13 Aug news Roundup
Freed Italian priest names captors as Abu Sayyaf
ROME — An Italian priest freed after a 39-day kidnap ordeal in the Philippines told authorities in Rome Monday he had been abducted by the Abu Sayyaf militant group.
“The abductors were Filipinos with Arab names. There were about 10 of them, some had their faces covered. They described themselves as members of Abu Sayyaf,” Giancarlo Bossi told investigating anti-terrorist magistrates in a two-hour debriefing, according to official sources.
JI bombers sighted with Abu Sayyaf in Sulu clashes–Esperon
MANILA, Philippines — Two bomb experts of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network were reportedly sighted with Abu Sayyaf fighters during three gun battles with military forces in Sulu last week, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said Monday.
Esperon said troops were verifying reports that Dulmatin and Umar Patek, accused of masterminding the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, were with the Abu Sayyaf in encounters in Indanan town on August 7, Parang town on August 8, and again in Indanan on August 9.
Prosecutors in Padilla terror trial say he was ’star recruit’ for terrorism support cell
MIAMI – Jose Padilla was a “star recruit” for a terrorism support cell that provided Muslim extremist soldiers to fight around the globe with al-Qaeda to create fundamentalist Islamic regimes, prosecutors said Monday in closing arguments.
The arguments mark the end of a three-month federal trial in which prosecutors have tried to prove that Padilla, 36, and two others provided support to terrorists.
“They decided that this end justified any means, including murder,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Frazier told jurors. “They were disciplined, they were secretive, and they advocated violence.”
DEBKAfile CLARIFIES ITS DISCLOSURE OF AL QAEDA’S RADIOLOGICAL THREAT TO NEW YORK
At midnight Thursday, Aug. 9, DEBKAfile’s monitors of terrorist Web sites and forums connected the messages accumulating from midday. They spelled out an al Qaeda threat mentioning New York, Los Angeles and Miami as targets of attacks “by means of trucks loaded with radioactive material.” Our counter-terror sources and monitors stressed “there is no way of gauging for sure how serious these threats are, or how real.”
Monday, Aug. 13, the chatter continues.
Such disclosures are the daily content of DEBKAfile – not only about al Qaeda, but terrorist organizations in the Middle East and other parts of the world. We believe that holding back such information would be irresponsible and wrong and possibly expose people in targeted countries, most predominantly the United States and Israel, to danger. After this data is aired on our free site, our job is done and it is up to the relevant security authorities to decide how to deal with it.
In this case, the New York Police Department very properly responded.
After 24 hours, during which time the department almost certainly put its vast resources to work to research and assess the DEBKAfile disclosure, security was increased throughout Manhattan and on tunnels and bridges, with radioactivity sensors posted on vehicles, boats and helicopters.
Yemen arrests 9 suspects in terrorist attack on Spanish tourists
SAN’A, Yemen: Yemeni authorities have arrested nine citizens allegedly involved in the July terrorist attack against a convoy of Spanish tourists, a security official said Monday.
Yemen’s Interior Ministry also announced the arrests Monday, but did specify the number of people detained. The government said it used helicopters to track down the subjects in the provinces of Aden and Abyan, both several hundred kilometers south of the capital, San’a.
Terrorist database stolen in raid was encrypted, police confirm
Thieves have stolen a computer database from a company that specialises in gathering evidence from mobile phone networks to help police track suspected terrorists.
The robbers broke into the premises of Forensic Telecommunications Services (FTS) in Kent on Saturday and snatched the IT equipment, which included a server. Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command, SO15, was immediately informed of the raid.
The private company confirmed that the data stored on the server, which includes administration work and forensic case files, was encrypted. FTS emphasised that even if an attacker accessed the information it would not compromise any ongoing police investigations.
Should Business Or Government Do Our Terrorist Screening?
Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, there’s been a question of how big a role businesses such as airlines and banks should play in helping to identify terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security’s headed in the right direction in wanting to take passenger screening over from the airlines.
Late last week, the Department of Homeland Security proposed that it begin doing the screening of passenger names against the government’s terrorist watch list database. Today, DHS sends the watch list to airlines, and they do the screening. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, speaking at a press conference, suggested he wasn’t satisfied that airlines are consistent enough in how they update their lists. “If they’re slow, or if they do it once a day or more slowly than that, they’re going to be more out of date,” Chertoff said. “This gives us a much closer connection to the real-time information.”
