International News

Terrorists Lose in the End, but Not Through War, Says Rand (New York Times) A Rand Corporation report published this week “takes issue with the Bush administration’s ‘war on terror,’ from its focus on military force to the very title of the effort,” writes Mike Nizza in a New York Times blog. (See the Quote of the Week.) “How Terrorist Groups End” likewise “examined al Qaeda’s strategy, and saw serious shortcomings.” Nizza quoted from the report: “Terrorist groups usually end for two major reasons: They decide to adopt nonviolent tactics and join the political process, or local law-enforcement agencies arrest or kill key members of the group. Military force has rarely been the primary reason … The good news about countering Al Qaeda is that its probability of success in actually overthrowing any governments is close to zero. […] The bad news is that U.S. efforts against Al Qaeda have not been successful.” [View article] [View report summary (100KB PDF)]

Are We Winning the War on Terror? (Commentary magazine) “The thinning of its ranks and the loss of central direction have had an obvious impact on al Qaeda’s operational effectiveness,” writes Max Boot, senior fellow in national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, in Commentary magazine. Since 2001, “with only a handful of exceptions—the bombings in Bali (2002), Madrid (2004), and London (2005) come to mind—the attacks staged by al Qaeda and its affiliates have mostly killed fellow Muslims. This has led to a major backlash in the Muslim world.… It has lost support even among some of its strongest adherents.… [See the May 30 newsletter.] The leading cause for continued concern is probably al Qaeda’s success in constructing a sanctuary in Pakistan to replace the one it lost in Afghanistan after 9/11.” [View article]

CIA Links Pakistani Intelligence Service to Militants (New York Times) The Central Intelligence Agency has confronted “Pakistan’s most senior officials with new information about ties between the country’s powerful spy service”—the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence—“and the militant network led by Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqani,” reports the New York Times. “… The C.I.A. has depended heavily on the ISI for information about militants in Pakistan, despite longstanding concerns about divided loyalties within the Pakistani spy service, which had close relations with the Taliban in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks.” [View article]

Securing Pakistan’s Tribal Belt A new report from the Council on Foreign Relations looks at Pakistan’s lawless border region and proposes a new framework for U.S.-Pakistani cooperation. [View report announcement]

A Strategic U.S. Approach to the Global Food Crisis The Center for Strategic and International Studies Task Force on the Global Food Crisis calls for modernizing and doubling emergency assistance, making rural development and agricultural productivity foreign policy priorities, revising the U.S. approach to biofuels, concluding the Doha Development Round, and creating a strategic U.S. approach to global food security. [View report]

Britain Claims Disruption of 13 Terrorist Networks in 1 Year (BBC) “Scotland Yard has disrupted 13 terrorist networks in London in the last financial year,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “During the 12 month period, there was an average of a suspected terrorist incident in London every other day.” [View article]

Spanish Police Find ETA Explosives (Yahoo! News) “Police have found over 100 kilos (220 pounds) of explosives in northern Spain belonging to ETA,” reports Agence France-Presse. “… The explosives were found near the town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from where police located another ETA weapons cache” on July 23. [View article]

Is Afghanistan a Narco-State? (New York Times) The Afghan government is deeply “involved in protecting the opium trade—by shielding it from American-designed policies,” writes Thomas Schweich (who served as a counternarcotics official there) in the New York Times. While President Hamid “Karzai’s Taliban enemies finance themselves from the drug trade, so do many of his supporters.” Schweich sets out five steps to “bring the rule of law to a lawless country.” [View commentary]

Iraqi Counterterror Force Ready to Stand on Its Own, Says U.S. (DefenseLink) The Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force—“tasked with consolidating and coordinating” counterterrorism in Iraq—“is now capable of conducting unilateral missions,” reports American Forces Press Service. Although the Iraqis still train with U.S. forces and conduct missions with them, “they’re now capable of running their own missions with limited U.S. help [U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Simeon Trombitas, director of the Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force Transition Team] said.” [View article]

