5-23-09 Daily Intel Report

1. Iranian Missile Launch Confirmed

By Thomas Erdbrink Washington Post Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:40 AM

http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3463

Correction to This Article: A headline and earlier versions of this article, including in the print edition of today's Washington Post, incorrectly said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had linked a medium-range missile test to his country's nuclear program.

SEMNAN, Iran, May 20 -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Wednesday that his country had successfully test-fired a medium-range solid-fuel missile apparently capable of striking Israel and U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf region. U.S. officials confirmed the launch, while arms-control experts debated its significance. Several described it as evidence of continuing progress in Iran's missile program, if not a breakthrough. Iran fired a similar missile last year. Iran's ability to build a solid-fuel rocket suggests an increasing sophistication in its missile program, because solid fuel offers advantages over Iran's previous liquid-fuel program, several experts said. For one thing, liquid-fuel rockets are more vulnerable to preemptive strikes because it takes hours or even days to fuel them. Solid-fuel rockets can be launched faster and are more mobile, the experts said. The missile was launched from a site in Semnan province, where Iran's missile and space programs are headquartered and Ahmadinejad was born. Ahmadinejad visited the province Wednesday as part of a series of trips by government officials to Iran's 30 provinces ahead of the June 12 presidential election…

Iran Tests Missile, Launching Pre-Election Show of Defiance
By CHIP CUMMINS Wall Street Journal MAY 21, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124281391135938799.html?mod=googlenews_w...

DUBAI -- Iran test fired what it said was its most advanced surface-to-surface missile, days after President Barack Obama laid out a rough timeline for assessing progress in diplomacy with Tehran and weeks ahead of Iranian presidential elections. The launch announcement Wednesday by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared to mix saber rattling at Iran's foes with a display of strength for domestic voters' consumption…. Iran said the Sajjil-2 had a range of 2,000 kilometers, or about 1,200 miles. That would make it capable of reaching Israel and the Black Sea coast of European Union members Romania and Bulgaria, though that isn't different than range capabilities claimed in previous launches. Western experts have cast doubt on previous Iranian claims of technical advances. A U.S. official confirmed the launch, but said it was still being studied…

EXCLUSIVE: U.S., Israel forming working group on Iran
Eli Lake Wednesday, May 20, 2009 Washington Times

http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3464

The United States and Israel are quietly forming a high-level working group to assess the progress of President Obama's outreach to Iran and to share intelligence about the Islamic Republic's nuclear weapons program, officials familiar with the two countries' deliberations said Tuesday. The agreement, reached during Monday's meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Obama, gives the U.S. a clear channel for communicating with the new Israeli government and a vehicle for keeping tabs on any military contingency plans Israel might make if diplomacy fails and Iran develops nuclear weapons capability. While Mr. Netanyahu publicly endorsed the president's plan for negotiating with Iran, the Israeli leader has also pressed for a timetable for negotiations and is seeking a firm commitment from Mr. Obama about what would happen if diplomacy doesn't persuade Iran to end uranium enrichment, Israeli officials said. The Israeli officials, who asked not to be named because they were describing private conversations between the two leaders, said the working group would begin to examine contingency plans now in case Iran continues a nuclear weapons program. Mr. Obama, for his part, refused to set a deadline for diplomacy, but said he would be able to assess the progress of U.S. outreach to Iran by the end of this year…

Inside the Ring
Bill Gertz Washington Times Thursday, May 21, 2009

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/21/inside-the-ring-78665249/

Iran's nuclear program

Rep. Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Republican and ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Tuesday that Iran is continuing its nuclear program and an Obama administration one-year plan for diplomatic engagement poses national-security dangers. "That's a high-risk strategy ... based on the estimates that we have that are out there" on when Iran could field a nuclear device or warhead, Mr. Hoekstra told reporters and editors of The Washington Times. U.S. estimates of Iran's nuclear program are that Tehran could deploy a nuclear weapon by 2010 at the earliest if a decision were made to do so. Israeli intelligence estimates are that Iran could have a nuclear bomb sooner, according to published reports. Mr. Hoekstra said any military option for dealing with Iran's nuclear program would be difficult.…

Marine artillery in Afghanistan

The commanding general of U.S. Marine Corps forces in Afghanistan said recently that as part of the troop surge, the Marines are bringing more artillery power for use against insurgents in the rugged terrain. Lt. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik, commanding general of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, told defense reporters May 12 that "the artillery is back with the brigade in Afghanistan." About half of Gen. Hejlik's 8,000 Marines are in Afghanistan, and the rest are set to deploy there in the coming weeks as part of the troop surge designed to stabilize the country. Gen. Hejlik said the Marines are bringing a newer M777 Ultralightweight Field Howitzer, a 155 millimeter gun, with them...

