July 2008

Bomb threat disrupts LAX, no explosive found

Several flights were grounded at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday after a man claimed to be a terrorist and made a bomb threat, police said. No explosives were found on the man or in a backpack he had, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. The man was identified as Scott Juhun Lee, 27, of Irvine, police Officer Jason Lee said. He was booked for investigation of making a false bomb threat and held on $20,000 bail……(AP, 3 Jul 08)

Judge Rejects Bush’s View on Wiretaps

A federal judge in California said Wednesday that the wiretapping law established by Congress was the “exclusive” means for the president to eavesdrop on Americans, and he rejected the government’s claim that the president’s constitutional authority as commander in chief trumped that law. The judge, Vaughn R. Walker, the chief judge for the Northern District of California, made his findings in a ruling on a lawsuit brought by an Oregon charity. The group says it has evidence of an illegal wiretap used against it by the National Security Agency under the secret surveillance program established by President Bush after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Justice Department has tried for more than two years to kill the lawsuit, saying any surveillance of the charity or other entities was a “state secret” and citing the president’s constitutional power as commander in chief to order wiretaps without a warrant from a court under the agency’s program…..(New York Times, 3 Jul 08)

Judge tosses wiretapping lawsuit by Islamic group

A federal judge on Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit by an Islamic organization that accused the Bush administration of illegally wiretapping its telephones without warrants. The U.S. branch of the now-defunct Al Haramain Islamic Foundation claimed federal officials illegally eavesdropped on their telephone calls without court approval required by the administration's so-called Terrorist Surveillance Program. At the heart of their lawsuit was a top secret call log that the Treasury Department accidentally turned over to Al Haramain's lawyers, who say it shows government terrorist hunters listened to their phone conversations with foundation officials living in Saudi Arabia…U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker barred the foundation from using the top secret document in the case and dismissed the lawsuit. He gave the foundation 30 days to refile its lawsuit with other evidence proving it was a surveillance target…Walker ruled that FISA does have precedence over the state secrets privilege, but said Al Haramain's lawyers are barred from using the call log they accidentally received……(AP, 3 Jul 08)

Race profiling for terrorism probes?

The Justice Department is considering letting the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims, Arabs or other racial and ethnic groups. Law enforcement officials say the proposed policy would help them do exactly what Congress demanded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: Root out terrorists before they strike. Although President Bush has disavowed targeting suspects based on their race or ethnicity, the new rules would allow the FBI to consider those factors among a number of traits that could trigger a national security investigation……(AP, 2 Jul 08)

DHS financial systems' security questioned

Plans by agencies of the Homeland Security Department to correct security weaknesses in their financial management systems don't  correct the fundamental causes  of the problems. Also, the plans are not consistently updated with correct information and lack detail, according to a recent audit commissioned by DHS’ inspector general. The consulting firm KPMG found that the Information Technology Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&M) that several DHS agencies have used to fix vulnerabilities in financial management systems were insufficient. The audit found that milestones in those plans often lacked enough information to correct problems and the schedules the agencies set are not reasonable. DHS’ inspector general hired the company to audit the POA&M plans that the Coast Guard, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had for improving the security of their financial management systems……(FCW, 2 Jul 08)

Pentagon's top watchdog leaving post July 13

Defense Department Inspector General Claude (Mick) Kicklighter is resigning from his position atop one of the government's largest oversight organizations.  Kicklighter, who turns 75 next month, will become director of the George Mason University School of Law's Critical Infrastructure Protection Program, his office announced Tuesday.  His last day will be July 13. President Bush immediately announced his intention to designate Labor Department Inspector General Gordon Heddell as acting Defense Department IG.  Kicklighter's exit comes just 14 months into a five-year term, but officials in the IG's office said he has always planned to leave before the end of the Bush administration……..(Congress Daily, 2 Jul 08)

Senate panel slashes foreign visitor ID system

The Senate Appropriations Committee significantly cut the budget for the Homeland Security Department's program to electronically track when foreign travelers enter and leave the United States, fearing the system might not work as planned. The committee's fiscal 2009 spending bill for DHS would provide $181.3 million for the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology program, a 62 percent cut from the program's $475 million fiscal 2008 budget and 54 percent less than the $390 million that President Bush requested. The bill now heads to the Senate floor for a vote…"As a result of the department's delay in submitting the fiscal year 2008 expenditure plan, the department has essentially made this program a forward funded account," the report noted, adding "a robust 'entry-exit' program must wait for the next administration to execute."…..(Gov Exec, 2 Jul 08)

U.S. States Continue to Divest from Businesses Tied to Iran

Eleven U.S. states have adopted legislation to divest public pension funds from companies with financial ties to Iran's petroleum, defense, and nuclear sectors in an attempt to persuade Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program and alleged sponsorship of terrorism. Almost 20 more states are considering similar legislation to supplement existing federal and international sanctions. This is the first time that state investments have been leveraged for nonproliferation goals. During the 1980s, anti-apartheid activists urged state and local authorities and some universities to divest holdings from companies invested in or doing business with South Africa. During the 1990s, humanitarian activists persuaded Massachusetts to divest from companies "doing business with" Myanmar. More recently, almost 30 states passed legislation to divest from companies with investments in or engaged in trade with Sudan. The Iran case is unique, however, because divestment legislation explicitly references Iran's alleged sponsorship of terrorists and its uranium enrichment program…..(World Politics Review, 2 Jul 08)

Nuclear Agency Weighs Attack Threat at Plants

Dragged by a federal appeals court into a rare public discussion of the risks that terrorists could attack a nuclear plant, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission heard arguments on Tuesday from a California group that the commission’s staff had overlooked one category of potentially serious attacks. The commission, determined to dispose of the issue promptly, heard the arguments directly instead of delegating them to administrative law judges, the first time since 1989 that the sitting commissioners have heard such oral arguments……(New York Times, 2 Jul 08)

