Al Qaeda’s Training Changes In Response To US Strikes

The interrogations of two accused Westerners who say they trained and fought with al Qaeda in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region provide an inside view of the terror group’s organizational structures. Arguably, they shed more light on the state of al Qaeda than any material previously released into the public domain.

The documents reveal training programs and the protective measures the terrorist organization has taken against increasingly effective U.S. missile strikes.

Bryant Vinas a U.S. citizen who says he traveled to Pakistan in September 2007 to fight against Americans in Afghanistan — stated that between March and July 2008 he attended three al Qaeda training courses, which focused on weapons, explosives, and rocket-based or -propelled weaponry.

During these classes, attended by 10-20 recruits, Vinas was taught how to handle a large variety of weapons and explosives, some of them of military grade sophistication, according to his account. Read how al Qaeda is now operating

Vinas stated he became familiar with seeing, smelling and touching different explosives such as TNT, as well as plastic explosives such as RDX, and Semtex, C3 and C4 — the explosive U.S. authorities have stated was used in al Qaeda’s attack on the USS Cole in 2000. Vinas also learned how to make vests for suicide bombers.

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Obama Participates in Terror Preparedness Test

Health care reform was put aside for a time today as President Obama headed to the White House Situation Room to oversee federal efforts to prevent a terror attack on the United States.

It was part of an exercise for officials at the highest level of the U.S. government, including members of the National Security and Homeland Security Councils.

What made “National Level Exercise 2009″ different from previous training events, is that it focused “exclusively” on preventing a terror attack – as opposed to responding to and recovering from one.

A statement from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says today’s exercise, part of a week-long program, was mandated by Congress to give top officials realistic experience in handling the threat of a catastrophic crisis.

Today’s scenario according to FEMA, began with a terrorist event outside the U.S. It then became the responsibility of Mr. Obama and other top American officials to thwart efforts by the terrorists to enter the U.S. and carry out additional attacks.

Aside from federal departments and agencies, state and local authorities were taking part in the exercise in addition to officials from Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

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Call for Citizens to Look for Suspicious Activity

Coinciding with Attorney General Eric Holder telling ABC News this week that “the American people would be surprised by the depth of the [homegrown terrorist] threat” while discussing his growing concern about Americans becoming radicalized and turning to terrorism, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told the Council on Foreign Relations that it is incumbent that citizens pay attention to their surroundings for anything suspicious and out of place, and to report it to proper authorities. It might just prevent a domestic terrorist attack, she said.

“With respect to individuals and the private sector, we’re taking a much closer look at how we can support and inform our greatest asset, individual citizens, and with them the private sector. You are the ones who know if something is not right in your communities, such as a suspicious package or unusual activity,” Napolitano said.

What To Do If You Spot Suspicious Terrorist Activity

If you see suspicious behavior, do not confront the individuals involved.

Take note of the details:

S – Size (Jot down the number of people, gender, ages, and physical descriptions)

A – Activity (Describe exactly what they are doing)

L – Location (Provide exact location)

U – Uniform (Describe what they are wearing, including shoes)

T – Time (Provide date, time, and duration of activity)

E - Equipment (Describe vehicle, make, color etc., license plate, camera, guns, etc)

Suspicious activity is often recalled after an event. We must train ourselves to be on the lookout for things that are out of the ordinary and arouse suspicions.

Read more on how to spot suspicious activity and what to do.

Napolitano said “three years ago, it was an attentive store clerk who told authorities about men trying to duplicate extremist DVDs. This led federal agents to eventually round up a plot to kill American soldiers at the Fort Dix army base here in New Jersey.”

And “just last month, a passenger saw two employees exchange a bag at the Philadelphia airport that had not been properly screened. That passenger’s vigilance ultimately stopped a gun from getting onto the plane.”

“For too long, we’ve treated the public as a liability to be protected rather than an asset in our nation’s collective security,” Napolitano confessed.

“There’s actually an important role we can play in educating even our very young about watching for, and knowing what to do, if you’re in an airport and you see a package left with no one around,” Napolitano said.

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FBI, DHS Warn Police on Homegrown Terrorists

Antiterrorism officials are increasingly concerned about American-bred extremists who travel abroad for terror training and then return home, sometimes quietly recruiting followers over the years.

Federal authorities have issued a bulletin to law enforcement agencies around the country on the heels of the arrest Monday in North Carolina of a man whose devotion to the cause of violent jihad allegedly began 20 years ago.

