Counterterrorism chief underscores Yemeni cleric’s power to radicalize Americans online – NextGov
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the alleged mastermind behind a thwarted October plot to bomb U.S.-bound planes, represents the greatest threat to the U.S. homeland and its leader is the most influential proselytizer on the Internet, the national counterterrorism center director said on Wednesday.
Terror Threat Highest Since Sept. 11 Attacks, Napolitano Says – Bloomberg
Radicalized U.S. residents willing to carry out attacks with “little or no warning” have helped create one of the biggest terrorist threats in years, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today.
House GOP Leaders Blindsided By Patriot Act Defeat – It’s All Politics
If the House’s new Republican leaders were going to fail to pass any particular piece of legislation, you wouldn’t expect it to be an extension of several Patriot Act provisions. The Patriot Act, a Bush Administration legacy, has typically been more strongly supported by Republicans than Democrats.
IG: DHS (Mostly) Fixes Intelligence Systems Security – Cybersecurity Report
Homeland Security’s internal investigators on Tuesday released a summary of a classified report on the department’s intelligence systems that found security controls are mostly sufficient but some pre-existing problems remain.
U.S. Lags Behind Allies on Combating Extremism, Report Says – CQ Homeland Security
Although other countries involved in counterterrorism operations have set up programs that attempt to counter violent, extremist interpretations of Islam, the United States has been hesitant to wade into such ideological issues — to its detriment, according to a new paper from The George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute.
Senate split over how to extend the Patriot Act’s surveillance authority – The Hill’s Floor Action Blog
Senate Democrats and Republicans are in a three-way split over how to extend the legal authority to conduct surveillance and information-gathering activities under the USA Patriot Act.
The Australian Take on the Terrorism Threat – Counterterrorism Blog
The theme that international cooperation is essential to combating international terrorism has been a mainstay of U.S. counterterrorism policy for decades. Usually this means sharing intelligence information, counterterrorism techniques, and sometimes providing training and equipment.
Top Democrat Calls for Wider Hearings on Homegrown Terror – HSToday
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee plans to hold hearings on homegrown terrorism with a focus on Islamic radicalization as early as next month, but the top Democrat on the committee says the focus of those hearings is too narrow.
Throughout my 25-year career as a sworn law enforcement officer, and having worked for the past five years internationally with law enforcement agencies on their intelligence management initiatives, I have challenged police executives to understand the key elements of Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP) and to employ this approach systematically. Today, as I travel around North America, I still find police agencies collecting volumes of information and – shockingly – not conducting the required analysis to incorporate this information into their strategic responses.
A public forum will be hosted Tuesday on Capitol Hill discussing Attorney General guidelines for law enforcement domestic intelligence as it relates to homegrown radicalism. Participants include Rep. Rush Hold, Chairman of House Intelligence and Michael Isikoff, national investigative correspondent for NBC, among others.
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