The Latest from National Terror Alert Response Center

U.S. Zeros In On Chitral Pakistan In Hunt For bin Laden Posted: 16 Mar 2009 11:09 PM PDT Where’s Osama? Try Chitral, once a trekkers’ paradise in Pakistan that has been sealed off to outsiders and is now regularly buzzed by American spy drones. The U.S. won’t say it officially, but an exhaustive Daily News investigation finds the world’s biggest manhunt for the monster who murdered nearly 3,000 people on 9/11 has zeroed in on Chitral’s tunning peaks and deep valleys. Six U.S. and foreign officials confirmed to The News that northwestern Pakistan’s impenetrable Hindu Kush mountains - which boast some of the world’s tallest climbs - in the Chitral region have been eyed as Bin Laden’s hideout since 2006 by Osama hunters aiming for the big kill. A lengthy review of evidence, including recent Predator fly-bys, Bin Laden’s tapes since 9/11 and interviews with three dozen experts on Al Qaeda, Pakistan and special operations, point to these vast mountains as the terror chief’s most likely haven. Captured Al Qaeda leaders have given up as his hideout. “Debriefings of Al Qaeda leaders arrested confirmed this,” said Rohan Gunaratna, author of “Inside Al Qaeda.” Two senior foreign officials said the nearby town of Kalam also is suspect. Source This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

Homeland Security - Study Finds Serious Vulnerabilities in U.S. Passport Process Posted: 16 Mar 2009 10:55 PM PDT An investigation conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found serious weak spots in the process of issuing of passports, raising concern over terrorists’ access to American identities. According to the report, “terrorists or criminals could steal an American citizen’s identity, use basic counterfeiting skills to create fraudulent documentation for that identity, and obtain a genuine U.S. passport.” The GAO used counterfeit methods to successfully obtain passports in four different tests. In one case, the GAO investigator used the identity of a man who died in 1965. The investigator was also able to purchase an airline ticket and bypass airport security using fraudulent identification. According to the report, U.S. Department of State officials said fraud detection efforts are “hampered by limitations to its information sharing and data access with other federal and state agencies.” View the full report Highlights This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information.

	Email delivery powered by Google