“The military’s elite Special Operations Command has quietly stepped back from a controversial plan that gave it the authority to carry out secret counterterrorism missions on its own around the world.” (NYT)
“More than one out of every three positions in an elite FBI division that tracks al Qaeda terrorists is vacant, according to an internal bureau document. Efforts are under way at the FBI to canvass for “volunteers” to fill what the agency said is a “critical” need in its counterterrorism efforts.” (Washington Times)
“A federal immigration raid at a kosher meatpacking plant in northeast Iowa was the largest such operation in U.S. history, with nearly 400 people arrested, federal officials said Tuesday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said at least 390 people were arrested on immigration charges as part of a raid Monday morning at Agriprocessors Inc. in Postville. [...]
“The U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during the trip back to their home country, according to medical records, internal documents and interviews with people who have been drugged.” (Washington Post)
“The violent Islamist terrorist threat has evolved and expanded since al Qaeda planned the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and radicalization of disaffected Muslims and recent converts to Islam is increasingly occurring here in the United States. Yet the federal government has “no cohesive and comprehensive outreach and communications strategy in place to confront this [...]
“Scientists are on their way to developing an effective antidote for botulinum toxin – one of the world’s most feared biological weapons.” (BBC News)
“Lawyers for the radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, convicted in Britain of race-hate crimes and soliciting murder, began a legal challenge Monday against his extradition to the United States.” (AFP)
“Al Qaeda and other radical groups have dramatically increased their use of the Internet in recent years to lure and train recruits worldwide, a U.S. Senate report warned on Thursday.” (Reuters)
“The Homeland Security Department’s ambitious cybersecurity initiative might be relying too much on contractors and might not be providing enough information to the public, according to two key senators.” (Federal Computer Week)
“The federal government is preparing to test high-tech buoys adapted from Cold War-era Navy technology that could act as an offshore early warning system against a terrorist attack by sea.
Finding boats that aren’t supposed to be heading for U.S. shores is a difficult task in vast, sometimes dangerous seas. Much of the surveillance is done [...]