Tag Archives: homeland security

Counterterrorism Techniques / The U.S. Economy / Chinese-American Mayors

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The United States is continually adapting its counterterrorism techniques to respond to evolving terrorist threats, says Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the U.S. economy continues to strengthen but that unemployment remains stubbornly high. What is more important for the environment and for humans in the long run: clean energy or trees? And there are approximately 40 Asian-Americans currently serving as mayors of U.S. cities.

Janet Napolitano speakingPreventing Terror Threats
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The United States is continually adapting its “counterterrorism techniques to effectively detect, deter and prevent terrorist acts,” says Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. “Working with our federal partners, law enforcement across the country, the private sector, and the American public, we are making great progress in addressing today’s evolving terrorist threats,” Napolitano, right, says.

Bernanke on Economic Recovery
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The U.S. economy continues to strengthen as greater consumer and business spending take hold, but unemployment remains stubbornly high, says Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. “Until we see a sustained period of stronger job creation, we cannot consider the recovery to be truly established,” Bernanke said during a February 9 House Budget Committee hearing.

Solar Panels Versus Trees
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What is more important for the environment and for humans in the long run: clean energy or trees? As the United States continues to develop renewable power sources and encourage homeowners to take advantage of solar and wind power tax credits, clean energy advocates increasingly run into opposition from environmentalists who fear for the trees that are often lost to allow better access to sun and wind.

Chinese-American Mayors
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The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies says approximately 40 Asian-Americans currently serve as mayors of U.S. cities, with San Francisco and Oakland the two largest. At right, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee (left) and Oakland Mayor Jean Quan (right) join other prominent Chinese-American guests at a White House state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Obama: "We will not be terrorized."

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Police arrested Pakistani-born U.S. citizen Faisal Shahzad who admitted Tuesday to attempting to set off a car bomb in the heart of New York’s Times Square, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said. Shahzad faces terrorism and mass destruction charges.

“The American people can be assured that the FBI and their partners in this process have all the tools and experience they need to learn everything we can,” President Obama said May 5. “That includes what, if any, connection this individual has to terrorist groups. And it includes collecting critical intelligence as we work to disrupt any future attacks. Justice will be done, and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect the American people.”

The FBI, Homeland Security Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other national security officials worked with local citizens to track down the suspect and remove him from an airplane before it was able to take off.

“This incident is another sobering reminder of the times in which we live,” Obama said. “Around the world and here at home, there are those who would attack our citizens and who would slaughter innocent men, women and children in pursuit of their murderous agenda. They will stop at nothing to kill and disrupt our way of life. But once again, an attempted attack has been failed… because ordinary citizens were vigilant and reported suspicious activity to the authorities.”

A local merchant reported the smoking Nissan Pathfinder to New York City Police Department, which led to the investigation and arrest. New York is the largest city in the United States, with a population of more than eight million.

“I’ve had the opportunity to personally thank some of the citizens and law enforcement officers whose quick thinking may have saved hundreds of lives,” Obama said.

New York was the target of the September 11 terrorist attacks which brought down the twin World Trade Centers, killing nearly 3,000 and forever altering the city’s skyline.

“New Yorkers have reminded us once again of how to live with their heads held high,” the president said. “We know that the aim of those who try to carry out these attacks is to force us to live in fear, and thereby amplifying the effects of their attacks — even those that fail. But as Americans, and as a nation, we will not be terrorized. We will not cower in fear. We will not be intimidated. We will be vigilant. We will work together. And we will protect and defend the country we love to ensure a safe and prosperous future for our people. That’s what I intend to do as President and that’s what we will do as a nation.”