StormWarning’s Counterterrorism

The security issue on our shared border with Mexico continues to rage beyond where we stood the other day when the drug tunnel was discovered by ICE near San Diego (check out the slides showing the tunnel).  I know that there’s alot of material in my previous post (and the comments), but I believe that this is a good background piece on the topic: Drug Tunnels and National Security

Now there is a report of Mexican nationals planning to cross the border with an unknown quantity of plastic explosives (even though the report is from a "shaky source of low credibility" I think we should listen more closely).  There are also repeated reports of people crossing the Mexican border to assassinate our Border Patrol agents: 

Listen to Michael Cutler of the Counterterrorism Blog on "Lou Dobbs" on the subject of Broken Borders.

Now, listen to Steve Emerson on the "Joe Scarborough" show speaking on Trafficking Terror on our Mexican border (Pat Buchanan’s on this video as well).  Reports of attacks along the border against our local law enforcement officers.  One of the distressing things is that the locals have apparently not been informed by DHS.

How the heck does GWB’s open border, guest worker amnesty plan make sense in this light?  Emerson’s point is that the porous borders of the United States, especially the Southern Mexican border opens this country up to terrorist attacks.  Guns and weapons…along with drugs and people…Mexican soldiers on the U.S. side of the border…Mexican "green berets" mounting incursions into our country and joining the drug cartels.

According to those on the video report, we are facing a potential border war with Mexico, and a seriously worsening situation regarding our Nation’s security.  I, for one, am not surprised one bit.

Support HR 4312.

• Technorati Mexico, illegal aliens

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, National Security, Opinions

9 Comments »

The first post, Virtual Computing - Cool Stuff! was sort a "whim" of exploring the potential of new technologies and their possible relationship to terrorism.  No doubt that you might envision people walking through an airport seemingly talking into the air while using their Bluetooth earpiece, and with this stuff, maybe watch someone typing in "thin air."  But the implications of things like virtual computing, artificial intelligence and neural networking on remote communications is shuddering.

So here are two more links to information on this subject (I suspect that I’ll keep my eye on this and see what develops):

Projection Keyboards - AND -  Virtual Devices

There is also a company named Microvision that has developed the Nomad Display System  largely under government development contracts.

This could turn into an interesting area of exploration.  "How technology may influence and revolutionize terrorism and counterterrorism."  And given the raging debate over the NSA domestic spying question, what can be next?

By the way, I’ve recently been introduced to VoIP (and started reading about the related security issues).  Quite interesting implications.

• Technorati virtual computing

National Security, Technology

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Can you guess what these things are?  Holy Batman! (Sent to me by my friend CoyoteCult/Chromedog/UncleCoyote - he’s multi-personalitied, harmless and very talented and creative).

They’re way too high tech for that.

Any guesses?  Well, believe it or not you are looking into the future at what may very possibly be a replacement for your PC

Using advancements in Bluetooth technology the super Geeks are developing computers that clone your desktop’s capabilities and fit in your pocket

Now that’s cool!  And not only is it "cool" its the future, and possibly has implications on combating terrorism…technology and counterterrorism go hand in hand.  To quote my friend Moon, "technology is a huge factor in counterterrorism."  Think of the implications of this (mobile computing).

National Security, Technology

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This is about the War on Terrorism and the men and women who have been fighting it for all of us.  This is about the men and women who have survived the battles and been seriously injured.  This is about the privately funded rehabilitation hospital that is being built in San Antonio Texas near Brooke Army Medical Center.  ["One issue may be the number of wounded returning from America's two ongoing wars. “I don’t think anybody in the world expected the numbers of wounded coming back [from Afghanistan and Iraq],” says Bill White, the Intrepid Fund’s president. “In Vietnam, they would have died. And it’s wonderful that they’re alive, but they’ve survived catastrophic injuries that require them to get special help to rehabilitate.” According to U.S Senate research, the amputation rate has doubled from previous wars to 6 percent of those injured. Since 2000, the demand for prosthetic services has increased more than 30 percent, and is now funded at $1 billion annually by the Department of Veterans Affairs."] 

Private Rx for Rehab
A rehabilitation center for amputees and other wounded soldiers that’s rising near Brooke Army Medical Center comes with a virtual-reality roller coaster, a $37 million price tag and a question: Why isn’t the federal government paying for any of it?

Instead, the four-story building is being paid for entirely by private donations, prompting some to ask why the government isn’t meeting its obligations to those wounded in the war in Iraq — a war that has returned home amputees at twice the rate of Vietnam.

When it opens at Fort Sam Houston in a year, the Center for the Intrepid will provide what may be the best rehabilitative care medicine can offer to troops who have lost limbs or suffered severe burns, blindness and head injuries on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Supporters see the project led by millionaire New York real estate developer Arnold Fisher as a way to give back to the troops. They say it will be an architectural and medical gem in Fort Sam’s crown, equal to the world’s finest rehab centers.

But retired combat commanders, veterans and even some Intrepid center donors ask why Washington has left the center’s construction to a private charity.

"I think it’s the government’s responsibility," American Legion National  Commander Thomas L. Bock said…[more]

Center for the Intrepid to Provide Rehabilitation and Training for Disabled Military Personnel
July 28, 2005) Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Surgeon General of the Army Lieutenant General Kevin C. Kiley today joined Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense C.W. Bill Young (R-FL) and representatives of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (IFHF) to announce a public-private partnership to build the Center for the Intrepid, a state-of-the-art rehabilitation and advance training skills facility at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The announcement took place in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.

