International News

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White House Report Finds Little Progress in Iraq (Washington Post) “A widely anticipated White House report on Iraq argues that the Baghdad government has made ‘satisfactory’ progress toward nearly half of the political and military goals sought by Congress, while acknowledging that an equal number remain ‘not satisfactory,’” reports the Washington Post. (See the Quote of the Week.) [View article] [View report]

Politicians to Iraqis: Arm Yourselves (London Guardian) “Prominent Shiite and Sunni politicians called on Iraqi civilians to take up arms to defend themselves after a weekend of violence that claimed more than 220 lives, including 60 who died Sunday in a surge of bombings and shootings around Baghdad,” reports the Associated Press. “The calls reflect growing frustration with the inability of Iraqi security forces to prevent extremist attacks.… In the absence of enough security forces, [Shiite lawmaker Abbas] al-Bayati said authorities should help residents ‘arm themselves’ for their own protection. The call for civilians to take up arms in their own defense was echoed … by the country’s Sunni Arab vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, who said all Iraqis must ‘pay the price’ for terrorism.” [View article]

At Least 106 Dead at Pakistan Mosque (London Guardian) In Islamabad, “commandos cleared the warren-like Red Mosque complex of rebel fighters Wednesday, ending a fierce eight-day siege and street battles,” reports the Associated Press. “… The extremists had been using the mosque as a base to send out radicalized students to enforce their version of Islamic morality, including abducting alleged prostitutes and trying to ‘re-educate’ them at the compound in the heart of Pakistan’s capital.” [View article]

Al-Qaeda Is at Its Strongest Since 9/11, Says U.S. Govt. (CNN) “Al Qaeda is the strongest it has been since the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new U.S. government analysis concludes,” according to CNN. “… Despite a campaign of military action and counterterrorism operations, al Qaeda has regained its strength and found safe haven in the tribal areas of Pakistan, the [classified] report says.” [View article]

Suicide Bomber Kills Nine in Algeria (AllAfrica) “Panic spread through the main Games Village of the 9th All Africa Games in [the] Ouled Fayet area of Algiers [Wednesday] when news of the suicide bomber who drove into a military barrack and detonated a bomb that killed himself and eight others got to the athletes quartered there,” reports Lagos, Nigeria, This Day. “Although the incident happened in Bouira, about 120 kilometres [75 miles] away from Algiers,” athletes “expressed fears over their safety, stressing that if a suicide bomber could evade security checks and drive into a military barrack, then anything was possible.” [View article]

Three British Men Plead Guilty to Cyber-Terror (MSNBC) “Three British men” pleaded guilty last week to “using the Internet to raise money, incite hatred, and help plan terrorist attacks,” writes MSNBC “Red Tape Chronicles” columnist Bob Sullivan. The case shows “direct links between identity theft, hacking, and terrorism.… the prosecution alleged that the three men managed to steal about $4 million through credit card fraud and identity theft.… But Cyberterrorism expert Dorothy Denning says … that despite Britain’s characterization of the three as cyberterrorists, [Tariq] Al-Daour, [Waseem] Mughal, and [Younes] Tsouli weren’t planning to commit crimes that most people would call cyberterror--Web-based attacks on critical infrastructure systems, such as electrical grids.” [View article]

Illicit Financial Flows Dwarf Foreign Aid “A conservative estimate of illicit cross-border flows … is that they amount to between $1 trillion and $1.6 trillion annually, and $500 billion to $800 billion of that amount … is conveyed each year from poor countries to rich ones,” writes Gerald Hyman, President of the Hills Program on Governance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “That is 8 to 10 times the amount of official development assistance” provided by rich countries to poor ones. Among the mechanisms for generating illicit funds: “under-pricing exports or overpricing imports (and pocketing the difference), falsifying transactions entirely, evading taxes, multiplying books, creating false trusts with hidden beneficiaries, and working through dummy corporations, offshore entities, tax havens, money-laundering fronts, and the like. Bribery, corruption, kickbacks, and forgeries grease the flows.… It is a massive transfer of scarce resources, perpetuates the poverty of those who produce the goods and resources, and is made possible by acts of omission and commission in the industrialized world.” [View commentary]

