International News

Myanmar Accepts Some UN and Foreign Aid (Reuters AlertNet) “Relief workers had [as of Wednesday] been able to reach only a quarter of those in need among an estimated 2.4 million people made destitute by the May 2 storm and sea surge that left nearly 134,000 dead or missing,” reports Reuters. (See the May 9 newsletter.) The UN World Food Programme received permission for nine helicopters “to airlift supplies,” and 40 U.S. military flights have brought in “367 tonnes of relief supplies.” Meanwhile, “U.S. Navy ships laden with supplies” remain offshore, despite the country’s “unwillingness to accept assistance from the vessels.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is scheduled to meet with “the military government’s Senior General Than Shwe” today. [View article]

China Accepts Foreign Help for Earthquake Relief (ChannelNewsAsia; Google News; Times of India; Yahoo! News) Rescue workers from Japan, Britain, France, Russia, South Korea, and Singapore have been admitted to China to assist in relief efforts following last week’s earthquake, reports Agence France-Presse. (See last week’s newsletter.) It is “the first time the Chinese government has accepted foreign professionals for a domestic disaster rescue and relief operation.” In addition, “the United States is providing China with satellite imagery of reservoirs, roads and bridges damaged in the earthquake,” reports Agence France-Presse in a separate article. “At least 200 relief workers have been killed in mudslides caused by aftershocks,” reports the Times News Network, and “more than 30 sources of radiation were buried by debris,” reports the Associated Press. [View foreign aid article] [View satellite article] [View mudslide article] [View radiation article]

Anti-Immigrant Violence in South Africa (New York Times; MSNBC) South Africa “is undergoing a spasm of xenophobia, with poor South Africans taking out their rage on the poor foreigners living in their midst,” reports the New York Times. “The army was deployed Thursday to help quell anti-foreigner violence that has killed at least 42 people and shredded South Africa’s reputation for economic and political stability,” reports the Associated Press. “… More than 13,000 foreigners have been forced out of their homes by the violence.” [View Times article] [View AP article]

Italian Police Crack Down After Anti-Immigrant Violence (CNN) “Frustration with illegal immigrants turned to rage last week when an angry mob attacked a Roma gypsy camp outside of Naples … forcing residents to flee under police protection,” reports CNN. Then “a nationwide police sweep targeted streets, houses, and gypsy camps” and “resulted in some 400 arrests, mostly for drug dealing, prostitution, and robbery” but “the Interior Ministry has said there will be no mass expulsions of illegal immigrants.” [View article]

Red Cross and Red Crescent Arrange Video Meetings Between Afghan Detainees and Families (MSNBC) “Via a video conference connection provided by the U.S. military and set up at the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul … more than 600 family video conference calls” this year have permitted detainees to converse with their families, reports NBC. Families are located “with the help of the Afghan Red Crescent Society,” and their “travel expenses, food and lodging are paid for by the Red Cross.… The U.S. military is holding” 600 to “650 detainees at the highly secretive Bagram detention center … There are cases of detainees held without charges for as long as five years.” (See the March 7 newsletter.) [View article]

Highest Eta Commander Arrested (BBC) “The most senior commander of the Basque separatist movement, Eta, has been arrested in a joint Spanish-French operation,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “… Javier Lopez Pena—alias ‘Thierry’—was seized with three other Eta suspects in” France. [View article]

British Govt. Wants Database of Citizens’ Phone Calls, Emails, and Web Page Visits (London Telegraph; Computer Weekly) The British Home Office wants to “create a database to store the details of every phone call made, every email sent and every web page visited by British citizens in the previous year,” reports the Telegraph. “… The security services and police would then be able to access records for any individual … by gaining permission through the courts.” The program “would require the development of untried technology,” reports Computer Weekly. [View Telegraph article] [View Computer Weekly article]

Scotland Yard’s Antiterror Unit Loses Surveillance Powers (London Times) “Scotland Yard’s anti-terror unit has been stripped of its control over covert surveillance teams in an attempt to ward off further criticism over the [mistaken] shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes,” reports the Times. (See the Nov. 4, 2005, newsletter.) [View article]

Former Hijacker Works for British Airways (London Telegraph) “Nazamuddin Mohammidy, 34, was one of a gang of nine that threatened to blow up an internal flight in Afghanistan” in 2000, reports the Telegraph. He “is now working as an office cleaner for British Airways.… Mohammidy was jailed for 30 months for his part in the hijacking but all of the gang members later had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal, which decided they had been acting under duress as they fled the Taliban.… The men … said they considered themselves to be allies of Britain in its struggle against terrorism.” [View article]

