National News

U.S. Plans to Deport Thousands of Vietnamese (Chicago Tribune) “Washington has started deportation proceedings against thousands of Vietnamese living illegally in the United States under a pact between the two countries,” reports the Associated Press. But “those who have lived in the U.S. for more than 13 years would not be deported.” [View article]

DHS photo

Destruction of CIA Interrogation Tapes Raises More Legal Problems (New York Times) Because of the destruction in 2005 of “hundreds of hours of videotapes documenting harsh interrogations” by the Central Intelligence Agency (see the Dec. 14, 2007, newsletter), “the government is fighting off challenges in several major terrorism cases and a raft of prisoners’ legal claims that it may have destroyed evidence,” reports the New York Times. “… In at least [13] lawsuits, lawyers for prisoners at Guantánamo and elsewhere have filed legal challenges citing the C.I.A. tapes’ destruction.” [View article]

Intellectual Property Crimes Increasingly Fund Terror Groups (San Francisco Chronicle) “Attorney General Michael Mukasey warned [on March 28] that the huge profits generated from piracy and counterfeiting are increasingly flowing into the coffers of terrorist groups,” reports the Associated Press. “… Mukasey said terrorists view intellectual property crimes as a low-risk way to fund international crimes.” [View article]

International News

New Pakistani Govt. Sets Its Own Course on Countering Terrorism “The new government in Islamabad has wasted little time making clear its disapproval of Washington’s policy toward Pakistan and its strategy on counterterrorism,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations. “… The new government has also made it clear that it will no longer tolerate the death of civilians in anti-militant operations, and further, it prefers negotiating with militants as a strategy to counter extremism.” [View article]

Britain Bans Early Release of Terrorists From Prison (Independent TV News, UK) “A ban on terrorists being released early from jail has been announced by Justice Secretary Jack Straw,” reports Independent Television News. “The move came after it emerged that two convicted terrorists [Yassin Nassari and Abdul Muneem] were freed early.” [View article]

Australian Court Ends Harsh Treatment of Terror Suspects (Melbourne, Australia, Age) On March 22, “Justice Bernard Bongiorno, of the Victorian Supreme Court, presiding over the trial of 12 men on terrorism-related charges, took the remarkable step of threatening to stay proceedings indefinitely, or release the men on bail until they were moved from Barwon Prison and released from high security,” according to an Age editorial. The suspects have been frequently strip-searched, shackled, and held in solitary confinement. “The men are all charged with membership of a terrorist organisation …” writes Hugh De Kretser, executive officer of the Federation of Community Legal Centres, in a commentary in the Age. “They are not charged with engaging in any terrorist act.” [View editorial] [View commentary]

Brazilian Army Deployed to Fight Dengue Fever (Miami Herald) “Brazil’s government has deployed the army in Rio de Janeiro to fight an outbreak of dengue fever … that has sickened more than 45,000 people this year,” reports the Associated Press. “… three new military field hospitals set up in Rio should help ease the shortage of hospital beds and take some of the pressure off emergency rooms packed with victims of the mosquito-borne disease.” [View article]

Algeria Blocks al-Qaeda Base on Morocco Border (Magharebia) “Algerian security forces recently foiled an al-Qaeda attempt to establish a base in the Jbel Assfour area near the Moroccan border, the [Algiers] El Khabar reported on Sunday,” according to U.S. Africa Command’s Magharebia. “… 20 members of [the] al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb tried to set up a base for cross-border weapons smuggling and carrying out terrorist attacks in Morocco.” [View article]

Al-Qaeda’s Explosives Sources in Algeria and Tunisia Dry Up (Algiers, Algeria, El Khabar) “Some surrendered and arrested terrorists in Jijel and Skikda have recognized that security tightening conducted jointly by Algeria and Tunisia on smugglers of explosives has finished by drying up Al-Qaeda sources of supply with phosphate and concentrated chemical fertilizers,” reports El Khabar. [View article]

