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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:
Cargo Container Inspections

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

The International Day for Disaster Reduction, observed on October 13, used the theme "Learning from today’s disasters for tomorrow’s hazards". Using a culture of prevention to reduce losses could include better risk assessment, monitoring, forecasting and public awareness as well as greater capacity. From 1992 - 2001 natural disasters killed 622,000 people and affected another 2 billion, with economic losses of $446 billion.
http://www.wmo.ch/web/Press/Press715_E.doc
http://www.unep.org/
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/sgsm9520.doc.htm

World Food Day, commemorated on October 15, focused on Biodiversity for Food Security:
http://www.fao.org/wfd/index_en.asp

An international survey conducted by ten of the world's leading newspapers, including the Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), Haaretz (Israel), La Presse (Canada), Le Monde (France), Asahi Shimbun (Japan), Reforma (Mexico), Moskovskie Novosti (Russia); Joong Ang Ilbo (South Korea), el Pais (Spain), and the Guardian (UK) finds increasing hostility to the US Bush administration and a belief that the war in Iraq has not contributed to the fight against terror. For full results and links to each paper see:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/viewsofamerica/0,15220,1327191,00.html

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2. Africa

The African Union has opened a regional counter-terrorism research center in Algeria. http://www.africa-union.org/Terrorism/terrorism2.htm

Burundi participated in a Great Lakes summit that ended by endorsing an extension to the transitional period and holding elections next April, instead of as originally planned in November. The constitutional referendum will be held in November.

Cameroon's government announced President Paul Biya has been re-elected for another 7-year term. His election opponents and one observer team said the voting was rigged and there was massive fraud while other observers said they were reasonably fair.

In Democratic Republic of Congo a new armed-group called the Liberation Movement for Katanga has taken control of the town of Kilwa in the southeast, where there are important mineral deposits.

Ivory Coast rebels have refused to disarm until other key rights promised under the peace agreement are implemented, particularly those regarding foreign-born citizens.

In Nigeria, armed militants of the Al Sunna wal Jamma, commonly known as the Taliban, ambushed a police patrol, killing three and taking 12 hostage.

Somalia's interim parliament has elected a new president after 13 years of war. Abdullahi Yusuf, a noted warlord and president of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, was chosen. African governments have given diplomatic recognition to the new government. President Kahin of the breakaway republic of Somaliland says it will remain independent.

Sudan's Darfur region was the scene of fresh violence, leading to suspension of humanitarian aid in particularly dangerous areas. Since March, 70,000 of more than 1.5 million displaced people have died. The African Union will begin deploying armed peacekeepers but a larger force and international funding to support it are needed.

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3. Americas

Bolivian peasants marched in their thousands to La Paz to call for former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada to be tried for the deaths of 80 people last year during protests against exports of natural gas. Parliament met later in the week and voted to put Sanchez de Lozada on trial. He now resides in the US.

Chile's former president Augusto Pinochet has been diagnosed with moderate dementia. The Chilean court had appointed the physician and now must determine whether he will face human rights charges based on events under his military rule.

Colombians protested in the hundreds of thousands across the nations to protest against President Uribe's economic and social policies. Amnesty International reports that right-wing paramilitaries in particular are using violence against women to sow terror in entire towns and villages.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/stopviolence/index.do

Haiti's volatile situation has further deteriorated. October 15 marked the tenth anniversary of former President Aristide's return to the country after his first exile. Gangs of youths went on the rampage, burning cars and firing into the air. His supporters called for Aristide's return. Gangs have also blocked access to flood aid. Since the end of September, nearly 50 people have been killed. The violence has overwhelmed the Brazilian-led UN peacekeeping force, which has only 3,000 of the promised 8,000 troops. In its place, former members of the rebel army that ousted Aristide have regrouped to fill the vacuum.

Mexico's Zapatista rebels have announced the voluntary withdrawal from seven jungle settlements to more populated areas. The action may help improve the fragile environment and give open a channel to the government.

In Paraguay, some 5,000 people protested a rapid rise in crime including a string of high-profile kidnappings including children, one of whom was mutilated and murdered.

US Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota participated in a security briefing last month that led him to close his Washington DC office and warn against visiting the area until after the elections. http://dayton.senate.gov/ He is the only senator to take this step, but acknowledging increased pre-election risk, security has been stepped up significantly in the capitol.