Four Convicted in Failed 2005 London Bombing Plot (Washington Post; Scotsman) “Four men were convicted Monday of conspiring to bomb London’s public transit system on July 21, 2005, in a failed attempt to duplicate a suicide attack two weeks earlier by four suicide bombers who killed 52 bus and train passengers,” reports the Washington Post. A jury “returned unanimous guilty verdicts against” Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, Hussain Osman, and Ramzi Mohammed, “who were charged with conspiracy to murder. Deliberations continued on verdicts for two other men.” The four who have been convicted will each be jailed “for at least 40 years,” reports the Scotsman. [View Post article] [View Scotsman article]

Eight Convicted for 2003 Casablanca Bombings (Yahoo! News) “A Paris court on Wednesday convicted eight people of supporting suicide bombers who blew themselves up in 2003 in Morocco, killing 45 people,” reports the Associated Press. “Sentences ranged from a one-year suspended sentence to 10 years in prison. All eight were found guilty of ‘criminal association in relation to a terrorist enterprise.’” [View article]

Iran May Be Moving Nuclear Facility Underground (Washington Post) “The sudden flurry of digging seen in recent satellite photos of a mountainside in … the back yard of Iran’s most ambitious and controversial nuclear facility” and nearby “fortified buildings” may represent an attempt “to thwart future military strikes … by placing key parts of it in underground bunkers,” reports the Washington Post. [View article]

Libya Upholds Nurses’ Death Sentences in HIV Case (London Guardian) “Libya’s supreme court [on Wednesday] upheld the death sentences of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor convicted of infecting children with HIV [see the Dec. 22 newsletter], but there is hope the medics could still be spared,” reports the Guardian. “The health workers were arrested in 1999 and accused of infecting 438 children with HIV-tainted blood at a hospital in Benghazi, Libya’s second city. They have denied the charges and foreign scientists have concluded that the epidemic was probably the result of poor hygiene.” On Tuesday, “a compensation deal was reportedly sealed with the children’s families.” [View article]

Greek Anarchists Classified as Terrorists (Athens, Greece, Kathimerini) “The activities of anti-establishment protesters, such as those who hurled petrol bombs at” the Greek “Culture Ministry’s premises in central Athens on [July 3], will henceforth be monitored by the national anti-terrorist unit,” reports Kathimerini. “… A presidential decree reclassifying the activities of self-styled anarchists within the category of terrorism was made public” the previous week. [View article]

European Union Eases Poor Countries’ Access to Drugs (Reuters AlertNet) “The European Union will exclude medicine patent provisions from future trade deals with poorer countries to ease their access to cheaper drugs,” reports Reuters. “… the European Parliament … wants the bloc to do more to help poorer countries stop 12 million people from dying each year from tropical diseases.” [View article]

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United Nations News

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National News

Fusion Centers Lose Focus on Terrorism (Government Computer News) “Antiterrorism information-sharing and analysis is taking a back seat to criminal intelligence at the more than 40 state intelligence fusion centers, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service,” reports Government Computer News. “State governors created the centers, and the Homeland Security Department provides part of the funding. Their purpose is to fuse federal, state and local intelligence against terrorism, but CRS found [that] the fusion centers have gravitated more toward collecting and analyzing criminal intelligence and all-hazards intelligence. The service found few indications that the centers have been making efforts to become aware of terrorist plans and foil attacks.” [View article] [View CRS report]

U.S. Doesn’t Deport Most Illegal Immigrants Who Commit Crimes (Bloomberg) “Fewer than half the foreigners convicted of crimes in the U.S.--most of whom are in the country illegally--are deported after serving their sentences, according to the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general,” reports Bloomberg. (See the Stats of the Week.) [View article]

Katrina Fraud Swamps System (USA Today) “Federal agents investigating widespread fraud after the Gulf Coast hurricanes in 2005 are sifting through more than 11,000 potential cases, a backlog that could take years to resolve,” reports USA Today. “… About 700 people have been charged. Most of the cases involve alleged lies to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cash in on $2,000 payments it sent out shortly after the storms struck.” [View article]

