A $1.2 billion plan by the Department of Homeland Security to buy a new kind of radiation-detection machine for the nation's borders has been put on hold again, a blow to one of the Bush administration's top security goals.

At the same time, federal authorities are investigating whether Homeland Security officials urged an analyst to destroy information about the performance of the machines during testing, according to interviews and a document.

For more than a year, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and others have told Congress that the costly next-generation machines would sharply improve the screening of trucks, cars and cargo containers for radiological material. In announcing contracts in July 2006 to buy as many as 1,400 of the devices, Chertoff said they were ready to be deployed in the field for research. He recently called their acquisition a "vital priority."

But in the face of growing questions by government auditors, Congress and border officials about the machines' performance, Chertoff has decided that they don't operate well enough and need more work. It could be another year before they are ready, officials said.

In a statement, Laura Keehner, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, said field tests of the advanced spectroscopic portal radiation monitors, or ASPs, at several locations by Customs and Border Protection officials turned up shortcomings that "led to the determination that additional functional capability is needed to meet the operational requirements."

The turnabout is among a series of episodes that have raised questions about the management of the department's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and its efforts to deploy the promising but highly complex and largely untried machines.

In a Nov. 16 letter to Congress, the director of the DNDO said his staff members were looking into allegations that someone there directed personnel from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, who were helping analyze recent results of testing of the machines, to delete some of the data.

"We have also issued a preservation notice to all personnel who have worked on the ASP program directing them to preserve all documents, e-mail, and memoranda relating to the ASP program," Vayl Oxford, director of the nuclear detection office, wrote to Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has been examining the program.

Russ Knocke, a Homeland Security spokesman, acknowledged that the nuclear detection office had communicated with an analyst at the National Institute of Standards and Technology about the data. But, he said, "we've nearly completed our review, and there is no indication of anything inappropriate."

A senior Homeland Security official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the e-mail communication focused on protecting sensitive or classified material, not on destroying records to hide them from scrutiny. People familiar with the inquiry said the computers were confiscated. An official at the national institute said he believed the agency had all the test data and reports.

Questions about the detection machines' performance go back more than a year. In June 2006, the nuclear detection office gave a report to Congress that said the machines were effective. Two weeks later, Chertoff announced the $1.2 billion in contracts as part of a plan to "accelerate the research on and the deployment of a next generation radiation-detection technology." That August, Government Accountability Office auditors alleged that the nuclear detection officials had greatly exaggerated the machines' capabilities in the June report.

The GAO's allegations and other issues spurred Congress to mandate that Chertoff personally certify that the detectors, which cost $377,000 each, are ready for full-scale deployment and would bring significant improvements in screening compared with existing machines.

Earlier this year, GAO auditors found that Homeland Security officials allowed contractors to conduct "dress rehearsals" and calibrate their machines in anticipation of tests in January and February, a move that auditors said had enhanced the outcome of tests. Those tests were being conducted in part to support Chertoff's certification. The certification was originally set to occur months ago but was delayed after the GAO presented its findings.

GAO officials testified recently that they have had trouble getting more test results from the nuclear detection officials to verify the performance of the machines.

In a statement yesterday, Dingell said the possibility that some of the data may have been destroyed was troubling. "In the past, when records have been intentionally destroyed to thwart Congressional oversight, it led to severe consequences," he said.

Field testing of the ASPs at several border crossings has turned up problems with the machines, which often could not be operated without the assistance of the vendors. Because of the repeated delays in the project and questions from Congress, only a small portion of the $1.2 billion has been spent.

A Homeland Security spokeswoman said the department has purchased more than 55 ASPs -- 10 that are used for testing and more than 45 that are not being used.

In July, several days after a Washington Post story about previous problems and delays with the program, Chertoff ordered an independent review of the machines before his certification. "This acquisition is a vital priority for the department," Chertoff wrote to lawmakers.

But on Oct. 19, Chertoff privately decided that he would "postpone certification and production decisions until all issues are resolved," according to a Nov. 2 letter sent to Homeland Security officials by Dingell. Homeland Security officials recently briefed Congress about the change.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, urged the department "to work quickly to resolve its problems so we can put this technology to work."

