• DHS slow to crack down on ammonium nitrate sales

    U.S. lawmakers are becoming frustrated with DHS for its slow implementation of regulations on ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a key ingredient in dangerous homemade explosives like the one used in the deadly 1995 Oklahoma City bombing; Congress initially passed legislation tightening control on the sale of the fertilizer in 2008, but DHS has yet to implement such regulations and three years later is only now publishing a set of “proposed” rule

  • Report warns Amtrak vulnerable

    A new report by the DHS Inspector General warns that Amtrak is vulnerable to terrorist attacks, despite the $1 billion that has already been spent to bolster security; the inspector general found that DHS officials did not ensure that the money was being spent efficiently securing Amtrak’s most vulnerable stations resulting in security gaps

  • Tampa police already training for 2012 RNC convention

    In preparation for next year’s Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay Florida, nearly every local police department employee is required to attend a three-day training course; the mandatory training is designed to teach officers how to control large crowds

  • Portable detector can ID anthrax in one hour

    Researchers have developed a portable device can detect the presence of the anthrax bacterium in about one hour from a sample containing as few as forty microscopic spores; the basic design, which is small enough to fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane, potentially could be tailored to detect countless other pathogens, such as salmonella, or be used in the field for DNA forensics

  • FAA issued 27 licenses to potential terrorists

    A recent DHS inspector general report revealed that the Federal Aviation Administration FAA) had issued pilot and aircraft mechanic licenses to at least twenty-seven individuals with terrorist connections; the report also found that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) still cannot determine the identities of thousands of people who currently hold FAA licenses.

  • Pakistani spies track immigrants in U.S.

    Last week the indictment of two Pakistani-Americans pulled back the veil on the extent of Pakistan’s spy network in the United States; led by Pakistan’s military spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the country’s efforts in the United States are primarily aimed at influencing lawmakers, keeping track of the Pakistani Diaspora, stifling dialogue critical of its military, and stymieing India — the country’s chief rival

  • AWOL soldier arraigned in Fort Hood bomb plot

    AWOL Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo was arraigned today, charged by federal prosecutors with possession of an illegal firearm; allegedly planned an off-base attack on Fort Hood personnel using explosives and firearms; Abdo had been charged with possession of child pornography prior to his disappearance

  • Terrorist recruitment in the United States

    In a report submitted to House Homeland Security Committee hearings yesterday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says that since the 9/11 attacks, a growing number of American citizens and residents motivated by radical interpretations of Islam have been involved in plots and conspiracies against American interests at home and abroad

  • Norway attacker claims did not act alone

    Anders Behring Breivik, has pleaded not guilty to a bomb in downtown Oslo and a shooting spree at a summer camp which left scores dead, and when questioned by police, he said that there were “two further cells in our organization” and he did not act alone; police have been criticized for their slow response to the shooting on Utoya, as authorities took more than an hour to arrive on the island after the first reports of shootings

  • OBL planned to kill Obama on 9/11

    Osama Bib Laden was putting together a team of al Qaeda operatives whose mission was to use a shoulder-fired missile to bring down Air Force One or Marine one — the president’s helicopter - on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack; the plot was gleaned from digital storage media picked up on 2 May at OBL’s compound in Pakistan; other plots were discussed, among them flying an explosives-filled plane into a sports stadium on 4th July, and killing General David Petraeus

  • Minneapolis man single-handedly battles Islamic extremism

    Individuals like Abdirizak Bihi, who single handedly tries to keep young Somali-American teenagers from becoming radicalized, are part of a growing trend that officials in Washington call “CVE,” combatting violent extremism; since the 9/11 attacks, there have been fifty-one domestically produced jihadist plots or attacks in the United States and that number is steadily growing

  • Senators concerned about terrorists entering U.S.

    U.S. lawmakers have lingering concerns about the ability for terrorists to enter the country following last week’s Senate hearing that investigated how two Iraqi nationals with terrorist ties were able to enter the United States and live in Bowling Green, Kentucky for several years; A Government Accountability Report (GAO), released on the same day as the hearing, found four critical gaps in preventing terrorists from entering the United States

  • Natural enzyme can defend against terrorists' nerve agents

    Chemicals called organophosphates, found in common household insecticides, can be just as harmful to people as to insects; organophosphates could be released on an industrial scale, through an act of terror or accident, attacking the nervous system by inactivating an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase (AChE); scientists are devising drugs to treat and prevent the toxic effects of organophosphates and related chemicals

  • ICE chief: Israel's inclusion on terror watch list a "mistake"

    DHS officials are now saying Israel’s inclusion on a list of countries that promote, produce, or protect terrorists was a mistake; John Morton, director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said, “The addition of Israel to the list—- was based on inaccurate information provided to the OIG during the course of its audit”; a May 2011 report contained an appendix which lists “specially designated countries” that promote terrorism; the list instructed ICE agents to pay special attention to, and investigate more thoroughly, individuals from these countries arrested by ICE; ICE spokesperson suggested that Israel was included not because its government supports terrorism, but because some individual Israelis do pose a terror threat; 1.5 million of Israel’s 7.5 million citizens are Arabs

  • ICE lists Israel among countries that promote, produce, or protect terrorists

    DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a report describing the methods on which the agency relies to arrest, detain, and, if necessary, deport undesirable aliens; the report contains an appendix which lists “specially designated countries” whose detained nationals should be more closely examined; among the countries whose nationals should be paid special attention as potential terror risks is Israel — which the report considers a “Promoter, Producer, or Protector” of terrorists