Air Force Finds Lax Nuclear Security

Most overseas storage sites for U.S. nuclear weapons, particularly in Europe, need substantial improvements in physical security measures and the personnel who guard the weapons, according to a newly available Air Force report. "Most sites require significant additional resources to meet DoD security requirements," according to the final report of the Air Force Blue Ribbon Review of Nuclear Weapons Policies and Procedures, completed in February. The report was made public last week by Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, who obtained it under a Freedom of Information Act request….(Washington Post, 2 Jul 08)

Lawmakers, airlines oppose Bush fingerprinting plan

Key members of Congress are siding with the airline industry and moving to block the administration from forcing airlines to take fingerprints of foreign visitors before they fly home. The opposition is setting up a clash over a final Bush administration effort to tighten security and immigration by keeping better track of when visitors fly out of the country. U.S. and foreign airlines say fingerprinting 33 million visitors a year would devastate them financially, costing $12 billion over 10 years, at a time when soaring fuel prices have helped put some airlines out of business and forced others to cut flights…..(US Today, 2 Jul 08)

Court Dismisses Rendition Suit

A federal appeals court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Syrian-born Canadian man who had accused the United States of violating the law and his civil rights after he was detained at Kennedy Airport and sent to Syria under what he claims was an act of “extraordinary rendition.”  The man, Maher Arar, tried to win civil damages from United States officials in his suit, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York ruled that because he was never technically inside the United States, his claims could not be heard in the federal courts……(New York Times, 2 Jul 08)

DHS gets recommendations for transition

A new study has laid out a series of steps the Homeland Security Department should take to ensure its first transition to a new administration is seamless and minimizes security vulnerabilities. Congress had requested an independent study to examine the department’s staffing structure to ensure that it would be ready for the transition. DHS subsequently asked the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) to undertake the investigation. A panel of NAPA fellows recommended that incoming staff members be in place on Inauguration Day or shortly thereafter. Experts have said times of political change represent periods of vulnerability, as shown by the terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005……(FCW, 1 Jul 08)

Judges Cite Need for Reliable Evidence To Hold Detainees

In reversing a military tribunal's determination that a Chinese detainee was an "enemy combatant," a federal appeals court criticized the government's evidence and compared its legal theories to a nonsensical 19th-century poem. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit wrote in a 39-page opinion released yesterday that tribunals and courts must be able to assess whether evidence is reliable before determining the fate of detainees. That did not happen in the case of Huzaifa Parhat, a Chinese Uighur determined to be an enemy combatant by a tribunal that relied heavily on questionable evidence in classified documents, the appeals court found…….(Washington Post, 1 Jul 08)

European Lawmaker To Sue U.S. Over Data

A European Union lawmaker who frequently travels to the United States is suing the U.S. government for access to her personal records, such as credit card information and travel history, that the Department of Homeland Security and other security agencies may have gathered. The lawsuit to be filed today by Sophie in't Veld, a Dutch member of parliament, comes as the United States and Europe are working on an agreement on privacy protections for transatlantic data-sharing. The pact would permit security agencies to obtain personal information for law-enforcement purposes. One sticking point, however, is the ability of European citizens to sue the U.S. government for access to information and redress if they think the data are inaccurate or have been misused…….(Washington Post, 1 Jul 08)

Ill. man arrested for having illegal toxin

A suburban Chicago man was charged Monday with possessing an illegal toxin found in puffer fish. Edward Bachner, 35, was charged with one count of illegal possession of tetrodotoxin, a felony. He was being held in federal custody pending a detention hearing Wednesday. Using the alias Edmond Backer, Bachner allegedly claimed he was a doctor when he ordered 98 milligrams of the toxin from a New Jersey chemical company, the FBI said. An employee of the company became suspicious due to the large amount ordered and alerted the FBI. Bachner was arrested Monday when he allegedly tried to get the tetrodotoxin….(AP, 1 Jul 08)

June 2008

Fla. businesses sue over Cuba travel law

More than a dozen Florida-based travel agencies and charter companies sued their state on Monday to block a new law that would make it more expensive for them to book trips to Cuba.  The law set to take effect Tuesday requires all businesses to post a $250,000 bond to the state if they book direct tours to any countries considered by the U.S. to be sponsors of terrorism. The only such trips from Florida go to Cuba.  The money would mostly be used to investigate whether the companies violate federal laws on travel to those countries…..(AP, 30 Jun 08)

Nuclear Terror: Federal/Local Coordination Still a Challenge

Despite progress, continuing gaps in nuclear terror readiness on local level seen. “We’ve gotten pretty good at the poetry of strategy,” Paul McHale Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs , US Department of Defense told the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Thursday at a hearing entitled Nuclear Terrorism: Providing Medical Care and Meeting Basic Needs in the Aftermath – the Federal Response. Click here to see full testimony.  McHale, one of four witnesses at the hearing, cited significant progress in developing a coherent high-level national framework for rapid response to a terrorist nuclear incident….(HS Today, 30 Jun 08)

Former Agent Explains What Went Wrong in the Investigation

The anthrax investigation, almost from the beginning, was hampered by top-heavy leadership from high ranking, but inexperienced FBI officials, which led to a close-minded focus on just one suspect and amateurish investigative techniques that robbed agents in the field the ability operate successfully. I saw it firsthand as one of the FBI agents assigned to the anthrax case and directly involved in the investigation of Dr. Steven Hatfill……(ABC, 30 Jun 08)

Terror Case Judge: Iran Must Identify U.S. Assets

In an apparently unprecedented move, a federal judge in Chicago is ordering the government of Iran to comply with the requests of terrorism victims that the Islamic nation identify of all of its real estate holdings, financial assets, and other property in America.  In issuing the order last week, Judge Blanche Manning effectively rejected the advice of the Bush administration that the court should put limits on what Iran is required to disclose about its American assets……(New York Sun, 30 Jun 08)

