Aviation and airport security

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Erroll Southers Provides Analysis on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's Bomb Plot

November 1, 2010

Here is an interesting video of Erroll Southers analyzing Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the recent bomb plot against the United States. Southers is the Associate Director of the National Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) and Managing Director of Counter Terrorism for TAL Global, an international security firm. He was President Obama’s first nominee for TSA administrator and previously served as Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence for the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department.

Old-Fashioned Intelligence Stops Air Cargo Terror Operation

Kevin McCarthy |

November 1, 2010

This past Friday, in the wake of the developing air cargo terror operation related to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), concealing explosive devices in freight shipments, I was invited to contribute expert commentary to CBS affiliate talk radio WCCO in Minneapolis. My interview lasted less then 2 minutes, during which time I articulated that the plot had been interdicted through “old-fashioned” intelligence, not fancy hi-tech screening devices. I opined that the most critical aspect of the intelligence operation is information sharing between agencies and with the private sector partners who are targeted by these actions.

Security Debrief |

November 1, 2010

I’ve been writing about inbound air cargo screening on this blog and elsewhere for some time. The recent detection of explosives in air cargo bound for the United States is now putting this issue in the spotlight. Here are some key points to note. Most importantly, the U.S. Government lacks a process to obtain data and analyze risks with respect to air cargo.

Yemeni Bomb Plot: Has al-Qaeda Become More Organized?

Media Watch |

November 1, 2010

Yemeni Bomb Plot: Has al-Qaeda Become More Organized? – TIME It’s too early to panic, but we should seriously start wondering whether the bombs found on airplanes in Dubai and Britain are signs of a new, more dangerous wave of terrorism. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano described the bombs as having “all the hallmarks of […]

Security Debrief |

October 29, 2010

Suspicious packages, some containing improvised bomb-like devices, are being investigated in Newark, Philadelphia and other locations in the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets. All of the packages either originated from or have some connection to Yemen, where violence between al Qaeda and the Yemeni government has been escalating over the last month.

Are airport security checks redundant?

Media Watch |

October 27, 2010

Are airport security checks redundant? – Aviation Week
BA’s chairman Martin Broughton has caused a storm by suggesting that airport security checks are completely redundant.

Forgotten Future Disaster

admin |

October 22, 2010

According to the Washington Post, “[f]our men accused of planting bombs outside synagogues in the Bronx and plotting to fire missiles at military planes were convicted on Monday, in a case that was widely seen as an important test of the entrapment defense.” These most recent convictions, however, are a reminder that, someday, this could happen. We can’t always rely on incompetent terrorists. The problem is that, unlike 9/11, there will be little practical measures that can be done after the fact to mitigate the threat.

Security Debrief |

October 21, 2010

NPR news analyst Juan Williams was recently fired after making controversial remarks on The O’Reilly Factor. Here is a brief video of Williams talking about why he was fired and elaborating on his initial comments. What say you, reader? Was Williams out of line or does he offer sound insight?

New Way to Sniff Out Shoe Bombs

Media Watch |

October 21, 2010

New Way to Sniff Out Shoe Bombs – Homeland Security Newswire
University of Illinois chemists have developed a simple sensor to detect an explosive used in shoe bombs. It could lead to inexpensive, easy-to-use devices for luggage and passenger screening at airports and elsewhere.

David Olive |

October 18, 2010

Last week, speaking at the Migration Policy Institute, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Alan Bersin gave a glowing review of the successes CBP was having in meeting its mission. Whether one agrees with Bersin’s overall assessment, there was one area that jumped out at me that begs further inquiry. One will note that Commissioner Bersin was clever in his wording, in that he did not SPECIFICALLY talk about the need to deploy Predator UASs, but about UASs in general. To my mind, he was being too clever by half, but he is not the first government official to use verbal misdirection to give himself wiggle-room for a later time.

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