May 2008

U.S. man jailed for 20 years for eco-bombing plot

A California man described by prosecutors as an "eco-terrorist" was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison on Thursday for plotting to blow up a federal forestry site, telephone towers and other targets. Eric McDavid, 29, was convicted by a federal jury in March after two co-conspirators, Zachary Jenson and Lauren Weiner, pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government. Weiner is due to be sentenced on May 15 and Jenson on August 7……(Reuters, 9 May 08)

FBI's Kings Park class targets terrorism, bombings

…During the weeklong course, investigators are learning what to look for after a terror attack and how to collect evidence, all to compile solid data in criminal cases, said Special Agent Bill Davitch, a bomb technician from the bureau's New York City office and one of the instructors. "This knowledge would apply to any bombing crime scene. You know, anything from a small case involving a pipe bomb or something like that," Davitch said, "all the way up to a bombing like the first World Trade Center bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing." Davitch would know. He was an agent on the scene at the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995 and testified against bomber Timothy McVeigh, according to a trial transcript……(Newsday,  9 May 08)

No bail for veteran accused of trying to carry pipe-bomb parts onto plane in Orlando

…Kevin Christopher Brown's possession of flammable and explosive nitro-methane in his luggage; his lack of financial or residential ties to Central Florida; and evidence that he was involuntary admitted to a Veterans Affairs hospital in Gainesville for psychiatric problems were key factors in his detention, U.S. Magistrate Karla Spaulding ruled. She also said prosecutors presented evidence that Brown, while a defense contractor last year in Iraq, grabbed an ax and threatened a female co-worker……(Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 08)

In Depth: Coverage of the bomb scare at Orlando International Airport

Ex-prosecutor's request is denied by US judge in Detroit

A judge has ruled that the government won't be ordered to pay defense lawyer costs for a former federal prosecutor who was acquitted of hiding evidence in a 2003 Detroit terrorism trial. U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Tarnow ruled Thursday that Richard Convertino didn't demonstrate that the government acted in bad faith when it charged him. Tarnow also denied Convertino's request for sanctions against Justice Department trial attorneys who made public records that Tarnow ordered sealed…..(AP, 8 May 08)

House votes to ask US to take the African National Congress off terrorism no-entry lists

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to remove apartheid-era travel restrictions and terrorist designations from Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress members for fighting against their country's white minority rule. "Despite recognizing two decades ago that America's place was on the side of those oppressed by apartheid, Congress has never resolved the inconsistency in our immigration code that treats many of those who actively opposed apartheid in South Africa as terrorists and criminals,"…..(AP, 8 May 08)

Money-laundering charges leveled on Yemeni trio

A federal grand jury has brought money-laundering charges against three Yemeni men for allegedly transferring money into overseas accounts they believed were controlled by the Islamic terrorist organization Hezbollah.
The charges were brought against Yehia Ali Ahmed Alomari, 27; Mohamed Al Huraibi, 41; and Saleh Mohamed Taher Saeed, 28, who ran mini-marts in southwest and northeast Rochester. The indictment, handed up Wednesday, alleges money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The three were arrested in March 2007 and are in federal custody. They were indicted after attempts at plea negotiations failed…..(Democrat & Chronicle, 8 May 08)

Report: US lacks plan to counter terrorist messages

The United States must develop a communications plan to counter radical Islamic messages on the Internet, according to a Congressional report released Thursday. Because the Internet's easy access makes it possible for al-Qaida and other terrorist sympathizers to spread their beliefs and recruit new followers, the government needs a coordinated and thorough response that it currently lacks…..(AP, 8 May 08)

Judge orders CIA to turn over "torture" memo: ACLU

A U.S. judge ordered the Central Intelligence Agency on Thursday to submit to the court a 2002 memo said to specify harsh interrogation methods used on suspected terrorists held abroad…In a copy of the order posted on the ACLU's Web site, Judge Alvin Hellerstein told the government to produce the memo so he can determine whether it should be made public as part of a lawsuit the ACLU and other organizations filed in June 2004 requesting records concerning the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody abroad……(Reuters, 8 May 08)

U.S. Tests Response To Set of Calamities

Thousands of key federal employees are being whisked from the Washington area by helicopter and car for a three-day test of their ability to run the government from remote locations during a disaster.

The exodus, which began yesterday and will continue today, involves the White House and other parts of the executive branch. Congress and the judiciary are not part of the exercise, which is being overseen by the Department of Homeland Security……(Washington Post, 7 May 08)

Virtual Worlds require Virtual-HUMINT (VHUMINT)

The excellent Dark Web project at Arizona Universities Artificial Intelligence Lab has recently completed research into the use of Web 2.0 media by International jihadi groups. While fascinating in some respects it also clearly demonstrates how traditional text-mining attempts to collect data can be applied to some Web 2.0 applications, but miss the mark with virtual worlds.  The leader of the lab Dr. Chen kindly forwarded their research paper to me and it can be linked to here (Cyber Extremism in Web 2.0: An Exploratory Study of International Jihadist Groups). In essence the Dark Web project’s methodology is to search for material with extremist or terrorist style language (but please read the paper for a better description of methodology). Interestingly, they concluded that sites such as Facebook and MySpace, which have been big components of the Web 2.0 milieu are not suited to the propagation of extremist views…..(Counterterrorism Blog, 7 May 08)

Assessment of International Counter-Financing of Terrorism Efforts Needed For Next Administration & Congress

