FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 25 , 2008

National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Michael E. Leiter Responds to The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re “That Troubled Terrorism List” (editorial, Aug. 24):

You seem willing to accept as fact the press release of the subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology. You shouldn’t.

Railhead, our five-year information technology upgrade program, is not an “emergency program,” nor is it limited to our terrorist database and online terrorist information Web site. Railhead is the National Counterterrorism Center’s contracting vehicle to incrementally upgrade system capabilities over time and operate and maintain existing systems.

To suggest that the National Counterterrorism Center’s support to watchlisting is “on the brink of collapse,” as the subcommittee press release stated, is patently ridiculous.

The Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment continues to do exactly what it was designed to do: serve as the nation’s database of terrorist information. In early 2008, the National Counterterrorism Center identified a number of issues associated with the Railhead contract. Corrective actions were initiated and the center briefed Congressional oversight committees.

The subcommittee’s chairman, Brad Miller, and his staff never engaged with the National Counterterrorism Center to address their concerns. Mr. Miller, his committee and ultimately your readers would have been better informed had such basic steps been taken.

Michael Leiter
Director
National Counterterrorism Center
Washington, Aug. 25, 2008