SubscribeFocus widens in Times Square attack
March 7, 2008
“The search for a bicyclist who bombed the Times Square military recruiting office expanded quickly yesterday as the probe’s focus turned to photos of the attack site sent to Capitol Hill and possible connections to previous attacks on two city consulate buildings.
The early morning bombing by a hooded bicyclist, at arguably the armed forces’ most visible presence in the nation’s largest city, rattled windows and nerves but caused little damage and no injuries.” (Newsday)
Flight School Fiasco: No Lessons Learned After 9/11
March 6, 2008
“Last week, in one of the most damaging reports on the TSA to date, ABC News revealed that in the program’s first year under TSA control, there were “some 8,000 foreign students in the FAA database who got their pilot licenses without ever being approved by the TSA.”
“Thousands of aliens, some of whom may very well pose a threat to this country, are taking flight lessons, being granted FAA certifications and are flying planes,” wrote TSA official Richard A. Horn in 2005, according to ABC. He was complaining that the students did not have the proper visas.” (Pajamas Media)
National Dragnet Is a Click Away
March 6, 2008
“Several thousand law enforcement agencies are creating the foundation of a domestic intelligence system through computer networks that analyze vast amounts of police information to fight crime and root out terror plots.” (Washington Post)
Navy develops two-way radio communication for submerged submarines
March 6, 2008
“The Navy has developed systems using floating radio antennas and buoys that will provide submerged submarines with two-way communications for the first time in history, a top official at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center said at a news briefing on Tuesday.” (GovExec)
Small explosion hits New York’s Times Square
March 6, 2008
“A small explosion caused minor damage to a U.S. military recruiting center in New York’s Times Square area in the early hours of Thursday but there were no injuries, police said.
The Homeland Security Department said it was investigating whether there was a terrorism link to the explosion.” (Reuters)
Palestinians and Israel agree to resume peace talks
March 6, 2008
“Israel and the Palestinians may resume peace talks this week, Israeli media reported on Thursday, but progress looked set to hinge on stemming bloodshed in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.” (Reuters)
DHS secretary seeks to improve airport screening
March 6, 2008
“Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told a Senate panel Tuesday that the government needs to look for new ways to improve airport screening.
Chertoff told the Senate Appropriations Committee panel that he has instructed the head of the Transportation Security Administration to think “outside the box” and come up with ways to “re-engineer the process” in the next 30 to 45 days.” (CNN)
DHS: Real ID is ‘pro-consumer’ and ‘antiterrorism’
March 5, 2008
“One of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s most prominent Real ID cheerleaders made a more timid than usual push on Tuesday for states to adopt the controversial identification card standards.
Stewart Baker, the department’s assistant secretary for policy, has touted what he perceives as the privacy-protective, identity theft-preventive features of the congressionally mandated Real ID driver’s license regime during the past year” (CNET)
Saudi Arabia Arrests 28 Militants
March 5, 2008
“Police have arrested 28 militants suspected of trying to rebuild the al-Qaida network in Saudi Arabia and start a terror campaign in the kingdom, the government said Monday.
Police had found a message from Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader, on the memory card of one of the men’s mobile phones, urging the militants to collect money for needy families in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry.” (AP)
DHS Tests of Radiation Detectors Were Inconclusive, Report Says
March 5, 2008
“Department of Homeland Security tests of new radiation detection machines last year did not show whether the costly devices performed well enough to be used as planned at ports and borders to protect the country against nuclear attacks or dirty bombs, according to a new report about the process.” (Washington Post)