Dingell said existing radiation detectors will help protect the country for now. In a statement, he criticized the nuclear detection office's management of the project, suggesting that "it may be time for a new team to run this program."

Comments

RedRose1 wrote:
Millions and millions. Billions and billions. Almost every bill passed by Congress spends billions and then the individual Senators or Representatives add on their pork projects to reward their donors which adds millions or billions more to the bill. The Democrats are just as bad as the Republicans and neither seems to have any common sense or real knowledge of what the bills they pass really contain. How could they when each bill is hundreds of pages long. Sec Chertoff told them in glowing terms that this would work and instead of trying to find out if it really did, they just passed the bill because it was for "terrorism." All they need to hear is that a bill is to prevent terrorists coming in, that it is for hard-working poor people , or it is for poor children and "Bingo" it is a done deal. How much money has been allocated to protect our border? I wonder who were the recipients of it and isn't it really outrageous that our border is just the same as it was on September 10. When are these people in government going to wake up and take care of America? It seems to be easy to provide every country in the world with millions in aid, rebuild Iraq, build huge embassies, among other things, and put all the problems in America on the back burner because they can't find the money. No wonder the American people are fed up with them. For all those who think Hillary will save us all, I'm afraid you are going to be very disappointed.
11/21/2007 1:52:26 AM

nobushyhair270 wrote:
GOOD POSTING KEVIN SCHIMITD. YOU ARE CORRECT I BELEIVE . EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE CAREFULL OF HUCKAAAABBBEESA OR IS THAT BELZIBUBKAHUCK BUSHSYSHADOWBUAHalike bee. vote for ron paul.
11/21/2007 1:36:15 AM

nobushyhair270 wrote:
HONESTLY A CHIMP COULD HAVE BEEN MORE SUCK CESSFULL AT LEAST A CHIMP HAS A RECORDABLE IQ.
11/21/2007 1:31:12 AM

SandraLong1974 wrote:
Okay so which one these so-called national security ooopppsss Der Fatherland Security No sorry Homeland Security "Experts" Herr Michea Chertoff Sec of DHS or Fraulein Frances Townsend screwed up this one? And don't they know that Herr Adolf Hitler Clone Draft Dodger Cheney and his Dry Drunk Sock Puppet George W Bush's Biggest Campaign Contributors will be very unhappy
over it? Hey wait a minute is this the real reason Bush's Idiot Blonde Bimbo Homeland Security Advisor Goofy Frances Fragos Townsend resigned or was Townsend fired over this total complete latest DHS FUBAR? Hey WAPO please Investigate this
angle further will you Fearful Fred Hiatt and report back as this is a Public Right To Know Issue here ya'll know that pal?
11/20/2007 7:06:34 PM     Recommend (2)

Retailer wrote:
HEY! CHERTOFF! Put the National Guard on the border. This part of it isn't rocket science! Does everything with government have to be complicated? And!these are the same people who want to take over our health care!!
11/20/2007 5:37:58 PM    Recommend (1)

howard_nyc wrote:
there is a small, itsy-bitsy downside with all these delays: you don't need to carry in a continuous stream of devices, as do the drug dealers... one per city and a single truckload can provide the destructive resources to glass over fifteen cities...
once again, GWB has shown himself to be clueless..."You're doing a fine job, Bushie! We're proud of you!"...
at this point, I'm hoping terrorists as messed up in their planning an offensive as we are in defending ourselves... that is just about our only hope...
11/20/2007 4:29:48 PM    Recommend (1)

skramsv wrote:
Are there really people who believe that a terrorist who is determined to bring in a nuke will be stopped by one of these machines? They are for show. The facade of security the Bush Administration wants us to see.
Several news organisations over the past 7 years have "smuggled" in devices that were set up to look like real nukes to these machines and to inspectors. Not one was picked up. I believe it was ABC News who even went back and insisted THIS box in a container be reinspected. The Geiger counter went off as expected.
We do need to inspect containers that come into this country for many reason. But a determined terrorist is not going to label the container with a radioactive signature that will be picked up by one of these machines.
11/20/2007 4:24:23 PM    Recommend (2)