The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

“We are committed to building the $30 million Center for the Intrepid as quickly as possible to provide for the critical needs of America’s wounded and disabled military personnel,” said Arnold Fisher, Honorary Chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund…[more]

BAMC to get $30 million rehab center

For anyone who listens to or watched Don Imus on "IMUS in the Morning" there rages a debate regarding why such a facility should be privately funded, instead of being supported by the federal government.

Who’s Responsible?
A new rehab center for injured U.S. soldiers sparks a controversy over health care for veterans
…But should such an institution really be funded by private sources? Inevitably, organizations like Intrepid have raised questions about whether the Bush administration—committed to two wars—is too stretched to properly take care of returning veterans. "It’s surprising to us that there needs to be a facility that’s privately funded, and we hope that the Congress and the Bush administration will recognize that we need to meet these goals of the severely injured," says Peter Gayton, director of veterans affairs and rehabilitation at the American Legion. “The fact that the Intrepid Center needs to exist shows that the VA is not receiving enough funding."

The debate is being fueled by syndicated radio host Don Imus, who has donated $250,000 and has made raising money for the fund a regular feature on his morning show. On Friday he told listeners he doesn’t know why "the government wouldn’t just simply pay for [the center], considering the extraordinary amount of money they spend on … this idiotic war." And later said "We have a tradition in this country, well, going back to the Civil War, in which we send off young people to fight these wars. Stuff happens to them. They lose their arms and legs. And we just discard them. You know, like they are iPods of old telephones or something."…[more]

For the lunatics who will dwell on Imus’ perspective and characterization of the war, among the real issues are:

1. why this facility isn’t being built by federal funds
2. why major corporations involved in the war aren’t funding it from profits

http://fallenheroesfund.org/fallenheroes/index.php

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, Iraq

8 Comments »

Might it come as a surprise to anyone that those of us familiar with the counternarcotics technology arena have known of and been dealing with these drug cartel tunnels since long before Sept. 11th? Frankly, going back to my first presentation at an ONDCP Conference in the early 90’s, I’ve heard discussions of the multiplicity of tunnels running under the borders of Arizona and Texas (Nogales, Tuscon with El Paso being most prevalent). Some of these tunnels have been especially elaborate, not too different from the one discussed in this thread. But IMO, this is an issue that now goes far beyond drug runners and drug cartels…its an issue of National Security.

I’ve got alot more stuff in hard copy about the problem of the drug tunnels, but don’t have any links for you. Some also raised a perceptive point about the similarity of these tunnels with those in Gaza through which terrorists have traveled into Israel. Can’t get into details, but "we’ve" discussed "activities" with the SW Border HIDTAs as well as with "other" entities. The HIDTAs have recently gotten into things like thermal imaging and surface penetrating radar, and "we’ve" moved to other surveillance situations.

This is not just about drugs. It’s about National Security…and as you’ll see at the end of this post, its also about potential terrorism funding through the illegal smuggling of consumer goods and other items.

Customs Shutters U.S.-Mexico Drug Tunnel
With tougher drug enforcement above ground, authorities say traffickers along the U.S.-Mexican border were forced to dig deep below ground instead.

Inside a five-foot-wide tunnel, with just enough room for an adult to stand, authorities say they discovered two tons of marijuana this week, and what they believe was a passageway for drug trade.

The 2,400-foot long tunnel is lengthier than most of the 21 cross-border tunnels that have been discovered since authorities began keeping track after the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said…[more]

Builders of passage  were well-funded,  investigators say

Some of the history (showing that the drug tunnels have been an issue for a while):

DRUG CZAR SAYS NOGALES TUNNEL WAS POTENTIAL TERRORISM TOOL
… The 85-foot tunnel, the eighth uncovered in Nogales since 1995 but the first that ran directly beneath the international boundary, was operational for about a month…

DEA Congresional Testimony (October 29, 1997)
…The organization has not been dismantled or seriously affected by Guzman-Loera’s imprisonment because this organization continues to transport cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to the United States for the Medellin and Cali organizations and is also involved in the movement, storage, and distribution of marijuana, as well as Mexican and Southeast Asian heroin. This organization controlled the drug smuggling tunnel between Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico and Douglas, Arizona through which tons of cocaine were smuggled…

DEA Congressional Testimony (March 29, 2001)
…On February 26, 2001, U.S. Customs and DEA investigated the discovery of a 25-foot tunnel that took advantage of drainage lines that connect the U.S. and Mexico. A total of 375 kilograms of cocaine were recovered as a result of this effort…

DEA Congressional Testimony (March 10, 2003)
…The unique character of the Sonoran/Arizona border creates an important tier of "Gatekeeper" organizations along this border with corridors through Yuma, Lukeville, Nogales, Naco and Douglas. These "Gatekeepers" are smuggling organizations that specialize in exploiting their areas for the sole purpose of getting drugs across the border and into the Tucson or Phoenix areas. The "Gatekeepers" are characterized as generational local families extended across the Sonoran/Arizona border communities. They have used these generational ties to leverage even more corruption, create a transportation infrastructure. They maintain an intelligence apparatus along the border specifically targeting the Ports of Entry. These "Gatekeepers" have constructed and maintained tunnel systems under the border, engineered increasingly sophisticated vehicle traps, and they have successfully co-opted (or simply stolen from) car rental companies to supply rental sport utility vehicles for smuggling purposes…

More on the current situation…by the way, this is IMO, also related to the recent border incidents (details below) that have pitted U.S. Border Patrol against men in Mexican military uniforms crossing the U.S. border:

Mexico-U.S. relations deteriorating

…For Mexico, migration to the United States is a mainstay of the economy; U.S. officials, on the other hand, see the issue in terms of national security and border safety…[more, but could t be any more clear?]

