Terror Networks Are Nations Biggest Threat – Obama

President Obama today told Chinese students that he believes terror networks such as al Qaeda are the greatest threat to the United States. Obama said that although the terror groups are small in number they present a great danger because they have no conscience. He explained to the students that although they may be small in number, armed with nuclear or biological weapons, just a few individuals could still kill hundreds of thousands of people.

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UK Report – Obama May Be Preparing Deep Cuts To US Nuclear Arsenal

The UK’s Guardian newspaper is reporting President Barack Obama wants the Pentagon to review the U.S.’s nuclear-weapons doctrine to prepare for deep cuts to the country’s nuclear arsenal. The report suggests The President rejected the Pentagon’s first draft of the review as being too timid, and not consistent with his goal of eventually abolishing nuclear weapons altogether.

In asking for more options, among the goals to be considered, according to the report:

• Reconfiguring the US nuclear force to allow for an arsenal measured in hundreds rather than thousands of deployed strategic warheads.
• Redrafting nuclear doctrine to narrow the range of conditions under which the US would use nuclear weapons.
• Exploring ways of guaranteeing the future reliability of nuclear weapons without testing or producing a new generation of warheads.

Read Full Article -  The Guardian

We have been unable to confirm this report through U.S. sources.

Taliban Surprising U.S. Forces With Improved Tactics

The Taliban has become a much more potent adversary in Afghanistan by improving its own tactics and finding gaps in the U.S. military playbook, according to senior American military officials who acknowledged that the enemy’s resurgence this year has taken them by surprise.

U.S. rules of engagement restricting the use of air power and aggressive action against civilians have also opened new space for the insurgents, officials said. Western development projects, such as new roads, schools and police stations, have provided fresh targets for Taliban roadside bombs and suicide attacks. The inability of rising numbers of American troops to protect Afghan citizens has increased resentment of the Western presence and the corrupt Afghan government that cooperates with it, the officials said.

As President Obama faces crucial decisions on his war strategy and declining public support at home, administration and defense officials are studying the reasons why the Taliban appears, for the moment at least, to be winning.

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Cheney Slams Obama’s Probe of CIA Interrogations

Calling it a “terrible decision” that undermines national security and devastates CIA morale, former Vice President Dick Cheney slammed the Obama administration’s probe of aggressive interrogation of terrorists. “It’s an outrageous political act that will do great damage, long-term, to our capacity to be able to have people take on difficult jobs, make difficult decisions, without having to worry about what the next administration is going to say,” Cheney told “FOX News Sunday” in a no-holds-barred interview.

In blunt, unsparing language, Cheney accused President Obama of setting a “terrible precedent” by allowing an “intensely partisan, politicized look back at the prior administration.”

He said the decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to launch a probe into alleged abuse of prisoners under the prior administration “offends the hell out of me,” as he seemed to question Obama’s fitness as commander-in-chief.

“I have serious doubts about his policies,” Cheney told FOX News’ Chris Wallace in Jackson Hole, Wyo. “Serious doubts, especially, about the extent to which he understands and is prepared to do what needs to be done to defend the nation.”

As evidence, Cheney pointed to Obama’s decision last week to assert White House control over a newly formed unit that will interrogate terrorists. The new arrangement shifts control of such interrogations away from the CIA and toward the FBI, although oversight will be exercised by the National Security Council, which is located in the White House and reports directly to the president.

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Man Accused of Making Threats Against White House

UPDATE: Suspect in custody A man accused of making threats against the White House led officers on a wild freeway chase that ended in a standoff outside the Federal Building.The man was wanted on various local warrants, says police Sgt. Kevin Lowe. His is also wanted for questioning by the Secret Service as part of a federal inquiry into threats against the White House, says Lowe.

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan says the suspect made a threat but would not give details.

Police have not publicly identified him.

But the Daily Breeze is reporting that the red Volkswagon Beetle is registered to Joe Moshe, a resident in the 8300 block of Creighton Avenue.

Neighbors who did not want to be identified said Moshe “sounds like he could be dangerous,” but he has never caused any significant trouble for them.

