National News

Note: More and more news sites require free one-time registration. We wish we could avoid this inconvenience to readers who want to see the full articles. We do not intentionally link to any that require a paid subscription.

Dubai Ports World Deal to Get Further Review (Washington Post; Yahoo! News; USA Today; CNN) The Bush administration “has accepted a proposal from” Dubai Ports World “to conduct a 45-day review of the national security implications of the company’s plans to take control of significant operations at six U.S. ports,” reports the Washington Post. (See last week’s newsletter.) The review “appears to satisfy the demands of many members of Congress, who had threatened to force a security review if the administration would not conduct one.” It “also offered pledges to reassure the United States that the ports deal would not pose any threats to American safety and security.” “The Homeland Security Department objected at first to” the deal, reports the Associated Press. “It was the lone protest among members of the government committee that eventually approved the deal without dissent.” “The Coast Guard [part of DHS] found ‘intelligence gaps’ that made it difficult to gauge whether” the sale of Dubai Ports World to Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation “posed a security threat,” according to USA Today. Meanwhile, “Britain’s High Court has approved the takeover of British shipping icon Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. by state-owned Dubai Ports World,” and “the Bush administration” is investigating another company, Dubai International Capital LLC, which “plans to buy a British company with plants in Georgia and Connecticut that make precision parts used in engines for military aircraft and tanks” (both reports from the Associated Press). [View Post article] [View 1st AP article] [View USA Today article] [View 2nd AP article] [View 3rd AP article]

Agencies to Intensify Oversight of Secure Border Initiative (Government Computer News) “Four federal contracting employees have been demoted a pay grade and removed from direct involvement in acquisitions after being accused of mishandling procurements for the nation’s $429 million border camera surveillance system,” reports Government Computer News. “The disciplinary actions are among steps federal authorities have taken to strengthen procurement oversight at the Homeland Security Department in preparation for the upcoming multibillion-dollar Secure Border Initiative.… Federal audits of the surveillance system revealed that payments were made for goods and services never received, contracts were awarded without competitive bidding, only 50 percent of camera installations were completed, and millions of dollars were unspent.” [View article]

Does War on Terror Need More Humanitarian Efforts? (Christian Science Monitor) “Direct help for those in need will do much to undermine a terrorist’s call for recruits,” writes Kenneth Ballen in the Christian Science Monitor. “It is time we heed what America’s military leaders are telling us about the war on terror. Pentagon officials involved in writing the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently released counterterrorism strategy have acknowledged that ‘the American military’s efforts to aid [2004] tsunami victims in Indonesia and to assist victims of Pakistan’s [2005] earthquake did more to counter terrorist ideology than any attack mission.’ … even a year after receiving American help Indonesians continue to appreciate America’s role.” [View commentary]

Katrina Response Showed Need to Standardize Digital Maps (Federal Computer Week) “Emergency responders dispatched to disaster scenes face one of their biggest obstacles in trying to find victims in the midst of chaos,” reports Federal Computer Week. “Hurricanes, floods and bombs knock down street signs, which serve as guides for rescue workers. Global Positioning System devices and print-on-demand maps offer rescuers navigation aids that were unavailable even a decade ago.… however, local, state and federal relief workers don’t always have enough data, enough GPS devices or adequate technical understanding to use coordinate systems effectively. Some federal agencies pinpoint locations with a geospatial data standard called the National Grid. Local governments use latitude and longitude, and some states rely on their own coordinate systems. When disaster strikes, relief workers can’t easily coordinate data to aid their search-and-rescue efforts.” The “major complication in integrating all the data is acquiring the data. Many localities are reluctant to share maps because they contain private information, such as home addresses, while some local governments sell their data to make money.” [View article]

Reclassified Data Taken Off Shelves but Left on Internet (Federal Computer Week) “Thousands of declassified documents have been secretly reclassified and removed from the shelves of the National Archives and Records Administration’s research facility in Maryland, including some documents that are still publicly available on the Internet,” reports Federal Computer Week. “But the government does not plan to take the classified material off-line.” [View article]

