Bin Laden killing shows off agency cooperation – USA Today
The U.S. intelligence community that was accused of failing to connect the dots before the 9/11 attacks in 2001 was lauded Monday for finding and finishing off its No. 1 target with pinpoint accuracy.
Lawmakers call for designation Mexican drug cartels as terrorist – Homeland Security Newswire
Leading U.S. lawmakers called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to support labeling Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups and craft a strategy to help Mexico defeat them.
Officials Warn Of Reprisals Against Americans After Death Of Osama Bin Laden – HSToday
After the death of Osama bin Laden, administration and congressional officials have emphasized the need for vigilance against a weakened terrorist organization and its affiliates, which will seek revenge for the death of their leader.
Nearly ten years after the attacks of September 11, and a year to the day after the failed Times Square bomb plot, U.S. Special Forces killed al Qaeda chief Usama bin Laden in a safe house some 40 miles north of Islamabad, Pakistan. As I think about what news of bin Laden’s death really means, I am convinced it is important is so many ways, and irrelevant in others. Here are some thoughts on the near term implications of bin Laden’s death for al Qaeda, its franchises and followers as well as for counterterrorism and intelligence efforts going forward.
Usama bin Laden is dead, a significant blow to al Qaeda. Yet on this first day after his death, much remains to be done — al Qaeda and legions of jihadists remain a threat. As President Obama announced the outcome of American actions in the Abbottabad Valley, he was correct in his assessment that, “The cause of securing our country is not complete…”
I will be one of a million people who opine on the death of Usama bin Laden, announced late Sunday evening. Many will be experts, many will be politcos, and many will have a “personal” stake in it, through a heartfelt loss. Last night, acting on information gleaned from interrogations of detainees (gee, I guess that was worth something), they found him, and the President authorized action. Obviously, it will be a while before all the details come out, but a high-risk, very small operation was executed in the heart of a troubled, but allied country, and it was successful.
Osama Bin Laden is dead. Those are the words we’ve all wanted to hear. For as happy as we may be to cheer the demise one of the world’s great mass murderers, there is every reason for us to be cautious and concerned. Bin Laden may have been one man who met his end courtesy of a bullet from one of America’s finest, but as an iconic figure, he has inspired countless individuals who believe in his perverse message and the murderous means to carry it out. The need for vigilance cannot be underestimated here.
Death of bin Laden Creates Opening on FBI Ten Most Wanted List – Tickle the Wire
The death of Osama bin Laden will open a spot in on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List. Bin Laden had been a fixture on the list for years.
A couple of weeks back, I sat down with two senior members of Virginia Task Force 1, Capt. Joseph Knerr and Lt. Rodney Vaughan of Fairfax County’s International Search and Rescue Team for an in-depth interview of what they experienced during a mission to Japan following the earthquake and tsunami. It’s a five part interview that tells their story in their own words.
The Department of Homeland Security is finally eliminating one of the worst vestiges of the immediate aftermath of 9/11 – the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) that required special travel procedures for those coming from more than two dozen countries that raised terrorism concerns. NSEERS was an understandable, but nonetheless counterproductive, response to the fears of the post-9/11 environment.
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