International News

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U.S. Used Base in Ethiopia to Hunt al-Qaeda (New York Times) “The American military quietly waged a campaign from Ethiopia [in January] to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda in the Horn of Africa, including the use of an airstrip in eastern Ethiopia to mount airstrikes against Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia,” reports the New York Times. “The close and largely clandestine relationship with Ethiopia also included significant sharing of intelligence on the Islamic militants’ positions and information from American spy satellites with the Ethiopian military. Members of a secret American Special Operations unit, Task Force 88, were deployed in Ethiopia and Kenya, and ventured into Somalia … The counterterrorism effort was described by American officials as a qualified success that disrupted terrorist networks in Somalia, led to the death or capture of several Islamic militants and involved a collaborative relationship with Ethiopia that had been developing for years.” [View article]

Advisors in Iraq Say U.S. Has 6 Months to Win (London Guardian) “An elite team of officers advising US commander General David Petraeus in Baghdad has concluded [that] the US has six months to win the war in Iraq—or face a Vietnam-style collapse in political and public support that could force the military into a hasty retreat,” reports the Guardian. “The officers—combat veterans who are leading experts in counter-insurgency—are charged with implementing the ‘new way forward’ strategy announced by president George Bush on January 10.” [View article]

Canadian Court Nixes Security Certificates (Toronto Globe and Mail) “The Supreme Court of Canada struck down the key provisions of controversial immigration security certificates [on Feb. 23] as being grossly unfair to terrorism suspects, and the clock began to tick on a year-long grace period in which Parliament must fashion an acceptable substitute,” reports the Globe and Mail. “The historic, unanimous decision left the law in limbo and muddied already unclear waters for the suspects directly affected … In its 9-0 ruling, the court refused to mend the controversial provisions themselves, but made it clear that any future law must allow defendants to know the case against them and to mount a meaningful defence. The ruling also paid careful attention to fears of terrorism, and to the precarious task legislators face in protecting national security from potentially horrific threats. But it said that, ultimately, any restrictions on civil liberties must be minimal.” [View Court article]

Iraq Rebel Cleric Sadr Reins in His Militia (New York Times) “Moktada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric and founder of the Mahdi Army militia [see the Dec. 1, 2006, newsletter], discovered recently that two of his commanders had created DVDs of their men killing Sunnis in Baghdad,” Iraq, reports the New York Times. “Documents suggested that they had received money from Iran. So he suspended them and stripped them of power … American and Iraqi officials say [that] Mr. Sadr seems to be cooperating with the effort to pacify Baghdad, ordering his men not to fight even as American armored vehicles roll into Mahdi strongholds in eastern Baghdad. He seems to be cleaning house of fighters who could taint him by association with Iran or with death squad killings. His aides say he has called for a sectarian truce.… Mr. Sadr has assisted the joint Iraqi-American campaign against parts of his militia, signaling whom to arrest and telling others to flee.” But “the impact of the Mahdi purges and command restructuring” could “be short-lived” and possibly Mr. Sadr’s “hold on power remains tenuous, dependent on a loose association of clients all over the country who he knows could turn on him at any moment.” [View article]

U.S. Says Chlorine Bomb Factory Was al-Qaeda’s (MSNBC) “Al-Qaida militants in Iraq were preparing to make crude chemical weapons using chlorine at a car bomb factory discovered west of Baghdad [last] week, the U.S. military said on” Feb. 24, reports Reuters. “The military said the facility in Karma, east of Fallujah, had ties to recent attacks in which chlorine was used to transform explosives into makeshift chemical weapons that released suffocating gas and sickened dozens of people.… U.S. forces had found al-Qaida propaganda leaflets and ‘interactive DVDs’ at the factory.” [View article]

Australian Air Marshals: Not Worth the Cost? (Melbourne, Australia, Age) Australia’s “air marshals came in for immediate criticism when they were introduced on December 31, 2001,” according to the Age. “… More than five years later, the air marshal idea is unravelling.” The program has cost $106 million so far, and the only time the marshals had to act was “to take a small knife from a 68-year-old man on a flight” within Australia. “The air marshals are estimated to be on only 10 per cent of flights. Ground security protects 100 per cent of flights.” [View commentary]