Police in India Find Terrorist Training Camp (Times of India) Police in India have located a training base used “by Pakistan-backed terrorists” belonging to Simi (the Students Islamic Movement in India), reports the Times News Network. “The police have also discovered the existence of SIMI’s women’s wing called Shaheen Force. Police said five rounds of jihadi and explosives training were conducted at the camp in Choral, a riverside area surrounded by mountains.” [View article]

Indian Civil Defence Expands to Respond to Natural Disasters (Indian Express) India’s Civil Defence will “give its volunteers the [added] responsibility of dealing with natural disasters,” reports the Express News Service. It will induct more personnel and upgrade training facilities. [View article]

European Court Strikes Kurdistan Workers Party From Terror List (BBC) “The European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg” has ruled that the European Union’s 2002 decision to “blacklist Kurdish rebel group the PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] as a terrorist organisation and freeze its assets” was illegal (on procedural grounds), reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. [View article]

Intelligence Estimate Finds Iraqi Security Fragile; 1,000 Iraqi Police and Soldiers Desert (International Herald Tribune) “A new National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq cites significant security improvements and progress toward healing sectarian political rifts, but concludes that security remains fragile and terrorist groups remain capable of initiating large attacks,” reports the Tribune. “More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite militias in Basra last week,” reports the Tribune in a separate article. [View security article] [View desertion article]

Iraq in 2012 “What can it look like, how do we get there?” asked Carlos Pascual, Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy for the Brookings Institution, testifying yesterday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “A new approach is needed. It should be led by the UN. But in order for the UN to even consider such a role, the United States must make clear that it welcomes UN involvement and that it will coordinate military action to support the diplomatic process. All Iraqi parties that are not associated with Al Qaeda in Iraq should be given a voice in the process. To succeed, regional actors would have to endorse a political settlement, or agree at a minimum not to undermine it. If an agreement is reached, it will require international troops and oversight to implement it.” [View testimony]

Child Stabs Bush in Hamas TV Puppet Show (Fox News) “A children’s puppet show featured on Hamas TV shows a child stabbing President Bush to death,” reports Fox News. [View article]

Swiss Freeze ETA Funds (Expatica) “Authorities in Switzerland have frozen a total of EUR 3 million in bank accounts which allegedly belong to the Basque terrorist group ETA,” according to Expatica. [View article]

FARC’s Uranium Wasn’t Usable in a Dirty Bomb (Los Angeles Times) The “depleted uranium [that] Colombian officials said they found and had linked to FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] guerrillas [see last week’s newsletter] … poses little, if any, health hazard,” reports the Los Angeles Times. But “U.S. officials said they were not dismissing Bogota’s claim that the rebel group intended to procure deadly weapons.” [View article]

Wilders Publishes Fitna (Washington Post) “A Dutch lawmaker [Geert Wilders] known for his outspoken opposition to immigration posted a graphic film depicting Islam as a religion of violence on a maverick video-sharing Web site [March 27] after government and religious officials spent weeks trying to prevent its release,” reports the Washington Post. Website-hosting company Network Solutions censored the site on which Wilders planned to release the video. (See last week’s newsletter.) Fitna is “the Arabic word for chaos or strife.” [View article]

Palestinian Authority Gets New Trial Over Terrorism Damages (Washington Post) “The Palestinian Authority won a major legal victory when” U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero “agreed to set aside a judgment of nearly $200 million awarded to American victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel and allow a new trial”—but only “only if the Palestinian Authority [puts] up a $192.7 million bond to ensure that it does not default again if it loses in court,” reports the Washington Post. “… he also ordered the Palestinians to reimburse the plaintiffs for previous legal expenses.” [View article]

Sri Lanka Posters Offer New Life to Suicide Bombers (Reuters) “Sri Lanka has launched a mystery poster campaign inviting would-be Tamil Tiger suicide bombers to phone a government helpline in exchange for 10 million rupees ($92,000) and a new life overseas,” reports Reuters. [View article]

