International News

Britain Asked for U.S. ‘Threat’ to Withhold Intelligence (London Telegraph) “The British Government asked the US State Department to send a letter that blocked the release of key documents detailing alleged torture [of Binyam Mohamed] at Guantanamo Bay,” reports the Telegraph. “… the release of documents which detail his treatment [see last week’s newsletter] have been blocked by Britain and the US … the judges in the case said the US had threatened to withdraw their intelligence co-operation” (see the Feb. 6 newsletter). “The Foreign Office confirmed that it had requested the letter.” [View article]

Britain Admits Rendition of Two Suspects (London Telegraph) British Defence Secretary John Hutton has admitted to Parliament “that two terror suspects were handed to the US then flown to Afghanistan for interrogation” in 2004, reports the Telegraph. “The disclosures contradict Government claims that Britain has never been complicit with extraordinary rendition, whereby detainees are transferred to states where torture is legal. The US has now told Britain it is not ‘possible or desirable’ to move the individuals, who are still in Afghanistan, either back to Iraq or their home countries.” [View article]

India Charges 38 in Mumbai Attacks (Times of India) “Three months after the unprecedented terror attack in Mumbai [see the Dec. 5 newsletter], a voluminous chargesheet was filed on Wednesday naming 38 people including Pakistani nationals Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab and suspected mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi for crimes ranging from murder to waging war against the country,” reports the Times of India. “… Among them only Kasab, Ansari and Sabbauddin were arrested … According to the chargesheet, the group of 10 terrorists, who carried out the attack on Mumbai on November 26, were selected out of a group of 32. They were given training by [Lashkar-e-Taiba] commanders in Pakistan for a period of over a year.” [View article]

Terror Convictions Overturned in France (New York Times) “A French appeals court on Tuesday overturned terrorist conspiracy convictions for five former inmates of the Guantánamo Bay prison camp who had been tried and convicted in 2007, after they were returned to France,” reports the New York Times. “The court ruled that information gathered by French intelligence officials in interrogations at Guantánamo Bay violated French rules for permissible evidence, and that there was no other proof of wrongdoing. None of the men, who were originally captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, is currently in jail, having been given time off for time already served.” [View article]

Guantánamo Meets Geneva Rules, Says Pentagon (New York Times) “A Pentagon report requested by President Obama on the conditions at the Guantánamo Bay [Cuba] detention center concluded that the prison complies with the humane-treatment requirements of the Geneva Conventions,” reports the New York Times. [View article] [View Focus on the Geneva Conventions]

Binyam Mohamed Returns to Britain (Sky News) “Former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Binyam Mohamed … arrived back in the UK [on Tuesday] after he was cleared for release from the controversial military base in Cuba,” reports British TV channel Sky News. Upon arrival in Britain, Mohamed, a British resident, “was detained under the Terrorism Act but released several hours later.… Ethiopian-born Mr Mohamed, 30, had been held at Guantanamo Bay since September 2004. He was arrested in Pakistan in 2002” and “claims he was secretly flown to Morocco and tortured before being moved to Afghanistan and then Cuba. He also alleges he was tortured into falsely confessing to terrorist activities and claims [that] MI5 officers were complicit in his abuse.” [View article]

U.S. Tells Judge Military Prisoners Can’t Challenge Detention in Afghanistan (International Herald Tribune) “The Obama administration has told a U.S. judge that military detainees in Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge imprisonment,” reports the International Herald Tribune. (See the Jan. 9, 2009, and March 7, 2008, newsletters.) The “case brought by prisoners at the U.S. Air Force base at Bagram … is a habeas corpus lawsuit on behalf of several prisoners indefinitely detained for years without trial. The detainees argue that they are not enemy combatants, and they want a judge to review the evidence against them and order the military to release them.” [View article]

U.S. Confirms Use of Pakistani Air Base (Fox News) The “U.S. intelligence and military community … acknowledge … that the U.S. is targeting Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives using unmanned drones based in Pakistan,” reports Fox News. “… Pakistani leaders—despite their public protests and denials—have been giving the U.S. some targets in the tribal areas of their own enemies, and have given the U.S. blanket permission to go after any ‘Arabs’ in those areas because they are assumed to be Al Qaeda operatives.” [View article]