VirginiaConservative wrote:
This is no blow to the Bush administration - this is a blow to America.
America's security is at risk because of schoolyard bickering and cheap political posturing.
The left was going to fix so many things. The border is just as bas as it was before the election. What is the fixation? Investigations.
How about addressing the problems and do the investigations later? Or at least delegate the investigations to a competent authority and get on with business.
11/20/2007 3:43:50 PM    Recommend (1)

kevinschmidt wrote:
JohnTovar wrote:
A little Confucius here! We were told that the intentions of sealing off the border was not to keep the mexican population out but to keep al Qaeda terrorist out. OOOOOOPS!
11/20/2007 1:47:43 PM
Perhaps once Bush/cheney are finished shredding the rest of the Constitution, the purpose of the border fence will be to keep us in.
Bush/cheney want to build an Irony Curtain!
11/20/2007 3:28:15 PM    Recommend (4)

kevinschmidt wrote:
The most effective way to fight terrorism in the U.S. is for the U.S. to stop being terrorists ourselves.
The Bush Administration Condones Terrorism: Part III
'...terrorism that advances the Bush/Cheney political agenda is "good" terrorism to them if it meets their political or economic goals...
Bush isn't conducting a war on terrorism. He is playing a bait and switch on the American people. He hasn't even seriously pursued Al-Qaeda where they are headquartered, in Pakistan.
Instead, he has fought a war against Iraqi-based insurgents [Iraqi citizens] who either want the American occupation to end or who are fighting each other for religious control of the oil-rich country.' http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/editorblog/008
11/20/2007 3:23:59 PM    Recommend (6)

dalkorian wrote:
Sigh. The only way to make us safer is to defeat the terrorists. The problem is most people blindly believe fuhrer bush that the terrorists are in the middle east, instead of using their brains and realizing the terrorists are IN THE WHITE HOUSE!
As long as we accept lies and BS for foreign and domestic policy, we're doomed to idiocy like this.
11/20/2007 2:24:49 PM    Recommend (3)

laurelphoto wrote:
Not to worry. Typical Bush contract, expensive contract modification to integrate with GPS and WWV. When completed, they will be able to determine if the sun is shining.
11/20/2007 2:17:23 PM    Recommend (4)

Patriot1 wrote:
The SAVE Act is now making its way to the Senate with full bipartisan support from the House.
The Democratic leadership led by Kennedy, Clinton and Reid are expected to create obstacles to this legislation and may even try to add another amnesty amendment to it.
But, most believe there are just enough sovreignty-minded Americans on both sides of the aisle in the Senate to push the SAVE Act forward which means that in the first year of implementation, an expected 250,000 illegal immigratnts will be forced to self deport.
This is one of the first steps in ridding our country of unwelcome invasarios and reconquistas.
Meanwhile, the patriot, Sherrif Joe, down in Maricopa County, AZ is arresting and helping deport more illegals every day.
And, states like OK and AZ are cracking down. And, as the double fences slowly go up, citizens are beginning to shoot criminal illegals, a trend that will grow.
Soon, very soon, Al Queda and the drug cartels will not have the mules to carry their destructive goods across the border and illegal alien employers will not have their criminal slave labor workforce that deprive Americans of their livelihoods.
The day is coming soon when the corrupt open Mexican border will be shut and the reconquistas exhiled for life.
11/20/2007 2:11:33 PM    Recommend (1)

Ciap wrote:
Years ago in such a crisis we would have heard something like "The nations best scientists come together to solve the border emergency." Nowadays we get lame excuses for lame ideas. A real double fence could have already been built combined with real people and we could begin feeling safe in our own country again but that would be just too easy and efficent.
11/20/2007 1:54:45 PM    Recommend (1)

eco-pharm wrote:
Protecting America has to be on hold while Bush & Chaney funnel ALL of our tax dollars to the Defense contractors that bought & paid for this administration.
11/20/2007 1:52:36 PM    Recommend (6)

JohnTovar wrote:
A little Confucius here! We were told that the intentions of sealing off the border was not to keep the mexican population out but to keep al Qaeda terrorist out. OOOOOOPS!
11/20/2007 1:47:43 PM    Recommend (1)