U.S. Resettles More Iraqis in America (New York Times) “The American Embassy in Baghdad” has “expanded tenfold its program to help Iraqi employees of the American government [in Iraq], who faced threats for their work, to obtain visas and ultimately citizenship in the United States,” reports the New York Times. “… The program will allow 5,000 Iraqis to go to the United States for each of the next five years. Each person can take immediate family members, who include spouses and children.… Last year a similar program allowed only 500 Iraqi and Afghan translators to apply, and in 2006 the number was 50.” (See the Feb. 15 newsletter.) [View article]

China Clamps Down on Business Visas (AOL News) “Business travel appears to be the latest victim of China’s ever-tightening security crackdown before the Beijing Olympics,” reports the Associated Press. “Government officials confirmed [on July 24] that visas for business people will be tougher to get during the Olympic period.” [View article]

National News

Bush Orders Revamping of Intelligence Gathering (Washington Post) “President Bush ordered a major restructuring of the nation’s intelligence-gathering community [Wednesday], approving new guidelines aimed at bolstering the authority of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) as the leader of the nation’s 16 spy agencies,” reports the Washington Post. “The long-awaited overhaul of Executive Order 12333 gives the DNI greater control over spending and priority-setting, and also over contacts with foreign intelligence services—a responsibility that has traditionally fallen to the CIA.” [View article] [View Executive Order 12333]

Justice Dept. Told CIA That Waterboarding Could Be Done in ‘Good Faith’ (Google News) “The Justice Department in 2002 told the CIA that its interrogators would be safe from prosecution for violations of anti-torture laws if they believed ‘in good faith’ that harsh techniques used to break the will of prisoners, including waterboarding, would not cause ‘prolonged mental harm,’” reports the Associated Press. “… The Aug. 1, 2002 memo signed by then–Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee was issued the same day he wrote a memo for then–White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales defining torture as only those ‘extreme acts’ that cause pain similar in intensity to that caused by death or organ failure. That memo was later rescinded by the Justice Department.” [View article]

Al-Qaida Plan Film Shown at Guantanamo Trial (Google News) “A Pentagon-produced movie about al-Qaida had its premiere Monday at the first Guantanamo war crimes trial—shown to an audience of military jurors,” reports the Associated Press. The “90-minute documentary … traces the origins and goals of the terrorist group, highlighting such milestones as the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa and the Sept. 11 attacks.… Prosecutors said they are showing the video to underscore that Salim Hamdan was part of a broader plan to attack the U.S. and its allies, even if he played only a small role as bin Laden’s driver in Afghanistan.” [View article]

Internet Phone Services Must Offer 911 (Government Computer News) President Bush last week signed the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008. It requires Internet Protocol “telephony service providers to provide 911 services and to create plans for a national IP emergency response network,” reports Government Computer News. “… Cellular phone service and” voice-over-IP providers already must “provide 911 emergency call services and Enhanced 911 service, which includes answering points with information on the location and identity of callers.” [View article]

DHS News

TSA Opens Registered Traveler Program to All Airports (Government Computer News) The Transportation Security Administration “is opening the Registered Traveler program to any airport that wants to use it, and is eliminating the $28 fee it has charged to perform background checks,” reports Government Computer News. “But TSA also is distancing itself from the public-private program, which uses biometric cards for identity verification to speed members through airport security checkpoints. It is not considered a meaningful part of the agency’s security mandate.… Registered Traveler programs now are in operation in 19 U.S. airports.” Registered Traveler “primarily is a customer benefit service for members who pay a fee to private operators, and not a security program. Member benefits include special shorter lines and concierge services, although members have to go through the same checkpoint screening.” [View article]

ANSI-ASQ Will Oversee Private-Sector Preparedness Certification The Homeland Security Department has signed an agreement with the American National Standards Institute–American Society for Quality National Accreditation Board to establish and oversee the development and implementation of the accreditation and certification requirements for the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program, establishing a common set of criteria for private-sector preparedness in disaster management, emergency management, and business continuity. [View press release]

DHS Funds Terror Incident Database (Baltimore Sun) “The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism [see the Dec. 9, 2005, newsletter], established in 2005, will receive nearly $12 million over three years from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security” to create the “world’s largest and most comprehensive database of terror incidents,” reports the Associated Press. “… About 50 social scientists” will “study homegrown terrorist groups” and “the effectiveness of counterterrorism strategies and efforts to build community resilience to attacks.” The center “hopes to have the database, covering all incidents since 1970, complete by the end of the year.” [View article]

