The Political Conundrum!

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new message posted on an Al-Qaida web forum, wherein a jihadist recounts his journey from Saudi Arabia to join the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia--in the process providing valuable insight into the radicalization process and the logistics involved in waging jihad in a foreign land. Identifying the impetus that pushed him to leave Saudi Arabia, he explained, “I was watching a European educational program about the American occupation of Iraq, and the program had gained a recorded video by the Americans about ugly sexual harassment against Iraqi girls under the age of 12…And, the program continued, until the broadcaster said that they acquired another video that shows an Iraqi lady being raped…American soldiers invading one of the houses…an Iraqi lady awakes frightened from her sleep because the invasion was at night time…one of the dogs pulled the lady to her room and raped her as she screamed calling the Muslims…and, another soldier pointed a weapon in her face asking her to be silent…I wasn’t able to finish watching the video…I felt at the moment the sweat pouring from the back of my head down to my back…and I began shivering…and anger filled my joints…until I stood up from my desk and went to one of the brothers…"

The full English translation is now available on the NEFA Foundation website.

This morning, Michael Downing, the Deputy Commissioner of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Commander of its Counterterrorism Bureau addressed a special Washington Institute event in Los Angeles. This event was a part of the speaker series the Institute has been running since December 2007, with senior counterterrorism officials. Commissioner Downing was the second speaker from the local law enforcement ranks, following Richard Falkenrath, the Deputy Commissioner for the NYPD, who spoke at the Institute earlier this year.

In his speech, Commissioner Downing gave a comprehensive overview of the threat, and outlined the LAPD's expanding capabilities in the counterterrorism arena. He also commented on a number of the LAPD's new initiatives in this area, and explained how the LAPD coordinates its efforts with those of the federal government. Commissioner Downing also provided a number of examples from their counterterrorism investigations to highlight both the threat and the LAPD's response.

To read Commissioner Downing's prepared remarks, click here

To help counter the threat of bioterrorism attacks, a special Congressional Commission is advocating stronger NSC leadership, better funding and reform of the fragmented Congressional oversight.

These were among the recommendations in an interim “The Clock is Ticking” report issued at a briefing yesterday, Oct. 21, by the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, chaired by former Senators Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat, and Jim Talent, a Missouri Republican.

The report is a follow-up to the one released in December which warned that it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013.” The Commission 2008 report also said that it “believes that terrorists are more likely to obtain and use a biological weapon than a nuclear weapon. (see my December 3, 2008 posting.)

In releasing its new report, the WMD commission said that although progress had been made since its December report, “the nation’s level of preparedness for dealing with the threat of bioterrorism remains far lower than that of the nuclear threat.”
“The clock is ticking…the United States is better off than it was previously but the problem is that our adversaries have made even more progress,” Senator Graham said. The former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee apparently was referring to published reports that that Al Qaeda and its some of its supporters were continuing to show interest in using biological weapons for mass attacks.

Senator Talent said “it is only getting easier and cheaper and faster to develop and use biological weapons—and our best response is to mitigate the effects through faster. safer vaccines and therapeutics. It’s essential that the US government move more aggressively on this issue.”

The October report stated that “Central to U.S biosecurity strategy should be the recognition that biological weapons are distinct from nuclear weapons and require a unique approach. Unlike nuclear weapons, which require highly advanced technology, massive infrastructure, and rare materials that can be closely monitored and secured, biological weapons materials occur naturally, require no significant infrastructure to produce,and can be found in nearly every part of the world.”

The report was released yesterday at a conference hosted by the George Washington University Institute for Homeland Security Policy, which has a long history of interest in biological and other WMD threats.

Key recommendations were structural and resource-related. The Commission said it “strongly recommends that the National Security Council needs a senior official whose sole responsibility is to improve America’s capability for bio defense.” If that person is not there you don't get the balance in the approach between nuclear and bio," Senator Talent said.

Soldiers fought for control of the Pakistani Taliban chief's hometown as they pressed an offensive along the Afghan border, while intelligence officials said suspected U.S. missiles hit territory controlled by another insurgent, threatening to undermine deals that keep some militants out of the battle.

The Navy's need for speed is being answered by a pair of warships that have reached freeway speeds during testing at sea. Independence, a 418-foot warship, boasts a top speed in excess of 45 knots, or about 52 mph, and sustained 44 knots for four hours during builder trials.

The Navy's need for speed is being answered by a pair of warships that have reached freeway speeds during testing at sea. Independence, a 418-foot warship, boasts a top speed in excess of 45 knots, or about 52 mph, and sustained 44 knots for four hours during builder trials.

Sen. Jim Webb is asking the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to examine the quality of health care services being provided veterans at the Hampton VA Medical Center.

The Navy senior chief petty officer at the heart of a scandal over sexually provocative hazing and abuse of junior sailors in Bahrain will be forced to retire in January, two years earlier than planned, a Navy official said Wednesday.

A coalition of mega-bands and singers outraged that music - including theirs - was cranked up to help break uncooperative detainees at Guantanamo Bay is joining retired military officers and liberal activists to rally support for President Barack Obama's push to shutter the Navy-run prison for terrorist suspects in Cuba.

Three Ohio men convicted of plotting to recruit and train terrorists to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq were sentenced in federal court Wednesday to more than eight years in prison.