International News

U.S. Wages Secret Assault on Terrorism (New York Times) “In roughly a dozen countries—from the deserts of North Africa, to the mountains of Pakistan, to former Soviet republics crippled by ethnic and religious strife—” in a “shadow war against Al Qaeda and its allies … the United States has significantly increased military and intelligence operations, pursuing the enemy using robotic drones and commando teams, paying contractors to spy and training local operatives to chase terrorists,” reports the New York Times. “The White House has intensified the Central Intelligence Agency’s drone missile campaign in Pakistan, approved raids against Qaeda operatives in Somalia and launched clandestine operations from Kenya. The administration has worked with European allies to dismantle terrorist groups in North Africa, efforts that include a recent French strike in Algeria [see the July 30 newsletter]. And the Pentagon tapped a network of private contractors to gather intelligence about things like militant hide-outs in Pakistan and the location of an American soldier currently in Taliban hands. While the stealth war began in the Bush administration, it has expanded under President Obama … Virtually none of the newly aggressive steps undertaken by the United States government have been publicly acknowledged.” View article

DHS News

Border Patrol Suicides Increase (Washington Post) Suicides “have set off alarms throughout the agency responsible for policing the nation’s borders,” reports the Post. “After nearly four years without a single suicide in its ranks, the Border Patrol has had at least 15 agents take their own lives since February 2008.… Federal officials insist that the deaths have nothing to do with the Border Patrol, which has doubled in size since 2004, or the increasingly volatile U.S.-Mexican border. But administrators have quietly undertaken urgent suicide-prevention initiatives, including special training for supervisors, videos about warning signs and educational programs for 22,000 agents nationwide.” View article

Federal Network Security Program Expands As part of the GFIRST Conference of incident responders and cybersecurity professionals this week in San Antonio, the Federal Network Security branch of the Homeland Security Department’s National Cyber Security Division expanded its online resources for its partners: the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration, the Defense Department, the Chief Information Officers Council, and the Information Security and Identity Management Committee. View DHS blog

Other Federal News

CIA Finds Interrogation Tapes of 9/11 Plotter (WTOV-TV, Steubenville, OH) “The CIA has tapes of 9/11 plotter Ramzi Binalshibh being interrogated in a secret” prison in Morocco, reports the Associated Press. “Discovered under a desk, the … two videotapes and one audiotape are believed to be the only remaining recordings made within the clandestine prison system.” View article

CIA Creates Counterproliferation Center The Central Intelligence Agency has created a Counterproliferation Center, combining operational and analytic specialists dedicated to combating the spread of dangerous weapons and technology, allowing for greater collaboration and information sharing. View CIA press release

FBI Gives Top Secret Clearance to More Local Law Officers (USA Today) “More state and local law enforcement officers are getting top-secret clearances from the FBI to access sensitive federal information in terrorism cases than at anytime since the Sept. 11 attacks,” reports USA Today. (See the May 7, 2004, newsletter.) “… Clearances granted to members of the FBI’s network of regional terrorism task forces jumped to 878 in 2009, up from 125 in 2007,” and those “granted to other law enforcement officers and contractors soared to 945 from 364.” View article

Obama Signs Southwest Border Security Bill On August 13, President Obama signed the Southwest Border Security Bill into law, providing $600 million in supplemental funds to enhance technology at the border; share information and support with state, local, and tribal law enforcement; and increase Justice Department and Homeland Security Department presence and law enforcement activities at the border, with more agents, investigators, and prosecutors to target illicit networks trafficking in people, drugs, illegal weapons, and money. The $600 million is fully offset by cancelling $100 million from the SBInet program and by a temporary increase in the fraud prevention and detection fees for some employers seeking highly skilled foreign workers. View White House blog

NIH Extends Medical Nuclear Countermeasures Program (Global Security Newswire) The National Institutes of Health are extending by five years a “$105 million extension to” the “Centers for Countermeasures Against Radiation program at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,” reports Global Security Newswire. The program aims “at producing medical countermeasures against nuclear or radiological terrorist strikes” and “to strengthen capabilities to deter a radiation-based attack and to diagnose and care for victims.… Eight research sites received funding in the first five years of the program. Researchers created equipment and systems for determining radiation exposure levels and in animal studies tested experimental medications’ abilities to counteract the effects of radiation on the blood, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, kidneys, skin and the cardiovascular and central nervous systems.… The renewed program will fund the work of researchers at seven institutions—the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City; Columbia University in New York City; Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.; Duke University in Durham, N.C.; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; and the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.” View article