TDewey wrote:
The ASP program is directly related to a whole host of Homeland Security boondoggle initiatives that actually do have a bearing on immigration control.
According to a recent NYT article entitled, "Bush Turns to Big Military Contractors for Border Control":
"Through its Secure Border Initiative, the Bush administration intends to not simply buy an amalgam of high-tech equipment to help it patrol the borders — a tactic it has also already tried, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, with extremely limited success. It is also asking the contractors to devise and build a whole new border strategy that ties together the personnel, technology and physical barriers."
... Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, three of the largest, are among the companies that said they would submit bids within two weeks for a multibillion-dollar federal contract to build what the administration calls a "virtual fence" along the nation's land borders. Using some of the same high-priced, high-tech tools these companies have already put to work in Iraq and Afghanistan -- like unmanned aerial vehicles, ground surveillance satellites and motion-detection video equipment -- the military contractors are zeroing in on the rivers, deserts, mountains and settled areas that separate Mexico and Canada from the United States."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/washington/18border.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1195581939-OCEaL221vi72CtEGu0sEtA
11/20/2007 1:29:50 PM    Recommend (2)

sd-mouth wrote:
Isn't it amazing that a country that mobilized a nation's capacity in WWII and defeated two enemy axis on opposite sides of the world in 3 1/2 years can’t get this vital sensor done in 6 years!!
Where are the competent administrators in our government? Retired? Or maybe dismissed for political appointees that serve the party and not the people. “You’re doing a great job, Chertoff(ie)”
11/20/2007 1:28:45 PM    Recommend (4)

kevinschmidt wrote:
The only true "war on terror" that is being waged is the one WE THE PEOPLE are waging against the criminal, genocidal Bush/cheney Misadministration.
Foreigners do not "hate our freedom." They hate our freedom to invade nonthreatening countries, kill innocent people en mass, loot and plunder their wealth and natural resources, and destroy their heritage.
If we can stop that from happening, then foreigners will not want to come to the U.S. and cause us harm.
Just check the records. Try to find even one incident of terrorism where the so called terrorists claimed responsibility because they claimed to "hate our freedom."
It just does not happen. On the other hand, there are numerous instances throughout U.S. history where the U.S. has invaded innocent countries for the purpose of destroying their freedom for the cause of U.S. imperialism and fascism.
We have met the enemy [terrorists], and they is us.    -Pogo
11/20/2007 1:12:40 PM    Recommend (6)

kevinschmidt wrote:
More proof the the GOP and the Bush/cheney Misadministration are certainly not the ones who can protect the U.S. They are indeed not only soft on terrorism, but also the major cause of terrorism on a global scale.
11/20/2007 1:01:10 PM    Recommend (4)

scorbett1976@hotmail.com wrote:
PutDownTheKoolaid -
The companies involved are ThermoScientific, Raytheon, and Camberra.
Each of the three was to develop their own take on the ASP, with the best winning the bulk of the $1.2 billion contract for full production.
11/20/2007 1:01:03 PM    Recommend (1)

dowork wrote:
Most of these comments are non-sensical in terms of the scope of this article. The ASP program is for scanning for radiation dispersal devices and nuclear materials in large containerized cargo -- it has nothing to do with immigrants.
11/20/2007 12:56:08 PM    Recommend (3)

TDewey wrote:
    Patriot1 wrote: Just another reason to put our US Army on the border. Lawlessness and terrorism at the Mex American border must be stopped if not by the Federal Government then by the citizens.That is happening more and more around the country. Just this week, a man in Texas shot and killed two burlgers breaking into a neighbors house. The violent backlash begins. It is time for Sherrif Joe to take over national border security.
_________________________
"Sherriff Joe" is a fascist little thug who couldn't manage a one car funeral. Besides, the little crook has his own share of legal and ethical hot water to contend with.
Pasadena is a suburb of Houston. And please cite all these instances of "lawlessness and terrorism" on the southern border that would lead to the paranoid delusion that, this is "just another reason to put our US Army on the border."
11/20/2007 12:40:09 PM    Recommend (3)

w04equals666 wrote:
WHY CAN'T THE REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION KEEP OUR COUNTRY SAFE?
11/20/2007 12:08:06 PM    Recommend (4)