Last week, in an interview for the MoneyLaundering.Com subscription newsletter, I recommended a complete review of the outcomes of the laws, regulations, and structures governing the counter-terrorist financing effort by the U.S. government and our international relationships. "It is time to take a fresh look at anti-terrorist financing and anti-money laundering regulations as we enter the next administration and next Congress and see what has worked, and what hasn't, how methods have changes and how to change the Patriot Act, the Bank Secrecy Act and other regulations to go along with that." By this fall, our experience with Title III of the Patriot Act, the anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML-CFT) provisions, and the terrorist designation process put in place after the attacks through Executive Order and UNSCR resolutions will be seven years old, long enough to have judged the burdens, successes, and failures. On this site and others, and in innumerable panels, seminars, and hearings, experts have discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the regime put in place following the 9-11 attacks; its costs and benefits; and the impacts on the financing of terrorism……(Counterterrorism Blog, 7 May 08)

Expert instructs lawmen, military on recognizing suspicious conduct

Understanding normal behavior is the key to recognizing suspicious behavior, antiterrorism expert David Harel told about 125 Arkansas law enforcement officers and military personnel during a seminar on Wednesday. The seminar, Preventing Terrorism in the Natural State, was sponsored by the U.S. attorney’s office, Eastern District of Arkansas, and was held at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock…..(Arkansas Online, 8 May 08)

FDLE unveils BusinesSafe counter-terror alert program

Florida businesses now can instantly receive e-mail and cell-phone alerts from law enforcement officials on possible domestic security-related threats that could affect business and the community, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Wednesday. FDLE officials announced the counter-terrorism program, called BusinesSafe, in partnership with statewide regional security task forces and businesses…..(Sun-Sentinel, 8 May 08)

Treasury Targets FARC Money Exchange House  (US Treasury)

Security Panel Finds Internet Being Used To Recruit, Train Terrorists

A Senate homeland security committee report set for release Thursday details a growing threat from terrorists' use of the Internet as a recruiting and training tool. The report concludes that the U.S. government should consider its own outreach program as a counter to the Web strategies of groups such as al-Qaida… This report paints Internet use by terrorists as having an unlimited reach, including into English-speaking communities in the United States. Al-Qaida, it says, runs a "a multi-tiered online media operation in which a number of production units associated with [al-Qaida] or allied violent Islamist organizations produce content consistent with the core terrorist enlistment message."….(Courant, 8 May 08)

Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat  …..(HSGAC) 8 May 08

2007-2008 Lecture Series: Senior U.S. Counterterrorism Officials
Read accounts of the Institute's Counterterrorism Lecture Series in the global newsmedia, from the Middle East to Washington……(Washington Institute, 7 May 08)

Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century: Implications for Homeland Security

In the latest in its series of lectures by senior US counterterrorism officials, today The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence hosted the Department of Homeland Security's Undersecretary for Intelligence, Mr. Charlie Allen. Mr. Allen is the Department of Homeland Security's chief intelligence officer, reporting directly to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. Previously, he served as assistant director of central intelligence for collection, a position he assumed in 1998. A native of North Carolina, Mr. Allen served in the CIA beginning in 1958, holding a variety of positions of increasing responsibility both in analytic and managerial capacities. Mr. Allen spoke on "Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century: Implications for Homeland Security." His on-the-record remarks are available here……(Counterterrorism Blog, 6 May 08)

Challenges Ahead for Counterterror Chief

Michael Leiter's confirmation hearing, Tuesday, for the post of director of the National Counterterrorism Center, was about as warm and collegial as confirmation hearings get in Washington, but it did address some interesting challenges ahead in terms of dealing with two major fronts in the war on terrorism outside of Iraq: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. After several members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence asked about last year's National Intelligence Estimate, which found that al Qaeda has "regenerated key elements of its homeland attack capability" due to the safe haven in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), Leiter said, "We have clearly not succeeded in stopping core al Qaeda plotting ... there is more that the government of Pakistan can do."…..(ABC, 6 May 08)

Viktor Bout Indicted for Conspiracy to Kill Americans & Related Terrorism Charges

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced the unsealing of an indictment against international arms dealer Viktor Bout for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the FARC to be used to kill Americans in Colombia. The indictment, issued in March but sealed until today (download it here), supercedes the original complaint against Bout when he was arrested in Thailand on March 6. Bout is still in jail in Thailand pending extradition to the U.S, which the Russian government has intervened to halt…..(Counterterrorism Blog, 7 May 08)

Legal Documents for Viktor Bout Case – NEFA Archives

•  Complaint

• DOJ Press Release on Complaint

• DEA Press Release on Arrest

• Treasury Department Designation of Bout Network

• Treasury Department Chart of Bout Network

• DOJ Press Release on Indictment

Maoists want off U.S. terrorist list

Nepal's Maoists want the United States to remove them from its terrorist list, a senior party official said, noting the groundswell of popular support that carried them to victory in historic elections last month. Ambassador Nancy Powell on Thursday met with Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, for the first time, in a move seen as a possible step toward normalizing relations with the former rebels, who are still officially classified as a terrorist organization despite abandoning armed revolt and joining a peace process in 2006……(Washington Times, 6 May 08)

'Highest Priority' Terror Intel Took Weeks to Share, Report Says

…In a review of Drug Enforcement Administration intelligence operations, the Justice Department inspector general found DEA analysts sometimes took months to cable terror-related intelligence obtained by DEA agents to partner agencies. Justice IG Glenn A. Fine's team reviewed a sample of three terror-related interagency DEA cables, according to the report, which noted DEA has reported taking steps to fix the problem. One DEA cable reviewed by Fine's staff alerted outside agencies to Stinger missiles and other weapons being sold by a terror leader for use against coalition forces. Two were on how the Taliban was using drug sales to finance terror activities, and identifying a "significant terrorist cell training and operations in a specific district in Afghanistan."