U.S. to Settle Suit by Detainee Who Was Released (New York Times) “The federal government has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by an Egyptian who was among dozens of Muslim men swept up in the New York area after 9/11, held for months in a federal detention center in Brooklyn and deported after being cleared of links to terrorism,” reports the New York Times. Egyptian Ehab “Elmaghraby, who spent nearly a year in detention,” and a second plaintiff, Pakistani Javaid Iqbal, who has not settled, “charged that while shackled they were kicked and punched until they bled. Their lawsuit said they were cursed as terrorists and subjected to multiple unnecessary body-cavity searches.” [View article]

Red Cross Develops Playbook for Future Disasters (Federal Computer Week) “The American Red Cross is developing a playbook to help the organization better use information technology assets and improve coordination and assistance with government and industry during natural and manmade disasters,” reports Federal Computer Week. “… the Red Cross has been trying to learn from what worked and what didn’t work during Hurricane Katrina relief operations. A Red Cross committee has been interviewing telecommunications carriers, IT companies and numerous experts inside and outside of the organization to prepare for events that could affect thousands to millions of Americans.” [View article]

U.S. Slams Door on Canadian Medicine (St. Petersburg [FL] Times) “While the federal government struggles to implement a new prescription drug plan for seniors, it has begun cracking down on the importation of cheaper but illegal drugs from Canada,” reports the St. Petersburg Times. “U.S. Customs agents now are regularly seizing many of the prescription drug shipments to individuals that until recently were left alone.… U.S. law prohibits importing drugs from sources that have not been inspected by the Food and Drug Administration, and the FDA has said it lacks money to expand its inspection program.” [View article]

Return to the top

Federal News

Coast Guard Continues Scrutinizing Dubai Acquisition of P&O The Coast Guard has been auditing all Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company operations in the United States, examining Dubai Ports World operations outside the United States, obtaining formal assurances from Dubai Ports World regarding ongoing access to information on personnel and operations, and further evaluating the proposed transaction in conjunction with other elements of the Intelligence Community, according to Vice Admiral Terry Cross, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard continues to believe that Dubai Ports World’s “acquisition of P&O, in and of itself, does not pose a significant threat to U.S. assets in” ports in the continental United States. [View press release]

White House Wants DHS to Share Disaster Response Duties (New York Times) “Acknowledging the multitude of Hurricane Katrina failures, the Bush administration on [23 February] advocated giving federal agencies from the Pentagon to the Department of Justice a greater role in the nation’s disaster response playbook,” reports the New York Times. The “recommendations would reverse some of the steps taken” since 11 September 2001 “to centralize responsibility for responding to natural disasters or terrorist attacks at the newly created Department of Homeland Security.… But some critics worry that diffusing responsibilities among agencies could leave no one clearly in charge and not produce results.” [View article]

DHS Needs More Authority to Secure Chemical Plants, Says GAO “Additional legislation placing federal security requirements on chemical facilities is needed,” according to a Government Accountability Office finding first issued in 2003. The Department of Homeland Security “is now the lead federal agency coordinating efforts to protect” chemical “facilities from terrorist attacks.… DHS is developing a Chemical Sector–Specific Plan.… DHS has identified 3,400 facilities that, if attacked, could pose the greatest hazard to human life and health and has initiated programs to assist the industry and local communities in protecting chemical facilities.… However, the extent to which companies are addressing security is unclear.” [View abstract]

FBI Adds 26 Suspects to Most Wanted Terrorist List The Federal Bureau of Investigation has added 26 individuals to the Most Wanted Terrorists list; all of them have been indicted by federal grand juries. Ten others added to the Seeking Information–War on Terrorism list are being sought in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States. [View press release]

