Combating Terrorism: Issues in Managing Counterterrorist Programs
Abstract
One of the major deficiencies in federal efforts to combat terrorism is the lack of linkage between the terrorist threat, a national strategy, and agency resources. Much of the federal efforts to combat terrorism have been based upon vulnerabilities rather than an analysis of credible threats. For example, agencies have used and are still using improbable "worst case scenarios" to plan and develop programs. While there has been a major effort to develop a national strategy, to date the strategy does not include a clear desired outcome to be achieved. Resources to combat terrorism have increased in terms of both budgets and programs. These increased resources have not been clearly linked to a threat analysis and we have found cases where some agency initiatives appear at odds with the judgments of the intelligence community. This situation also creates the potential for agencies to develop their own programs without adequate coordination, leaving the potential for gaps and/or duplication. Efforts to track and coordinate federal spending across agencies have started, but they have only begun to tackle the important task of prioritizing programs. We have recommended, and the executive branch has agreed to, conducting threat and risk assessments to improve federal efforts to combat terrorism. Specifically, such assessments could be an important step to develop a national strategy and to target resources.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 06, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA375803
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office