Widow of Terror Victim Has Foundation to Aid Children in Terror-Prone Countries (Yahoo! News 7, Australia) “Five years after her husband was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq, … Ivana Moran is doing what she can to help tackle the causes of terrorism,” reports Agence France-Presse. “ABC cameraman Paul Moran was the victim of a bombing in Kurdistan just two days after the war started.… ‘I have never been angry with this person. It was a young Saudi national who was the suicide bomber—that was his choice but I felt sorry for his mother because I felt sure that deep inside she was very sorry to lose her son.’… She established the Paul Moran Foundation [for] ‘children especially in the Middle East … Maybe they will not be seduced by these ideas of terrorism, maybe they will be more educated and clever enough when the time comes for them to be approached by extremists that they will say “no”.’” [View article]

British Commonwealth Offers Police Counterterror Training in the Caribbean Senior police officers and prosecutors from six Caribbean countries were among 40+ participants in a counter-terrorism course in Kingston, Jamaica, this week. The course was organized by Jamaica’s Justice Training Institute in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat. It covers intelligence gathering and use, investigating and financing terrorism, coordinating with border control agencies, international cooperation, and other related subjects. The Commonwealth Secretariat has assisted member countries in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific with training. [View press release]

Three Charged in Danish Terror Case (International Herald Tribune) “Danish prosecutors filed terror charges Tuesday against two alleged Islamic militants accused of preparing explosives for a terrorist attack in Denmark or abroad,” reports the Associated Press. “A third man was charged in the case for allegedly urging the kidnapping of Danes abroad as a way to force Danish authorities to release the other two.” [View article]

United Nations News

Al-Qaeda Defends Attacks Against UN (BBC) “Al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri has defended attacks on the UN, describing the body as an enemy of Muslims,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. [View article]

UN Says States Must Refrain From Profiling While Combating Terrorism The United Nations Human Rights Council on March 28 passed a resolution calling on states to not resort to racial, ethnic, or religious profiling while countering terrorism and urging them to fully comply with their obligations regarding torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. It also “opposes any form of deprivation of liberty that amounts to placing a detained person outside of the protection of the law.” [View press release]

DHS News

All States and Territories Get Real ID Extensions The Homeland Security Department has granted Real ID extensions to all 56 U.S. states and territories, ensuring that driver’s licenses and ID cards across the country will achieve a higher security standard, and that all will continue to be acceptable for official purposes after the May 11, 2008, deadline mandated by Congress in the Real ID Act of 2005. Four states were facing penalties next month (see last week’s newsletter). [View press release]

FEMA Scientist Says He Was Told to Keep Quiet About Formaldehyde (Government Executive) “Christopher De Rosa, a top scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s toxic substances agency, said his bosses told him that his warnings of a ‘pending public health catastrophe’ could be misinterpreted if publicly released,” reports the Associated Press. He “says he was instructed last year not to engage in e-mail discussions about potentially severe health risks from formaldehyde contamination in government-issued trailers housing Gulf Coast hurricane victims.” [View article]

Strategic Solution for US-VISIT Needs Improvement, Says GAO The Homeland Security Department “has partially defined a strategic solution for meeting” the goals of the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, according to the Government Accountability Office. But “the program office has yet to define and economically justify a comprehensive strategic solution for controlling and monitoring the exit of foreign visitors, which is critical to accomplishing the program’s goals.” [View GAO summary] [View Focus on US-VISIT]

DHS Says First Responders Resist Communications Sharing (Government Executive) “Testifying before the House Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee, Jay Cohen, the” Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology, said that the department “has made significant progress toward providing first responders with interoperable radio technology but” that “first responders were not always enthusiastic about sharing communications,” reports CongressDaily. [View article]

DHS Inspector General Notes Moderate Progress at FEMA (Government Executive) “The Federal Emergency Management Agency has not made substantial progress in key emergency preparedness areas, the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general [Richard Skinner] says in a new report. Instead, FEMA has made moderate to modest progress in eight of nine of the most important preparedness areas, according to the report, which was not released but was obtained by CongressDaily.” [View article]

Other Federal News

State Dept. Antiterrorism Assistance Program Needs Better Guidance and Assessments, Says GAO The U.S. State Department’s Antiterrorism Assistance Program aims “to provide partner nations with counterterrorism training and equipment, improve bilateral ties, and increase respect for human rights,” notes the Government Accountability Office. But the department’s Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism “provides minimal guidance to help prioritize” the program’s recipients, and that office and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of Antiterrorism Assistance, “do not systematically align” assistance under the program “with U.S. assessments of foreign partner counterterrorism needs.” [View GAO summary]

