain to France for reprocessing. For details, see Transportation, above. The Observer reports a high level of concern over maritime terrorism and that " the ships' security was assessed and approved principally by British nuclear security officials. It has also emerged that 13 armed British commandos will stand guard on the decks of each vessel. The boats are the property of government-owned company BNFL. Once ordinary commercial ships, both are now equipped with 30mm cannon". http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1312919,00.html

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) supported the introduction of new International Maritime Organization measures but warns of continued security threats. Last week's IMB Piracy Report describes incidents against oil tankers in Indonesia, one at berth and one at sea. The crews were able to defeat both attempts. http://www.iccwbo.org/ccs/imb_piracy/weekly_piracy_report.asp

The Nigerian navy has found the MT Jimoh. The oil tanker had disappeared with a full load and has not been found with a new name. Three people on board were arrested.

Nippon Yusen Kaisha and the Maritime and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore held a terrorism training exercise using a simulated attack. http://www.nykline.co.jp/english/what/2004/0917/

South Africa is finalizing an airport security plan. Meanwhile, an attempted cargo robbery last week has led to increased security measures. An ASIO investigation found vulnerabilities among contract airport workers; most have not been screened or issued security cards. The incident is under investigation.

US airport screening still falls short as well. Undercover government tests indicated that knives, guns and explosives were still passing through security screeners at about the same rate as tests held last November. Note the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General "Audit of Passenger and Baggage Screening Procedures At Domestic Airports" http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_04-37_0904.pdf

A RAND study of Los Angeles Airport recommends speeding passenger check-in as the most cost-effective short-term measure to improve security and reduce the impact of a terrorist attack. http://www.rand.org/news/press.04/09.24.html

There was a security alert on a Virgin Blue aircraft when an improvised explosive device was found in the cargo hold. The baggage handler who discovered it carried it into the terminal. Investigations revealed it was a homemade firework that had fallen out of luggage and security procedures have been reviewed.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has deployed Explosives Trace Detection Document Scanners that test documents such as boarding passes and drivers? licenses for traces of explosives at Los Angeles International (LAX), New York?s John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Chicago?s O?Hare International (ORD) airports. http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=44&content=09000519800cf9c8

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that initial testing of drinking water onboard 158 randomly selected passenger airplanes shows 12.6 percent of domestic and international passenger aircraft tested in the U. S. carried water that did not meet EPA standards. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/airlinewater/

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13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

140 kg of weapons-grade plutonium has set forth on a sea voyage from Britain to France for reprocessing. For details, see Transportation, above.

The International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) held their General Conference, endorsing current safeguards and further strengthening activities in safety and waste management as well as new initiatives to fight nuclear terrorism. http://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC48/

Additional Protocols for IAEA verification have been signed by Algeria, Benin, Mauritius, Serbia & Montenegro, Morocco and Tanzania. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2004/aps.html

The World Health Organization issued revised drinking water guidelines to help preempt water contamination. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2004/pr67/en/

Combining TB treatment with HIV testing and treatment could save hundreds of thousands of lives each year is a cost-effective way to improve HIV-positive survival. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2004/pr66/en/

The Rotterdam Convention on toxic pesticides and other hazardous chemicals has added 14 more hazardous substances to the watch list. http://www.pic.int/en/viewpage.asp?id_cat=0

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14. Recently Published

Jon Lee Anderson, "The Fall of Baghdad" Penguin Press

Eric J. Gertler, "Prying Eyes: Protect Your Privacy from People Who Sell to You, Snoop on You, and Steal from You" Random House

Lesley Gill, "The School of the Americas: Military Training and Political Violence in the Americas" Duke University Press

Lyz Glick and Dan Zegart, "Your Father's Voice: Letters for Emmy About Life with Jeremy - and Without Him After 9/11" St Martin's

Seymour Hersh, "Chain of Command" The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib" Harper Collins

Christine Kohl, transl. John Barrett, "The Maiden and the Jew: The Story of a Fatal Friendship in Nazi Germany" Steerforth

Tariq Ramadan, "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam" Oxford University Press

Amy Willesee and Mark Whitaker, "Love and Death in Kathmandu: A Strange Tale of Royal Murder" St Martin's

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FEATURE ARTICLE: The US "Secure Flight" Program

"Oh I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be, some day it's going to come
Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again"

When Cat Stevens penned his gentle lyrics of peace it is unlikely he could have envisioned ever being accused of supporting terrorism. This week the artist and peace activist who changed his name to Yusuf Islam after converting to Islam, boarded a flight in London that was bound for Washington DC. Over the Atlantic Ocean, US officials identified his name on a terrorist watch list, diverted the flight to the nearest port of call in Bangor, Maine, and deported Islam back to London. Shocked by the accusation, he now plans to take legal action to understand why he was denied entry to the US. The British Foreign Secretary has also complained about the action.

On the other hand, long-serving incumbent US Senator Ted Kennedy was also stopped from boarding the Boston to Washington flight he had taken for nearly three decades after his name also appeared on the no-fly list. One of the most recognizable members of the US government, the Senator was allowed to board the flight after his aides and intervened, but that did not prevent his being stopped several times. Only intervention from Homeland Security Secretary Ridge finally cleared his way.