Mexican official hints GIs behind border incident
The battle against drug traffickers raged into an ugly war of words Thursday, with this country’s foreign minister suggesting U.S. troops might have dressed as Mexican soldiers in a botched mission to smuggle marijuana across the border.

A U.S. official dismissed as baseless the claim by Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez.

"Those comments do not merit a response," the official said.

The flap came a day after U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza demanded Mexico explain a bizarre incident Monday in which officers east of El Paso reported chasing sport utility vehicles that bolted for Mexico and were protected by a military-style Humvee waiting on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande.

One SUV was abandoned after it got a flat and police found nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana in it. Two other vehicles followed the Humvee across a shallow stretch of the river, according to Hudspeth County sheriff’s deputies, who photographed the vehicles.

One SUV got stuck as it attempted to climb the Mexican bank of the river and its cargo was rescued by men dressed in civilian clothes as the Humvee’s crew, in military-style uniforms, stood guard and pointed guns at the officers on the U.S. side.

Garza said he sent a diplomatic note to the Mexican government over not just the chase, but a rash of border violence, including 20 murders in this city so far this year, and four incidents in which U.S. Border Patrol agents have come under fire…[more] 

Also: 

Texas sheriff says Mexican military guns and Humvee used in border standoff

Border security and the war on terror (September 06, 2002)

…Along the U.S.-Mexico border, border security has been a higher priority for many years - in response to the ongoing U.S. war on drugs as well as Washington’s efforts to reduce illegal immigration. Dr. Jason Ackleson, of the Department of Government at New Mexico State University, in an article called "Border Security in the Wake of 9/11" published in San Diego’s La Prensa on December 20, 2001, wrote that: "Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. Border Patrol has increasingly been involved in security efforts, especially along the southern boundary. Modeling their frontier-wide efforts on ‘Operation Hold the Line’ - a restrictive, ‘line-watch’ strategy imposed along the U.S.-Mexico boundary in El Paso, Texas in 1993 - the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) began intensive surveillance designed to deter unauthorized migrant crossings. These initiatives utilized high-technology, such as electronic monitoring devices, and deployed agents to monitor the border in new ways."

Ackleson observed that from 1993 to 2000, "the Border Patrol more than doubled from 4,000 to 9,000 agents while the overall INS budget increased from $1.5 billion to over $5 billion. Much of this growth was authorized by the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Embedded in this act was an often unnoticed provision called Section 110, which required, within a two year period, the registration of all entrants into the United States through the establishment of a high-tech, ’secure’ entry and exit system at border crossings, especially those on the northern frontier." Ackleson added, "Geographically, the immigration debate has shifted from the nation’s southern border with Mexico to the more porous northern border with Canada, a nation which some perceive has a liberal refugee and immigration policy and is seen as a conduit for terrorist movements."

‘Black bundles’ are just this side of illegal
…There was a catch to this shipment, as well as to the thousands of others like it. It’s "semi-illegal" smuggling, in a tradition that goes back decades.

The cargo was tennis shoes, declared with U.S. Customs and then taken south to a landing in Mexico far from any import duty.

The tariff for sneakers is 17 percent at the international bridges for more than five pairs.

This pilot had several hundred pairs, removed from shoeboxes and scrunched together into bales that people in the business call "pacas negras," black bundles.

"Normally, we go to private landing strips because airports in Mexico are really time-consuming," said the pilot, who asked not to be named for fear of losing his job.

He knows he’d face jail time in Mexico if caught…

And its not just the Mexican border that is at issue here.

Read what Bill West wrote about

Miami – Colombia Bust Highlights Border Security Threat

And it even goes to the point of the Visa Waiver Program, and the reasons why it should be ended or dramatically cut back.

Previous posts:

Abolish the Visa Waiver Program
Visas Continue to be the Key to Our Front Door
Examining US Visa Security
Terrorists Through the Front Door
Supporting HR 4312
DHS Modifies Border Control Issues
Task Force on the Future of North America

"Buonas noches para ahora."

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, National Security, Opinions

6 Comments »

There is no surprise to me here. There were whispers, rumors and loud noises about Hussein shipping his WMD to Syria all the way back to 2003. With all due respect to all, I’m so sorry, but this is not "news."  I was not the only one who commented on the possibility of Iraq’s weapons being shipped to Syria). And in the end, this "news" may still turn out to be false.  However it is important to remember that Syria, like Iraq under Hussein, are Ba’athists.

Backgrounders:
Al-Ba’ath Part Profile
The Iraqi Baath party
The Arab Socialist Baath Party, to give it its full name, was founded in Syria in the 1940s by a small group of French-educated Syria intellectuals - Michel Aflaq, a Greek Orthodox, and Salah al-Din al-Bitar, a Sunni Muslim.

The word Baath means renaissance in Arabic.

The party’s ideology is pan-Arab, secular nationalism.
A committed Baathist should see individual Arab states as regions or provinces of the larger Arab nation…The party is secular, and in the beginning, was steeped in Socialist ideology…The Baath party also became the ruling party and bureaucracy in Syria - a fact that led to great rivalry between Damascus and Baghdad, rather than alliance.[more]

Back to history (of the disappearing Iraqi WMDs):

Iraq’s WMD Secreted in Syria, Sada Says
The man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein’s air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.

Secretary Rumsfeld Remarks At The Hoover Institution (Tuesday, February 25, 2003)

Rumsfeld Looking for Help in Finding Outlawed Arms (April 17, 2003)

"It’s going to take time to find anything," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "They’ve learned to function in that country in an inspections environment. They buried things, they used underground tunnels."