Comments and Responses From the NRC’s 2005 Emergency Preparedness Public Meeting The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has posted more than 700 comments and questions from the agency’s 2005 emergency preparedness public meeting, held in Rockville, MD, last summer. The comments, along with responses from the NRC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, cover 15 major topics, including emergency communications, exercises and drills, federal government responsibilities and security-based emergency action levels. [View press release] [View comments]

HHS Buys More Antivirals in Case of Pandemic The Department of Health and Human Services has ordered additional antiviral drugs that could be used in the event of an influenza pandemic: 1.75 million treatment courses of the antiviral drug zanamivir (Relenza) from GlaxoSmithKline and 12.4 million treatment courses of oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) from Roche. These drugs will be added to the already purchased 5.5 million treatment courses of antiviral drugs for the Strategic National Stockpile. [View press release]

Return to the top

International News

German Cat Dies of Bird Flu (New York Times; MSNBC; Times of Zambia; Malaysia Star) “The deadly strain of bird flu has been found in a cat in Germany … the first time the virus has been identified in an animal other than a bird in central Europe,” reports the Associated Press. “… the dead cat was discovered over the weekend on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, where most of the more than 100 wild birds infected by the H5N1 strain have been found.… tigers and snow leopards in a zoo in Thailand became infected after being fed chicken carcasses, dying from H5N1 in 2003 and 2004.” “Cats not only can catch the deadly bird flu but can spread it to other felines, Dutch researchers reported” in 2004, according to the Associated Press. And “there is evidence that avian influenza normally infects birds and less commonly, pigs and felines,” reports the Times of Zambia. “Most of the cases of H5N1, which can kill humans in its highly pathogenic form, confirmed so far in Germany, Italy, Austria and Greece have been in dead swans,” reports Reuters. “Germany also found the strain in a hawk.” Possibly dogs can get infected, and maybe other animals, Dr Albert Osterhaus, a virologist at Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands, told Reuters. [View AP article] [View 2004 AP article] [View Times of Zambia article ] [View Reuters article]

Abbas Will Transfer Security Powers to Hamas (Jerusalem Haaretz) “Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas intends to transfer broad security powers to the future Hamas government, including the national defense branch, preventive security, the civilian police and civil defense,” reports Haaretz. “… The national defense branch, which consists of 25,000 policemen, is the largest branch and is defined as the Palestinian army. The other three are subject to the Palestinian Interior Ministry.” [View article]

Israel Promises ‘Iron Fist’ Against Terror (Toronto Globe and Mail) “Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, reacting to a recent surge in attacks by Palestinian extremists, vowed Thursday to use ‘an iron fist’ against acts of terror and said no restrictions would be placed on security forces,” reports the Associated Press. “He spoke after a rash of shooting and stabbing attacks claimed the life of one Israeli civilian and injured five. In the latest attack, an Israeli man was stabbed in the neck at an Israeli factory in northern Jerusalem on Thursday. Additionally, militants in Palestinian-controlled Gaza have been firing homemade rockets at southern Israel, unsettling residents but causing few injuries.” [View article]

Al-Qaeda Encourages Oil Attacks (Yahoo! News) “Al-Qaida has encouraged its followers to attack oil pipelines and facilities in Muslim countries and tankers but not wells, according to a document posted on a Web site by the group that targeted the world’s largest oil-processing complex in Saudi Arabia,” reports the Associated Press. “The document was at least a year old, but al-Qaida’s branch in Saudi Arabia posted it earlier this week on an Islamic militant Web forum to show the religious justification for the Feb. 24 attempt to blow up the Abqaiq facility.” [View article]

Russian Duma Passes Sweeping Antiterror Legislation (Yahoo! News) “Russia’s lower house of parliament has approved a sweeping new anti-terrorism law defining terms under which the military may shoot down hijacked passenger planes, strike at suspected terrorist targets and intercept communications for security reasons,” reports Agence France-Presse. The law passed “with 423 votes in favour, one against and eight abstensions.” Next it goes “to the upper house of parliament and then President Vladimir Putin for final approval—both of which are considered a formality.” [View article]