Mair1 wrote:
More "Fun with Government Contracts". ;)
11/20/2007 11:56:29 AM    Recommend (4)

nobushyhair270 wrote:
ON HOLD I BET .
11/20/2007 11:45:41 AM    Recommend (1)

nobushyhair270 wrote:
BOOMTOBUST.COM ----- YOU WILL NEVER SEE A MUSHROOM CLOUD OVER YOUR CITY . THE REASON IS IF ONE IS EVER THERE YOUR EYES WILL LIGHT UP AND YOU WILL BE VAPORISED BEFORE YOU ARE ABLE TO SEE OR SMELL . AND THERE MOST LIKELY NOT BE ANY SMEELL AS THE THE INTENSE HEAT WILL VAPORISE EVERYTHING AND THE VAPOR WILL BE DRIED UP JUST AS QUICK. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE OLE BOY BEN IS JUST ASK THE ADMIN. I KINDA BET SOMEONE THERE KNOWS BESIDES THE SAUDIS . IT IS NOT EXPEDIENT FOR BEN TO BE BROUGHT FORTH AND IT PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE. HE MAY KNOW MORE ABOUT WHO KNOWS MORE ABOUT 911 THAN SOME WANT HIM TO LET OUT . OLE BEN MIGHT JUST LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG IF HE WERE TO BE BROUGHT FORTH. YOU COULD BET ON IT . OLE BEN IS DEEPLY COVERED AND THE MOST SAFE PERSON IN THE WORLD. HE WILL DIE FROM OLD AGE AND WE WILL NOT SEE HIM.
11/20/2007 11:30:07 AM    Recommend (2)

PutDownTheKoolaid wrote:
Why didn't the reporter name the companies, when this information is obviously interesting and relevant to the story? Cowardice. That's why. The Washington Post is ground zero for cowardly reporting. Maybe it wasn't the reporter. His editor could well have stricken the names from the story. But cowardice is at the root of it.
11/20/2007 11:29:57 AM    Recommend (4)

lennybeachboy999 wrote:
*** NO RECONQUESTA AMNESTY !!! DEPORT THE CRIMINALS and WELFARE RECIPIENTS FIRST ! ITS CHEAPER THAN PAYING THIER WELFARE !$!$!
11/20/2007 11:23:03 AM    Recommend (1)

olroy wrote:
Another example of the Marine Corps "Osprey" Helicopter, their failed "Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle" program, & the Coast Guard's failed "Deepwater," fleet replacement project.
The Republicans do a marvelous job of turning public funds into private profits with no finished product to show for it.
11/20/2007 11:16:00 AM    Recommend (7)

richierichsr wrote:
It's probably way too late anyway.
11/20/2007 11:14:37 AM    Recommend (2)

nobushyhair270 wrote:
THE REASON THEY ARE DELAYED IS BECAUSE THE MOTHER LOAD HAS NOT CROSSED OVER MAYBE DO YOU THINK? WE DO NOT WANT TO MAKE MEXICO MAD BECAUSE THEY WILL BE OUR LEADERS UNDER THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION . THE NORTH AMEEICAN UNION IS CLOSEING IN ON US AND MOST DO NOT KNOW IT. THE ALAMO WILL BE A TRAINING GROUND RIGHT DOWN TOWN SAN ANTONIO FOR HOW TO MAKE GREENGOS EAT THEIR TACOS.
11/20/2007 11:09:36 AM    Recommend (1)

Boom2Bustdotcom wrote:
Consider the following warning from Michael Scheuer, a 22-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where for 6 years he was in charge of the search for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. When asked by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty earlier this year if he expected more attacks on the United States or in the West on the scale of September 11, 2001, Scheuer’s response was:
Oh, I think greater than 9/11. I don’t think it will happen in Europe, but I do think it will happen in the United States. Bin Laden has been very clear that each of Al-Qaeda’s attacks on America will be greater than the last, and I think the only reason we haven’t seen an attack so far is that he doesn’t have that attack prepared. But when he does, he will use it. And try to get us out of the way, which of course is his main goal.
Not in a hurry to see a mushroom cloud over my city anytime soon...
11/20/2007 11:06:42 AM    Recommend (1)

mrlewish wrote:
This show's once again that the NeoCons don't actually intend to "win" any war. A perpetual war is actually in their interests. These "problems" are actually intended to leave us vunerable so monies can continue to be spent to enrich them selves and their cohorts.
11/20/2007 10:46:35 AM    Recommend (9)

