National News

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Jose Padilla Convicted of Supporting Terrorism (New York Times) “Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was convicted of federal terrorism support charges [yesterday] after being held for over 3 years as an enemy combatant,” reports the Associated Press. [View article]

Experts Say Jose Padilla’s Mental Problems Were Caused in Prison (Christian Science Monitor) “Jose Padilla … was subjected to prison conditions and interrogation techniques that took him past the breaking point, mental health experts say,” according to the Christian Science Monitor. “… The judge in Padilla’s criminal case has already ruled that Padilla is suffering from a mental disability, but she refused to allow defense lawyers to explore the issue of whether the disability was caused by Padilla’s treatment in the brig.… Padilla’s interrogation was designed to overcome his will to keep silent, and then to wring from him every detail of what officials thought he might know of Al Qaeda’s plans and operations.… Padilla’s treatment in the brig is classified as a state secret” and Padilla himself “refuses to discuss his treatment in the brig in any detail.” [View article]

Bush Administration Announces Stepped-Up Immigration Enforcement (New York Times) “Homeland Security agents will now be informed when the Social Security Administration sends a ‘no-match’ letter to employers with a significant number of employees in question,” reports Congressional Quarterly. “Though the law already states that employers could be fined for hiring illegal immigrants, the new policy clarifies that the federal government could hold them liable if they fail to take steps within 90 days of receiving a no-match letter.” The policy was announced on August 10 as part of stepped-up immigration enforcement, “such as adding border agents and detention beds, and ending a policy that involved releasing illegal immigrants with a notice to appear before a judge.” [View article]

Homegrown Terrorism’s New Face (Los Angeles Times) “After more than a decade of warning that the greatest threat of homegrown terrorism for the United States came from individual lone-wolf radicals, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have begun focusing on what they say is a greater threat—small, anonymous groups of disaffected men who radicalize one another and turn to violence,” reports the Los Angeles Times, citing Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat, a report released Wednesday by the New York Police Department. “… the cells may offer greater opportunities for detection and infiltration than the lone-wolf threat because they are more numerous and most members are amateurs. But they … are difficult to detect because most lack formal structure or prominent leaders and have little or no contact with Al Qaeda or other known terrorist organizations. They can plan multiple attacks, use varied weapons and tactics, and draw on a wider range of resources than an individual could.” [View article] [View NYPD report (2.2 MB PDF)]

U.S. Expands Domestic Spying Program at Borders (CNN) “U.S. spy technology is expected to help law enforcement and immigration officials keep a closer watch on U.S. borders” now that “the Department of Homeland Security [has] expanded authority to use spy satellites to monitor images on borders within the United States, officials tell CNN. There are certain details these satellites cannot pick up, such as close-up images of someone’s face. Verbal communication will not be picked up … the move will also help with security during natural disasters. Spy satellites were used for Hurricane Katrina efforts and have monitored the World Series, presidential inaugurals and the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. They mapped out damage at the World Trade Center, too.” [View article]

U.S. Antiterror Laws Hold Up Asylum Seekers (Washington Post) “More than seven months after the Bush administration promised help to a group of foreign nationals whose applications for asylum or refugee status have been hindered by strict interpretation of anti-terrorism laws [see the January 19 newsletter], only a handful of the applicants have had their cases resolved,” reports the Washington Post. “… Since the administration’s promise, only four asylum seekers and five refugees have been resettled after fleeing ethnic and religious persecution in their countries and arriving in the United States.” [View article]

Katrina Recovery Progress Report Two years after Hurricane Katrina, “the New Orleans region has recovered most of its population and economic base,” according to the Brookings Institution, which has published a second-anniversary report on recovery from the hurricane. “Yet, in the past year, progress has slowed, especially in the city, as critical public infrastructure—schools, law enforcement, and health care—remains weak. As recovery continues, a strong federal, state, and local partnership is necessary to ensure a safe and economically robust region for all.” [View report (5.3 MB PDF)]