U.S. Funds Terrorist Groups to Sow Chaos in Iran (London Telegraph) “America is secretly funding militant ethnic separatist groups in Iran in an attempt to pile pressure on the Islamic regime to give up its nuclear programme. In a move that reflects Washington’s growing concern with the failure of diplomatic initiatives, CIA officials are understood to be helping opposition militias among the numerous ethnic minority groups clustered in Iran’s border regions. The operations are controversial because they involve dealing with movements that resort to terrorist methods in pursuit of their grievances against the Iranian regime.… Funding for these separatist causes comes directly from the CIA’s classified budget but is now ‘no great secret’, according to one former high-ranking CIA official in Washington who spoke anonymously to The Sunday Telegraph.… Although Washington officially denies involvement in such activity, Teheran has long claimed to detect the hand of both America and Britain in attacks by guerrilla groups on its internal security forces.” [View article]

U.S. Accused Over Missing Prisoners (BBC) “Thirty eight people believed to have been held in secret CIA prisons—or black sites—are missing, according to a report by” Human Rights Watch, reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. The “report also details torture allegations made by a terror suspect who was held in secret custody for more than two years. The group has asked US President George W Bush to reveal the location of these detainees and close all US black sites. Last year Mr Bush said [that] the prisons had all closed and had not used torture.” But “in a televised address in September, Mr Bush admitted that 14 detainees had been held at secret CIA prisons that used interrogation methods that were ‘tough’ but ‘lawful and necessary.’” [View article]

Jemaah Islamiah Rebuilds Using Both Charity and Violence (Reuters AlertNet) “Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah is not in retreat but rebuilding, gaining support through charity work and involvement in sectarian violence …” reports Reuters. “‘They are down but not out,’ said terrorism expert Zachary Abuza, an associate professor at Simmons College in Boston. Abuza said that while some JI leaders had been jailed for bombings in Indonesia, the group was multi-structured and was seeking to rebuild by broadening its support base through ‘Hamas-style’ social welfare work and sectarian violence. But Paul O’Sullivan, chief of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation … said [that] the picture of JI was not that clear.” [View article]

Ahmadinejad Under Fire in Iran for Hardline Nuclear Stance (London Guardian) “Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, came under fire from domestic critics [Monday] for his uncompromising stance on the nuclear issue as the [United States] and Britain launched a new diplomatic effort to agree [to] harsher [United Nations] sanctions they hope will force Tehran to halt uranium enrichment,” reports the Guardian. “Mohammad Atrianfar, a respected political commentator, accused the president of using ‘the language of the bazaar’ and said his comments had made it harder for Ali Larijani, the country’s top nuclear negotiator, to reach a compromise with European diplomats.… Critics from across the Iranian political spectrum took him to task for his ‘no brakes or reverse gear’ remarks, bolstering claims in the west that his hardline position may be starting to backfire.” [View article]

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United Nations News

Increased Use of Mercenaries Worries UN The United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries is concerned about the increasing involvement of private military and security companies in countries facing conflict, including their work protecting mining companies and the effect this has on local communities. The group is working on a draft of international basic principles that encourage respect for human rights on the part of those companies. [View press release]

Ban Ki-Moon Addresses Heavy Demand for Peacekeepers Facing “explosive growth” in demand for United Nations peacekeepers around the world and a “dramatically strained and overstretched system,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposes to split the Department of Peacekeeping Operations into a Department of Peace Operations and a Department of Field Support to provide better planning, faster deployment, and a more responsive process. [View press release]

UN Security Council Acts to Keep WMD From Terrorists The United Nations Security Council announced on Feb. 23 that it will intensify its efforts to bring together concerned organizations working to keep weapons of mass destruction from falling into terrorist hands. Resolution 1540, passed in 2004, aims to prevent proliferation of any form of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons support. (See the Stats of the Week.) [View press release]

