In Homeland Security

TSA to Expand Use of Body Scanners

2009-11-01T14:56:03Z

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to increase it's use of body scanners by installing 150 of the high tech units at airport checkpoints around the country. Use of the body scanners has not been without controversy. Various groups have cited the machines as intrusive due to the amount of detail revealed in the images viewed by TSA personnel during the screening process.

Currently there is a measure before the Senate that would restrict use to passengers 'flagged" during other screening processes such as metal detectors, etc.

Homeland Security seeks 1000 Cybersecurity Pros

2009-10-21T12:28:02Z

The Department of Homeland Security has been given the go-ahead to hire up to 1,000 new cybersecurity pros over the next three years.

The new hiring authority will let DHS, a key agency in the nation's cybersecurity strategy, fill positions in risk and strategic analysis, incident response, vulnerability detection, intelligence, investigation, and network and systems engineering.

Read more about this at IInformationWeek Government.

Could a Piece of a Video Game Prevent Future Terrorist Attacks?

2009-10-16T14:20:38Z

Wii Fit Balance Boards are being investigated as the newest tools for detecting signs of tension or anxiety in airport security lines. The Department of Homeland Security is leading the research on the worthiness of this product's use in terror attack detection. The Wii Balance Board can detect your precise balance point, including rapid shifts in balance, which are attributes the Future Attribute Screening Technology project hopes will identify those passengers who may have hostile intentions.

Nervous flyers look out.

Homeland Security Report No. 22 Available for FREE Download

2009-10-12T11:48:33Z

The October 2009 issue of the Homeland Security Report (HSR 202) is available for free download. The first free issue went out 8 years ago this month.

Live Webcast: Trends, Issues and Career Opportunities in Hazardous Materials Transportation

2009-10-08T20:38:37Z

American Public University System (APUS) will present a live webcast, Oct 20 11 a.m. - 12 p.m., featuring members of the academic and corporate communities specializing in the transportation and logistics industry for an interactive discussion on Trends, Issues and Career Opportunities in Hazardous Materials Transportation.

Speakers Include:

Shannon Schick - Hazardous Materials Safety Manager, Schneider National Inc.
Tom Cuthbertson - Member, Board of Directors - Information Technology and Logistics Council, American Trucking Association and Director of Production Systems Operations and Support, XATA Corporation
Irvin Varkonyi, CSCP, P.Log. - Professor, American Public University's Transportation & Logistics Programs

Topics & Agenda:

An overview of issues and trends in hazardous materials from the vantage point of leaders in the transportation field, including:

The impact of homeland security and emergency management issues on this sub-market in the transportation and logistics industry
Social media venues and communications channels that industry leaders leverage to share ideas and best practices

This event is the first of a five-part series of webcasts addressing issues and trends in the public service sector, sponsored by APUS to be held in Fall/Winter 2009.

For more details and registration information, visit http://www.studyatapu.com/web-cast/tlm/index.htm.

'Preventive' Terrorism Raid Targets NYC Apartments

2009-09-30T15:11:39Z

APUSBlog

DHS Extends Second National Dialogue

2009-09-07T19:31:02Z

The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review is in the middle of its second National Dialogue.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using online dialogues to allow stakeholders the opportunity to inform the work of our study groups. More than 8,000 stakeholders rated and commented on proposed visions and goals from the study groups during the first dialogue.

There are six study groups, focusing on:

Counterterrorism and Domestic Security Management
Securing Our Borders
Smart and Tough Enforcement of Immigration Laws
Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters
Homeland Security National Risk Assessment
Homeland Security Planning and Capabilities

Due to Labor Day Holiday, they have extended the Second National Dialogue to Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009. Join the conversation at http://www.homelandsecuritydialogue.org/

Taliban Surprising U.S. Forces with Improved Tactics

2009-09-02T11:55:05Z

Washington Post writer Karen Young writes that the Taliban has become a much more potent adversary in Afghanistan by improving its own tactics and finding gaps in the U.S. military playbook, according to senior American military officials who acknowledged that the enemy's resurgence this year has taken them by surprise. U.S. rules of engagement restricting the use of airpower and aggressive action against civilians have also opened new space for the insurgents.

Read full article.

FCC to Host Webinar on How Broadband Can Enhance Homeland Security

2009-08-26T04:11:42Z

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host a workshop available to the general public via an online webinar. The goal of the workshop is to examine existing and potential uses of broadband technology by public safety entities and ways in which the technology can enhance homeland security. FCC says the event will bring together representatives from the public safety community, government agencies, industry, and academia to discuss interoperability, redundancy, cyber security, 911, and pandemic response, among other issues.

To join the webinar, you will first need to register and also set up the required software on your computer prior to the event. For registration and more information, visit www.broadband.gov/ws_pshs.html.

New Unit to Interrogate Key Terrorism Suspects

2009-08-24T15:41:52Z

President Obama has approved a team of interrogators to question key terrorism suspects. This is part of a broader effort to revamp U.S. policy on detention and interrogation. The creation of the new team transfer's responsibilities from the CIA to the White House.