China missiles

China is rapidly expanding its arsenal of strategic nuclear missiles, and the buildup is being left out of the Obama administration's strategic arms initiative with Russia to limit U.S. strategic forces, according to a report in the trade publication Jane's Intelligence Review. "This effort is expected to result in a relatively modest increase in missile numbers, but armed with far more capable, if not a larger number of warheads," wrote Richard D. Fisher Jr., a military-affairs specialist with the International Assessment and Strategy Center in the June edition of Jane's Intelligence Review. The exclusion of China from the new U.S.-Russian strategic nuclear talks means "China will therefore continue to expand its nuclear arsenal."…

Mexico threat

Drug violence and drug-related murders in Mexico are being watched closely by U.S. intelligence agencies, and the problem poses a national-security challenge to the United States, according to Rep. Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Republican and ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Mr. Hoekstra said he has been briefed by U.S. intelligence agencies on the threat to the United States posed by drug cartels and related deaths. Mexican drug gangs and related violence have led to the deaths of at least 7,000 people since January 2008, mostly in border regions. "I think having an unstable government on your border is not the kind of position you want," Mr. Hoekstra said…

2. Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflicts Tied to U.S. Security, Mullen Tells Senators
By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service May 21, 2009

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54453

IPT NOTE: Admiral Mullen's prepared statement is posted at http://foreign.senate.gov/testimony/2009/MullenTestimony090521a.pdf

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2009 – Helping the Afghan and Pakistani governments defeat Taliban and al-Qaida insurgents is tied to U.S. national security interests, the Pentagon's senior military officer told Capitol Hill legislators here today. "As you know, Afghanistan and Pakistan are two very different countries very much linked -- not only to each other, but inextricably to the national security of the United States," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Indeed, our national interests are tied to that region, perhaps more than to any other right now," Mullen continued. "And, there's no corner of the world -- none -- that concerns me more." Mullen has endeavored to develop personal and professional relationships with senior Afghan and Pakistani leaders, he said. Those leaders' decisions, he said, "are now, and will remain indispensible to our common desire for security and stability" in the region… The U.S. government recently offered Pakistan $110 million to help the hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis who've had to leave their homes due to the current fighting between Pakistani military forces and Taliban extremists in the Swat valley region. Yet, more U.S. assistance is required, Mullen said, to prevent the extremists from realizing their goals in Pakistan and Afghanistan.…

A NEW STRATEGY FOR AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN

HEARING before the COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, US SENATE
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

Thursday, May 21, 2009 Time: 10:00 A.M. 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2009/hrg090521a.html

Presiding: Senator Kerry

Witness:

Admiral Michael Mullen, USN, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, DC

http://foreign.senate.gov/testimony/2009/MullenTestimony090521a.pdf

3. Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG May 21, 2009 New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/politics/21obama.html

WASHINGTON — President Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a "preventive detention" system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects who are deemed a threat to national security but cannot be tried, two participants in the private session said. The discussion, in a 90-minute meeting in the Cabinet Room that included Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and other top administration officials, came on the eve of a much-anticipated speech Mr. Obama is to give Thursday on a number of thorny national security matters, including his promise to close the detention center at the naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Human rights advocates are growing deeply uneasy with Mr. Obama's stance on these issues, especially his recent move to block the release of photographs showing abuse of detainees, and his announcement that he is willing to try terrorism suspects in military commissions — a concept he criticized bitterly as a presidential candidate…

1 in 7 Freed Detainees Rejoins Fight, Report Finds
By ELISABETH BUMILLER May 21, 2009 New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/us/politics/21gitmo.html

