National News

Note: More and more news sites require free one-time registration. We wish we could avoid this inconvenience to readers who want to see the full articles. We do not intentionally link to any that require a paid subscription.

Massacre at Virginia Tech Shooting Leaves 33 Dead (New York Times) “Thirty-three people were killed” Monday on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute “in what appears to be the deadliest shooting rampage in American history,” reports the New York Times. “Many of the victims were students shot in a dorm and a classroom building.… The killings occurred in two separate attacks on the campus in Blacksburg, Va.” [View article] View comprehensive local coverage from the Roanoke Times Warning Signs Missed? (Yahoo! News) The gunman—Cho Seung-Hui—“was a sullen loner who alarmed professors and classmates with his twisted, violence-drenched creative writing and left a rambling note raging against women and rich kids,” reports the Associated Press. “… he may have been taking medication for depression and” become “increasingly violent and erratic.… he had been referred to the university’s counseling service” and “had recently set a fire in a dorm room and had stalked some women,” yet “he was eligible to buy a handgun.” [View warning signs article] Threats Disturb Schools in 10 States (USA Today) “Campus threats forced lock-downs and evacuations at universities, high schools and middle schools in at least 10 states on Tuesday,” reports the Associated Press. “… Threats in Louisiana, Montana and Washington state directly mentioned the massacre in Virginia, while others were reports of suspicious activity in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Dakota, South Dakota and Michigan.” [View article] Reporting of Horrific Event Becomes Crass Spectacle (Melbourne, Australia, Age) “Facts about Cho have been reported on the flimsy pretext that they allow us to ‘get inside the mind of a killer,’” wrote Christopher Scanlon in the Age. “They do nothing of the sort. The reporting of such minutiae of the gunman’s life is cheap voyeurism that is completely irrelevant to understanding the horrific events at” Virginia Tech. [View commentary] By Thursday, coverage of Cho was turning up under the ‘Entertainment’ heading on the Google news page

Military Board Warns of Global Warming Threat (New York Times) National Security and the Threat of Climate Change, which “was commissioned by the Center for Naval Analyses, a government-financed research group, and written by a group of retired generals and admirals called the Military Advisory Board,” warns that “the effects of global warming … could lead to large-scale migrations, increased border tensions, the spread of disease and conflicts over food and water,” reports the New York Times. “All could lead to direct involvement by the United States military.” [View article] [View report]

Guards Go on Strike at Nuclear Weapons Plant (Washington Post) “More than 500 security guards at the nation’s only nuclear weapons assembly plant walked off the job just after midnight [on Monday] to protest what they said is a steep deterioration in job and retirement security since the government changed fitness standards for weapons-plant guards in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,” reports the Washington Post. “… The standards require a shift from a defensive guard force to what one agency document describes as ‘a combat-effective protective force designed to defeat a well-armed and dedicated terrorist adversary.’” [View article]

Lessons From 1918 Suggest How to Battle Pandemic Flu (New York Times) “When the Spanish flu reached the United States in the summer of 1918,” the “cities that instituted quarantine, school closings, bans on public gatherings and other such procedures early in the epidemic had peak death rates 30 percent to 50 percent lower than those that did not,” reports the New York Times. “… A two-week difference in response times, according to” research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “is long enough for the number of people infected in an influenza epidemic to double three to five times.… But an effective prevention program without a vaccine can leave enough people uninfected and still susceptible to the virus to start the epidemic again as soon as the controls are lifted.” [View Times article] [View study on interventions] [View study on measures]

Return to the top

International News

France Knew Early in 2001 That al-Qaeda Had a Plot (New York Times) “Nine months before al-Qaida slammed airliners into the World Trade Center, French intelligence suspected the terror network was plotting a hijacking—possibly involving a U.S. airline—and warned the CIA,” reports the Associated Press. “But the French warning hinted at a plot in Europe, not the United States, and there was no suggestion of suicide attacks or multiple p***s.… al-Qaida may have leaked misinformation to divert intelligence agencies from the bigger, deadlier plot to come on Sept. 11, 2001.” [View article]