In cases where such well-known people become victims of faulty policy and technology, what are the implications facing the average traveler?

This week the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released notice of the testing phase of the "Secure Flight" passenger prescreening initiative that will replace the current Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS).

"Secure Flight" is a less ambitious program that the CAPPS II initiative originally envisioned. The CAPPS II plan called for the use of commercial databases containing information such as credit records, motor vehicle records, and other personal information combined with government data and travel records. They planned to use mine the data on each individual and assign a risk score based on this analysis, to predict the likelihood that a passenger would engage in terrorist activity. They further planned to use the opportunity to check against other records in case there was a chance to enforce outstanding warrants, parking tickets, or other unspecified applications. (Actual details of data usage was classified and was redacted from all public information provided.)

Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office published a damning review of CAPPS II. They found that: "Key activities in the development of CAPPS II have been delayed, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has not yet completed important system planning activities. TSA is currently behind schedule in testing and developing initial increments of CAPPS II, due in large part to delays in obtaining needed passenger data for testing from air carriers because of privacy concerns. TSA also has not established a complete plan identifying specific system functionality that will be delivered, the schedule for delivery, and estimated costs. The establishment of such plans is critical to maintaining project focus and achieving intended results within budget. ... TSA also has not completely addressed... [concerns] regarding the timeliness of the board?s future reviews. Other issues, including ensuring the accuracy of data used by CAPPS II, stress testing, preventing unauthorized access to the system, and resolving privacy concerns have not been completely addressed..."

In place of this ill advised and expensive venture, TSA has put in place the less expensive but similarly flawed "Secure Flight" program. Instead of using commercial databases and passenger scoring, this program focuses on checking passenger names against terrorist watch lists. This meets one of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and is being undertaken immediately.

Unfortunately, the 9/11 Commission did not require TSA to deal with the severe data quality issues that render the watch lists virtually unusable.

This issue was addressed in no uncertain terms by the UN Committee established to oversee sanctions against al Qaeda, the Taliban and associated individuals and entities, established on the Consolidated List:

The Committee also addressed questions regarding provision of identifying information on the designated individuals and entities, removal of entries without sufficient detail, and procedures for maintaining and updating the List. The same problems they raise are clearly seen in the "Secure Flight" program, as described above. In this case, TSA will use the Terrorist Screening Database maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center. Presumably this is not identical to the UN's Consolidated List, but instead contains additional unqualified data from multiple agencies that by extension is likely to be even less accurate.

There are other problems, although details are obscured by secrecy that continues to surround the program. For example, the government plans to "test the use of commercial data to identify instances in which passengers' identifying passenger information is inaccurate or incorrect". In theory, use of more data can help reduce the number of false positives. Statistics on additional screenings have bot been maintained so it won't be possible to accurately report on a potential improvement.

The method for identifying errors in personal information is not described but the only recourse that a passenger has if s/he is identified on the list is to appeal in writing. In fact, you must appeal in writing to find out if you are on the list at all or to correct any errors. There are no judicially enforceable rights. At the same time, there are no identified measures to identify and stop use of a stolen identity.

Issues of data collection, sharing and usage remain. TSA says it will "require domestic air carriers to submit historic PNR [passenger name records] about individuals who have completed domestic flight segments during the month of June, 2004. PNR varies according to airline, but includes the following information fields which TSA will need for testing purposes: full name, contact phone number, mailing address and travel itinerary limited to domestic flight segments that were completed prior to June 20, 2004". Using the full PNR means that other personal information, ranging from your credit card number to your choice of a special meal, will be included in the collection.

The test will evaluate use of commercial databases but that information will not be stored except that if "test data indicates that an individual is suspected of terrorism, TSA will refer the information to appropriate law enforcement personnel for further action". (During the test period, international passengers will continue to be prescreened with the US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS).)

In terms of data security, TSA says it will physically secure the information, control access, and provide privacy training. In addition, they plan to build an element of randomness into the systems top help prevent reverse engineering.

One security measure seems counterproductive. The government will not provide the complete watch list to airlines. Perhaps a combination of this with poor data quality and poor information coordination explain Yusuf Islam's case. When he checked in at the airport his record cleared the watch list checked by the airline. Only later did TSA and CBP report he had been added to a list of people prohibited from entering the US. Now, Time magazine attribute his expulsion to a spelling error, the difference between "Youssouf" and "Yusuf", but since there is no standard transliteration of Arabic that doesn't seem an adequate explanation.

TSA has announced it will order the airlines to provide the specified information but, although not required by law, they have posted the proposed order for public comment within thirty days of the notice published in the Federal Register. To submit comments, send a fax to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: DHS-TSA Desk Officer, at +1 .

Passenger prescreening is one mechanism proposed to establish high degrees of secure air travel. TSA has already invested more than $100 million, mostly in hardware purchased for the CAPPS II project. That money would have been better spent on the best-known method for deterrence: trained staff. As revealed by investigations from the DHS Inspector General and the GAO, security is inadequately staffed and suffers from lack of training. Unfortunately, all documented cases of attacks against airlines succeed or fail based on the skill of the staff - feet on the ground are invariably more effective in countering terrorism than reliance on technology.

Further Reading:

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