Taleban free two S Korea hostages
The Taleban have freed two members of a group of South Korean hostages abducted in Afghanistan.
The women were brought to a meeting point pre-arranged with the Taleban and handed over to officials from the Afghan Red Crescent.
They were said to have been released partly because they were in poor health and partly as a goodwill gesture after talks with South Korean officials.
31 Abus and ‘rogue’ MNLF, 26 soldiers killed in Sulu clashes
Fierce clashes between government troops and Moro gunmen in Sulu have killed 26 soldiers and 31 Abu Sayyaf bandits and “rogue” Moro National Liberation Front fighters, the military said Friday. Officials offered conflicting statements on whether the MNLF itself was involved in the fighting.
Armed Forces public information office chief Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro said in a text message on Friday morning that since the fighting started on Tuesday, 26 soldiers from the 33rd Infantry Battalion have been killed in a series of clashes in the restive island-province.
Algeria: terrorist surrenders
Algeria: terrorist surrenders
on Sunday, August 12 @ 16:30:00 CDT
A 21-year-old terrorist surrendered to the National Gendarmerie services in the wilaya (province) of bouira (east of Algiers) on Saturday, said security sources.
The terrorist used to work in Boghni area strongholds in Tizi Ouzou (100 km east of Algiers). He joined the terrorist group in 2006.
Security forces have carried out large-scale military operations in several areas in Algeria that led to kill many terrorists. Some of them were prominent terrorist leaders.
US embassy alert: Terrorist threat lingers in Mindanao
The United States government warned its citizens over the weekend against a continuing terrorist threat in Central Mindanao, particularly in Cotabato City.
In a warden notice dated Sunday (US time), the US Embassy said the threats may affect public places like bus terminals and shopping malls.
“As of mid-August there is a continuing terrorist threat in central Mindanao to include Cotabato City. The threat could affect such public places as bus terminals and shopping malls. US citizens should exercise extreme caution in central Mindanao,” it said in its advisory
Security forces surround suspected terrorist group in northern Algeria
Algerian security forces have surrounded a suspected group of terrorists belonging to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, known since 2006 as the ” Al Qaeda organization in Islamic North Africa,” Algerian media reported on Monday.
They carried out the action in a thick forest to the south of Tizi Ouzou town in the northern part of the country, said a report by Algerian independent daily “El Watan.”
30 Suspects Detained in Raids Targeting Al-Qaeda and Bombing Networks
Coalition Forces detained 30 suspected terrorists during operations around Iraq Sunday targeting bombing networks and senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Coalition Forces raided a series of buildings north of Karmah targeting terrorist operatives working for the al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of the area. The emir’s network is responsible for car bombings, including attacks using chlorine. Ground forces detained 17 suspected terrorists for their alleged ties to the network.
UK terror plot: Sabeel’s custody ends
London, Aug 13: The more than 40 days incarceration of Dr Sabeel Ahmed, arrested near Liverpool’s Lime Street station on 30 June in connection with the failed UK terror plot, ends on Monday.
Sabeel, a doctor from Bangalore, was charged under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 for having information which he “knew or believed may be of material assistance in preventing the commission by another of an act of terrorism”.
His brother Kafeel Ahmed, who died of major burn injuries, was identified by police as the driver of the explosive-laden jeep that was rammed into the Glasgow airport on June 30.
Man remanded on terrorism charge
A man accused of withholding information which could have prevented an act of terrorism has been remanded in custody until next month. Dr Sabeel Ahmed, 26, of Liverpool, appeared at the City of Westminster Magistrates Court to face the charge under the Terrorism Act 2000. His brother, Kafeel Ahmed, was the driver of a jeep which crashed into Glasgow Airport on 30 June.
Navy sinks LTTE boat killing three
Last night (12), Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) successfully outwits an LTTE attempt to crossover their stranded cardres to Wanni area from their hideouts in the jungles of North of Trincomalee.
According to the Security sources, the SLN’s Fast Attack Craft (FAC) patrolling in the Eastern seas last night around 10.30 has observed two clusters of Sea Tiger boats moving towards Pulmoddai area.