Lawsuit Against Wiretaps Rejected (Washington Post) “A federal appeals court removed a serious legal challenge to the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program [on July 6], overruling the only judge who held that a controversial surveillance effort by the National Security Agency was unconstitutional,” reports the Washington Post. “Two members of a three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ordered the dismissal of a major lawsuit that challenged the wiretapping, which President Bush authorized secretly to eavesdrop on communications involving potential terrorists shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The court did not rule on the spying program’s legality. Instead, it declared that the American Civil Liberties Union and the others who brought the case--including academics, lawyers and journalists--did not have the standing to sue because they could not demonstrate that they had been direct targets of the clandestine surveillance.” [View article]

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DHS News

DHS Will Buy System to Monitor News of Disease Outbreaks (Government Computer News) “The Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate … plans to award a sole-source contract to Mitre to expand the capabilities of a system to monitor global news media for signs of catastrophic disease outbreaks,” reports Government Computer News. Mitre will “specify, design, build, test and provide documentation for a system modeled on Global Argus, an existing project developed by Georgetown University and Mitre.” [View article]

DHS Job Vacancies Hurt U.S. Preparedness, Says Congressional Report (Washington Post) “The Bush administration has failed to fill roughly a quarter of the top leadership posts at the Department of Homeland Security, creating a ‘gaping hole’ in the nation’s preparedness for a terrorist attack or other threat, according to a … report by the majority staff of the House Homeland Security Committee,” reports the Washington Post. On May 1, DHS “had 138 vacancies among its top 575 positions, with the greatest voids reported in its policy, legal and intelligence sections, as well as in immigration agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Coast Guard. The vacant slots include presidential, senior executive and other high-level appointments.” [View article] [View report]

GAO Questions Usefulness of Sector Infrastructure Protection Plans The Government Accountability Office reviewed “nine sector-specific plans” for infrastructure protection and concluded that “it is unclear the extent to which DHS will be able to use them at this point to identify security gaps and critical interdependencies across the sectors in order to plan future protective measures.” Only “10 of the 32 council representatives” that GAO interviewed “saw the plans as useful for the sector,” and “representatives of eight councils … believed the plans either did not represent a partnership among the necessary key stakeholders, especially the private sector, or were not valuable because the sector had already done so much work on its own and had progressed beyond the plan.” [View abstract]

New HSI Report Abstracts Abstracts of three more Homeland Security Institute reports are now available on the institute’s website: Risk Management Analysis Process (RMAP) Quick Look Analysis, December 2006 Organization of an Office of Standards for the Department of Homeland Security, November 2006 Deterring Terrorist Attacks (Ferryboat Screening Methods), October 2006

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Other Federal News

Undercover GAO Investigators Get License for Dirty Bomb Parts (New York Times) “Undercover Congressional investigators set up a bogus company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a so-called dirty bomb,” reports the New York Times. “The investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, demonstrated once again that the security measures put in place since the 2001 terrorist attacks to prevent radioactive materials from getting into the wrong hands are insufficient, according to” the GAO. [View article]

NSA and DHS Name More Information Assurance Centers of Academic Excellence (Federal Computer Week) “The National Security Agency and the Homeland Security Department have designated 12 [more] universities as centers of academic excellence in the field of information assurance education,” bringing the total to 86 schools, reports Federal Computer Week. Those “carrying the title are eligible to apply for scholarships and grants promoting information assurance under federal and Defense Department programs.” The newly designated schools: Arizona State U., California State U. at Sacramento, Capella U. (MN), Champlain College (VT), Indiana U., Our Lady of the Lake U. (TX), Regis U. (CO), U. of Advancing Technology (AZ), U. of Alabama at Huntsville, U. of Illinois at Chicago, U. of Missouri-Rolla, and U. of New Mexico. [View article]

