SubscribeBarcelona plot fuels U.S. security concerns
January 25, 2008
“The arrest of 14 people in Spain in a suspected Islamist bomb plot has fueled concerns over U.S. security as Bush administration officials are turning their attention to potential election-year threats, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Friday.
He said he could not discuss whether there was any U.S. connection in the suspected Barcelona plot, in which police raids last week uncovered explosives and other equipment.” (Reuters)
DHS Requires Reporting on Chemicals
January 25, 2008
“Potentially explosive and hazardous chemicals have been subject to environmental and safety regulations for many years, but after the Oklahoma City bombing and concerns about terrorist threats, the Department of Homeland Security will now require manufacturers, businesses or facilities that use or store certain chemicals to report their use to DHS in an online form.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described the rules as a “a critical piece” of federal efforts to decrease the threat of large private stockpiles of chemicals being used as a weapon.” (The Signal)
Homeland Security silent on TB carrier’s multiple U.S. entries
January 25, 2008
“The Senate Homeland Security Chairman urged the Department of Homeland Security to provide answers to questions submitted three months ago regarding the multiple entries of a Mexican national carrying a dangerous strain of tuberculosis.” (Washington Times)
Judge urges common sense in border fence land disputes
January 25, 2008
“A federal judge urged the government Friday to use common sense and “good neighborness” in working out access to 12 pieces of private property in Cameron County that it says it needs to study land for the border fence.U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen did not rule Friday, but an order was expected early next week granting the government access but with some guidelines.” (Dallas Morning News)
U.S. says threat against airlines remains high
January 25, 2008
“The United States is likely to keep a high threat designation for the airline industry because militants still see air travel as a target, 
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.
Chertoff said the orange, or high, threat level assigned to the airline sector — one level higher than the overall alert level for the United States — was based on a general assessment rather than a specific threat.” (Reuters)
Beirut blast kills anti-terror chief
January 25, 2008
“An explosion in Beirut has killed four people, including Lebanon’s top anti-terror investigating officer, sources with the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and a government minister told CNN.” (CNN)
TWIC card needs double since initial estimates
January 24, 2008
“The U.S. Coast Guard now says that up to 1.5 million workers could need Transportation Worker Identification Credential cards — twice the number that some had originally estimated would need the smart cards for unescorted access to secure areas of U.S port facilities and vessels.” (FCW)
Stepped-Up Security for State of the Union
January 24, 2008
“As President Bush prepares to deliver his last State of the Union address Monday, security around Washington D.C. is beefing up.
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have prepared a recent threat assessment that was distributed to law enforcement in the Washington metropolitan area Wednesday.
According to law enforcement and Homeland Security officials, in the coming days DHS will announce that DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff will designate the event a “national security special event.” “(ABC News)
Immigration: On the Fence
January 24, 2008
“Welcomed or not, a rising debate over illegal immigration has staked a prominent claim on this year’s political stage.
Most Republican presidential candidates talk tough about secure borders and restricted opportunities to citizenship for people who are here illegally. The Democrats say as little as they can, hoping that a backlash of Hispanic voters against GOP bluster will snatch the southwestern states that went for President Bush in 2004.” (Hispanic Business)
The Future of Warfare
January 24, 2008
“In a recent posting in Newsday, a reference that may have passed unnoticed was made to an incident occurring in the small Baltic nation of Estonia, once under the control of the Soviet Union. For three weeks this past April, the Russians engineered a massive cyber-attack on Estonia’s computer systems and web sites in retaliation for the removal of a World War II-era Soviet war memorial from downtown Tallinn, Estonia’s capital. Russia’s massive state-controlled telecommunications companies paralyzed Estonian web sites by sending more than 5,000 hits a second of bogus requests for information. It was cyber-warfare in the form of computer sabotage and it shook the NATO alliance of which Estonia is now a member.” (International Analyst Network)