Diploma Mills Could Enable Terrorist Infiltration

Today’s edition of the New York Times reports on the nefarious activities of a “diploma mill” that has been successfully operating for some time, amassing huge profits while conspiring with its customers to provide anyone with the money, a worthless diploma that provides the illusion of academic achievement. These diplomas undermine the integrity of our workforce and may even undermine national security. As the article notes, visas can be issued to aliens who are able to document that they have degrees that would qualify them for employment in the United States, when in fact they have no such education and may have no intention of securing the job they apply for but simply desire to enter our country for other purposes… Today inspectors simply note the arriving student is admitted for D/S (Duration of Status). This removes a potential area of monitoring whether or not a student is still enrolled in school. There is a program known as SEVIS that is supposed to keep track of foreign students and exchange visitors in our country.  The problem is that with the lack of resources at ICE, a student who stops attending school may well be reported to our government, but in the game of “hide and seek” the student who decides to drop out of school may hide but the government has precious little in the way of resources to “seek.”… The 9-11 Commission Staff Report on Terrorist Travel begins with the paragraph: “It is perhaps obvious to state that terrorists cannot plan and carry out attacks in the United States if they are unable to enter the country. Yet prior to September 11, while there were efforts to enhance border security, no agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a tool in the counterterrorism arsenal. Indeed, even after 19 hijackers demonstrated the relative ease of obtaining a U.S. visa and gaining admission into the United States, border security still is not considered a cornerstone of national security policy…Clearly immigration fraud is a huge problem and one that our government is all but ignoring! Its not that they don't know, there have been enough hearings and GAO reports, it seems that most of these leaders believe that the flood of illegal aliens into our country will create new voters that they hope will vote for them and their party… Diploma mills are cranking out thousands of bogus diplomas that can be used to enable aliens, including aliens from countries that are identified as being "Special Interest" countries because of their sponsorship of terrorism and ICE is missing in action!.....(Counterterrorism Blog, 29 Jun 08)

Diploma Mill Concerns Extend Beyond Fraud

The man said he was a retired military officer from Syria, which the American government deems a sponsor of terrorists. He wanted credentials as a chemical engineer, useful for getting a visa to work in the United States. Could James Monroe University help? For $1,277, it did. Within days, he received three undergraduate and advanced degrees in chemistry and environmental engineering, based on his “life experience,” according to documents in federal court. Although the degrees looked authentic, Monroe had no faculty or courses; the “adviser” evaluating “life experience” was a high school dropout….(New York Times, 29 Jun 08)

U.S. and Europe Near Agreement on Private Data

The United States and the European Union are nearing completion of an agreement allowing law enforcement and security agencies to obtain private information — like credit card transactions, travel histories and Internet browsing habits — about people on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The potential agreement, as outlined in an internal report obtained by The New York Times, would represent a diplomatic breakthrough for American counterterrorism officials, who have clashed with the European Union over demands for personal data. Europe generally has more stringent laws restricting how governments and businesses can collect and transfer such information……(New York Times, 28 Jun 08)

Converged networks challenge Homeland Security

Converging networks and data centers is a challenge but perhaps more so to the folks charged with watching over the nation’s telecommunications and cyber framework.  That’s why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to quickly address some shortcomings “or risk being unable to efficiently plan for and respond to disruptions to communications infrastructure and the data and applications that reside on this infrastructure, increasing the probability that communications will be unavailable or limited in times of need,” according to a Government Accountability Office report issued today. At the heart of the problem, the GAO said is the integration of two of the DHS’ prime data center components…..(Network World, 27 Jun 08)

Muslim sues over loss of security clearance

Charging violation of his constitutional rights to free speech and religion, equal protection and due process, nuclear scientist and prison imam Moniem El-Ganayni filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against the Department of Energy and its acting deputy secretary, Jeffrey F. Kupfer. The action stems from the loss of Dr. El-Ganayni's security clearance, and hence his job, at Bettis Laboratory in West Mifflin, based on unspecified grounds of "national security." It does not seek to overturn the revocation, but rather the right to see the alleged evidence against him -- he doubts any exists -- and the chance to contest the decision "before a nonpolitical, neutral arbiter, as mandated by DOE regulations."… Dr. El-Ganayni came to the United States from Egypt in 1980, became a U.S. citizen in 1988 and started work at the Bettis nuclear propulsion research facility in 1990. He earned his advanced degrees at the University of Pittsburgh, co-founded the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, and ministered to prisoners in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He contends that he never had a clearance problem at work until he began speaking out against the Iraq war and the FBI's efforts to recruit informants at local mosques……(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 27 Jun 08)

Muslim physicist sues U.S. Energy Department

…Dr. Moniem El-Ganayni, 57, of Highland Park claims the Energy Department acted against him because he is Muslim and has publicly criticized America's war in Iraq and the local FBI's treatment of Muslims. He filed a 29-page lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Downtown.  Egyptian-born El-Ganayni charges that Energy Department and Acting Deputy Secretary Jeffrey F. Kupfer in May "invoked national security solely to shield the agency from having to disclose the unconstitutional retaliatory and discriminatory reasons for the clearance revocation."

The lawsuit accuses the agency and Kupfer of violating El-Ganayni's constitutional rights to free speech and to not be discriminated against for his ethnicity or religion. The Energy Department suspended El-Ganayni's security clearance in December, which he claims cost him his job as a physicist with Bettis Laboratory, where he worked since 1990. The West Mifflin facility works on the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, a joint Navy-Energy Department program responsible for U.S. nuclear-powered warships……(Pittsburgh Live, 26 Jun 08)

Scientist, Claiming Bias, Sues U.S. Over Revoked Clearance

An Egyptian-born nuclear physicist who worked in a government-financed laboratory here for 18 years filed a lawsuit on Thursday saying the Energy Department had revoked his security clearance because of his ethnicity, his Muslim faith and comments he made criticizing the war in Iraq.  physicist, Abdel Moniem Ali el-Ganayni, 57, lost his job shortly after his clearance was revoked in May by Jeffrey F. Kupfer, the Department of Energy’s acting deputy secretary, who cited “national security” in refusing to reveal what led to the revocation.

