HomelandSecurityLeader.com

From IHT.com, by Scott Shane
In a makeshift prison in the north of Poland, Al Qaeda’s engineer of mass murder faced off against his Central Intelligence Agency interrogator. It was 18 months after the 9/11 attacks, and the invasion of Iraq was giving Muslim extremists new motives for havoc. If anyone knew about the next plot, it was Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

The interrogator, Deuce Martinez, a soft-spoken analyst who spoke no Arabic, had turned down a CIA offer to be trained in waterboarding. He chose to leave the infliction of pain and panic to others, the gung-ho paramilitary types whom the more cerebral interrogators called “knuckledraggers.”

Martinez came in after the rough stuff, the ultimate good cop with the classic skills: an unimposing presence, inexhaustible patience and a willingness to listen to the gripes and musings of a pitiless killer in rambling, imperfect English. He achieved a rapport with Mohammed that astonished his fellow CIA officers.

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ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Washington, Jun 10 - Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio
In the United States House of Representatives
Monday, June 9th, 2008
A Resolution

INDEX

Article I
Creating a Secret Propaganda Campaign to Manufacture a False Case for War Against Iraq.

Article II
Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression.

Article III
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War.

Article IV
Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States.

Article V
Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression.

Article VI
Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of H. J. Res114.

Article VII
Invading Iraq Absent a Declaration of War.

Article VIII
Invading Iraq, A Sovereign Nation, in Violation of the UN Charter.

Article IX
Failing to Provide Troops With Body Armor and Vehicle Armor.

Article X
Falsifying Accounts of US Troop Deaths and Injuries for Political Purposes.

Article XI
Establishment of Permanent U.S. Military Bases in Iraq.

Article XII
Initiating a War Against Iraq for Control of That Nation’s Natural Resources.

Article XIIII
Creating a Secret Task Force to Develop Energy and Military Policies With Respect to Iraq and Other Countries.

Article XIV
Misprision of a Felony, Misuse and Exposure of Classified Information And Obstruction of Justice in the Matter of Valerie Plame Wilson, Clandestine Agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Article XV
Providing Immunity from Prosecution for Criminal Contractors in Iraq.

Article XVI
Reckless Misspending and Waste of U.S. Tax Dollars in Connection With Iraq and US Contractors.

Article XVII
Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives.

Article XVIII
Torture: Secretly Authorizing, and Encouraging the Use of Torture Against Captives in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Other Places, as a Matter of Official Policy.

Article XIX
Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to “Black Sites” Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture.

Article XX
Imprisoning Children.

Article XXI
Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government.

Article XXII
Creating Secret Laws.

Article XXIII
Violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Article XXIV
Spying on American Citizens, Without a Court-Ordered Warrant, in Violation of the Law and the Fourth Amendment.

Article XXV
Directing Telecommunications Companies to Create an Illegal and Unconstitutional Database of the Private Telephone Numbers and Emails of American Citizens.

Article XXVI
Announcing the Intent to Violate Laws with Signing Statements.

Article XXVII
Failing to Comply with Congressional Subpoenas and Instructing Former Employees Not to Comply.

Article XXVIII
Tampering with Free and Fair Elections, Corruption of the Administration of Justice.

Article XXIX
Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Article XXX
Misleading Congress and the American People in an Attempt to Destroy Medicare.

Article XXXI
Katrina: Failure to Plan for the Predicted Disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Failure to Respond to a Civil Emergency.

Article XXXII
Misleading Congress and the American People, Systematically Undermining Efforts to Address Global Climate Change.

Article XXXIII
Repeatedly Ignored and Failed to Respond to High Level Intelligence Warnings of Planned Terrorist Attacks in the US, Prior to 911.

Article XXXIV
Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001.

Article XXXV
Endangering the Health of 911 First Responders.

