ANSER Hosts U.S.-Israeli Conference on Coping With Suicide Terrorism U.S. and Israeli security and rescue personnel met at the ANSER Conference Center in Shirlington, Virginia, on 26-28 August to share lessons learned and technical expertise associated with addressing the problem of suicide terrorism. The conference, attended by approximately 150 participants, included presentations and discussions on “assassinating wanted terrorists, demolishing terrorists’ houses and the plan to deport terrorists’ relatives.” [View Ha’aretz article]
Worldviews 2002 Survey The German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations released their survey of over 9,000 Americans and Europeans, which sought to compare how each “views the the world and one another.” Among many interesting findings, the survey reports that Europeans and Americans share many attitudes about world events, including the opinion that terrorism is the greatest threat to their foreign policies and that the use of force to combat terrorism is necessary. [View survey]
ANSER CEO Joins Panel Discussion on White House Homeland Security Plan Ruth David, president and chief executive officer of ANSER, participated in a panel discussion held at the Brookings Institution on 4 September. Richard A. Falkenrath, special assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Senior Director for Policy and Plans, presented his overview of the administration’s homeland security policy in the aftermath of 11 September 2001. His presentation was followed by comments from the panel and discussions on the “organizational, economic and political challenges the administration faces.” [View conference page]
Interview With Donald H. Rumsfeld The New York Times interviewed Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on 3 September. The secretary spoke to the direction he would like to see the Department of Defense take with regard to combating terrorists such as al-Qaeda and its numerous subversive networks. He also spoke about staying abreast of changes in the threats to U.S. security and the “need for being swift on your feet” while working with an organization—the Defense Department—that is generally thought of as slow. [View interview excerpts]Media Manipulation and the Japanese National Registry System A special ANSER report: Last month, the Japanese government instituted a national computer registry system and met tremendous opposition from Japanese citizens. The system itself, while noteworthy, is not necessarily newsworthy; however, the sudden and unusually vocal opposition is news indeed for two reasons.… [View entire article]
Top News Picks
U.S. Considered Suicide Jet Missions (BBC) “US Air Force commanders considered crashing fighter jets into hijacked planes on 11 September because of a lack of armed planes,” reports the BBC. With only 14 armed planes available, “unarmed planes were diverted from training missions in a desperate bid to increase the number of fighter planes patrolling American airspace.” [View article]
Smallpox Vaccination Proposed for Medical Workers (Washington Post)
“Federal health officials have recommended that President Bush adopt a multiphase smallpox vaccination program for emergency medical personnel considered most at risk in the event of a bioterrorist attack,” reports the Washington Post. “Some of those officials estimate that as many as a half-million hospital workers could be offered the vaccine.” [View article]
The Race to Predict Terror's Costs (New York Times) “Just days before the anniversary of the terror attacks … AIR, a unit of Insurance Services Office Inc., which collects data for the insurance industry, has completed its terrorism project,” reports the New York Times. “It has solved the puzzle in part by using an approach developed during the cold war that turns educated guesses into numerical rankings that are cranked into a computer to determine risk.… It will also provide a damage assessment from a World Trade Center–style attack with an aircraft or bombs, from a small package of explosives the size of a cake box to an enormous truck bomb that could maim thousands in a crowded place.” [View article]
Arrested Man Likely Key al-Qaeda Leader (Washington Times) “U.S. and Pakistani authorities are trying to determine whether an Arab arrested in raids [in Pakistan] this week is a key lieutenant of Osama bin Laden,” according to the Associated Press. [View article]
Health Becomes a Security Priority (International Herald Tribune)
“Strategists are finally awakening to the fact that global public health is an American national security interest,” according to the International Herald Tribune. “At a recent meeting of the Aspen Strategy Group, hard-nosed realists who used to meet each summer to debate and prepare reports about ballistic missiles or regional power balances found themselves talking to experts from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.” [View article]
Vaccine Works Against Deadly Ricin Toxin (Reuters) “A vaccine against ricin, one of the deadliest toxins known, works in mice and may work to protect people in case of a bioterrorist attack, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday,” according to Reuters. “… Ricin, which comes from the castor bean, is considered a likely biowarfare or bioterrorist agent and is on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s ‘B’ list of agents—considered a moderate threat.” [View article]
Reporters Sneak Knives Onto Planes (Chicago Tribune) “Reporters investigating airport security were able to smuggle small knives and pepper spray through checkpoints at 11 U.S. airports during the Labor Day weekend, the [New York] Daily News reported Wednesday,” according to the Associated Press. [View article]
Senators Give FBI Details in Leak Inquiry (New York Times) “Most members of the Senate Intelligence Committee have agreed to provide the F.B.I. with details of their contacts with reporters as part of an investigation into leaks of classified information from a Congressional inquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks,” reports the Associated Press. [View article]
War on Terrorism Gives Rise to Boom in Arms Sales (Newhouse) “The United States is pouring at least $3.5 billion in weapons, training and other military services into unstable developing countries as the Bush administration and Congress lift restrictions originally intended to keep American guns away from unsavory regimes and powder-keg conflicts, Pentagon budget documents show,” according to Newhouse News Service. [View article]
