International News

Bhutto Assassination Sparks Chaos in Pakistan (Washington Post; Christian Science Monitor; USA Today; CNN) Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated December 27 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, reports the Washington Post. Her death “creates a massive political void in this nuclear-armed nation of 165 million people and opens the door to potentially greater violence … It leaves in tatters Washington’s strategy of fighting extremism by pairing Bhutto with President Pervez Musharraf, a close U.S. ally who has been under siege in the streets for months.” An October attack on Bhutto when she returned to Pakistan from exile killed more than 125 people (see the Oct. 25 newsletter). “Benazir Bhutto’s party named her son and husband as new leaders,” reports the Christian Science Monitor. “The United States provided a steady stream of intelligence to Benazir Bhutto about threats against her,” reports the Associated Press, and “on the day she died, Benazir Bhutto planned to hand over to visiting U.S. lawmakers a report accusing Pakistan’s intelligence services of a plot to rig parliamentary elections,” reports CNN. [View Post article] [View Monitor article] [View AP article] [View CNN article]

Al-Qaeda Network Expands Base in Pakistan (New York Times) “The Qaeda network accused by Pakistan’s government of killing the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is increasingly made up not of foreign fighters but of homegrown Pakistani militants bent on destabilizing the country,” reports the New York Times. The “Pakistani militants … have very clearly expanded their ranks and turned to a direct confrontation with the Pakistani security forces while also aiming at political figures like Ms. Bhutto.” [View article]

Jihadists in Jails Win Leverage Over Their Keepers (New York Times) “Even as more and more militants are imprisoned around the world—often by governments with records of conducting extreme interrogations—the prisoners are managing to gain a kind of crude leverage over security officials who are struggling to figure out how to handle them,” reports the New York Times. “Draconian, or even strict, treatment of radical inmates can lead to prison unrest and public condemnation, particularly in countries with sizable Muslim populations. At the same time, officials fear that militants given free rein are more likely to turn prisons into prime grounds for radicalization and recruiting.… Dennis Pluchinsky, a former senior intelligence analyst at the State Department, … estimated that there were 5,000 jihadi inmates and detainees worldwide, not counting those held in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that only 15 percent had received life sentences or the death penalty, meaning the rest would eventually be set free.” [View article]

Marine Faces Lesser Charges in Iraq Deaths (MSNBC) “Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich—“will be court-martialed on reduced charges in the killings of 24 Iraqi men, women and children in the town of Haditha in 2005,” reports the Associated Press. “… Wuterich, 27, of Meriden, Conn., will stand trial on charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice. No trial date was set.… Wuterich’s prosecution is part of the biggest U.S. criminal case involving civilian deaths to come out of the Iraq war. Four enlisted Marines were initially charged with murder in the case, and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges against several of the men have been dropped, and none will face murder charges.” [View article]

24 European Nations Now Share Common Border (Melbourne, Australia, Age) “Europe edged a step closer to full integration [on Dec. 21] with the removal of many of the region’s last internal border posts, a move that will entrust the European Union’s nine newest members with policing its eastern frontiers,” reports the Age. Now “European residents will be able to traverse most of the continent by road or sea without showing a passport or national ID card”—a “move towards the long-held goal of many European leaders of a borderless Europe.… Not all European countries have signed up for borderless travel. Britain and Ireland decided not to join.” [View article]

Russia Blocked 120 Nuclear Smuggling Attempts in 2007 (London Telegraph) Russian “customs officials thwarted more than 120 attempts to smuggle ‘highly radioactive’ material out of the country last year,” reports the Telegraph. “… A further 722 cases of illegal importing of highly radio-active material into Russia were detected—possible evidence of a dangerous trade between ex-Soviet states.” [View article]

Sino-Indian Army Exercises Bring Two Asian Powers Closer (Christian Science Monitor) When “95 Indian soldiers” participated “in counterterrorism drills” last month “in China’s Yunnan Province,” it was “the first time the two [nations’] armies have cooperated in such a way, and it comes on the heels of rapidly expanding Sino-Indian ties in business and politics,” reports the Christian Science Monitor. [View article]

Bin Laden Threatens Israel (New York Times) “Osama bin Laden warned Iraq’s Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaida and vowed to expand the terror group’s holy war to Israel in a new audiotape” on December 29, reports the Associated Press. [View article]

Iraq Children ‘Paying High Price’ (BBC) “In a report entitled ‘Little Respite for Iraq’s Children in 2007’, Unicef said Iraqi children continued to pay too high a price for their country’s turmoil, and that this year things had got worse,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “The report said an average [of] 25,000 children per month were being displaced from their homes as their families fled violence or intimidation. By the end of the year, 75,000 children had resorted to living in camps or temporary shelters.” [View article]