Combatting Terror in Pakistan Requires a Plan, Says GAO “The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven in Pakistan’s” Federally Administered Tribal Areas, reports the Government Accountability Office. Al-Qaeda has “established a safe haven” there and is using the area “to put into place the last elements necessary to launch another attack against America.” And although the United States has given Pakistan almost $6 billion in military aid, “since 2002, the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan has not had a Washington-supported, comprehensive plan to combat terrorists and close the terrorist safe haven.” [View GAO summary]

Progress Toward Peace in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel? (Washington Post) An “agreement Wednesday to end an 18-month crisis that brought Lebanon to the brink of civil war has redrawn the map of this fractious country, delivering the Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah a decisive say in the country’s government,” reports the Washington Post. “… But the deal … was more a respite than a resolution.” Also, “Israel and Syria disclosed Wednesday that they have been holding indirect talks through Turkish mediators since February 2007 and pledged in a joint statement to pursue negotiations ‘with good faith and an open mind,’” reports the Post. (See the Quote of the Week.) [View Lebanon article] [View Israel-Syria article]

Qatar Hosts Muslim-Jewish-Christian Conference (Yahoo! News) “More than a dozen rabbis, including two from Israel,” attended a “rare meeting of Muslim, Christian and Jewish scholars in the heartland of conservative Islam” last week, reports the Associated Press. [View article]

DHS News

Detainee Health Care Is Improving, Says ICE Chief (Washington Post) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement inherited “the detainee health-care systems … and is making substantial improvements,” writes Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Julie Myers, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the Washington Post. A Washington Post series (see last week’s newsletter) and other press reports about detainee health care were “misleading,” says Myers, because, for example, “the mortality rate” among people detained by her agency “has declined every year” since 2004, there has been no suicide “in the past 15 months,” and 11 months ago, the agency began “requiring a court order before any involuntary sedation could take place, except in emergency circumstances.” [View commentary]

DHS Plans National Fusion Center Network The Homeland Security Department plans a National Fusion Center Network—to “connect more than 50 state and major city fusion centers and the federal government,” writes Charlie Allen, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence & Analysis. [View blog]

DHS Will Award $844 Million in Infrastructure Protection Grants The Homeland Security Department will award more than $844 million in fiscal year 2008 Infrastructure Protection Activities grants to strengthen security at ports and enhance transit, trucking, and intercity bus security. The funds will be used to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. (See the Statistics of the Week.) [View press release]

DHS Sets Up Emergency Satellite Communications (Government Computer News) “The Homeland Security Department’s National Communications System is launching a three-year pilot program to give key government and industry facilities access to advanced satellite communications during emergencies,” reports Government Computer News. The Satellite Priority Service “will provide interoperable, nationwide push-to-talk radio and satellite phone service that will not be affected by local terrestrial conditions.” [View article]

E-Verify Has Capacity to Spare, Says DHS The E-Verify program that electronically validates Social Security numbers for employers “is handling at least 10 percent of all new hires in the U.S. this year,” writes Stewart Baker, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Policy. “Based on a recent load testing, the system has the capacity to handle 240 million queries a year. That’s three to four times the number of people who are usually hired in a given year.” [View blog]

Other Federal News

One-Third of FBI Counterterror Jobs Are Vacant (Washington Times) “More than one out of every three positions in an elite FBI division that tracks al Qaeda terrorists is vacant,” reports the Washington Times. Bassem Youssef, chief of the communications analysis unit of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said “that because of significant staffing shortages and a lack of experienced managers, the FBI cannot properly defend the United States against ‘another catastrophic and direct attack by Middle Eastern terrorists.’” [View article]

U.S. Military Says It’s Ready for Hurricane Season (DefenseLink) The U.S. armed forces “are poised to assist with evacuations, emergency transportation and search-and-rescue missions as the nation braces for the hurricane season that starts June 1,” reports American Forces Press Service. The Defense Department is prepared to coordinate Federal Emergency Management Agency “logistics on military bases, to deploy emergency communications rapidly, and to deliver ready-made meals, water and power generators.” It has also “more closely integrated its planning with the National Guard Bureau, U.S. Northern Command, and state adjutants general.” [View article]

Public Health, Safety, and Security at Mass Gatherings This new report by the majority staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security examines homeland security challenges for mass gatherings and details 30 recommendations for what should be done by federal, state, and local governments, as well as the private sector, to protect the public should an act of terrorism or a disaster occur. [View press release] [View report]

National News

Cheney Predicts End to War on Terror (Pittsfield, MA, Berkshire Eagle) “Vice President Dick Cheney told newly minted Coast Guard officers [Wednesday] that the war on terror would be won on their watch and dismissed fears that fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan would drag on indefinitely,” reports the Associated Press. He was addressing “217 graduating cadets” at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. [View article]

United Nations News

UN Counterterror Task Force Seeks Stable Funding The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force needs guaranteed and sustainable funding, says General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim. The task force has no standing resources of its own and has to attract voluntary funding. [View press release]