FAA Nominee Says Safety Is Top Priority (CNN) “President Bush’s choice to head the Federal Aviation Administration”—Marion Blakey—“told a Senate panel Tuesday that she would make airliner safety her top priority and leave security largely up to a new agency,” according to the Associated Press. [View article]
U.S. Considers Coercive Inspections (Los Angeles Times) “In a bid to forge a global strategy toward Iraq and prevent any wiggle room for President Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration is exploring tough proposals that would force Baghdad to quickly open its doors to aggressive weapons inspections or face immediate punitive action, according to U.S. officials,” reports the Los Angeles Times. [View article]
Weblinks
Global Coalition Against Terrorism The State Department has created an online resource that presents links to facts and figures for the war on terrorism, diplomatic activities and updates on the situation in Afghanistan. This site also lists memorial events for the one-year anniversary of 11 September in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. [View weblink]
National Homeland Security Knowledgebase This online homeland security library contains a wealth of information related to nuclear, biological, chemical, and conventional weapons and warfare. The site answers questions about the dangers associated with each type of weapon and gives tips for preparedness and response planning. [View weblink]
Upcoming Events
2002 Eisenhower National Security Conference (26-27 September; Washington, DC) This prestigious two-day conference will examine today's national security challenges and opportunities and the capabilities needed for the future. This forum is co-sponsored by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Non-Profit Management, The Conference Board, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Lexington Institute, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Net Assessment, and the United States Army. Featured speakers include Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta; Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Mr. Richard Grasso; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers; and Harvard University's Mr. David Gergen, former Presidential advisor. Registration is open to the general public. [View conference website]
Homeland Security: The Civil-Military Dimensions (19-20 September; Washington, DC) National Defense University, in partnership with the University of Maryland, will conduct a major symposium on at Fort McNair to examine critical aspects of civil-military relations with respect to actions taken or proposed to secure the homeland since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. Speakers will include retired Admiral Charles S. Abbot, Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security; U.S. Representative Jane Harman, a recognized congressional leader in the areas homeland defense and counterterrorism and the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security; and General Ralph E. Eberhart, U.S. Air Force, designated Commander of U.S. Northern Command. [View conference website]
Navy Industry Roles & Responsibilities (8-9 October; Crystal City, VA) and Precursor Industry Planning Workshop (11-12 September; Crystal City, VA) The National Defense Industrial Association will hold a workshop to more effectively and efficiently support current and future Fleet readiness for combat and ship systems by addressing and improving the relationship, including roles, responsibilities, and interdependencies, between industry and the Naval Surface Warfare Center. The precursor workshop will develop the top issues and the supporting rationale, such that participants can prepare to engage with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Board at the October workshop. [View conference website]
State and Local News
Alaska Won’t Break the Bank on Security Spending (Stateline)
“There has been an arm’s-length relationship between Alaska and the rest of the United States,” reports Stateline. “… Despite recommendations by the governor for broad spending on new security measures, Alaska’s looming budget deficit kept lawmakers from approving all but a fraction of funds targeted to ongoing homeland security projects.” [View article]
Air Security Fixes Are Slow to Come (Arizona Republic) “After the suicide jet attacks of Sept. 11, the nation was braced to accept that flying would never be the same again, that airlines would undergo a sea change in their thinking and procedures,” reports the Arizona Republic. “But today, at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and other major airports nationwide, the post–Sept. 11 reforms amount to a muscled-up version of the same basic security screen erected after a wave of hijackings to Cuba in 1969.” [View article]
Florida: Millions in New Funding Don’t Guarantee Security (St. Petersburg Times) “Florida, where terrorists plotted a murderous assault on America, has spent tens of millions of dollars over the past year to make the state safer,” reports the St. Petersburg Times. “But experts see holes in the security net.” [View article]
Suspicious Envelope Jams Hawaiian Capitol Area (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) “Police closed a section of Punchbowl Street [Tuesday], causing a major traffic tie-up during the afternoon rush hour, after a state employee placed a suspicious envelope on a stone wall along the sidewalk of a state office building,” reports the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. [View article]
Virginia: Showers May Save Lives (Washington Post) “One by one the volunteers assembled in the ambulance bay at Inova Fairfax Hospital [Tuesday], stripped down to their skivvies, their clothes tagged, bagged and thrown into biohazard receptacles for sorting,” reports the Washington Post. “Under the spray of ceiling-mounted shower heads, they lathered and scrubbed with washcloths and bars of soap and then stepped into white, hooded jumpers and flip-flops. All the scrubbing was staged to unveil new decontamination facilities at each of Inova’s hospitals as well as the Inova HealthPlex in Springfield.” [View article]
copyright 2002. The Newsletter of Homeland Security, ANSER Inc. All rights reserved.