The U.S. government would not have detected bombs concealed in cargo packages from Yemen without an intelligence tip-off from the Saudi Arabian government, the director of the Transportation Security Administration told a Senate panel today.
Air-cargo carriers are not now required to submit manifests to the U.S. government containing detailed information about shipments destined for the United States until four hours before a flight arrives in the United States, TSA chief John Pistole told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The hearing was held to examine how the government is changing its air-cargo rules in response to the failed attempt late last month to ship bombs disguised as printer cartridges from Yemen to a Jewish center in Chicago.
Committee ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked Pistole whether the government's system for screening cargo would have led to the bombs being found absent intelligence from Saudi Arabia.
"In my professional opinion, no," Pistole said.
Collins questioned why the U.S. government cannot require cargo shippers to send their manifests sooner. She noted that companies that ship maritime cargo have to submit their manifests 24 hours before a vessel sets sail for the United States. |