WASHINGTON — An unreleased Pentagon report concludes that about one in seven of the 534 prisoners already transferred abroad from the detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has returned to terrorism or militant activity, according to administration officials. The conclusion could strengthen the arguments of critics who have warned against the transfer or release of any more detainees as part of President Obama's plan to shut down the prison by January. Past Pentagon reports on Guantánamo recidivism have been met with skepticism from civil liberties groups and criticized for their lack of detail. The Pentagon promised in January that the latest report would be released soon, but Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said this week that the findings were still "under review." Two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the report was being held up by Defense Department employees fearful of upsetting the White House, at a time when even Congressional Democrats have begun to show misgivings over Mr. Obama's plan to close Guantánamo…

Supermax Prisons in U.S. Already Hold Terrorists

By Carrie Johnson and Walter Pincus Washington Post Friday, May 22, 2009

http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3465

…But the apocalyptic rhetoric rarely addresses this: Thirty-three international terrorists, many with ties to al-Qaeda, reside in a single federal prison in Florence, Colo., with little public notice. Detained in the supermax facility in Colorado are Ramzi Yousef, who headed the group that carried out the first bombing of the World Trade Center in February 1993; Zacarias Moussaoui, convicted of conspiring in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; Ahmed Ressam, of the Dec. 31, 1999, Los Angeles airport millennium attack plots; Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, conspirator in several plots, including one to assassinate President George W. Bush; and Wadih el-Hage, convicted of the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya. Inmates in Florence and those at the maximum-security disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., rarely see other prisoners. At Leavenworth, the toughest prisoners are allowed outside their cells only one hour a day when they are moved with their legs shackled and accompanied by three guards...

Obama, Cheney Deliver Dueling Speeches on National Security

By William Branigin and Michael D. Shear Washington Post Thursday, May 21, 2009 5:34 PM

http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3467
IPT NOTE: Pres. Obama's remarks are posted at http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3468

and Mr. Cheney's remarks are posted at http://www.aei.org/speech/100050

President Obama and former vice president Richard B. Cheney clashed today over the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, harsh interrogation policies and other approaches to fighting terrorism, as they delivered dueling speeches in which they forcefully defended their respective policies, with each charging that the other's administration had made the nation less secure. In a speech at the National Archives, Obama said the Bush administration's endorsement of harsh interrogation techniques and its use of Guantanamo to detain terrorist suspects indefinitely had helped swell the ranks of America's enemies. Despite fierce congressional opposition, including from fellow Democrats, he said some detainees would be brought to the United States and incarcerated in high-security prisons. But he insisted that no one who poses a threat to U.S. national security would be released, much less on American soil. In a separate address at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, Cheney sharply denounced the Obama administration on several fronts while vigorously defending Bush administration policies, notably the "enhanced interrogation techniques" that included waterboarding, a practice that simulates drowning and that has been widely characterized as torture. Cheney asserted that the techniques and other Bush administration policies potentially saved "hundreds of thousands" of innocent lives…

4. FBI director concerned about Gitmo releases
By DEVLIN BARRETT – Associated Press May 20, 2009

http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3469

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress on Wednesday that bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States could pose a number of risks, even if they were kept in maximum-security prisons. Responding to FBI concerns, Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration would not put Americans at risk. Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Mueller faced repeated questions about the prospect of transferring to the United States some of the 240 inmates currently held at the naval base in Cuba. President Barack Obama has ordered the Guantanamo Bay detention center closed by January 2010, but that timetable may be in jeopardy. As Mueller testified, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to block funding for bringing detainees to the U.S., whether freed or imprisoned. At the start of Wednesday's hearing, Mueller was asked what concerns the FBI has about the release of Guantanamo detainees. "The concerns we have about individuals who may support terrorism being in the United States run from concerns about providing financing, radicalizing others," Mueller said, as well as "the potential for individuals undertaking attacks in the United States."…

US House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary

Hearing on: The Federal Bureau of Investigation

Wednesday 05/20/2009 - 10:00 A.M. 2141 Rayburn House Office Building Full Committee
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_090520.html

Robert S. Mueller, III, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation
Statement Before the House Judiciary Committee May 20, 2009
http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress09/mueller052009.htm [HTML]
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Mueller090520.pdf [PDF]