Anti-terror system is up to five years late
A mission-critical IT project to replace hard copy intelligence on threats to UK security with a secure network that links government offices in the UK and overseas is due for completion in 2009 – five years later than originally planned.
The web-based “Scope” system is designed to link the main producers and consumers of government intelligence: central departments, agencies and the intelligence services.
It was scheduled to be in place by 2004. But Computer Weekly has learned that the project, which is managed by the Cabinet Office and is funded in part by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, is due to be phased in over the next two years.
10 Taliban, 4 police killed in fresh Afghan fighting
Four policemen and 10 Taliban were killed in a fresh battle in Afghanistan on Friday as a rights group said the civilian death toll from a coalition strike this week was more than double the official estimate.
In the latest violence, militants attacked a police vehicle in Ghazni province, provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Sarjang said.
“This attack sparked a police operation. After a one-hour exchange of fire, and the arrival of reinforcements, at least 10 Taliban where killed,” he said.
Military dogs help fight Iraq war
When he came to, the US Marine’s arm hung lamely. It was broken by ball bearings hurled so hard from a suicide bomb that they also became embedded in his gun. Yet Brendan Poelaert’s thoughts quickly turned to his patrol dog.
The powerful Belgian Malinois named Flapoor had served him as partner and protector for the past four months in Iraq. Now, the dog staggered a few steps along the Ramadi street, then stared blankly. Blood poured from his chest.
“I didn’t care about my injuries, my arm,” his handler says. “I’m telling the medic, `I got to get my dog to the vet!’”
US Military Begins Major Offensive Across Iraq
The U.S. military began a major offensive across Iraq Monday, to crack down on extremist militants.
A military statement says Operation Phantom Strike “consists of simultaneous operations throughout Iraq focused on pursuing…al-Qaida terrorists and Iranian-supported” extremists.
Earlier, officials said coalition forces had killed several militants and captured 13 alleged Iranian-linked arms smugglers in a pre-dawn raid Sunday on Baghdad’s Shi’ite Sadr City district.
When a US soldier in Iraq won’t soldier
WÜRZBURG, GERMANY – No one looked comfortable at the sentencing hearing. Not family and friends who packed the US military courtroom’s straight-backed benches. Not the rookie Army prosecutor in stiff dress greens who flushed with every “Your Honor.” Not Judge R. Peter Masterton, whose usually animated face was now grave.
And not the convicted deserter – Army medic Agustín Aguayo – on the stand in a US military court in central Germany last March, pleading for understanding.
“I’m sorry for the trouble my conscience has caused my unit,” Private 1st Class Aguayo said, his voice thick with emotion. “I tried to obey the rules, but in the end [the problem] was at the very core of my being.”
Missing memoirs fuel spy death mystery
Detectives investigating the mysterious death in London of an Egyptian billionaire who had been accused of being an Israeli secret agent are examining claims that an explosive account of his life disappeared from his flat on the day that he died.
The Times has learnt that the only known copy of a book written by Ashraf Marwan vanished when he fell four floors to his death from his apartment in St James’s Park.
Exodus of officers hits war on terror
The use of a key weapon in fighting the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, as well as Islamic terrorists, has been undermined by more than 100 officers being lured into highly paid private security jobs or becoming disillusioned at the way intelligence is handled, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
Senior officers are also deeply concerned that the fall in numbers has resulted in people being posted to jobs above their rank, for which they do not have the experience or training.
29 dead in Afghanistan fighting
Kabul, Aug 12: A wave of Taliban attacks across Afghanistan killed 29 people, including four international soldiers and nearly two dozen militants, military officials said today.
The violence came after a week of intense fighting as the Taliban’s al-Qaeda-backed insurgency, launched nearly six years ago, intensified into the summer.
Three soldiers with the us-led coalition and their Afghan interpreter were killed near the border with Pakistan, when they were hit by a bomb during combat, the force said in a statement.
Abu Sayyaf Step up Fighting, Ambush Philippine Troops, Killing Nine
Suspected al-Qaida-linked militants ambushed a truckload of troops going to market Thursday, killing nine and wounding two others on the volatile southern island of Jolo, the Philippine military said.
Spy agencies in linguistic Catch 22
Australia’s intelligence agencies are caught in a Catch 22 as they try to recruit staff with needed language skills.
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to give security clearances to some potential recruits because of the country where they learnt their language.