Federal Railroad Administration Proposes ‘Revolutionary’ Strengthening of Hazmat Rail Tankers (Baltimore Sun) “The Federal Railroad Administration has proposed what it calls ‘sweeping’ and ‘revolutionary’ changes in standards for the construction of the railroad tank cars that carry the most dangerous chemicals,” reports the Sun. “… The new rules would strengthen the tankers to prevent penetration and ruptures at speeds up to 30 mph and slow some freights hauling dangerous cargo until the older tankers are replaced. Railroads and chemical companies would have to replace half the 15,300 tank cars used to transport chlorine and anhydrous ammonia with stronger models within five years of the rules’ enactment. The entire fleet would be replaced within eight years.” [View article]

State and Local News

Boise, ID, Places 10th on Terror Target List (Los Angeles Times) “In a study funded by the Homeland Security Department, Idaho’s state capital” is number 10 “among 132 urban centers ranked by vulnerability based on a unique mathematical calculation,” reports the Los Angeles Times. Boise “faces high risk from extreme events such as wildfires or failure of a large dam upstream … The index says more about experience and ability to cope than about where terrorists might strike.” [View article]

Shootings on California Highways; Suspects Arrested in Virginia Shootings (Los Angeles Times; San Francisco Chronicle; Charlottesville, VA, Daily Progress) “A Los Angeles man … was found fatally wounded with a gunshot to the head … on the Ventura Freeway … on Sunday,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “… On Saturday night, another man was shot in his car in Long Beach.” “At least seven shootings in the past six weeks along major roadways have resulted in five deaths and several injuries,” reports the Chronicle. Two teenagers in Virginia “were arrested [March 28] and face numerous felony charges in connection with the Interstate 64 sniper shootings,” reports the Daily Progress. (See last week’s newsletter.) [View Times article] [View Chronicle article] [View Daily Progress article]

Jamaican Passenger With Bomb-Making Materials Arrested at Orlando, FL, Airport (ABC Action News, Tampa, FL; Time) “A man was arrested Tuesday at Orlando International Airport carrying materials in his luggage that could have been used for an explosive device,” reports the Associated Press. “… Federal behavioral specialists spotted Kevin Brown acting suspicious around noon in the ticketing area. A search of his luggage revealed two galvanized pipes, end caps, two small containers containing BBs, batteries, two containers with an unknown liquid, laptop, and bomb making literature.” “The officer who tagged Brown was trained in reading body language and behavior detection, specifically in sensing micro-expressions on a person’s face,” reports Time. [View ABC article] [View Time article]

Florida Man With Weapons Cache Threatened Massacre (Miami Herald) “On March 27, Homestead police arrested” Cho Seung-Hui “and charged him with making threats over the Internet,” reports the Miami Herald. “Police also confiscated a cache of high-powered weapons and armor-piercing bullets.” In a “conversation that was posted on a gun enthusiast website,” he had threatened “to re-create the worst mass shooting in U.S. history [Virginia Tech].” [View article]

New Mexico Towns Are Counterterror Training Grounds (Time) Playas is home to a training center for response to incidents involving high explosives; it is “funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and run by New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology,” reports Time. Another facility is “in the mountains outside Socorro … Since 2001, the two antiterrorist centers in New Mexico have graduated 37,000 first responders, who have in turn passed on their training to 250,000 of their colleagues back home.” [View article]

Dallas Aims for Citywide Public-Private Emergency Response Partnership (Dallas Morning News) “Representatives from public and private organizations met Tuesday at the first Dallas Emergency Response Team (DERT) conference to expand the partnership model citywide,” reports the Dallas Morning News. The purpose of “DERT’s public-private partnership [is] to improve communication between business organizations and public safety departments before a disaster happens. The DERT plan is in place in two of the seven Dallas Police Department patrol districts.” [View article]

