Terrorism

The Path to a Counterterrorism Doctrine

On February 26, 1993, Islamic terrorists detonated a truck bomb in the basement garage of Tower One of the World Trade Center. Within days, master bomber Ramzi Yusuf was hunted as a fugitive and three coconspirators were identified and arrested. This prompt and definitive resolution of a stunning act of terrorism on United States soil seemed to demonstrate that existing authorities and procedures were sufficient to address the “terrorism problem.” But our understanding of the terrorism threat was flawed, and the lessons we took from the attack and subsequent investigation were flawed as well.

 

http://www.hitechcj.com/homelandsecurity/counterterrorism_doctrine.html

Citizen Survival of Terrorist Attacks

On January 9, 2009, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a discussion with self-defense expert Jim Wagner on how a citizen non-combatant can best survive a terrorist attack.

 

Program Date: January 9, 2009

Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific

Topic: Citizen Survival of Terrorist Attacks

Listen Live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/01/10/Citizen-Survival-of-Terrorist-Attacks

 

About the Guests

At the age of 14, Jim Wagner began to his life long pursuit of self-defense by beginning his study of the marital arts.  Four years later he joined the United States Army. In 1991 Jim Wagner, sponsored by the Costa Mesa Police Department, entered the police academy (Orange County Sheriff’s Department Training Academy Class 104). Like his Military training before, Jim Wagner was deeply influenced by the police academy’s realistic conflict scenarios.

 

During his career with the Costa Mesa Police Department, Jim Wagner earned a place on the SWAT team. It was through this conduit that Jim learned about logistics, command post operations, hostage negotiations, entry team tactics, and sniping. On the job training included courses with LAPD SWAT, the U.S. Army Special Forces, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Tactical Training Center, and from U.S. Marines Division Schools Camp Pendleton (Advanced Sniper Course, Military Operations Urban Terrain, Helicopter Rope Suspension Training, and Range Safety Officer).

 

While conducting a myriad of courses at Camp Pendleton, both Military units and other law enforcement agencies using the base for their own training discovered Jim Wagner’s unique approach to training and his seamless blending of defensive tactics with edged weapons and firearms skills. Before long he was getting offers from the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group, Department of Defense police, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections, San Diego Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Probation Department, U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration & Naturalization Service, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines Provost Marshal Office, Drug Enforcement Administration. By 1996 Jim found himself being invited by foreign unit to train in their own countries: GermanGSG9, Brazilian G.A.T.E., Argentinean G.O.E., Royal Canadian Mounted Police, London Metropolitan Police, Helsinki Police Department, and various units in Spain, Mexico, and Israel.

 

The demand on Jim Wagner’s time was overwhelming and in 1999 he decided to resign from the Costa Mesa Police Department and started teaching full time. Not wanting to fully give up his law enforcement career Jim applied as a Reserve Deputy at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Jim Wagner is the author of Reality Based Personal Protection. 

 

About the Watering Hole

The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life.  Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

 

About the Host

Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles police Department for 24 years.  He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant.  He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University.  He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, Criminal Justice technology and leadership.  Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One.  He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

 

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/01/10/Citizen-Survival-of-Terrorist-Attacks

 

Program Contact Information

Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA

editor@police-writers.com

909.599.7530

School Brings New Beginnings to Iraqi Students

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Christina Bhatti

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Dec. 31, 2008 - Iraqi officials and U.S. soldiers celebrated the completion of renovations on a primary school with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 29 in Mushada, northwest of Baghdad. About $90,000 from the Iraqi Commander's Emergency Response Program funded improvements to the existing structure of the Al Gil Al Jadeed Primary School, said Army 1st Lt. Jesse Ozbat, fire support officer assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

 

Normally, about 600 students attend the school, but that amount has doubled recently. Students are crammed into classrooms, and overwhelmed teachers are doing their best to handle the increased student load, officials said.

 

Two other schools once were open in the area, but terrorists destroyed both schools years ago. The Al Gil Al Jadeed Primary School was spared from the brunt of the violence and needed only minor repairs compared to the other structures.

 

"Until the other two schools in the area are rebuilt and fixed, children will have to go to this one school," Ozbat, a Prince George, Va., native said.

 

Though repairs are under way on the other schools, Ali Janabi, Mushada City Council member, said he has bigger plans for the future of the Al Gil Al Jadeed Primary School.

 

"I would like to see this school grow," he said. "One day, I would like to see this place large enough to be considered a secondary school."

 

Janabi said he and the other city council members take pride in this school because "reading and writing are the foundations of a strong future."

