July 11, 2006: US Counterterrorism Spending Is Based on Wildly Inaccurate Target List

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general releases a report criticizing terrorist targets listed in the federal antiterrorism database. This National Asset Database is used to determine how hundreds of millions of dollars in antiterrorism grants will be divvied up each year. The report says, “The presence of large numbers of out-of-place assets taints the credibility of the data.” For instance, Indiana, with nearly 9,000 potential terrorist targets, has 50 percent more listed targets than New York and more than twice as many as California, making it the most target-rich state in the US. Obscure targets on the list include Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn factory, the Mule Day Parade, “Ice Cream Parlor,” “Tackle Shop,” “Donut Shop,” and an unspecified “Beach at End of a Street.” The list also apparently does not include many major business and finance operations or critical national telecommunications hubs. As a result, in May 2006 funding to New York City and Washington, DC, was cut by 40 percent while spending significantly increased to cities such as Louisville, Kentucky, and Omaha, Nebraska. The inspector general recommends that the Homeland Security department review the list and cut many “extremely insignificant” targets while providing better guidelines to prevent such future inclusions. [New York Times, 7/11/2006]