FBI Terrorist Screening Center Director Timothy Healy, who oversees the terrorist watch list, told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Wednesday that his office is well on its way to carrying out a presidential request to address weaknesses that led to the attempted airline bombing on Christmas Day.
Timothy Healy (Andrew Ramonas / Main Justice)
President Barack Obama asked the TSC to thoroughly examine the Terrorist Screening Database, which is commonly known as the terrorist watch list, to determine the current visa status of suspected or known terrorists. He also asked the TSC to work with other intelligence agencies to draw up recommendations on whether there should be changes to how people are watch-listed.
Healy said the TSC has finished its review of the Terrorist Screening Database and expects recommendations on the watch list “very soon.” Since the attempted bombing, the no-fly list, which is a subset of the database, has almost doubled from about 3,400 people to about 6,000 people, USA Today reported Wednesday.
“We have a standing commitment to improve our operational processes, to enhance our human capital and increase our technological capabilities, and to continue to protect Americans from terrorist threats while protecting civil liberties and protecting privacy issues,” Healy said.
The Senate panel is holding a series of hearings on the effectiveness of government intelligence systems after Sept. 11, 2001. Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said the attempted terrorist attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Dec. 25 have “added significance” to the hearings.
“The Abdulmutallab case … exposed weaknesses, I think, in our watch listing system,” Lieberman said. “Our intelligence agencies obviously need to view some of the tips and fingerpointing with … skepticism as informants may be motivated by spite or rivalry.” But he said “it is just unacceptable that, in this case, Abdulmutallab’s father, a respected business leader in Nigeria, was not considered a credible enough source for his information to put his son on the watch list without corroborating evidence.”
Healy said there isn’t a “black and white system” for identifying terrorists.
“There is no driver’s license bureau where [Osama] Bin Laden goes to get his terrorist card,” he said.