United Nations News

Israel Restricts Gazans’ Access to Farms and Fishing (Jerusalem Haaretz) “Over the last ten years, the Israel Defense Forces have increasingly restricted Palestinian access to farmland on the Gazan side of the Israeli-Gaza border as well as to fishing zones along the Gaza beach,” reports Haaretz, citing a new report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “… Israel’s justification for these restrictions is the prevention attacks on Israel, including the firing of rockets.” The Israel Defense Forces restrict “access to 17 percent of Gaza’s territory. At sea, the fishermen are completely barred from 85 percent of the naval territory to which they are entitled under the Oslo Accords.” View article

UN Cohosts Pandemic Response Exercise in Southeast Asia The United Nations began a pandemic preparedness exercise Monday in Phnom Penh, Cambodia—the first time that multiple nations have united to simulate the effects of a pandemic, and the resulting high absenteeism, on essential services simultaneously, especially energy, transport, and health care. View UN press release

National News

Interoperable Communications Face Bureaucratic Hurdles (Emergency Management) “The lack of interoperability in public safety communications isn’t a technology problem,” reports Emergency Management. “The lion’s share of federal spending on interoperable communications has been directed at hardware.… It’s the agencies themselves—specifically procurement rules and refresh schedules—that hamper interoperability efforts.… the technology is usually ready but the users aren’t.” View article

Private-Sector News

Cyber-Security Requires Public- and Private-Sector Information Sharing, Says GAO To protect critical infrastructure, private-sector stakeholders “expect their federal partners to provide usable, timely, and actionable cyber threat information and alerts; access to sensitive or classified information; a secure mechanism for sharing information; security clearances; and a single centralized government cybersecurity organization,” reports the Government Accountability Office. Fewer than one-third said they were getting needed information from the federal government. Public-sector stakeholders expect the private sector “to execute plans and recommendations” and provide “cyber threat information and alerts” plus “staff and resources.” But “some private sector stakeholders do not want to share their proprietary information with the federal government … Without improvements in meeting private and public sector expectations, the partnerships will remain less than optimal, and there is a risk that owners of critical infrastructure will not have the information necessary to thwart cyber attacks that could have catastrophic effects.” View GAO summary

Small Businesses Are Still Struggling to Recover From Katrina and Rita, Says GAO Despite Small Business Administration and Gulf Opportunity loans, Community Development Block Grants, and the Economic Development Administration’s Revolving Loan Fund, many small businesses pummeled by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 are still struggling to recover, according to the Government Accountability Office. One problem is that the Army Corps of Engineers and the rest of the Defense Department, which awarded major federal construction contracts for hurricane recovery, have not consistently followed up to make sure that small-business subcontractors are getting their proper share of the work. View GAO summary

Transcaer Schedules 2011 Anhydrous Ammonia Training Tour Transcaer is scheduling a nationwide training program on anhydrous ammonia and ammonia safety in 2011 for emergency responders, agricultural businesses, emergency management officials, public safety representatives, law enforcement agencies, and consultants. It will focus on transportation of ammonia (modes, routes, volume identifiers), nomenclature of transport equipment (such as nurse tanks, tank trucks, and rail tank cars), hands-on training with transport equipment (valves, hoses, gauges, fittings, response measures, etc.), first aid for ammonia releases, whom to call for help, and opportunities for emergency response exercises to reinforce concepts and to practice use of the information covered. The target audience for tour events includes emergency responders, agricultural businesses, emergency management officials, public safety representatives, law enforcement agencies, consultants, etc. The scheduled training sessions are on the Transcaer website, and many more states and training dates will be added. View press release