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Securing Energy & Chemical Infrastructure
Solutions to Fortify Production and Transport

June 9, 2008
8am-8:30am Breakfast and Networking
8:30-9:30am Panel Discussion

The Harvard Club
35 West 44th Street
New York

Please RSVP to Gordon Platt
gplatt@gothammediaventures.com
Join the Security Breakfast Linkedin Network
Link to http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/100508/4A0F035EC21E

Moderator

Scott Greiper
Managing Director
Legend Merchant Group

Panelists

Gianni Arcaini
CEO
Duos Technologies

Skip Elliott
Vice President of Public Safety and Environment
CSX Transportation

Brian Noone
Chief Security Officer
Keyspan Corporation

Joe Tadrick
Protective Security Advisory
Department of Homeland Security

From abcnews.go.com, by Pierre Thomas and Theresa Cook

Intelligence and law enforcement sources tell ABC News they are expecting al Qaeda supporters will post a new video on the Internet in the next 24 hours, calling for what one source said is “jihadists to use biological, chemical and nuclear weapons to attack the West.”

Officials say they expect a new tape from al Qaeda to call for the use of weapons of mass destruction against civilians. The group has released messages with increasing frequency this year.

“There have been several reports that al Qaeda will release a new message calling for the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against civilians,” FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told ABC News in an e-mail.

“Although there have been similar messages in the past, the FBI and [Department of Homeland Security] have no intelligence of any specific plot or indication of a threat to the U.S.,” the e-mail said. “The FBI and U.S. intelligence community will review the message for any intelligence value.”

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From Congressional Release

May 13, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – Today, the Majority Staff of the Committee on Homeland Security, Chaired by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), released a comprehensive report examining homeland security challenges for mass gatherings.  The report, entitled “Public Health, Safety, and Security for Mass Gatherings” details 30 recommendations for what should be done by Federal, State, and local governments, as well as the private sector to protect the public should an act of terrorism or disaster occur.   

The report shows that mass gatherings such as the Super Bowl, NASCAR races, concerts, and political conventions could be terrorist targets.  While the public health, first responder, law enforcement, and intelligence communities are doing the best they can with what they have – more can and must be done.  The report’s recommendations focus on countering biological terrorism and other threats to human health, planning for emergencies, and sharing information and resources. 

Chairman Thompson issued the following statement with the release of the report:

“First responders and their partners are working hard to ensure public health, safety and security at large-scale mass gatherings. The external threat to these venues is real and rising as interest in targeting mass gatherings grows. Without increased Federal support and guidance, they will remain vulnerable.”

Link to Report

From HSLEADER.com, by John Taylor 

Washington - Marina Litvinenko, the widow of Alexander “Sasha” Litvinenko, gave a long overdue talk to the attendees of GovSec on Thursday on behalf of her late husband. Mr. Litvinenko was scheduled to address GovSec in 2007, when he was assassinated in November 2006 with tea poisoned with polonium-210.

Mrs. Litvinenko gave an emotional account of her husband’s legacy as an FSB whistle-blower, who exposed conspiracies and corruption at the highest levels of the Kremlin, and the terrible circumstances surrounding his murder. She also said she is frustrated with the Russian government’s stonewalling of England’s extradition request for the suspected assassin.

The assassination, which took place during a meeting in London, left a radioactive trail that British investigators said traced back to Andrei Lugovoi, a Russian businessman and former KGB officer. In July 2007, Russia formally denied a British extradition request for Lugovoi and in December 2007 he was elected to the Russian Parliament.

Mrs. Litvinenko was joined by a panel of outspoken critics of President Putin’s Kremlin that included: Oleg Kalugin (a former KGB Major General who now lives in the US), Paul Joyal (an expert on Russia who was shot in Maryland four days after claiming the Kremlin was involved in the Litvinenko assassination) and Alex Goldfarb (the Chairman of the Litvinenko Justice Foundation).

Comparing the WMD-like lethality of polonium-210 to that of anthrax, the panel said the hubris of what they called a “nuclear attack in a Western country” being executed in such a brazen manner was meant to send a clear signal that corrupt elements within Russia’s leadership will do anything to protect their power. 

