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bin Laden letters released

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:16:55 +0000

“This report is a study of 17 declassified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC). They consist of electronic letters or draft letters, totaling 175 pages in the original Arabic and 197 pages in the English translation. The earliest is dated September 2006 and the latest April 2011. Some of the letters are incomplete and/or are missing their dates, and not all of the letters explicitly attribute their author(s) and/or indicate the addressee. In addition to Bin Ladin, the recognizable individuals who appear in the letters either as authors or as recipients are `Atiyyatullah and Abu Yahya al-Libi, both of whom are al-Qa`ida leaders; Adam Yahya Gadahn, the American al-Qa`ida spokesman and media advisor; Mukhtar Abu al-Zubayr, the leader of the Somali militant group Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahidin; Abu Basir (Nasir al-Wuhayshi), the leader of the Yemen-based al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP); and Hakimullah Mahsud, the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Given the small collection of documents released to the CTC, it is impossible to construct a coherent evolution of al-Qa`ida or its current state. “Letters from Abbottabad” is an initial exploration and contextualization of 17 documents that will be the grist for future academic debate and discussion.”

CTC Report | English Translations | Original Arabic Letters

Al-Qaeda now ‘incapable of 9/11-scale attack’

admin — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:02:44 +0000

“Al-Qaeda’s core organisation is likely incapable of carrying out another mass-casualty attack on the scale of 11 September 2001, US intelligence and counterterrorism officials said on Friday.”

(Al-Qaeda now ‘incapable of 9/11-scale attack’ | News24)

Without Warning, FBI Halts Intel Sharing

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:17:43 +0000

“Without making a public or private announcement, the FBI has ended critical intelligence sharing with all 77 law enforcement fusion centers nationwide. This policy was implemented less than two days after a top FBI official told Congress about the FBI’s extensive efforts to share intelligence with state and local partners.”

Source: PJ Media » BREAKING: Without Warning, FBI Halts Intel Sharing

Ex-ICE intelligence chief charged with embezzlement

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:15:48 +0000

“A former intelligence chief for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is accused of embezzling more than $180,000 stemming from a travel voucher fraud and kickback scheme that has defrauded the government of more than $500,000.”

(Source: Ex-ICE intelligence chief charged with embezzlement | UTSanDiego.com.)

U.S. arrests more than 3,000 criminal immigrants in biggest ever sweep

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:47:06 +0000

“U.S. agents arrested 3,168 people in the biggest sweep of an operation targeting criminal and fugitive immigrants for deportation, immigration officials said on Monday.”

(Source: U.S. arrests more than 3,000 criminal immigrants in biggest ever sweep | Canada | News | National Post.)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security ready for first audit

admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:51:15 +0000

“The federal Department of Homeland Security is now ready for its first financial audit since being established in 2002.”

(U.S. Department of Homeland Security ready for first audit – WGMD.COM)

LAPD Pioneers High-Tech Crime-Fighting ‘War Room’

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:11:58 +0000

“Police in the activity center monitor live feeds of city and traffic cameras, counter-terrorism information, and real-time crime mapping, with cutting edge software.”

Source: LAPD Pioneers High-Tech Crime-Fighting ‘War Room’ « CBS Los Angeles

Pair Held in Twitter Homeland Threat Mix-Up

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:32:08 +0000

“A young couple from across the pond was detained at a Los Angeles airport after Homeland Security agents mistook a couple Twitter quips for threats against the U.S., the two told British media today.

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(Source: Pair Held in Twitter Homeland Threat Mix-Up: Reports – ABC News.)

Al Qaeda and U.S. Homeland Security after Bin Laden

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:22:06 +0000

“In the past year al Qaeda has suffered a series of staggering blows that have severely damaged the group and will irrevocably alter the way it operates. Last spring, Osama bin Laden was killed in a dramatic raid on his compound in Pakistan, followed by strikes on a number of other prominent al Qaeda leaders, including Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman in Pakistan, and Fazul Abdullah Mohammed in Somalia, among others1. Further, al Qaeda was caught off-guard by the “Arab Spring” revolutions that broke out across the Middle East and North Africa. These revolutions have since succeeded in toppling several regional strongmen, an avowed goal of al Qaeda that it has been unable to accomplish through terrorism. With al Qaeda’s leaders on the defensive and the efficacy of its ideology threatened by a new generation of political activists, many policymakers are increasingly questioning the future of the group2.”

Source: PDF Report

US to leave Mexican border crossing to rangers

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:34:54 +0000

“The bloody drug war in Mexico shows no sign of relenting. Neither do calls for tighter border security amid rising fears of spillover violence.
This hardly seems a time the U.S. would be willing to allow people to cross the border legally from Mexico without a customs officer in sight. But in this rugged, remote West Texas terrain where wading across the shallow Rio Grande undetected is all too easy, federal authorities are touting a proposal to open an unmanned port of entry as a security upgrade.”

(The Associated Press: US to leave Mexican border crossing to rangers)