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After summarizing the last few incidents where Interpol only finds the names and core data on potential (or past) terrorists after that information has been published in the
All Terrorism Is Local, Too - New York Times:
All Terrorism Is Local, Too - New York Times:
No family should accept a situation where loved ones are killed by escaped foreign terrorists because their law enforcement agencies were not given the names, photographs and fingerprints of the escapees. Yet, while almost all developed countries have systems in place for sharing information on criminals and terrorists among their various police agencies, they do not have good systems requiring the sharing of information with Interpol or foreign police officials on a consistent basis.I'm starting to lean towards supporting Interpol in this as well, given the incompetance at the top of DHS and the dismantling of the CIA and the wrong focus of the NSA on our own people. Until this administration changes and competant people are put in charge of intelligence gathering and processing rather than Bush-Cheney cronies, I have no faith in this administration's ability to stop a cow from shitting. They'd probably arrest and torture the wrong cow...then wonder why the meat tastes so bad.
Likewise, local and state police forces around the world are increasingly being taught to enter the names, photographs and fingerprints of criminals and suspect individuals into national databases. But few local officers are told or trained to enter arrest information into already existing global databases.
Why? Some countries wrongly believe this is a matter of national, not international, concern; some are years behind in knowing what is possible; some still have the pre-9/11 mentality in which the primary focus is on after-attack investigations rather than pre-attack prevention. I understand these issues. But they can be addressed through education, clear protocols and steady monitoring. Unfortunately, Interpol isn’t in a position to require such cooperation. For this we need an organized and enforceable commitment from all our member countries.
The foiling of the terrorist plot in Britain clearly shows that in a globalized world, the arrests of terrorists across an ocean may be the only thing stopping them from appearing on your doorstep.