 

"This school is the beginnings of strong foundations for many students," he said.

 

(Army Sgt. 1st Class Christina Bhatti serves with 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.)

System Connects Afghanistan With Neighboring Countries

By Army Sgt. Charles Brice

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Dec. 24, 2008 - Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team are working with Afghan citizens to install an international ring of communication that someday will span Afghanistan and connect to its neighboring countries. "With our satellites stretched to their limits by fighting on two war fronts, the fiber ring will completely overhaul the current communication system by allowing the new system to flow very fast and efficiently," Army Maj. Patrick Dillinger, a Woodbridge, Va., native and communication officer, said.

 

This new system will bring a more efficient way of communicating to coalition forces, and build a foundation for the people by giving them a quicker means to communicate with the world, he explained.

 

"The fiber ring extends outward from Bagram Airfield, coming across all the major areas of operations, and it also will end back at [Bagram]," he said. "Then the fiber ring will extend its arms outward to its neighboring countries to expand the reach of communication."

 

With the fiber ring set in place, coalition forces will be able to keep in touch with everyone within their area of operations without a line of sight.

 

"Fiber-optics communication is one of the most reliable networks to depend on while fighting the war in Iraq and Afghanistan," Dillinger said. "My job is to keep the command group of Task Force Duke connected to [headquarters] and to have a system that will carry the next generation through future battles."

 

Fiber-optic communication works by sending information from one place to another through pulses of light from an optical fiber.

 

"There are a lot of key players that came together on this project to make it happen; it's not just U.S. forces that's backing this project," Dillinger said. Afghans are taking an interest in the national fiber ring, he noted, because they see its potential for communication.

 

Army 1st Sgt. Howard Charles, senior communication noncommissioned officer and a native of Alexandria, Va., said he threw himself head-first into the management of construction because of the importance of the project.

 

"The fiber ring will allow us to reach out to networks that are beyond our capability," he said. "I think it will bring in the tool to help [the Afghan people] see what is out there. This system is the first of its kind in Afghanistan. This will make leaps and bounds for [NATO's International Security Assistance Force] and the government of Afghanistan."

 

Dillinger agreed that installing this system will improve communication with the outside world and give U.S. forces the edge in communicating with one another.

 

"This is ground-breaking work for a historical change in this country," he said.

 

(Army Sgt. Charles Brice serves in the 1st Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team public affairs office.)

U.S., Iraqi Soldiers Seize Criminal, Weapons

American Forces Press Service

 

, Dec. 24, 2008 - Iraqi and U.S. soldiers apprehended suspected criminal and seized weapons caches in operations in Iraq yesterday, military officials reported. The soldiers nabbed five suspected criminal with outstanding warrants during a combined operation in Baghdad's Rashid district. They also seized 153 AK-47 assault rifles, two submachine guns, two rifles and two pistols in the Saydiyah community.

 

In other operations:

 

-- Iraqi and U.S. soldiers seized and destroyed a weapons cache north of Baghdad that included 99 37 mm high-explosive projectiles, 400 empty rocket tubes and two 155 mm illumination rounds.

 

-- A local resident's tip led U.S. soldiers to a cache west of Baghdad consisting of five 82 mm mortars, a mortar tube and a tripod.

 

-- Iraqi soldiers seized two rocket-propelled grenades in northwestern Baghdad's Ameriyah district. They gave the weapons to U.S. soldiers for disposal.

 

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

NATO Operations Chief Discusses Deployments, Caveats

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

 

Dec. 22, 2008 - Most American troops deploying to Afghanistan in the next year will go to Regional Command South, the deputy chief of staff for operations for NATO's International Security Assistance Force said here today.  Army Maj. Gen. Michael S. Tucker said ISAF officials expect that area to have the heaviest fighting in the coming year.

 

"RC South is a mosaic of different [NATO] countries," he said. "There seems to be all these small regional wars."

 

The United Kingdom is in charge of operations in Helmand province, the Canadians are in Kandahar, the Dutch in Uruzgan, and in Nabol the force is Romanian. "They are kind of fighting their own war," he said.

 

In the past, the NATO commander in the south rotated every six months, and this encouraged this mosaic approach. The Dutch commander in charge now will serve a year, Tucker said. "It's now on the right track," he said.

 

And this is vital to success in the region, the general said, as the center of gravity in a counterinsurgency fight is not the enemy, it is the population.

 

"You have to build relationships with tribal elders, police chiefs, the local governments, provincial officials," he explained, "and it's hard to do that six months at a time." Army Gen. David McKiernan, who commands all NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, has stressed to commanders at all levels that they must get out with the people and build these relationships.