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State and Local News

Prince William County, VA, Database Would Show Who’s a Legal Resident (Washington Examiner) “A controversial resolution passed unanimously by the Prince William board Tuesday clears the way for the development of a database showing who is a legal resident and entitled to use county programs and who is unable to prove legal status,” reports the Examiner. “… The resolution does not require [that] the database be created, saying instead that county personnel cannot be prohibited from gathering and storing information on the ‘lawful or unlawful’ status of any individual, except when banned by federal or state laws.” [View article]

Security Cameras and Roadblocks Planned for Manhattan (New York Times) By year’s end, “more than 100 cameras will have begun monitoring cars moving through Lower Manhattan, the beginning phase of a London-style surveillance system that would be the first in the United States,” reports the New York Times. “The Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, as the plan is called, will resemble London’s so-called Ring of Steel, an extensive web of cameras and roadblocks designed to detect, track and deter terrorists. British officials said images captured by the cameras helped track suspects after the London subway bombings in 2005 and the car bomb plots last month. If the program is fully financed, it will include not only license plate readers but also 3,000 public and private security cameras below Canal Street, as well as a center staffed by the police and private security officers, and movable roadblocks.” [View article]

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Private-Sector News

Contractors Gather Intelligence in Iraq (Washington Post) “The most current intelligence” on Iraq is “compiled not by the U.S. military … but by a British security firm, Aegis Defence Services Ltd.”--“the most visible example of how intelligence collection is now among the responsibilities handled by a network of private security companies that work in the shadows of the U.S. military,” reports the Washington Post. Aegis’ 2004 “three-year, $293 million U.S. Army contract” has “several British and American firms” bidding “on the contract’s renewal, which is worth up to $475 million.” The U.S. “government has outsourced a wide range of security functions to 20,000 to 30,000 contractors in Iraq.” [View article]

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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. Mirror Image (July 22-27, August 5-10, Moyock, NC; August 12-17, Warrenton, OR) Mirror Image is an intensive classroom and field training program, designed to realistically simulate terrorist recruiting, training techniques, and operational tactics. Participants will receive insight into the mindset and rationale of terrorists through hands-on experience with the methods and means they use, plus education about the ideologies that motivate them and cultural dimensions that influence their decision making. [View course website] Graduate Certificate in Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases (Fall; Washington, DC) This new online program at Georgetown University will focus on the science behind the agents and diseases in question--specifically, the microbiology of CDC Category A through C biothreat agents (that is, smallpox, plague, anthrax, tularemia, and Ebola) and the history of bioterrorism and the need for biosurveillance, as well as their implications in homeland security. The application deadlines are August 1 for the fall semester and November 1 for spring. [View course website] 18th Annual Hazmat Continuing Challenge (September 4-7; Sacramento, CA) The annual Continuing Challenge Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Workshop provides training, networking, and hands-on learning opportunities to all employees in hazardous materials emergency response fields. [View course website] Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties (September 9-14, October 21-26; Aberdeen, MD, and Ft. Detrick, MD) This course is conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. It is designed for Medical Corps and Nurse Corps officers and physician assistants, Medical Service Corps officers, and other selected medical professionals. It comprises classroom, laboratory, and field training. [View course website] Field Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties (September 24-28, November 5-9; Aberdeen, MD) This course is conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. It is designed for Medical Service Corps officers and non-commissioned officers in medical or chemical specialties. It comprises classroom, laboratory, and field training. [View course website]

