Nemo The Terrorist Librarian

August 21, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

As the war on terror continues to infiltrate the blogosphere, an increasing presence in the jihadi movement is a virtual terrorist who uses the nom de guerre Nemo.

Nemo a name snatched from the title character of the 2003 Disney/Pixar movie “Finding Nemo” has compiled a comprehensive archive of virtual terrorist training manuals and posted them all online.
In the past, many of these manuals and guidebooks, which contain hundreds of thousands of documents and offer would-be jihadis step-by-step guides on ways to hone their skills, were scattered across many Web sites and domains.

But Nemo regularly posts his findings among a network of some 25 radical bulletin boards, lobbying the al Qaeda cause to select Internet users. He’s now the ultimate “Jihobbyist,” according to Jarret Brachman, a fellow with the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.

“For Nemo, producing Al Qaeda propaganda has become a way of life,” Brachman said. “He has compiled so much relevant, ideological material and made it so widely available, that thinking of him as a simple propagandist would be understating the contribution that he’s made for groups like Al Qaeda.”

Documents and videos posted online and reviewed by FOXNews.com give detailed instructions for:

— Firing rocket propelled grenades,

— Pinpointing the most vulnerable armor on military vehicles;

— Making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and roadside bombs;

— Manufacturing explosives using household chemicals.

In one of Nemo’s Web postings, FOXNews.com found a document, written in English, that describes the science behind building a nuclear bomb — how to detonate it, the damage done by various yields of uranium or plutonium, and when and how to attach fuses to the detonating charge.

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U.S. Dams Getting Safer But Still Vulnerable To Terror Attack

August 21, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

The country’s dams have become significantly safer since Sept. 11, 2001, but the gates holding back the nation’s largest reservoirs remain vulnerable to terrorist attack, a new federally commission study said.

Nationwide, water managers at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation who monitor water and power flow at the dams are disconnected from the security teams and law enforcement officials protecting them, according to the National Research Institute study released this week. Read more

Terror On Our Borders

August 21, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

For years America’s northern and southern borders  5,938 miles of dense forest and open land  were fair game for drug dealers and illegal immigrants looking to sneak into the U.S. That was before September 11, 2001.

After the 9/11 terror attacks, securing America’s borders became a national priority, says Jay Ahern, deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Read more

Citizens U.S. Border Crossings Tracked

August 20, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

Citizens U.S. Border Crossings Tracked . I can understand the ‘right to privacy” point of view however, I don’t see this as a big deal. I’ve always just assumed that the information was being entered into a database somewhere when a person leaves and re-enters the country.

The federal government has been using its system of border checkpoints to greatly expand a database on travelers entering the country by collecting information on all U.S. citizens crossing by land, compiling data that will be stored for 15 years and may be used in criminal and intelligence investigations.

Officials say the Border Crossing Information system, disclosed last month by the Department of Homeland Security in a Federal Register notice, is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats. It also reflects the growing number of government systems containing personal information on Americans that can be shared for a broad range of law enforcement and intelligence purposes, some of which are exempt from some Privacy Act protections.

While international air passenger data has long been captured this way, Customs and Border Protection agents only this year began to log the arrivals of all U.S. citizens across land borders, through which about three-quarters of border entries occur.

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String of Security Threats Places Feds On Alert For Attacks

August 19, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

Just two weeks before the start of the Democratic National Convention a string of security scares have federal investigators working to downplay potential terrorist threats.

Almost two weeks ago, a jihadist Web site posted a call to poison a major city’s water supply. The posting, reportedly discovered Aug. 9 on a site favored by Al Qaeda, called for an attack on “atheist Europe,” a reference that some terror watchers believe represents Western nations in general. Read more

RCMP Obtains Special Warrant In Secret Terrorism Case

August 19, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News


The RCMP’s national security section exercised a rarely used Criminal Code provision last week to obtain a “special” search warrant in a secret terrorism case.

The search warrant, which has been sealed, was filed by the Mounties on Aug. 15 at the Federal Court of Canada. Read more

U.S. Patrols 300 Ports of Entry, Potential Terrorist Gateways

August 19, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

There are over 300 official ports of entry in the United States, giant pores where billions of dollars worth of goods flow through every day giant targets for terrorists seeking to smuggle in weapons for the next attack.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the first line of defense, scouring for so-called “dirty bombs” and other weapons of mass destruction. Read more

Drug Subs Pose Terror Threat To U.S.

August 17, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

Drug Sub

Drug Sub

Drug subs pose terror risk to U.S. Skimming just below the surface, they are extremely difficult to detect from surveillance aircraft or patrol boats. Their sleek design, up to 80 feet in length, can secretly carry several tons of cargo thousands of miles.