 

The fight in Regional Command South also is affected by what officials call "national caveats" -- restrictions on how NATO commanders can use the military personnel of a particular country. Commanders assigning missions always must keep these restrictions in the back of their minds. U.S. forces have few caveats, and commanders can use American troops as needed.

 

"These caveats are strictly controlled by their national governments," Tucker said. "Some of them, for example, can't do a cordon-and-search without getting permission from their minister of defense. Some countries can't conduct an air strike without permission. Some can't cross a regional boundary with troops or helicopters without permission from their ministries."

 

McKiernan has addressed these caveats with various national leaders and has highlighted the effects of those restrictions. "The advantages that we have over the enemy are often taken away from us by caveats," Tucker said.

 

NATO has unmatched air power, but negotiating with various countries and asking for permission can take that advantage away, the general said. For example, he said, a medevac helicopter from one country could not cross a regional boundary to pick up wounded personnel in an incident over the summer.

 

That made an impression, Tucker said, and NATO defense ministers now are more apt to work to lessen the caveats.

 

"But more needs to be done," Tucker said. "You can't order. You need to nudge them in the right direction."

Floridians Bring Happiness to Christmas Celebration in Iraq

By Army Sgt. Jason Dangel

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

Dec. 22, 2008 - For the first time in 26 years, Army Capt. Michael Beissinger won't be home for Christmas. The Apache attack helicopter platoon leader, along with 32 other members of the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade's "Peacemakers" Company, will spend their holiday season at this large coalition forces base about 15 miles north of Baghdad and more than 3,500 miles away from the Eastern Seaboard.

 

For the majority of Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's Company A, 4th Battalion, 4th CAB, this isn't the first time they have celebrated Christmas in Iraq; but in Beissinger's eyes, Christmas is a special time for everyone, no matter where they are in the world.

 

"Christmas means something different to everybody, and whether it's family-related or not, it brings up a lot of emotions and feelings for different people," he said from his chair in the company's command post, next to the camp's airfield, where he parks his $24 million attack helicopter.

 

"For a lot of our soldiers," he said, "this is their second or third time over here. But for myself and a lot of other guys, it's our first time being away during the holidays, and I wanted to make something happen to help lift their spirits." That's when parents got involved.

 

In a massive display of patriotic support, more than 60 families from the Winter Haven, Fla., area donated a myriad of Christmas gifts to Beissinger's company.

 

"My parents gathered a bunch of people together, and a lot of people from Florida knew I was here, and this is where all this support started," Beissinger said.

 

In the months leading up to the holiday season, the Apache helicopter pilot his troops call "Captain Beis" was contacted by his parents, Stephen and Chris Beissinger, about possibly organizing an effort to support his soldiers in Iraq. His parents formed a coalition of about 15 families who sent toiletries and decorations for Halloween.

 

"These 15 families got out there and started spreading the word about us," he said. "Word got out to different schools, to different churches, and basically all these people wanted to jump on the bandwagon and help support us. They wanted to do something for the next go-around."

 

The "next go-around" was Christmas, and unsure of how much support he could get, Beissinger again contacted his parents, who quickly put a plan into action.

 

"My parents put their heads together and went from there. They had a big meeting at my house in Florida with all the people that wanted to support us, and they had an overwhelming response. They had cars backed up all the way down the road."

 

Initially, each family wanted to donate gifts for each soldier, but the platoon leader said he did not want the families to have to limit their own Christmas celebrations. Soon after learning about his parents' success in gathering support for his company, Beissinger compiled a Christmas list from all of his soldiers. He asked them to list five items they wanted for Christmas. The item they wanted the most would be listed first, and the rest would be listed in order of importance.

 

In the end, Beissinger had formulated a 16-page Christmas "wish list," along with a group photo and individual pictures of each soldier with their names, ages and hometowns.

 

"All the soldiers were putting down, 'Hey, I want an iPod. Hey, I want this,'" he said. "But some guys said they wanted to donate to charities, and at that point, it went beyond receiving gifts. These guys wanted to give back to the community. It took on a different meaning when all this started happening." He cited Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 William Myrick, an Apache helicopter pilot from Victoria, Texas, as an example.

 

"He wrote down that he would like to donate to a women's shelter, and he would like to get some stuff for his kids," Beissinger said. "Every single thing he asked for, for his kids, the family went out and bought every single thing on the list and made sure it was fulfilled.

 

"He e-mailed me when he was home on leave and told me how much that meant to him," Beissinger continued. "His family was able to provide a nice Christmas for his kids, and it all stemmed from the support my parents gathered in Florida."

