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International News
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UN and U.S. Look to Stop Uranium Enrichment by Iran (Bloomberg; New Yorker; Center for Strategic and International Studies) “Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is visiting Iran seeking to convince the government to agree to suspend its nuclear program producing enriched uranium,” reports Bloomberg. Iranian “President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced [Tuesday that] Iran has produced enough enriched uranium to fuel a reactor and will accelerate enrichment to reach ‘industrial-scale production.’” Meanwhile, “the Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack,” according to Seymour Hersh, writing in the New Yorker. Hersh cited “current and former American military and intelligence officials.” President Bush called the press reports of a plan to attack Iran “wild speculation.” Yet if diplomacy toward Iran fails, the United States has some choices, say
Anthony Cordesman and Khalid Al-Rodhan of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
[View Bloomberg article] [View New Yorker article] [View White House statement] [View CSIS analysis]
Blasts Kill Dozens in China and Pakistan (Yahoo! News) “Local authorities found explosives at the site of a hospital parking lot blast that killed at least 30 people, the [Chinese] government said Tuesday,” according to the Associated Press. “The blast occurred Monday in an underground garage at a hospital for employees of the Xuangang Coal and Electricity Co. Ltd. in Yuanping city, Shanxi province.” In Karachi, Pakistan, “A bomb exploded during an Islamic prayer service at a park … Tuesday, killing at least 40 people and wounding dozens,” also according to the Associated Press.
[View China article] [View Pakistan article]
29 Indicted in Madrid Train Bombings (New York Post) “A judge Tuesday handed down the first indictments in the Madrid train bombings, charging 29 people with murder, terrorism or other crimes,” reports the Associated Press. “The commuter train bombings blamed on Muslim militants killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,700 on March 11, 2004.”
[View article]
New British Antiterror Laws Take Effect, Partly Blocked by High Court (London Guardian) The British “government’s controversial Terrorism Act [came] into force [yesterday], outlawing the glorification of terrorism and paving the way for the detention of terror suspects for 28 days without charge,” reports the Guardian. “… The act creates new offences of undertaking terrorism training, preparation of or planning a terrorist act and disseminating terrorist publications.” But “the first control order to be imposed on a British citizen has been overturned by the high court after judges ruled that the law was incompatible with human rights legislation.… The order had been imposed because the government suspected the man intended to travel to Iraq to fight US and British forces.”
[View article on enactment] [View article on court decision]
Interpol Says al-Qaeda Bioterror Threat Is Real
(Reuters AlertNet)
“Al Qaeda has the ability to carry out attacks using biochemicals and the threat of a strike remains real,” warned John Abbott, chairman of the International Criminal Police Organization’s bioterrorism subcommittee on Wednesday, reports Reuters. Abbott “said national police forces and health services lacked preparation for an attack using dangerous toxins and had insufficient knowledge and powers to handle such an event.” Abbott spoke at Interpol’s 19th Asian Regional Conference, which ended yesterday in Singapore with calls for greater international cooperation and coordination to combat corruption and encouragement for countries that do not yet have specialized structures to fight terrorism to establish them as soon as possible. [View article]
[View Interpol press release]
14 Indicted in Human Smuggling Ring on Canadian-U.S. Border
(Vancouver [British Columbia] Sun)
“U.S. and Canadian authorities … have broken up a human smuggling ring suspected of illegally shepherding dozens of Indian and Pakistani nationals into Washington state from British Columbia,” reports the Associated Press. “A U.S. federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted 14 U.S. and Canadian men for their roles in the alleged scheme. Twelve had been arrested as of Wednesday.… Authorities were still seeking two other men who have been indicted.”
[View article]
Terrorists Pursue Internet Privacy
(Washington Post)
“Terrorist groups … are paying more attention to addressing security and privacy concerns similar to those of other Web users, counterterrorism experts say,” according to the Washington Post. Recent “postings on jihadist Web sites have expressed increasing concern about spyware, password protection, and surveillance on chat rooms and instant-messaging systems. One forum recently posted a guide for Internet safety and anonymity … advising readers of ways to circumvent hackers or government officials.”