“He’s got issues. He doesn’t take his medication, he doesn’t do that well,” a neighbor told the newspaper.

Neighbors told the newspaper that said Secret Service agents in suits and driving government cars appeared on the street Wednesday night.

They tried to speak with Moshe, but he did not answer the door, neighbors said.

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Pentagon – Russian Subs Near US Coast Pose No Threat

Russian submarines patrolling off the US east coast are not cause for concern and pose no threat to the United States, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

“So long as they are operating in international waters as, frankly, we do around the world — and are behaving in a responsible way, they are certainly free to do so and it doesn’t cause any alarm within this building,” press secretary Geoff Morrell said at a Pentagon news conference.

US Northern Command issued a brief statement earlier that it was monitoring the submarines, which Morrell said were several hundred miles (kilometers) off the eastern coastline.

Morrell said he was unsure if Moscow gave Washington advance notice but the US military “had the means to derive where they were going.”

Morrell played down the episode, saying: “While it is interesting and noteworthy that they are in this part of the world, it doesn’t pose any threat and it doesn’t cause any concern.”

He acknowledged that US submarines have operated off the Russian coast “from time to time” as well, in international waters.

The New York Times first reported the presence of two Russian nuclear-powered, Akula class submarines off the American coast, the first such move in years that carried echoes of Cold War tensions.

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Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S.

A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States in recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies about a more assertive stance by the Russian military.

The episode has echoes of the cold war era, when the United States and the Soviet Union regularly parked submarines off each other’s coasts to steal military secrets, track the movements of their underwater fleets and be poised for war.

But the collapse of the Soviet Union all but eliminated the ability of the Russian Navy to operate far from home ports, making the current submarine patrols thousands of miles from Russia more surprising for military officials and defense policy experts.

[...]

According to Defense Department officials, one of the Russian submarines remained in international waters on Tuesday about 200 miles off the coast of the United States. The location of the second remained unclear. One senior official said the second submarine traveled south in recent days toward Cuba, while another senior official with access to reports on the surveillance mission said it had sailed away in a northerly direction.

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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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Daniel James Murray – Feds Look For Man That Threatened Obama

Federal authorities are searching for a man who has at least eight guns registered to him and has threatened to kill President Obama.

The man, identified as Daniel James Murray, is charged with making threats against the president of the United States.

He recently withdrew $85,000 from a Utah bank and told a teller: “We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States,” according to court papers.

Murray is originally from New York, but was seen several times in late May in St. George, Utah, making bizarre statements at a bank.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Utah, Murray opened an account at Zions First National Bank on May 19 with a $85,000 check.

“With all this mess going on under President Obama with banks and the economy, I’m sure if citizens happen to lose their money, they will rise up and we could see killing and deaths,” he said, according to the criminal complaint.

On May 27, he returned to the bank and tried to withdraw $12,000, but lacked proper identification.

“Not to be disrespectful, but if I don’t get this money, someone is going to die,” Murray said, according to the criminal complaint.

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Bin Laden Warns Americans To Be Prepared For Consequences

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned Americans “to be prepared to receive the consequences of the Obama and Bush administrations.” In a new recorded audiotape aired by Arabic Al Jazeera TV Wednesday, June 3 – as Saudi king Abdullah greeted US president Barack Obama on his arrival in Riyadh – bin Laden said Obama had planted the seeds for “revenge and hatred” toward the United States in the Muslim world.

The warning was issued the day before the US president was to deliver a speech to Muslims from Cairo.

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Zawahiri To Obama:You Are Not Welcome in Egypt

Al Qaeda No. 2, Ayman Zawahiri said in a new audiotape today that President Obama is not welcome in Egypt. Commenting on Obama’s upcoming visit to Cairo, Zawahiri said that President Obama’s message to the Muslim World has already been delivered.

“Obama’s message to the Muslim World was delivered when he visited the Wailing wall, with the Jewish skullcap on his head…when he performed the Jewish prayers despite claiming that he is Christian,” Zawahiri said, reminding his audience of Obama’s pledge before the AIPAC conference to make Jerusalem the undivided capital of Israel.