Strife in Iraq Holds Ominous Signs for Arab Nations (International Herald Tribune) “The prospect of a full-blown civil war driven by sectarian divisions” is ominous “for the Middle East,” reports the New York Times. “Nine countries in the region have sizable populations of Shiites living side-by-side with Sunnis, and there is concern in many of them that a split in Iraq could lead to divided allegiances and, perhaps, conflict at home. ‘The spillover of this is of concern for everybody in the region,’ said Ali Shoukri, a retired Jordanian general who for 23 years served as an adviser to King Hussein” of Jordan. [View article]

Three More Countries Find Deadly Bird Flu (CIDRAP News; Times of India) “The H5N1 avian influenza virus has spread to Niger and Bosnia-Herzegovina … and testing is under way on birds found dead in Switzerland, Pakistan, and Kenya,” reports the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy. The avian flu has also been found in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, reports the Times of India. [View CIDRAP article] [View Times of India article] [View Focus on Avian Influenza]

UN Says Iran Is Enriching Uranium but Maybe Not Pursuing Nuclear Arms (Washington Post) “Iran is advancing its uranium enrichment program, but the” UN International Atomic Energy Agency “still cannot determine whether the country is secretly developing nuclear weapons,” reports the Washington Post. The agency “‘has not seen any diversion of nuclear material to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices,’ Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said in a report to the IAEA’s board. But the agency was not ‘in a position to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran.’” [View article]

Al-Qaeda Funded an Indonesian Terror Net (Yahoo! News) “The al-Qaida terror network helped fund suicide bombings in Indonesia over the past four years through a courier system set up by the reputed mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States,” reports the Associated Press. “… Former al-Qaida No. 3 Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was captured in 2003, was personally involved in setting up the courier system, in which money was carried from Thailand to Malaysia and finally to Indonesia’s Sumatra island” and “used to help the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah launch attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim country from” 2002 through 2005. [View article]

U.S. and India Sign ‘Strategic’ Agreement The United States and India this week signed a “Strategic Partnership” covering civil nuclear cooperation, economic cooperation, security, public health, innovative and advanced technologies, and energy and the environment. The countries’ relationship “has never been better,” said President Bush. The agreement must still be approved by Congress. [View press release]

Return to the top

State and Local News

Governors Demand Info on Changes to Natl. Guard (Stateline) “The nation’s governors, skeptical of a move to reshape the National Guard, have asked the Pentagon to furnish a state-by-state account of the plan’s impact and are insisting on a chance to sign off on any changes in the Guard’s structure,” according to Stateline. At “the four-day winter meeting of the National Governors Association, which concluded in Washington, D.C., Tuesday … Governors of both parties flagged the changing role of the National Guard as a top concern.” [View article]

Western Governors Endorse Guest Worker Plan (San Jose, CA, Mercury News) “The Western Governors Association called on Congress Tuesday to pass comprehensive immigration reform, including a temporary guest worker program,” reports the Associated Press. “The group that represents 18 Western states passed the policy resolution unanimously … The resolution called for building regional federal prisons to house illegal immigrants who commit crimes, and increasing the numbers of available green cards for general workers and H-1B visas for high-tech and other skilled workers.” [View article]

EPA photo

Surprise Inspections Hit Pennsylvania Nuclear Plants (Harrisburg, PA, Patriot-News) “Prompted by reports of sleeping or inattentive employees at Three Mile Island, the state said it will conduct surprise inspections at least twice a month at Pennsylvania’s five nuclear power plants,” reports the Patriot-News. “… In January, the newspaper reported on an internal memo from the Wackenhut head of security at” Three Mile Island warning “security supervisors that veteran guards were to stop telling new hires where they could nap.” [View article]