 

Army Sgt. Christopher Meno, a senior Apache crew chief from Guam who is on his third combat deployment, described the event as something he has never seen before -- and something he always will remember.

 

"This is by far the best Christmas I have had in Iraq," he said. "I know for the soldiers, this definitely lifted their spirits to know that somebody actually went out of their way to support them."

 

Meno received all five items on his wish list, including his No. 1 item: a guitar.

 

"In my opinion, it's just amazing to know that there are families willing to go that extra mile for our guys serving over here during the holidays." said Army Capt. Michael Shaw, the company's commander, a native of Fremont, Calif. "Now, did this have to be something financial such as gifts? No. All of these families took the time to try to get to know the soldier they were sponsoring just by looking at their pictures, and they gave their best effort to personalize each and every gift. The families looked at the pictures, looked at the soldier's list and then just went to town."

 

The Peacemakers' official Christmas celebration was held Dec. 15 in a small gravel-strewn area surrounded by concrete barriers, about 100 yards away from their small fleet of Apache helicopters. The celebration was held early because the company's leadership determined that mission requirements made it unlikely that they all could get together on Christmas Day.

 

"I don't even know who to thank anymore," Beissinger said. "We have stuff coming from all over Florida now. I have been getting stuff from Orlando, Lakeland, Bartow, Clearwater, Tampa. All these people are supporting us, and it all started in Winter Haven. It's just crazy. I just wanted to make sure that everybody had a happy holiday season.

 

"Small Town USA still loves us," he continued. "They still support us. This is evident by all the caring and generosity these families have shown to my guys. I'm glad these families are responding, because it really drives it home to these guys that there are people back home that care about us."

 

Even though all the "big" Christmas gifts have been unwrapped and stowed away, all of the soldiers surely will still be talking about the event as they complete their 12-hour workdays on Christmas Day, he added.

 

(Army Sgt. Jason Dangel serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 4th Infantry Division's Combat Aviation Brigade.)

Mullen Views Life on Sharp End of Spear in Afghanistan

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

 

Dec. 21, 2008 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff got a close look at conditions on the ground in western Afghanistan today during visits with a provincial reconstruction team and the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines. The visit gave Navy Adm. Mike Mullen insight into the obstacles and opportunities in the region in ways that briefings or conversations with officials never can.

 

It was Mullen's second visit to the region. He was here earlier this year when Marines first moved in to the region.

 

The chairman flew aboard an Air Force C-130 from Kabul to a dirt airstrip next to the provincial reconstruction team base in Farah. The province is primarily agricultural, with opium poppies its primary cash crop. Some 70 percent of the population lives below the Afghan poverty line.

 

The PRT here is a mix of Army and Navy personnel, with the sailors from all over the service and carrying a mélange of specialties. Most of the soldiers are civil affairs specialists or members of an infantry unit that provides force protection. State Department, Department of Agriculture and Agency for International Development personnel round out the team.

 

Mullen held an all-hands call with the base personnel, assigned in a region that's a hotbed of Taliban insurgents and banditry.

 

"I'm incredibly proud of the way you are accomplishing your mission," Mullen told the soldiers and sailors during his all-hands call at the base. "What you are doing is important to our country and ultimately the citizens of this country." The chairman thanked the servicemembers for their and their families' sacrifices.

 

Mullen met with provincial leaders at the base and spoke of the needs of the citizens of the region. Roads, schools, agricultural advice, wells and basic services are in short supply, and provincial leaders look to the Americans for help.

 

The team leaders explained the transportation difficulties inherent in operations around the region. A portion of the country's Ring Road links Farah with Kandahar. Dirt roads – some little more than goat trails -- link the towns.

 

The chairman got a bird's eye view of transportation challenges as he flew to the next stop of his tour at Forward Operating Base Baqwa aboard a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. During the flight, Mullen viewed a landscape not unlike that of Mars. Knife-edge ridges separated valleys with bone-dry wadis at the bottom. Not a single tree or blade of grass marked the route, a testament to the region's 13th year of drought.

 

The Baqwa base is manned by Kilo Company 3-8 Marines. "It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here," said one Marine at the base.

 

Marines patrol the valley and the small villages, Marine 2nd Lt. Kenneth McKenzie, the platoon commander, told Mullen. The young lieutenant was frank and forthright about the job the Marines are doing under tough conditions. Mullen had a tray ration lunch with the Marines at the base and discussed the mission and their contributions to it.