Mr. Rumsfeld said most of the areas where Iraq is suspected of hiding its unconventional weapons have now been secured by American forces, and military search teams are searching those areas. But he said the teams would still need Iraqis, perhaps scientists or military officers, to guide them to the hiding places.

Illicit Arms Kept Till Eve of War, an Iraqi Scientist Is Said to Assert (April 21, 2003)
"A scientist who claims to have worked in Iraq’s chemical weapons program for more than a decade has told an American military team that Iraq destroyed chemical weapons and biological warfare equipment only days before the war began, members of the team said…[more]

Report: Syria hiding Iraqi WMD Date: 1/7/04 9:29 PM
A relative of Syrian President Bashar Assad is hiding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in three locations in Syria, according to intelligence sources cited by an exiled opposition party.

Fears Iraq WMD may have gone to Syria

Report: Syria hiding Iraqi WMD

Sources say relative of President Assad smuggled arms to 3 places

[I hate WorldNet as a source, but what the heck!]

…One weapons-cache location identified by the sources is a mountain tunnel near the village of al-Baidah in northwest Syria, the report said. The tunnel is known to house a branch of the Assad regime’s national security apparatus.

Two other arms supplies are reported to be in west-central Syria. One is hidden at a factory operated by the Syrian Air Force, near the village of Tal Snan, between the cities of Hama and Salmiyeh. The third location is tunnels beneath the small town of Shinshar, which belongs to the 661 battalion of the Syrian Air Force…[even if wrong on the means, they might have been right on the location]

Syria Denies WMD were moved there before war

Recently I wrote, Wondering About U.S. Middle Eastern Strategy

"…the War in Iraq as a microcosm instead of a much broader regional campaign might well be very wrong.

http://www.jhuapl.edu/colloquium/topics/friedman.html

If you follow this reasoning, then the War in Iraq is one “episode” in a grander, wider pre-emptive campaign against Islamic jihadism. Because of Iraq’s geographic significance, bordering on six other potentially hostile nations, and that fact that it offers a ground base jumping off point from which additional protective/pre-emptive efforts could be launched. “…The Weapons of Mass Destruction issue was a real but subsidiary consideration, but was made central for diplomatic and political reasons. It was seen as a stronger justification than geopolitics and it was assumed that it would be self-validating…”

Once you “buy-into” the premise that the War in Iraq is/was part of a broader strategy and initiative, then the possibility (if proven) of an incursion by U.S. troops into Syria makes more sense…

Comment:World events play out on a continuum.  Nothing is really a snapshot, its more like a movie…or maybe its a jigsaw puzzle with interlocking pieces where the picture is revealed only as each piece falls into place.

Current Affairs, International Issues, Opinions

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UPDATE: Proving once again that if you "spring too fast" in today’s World where information (sometimes partial or premature) flows in real time, you can stumble and "skin your knee."  So as I awake this morning, the headlines, some contradictory, appear to indicate a
Hamas win over
Fatah by a "straggly beard hair" instead of the reverse.  In fact, a
Senior Fatah official congratulates Hamas leader.  Of course, the fact that either terrorist, anti-Israel organization would now "govern" (even though it was reported that
Hamas would consult with Fatah on a new government, the most up-to-date indication is that
Fatah will not join Hamas-led cabinet-officials, and instead will become the "loyal opposition") the Palestinian territories makes this whole thing entirely problematic for Israel and for the United States.  And yet, "free elections" were what we wanted, the people voted, and the results are what we now must deal with.

Talk about a distressing headline:

Palestinian PM quits after apparent Hamas win
Peace efforts in doubt; Hamas says recognizing Israel ‘not on our agenda

Palestinian Prime Minister
Ahmed Qureia and his Cabinet ministers submitted their resignations Thursday as the Islamic militant group Hamas appeared to have captured a large majority of seats in the Palestinian elections — a shocking upset sure to throw Middle East peacemaking into turmoil.

“This is the choice of the people. It should be respected,” Qureia said. “If it’s true (the results), then the president should ask Hamas to form a new government. For me, personally, I sent my resignation.”

Under the law, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas must ask the largest party in the new parliament — presumably Hamas — to form the next government. Abbas was elected separately a year ago and remains president…[more]

Also this:
Hamas wins absolute parliamentary majority

Also, from Marvin Hutchens at ThreatsWatch:
Hamas Wins, Cabinet Resigns
Palestinian voters elect Hamas and further challenge peace process

The outcome is, as of yet, unofficial. And as official as it’ll need to be. Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, has claimed victory in yesterday’s Palestinian parliamentary elections - winning up to 75 out of 132 seats, according to Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman. The margin is significant enough that Fatah party officials have accepted defeat – and more significantly,
Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and the Palestinian Cabinet have resigned to make way for a Hamas led government.

It appears that Mahmoud Abbas failed to provide the leadership necessary to maintain his corrupt party’s control over the Palestinian political landscape…[more]

My September 11th observation about the very fabric of the Middle East changing in reaction to the attacks holds.  When all of the dust settled, the reverberations were, and continue to be, felt.

The Original Post

"In the end, the result may mean nothing regarding Israel…Fatah vs Hamas isn’t much of a choice afterall!

But it appears that Fatah has out polled Hamas in the Palestinian elections.

Fatah Beats Anti-Israel Hamas in Palestinian Vote, Polls Show

The ruling Fatah Party backed by the U.S. took first place in Palestinian elections, beating the Islamic Hamas group, which has bombed Israelis and pledged to thwart efforts at resuming peace talks with the Israeli government, exit polls showed.         