infuse wrote:
    PutDownTheKoolaid wrote: I believe there are two reasons for this: a strategic attempt to undercut our universities for ideological reasons, and an obsession that private markets do everything better.
---------------------------------
You were right in your first assessment: it's all about corporate welfare. But it has nothing to do with private markets.
This administration and its Republican sycophants talk a big game about their idea of free markets, but when it gets down to brass tacks, no-bid contracts is always their preferred solution. They all believe in huge taxpayer subsidies for their corporate benefactors.
There is no such thing as a free market. There are only government agents picking and choosing who gets the money.
11/20/2007 10:45:16 AM    Recommend (6)

Patriot1 wrote:
Ooops - "The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has agreed NOT to contest the court action."
Deploy Our Troops! The border is a war zone!
11/20/2007 10:39:15 AM    Recommend (1)

Patriot1 wrote:
Newsflash: The ACLU, now known as the MCLU, and the US Chamber of Commerce have appealed to the 9th District Court of Appeals to stop any further development and deployment of any type of radiation detection systems along the American southern border.
The 9th Court of Appeals is expected to side with the plaintiffs and prohibit deployment on grounds that MS13 and Al Queda cultural, monetary and business ties will be jeopardized which, in turn, will have a negative effect on funds sent home by undocumented workers and related American business interests.
The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has agreed to contest the court action.
11/20/2007 10:36:09 AM    Recommend (1)

infuse wrote:
A Bush administration official might have lied?? Surely you jest!
11/20/2007 10:29:52 AM    Recommend (5)

dowork wrote:
I thought this Post article was really good, but it does seem strange that O'Harrow didn't mention the companies involved.
DHS gave out three contracts. One went to Canberra for a high-purity germanium system, the other two went to Thermo Electron and Raytheon for sodium-iodide based systems.
11/20/2007 10:26:27 AM    Recommend (3)

Patriot1 wrote:
Just another reason to put our US Army on the border. Lawlessness and terrorism at the Mex American border must be stopped if not by the Federal Government then by the citizens. That is happening more and more around the country. Just this week, a man in Texas shot and killed two burlgers breaking into a neighbors house. The violent backlash begins. It is time for Sherrif Joe to take over national border security.
11/20/2007 10:21:24 AM    Recommend (5)

Diogenes wrote:
Odds are that Homeland Security officials did indeed attempt to destroy evidence that would embarrass the agency. This has been, and remains, the modus operandi of the Bush Administration.
11/20/2007 10:20:12 AM    Recommend (5)

Chance1 wrote:
The DHS. What a bunch of bumblers. I feel less safe, in fact not safe at all with chertoff and this dept who are suppose to be protecting us. SIX YEARS LATER AND STILL-NOTHING IS DONE, COMPLETED OR EVEN YET BEEN STARTED. AS SOMEONE SAID; IQ OF 6? HOW ABOUT -666! (3 sixes not an accident)
Something really evil is going on. Someone doesn't want us to be safe. Are we in store for another 9/11. I think so!
11/20/2007 10:01:09 AM

fare777 wrote:
The gross incompetence of the Bush machine continues.......thank goodness the war in Iraq is making us safer. We don't really need these silly ole machines anyway. Let the favored contractor pocket his cash and go to the islands on vacation. We are still stuck with Bush and more "Clones of Brownie Appointees". Is there nothing these fools can do right?
11/20/2007 9:57:17 AM    Recommend (1)

dick-x wrote:
It seems that the DHS is more incompetent and dangerous to our country than the alleged terrorist threats they are supposed to protect us from. Incompetence reigns everywhere in all aspects of government; when are citizens going to wake up to the koke we call government? Perhaps we should hire Blackwater to protect us from the DHS! And, of course, our borders remain porous!
11/20/2007 9:45:07 AM    Recommend (3)