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National News

Almost All National Guard Units Rated ‘Not Ready’ (Washington Post) “Nearly 90 percent of Army National Guard units in the United States are rated ‘not ready’—largely because of shortfalls in equipment worth billions of dollars—jeopardizing the Guard’s ability to respond to crises at home and abroad,” says the congressional Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, which issued its interim report yesterday, according to the Washington Post. “The commission found that heavy deployments of the National Guard and Reserves since 2001 for the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other anti-terrorism missions have deepened shortages, forced the military to cobble together units and hurt recruiting. The problems threaten to undermine the nation’s 830,000-strong selected reserves.” (See the Quote of the Week.) [View article] [View report]

17-State Sweep Targets Illegal Hiring (Los Angeles Times) “In a sweep across California and 16 other states, federal immigration officials descended on eateries such as the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood” last week, “arrested almost 200 illegal immigrants working for a janitorial company and filed criminal charges against the firm’s top three officials,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “Accusing Florida-based Rosenbaum-Cunningham International of building a business around ‘a ghost workforce that was paid in cash,’ agents raided establishments in 63 locations.” [View article]

Islam Flourishes Among U.S. Blacks (Reuters; New York Times) “Islam is growing fast among African Americans, who are undeterred by increased scrutiny of Muslims in the United States since the September 11 attacks, according to imams and experts,” reports Reuters. “Converts within the black community say they are attracted to the disciplines of prayer, the emphasis within Islam on submission to God and the religion’s affinity with people who are oppressed. Some blacks are also suspicious of U.S. government warnings about the emergence of new enemies since the 2001 attacks because of memories of how the establishment demonized civil rights leaders Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. As a result, they are willing to view Islam as a legitimate alternative to Christianity, the majority religion among U.S. blacks.” With Louis Farrakhan stepping down as head of the Nation of Islam comes “the question of whether the group will shift toward more mainstream Islamic teachings to survive once it loses its central charismatic figure,” reports the New York Times. “… The 77-year-old Nation of Islam once enjoyed a near monopoly over interpreting Islam for black Americans, using the faith as a vehicle to promote black separatism. But it now competes with sects that branched away, and with groups [subscribing] to the more traditional and inclusive Islam followed by millions of Muslim immigrants and their offspring.” A middle-range estimate of Muslims in the United States “puts the population around six million; some 40 percent of them are African-Americans.” About 50,000 may belong to the Nation of Islam. [View Reuters article] [View NY Times article]

Obsession: A Film’s View of Islam Stirs Anger on Campuses (New York Times) A documentary, Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West, “has become the latest flashpoint in the bitter campus debate over the Middle East, not just because of its clips from Arab television rarely shown in the West, including scenes of suicide bombers being recruited and inducted, but also because of its pro-Israel distribution network,” reports the New York Times. “… The documentary’s proponents say it provides an unvarnished look at Islamic militancy.… Its critics call it incendiary.” [View article]

Nuclear Safety Violations Listed at California Weapons Lab (MSNBC) “The National Nuclear Security Administration … announced [a] notice of violation Monday against the University of California for infractions that occurred in 2005, when UC was the sole manager of Los Alamos National Laboratory,” reports the Associated Press. “The notice spells out 15 separate incidents that violated the Department of Energy’s nuclear safety rules. The incidents include a Los Alamos researcher opening a package of slightly enriched uranium nitride pellets. The package was contaminated with americium 241, a radioactive decay product of plutonium.… Another incident involved workers who inhaled radioactive substances.… The notice also referred to a November 2005 inspection that exposed ‘long-standing’ deficiencies in the lab’s safety, health and environmental programs.” [View article]

New Group Coordinates Homeland Security Intelligence (Federal Computer Week) Starting this week, “state, local and tribal law enforcement officials will receive federal intelligence through a new coordinating group established to focus the information in a way that meets those officials’ needs and to unify federal policy on threats to public order,” reports Federal Computer Week. “Lora Becker, incoming director of the interagency federal state and local threat reporting and assessments coordination group, said the group would not generate alerts, warnings or updates on homeland security threats. Its analysts will provide strategic assessments of threats and disseminate them through established routes, such as the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces and the dozens of technology-rich state information fusion centers.” [View article]