UN Attributes Earthquake Deaths to Collapsing Buildings When earthquakes strike, collapsed buildings claim the largest number of lives, as made evident by tremors in Pakistan in 2005, Iran in 2003, and most recently in China, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction has concluded. Hundreds of thousands of buildings, including many schools, collapsed in the Chinese earthquake. [View press release]

State and Local News

Arizona Hospitals Deport Uninsured Patients (ABC News) “Hundreds of legal and illegal immigrants in Arizona are being sent back to their home countries, sometimes against their will, for medical treatment because they lack insurance,” reports ABC News. “In some cases, the FBI and police, responding to allegations of kidnapping, have been called in to halt such forcible removals,” which are “are the result of federal and state law mandating that only U.S. citizens and legal residents are eligible for Medicaid. As a result, state hospitals are pressured to transport noncitizens, even if they’re legally in the U.S., at the hospitals’ expense, back to their home countries, at a cost of up to $100,000.” [View article]

Seattle-Tacoma Airport: The Back Door Is Open (Seattle Times) When military veterans Greg Alderete and Chris Clodfelter arrived at the corporate jet area of the Sea-Tac airport “to pick up a two-star general … the gate opened and they were invited to drive onto the airfield,” writes Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat. “… No one asked their names or screened them or the van. Both were in civilian clothes.” But “both the Port of Seattle and the federal Transportation [Security] Administration reviewed the incident, including videotapes, and concluded their security system is sound.… It turns out there’s no requirement, local or federal, to check IDs or screen drivers and cars when they go into that part of the airfield.” [View article]

9/11 Charity Comes to a Close (Washington Post) “The Survivors’ Fund, the only charity established after Sept. 11, 2001, specifically in response to the attack on the Pentagon,” shut down last “week after more than seven years,” reports the Washington Post. The fund “paid bills, helped with education, arranged for mental health consultations, ran interference with doctors, pointed the way toward vocational training and helped assess family finances.… virtually any service or resource was considered if it seemed likely to ease the survivors’ burdens.” [View article]

National Guard Leaving Two New York Nuclear Plants (New York Newsday) “National Guard troops that have stood guard at four upstate New York nuclear power plants since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are being withdrawn this summer,” reports Newsday. There is no money “in the state budget for keeping the troops at [the] nuclear plants.” [View article]

New Orleans’ Hurricane Efforts Uneven (MSNBC) In New Orleans, “the government is shoring up levees and floodwalls, but completion of some of that work is years away,” reports Reuters. “… On the city’s East Bank, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is raising levees and installing steel-reinforced gates on three drainage canals to block a surge in Lake Pontchartrain from pushing into the canals, as occurred in 2005.… About $285 million in improvements on West Bank levees and floodwalls won’t be completed for another year.… Reaching 100-year storm protection will take at least three more years.” [View article]

Private-Sector News

FEMA and Red Cross Hold Private-Sector Forum On Monday in Washington, DC, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross hosted a forum on the National Response Framework, bringing together nearly 200 senior representatives from Fortune 500 businesses, national trade associations, emergency management, nonprofit and voluntary organizations, and federal partners in a venue to exchange information and begin a dialogue with partners outside of government involved in emergency management, disaster recovery, and economic resiliency. [View press release]

GlaxoSmithKline Persists With Bird Flu Vaccine (Forbes) “GlaxoSmithKline is betting that the threat of an actual bird flu pandemic is still real enough for governments across Europe,” reports Forbes. “The pharmaceutical company said on Monday it had secured European approval for the first pre-pandemic vaccine against the dreaded H5N1 virus, more commonly known as bird flu … there is no sign yet of the much-heralded worldwide bird flu pandemic,” but “Glaxo’s product offers governments the chance to stockpile the vaccine just in case.” [View article]