Bin Laden’s Driver Is Not POW, U.S. Judge Says (Reuters) “Osama bin Laden’s driver is not a prisoner of war as defined by the Geneva Conventions and can be tried by a Guantanamo war crimes tribunal, a U.S. military judge”—Navy Capt. Keith Allred—“ruled in a decision made public on” December 20, reports Reuters. “… Yemeni prisoner Salim Ahmed Hamdan is an ‘unlawful enemy combatant’ under the law passed by Congress [in 2006] to provide a legal basis to try non-Americans on terrorism charges in a special war crimes court at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.” The trial “will be the third attempt to try [Hamdan] after earlier charges were thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court and Allred.” [View article]

Iran Cited in Iraq’s Decline in Violence (Washington Post) “The Iranian government has decided ‘at the most senior levels’ to rein in the violent Shiite militias it supports in Iraq, a move reflected in a sharp decrease in sophisticated roadside bomb attacks over the past several months, according to the State Department’s top official on Iraq,” reports the Washington Post. “Tehran’s decision does not necessarily mean the flow of those weapons from Iran has stopped, but the decline in their use and in overall attacks ‘has to be attributed to an Iranian policy decision,’ [said] David M. Satterfield, Iraq coordinator and senior adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.” [View article]

Beijing Will Monitor Food Safety During Olympics (China View) “A special monitoring center for food safety will be set up for this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing …” reports the Xinhua News Agency. “The Olympic Food Safety Command Center … will be in a centralized command of food safety work.” [View article]

National News

On-Call Specialists at Emergency Rooms Are Getting Harder to Find and Keep (Washington Post) “Hospital emergency departments across the United States, already struggling with overcrowding and growing patient loads, are increasingly unable to find specialists to help treat seriously injured and ill patients …” reports the Washington Post. “Crucial minutes, hours and even days can go by as patients suffering from trauma, strokes, broken bones and other maladies await evaluations by neurologists, orthopedic surgeons and other specialists because hospitals are having difficulty getting them to serve 24-hour emergency ‘on-call’ shifts.” [View article]

Batteries Banned From Airline Checked Baggage (Google News) “To help reduce the risk of fires, air travelers” are not allowed “loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning Jan. 1,” reports the Associated Press. “… Passengers can still check baggage with lithium batteries if they are installed in electronic devices, such as cameras, cell phones and laptop computers. If packed in plastic bags, batteries may be in carryon baggage. The limit is two batteries per passenger.” [View article]

‘Jetlagged’ Experts Take on Airport Security (New York Times) The Times “asked seven writers with long experience in the industry to comment on the state of commercial air travel.” Two—Patrick Smith (a commercial airline pilot and author of Ask the Pilot) and Clark Kent Ervin (Director of the Aspen Institute’s Homeland Security Program and former DHS Inspector General)—addressed security in particular. In “The Airport Security Follies” (see the Quote of the Week), Smith criticizes the reactionary posture of the Transportation Security Administration. In “Screening Dreams,” Ervin says that the TSA has been lucky rather than good. He also asks, “Where Should Airport Security Begin?” and “Will More Eyes Make Us Safer?” [View “Jetlagged” blog]

Security Concerns About Electronic Passports (Washington Post) “The federal government will soon offer passport cards equipped with electronic data chips to U.S. citizens who travel frequently between the United States and Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean,” reports the Washington Post. “The cards can be read wirelessly from 20 feet, offering convenience to travelers but raising security and privacy concerns about the possibility of data being intercepted.… The government said that to protect the data against copying or theft, the chip will contain a unique identifying number linked to information in a secure government database but not to names, Social Security numbers or other personal information.” [View article]

New Law Regulates Ammonium Nitrate Sales (Los Angeles Times) “Congress quietly passed legislation [last] month to regulate sales” of ammonium nitrate, reports the Los Angeles Times. The Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007, signed December 26 by President Bush, “requires licensing for ammonium nitrate facilities, registration for purchasers, and a framework for establishing what forms of ammonium nitrate will be regulated … About 8 billion pounds of ammonium nitrate is used in the U.S. annually, split about evenly between the agriculture and explosives industries.” It was used by Timothy McVeigh “to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building” in 1995. [View article]

Criminal Probe Opened Over CIA Tapes (Washington Post) “The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes [see the Dec. 14 newsletter] and Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed an outside prosecutor [John Durham] to oversee the case,” reports the Associated Press. “… The CIA has already agreed to open its files to congressional investigators, who have begun reviewing documents at the agency’s Virginia headquarters. The House Intelligence Committee has ordered Jose Rodriguez, the former CIA official who directed [that] the tapes be destroyed, to appear at a hearing Jan. 16.” [View article]