Those cables took between 39 and 76 days each to prepare and share with other agencies, auditors found……(ABC, 5 May 08)

DOJ Report: THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION’S

USE OF INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS

FBI: Suspected pipe bomb damages courthouse in San Diego

A suspected pipe bomb exploded at a federal courthouse in downtown San Diego early Sunday, damaging the front entrance and blowing out a window, authorities said. No injuries were reported. Few people were around the building, which is a block from nightclubs in the Gaslamp Quarter, when the powerful blast also damaged the lobby area of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse about 1:40 am……(AP, 5 May 08)

Hundreds of Laptops Missing at State Department, Audit Finds

Hundreds of employee laptops are unaccounted for at the U.S. Department of State, which conducts delicate, often secret, diplomatic relations with foreign countries, an internal audit has found. As many as 400 of the unaccounted for laptops belong to the department’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program… The program provides counterterrorism training and equipment, including laptops, to foreign police, intelligence and security forces. Ironically, the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program is administered by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), which is responsible for the security of the department’s computer networks and sensitive equipment, including laptops, among other duties. It also protects foreign diplomats during visits here…..(CQ, 2 May 08)

Feingold presses Chertoff on marshals

…Air marshals familiar with the incidents say the problem has persisted for years because some names are either exact matches or similar, prompting airline boarding agents to refuse admittance even after they present their credentials. Mr. Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat, today sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III asking for a copy of a classified security directive that outlines how air marshals matching names on the no-fly list will work with airline officials in the future, which was first reported yesterday by The Washington Times……(Washington Times, 2 May 08)

Islam critic jailed on arson charge

A Baptist evangelist known for writing books critical of Islam and debating Muslims has been charged with attempted arson after being accused of endangering his condominium as he burned tax records of his religious organization. Anis Shorrosh, 75, of Daphne was arrested…Shorrosh frequently appears with Muslims in debates pitting Christianity against Islam. The U.S. government issued a disclaimer in 2006 denying allegations by some Muslims that a book written by Shorrosh was a "new American Quran." His book, "The True Quran," was an attempt by Shorrosh to convert Muslims to Christianity….(Montgomery Advertiser, 2 May 08)

Aviation companies blame FBI, CIA and terrorists for 9/11

Aviation companies sued by the families of Sept. 11 victims for failing to safeguard air travel are in turn blaming federal investigators — arguing the Federal Aviation Administration was not alerted that al-Qaida was poised to launch terrorist attacks.  In court documents filed this week in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, aviation companies are seeking to force five FBI employees to provide testimony that may help defend against claims the companies share blame in the attacks…..(AP, 1 May 08)

Governor Paterson Signs Legislation Protecting New Yorkers Against Infringement of First Amendment Rights by Foreign Libel Judgments

Governor David A. Paterson today announced that he has signed legislation that offers New Yorkers greater protection against libel judgments in countries whose laws are inconsistent with the freedom of speech granted by the United States Constitution. This bill was prompted by the case of Rachel Ehrenfeld, a New York-based author who was sued for libel by an individual discussed in the author’s book about terrorism funding. That lawsuit was brought in England — where libel judgments are much easier to obtain than in the United States — even though only 23 copies of the book had been sold there……(New York Press Release, 1 May 08)

Mullen Cites U.S. 'Vulnerability'

The nation's top military officer warned yesterday that the transition to a new American president will mark a "time of vulnerability" as the United States fights two wars, and he said military leaders are already actively preparing for the changing of the guard. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, said the U.S. political transition will be "extraordinarily challenging," particularly as the military is engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan and faces interference in both countries from Iran. "Iran is not going away," Mullen said. "We need to be strong and really in the deterrent mode, to not be very predictable" regarding Iran…..(Washington Post, 1 May 08)

Islam critic and evangelist author charged with arson

Daphne Anis Shorrosh, a Palestinian Arab and author of Christian evangelist books critical of Islam, was arrested early Wednesday morning and accused of attempting to set fire to a plastic recycling bin at the Loma Alta Towers where he lives… around the time the fire was set Tuesday evening, security cameras downstairs at the tower captured Shorrosh entering and exiting the room where the garbage and recycling containers are kept, Beedy said… In recent years, Shorrosh has given talks at several local churches about attacks on Christians by militant Muslims. He is the author of 10 books including "Islam Revealed" and "Islam: a Threat or a Challenge." His Web site, www.islam-in-focus.com, says Shorrosh was born in Nazareth, "hometown of Jesus Christ," and worked as an evangelist in the Middle East in the early 1960s….(Mobile Register, 1 May 08)

Florida venue for Chiquita Colombia suits

…U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach, Fla., will handle the lawsuits that alleged Chiquita regularly paid off a rightist terrorist group that killed nearly 200 Colombians in the 1990s and early 2000s… Chiquita last year pleaded guilty to paying the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia $1.7 million, which the company contends was extortion money. The plaintiffs, however, say Chiquita should have pulled out of Colombia or at least reported the alleged shakedown to U.S. authorities. They also contend there is no evidence that the payments did anything to protect Chiquita's workers…..(Politicom, 1 May 08)

Poway synagogue vandalism classified a hate crime, reward offered

Religious leaders, civil rights advocates and authorities on Wednesday called on the public's help to identify the vandals who spray-painted a synagogue with white supremacist remarks. They also announced a reward for information leading to an arrest during a news conference at the house of worship…But it's not the first time hate crimes have been reported in the region. Poway Unified School District trustees earlier this year revised the district's policy on harassment and anti-hate behavior after nooses were found at two high schools in October and November. A third incident at another campus in which a student wore a Halloween ghost costume that some said resembled a Ku Klux Klan outfit also prompted the tougher school policy…..(Sign on San Diego, 1 May 08)

Woman sentenced in false terrorism threat

A woman who did not want her nephew to travel from Oregon to a family member's home in Mississippi has been sentenced to five years' probation for calling a Greyhound Bus Lines office and saying the man was a terrorist who wanted to bring a bomb on a bus. Joanna Jean Leisure, 38, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Hattiesburg. She had pleaded guilty in January to federal charges of maliciously conveying false information by telephone….(AP, 1 May 08)