Judge Rules That Padilla Is Competent to Stand Trial (Washington Post) “A federal judge ruled Wednesday that suspected al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla is competent to stand trial on terrorism support charges, rejecting lawyers’ allegations that torture inflicted during his military incarceration has rendered him psychologically unable to mount a defense,” reports the Washington Post. “The ruling leaves aside for now the question of whether Padilla, accused of being an al-Qaeda operative, was mistreated during his 3½-year confinement in the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., after being declared an ‘enemy combatant’ by President Bush.” [View article]

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DHS News

DHS Awards $194 Million to States for Emergency Management The Homeland Security Department has released $194 million to help states and local governments prepare and implement emergency management activities through the Emergency Management Performance Grant program. State emergency management agencies use these funds to enhance their emergency management capabilities in planning, equipping, and training; conducting exercises; providing for all-hazards emergency management operations; maintaining emergency response programs; and educating the public on disaster readiness. [View press release] [View allocations by state]

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Other Federal News

Many HSPD-12 Cards Fail Their First Test (Government Computer News) “A majority of the identification cards agencies issued to meet Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 fell short of complying with the federal standard and must be retested,” reports Government Computer News. “Most cards issued in October had an assortment of problems—some of them major, such as a lack of interoperability, and some minor, such as using the wrong shade of blue on the card.” [View article]

Public Health Service Corps Lacks Time to Train (Government Executive) “Officers deployed as part of a uniformed service run by the Health and Human Services Department have trouble finding time to train, and many lack hands-on experience that would help them better respond to public health emergencies, according to a new report from the department’s inspector general,” reports Government Executive. Public Health Service “‘Commissioned Corps officers deployed in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita provided valuable services, but the corps could improve its response to public health emergencies,’ the report found.” [View article]

Bird-Flu Shot Better Than Nothing, Experts Say (MSNBC) “It’s better than nothing, federal health advisers said Tuesday in urging approval of the first bird flu vaccine as a stopgap against a potential pandemic until more effective vaccines can be developed,” reports the Associated Press. “The panel said in a 14-0 vote that the vaccine was effective, despite evidence it wouldn’t protect most people against the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. The panel then voted that it was safe.… The government plans to buy and stockpile enough bird flu vaccine for 20 million people, including emergency and health care workers. The … vaccine wouldn’t be sold commercially.” [View article]

National Intelligence Director Sets Reform Guidelines (Federal Computer Week) “In one of his final acts as director of national intelligence, John Negroponte issued a series of wide-ranging objectives for managing and integrating analysis throughout the intelligence community,” reports Federal Computer Week. “Intelligence Community Directive 200,” issued in January, “sets a policy framework and implementation guidelines for all 16 intelligence agencies. The thrust of the document is that intelligence analysis should be transparent, depoliticized and shared throughout the community.” [View article]

Oak Ridge Lab and Enterra Work to Create ResilienceNet Enterra Solutions and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will jointly produce a next-generation approach to sense and respond to threats and vulnerabilities from weapons of mass destruction and natural disasters. Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, they will connect Enterra’s Enterprise Resilience Management Solution to the national lab’s SensorNet project to produce an enhanced sense-think-act capability called ResilienceNet, which is designed to create a 21st-century civilian defense infrastructure. [View press release]

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State and Local News

Former Officials Call for Federal Funding of States’ Real ID Compliance Congress should provide the states with at least $1 billion to comply with regulatory requirements to be issued this year to facilitate identity document security improvements. (See the Sep. 29, 2006, newsletter.) The National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators developed this request after a comprehensive evaluation of the upgrades and new procedures that likely will be required in jurisdictions around the country. [View letter]

