CQ Behind the Lines

From CQ Homeland Security

Behind the Lines for Thursday, June 23, 2011 — 3 P.M. By David C. Morrison, Special to Congressional Quarterly Watching the watchers: "Investigations of border security personnel have expanded in each of the past four years, with at least 1,036 inquiries under way". . . Scrambled eggheads: Terrorism studies rife with "self-proclaimed experts who do little primary research and have rarely met with genuine extremists" . . . Tough town: If ex-Rep. Weiner's wife's mother belongs to Muslim Brotherhood, "the wrong member of the family resigned." These and other stories lead today's homeland security coverage. --------------------------------- "Let the 9/11 anniversary merchandising begin!" Salon's Justin Elliott leads — while a PR Newswire release touts: "In advance of the 10-year anniversary . . . the domain name remember911 is now available." With 9/11 memorial and museum construction costs rising and another $60 million needed for annual operations, a new commemorative medal may defray the costs, The Christian Science Monitor's Patrick Wall mentions — while Reuters' Bernd Debusmann Jr. hears 9/11 family members venting their dismay over a proposed $20-plus entrance charge. Feds: Evidence ties a Marine reservist detained near the Pentagon last Friday to a shootings last fall at D.C.-area military buildings, The Washington Post's Jerry Markon and Mary Pat Flaherty report. Having come under fire for security pat-downs of small children, TSA's chief pledged yesterday that "changes will be made," ABC News Radio reports. "Investigations of border security personnel have expanded in each of the past four years, with at least 1,036 inquiries under way, including some 267 focused on suspected corruption," The Houston Chronicle's Stewart M. Powell reports. ICE's announcement that it detained 2,400 illegal immigrants in a nationwide raid "starts what will likely be a months-long process of figuring out what to do with them," FOX News' Judson Berger relates. John Morton's new memo doesn't change the law or end the controversial Secure Communities effort, but "it does serve as a much-needed guide for ICE officials," Mary Giovagnoli gauges for The Huffington Post. Kings of the Hill: When briefed last year on an ATF gun smuggling sting, House overseer Darrell Issa, R-Calif., expressed no opposition to an operation now linked to a Border Patroller's death, The Washington Post's Jerry Markon and Sari Horwitz report. A.G. Eric Holder's assertion that America's "most effective terror-fighting weapon" is its civilian court system "insults" those who have served on the front lines," Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., maintains in, again, the Post. "The threat of a WMD attack is real. We must do all we can to address this threat," Reps. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and Dan Lungren, R-Calif., inveigh in a Hill op-ed urging support for their WMD Prevention of Preparedness Act of 2011. State and local: A federal judge says he will rule before July 1 on civil liberties groups' appeal to block a tough new Georgia illegal immigration law, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recounts — as The Atlanta Business Chronicle sees cabbies hiring a law firm to contend with a provision stipulating that drivers could be arrested for transporting undocumented passengers. DHS-funded gear purchased by Olive Branch and Southaven fire departments "will be beneficial in the event of a local terror attack as well as for their day-to-day jobs," The DeSoto (Miss.) Times Tribune tells. A fired homeland security grant official gave Texas Rangers a "variety of explanations" as to why she entered into a quid pro quo contracting agreement with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reveals. Bugs 'n bombs: Federal and local governments need to update legislation to meet current health challenges, such as the threat of bioterrorism, HealthDay sees an Institute of Medicine report advising. A new commander is taking over the Army's Pueblo Chemical Depot, where 2,600 tons of mustard agent awaits destruction, Colorado Springs's KXRM Fox 21 relays. A Massachusetts resident has received a 15-year prison sentence for possession of ricin and threatening a federal official, The Springfield Republican reports. A bomb threat that closed four Ohio State University buildings last fall was the act of a student worried about failing a test, The Columbus Dispatch recounts as the perpetrator pleads out. Ivory (Watch) Towers: "They're old enough to remember the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They grew up with the war on terrorism and the Great Recession," The Olympian leads, characterizing this year's crop of grads. Skidmore College has received $1 million from DHS's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program to study firefighting's impact on the cardiovascular system, The Saratogian says. DHS officers met with Iowa teachers, administrators and local law enforcers for training on dealing with emergencies in a rural school setting, Sioux City's KMEG 14 News notes — while KACT 3 News sees Louisiana's Citizen Corps and Lafourche Parish Sheriff educating teens about disaster preparedness. An Aussie report slams academic terrorism studies everywhere as rife with "self-proclaimed experts who are inexperienced, do little primary research work in the field and have rarely met with genuine extremists," The Australian informs. Close air support: The catastrophic failings of Logan airport screeners are being exposed for the first time as one Boston family moves closer to a trial date in the nation's final 9/11 wrongful death lawsuit, the Herald relates. Gov. Rick Perry has directed Texas legislators meeting in special session to outlaw intrusive TSA groping of air passengers, The Austin American-Statesman