NCTC officials told us that, in response to the act, they had drafted a  general plan, which was approved by the President in June 2006, but the  implementing guidance for the plan was still under development. National Strategies Provide Broad Guidance for LEAs to Assist Foreign Nations to Combat Terrorism

A series of national strategies have provided some strategic-level guidance  for U.S. LEAs to help foreign nations identify, disrupt, and prosecute  terrorists. The strategies state that this approach has  succeeded in identifying, disrupting, and prosecuting terrorists since the  9/11 terrorist attacks. NCTC Has Drafted Plan for Combating Terrorism, but Implementing Guidance Is Still under Development

In December 2004, Congress passed the 2004 Intelligence Reform Act,  creating the NCTC and charging it with developing strategic operational  plans to combat terrorism using every element of national power,  including those of U.S. LEAs. According to NCTC officials, implementing guidance for the plan was still  under development as of May 2007, and they would not discuss the plan,  its contents, or the implementing guidance. Several Factors Limit LEA Efforts to Assist Foreign Nations to Identify, Disrupt, and Prosecute Terrorists

Although some LEAs have taken steps to increase their efforts to help  foreign nations identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists, most LEAs have  not been given clear guidance for helping foreign nations to identify,  disrupt, and prosecute terrorists. We found that LEA efforts to assist  foreign nations identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists have been  hindered because the LEAs generally lacked (1) clearly articulated roles  and responsibilities from NCTC to assist foreign nations; (2) guidance on  setting funding priorities and providing resources; (3) performance  monitoring systems to assess LEA progress; (4) formal structures to  coordinate LEA operational and technical assistance to foreign nation  LEAs; and (5) comprehensive country needs assessments to tailor LEA  technical and operational assistance to specific foreign nation needs. In one country we visited, the lack of clear roles and responsibilities  between two U.S. LEAs may have compromised several joint operations  intended to identify and disrupt potential terrorist activities, according to  the U.S. and foreign nation LEAs. Although embassies generally use law enforcement working groups  to share information, we found they were not focused on joint  investigative or operational efforts to identify and disrupt terrorist acts. As a  result, we found that State, Justice, DHS, and their LEAs may not be  targeting their full range of training and assistance to help foreign  countries to identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists.
Why GAO Did This Study

Three U.S. national strategies, developed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, directed U.S. law enforcement agencies (LEA) to focus on the prevention of terrorist attacks. The strategies called for LEAs to intensify their efforts to help foreign nations identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists. This testimony addresses (1) the guidance for LEAs to assist foreign nations to identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists and (2) the extent to which LEAs have implemented this guidance.

What GAO Found

Following the 9/11 attacks, the President issued a series of strategies that provided broad direction for overseas law enforcement efforts to assist foreign nations to identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists. However, these strategies did not articulate which LEAs should implement the guidance to enhance efforts to help foreign nations combat terrorism or how they should do so. In December 2004, Congress passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which charged the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) with developing a plan to use all elements of national power, including LEAs, to combat terrorism. NCTC officials told us they had drafted a general plan, which was approved by the President in June of 2006. According to NCTC, Department of State, Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, implementing guidance for the plan is under development, and they would not discuss the contents of the plan or the guidance. LEAs have increased efforts to help foreign nations identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists. For example, DHS has implemented its Container Security Initiative to screen U.S.-bound cargo at foreign ports, and State has expanded its Antiterrorism Assistance program. However, we found that because most LEAs, with the exception of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have not been given clear guidance, they lacked clearly defined roles and responsibilities on helping foreign nations identify, disrupt, and prosecute terrorists. In one country we visited, the lack of clear roles and responsibilities between two U.S. LEAs may have compromised several joint operations intended to identify and disrupt potential terrorist activities, according to the U.S. and foreign nation LEAs. In addition, we found LEAs generally lacked guidance on using resources to assist foreign nations in addressing terrorist vulnerabilities and generally lacked performance monitoring systems and formal structures for sharing information and collaborating. We also found that, because comprehensive needs assessments were not conducted, LEAs may not be tailoring their full range of training and assistance to address key terrorism vulnerabilities in foreign countries.