“Our contention is that the reason the D.O.E. invoked national security here was to relieve themselves of the responsibility of having to tell us what’s going on,”…..(New York Times, 27 Jun 08)

U.S. explores anti-missile scheme for flight zones

U.S. researchers are exploring the use of laser or infrared systems to protect not just single planes but whole flight zones from attack by shoulder-launched missiles, a top government scientist said on Thursday.

Starnes Walker, director of research at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's science and technology directorate, said tests had shown that high-altitude platforms could detect the launch of such missiles, but there were huge scientific challenges in diverting them off-target…….(Reuters, 26 Jun 08)

Iranian engineer pleads guilty in nuke plant case

An Iranian engineer has pleaded guilty to transporting stolen property he obtained at a former job at the largest nuclear plant in the United States. Mohammad Reza Alavi, 50, pleaded guilty to the charge in a deal reached Tuesday with federal prosecutors. Another charge against him was dropped. A federal jury convicted Alavi last month of illegally accessing a protected computer but deadlocked on the two other counts.

He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison a Sept. 29 sentencing hearing……(AP, 26 Jun 08)

DHS Lags in Preparations for Transition of Power, Study Says

The Department of Homeland Security is moving too slowly to prepare for the risks that will accompany the first presidential transition for U.S. counterterrorism agencies formed after the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to a study scheduled for release today. The department's plan to train scores of key career officials, temporarily fill the posts of 26 departing political appointees and complete a transition plan are insufficient or should be accelerated, according to a 118-page report by the National Academy of Public Administration that was funded by Congress and DHS…….(Washington Post, 26 Jun 08)

FBI investigates whether Muslim man's shooting was a hate crime

A family from Uzbekistan is trying to figure out why their husband and father was shot Friday night as he tried to buy gasoline in the same neighborhood where they run a small carryout restaurant. Fazliddin Yakubov remained in critical condition Tuesday at MetroHealth Medical Center after he was shot three times in the stomach at a gasoline station at East 76th Street and Superior Avenue…Yakubov's son, Farhad, said he was waiting in line to pay for the fuel when his father started yelling at him in his mother language to hurry up and also to be aware that young men behind him in the line were ridiculing him. One of the youths cut in line and said "someone should do something about him," referring to Fazliddin Yakubov. Farhad said that as he stood in line, some of the youths came around from behind the gas station and one opened fire, shooting at his father as he stood by the car at the gas pump…..(Plain Dealer, 25 Jun 08)

FBI probes gas station shooting of Muslim man in Ohio

…Some people were taunting Fazliddin Yakubov, 49, who is a native of Uzbekistan, right before he was shot three times in the abdomen on Friday night, said Julia Shearson, executive director of the Cleveland Chapter Council on American Islamic Relations. People at the gas station might have mistaken Yakubov for an Arab because he spoke the Uzbek language and then recited a Muslim prayer in Arabic when he became frightened by a group of people milling around the gas station…..(AP, 25 Jun 08)

DHS Alerts High Risk Chemical Facilities

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently issuing letters to about 7,000 chemical facilities around the country that it has designated as "high risk" in the face of terrorism attack, based on the volatility of the chemicals stored at them and their geographic locations. Over the past year, the DHS National Programs and Protection Directorate has reviewed about 32,000 facilities through the Chemical Security Assessment Tool established under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), a set of federal regulations designed to establish individual security plans for chemical sites. CFATS breaks down the threat posed by a terrorist attack on the sites into four categories with "high risk" at the top. DHS will not release the names of the 7,000 high-risk facilities to the public, but the department published a list of around 320 chemicals of interest last November to help facilities determine if CFATS would apply to them……(HS Today, 25 Jun 08)

Pentagon Contractor Accused of Fraud Had Been Flagged by State Dept.

AEY Inc., the company run by a 22-year-old Miami Beach arms dealer who was indicted last week for conspiring to defraud the government on a $298 million Pentagon contract in 2007, was on a State Department watch list for suspicious international dealings the year before that contract was awarded, according to testimony before Congress yesterday. Both AEY and its president, Efraim E. Diveroli, were listed because they had been under investigation since July 2005 because of suspicion of "numerous violations of the Arms Export Control Act and contract fraud," according to a report released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at yesterday's hearing…….(Washington Post, 25 Jun 08)

Groups to warn panel about economic effect of seizing laptops

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's practice of seizing laptop computers and other electronic devices from American travelers returning to the United States without notifying them of what will happen to the data could negatively affect the U.S. economy, according to travel and privacy analysts who are scheduled to testify before a Senate panel on Wednesday. The hearing before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee comes two months after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that CBP officials do not need reasonable suspicion to search laptops, BlackBerrys, cell phones and other personal electronic storage devices at U.S. borders. The seizures can include downloading personal information and data from the devices…..(GOV Exec, 24 Jun 08)

Two Munitions Dealers Arrested and Charge in Conspiracy to Export Military aircraft

Defendants Hassan Saied Keshari and Traian Bujduveanu were arrested on charges of conspiring to export military aircraft parts to Iran, announced R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Investigations, and Christopher Amato, Special Agent in Charge of the Pentagon's Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office. Hassan Saied Keshari and Traian Bujduveanu are charged in a federal Criminal Complaint with conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the United States Iran Embargo, and the Arms Export Control Act for their participation in a conspiracy to export U.S.-made military aircraft parts to Iran. According to the affidavit filed in support of the Criminal Complaint, Keshari owns and operates Kesh Air International, a business located in Novato, California. Bujduveanu owns and operates Orion Aviation Corp., located in Plantation, Florida. The affidavit alleges that since August 2006, Keshari and Bujduveanu have procured U.S.-made military aircraft parts in the United States for buyers in Iran and have illegally shipped the parts to a company in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for shipment to buyers in Iran……(US DOJ, 23 Jun 08)