April 2008

Air marshals grounded in list mix-ups

False identifications based on a terrorist no-fly list have for years prevented some federal air marshals from boarding flights they are assigned to protect, according to officials with the agency, which is finally taking steps to address the problem. Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) familiar with the situation say the mix-ups, in which marshals are mistaken for terrorism suspects who share the same names, have gone on for years — just as they have for thousands of members of the traveling public. One air marshal said it has been "a major problem, where guys are denied boarding by the airline."…..(Washington Times, 30 Apr 08)

Mukasey targets global crime kingpins using counter-terror measures

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey's new strategy for combating international organized crime will see prosecutors working more closely with U.S. intelligence agencies to identify, track and disrupt the operations of major global crime figures… U.S. intelligence agencies provided "vital input" into the threat analysis that underpinned the strategy, said a U.S. intelligence official authorized to speak to the media. "Intelligence reporting and analysis, for example, highlighted the importance to organized crime of flexible support networks -- moving the discussion beyond the more static 'syndicate' model," which officials had traditionally used to understand the workings of organized crime. Intelligence about a possible "confluence between organized crime and threats such as terrorism," said the official in an e-mailed statement, "shaped the view, reflected in the strategy, that the fight against organized crime should be viewed not only as an international law enforcement issue, but as an international security issue."….(UPI, 29 Apr 08)

Air travelers mistaken for suspected terrorists get a break

Airlines are being allowed to save more of a traveler's personal information to help avoid mistaking that person for someone on a terrorist watchlist. Air travelers are held up each day because their names are similar to names on a watchlist. But now airlines can create systems that store a person's birth date to verify that he or she is not the person on the list. The Transportation Security Administration announced the change Monday……(AP, 28 Apr 08)

To stave off terror, feds issue safety strategy for boaters

As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist the country's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the country's 95,000 miles of coastline and inland waterways.

According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al-Qaida's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success."….(AP, 27 Apr 08)

DHS Unveils Small Vessel Security Strategy

….(DHS Press Release 28 Apr 08)

Teenager and Man Were Planning Attacks in 2 States for Sept. 11, Authorities Say

A 16-year-old boy in Indiana and a 33-year-old man in Ohio plotted by e-mail to wage coordinated attacks in the two states using guns and explosives, law enforcement authorities said Friday. The teenager, whose name has not been released, and the man, Lee M. Billi of Lakewood, Ohio, are in custody. The teenager sought Mr. Billi’s help in buying a TEC-9 semiautomatic handgun, noting in an e-mail message that it would be “awesome” to carry the same weapon used by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in the Columbine High School killings of 1999, according to a statement by Michael A. Dvorak, the prosecutor in St. Joseph County, Ind……(New York Times, 26 Apr 08)

TSA Failing Pilots on Psyche Tests to Fly Armed

…Captain X faces a conundrum. As a volunteer for the Federal Flight Deck Officer’s (FFDO) program — pilots fly armed for free — the TSA gave him a psyche test and failed him. In other words, according to the TSA, Captain X is psychologically unfit to carry a gun… What struck me as equally bizarre about Captain X’s predicament is that in addition to being an airline captain, he’s a firearms instructor in his home state. He’s been handling and using guns since he was old enough to hunt. And in order to keep his skills current, he maintains rigorous training with a personal firearms coach who is the number one competitive pistol shooter in the state. Captain X owns guns, he trains people to shoot guns, and his state licenses him to carry a gun. But the TSA says he can’t carry a weapon in a lock box in the cockpit of the aircraft he’s flying on any given day because he’s psychologically unfit to carry that gun…..(Analyst-Network, 25 Apr 08)

Citing Risks, Study Suggests Ways To Ease National Security Handoff

The United States is "lurching toward a period of uncertainty and increased risk" in this election year and during the upcoming presidential transition, according to a new Congressional Research Service study that suggests counterterrorism responses that Congress, the Bush administration and its potential successors could take. The report, released Monday, noted that new security officials and agencies put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- such as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Counterterrorism Center and the Department of Homeland Security -- will soon undergo their first presidential handoff……(Washington Post, 25 Apr 08)

Cooperating witness in oil - food case gets fine, probation

An Iraqi-American businessman who admitted helping Saddam Hussein's government in the oil-for-food scandal was fined $300,000 and sentenced to probation by a judge who said he provided substantial assistance to the U.S. government after his arrest. ''He was a terrific witness,'' U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said Thursday as he bestowed leniency on Samir A. Vincent, who could have faced years in prison. Vincent, a 67-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Annandale, Va., testified at two trials, including one that was interrupted when Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy……(AP, 24 Apr 08)

FBI To Investigate Miami Beach Synagogue Fire As Hate Crime

The FBI will launch an investigation into whether a fire that destroyed a Miami Beach synagogue Tuesday was an act of arson. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., on Wednesday asked FBI Director Robert Mueller to investigate if the fires at the Chabad House and another Miami Beach synagogue in October were hate crimes…..(Local 10, 25 Apr 08)

Boy held in alleged Columbine-style plot

A 16-year-old boy asked for help obtaining a TEC-DC9 9mm pistol, saying it would be “awesome” to use the same weapon as the Columbine killers in carrying out mass murders in two states on Sept. 11, a prosecutor said…a school officer investigating an unrelated threat at the teen’s school, Penn High, discovered Internet postings in which the teen discussed his support for the Columbine shooters, a reference to the 1999 massacre at a suburban Denver high school in which two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher before committing suicide…..(AP, 25 Apr 08)

Revered New Jersey Imam, Facing Deportation, Has Interfaith Support

For a dozen years, Mohammad Qatanani has supported the members of the Islamic Center of Passaic County by speaking at funerals, hashing out ethical dilemmas and sometimes opening his home to domestic-violence victims at a moment’s notice… The imam, who is Palestinian, and most of his family face deportation because of his detention in Israel decades ago and questions about whether he lied about it on his application for permanent residency, which he made in 1999 and which was recently denied. The case has galvanized a diverse group of community figures from a variety of faiths who fear the prospect of losing a leader they see as an example of Muslim moderation…..(New York Times, 24 Apr 08)

