CQ Behind the Lines

From CQ Homeland Security

Behind the Lines for Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011 — 3 P.M. By David C. Morrison, Special to Congressional Quarterly I have here in my hand a list: DHS plan to centralize and expand in-house access to FBI suspected terrorist database prompts privacy protests . . . . Whew: "Whatever al Qaeda's threatening rhetoric and occasional nuclear fantasies, its potential as a menace has been much inflated" . . . Persistence of memory: "Even though Osama bin Laden now mercifully rots at the bottom of the sea, he continues to haunt us." These and other stories lead today's homeland security coverage. --------------------------------- "DHS's plan to centralize and expand in-house access to the FBI 's database of suspected terrorists has prompted a letter of protest from a coalition of Washington privacy organizations," Government Executive 's Charles S. Clark recounts. "If you want to know if you're in the database , you'll be out of luck," OMB Watch 's Gavin Baker adds. DHS also "wants to make greater use of anonymous tip lines to solve crimes," Peter Ross of Grand Rapids' WZZM 13 News is told. Homies: D.C. could be forced to participate in ICE's Secure Communities effort now that DHS is emphasizing the program's mandatory nature, The Washington Times ' David Hill reports — as USA Today 's Alan Gomez sees civil rights groups mulling a lawsuit to try to block this controversial take on the illegal immigrant felon deportation push. CBP "is looking to fill Border Patrol agent positions along the Southwest border," My FOX Phoenix relays — while KRGV 5 News ' Farrah Fazal offers CBP's take on the Mexican helicopter filled with armed troops that inadvertently landed in Laredo on Saturday. Feds: The DEA's Special Operations Division "represents a small part of a broader effort by [ Justice ] to confront suspected terrorists not just on the battlefield, but also in American courtrooms," Time Magazine 's Johnny Dwyer spotlights. Attorneys for California Muslims spied on by FBI informants have asked a federal court to reject A.G. Eric Holder's state-secrecy bid to dismiss their lawsuit, The Orange County Weekly 's Matt Coker mentions. Last weekend's downing of a chopper carrying 17 Navy SEALs "is unlikely to affect the strategy of special operations forces bearing an ever-increasing burden in the war on terror," Stars and Stripes ' Chris Carroll forecasts. State and local: Emergency officials in Tippecanoe, Ind., and surrounding counties are waiting to find out what federal funding cuts could mean for programs that have traditionally relied on DHS money, The Lafayette Journal and Courier recounts. Even though Cary, N.C. officials claim to have been blindsided, developers told town staff members that a new ICE office was under consideration more than a year earlier, The Cary News notes — as The Oregonian hears a land-use hearing officer ruling that ICE cannot site a detention facility in Portland's South Waterfront district. Follow the money: "North Korea's cash-strapped totalitarian regime has found a novel source of foreign currency revenue — digital weapons and wizardry acquired through illegal computer game scams ," The Financial Times tells. Kenya's tourism minister rejects as a conspiracy a U.N. report accusing him and other prominent Kenyans of funding Somalia's Al Shabaab , Voice of America mentions. The Palestinian Authority spends more than $5 million per month in "salaries" for 5,500 "terrorists" imprisoned in Israel, "payments that defy congressional rules for U.S. funding to the P.A. ," FOX News notes — while The American Thinker fears "it may come as a shock to know that through our investments , millions of Americans are unwittingly investing billions of dollars in companies that enrich regimes that sponsor terrorism." Control of Iran's crucial Oil Ministry is devolving to a commander of the Revolutionary Guard himself under international sanctions, the Los Angeles Times tells. Bugs 'n bombs: CBP officers have seized nearly 120 weapons and accessories so far this fiscal year in Michigan, most of them at Detroit entry points, The Windsor (Ont.) Star says — while The San Antonio Express-News sees CBP and ICE agents intercepting 5,000 rounds of ammo heading to Mexico . "Whatever al Qaeda's threatening rhetoric and occasional nuclear fantasies , its potential as a menace, particularly as an atomic one, has been much inflated," a CNN op-ed asserts. A leading British electronics company is to help train the Defence Forces to deal with terrorist or industrial incidents involving nuclear, chemical or biological agents, The Irish Independent informs. Border wars: The U.S.-Mexico border is safer than it ever has been , but Arizona will remain the most active region for crossing even as apprehensions keep dropping, The Cronkite News Services cites from a think-tank report . Fewer people are attempting to infiltrate, but hundreds of migrants still die every year, and not a day goes by without a rescue by border patrol agents, NPR surveys. With increased security and violent drug wars along the Mexican border, smugglers are turning to the mail and other routes to ship drugs north, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel leads. CBP commissioner Alan Bersin and Mexican public security secretary Genaro Garcia Luna will highlight the University of Texas's annual Border Security Conference next week, The El Paso Times tells. Close air support: "Even though Osama bin Laden now mercifully rots at the bottom of the sea, he