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U.S. and UK work on terror threat
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The U.S. homeland security secretary and the British home secretary announced Tuesday they are standing "shoulder to shoulder" to fight the war on terror, sharing training exercises, research, development, science and technology. The joint effort will enhance work on biometrics identification and development of facilities to help prevent a cyber or electronic attack, Home Secretary David Blunkett said. "Some of those attacks wouldn't replicate what we've seen so far," he added, but he also stressed his department is "on the ball" and ahead of the terrorists on such issues. Blunkett said Britain could draw on the intelligence techniques developed to fight the Irish Republican Army. But he said today's terrorists are using the best technology, and added the government's "major challenge" is to stay ahead of them. Both Blunkett and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Britain and the United States should be prepared for a simultaneous attack, although Ridge said they have no information that such an attack is imminent. Ridge said a top priority of his Homeland Security Department is to consolidate "watch lists" so that every individual department has access to a broader list of names. In response to a question about the United States' current "code orange" status, Ridge said the country will keep that additional layer of alert "as long as the military activity in Iraq requires us to." Ridge also applauded Congress for its efforts to get more funding for homeland security. He calculated between $8 billion and $9 billion would be made available to states and local communities once the security funds for this year and last year were added to the proposed $3.5 billion for 2004. But he stressed it is not just the amount of money that is important, but how well it is spent. Blunkett answered a question about Britain's extradition procedures, saying they are currently outdated, but are in the process of being reviewed and revised. He added that legislation to cut judicial hold-ups during extraditions was signed Monday with Attorney General John Ashcroft. The measure should do away with the prolonged procedures that currently tie up extraditions, he said. For legal reasons, Blunkett declined to directly answer a question about his country's policy to revoke citizenship and expel citizens who are found to be involved in terrorist activities. Ridge said a similar policy of revoking citizenship of terrorists is not presently under consideration in the United States, but whether it will be considered in the future remains to be seen.
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