Catch as catch can?

In our final paragraph of the preceding commentary we asked; “‘Protective measures’ against what? Is this GAO report just another attempt at ‘make work’? With our tax dollars?”

Coincidentally, it was just announced that Susan Kohn Ross, the director-at-large and legal advisor to the Foreign Trade Association of Southern California, has moved to the law firm of Mitchell Silverberg & Krupp. Ms. Ross, you may recall, was among the first to question the government about unwarranted expenditures. She spoke out early in 2005 and we quoted her straightforward remarks in our Vol. III, Art. 5 commentary. She pointedly asked:

“Isn’t it about time Congress took the time to do a proper job instead of passing laws which, in retrospect, look to be passed strictly for the sake of seeming to have done something? Isn’t it about time to talk about the white elephant in the room that everyone wants to ignore? While it is true the efforts of the government have made it that much more difficult for targets of opportunity to be found, if we learned anything from 9/11 it is that terrorists don’t act rashly or happen upon an opportunity. They act after much planning and effort. So, do you really feel any safer than you did on September 10, 2001?”

Our commentary went on to say:

“Attorney Ross’ dissatisfaction is an echo of what we’ve been hearing on a regular basis from any number of recognized authorities in the security related fields, but in every case the critic has been put down by someone connected in some way with the administration. There’s always an alibi or a denial in response to the constructive criticism being offered, and the natural consequence of being in denial is that shortcomings persist. For example: Time after time various references have been made to the limited number of imported containers being inspected by Customs personnel in our container ports. Estimates provided by reliable authorities range from 4% to 10%, but without fail we’re reassured by government personnel or government agencies that ‘100%’ is a more accurate figure. The system, we’re supposed to believe, has been perfect since day one. Well, not quite. Everyone but the DHS is now paying attention to the white elephant in the room …”

We ended our commentary by giving the lie to government disinformation:

“The 100% figure is a blatant bit of disinformation and everyone knows it. The 4% to 10% range is also an inaccurate estimate. AVANTE, located in Princeton, NJ, is a pioneer in RFID technology and stated last week that less than 2% of the containers arriving in U.S. ports are being inspected. Ms. Ross reminds us that ‘terrorists don’t act rashly or happen upon an opportunity. They act after much planning and effort’. In other words, terrorists aren’t relying on a roll of the dice. They’re deliberate. They’re intelligent. And they’re not getting caught.

“[We’d catch ’em, though. Our patented system