GAO Studies FBI Watch List – Are You On It
Opportunities Exist to Enhance Management Oversight, Reduce Vulnerabilities in Agency Screening Processes, and Expand Use of the List
Opportunities Exist to Enhance Management Oversight, Reduce Vulnerabilities in Agency Screening Processes, and Expand Use of the List
The FBI and the intelligence community use standards of reasonableness to evaluate individuals for nomination to the consolidated watch list. In general, individuals who are reasonably suspected of having possible links to terrorism—in addition to individuals with known links—are to be nominated. As such, being on the list does not automatically prohibit, for example, the issuance of a visa or entry into the United States. Rather, when an individual on the list is encountered, agency officials are to assess the threat the person poses to determine what action to take, if any. As of May 2007, the consolidated watch list contained approximately 755,000 records.
Although the federal government has made progress in promoting effective terrorism-related screening, additional screening opportunities remain untapped—within the federal sector, as well as within critical infrastructure components of the private sector. This situation exists partly because the government lacks an up-to-date strategy and implementation plan for optimizing use of the terrorist watch list. Also lacking are clear lines of authority and responsibility. An up-to-date strategy and implementation plan, supported by a clearly defined leadership or governance structure, would provide a platform to establish government wide screening priorities, assess progress toward policy goals and intended outcomes, consider factors related to privacy and civil liberties, ensure that any needed changes are implemented, and respond to issues that hinder effectiveness.
GAO regularly puts a microscope on Federal Agencies. Normally, they describe the results in very dry language, but if you are brave enough to read the side bar synopsis, you may be surprised. Sometimes the GAO is very helpful revealing the weaknesses ans inequities we experience every day, compliments of Uncle Sam. This is as close to OVERSIGHT as you will get … publically.
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October 25th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
wow YAY team , reality is back in progress !!!! great template , great posts ,
well call me old fashioned, maybe it comes from being a responsible adult who has had a checking account since my teens. But without accontablity , monitoring and basic rules of finance using simple addition and subtraction is vitally important to say not bouncing checks..etc. We as a country have and continue to witness unprecidented fruad and waste and i say unprecidented because we are up to figures that honestly even a mathmatician might have trouble wrapping their minds around. Bunnatine Greenhouse tried and did blow the whistle on Pentagon Contracts. How on earth does a corporation like Blackwater not only DODGE taxes on their cost plus fees but operate with impunity in Iraq – while our military languishes..? What is even stranger and sadder is that the party of so called fiscal responsibiliy is not called out on the carpet by their own people. Like any household, you keep borrowing , keep spending beyond your means – you crash hard. Now about this list..one really has to wonder if they are on it – Lists ..lists ..lists. Ok , perhaps all of us people ie. the 300 million plus are on it – the government seems to treat us like sheep, the question becomes which group of us , will be singled out for the slaughter. Which will be kept so they can continue to make cheese. I am a big fan of accountability ! I also believe we have more then enough highly qualified non partisian professionals available to do an ethical job , if they are empowered to do so. If the congress were doing its basic job of protecting the Constitution surely impeachment hearings would be taking place. Its not – that leaves us in the hands of a criminal regime, that indeed was installed by the Supreme Court. We had a coup…NOW if someone could please explain to us the electoral college and the primaries..
Lets say this is indeed a game , but its a game we want to understand the rules of – the RNC the DNC – the primaries..the delegates.. the history of all of this.. When do we get an accountability report on the current degraded state of our electoral process…hint hint.
LONG LIVE REALITY AND BLUE BLOGGIN – love the progress !
October 25th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
and that Gov. accountability project is a very very imformative link …It is scarey , how much there is that needs serious review..the question becomes will the powers that be ever have enough integrity to do it. Makes me wonder if we have turned a corner..Honesty , integrity, responsibility,are these just fond memories of days gone by – will they ever be restored to our political process again…lets hope so. Someday the pendulum must swing back to the side of truth and integrity – the question is , will it only be after this empire is completely brought to its knees or can it be done from the inside the system. changing the the system from within is not something that i currently hold much stock in anymore..and apparently given the polling on the confidence/aproval of the current congress – 70-80% of those polled agree with me.
October 25th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Ooooo, very nice look!
About the only gov’t truth we are getting is coming from the GAO, but it is spit in the wind. Methodical plans are proceeding. The question is, will the citizenry wake before all hope is lost? I think not, at least in the shortterm. Later, when devastation is widespread, perhaps.
October 25th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Thanks for the kudos on the new theme and yes it was time to put reality back.
The GAO is about the only thing in Washington working. You have to wonder how much longer it will be before Bush classifies the GAO as a terrorist organization.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
[...] bosskitty placed an interesting blog post on GAO Studies FBI Watch List – Are You On It.Here’s a brief overview:TERRORIST WATCH LIST SCREENING Opportunities Exist to Enhance Management Oversight, Reduce Vulnerabilities in Agency Screening Processes, and Expand Use of the List. Opportunities Exist to Enhance Management Oversight, … [...]
October 26th, 2007 at 10:39 am
i don’t know how i forgot to mention this ..but in her book illusions of security , Maureen Webb documents quite clearly how the watch lists work at the borders ALREADY – thanks to Choice Point and Data Mining ..for awhile now…people entering Canada for example on sking vacations with their families are being detained because border agents have INFO. on them from over 30 yrs ago for example a DUI or misdomeanors…they have so much data on all of us. Its rediculous. The ultimate irony of these so called Security Measures is they LOCK US IN – not keep people out. And people wonder why i say we are livig in a fascist state now. Can you imagine..in your fifties being detained with your family for something you did and paid for, in your twenties ???? well thats how it is NOW.