The internal bulletin – reviewed by The Associated Press – says the FBI and the Homeland Security Department are very worried about the danger posed by little-noticed Americans traveling abroad to learn terrorism techniques, then coming back to the United States, where they may be dormant for long periods of time while they look for followers to recruit for future attacks.

On Monday, the FBI arrested Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, charging he was the ringleader of a group of aspiring international terrorists.

The charges “underscore our ongoing concerns about individuals returning to the United States after training or fighting on behalf of extremists overseas,” said Justice Department spokesman Richard Kolko.

“As a general matter, such individuals may be in a unique position to solicit others in the U.S. to follow their example, given their combat experience, their network of overseas contacts and their credibility among young radicals seeking an authority figure,” Kolko said.

Six other suspects – including Boyd’s two sons – were also charged in what prosecutors say was a long-running conspiracy to train for violence and then fight overseas.

Boyd’s wife, Sabrina, said in a statement Tuesday that the charges are unsubstantiated.

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Smart Grid Can be Wiped Out by Electromagnetic Weapons

There’s been plenty of evidence recently that the Smart Grid could become a serious security risk for IT and households. Now comes something potentially just as troubling: A U.S. Congressman warns that the grid can be taken down by an electromagnetic weapon.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (Rep.-Md.) issued that warning recently. He’s not your typical “the-sky-is-falling” Congressman  he’s a former research scientist and engineer and has previously has worked on projects for NASA and the military. Bartlett issued his warning yesterday at a House Science subcommittee hearing about how to roll out the Smart Grid.

At the hearing, he warned that a weapon that fired an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) could wipe out significant sections of the Smart Grid. According to a Science News account of the hearings:

EMP is a powerful and potentially devastating form of electromagnetic “fallout.” It’s usually associated with nuclear weapons, although it can be triggered by any major explosive bursts. Unlike radioactive fallout, this rain won’t directly harm living things. It will just catastrophically fry all electronics and modern electrical systems by inducing staggeringly large and rapid current or voltage surges.

The magazine goes on to report that Bartlett warns small nations could use the weapon against the Smart Grid, when it is developed:

All one needs to wreak some serious EMP damage, he charges, is a sea-worthy steamer, $100,000 to buy a scud-missile launcher, and a crude nuclear weapon. Then fling the device high into the air and detonate its warhead.

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Homeland Security – Napolitano Offers Shift in Tone

Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano on Wednesday called for closer collaboration with foreign partners, more intensive cooperation with local law-enforcement officials, and greater involvement by citizens in watching for and responding to terrorist threats.

“For too long, we’ve treated the public as a liability to be protected rather than as an asset in our nation’s collective security,” Ms. Napolitano said during a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. “This approach, unfortunately, has allowed confusion, anxiety and fear to linger.”

[...]

“The terror threat is even more decentralized, networked and adaptive than on 9/11,” she said. “The United States needed an approach that was “more layered, networked and resilient.”

In her speech, Ms. Napolitano seemed intent on a shift of tone, a recasting of the way Americans view the terror threat. Implicitly, she seemed to rebuke the approach taken by the Bush administration, which critics said too often seemed to exaggerate threats and sow a sense of fear.

[...]

Ms. Napolitano said she had traveled 30,000 miles just in the past few weeks — “from Islamabad to Seattle” — while brokering new international agreements to improve security arrangements that would be effective even before potential terrorists reached American shores.

She also emphasized the importance of the facilities, called intelligence fusion centers, that have been set up nationwide to improve and streamline communications between the local officials most likely to see the first signs of suspicious activity — like a flight school student showing interest in learning to take off but not to land a plane — and state and federal officials.

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Military Planning For Possible H1N1 Outbreak

The U.S. military wants to establish regional teams of military personnel to assist civilian authorities in the event of a significant outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall, according to Defense Department officials.

The proposal is awaiting final approval from Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The officials would not be identified because the proposal from U.S. Northern Command’s Gen. Victor Renuart has not been approved by the secretary.

The plan calls for military task forces to work in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There is no final decision on how the military effort would be manned, but one source said it would likely include personnel from all branches of the military.
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It has yet to be determined how many troops would be needed and whether they would come from the active duty or the National Guard and Reserve forces.