Mrs. Litvinenko said, “If they went to such lengths to get rid of my husband, imagine what they would do if their larger interests are at stake.”

During her presentation, Mrs. Litvinenko said that despite warnings to temper his criticisms, her husband continued to publish hard hitting investigative reports based on information he developed from his personal intelligence network.

Mrs. Litvinenko said she will continue her husband’s work and seek justice in his murder through the Litvinenko Justice Foundation (http://www.litvinenko.org.uk/). She said that as he was dying, Mr. Litvinenko had predicted that she would travel the world to carry on his work.

Finally, the panel expressed disappointment that as the trail of the investigation was leading right to the doorsteps of the Kremlin that President Bush continued to meet with Putin and praise his presidency. They also praised the U.S. House of Representatives for recently passing a resolution calling for justice in the Litvinenko case. A similar resolution is making its way through the Senate.

In closing, Mrs. Litvinenko said that despite her personal loss and the politics involved, she wishes only the best for the people of Russia and hopes recently elected President Medvedev will distance himself from Putin’s legacy of repression.

From POC.com

The Handheld “Lobster-Eye” X-ray Inspection Device (LEXID) provides through - the - wall focusing and acquisition of backscattering photons from a hidden object irradiated by a cone beam from a low power X-ray generator. The X-ray optic focusing, combined with the X-ray detector significantly lowers the exposure dose, greatly enhancing image resolution. At the emitter side, the collimating optics increases flow of X-rays for deeper penetration through objects of interest, with the same X-ray tube.

a) Contraband hidden behind wall.

b) LEXID with wide cone, miniature X-ray generator and lobster-eye (LE) sensor.

On Wednesday, April 2, the House Committee on Homeland Security will host a technology fair entitled, “Detecting and Responding to Bioterrorism” to promote a better understanding of technologies used in combating bioterrorism. 

This fair will highlight the latest tools used in the detection and response of a bioterrorist attack – which includes the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents, such as bacteria, viruses, or toxins in a naturally-occurring or a human-modified form through air, water, or food.  Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee, will be in attendance.

Bioterrorism Technology Fair

Wednesday, April 2

9am to 3pm

Rayburn Foyer

From The Boston Globe, by Bryan Bender

For more than a year, a Burlington-based Internet company hosted a website that taught its members how to outfit a suicide bomber, aired Al Qaeda propaganda videos, and offered an “exclusive” Taliban video showing the beheadings of three “spies,” according to computer records.

The English-language website, Leemedia.net, was taken down earlier this month - but not in a counterterrorism crackdown, government officials said. Instead, the Web server, Endurance International Corp. Inc., shut it down after Internet watchdogs made repeated demands to remove the terrorist material.

The case of Leemedia.net, which was operated by a suspected terrorist sympathizer in Karachi, is the latest example of how US Internet companies are unknowingly hosting possibly hundreds of the most virulent Islamic extremist websites in the world, inciting young Muslims to kill Christians and Jews.

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Khaled looked at me with a broad smile. He was almost laughing. At one point, when I told him that he should abandon all thoughts of being a suicide bomber – that he could influence more people in this world by becoming a journalist – he put his head back and shot me a grin, world-weary for a man in his teens. “You have your mission,” he said. “And I have mine.” His sisters looked at him in awe. He was their hero, their amanuensis and their teacher, their representative and their soon-to-be-martyred brother. Yes, he was handsome, young – just 18 – he was dressed in a black Giorgio Armani T-shirt, a small, carefully trimmed Spanish conquistador’s beard, gelled hair. And he was ready to immolate himself.

A sinister surprise. I had travelled to Khaled’s home to speak to his mother. I had already written about his brother Hassan and wanted to introduce a Canadian journalist colleague, Nelofer Pazira, to the family. When Khaled walked on to the porch of the house, Nelofer and I both realised – at the same moment – that he was next, the next to die, the next “martyr”. It was his smile. I’ve come across these young men before, but never one who so obviously declared his calling.

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