DHS Announces 2008 Preparedness Grants The Homeland Security Department has announced $1.8 billion in grants for fiscal year 2008 (which began Oct. 1, 2007) to bolster state, urban area and tribal government efforts to improve the nation’s readiness, response, and recovery capabilities for emergencies. (See the Statistics of the Week. Earlier this year, the department awarded infrastructure protection grants for this fiscal year; see the May 23 newsletter.) [View press release] [View grant overview (575KB PDF)]

Other Federal News

TSA Not Likely to Meet Goal for Screening Air Cargo, Says GAO (Government Executive) “The Government Accountability Office [on July 24] raised fresh doubts about the Transportation Security Administration’s ability to meet the congressionally imposed August 2010 deadline for screening 100 percent of air cargo,” reports Government Executive. “In testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee, GAO Homeland Security Director Cathleen Berrick said TSA had made significant progress toward meeting the goal but had yet to complete basic assessments of the technology and the additional screening personnel needed for it, and could ‘face challenges’ in acquiring these resources.” [View article]

United Nations News

UN Abandons Eritrea-Ethiopia Peace Mission (Google News) “The U.N. Security Council voted” unanimously “Wednesday to end an 8-year-long peacekeeping mission between Eritrea and Ethiopia,” withdrawing “the remaining peacekeepers from what was once a 1,700-strong force monitoring a 620-mile-long buffer zone between the Horn of Africa neighbors,” reports the Associated Press. “Belgian Ambassador Jan Grauls” said “that the mission … ‘had become impossible to implement’ because Eritrea progressively limited the peacekeeper movements, supply routes and the supply of diesel fuel.” (See the Feb. 8 newsletter.) [View article]

Afghan Antiterror Law Meets UN Approval The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime welcomed Afghanistan’s new Combat Against Terrorism Offences legislation, which brings the country in line with international conventions. The law ensures the human rights of suspects and accused and requires that all protections in the country’s constitution and criminal procedure laws apply in terrorism cases. [View press release]

State and Local News

NY Police and Port Authority Agree on World Trade Center Security Plan (New York Newsday) “The New York Police Department and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey”—“the World Trade Center site’s owner”—have “agreed to devise a strategy to police streets, private office towers and public facilities, including the Sept. 11 memorial,” reports the Associated Press. “… a special NYPD unit of 600 officers will patrol the lower Manhattan site, manage security operations and oversee screening and vehicle access. The Port Authority will have primary responsibility for security at the PATH train station and will oversee the installation and maintenance of all security equipment at the World Trade Center.” [View article]

‘Noble Resolve’ Tests Emergency Preparedness in Virginia, Oregon, Colorado, and Indiana (DefenseLink) “Defense Department agencies as well as state and local emergency-preparedness organizations in Virginia, Oregon, Colorado and Indiana are honing their communication and coordination capabilities as part of the current iteration of the Noble Resolve homeland defense and disaster-response experiment,” reports American Forces Press Service. The exercise, which began Monday and ends today, tests “information and coordination links among Defense Department organizations, state emergency-response agencies, the National Guard, other first responders such as local fire and police departments, and nongovernmental organizations.” [View article]

WMATA photo

Washington, DC, Will Test Model Transit Emergency Management Program The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, with assistance from the Federal Transit Administration, will establish a transit emergency management program to be used as a model by transit systems nationwide. The National Transit Institute, under a cooperative agreement, will administer the effort. It will focus on communications with customers during emergencies that affect travel on bus and rail. [View press release]