Judge Rules on Terrorism Watch Lists

A federal magistrate judge in Chicago has ruled that protecting state secrets is not a valid argument for the government to refuse to tell American citizens whether they are on the terrorism watch list, the Terrorist Screening Database. The ruling, signed on April 16 but made public by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois on Wednesday, ordered the Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I. to give the court the files regarding the 10 Muslim or Arab-American plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit starting in 2005, seeking court protection from what they contend is unwarranted harassment at the border…..(New York Times, 24 Apr 08)

Muslim chaplain probe demanded

Fearing the radicalization of U.S. soldiers, the leader of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus has called for a government investigation of all Muslim chaplains serving in the U.S. military to determine whether they have ties to radical Islamic groups. Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., says the Pentagon has failed to vet properly the Muslim chaplains ministering to U.S forces since it first set up its Muslim chaplain corps 15 years ago. The military chaplains were approved by a convicted terrorism supporter who at the time headed the American Muslim Council. Abdurahman Alamoudi is now serving a 23-year prison sentence on federal terrorism charges……(World Net Daily, 24 Apr 08)

Good News / Bad News Concerning US VISIT

The Department of Homeland Security will reportedly be issuing regulations requiring commercial airlines and cruise lines to begin collecting the biometric identifiers, notably digital fingerprints and photographs, of foreign travelers as they depart the United States…Already, representatives of the airline industry are crying foul, saying placing this responsibility on them will lead to major costs and they do not know how they will be able to make it work. Further, the airlines are claiming this is really a governmental responsibility and not something private industry should be doing….(Counterterrorism Blog, 23 Apr 08)

Bush threatens veto of Coast Guard bill over LNG security

…The White House said the requirement would "divert finite Coast Guard assets from other high-priority missions" and "provide an unwarranted and unnecessary subsidy" to the LNG owners. The Government Accountability Office says a terrorism attack on an LNG tanker arriving at a terminal could ignite an explosion and fire so fierce that people a mile away would be burned. But GAO auditors also say the Coast Guard is already stretched too thin to meet its own standards for protecting arriving LNG tankers from attack. The U.S. now has eight operating LNG import terminals on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Another dozen are being planned because of increased demand for natural gas and limited domestic supplies……(AP, 23 Apr 08)

Probation For Sergeant Who Misused Databases

A Fairfax County police sergeant was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Alexandria to two years' probation for his admission that he checked police databases for someone who was the target of a federal terrorism case.

Sgt. Weiss Rasool, 31, initially faced up to six months in jail, but federal prosecutors urged U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry R. Poretz to consider as much as a year of jail time after Rasool took a lie-detector test last week and "was not fully compliant" with the test procedures. Prosecutors also said in a motion filed with the court that FBI agents "do not believe that he has been truthful."….(Washington Post, 23 Apr 08)

Husband arrested in 1994 slaying of CIA worker

Andre Jackson, formerly of Los Angeles, was arrested last week in Tempe, Ariz., in connection with the killing of his wife, Marie Singleton-Jackson. Jackson, 46, is expected to be arraigned on a murder charge Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, authorities said. Singleton-Jackson, a communications analyst with the CIA, was last seen alive Nov. 11, 1994. Her body was discovered five days later in the trunk of her 1991 Saab, which had been impounded after having been abandoned at Dockweiler State Beach. Homicide detectives made the discovery at the tow yard where the car had been taken. An autopsy revealed that the 33-year-old mother of four had died of manual strangulation….(LA Times, 22 Apr 08)

Husband arrested in 1994 LA-area slaying of CIA analyst

Nearly 14 years after a CIA employee's strangled body was found in a car trunk, her husband has been charged with her murder. Inglewood police and FBI cold case investigators reopened the case and used DNA evidence to link Andre Jackson, 46, to the killing of his 33-year-old wife, Marie Singleton-Jackson….(AP, 22 Apr 08)

Victim pregnant at time of Jewish Federation shootings testifies in Haq trial

Dayna Klein was on the phone trying to tie up business on a Friday afternoon when she heard popping in the hallway of the Belltown offices where she worked. She peeked her head out of her office expecting to find her co-workers playing around. Instead, she saw Naveed Haq. "He had a gun raised ... he shot me at his first opportunity," she testified this morning in Haq's trial for the July 28, 2006, shootings at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle…..(Seattle Times, 22 Apr 08)

Man Gets 15 Years For Threat Letters

For two decades, Scott L. Rendelman has sent letters threatening judges, prosecutors, presidents and others with graphic violence. Yesterday, as he was sentenced in federal court in Greenbelt, Rendelman told U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus that he'd stop -- as long as Titus gave him probation instead of prison time.

Titus was not persuaded. "You simply cannot do this to a judge and a prosecutor, much less the president of the United States," and expect probation, Titus said. With that, Titus sentenced Rendelman to 15 years in federal prison. Not only did Titus reject Rendelman's offer, he added nearly four years to his sentence after finding that Rendelman had engaged in "extreme conduct" by sending threatening letters to two federal judges since his conviction in December……(Washington Post, 22 Apr 08)

U.S. to Insist That Travel Industry Get Fingerprints

The U.S. government today will order commercial airlines and cruise lines to prepare to collect digital fingerprints of all foreigners before they depart the country under a security initiative that the industry has condemned as costly and burdensome. The proposal does not say where airlines must collect fingerprints -- at airport check-in counters, departure gates or kiosks somewhere in between. But the government estimates the undertaking will cost airlines $2.3 billion over 10 years….(Washington Post, 22 Apr 08)