 

The chairman then choppered to another forward operating base in Delaram. The Marines share that base with an Afghan National Army battalion, called a kandak, and anticipate more kandaks arriving as the base is expanded.

 

The Marines at the base are training and mentoring the Afghan National Police and the Afghan Uniformed Police.

 

This base is next to the Ring Road, and supplying it is a bit easier than at Baqwa, the Marines explained.

 

After leaving Delaram, Mullen flew to the reinforced battalion headquarters on this British base, where the Marines are tenants. The chairman held an all-hands call with the personnel and received a briefing on the lay down of forces in the region and the threats. He then returned to Kabul via C-130 aircraft.

 

Mullen said he welcomed the visits to get the sights, sounds and smells of life on the sharp end of the spear. At every stop, he spoke with the troops and asked them what they need and what he can do to help their missions. If he didn't have an answer, the chairman took e-mail addresses so he could write back personally.

CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- December 19, 2008

[Botswana] Ministry records eight suspected cholera cases

 “Botswana has so far recorded eight suspected cases of cholera. Speaking at a media briefing at the Ministry of Health, Mrs Shenaz El- Halabi, Director of Public Health said of the eight, only three have been confirmed to be cholera not four as reported in the media. […] All three cholera victims are from neighbouring Zimbabwe. […] The cholera epidemic that has killed 877 people in Zimbabwe and infected 17,908 people has sparked new calls from governments within the SADC region and international solidarity organisations to take stock of cases of infection as they happen. The outbreak has been fuelled by the collapse of Zimbabwe’s health services, sanitation systems and water supply. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe leader Mr Robert Mugabe last week sparked uproar by claiming the cholera outbreak was over, while Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said the outbreak was the result of biological warfare launched by former colonial power Britain against Zimbabwe.” (Botswana Press Agency; 18Dec08) http://www.gov.bw/cgi-bin/news.cgi?d=20081218&i=Ministry_records_eight_suspected_cholera_cases

 

John Powell, ‘seditious’ journalist, dies

“U.S. journalist John W. Powell, whose 1950s articles alleging American use of germ warfare in Korea sparked sedition charges, has died at 89, his son says. […] U.S. prosecutors put Powell on trial in 1959 on a rare charge of sedition, after he authored articles for his Shanghai publication The China Monthly Review asserting that U.S. Military had employed germ warfare against North Korea, using methods they had allegedly learned from the defeated Japanese army. Powell wrote that a secret unit of the occupying Japanese army known as Unit 731 had carried out large-scale biological warfare attacks on Chinese soldiers and civilians during World War II, killing hundreds of thousands.” (United Press International; 17Dec08) http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/17/John_Powell_seditious_journalist_dies/UPI-89391229533936/

 

Protecting hospitals during disasters [training exercise in San Diego, California]

“Emergency training event brings hospital, public agencies shoulder to shoulder […] Historically in a disaster, as many as 80% of patients will take themselves directly to the hospital and bypass the prehospital provider system. The Golden Phoenix ‘08 exercise was specifically designed to test the operations, communications and security capabilities of multiple agencies and Scripps working together in an emergency on a major hospital campus. It served as a bellwether for future emergency and disaster-training efforts by breaking through old assumptions that hospitals are self-sufficient during disasters—somehow fortified against a public surge and the disruption to care this would cause.” (EMS Responder; 17Dec08; Chris Van Gorder)

http://www.emsresponder.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=1&id=8685

 

Three new technologies now available for licensing from MSU [Montana State University]

“The first technology, a nucleic acid assay that distinguishes between living and dead cells, helps eliminate the false-positives caused by detecting non-viable cells. The method detects only the active-cell portion of a microbial sample, something current molecular methods cannot do. The new method works with established protocols and other nucleic acid-based diagnostics. It applies to a range of bacterial species, including gram-positive bacteria, and it requires no specialized expertise to perform. Possible applications include food and water safety monitoring, clinical diagnostics, bioterrorism assays, testing for sterility in pharmaceuticals and personal care products and further microbial research.” (MSU News; 18Dec08)

http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=6657

 

Military [Maj. Gen. Robert Lennox]: repeat of anthrax attacks harder today

“Tighter background checks and improved security would help prevent a repeat of the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, Military officials said Thursday, while acknowledging there are no guarantees. […] ‘I can’t say for certain it could not happen today,’ army Maj. Gen. Robert Lennox, assistant deputy chief of staff for operations and training, told reporters. ‘But it would be much more difficult.’ He said there are more hurdles now before someone could remove a biological agent or toxin from a lab and seek to use it. Lennox said Military safety reviews in recent months endorsed many of the security changes already made, from improved cameras and lights to satellite surveillance. But other changes were deemed not workable or too expensive, including limits on scientists’

hours or a system that would prohibit workers from being alone with a toxin.” (Associated Press; 18Dec08; Lolita C. Baldor)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jiuMej-NB_uebx5yj1Ytq4PKIMWQD955EN3G1