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International News

Asian States Score Victories Against Terror (Newsweek) “Asian states have adopted new tactics in the war on terror,” reports Newsweek. “And suddenly they’re winning the fight.… Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest nation, has captured more than 400 militants since 2002, hobbled [Jemaah Islamiah] and avoided a major bomb attack for nearly two years. Meanwhile, the Philippines has managed to liquidate half the terrorists on Manila’s most-wanted list and drive the Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group from its main bases. Malaysia and Singapore have rolled up terrorist cells of their own and thwarted several planned attacks.… The key? Avoiding overwhelming military might or brutal tactics in favor of smart, focused operations mounted in concert with broad hearts-and-minds campaigns. Just as important, Southeast Asian states have kept Western support indirect and—relative to operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia—relatively modest.” [View article]

250+ Dead in Bloodiest Attack of Iraq War (Dallas Morning News) “An onslaught of suicide bombings” Tuesday night “killed at least 250 and possibly as many as 500 members of an ancient religious sect in the deadliest attack of the Iraq war,” reports the Associated Press. “The U.S. military blamed al-Qaida in Iraq.” [View article]

10 Killed in Iraq Bridge Bombing (New York Times) “A suicide attack on a bridge north of Baghdad killed 10 people [on Monday] while disrupting an American supply route, as American and Iraqi forces began a big push north of the capital,” reports the New York Times. “It was the second time in four months that the strategic bridge has been struck. [See the June 15 newsletter.] This time, the explosion rendered the span unusable and sent at least three vehicles plunging 25 feet into a branch of the Tigris River. In addition to the 10 deaths, 6 people were injured.” [View article]

Emergency Workers Struggle to Cope With Peru Quake (BBC) “Emergency workers are struggling to deal with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Peru that has left hundreds of people dead,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “… Rescue teams trying to get to Pisco, Ica, and other rural towns south-west of the capital, Lima, found roads broken up and power supplies down.” [View article]

Terrorism Suspected in Russian Rail Blast (Washington Post) “A high-speed passenger train derailment that injured at least 60 people en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg was caused by a bomb, Russian authorities said … ” according to the Washington Post. “They opened a formal terrorism investigation and announced plans to tighten security ahead of national elections in coming months. No one died in Monday evening’s incident, but authorities suggested the toll could have been much worse.… the bomb was placed on the tracks about 100 feet before a 60-foot-high overpass that the train, speeding toward St. Petersburg [at 120 mph] with 250 people on board, was about to cross.” [View article]

Beheading and Shooting by Russian Neo-Nazis on Video (New York Times; London Guardian) “Russian authorities said Tuesday that they were investigating a video recording of what appeared to be the grisly execution of two bound and gagged young men, filmed in a forest beneath a large Nazi flag,” reports the New York Times. “At least one of the men was beheaded on camera as he lay in a shallow grave. The video, which appeared [August 12] on several Russian ultranationalist Web sites, circulated on the Internet with a note from a previously unknown organization calling itself the National-Socialist Party of Russia. The note announced that a ‘military vanguard’ had begun an armed struggle against ‘black colonists and those who support them from the Russian government.’” The organization “claiming to have made the video had never been heard of before and might be a very small number of people, as few as two or three.” A Russian student was arrested Wednesday “for posting [the] video on the internet,” reports the Guardian. “… The student … allegedly admitted posting the video and circulating extremist material. But police sources … suggested that he did not take part in the executions and had received the video from someone else. A Russian neo-Nazi group called the National Socialists of Rus claims to have carried out the murders—” although “the video could instead be the work of another far-right organisation to discredit its rival.” [View Times article] [View Guardian article]

Terrorist Tunnel Discovered Under Gaza Security Fence (Israel National News) The Israeli Defense Force “has uncovered a major tunnel leading from northern Gaza, under the security fence and to the western Negev,” reports Israel National News. “It was to be used for major terror attacks.” [View article]

U.S. Adds Fatah al-Islam to Terrorism List (Lebanon Daily Star) “Four [Lebanese] men confessed on Monday to being members of a Fatah al-Islam sleeper cell that had detonated three bombs in the Jezzine area [in Lebanon] on July 18 and had delivered about $40,000 to Fatah al-Islam deputy commander Abu Hureira,” reports the Daily Star. This breakthrough came on the same day that the United States “designated Fatah al-Islam … a ‘terrorist’ group.” [View article]