U.S. Donates ‘Dirty Bomb’ Detectors to Mexican Ports (Washington Post) “The United States will donate radiation detectors to Mexico and help install them in busy sea ports to prevent a terrorist attack with a ‘dirty bomb’ or other radioactive material,” reports Reuters. “The U.S. Department of Energy will provide equipment and train customs officers … The detection equipment will be installed in Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas, Altamira and Veracruz, ports that account for 92 percent of … Mexico’s maritime trade. The first set of equipment should be installed and working by the end of the year.” [View article]

A World Wide Web of Terrorist Plotting (Los Angeles Times) “The Internet has become a virtual training camp and operations center replacing the Al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan and Bosnia that produced a legion of fighters, formed them into cells and launched them at targets,” reports the Times. “The soldiers of this looser network [are] more technologically and culturally agile than the grim fanatics who executed attacks in the past, according to trial evidence, court documents and interviews with investigators, defense lawyers, family and friends.… At the same time, many were amateurish and reckless.” [View article]

European Parliament Members Criticize CIA Antiterror Tactics (San Francisco Chronicle) “Members of a European Parliament civil liberties panel” in testimony before “two House Foreign Affairs subcommittees” on Tuesday accused “Britain, Poland, Italy and other nations of colluding with the CIA to transport terror suspects to clandestine prisons in third countries,” reports the Associated Press. “‘For us as European parliamentarians, the very notion of “rendition” or “extradition” done outside the control of any judicial authority within the territory of the European Union is a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights,’ said Jonathan Evans, chairman of the European delegation.” [View article]

EU May Have Trouble Meeting High Security Expectations (Forbes) “In response to terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid and London, the European Union has adopted an extensive and constantly evolving action plan,” according to Oxford Analytica, a strategic-consulting firm. But “while the expectations of the E.U. as a security provider against terrorism are high and rising, its ability to deliver will be tightly circumscribed. Major change could only arise from Constitutional Treaty amendments in 2009.” [View article]

Arab States’ Mixed Efforts to Fight Terrorism Financing “On April 1-5, the seventeen Arab members of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force … met in Jordan to discuss terrorism financing and money laundering in the region,” wrote Michael Jacobson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “Although the task force’s record to date shows some promise, the organization can do far more.” [View commentary]

Return to the top

United Nations News

Sudan Uses Military P***s Falsely Labeled ‘UN’ (New York Times) “A confidential United Nations report says the government of Sudan is flying arms and heavy military equipment into Darfur in violation of Security Council resolutions and painting Sudanese military p***s white to disguise them as United Nations or African Union aircraft,” reports the New York Times. “In one case, illustrated with close-up pictures, the report says the letters ‘U.N.’ have been stenciled onto the wing of a whitewashed Sudanese armed forces p*** parked on a military apron at a Darfur airport. Bombs guarded by uniformed soldiers are laid out in rows by its side. The report says that contrary to the Sudanese government denials, the freshly painted p***s are being operated out of all three of Darfur’s principal airports and used for aerial surveillance and bombardments of villages, in addition to cargo transport.” [View article]

Return to the top

DHS News

Coast Guard photo

Tons of Food Spoiled Because FEMA Lacked Storage Space (Washington Post) “As many as 6 million prepared meals stockpiled near potential victims of the 2006 hurricane season spoiled in the Gulf Coast heat last summer when the Federal Emergency Management Agency ran short of warehouse and refrigeration space,” reports the Washington Post. “… hundreds of truckloads of food worth more than $40 million are being thrown away or scavenged for unspoiled contents to be offered to domestic hunger-relief groups … Most of the meals were commercial versions of the military’s Meals Ready to Eat, which were ruined despite being engineered to withstand the demands of desert and jungle climates.” [View article]

FEMA to Take Lead Role in Coordinating Disaster Aid (Washington Post) “The Federal Emergency Management Agency will replace the American Red Cross as the agency in charge of coordinating the provision of shelter, food and first aid to victims in disasters …” reports the Washington Post. “The change in the government’s emergency plans, formalized in letters between FEMA and Red Cross leaders Feb. 21, follows criticism of the way they cooperated after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and a new law that bolsters FEMA’s role in providing emergency housing, human services, case management and financial help. [See the April 6 newsletter.] The FEMA takeover will be administrative and will not affect the Red Cross’s traditional direct relief operations, which include opening shelters, providing food and raising money.” [View article]

