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F.B.I. Agents Role Is Transformed by Terror Fight

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 10:23 PM PDT

fbi

The report last month was chilling: a 55-gallon drum of radioactive
material had gone missing during shipment from North Carolina to
California. Even worse, the person who signed for the cargo was not an
employee of the company that ordered the load.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation here ramped up, consulting health
officials, questioning radiation specialists and tracking down the trucker
who dropped off the material, which could be used in a radioactive-bomb
attack. Three hours later, the shipper found the drum — still sitting on a
loading dock 20 miles from its destination in the Los Angeles area —
having confused it with a similar shipment sent to a different company on
the same day.

For an F.B.I. team here that vets tips and threats about possible
terrorist activity, it was yet another false alarm in a job largely
defined by hoaxes and bogus leads that must still be run to ground.

“A lot of time we are chasing shadows,” said Lee Ann Bernardino, a
20-year F.B.I. special agent who handled the case, “but it’s better to do
that than find out later you let something get by.”

Spending two days with Agent Bernardino’s 21-member threat squad, known
as Counterterrorism 6, or CT-6, offered a rare window on the daily
workings of an F.B.I. transformed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

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F.B.I. Agents Role Is Transformed by Terror Fight

Facebook-style Databank – The New Weapon Against Terrorists

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 06:22 PM PDT

Intelligence agencies are building up a Facebook-style databank of
international terrorists in order to sift through it with complex computer
programs aimed at identifying key figures and predicting terrorist attacks
before they happen. By analyzing the social networks that exist between
known terrorists, suspects and even innocent bystanders arrested for being
in the wrong place at the wrong time, military intelligence chiefs hope to
open a new front in their “war on terror”.

The idea is to amass huge quantities of intelligence data on people –
no matter how obscure or irrelevant – and feed it into computers that are
programmed to make associations and connections that would otherwise be
missed by human agents, scientists said.

The doctrine is already being actively pursued in Iraq and Afghanistan
where thousands of people have been arrested and interrogated for
information that could be fed into vast computerized databanks for
analysis by social network programs.

In addition to information gleaned from interviews with suspects
captured in the field, intelligence agencies are also mining the vast
amounts of telecommunications data collected from emails and telephone
calls with the same surveillance technology. In the US alone, hundreds of
millions of dollars are being spent on developing the data-mining
techniques.

“Social network analysis is analysing information about who knows who
or who talks to whom,” said Professor Kathleen Carley of Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, one of the civilian scientists
hoping to benefit from the new military funding earmarked for research
into social network analysis.

“Facebook and Google are doing social networking, which is the
technology for helping you find out who to talk to and for finding out
what your friends know about a person,” Professor Carley said. “What
social network analysis is about is giving me the whole of the
‘Facebook-style’ data and saying that I’m going to analyse it
mathematically to tell you who the critical people are,” she said.

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Facebook-style
Databank – The New Weapon Against Terrorists

Ready Classroom – Free Emergency Preparedness Teaching
Materials

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 06:08 PM PDT

ready_classroom

Ready Classroom – With school starting in many areas, we want
to remind you of a terrific emergency preparedness resource for teachers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management
Agency and the Ad Council have joined with Discovery Education to launch
Ready Classroom, an online educational program. Ready Classroom will
provide elementary and middle school teachers with resources to integrate
natural disaster preparedness information into their curriculum. The
program is an extension of Ready Kids, a nationwide effort designed to
encourage children and families to take action and prepare for
emergencies.

The online
resource, provides teachers with activities, lesson plans and
multimedia tools that teach students how natural disasters develop and
inspires them to build their own emergency preparedness plans with their
families. The site features grade-specific lesson plans (K-8), videos,
games, puzzles and bulletin board recommendations.

“Engaging with children on the topic of emergency preparedness in
conjunction with the science curriculum taught in schools is an effective
way to bring home the preparedness message.” said Corey Gruber, Acting
Deputy Administrator of FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate. “This
program with Discovery Education will empower children and families to
take the important steps necessary to minimize the impact of a disaster
and, ultimately, continue our efforts to encourage a culture of
preparedness.”

To coincide with the launch of the site, Discovery Education is
promoting this new resource online at www.discoveryeducation.com and to
elementary and middle school educators nationwide through its professional
learning community, the Discovery Educator Network.

“This is a wonderful extension of Ready Kids that will educate
teachers, students and families about possible emergencies that may affect
their schools and communities,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of
the Ad Council. “Through these interactive tools teachers will help
motivate their students to take the steps necessary to be prepared.”

Ready Kids is an extension of the Ready Campaign, which engages
Americans in taking three simple steps to be prepared for emergencies: (1)
Get an emergency supply kit; (2) Make a family emergency plan; and (3) Be
informed about the types of emergencies that can happen in your area and
their appropriate responses.

“Discovery Education is pleased to partner with the Department of
Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Ad Council
to bring this important information into America’s classrooms,” said Mary
Rollins, Discovery Education Vice President of Education Partnerships. “By
educating children about the science behind natural disasters through
high-quality digital content, Ready Kids helps educators better engage
students on emergency preparedness issues.”

By following simple preparedness steps in advance, Americans can reduce
the impact of emergencies on themselves, their family and their
businesses. Individuals can visit www.ready.gov or call 1-800-BE-READY, to
access free materials that will help them prepare their families.

Ready Classroom

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Ready
Classroom – Free Emergency Preparedness Teaching Materials

Guns Go Missing From Tampa Intl. Airport Luggage

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 05:52 PM PDT

tampa_airport

Eric Rowe runs a personal security service. He protects famous athletes
and rap stars. That’s why he took his 9mm Desert Eagle with him when he
caught a flight from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale. He’s done this many times
and knows the rules. “We go through a little ritual where you declare your
firearms,” said Rowe. “You show them that the weapon is unloaded, securely
encased. “

Guns are checked every day and loaded into the belly of planes in bags
with special locks approved by the Transportation Security Administration,
but when Rowe landed and went to baggage claim, he immediately saw a
problem.