The al Qaeda deputy chief accused Obama of approving the “Zionist aggression on Gaza,” of sending more troops to Afghanistan and continuing to bomb tribal areas of Pakistan, and of leading the “brutal campaign” against Muslims in the Swat valley. He said the Obama administration’s message to the Muslim world can be seen in the continued use of secret prisons and the breach of the Geneva conventions regarding terror detainees.

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Obama Shakes Up White House Security Structure

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday ended the divide between national security and homeland security staff in the White House, arguing the move would make Americans safer.

Obama shook up the security structure of his teams of advisors after examining the results of a study he ordered into how best to handle homeland security and counter-terrorism efforts.

“I have carefully reviewed the findings and recommendations of that study, and am announcing a new approach which will strengthen our security and the safety of our citizens,” Obama said in a statement.

“These decisions reflect the fundamental truth that the challenges of the 21st Century are increasingly unconventional and transnational, and therefore demand a response that effectively integrates all aspects of American power.”

The move will see the full integration of the White House National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council to support all policy on international, transnational and homeland security issues.

Obama also decided to form new directorates and positions on the new National Security Staff to cope with 21st Century threats including cybersecurity and possible terrorism using weapons of mass destruction.

via Obama shakes up White House security structure – Yahoo! News.

Iran Missile Test Claim – Europe Within Range

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed to have sucessfully tested another ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe.

Speaking in the northern Iranian city of Semnan, where the Sajil-2 missile was allegedly test-fired, Mr Ahmadinejad said the blast was a success and “met the predetermined target.”

If its alleged range of almost 2,000 kilometers is true, the missile could reach Athens, southern Italy and the Black Sea coast of new EU members Romania and Bulgaria.

A similar test was carried out in November, while in February Iran launched a domestically-made satellite that prompted France and Great Britain to express their concerns over the missile capabilities of the Islamic state.

Israel, also a nuclear power, said Wednesday’s test should be more of a concern to Europe, since previous missiles tested by Iran could already reach the Jewish state.

With presidential elections scheduled for 12 June, the test could also be read as part of Mr Ahmadinejad’s re-election campaign, as three other contenders have been approved by Iran’s electoral council.

Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini had to cancel at the very last minute a trip to Tehran when he found out that Iranian authorities had organised his meeting with reformist ex-president Mohammed Khatami in Semnan, where the missile was tested, not in the capital as initially agreed.

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Cheney, Obama – No Middle Ground on Gitmo Approach

The headlines will say two big, dueling speeches about the war on terror were delivered in Washington on Thursday, one by President Barack Obama and one by former Vice President Dick Cheney.

And that’s true, as far as it goes. But it would be more accurate to say that four quite different speeches were delivered.

Mr. Cheney gave one speech, a remarkably focused, blistering attack on those who criticize the Bush administration’s methods for detaining and interrogating terror suspects. Scathing in terminology, scornful in tone, Mr. Cheney took on those critics and gave not an inch of ground to them. He questioned both the integrity and wisdom of those, including the current president, who would reverse policies that he said have kept America safe for more than seven years since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Obama: I know some have argued that brutal methods like water-boarding were necessary to keep us safe. I could not disagree more. As commander-in-chief, I see the intelligence, I bear responsibility for keeping this country safe, and I categorically reject the assertion that these are the most effective means of interrogation.

Cheney: The interrogations were…legal, essential, justified, successful, and the right thing to do. The intelligence officers who questioned the terrorists can be proud of their work and proud of the results, because they prevented the violent deaths of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent people.

Those who prefer their Washington policy debates to be cloaked in understatement or delicate euphemisms may have been taken aback by the ferocity of the Cheney rejoinder, which crackled in intensity, even while being delivered in the former vice president’s trademark monotone style.

Meanwhile, Mr. Obama, facing the trickier task of selling a policy to both parties, really gave three speeches wrapped in one. His first was meant to address critics on the right, who charge he has gone soft on terror and that his decision to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay will bring to U.S. soil dangerous extremists.

via No Middle Ground on Gitmo Approach – WSJ.com.

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