Fatah, the party founded by the late Yasser Arafat, took 42 percent of the ballots cast throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip yesterday, compared with 35 percent for the Hamas-supported Change and Reform list of candidates, according to a poll by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research…[more]

Fatah won the vote; Hamas the election

Both Fatah and Hamas had good reason to be satisfied with the results of Wednesday’s parliamentary election.

For Fatah, the mere fact that it had averted a humiliating defeat is in itself a major success. For Hamas, the fact that it managed to officially secure its position as the second largest Palestinian faction is seen by the Islamic movement’s supporters as a remarkable victory.

The Hamas gains are largely attributed to the growing disillusionment among the Palestinians with Fatah’s corruption and abuse of power over the past 12 years. Many Palestinians who voted for Hamas’s Change and Reform List said they were eager to punish the ruling Fatah party for corruption and nepotism.

It’s not clear at this stage if Hamas would be invited to join the new Palestinian cabinet…[more]

I remember making an observation on the afternoon of September 11, 2001 that the attacks would have implication on the Middle East and on Israel.  It seems that my observations were accurate.

Comments?

Current Affairs, International Issues, Opinions

1 Comment »

Not too surprising that the debate on the legality and propriety of the NSA/FISA domestic spying continues (01/26/06). Its likely been taken off the top-of-mind newspaper headlines by the Alito hearings. But now that Alito’s nomination will be voted upon (and regardless of the margin) and confirmed, it will return with limited competition from other domestic issues (perhaps with the exception being the Katrina Investigation).

"No act of Congress can remove from the President those powers granted under Article Two."

Backgrounder:

Intercepting Communications

The Continental Congress regularly received quantities of intercepted British and Tory mail. On November 20, 1775, it received some intercepted letters from Cork, Ireland, and appointed a committee made up of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Johnson, Robert Livingston, Edward Rutledge, James Wilson and George Wythe "to select such parts of them as may be proper to publish." The Congress later ordered a thousand copies of the portions selected by the Committee to be printed and distributed. A month later, when another batch of intercepted mail was received, a second committee was appointed to examine it. Based on its report, the Congress resolved that "the contents of the intercepted letters this day read, and the steps which Congress may take in consequence of said intelligence thereby given, be kept secret until further orders." By early 1776, abuses were noted in the practice, and Congress resolved that only the councils or committees of safety of each colony, and their designees, could henceforth open the mail or detain any letters from the post.

When Moses Harris reported that the British had recruited him as a courier for their Secret Service, General Washington proposed that General Schuyler "contrive a means of opening them without breaking the seals, take copies of the contents, and then let them go on. By these means we should become masters of the whole plot." From that point on, Washington was privy to British intelligence pouches between New York and Canada.

Intelligence in the War of IndependenceIntelligence in the War of Independence

…On November 9, 1775. the Continental Congress adopted its own oath of secrecy, one more stringent than the oaths of secrecy it would require of others in sensitive employment:

"RESOLVED, That every member of this Congress considers himself under the ties of virtue, honour and love of his country, not to divulge, directly or indirectly, any matter or thing agitated or debated in Congress, before the same shaft have been determined, without the leave of the Congress: nor any matter or thing determined in Congress, which a majority of the Congress shall order to be kept secret, And that if any member shall violate this agreement, he shall be expelled this Congress, and deemed an enemy to the liberties of America, and liable to be treated as such, and that every member signify his consent to this agreement by signing the same."

On June 12, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the first secrecy agreement for employees of the new government. The required oath read:

"I do solemnly swear, that I will not directly or indirectly divulge any manner or thing which shall come to my knowledge as (clerk, secretary) of the board of War and Ordnance for the United Colonies. . . So help me God." [continued]

So let’s get to “it.”

I wrote on January 21, 2006

Justice Dept. Defends NSA Spying

The US DoJ issued a report on Thursday citing the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) passed after September 11th as justification of the warrantless wiretaps.

Administration Paper Defends Spy Program
Detailed Argument Cites War Powers
The Bush administration argued yesterday that the president has inherent war powers under the Constitution to order warrantless eavesdropping on the international calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens and others in this country, offering the administration’s most detailed legal defense to date of its surveillance program…

…The legal justifications were laid out in a 42-page white paper sent to Congress yesterday by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales…

For those so moved, here is the link to the DoJ report:

…In the past two weeks, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has released two reports suggesting significant legal flaws in the president’s program. One analysis concluded that the warrantless surveillance effort directly conflicts with Congress’s intentions in passing the FISA law. It also found that the rest of the administration’s legal justifications were "not as well-grounded" as the administration asserted…

For those so moved, here is the link to the CRS report:

…A second CRS report, released Tuesday, concluded that the administration appears to have violated a national security law by failing to brief the full House and Senate intelligence committees on the program in 2001. The administration limited its briefings instead to the two most senior members on each committee…[more]

I haven’t spent the time yet to find the second report.

Debate will continue on the varying opinions of whether AUMF stands as justification.

I wrote on January 23, 2006

The Other Big Brother
The Pentagon has its own domestic spying program. Even its leaders say the outfit may have gone too far.
Counterintelligence ‘to the Edge’

A new one. Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA)…"Counterintelligence ‘to the edge’" is the organization’s motto.