Va_Lady2007 wrote:
I have a question. Actually, I have several questions:
1. Who are the prime and secondary contractors on this failed project.
2. How was the "scope of work" produced.
3. Who sat on the panel that selected the prime contractors?
4. Who are the Contracting Officers involved?
5. Who is or are the Contracting Officers Technical Representatives (the people who are supposed to check whether the contractor actually DID the work for which they are billing--or should that be BILKING?--the taxpayers.
All legitimate questions, in my opinion, and all are a matter of public record, or should be, unless the Administration has managed to classify the entire deal, not to protect the country, not to protect the sources and tools, but to protect themselves from exposure of their own complete incompetence and (probable) fraud.
11/20/2007 9:34:16 AM    Recommend (3)

teplicky101 wrote:
Way to go! They will now catch many times more of the illegally imported nuclear materials! All for our tax money.
11/20/2007 9:28:22 AM

erkola wrote:
Our protection against terrorism is overseen by corrupt Keystone Kops. That means along with episodes like this and our open borders, the terrorists are dumber. Maybe they don't exist?
11/20/2007 9:08:03 AM

sun33 wrote:
Does ANYONE have the power to freeze the government until this country gets what it's people have demanded?
Until that wall is built, illegal 'visitors' rounded up and all 'fake students' carrying visas are thrown out DON'T SPEND ANOTHER DIME ON ANYONE OR ANYTHING BUT THE USA!!
I am almost certain that all these delays have something to do with giving up our United States of America and make it into THE UNION OF NORTH AMERICAN STATES.
Rep. Waxman - PLEASE INVESTIGATE!!
11/20/2007 8:24:50 AM    Recommend (4)

rcc_2000 wrote:
I swear the combined IQ of this administrations is 6
11/20/2007 8:20:34 AM

redheadclaudine wrote:
So did this lastest Dept of Homeland Security screwup have anything to do with the abrupt departure of that incompetent arrogant phony Bush Bimbo Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend or was this one all Herr Micheal Chertoff The Czar of Homeland Security single handed latest screw up here now then? The whole Department of Homeland Security is one huge massive FUBAR that needs to be totally disbanded. And so once again where is "I'm going to drain the Swamp" DINO Republican in Democrat Nancy Pelosi and why does that Democrat Loser Nancy Pelosi refuse to put Impeachment back on the table now then? Does Bush and Cheney have something on Brothel Madame Nancy Pelosi? Besides Nancy Pelosi employing Illegal Aliens in her family wineyards,fancy resort hotel and high priced restaurants? We need make the Democrats and Republicans pay dearly for their failure to Impeach War Crimes and Traitors George W Bush, Draft Dodger Psycho Nazi Cheney,and Condoleezza Rice come election day 2008 by throwing every current incumbent out.
11/20/2007 7:34:54 AM    Recommend (2)

mfmikula wrote:
”The GAO's allegations and other issues spurred Congress to mandate that Chertoff personally certify that the detectors, which cost $377,000 each, are ready for full-scale deployment and would bring significant improvements in screening compared with existing machines…. In July, several days after a Washington Post story about previous problems and delays with the program, Chertoff ordered an independent review of the machines before his certification. "This acquisition is a vital priority for the department," Chertoff wrote to lawmakers….. But on Oct. 19, Chertoff privately decided that he would ‘postpone certification and production decisions until all issues are resolved’…."
Wow! The good guys won for once! Only $20,000,000 of our dollars were wasted on stuff that doesn’t work, instead of $1.2 billion. Thank you Washington Post! Thank you Congress! Congressman Dingell, bring on the “severe consequences”!
I am, however, wondering why the Post has never named the companies that are making the detectors.
11/20/2007 7:28:37 AM    Recommend (1)

mgloraine wrote:
The "Department of Homeland Security" has been a swindle from day one. This group has one purpose: to hand public funds over to friends of the Bush Crime Family. These phony radiation detectors don't work now and they never will, but the taxpayers will end up paying for them anyway while Chertoff and the other crooks pocket the billions set aside for this scam. Business as usual for BushCo!
11/20/2007 7:17:37 AM    Recommend (5)

cartman1 wrote:
How far down the rabbit hole must we go before bush and his whole group get tossed out? Oh, I'm sorry the Democrats would have to do this, impeachment and all. Doesn't it say in the bible somewhere " you shall not impeach thy twin? Yeah thats it. Dems don't fight Repugs because it would be like hitting themselves. Cart
11/20/2007 7:12:23 AM    Recommend (3)

waterbirds wrote:
This is so Bush-League - no bid contracts and then deleting the information - the flying monkeys have been deleting inconvenient truths for years - about smoking, about global warming, about wmds, about abstainence only.
If all the money that has been wasted in Iraq was spent in making our own country safer, we would have been so much better off.
But no, Bush had to prove he was better than Daddy dear and Deadeye Dick wanted the oil.
And to the war mongers: yes, Sadam was evil but we support other evil dictators and no - Iraq was not responsible for 911, no matter how many time the Vice President says so.
11/20/2007 7:06:14 AM    Recommend (6)