U.S. Hunts al-Qaeda in Afghanistan (Yahoo! News) “Hundreds of U.S.-led troops have launched an offensive against al-Qaida and Taliban militants in an area of eastern Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden once hid,” reports the Associated Press. [View article]

‘The Tenuous Case for Strategic Patience in Iraq’ “The US now has only uncertain, high risk options in Iraq,” writes Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who recently returned from Iraq. “It cannot dictate Iraq’s future, only influence it … It is Iraqis that will shape Iraq’s ability or inability to rise above its current sectarian and ethnic conflicts, to redefine Iraq’s politics and methods of governance, establish some level of stability and security, and move towards a path of economic recovery and development.” There are “positive trends in the fighting, and hints of future political progress,” but “these trends are uncertain, and must be considered in the context of a long list of serious political, military, and economic risks.” [View synopsis]

Gates Foundation Helps Iraqi Scholars Emigrate (MSNBC) “The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is” funding an “initiative to relocate more than 150 scholars facing threat and persecution” in Iraq, reports the Financial Times. “… the foundation will provide” $5 million “for a project granting fellowships to Iraqi scholars seeking to continue their work at institutions in other countries. A further” $5 million “has been approved by the US Congress.” [View article]

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United Nations News

Quake-Damaged Japanese Nuclear Plant Shut Down Safely A Japanese nuclear power plant damaged by a strong earthquake last month (see the July 20 newsletter) shut down safely, and the very small amount of radioactivity released was well below the authorized limits for public health and environmental safety, according to a United Nations fact-finding team of international nuclear safety experts. But physical stresses resulting from the quake could affect the long-term safe operation of some components at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant, and the mission’s findings and Japanese analyses include important lessons, both positive and negative, that will be relevant to other nuclear plants worldwide, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. [View press release]

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DHS News

DHS Plans National Applications Office The DHS National Applications Office will facilitate the use of intelligence community technological assets for civil, homeland security, and law enforcement purposes within the United States. It will build on the long-standing work of the Civil Applications Committee, which was created in 1974. As a principal interface between the Intelligence Community and civil applications, homeland security, and law enforcement, the office will provide more access to remote sensing information. [View press release]

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State and Local News

Bomb Squads Struggle to Maintain Gear (Washington Post) “In 2003, the FBI used a $25 million grant to give bomb squads across the nation state-of-the-art computer kits, enabling them to instantly share information about suspected explosives, including weapons of mass destruction,” reports the Washington Post. “Four years later, half of the Washington area’s squads can’t communicate via the $12,000 kits, meant to be taken to the scene of potential catastrophes, because they didn’t pick up the monthly wireless bills and maintenance costs initially paid by the FBI. Other squads across the country also have given up using them.” [View article]

Norfolk, VA, Stops Publishing School Bus Routes (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot) “Norfolk Public Schools will no longer list school bus stops in newspapers or on its Web site,” reports the Virginian-Pilot. “… Reasons for the change include custody disputes between parents, terrorism concerns and possible abduction from a bus stop.… Norfolk is one of four school divisions in the region, along with Newport News, York and Williamsburg/James City County, that have stopped publishing its school bus routes. Suffolk Public Schools is reconsidering its policy on publishing bus routes.… In Norfolk, bus route information will be mailed to students’ homes.… Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth … will continue to publish their bus routes.… ‘In 25 years I’ve never had a child abducted from a school bus stop,’ [Virginia Beach City Public Schools transportation services director David] Pace said.” [View article]

Terror Threat Website Sparks Alert in New York (New York Times) “The reported threat of a dirty bomb attack in New York City that led to heightened security [last] weekend came from a Jerusalem-based Web site that claims more than a million daily readers, but is criticized by intelligence experts as unreliable,” reports the Associated Press. “Giora Shamis and his wife, Diane Shalem, launched DEBKAfile (Debka.com) in 2000 to focus on security, terrorist activities and military affairs in the Middle East. Shamis claims he and his wife predicted the al-Qaida attack on the World Trade Center. Shamis says Debka, which is financed by subscriptions and ad revenue, has a daily readership of 1.3 million. But its reports, published in English and Hebrew, rely on anonymous sourcing and often prove untrue.” Debkafile’s “monitors of terrorist Web sites and forums [had] connected the messages accumulating” August 9, according to the website. “They spelled out an al Qaeda threat mentioning New York, Los Angeles and Miami as targets of attacks ‘by means of trucks loaded with radioactive material.’ Our counter-terror sources and monitors stressed ‘there is no way of gauging for sure how serious these threats are, or how real.’” [View article]