mentions. What appeared to be a security threat on a flight to Detroit turned out to be a faulty restroom lock, FOX 2 News notes. All too often, TSA officers threaten passengers, block their view or cite nonexistent rules in an effort to force them to stop taking photos at checkpoints, a Seattle Times columnist complains. Borders and papers: While there are 30,000 CBP officers watching over the 1,926-mile U.S. border with Mexico, there were only 125 Mexican officials monitoring the country's 540-mile border with Guatemala, The Washington Post reports. "Mexican transnational criminal organizations, more commonly known as drug traffickers or cartels, sure know how to act like terrorists," a Homeland Security Today op-ed objects. "Terrorists are big fans of South African passports, according to security experts, because of the ease with which one can be faked or illegally obtained," The Mail and Guardian reports — as The Independent Online details "a massive fake ID home office" busted in Johannesburg. Courts and rights: Federal prosecutors have charged a young Kosovan with murdering and attempting to murder U.S. servicemen in Germany, Courthouse News Service notes. The lawyers representing defendants charged with abetting terrorism in their native Somalia are "part of a small but growing group of defense attorneys who work on domestic terrorism cases," The San Diego Union-Tribune spotlights. In Minneapolis, meantime, a federal judge refused to dismiss the indictment against two women also accused of funneling money to al Shabaab, the Star Tribune relays. The federal ban on providing "material support" to a terror group, relatedly, is "an example of how difficult it can be to stay on the right side of the law," Reason reasons. The New Broom: "Now that Ayman al-Zawahiri has ascended to al Qaeda's throne, he will likely bring along his own American courtier: Adam Gadahn," Foreign Policy predicts. Intelligence analysts say Zawahiri "is disliked in al Qaeda as an irritable micromanager, but he's also a skilled military tactician and should not be discounted," The Christian Science Monitor profiles — as a Guardian op-ed sees Zawahiri "sensing a new radical sympathy for al Qaeda," and United Press International hears Somali Islamists vowing loyalty to the new leader. A poll of Egyptian adults shows Zawahiri's popularity running neck and neck with President Obama's, Al Bawaba reports. Over here: "Muslims living in America face bias, discrimination and persecution. That is the mainstream media's story and they're sticking to it — despite the fact that there is no evidence to back it up," Clifford D. May condemns in The National Review. If an article alleging that the mother of ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner's wife, a Hillary Clinton aide, is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, "it may very well be that the wrong member of the family resigned," Right Side News insists. With the second of Peter King's House Homeland hearings on Islamist "radicalization" completed, "it is necessary to question his approach," especially the witness lists, Andrew C. McCarthy maintains in The National Review. British taxpayers must pay train fares and taxi bills so that a terror suspect's family can visit him after he was banned from London, The Daily Mail hears a High Court judge ordering. Holy Wars: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who has "voted against several anti-terrorism laws, claims that radical Islamists are like 'Christian militants' who oppose abortion," Jim Kouri recriminates in The Examiner. "What too many Americans have yet to come to grips with is that the inherent message and duty of Islam is a neverending war on 'infidels'—and, in particular in the West, jihad," The Moral Liberal laments. "Appointing a Muslim scholar to a commission on international religious freedom is only justifiable if that scholar recognized that much of the injustice in the world originates from Islamic law," an Arutz Sheva op-ed objects. During earlier, brief stints in two Indonesian prisons, terror-inciting imam Abu Bakar Bashir, just handed 15 years, became the de facto prison cleric and so poses a recruitment risk, The Sydney Morning Herald alerts. Best Friends Forever: "Announcing a drawdown of American troops, President Obama last night maintained that the United States was not deserting Afghanistan, promising the Afghan people, 'We will continue to follow you on Twitter,'" The Borowitz Report reports. "Obama indicated that the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan would soon transition from a military one to a social networking one, with the United States promising to "Like" Afghanistan's Facebook page and share contact information on LinkedIn," Andy Borowitz writes. "In summing up America's 10-year military mission in Afghanistan, Obama said, 'We have done everything we set out to do in Afghanistan, even though we actually did it in Pakistan.' Detailing the U.S. exit strategy, he added that troops would soon be leaving Afghanistan 'by way of Libya,' and that with troops coming or going to and/or from Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, 'by 2012 the United States will be fighting only two wars — two and a half, tops.'" Source: CQ Homeland Security --------------------------------- Other CQ Roll Call Products CQ Floor Video CQ.com CQ Weekly CQ Today CQ Amendment Text CQ BillTrack CQ Budget Tracker CQ Energy & Climate CQ HealthBeat CQ Homeland Security CQ Hot Docs CQ House Action Reports CQ LawTrack CQ MoneyLine CQ StateTrack CQ Politics Roll Call See all CQ Roll Call products Rob Margetta, CQ Homeland Security Editor Arwen Bicknell, Behind the Lines Editor Published by CQ Roll Call To sign up for CQ Roll Call's free newsletters, click here. Source: CQ Homeland Security Copyright © 2011 CQ Roll Call. All rights reserved.