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WASHINGTON D.C. -- Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), Ranking Member on the House Intelligence Committee and member of the Committee on Homeland Security, issued the following statement today on the RAND Corporation's release of a report entitled "Considering the Effects of a Catastrophic Terrorist Attack."
"Today, the RAND Corporation released a report detailing the potential impacts of a terrorist attack at the Port of Long Beach. The report is a highly academic exercise, using "strategic gaming" and other research tools to estimate the potential damage caused by a worst-case scenario attack - the detonation of 10-kiloton nuclear weapon. Not surprisingly, the report spins an alarming tale about the death and destruction that would follow from a catastrophic attack on a major American city.
"Importantly, the report does not estimate the likelihood of such an attack occurring. It is possible that terrorists could smuggle a fully constituted weapon in a shipping container, but only in the unlikely event they were willing to take the risk of letting the weapon out of their control. It is much more likely that terrorists would attempt to use a radiological "dirty" bomb. A dirty bomb would cause significant environmental damage and would require extensive clean-up, but it would result in significantly fewer casualties than the 10-kiloton bomb posited by this study. We must work to prevent either type of attack, but we need to keep the risks in context.
"The RAND study nonetheless underscores the need to radically improve security at our ports. Port security has been a gaping hole in American security for years, and the Bush Administration has largely ignored the problem. We must extend our borders, and work with our allies overseas to ensure that dangerous materials and people never reach our shores. Time is of the essence. We cannot afford to wait until a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb detonates on American soil before we take port security seriously.
"That is why Dan Lungren and I have introduced the SAFE Port Act, comprehensive port security legislation that will bring much needed leadership, strategy, and resources to our ports. It authorizes the hiring of more Customs and Border Patrol officers, allocates better screening technology to our ports, and helps enhance container security at the various points of embarkation around the world. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 421 to 2 in May, but we are waiting for the Senate to act. If there are any in the Senate who doubt the need for this legislation, they need only look at the bleak picture painted by this RAND report.
"The report also demonstrates the need to ensure that terrorists do not get their hands on nuclear materials. Our intelligence has greatly improved, but good intelligence is not always enough. The Bush Administration has done a poor of job of helping to secure nuclear sites in former Soviet republics, and in supporting policies that block the sale of fissile material."
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