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4. Asia Pacific

Australia, Indonesia and others around the world commemorated the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people on October 12, 2002. Relatives of the victims laid wreaths at a new monument at the site of the explosions. Australia and Indonesia have agreed to extend counter-terrorism cooperation.

Cambodia's Throne Council voted for Norodom Sihamoni as the country's new king. His father Sihanouk abdicated last week because of ill health, creating a brief constitutional crisis while laws to determine the succession were rushed through. A coronation ceremony will take place later this month.

Indonesian rebels of the Free Papua Movement attacked a convoy and other targets, killing at least five and destroying a bridge.

Philippines officials have conceded that the Superferry 14 fire in February in which 116 of the 900 people on board died was caused by a bomb. Abu Sayyaf Group militants were behind the attack (although their initial claim of responsibility was dismissed as propaganda) and six have been charged, although four remain at large. The ferry was apparently targeted in a dispute over protection money.

South Korea has increased its alert status following threats from a previously unknown group; the Martyr Hammoud Al-Masri Battalion that says it is al Qaeda's Southeast Asian network.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FJ15Dg03.html

In southern Thailand suspected Muslim separatists launched several attacks including gunfire, grenades, and bombs, in which two people were killed and nine injured.

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5. Europe

Belarussians are voting in a referendum on whether Soviet-style President Alexander Lukashenko should be allowed to run for a third term.

In Georgia, two members of the joint Georgian-Ossetian peacekeeping force were killed. In the breakaway region of Abkhazia, 11 of 15 electoral commission members voted to name opposition candidate Sergei Bagapsh the winner in the presidential elections. Georgia dismissed the vote as illegitimate.

Greek Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis said their success in securing the Olympic Games had led to international demand for their expertise. He said there were 86 cases that triggered major security alerts including bomb hoaxes, anthrax powder scares and a propane leak at an Athens hotel.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1361871.htm

In Beslan, Russia, people marked the end of a formal 40-day period of mourning after the school siege in which 334 were killed and 200 are still missing.

In Istanbul, Turkey, the Neve Shalom synagogue has reopened nearly 11 months after it was badly damaged in an al Qaeda-linked suicide bombing.

October 12 marked the 20th anniversary of the 1984 Brighton bombing in which the IRA attacked the Conservative party conference with a 100 pound bomb at the Grand Hotel, that came close to wiping out Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet. Five people were killed and 34 injured. Patrick Magee was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison but was later freed under the Good Friday Agreement.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/magazine_brighton_bomb_20_years_on/html/1.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3735734.stm

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6. Middle East

In Gaza, the Israeli Defense Forces operation "Days of Penitence" closed day 17 on Friday night with a partial withdrawal. During the operation at least 138 Palestinians were killed and 500 injured. Of these, a third were civilians and at least ten were under 14 years old. Eighty homes were destroyed. This is the largest number of casualties of any operation since the second intifada began in September 2000. In addition to the Palestinians, two Israeli soldiers and an Israeli woman jogger were killed. At the weekend, tanks and bulldozers continued operations to locate tunnels.

In Iraq, the expanding military front is met by an expanding insurgency. US-led forces have renewed offensive operations in rebel-dominated areas, particularly Falluja where Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi and his terrorist network are believed hiding. Among the attacks, insurgents penetrated the heavily guarded "green zone" with two suicide bombings that killed at least five and a series of five attacks against churches killed six. Bombings in the most secured areas have increased concerns of safety, including reservations on the part of UN staff. Troop shortages have led to a redeployment of British troops to assist US operations rather than maintaining their peacekeeping operation in Basra. Polish forces will be completely withdrawn early next year, but NATO has announced deploying 300 trainers by the end of the year. In an even greater challenge, public health presents great risk, particularly in ensuring clean water and sanitation. There were more than 5,000 cases of typhoid in the first three months this year.

Israel's Foreign Ministry's Center for Political Research outlines diplomatic challenges over the next ten years and warns that if the Palestinian conflict is not resolved, Israel could become a pariah state on par with apartheid South Africa.

Saudi Arabian security forces entered into a gun battle with suspected militants in which three militants were killed and seven security forces injured. Among those killed was a leading militant listed as one of the 26 fugitives wanted for links to al Qaeda: Abdelmajid bin Mohammad Abdallah al-Manaya. Now only 11 on the list remain at large.