[View article]
Italy Won’t Request Extradition of U.S. Agents
(New York Times)
Italian Justice Minister Roberto Castelli refused a request from prosecutors to ask the U.S. government “for the arrest and extradition of 22 purported CIA agents accused of kidnapping an Egyptian cleric from a Milan street in 2003,” reports the Associated Press. “… It was unclear whether the prosecutors’ extradition request would be forwarded to Washington by a new government … not expected to be formed until late May.”
[View article]
UK Opens New Counterterrorism Center
(London Times)
“An elite squad of scientists … has been enlisted as Britain’s latest force in the fight against international terrorism,” reports the London Times. The 15 experts, who started operations on Monday at “a new laboratory at the Ministry of Defence’s secret” Counter-Terrorism Science and Technology Centre, “will develop gadgetry and weaponry to counter the terrorist threat.” The team will “tap into the research going on outside government into developing ultra-sensitive and highly portable equipment for identifying traces of chemical or biological agents in the air. Remote-controlled chemical agent detectors are also likely to be developed.”
[View article]
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| Customs photo | Container Shipping Rules Global Commerce
(MSNBC)
Container shipping has become “a vital and increasingly controversial cornerstone of global commerce,” reports Newsweek. About “20 million containers [move] around the world today, carrying as much as 95 percent of goods coming into America.” Standardized intermodal shipping containers “can be easily moved from a truck to a ship to a railroad car,” streamlining shipping. But “these steel containers are by definition black boxes, invisible to casual inspection, and the more of them authorities open for inspection, the more they undermine the smooth functioning of the system.” If terrorists tampered with containers or attacked U.S. ports, “U.S. officials would probably block entrance to all uninspected containers—now 95 percent of the total—triggering a ripple effect through the global economy as goods began to pile up in overseas ports.” Solutions include technology that “snaps a gamma-ray picture, and conducts a radiation check, of every container coming into” a terminal and Savi Technology’s “sophisticated radio-frequency tag that allows military planners to keep close tabs on container contents. IBM and Maersk Moeller have been developing … ‘tamper-resistant embedded controllers,’” which “use wireless technology to monitor container locations, and to send an alert whenever the boxes are opened.”
[View article]
EU Draft Rejects References to ‘Islamic Terrorism’
(London Telegraph)
“European governments should shun the phrase ‘Islamic terrorism’ in favor of ‘terrorists who abusively invoke Islam,’ say guidelines from” officials at the European Union, reports the London Telegraph. “Backed by diplomats and civil servants from the 25 EU members, the officials are drafting a ‘non-emotive lexicon for discussing radicalization’ to be submitted to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other leaders in June. The Brussels officials hope the new lexicon, which would not be legally binding, would be adopted by governments and other EU institutions, such as the European Commission and European Parliament.”
[View article]
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National News
Nationwide Rallies Favor Immigrants’ Rights (USA Today) “Hundreds of thousands of people demanding U.S. citizenship for illegal immigrants took to the streets in dozens of cities from New York to San Diego on Monday in some of the most widespread demonstrations since the mass protests began around the country last month,” reports USA Today. “… Protesters rallied against a bill passed by the U.S. House that would make illegal immigration a felony and calls for erecting a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate negotiators are discussing a measure that would give illegal immigrants who have lived in the USA at least two years a chance to stay. An estimated 12 million illegal immigrants live in the USA.”
[View article]
Agencies Unwittingly Release Sensitive Info Using Popular Software
(Federal Computer Week)
“Some of the most common document applications, including Microsoft Word documents and PDFs, are” being published with hidden, sensitive data, reports Federal Computer Week. “… federal agencies and private-sector companies have released documents on the Internet that they thought did not contain sensitive content, but they actually did. That has led to embarrassment, scandals, firings and national security breaches when unintended readers discovered the hidden data.” [View article]
Red Cross Outlines Changes in Disaster Response
(Washington Post)
The Red Cross plans “to dramatically increase [its] stockpile of food and other disaster supplies in key danger zones nationwide and partner with community-based organizations to speed assistance to victims,” reports the Washington Post. “… The changes mark a shift in how the nonprofit conducts itself. Traditionally, the Red Cross has relied largely on its own resources in times of crisis. The future will find it relying much more on community-based groups when it confronts disasters.”