Iran's 'Nightmare Scenarios' Are Mulled in Washington

An attack on the U.S. 5th Fleet, exploding Saudi oil refineries, and a Hezbollah operation against a soft target in the Americas, Asia, or Europe. These are scenarios America's intelligence analysts are now poring over as Israel signals its preparedness to deal with Iran's race for the A-bomb… The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, speaking on Al-Arabiya television over the weekend, said an Israeli attack on Iran's enrichment facilities would turn the Middle East into a "ball of fire." Interviews with current and former national security officials in America suggest that Washington and its allies in the Middle East are bracing for unconventional and conventional attacks from Iran in response to such an Israeli action……(New York Sun, 24 Jun 08)

Iran strike in the air as US and Israeli military chiefs meet

The US military chief is to meet his Israeli counterpart in Tel Aviv this week in a move that gives new impetus to speculation about a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear capabilities. Tensions were further heightened by a suggestion from former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton that the US and Israel could attack Iraq's fledgling program between the time a new president was nominated in November and the date the incumbent, George W. Bush, left office in January. Mr Bolton's remarks signal the first time a regime figure from either country has been prepared to put a time frame on a mooted strike…..(Australian, 24 Jun 08)

Appeals Court Invalidates Detainee's 'Enemy' Status

A federal appeals court in Washington has invalidated the Bush administration's finding that a detainee held for more than six years in the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba is an "enemy combatant," and has ordered the government to release him, transfer him or offer him a new hearing. In a ruling decided Friday but released yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that Huzaifa Parhat, an ethnic Chinese Uighur captured during the early stages of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, was inappropriately designated an enemy combatant at a hearing before a Combatant Status Review Tribunal. The case is the first successful appeal of a detainee's designation as an enemy combatant at Guantanamo…….(Washington Post, 24 Jun 08)

Blackwater's rosy future

… In April, over the objections of the U.S.-installed Iraqi government, which has demanded Blackwater's expulsion, the Bush administration quietly renewed the company's lucrative Iraq contract for yet another year. To date, the company has pulled in over $1 billion from its Iraq and Afghanistan ''security'' contracts alone.

Blackwater is also winning at home. The company recently fought back widespread local opposition to its plans for a new warfare training center in San Diego. When residents and local officials tried to block it, Blackwater sued the city. A federal judge, appointed by President Bush's father, ordered San Diego to stand down. Now the company is entrenched, guns a blazin', in San Diego and is well positioned to cash in on the increasingly privatized border-patrol industry……(Miami Herald, 24 Jun 08)

The deadly convenience of Victor Bout  Part 1

The arrest on 6 March of 41-year-old Viktor Anatol'evich Bout in Bangkok continues to shine a most unwelcome (for some) spotlight on the shadowy world of the international arms trade, and will doubtless leave many governments, including the US, scrambling for cover as they attempt to limit the fallout His arrest involved not only the Royal Thai Police and the US Drug Enforcement Agency, but the Romanian Border Police, the Romanian Prosecutor's Office Attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Korps Politie Curacao of the Netherlands Antilles and the Danish National Police Security Services… The following day, Michael Garcia, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michele Leonhart, the Acting Administrator of the DEA, announced the unsealing of charges against Bout (aka "Boris," Victor But," "Viktor Budd," "Viktor Butt," "Viktor Bulakin," "Vadim Markovich Aminov … and so on. On 10 March at 9 am in Manhattan district court federal agents arraigned Bout's associate, Andrei (Andrew) Smulian, who, according to the DEA, was arrested along with Bout in Thailand…..(ISN Security Watch, 24 Jun 08)

The deadly convenience of Victor Bout   Part 2

Belgium was the first nation to seek legal sanctions against Bout, where in the mid-1990s the Service Général du Renseignement et de la Sécurité (Belgian Military Intelligence Service, or SGR) began "Operation Boomerang" against Bout on suspicion that he was supplying weapons in return for diamonds to African countries under UN sanction. On 18 February 2002, Belgium transmitted a secret warrant to Interpol for Bout's arrest on a charge of money laundering and weapons smuggling worth US$32.5 million through Belgium. The warrant was based on Sanjivan Rupriah's secret FBI testimony of the previous month.…..(ISN Security Watch, 24 Jun 08)

U.S. Lawmakers to Remove Mandela From Terror List

South African Ambassador to the United States, Welile Nhlapo, has confirmed he is in talks with United States' State Department officials and lawmakers to strike Nelson Mandela's name off the country's list of terrorists ahead of his 90th birthday on July 18. The former president and freedom fighter remains on America's list of terrorists more than a decade after the defeat of the apartheid regime, an issue that has become a source of concern to lawmakers and democracy supporters around the world……(Day, 24 Jun 08)

DHS gives $80M to improve identification security

…Grants will fund state-specific projects, like improving the physical security of licenses, upgrading facility security, and modernizing document imaging and storage. D.C. received $500,000, Virginia received $2,660,252 and Maryland received $1,138,000 for fiscal year 2008. The goal of the REAL ID program, a 9/11 Commission finding that was mandated by Congress in 2005, is to reduce the use of stolen, borrowed, altered, or counterfeit source documents that are used to obtain state-issued documents. Funding was also provided for the development and testing of the verification hub, which will enable all states to verify applicant proof-of-identity documents……(Washington Business Journal, 23 Jun 08)

Foreign students labeled 'threats', TSA wording raises alarm

A group of foreign oceanography graduate students got a scare when they recently applied to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for access to U.S. ports where their research ships would be moored. The TSA denied their request and labeled them "security threats." "They don't know what this meant, or what happens if they leave the country and try to get back in or renew their visa. This really alarmed them," said James Yoder, vice president for academic programs for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), one of two centers providing the students' oceanography program. "We have not been reassured that our students won't face penalties down the road with TSA."  TSA spokesman Christopher White said the agency will allow the students access to the ships and secure dock areas with an escort and is reworking how it words its denial-of-access letters. The TSA has only two designations for such requests: "approved" and "security threat." …..(Washington Times, 23 Jun 08)