GAO: Despite Advances, TWIC Problems Remain (Government Computer News) “The Transportation Security Administration has improved its management of the Transportation Workers Identification Credential in the last six months, but problems remain in ensuring effectiveness and compatibility of the TWIC cards and readers in the field, according to testimony [last] week by a senior executive with the Government Accountability Office,” reports Government Computer News. “… There are concerns about educating workers, maintaining a timetable for enrollment and dealing with background checks for all the workers, GAO said. In addition, the TWIC card and reader technologies and their validations remain problematic.” [View article] [View GAO abstract]

DHS’s Performance Is Mostly Average (Federal Computer Week) “The Homeland Security Department earned mostly average grades on its 2006 report card from the House Homeland Security Committee with special attention needed for improving employee morale and strengthening procurement oversight and financial reporting,” reports Federal Computer Week. “… DHS received C grades for aviation security, emergency communications, information sharing, surface transportation security, scientific research and civil liberties. Emergency preparedness and procurement earned C– grades.” [View article] [View report card]

FEMA Offers $29 Million in Training Grants The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday announced the availability of $29.1 million to eligible state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, national associations, higher education institutions, non-profit organizations, and private-sector businesses as a part of the 2007 Competitive Training Grant Program. The application deadline is May 4, but first-time “registration could take 3-5 business days,” so FEMA recommends starting early. [View press release]

TSA Catches Man With 35 Names A Transportation Security Administration screener at Lanai Airport in Hawaii caught a forger on March 29. In the traveler’s belongings were 43 Hawaii driver’s licenses, each with photos of the same man but with 35 different names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. Also in his baggage were 19 credit cards, three apparently stolen Hawaii driver’s licenses, two apparently stolen Texas driver’s licenses, three Social Security cards, one military identification, and a Canadian birth certificate. His real name was Shane James Deighan, a Honolulu resident with a prior forgery conviction. [View press release]

TSA and Airline Industry Cooperate on Employee Screening Plan The Transportation Security Administration, American Association of Airport Executives, Airports Council International–North America, and National Air Transportation Association have a risk-based plan to harden and bolster employee screening. The plan has six points:

[View press release]

Fraud Found in Religious Worker Visas (USA Today) “The Homeland Security Department plans to begin inspecting religious organizations in an effort to prevent radical groups from using a special government visa program to get terrorists into the country,” reports USA Today. “Officials say they have uncovered rampant fraud in a religious worker visa program that allows thousands of foreigners into the USA each year.” [View article]

Return to the top

Other Federal News

Justice Dept. Finds Flaws in Its Counterterror Statistics (Government Computer News) “The misguided use of technology by Justice Department officials is partially responsible for flaws in the statistics that track federal counterterrorism activities, department auditors found during an extensive analysis of the numbers,” reports Government Computer News. “… the Office of the Inspector General evaluated the methods used by three major Justice agencies to gather, process and report critical statistics about their counterterrorism work. The indexes included terrorism-related convictions, the number of prison sentences resulting from terrorism prosecutions, the production of terrorism intelligence reports, the number of terrorism threats tracked and the output of threat assessments.… some of the statistics were understated and others overstated, with no consistent pattern.… The auditors found several causes for the inaccuracy of Justice’s counterterrorism statistics, including faulty technology, internal controls and documentation.” [View article]

FDA Approves First Bird Flu Vaccine (Yahoo! News) “A bird flu vaccine won federal approval for the first time Tuesday as a stopgap measure against a potential pandemic until more effective vaccines can be developed,” reports the Associated Press. “The vaccine is the first to win Food and Drug Administration approval for use in protecting humans against the H5N1 influenza virus. It would be used if the strain mutated into a form that spread easily from person to person, sparking a pandemic. The Sanofi Aventis SA vaccine already is being stockpiled for use in an outbreak of bird flu. It will not be commercially available. Approval came on the recommendation of FDA advisers, who … said the vaccine would be better than nothing.” (See the March 2 newsletter.) [View article]

Katrina Reconstruction Effort Lacks Long-Term Strategy (Government Executive) “At a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Disaster Recovery Subcommittee, chaired by” Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.), the Government Accountability Office’s “Stanley Czerwinski said the administration’s lead agencies—Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Housing and Urban Development Department—were doing a commendable job in meeting short-term needs of Hurricane Katrina victims but cautioned the panel that an effective long-term strategy for restoring the ravaged economies of Louisiana and Mississippi had yet to be settled,” reports CongressDaily. [View article]