continues to haunt us . Try as we might to deny him a memory, he hovers at every airport ," Esquire leads. Officials will not press charges against the man who placed an undeclared handgun in his luggage at Denver International that had to be discharged by investigating officers, The Denver Post reports — while My FOX Tampa Bay sees agencies investigating after pieces of different guns were found in a Tampa International restroom. (Forty-four states allow lawful carry of firearms in airports' common terminal and baggage claim areas, Ammoland.com recounts.) "Causing panic among passengers and the cabin crew," a passenger on an Indian domestic flight fired up a cigarette in midair and was arrested upon landing in Kolkata, The Times of India informs. The Israeli Embassy sent a security team to Cairo International to scrutinize security as El Al prepares to resume flights to Egypt, Al-Masry Al-Youm mentions. Terror tech: "It seems as though face recognition scanners are finally getting a fixture-hold as part of airport security," Singularity Hub leads, noting plans by Britain's Heathrow Airport to exploit the technology. The Air Force wants "an instant, in vivo detector for every single toxic chemical and nasty germ on the face of the earth — from smallpox to nerve agents," Danger Room reports — while another Danger Room item sees the Pentagon peddling on eBay salvaged components from prototype " remote-controlled lightning guns it had hoped would fry insurgent bombs before they killed any more troops." Speaking of terror war front lines, the Army is dispatching four robot jeeps to Afghanistan as part of a test program to see just how useful driverless cargo trucks can be hauling supplies, Defense Tech tells. "A DIY drone that costs only a few thousand dollars can be used to intercept phone calls and internet traffic," New Scientist notes. Cyberia: "Cybersecurity and cyberwar are serious matters . . . Still, that does not excuse the apocalyptic rhetoric so frequently heard in these debates," a Forbes columnist complains. "If the nation went to war today in a cyberwar, we would lose," former top spook Mike McConnell tells CNN . A DHS office will monitor websites and keywords to create a "real-time snapshot of the nation's threat environment at any moment," Death and Taxes quotes from a document . A U.S. expert warns Nigerian financial institutions "against threats of cyberterrorism which can compromise national security," The Vanguard reveals. A hacker group claimed it has "defaced and destroyed" scores of U.S. police websites in retaliation for the arrest of peers accused of hacking into the CIA and other systems , Agence France-Presse reports. The international community should join hands to deal with growing threats to computer security, China Daily hears security experts in Beijing suggesting — while Technology Review spots "evidence of a growing political motivation among hackers." Courts and rights: A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to charges related to terrorism and a January scuffle with FBI agents, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relates — while CBS News sees an AWOL soldier indicted in Waco on three federal charges in connection with a plot to bomb Fort Hood soldiers. State officials have filed court papers urging a federal judge to deny a request by those who want to block enforcement of Alabama's new immigration law, The Birmingham News notes. Responding to an Iraqi refugee's claim that the Geneva Conventions bar his prosecution in the United States for alleged terrorism offenses in Iraq, Justice retorts that he is ineligible for their protection, The Louisville Courier-Journal recounts. Over there: Britons once detained at Guantanamo say they won't cooperate with an inquiry into Britain's conduct as it pursued terrorism suspects post-9/11, unless they can question spies and other witnesses, The Associated Press reports. Amidst persistent rioting , Olympic officials insist they are confident that local authorities will be prepared for the London Games , now less than a year away, USA Today tells. "The European fight against terrorism has not only led to greater security cooperation across the bloc, but to increased citizen surveillance ," Deutsche Welle leads. The Somali jihadi-insurgent group Al Shabaab 's "strength may come from its impressive money-raising apparatus and the pressures it is able to exert on local leaders," The New Republic profiles. To protect and disserve: "Management at Heathrow Airport have taken on an extra one hundred baggage-handling staff to 'rifle through' a backlog of thousands of items of luggage that has accumulated as a result of the recent terrorist outrage at Glasgow Airport ," The Spoof spoofs. " Security services have said that there is no immediate threat to airline travelers, but British Airways have told passengers that, because of the backlog , their belongings may well arrive at their destination 'untampered with' as handlers 'just haven't had the time.' Heathrow, or Thiefrow , as it is known in the industry, is the airport pilfering capital of the world, and more than two million passengers a year claim to have had their bags interfered with . Staff there pride themselves on their skill and cunning in being able to steal anything once carefully packed baggage has been checked in . 'It's been murder," a baggage supervisor said, 'but we're hoping to "have a rummage" through all bags by the weekend, and insurance claims can be filed soon after.'" 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.