Charge Dropped Against Artist in Terror Case

A judge on Monday dismissed terrorism-linked charges against a college professor accused of illegally obtaining biological materials for an art exhibit protesting United States government food policies. The judge, Richard J. Arcara of Federal District Court, ruled that a mail and wire fraud indictment brought nearly four years ago against the University at Buffalo professor, Steven J. Kurtz, was “insufficient on its face.” Professor Kurtz is a founding member of the Critical Art Ensemble, which has used DNA and other biological materials in works meant to draw attention to political and social issues……(AP, 22 Apr 08)

Munitions maker accused of selling faulty grenades to FBI

A Georgia munitions manufacturer has been indicted on charges alleging it sold faulty "stun" grenades to the FBI, including one that injured three agents, federal authorities announced Monday. Pyrotechnic Specialties Inc., chief executive officer David J. Karlson and three employees are charged with conspiracy, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the government….(AP, 21 Apr 08)

Judge declares mistrial in drug case against Colombian rebel

…Ricardo Palmera is already serving a 60-year prison sentence on an unrelated hostage-taking charge, so the mistrial means little for his future. But the U.S. wanted a conviction to reinforce its stance that Latin America's largest rebel group is also a drug cartel. Justice Department has now twice failed to make that case in court…..(AP, 21 Apr 08)

From Russia, With Love….and No VISA

Recently, an investigation was conducted by the special agents of ICE and the State Department into a massive VISA fraud scam. The scam enabled aliens to enter our nation through ports of entry, claiming to be students, and then simply go about their business in the United States although they were not attending school…Behzad “Ben” Zaman, 50, a naturalized citizen from Iran, was arrested by federal customs agents in Los Angeles on charges that he used his English language schools as a front to get student VISAs for Russian prostitutes and other ineligible foreigners. A grand jury indicted Zaman on 14 counts of fraud and misuse of VISAs, conspiracy and money laundering, according to a statement from federal officials.  The charges carry a maximum penalty of 210 years in prison. Zaman operated the Concord English Language Center and another school, the International College for English Studies, authorities said.  He was arrested at Concord… A Lebanese woman, Nada Nadim Prouty was recently convicted of having entered the United States on a student VISA and overstaying it. She then engaged in a marriage fraud where she paid a man to marry her and file an application for her to be granted a green card, signifying that she was a lawful immigrant. She maintained a "low profile" working in a restaurant of her brother-in-law and then became a United States citizen. She parlayed her newly acquired U.S. citizenship and language skills into a job at the FBI as a sworn FBI special agent and then after a few years left the FBI for a job at the CIA… Consider a study prepared by Janice Kephart, former counsel to the 9/11 Commission, who prepared the study for the Center for Immigration Studies on the topic: "Immigration and Terrorism: Moving Beyond the 9/11 Staff Report on Terrorist Travel."……(FSM, 21 Apr 08)

Full CIS Report

Neo-Nazis Clash With Protesters

A march by a busload of neo-Nazi activists on Constitution Avenue yesterday wreaked havoc on a balmy afternoon in the capital, bringing traffic to a halt, filling the streets with hundreds of police and provoking an ugly confrontation on the sidelines that resulted in at least three arrests. About 30 marchers from the Michigan-based National Socialist Movement, waving red swastika flags and shouting "Sieg Heil," emerged about 2:30 p.m. from a bus one block from the White House and strode toward the Capitol, flanked by thick cordons of police who walked the route in riot gear and hundreds of officers on horseback, bicycles and motorcycles…..(Washington Post, 20 Apr 08)

FBI Terror Expert Sees Job Evolve

As an FBI supervisor, John Perren spent weeks in the wreckage of the Pentagon after Sept. 11, 2001. Yet what haunts him is the attack that didn't happen…That hijacked jet, which authorities say was apparently bound for the White House or the U.S. Capitol, crashed in Pennsylvania. Perren says he believes that al-Qaeda will return to Washington, just as the group came back and attacked the World Trade Center eight years after a botched bombing there. "They had a target," he says. "They will keep going after it." …..(Washington Post, 20 Apr 08)

Brandywine Couple Sentenced in Immigration Fraud Scheme

U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Nadia Naeem, age 29, and Mohammad Amin Doudzai, age 45, both of Brandywine, Maryland today to one year in prison followed by three years of supervised release and eight months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, respectively, for conspiracy to obstruct, and obstruction of, proceedings before a United States agency, immigration fraud and false statements…On March 31, 2006, during an interview with U.S. immigration officials concerning Nabil’s application for LPR status, Naeem and Nabil presented a letter from a co-worker of Nabil and a letter from Nabil’s landlords in Accokeek, Maryland falsely stating that Nabil and Naeem were husband and wife, and that they had a child together.   In fact, the evidence at trial showed that in November 2005, Nabil lived alone and Naeem lived with Doudzai in Brandywine.  When questioned about her relationship with Doudzai, Naeem falsely stated that she barely knew Doudzai, was not certain of his first name, and denied that she and Doudzai were married or had a son together…Doudzai became a civilian employee of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command in 1989, and was granted top secret/sensitive compartmented information security clearance in 2002.  On November 2, 2005, as part of a security re-investigation, Doudzai submitted a security form to the United States Army Test and Evaluation Command.  The form required Doudzai to disclose spousal information and the names and citizenship of any foreign national relative or associate with whom he is bound by affection, obligation, or close and continuing contact.  The evidence showed that Doudzai falsely described his marital status as “never married” and falsely listed his deceased parents as his only relatives or associates…..(FBI Press Release, 18 Apr 08)

Airport screeners to get more security training

Airport screeners are about to get new security training designed to help them think creatively about possible threats _ including those they have never thought of. "We have to prepare for attacks that don't fit our procedures," such as the traveler who stuffed a block of cheese wrapped in wire into a checked bag, Transportation Security Administration Kip Hawley told reporters Friday….(AP, 18 Apr 08)