Obama to Try Terror Suspect in NYC, First Gitmo Detainee Brought to U.S.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520909,00.html
IPT NOTE: The gov't press release on Ghailani is posted at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-ag-496.html and at http://www.investigativeproject.org/cases.php#325 [PDF]

WASHINGTON — A top Al Qaeda suspect held at Guantanamo Bay will be sent to New York for trial, an Obama administration official said Wednesday. Ahmed Ghailani would be the first Guantanamo detainee brought to the U.S., and the first to face trial in a civilian criminal court. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to disclose the decision, told The Associated Press the administration has decided to bring Ghailani to trial in New York. He was indicted there for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa — attacks that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. Ghailani, a Tanzanian, is a high-value detainee captured in Pakistan in 2004 and transferred to the U.S. detention at the U.S. naval base in Cuba two years later…

Accused East Africa Embassy Bomber Held at Guantanamo Bay to Be Prosecuted in U.S. Federal Court
Thursday, May 21, 2009 US Department of Justice
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-ag-496.html

5. FBI, NYPD Arrest 4 in Alleged Plot to Bomb NY Synagogues
The suspects also discussed trying to shoot down military planes at Stewart Airport
By JONATHAN DIENST Updated 10:58 PM EDT, Wed, May 20, 2009
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/FBI-Bust-Plot-Foiled.html

IPT NOTE: The DoJ press release and complaint in US v. Cromitie, et al. are posted at http://www.investigativeproject.org/cases.php#324

Four New York City men were arrested Wednesday in connection with an alleged plot to blow up New York City synagogues and other city locations, WNBC's Jonathan Dienst was first to learn. Raids by the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force in the Bronx captured the suspected ringleader and three followers in what law enforcement sources are calling a homegrown terrorist plot. Investigators stress the suspects' meetings had been infiltrated early on and there was "no chance" the alleged plot could succeed. Investigators said several of the suspects are Muslims who allegedly talked about destroying two Jewish temples, including at least one in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Prosecutors also said the men discussed trying to shoot down military planes at Stewart Airport using stinger missiles…. The men ordered and accepted delivery of materials they believed were bomb-making ingredients, authorities said. But investigators said they made sure the materials the suspects received were inert. Officials tell WNBC they moved in now so the alleged plot could not progress any further...

4 Arrested in Plot to Bomb New York Synagogues
By AL BAKER and JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ May 21, 2009 New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/nyregion/21arrests.html?

Four men from upstate New York were arrested Wednesday night in what the authorities said was a plot to bomb two synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down military planes at Stewart Air National Guard base in Newburgh, N.Y. The men were arrested around 9 p.m. after planting what they believed to be bombs in cars outside the Riverdale Temple and the nearby Riverdale Jewish Center, officials said. But the men did not know the bombs, provided by an informant with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were fake. The arrests capped what officials described as a "painstaking investigation" that began in June 2008 involving an F.B.I. agent who had been told of the men's desire to attack targets in America by a federal informant. As part of the plot, the men intended to fire guided stinger missiles at military aircraft at Stewart International Airport, officials said… Mr. Cromitie, who is of Afghani descent, had told the informant that he was upset about the war in Afghanistan and that that he wanted to "do something to America."…

FBI arrest four in alleged plot to bomb Bronx synagogues, shoot down plane
BY Alison Gendar and Helen Kennedy NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated Wednesday, May 20th 2009, 10:06 PM
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3470

… The four African American men, three of whom were said to be jailhouse converts to Islam, also allegedly had what they believed was a working Stinger missile in their car…

Stewart Air Base aware of plot, tightened security as a result
By Michael Randall Times Herald-Record (Middletown, NY) May 21, 2009 10:58 AM

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090521/NEWS/905...