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. Applying Advanced Critical Thinking Skills (June 3-5; Reston, VA) Students apply critical thinking skills as they work their way through all phases of a major project or research paper. Preference is given to teams of analysts beginning a project. [View course website] Critical Thinking Skills Workshop (June 17-19; Reston, VA) Students learn how to use critical thinking skills in their work by framing their line of argument, developing hypotheses, visualizing data, and writing their final product with clarity and persuasiveness. [View course website] Basic Analytic Tools and Techniques Workshop (July 14-16; Reston, VA) This course explains what analysis is, why frameworks are important, and how to overcome mindsets and avoid surprise by using indicators, key assumptions checks, devil’s advocacy, and ACH. [View course website] Strategic Counterterrorism Issues and Practices (July 8-10; Reston, VA) Students explore the current thinking on strategic counterterrorism issues and research and practice, applying analytical tools to topics such as radicalization. [View course website] Threat and Vulnerability Assessment (July 15-18; Redmond, WA) This 40-hour course, certified by the Tennessee POST Commission and the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, teaches threat assessment methodologies to identify, recognize, assess, and prioritize vulnerabilities and threats. [View conference website] Advanced Briefing Workshop (July 22-25; Reston, VA) Students will review what makes for an effective presentation, prepare several briefings, practice delivering them, and review their presentations on videotape. [View course website] National Transit Institute—Terrorist Activity Recognition and Reaction (July 25; Williamsburg, VA) This class for transit employees who have direct contact with the public teaches participants to identify and report suspected pre-attack terrorist activity; distinguish normal, suspicious, and dangerous activity; define roles in recognizing and reacting to suspicious activity; and describe immediate actions to take when confronted with dangerous activity. [View course website] Advanced Writing Workshop (On request; Reston, VA) Students will hone their skills by writing six intelligence products and will receive personal, individualized feedback from instructors who are accomplished writers and editors in “the profession.” [View course website] Georgetown U. Master’s Programs in Microbiology and Immunology (Fall 2008; Washington, DC) Georgetown University’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology is now accepting applications for its fall 2008 semester master of science degree programs in microbiology and immunology; biomedical science, policy, and advocacy; and biohazardous threat agents and emerging infectious diseases. [View course website] Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities (Oct. 6-8, Virginia Beach, VA, Nov. 17-20; Las Vegas, NV) The course provides information on the basic steps in the decommissioning process and imparts lessons learned from experiences in decommissioning. Elements learned in this course will assist in decision making, planning, and implementation of the decommissioning of various types of nuclear facilities. A major objective is to demonstrate the need for early and complete project planning to achieve safe and cost-effective decommissioning of research reactors and other small nuclear installations. [View course website]

New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, events are moved to the Upcoming Events page) Safety Act Workshop (June 3; Washington, DC) In parallel with the Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference, DHS is presenting a workshop for producers, sellers, and users of antiterrorism technologies. It will offer an overview of the Safety Act, the application kit, and the application process. [View website] American Security Challenge (June 5; Washington, DC) In conjunction with the Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference, the American Security Challenge will showcase emerging technologies as they compete for an award of $100,000. Six finalists will present their business plans, and Governor Tom Ridge will receive the 2008 Patriot Award. [View event website] Public Security Science and Technology Summer Symposium (June 9-12; Edmonton, Alberta) This symposium’s theme is “Enhancing Capability through Transition and Exploitation.” It will highlight the science and technology knowledge created by the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive Research Technology Initiative project partners and the new way forward for the Public Security Technical Program and Canadian Police Research Centre programs. It will also feature a Responder Day focusing on the chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear specialized responder. [View conference website] Federal CBRN Detection Research and Development Opportunities (June 11-13; Arlington, VA) This event is designed to provide the most current information about the role that industry, research contractors, and universities can play in addressing the nation’s needs for new chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear detection technologies and diagnostic tools. It will focus on the research and development requirements of each of the funding departments and agencies. [View conference website] (June 15-18; Toronto) This year’s theme is “Resiliency—Individual, Community and Business.” The conference features presentations, networking, and learning about emergency management, business continuity, emergency response, risk management, information technology, disaster recovery, emergency health, and related disaster management disciplines. [View conference website] CBRN Resilience 2008 (July 8-9; London) Using an attack scenario, the conference will focus on civilian chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear resilience in the United Kingdom, emphasizing the transition from individual capabilities to readiness to respond. Each of the agencies and organizations with a part to play in response to the incident will contribute to improving interagency coordination. [View conference website] Continental Divide Disaster Behavioral Health Conference: Preparing for Pandemic (July 8-10; Colorado Springs, CO) This interactive conference is designed to assist homeland security professionals—including emergency management planners, public health officials, medical personnel, first responders, and behavioral health specialists—to improve care provided to those affected by catastrophes. Major speakers are leading civilian and military behavioral health experts. The conference addresses disaster planning, response, and recovery and includes a daylong tabletop exercise. It is cosponsored by the University of Colorado, U.S. Northern Command, and the Colorado Division of Mental Health. [View conference website] International Aviation and Maritime Security Conference (July 21-24; Washington, DC) Sponsored by the U.S. Airport and Seaport Police of the Americas Region and the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police, the conference will examine where the responsibilities lie, how to effectively build teams, tomorrow’s technology, best practices, and risk-mitigation tools. [View conference website] Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness (October 29-31; Chicago) The Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense departments will highlight the technology and training tools available and being developed for emergency responders and elicit responders’ technology requirements. The conference will bring together responders, business and industry, academia, and federal, state, tribal, and local stakeholders to network, exchange ideas, and collaboratively address critical incident technology and preparedness needs, protocols, and solutions. [View conference website]

Calls for Papers European Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics (December 3-5; Copenhagen, Denmark) The conference welcomes papers on infrastructure protection and emergency responses and on terrorism informatics. Submissions are due by June 15. [View call for papers]