[View article]
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Federal News
TTIC Grows Up
(Government Executive)
When the Terrorist Threat Integration Center was formed in 2003, “a mere 30 analysts, mostly novices,” worked “furiously in temporary space tracking a flood of data on terrorist money, movements and identities,” reports Government Executive. “… Later expanded and renamed the National Counterterrorism Center, the program today is markedly more able. In a shiny new Northern Virginia facility, more than 130 analysts read traffic from nearly 30 classified and unclassified networks, including operational details of ongoing counterterrorism operations. The center hosts three video teleconferences a day to update the executive branch on recent threat information and maintains a 24-hour watch center. In addition to fusing terror intelligence, it recently has been charged with coordinating the U.S. government’s counterterrorism strategy.”
[View article]
Natl. Archives Helped Secret Removal of Public Papers
(Washington Post)
“The National Archives helped keep secret a multi-year effort by the Air Force, the CIA and other federal agencies to withdraw thousands of historical documents from public access on Archives shelves, even though the records had been declassified,” reports the Washington Post. In a 2002 memo, “Archives officials agreed to help pull the materials for possible reclassification and conceal the identities of anyone participating in the effort.… In February, the Archives acknowledged that about 9,500 records totaling more than 55,000 pages had been withdrawn and reclassified since 1999. The memo … says some records ‘may have been improperly marked as declassified’ … But historians … said many [records] date to the 1940s and 1950s and pose no conceivable security risk.… Allen Weinstein, the archivist of the United States, suspended the [removal] program last month pending an audit of the removed material.”
[View article]
GAO Critiques Management of International Aid After Katrina Receiving unprecedented international aid after Hurricane Katrina (see the 13 January newsletter), the United States was unprepared to manage it, according to the Government Accountability Office: Davi D’Agostino, GAO Director of Defense Capabilities and Management, and McCoy Williams, Director of Financial Management and Assurance, testified on 6 April before the U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform Committee. “Going forward, it will be important to have in place clear policies, procedures, and plans on managing and using both cash and in-kind donations in a manner that provides accountability and transparency,” they said.
[View abstract]
DHS Moves to Increase Hurricane Preparedness “Over the next sixty days, the Department will sponsor five regional Hurricane Preparedness Exercises in the Gulf—to test and validate improvements made to hurricane plans since Katrina and Rita, and to identify areas where we may need to redouble our efforts,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, FL, on Wednesday. “… Before hurricane season, we’re also going to strengthen FEMA across a number of areas, including logistics, claims processing for disaster victims, debris removal, procurement, and emergency communications.” DHS will also work closely with the Army Corps of Engineers. [View speech transcript]
Agencies Can Improve Foreign Assistance to Counter Terrorist Financing, Says GAO The Treasury Department’s Terrorist Financing Working Group has coordinated interagency delivery of training and technical assistance to counter terrorist financing in more than 20 countries. However, the group’s effort has been hampered by the absence of a strategic and integrated plan, according to the Government Accountability Office: On 6 April, U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Committee on Financial Services).
[View abstract]
DHS Requests Proposals for Secure Border Initiative-Net
(Government Computer News)
“The long-awaited request for proposals for Secure Border Initiative-Net was released [Tuesday] by the Homeland Security Department, which is calling the project the ‘most comprehensive effort in the nation’s history’ to gain control of the borders,” reports Government Computer News. “The 144-page document outlines the purpose and scope of the border surveillance technology program, which supplements other efforts to control the border and enforce immigration laws.” [View article]
Pandemic Flu Information for First Responders Because fire and emergency medical services will play a crucial role in the event of a pandemic, the U.S. Fire Administration has added a new information section on its website to assist those first responders in preparing for a national flu pandemic.
[View web page]
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State and Local News
CT: Former DMV Workers Guilty of Making Fraudulent IDs (New Haven Register) “Two former workers at the Bridgeport Department of Motor Vehicles office have pleaded guilty to charges of issuing hundreds of phony licenses and state identification cards,” reports the Associated Press. They “pleaded guilty in Superior Court to charges of receiving bribes, forgery and racketeering” and “were among four workers at the DMV branch arrested in the investigation.”