"…Created three years ago by the Defense Department, CIFA’s role is "force protection"—tracking threats and terrorist plots against military installations and personnel inside the United States. In May 2003, Paul Wolfowitz, then deputy Defense secretary, authorized a fact-gathering operation code-named TALON—short for Threat and Local Observation Notice—that would collect "raw information" about "suspicious incidents." The data would be fed to CIFA to help the Pentagon’s "terrorism threat warning process," according to an internal Pentagon memo…

…A Pentagon memo obtained…shows that the deputy Defense secretary now acknowledges that some TALON reports may have contained information on U.S. citizens and groups that never should have been retained. The number of reports with names of U.S. persons could be in the thousands, says a senior Pentagon official who asked not be named because of the sensitivity of the subject…

…Last Thursday, Cheney called the program "vital" to the country’s defense against Al Qaeda. "Either we are serious about fighting this war on terror or not," he said in a speech to the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. But as the new information about CIFA shows, the scope of the U.S. government’s spying on Americans may be far more extensive than the public realizes…

…CIFA analysts had access to law-enforcement reports and sensitive military and U.S. intelligence documents…

…Arkin says a close reading of internal CIFA documents suggests the agency may be expanding its Internet monitoring, and wants to be as surreptitious as possible. CIFA has contracted to buy "identity masking" software that would allow the agency to create phony Web identities and let them appear to be located in foreign countries, according to a copy of the contract with Computer Sciences Corp. (The firm declined to comment.)…[more]

"Prepared Remarks for Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales
at the Georgetown University Law Center"
January 24, 2006

Opinion Print Edition

Bush on the defensive
Over indefensible NSA snooping

Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., wrote Gonzales Wednesday, laying out a series of subjects he wants to see addressed at his committee’s Feb. 6 hearing: Why did the White House not ask Congress for changes to a 1978 foreign surveillance law? Why didn’t the administration go to an established intelligence court to get approval for the monitoring? Will the White House consider doing that now?

Democrats want to see the committee call more witnesses than now planned, including former Deputy Attorney General James Comey, who reportedly had misgivings about the program. Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats are also requesting that their panel investigate.

In the end, the issue may land in the gray areas of intelligence gathering.

Former CIA Director James Woolsey sides with the president, but recently said it’s a close call. "If anyone says it’s a crystal clear issue one way or another, that is the only position I regard as wrong," Woolsey said.

This issue is far from over…very far!

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, National Security, Opinions

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While some of this is opinion and conjecture, I believe that some perspective is needed to look at and evaluate the implications of what has happened recently within al Qaeda. Much has been made of the re-emergence of bin Laden, and then yesterday, reports of Zarqawi stepping down as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. This was related by Bill Roggio at ThreatsWatch in his post  Iraqis vs. al-Qaeda, Continued, Anti al-Qaeda force raised in Ramadi, Zarqawi passes on command of the Mujahedeen Council

Annoyingly, there are some people on Internet chat boards discussing current events who actually take this as a sign that Zarqawi is actually dead! instead of

examining the obvious implication, as highlighted by Bill, “the council needed an Iraqi face, as Zarqawi is now a liability to the public face of al-Qaeda’s jihad in Iraq. Zarqawi’s actions shows he has taken Ayman al-Zawahiri’s advice to heart. In his letter to Zarqawi, Zawahiri implored him not to alienate the “Muslim masses” but to “strive to involve the Muslim masses in the battle, and to bring the mujahed movement to the masses and not conduct the struggle far from them.” Zawahiri is telling Zarqawi not be so ideologically blind as to reject allies based on minor differences in faith…”

Roggio further writes that “…Zarqawi acquiesces to Zawahiri and creates an inclusive organization with outside groups, and appoints an Iraqi to command the Mujahedeen Council. This demonstrates Zarqawi recognizes his plan to incite a Sunni-Shiites civil war, which Zawahiri condemned on practical terms, has failed…”

OPINION: Well, I believe that the re-emergence of bin Laden and the changes within al Qaeda (in Iraq), recognizing the “mistakes” of the Taliban, bode ill for the “good guys” in this War on Terrorism, and specifically, the battles against al Qaeda.

Evan Kohlmann, writing on the Counterterrorism Blog, and in more detail on the MSNBC “Hardblogger” - that while Al-Qaeda continues to prosper in certain areas of the Middle East and South Asia, Osama Bin Laden’s personal image has begun to wane slightly as other extremist leaders vying for the throne have achieved equal, if not greater infamy.  In particular, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has presented an unusual dark horse challenge to Bin Laden’s leadership position at the top of Al-Qaeda.  In contrast to Bin Laden, Zarqawi is known for releasing a steady stream of communiqués and audio recordings, keeping in regular contact with his constituents.  It took nearly 18 consecutive months of bloody ambushes and suicide bombings masterminded by Zarqawi to convince Bin Laden to grudgingly unify ranks with him. 

By hiding in the shadows for too long, Bin Laden risks allowing younger and more ruthless competitors like Zarqawi to change the very momentum and direction of Al-Qaeda—similar to the way that a young, fanatical Bin Laden once seized the reigns of the organization from its original founder, Shaykh Abdullah Azzam…

The most important observation made, I believe is that “…Bin Laden’s latest audio recording should serve as a warning of how politically and technologically sophisticated Al-Qaeda remains—an organization that is still quite capable of striking devastating blows on its adversaries, including the United States…”

OPINION (which of course, could be wrong): But beware of forming your own opinions based on those who make idle speculation and those who prematurely announce the death of one terrorist or another. Once again, many of the “sheeple” on Internet discussions end up believing faulty conclusions. In this case, that Zarqawi’s stepping aside is linked to bin Laden’s re-emergence, and that instead of a “sign” of Zarqawi’s demise, it shows that bin Laden is actually alive (after months - no, over a year - of being under the radar) and has re-asserted his leadership of the jihadist mujahadeen…and that Zarqawi has "bowed" to the "master" of the jihad. Personally, I think this is a sign that simply, power within al Qaeda and the jihad has been re-asserted by the master instead of the student.