White House Disaster Drill Practices for 10-City Attack (Washington Post) “Dozens of high-level officials joined in a White House drill [on Feb. 24] to see how the government would respond if several cities were attacked simultaneously with bombs similar to those used against U.S. troops in Iraq,” reports the Associated Press. The three-hour scenario was “a massive disaster involving improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. The attack targeted 10 U.S. cities, both large and small, at the same time … All Cabinet agencies were represented by their secretaries or other high-ranking officials, with about 90 participants in all … the drill revealed gaps in the government’s ability to respond, but also showed that there have been many improvements since Hurricane Katrina.” [View article]

TSA Tests Revealing Scanner at Phoenix Airport (Phoenix Arizona Republic) “The Transportation Security Administration showed off its newest anti-terrorism tool at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on” Feb. 22, reports the Arizona Republic. “… The equipment has rankled privacy-protection groups because it can produce exceptionally clear X-ray images of the human body. But the agency says it has adjusted the images to protect passengers while still providing a valuable layer of security.” [View article]

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Private-Sector News

Israeli Firms Channeled Funds to Hamas, Islamic Jihad (Jerusalem Haaretz) Israeli Police on Sunday “raided and arrested workers and an executive at two Ramat Gan companies, suspected of helping channel funds to the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” reports Haaretz. “Lawmen raided offices of Shintrako Ltd. and Mayan Customs Brokers and International Forwarding … Police have reported an increase over the past year in the flow of clandestine finance to Palestinian militant groups squeezed by a financial blockade imposed by international aid donors since Hamas last year won parliamentary elections and control of the Palestinian government.” [View article]

Prisoners May Replace Migrants as Harvesters in Colorado (Denver Post) “Colorado prison inmates may soon help the state’s farmers plant onions and pick melons under a program being developed by corrections officials and lawmakers,” reports the Denver Post. “The project is aimed at helping strapped farmers deal with a shortage of farm laborers caused by a crackdown on illegal immigration.” [View article]

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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. New education listings are posted for four weeks.

Medical Corps Combat Medicine Class (April 20-22; Caldwell, OH) An intensive, 3-day classroom and field training program taught by doctors, nurses, and Navy combat corpsmen. The class teaches how to disinfect serious wounds in the field, how to suture wounds under mass-casualty field conditions, how to set broken bones, how to perform minor emergency surgery, mass-casualty triage techniques, shock and trauma management, and how to protect yourself from nuclear, biological, and chemical agents. [View conference website]

Upcoming Events

New Events (After four weeks, new events will be moved to the list below, in chronological order) Mirror Image (March 18-13 and April 22-27; 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. Participants will receive insight into the mindset and rationale of the terrorist through hands-on experience with the methods and means they use, plus education about the ideologies that motivate them and cultural dimensions that influence their decision making. [View course website] DHS Science and Technology Stakeholders Conference (May 21-24; Washington, DC) The Homeland Security Department’s Science & Technology Directorate will be the key participant in this conference presented by the National Defense Industrial Association to inform the private sector, academia, and government at all levels of the direction, emphasis, and scope of the directorate’s research investments. [View conference website] U.S. Disaster Preparedness Conference (Aug. 21-22; New Orleans) Presentations and interactive panel discussions with the nation’s top experts combined with classroom-style training will arm participants with disaster planning and response best practices. Tradeshow exhibits and evening networking events will provide a chance to interact with the people and technologies making a difference in national preparedness. Recent changes in the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Response Plan, and the National Incident Management System will be detailed. [View conference website]

March 15-16; Washington, DC: University Network Summit on Research and Education

March 28-29; Arlington, VA: 6th Annual Infrastructure Security Partnership Congress

March 29–April 5; San Diego: SANS 2007

April 11-12; San Pedro, CA: Sayres Response 2 Terrorism

June 2-4; Emmitsburg, MD: Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education Conference

June 5-8, 2007; Trogir, Croatia: The 14th TIEMS (International Emergency Management Society) International Conference

June 10-13; Alexandria, VA: 2007 National Conference on Community Preparedness

September 27-30; Madrid, Spain: Interdisciplinary Analyses of Aggression & Terrorism

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