Controversy returns to haunt architect of terror futures plan

Poindexter first made the headlines for questionable role in Iran-Contra scandal

The row over the Pentagon's plan to develop a futures market in possible terrorist acts has once again snared John Poindexter in controversy.

Mr Poindexter is the head of the Pentagon's Terrorism Information Awareness office, which developed the software as part of the plan to help the US predict when and where terrorists will strike.

A former US national security adviser, Mr Poindexter first hit the headlines for his role in the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal.

Even before the furore over the terrorism futures market blew up this week he had been targeted by journalists, opposition Democratic Party politicians and even computer hackers who questioned why he was given such a sensitive position in the Pentagon last year.

Mr Poindexter, a retired navy admiral, was the vice-president of government contractor Syntek Technologies when appointed to his present post last year. The company had been working with the agency to develop Genoa, a computer programme described by experts as a cross between the internet search engine Google and the peer-to-peer file-sharing software Napster. Its developers aimed to carry out surveillance through internet information harvesting. Congress has previously raised security concerns about the scheme.

Internet pranksters used his same methods of data investigation to criticise his appointment.