Current Affairs, International Issues, Iraq, Opinions

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There is an article in NetworkWorld this week written by M. E. Kabay, Ph.D., CISSP-ISSMP, is Associate Professor in the Division of Business and Management at Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. discussing the need for improvements in the security of our Nation’s critical infrastructure.

It seems like NetworkWorld has become part of my daily/weekly required reading, and I don’t work in IT either (I’m a really "fun" guy, aren’t I?).

…The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its first annual privacy report in February covering April 2003 through June 2004. The U.S. government has lagged behind other nations in establishing formal government positions focused on privacy, so it was encouraging to find upon opening the PDF file for the report that the DHS actually has a chief privacy officer, Nuala O’Connor Kelly…

…"[T]he NSF is developing a plan to support development of the nation’s cyberinfrastructure, including that of colleges and universities. Bement said that funding for cyberinfrastructure is ‘one of the most important investments of the 21st century,’ [and]… that higher education in particular is in need of improvements. What he described as six-lane superhighways for data ‘are reduced to two-lane roads at most college and university campuses.’ Such information overload… impedes research from being conducted efficiently. Still, Bement noted that money for the NSF ‘is not plentiful’ and that it will likely be even scarcer in the future…"[more]

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
Department of Homeland Security Faces Challenges in Fulfilling Cybersecurity Responsibilities
Increasing computer interconnectivity has revolutionized the way that our government, our nation, and much of the world communicate and conduct business. While the benefits have been enormous, this widespread interconnectivity also poses significant risks to our nation’s computer systems and, more importantly, to the critical operations and infrastructures they support. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 and federal policy established DHS as the focal point for coordinating activities to protect the computer systems that support our nation’s critical infrastructures. GAO was asked to determine (1) DHS’s roles and responsibilities for cyber critical infrastructure protection, (2) the status and adequacy of DHS’s efforts to fulfill these responsibilities, and (3) the challenges DHS faces in fulfilling its cybersecurity responsibilities…[lots more]

Homeland Security Flunks Cybersecurity Prep Test

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has failed to live up to its cybersecurity responsibilities and may be "unprepared" for emergencies, federal auditors said in a scathing report released Thursday.

More than two years after its creation, Homeland Security has never developed a contingency plan to restore Internet functions in an emergency and has yet to create a vulnerability assessment of what could happen in an worst-case scenario, the Government Accountability Office concluded…[more]

There is so much more to this subject.  Right now, "over and out!"

Current Affairs, Federal Policy, National Security, Technology, Web/Tech

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Well, yesterday (1/19/06) a new tape from Osama was released.  After voice analysis the CIA confirmed that the voice on the tape was in fact that of bin Laden.

So, what is being said about this revelation?

Steve Emerson from the Counterrorism Blog (posted by Andy Cochran): "…Nothing really new other than the fact that he surfaced. As you know, in the last month or so there have been an increasing number of reports suggesting that he might have disappeared or that he might actually be dead, so the fact that he surfaced here is suggesting that he’s feeling more secure in his environment. He lives a very disciplined life and is willing to actually disappear for a long period of time, in this case for almost a year without surfacing. So it suggests that he’s now feeling secure in where he is positioned and willing to come out of his cave…"

"…And yet the tape from Bin Laden seems to have been made in December, early December 2005. We don’t know when this was released, whether it was put on some type of server and then it was pulled off the server by some type of jihad group and given to Al Jazeera just recently or whether Al Jazeera held on to it and decided to put it on the air today. We don’t know how long they had the tape for. So I’m still waiting to hear from Ayman al-Zawahiri and the longer he does not appear, the longer the mystery then surrounds the whole strike in which he was the target…"[more]

Walid Phares, also on the Counterterrorism Blog talks about the Six Messages From the New bin Laden Tape:
In fact Bin Laden’s tape shows:

1. That the war in Iraq is going al Qaida’s way.
2. The American people are not informed, and the polls shows its real position towards withdrawal.   (An indication that Bin Laden watches the American political process and wants to ignite opposition to the war from the inside of the US.)
3. The fact that no operations have taken place within the US doesn’t mean that they’re not going to happen. There will be soon operations within the US and the West.  Operations are being prepared, according to the message.   (Which means that there are significant questions  in the Jihadi constituencies about the lack of operations in America - a subject discussed in the chat rooms.)
4. The al Qaida operations will not be confined to Iraq. ( Meaning other countries will become operational areas for al Qaida. )
5. The penetration of Western and US security systems is a metter to be discussed in the public debate.
6. The Bin Laden proposition for a "long term armistice" is in itself a prelude to further attacks coming. This is a Jihadist parameter.

While we don’t yet know if the audiotape released today is actually from Osama bin Laden, it is consistent with the rhetoric that he tailored for a Western audience in the past. Many reasons underlie the release of any al-Qaeda tape, including bin Laden’s desire to signal his continuing relevance to the terrorist organization. However, if the tape proves to be genuine, it provides further insight on bin Laden’s thinking about how al-Qaeda can win its war against the West.

What bin Laden has done by releasing this message is to announce that he is alive, perhaps signal his supporters to carry on, and once again appeal to the president’s detractors in hopes for a political victory where his forces are incapable of giving him one on the battlefield.

Part Two: Life and Death of al Qaeda Targets
The Life and Death of High Value al Qaeda Targets
Osama bin Laden…Dead or Alive?

Why is this an issue and why am I writing this post?  Once again, the Internet is a very strange place because people tend to perpetuate their beliefs, even in the face of fact.