Tailban Leader in Pakistan Announces Long-Term Cease-Fire (International Herald Tribune) “The leader of the Taliban of the Swat region announced a long-term cease-fire Tuesday, handing the Pakistani military a respite from fighting, and raising tenuous hopes for peace,” reports the International Herald Tribune. “The army, which has been battling militants in Swat off-and-on for more than a year, said Monday it had returned to barracks. The Tuesday cease fire was announced by the spokesman for Maulana Fazullah, the hard-line cleric in Swat, who has led a terror campaign against civilians, including the burning of girls’ schools and public executions.” [View article]

‘Swat Accord Won’t Affect Pakistan’s Anti-Terror Resolve,’ Says Ambassador (Lahore, Pakistan, Daily Times) “The Swat peace agreement [see last week’s newsletter] will not affect Pakistan’s resolve to fight terrorism, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon has said,” reports the Daily Times. “… Enforcement of sharia was within the framework of Pakistan’s constitution and did not contradict its provisions, the ambassador said … Haroon dispelled the impression that sharia was in anyway tantamount to terrorism.” [View article]

After Six Years, al-Qaeda Is Still Entrenched in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas “Despite 6 years of U.S. and Pakistani government efforts, al Qaeda has regenerated its ability to attack the United States and continues to maintain a safe haven in Pakistan’s” Federally Administered Tribal Areas, reports the Government Accountability Office. “As the United States considers how it will go forward with efforts to assist Pakistan in securing, stabilizing, and developing its” tribal areas “and Western Frontier bordering Afghanistan, it is vital that efforts to develop a comprehensive plan using all elements of national power be completed and that continued oversight and accountability over funds used for these efforts [be] in place.” [View GAO summary]

Al-Qaeda Founder al-Sharif Blasts bin Laden in Book (London Telegraph) “One of al-Qaeda’s founding leaders … has begun an ideological revolt against Osama bin Laden, blaming him for ‘every drop’ of blood spilt in Afghanistan and Iraq,” reports the Telegraph. (See the Quote of the Week and the May 30, 2008, newsletter.) “Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, who goes by the nom de guerre Dr Fadl, helped bin Laden create al-Qaeda and then led an Islamist insurgency in Egypt in the 1990s. But in a book written from inside an Egyptian prison, he has launched a frontal attack on al-Qaeda’s ideology and the personal failings of bin Laden and particularly his Egyptian deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.” Fadl now says “he believes [that] the murder of innocent people is both contrary to Islam and a strategic error.… He is equally unsparing about Muslims who move to the West and then take up terrorism.” [View article]

Most Muslims Oppose Attacks on Civilians and U.S. Military Presence A poll by World Public Opinion in predominantly Muslim countries reveals that large majorities renounce attacks on civilians but agree with al-Qaeda’s goal of pushing the United States to remove its military forces from all Muslim countries; substantial numbers—in some cases, majorities—approve of attacks on U.S. troops in Muslim countries. (See the Statistics of the Week.) [View press release] [View report (310KB PDF)]

Bangladeshi Border Guards Mutiny (International Herald Tribune) “The renegade border guards who seized control of their headquarters have surrendered after a two-day revolt,” reports the International Herald Tribune. “… the mutiny finally ended only after the government sent tanks into the capital in a show of force and the prime minister threatened further action.… At least 10 people, including three army officers, were killed in the siege in Dhaka, at the headquarters of the border guard force known as the Bangladesh Rifles.” [View article]

Antibodies Protect Against Bird Flu and More (Reuters) “Researchers have discovered human antibodies that neutralize not only H5N1 bird flu but other strains of influenza as well and say they hope to develop them into lifesaving treatments,” reports Reuters. “The antibodies—immune system proteins that attach to invaders such as viruses—also might be used to protect front-line workers and others at high risk in case a pandemic of flu broke out.” [View article]

12-Step Program for Terrorists (Fox News) “Leaders at the Masjid el Noor Mosque in Toronto say Muslims who get sucked in to an extremist interpretation of Islam become addicted to faith, just as an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol,” reports Fox News. “So the mosque has set up a 12-step program to ‘detox’ budding radicals before it’s too late”—the “Specialized De-Radicalization Intervention Program.” [View article]

Nonviolence Can Tackle Terror, Says Martin Luther King III (Madras, India, Hindu) “Martin Luther King III says his abiding philosophy is still what drove [his father] Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi—non-violence,” reports the Hindu. “He is convinced that non-violence can be used effectively to tackle global terror. ‘The challenge today is to engage people who some characterise as terrorists, who certainly commit terrorist activities. How do we get them to understand that we must learn to live in a world without destroying persons or property. One of the ways to do that is through non-violence,’ Mr. King told The Hindu in an interview. ‘It is not easy, but I think it is doable.’” [View article]

