Groups worry DHS pushing EU to weaken privacy protections – Hillicon Valley
Privacy advocates are concerned that the Obama administration might be prodding Europe to weaken its privacy policies in the name of preventing terrorism.
It was a solid decision for President Obama to ask Congress to keep Robert Mueller at the head of the FBI and extend his term by another two years. His leadership, expertise and experience will be invaluable as the agency continues its fight against terrorism. As a former Agent who served in the CT program, I am always astounded when I hear or read press reports saying that the FBI is now an “intelligence-driven” organization. Folks, I am here to say that it was always an intelligence-driven organization.
In many ways, the Abbotabad raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden was the beginning, not the culmination, of a massive intelligence operation. One area that could be particularly ripe for disruption is al Qaeda’s financial support network. As I argue in ForeignPolicy.com, terrorist financiers must be under tremendous stress since news broke that U.S. Navy SEALs killed bin Laden and seized hard drives and other electronic media from his safe house.
Implications Of Bin Laden’s Death Examined In Congressional Analysis – HSToday
A new Congressional Research Service Report (CRS) that examined the broad implications of the death of Osama Bin Laden (OBL) said “the degree to which OBL’s death will affect Al Qaeda and how the US responds to this event may shape the future of many US national security activities.”
Two Men Are Arrested in Terror Case – NY Times
Two men who the authorities said intended to carry out a terrorist attack in New York City were arrested late Wednesday, two law enforcement officials said with knowledge of the matter.
By Doug Doan
In a recent post, Frank Cilluffo warned about the potential harmful impact of all the loose talk about the intelligence received from the Bin Laden hit last week. However, the contrarian in me thinks there might be a different explanation for all the speculation and press reports of the huge intel bonanza. If the raid resulted in a bust for intel collection, what would that mean?
Aviation pre-screening (now Secure Flight) has made airports and airplanes more secure against terrorism. This is why Senator Chuck Schumer’s post-bin Laden proposal to create a “Do Not Ride” list for the Amtrak rail system had a very small glimmer of merit. On closer look, however, this is a really bad idea.
Though Osama bin Laden’s death brings discussion on the future of al Qaeda, but let us not forget that this terrorist organization is large and spread throughout the world. Their methods for attack are many, and al Qaeda had plans to use cargo as a method to smuggle plastic explosives into the United States and the UK concealed in shipments of women’s and children’s clothing. This threat remains real.
The death of Osama bin Laden, including the recovery of a large quantity of hard drives, thumb drives and other media, is an example of the ultimate success in counterterrorism. Kill the leader and recover all of his command and control data. After 9/11, we experienced significant improvements in forensic science capabilities, and I can only imagine that the yield of actionable intelligence from this information will be incredible.
By Frank Cilluffo and Sharon L. Cardash
In the aftermath of the death of Usama bin Laden, much has been made of the “treasure trove” of material found in his safe house. With so much still at stake, it is wrong – indeed counterproductive – to be discussing in significant detail in the public domain, such as newspapers, the lode of intelligence that may have been found and its implications for action in the field.
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