Return to the top

State and Local News

States Oppose DHS Chemical Industry Security Standards The National Conference of State Legislatures “filed comments in response to the [Homeland Security] Department’s Advance Notice of Rulemaking for Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards,” voicing concern over “the unsubstantiated authority the Department exercised in its justification for the preemption of state and local chemical security standards under the draft regulations.” (See the April 6 newsletter.) [View press release] [View comments]

Montana and Washington Reject Real ID Act (Stateline) Montana and Washington state this week enacted “the first state laws to reject the 2005 federal Real ID Act, ratcheting up pressure on Congress to amend or repeal national standards for driver’s licenses,” reports Stateline. The Montana legislation “bans the Montana Motor Vehicle Department from enforcing the national rules, which set uniform security features for driver’s licenses and require states to verify the identity of all driver’s license applicants.” Washington’s law bars “that state from complying unless the federal government comes up with an extra $250 million to cover the state’s expenses. The law also gives Washington’s attorney general the right to challenge Real ID in court.… 30 states have passed or are considering proposals condemning the license standards.… But the Montana and Washington” laws are “the first statutes to bar state agencies from participating in Real ID.” [View article]

States Ask for Real ID Solutions The Homeland Security Department’s draft regulations for implementing the Real ID Act fail to address four solutions that would “ensure successful, cost-effective implementation of the act,” testified Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte on March 26, speaking before the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on behalf of the National Conference of State Legislatures. The state legislatures want the federal government to

• “Ensure that verification systems are available nationally”
• “Allow states to adopt up to a 10-year progressive reenrollment process”
• “Exempt certain populations from the Real ID process”
• “Provide the necessary federal funds”

NY Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Terrorism Case (Reuters) “A Brooklyn bookstore owner who pleaded guilty to conspiring to transfer funds to militant groups in Afghanistan and Chechnya was sentenced on Monday to 13 years in prison,” reports Reuters. “Abdulrahman Farhane, 52, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court after pleading guilty in November to one count of conspiring to launder money and one count of lying to federal agents.” [View article]

Five Connecticut Colleges Sign Mutual Emergency Aid Pact (Hartford [CT] Courant) “The Virginia Tech massacre is a stark reminder of the need for campus disaster plans, said Hartford-area college officials who signed a mutual emergency aid pact Wednesday,” reports the Courant. “Although the pact was planned long before this week’s shootings, the events on the Blacksburg, Va., campus were on the minds of officials from the five private colleges that signed the mutual aid agreement.… St. Joseph, Goodwin College, Trinity College, the University of Hartford and Wesleyan University agreed to help each other in the event of disasters such as fires, epidemics or hurricanes.” [View article]

Return to the top

Private-Sector News

Social Scientists vs. Terrorists (Government Computer News) “Massachusetts engineering firm Aptima will collaborate with Boston College on a Defense Threat Reduction Agency contract for the application of social-network science to counter proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” reports Government Computer News. “Under the three-year project, the BC-Aptima team will develop a framework for how social-network science can support efforts to detect, identify and disrupt adversarial networks that pose the threat of using nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. According to the company, social-network analysis can combat use of unconventional materials and methods by helping visualize or model the pipelines through which funds, weapons and technical knowledge flow worldwide among terrorists, smugglers, criminals and other rogue elements.” [View article]