Baghdad Violence Much Reduced (DefenseLink) “Almost two months after the new status-of-forces and strategic framework agreements took effect in Iraq, a brigade commander in Baghdad”—Army Col. Joseph Martin—on Monday “reported record-low violence as Iraqi security forces assume ever-increasing responsibilities,” according to American Forces Press Service. “… Martin said [he] is seeing steady improvement in security, economic growth and building projects.” [View article]

Serbia Hosts Counter-Cyberterror Workshop (United Press International) “Top security authorities participated in a workshop in Serbia on Wednesday organized to address the escalating threat of cyberterrorism,” reports United Press International. The workshop, which was “set up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Action against Terrorism Unit, was designed to bring together Internet security experts and government leaders to discuss ways to combat militants engaging in cyberterrorism.” [View article]

National News

U.S. Arrests 751 in Mexican Drug Cartel Raids (MSNBC) “Federal agents have rounded up 751 suspects in a wide-ranging crackdown on a Mexican drug cartel operating inside the United States,” reports MSNBC. “… The sweep against the Sinaloa cartel culminated in a series of Drug Enforcement Administration raids Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in 120 cities.” Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized tons of drugs, along with vehicles, aircraft, vessels, and weapons. [View article]

Last ‘Enemy Combatant’ May Be Watershed Case (New Yorker) “The last ‘enemy combatant’ being detained in America is incarcerated at the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina,” writes Jane Mayer in the New Yorker. He “is an alleged Al Qaeda sleeper agent named Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri. He has been held in isolation in the brig for more than five years, although he has never stood trial or been convicted of any crime.… in June, 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the military to seize him and hold him indefinitely.” He was already in custody, “charged with credit-card fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, and lying to a federal agent.” But “the government’s theory is that Marri came to America in order to help carry out a second wave of terrorist attacks.” His “case is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court in April.… the Obama Administration [must] file a reply to the challenge by March 23rd.… The looming question … is whether there is a category of terror suspect whose status precludes” deportation to his home country (Qatar) or trial in a civilian or military court. [View article]

Campaign Tries to Put Human Face on Immigration (Phoenix Arizona Republic) “The National Family Unity Campaign is a ‘first step on putting a human face on how the broken immigration system is impacting the men and women of America,’” reports the Associated Press, quoting “Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus … Latino lawmakers and advocates are … making a humanitarian appeal to Americans to support fellow citizens who have relatives living in fear of detention and deportation” and are hoping “the public will realize that the immigration policies of recent years have not just affected immigrants but American citizens as well.” [View article]

Private-Public Consortium Issues Cyber-Security Guidelines (NextGov) “A consortium of federal agencies and private organizations released a set of guidelines on Monday aimed at protecting data and information systems from cyberattacks,” reports NextGov. “… The new audit guidelines, which were developed as part of a larger initiative at the Center for Strategic International Studies to advance key recommendations of a report by the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency” (see the Dec. 12 newsletter), address “that criticism by defining the 20 most critical security controls needed to protect federal and contractor information and systems.” [View article] [View guidelines (377KB Word doc)]

Law Center Counts 926 Hate Groups in U.S. The number of hate groups operating in the United States continued to rise in 2008 and has grown by 54% since 2000, says the Southern Poverty Law Center. It identified 926 hate groups active in 2008, up from 888 in 2007 and 602 in 2000. Its list includes neo-Nazis, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, Klansmen, black separatists, anti-gay, and anti-immigrant groups. [View press release]

State and Local News

Prince William County: Immigrants, Politics, and Local Response A new case study by the Brookings Institution looks at the local, regional, and, ultimately, national factors that led Prince William County—an outer suburb of Washington, DC, that is emblematic of the trend—to adopt new policies towards unauthorized immigrants. (See the April 4, 2008, newsletter.) “Federal immigration debates, an unprepared local government, lack of service infrastructure for immigrants, heightened political pressure due to local election campaigning, and media attention contributed to the environment that led to the groundbreaking legislation.” [View press release] [View report (1.3MB PDF)]

