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What is it with some American politicians and their fawning over terrorists? Has 9/11 become blasé? Jimmy Carter goes on a highly publicized Terror Tourism trip to sit at the feet of Hamas. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley pronounces Weather Underground bomber Bill Ayers a “distinguished” and “valued” member of the Chicago community.
Recent news stories chronicle efforts by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement a nationwide emergency alert system that notifies users of an emergency via text messages to cell phones and other electronic devices. The FCC and others are to be applauded for putting forward such a system. It certainly complements the work of the post-Katrina Report that came out in June 2006, but part of me feels that the train has already left the station on this issue.
The RNC Welcoming Committee, which describes itself as an anarchist / anti-authoritarian organizing body preparing for the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, announced the purchase of tasers to equip rioters - excuse me, ‘members and friends’, - during the upcoming Convention. This raises two equally worrying possibilities about the public order dangers presented by the group.
Spike TV Scores With UFC, ‘DEA’ Debuts - 4/4/2008 1:36:00 PM - Multichannel News
The combination of fresh Ultimate Fighting Championship fare and the bow of new original series DEA spiked ratings for Spike TV Wednesday, making it the top draw among key male demos in all of cable April 2 from 7 p.m. to [...]
Counterterrorism Blog: Saudi Arabia’s Terror Finance Problem
There is little willingness to tackle the Saudis anymore on the issue of cracking down on terror finance. Intelligence services here and in Europe know most of the money for the mujahadeed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere still come from wealthy donors in the Kingdom.
Justice Department Declassifies Memo on Military Interrogations - Homeland Security Digital Library Weblog
Yesterday, the Justice Department declassified and publicly released a 2003 legal memorandum prepared in response to a request from the Pentagon to “examine the legal standards governing military interrogations of alien unlawful combatants held outside the United States,” including both international and [...]
Aviation Daily on Airports: Now Taking Off - TSA’s Airport Security Checkpoint of the Future
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) unveiled a pilot program at Washington National that will test features for the airport security checkpoint of the future, which I covered in the April 1 issue (subscribers only) of Aviation Daily.
Counterterrorism Blog: Venezuela Begins Media Counteroffensive in Washington Against Terrorism Charges
The Venezuelan Embassy in Washington sent a mass e-mail today with four attachments, intending to blunt growing concern in Washington that the Chavez government has cooperated with Colombia’s FARC terrorists. The counteroffensive is especially aimed at discrediting a resolution introduced by U.S. Congressmen to [...]
Defiant South Carolina Wins Real ID Extension | Threat Level from Wired.com
Despite blasting a defiant last day letter to the Homeland Security Department over pending federal rules Monday, South Carolina Republican governor Mark Sandford secured South Carolinians the right to use their driver’s licenses to board planes without being patted down, at least [...]
Military Report: Secretly ‘Recruit or Hire Bloggers’ | Danger Room from Wired.com
Since the start of the Iraq war, there’s been a raucous debate in military circles over how to handle blogs — and the servicemembers who want to keep them. One faction sees blogs as security risks, and a collective waste of troops’ time. [...]
The inside drama behind the warrantless wiretapping story. - By Eric Lichtblau - Slate Magazine
… The Times’ decision to publish the [warrantless wiretapping] story—a decision that was once so controversial—has been largely overshadowed by all the other political and legal clamor surrounding President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program: the dozens of civil lawsuits; the ongoing [...]
As violence stemming from human rights activism in Tibet spreads, outsiders are trying to determine the cause of the unrest. The Tibetans wished to protest the occupation and their treatment at the hands of the Chinese. The Chinese did not want that to happen, and so moved swiftly to suppress peaceful protest. When peaceful protest is forbidden, violent protest will eventuate. There is one more step in the chain; when violent protest is forbidden and suppressed, an insurgency will start. The introduction of mobile telephony to Tibet will only enable the insurgency to operate more effectively, but by using methods unpredictable and unforeseen by the Chinese authorities.
In Homeland Security: Afghanistan Now the World’s Leading Supplier of Cannabis
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently released its 2008 Opium Winter Rapid Assessment Survey, which shows that Afghanistan not only provides 90% of the world’s supply of opium, but is now also the top supplier of cannabis, the source of [...]
Analysis: EU Hezbollah policy draws fire - UPI.com
The European Union has long resisted calls to add Hezbollah to its terrorist list, a move that could financially cripple the Lebanon-based political and militia organization, and a policy shift is unlikely, especially after recent hopes of German and French leadership on the issue have faded.
Columnist Bob Novak offers some interesting observations about the connection between the Democrats’ decision to let the FISA reform expire rather than offering a house vote, suggesting that the power of the trial lawyers within the Democratic Party was too powerful to overcome:
The recess by House Democrats amounts to a judgment that losing the generous [...]
The psychological effect in each of these cases is for the psychiatrists, medical experts and ultimately the legal apparatus to decide. My concern is that the crimes demonstrate that the federal safety net in place to catch and treat sufferers is not effective, and that merely educating the soldiers themselves is not working. PTSD is a legitimate threat to anyone who has served in combat or experienced conditions of high stress. Knowing that, and mixing alcohol, loaded weapons and an aggravating situation is a recipe for disaster.
In light of the latest school shooting in Illinois, commentary by Security Debrief contributor Mary Ficke seems relevant. Ficke recently retired as the top agent (Special Agent in Charge) of the Department of Homeland Security’s ICE field division in New York, the largest of Homeland Security’s criminal investigation divisions. Ficke now serves as the Director of Investigations for SES Resources International, a private security firm. In this capacity, he put together a blue ribbon commission of local, state and federal law enforcement officials and experts to analyze what went wrong with security operations during the tragic Virginia Tech shooting. The findings of this law enforcement summit were included in the Virginia Tech Commission chaired by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.