U.S. Navy photo

Ruling Against Holy Land Foundation Is Overturned (Washington Post) “A federal appeals court in Chicago [on Dec. 28] overturned a $156 million jury award against … defunct charities, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, and the American Muslim Society/Islamic Association for Palestine” stating “that the plaintiffs failed to prove that financial contributions to a Palestinian terrorist group played a direct role in the slaying of an American teenager in Israel,” reports the Washington Post. The ruling by “U.S. District Judge Arlander Keys … sends the case back to the lower court for a possible new trial.” [View article]

United Nations News

UN Emerges as Global Target for al-Qaeda Attacks (Washington Post) In 2007 “al-Qaeda affiliates … threatened or targeted U.N. officials and peacekeepers in conflict zones in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and southern Lebanon,” reports the Washington Post. The U.N. has spent “millions of dollars in fortifying its facilities and convoys in response to threats in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the Algiers attack” on December 11 (see the Dec. 14 newsletter) “provided a blunt reminder of how vulnerable the international organization is, even in relatively peaceful locales” and “raised concerns that more than a decade of efforts by the U.N. Security Council to check the influence of al-Qaeda and other radical Islamic movements has exposed U.N. humanitarian agencies to new dangers.” [View article]

Emergency Operation to Feed 1 Million Displaced Iraqis The United Nations World Food Programme this week launched a $126 million yearlong emergency operation to feed more than 1 million displaced Iraqis who are unable to meet their basic needs due to the violence wracking the country. Some 750,000 of the most vulnerable Iraqis displaced within the country will benefit from the program, as will more than 360,000 others who have fled to Syria. [View press release]

State and Local News

Arizona Law Punishes Employers Who Hire Illegal Workers (Christian Science Monitor) “A new law in Arizona that [took] effect Jan. 1 aims to punish employers who hire workers without valid US residency … taking away a business’s license if the employer is caught more than once with illegal workers (even ones with fake documents),” reports the Monitor. [View article]

DHS News

GAO Finds Weaknesses in Traveler Inspections at Ports of Entry U.S. Customs and Border Protection “has had some success in identifying inadmissible aliens and other violators, but weaknesses in its operations increase the potential that terrorists and inadmissible travelers could enter the country,” reports the Government Accountability Office. “In fiscal year 2006, CBP turned away over 200,000 inadmissible aliens and interdicted other violators,” but “CBP estimated that several thousand inadmissible aliens and other violators entered the country though ports of entry” that same year. [View summary]

DHS Awards First Responder Grants for 2007 The Homeland Security Department on December 20 announced $34 million in fiscal year 2007 grants to fund equipment and training for first responders. (Fiscal year 2007 ended September 30.) [View press release]

SBINet News The December issue of the Secure Border Initiative newsletter has articles on Project 28 (see the Dec. 14 newsletter), 2007 accomplishments, and the environmental impact of the fence on the Texas-Mexico border. [View newsletter (921 KB PDF)]

Other Federal News

FBI Prepares Vast Database of Biometrics (Washington Post) The Federal Bureau of Investigation “is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world’s largest computer database of peoples’ physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad,” reports the Washington Post. “Digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns are already flowing into FBI systems in a climate-controlled, secure basement.” In January, “the FBI intends to award a 10-year contract that would significantly expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives. And in the coming years, law enforcement authorities around the world will be able to rely on iris patterns, face-shape data, scars and perhaps even the unique ways people walk and talk, to solve crimes and identify criminals and terrorists. The FBI will also retain, upon request by employers, the fingerprints of employees who have undergone criminal background checks so the employers can be notified if employees have brushes with the law.” [View article]

Public Policy Options for the Federal Role in Natural Catastrophe Insurance “The federal government and some states have developed natural catastrophe insurance programs that supplement or substitute for private natural catastrophe insurance,” notes the Government Accountability Office. “… GAO estimates that the federal government made about $26 billion available to homeowners who lacked adequate insurance in response to the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.” The GAO has identified “policy options for tax-based incentives for insurance companies, homeowners, investors, and state governments. But these options, which could help recipients better address catastrophe risk, could also result in ongoing costs to taxpayers.” [View summary]

U.S. Sentences Indonesian Man for Supporting Tamil Tigers On December 14 in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake sentenced Haji Subandi, age 70, a citizen of Indonesia, to 37 months in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (the Tamil Tigers, an armed revolutionary group in Sri Lanka), two counts of money laundering, and attempted exportation of arms and munitions. Subandi attempted to purchase surface-to-air missiles, night-vision devices, and machine guns and other firearms. [View press release]

