Adfero Group HSPI

Here is an interesting video of Erroll Southers analyzing Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the recent bomb plot against the United States. Southers is the Associate Director of the National Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) and Managing Director of Counter Terrorism for TAL Global, an international security firm. He was President Obama’s first nominee for TSA administrator and previously served as Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence for the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department.

This past Friday, in the wake of the developing air cargo terror operation related to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), concealing explosive devices in freight shipments, I was invited to contribute expert commentary to CBS affiliate talk radio WCCO in Minneapolis. My interview lasted less then 2 minutes, during which time I articulated that the plot had been interdicted through “old-fashioned” intelligence, not fancy hi-tech screening devices. I opined that the most critical aspect of the intelligence operation is information sharing between agencies and with the private sector partners who are targeted by these actions.

I’ve been writing about inbound air cargo screening on this blog and elsewhere for some time. The recent detection of explosives in air cargo bound for the United States is now putting this issue in the spotlight. Here are some key points to note. Most importantly, the U.S. Government lacks a process to obtain data and analyze risks with respect to air cargo.