New security checks for travellers to US

WASHINGTON // The US government is refining its terror-screening policy to focus on specific terror threats and not travellers' nationalities. The new policy replaces a security requirement put in place after the attempted bombing of a aeroplane en route to Detroit on Christmas Day that singled out people from 14 countries that have been home to terrorists. It also expands the pool of foreign travellers targeted for extra screening beyond those whose names are on a US terror watch list.

The changes, announced yesterday by the Homeland Security Department, come after a three-month review of counter-terrorism policies ordered by the US president, Barack Obama, in the wake of the near miss attack. Officials hope the new procedures will close a dangerous security gap that allowed alleged bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to board a Detroit-bound aeroplane in Amsterdam with a bomb hidden in his underwear.

It should also significantly decrease the number of innocent travellers from the 14 countries who have been inconvenienced by the extra screening, said a senior administration official. The countries that had been affected include Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Under the refined policy, a person travelling to the US would be stopped if he or she fits a specific description of a potential terrorist provided by US intelligence officials - even if the suspect's name is unknown.

Currently, passengers' names are compared to names on US terror watch lists. If air carriers have a potential match to a watch list, the passenger is either banned from flying to the US or subjected to extra screening such as a full-body pat down before boarding the aeroplane. For example, if the US has intelligence about a Nigerian man between the ages of 22 and 32 whom officials believe is a threat or a known terrorist, under the new policy all Nigerian men within that age range would receive extra screening before they are allowed to fly to the US. If intelligence later shows that the suspect is not a terrorist, the extra screening for others matching the description would be lifted.

One of the reasons Abdulmutallab was able to board the flight in Amsterdam was that his name was not on a US terror watch list. However, officials intercepted a conversation in Yemen about a Nigerian man being trained for a special mission. If officials in Amsterdam had known to screen passengers who fit the profile, it is possible Abdulmutallab would have been caught, the senior administration official said.

Mohammed Albasha, spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, called the changes a good step for US diplomacy. "Smart intelligence will provide good security," he said. One of the biggest challenges in keeping terrorists off US-bound planes is that the US does not have the authority to screen passengers in foreign airports. In the past three months, senior US security officials have been meeting with foreign countries to discuss how to improve aviation security, and many countries have adopted enhanced screening methods, including the use of body-scanning machines.

"Anytime we can make better and more sophisticated use of intelligence, that's a step forward," said Rep Peter King of New York. King is the top Republican on the homeland security oversight committee and a member of the intelligence committee. "This should have been done before." * AP