The problem was revealed in a report of the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security into the administration of Australia’s six intelligence and security agencies.
Lawyers urge Harper to bring terror suspect home
After five years in detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Omar Khadr has drawn the support of Canada’s lawyers, who wrote a letter Sunday to Prime Minister Stephen Harper demanding that he lobby the Bush administration to bring the Canadian-born terror suspect home.
“Khadr should be released into the custody of Canadian law enforcement officials to face due process under Canadian law,” Parker MacCarthy, president of the Canadian Bar Association, wrote in a letter Sunday to Harper and copied to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.
25 missing after Kashmir ammunition depot fire
The fire is now under control, Lieutenant-General H.S. Panag, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, told a news conference here.
“At this juncture the last explosion took place today morning at 10:20 a.m. So, it will take us another 48 hours before we venture out into the explosive areas per se,” said Lt. Gen. Panag.
Massive explosions triggered by the fire sent shells and shrapnel ripping through dozens of nearby villages. Thousands of villagers have since been moved to safety, as bomb disposal teams head to the area.
In intelligence work, foreign spies are kept under cover
TORONTO — The RCMP yesterday admitted for the first time that it worked with the CIA during the Maher Arar affair. Suggestions of CIA involvement have been public since the Ottawa engineer provided convincing evidence he was flown to the Middle East on a CIA Gulfstream jet after his arrest in a U.S. airport, but yesterday was the first occasion there has been official confirmation to support his accusations.
Ottawa officials had insisted on keeping a lid on the fact that Canada was working with the Central Intelligence Agency on the case, arguing such confirmation would work against national security. There was no such compunction over citing assistance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but the government decided the CIA, a clandestine spy organization, deserved greater protection because of its different rules of engagement.
Intelligence agencies see a method in Qaeda madness
MUMBAI: Intelligence and security agencies are trying to establish a pattern which links the latest Al Qaeda video and possible infiltration by a section of West Asia-based terrorists into important Indian cities.
A recent intelligence assessment warned of a strong likelihood of Yemen-based terrorists infiltrating into Mumbai and Delhi.
Taliban Releases Two South Korean Women Hostages
Officials in Seoul say Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have freed two South Korean women hostages and that they have been handed over to the Red Crescent.
Reuters witnesses said the two women arrived in the village of Arzoo, near the city of Ghazni, in a saloon car driven by two tribal elders.
“We saw them getting into a Red Crescent vehicle,” one of the witnesses said.
“They were able to walk and appeared to be well, but they were very emotional and were crying.”
My eight-day marriage to a 7/7 suicide bomber
The former wife of a 7/7 suicide bomber has spoken for the first time about their abortive eight-day marriage. Muslim convert Aoife Nadiyah Molloy, 29, met Jermaine Lindsay through a dating service and agreed to marry him after several telephone conversations. She was shocked when she met him and his first words were: “Have you got any major character flaws?” “I couldn’t believe it,” she told the Sun. “It’s not the first thing you expect your husband-to-be to say to you.
Terror videos flood Internet
WASHINGTON – The video has all the bells and whistles of a Nintendo game: Three times, a small white subcompact rams a vehicle with American flags, igniting a fireball that rips the cars to pieces in a simulation of the March 2006 suicide attack that killed American diplomat David Foy in Karachi, Pakistan.
The latest al-Qaida offering in the war of ideas — complete with warnings that U.S. embassies are prime targets, the bomber’s testimonial and footage of past carnage — had been promoted for days before its Aug. 6 release with the Internet teaser: “Coming soon … the big surprise.”
Islamist attempts suicide attack in Morocco-sources
RABAT, Aug 13 (Reuters) – A suspected radical Islamist attempted to blow up himself by a bus carrying tourists in the Moroccan city of Meknes on Monday but he exploded a gas cylinder he was carrying before reaching the bus, police sources said.
“The gas cylinder exploded some metres from the bus and badly injured the attacker,” said one police source.
JTIC briefing – Justifying jihad
The latest Al-Qaeda video provides a detailed justification for both suicide bombings and attacks on diplomatic targets. These insights into jihadist ‘logic’ should be noted by counter-terrorist practitioners and policymakers as they debate the best ways to counter radicalisation.