Private-Sector News

American Companies Assist China With Surveillance (New York Times) “In preparation for the Beijing Olympics and a series of other international events, some American companies are helping the Chinese government design and install one of the most comprehensive high-tech public surveillance systems in the world,” reports the New York Times. “… The Commerce Department … says the sophisticated systems being installed, by companies like Honeywell, General Electric, United Technologies and I.B.M., do not run afoul of the ban on providing China with ‘crime control or detection instruments or equipment.’” After the Olympics, “security industry experts say, the surveillance equipment that Western companies leave behind will provide the authorities [there] with new tools to track not only criminals, but dissidents too.… Indeed, the autumn issue of the magazine of China’s public security ministry prominently listed places of religious worship and Internet cafes as locations to install new cameras.” [View article]

Dual-Benefit Solutions

Horizons-2 Satellite Boosts U.S. Coast Security (United Press International) “Intelsat has launched a new Horizons-2 satellite to aid U.S. East Coast homeland security operations …” reports UPI. “‘Through a specialized capability, the satellite will support a number of comms-on-the-move applications for government customers. Its unique boomerang beam will support littoral water operations off the U.S. eastern seaboard for homeland security, ship-to-shore communications and cargo tracking,’ Intelsat said.” [View article]

Dual-benefit news archive

New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, events are moved to the Upcoming Events page) 3rd Annual CBRN Conference (January 22-24; Tysons Corner, VA) This conference will focus on interagency cooperation, preparedness, and discussion of how intelligence can be shared nationally and internationally, complemented by an in-depth look at advances in technology for detection and personal protection and a consideration of standardization in training to counter chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. A preconference workshop will cover “Preparing for and Responding to Bioterrorism and Other Public Health Emergencies.” [View conference website] Information Exchange and Interoperability for Homeland Security Conference (January 23-24; Sierra Vista, AZ) The Association of Old Crows, the U.S. Army Intelligence Center, and Fort Huachuca present speakers from the military, CIA, DHS, fusion centers, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in an interactive setting covering best practices from fusion centers and discussions and presentations on capability gaps, with a session for industry to present what is on the horizon to mitigate these gaps. [View conference website] Infrastructure Security Partnership breakfast (January 24; Washington, DC) Major General Don T. Riley, Director of Civil Works, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will discuss critical infrastructure resilience. For more information, contact Catherine Tehan at ctehan@asce.org. [View event website] 2008 Railway Security Forum and Expo (January 28-29; Arlington, VA) Speakers and panels will cover resiliency, emergency preparedness, lessons from tragedy and handling major events, security funding, intelligence sharing, and security for infrastructure, rolling stock, and hazmats. Security technology vendors will host tabletop exhibits. The conference runs concurrently with Maritime & Port Security 2008. [View conference website] Maritime & Port Security 2008 (January 28-29; Arlington, VA) Speakers and panels will cover container security, scanning, seafarers as a link in the maritime security chain, and more. Security technology vendors will host tabletop exhibits. The conference runs concurrently with the 2008 Railway Security Forum and Expo. [View conference website] (January 30-31; Atlanta) Officials representing local, state, and federal governments, along with representatives of the health information technology industry, will discuss and identify ways that local governments can use IT to better manage their health services and operations. [View conference website] Second National Emergency Management Summit (February 3-5; Washington, DC) This forum on medical preparedness and response to disasters, epidemics, and terrorism will cover more than 50 topics in emergency management. Preconference sessions are “Preparing for a Pandemic” and “Hospital Surge Capacity Update.” [View conference website] CBRNE Defence Capabilities Europe 2008 (February 19-21; Brussels, Belgium) Delegates will hear about international cooperation, technological developments and requirements, training, and policy coordination for countering the use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-explosive weapons use, covering detection, identification, force protection, and decontamination. [View conference website] Homeland Security Innovation Conference (February 20-22; Charleston, SC) This year’s theme is “Current Challenges and Real Time Solutions for Resiliency.” It will also cover the international security perspective and the Safe Port Act and feature a technology showcase. [View conference website] Infrastructure Security Partnership breakfast (February 21; Washington, DC) Dennis R. Schrader, professional engineer and Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness, will discuss critical infrastructure resilience. For more information, contact Catherine Tehan at ctehan@asce.org. [View event website] (February 24-27; Baltimore) This meeting will bring together decision makers who are shaping the future biodefense research agenda and those who are carrying out research to defend against the growing threat of bioterrorism, recognizing that emerging infectious diseases serve as a paradigm for handling the public threat of bioterrorism. [View conference website] (February 27-28; Washington, DC) This conference, sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, will cover critical issues facing the United States in the fight against terrorism and offer an opportunity to engage in dialogue with key government and industry executives. [View conference website] Supply Chain Security Training Seminar (February 27-29; New Orleans) This seminar is for certified partners of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. [View conference website] 6th International Bird Flu Summit (March 27-28; Bali, Indonesia) Top leaders and key decision-makers of major companies representing a broad range of industries will meet with distinguished scientists, public health officials, law enforcers, first responders, and other experts to discuss pandemic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. Attendees will draw on firsthand best practices to create solid business continuity plans. [View conference website]