Texas Tracked Its Troopers’ Encounters With Illegal Immigrants (Dallas Morning News) The Texas “Department of Public Safety has for two years been quietly tracking how often state troopers come into contact with illegal immigrants,” reports the Dallas Morning News. “… The Highway Patrol Division began keeping its informal statewide tallies in June 2005, just as the immigration issue boiled over nationally.… Under Texas law, sworn officers with no special immigration training have no authority to make arrests for civil immigration violations.” The Department of Public Safety “said officers encountered nearly 49,500 illegal immigrants during the two years.” [View article]

VA Tech Tragedy Prompts Protective Measures (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot) “Microsoft will work with [Virginia] state officials to offer free Internet mapping services that will show high-crime areas, evacuation routes and other safety measures,” reports the Virginian-Pilot. “… More than 700 officials and security-related vendors registered for the” first Governor’s Campus Security Conference, held in Richmond, VA, on Monday. Besides Virginia, “participants also came from West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Washington state.” [View article]

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Private-Sector News

Chevron to Face Trial Over Nigerian Killings (AllAfrica) “Chevron Nigeria Ltd is to stand trial later this year in the United States for the alleged murder of villagers in the Niger Delta region in two separate incidents in 1998 and 1999,” reports Lagos, Nigeria, This Day. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston “ruled that Chevron was directly involved in the alleged attacks by acting in consonance with Nigerian government security forces.” Allegedly “the Nigerian Military and Police were paid by Chevron to shoot and torture protesters opposed to the company’s activities,” and “Chevron helicopters and boats were used by the security forces,” it is “further alleged.” [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. Hospital Disaster Life Support II (September 10; Washington, DC) The ER One Institute at the Washington Hospital Center is holding an update course on hospital disaster management response principles for those who want to renew their Hospital Disaster Life Support certificate. The course combines classroom discussion of all-hazards response issues with a hands-on exercise simulation involving a complex mass-casualty incident in an emergency department setting. The course goal is to improve personnel expertise in responding to and coordinating hospital mass-casualty incident response. It provides 16 CNE/CEU and ACHE/CME credits. [View course website] Terrorism: Threats, Training, Tactics and Technology (September 24-26, Quincy, MA) Nationally renowned experts will discuss terrorism, emerging threats, training, tactics, and technology issues. Participants will have the opportunity to explore some of the challenges and gain a comprehensive understanding of issues related to terrorism. [View course website] Hospital Security Preparedness Course (October 29–November 1; Washington, DC) The ER One Institute at the Washington Hospital Center is holding a course for hospital protective services and law enforcement. The goal is to achieve competency in handling all hazards to hospital security, from routine situations to mass-casualty incidents and terrorist attacks against the facility. Students will experience comprehensive hands-on training, live drills, and classroom instruction from faculty with extensive security and counterterrorism experience. For more information, call Lisa Rizzolo at (202) 877-7453. [View course website] Command and General Staff Functions for Local Incident Management Teams (November 11-16; Emmitsburg, MD) The U.S. Fire Administration will train a designated team of fire, emergency medical services, public works, public health, and/or law enforcement personnel from a larger and generally more populated area, typically within a single jurisdiction (city, county, or region). They would be activated to manage an incident requiring a significant number of local and mutual aid resources. [View conference website]