Four Arrested in Animal Rights Attacks (New York Times) “Federal authorities say they have arrested four animal rights activists in connection with incidents involving University of California researchers,” reports the Associated Press. (See the Aug. 8, 2008, newsletter.) “The Federal Bureau of Investigation on [Feb. 20] announced the arrests of” Nathan Pope, Adriana Stumpo, Maryam Khajavi, and Joseph Buddenberg “on suspicion of violating the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.” [View article]

Chicago Links Street Cameras to Its 911 Network (New York Times) “A computer-aided dispatch system” that integrates cameras with the 911 system “has been in use [in Chicago] since a trial run in December,” reports the New York Times. “… the new system can also connect to cameras at private sites like tourist attractions, office buildings and university campuses. Twenty private companies have agreed to take part in the program.” [View article]

Texas Issues Next-Generation 911 Master Plan (Government Technology) The Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications “has issued its Next Generation 911 Master Plan,” reports Government Technology. “‘The current 9-1-1 system, while working well today, is approaching the end of its useful life,’ says the executive summary … The transition begins with buildout of [Internet Protocol] networks to and between [Public Safety Answering Points], followed by the implementation of the applications that provide next generation functionality.… The new system will require considerable investment, planning and cooperation.” [View article]

DHS News

Napolitano Describes DHS’s Path Forward (Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Washington Times) Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Wednesday testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, describing her path forward for the department: building “strong relationships with our state and local partners,” building on the department’s “science and technology portfolio,” and not just operating as one department, but identifying as one department. She also “told lawmakers Wednesday that the agency cannot meet its 2012 deadline for screening all cargo coming into the U.S. for radiological and nuclear materials,” reports the Associated Press. In addition, she “told Congress that drug-related violence along the Mexican border had grown beyond the ability of the department to handle,” reports the Washington Times. [View testimony] [View AP article] [View Times article]

ICE Halts Detentions at Virginia Facility After Death (Washington Post) The investigation into the death of immigrant detainee Guido Newbrough “at Piedmont Regional Jail [in Farmville, VA] has prompted Immigration and Customs Enforcement to suspend placing detainees at the facility,” reports the Washington Post. (See the Feb. 6 newsletter.) Ever since Newbrough’s death on November 28, the facility’s “detainee population has fallen from 330 to 53 … The jail laid off 50 of its 135 employees.” [View article]

Avian Flu Response Exercise in Philadelphia Customs and Border Protection Port of Philadelphia conducted its first avian influenza response exercise at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday with officials from the airport, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Philadelphia Fire Department, and the FBI. They simulated a response to two airline passengers who exhibited physical distress en route to Philadelphia from Hong Kong, and customs officers discovered stuffed animals representing one live and one dead bird in one passenger’s carryon bag. [View press release]

Other Federal News

Energy Department Loses Track of Radioactive Material (Washington Post) “The Department of Energy has done a poor job of tracking nuclear materials it has loaned under licenses to contractors, educational institutions and other organizations, according to an investigation by DOE Inspector General Gregory Friedman and his staff,” writes Washington Post “Government Inc.” blogger Robert O’ Harrow, Jr. “In some cases, the department cannot say where … the heavily radioactive substances are, how they’re being used or whether they have been disposed of, the auditors found. At issue is the tracking system used by DOE known as the Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System. Based on the new report, the tracking system appears to be a health—and could it be, national security?—nightmare.” [View article]

Navy Holds National Counterterror Exercise (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot) “The Navy is conducting a massive anti-terrorism exercise this week … at every base and installation in the continental United States,” reports the Virginian-Pilot. Operation Solid Curtain/Citadel Shield involves “a heightened state of readiness, like tighter security at entrance gates and additional watches for ships at the pier,” as well as “‘red forces’—folks pretending to be enemy agents—attempting to infiltrate bases physically or through cyberspace.” [View article]

Private-Sector News

Tainted Syringes Killed 5, Sickened Hundreds (Dallas Morning News) “For months, prosecutors say, technicians in the gloom of a run-down North Carolina plant prepared life-sustaining syringes and shipped them before ensuring they were sterile,” reports the Associated Press. “Investigators believe [that] a rush to maximize profits led chief executive Dushyant Patel’s AM2PAT Inc. to produce heparin and saline syringes, used in cancer treatments, that killed five people. Hundreds were sickened, including 20 patients at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. Authorities are now on an international search for Patel after he was indicted last week.” [View article]