In municipal elections due in Saudi Arabia next February, women will not be allowed to participate. The election law last August had not explicitly banned female participation. Bahrain,

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7. South Asia

Afghanistan's presidential votes are being counted. To deal with any irregularities, a 3-member panel was established to review written complaints while ballot boxes were being collected -- some were isolated for further review.

In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh state officials and a delegation from the People's War Group (PWG)/Communist Party of India (Maoist) have opened talks to begin resolving the long-standing dispute, focusing on land distribution and development.

Nepal's Maoist rebels suspended armed operations for a week during the Hindu festival of Dasain.

Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf marked the fifth anniversary of seizing power in a bloodless coup. The National Assembly passed a bill that would allow him to continue holding both the presidency and head of the army until 2007. It will now pass to the senate. Musharraf had previously agreed to step down as head of the army by the end of the year in return for support of stronger presidential powers.

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger Rebels clashed with dissident faction members in the east, killing two.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

Websense Security Labs reports a dramatic increase in phishing sites and suggests watching for these common attributes:

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched the first legal action against spyware, asking a district court to shut down the operations of Seismic Entertainment Productions, Inc., Smartbot.Net, and Sanford Wallace.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/10/spyware.htm

FTC also issued warnings about voter registration scams that can be used to obtain personal information and commit identity theft.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/10/voterpretext.htm

India's National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) annual meeting attracted an international audience discussing cybersecurity and outsourcing.
http://www.ciol.com/content/special/nasscom2004/
http://www.bis.doc.gov/InternationalPrograms/IndiaCooperation.htm

Microsoft has issued patches for 22 software flaws, seven considered critical. http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/default.mspx
A parsing overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Word can be exploited to create a denial of service attack.
http://secunia.com/advisories/12758

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9. Finance

AmSouth Bancorporation and AmSouth Bank have been fined penalties and fees of $54 million and subject to cease and desist provisions for deficiencies related to compliance with the reporting provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act.
http://www.amsouth.com/irrc/releases.asp
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/mss/documents/pressreleases/october2004/amsouth.htm
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/Enforcement/2004/20041012/default.htm

Liberia has frozen the assets of former president Charles Taylor, his relatives and associates. The UN Security Council had ordered these sanctions seven months ago. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=43710

A Philippines court ordered all bank accounts of Major General Carlos Garcia and his family to be frozen in connection with accusations of corruption allowing him to amass unexplained wealth while handling the military budget. The Anti-Money Laundering Council has also issued a freeze order on their vehicles.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=National&OID=61571

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry has warned against buying charity coupons that are often sold outside mosques because there is evidence terrorist groups use them as a significant source of finance. http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=52929&d=15&m=10&y=2004
In a related action, the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation has been dissolved.

The Bank of England, directed by the Treasury, has directed all assets of
Jama'at Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad ("JTJ", "al-Tawhid", "al-Zarqawi network", "Monotheism and Jihad Group") led by Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi be frozen for connections to terrorism. The group has admitted involvement in the murders of Kenneth Bigley and five other hostages and other terrorist acts across Iraq."
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/2004/press_83_04.cfm

The US Treasury has designated the Islamic African Relief Agency (IARA) worldwide and five of its senior officials as providing support to terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda, Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya (AIAI) and Hamas. The officials designated are Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Sulaiman, Jaffar Ahmad Abdullah Makki, Abdul Aziz Abbakar Muhamad, Khalid Ahmad Jumah Al-Sudani and Ibrahim Buisir. IARA is a humanitarian organization based in Sudan. They deny the accusation.
http://www.iara-usa.org/ http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js2025.htm

Treasury also added Gabriel Puerta Parra and Luis Antonio Hernandez Zea, leaders of the North Valle drug cartel in Colombia, as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers.
http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js2031.htm

Also note several recent court cases in Law, below details

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10. Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights has begun hearings into alleged human rights abuses by the Russian military against Chechen civilians.
http://press.coe.int/cp/2004/502a(2004).htm

The "Innocenti Social Monitor 2004" report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) highlights the gaps between rich and poor in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Measured by national standards, one child in three still lives in poverty despite economic progress in every country. The report cites lack of initiatives to tackle social disparities and hi degrees of unemployment.
http://www.unicef-icdc.org/presscentre/indexNewsroom.sql

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was held on October 14.
http://www.un.org/events/poverty/2004/

It is now 25 years since the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was adopted. In marking the anniversary, the convention's oversight committee said that no country had achieved total equality. Instead discriminatory laws about marriage, divorce, property inheritance, ownership of land and access to loans and credits remain; criminal laws continue to be discriminatory, inadequate or poorly enforced; and access to education and healthcare are often limited.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/

Human Rights Watch reports that eleven al Qaeda suspects have disappeared in US custody and are being held in undisclosed locations where some have been tortured.
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/10/12/usint9463.htm

Kurdish activist Leyla Zana has received the Sakharov prize for human rights.

