We need fewer dots to connect

Abdulmutallab’s name was in a database maintained by the National Counterterrorism Center that lists 550,000 terrorism-related “entities.” This is almost the same as being completely anonymous, since a list that long is hardly a practical tool — and indeed, his inclusion didn’t keep Abdulmutallab off that Detroit-bound flight or even flag him for enhanced screening. Being listed seems to mean little more than being listed…

Do we need more analysts? Faster computers? Better software? Maybe all of the above. But I doubt we need to reshuffle the bureaucracy yet again — and I doubt we need more information.

The very first task should be cutting that list of 550,000 “entities” down to a manageable size. The architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was right: Less sometimes really is more.