[View article]
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Dual-Benefit Solutions
New Liquid Soaks Up Dangerous Powders (Washington Business Journal) Mineral Sciences “has developed a liquid that soaks up dangerous powders such as anthrax or radioactive material from dirty bombs,” reports the Washington Business Journal. “… The company’s product absorbs chemical, biological, radioactive or poisonous powders through a chemical reaction. Once used, the liquid can be vacuumed, analyzed and heated to destroy biological threats or to transform radioactive and poisonous materials into bricklike form for long-term storage. Potential customers include first responders in emergencies, airports and stadium operators.”
[View article]
| Dual-benefit news archive |
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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.
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New
Airport Security Planning Course (8-9 May, Baltimore; 22-23 May, Sacramento, CA) Ohio University Community and Professional Programs in cooperation with Robinson Aviation is sponsoring an intensive Airport Security Planning Course, designed for general aviation airport security personnel, tenants, operators, planners, and managers. It meets all federal guidelines for general aviation airports. Participants will gain an understanding of airport security requirements, rules, and regulations and learn how to form an airport security plan, conduct airport security audits, and coordinate the security plan with the crisis and contingency plan and prepare capital budgets for security. They will visit a regional airport to conduct an onsite security audit and will receive a composite report of the audit findings. For more information, call (740) 593-1764 or visit www.ohiou.edu/gasecurity/.
[View course website]
Protecting Tourism Against Terror (17-18 May; Nassau, Bahamas) The course will include case studies, a tabletop drill, videos, and experts’ presentations.
[View course website]
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| Defending Democracy, Defeating Terrorism (27 May–7 June; Tel Aviv, Israel) The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies is offering an academic fellowship on terrorism. The course of study takes place in the classroom and in the field and features lectures by academics, diplomats, military and intelligence officials, and politicians from Israel, Jordan, India, Turkey, and the United States. It also features visits to military bases, border zones, and other security installations to learn the practical side of deterring terrorist attacks.
[View course website]
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Undergraduate Fellowship (29 July–13 August, Tel Aviv, Israel; 7-10 January 2007, Washington, DC) The foundation is seeking qualified candidates with a distinguished record of academic achievement and campus leadership to join the undergraduate fellowship program. Fellows will have an opportunity to hear from academics, politicians, intelligence and military officials, and diplomats from Israel, Jordan, India, Turkey, and the United States. [View course website]
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Please submit events and educational programs by noon Wednesdays for consideration as items in that week’s newsletter.
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Upcoming Events
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New Events (After two weeks, new events will be moved to the list below, in chronological order)
22nd Annual Energy Security Council Conference (2-4 May; Houston) This year’s conference theme is “Security Compliance and Trends.” Presentations will cover avian flu, maritime regulation updates, air security, and more.
[View conference website]
4th TICS and TIMs Symposium (11-13 July; Richmond, VA) Scentczar’s symposium will provide an overview of perceived threats, equipment requirements, and tools for identifying, defending against, and remediating incidents involving toxic industrial chemicals and toxic industrial materials.
[View conference website]
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April
Southwest Homeland Security Conference (18-19 April; Phoenix) 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]
Disaster Response and Preparedness From Hurricanes to Infectious Disease (19-21 April; New Orleans) This Distributed Medical Intelligence conference is designed to explore advanced techniques and technologies for improved medical response globally and will explore and identify practical solutions to maintaining continuity of operations in a crisis.
[View conference website]
5th Intl. Counterterrorism Conference: Public and Private Partnerships (20-21 April; Washington, DC) International public safety officials will discuss border and transportation security, information sharing (interoperability), critical infrastructure, and maritime and mass-transportation security. Ronald Noble, Secretary General of Interpol, and Tom Ridge, former Secretary of Homeland Security, are keynote speakers.
[View conference website]
Terrorist Threats to Our Food Supply (21 April; Minneapolis) National experts from industry and academia will address public health responses, industry considerations, consumer perspectives, risk analysis, and defense. Featured speakers include Robert L. Buchanan (Food and Drug Administration), Michael T. Roberts (Univ. of Arkansas School of Law), Clay Detlefsen (International Dairy Foods Assn.), Caroline Smith DeWaal (Center for Science in the Public Interest), Asha M. George (DFI Government Services), Donald W. Schaffner (Rutgers Univ.), and Michael T. Osterholm (Univ. of Minnesota). Continuing education credits are available. Online registration, the full agenda, and further information are available at the conference website. For more information call (612) 625-0055 or email lawvalue@umn.edu.