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Abdurahman Alamoudi, a prominent Muslim-American advocate, has been sentenced to 23 years prison for three charges of illegal financial dealings with Libya, to which he had pleaded guilty earlier. The financing was connected to an alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince for which he was not charged. Libya denies any such plot.

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, a leading Muslim cleric in Indonesia, has been charged with motivating or ordering people to participate in terrorist acts, in particular the 2003 Marriott hotel bombing.

Olga Borissova, Vitalij Kirilenko, Liiv Ravino and Teni Terje were charged in British court in the first criminal case connected with phishing. The four eastern Europeans were charged with conspiracy to defraud financial institutions and conspiracy to launder money.

Jose Celestino Chamorro, an alleged regional leader of Colombia's rebel National Liberation Army (ELN), has been arrested in connection with the kidnapping of eight foreign tourists in September 2003.

Ciaran James Cunningham has been found guilty of five charges of collecting information likely to be useful to terrorists and sentenced in Belfast Crown Court to six years in prison. Cunningham was a clerk at Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast who used patient records to get personal information about politicians; security force, police and prison officers; and loyalists.

Mamoun Darkazanli arrested in Germany on an extradition request from Spain where he is suspected of helping finance al Qaeda.

Alberto Fujimori's extradition from Japan to Peru has been requested for a second time, addressing acts of corruption during his presidency.

Yaser Esam Hamdi, held in solitary confinement by the US as an enemy combatant for three years, arrived in Saudi Arabia on October 11. His transfer to Saudi Arabia was part of an agreement reached with the US in which he agreed to renounce his US citizenship, restrict his travel, and not take legal action against the US government.

Saleh Ould Hanenna has been arrested in Mauritania on charges of masterminding the attempted coup last year.

Abu Hamza al-Masri, a radical Muslim cleric, will face charges in the UK, taking precedence over a US extradition request. It is reported that he may be charged with incitement although he has been held under terrorism laws.

Metin Kaplan ("Caliph of Cologne") was extradited from Germany to Turkey where he faces charges including treason for wanting to overthrow the secular government and plotting to crash a plane into a Turkish landmark. He was imprisoned in Germany for four years for calling for the murder of a rival Islamic leader.

Michael Joseph and Mary Lavelle were arrested in February 2003 after bomb-making materials had been found hidden in a field behind their home. The husband and wife have now been acquitted by a Northern Ireland court for lack of evidence that they were aware of having the materials and knowing they were explosives.

Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's war crimes trial has resumed after a delay of one month.

Gary Mulgrew, Giles Darby and David Bermingham, charged in the UK with bank fraud, may now be extradited to the US where they have been accused of seven counts of wire fraud in an alleged conspiracy with Enron executive. Judge Evans issued the order under legislation in force since January that was designed to accelerate extradition of suspected terrorists. The men can appeal and a final decision rests with the British Home Secretary.

Michael Gerard Rogan has been arrested in the Canary Islands on an international arrest warrant issued after he failed to appear in court in Northern Ireland in 1997. He is suspected of involvement in the Thiepval Barracks bombing that killed one soldier and injured 31 others.

Morgan Tsvangirai, opposition leader of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has been acquitted of treason.

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12. Transportation

The Superferry 14 fire in February, in which 116 of the 900 people on board died, was caused by a bomb. For details see Asia Pacific/Philippines, above.

The US Department of Homeland Security Inspector General reported that federal airport security screeners are understaffed, face excessive overtime, and suffer from low morale.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_04_47-10122004.pdf
For information on the report on detecting uranium in two smuggling incidents, see the Feature Article, below.

Russia's Federal Security Service successfully carried fake explosives on board a plane in a security drill in which two other security breaches also succeeded, suggesting that airport security has not been sufficiently improved following two recent airplane bombings.