New Upcoming Events (Events are listed for four weeks; after that, they are still on the Upcoming Events page) Public Meeting on Security at Nuclear Reactor Construction Sites (August 27; Rockville, MD) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting to discuss proposed language for a rule that would set requirements for access authorization and physical security at new reactor construction sites. A separate session will discuss how cybersecurity commitments are being incorporated into new reactor designs. View event website NIST’s Role in Public Safety Communications (August 31; Washington, DC) The National Institute of Standards and Technology will present Dereck Orr, Program Manager for Public Safety Communications in NIST’s Office of Law Enforcement Standards, to discuss the institute’s role in improving public safety communications. View event website Security Leadership: Reducing Costs Without Sacrificing Value (September 14; Washington, DC) This session will bring together senior experts in the security industry to share new concepts, best practices, and emerging trends highlighting effective strategies for reducing the costs of security without sacrificing effectiveness. The keynote talk will be by Governor Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of Homeland Security. Panelists include Bob Stephan, former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Infrastructure Protection, and Tracy Henke, former Assistant Secretary for the Homeland Security Department’s Office of Grants and Training. View event website San Diego Regional Security Conference (September 14-15) This conference will focus on command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; cybersecurity; robots; secure communications; and sensors. topics will include information assurance and the relationship to cybersecurity; identity management; data integrity; intrusion detection and prevention; security testing and audit technologies; ensuring and fusing secure data at the level of command, control, communications, and computers; cyber-secure robotics; and promoting global security. View event website (September 14-15; London) This event brings together key stakeholders and industry leaders from aviation, the maritime industry, and the supply chain and features an exhibition, conferences, workshops, and networking receptions to review the latest information on current and future threats, debate best practices, gauge industry opinion, and review the latest technologies. View event website Biometric Consortium Conference (September 21-23; Tampa, FL) The conference focuses on biometric technologies for defense, homeland security, identity management, border crossing, and electronic commerce, with presentations, seminars, and panel discussions featuring internationally recognized experts in biometric technologies, system and application developers, information technology business strategists, and government and commercial officers. View event website Workshop TIEMS (September 28-29; Split, Croatia) The theme of this workshop of the International Emergency Management Society is “Operating Amid Chaos—Standard Operating Procedure and Post Disaster Recovery.” View event website Modeling for Public Health Action: From Epidemiology to Operations (December 9-10; Atlanta) This conference will promote the exchange of information and ideas about modeling uses to shape public health action. It is intended for public health practitioners and policy makers in state and local health departments; state and local health policy makers; scientists and modelers working at the Centers for Disease Control and their federal partners in public health; academic researchers; nongovernment organizations; and international practitioners, modelers, and policy makers. The conference will discuss effective and practical modeling applications to public health; provide sessions, training, and networking opportunities; address issues and opportunities in public health modeling; and foster interest in applying analytical tools for public health policy and operational decision making. View event website 5th Annual Border Security Expo (February 15-16; Phoenix) The largest conference and exhibition in the United States on border security will cover political, regulatory, operational, and tactical issues; the new state immigration laws; drug cartels; kidnapping and ransom; gangs of the Southwest; border violence; money laundering; guns going over the border; and new border security technology. In addition, there will be some closed-door sessions for law enforcement. Over 100 exhibitors will present the latest technology, products, and services. View event website

Calls for Papers (Calls for papers are listed for four weeks; after that, they are still on the Calls for Papers page) Modeling for Public Health Action: From Epidemiology to Operations (December 9-10; Atlanta) The Centers for Disease Control Preparedness Modeling Unit invites abstracts for 20-minute conference presentations that illustrate the application of modeling to plan, implement, or evaluate public health action. Preference will be given to presentations that (1) illustrate the use of modeling to guide public health policy, program development, economic, or resource allocation decisions or (2) describe user-friendly model interfaces that permit non-modelers to use the models effectively. The perspectives of policy and decision makers, as well as those of model developers and analysts, are welcome. International modelers are encouraged to participate. The abstract submission deadline is September 15. View call for papers TIEMS Conference (June 7-10, 2011; Bucharest, Romania) This annual conference of the International Emergency Management Society is seeking presentations on topics such as risk assessment professional practice, critical infrastructure protection, natural disaster and response, accident calamity and response, health emergencies and response, terrorism and security, geographic information systems in emergency management, global cooperation in emergency management, information and communication technologies, psychological aspects of disasters, training and education, and case studies. Abstracts are due by November 1. View call for papers Workshop TIEMS (June 22-23, 2011; Alès, France) This workshop organized by the International Emergency Management Society will have a special focus on risk management as a tool for emergency and disaster management, climate change and emergency and disaster management, emergency and disaster management in the energy sector, information and communication technology in emergency and disaster management, earthquake-related emergency and disaster management, forest fires and bush fires emergency and disaster management. Abstracts are due by November 15. View call for papers ASIS International Asia-Pacific Conference (December 5-7, 2011; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) Abstracts on all security-related topics are welcome. Particular topics of interest include supply chain security, maritime piracy, and terrorism. The deadline for submitting presentations is April 22, 2011. View call for papers