One policy currently being criticised is the UK’s outlawing of anything deemed to incite terrorism. With modern communications it is impossible to silence the extremists, but the policy makes it impossible for extremists to be challenged in open debate. While the legislation may be useful for imprisoning jihadist cheerleaders, some say it is also helping to create more of them.
Afghan cadet selected for Air Force pilot training
KABUL AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) — An Afghan translator soon will attend Air Force pilot training in the United States as part of the service’s Aviation Leadership Program, becoming the first such trained pilot in the Afghan National Army Air Corps.
Cadet Faiz Mohd Ramaki said he is the luckiest person in Afghanistan because of the opportunity to attend pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.
Two bombs wound 7 in insurgency-hit southwestern Pakistan province, police say
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) – Two bombs exploded in separate towns in Pakistan’s insurgency-wracked southwestern Baluchistan province Sunday, wounding a total of seven people, police said.
One bomb, hidden in a plastic shopping bag, went off at a traffic intersection in Baluchistan’s capital, Quetta, wounding two policemen and two passers-by, said Rehmatullah Khan Niazi, a senior Quetta police officer.
No other damage was reported and there was no word on how seriously the four people were hurt.
Earlier, another bomb in the industrial town of Hub, about 600 kilometers (260 miles) south of Quetta, wounded three people, police officer Abdullah Jan said.
Civilian surgeons treat war wounded at Afghan base
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — They are the battered and broken. Afghanistan’s war wounded arrive at the Canadian Forces trauma hospital on the Kandahar base on a daily basis.
Capt. Helen Wright, a family doctor for the military when at home in Calgary, says this is a different kind of practice.
“I have seen far more acute traumas in the six months,” she says, “than certainly I have seen in my entire training and likely more than I will ever see in my time back in North America.”
Troops, Abu Sayyaf face off in Basilan
Hostilities were just a hair-trigger away in Basilan Monday, where government troops and Abu Sayyaf extremists stood within hailing distance of one another.
In Sulu, the military has brought in equipment with night-fighting capability, raising speculations that specially trained troops would strike at Abu Sayyaf positions under cover of darkness, a source told The Manila Times.
Delhi cop injured in Jammu encounter
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Sub-Inspector Devender Kumar sustained bullet injuries on his right leg in an exchange of fire with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants in Jammu, in which Asif alias Kari, alleged divisional commander of the militant outfit in the Jammu region, was killed on Friday night.
The operation was carried out jointly by the Special Cell of the Delhi police with the Special Operation Group of the Jammu and Kashmir police. Asif was the alleged mastermind behind the Ram Janam Bhoomi attack in Ayodhya on July 7, 2005, and other terrorist activities in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, the police said here on Saturday.
Uganda: Police Officers Get Anti-Terrorism Training
A TOTAL of 25 Police officers have completed an anti-terrorism course ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit. The training, to enhance security, was facilitated by the Scotland Yard Police and the Institute for Security Studies (South Africa).
The one-month training, which started on July 16, was spearheaded by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, which was launched in 2006 to fight against terrorism.
Police rate youth gangs London’s biggest problem after terrorism
LONDON: Scotland Yard has just completed the task of counting how many street gangs there are in London. The results are staggering: there are more than 170, some of them up to 100-strong. On any given night, several thousand gang members are roaming the capital, many of them thirsting for violence. In other British cities, notably Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Birmingham, there is a similar picture.
Detective Chief Superintendent Barry Norman, the head of Scotland Yard’s Violent Crime Directorate, says nothing in his 28 years in the service prepared him for tackling gang warfare.
Jamming systems play secret role in Iraq
A silent, invisible battle is being fought against roadside bombs in Iraq. Though the military doesn’t like to advertise their use, electronic jamming systems are playing a key role in neutralizing the threat. “Any weapon we had against IEDs, [Improvised Explosive Devices] was utilized including jamming technology,” said Jason Spencer, 29, an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, engineer who served with the Army in Iraq in 2005.
Vehicle mounted electronic jammers attempt to block a signal going to a radio-controlled IED. The military also uses portable backpack jammers.
“The sophistication of IEDs definitely increased during my time in Iraq,” said Spencer. “There was a definite increase in remote detonation.”