 

A germ warfare guru [Yazid Sufaat] goes free

“A U.S.-trained Al Qaeda microbiologist has been released from jail by the Malaysian government, prompting alarm among American counterterrorism officials. ‘This individual is considered dangerous,’ said one official, referring to the recent decision to free Yazid Sufaat, a notorious Qaeda operative who once oversaw the group’s germ-warfare efforts. […] Malaysia privately informed the Bush administration that its legal authority to detain Sufaat had expired but promised Washington that he would be kept under close observation, the U.S. official indicated. But counterterror officials here expressed doubt that Sufaat has abandoned his radical Qaeda views or his desire to attack the United States with biological weapons. They also point out that Sufaat played an assisting role in planning the 9/11 attacks. He hosted two of the hijackers along with two other veteran Al Qaeda operatives at a terror ‘summit’ in Kuala Lumpur in January 2000.” (Newsweek; 17Dec08; Mark Hosenball & Michael Isikoff)

 http://www.newsweek.com/id/175679

 

Non-scientist gets a top spot [at the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Nes Tziona] [Second section in an article titled, ‘Israel bites back at UN watchdog over alleged strike on Syria reactor’]

“For the first time in the history of the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Nes Tziona, the position of deputy director has been filled by a candidate with no background in science through what employees have called a ‘fixed tender.’ The institute recently issued an internal tender for the position of deputy and acting director. The head of human resources, Natan Rosenbaum, was the sole applicant for the position and was awarded the tender. […] The institute conducts medical, environmental and Military research and development for Israel’s Military establishment and for foreign clients, including the U.S. army. Most of the institute’s work is classified but according to foreign publications it develops chemical and biological weapons and means for defending against such weapons. It is under the administrative purview of the Prime Minister’s Office, but in effect it answers to the Defense Ministry. Most of its 300 employees have a background in the natural sciences.” (Haaretz; 18Dec08; Yossi Melman) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1047640.html

 

Magic bug busting wand uses [ultra violet] light to fight virus spread

“Earlier in 2008 almost 200,000 people a week were being struck down with the norovirus. This week the winter vomiting virus was back, closing hospital wards and causing pre-Christmas misery to families. A new product called Purelight XD harnesses the anti-microbial properties of Ultra Violet -C light, used since the 1930’s to kill germs, in a portable and safe product that can destroy norovirus. […] Although invisible to the human eye, UV-C can kill most of the germs and viruses responsible for causing disease. For noroviruses, exposure for no more than twenty seconds to UV-C light will result in 99.9 percent sterilization. ‘Areas like doors and handles carry viruses about 40 percent of the time, and the bugs will survive in a room for a day or more after a sick person has left, waiting to be picked up by someone else,’ said Andy Felton, Director, PureLightUK.” (Response Source; 17Dec08) http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=44232&hilite=

 

Bioterrorism - a preventable catastrophe [Editorial]

“In May 2002, I visited Pokrov, a largely abandoned Soviet-era agricultural research center east of Moscow. Originally established to produce vaccines for animals, Pokrov became a laboratory for biological weapons, especially anthrax, in the final years of the Cold War. […] The security alarm to the main entrance had been turned off and the door was ajar. Up two flights of steel-grate stairs were the storage rooms, two tennis court-sized rooms filled with commercial refrigerators. Several refrigerators had two common features: note cards listing the materials inside, and flimsy strings encircling them. Our hosts explained that a broken string would indicate that someone had possibly opened the refrigerator and stolen the materials inside.” (Boston Globe; 18Dec08; Bob Graham)

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/12/18/bioterrorism___a_preventable_catastrophe/

 

army finishes neutralizing sarin containers

“The army says it has completed the process of neutralizing sarin found inside three deteriorating containers at Blue Grass army Depot in Richmond. Although the liquid nerve agent has been drained, a news release sent Thursday says the containers themselves and the wastewater that came from the drainage still must be destroyed and trucked to a site in Texas.” (army Times; 18Dec08; Source: AP)

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/ap_chemicalweapons_121808/

 

