[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 21 (Thursday, February 11, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S560-S561]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ANTITERRORISM TOOLS AND INFORMATION SHARING

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the December 
25, 2009, attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253, and the steps we 
must continue to take to improve the effectiveness of our Nation's 
antiterrorism tools and interagency information sharing and 
communication. On December 25, 2009, a Nigerian national, Umar Farouk 
Abdulmutallab, attempted to detonate an explosive device while onboard 
Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. The device did not 
explode, but instead ignited, injuring Mr. Abdulmutallab and two other 
passengers.
  As a result of their heroic actions, the flight crew and passengers 
were able to restrain Mr. Abdulmutallab and the plane safely landed. 
Mr. Abdulmutallab was not on the U.S. Government's terrorist Watch List 
but he was known to the U.S. intelligence community.

[[Page S561]]

  Following the December 25, 2009, attempted bombing, President Obama 
directed that a number of actions be taken and that government 
officials conduct a complete review of the terrorist watch listing 
system. The White House made public a summary of the preliminary 
report, and the President issued several directives to the Director of 
National Intelligence and the National Counterterrorism Center, NCTC, 
as well as to a number of Departments and Agencies.
  Since the December 25, 2009, attempted bombing, the State Department, 
the Transportation Security Administration and the Customs and Border 
Patrol have also made a number of changes to their procedures, 
including the addition of new and enhanced screening procedures.
  Information sharing and interagency communication have come a long 
way since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and our ability as a 
government to share information and coordinate our actions to detect 
terrorist threats and protect the American people is better today than 
it was on September 11. Our intelligence, law enforcement and homeland 
security communities have successfully disrupted and prevented numerous 
terrorist threats.
  But the attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253, the January 20 
full Judiciary Committee hearing, and the Terrorism and Homeland 
Subcommittee hearing I chaired in April 2009 on information sharing, 
prove that our ability to detect, disrupt and prevent terrorist threats 
still has gaps.
  As chairman of the Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee, my 
first hearing was on information sharing. I said at that time that I 
was concerned that the U.S. Government did not have in place ``a 
comprehensive strategy to overcome bureaucratic hurdles to sharing of 
information that could prevent a terrorist attack.'' It is clear that 
terrorism-related information on Mr. Abdulmutallab was available, but 
no one acted on that information enough to challenge him before he 
boarded the airplane.
  We face evolving terrorist threats to our Nation, and our enemies and 
their supporters are clever, resourceful, diverse and dangerous. We 
need to be able to detect tomorrow's plots whether they are in the air, 
on land or from the sea.
  As a result, I am going to continue to work to ensure that we remove 
the cultural, institutional and technological obstacles that impede our 
ability to prevent the next terrorist attack. Having access to the 
right information has little or no value if it is not pushed, on an 
ongoing basis, to the specific agencies that have the responsibility to 
both analyze it and take follow-up action, as necessary. When new 
information is added to our databases, relevant data must be able to 
find other relevant data. We need to explore real-time connections that 
can constantly update analysts to ensure that information is sent and 
seen before terrorists are able to board airplanes.
  During the January 20 full Judiciary Committee hearing, I sought 
answers on who in our government is responsible for analyzing terrorism 
information and taking the necessary follow-up actions to protect the 
American people. The FBI Director indicated that NCTC was responsible 
for analyzing threat information and nominating known or suspected 
international terrorists to the Terrorist Screening Center for watch 
listing purposes. The Department of Homeland Security stated that it 
was a ``consumer'' of that information. But clearly, no one followed up 
to conduct further screening to prevent Mr. Abdulmutallab from boarding 
the plane. The President has ordered the Director of National 
Intelligence to ``reaffirm and clarify roles and responsibilities,'' 
and he has directed that NCTC ensure that there is a process to 
``prioritize to pursue thoroughly and exhaustively terrorism threat 
threads,'' to include ``follow-up action.''
  We must make sure that our law enforcement, intelligence, and 
homeland security professionals clearly know who is responsible for 
taking follow-up actions on terrorist threats to protect the American 
people, and that those officials have the authorities they need to act.
  At the same time, as I have said previously, we must make sure that 
our government uses its scare resources wisely, and that it strikes an 
appropriate balance between national security and protecting civil 
liberties. We have now begun consideration of the fiscal year 2011 
budget. We need to ensure that we have well-qualified and highly 
skilled airport screeners and security personnel, and that they have 
all the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. Mistaken 
profiling, however, that improperly relies on racial and ethnic 
factors, and not on a broad and valid set of behavioral indicators of 
potential terrorist activity, will waste resources, harm innocent 
individuals, and impede commerce.
  And while technology can play a crucial role in helping to prevent 
terrorists from bringing explosives onto our airplanes, the first 
priority must be to identify potential terrorists and keep them off our 
airplanes.
  The memory of 9/11 has been seared in our hearts and our minds, but 
it does not blind us to the wisdom that we must fight our enemies while 
remaining true to the fundamental principles and values upon which this 
great nation was founded. The men and women of our Armed Forces and 
their families have sacrificed much to protect and preserve the 
American way of life and what this nation stands for. The ongoing 
threat from al-Qaida and other terrorists who intend to harm us is 
real. However, we do not need to choose between security and liberty. 
Legitimate debate will continue on how we should strike the balance 
between the two at this time in our Nation's history.
  But we must reject what the 9/11 Commission described as the ``false 
choice'' between security and liberty. Whether the issue is information 
sharing, airport screening procedures, or the use of technology, we can 
protect the American people from harm while preserving civil rights and 
liberties.

                          ____________________