MI5 “vets” Ministers and Members of Parliament
Ministers and MPs are not subject to vetting. An incoming Prime Minister will only be told of any information we hold on a potential member of the new Cabinet if that information is both serious in the context of national security and it appears likely that the individual concerned will need access to sensitive information. This has been public knowledge since 1973, when it was referred to in the Report of the Security Commission on the Jellicoe-Lambton affair. In its 1997/98 report the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) referred to the fact that since 1992 the Leader of the Opposition has also been informed of any serious security issue concerning a possible member of the Shadow Cabinet. The numbers involved are very small indeed.
David Shayler’s former partner comments
- see mi5 comments above
We were young and keen to help protect our country. I noticed David immediately, as he was very bright, and always asked the difficult questions.
Over a period of a year we became friends, and then we fell in love.
In the run-up to the 1992 General Election we were involved in assessing any parliamentary candidate and potential MP.
This meant that they all had their names cross-referenced with MI5’s database.
If any candidates had a file, this was reviewed. We saw files on most of the top politicians of the past decade, from Tony Blair down, something that gave us concerns.
German Taliban hostage claims ill health
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan—A German held hostage in Afghanistan said in a telephone conversation orchestrated by his captors Monday that he was in ill health and the Taliban had threatened him with death.
The man identified himself as Rudolf Blechschmidt and asked that the message be delivered to the German embassy and to his son, Markus. He spoke stiffly and with frequent pauses, as though reading from prepared remarks.
In recent weeks, the Taliban have offered media interviews with foreign hostages they are holding, apparently hoping to appeal to public sentiment and thereby pressure the Afghan and U.S. governments to release Taliban prisoners. In such cases, the hostage comments and message are controlled by the captors and the statements are made in that context.
Online video by Russian nationalists shows apparent execution of 2 nonwhite men
MOSCOW: Russian prosecutors said Monday they were investigating a video posted on several ultranationalist Web sites that appears to show the brutal execution of two men from Central Asia and the Caucasus — and the beheading of one of them.
The video, which was posted on the Web site of a Russian organization calling itself National Socialism/White Power along with other more common Web sites, shows two men kneeling on the ground with their arms and legs tied up.
U.S. Working with Iraqi Tribes to Fight Insurgency
Engaging with Iraqi tribal leaders is paying off for the U.S. military. That’s what Marine Colonel Richard Simcock in Fallujah says.
The Iraqi government sees it differently. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is a Shiite, fears Sunni tribes will rise up. He’s reluctant to enlist tribal help in fighting insurgents.
Simcock says there’s no reason to fear the U.S. relationship with the tribal sheikhs. As long as officials in Baghdad continue to engage with the various provinces, he says they’re going to see nothing but success.
Rethinking Thailand’s military strategy
In his most incisive public remarks since Thailand’s bloodless coup, Thai Army Commander-in-Chief Sonthi Boonyaratkalin in June criticized security forces for their inefficiency, unprofessionalism and uncreative mindset that helped fan the flames of Thailand’s southern insurgency. As more than 2,000 have died and the insurgency rages on into its fourth year, Bangkok’s military strategy has been an unmitigated disaster, leaving the military fending off accusations of human rights abuses and engaging in mass arrests that produce little intelligence from tight-lipped insurgents.
NSA develops cross-domain for the masses
Government-developed technology for accessing and sharing data across classification levels could soon spread to many users as agencies adopt systems based on the National Security Agency’s NetTop architecture, intelligence information technology sources said. By the end of this year, federal technologists and information security policy leaders likely will approve NetTop systems for a broad array of uses in the law enforcement, military and homeland security worlds, sources said.
Army Bombs Out Fatah al-Islam Bunkers
Lebanese Army helicopter gunships pounded Fatah al-Islam bunkers in the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared for the second straight day Friday paving the way for infantrymen to engage terrorists in face-to-face combat.
Witnesses said two gun ships dropped one bomb each at Fatah al-Islam bunkers as commando units opened up with automatic rifles and began a cautious slow-but-steady advance across the rubble to root out terrorists entrenched in underground bunkers since May 20.
General in Tillman Case Wants to Speak
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The retired general being considered for demotion after the friendly fire death of former pro football player Pat Tillman wants to defend himself before an Army board, his lawyer said.
Retired Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr. was censured for “a failure of leadership” and accused of lying to investigators, and an Army board set to meet in the coming weeks will determine if he should be demoted. Kensinger, a three-star general, was in charge of the Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg when Tillman was killed three years ago.
