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Friday’s assassination of Anwar al Awlaki, the radical Yemeni-American imam, by a U.S. drone has sparked fierce criticism from those who argue his death raises a serious question about the government’s counterterror policies; in particular legal authorities, lawmakers, and opinion leaders expressed grave concern over the ability of the government to kill an American citizen with no judicial process far from a combat zone
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Analysis
Friday’s killing of Anwar al Awlaki, the radical Yemeni-American imam, by a U.S. drone has sparked fierce criticism from those who argue his death raises a serious question about the government’s counterterror policies; in particular legal authorities, lawmakers, and opinion leaders expressed grave concern over the ability of the government to kill an American citizen with no judicial process far from a combat zone
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Aviation security
Senior NATO officials said that at least 10,000 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles are unaccounted for in Libya, and that at least some of them may have fallen in the hands of al Qaeda operatives; the missiles are known as SAM-7 by NATO designation and 9K32 Strela-2 in Russia, and typically have a range of about four kilometers and an infra-red guidance system; more than forty civilian aircraft have been hit by these portable surface-to-air missiles since 1975, causing about twenty-eight crashes and more than 800 deaths around the world
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Terrorism
Last week the head of the U.S. arm of a now disbanded Islamic charity was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for sending $150,000 to Saudi Arabia to fund terrorist activities
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Anwar al-Awlaki, the 40-year, old New Mexico-born firebrand jihadist preacher was killed last night by a missile fired from a UAV operated by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC); he is the most prominent al Qaeda figure to be killed since bin Laden’s death in May; in April 2010 President Barack Obama approved al Awlaki’s targeted killing; this was a first such order for the targeted assassination of an American citizen, and as such required special approval from the White House
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Libya’s new government said that it will cooperate with Scottish prosecutors in their ongoing investigation of the Lockerbie bombing; so far only one man has been convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland which resulted in the deaths of 270 people; Scottish prosecutors are seeking assistance from Libya’s National Transitional Council to gain evidence that could lead to the conviction of others involved in the atrocity; Libya’s interim justice minister Mohammed al-Alagi recently said, “The case is closed,” but later retracted his statement; Scottish authorities said, “The police investigation into the Lockerbie bombing remains open, and the Police should follow the evidence wherever it leads them”
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India’s external affairs minister S. M. Krishna said Pakistan can no longer take a “selective approach” to fighting terrorism and hoped that it will get “serious” in dismantling the terrorist training camps on its soil; “I am sure they (Pakistan) will realize and they have, by now they should have (realized) that terrorism cannot be fought selectively,” Krishna said; he added, “I hope Pakistan gets serious about dismantling all the terror training camps which are existing in the country….We expect that Pakistan will live up to their pronouncements”
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On Monday, U.K. officials arrested three men after police found a bomb in a car in Northern Ireland; the three men were apprehended in Derry, near the border with the Irish Republic; Chief Inspector Jon Burrow, Northern Ireland’s district commander, said, “I am in no doubt had the device exploded it could have injured or maimed innocent members of the public and it is due to the efficient evacuations set in place in the surrounding areas that no one came to any harm”; military explosives experts were called in to help defuse the bomb
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On Monday, British authorities arrested six men on charges of terrorism; the men, all between the ages of twenty-one and thirty, are believed to be part of a terror network; four of the men are accused of one count of “engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts,” while the other two are being charged for failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism; the four suspected terrorists allegedly planned a bombing campaign, stated their intention to become suicide bombers, and collected money for terrorism; two of the four are believed to have travelled to Pakistan to receive weapons and explosives training
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On Wednesday the United States announced that it had placed two founding members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist organization on its terror watch list; the United States refrained from sanctioning the Pakistani state or the ISI, its military intelligence agency, despite increasingly heated statements from top U.S. officials; David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence described Zafar Iqbal and Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi as two of LeT’s “most significant leaders”; over the past twenty years, the duo has been responsible for fundraising, recruitment, and indoctrination of operatives; “By targeting the core of LeT’s leadership, today’s action aims to degrade its ability to facilitate its terrorist activities,” Cohen said
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Al Qaeda, in the latest edition of their online propaganda magazine Inspire, called on Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stop spreading conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks; the terrorist group called Ahmadinejad’s remarks about 9/11 “ridiculous”; last week in his address to the UN general assembly, Ahmadinejad said the “mysterious September 11 incident” had been used as a pretext to attack Afghanistan and Iraq; he added, “By using their imperialistic media network which is under the influence of colonialism, they threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September 11 event with sanctions and military actions”; in response, al Qaeda wrote, “The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al-Qaida was behind 9/11 but rather, the US government”; “So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?” the group asked
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ASIS International 2011
Piracy off the Horn of Africa has continued to flourish despite the concerted efforts of the world’s navies; a security expert said, “The system is broken here” and called the international counter piracy task force “one of the most expensive catch and release programs” ever; last year the task force spent more than $2 billion responding to sixty-four incidents, or roughly $30 million per incident
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Terrorism
The NYPD created a counterterrorism unit following the 9/11 attacks; New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that the counterterrorism unit has the means to take down an aircraft “in a very extreme situation”
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ASIS International 2011
An expert on American-Muslims fears that with the rising anti-Islamic sentiments in the United States an “Oslo-type” attack could occur in the next few years at a U.S. mosque; speaking on a panel on security threats facing faith based organizations at the ASIS 2011 security conference, Nawar Shora, the CEO of Shams Training and Development, said, “I fear that in the next few years we’ll have something like Oslo repeated here in this country, whether someone will go to an Islamic center or whether someone will try a massacre during a worship on Friday”
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Nuclear matters
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) concluded a week-long border security workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as part of a joint effort to enhance security at ports and borders in the region
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Mail security
The Millennium Group and SoBran, Inc. announced yesterday an advanced mail security service that the companies say will help keep Wall Street and New York metro area businesses safe from mail terrorism
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Homeland security education
The University of St. Andrews is promoting a program leading to a certificate in it terrorism studies; the program was established in 2006 in is offered on-line
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Officials in New York remain on high-alert following the warning issued by DHS that terrorists might be plotting an attack on the city for the ten-year anniversary of 9/11; NYPD have pulled back the additional security measures put in place for the ten-year anniversary like checkpoints at ports of entry and bridges, but remain on vigilant for a potential bomb attack
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Financing terrorism
Terrorist organizations rely on financing and support networks to sustain operations and launch attacks. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has developed a sophisticated and comprehensive approach to identify, disrupt, and deter the funding networks of terrorist organizations
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Parking security
More than 7,000 parking professionals have been trained in the First Observer parking-specific program developed by the International Parking Institute with the DHS and the Transportation Security Administration
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The long view
Southport Attacks: Why the U.K. Needs a Unified Approach to All Violent Attacks on the Public
The conviction of Axel Rudakubana for the murder of three young girls in Southport has prompted many questions about how the UK handles violence without a clear ideological motive. This case has also shown up the confusion in this area, and made clear the need for a basic reframing of how we understand murderous violence against the public today.
Mis- and Disinformation Trends and Tactics to Watch in 2025
Predicting how extremists may weaponize false narratives requires an understanding of the strategies that allow them to spread most effectively.
Evidence-Based Solutions to Protect Against Mass Attacks
Mass attacks like the New Year’s Day incident in New Orleans stir public emotion and have tragic consequences. While the investigations into this case will take time, we know from our work that there are things law enforcement and the public can do to mitigate and perhaps stop mass casualty events.