These “semi-submersibles,” which exhibit some of the same characteristics as military submarines, mark a significant advancement in the ability of drug smugglers to slip past coastal defenses. Read more

Terror Drill Finds Culprit With Dirty Bomb

August 16, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

It was only a drill, but the scenario was still terrifying. A boat loaded with radioactive materials sailed through New York Harbor Friday. A multiagency task force led by state-of-the-art NYPD boats was assigned to stop the interloper.

“We’re trying to further…protect the waterways and ports of New York City from any acts of terrorism or any incidents that may occur,” said Deputy Chief Joseph McKeever of the NYPD counterterrorism division. Read more

Russia Threatens Nuclear Attack On Poland Over US Missile Shield Deal

August 16, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

Only 24 hours after the weapons agreement was signed Russia’s deputy chief of staff warned Poland “is exposing itself to a strike 100 per cent”.

General Anatoly Nogovitsyn said that any new US assets in Europe could come under Russian nuclear attack with his forces targeting “the allies of countries having nuclear weapons”. Read more

Operation Sentinel – NYPD To Track Everything

August 14, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

It’s called “Operation Sentinel” and it proves just how far the NYPD will go to protect this city from terrorists. The plan involves some high-tech tracking that is coming under fire from some groups.

New York City is going to great lengths to make sure that bomb-toting terrorists can’t reach us.

“New York City is something special,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday. “It’s not just a very big city in this world. It is, in many senses, the iconic city. It represents Western Democracy.

As part of the plan the NYPD is creating a huge buffer zone, working with cops in a 50-mile radius of the city. Officials in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Long Island are given radiation detectors to stop terrorists as far away from New York City as possible.

Police also plan to track every vehicle that enters Manhattan.

“We’re going to be adding cameras as we go forward,” NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

That part of that plan calls for photographing and scanning license plates of cars and trucks at all bridges and tunnels. Even small ones like the Willis Avenue Bridge will also be used to detect radiation.

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Fliers With No ID May Be Placed on Watch List – Tracks Those Possibly Probing System

August 14, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

The Transportation Security Administration has collected records on thousands of passengers who went to airport checkpoints without identification, adding them to a database of people who violated security laws or were questioned for suspicious behavior.

The TSA began storing the information in late June, tracking many people who said they had forgotten their driver’s license or passport at home. The database has 16,500 records of such people and is open to law enforcement agencies, according to the TSA.

Asked about the program, TSA chief Kip Hawley told USA TODAY in an interview Tuesday that the information helps track potential terrorists who may be “probing the system” by trying to get though checkpoints at various airports.

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Security Worries on Private Planes – TSA May Soon Regulate

August 13, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

The Transportation Security Administration is planning a massive expansion of aviation security that for the first time will regulate thousands of private planes now flying with no security rules.

The new regulations, expected to be proposed in coming months, stop short of passenger screening, but would aim to prevent someone from flying a small plane, possibly packed with explosives, into a building. Authorities also worry about terrorists transporting hazardous materials or themselves on private aircraft, said Michal Morgan, TSA head of general aviation security.

The threat is real, said aviation-security consultant Glen Winn, former United Airlines security chief. Some small airports reserved for private planes “really don’t have a lot of security,” which would make it easy for someone to steal a small jet, Winn said. “There’s a huge window that’s open, and I do believe they’ve got to close that,” Winn added.

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TSA Rolls Out K9 Units To Check Cargo At O’Hare

August 13, 2008 by national  
Filed under Homeland Security News

Like any good dog, Jody knows how to sit on command.

And also when she finds plastic explosives.

The 4-year-old Belgian Malinois and her handler Ray Medina are among six canine/human teams starting this week at O’Hare International Airport that will search for deadly explosives hidden in cargo on passenger planes.

Until recently, O’Hare used bomb-sniffing dogs supplied by local police to check cargo.

But a new directive by the Transportation Security Administration aims to establish patrols of in-house handlers and canines at major U.S. airports to enhance existing security programs.

“Having our own teams gives us more flexibility to allocate our resources where they need to be,” TSA spokesman Elio Montenegro said.

Monday during a demonstration at the American Airlines cargo center at O’Hare, Jody and German shepherd Jessy strained at their leads and gave out excited barks, eager to start work.

“It’s a game for them,” said Medina, a TSA inspector. “It’s playtime and they want that reward.”

Given the go-ahead, the dogs darted through the cavernous facility, jumping onto mountains of boxes filled with goods.

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