CQ Behind the Lines

From CQ Homeland Security

Behind the Lines for Thursday, March 24, 2011 — 3 P.M. By David C. Morrison, Special to Congressional Quarterly Reactor containment: "Iran, Sudan, Syria, and other countries that the United States has named state sponsors of terrorism have received millions of dollars in U.N. nuclear technology aid" . . . New Model Army: FAA "feels model airplanes are a threat to national security and is proposing more restrictive laws" . . . Tour de force: Bomb threat to Parisian icon forces evacuation of Eiffel Tower. These and other stories lead today's homeland security coverage. --------------------------------- The FAA "now feels model airplanes are a threat to national security and is proposing more restrictive laws to regulate the hobby that got thousands of kids interested in aviation," an irate enthusiast complains to The Portsmouth (N.H.) Herald's Charles McMahon. An errant sex toy sparked a terror drill in Russia last week, when a bomb squad was summoned to a post office in Petrozavodsk to defuse a "suspicious package" containing a buzzing vibrator, AOL News' Ben Muessig mentions. Feds: "Iran, Sudan, Syria, and other countries that the United States has named state sponsors of terrorism have received millions of dollars in U.N. nuclear technology aid — and Hillary Clinton won't stop the flow of cash," Laurel Adams leads in The Daily Beast. The U.S. Central Command "is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites by using fake online personas to influence Internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda," The Guardian's Jeff Jarvis reveals. Former Michigan governor James Blanchard's Washington-based DLA Piper firm hired Adm. James Loy, ex-DHS deputy, to lobby for Windsor International's bid to become a local air cargo hub, The Windsor (Ont.) Star's Dave Battagello relates. Borderline personalities: "From October 2008 through August 2010, according to ICE, 56,358 people have been deported or at least identified for deportation under Secure Communities," The Providence Journal's Gregory Smith asides in a feature on the controversial ICE effort. DHS has no reliable way to accurately estimate how many illegal aliens cross U.S. borders between ports of entry, Security Management's Matthew Harwood hears the RAND Corp. concluding. "The closer we get to 100 percent inspection, the more solid our barrier against terrorism will be, which is really our No. 1 priority," CBP's El Paso field operations chief assures Alejandro Martinez-Cabrera in an El Paso Inc. Q&A interview. State and local: By June 1, Virginia's governor has directed, state agencies must begin checking new hires' eligibility via DHS's E-Verify, a date 18 months earlier than mandated by law, The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports — while Kalamazoo's WKZO AM 590 hears a state solon urging that Michigan avail itself of DHS's free E-Verify Self Check program. "Cedar Springs [Mich.] has a new warning siren as of Tuesday, after receiving a grant from homeland security to replace the old one," Grand Rapids' WOOD 8 News leads — while The Fredericksburg (Va.) Free Lance-Star sees Caroline County first responders accepting $19,228 from DHS for tech upgrades to their Emergency Operations Center. Maine's new driver's license will be much more difficult to forge, counterfeit or cannibalize, Bangor's WLBZ 2 News hears a state official pledging. Hot Zone: The Emergency Response Coordinator for the McHenry (Ill.) County Health Department is getting further training this week on preparing for a radiation emergency, The Crystal Lake Patch relates. In the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis, several medical associations have banded together to discourage Americans from "needlessly purchasing or hoarding potassium iodide" absent a clear risk for exposure to radiation, Endocrine Today tells — while The Anchorage Daily News bemoans the fact that Alaska's potential supply of the radiation-blocking drug is stashed "somewhere in the Lower 48." A University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine team has discovered that resveratrol, the natural antioxidant found in red wine, can protect cells from the damage caused by radiation, The Daily Telegraph leads. The Wall Street Journal, meantime, takes "a look at how scientists quantify radiation and analyze the risks to people." Ivory (Watch) Towers: An Indiana University law prof testified that "airport body scanners are ineffective and potentially counterproductive in the fight against terrorism," Indianapolis's WRTV 6 News kvells."A self-confessed terrorist-turned-Christian who formerly worked for militant Islamic groups such as the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Muslim Brotherhood" will speak at Grand Valley State University next week, The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reports. Several of the Muslim Student Association's leaders "have been convicted of terrorism, prompting some terror experts to call the MSA a recruiting tool for jihad," CBN News denounces. The Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School is one of more than a hundred U.S. charter schools being probed by the FBI to see if employees are kicking back money to a moderate Muslim movement based in Turkey, The Centre Daily Times tells. Some 60 local high school students yesterday visited Utica College for a Cybersecurity Career Day, The Utica (N.Y.) Observer-Dispatch briefs. Close air support: Alaska is evaluating whether a compromise can be reached with DHS over airport