Va. Man on No-Fly List Can Return Home from Egypt – Tickle the Wire
A Virginia man who had been in no-fly list hell for months will now be allowed to return to the U.S., the Associated Press reported. Yahya Wehelie spent 18 months in Yemen. In May, he was heading home to Virginia and was changing planes in Cairo when the FBI stopped him and told him he was on the no-fly list. He was then stuck in Egypt.
Terrorism in Africa, like all questions of strategy and of strategic consideration, is context specific – to time, space, actors and events. Generalizations of terrorism in Africa, past and present, are most unwise and unhelpful. Countering terrorist threats in Africa requires a deep understanding of Africa – from subregion to subregion, country to country, and small folk community to small folk community. Thus, as I teach my students, understanding terrorism and counterterrorism in Africa requires knowledge of Africa, first and foremost. Policymakers would be wise to follow suit.
As we continue to swelter in the ongoing summer heat wave, it is easy for me to reminisce about my recent visit to Aspen, Colo. Tucked amongst the Rockies with its clean air, fervent green and majestic views, a town known primarily for its skiing with the rich and famous was home to what was, simply put, the best conference program I have ever attended. The first annual Aspen Security Forum put forward a program that I can only describe as pleasant, informational waterboarding. By the time each of the presenters and panelists were done, my hand was dead from writing so much and my head hurt from being given the firehouse treatment of a candor and content overload. Here’s a rundown of some of the sessions.
Over the past years more than a dozen agreements to share information about criminals have been signed with our Visa Waiver Program (VWP) partners. Known as Preventing and Combating Serious Crime (PCSC), these agreements stem from the more robust VWP information sharing requirements mandated by the 9/11 Act. Significant work remains to be done to complete bilateral agreements with each VWP country. A few countries have resisted the VWP’s core information-sharing requirements, and it is therefore imperative for DHS to continue to communicate a firm message on the necessity of timely compliance and clearly signal the costs of backward movement to VWP participants.
At the recent Eurosatory Arms Show outside Paris, everyone seemed to be in dark suits and sunglasses. If you want a weapon or defense system, the latest hardware, or the means to stop it, this is your place. Spying at such events has always happened, and behind those suits and dark glasses there is an atmosphere of mutual distrust. Today, the threat has expanded. Cyber spying is alive and well at this very lucrative target environment.
Pakistani court convicts, sentences 5 American for terrorism – Homeland Security Newswire
Five American men were convicted earlier today on terror charges by a Pakistani court and sentenced to ten years in prison in a case that has heightened concerns about Westerners traveling to Pakistan to contact al Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups.
Who’s Learning Faster, Al Qaeda or Us? – Homeland Security Today There are a growing number of Americans who, despite enjoying the benefits of freedom and rule of law, choose to become terrorists, bent on killing their countrymen, destroying property, and if necessary, dying in the process. They pose a unique danger because impressionable and […]
By Steve Serrao
Having visited and worked in many fusion centers across the nation, I often wonder how much attention is given to a basic question: Are we conducting analysis or not? The answer to the question of whether the centers conduct analysis varies widely, and it is partly dependent on whether the fusion center’s goal is to provide strategic-intelligence analysis or serve as a tactical operational data-sharing operation. Fusion centers that have decided to perform both data fusion and analysis need the appropriate staff and resources assigned. There must be a division of analytical labor.
On June 3, DHS announced that it had completed an agreement with France to implement the Immigration Advisory Program (IAP) at the Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris. When Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers are deployed later this summer, Paris will join Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Tokyo and Seoul (among other locations) as places where the IAP operates. The IAP enables the identification of high-risk travelers at foreign airports before they board aircraft bound for the United States, and DHS should continue to work with partners to export best security practices and standards more widely.
There is great debate on the possibility, existence, inevitability and reality of Cyber War. Some say we are in the midst of one everyday. Others say that this is just technologically enabled espionage, nowhere near a “war.” Those that think this is all a tempest in a teapot were dealt a blow recently when it was revealed that a special NATO Commission led by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is warning that the next aggression against a NATO member country will probably come via the cyber realm.
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