Man Gets 20-Month Sentence in Fort Dix Plot (Google News) “A man [Agron Abdullahu] who admitted letting a group of accused terror-plotters shoot his guns at a firing range was sentenced to 20 months in prison Monday,” reports the Associated Press. Abdullahu “was arrested last May with five men who are charged with conspiring to kill soldiers on Fort Dix” in New Jersey. [View article]

Private-Sector News

Nicom Gets Contract for Delaware River Port Logistics Nicom IT Solutions of Halifax, Nova Scotia, has won a contract to rebuild the port logistics system for the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay. The web-based Maritime On-Line system will collect and report vessel movements, cargo manifests, customs and border requirements, and advanced arrival and departure schedules. [View press release]

DHS Buys LaserCard Encoding for Green Cards U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will buy a $3 million supply of optical memory cards for its U.S. Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”) program. [View press release]

Dual-Benefit Solutions

Ezenia Looks to Commercial Sales of InfoWorkSpace (Manchester, NH, Union Leader) “Ezenia is positioning itself to move beyond” the homeland security and defense markets “into other public agencies and the private sector,” reports the Union Leader. “… Ezenia’s primary product is called InfoWorkSpace. The software allows companies to collaborate and communicate over a secure network, including audio and video capabilities. When the military went into Iraq in 2003, InfoWorkSpace went with it.” [View article]

Dual-benefit news archive

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. Airport Security (July 4; London) This class will teach best practices, identity screening, and requirements for improving current capabilities. Experts will explain initiatives to combat and prevent current threats, their approaches and operational challenges, and how to improve security. [View conference website] Executive Program in Counter-Terrorism (August 3-8; Los Angeles) This course is designed to challenge international counter-terrorism leaders—specifically public-sector professionals and policymakers—and enhance their analysis, coordination, and response capabilities. It employs an interdisciplinary academic and experiential learning environment. Participants will strengthen their cross-functional skills through immersion in key issues and best practices presented by world-class research and public policy experts. The program will foster academic, professional, and personal development amid a diverse group of peers from around the world. The application deadline is May 15. [View course website]

New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, events are moved to the Upcoming Events page) (April 22-24; Kansas City, MO) At this symposium presented by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Heart of America Joint Terrorism Task Force, more than 1,000 individuals from 21 countries are expected to hear experts discuss agroterrorism, interact with one another, and see products and services in the exhibit hall. [View conference website] Infrastructure Security Partnership Breakfast With Chris Geldart (April 24; Washington, DC) Chris Geldart, Director of National Capital Region Coordination for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will discuss FEMA activities related to critical infrastructure resilience. Registration deadline is 1 pm Eastern Daylight Time on April 22. [View breakfast website] Trucking Security & Law Enforcement Conference & Exhibition (April 29–May 1; Long Beach, CA) The conference will cover business resiliency, cargo theft task forces, interviewing & interrogation, advanced investigation techniques, security assessments, corporate security reviews, and security audits. [View conference website] Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education Conference (May 31–June 2; Emmitsburg, MD) Representatives from fire-related degree programs, state and local fire service training agencies, and national fire service organizations attend this three-day conference with presentations by national leaders and experts. Participation in the conference is by invitation only to those in the target audiences. [View conference website] Sound Transit photo Road and Rail Security Symposium & Expo West 2008 (June 2-3; Tacoma, WA) The symposium will address key issues facing road and rail security on the home front: Is there a real threat? How are we preventing or mitigating the threat? Presentations by transportation and security professionals will include threat assessment, prevention, and consequence management. Through April 21, all military, government, and law enforcement personnel may register for the presentations and speaker sessions at no charge. The symposium will be co-located with the Pacific Northwest National Security Forum and the SpecOps West Symposium & Expo. [View conference website] National Conference on Animals in Disaster (June 2-6; Sacramento, CA) This conference for emergency managers and responders, animal care and control professionals, veterinary professionals, and volunteers will discuss where local organizations can go for help, the National Response Framework, post-Katrina reforms, the PETS Act, and realistic approaches to emergency education and sheltering. It will cover exercises to test disaster planning, disaster-resilient communities, tools and techniques for large and small animal rescue, animal first aid, volunteers, and private-public partnerships that work. [View conference website]