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New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, new events will be moved to the Upcoming Events page) 2007 Homeland Security Symposium and Exhibition (September 5-7; Arlington, VA) This event, produced by the National Defense Industrial Association, will look at the future of homeland security, homeland defense, and related issues and highlight detailed updates of selected key homeland security programs. It will also provide an interactive forum on doing business with the Homeland Security Department and give the small business constituencies an opportunity to have their issues addressed. [View conference website] (September 11-13; Baltimore) The conference will examine biometric-based solutions for homeland security as well as the utilization of biometrics in other government and commercial applications. The Biometrics Research Symposium will be held again this year as part of the program in conjunction with the Biometrics Technology Expo. [View conference website] National First Responders’ Conference (October 1; Colorado Springs) This conference is cosponsored by the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs and the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. Topics will include “The Impact of 4th Generation Warfare on First Responders,” establishing interagency communications systems, and managing trauma. [View conference website] Homeland Defense/Homeland Security Symposium V (October 2-4; Colorado Springs) The symposium features high-level participation by the Defense and Homeland Security departments and their corporate, academic, and media counterparts for an exchange of views on how best to protect our country and our friends. International participants will offer their perspectives on our shared challenges. [View conference website] Physical and Critical Infrastructure Resilience Conference (October 9; Arlington, VA) The conference will discuss approaches to securing critical infrastructure, such as how the government and private stakeholders can work together and how to build and maintain a risk assessment, create partnerships, and reduce vulnerabilities. Speakers will discuss the nation’s physical and information technology security, including lessons learned, tools, and methods used and those that need to be developed. [View conference website] Road and Rail Security Symposium and Expo (October 29-31; Charleston, SC) Leading transportation and security professionals discuss threat assessment, prevention, and consequence management and how real the threat is to your community, business, or agency; whether you are prepared; and how to respond and where to turn for help. Networking events, tabletop displays, and presentations and workshops will facilitate industry, military, and government interaction to construct a system of prevention, mitigation, and containment and response initiatives. The expo will explore emerging technologies and the latest in products and services in transportation security and response capabilities. [View conference website] Detection Technologies 2007 (November 1-2; San Diego) This 11th conference for experts in technologies for detection and identification of biological and chemical agents and threats will explore the latest research and development as well as ready-to-market technologies and systems. [View conference website] (November 7-8; Baltimore) The Mid-Atlantic All Hazards Forum is a public-private partnership of Mid-Atlantic states and private corporations. Focusing on readiness, response, and recovery, the forum will help build communication and forge relationships between states in the Mid-Atlantic region. [View conference website] FireRescue Conference & Expo (November 7-10; Las Vegas, NV) This conference features training for leadership and an exhibit hall with the latest apparatus, equipment, product demonstrations, and national manufacturers. New this year are advanced leadership sessions and a healthy & safety education track. [View conference website] 2007 Preparing for Pandemic Influenza Training Conference (November 13-14; Arlington, VA) Medical and public health leaders will stress the importance of national, state, and local preparedness to respond to a pandemic so as to ensure the health and safety of our people. The conference will address three crucial areas: How real is the pandemic threat today, and how should you prepare to respond? How can an influenza impact your community or business, and what measures should you take to ensure business continuity? What is the best approach to properly communicate an outbreak to your staff, community, other agencies, organizations, and private institutions? [View conference website] Port Security 2007 (November 13-15; Los Angeles) The theme of this year’s conference is “Protecting the homeland’s ports by integrating force initiatives, technology and compliance standards.” Port officials will gather with their community, find out the latest mandates, and learn about new technology, [View conference website] 2007 Scientific Conference on Chemical & Biological Defense Research (November 13-15; Timonium, MD) This unclassified conference will consist of papers and poster presentations. Attendees will include government (military and civilian), academia, and industry representatives and will feature the Transformational Countermeasures Technology Initiative. [View conference website] EPA Region 4 Chemical Emergency Conference (November 15-16; Tampa, FL) This Environmental Protection Agency conference is co-located with Clean Gulf 2007. Topics will include EPA reimbursement of local government expenditures for chemical emergency cleanups under Superfund, Homeland Security Grants and NIMS compliance, the E-Plan, strengthening response through collaboration and partnerships, Hurricane Katrina lessons learned, and the EPA’s program for risk management plans under the Federal Clean Air Act, section 112(r). [View conference website] Maritime Security Expo (November 27-28; New York) This conference will cover the SAFE Port Act and the latest technology, products, and service in maritime, port, and intermodal security. [View conference website] Water Facility Security Conference (November 27-28; Arlington, VA) This conference will discuss pre- and post-disaster emergency preparedness and response. It will cover water protection methodologies and techniques, including ways to identify and mitigate problems. Industry experts will discuss how to respond and recover and how to best communicate to customers or staff. [View conference website]

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