So they're slow in getting armor and compiling a legitimate terror watch list.
I've gotta know where those minigolf places are and never go there. I mean minigolf a target?
By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY
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.
"Their list is a joke," said Rep. Ernest Istook (news, bio, voting record), 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."
The department began collecting data a year ago under orders from President Bush (news - web sites). Noting that an attack on one sector can have cascading consequences for the economy and public safety, Bush instructed the department to develop a database of sites and set priorities to protect them.
The job was to have been largely completed by this month. In some cases, the list would be used to establish permanent protections. In others, it would guide officials to sites needing stepped-up security in the event of a threat against one area or industry.
Robert Liscouski, in charge of infrastructure protection at the Homeland Security department, said officials have set up a database of more than 80,000 sites. It's being kept secret so terrorists cannot learn more about the nation's vulnerabilities.
After a briefing Tuesday, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., criticized the effort. "I honestly don't know what they've been doing over there," she said. "I think you could take the average mayor or member of Congress and give them a month, and they would come up with a better list."
Michael O'Hanlon, a homeland security expert at the Brookings Institution, a centrist think tank, said the project so far amounts to "a stapling exercise."
Liscouski acknowledged that the process has been slow and could take years to complete. He said the department relies on state and local governments and private industries to help catalog sites that could be targeted by terrorists. Some have provided too much information and others not enough, he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge recognized the problem in July. In an internal memo provided by the department, he said local officials "lack clear guidelines and standards" from his agency to help them determine which sites to include. "Absent such clear delineation, it is impossible to justify any item contained on the national list," Ridge wrote.
Stephen Flynn, author of America the Vulnerable, said companies are reluctant to give the government information because they fear being held liable after an attack if they lacked adequate security.
Nevertheless, Liscouski said federal officials have started analyzing the information. "We have a good handle on what the top targets in the United States are," he said. "It's not going fast, but it's coming along."
Rep. Christopher Cox (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said he would meet with department leaders today to discuss his panel's "concern about what's in the database and what isn't and how it was compiled. We need a credible ... database in order to identify the vulnerabilities."