EU ready to give U.S some access to police data

The European Union executive signaled on Thursday the bloc could give the United States limited access to its police databases in a bid to resolve a long-running visa row with Washington. The offer, likely to stir up European concerns about data privacy, would be an attempt to get all 27 EU member states into the U.S. visa-free system. But it would apply only if the EU received similar data from Washington….(Reuters, 17 Apr 08)

DEA seeks minorities, vets for spy deal

The Drug Enforcement Administration wants to hire a disadvantaged business to translate and analyze intercepted communications on the southern border. In procurement documents posted on the Web, the agency says it is seeking to establish whether a suitable contractor can be found that is small, woman- or disabled veteran-owned, or disadvantaged in some other way, to fill posts at the Special Operations Watch Section of its El Paso Intelligence Center. The operatives will provide "collection, analysis and dissemination information services" for "SIGINT" -- signals intelligence -- gathered at the border…..(UPI, 17 Apr 08)

United States: U.S. Department Of Homeland Security Extends Foreign Student Employment Authorization Period

The Department of Homeland Security recently published an interim final regulation affecting a popular employment authorization program for foreign students. Many of these students later become candidates for H-1B visas sponsored by their employers, and this rule affects that transition as well.  Foreign students on F-1 visas have long been eligible for a 12-month period of employment known as Optional Practical Training (OPT) following completion of an academic degree program. The 12-month limitation contributed to gaps in employment authorization when an employer sought to sponsor the student for H-1B status for continued employment. Students typically begin OPT in May or June, meaning the OPT period is exhausted in May or June the following year. Due to quirks in the H-1B program, initial H-1B status cannot commence prior to October 1 in any given year, thus producing a gap between the end of OPT and the start of H-1B status. To make matters worse, DHS has not permitted students caught in this trap to remain in the U.S. between the expiration of F-1 status and the start of H-1B status on October 1…..(Mondaq, 17 Apr 08)

NYC Ramps Up Security for Pope's Visit

Spy submarines, radiation detection trucks and a fleet of well-equipped helicopters: From land, water and sky, the New York City Police Department is taking extraordinary security measures for Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit to the city. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly allowed ABC News exclusive access to the department as it prepared to provide what he said is "the highest level of security possible" for the pope's trip. Police scuba divers are already patrolling the waters near the United Nations, preparing for the pope's Friday morning speech before the General Assembly…..(ABC, 17 Apr 08)

"We made eye contact, and he shot me again": Harrowing testimony on third day of Haq trial

…"We made eye contact, and he shot me again. I believe he was trying to kill me," she testified this morning on the third day of Haq's trial in King County Superior Court. Haq, 32, charged with one count of aggravated murder, five counts of attempted aggravated murder and numerous other crimes, kept his head down and avoided looking at Bush while she was on the stand…Haq has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Defense attorneys do not dispute that he entered the Belltown offices on July 28, 2006, and began shooting, killing Federation employee Pamela Waechter and wounding five others. But the defense contends he was insane at the time……(Seattle Times, 17 Apr 08)

Ricin suspect arrested after release from Vegas hospital

A man who sparked a panic when ricin was allegedly found in his motel room has been charged with possession of a deadly toxin _ part of what authorities said was a vague plot to poison his enemies. Roger Bergendorff was arrested Wednesday upon his release from a hospital where he had been treated since Feb. 14 for respiratory ailments and failing kidneys. Authorities allege that he possessed the ricin as part of a scheme to hurt unspecified enemies. They do not believe it had anything to do with terrorism….(AP, 17 Apr 08)

Nevada man arrested after ricin found in W. Jordan storage unit

…Roger Von Bergendorff, 57, was arrested Wednesday morning after he was released from a hospital in Las Vegas, where he fell critically ill in February with symptoms consistent with ricin exposure. Vials of the potent toxin were later found in his Las Vegas hotel room. He is being held in a Las Vegas jail… In interviews at the hospital, Bergendorff admitted to making ricin in Utah, possibly in the basement of his cousin's Riverton home, investigators wrote. In 2005 and 2006, Bergendorff lived with his cousin, 54-year-old Thomas Tholen, who was indicted April 2 on a federal charge that he knew about the ricin and didn't tell authorities about it… Agents searched the storage lockers, which contained the contaminated mortar and other materials used to produce ricin. They also found a design of an injection device disguised as a pen. Bergendorff admitted to drawing the device but described it as "sick stuff," investigators wrote. Bergendorff went on to say there are people who have made him mad, and he made plans to harm them but never acted on those thoughts, investigators wrote. He called the production of ricin an "exotic idea."… Bergendorff was charged with possession of a biological toxin, possession of unregistered firearms - guns found in the Las Vegas motel room - and possession of firearms not identified by serial number. Along with the guns, authorities found two silencers that Bergendorff claimed he made himself "because they were fun,"…..(Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Apr 08)

Man Charged in Las Vegas Ricin Case (DOJ)

House debates safety network

…The Federal Communications Commission, in its sale of airwaves being vacated after next year's transition to digital television, had attached conditions to a slice of the spectrum that called for the winning bidder to partner with public safety officials and build a national emergency communications network. But the so-called "D" block failed to attract a minimum bid, leaving the agency with a chunk of spectrum and questions of what to do next…..(Washington Times, 17 Apr 08)

IG: DHS need cyber security coordination office

The Homeland Security Department is moving too slowly to protect its most critical internal computer systems, according to a new from the department’s inspector general, Richard Skinner. The report recommends creating an office within DHS to determine protection priorities for its critical cyber infrastructure and coordinate efforts to protect those information technology assets. Under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, federal agencies must identify critical cyber infrastructures, and DHS uses an enterprise tool to identify those systems. But there is no process in place to rank those systems to ensure that the high-risk ones are protected…..(FCW, 16 Apr 08)