Court will review $2.8 million award to Iranian

…The justices said Monday they will consider overturning a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in the case of Dariush Elahi, who is seeking the money as compensation for the killing of his brother, Cyrus, in Paris in 1990. French authorities blamed the Iranian government for the killing. In 2000, Dariush Elahi sued Iran in federal court in Washington. The Iranian government failed to respond to the lawsuit and, after a trial, a judge awarded Elahi $11.7 million in compensatory and $300 million in punitive damages……(AP, 23 Jun 08)

American summer camps turn to espionage to entice today's teenagers

…American children’s summer camps are increasingly turning to adult pursuits to entice a new generation of tech-savvy teenagers.  In place of traditional summer fare such as canoeing and volley-ball, the camps are offering ever more sophisticated pursuits, from computer programming courses to espionage - otherwise known as “spy camp”.  At the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST), a summer course in handling explosives has proved so popular that the 2008 sessions sold out months ago. “A bunch of my friends were really jealous when they found out I was going to explosives camp,” said Babb…….(Sunday Times, 22 Jun 08)

Video: Missouri S&T Explosives Camp 2007

At Odds With Air Force, Army Adds Its Own Aviation Unit

Ever since the Army lost its warplanes to a newly independent Air Force after World War II, soldiers have depended on the sister service for help from the sky, from bombing and strafing to transport and surveillance.

But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have frayed the relationship, with Army officers making increasingly vocal complaints that the Air Force is not pulling its weight…..(New York Time, 22 Jun 08)

Plan to Fingerprint Foreigners Exiting U.S. Is Opposed

The airline industry and embassies of 34 countries, including the members of the European Union, are urging the U.S. government to withdraw a plan that would require airlines and cruise lines to collect digital fingerprints of all foreigners before they depart the United States, starting in August 2009. Their opposition could trigger a battle with Congress and the Bush administration, which want the new plan established quickly. Airlines said the change would cost the industry $12.3 billion over 10 years, not $3.5 billion as the Department of Homeland Security estimated in unveiling the proposal in April……..(Washington Post, 22 Jun 08)

Blackwater: Convenient law

It appears that Eric Prince, owner of Blackwater, that mega-contractor and mercenary force fighting wars in our name, has a deep reverence for Islam. At least, that's the conclusion we come away with having read that he's asking that Sharia law be applied in a case where three widows of U.S. soldiers are suing Presidential Airways, also owned by Prince, after their husbands died when one of the company's planes crashed in Afghanistan in 2004……(Seattle PI, 20 Jun 08)

U.S. company: Blackwater Flight 61 crash lawsuit governed by Islamic law

To defend itself against a lawsuit by the widows of three American soldiers who died on one of its planes in Afghanistan, a sister company of the private military firm Blackwater has asked a federal court to decide the case using the Islamic law known as Shari’a. The lawsuit “is governed by the law of Afghanistan,” Presidential Airways argued in a Florida federal court. “Afghan law is largely religion-based and evidences a strong concern for ensuring moral responsibility, and deterring violations of obligations within its borders.”  If the judge agrees, it would essentially end the lawsuit over a botched flight supporting the U.S. military. Shari’a law does not hold a company responsible for the actions of employees performed within the course of their work……(News Observer, 20 Jun 08)

DHS Ramps Up Testing Of GA Aircraft

If you plan to fly your general aviation aircraft to the United States from a foreign country, don't be surprised to see agents walking up to your plane with rather large Geiger counters. USA Today reports teams at Andrews Air Force Base are working to perfect radiological testing procedures for aircraft, ranging in size from small piston twins to large jets. Agents with the Department of Homeland Security are perfecting ways to scan for radiation emanating from a possible nuclear weapon, or material that might be used to make one, stowed onboard an aircraft. The four-month, $4 million test program, managed by the department's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO,) has seen agents test radiation screening procedures on a DC-9 and a Gulfstream bizjet, among other aircraft…….(Aero-News, 20 Jun 08)

Blackwater affiliate seeking legal relief in sharia law

…The lawsuit 'is governed by the law of Afghanistan,' Presidential Airways argued in a Florida federal court. 'Afghan law is largely religion-based and evidences a strong concern for ensuring moral responsibility, and deterring violations of obligations within its borders.' If the judge agrees, it would essentially end the lawsuit over a botched flight supporting the U.S. military. Shari’a law does not hold a company responsible for the actions of employees performed within the course of their work. An investigation (pdf) of the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board found that eight minutes before plowing into the side of a canyon, the plane's co-pilot told his partner, "yeah you're an x-wing fighter star wars man." And later, "I swear to god they wouldn't pay me if they knew how much fun this was."….(Foreign Policy Blog, 19 Jun 08)

Accident Report: NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD Accident No. IAD05FA023

US moves against Saudi-based charity

The Bush administration moved Thursday to clamp down on a Saudi-based charity accused of funneling money and other support to al-Qaida. The Treasury Department's action covers "the entirety" of Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, including its headquarters in Saudi Arabia, the government said. The action means that any assets found in the United States belonging to the charity are frozen. Americans also are prohibited from providing donations or otherwise doing business with the charity. The United States — between 2002 and 2004 — had previously taken action against 13 branches of the charity, including locations in the United States, Afghanistan and the Netherlands……(AP, 19 Jun 08)

Treasury Department Designates Multiple Terrorists Across Globe
Recently, the U.S. Treasury Department has acted against a number of terrorists across the globe, labeling them Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The Treasury actions were against two Venezuela-based supporters of Hezbollah, two leaders of the Islamic Jihad Union, seven members of the Rajah Solaiman Movement, and three Gulf-based Al-Qaida financiers……(NEFA, 19 Jun 08)

Newer Radios Are Sought To Protect Lawmakers

Legislators expressed frustration yesterday that the U.S. Capitol Police are still using an outdated radio system that suffers frequent breakdowns, even though Congress is considered a major terrorist target. "I am concerned that we do not have what we need to have here,"….(Washington Post, 19 Jun 08)

Pentagon eyes hole-squeezing spy robots

U.S. robot producer iRobot has announced it is developing a soft flexible robot for the Department of Defense. The so-called Chemical Robots will be able to maneuver through openings smaller then their actual dimensions.