Texas man who tried to sell cyanide gets 70 months

“Federal officials say a Texas Panhandle man who tried to sell a 25-gallon drum of cyanide to an FBI informant will serve nearly six years in prison. […] An FBI affidavit showed agents taped conversations with an informant in which Detrixhe offered to sell 62 pounds of cyanide earlier this year for $10,000, a thermal imager and an assault rifle.” (Associated Press; 18Dec08)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmLCToNQSZtMxpj3BtomVICLRVMAD954N03O1

 

NY man enters plea in food poison video case

“Anton Dunn appeared in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday and pleaded guilty to a single charge of transmitting threats in interstate commerce. He could face up to five years in prison at his sentencing, which is set for March 20. Dunn was arrested earlier this year after Gerber Products Co. received complaints from consumers who wanted to know if Dunn’s threats were true. Prosecutors said Dunn claimed in a hoax that he had poisoned millions of bottles of baby food, some with cyanide or rat poison.” (Newsday; 18Dec08) http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--babyfoodhoax1218dec18,0,4126727.story

 

Public safety: inmate sentenced in cyanide threat

“Hugh L. Riley, Jr., 35, an inmate at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, pleaded guilty in June to writing a letter saying he would poison food at the Wal-Mart near Bannister Road if the company did not give him $200,000. Riley couldn’t have picked up the money. He was confined to a cell for 23 hours a day, serving a sentence for assault and armed criminal action.” (Kansas City Star; 17Dec08) http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/942103.html

 

Seized uranium in ‘special room’

“Experts have kept uranium seized by the police in a special room after initial tests showed it was highly radioactive. It has been placed in a one-metre-thick concrete wall room at the National Radiation Protective Board. Deputy head of the board Arthur Koteng said final results would be ready on Friday. […] The uranium, smuggled from the Democratic Republic of Congo, was seized by Flying Squad officers. Uranium is used in the production of atomic bombs. Besides being used as nuclear fuel, its compound - uranium hexafluoride - is used to strengthen armour. Uganda Bwambale Nason Ndyambo and Congolese David Juma Osoma have been charged with being in possession of uranium. […] The substance is packed in a 20-centimetre-high metal cylinder that weighs about nine kilogrammes. […]police have since found out that the uranium was bought from DRC in October for Sh3.9 million, which was paid in two installments. The suspects had hoped to sell it in Nairobi for $1.2 million (Sh100 million).” (Daily Nation, Kenya; 17Dec08; Fred Mukinda) http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/503650/-/u0mhoi/-/index.html

 

Radioactive bomb-detection system installed in Haifa port

“A unique device designed to detect radioactive material has been installed in the Haifa port, Channel 2 news reported Thursday. The device will scan all the containers that enter Haifa via the port, some 1.5 million containers per year, in search of radiation, according to the report. […] The Haifa facility is part of a project that spans the globe, with American satellites monitoring suspicious vessels and containers holding delicate materials. […] A radioactive bomb detection system is also in the works for Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport.” (Haaretz; 18Dec08)

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1047985.html

 

NNSA [Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration], DTRA [Defense Threat Reduction Agency] partner on nuclear research

“A deal was signed by two U.S. government agencies Wednesday to conduct new research on the effects of a dirty-bomb explosion in the United States. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and the Defense Department’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency have agreed to partner on a nuclear research project addressing ongoing security challenges in the United States, the NNSA reported. Officials say chief among the research objectives between the NNSA and the DTRA is to study the likely fallout if a terrorist detonated a nuclear device in the United States.” (Middle East Times; 18Dec08; Source: United Press International) http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/12/18/nnsa_dtra_partner_on_nuclear_research/2039/

 

On disaster planning, Indiana ranks near top

“The report was released last week by a non-profit organization and a health care foundation. Indiana scored 9 out of 10 in the report titled ‘Ready or Not?’ that was put together by the non-partisan Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The average score among all states, graded by 10 criteria chosen by researchers, was 7 out of 10. […] Only five states scored a perfect 10 in the report. Indiana was one of seven, including northern neighbor Michigan, to score a 9. Indiana, like 25 other states, lost a point for not having an intrastate courier system operating 24 hours for specimen pickup and delivery. Serena Vinter, senior research associate for Trust for America’s Health and the lead author of the study, said having such a courier system is important for timeliness.” (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette; 18Dec08; Jeff Wiehe)

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081218/LOCAL/812180312/1043/LOCAL07

 