Dual-Benefit Solutions

Videogame Technology Helps With Disaster Planning (Wired) “Thanks to disaster-simulation software inspired by videogames … responders [can] create rescue plans in real time,” reports Wired. “… according to emergency workers, Depiction is the cheapest ($90, compared to $1,000 and up for other systems) and easiest to customize with local logistical information. The software can integrate aerial images from Google Earth or other sources, spreadsheet data, infrastructure maps and river-depth charts. Depiction can be used to plan for disasters ahead of time, but it’s also useful for collecting and organizing data during a crisis. Citizens can e-mail reports from the field, and emergency workers can feed other data directly into the software to find alternative routes when downed power lines, flood waters or landslides block roads.” [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. Crisis Leadership for Local Officials (March 14-15, Washington, DC; May 8-9, Chicago; July 13-14, Mobile, AL; September 21-22, Bismarck, ND) The National League of Cities, with a grant from DHS and in cooperation with the International City/County Management Association, offers this in-depth crisis management training for elected and appointed municipal officials who are members of the National League of Cities, have taken IS 700–IS 100, and are familiar with their local emergency operations plan. The seminar will educate them about their role in emergency management and support the National Preparedness Goal of expanded regional collaboration, strengthening information sharing and collaboration, and interoperability communications. [View event website]

New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, events are moved to the Upcoming Events page) Regional Workshops on Standards of Care During a Mass Casualty Event (March 12, Irvine, CA; April 14, Orlando, FL; April 27, New York; May 8, Chicago) Hosted by the Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events, the workshops will illuminate the progress and successes of efforts under way to establish local, state, and regional standards-of-care protocols. They are also intended to help to improve regional efforts by facilitating a dialog and coordination between neighboring jurisdictions. [View event website] Asymmetrical Warfare Symposium III (March 24; Ft. Myers, VA) This symposium, co-hosted by the U.S. Naval Institute and CACI International, will discuss “The Offensive and Defensive Aspects of ‘Soft Power,’” “Cyber Security/Cyber Warfare in the Asymmetric Environment of the 21st Century,” and “Integrating and Balancing Soft and Kinetic Power—Delivering ‘Smart Power.’” [View event website] (April 6-8; McLean, VA) The theme of this year’s conference is “Security 360—Emerging Threats, Practical Solutions.” It will address terrorism, cybercrime, counterintelligence, information security, operations security, security awareness, economic espionage, insider threats, and information assurance. [View event website] (April 13-17; Orlando, FL) This conference will cover technologies for defense, industrial, and commercial applications; sensing and systems; and sensor and data analysis. [View event website] Fire-Rescue Med 2009 (May 2-6; Las Vegas) This conference gives fire-based emergency medical services leaders a chance to gain the tools they need to make a difference in their departments, to connect with key leaders to expand their EMS network, and to see firsthand the latest products and services to help them cut costs and increase efficiency. [View event website] (May 5-8; Baltimore) This symposium integrates recent developments in risk assessment, fundamental research, and innovative engineering applications for both conventional and emerging contaminants and offers a broad perspective on environmental biotechnology worldwide. [View event website] Biometrics and Forensics in a Time of Uncertainty (May 12-14; San Diego) The conference will discuss and capture biometrics and forensics concepts, doctrines, and operational and research & development requirements from Army and Defense Department Centers of Excellence to inform Army Training and Doctrine Command’s collaborative combat developments and the Defense Department’s joint capabilities-based assessments. [View event website] (May 12-15; Tampa, FL) The conference will offer user presentations, demos, panel discussions, and hands-on training. Presentations are planned on secure messaging, information assurance, secure networks, and identity management. [View event website] (May 13-14; Phoenix) This 3rd annual conference with more than 80 exhibitors will showcase the latest technology, products, and services with border security applications, and more than 80 “world-class experts” will discuss the latest trends and challenges in border security. More details, the latest agenda, and a list of exhibitors are on the website. Exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities are available. [View event website] (June 21-24; Toronto) This conference brings together experts, practitioners, certifying bodies, and service and product suppliers in emergency management, business continuity, and other disaster management disciplines. [View event website]

Calls for Papers Contingency Planning & Management East 2009 (October 28-30; Orlando, FL) This training conference on business continuity, security, and emergency management is seeking faculty members. Desired topics include standards, private- and public-sector collaboration, physical and IT security, risk, loss prevention, evacuation, and recovery. The deadline for submissions is April 30. [View call for papers]