ChemBots will be used for reconnaissance and search and rescue operations in urban areas……(Russia Today, 18 Jun 08)

Shift of Federal Protective Service to DHS called 'lethal'

House lawmakers have expressed concern that the Federal Protective Service's placement in the Homeland Security Department might have caused budget and staffing problems resulting in dangerous security gaps.

The Government Accountability Office presented to lawmakers on Wednesday a report on the ability of FPS to meet its mission to protect 9,000 federal facilities. It stated the agency's management of dwindling budget and staffing levels "diminished security at facilities and increased the risk of crime or terrorist attacks." Formerly a component of the General Services Administration, FPS became part of DHS' Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau when the agency was created in 2003…..(Gov Exec, 18 Jun 08)

Treasury Moves on Hezbollah Ties in Venezuela

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated several entities tied to Hezbollah and operating in Venezuela. This is the first time I can find of the U.S. government directly and publicly linking Hezbollah funding activities to Venezuela. This is part of a larger pattern, including, as I wrote earlier, the penetration of Hezbollah and Iran in Venezuela, with the blessing of the Chavez government. Not long ago Iran began banking operations in Venezuela as well, in an effort to bypass the international sanctions in place and those that may follow in coming days…..(Douglas Farah, 18 Jun 08)

 Lawmaker seeks probe of OSC chief's online activities

House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Tom Davis, R-Va., Tuesday asked committee Democrats to investigate whether Scott Bloch, the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, broke the law by ordering a subordinate to post online messages in his defense under pseudonyms in comment sections of Web publications.

"This secret use of government resources and personnel constitutes an unlawful use of appropriated funds to publish covert propaganda,"….(Gov Exec, 18 Jun 08)

Nuke detectors being tested on private jets

In between two hangars, near planes used to transport heads of state and military cargo, agents from the Homeland Security Department are searching every cranny of a DC-9 and a Gulf Stream jet. They are looking for what security officials say could be the components of terrorists' deadliest weapon yet: radioactive and nuclear material that could be used to make bombs……(USA Today, 18 Jun 08)

Bulgaria signs interim agreement under visa waiver programme with the US

On June 17 2008, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin and US homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff inked in Washington an interim agreement under the visa waiver programme with the USA, the press service of the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Kalfin is part of the delegation accompanying Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev during his official June 14 – June 18 visit to the US……(Sofia Echo, 17 Jun 08)

UCF Offers FEMA-Recognized Emergency Management and Homeland Security Graduate Certificate

As fires burn in Florida and Northern California, floods ravage Iowa and tornadoes rip through the Midwest, the University of Central Florida is taking a leadership role in preparing people who will manage government responses to disasters. UCF’s College of Health and Public Affairs this month began offering a new graduate certificate in Emergency Management and Homeland Security. The program, recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, prepares graduate students for careers in the administration of emergency management and homeland security. Those enrolled also may pursue emergency management careers with private and nonprofit entities. The first class, which began this summer, is at capacity with 30 students enrolled…..(University Central Florida, 17 Jun 08)

Pentagon to Consult Academics on Security

the Pentagon has started an ambitious and unusual program to recruit social scientists and direct the nation’s brainpower to combating security threats like the Chinese military, Iraq, terrorism and religious fundamentalism.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has compared the initiative — named Minerva, after the Roman goddess of wisdom (and warriors) — to the government’s effort to pump up its intellectual capital during the cold war after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957. Although the Pentagon regularly finances science and engineering research, systematic support for the social sciences and humanities has been rare. Minerva is the first systematic effort in this area since the Vietnam War, said Thomas G. Mahnken, deputy assistant secretary of defense for policy planning, whose office will be overseeing the project……(New York Times, 18 Jun 08)

Nuclear dangers rise with oil costs, Countries rush to atomic power

The rush of countries seeking to obtain nuclear power as the price of oil soars is going to make U.S. efforts to contain nuclear proliferation and keep terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction even harder, the Energy Department's top intelligence chief warned Monday. Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, a former top CIA analyst who heads the Energy Department's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, said the coming global boom in nuclear power is forcing the U.S. government to rethink old proliferation strategies and take a hard look at the countries joining the nuclear club……(Washington Times, 17 Jun 08)

The Nuclear Network

There were several reports, led by the Washington Post, on the rogue international smuggling network that managed to acquire blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon. No one knows where those blueprints were sold, or to whom. My sources in the intelligence community have suspected for several years that the network of senior Russian officials operating the criminal enterprise that Viktor Bout was a part of, had gotten ahold of at least two copies of the plans. Given Bout’s extensive contact lists with radical and criminal groups, and those of the Russian organized crime that are creeping in to many new places, including the Caribbean and Mexico, it is hard to overstate how dangerous this is…..(Douglas Farah, 16 Jun 08)

Official: US has to stop the nuclear black market

… Since 1993 there have been 1,300 nuclear-smuggling related incidents, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. About 19 have involved the transfer of weapons grade uranium or plutonium, which could be used to fuel either a traditional nuclear warhead or turn a conventional explosive into a bomb that disperses radiation… There are nuclear weapons materials in more than 40 countries, with significant amounts in some former Soviet states. Only a few kilograms of plutonium would be needed to make a primitive nuclear weapon, and such material is hard to detect in transit because it emits low levels of radiation, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington. The amount of nuclear material U.S. agents buy on the black market is classified. The new revelation that the A.Q. Khan nuclear network sold a digital blueprint for a small nuclear warhead highlighted the danger..…(AP, 16 Jun 08)

The Strategic Threat of Nuclear Terrorism

On June 16, 2006, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. The following is the prepared text of his remarks.  In 1998, Osama bin Laden said that it was an Islamic duty to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and it is through this prism that most people view the threat of nuclear terrorism. The post-9/11 successes against the Taliban in Afghanistan yielded volumes of information that changed our view of al-Qaeda's nuclear program. We learned that al-Qaeda wants weapons to use, not a program to sustain and build a stockpile, as most states would. Al-Qaeda obtained a fatwa in May 2003 from Saudi cleric Naser al-Fadh that attempted to justify the use of weapons of mass destruction…..(Washington Institute, 16 Jun 08)