TSA may begin air passenger background checks in 2009

…Under the Secure Flight program, TSA will review key information on each airline passenger -- such as name, gender, date of birth, citizenship and country of residence -- to determine if the person is on the government's so called no-fly list or a "selectee" list, which requires the traveler to go through additional screening measures before boarding. Individual airlines now check passenger names against the lists, a process that has seen innocent U.S. citizens, including lawmakers, detained because their names appeared on one of the lists. But the 9/11 Commission recommended the government take over the screening and Congress mandated the department do so under a 2004 law……(Congress Daily, 16 Apr 08)

Officer: Haq calm when stopped 20 minutes before rampage

…what may be most important for jurors in Haq's ongoing King County Superior Court trial is the 32-year-old Tri-Cities man's demeanor during that brief run-in with police, which happened so close in time to the deadly shooting. His attorneys contend that he was delusional when he forced his way into the federation's Seattle offices with two guns and a knife on that sunny Friday afternoon and shot six women, leaving one of them dead.

Prosecutors contend that he'd planned the attack and knew exactly what he was doing: Trying to make a political statement with his rant against Jews, U.S. foreign policy and the troops in Iraq……(Seattle PI, 16 Apr 08)

NRC to expand radioactive materials tracking system

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants to significantly expand the number and type of radioactive materials the agency will track in a Web-based system under development. The National Source Tracking System, which is to be fully implemented by Jan. 31, 2009, originally was conceived in late 2006 to account for the actions of 1,350 radioactive materials licensees who possess some of the most dangerous material from a security standpoint. Those are considered Category 1 and Category 2 sources, as determined by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and are typically used in medicine and manufacturing. NRC's proposed rule, which the agency published Friday in the Federal Register, would require another 3,500 licensees and 17,000 additional radioactive sources to be subject to the tracking system……(Gov Exec, 14 Apr 08)

Threats Close 3 Colleges, 4 More Schools

A message scrawled in a university bathroom _ "Be prepared to die on 4/14" _ left not just the college's campus empty Monday, but also those of two adjoining high schools and a pair of nearby elementary schools. After the precautions were taken at St. Xavier University on the city's southwest side, Malcolm X College evacuated students and canceled daytime classes Monday after a similar threat was found in a bathroom at the campus west of downtown. And Michigan's Oakland University was closed Monday because of threatening graffiti mentioning April 14. The closures, two days before the anniversary of the Virginia Tech killings and two months after the deadly rampage at Northern Illinois University, illustrate the challenge such threats pose to school administrators, who have to decide just how seriously to take them…..(AP, 15 Apr 08)

Trial opens for Seattle Jewish Federation shooter

The man accused of shooting up the Seattle Jewish Federation two years ago, killing one woman and wounding five, was not insane but had a deliberate plan to make a blood-soaked political point, prosecutors said Monday as his trial opened. Naveed Haq, 32, a Pakistani-American born in the United States, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of murder and attempted murder in the July 2006 attack. If convicted, he faces life in prison without parole……(Jerusalem Post, 15 Apr 08)

Jewish Federation shooting victims recall terror of that day

Kelsey Burkum locked herself in a bathroom stall, hiding from a gunman. The 14-year-old girl didn't know what was happening outside the door; she just knew what she heard. A spate of gunshots. People screaming. She fumbled in her bag for a cell phone on that summer day almost two years ago and dialed, crying as she made a frightened call to 911. "Hi, I'm at the Jewish Federation ... and there's a man with a gun here," she said, her voice shaking. "... I heard screams after I heard the shots. I don't know if anyone got hurt."….(Seattle PI, 15 Apr 08)

Administration Set to Use New Spy Program in U.S.

Surveillance quietly expands in city

Police and homeland security officials say they will not post signs around the more than 5,200 cameras being consolidated into one network under an initiative announced by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty.  "At this time we don't have any plans to do that," said Darrell Darnell, director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, which will manage the camera network. "This isn't a crime surveillance tool, this is strictly a monitoring function. It may not seem like there's a difference there, but there is."……(Washington Times, 13 Apr 08)

LAPD Looks to Uncover Terrorist Plots

The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a new reporting system aimed to help connect dots that could uncover local terror plots _ a program that police departments in other major cities across the country hope to incorporate into their daily routines as well. During the course of police officer's day, the officer could run across suspicious packages, people taking pictures of bridges or a car that looks out of place parked in front of a water tower……(AP, 11 Apr 08)

Threats Close Down Ill. Catholic College

Officials of a Catholic liberal arts college shut it down indefinitely Friday and told students to leave campus after threatening messages were found scrawled in the bathroom of a freshman dorm. Graffiti were found twice this month at St. Xavier University's Regina Hall, including a message Thursday that read, "Be prepared to die on 4/14," President Judith Dwyer said in a statement. Officials closed down campuses in Chicago and suburban Orland Park, along with classroom space in downtown Chicago, and canceled all classes for the school's 5,700 students. Buildings where community events are planned will remain open…..(AP, 11 Apr 08)

Airport watch list now reviewed often

The Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) now will automatically review nearly 500,000 names on its watch list that are frequently matched during airport screenings and other law-enforcement encounters with the general public and remove those names that don't belong to actual suspects. Under new rules called the Terrorist Encounter Review Process (TERP), records of frequently encountered individuals will be reviewed, even if no formal redress requests are filed. "The terrorist watch list has become a very effective counterterrorism tool and the new TERP program will help ensure we have the best information to appropriately handle known or suspected terrorists while reducing adverse effects on persons misidentified as watch-list subjects,"…..(Washington Times, 11 Apr 08)

Mikulski seeks review of Army's lab

U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski said yesterday that she will seek a health and safety review of the Army's planned biodefense laboratory expansion at Fort Detrick, an installation virtually surrounded by homes and businesses… Known as the U.S. Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, it would be staffed by 1,300 people — up from about 750 curr