State hazmat grants under scrutiny

“‘Gross mismanagement and waste’ undermine a Department of Transportation grant program that gives states millions of dollars to improve responses to hazardous materials spills, according to a senior official’s request for an inspector general’s investigation. The request raises concerns about insufficient oversight of the Hazardous Materials and Emergency Preparedness (HMEP) grants program, which is set to double its spending this year after disbursing more than $175 million since 1993 to help states and communities prepare and implement emergency response plans. An internal memo seeking the investigation, obtained by USA TODAY, says the program fails to follow guidelines for how grants are to be awarded and used.” (USA Today; 18Dec08; Peter Eisler) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-12-18-hazmatgrants_N.htm

 

Anthrax threat evacuates courthouse [Paradise, California]

“A letter sent to the Butte County Courthouse in Paradise with a white powder in it suspected to be anthrax was examined and determined to be a harmless food product - possibly rice, wheat, flour or starch. Butte Interagency Hazardous Materials Team leader and Battalion Chief Mike Brown said the material was a 93 to 94 percent match to a food-based product like bread crumbs but also an 80 percent match to Metamucil. ‘It’s a good match - could be corn starch,’ Brown told the five women who had possibly come into contact with the substance. […] Two hazmat specialists in full firefighter gear and oxygen masks entered the courthouse at Elliot Road and Skyway and retrieved the letter and envelope in question. They also retrieved some wipes from the quarantined courthouse that a clerk used to clean up the powder that fell from the envelope when she opened it.” (Paradise Post; 18Dec08; Paul Wellersdick)

http://www.paradisepost.com/ci_11258477

 

Test results of powder found at capital negative [Juneau, Alaska]

“Initial tests performed on the white powder discovered Dec. 9 in a state office building were negative for a variety of biological and toxic substances, according to the Department of Heath and Social Services. The sample of the unidentified white power was tested for anthrax, plague, smallpox and other biological and toxic agents at the Department of Health and Social Service’s public health laboratory in Anchorage. All tests performed by the end of Wednesday evening were negative.” (Capital City Weekly; 17Dec08) http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/121708/new_368667982.shtml

 

Garda [Irish police force] station in anthrax alert

“The army was called into Mountjoy Garda Station after an envelope containing the powder was brought to the station by two women. One of them brought the package to the gardai after reading a note accompanying it, which warned that anyone coming in contact with it would be ‘dead within hours.’ […] Gardai alerted the army and the station was evacuated at around 3pm yesterday. People who had come in contact with the material were traced as army experts checked the powder on site. They established last night that it was not anthrax.” (Herald, Ireland; 18Dec08) http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city-news/garda-station-in-anthrax-alert-1579317.html

 

Spain: Suspicious envelope at U.S. embassy a hoax

“The U.S. Embassy said it received a suspicious envelope Wednesday but Spanish police said they believed it was a hoax. U.S. Embassy spokesman William Ostick said the letter resembled others sent Tuesday to other U.S. embassies in Europe, several of which turned out to contain flour. He said the letter had been placed in the embassy’s isolated mail room and that six people who had come into contact with it had been checked and cleared. […] Spain’s National police sent in explosive and chemical experts to check the envelope, but a police official later said officials think the substance is harmless.” (Associated Press; 18Dec08; Ciaran Giles) http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hcJiC4fmi1LwmY-p5M8UMl3FDW3AD954I8KG0

 

U.S. embassies in Prague [Czech Republic], Tokyo [Japan] get white powder mail

“The U.S. embassies in Prague and Tokyo received envelopes with white powder that is being tested for toxins, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, one day after it disclosed receiving similar letters at 16 missions in Europe that were later found to be harmless. […] He declined comment on who may have sent the letters, noting a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe was underway. U.S. authorities have been on alert for such letters since 2001, when envelopes laced with anthrax were sent to media outlets and to U.S. lawmakers, killing five people.” (Reuters; 18Dec08; Arshad Mohammed)

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE4BH6CR20081218

 

CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD Terrorism.

Afghan Commandos Detain Insurgent Leader, Two Others

American Forces Press Service

 

Dec. 18, 2008 - Afghan National Army commandos, assisted by coalition forces, detained an insurgent leader and two other militants in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, military officials reported.  The commandos, acting on credible information, conducted a raid on a compound in the Behsood district of Nangarhar province that served as a transit point for various insurgent groups. During a search, the commandos detained three militants -- Abdul Wahid, Raz Gul and a man known only as Haider. All three identified themselves during questioning.

 

Wahid is believed to be responsible for numerous attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and facilitating insurgent activities throughout Nangarhar province. Gul and his brother, Haider, are suspected weapons smugglers and suppliers for insurgent fighters in Konar province.

 

The commandos encountered no resistance during the detention process, and no shots were fired. They safeguarded six women and 17 children during the operation.

 

(From a U.S. Forces Afghanistan news release.)