In reading/scanning/glancing posts on the Current Events discussion board at TMF, I am struck by the facts that:

1. there are actually people who are taking/have taken bin Laden’s disingenuous offer of a truce as if it is something to be taken seriously, instead of being what it is…propaganda and a taunting of President Bush.
2. while the CIA has confirmed the authenticity of the tapes, some people still comment that the voice might have been a son and not bin Laden…all of this despite the reality that most counterterrorism experts including the often quoted Walid Pheres has given credibility to the recent tape;
3. there is discussion (actually incessant questioning of the validity) over the interpretation and/or the translation of the tape, and not the implications of the probable (based on CIA reports) fact that bin Laden lives, and despite the "misdirection" of the Ledeen NRO article (is there no accountability?), has not died (unless he died sometime after he made this recent tape).

IMO, fighting the War on Terrorism is a long and difficult task that has no perceived "light at the end of the tunnel."  It is, however, made more difficult by the populace/the masses believing and formulating their opinions based on conjecture and speculation simply cannot help.  The threat of another attack should be taken seriously, IMO.

[Rant over: I've got a serious business issue to deal with today.]

"Over and out" for now!

Current Affairs, International Issues, National Security, Opinions

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How many times? How many times have we read "reports" on the Internet claiming that one of the prime target al Qaeda terrorists have died or been captured, only later to learn that it was yet another false alarm?

In "Terrorist Resurrection" and in "The Life and Death of High Value al Qaeda Targets" I commented that "Ignoring an issue simply won’t make it go away. Zarqawi, bin Laden, Zawahiri, Mullah Omar."

Of course, this seemingly innocuous statement was misconstrued by "some" into making it seem that I believed that the deaths of these men would end the jihad. Clearly, anyone knowing me, or actually reading what I have written, knows full well that that misconception is nothing but a fabrication of the truth.

Recently we were faced with the Michael Ledeen article in NRO…that Osama is dead, died a few weeks ago in IRAN…

Quite noticeably, nearly no one except Ledeen made a point of the "rumor" of bin Laden’s death. In fact, one writer, Steve Schippert of ThreatsWatch, commented that it was predictable that the Internet chat rooms would pick up on the allusion to bin Laden’s reported death (related to Ledeen by Iranians who he trusted) that the real message of Ledeen’s article was that demography and harsh living were on our side.

Most of the leaders of terrorism are either aging or ill.

Further, last Wednesday there was another article with another interesting twist in this “he’s dead” and “he’s not dead yet” Internet spin.

Key to this is the statement that according to this Australian professor, “that bin Laden died of massive organ failure in April last year.”

What else do we know?

US believes Bin Laden still alive: counter-terror chief
The United States believes Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is alive and hiding around the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region, the US counter-terrorism coordinator said.

During an interview with BBC radio US State Department official Henry Crumpton said Bin Laden was believed to be somewhere in the border area, the region where an alleged US missile attack targeted Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri on Friday.

"We have no intelligence or evidence that indicates that he (Bin Laden) is dead or incapacitated, so our working assumption is that he is still alive," Crumpton said…[more]

Further debunking of the "myth" of bin Laden’s demise comes from the fact that perhaps incorrectly, some people believe that bin Laden is a patient in kidney failure…But:

http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20060103-093215-2153r.htm
Indian Muslims, Internet gurus, television anchors, and at least one prime minister have said that [Osama] bin Laden has kidney trouble.

So where is the evidence? In short, there is no evidence, just a lot of chatter…[more]

Evan Kohlmann wrote today on CT Blog: "…There is virtually no evidence to suggest that his ongoing condition has been critical enough to fundamentally disrupt or incapacitate him from participating in the planning of military operations, nor the coordination of terrorist financing…"

So here’s what I’d like to know.  How many of the people who read and believed the Ledeen article and then selectively parsed Ledeen’s article care if in fact, they may have been misled and thus, became misinformed? And with all of the "scanning the Globe" for news and current events that daily occur, why hasn’t there been any acknowledgement that the preponderance of evidence suggests that Ledeen’s implication (and information from his trusted Iranians) was wrong!

Again, for clarity. I do not think that the deaths of bin Laden, Zawahiri, Zarqawi or any of the other #2’s or #3’s will bring an end to the jihadist terrorism in and of themselves as disconnected events. Nor do I believe that any of their demises will cripple the terrorists’ efforts. The death or capture of any of the public figures of the jihad however, will represent a significant positive moment…nothing more!

The very same premise holds for the recent miss of Zawahiri.  Steve Emerson today made a very compelling case for the attack.  Simply, whether the intel was faulty, or the timing was off, or even if Zawahiri baited the U.S. into the attack, Emerson’s position is that we has no choice…I agree.  To see the interview with Matt Lauer, click here.

Another and related point of view was offered by Bill Roggio in his post, "Hunting Zawahiri and al-Qaeda on the Border."  Despite the anti-U.S. cries that "innocents" were killed, a statement issued by the administration of Pakistan’s semi autonomous tribal regions indicates four or five of those killed in the strike were indeed “foreign terrorists” and that “between 10 and 12 foreign extremists had been invited to the dinner.” This refutes claims all of those killed were innocents. The identity of those killed has not yet been released, but will tell the intelligence services how close they may have come to bagging Zawahiri, if he did indeed escape.

The War on Terror is wide reaching and very complex.  Part of the problem as I see it is that the global Internet has expectations of immediate news.  We have no time to process information before it is plastered all over the WWW.  And yet, after the fact, when the "facts" emerge, are there retractions?  Where are the corrections?  I suppose those accuracies become relegated to the old media equivalent of the "page 20 below the fold" correction.

Current Affairs, International Issues, National Security, Opinions

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