Civilian authorities would lead any relief efforts in the event of a major outbreak, the official said. The military, as they would for a natural disaster or other significant emergency situation, could provide support and fulfill any tasks that civilian authorities could not, such as air transport or testing of large numbers of viral samples from infected patients.

Source

Suspicious Package Found on Capitol Hill

FOX 5 has learned that Capitol Police are investigating a suspicious package that was found in the Longworth House Office Building on Wednesday afternoon, and people are being evacuated from the building until the device is removed.

Capitol Police say initial tests of the package were inconclusive, but just to be cautious they are evacuating the Longworth Building and sending those people to the Cannon Building until the package is safely removed.

Capitol Police Sergeant Kimberly Schneider says Virginia State police will help in taking the device to Quantico to be rendered safe.

Source

Homeland Security To Reveal Terror Prevention Plans

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to reveal on Wednesday the Obama administration’s domestic policies to prevent terrorist attacks, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

In an interview, Napolitano said the new strategy is expected to rely largely on refining and expanding initiatives launched under former President George W. Bush, the paper reported on its website.

The new plans are part of a wider effort to significantly increase the cooperation Napolitano’s agency has with state and local governments in the United States, the paper said.

Napolitano is also expected to call for more civic awareness and involvement to prevent attacks, the paper said, adding that she is likely to discuss efforts to work closer with foreign governments, from sharing airline-passenger data to intelligence about potential plots.

“We live in a world now where no one department of government can be held to be the sole repository of protecting security,” Napolitano told the paper in an interview on Monday. “There is a role to be played at every level.”

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Biohazard Drill At Postal Service Center A Success

An exercise to test the biohazard detection system at the U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center in Richland Township went off without a hitch late Tuesday afternoon.

Dozens of emergency responders with the Richland Township Fire Department and Cambria County’s hazardous-materials team joined local postal officials and postal inspectors from Pittsburgh in conducting the drill at the facility at 235 Jari Drive.

The drill began at 4:30 p.m. with a simulated alert of the system, which is installed on mail-processing equipment at the facility and samples the air, said J. Bruce Hammerle, postal inspector in charge of the drill.

“It seemed like everything went very well,” he said.

Hammerle said the Postal Service periodically conducts drills at all processing and distribution centers to protect its employees and give them the experience of working with the emergency responders.

The mail is extremely safe, Hammerle said, adding that there have not been any anthrax incidents since 2001 and there have been extremely few real hazardous materials incidents at any postal site in the U.S.

Johnstown Postmaster Mike Hudak said there has never been a hazardous materials incident in Johnstown.

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EMP – Electromagnetic Pulse Conference Sept. 8th – 10th

North American Conference on the Threat Posed by Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) to U.S. and Canada to be Held in Niagara Falls Sept. 8-10
EMPACT America today announced plans for an international conference “Protecting America Against Electromagnetic Pulse,” to be held at the Niagara Falls Conference Center, Sept. 8-10.

The conference, which will feature opening remarks from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich via video and in-person speakers including experts on EMP representing Congress, the military, academia and the private sector. The conference will focus on the nation’s vulnerability to an electromagnetic pulse attack, as well as response, preparedness and recovery strategies.

“Government and industry must devote coordinated energy and funding to protect our nation’s electric-power, telecommunications, food, healthcare, financial and other infrastructures from the devastating potential of major natural disasters, conventional terrorist threats, cyber attacks and an EMP attack,” said Henry Schwartz, founder of the not-for-profit EMPACT America.

“Congressional commissions and committees have tried to call attention to the immediate EMP threat from rogue states or terrorist groups using a [primitive] missile to detonate a [crude] nuclear warhead miles above the United States or Canada, knocking out all digital and electronic devices, our electrical grid, communications, and other infrastructures for months, or even years,” added Schwartz, whose companies Steuben Foods in Elma and Elmhurst Dairy in New York City are among the region’s largest suppliers of milk and dairy products.

Erie County Executive Chris Collins joined with Schwartz in calling for local and national EMP preparedness efforts.

“EMP is an issue that was not previously on our readiness list, but now has our attention,” Collins said. “Given the potentially grave consequences to both public and private assets, we will take steps at the county level to make it part of our disaster preparedness efforts.”

EMP is a burst of electromagnetic energy which occurs naturally (solar flares) and from manmade sources (nuclear detonations). The non-radioactive pulses of magnetic energy adversely affect a wide range of electronic devices, ranging from cell phones, personal computers and vehicle ignitions, to power grids and satellites and air traffic control systems.

