CQ Behind the Lines

From CQ Homeland Security

Behind the Lines for Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011 — 3 P.M. By David C. Morrison, Special to Congressional Quarterly Whoops: More than 10 percent of TSA identification badges have omissions and inaccuracies that could undermine airport security . . . Maul of America: Terror threats make "huge behind-the-scenes changes to one of the most treasured American experiences: going to the mall" . . . How's that again: "DHS and its CBP seem oblivious to security vulnerability to our ports posed by containers leaving the United States." These and other stories lead today's homeland security coverage. --------------------------------- More than 10 percent of TSA identification badges have omissions and inaccuracies, ranging from wrong birthdates to incorrect assessments of security threats, that could undermine airport security, iWatch News ' Alexandra Duszak has an I.G. audit finding. With suspects having been charged in at least three terror plots since 9/11, threats against malls "have made huge behind-the-scenes changes to one of the most treasured American experiences: going to the mall," The Associated Press ' Tamara Lush spotlights. Feds: Fearing a 2012 " October surprise ," House homelander Pete King wants DoD and CIA inspectors general to probe White House cooperation with filmmakers shooting a movie about the Navy SEAL-Osama bin Laden coup, The New York Times ' Scott Shane relates. Is the CIA "monitoring the activities of the American people , either as part of the war on drugs or the war on terrorism," MCW News ' Jacob G. Hornberger poses. "Changing the U.S. strategy for fighting terrorism in a post-Osama bin Laden world will be key to finding a way to reduce defense spending ," The Washington Post 's Walter Pincus leads. The See Something, Say Something Act of 2011 would better be termed the "See a Minority, Report a Terrorist Act," Kirti Kamboj carps in Hyphen Magazine . No donuts for them: "The deaths of more than 20 Navy SEALs from the unit that took out Osama bin Laden may be linked to a loose-lipped vice president ," the ever-intemperate Investor's Business Daily inveighs. "Should terrorism suspects have the same civil liberties as non-terrorism suspects? Eric Holder Jr. doesn't think so," Gabrielle Pickard prods for Top Secret Writers . New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie , defending his appointment of a Muslim jurist , "ought to understand, Sharia concerns can't be dismissed as 'crap,'" The National Review 's Andrew McCarthy assails. "Is Janet Napolitano lying to the American people? In my opinion, yes she is," Michael LeMieux maintains in a NewsWithViews objection to her views on profiling Muslims. State and local: DHS would like to use the collaboration between Bossier City's Cyber Innovation Center and area schools as a model for the rest of the nation, The Shreveport (La.) Times hears Napolitano saying . A former San Ysidro checkpoint customs inspector has been made ICE special agent in charge of investigations in San Diego, The North County Times tells. Indiana's DHS and the Survey Research Center at Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis are gauging Hoosiers' disaster readiness with a brief online survey, The Jeffersonville News and Tribune tells. Ivory (Watch) Towers: DHS has tapped Purdue University to develop a planning guide for regional centers providing critical services during natural disasters or terrorist attacks in and around Chicago, Valpolife.com relatedly relates. A statistical model of general aviation airport ops crafted by University of Arkansas engineering boffins could unveil unusual activity suggesting a security threat, United Press International informs. The Cyberterrorism Defense Initiative sited in the Criminal Justice Institute at that same school is now accepting registrations for DHS-certified cyberterror training, The Middletown Transcript tells. Undergrads "who want to expand their career opportunities now have a new online option. The homeland security minor is Penn State 's first online minor," R&D Mag relays. Bugs 'n bombs: Researchers at Syracuse University have received a $1 million grant to develop means to recycle used nuclear fuel while minimizing proliferation and terror risks, The Post-Standard reports. DHS and Minnesota state responders turned out yesterday for a disaster response drill at the Monticello nuclear plant , The Minneapolis Star Tribune tells — while KUAM News spots Guam's homeland security shop hosting a Counter Improvised Explosive Device course all this week.The USDA has proposed a rule for tracking cattle, poultry and other farm animals to pinpoint the origin of infectious diseases, The Wall Street Journal relates. A "key vulnerability" in terror-proofing chemical plants "has been the hiring of contractors who are less than thorough in screening their employees," The Examiner advises. 