Terrorism and counterterrorism

Many U.S. naval bases not prepared for terror attacks
Auditors visited 22 of 66 naval installations last year and found only one base that adhered to the Navy directive requiring an antiterrorism plan
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Gordon Brown unveils new Pakistan policy
Brown, calling the area along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border “breeding ground for terrorism,” unveils new strategy to enhance security there
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Petraeus to Pakistan: The enemy is not India, but home-grown extremists
Petraeus says Pakistan should get over its fixation on India as enemy No. 1, and recognize instead the growing danger to Pakistan’s existence from home-grown Islamic extremists
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Taliban renews opposition to polio vaccination
Taliban in Pakistan’s northwest territories and Afghanistan renew their campaign against vaccination of children against polio; clerics describe vaccination as “Western plot”; Taliban fighters have attacked vaccination teams in Pakistan’s Swat valley; Islamic clerics in northern Nigeria have embarked on similar campaign
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Piracy boosts maritime security business
In London, the business capital of the world’s maritime industry, firms shape decisions on arming ships and negotiating with pirates
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IAF's fighter jets intercept Delta Airlines plane for lack of communication
A state of emergency declared at Ben-Gurion Airport after Delta Airlines airplane headed to Israel failed to contact control tower due to technical problem
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Seeing through concrete, clearly
Insurgents and terrorists fight from within civilian structures, making it difficult for soldiers and first responders to respond without injuring many civilians; DARPA wants a solution which would allow soldiers to look through concrete walls and give them a detailed picture of a building’s interior — right down to the fixtures
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Manipulating Google searches as counter-terrorism tool
The U.K. government will train pro-West Islamic groups to game Google searches in order to fight the influence of radicals; search engine optimization techniques will make moderate Islamic groups come up first in Google searches
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U.K. Home Office terrorism advisory site offered link to a porno site
On Monday, a new EU regulation went into effect mandating that ISPs store details of user e-mails and Internet calls; a Home Office site contained a link for citizens who felt the measure was too intrusive, and who would want to send the Home Office a complaint about it; trouble is, those who clicked on the link were sent to a Japanese porno site
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DARPA wants stealthy 3D building-interior mapping kit
SWAT teams, special forces units, and first responders often are called upon to storm buildings in which terrorists hide; would it not be better if these units had up-to-date, accurate pictures of the insides of the structures they are about to storm? DARPA thinks it is a good idea
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Sudan attack: update
Israel used “dozens of aircraft” to destroy an Iranian arms convoy in Sudan in late January; UAVs were used for BDA (bomb damage assessment); sources: there was another Israeli attack in Sudan, in early February, and an attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden
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Sudan attack demonstrates new U.S.-Israel counter-Iran policy
Israeli aircraft, with U.S. logistical and intelligence support, attack and destroy an Iranian arms convoy in Sudan; arms were part of an effort by Iran to resupply Hamas’s forces in Gaza
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Indian security firms: IPL could have been held in India
Cricket is near religion in India, but fear of terrorist attacks forced the organizers of the high profile Indian Premier League (IPL) to shift the competition from India to South Africa (this is like moving NFL games to, say, Bulgaria); a coalition of Indian private security firms says the move was unnecessary
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Hi-G-Tek, Trojan Defense work on global nuclear threat early detection
Hi-G-Tek and Trojan Defense collaborate on developing a global nuclear threat early detection and warning system; the wireless sensor is designed for rapid reporting of WMD in global shipments
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Taliban continue campaign against cellular service in Waziristan
Taliban and al-Qaeda militants believe that the CIA and U.S. military rely on cellular communication intercepts to track and kill members of the two organizations; Taliban leaders warned Pakistan not to expand the cellular network in the areas under Taliban control; those networks already in place must be shut down overnight
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