Obama spokesman announces interrogation unit.

IMPLICATIONS OF AMERICAN JIHAD CELL ARRESTS

2009-08-19T22:15:06Z

By Aaron Richman
Co-Director at Targeted Actionable Monitoring Center

A series of publicized arrests in recent weeks have emphasized the threat of self-radicalized or independent jihadists - specifically including Western converts to Islam - coming together in operative cells. One aspect of extreme radicalization is training and possible armed action by Western Muslim fundamentalists in jihadist war zones such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Israel, Bosnia, etc.

A brief issued by American government security agencies indicated that the FBI is calling for all law enforcement agencies to be aware of the phenomenon of Americans traveling abroad for terrorist training. Such individuals pose a threat of becoming the hard core of a sleeper cell primed for attacks on domestic US targets.

* On 27 July 2009 eight men, including seven living in North Carolina, were indicted Monday by a US Federal Grand Jury for planning and and took actions to carry out "violent jihad" in Israel, Jordan and Kosovo. To this end members of the cell stockpiled weapons, trained at a camp set up in North Carolina, traveled to the Middle East and Kosovo, and recruited fellow Muslims. They are also charged with providing assistance to terrorists, including weapons training, fundraising and travel arrangements.

The cell does not appear to be connected with al-Qaeda or any other known international terrorist organization. Although the ringleader, Daniel Patrick Boyd ("Saifullah"), was trained and most likely fought in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the late 1980s.

* On the same day, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali of Virginia man was sentenced to life imprisonment for joining al-Qaeda and plotting to assassinate President George W. Bush. He joined al-Qaeda while attending a college in Saudi Arabia.

* One week earlier, it was revealed that another convert to Islam, Bryant Neal Vinas, trained with senior al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said he provided al-Qaeda with "expert advice and assistance, including assistance derived from specialized knowledge of the New York transit system and Long Island Rail Road, communications equipment and personnel."

Vinas also fingered several French-speaking terrorists believed to be from Belgium who trained with him in the al-Qaeda camps.

* Another recently revealed plot involving American converts to Islam is that of four men arrested in May 2009 on charges of plotting to blow up synagogues and destroy a US military plane in New York.

* There have also been several cases this year of Somali-Americans or children of Somali immigrants to America fighting - and sometimes dying - in the ranks of jihadists in Somalia. This phenomenon has also been noted among other Somali expatriate communities, such as in Sweden.

Aaron Richman is the Co Director for the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response in Philadelphia and Israel, where he is responsible for the global Targeted Actionable Monitoring Center's intelligence and research projects.

He specializes in emergency planning and training for incidents of weapons of mass destruction and suicide bombings. Richman has conducted various research projects dealing with best practices in terror response and command considerations for such incidents.

Currently, Richman is a Doctoral candidate in Public Policy and Homeland Security and lectures for the master's degree programs for Philadelphia University and The American Public University.

Laura Ling, Euna Lee Are Back in the U.S.

2009-08-05T17:00:21Z

Laura Ling and Euna Lee are safely back on American soil, a day after the two American journalists were released from custody in North Korea."We're home and free," Ling said in her first comments after landing.

Watch Ling's emotional speech.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Citizens on Patrol

2009-08-03T16:12:12Z

Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, recently announced a strategy to make ordinary citizens the first line of defense against an increasingly multi-faceted terrorist threat.

"For too long, we've treated the public as a liability to be protected rather than an asset in our nation's collective security," says Napolitano. "This approach, unfortunately, has allowed confusion, anxiety and fear to linger."

Instant Poll: What do you think?

Pilot's Remains Found in Iraq

2009-08-02T17:07:02Z

The remains of the first American lost in the Gulf War have been found in Iraq, the military said Sunday, a sorrowful resolution of a nearly two-decade old question about the fate of Navy pilot Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher.

The Pentagon said the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology on Saturday positively identified the remains, buried in the desert and located after officials received new information from an Iraqi citizen about a crash.

"Mystery ends: Pilot's remains found in Iraq desert."

America's New Nightmare

2009-07-28T19:36:48Z

Newsweek profiles, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's second in command. Ron Moreau writes:

"In all likelihood, you've never heard of Mullah Baradar. The only Taliban leader most people know is Mullah Mohammed Omar, the unworldly, one-eyed village preacher who held the grand title amir-ul-momineen--"leader of the faithful"--when he ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s. Omar remains a high-value target, with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. But he hasn't been seen in at least three years, even by his most loyal followers, and rarely issues direct orders anymore. In his place, the adversary that American forces are squaring off against in Afghanistan--the man ultimately responsible for the spike in casualties that has made July the deadliest month for Coalition soldiers since the war began in 2001--is Baradar. A cunning, little-known figure, he may be more dangerous than Omar ever was."

Read entire article.