Securing Borders With Information Analysis

摘要

A trade disruption could "paralyze the economy," according to a report by Forrester Research. It cites the estimated $2 billion-per-day cost of the 2002 shutdown of West Coast ports and asks, "Are our supply chains less vulnerable now?" Cargo containers move 80% to 90% of the world's freight. The federal government is moving toward screening all containers for radioactivity, yet ABC News has twice shipped a 6.8-kilogram cylinder of depleted uranium across the world and smuggled it into the United States undetected by port security. "It's simply not possible to open every container," Elaine Dezenski, director of cargo and trade policy at the Department of Homeland Security, said last month ("Ports Spend Millions On New Tech To Protect Borders And Waterways," Oct. 8; informa tionweek.com/1008/protect.htm).