9/11 Now: At least 10,000 responders and civilians exposed to the World Trade Center attacks have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder ,The New York Times leads. The Gotham solons behind a law guaranteeing health coverage for Ground Zero first responders want federal regulators to quickly form a panel to determine what benefits should be included, The Hill recounts.A retired naval officer honored for valor during the Pentagon's 9/11 ordeal is being tried for a third time for allegedly exaggerating his injuries for victim compensation bucks, AP reports. Millions nationwide plan to take part in the National Day of Service and Remembrance on the 9/11 tenth anniversary, USA Today spotlights — while The Denver Post sees steel from the Twin Towers going into two new 9/11 memorials there, and The Chicago Tribune finds the Field Museum , as well, displaying a Ground Zero I-beam in a 9/11 exhibit. Close air support: A Dutch man accused of funneling arms to Iran was arrested boarding a flight home at Newark Liberty International , the Star-Ledger relates — as KSAZ 10 News sees an African refugee claiming she was testing airport security when caught trying to sneak a fake bomb past Phoenix TSA agents , and 92.3 KTAR News reports a US Airways flight getting a brisk reception, also at Phoenix Sky Harbor , after a threatening note was found onboard. As of this week, airline pilots are transiting O'Hare International checkpoints without being scanned under a new program intended to speed up checkpoint queues, The Chicago Tribune updates. This fall, similarly, TSA's John Pistole "is going to try to introduce just the slightest bit of intelligence and flexibility into his agency's system," a Wall Street Journal op-ed observes. Coming and going: While a recent I.G. report "criticizes DHS's oversight of rail security spending, the more important issue is that our rail and mass transportation systems continue to remain vulnerable ," Security Debrief leads. Thanks to "a hefty $6 million DHS grant," 358 of San Francisco's Muni buses are getting wireless security cameras and an upgraded computer network, The SFist informs. "DHS and its CBP seem oblivious to security vulnerability to our ports posed by containers leaving the United States," an essay in The Maritime Executive argues. Courts and rights: A federal judge in Detroit will allow federal prosecutors to withhold certain classified info from the so-called underwear bomber , The Detroit Free Press reports. A Philly man charged with posting an anti-Semitic threat against Sen. Joe Lieberman , I-Conn., will have his computer use monitored while out on $50,000 bail, the Daily News notes. Ex-Pentagonian Donald Rumsfeld may be held personally responsible for the alleged torture of two citizens held without charge in Iraq, The Christian Science Monitor hears a federal appeals court ruling . Over there: The Taliban believed to have downed a Navy SEALS chopper has been killed in an airstrike, the Los Angeles Times belatedly learns. The Somali famine has exacerbated divisions within the Islamist Al Shabaab , whose more pragmatic leaders want to allow Western food aid into the areas they control, The Christian Science Monitor spotlights — while RTTNews hears the Somali government offering an amnesty deal to al Shabaab fighters who withdrew from Mogadishu over the weekend. The East Turkestan Islamic Movemen t, blamed by China for recent violence in its Muslim northwest, has yet to be added to State's Foreign Terrorist Organizations list, The Voice of America mentions. Over here: "Since 9/11 there have been approximately 150,000 violent deaths in the United States, a figure which is all the more shocking for the fact that it is somehow considered normal in an ostensibly peaceful society," a Salon essay asserts. Ann Arbor (Mich.) police are investigating a Muslim woman's claim that a motorist called her a terrorist and held up a handgun because she was wearing a headscarf, The Detroit News records. The "overwhelming emphasis" in the White House's domestic terror response plan "is on community outreach as an inoculation against extremism. That case has not been made," the Los Angeles Times editorializes — as The New York Daily News ' editors lead: "In the real world, the threat of homegrown radical Islamist terrorism is serious. And in the real world, the vast majority of U.S. Muslims have no desire to hijack American democracy." Holy Wars: "If there are more than a billion Muslims in the world, many of whom supposedly hate the West and desire martyrdom, why don't we see terrorist attacks everywhere, every day?" Mother Jones ' hears Charles Kurzman questioning. The media has "carefully played down the fact that the confessed terrorist, Anders Behring Breivik , was . . . a violent pro-Israeli lunatic lashing out at a government—that of Norway's Labor Party —he perceived to be hostile to Israel," the American Free Press maintains. "Having given birth to the Protestant Reformation and the current pope , Germany is now at the fore of a broad effort to foster a European theological tradition for a relative newcomer: Islam," The Wall Street Journal leads. The London riots are "another face of terrorism," an Onislam.net argues. Smile though your heart is aching: "The makers of Laffy Taffy , a chewy fruit-flavored candy known for the lighthearted jokes printed on each wrapper, announced Tuesday they would pay tribute to the victims of 9/11 by sponsoring every single cobblestone at the World Trade Center memorial ," The Onion reports. "'No one can ever forget the events of that tragic day , and Laffy Taffy is proud to honor the families of our fallen heroes ,' a company spokesperson said at a press conference held near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan . 'When we chisel the words "Laffy Taffy" into each eternal stone on this sacred ground , we will show the citizens of our great, enduring nation that despite any calamity, they can always count on Laffy Taffy.' Company sources also confirmed that victims of the famine in Somalia had received more than 10,000 pounds of Laffy Taffy." 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