VOA常速英语2007-Problems with US Terrorist Watch List Prompt Con

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
24 October 2007

A new report to the U.S. Congress has found problems with the government's terrorist watch list, prompting concerns that terrorists could potentially enter the United States undetected.  VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

The terrorist watch list, compiled by U.S. intelligence agencies, is used by the U.S. government to bar individuals who pose a threat to national security from entering the country through land border crossings, airports and seaports¹.

But in a new report, the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, has found problems with the list.

The report was presented at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Wednesday.

Justice Department Inspector² General Glenn Fine told the panel that his office reviewed 105 records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), which oversees³ the watch list, and found that 38 percent of them had errors or inconsistencies.

"We believe it is critical that the TSC further improve the quality of its data and its redress⁴ procedures," he said.  "Inaccurate⁵, incomplete and obsolete⁶ watch list information can increase the risk of not identifying known or suspected terrorists, and it can also increase the risk that innocent persons will be repeatedly stopped or detained."

In fact, Eileen Larence, director of homeland security and justice issues at the Government Accountability Office, says individuals on the watch list have passed undetected through airport screening.

"Individuals on the no-fly list have boarded aircraft, and sometimes flights had to be diverted," she noted⁷.  "Agencies know this, because for international flights into the United States, Customs and Border Protection [CBP] screens all passengers a second time, after the airlines, to determine if the passengers can enter the country.  To do the screening, CBP needs passenger data, but currently it is not sent to CBP in time to screen before the flight departs."

Larence says new government rules, to be put into effect in the near future, will require that the agency receive passenger information sooner, and thus could help identify terrorist suspects before they board aircraft.

U.S. officials defended the watch list program.  They say they are working to better identify suspected terrorists before they enter the United States.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary of Policy, Paul Rosenzweig:

"We have made great strides," he said.  "More work needs to be done, but the improvement is quite noticeable."

The chairman of the Senate committee, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, expressed concern about the growth of the terrorist watch list, which the GAO report says has grown from 158,000 in June 2004 to 860,000 today.

"With the list likely to go over one million names in the near future, we need to know that there are clear standards for placing names on it and of course taking them off it," he said.

But Leonard Boyle, director of the Terrorist Screening Center, says the list is actually much smaller than described by the GAO because some people may be on the list more than once if their names are listed under multiple spellings.

"The actual number of human beings reflected in the data base is far fewer than 800,000," he explained.  "I cannot give you an exact number because, in fact, we do not know for sure, some people successfully create an entire separate identity. Even if we look at the database we might see what appear to be two completely separate identities that reflect but one person.  So the number is far fewer."

Boyle says federal agencies have agreed to a set of procedures to allow people who believe they were wrongly added to the watch list a timely, fair and accurate review of their cases.

1 seaports   

n.海港( seaport的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Airports have joined seaports as ports of entry for the visiting foreigner. 机场和海港一样成为来访的外国人的入境关口。 来自互联网
• Sanya has 16 seaports, 10 islands and 180km of coastline. 三亚有16个港口、10个海岛和180公里的海岸线。 来自互联网

2 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

3 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

4 redress   

n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除

参考例句：

• He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
• Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。

5 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

6 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。