pat-downs that many passengers consider intrusive, its A.G. tells The Associated Press — while Computerworld explores: "What happens if and when DHS steps up its power to strip search passengers?" TSA, meantime, is soliciting comments about a plan to switch from such invasive screening to an intelligence-based system focusing on flyers identified as threatening, AOL Travel tells. An air-travel security bill that critics initially slammed as an infringement on passenger privacy and a surrendering of Canadian authority to DHS has passed a third reading in Canada's Senate, The Vancouver Sun says. A top Indian golfer's Sikh coach was once again ("rudely") ordered by Milan airport screeners to remove his turban, The Times of India informs. Waterworld: "By foot, car, plane, ship or rail, travelers are concerned that their method of transportation may be a target for terrorists," Gadling spotlights — and see The Bradenton (Fla.) Herald on the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010. Potential congressional cuts to port funding endeavors such as the Port Security Grant Program could potentially hinder the installation of TWIC readers at facilities, Security Director News is told. ("The federal policy is clear: High speed rail and highway spending will trump anything contemplated on the docks," The Maritime Professional blogs.) "Robert Wells knows port security. Now he's off to share that knowledge with the Iraqis," The Longmont (Colo.) Times-Call leads. The driver of a Coast Guard vessel involved in a collision that left a child dead on San Diego Bay was acquitted Tuesday of involuntary manslaughter, the Union-Tribune tells. Courts and rights: Attorneys for Mohamed Mohamud, accused of plotting to bomb a Portland holiday festival, have filed court documents that suggest they may explore whether the FBI entrapped their young client, Oregon Public Broadcasting relates. An Arizona judge has ordered the suspect in Tucson's shooting rampage to undergo a mental evaluation, ASAP, at a specialized facility in Missouri, USA Today tells. "Transforming Guantanamo into an international prison for terrorists would require finding a broadly acceptable definition for the role of detention in modern counterterrorism efforts," Marisa L. Porges maintains in a Windsor (Ont.) Star (again) op-ed. Over there: Paris police evacuated the Eiffel Tower yesterday after receiving a bomb threat to the French capital's tallest structure, Bloomberg reports. The Russian government promises massive security and the Russian army has pledged to supply S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missiles to terror-proof the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, OnTheSnow.com updates. Although President Obama wants Libya's Muammar Qaddafi out and he pushed hard for Egypt's Hosni Mubarak to exit, Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh is seen as key to confronting al-Qaeda-on-the-Arabian-Peninsula, The Christian Science Monitor maintains. State has designated two members of the Basque separatist group ETA as terrorists, banning Americans from doing business with them, AP reports. Over here: Two Tennessee state solons have redrafted their anti-Sharia bill, "an overhaul that they say will combat homegrown terrorism without targeting peaceful religious practices," The Tennessean tells. "The Muslim Brotherhood, with the complicity of the Obama administration, has infiltrated the U.S. government at the highest levels and is influencing American policy that leaves the world's Christians in grave danger," Newsmax quotes evangelist Franklin Graham. An imam from an upstate mosque claims the New York Post defamed him in an article headlined "Converts to Terror," Courthouse News Service leads. Holy Wars: "Muslims can feel under siege and on the defensive. There is rarely a collective sigh of relief when terror plots are uncovered on our soil," a Daily Times op-ed observes. "An Egyptian cleric who is widely seen as one of the world's leading Islamist scholars — and, at times, a polarizing figure — two years ago called for Muslim nations to acquire nuclear weapons," Global Security Newswire relates. "A radical Muslim preacher who has likened Jews to pigs, denounced Christians and urged children to die for their religion is teaching Islam to young followers in Sydney after years in exile in the Middle East," The Brisbane Courier Mail mentions. "Osama bin Laden once gassed his son's puppies . . . Omar bin Laden apparently begged his father to spare the rest of the litter. His pleas were ignored," a book review in The Daily Telegraph leads. The pause that refuses: "Following the recent earthquake and tsunami that tragically took the lives of an estimated 20,000 Japanese citizens, the planet Earth was afforded a good 15 minutes during which its inhabitants behaved like actual human beings," The Onion hears observers reporting. "In the quarter-hour that followed news of the massive natural disaster obliterating entire towns and killing or injuring thousands of innocent men, women, and children, social scientists around the globe reported rare — and in many cases unprecedented — occurrences of individuals feeling genuine empathy for their fellow humans, recognizing the evanescence of life, and experiencing a deep sense of awe and humility toward the overwhelming power of nature. After the 900 seconds had passed, however, this behavior reportedly ceased." See, also in the Onion: "Senator Baucus Shows Rest Of Congress Where He Found The Dead Body." 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