STEWART AIRPORT — Security forces at the Stewart Air National Guard Base for months were aware of the terrorist plot targeting the base. They weren't told specifically what the threat was, but were on the lookout for truck bombs or any other unusual activity around the base. Spokesman Capt. Patrick Cordova said the FBI informed the base early on of its investigation, but the 105th had little to do aside from having its security people keep an extra-sharp watch…

NY terror sting used Albany informant
By BRENDAN J. LYONS, Last updated: 6:44 p.m., Thursday, May 21, 2009 Times-Union (Albany, NY)
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=802661

ALBANY — The informant used to ensnare a group of suspected jihadists in Newburgh Wednesday was also used by the FBI in 2004 in a widely-publicized terrorism case against two Albany residents. Two persons familiar with the case confirmed that Shahed "Malik" Hussain, a former Loudonville resident, was involved in the sting operation that authorities said exposed a desire by four men to attack Jewish as well as American military targets. Paul Holstein, spokesman for the FBI in Albany, declined to comment and referred all questions to the bureau's New York City field office. Hussain, convicted of federal fraud-related charges in 2002, became an FBI informant, according to court records. However, his criminal file has since vanished from public records in U.S. District Court. In 2004, the FBI recruited him to infiltrate the inner circle of Masjid As-Salam, a storefront mosque that had drawn the attention of federal agents after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Hussain's efforts helped lead to the convictions of Central Avenue pizza-shop owner Mohammed Mosharref Hossain, and Yassin Muhiddin Aref, the mosque's imam, in a scheme to aid terrorists. Hussain's role on behalf of the FBI was sharply criticized by defense attorneys who argued that his efforts amounted to entrapment against Hossain and Aref…

Terror plot timeline: How the investigation unfolded
May 21, 2009 - 11:40 AM Times Herald-Record

Copyright © 2009 Hudson Valley Media Group, a division of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc.

http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3471

6. Warsame pleads guilty to supporting Al-Qaida
Mohammed Warsame, suspected of ties to Al-Qaida and held since 2003, agreed to a plea bargain deal that dropped four of five charges.

By PAM LOUWAGIE, Minneapolis Star Tribune Last update: May 20, 2009 - 11:20 PM
http://www.startribune.com/local/45525582.html?

IPT NOTE: The DoJ press release is posted at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-nsd-494.html. Plea hearing minutes and other court documents are posted at http://www.investigativeproject.org/cases.php#258

More than five years after FBI agents first knocked on the door of his Minneapolis apartment, terrorism suspect Mohammed Abdullah Warsame brought an abrupt end to his legal battles Wednesday by pleading guilty to a single charge of conspiring to provide material support and resources to Al-Qaida. Four other charges against Warsame, 35, were dropped, including providing material support to the terrorist organization and making false statements to the FBI. His plea caps one of the longest pretrial detentions for a terrorism-related case since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks… Warsame, a Canadian citizen of Somali descent, is scheduled to be sentenced July 9. He has agreed to be sent back to Canada after his sentence is complete…

7. Argentina seeks Colombian for 1994 terror strike
AFP News Briefs List May 21, 2009
http://www.france24.com/en/20090521-argentina-seeks-colombian-1994-terro...
Argentina on Wednesday issued an international arrest warrant for a Colombian man in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish charities building in Buenos Aires that killed 85 and injured 300. Samuel Salman El Reda, a Colombian of Lebanese descent who formerly lived in Buenos Aires, was the top local connection in the attack, Prosecutor Alberto Nisman told a press conference. The July 18, 1994 bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association, a Buenos Aires headquarters of Jewish charity groups, has gone unsolved for a decade and a half. A 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 22 and wounded 200 also remains unsolved. Argentina has South America's largest Jewish community. El Reda has been married to an Argentine national, Silvina Sain, since 1989 "and was part of the most radicalized sector of the local Muslim community," Nisman said… Argentine Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral, in charge of the case, earlier called for the arrest of several former Iranian officials in connection with the bombing, including ex-president Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, former security minister Ali Fallahijan, ex-foreign minister Ali Velayati, former Revolutionary Guard chief Moshen Rezai, and Mohsen Rabbani, who worked at Iran's embassy in Buenos Aires…

8. A marriage thrust into the public eye
Joshua Boyle is the son of a tax judge. Zaynab Khadr is the sister of Guantanamo detainee Omar. A rally outside an abortion clinic helped bring them together.

