DHS boasts about its aviation security efforts…and more

DHS marked the sixth anniversary of the issuance of the 9/11 Commission Report by patting itself on the back for the progress it says it has made in a wide range of counterterrorism arenas, but most especially in aviation security.

In a press release issued on July 22, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano hailed her department’s progress in protecting against – and responding to – acts of terrorism, “including a series of unprecedented steps to bolster aviation security in the United States and around the world.”

The department simultaneously released its full 18-page 2010 progress report on the steps it has taken to implement the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.

Among the aviation security accomplishments it highlighted were the following:

Secure Flight – DHS now vets 100 percent of passengers flying domestically and internationally on U.S. airlines (not yet on international airlines), meaning the TSA, not the carriers themselves, compare passenger manifests against government watch lists.

Air Cargo – DHS says it is “on track” to meet the Congressionally-mandated 100 percent screening for all air cargo on domestic passenger aircraft by August 2010, but was silent on the thornier question of inspecting cargo placed inside international passenger aircraft.

Enhanced Security – In April 2010, DHS began a stepped up regime of “seen and unseen” security measures to safeguard international flights approaching the U.S. “DHS analysis of passenger data played a critical role in the recent counterterrorism cases against Najibullah Zazi, who pled guilty to plotting to bomb New York subways, David Headley, who pled guilty for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, and Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shazad,” said the DHS press release.