Kansas Conference Discusses Animals in Emergencies (Topeka [KS] Capital-Journal) “About 100 veterinarians, animal control officers and emergency responders met” in Wichita at the first “training conference … for the Kansas State Animal Response Team, formed in 2004,” reports the Associated Press. “Among the group’s goals is to expand the 13 animal response teams already at work in Kansas and spread them across the state.” [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. Security Specialist Course (August 19-22, Huntsville, AL) This course teaches the security specialist how to properly protect classified information (including intelligence information related to the terrorist threat) in accordance with Executive Order 12958 and Information Security Oversight Office Directive One and addresses additional areas of personnel security, information security, and information systems security. [View course website] Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Workshop (September 2-5; Sacramento, CA) The workshop brings together prominent, skilled presenters to provide the most recent information available to enhance or grow skills critical to ensuring a safe and effective response. Featured are classroom sessions, hands-on workshops, and contests to test new skills. [View event website]

New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, events are moved to the Upcoming Events page) 2nd Annual Missouri Conference on Coordinated School & College Safety & Security (August 14-15; Branson, MO) The conference will feature lessons from Breslan and Columbine and workshops on topics such as school shootings, surveillance cameras, bullying, and gangs. [View event website] (August 14-16; Denver) This is a conference for the fire-service leaders of today and tomorrow. It offers education, exhibits, and networking with peers. [View event website] Public Health Information Network Conference (August 24–28; Atlanta) The theme this year is “Public Health Informatics: Collaboration at the Crossroads.” The conference, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will feature workgroups and ancillary meetings, informatics workshops and tutorials, networking with informatics colleagues, and opportunities to make suggestions on how to implement the Public Health Information Network in the context of the larger national Health Information Technology Initiative. [View event website] International Disaster and Risk Conference (August 25-29; Davos, Switzerland) The conference will take an integrated, multidisciplinary approach in addressing the risks affecting society today—risks that might be far beyond any particular stakeholder’s capacity to control and that may adversely affect multiple parties across geographic borders, sectors, and industries. It will address global problems and attract participants from all over the globe. More than 1,300 participants from 130 countries are expected. [View event website] Disruptive Technologies Conference (September 4-5; Washington, DC) The Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Division of the National Defense Industrial Association will convene a forum for government and industry senior leaders to exchange the status of programs that have innovative technology applications possessing disruptive operational capabilities. The leaders will learn of the pressing areas of need and promising technology prospects that will affect air, cyber, ground, sea, space-based, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (see-act-decide) operations. [View event website] ASTHO-NACCHO Joint Conference (September 9-12; Sacramento, CA) The theme of this year’s Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and the National Association of County and City Health Officials conference is “Becoming the Healthiest Nation in a Healthier World.” Members, affiliates, alumni, partners, and the public can learn about the associations’ recent activities and accomplishments, as well as current public health issues, resources, and innovations. Conference features will include skills-building training, educational sessions, networking opportunities, and access to information about available resources. [View event website] Virginia Hazardous Materials Conference and Expo (October 13-17; Hampton, VA) This event, sponsored by the Virginia Association of Hazardous Materials Response Specialists in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, features over 60 educational workshops and an exhibition area featuring the latest products and technology for the hazardous materials industry. [View event website] 2008 Tactical World Cup (October 18-23; Camp Bullis, TX) Elite special operations teams from around the world will participate in this international SWAT competition, which is designed to closely mirror real-life crises on a realistic training ground. [View event website] American Public Health Assn. Annual Meeting & Expo (October 25-29; San Diego) This year’s theme is “public health without borders.” The meeting will address current and emerging health science, policy, and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health. [View event website] U.S. EPA Emergency Preparedness and Prevention & Hazmat Spills Conference (October 26-29; Richmond, VA) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presents an all-hazards conference for government and industry with education, training, and networking. [View event website] (October 28-30; San Antonio) The conference will address emergency planning, prevention, and response in the energy and maritime industries, including oil and hazmat spills, environmental concerns, port security, and marine fire and salvage. [View event website] Fourth NBC International Conference & Exhibition (October 28-30; Brno, Czech Republic) The conference will cover both military and civil response to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents, discussing the strategic and practical issues and challenges. [View event website] 3rd System of Systems Conference (December 9-10; Gaithersburg, MD) The conference will stimulate scientific, technical, and professional interest in systems of systems and bring together members of the system-of-systems community including acquisition professionals, program managers, scientists, engineers, and policy makers spanning government, academia, and industry and provide a forum to share experiences, best practices, and research in the management, engineering, and support of system-of-systems solutions. [View event website]