Colin Freeze Toronto — Globe and Mail Update, Thursday, May. 21, 2009 10:27AM EDT

http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3472

They are among the most unusual of couples. Joshua Boyle, 25, is the son of a tax judge whose empty home was shot up. Zaynab Khadr, 29, is the sister of Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr -- and Osama bin Laden attended her wedding in Afghanistan a decade ago. The divorced, single mom and the research fanatic met over the Internet – their mutual interests in Wikipedia and the War on Terror helping them stake out common ground. They married – quietly – but their romance was soon propelled into the public's eye, after thieves fired several .22-calibre bullets into the groom's family home. Today, for the first time, they talk about their marriage, the break-in, and overcoming prejudice – including a suspicion that Mr. Boyle was a spy. A rally outside an abortion clinic, they said, also helped bring them together... He began turning up at bail hearings for one of her jailed brothers, Abdullah, who faces extradition for allegedly running guns to al-Qaeda… The pair had to get past their wildly different upbringings. The exploits of the bride's so-called "al-Qaeda family" are well known. As for Mr. Boyle, he was raised by fundamentalist Christians in Ontario. He is the son of a tax lawyer, Patrick C. Boyle, promoted to the bench two years ago by the Conservatives. The friendship took an important step last fall as Ms. Khadr staged a hunger strike on Parliament Hill. The idea was to raise awareness about another brother, Omar, detained in Guantanamo Bay…

Air, rail, port, health & communication infrastructure security

IPT NOTE: For more infrastructure news, see Dep't of Homeland Security Daily Open Source Infrastructure Reports http://www.dhs.gov/xinfoshare/programs/editorial_0542.shtm; Public Safety Canada Daily Infrastructure Report http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/dir/index-eng.aspx; TSA Press Releases http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/index.shtm

9. Rail industry petitions to stop moving toxins

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY May 20, 2009

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-05-19-chemrail_N.htm

WASHINGTON — Railroad companies are pressing federal regulators to cut back on trains carrying hazardous materials through urban areas, saying they fear a catastrophic release of toxic chemicals in a large city. The companies also fear billions in legal claims if toxic materials spill during a derailment or act of sabotage. Rail industry associations are petitioning to allow railroads for the first time to refuse to carry chemicals such as chlorine over long distances… The companies' move is opposed by the Obama administration and others who say railroads are the safest way to move toxic materials. If trucks end up carrying materials that railroads reject, "that would pose a much greater danger," said Patricia Abbate of Citizens for Rail Safety, a Massachusetts advocacy group...

10. It's the last gasp for bomb-sensing 'puffers' at airports

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2009-05-20-puffers_N.htm

WASHINGTON — A $36 million anti-terrorism program designed to detect bombs on airline passengers by shooting air blasts to dislodge explosive particles is being scuttled because the machines proved unreliable at airports. The "puffer" machines — glass portals that passengers enter for checkpoint screening — are being removed after the Transportation Security Administration spent $6.2 million on maintenance since 2005. Removing them will cost nearly $1 million, TSA spokeswoman Sterling Payne said. Problems emerged after the TSA bought 207 puffers for $30 million starting in 2004. Ninety-four were installed in 37 airports. The other 113 machines stayed in storage. Dirt and humidity in airports led to frequent breakdowns, Payne said. The TSA has removed 60 puffers and will pull the rest but has no deadline. The puffers, costing $160,000 each, attempted to identify bomb residue on clothing. They were used as added screening on passengers who had gone through metal detectors…

11. In Florida, a high (-tech) eye on smugglers
A new computer system and camera installed in government aircraft can study a wide stretch of ocean, zoom in on a single vessel, and track courses for easy interception by the Coast Guard.
By Luis F. Perez May 21, 2009 From the Los Angeles Times
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3473

Off The Florida Coast — They can spot the smile on a suspected smuggler's face from 10,000 feet in the air, record full-color video of his run for shore and simultaneously track 5,000 ships spread over hundreds of miles of ocean. Flying above the Atlantic about halfway between Florida and the Bahamas, the latest addition to the government's anti-smuggling arsenal can track the trajectory of a boat leaving Cuba and compare it -- in seconds -- to every filed course plan for vessels on the water. If the boat seems suspicious, the computer will calculate course, speed and relative positions to tell the nearest Coast Guard vessel the bearings to follow to intercept it...

