Security Debrief

Is DHS Prepared to Meet the Number One Threat to the US (and do they even know what that threat is)?

September 15, 2010

By Douglas Doan
Last week, experts in and out of government debated the extent and potency of the threat from Muslim extremists. Meanwhile, Secretary Napolitano spent time talking about the fear of attack from homegrown terrorists. But what was most interesting of all is that nobody wanted to talk about the single greatest threat to the nation, which was recently highlighted by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen, and then later reinforced by Secretary of State Clinton. This new threat is not the Taliban, or some bin Laden splinter group, but the ever growing U.S. national debt.

Tips for Maximizing Benefits of National SAR Initiative

Security Debrief |

September 15, 2010

The National Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) encourages law enforcement agencies at the local, state, tribal and regional levels to share suspicious activity reports (SARs) with each other to enhance investigations and analysis. This landmark initiative gives police the ability to search nationwide suspicious activity for clues to help piece together criminal conspiracies and prevent major crimes. To help agencies make sense of NSI, here are several tips for maximizing the benefits as originally intended by the initiative.

The Irony of Ignorance – Burning the Quran in Florida

Security Debrief |

September 14, 2010

By Justin Hienz
This past weekend was the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and I was relieved that the date passed without incident. I was also pleased to see it come and go without the Quran burning that had been planned by a congregation in Gainesville, FL. That Nazi-like spectacle would have created endless fodder for terrorist propaganda. But it would have achieved something else. In usurping attention with an inflammatory stunt, Jones and his followers would have revealed their ignorance of Islam, ignorance beyond the trite Islamophobic rhetoric all too common these days. Here’s why.

Another Challenge to CBP Border Search Policy

Security Debrief |

September 9, 2010

The lawsuit filed on Tuesday, September 7, in the Second Circuit challenging the federal government’s border search policy is yet another attempt to complicate and restrict our ability to protect the United States. At issue is the government’s position that its authority to protect the border includes the ability to review and examine the contents of personal electronic devices.

Breaking: US investigates potential terrorist test run

Security Debrief |

August 31, 2010

Two men arrested in Amsterdam may have been conducting a dry run for a potential terrorist attack, U.S. officials said Tuesday after a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle and a knife and box cutters were found in one of the men’s luggage.

Cyberspy Hunting al Qaeda Speaks to Security Debrief

Security Debrief |

August 26, 2010

Over the last decade, America and her allies have done a solid job of beating al Qaeda to a bloody pulp. We’ve hit them with everything we’ve got: troops on the ground; Predator drones in the sky; missiles from the sea; and we’re taking them apart piece by piece on the Web. But it’s not just the government that’s running down al Qaeda. Even U.S. citizens are using some good-ol’-fashioned American initiative; citizens like Shannen Rossmiller, a citizen cyberspy.

Electronic System for Travel Authorization Supports U.S. Security

Security Debrief |

August 25, 2010

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced an interim final rule establishing a fee for the use of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). An approved ESTA is required for all individuals traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Leaving aside whether the fee will have its intended effect of boosting tourism, the successful implementation of ESTA is a critical security feature of the modernized VWP. The ESTA compliance rate has reached 99 percent, so in short, ESTA has enhanced the security of the United States.

What is a Law Enforcement Fusion Center?

Security Debrief |

August 23, 2010

Fusion Centers are a fairly new concept in law enforcement, and many people don’t know the purpose they serve or how their local law enforcement agency should be engaging these centers. If you ask 20 people for a definition of “fusion center,” you’ll get 20 different answers. Some might even think these centers are making frozen coffee concoctions or protein drinks. But fusion centers are actually an attempt to deal with the fact that clues related to criminal activity often remain undiscovered in disconnected law enforcement databases.

For Victory over al Qaeda, Build the Mosque at Ground Zero

Security Debrief |

August 16, 2010

By Justin Hienz
On Friday, President Obama weighed in on the continuing debate over whether to allow construction of an Islamic Center near Ground Zero in New York City. To be sure, those objecting to the Islamic Center are opposed not simply to the new place of Muslim worship but to the idea that anything related to Islam can safely exist so close to the site of al Qaeda’s greatest victory, without dishonoring the dead. This viewpoint is flawed, because it is based on a misunderstanding of religion generally, Islam specifically. Now more than ever we need authoritative voices to take a stand and guide the public towards a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the Muslim faith.

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