“My bags had been tampered with,” recalled Rowe. “My bags were opened,
the TSA lock was off. My weapon was missing.”

Rowe notified airport police, TSA and federal air marshals, but no one
could explain what happened. His gun simply disappeared.

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Guns Go Missing From Tampa Intl. Airport Luggage

Man Sentenced For Role In Domestic Terror Plot

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 05:47 PM PDT

A man was sentenced to 70 months in prison today for his role in a
domestic terrorism plot to wage war on the United States by attacking
Jewish synagogues and military bases. Hammad Riaz Samana is the fourth
member of Jami’yyat Ul-Islam Is-Shaheeh, or JIS, a prison-founded group
that wanted to make a political statement that also had plans to attack
the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles and El Al Israel Airlines at the Los
Angeles International Airport.

Samana was 21 when he was charged in the case in July 2005, along with
the cell’s mastermind, Kevin James, and members Levar Haley Washington and
Gregory Patterson.

The group committed armed robberies of 11 gas stations, including two
in Fullerton, to buy weapons and gear for the attacks. Authorities said
gas stations were chosen as targets because of the symbolism of the
oil.

Samana had a smaller role in the plot, and conducted computer research
on the terrorism targets, and was the getaway driver for one of the armed
robberies, according to U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney at today’s
sentencing hearing.

Carney acknowledged he was imposing a substantially lighter sentence on
Samana than those given to the other men.

via Man
sentenced for role in plot to kill Jews, attack military bases samana,
months, carney, sentenced, prison – News – OCRegister.com.

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Man Sentenced For Role In Domestic Terror Plot

Americans In Kuwait At Risk From Terror Attacks

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 05:42 PM PDT

kuwait

U.S. authorities warned on Tuesday that American citizens in Kuwait
remained at risk from terrorist attacks, following the arrest of an al
Qaeda-linked network in the Gulf Arab state last week. Kuwait announced on
August 11 that it had arrested all six members of an al Qaeda-linked
network who planned to bomb the U.S. Army camp of Arifjan, state security
headquarters, and “important facilities,” during the Muslim month of
Ramadan. Ramadan is expected to start around August 21.

The members of the network who had confessed after their arrest, also
planned to attack the OPEC member’s 200,000 barrels per day Shuaiba oil
refinery, a security official said.

“The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat
of terrorist attacks and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and
interests overseas,” the U.S. embassy in Kuwait said in a communique on
Tuesday.

It advised U.S. citizens in Kuwait to register with the embassy, and
“maintain a high level of vigilance” to avoid being targets of any
possible attacks by terrorist groups. “Potential targets may include U.S.
contractors, particularly those related to military interests,” the
message said.

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Americans
In Kuwait At Risk From Terror Attacks

Implications of Taliban Leader Baitullah Mehsud’s Death

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 05:38 PM PDT

Baitullah

U.S. and Pakistani officials say they are heartened by signs of a rift
between Pakistani Taliban factions following the apparent death of
militant leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Mehsud was the overall head of the
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, a loose
alliance of 13 factions. He is believed to have been killed in a U.S.
missile strike on August 5.

Following are some possible outcomes of Mehsud’s death and the impact
on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Western countries that have troops there.

CHAOS IN TALIBAN RANKS

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a joint news
conference with U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard
Holbrooke on Sunday that there was confusion, disarray and many reports of
infighting within the TTP following the report of Mehsud’s death.
Holbrooke told reporters traveling with him to Pakistan that Mehsud was
“gone” and it looked as if there was a struggle for succession among his
commanders.

A splintering of the Taliban would be a major coup for Pakistan,
hindering the militants’ ability to conduct coordinated attacks, as the
estimated 20,000 to 30,000 fighters under Mehsud’s command are subsumed by
various rival commanders.

Mehsud’s fighters are already facing tremendous pressure after security
forces cordoned off their strongholds in South Waziristan as part of a
government order to the military in June to pursue Mehsud and his group.
They are also facing regular strikes by pilot less U.S. drone aircraft,
such as the one that apparently killed Mehsud.

Analysts say Mehsud’s death could demoralize his loyalists and could
enable the government to exploit divisions by winning over moderate
militants to isolate more hard-core elements.

via SCENARIOS:
Implications of Pakistani Taliban leader’s death Reuters.

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Implications
of Taliban Leader Baitullah Mehsud’s Death

Boston – Police Need Assault Rifles In Case Of Terror Attack

Posted: 18 Aug 2009 01:43 PM PDT

boston

The top FBI agent in Boston said today that the Menino administration
should revive a controversial plan to arm neighborhood officers with
semiautomatic assault rifles, saying the scarcity of such weapons on the
force makes Boston more vulnerable to a terrorist attack similar to the
2008 rampage in Mumbai, India, that killed 166 people.

Warren T. Bamford, the special agent in charge of the FBI field office
in Boston, said other big cities in the United States have made such
weapons widely available to specially trained police officers and that the
issue “should be revisited sooner rather than later” in Boston.

“There’s no imminent threats,” Bamford said in a meeting with Globe
editors and reporters. But, he continued, “All things being equal, if a
terrorist decides, ‘OK, we’re going to do something like what took place
in Mumbai,’ well, where would you go? If you have a choice of a
metropolitan city, would I go to New York, with 40,000 police officers,
would I go Los Angeles, with 8,000, or would I go to Boston, with 3,500 …
and I know there’s no assault rifles in the Boston Police Department?”

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Boston
– Police Need Assault Rifles In Case Of Terror Attack