Link1 wrote:
Does Homeland Security 'Czar' Michelle Cherkoff have ties with,or other interests in this company?Are we funding their R and D?Are they another 'No Bid' contract,contractor?Something smells mighty fishy!What do you think?signed,"Link 1"
11/20/2007 6:14:28 AM    Recommend (5)

hankomatic1 wrote:
Homeland Security is a "Governmental Fraze" that is Oxymornic as Crazy as say "Military Intelligence" or the "U.S. Dept of Justice" There just words! That have very little Relationship to Reality. Now do YOU feel safer? Now do YOU think you will any-time soon? Do you think duct-tape kleenexx and color codes will make you safer?........
11/20/2007 5:38:14 AM    Recommend (3)

PutDownTheKoolaid wrote:
hubbleman007, radiation detection has nothing to do with illegal aliens. It has to do with interdiction of contraband nuclear materials, which is perhaps the most critical security concern facing this nation. I wish you and all the other anti-immigrant racists would take your rants somewhere else instead of polluting every discussion with off-topic garbage.
11/20/2007 5:07:35 AM    Recommend (2)

hubbleman007 wrote:
Another one of George Bush's jokes. Neither he nor the Democrats have any intention of making the border secure. They both need the Latino votes to remain in office. To Hell with natural born Americans, we no longer matter.
11/20/2007 4:32:22 AM    Recommend (2)

PutDownTheKoolaid wrote:
I am a scientist working in the area of radiation detectors. Much basic scientific research is needed to make these detectors effective, particularly in the area of materials science and materials processing. The relevant research programs at DOE and NASA have been drastically cut back or eliminated altogether. Had funding been maintained at pre-9/11 levels I believe that many of the technological problems would have been solved by now. But DHS hasn't shown the slightest interest in promoting this research. Instead of funding highly qualified researchers at our universities and national labs, DHS has chosen to spend all of its money on contractors who simply don't have the intellectual capital to make these devices work. It is a corporate welfare program, plain and simple. Billions have been spent and nothing accomplished these past 6 years.
I believe there are two reasons for this: a strategic attempt to undercut our universities for ideological reasons, and an obsession that private markets do everything better. DHS has been repeatedly criticized for how it has allocated R&D money, including by GAO report that concluded DHS had paid out in the neighborhood of 75% of its funds to contractors who delivered non-functional systems, and in some cases delivered literally nothing. DHS representatives say they realize there is a problem, but nothing ever gets done about it. They just keep going back to the same crooked contractors instead of funding real research. They have been stalling for two years now since the GAO audit, and it is clear that they have no intention whatsoever of changing their ways. I will let the reader draw their own conclusions regarding why this behavior by a critical government agency is tolerated.
11/20/2007 3:21:30 AM    Recommend (9)

tbrucia wrote:
If the purpose of the ASPs is to funnel tax dollars to private industrial interests (who presumably can make campaign contributions), haven't the ASPs performed their primary functions, regardless of whether or not they 'help protect the country'? The requirement that these machines actually detect radiation is an impediment to their primary purpose, reallocating tax revenues to needy producers of radiation detection machines...
11/20/2007 2:08:47 AM    Recommend (5)

lorifromclg wrote:
Also, what happened to the $6 billion Bush bin Laden flushed down the toilet for 'Project Bioshield?'
Cheers, Lori R. Price, Citizens For Legitimate Government, http://www.legitgov.org/
"Hi, mom, this is Mark Bingham... you believe me, don't you?" Mark Bingham - Sept. 11, 2001
http://www.legitgov.org/9_1_1_oddities.html
11/20/2007 1:50:42 AM    Recommend (2)