The Transportation Security Administration refused to release even the titles of five aviation warnings given to airlines before the 9/11 attacks although they have been published in the 9/11 Commission report.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB137/index.htm

Indonesian and Malaysian officials meeting to discuss various issues of security emphasized their sovereignty over territorial waters, that the security of the Malacca Straits would best be maintained by its littoral states, and that foreign powers must not dictate the measures taken to protect and preserve their domain. The US wants to station a detachment of US troops in the area.

Speaking in Mexico, Colombia's anti-drug leader Luis Alfonso Plazas said that Mexican and Colombian cartels are turning to ocean routes for trafficking.

The European Commission has adopted new proposals to improve market access to port services to encourage short-sea shipping.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/04/1212&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Singapore's Internal Security Department has prepared a terrorism training program for taxi drivers that includes a video and pamphlets describing suspicious behavior.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,278063,00.html

The US-VISIT program in which biometric identifiers are captured at the port of entry will begin testing at land ports in Douglas, Arizona; Port Huron, Michigan; and Laredo, Texas in mid-November ahead of deployment to the 50 busiest land ports of entry scheduled for December 31, 2004.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=4062

Malaysia and Thailand plan to introduce smartcards for frequent travelers, to speed border crossings.

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13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that analysis of satellite images over Iraq reveals high-precision equipment and entire buildings housing nuclear materials have been dismantled without a trace. Investigations by US and Iraqi authorities are underway. The IAEA has not been allowed to return to Iraq, although they have the records of all materials prior to the war.

IAEA is also investigating experiments with plutonium that Taiwan carried out until the mid-1980s.

A review of the US government's Bioshield program finds it inadequate as contracts have not been forthcoming and there are insufficient measures to deal with liability or intellectual property issues.
http://www.biosecurityjournal.com/PDFs/v2n404/GILFILLAN.pdf

The Malaria Vaccine Initiative in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline has developed a malaria vaccine that reduced the infection rate in 2,000 children by half.
http://www.malariavaccine.org/
http://www.thelancet.com/journal/vol364/iss9443/full/llan.364.9443.primary_research.30985.1 (registration)

New research from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) demonstrates how the smallpox virus attacks its victims on the molecular level.
http://www2.niaid.nih.gov/newsroom/Releases/smallpox_monkeys.htm

The EU has ended a 19-year-old moratorium on arms sales to Libya.

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14. Recently Published

Eric Alterman, "When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and Its Consequences" Viking

Edwin Black, "Banking on Baghdad: Inside Iraq's 7,000 Year History of War, Profit and Conflict" Wiley

Max Frankel, "High Noon in the Cold War: Kennedy, Krushchev and the Cuban Missile Crisis" Ballantine

Richard Gott, "Cuba: A New History" Yale University Press

Thomas Hamill and Paul T. Brown, "Escape in Iraq: The Thomas Hamill Story" Stoeger

Ha Jin, "War Trash" Pantheon (novel)

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FEATURE ARTICLE: Cargo Container Inspections

In the third US presidential debate, Senator John Kerry said that 95 percent of containers coming into American ports are not inspected. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) immediately published a rebuttal insisting that all cargo is screened. As in so many cases, the "devil is in the details", so this article describes exactly what happens with cargo screening in the US.

CBP implements cargo security through two main initiatives, the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). These systems are connected with the broader International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) that took effect on July 1 this year. (We have covered these topics in prior articles; links below.)

CSI is meant to identify and examine maritime containers that pose a possible terrorism risk at their point of origin. Today, 26 ports, covering around three-quarters of sea containers shipped to the US, are participating in the program. C-TPAT complements this with security enhancements directed towards securing the supply chain. These procedures rely on self-administered risk assessments and assertions of compliance that are almost never externally verified.

In any case, the key to implementation is advance notification. The 24-hour Advanced Manifest Rule requires all sea carriers except bulk carriers and approved break bulk cargo provide verifiable cargo descriptions and consignee addresses 24 hours before cargo is loaded at the foreign port. Failure to do this generates various penalties. It is this step that allows CBP to state that "We use intelligence to screen information on 100 percent of cargo entering our ports, and ALL cargo that presents a risk to our country is inspected using large x-ray and radiation detection equipment".

In reality, this is only one piece of the risk equation.