Intelligence expert faults U.S. on corralling loose nuke material

The Energy Department's top intelligence officer says the U.S. needs to do more to get uranium and plutonium off the black market. Rolf Mowatt-Larssen says the fact that trafficking in nuclear materials is still going on shows there hasn't been enough done to keep it out of the hands of terrorists. He says the U.S. should buy any nuclear material outside state control. The amount American agents purchase on the black market is classified…..(AP, 16 Jun 08)

Millions of contract employees to be vetted for legal employment status

Federal contractors will be required to vet nearly 4 million current and future employees through an online government database to verify their legal working status, under a proposed rule published last week in the Federal Register. The Federal Acquisition Regulation notice, however, does not resolve questions about how the government will oversee the system or punish companies that fail to fire illegal immigrants. President Bush issued an executive order on June 9 requiring that, as a condition of all future federal contracts, companies must agree to use E-Verify, an electronic employment eligibility verification system. The program currently is voluntary for private sector companies but mandatory for federal agencies……(Gov Exec, 16 Jun 08)

Money Laundering Laws: The Practical versus the Technical

On June 2, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court (Court) narrowed the focus of federal money laundering laws by ruling against the government in two money laundering cases. In pursuing these and most cases, law enforcement and prosecutors regularly employ a broad and practical interpretation of the money laundering laws. In its rulings, the Court adopted a narrow and technical interpretation of the money laundering laws. The question at hand is what was the intent when Congress passed money laundering legislation, the practical or technical application of the laws? Individuals or groups involved in criminal activity, gangs, drug trafficking organizations, ethnic organized crime groups and terrorists or terrorist groups rely on the proceeds of illicit activities to succeed. One commonality each of these groups shares is that money laundering is an essential element of their ability to operate and thrive. According to the 2007 National Money Laundering Strategy “money laundering, in its own right, is a serious threat to our national and economic security.”…..(Counterterrorism Blog, 16 Jun 08)

Smugglers Had Design For Advanced Warhead

An international smuggling ring that sold bomb-related parts to Libya, Iran and North Korea also managed to acquire blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon, according to a draft report by a former top U.N. arms inspector that suggests the plans could have been shared secretly with any number of countries or rogue group….(Washington Post, 15 Jun 08)

1,800 jobless nuke workers

The good news: The United States no longer needs vast stockpiles of nuclear weapons. The bad news: Reduction in weapons maintenance also means reduction in workforce, with 1,800 people being laid off so far at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Some people wonder where those laid-off experts might go. Over to the enemy? Insulting, says a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administra-tion — a slur upon workers’ patriotism. Unthinkable, says a laid-off Liver-more physicist, who contends that he and the colleagues he knows would never betray their country. But possible, argues Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif…..(Daily Progress, 15 Jun 08)

Kuwaiti Islamic charity rejects US accusations it is channeling money to terror groups

A Kuwaiti charity and the government of this small oil-rich ally of Washington rejected Sunday U.S. accusations that the Islamic charity channels money and other support to extremist organizations including al-Qaida. The U.S. Treasury Department moved Friday to financially clamp down on the Kuwait-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society, freezing any assets of the group found in the United States. Americans are also prohibited from donating money or doing business with the group. American accusations were "incorrect, and not supported by any material evidence," the charity said in a statement. It denied any connections to Osama bin Laden's terror network, saying it works according to the laws of Kuwait, which is a "sovereign state."…..(AP, 15 Jun 08)

US freezes assets of Kuwaiti charity

The United States moved to freeze the assets of a Kuwait-based charity, the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society, which is believed to be providing financial support to al Qaeda, the Treasury Department said on Friday. "Freezing the assets of an organization engaged in charitable work is a decision not taken lightly because the last thing we want to do is cut off needed humanitarian assistance," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "However, the reality is that RIHS has used charity and humanitarian assistance as cover to fund terrorist activity and harm innocent civilians, often in poor and impoverished regions,"……(Reuters, 13 Jun 08)

Fighting terrorism: Here or there?

A recent New York Times report said there is a backstage debate raging in Washington about the war on terrorism that will probably be resolved by the next president and will have huge fiscal and security implications for the country. The basic issue is this: Are the bad guys “over there,” marshaling forces and preparing for the next 9/11-scale strike on the U.S., or are they already here, in the notorious “leaderless cells,” waiting to hit us from within with conventional or biological weapons?.....(Detroit Free Press, 13 Jun 08)

Ability to Challenge Transfer to Foreign Custody Is Limited

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled yesterday that two U.S. citizens accused of terrorism-related crimes in Iraq cannot use American courts to challenge their transfer into foreign custody. Relatives of Shawqi Omar and Mohammad Munaf, who were captured by military forces on suspicion of terrorism links, had asked federal judges in the District to review their cases, citing the fear that they would be tortured……(Washington Post, 13 Jun 08)

Deportation Trial of Mohammad Qatanani

To one northern New Jersey counterterrorism task force, Mohammad Qatanani was considered an essential ally _ a moderate Muslim leader known for inviting FBI agents into his congregation to conduct seminars on terrorism prevention. Fifteen miles away in Newark, a different counterterrorism task force labeled Qatanani a possible terror suspect who had been categorized as a "person of interest" on his application for a U.S. green card. His deportation trial _ testimony concluded last week and a ruling is due in September _ has raised questions about the fairness of government efforts to thwart terrorism and their effectiveness…..(AP, 13 Jun 08)

Monzar al Kassar, The Prince of Marbella, Extradited to the United States

…Al-Kassar was arrested in a DEA operation in June 2007 The operation was then largely replicated for the arrest of Viktor Bout earlier this year. Al-Kassar, like Bout, had many friends in high places, and had worked for different governments, including that of the United States, when he was involved in the Iran-Contra aff