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New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, new events will be moved to the Upcoming Events page) 4th Annual Iowa Governor’s Homeland Security Conference (July 16-18; Des Moines, IA) Participants will learn about the National Incident Management System, ethanol production and hazards, facility assessments, and special needs planning. Exhibitors will display state-of-the-art equipment, training, and services with hands-on demonstrations. [View conference website] Continental Divide Disaster Behavioral Health Conference (August 6-7; Colorado Springs, CO) This interactive conference is designed to assist emergency management planners, public health officials, medical personnel, and behavioral health specialists in improving care provided to those affected by catastrophes. The major speakers are leading experts in the disaster behavioral health field. The conference addresses disaster planning, response, and recovery issues. [View conference website] Interagency Coordination Between Federal, State, and Local Agencies (August 15-16; Orem, UT) This conference sponsored by the Homeland Security and Defense Education Consortium will discuss the needs of firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and other first responders; those involved in direct instruction of emergency services personnel; those who command operators or who plan operations; and state managers, course developers, etc. [View conference website] Institute for Counter-Terrorism 7th International Conference (September 8-11; Herzliya, Israel) The conference will feature panel discussions and workshops dealing with definitions, the terrorism-media-public opinion connection, and specific modus operandi, such as suicide terrorism and non-conventional terrorism, as well as lectures on terrorism. [View conference website] (September 11-13; Baltimore) The expo will feature the latest products and tools from the leading suppliers in biometrics applications. More than 100 biometrics leaders--giants, upstarts, plus research and standard groups--will be there, along with reps from the top technology firms and biometric specialists attending the co-located Biometric Consortium Conference. [View conference website] CBRN Resilience 2007 (September 20-21; London) Participants will understand global chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear strategies and how these are shaping the future requirements and tactics of the blue-light services and responsible agencies; benchmark their post-incident response, recovery, and operational sustainability plans, including mass decontamination of personnel and infrastructure, health care, and logistical support; and assess preparedness and joint working initiatives among police, fire and rescue, ambulance, and local, regional, and national government. [View conference website] Interdisciplinary Analyses of Aggression & Terrorism (September 27-30; Madrid, Spain) This conference, sponsored by the International Colloquium on Conflict and Aggression and the Society for Terrorism Research, will feature researchers from around the world who will present their findings and offer directions for future study. It will include structured discussion and play as well as casual conversation, questions, answers, and sharing of ideas with colleagues. [View conference website] National Emergency Management Assn. Conference (September 28–October 2; Oklahoma City) The conference will feature presentations by leaders in emergency management, along with exhibits, workshops, and committee meetings. [View conference website] 3rd Symposium and Exhibition on International Civil Aviation Organization Machine-Readable Travel Documents, Biometrics and Security Standards (October 1-3; Montreal) The symposium and exhibition will cover the main features and benefits of globally interoperable and ICAO-compliant machine-readable travel documents and e-passports and the latest biometric technology to enhance security in airline passenger service systems, enrollment, issuance, and border control inspection systems. [View conference website] 2007 Joint Chemical Biological Decontamination and Protection Conference and Exhibition (October 22-24; Virginia Beach, VA) This conference, sponsored by the National Defense Industrial Association, will focus on creative acquisition to combat existing and emerging world threats through state-of-the-art decontamination and protection. [View conference website] U.S. Coast Guard 2007 Innovation Expo (October 28–November 2; New Orleans) The Coast Guard and industry will display innovative solutions and will present and discuss the many challenges faced in maritime homeland security. Participants will see and discuss emerging Coast Guard innovations, meet Coast Guard and industry innovators who are making a difference, and discuss opportunities to meet homeland security, search & rescue, law enforcement, environmental protection, and other mission requirements. [View conference website] Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness (November 6-8; San Francisco) The conference will address pandemic preparedness and response, securing our borders, lessons learned in preparedness for and response to natural disasters, food chain safety and security, information and intelligence sharing, weapons of mass destruction, special operations, federal resources for state and local emergency responders, cyber-security tools and resources, response and recovery, incident commander software, personal protective equipment, transportation security, communications interoperability, the Safety Act, simulation and training, school security, the Defense Department’s role in supporting homeland security, and critical infrastructure protection. [View conference website] AAAS Annual Meeting (February 14-18, 2008; Boston) The theme of next year’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is “Science and Technology from a Global Perspective,” emphasizing the power of science, technology, and education to assist less-developed segments of the world society, to improve partnerships among already developed countries, and to spur knowledge-driven transformations across a host of fields. [View conference website]

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Calls for Papers (March 16-20, 2008; Orlando, FL) SPIE is soliciting papers on imaging, sensors, and displays as they relate to homeland security and other topics. The deadline for submitting abstracts is September 3. [View call for papers]

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