In transit, protective measures remain largely paper tigers. For example, most containers are poorly sealed; ship alert systems limited in range; and even in cases where a ship or buoy have been outfitted with radio equipment almost no land facilities are equipped to read a signal. Risk is presented at every point of transit, as illustrated in this quotation:

"The challenge of securing the loading and movement of containers is formidable. Anyone who has $3,000 to $5,000 can lease one of the many millions of containers that circulate around the globe. They can pack it with up to 65,000 pounds of items, close the door, and lock it with a seal that costs a half-dollar. The box then enters the transportation system, with all the providers working diligently to get it where it needs to go as quickly as possible. Accompanying documents usually describe the contents of the cargo container in general terms. If the box moves through intermediate ports before it enters the United States, the container manifest typically indicates only the details known to the final transportation carrier. For instance, a container could start in Central Asia, travel to an interior port in Europe, move by train to the Netherlands, cross the Atlantic by ship to Canada, and then move by rail to Chicago.... On average, overseas containers will pass through seventeen intermediate points before they arrive at their final U.S. destination, and often their contents come from several locations before they are even loaded into the box."
(Stephen Flynn, in "America the Vulnerable", Harper Collins, 2004. p 88-9)

As this level of complexity suggests, cargo screening itself is problematic. CBP screens the written manifestos. Of those, some five percent are subject to further scrutiny. This is an enormous advance over the less than two percent that was reviewed prior to 9/11, but it is still insufficient. People shipping illicit materials are not likely to declare it, as has been clearly demonstrated in a case recently analyzed by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG).

OIG investigated the "Effectiveness of Customs and Border Protection's Procedures to Detect Uranium in Two Smuggling Incidents". OIG provides this background to the incidents:

"To test controls over importing weapons of mass destruction, ABC News was successful in two attempts at smuggling depleted uranium into the country. Scientists advised ABC News that shielded depleted uranium had the same signature as shielded weapons-grade uranium, and loaned ABC News a 15-pound cylinder of shielded depleted uranium. However, we were informed by CBP that the radiation signatures of shielded depleted uranium and shielded weapons-grade uranium are distinctly different. For educational or research purposes, it is legal for an individual to possess up to 15 pounds of depleted uranium, and import it into the U.S., as long as it is declared.

"In the first smuggling event, ABC News reported that a steel pipe containing a 15 pound cylinder of depleted uranium, which was shielded with lead, was placed in a suitcase and accompanied the ABC News reporters by rail from Austria to Turkey. The reporters thought that this route would simulate a journey that a terrorist would most likely take in smuggling radioactive materials from the former Soviet Union. During this 47-hour European rail trip, the suitcase was placed on a rack in the cabin of the train car. The reporters said that they saw no sign of any radiation detection equipment during the trip. In Istanbul, Turkey, the suitcase was placed inside an ornamental chest that was crated and nailed shut. The crate containing the suitcase was then placed alongside crates of huge vases and Turkish horse carts in a large metal shipping container that was ordered from a company that arranges shipments to the U.S. The container was then loaded onto a ship that left Istanbul on July 10, 2002. The crate was targeted as high-risk for screening by the U.S. Customs Service (Customs). ABC News broadcast on September 11, 2002, that Customs failed to detect depleted uranium carried from Europe to the U.S.

"During the second smuggling event, ABC News smuggled the same cylinder of depleted uranium in August 2003. ABC News placed the cylinder containing depleted uranium into a suitcase. The suitcase was then placed into a teak trunk. The trunk, along with other furniture, was loaded into a container in Jakarta, Indonesia, and then transshipped to the U.S. from Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia. The container was shipped in late July 2003 and arrived on August 23, 2003. This shipment was also targeted as high-risk for screening and subsequently inspected by CBP personnel, but was then allowed to proceed from the port by truck on September 2, 2003. As in the earlier incident, ABC News announced on
September 11, 2003, that Customs again failed to detect depleted uranium."

In addition to reminding us of the general availability of radiological materials, these incidents pointed to significant flaws in current CBP screening systems, including the limited use of radiation detection equipment. CBP has taken measures to implement more sensitive radiological scanners and improve training and search procedures followed by CBP inspectors. That said, neither the investment required to provide the equipment nor the personnel required to adequately counter these risks have been forthcoming.

We will leave the last word to Stephen Flynn, this time from his congressional testimony:

Further Resources:

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