Financing, identity theft, money laundering

12. Busted New York Terror Plot Strengthens Plea for More Anti-Terror Funding
Some national security experts say lawmakers should increase funding to cities fighting terrorism as a result of the foiled terror plot in New York.
By Stephen Clark FOXNews.com Thursday, May 21, 2009

http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/3474

The alleged terror plot that was foiled in New York City proves that Congress needs to increase anti-terror funding to New York and other areas that suffered a significant reduction a few years ago, some homeland security advocates said Thursday… The Department of Homeland Security's Urban Areas Security Initiative is designed to combat against just such types of attacks. It aims to improve readiness in cities for a terror attack. Money is given to 46 metropolitan areas, which are part of a broader grant program at DHS. But Congress scaled back funding for the initiative in 2006, cutting it about $125 million to $711 million. This fiscal year, the program has $798.6 million, an increase from $781 million last fiscal year. At the same time, DHS cut its urban security funds for New York by 40 percent to provide more to mid-size cities, provoking criticism from lawmakers and local officials. The grant for New York was cut to $124 million from about $207 million in 2006. This year New York received $145 million, up from $144 million last year and $134 million in 2007…

Border security, immigration, customs

IPT NOTE: For more details, see US Customs and Border Protection releases at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/ ; US Immigration and Customs Enforcement http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/2754 , and Canada Border Services Agency http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html

13. In the Spirit of Spider-Man, the Border Patrol Casts Its Web
Homeland Security Tries Gizmos Like 'the Squid' to Ensnare Bad Guys
By STEPHANIE SIMON Wall Street Journal PAGE ONE MAY 21, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124286185495041091.html
With drug-related violence on the rise in Mexico, there has been a lot of talk lately about putting more boots on the ground at the border. Anh Duong has different advice: Try Squid. Ms. Duong directs a small unit in the Department of Homeland Security charged with adding a little whiz-bang wonder to the drudgery of desert patrols and vehicle checkpoints. Her engineers scour the nation to find crazy-yet-promising concepts -- like the Safe Quick Undercarriage Immobilization Device, or Squid -- then team up with private entrepreneurs to turn them into working prototypes. They're not ashamed to admit that they draw inspiration from comic-book superheroes and science-fiction novels as they dream up the gizmos and gadgets they hope will keep bad guys at bay…

14. The Dawning of the Biometric Age

Say goodbye to PINs and photo IDs. Say hello to digital fingerprints and iris scans—and to new opportunities for security businesses
By Ellen Gibson Business Week May 20, 2009, 10:26AM EST
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/may2009/id20090520_625039.h...

In baby steps and giant leaps, the world is moving further into digital identification and biometrics. The new technology raises concerns about privacy, of course, as well as opportunities for security companies. The latest to join the migration: Switzerland. On May 17, Swiss voters narrowly approved a government plan to switch over to electronic passports, tied to a national fingerprint registry. The new passport will contain a microchip that stores personal data, a digital photo, and two fingerprints. At border crossings or airport checkpoints, travelers would have their fingerprints scanned and digital photos taken to make sure they match info in their e-passports. Switzerland is actually behind much of Europe. Every nation in the European Union must institute fingerprint-enabled e-passports by next summer. Germany, France, and the Netherlands have already started issuing them... Lockheed Martin (LMT) is one of several companies partnering with government agencies to develop new applications in biometrics. The Bethesda (Md.) company is managing an effort by the Transportation Security Administration to give up to 1 million maritime and transportation workers access to secure areas of ports via biometric credentials, including finger and iris scans, which will be stored on biometric ID cards…

15. Arrests on Southern Border Drop
27% Decline Marks Fewest Seizures by Agents Since 1976

By Spencer S. Hsu Washington Post Thursday, May 21, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR200905...

The number of arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border has dropped 27 percent this year, a decline that could put the figure at its lowest level since the early 1970s, federal officials said yesterday. The decline accelerates a three-year-old trend that experts attribute to the economic downturn, with stronger U.S. immigration enforcement measures also playing a role. U.S. Border Patrol Chief David V. Aguilar released the data to the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, refugees and border security, noting that the number of Border Patrol agents has more than doubled from 9,000 in 2001 to a projected 20,000 by September. The government also has completed 626 miles of fencing and vehicle barriers. It plans 661 miles of barriers on the 2,000-mile frontier…