The absence of vital power and communications equipment poses major difficulties for disaster recovery officials, health care providers, utilities, and the business community in serving the public in the aftermath of such an incident.

Reports from the Congressional EMP Commission and the National Academy of Sciences characterize electromagnetic pulse as a potentially catastrophic threat.

In a July 21 hearing before a House Homeland Security subcommittee, Commission Chairman Dr. William R. Graham testified that EMP “. . .is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences.”

“It has the capability to produce significant damage to critical infrastructures and thus the very fabric of U.S. society,” Graham told the panel.

A likely scenario for an EMP attack involves a nuclear missile launch by a rogue state or terrorist group. In recent months, efforts by North Korea to develop nuclear technology and launch missiles have raised fears of a near-term EMP attack.

In June, the Obama administration took steps to beef-up anti-ballistic missile defenses to protect Hawaii from any North Korean launch.

Schwartz is also urging federal lawmakers to reactivate the EMP commission in the upcoming legislative session. The commission, which was established in 2001, saw its term expire in Dec. 2008.

In addition to Gingrich, Schwartz has assembled a global stable of experts to discuss the growing EMP threat and ways to minimize the impact. The speakers will also include current and former military, national security and disaster preparedness officials to lead workshops on dealing with the EMP threat.

More information on EMP, EMPACT America and its upcoming conference can be found at www.empactamerica.org. Additional information on attending the conference is available by calling 716-805-3366.

EMPACT America works with a coalition of national grassroots organizations, corporations, and local and national government representatives to ensure public safety by expanding awareness and developing a management plan for the EMP threat.

Founder Henry Schwartz is the owner of Steuben Foods, a high-tech manufacturer of food and beverage products for global and regional brand name food companies. Steuben employs more than 475 workers at its Elma, N.Y. plant. Schwartz also owns Elmhurst Dairy, Metropolitan New York’s largest milk processor.

Empact America

Extremists Who Raided U.N. Offices Not Considered a Terror Group

The extremist group al-Shabaab raided three U.N. offices in Somalia last week in a campaign to rid the volatile African nation of all “enemies of Islam,” and the world body can’t do a thing about it — yet.

Though the U.S. State Department designated al-Shabaab a foreign terrorist organization in March 2008, the U.N. has yet to add the Islamic militia to its list of terrorist groups whose members face international sanctions and travel bans.

While the U.S. has been cracking down on the Al Qaeda-linked group’s recruitment efforts at home, the lack of an international standard has allowed al-Shabaab to channel its funds — much of which come from piracy along Somalia’s lengthy coast — through banks in the Arabian Gulf.

“There are millions and millions and millions of dollars coming into this organization. It’s being funneled in banks in Qatar and other places — that’s pretty well documented — yet nobody’s really doing anything about it,” said Jeffrey Addicott, director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

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Operation Cassandra – South Florida Terror Drill

The city of Miami Beach police and fire departments will conduct large scale anti-terror drills on Wednesday, according to the city.

The Miami Beach exercise will happen along Pine Tree Drive and 24 Street. It is scenario-based and will feature a mock terrorist attack, simulated shots fired, simulated victim triage, ambulance transports, along with SWAT and hostage negotiators.

The city wants to make sure its residents know about these drills in advance so they are not alarmed.

The drills are part of a larger anti-terror effort effort called “Operation Cassandra.”

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Germany Openly Warns of Terror Threat

A recent routine police operation uncovered a possible terror suspect. The development illustrates just how tense the security situation is in Germany, with the government issuing the clearest warnings yet of a possible attack by Islamist terrorists. How much do the country’s security officials know?

The officers were exceedingly polite, waiting for Ali R. to complete his Friday prayers, pack his things and leave the mosque in the western German city of Essen. Only then did they approach the imam and ask him to come with them. They took him to the Büren Prison near the northwestern city of Paderborn, where detainees are held pending deportation. The action was taken in response to a request by the German foreigners registration authority, which had been seeking Ali R., a medical student, since March, because his German residence permit had expired. The officers were not particularly enthusiastic about their mission, which was just another routine police operation. As a result, their search of Ali R., 29, was perfunctory at best.

via The Great Fear: Germany Openly Warns of Terror Threat – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International.

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