Return to the top

Dual-Benefit Solutions

National Database Will Keep Tabs on Animals (Federal Computer Week) “A new livestock industry group”—the U.S. Animal Identification Organization—“will oversee a national animal-tracking database to protect public health and the economy,” reports Federal Computer Week. “… The ViaHerd database system, built by ViaTrace, is also a crisis-management tool, [Charles] Miller [the organization’s chairman] said. ViaHerd can trace animals’ location and interactions back 48 hours before a natural or bioterrorism-related disease outbreak.” [View article]

Dual-benefit news archive

Return to the top

Private-Sector News

PASS Cards May Dampen Cross-Border Travel (Buffalo [NY] Business First) “The Department of Homeland Security originally asked that Americans obtain $97 passports for all border crossings. That idea generated immediate yelps of outrage,” according to Buffalo Business First. “So we now have the $50 PASS cards, a compromise unveiled by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in January. The People Access Security System documentation will be the minimum requirement by the end of 2007 for travel in and out of Canada (and Mexico) for any reason, including shopping or other day trips.… An American family of four will have to spend about $200 on the new PASS cards in order to make a quick run into Canada … Trade and tourism officials” believe that this “will severely dampen or even kill spontaneous travel between the two nations, jam up traffic at the borders and generally inflict severe harm to segments of the business community that rely on the smooth flow of visitors and general commerce across the border.” [View article]

Small Biotech Companies Create Experimental Bird Flu Treatments (Newsweek) “Stockpiles of Tamiflu and the development of a trial vaccine are a good start, but researchers say other experimental treatments could ultimately prove even more useful—provided the small biotech companies developing them can successfully usher them though clinical trials and bring them to market in time,” reports Newsweek. “Some examples: Fludase from NexBio Inc. temporarily disables receptors in the nasal passages and airways that the flu virus latches onto.… DNA vaccines are a novel type of vaccine that could one day be useful against many diseases.… Ampligen from Hemispherx Biopharma helps the body boost its production of inter-feron, a crucial component of the immune response—and one that appears to plummet in patients with avian flu.” [View article] [View Focus on Avian Influenza]

Return to the top

Education

The Homeland Security Institute lists these education programs as a service to readers who may be interested; it does not endorse them or their courses.

Return to the top

Upcoming Events

March

Radiological Device and Nuclear Event Symposium (7–9 March; Richmond, VA) The symposium will be a forum for government and industry to discuss radiological and nuclear threat materials, their specific hazards, and capabilities for detection, protection, decontamination, and medical response; present results from recent Defense Dept. and Homeland Security Dept. research and development studies; and display new equipment, software, algorithms, and procedures for dealing with radiological and nuclear incidents. Contact Joseph Roehl at (540) 729-3927 or jroehl@scentczar.com. [View conference website]

Mirror Image: Training to Combat Terrorism (19-24 March; Moyock, NC) Mirror Image is an intensive, one-week classroom and field training program, designed to realistically simulate terrorist recruiting, training techniques, and operational tactics. During the course, participants will receive insight into the mindset and rationale of the terrorist, through hands-on experience with the methods and means they use and education about the ideologies that motivate them and cultural dimensions that influence their decision making. Military, law enforcement, intelligence, and security professionals will be able to see themselves as the terrorists see them and understand the weaknesses in their own environment that the terrorists will see. Participants will leave the course better able to anticipate, prevent, and respond to multiple terrorist threats. [View conference website]

Border Trade Alliance 2006 International Conference (23 March; Arlington, VA) This conference will explore the latest in infrastructure development and strategies for utilizing it. Among the topics to be covered:

• Next-generation ports of entry: The low-risk port of entry concept
• Bringing Free and Secure Trade to your border community: A Nogales case study
• New ports, new technology (technology providers and integrators discuss their innovations for the borders)
• Navigating the presidential permit process
• U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican infrastructure challenges and solutions

April

InfoSec World Conference & Expo (3-5 April; Orlando, FL) Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will be a keynote speaker at Information Security World 2006. Additional workshops will precede and follow the main conference, and a discount for early registration is available through 31 January. [View conference website]

