The [tag]Department of Homeland Security[/tag] looked rather silly last month when it announced new anti-terrorism grants for states and localities, which slashed money for Washington, D.C., and New York City. Making matters worse, a risk scorecard for NYC concluded that the home of the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Brooklyn Bridge has “zero” national monuments or icons.
Yesterday, [tag]DHS[/tag] managed to look even worse.
It reads like a tally of [tag]terrorist[/tag] [tag]targets[/tag] that a child might have written: Old MacDonald’s [tag]Petting Zoo[/tag], 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 [tag]report[/tag] 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 [tag]database[/tag].
The [tag]National Asset Database[/tag], 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.
The database is used by the Homeland Security Department to help divvy up the hundreds of millions of dollars in antiterrorism grants each year, including the program announced in May that cut money to New York City and Washington by 40 percent, while significantly increasing spending for cities including Louisville, Ky., and Omaha.
Auditors also questioned entries such as “Nix’s Check Cashing,” “Mall at Sears,” “Ice Cream Parlor,” “Tackle Shop,” “Donut Shop,” “Anti-Cruelty Society,” and “Bean Fest.”
Keep in mind, this database has taken years to put together — and this isn’t the first time the DHS has screwed it up.
USA Today reported way back in December 2004:
The Bush administration’s effort to create a national database of potential terrorist targets such as dams, pipelines, chemical plants and skyscrapers is far behind schedule and may take years to finish.
Members of Congress who have seen parts of the classified list being created by the Department of Homeland Security say it’s a haphazard compilation that includes water parks and miniature golf courses but omits some major sites in need of security. (emphasis added)
“Their list is a joke,” said Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. He called it “an exercise in full employment for bureaucrats, rather than a realistic way to make the country safer.”
That was about 19 months ago. In response to the criticism, DHS has produced a new database that includes ice-cream shops and petting zoos.
“Seems like someone has gone overboard,” said Larry Buss, who helps organize the Apple and Pork Festival in Clinton, Ill. “Their time could be spent better doing other things, like providing security for the country.”
It’s odd, but somehow I can’t say I’m surprised by any of this.