Return to the top

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. CARVER Methodology: Target Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment (April 24-26, June 12-14, and August 7-9; Falls Church, VA) Participants in this workshop will conduct an actual vulnerability assessment at a government or private-sector facility with active cooperation from local law enforcement, using the criticality, accessibility, recuperability, vulnerability, effect, and recognizability methodology. [View conference website] Managing the Threat of Suicide Bombers and Improvised Explosive Devices (May 7-8; Arlington, VA) This course will discuss terrorist activity in the United States; terrorism statistics, trends, and threats; explosives; IEDs; concealment techniques and methods of operation; suicide bombers’ rationale, recruitment, training, and methods of operation; how to respond to suicide bombers, combined attacks, and secondary devices; effective bomb threat and bombing response plans; building and vehicle searches and evacuations; and Internet and other information sources on terrorists and bombing. [View course website] Advanced Identification Systems European Union (May 14-16; Brussels, Belgium) The seminars will feature presentations on market information and future trends, privacy and standards, eID, government ID programs, biometrics, identity management, data protection, physical and logical access control, and surveillance. They are free to government and military personnel. [View course website] Mirror Image (May 20-25; Moyock, NC) Mirror Image is an intensive, one-week 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 the terrorist 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] Advanced Hands-On CAMEO® Training (May 21-23; Boston) CAMEO (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations) is a suite of software applications used widely to plan for and respond to chemical emergencies. It is developed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Response and Restoration to assist frontline chemical emergency planners and responders. CAMEO can be used to access, store, and evaluate information for developing emergency plans. It also helps users meet the chemical inventory reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. [View course website] Advanced Identification Systems Asia (June 4-6; Shanghai, China) Presentations will cover market information and future trends, interoperability, testing, standards, eID, large-scale system requirements, national ID, ePassport, and registered traveler programs, commercial ID applications, biometrics, identity management, privacy and data protection, physical and logical access control, and surveillance. The seminars are free to government and military personnel. [View course website] Commercial Biometrics (July 30; San Diego) Presentations will discuss and advance biometric applications and solutions in commercial markets, including financial services, retail, healthcare, high tech and telecom, industrial and residential, gaming and hospitality, and education. The seminars are free to government and military personnel. [View course website] Advanced Identification Systems 2007 (November 28-30; Washington, DC) 30 industry experts will cover large-scale ID systems; identity management and eID; data sharing, privacy, and protection; ePassport, national ID, and registered traveler programs; testing, standards, and interoperability; physical and logical access control; and biometric application breakthroughs in the commercial and government sectors. The seminars are free to government and military personnel. [View course website]

Return to the top

New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, new events will be moved to the Upcoming Events page) Civil Liberties and the War on Terror (April 25; Worcester, MA) Jeffrey Rosen, legal affairs editor for the New Republic, and Jeremy Rabkin, professor of government at Cornell University and author of Why Sovereignty Matters, will debate the issue of civil liberties and the war on terror at Holy Cross College. The debate is free and open to the public. [View press release] Biological Sampling and Detection Symposiums (April 30–May 2; Richmond, VA) A mix of first responder, homeland and military defense, and system developers, set in an informal atmosphere that promotes wide information exchange, broad community contacts, and multi-dimensional views of common problems. [View conference website] (May 7-10; Baltimore) The Ninth Bioremediation Symposium will integrate the latest developments in fundamental research with innovative engineering applications. Presentations will cover remediation of contaminated soil, groundwater, sediments, and landfills; bioaugmentation and biostimulation to enhance intrinsic microbial processes; phytoremediation; bioremediation used in concert with physical or chemical processes; and regulatory and public perception issues. [View conference website] (May 7-11; Atlantic City, NJ) The general sessions feature regionally and nationally recognized experts. “Breakout” sessions enhance and emphasize, in a smaller group format, specific emergency management programs and objectives, allowing close interaction with state and regional experts. [View conference website] Global Border Security Conference & Expo (May 8-10; San Antonio) This conference addresses the challenges and trade opportunities of the daily movement of more than 1 million people (including over 600,000 aliens), over 300,000 private vehicles, and over 80,000 shipments of goods across U.S. borders. [View conference website] Cascading Infrastructure Failures: Avoidance and Response (May 16; Washington, DC) The symposium brings together concerned communities including government and industry technical and policy principals with experience in cascading infrastructure failures. It is designed to illuminate best practices for avoiding and responding to cascading failures created by natural, accidental, or malicious infrastructure debilitation. [View conference website] Building International Partnerships to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction (May 16-17; Washington, DC) The symposium will examine the opportunities and challenges. [View conference website] (May 21-22; Luxemburg) With the support of the European Commission, the Forum for Public Safety Communication Europe has been established to facilitate consensus building in public safety communication and information management systems. [View forum website] ACE Exchange IV and V (May 21-23, Laredo, TX; June 4-6, Buffalo, NY) The Automated Commercial Environment is the commercial trade processing system being developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to facilitate legitimate trade while strengthening border security. The ACE Exchanges will provide information on ACE and allow an open forum of communication between Customs and Border Protection and the trade community. The conferences will educate the trade community on the benefits of ACE, its impact on business operations, and legal policy changes under way, such as the new mandatory electronic manifest policy. [View conference website]

Return to the top