[View conference website]
Hospital Management of Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, and Explosive
Incidents (24-28 April; Aberdeen, 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]
Washington, DC, Summit on Pandemic Response (28 April; Washington, DC) City officials hope that this summit at Gallaudet University on pandemic influenza will draw hundreds of people from the city’s business, health care, education, and religious communities and continue the city’s preparation for a potential outbreak. Those interested in attending should call the Washington, DC, Health Department at (202) 442-9195.
Government Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams Conference (30 April–4 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]
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Intelcon (7-9 May; Bethesda, MD) Intelcon is a major, annual national conference and exposition on intelligence and the relationship between intelligence and national security. By combining a high-quality educational program, which emphasizes practical applications and techniques, with a full-scale vendor exposition, the event attracts a wide audience of intelligence professionals and vendors from the public and private sectors.
[View conference website]
4th Annual Homeland Security Contracting Opportunities Conference (11-12 May; Washington, DC) To bridge the gap between the government’s needs and the private sector’s ability to deliver goods and services, the Bureau of National Affairs presents this conference. Topics include “Top Priorities for DHS and the Private Sector,” “Homeland Security Spending Outlook,” regional requirements, “Small Business Contracting Opportunities,” and “Roles and Requirements of U.S. Armed Forces.”
[View conference website]
Risks and Economic Impacts of Terrorism (17 May; Los Angeles) This conference, sponsored by the Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events, will focus on improving homeland security through risk-based decision making. Panel discussions and keynote presentations will feature policy makers, private industry leaders, and researchers.
[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]
Homeland Port Security Conference (7 June; New York) This conference sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute will feature senior U.S. Navy and Coast Guard officers, as well as civilian, political, and business leaders, thrust into real-time simulations of simultaneous terrorist attacks against key maritime assets in the United States, requiring panelists to identify critical issues and challenges:
- Lessons learned: How do agencies disseminate unclassified information?
- Communication logistics during emergencies: Is everyone on the same page?
- Command and control: Who’s in charge in a layered-response scenario?
- Secure shipping: How do we monitor and secure the supply chain?
- Terrorist attacks on commerce and energy: What are the financial implications?
[View conference website]
Terrorism Research Symposium (12-13 June; Denver) Law enforcement officials who deal with terrorism in their states, cities, and communities will learn what works to prevent and respond to terrorism. The conference is hosted by the National Institute of Justice’s International Center. Panelists will discuss research findings about common issues and invite state and local officials to describe their challenges and experiences in interactive, dynamic sessions.
[View conference website]
Explosives Detection Conference (12-16 June; Miami) This conference, sponsored by the Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office Technical Support Working Group, focuses on large vehicle bomb detection, short-range detection, canines, and suicide bomber detection. Attendance is by invitation only. To request an invitation, register on the website. There is no fee for the conference. For further information, email detection_conference@bah.com. The registration deadline is 5 June. [View conference website; enter code TSW73414]
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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.
[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]
July
INFORMS Military Applications Society (24-26 July; Mystic, CT) The Military Applications Society, a technical arm of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, will hold a conference with the theme “Homeland Security for the 21st Century.”
[Register online]
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]
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U.S. Maritime Security Expo (19-20 September; New York) The expo will address the protection of ports, harbors, bridges, cargo containers, powerplants, offshore oil rigs, railroads, and cargo and passenger ships. In-depth workshops will cover port and maritime investigations, pre-employment screening, and radio-frequency identification and supply chain software.
[View conference website]
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Calls for Papers
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New Calls for Papers
Explosives Detection Conference (12-16 June; Miami) This conference, sponsored by the Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office Technical Support Working Group, focuses on large vehicle bomb detection, short-range detection, canines, and suicide bomber detection. Attendance is by invitation only. To request an invitation, register on the website. There is no fee for the conference. For further information, email detection_conference@bah.com. The deadline for abstracts is today. [View conference website; enter code EXP86441]
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