Southwest Homeland Security Conference (Phoenix; 18-19 April) Homeland security professionals, response agencies, and elected officials in the Southwestern states will focus on border security (interstate and international), terrorism prevention, catastrophe preparedness, public education and outreach, and Native American homeland security. [View conference website]

Hospital Management of Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, and Explosive Incidents (24-28 April; Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD) This course is designed for hospital-based medical professionals, including physicians, nurses, dentists, paramedical professionals, hospital administrators, medical planners, and others who plan, conduct, or have responsibility for hospital management of mass-casualty incidents or terrorism preparedness. Classroom instruction, scenarios, and tabletop exercises will equip military and civilian professionals with skills, knowledge, and information resources to carry out the full spectrum of healthcare-facility responsibilities required by a chemical, biological, radiological/nuclear, explosive, or other mass-casualty event. [View conference website]

Government Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams Conference (30 April–5 May; Orlando, FL) The conference theme this year is “GFIRST: A nation working together to secure cyberspace.” The conference will focus on ensuring training and disseminating and exchanging information among operational incident responders, chief information security officers, and other cybersecurity professionals. [View conference website]

May

General Police Equipment Exhibition & Conference (2-4 May; Leipzig, Germany) This is a fully closed specialized trade fair with accompanying international congress, meetings (partly open) and lecture programs catering to the police and allied security markets. With its exhibition and fringe events, it promotes the interministerial and interdisciplinary transfer of information between government offices and frontline forces; advising the security community on new products and product developments together with current trends in education and training; and enhancing public security, the fight against terrorism and increased homeland security. [View conference website]

June

2006 Techno Security Conference (4-7 June; Myrtle Beach, SC) The conference will bring together private industry, government and law enforcement decision makers, and technical enthusiasts in the fields of information and network security, digital forensics, incident response, operational and physical security, auditing, and cyber-crime. Eight simultaneous tracks will feature interactive high-intensity training sessions, hands-on labs, professional certification opportunities, and networking opportunities. Topics will include homeland security; wireless security; web hacking; contingency planning; vulnerability assessments; incident response; computer, personal digital assistant, and enterprise forensics; password recovery and disk-wiping tools; intrusion prevention; Internet investigation techniques; street smarts for investigators; biometrics; and steganography. [View conference website]

Air & Port Security Expo Asia (13-14 June; Hong Kong) The conference, held at the AsiaWorld Expo, will feature a two-day aviation security conference, a two-day maritime security conference, and a two-day new technologies seminar. More than 60 suppliers of security equipment and services to the transportation sector are expected to exhibit, and over a thousand heads of security from airports, airlines, seaports, shipping, supply chain operatives, government agencies, and integrators of security are expected to attend. The course is conducted jointly by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute. [View conference website]

6th International Conference on Complex Systems (25-30 June; Quincy, MA) This conference will investigate the properties or characteristics that appear to be common to the very different complex systems now under study and will encourage cross-fertilization among the many disciplines involved. [View conference website]

September

Air & Port Security Expo Europe (13-14 September; Brussels, Belgium) The conference will cover airport, port, supply chain industry, passenger, cargo, and terminal security. It will feature a two-day aviation security conference, two-day maritime security conference, and two-day new technologies and solutions seminar. More than 100 suppliers of security equipment and services to the transportation sector are expected to exhibit, and over 2,000 heads of security from airports, airlines, seaports, shipping, supply chain operatives, government agencies, and integrators of security are expected to attend. [View conference website]

Return to the top

Calls for Papers

Government Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams Conference (30 April–5 May; Orlando, FL) The conference theme this year is “GFIRST: A nation working together to secure cyberspace.” The conference will focus on ensuring training and disseminating and exchanging information among operational incident responders, chief information security officers, and other cybersecurity professionals. See the website for a list of topics. Submissions are due by 1 March. [View conference website]

Return to the top