A Hole In Fortress America's Wall

The Government Accountability Office has found a hole in America's defenses against terrorism.

The GAO looked into a US Customs & Border Protection program. It's designed to streamline cargo inspections. In exchange, shippers promise to provide tighter security around what goes into cargo containers headed for the US. But the GAO found there's no way to insure that tighter -- or even any -- security is ever provided.

The Houston Chronicle reports:

A congressional investigator who spoke on the condition of not being named called the program a "hole" in the nation's security net. "It is a system that ... is not making us safer," the investigator said.

An earlier Congressional investigation found only about one-third of 1% of cargo coming into the US is ever inspected. (Houston Chronicle)