Georgetown Security Law Brief

Judge OKs suit over State Department FOIA handling

09/30/11: Politico reports that a federal judge has given the go-ahead to a lawsuit alleging that the State Department ignores a requirement to give Freedom of Information Act requesters estimates of the amount of time needed to complete their requests.  Author Greg Muttitt sued State and several other agencies after they allegedly failed to comply with his requests for information about the Iraqi oil and gas industry.

Iraq buys F-16s, strengthening its Air Force

09/30/11: The Wall Street Journal reports that Iraq has finalized a deal to buy advanced US fighter jets, the first step toward building a modern postwar air force, officials said.  Iraq has yet to publicly announce completion of the deal to buy 18 F-16s, but officials in Washington said an initial payment of $1.5 billion has been received.

Ninth Circuit vacates ruling that found 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' unconstitutional

09/30/11: Law.com reports that the Ninth Circuit has vacated a ruling finding "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" unconstitutional, concluding that the Sept. 20 repeal of the military's ban on openly gay servicemembers rendered the case moot.  In Thursday's ruling, the court sided with the Justice Department, whose lawyers argued in court on Sept. 1 to vacate a ruling last year that found "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was unconstitutional under the due process provisions of the Fifth Amendment and the First Amendment.

Opinion: Trapped in Guantanamo

09/29/11: The Los Angeles Times features an opinion piece by Joseph Margulies, a lawyer with the MacArthur Justice Center and a law professor at Northwestern University.  Margulies discusses how the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is again in the news after two Americans released this month by Iran reported that when they complained about conditions in their Tehran prison, the jailers would "immediately remind us of comparable conditions at Guantanamo Bay."

German court convicts 3 of terrorism

09/28/11: The Boston Globe reports that a German court has convicted three men for supporting a terrorist organization by posting radical Islamic propaganda videos on the Internet, including one that gave details of how to prepare a suicide attack. The Munich state court sentenced the Germans -- 28-year-old Daniel P., 20-year-old Jonas T. and 19-year-old Salim Mohammed A. -- to community service and probation ranging up to 1 1/2 years, Germany's dapd news agency reported Wednesday.

More than 2,900 convicted criminal immigrants arrested, ICE says

09/28/11: CNN reports that in a huge, seven-day operation covering all 50 states and four US territories, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials arrested 2,901 convicted criminal immigrants as part of the "Cross Check" enforcement operation. ICE officials trumpeted the arrests at a news conference designed to highlight "the Obama administration's ongoing commitment to prioritizing the removal of criminal aliens and egregious immigration law violators."

Treasury sanctions leaders of Pakistani terror group

09/28/11: The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Treasury Department Wednesday laid sanctions on two alleged leaders of a Pakistani terror group, citing their involvement with attacks in India. The Treasury blacklisted Zafar Iqbal and Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi, describing them as founding members of Lashkar-e Tayyiba, which was responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed more than 160 people. “By targeting the core of LET’s leadership, today’s action aims to degrade its ability to facilitate its terrorist activities,” said David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

UN and NATO at odds over Afghanistan security

09/28/11: CNN reports that NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) took issue Wednesday with a new United Nations report that says violence in Afghanistan has jumped in the past year. The report, from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, says monthly security incidents in 2011 are up 39% over the same period last year. It paints a very different picture than findings by ISAF, which has repeatedly said violence is down in the country.

Pakistani police re-arrest militant leader

09/28/11: Arab News reports that a Pakistani militant leader who was released last month after spending 14 years in jail has been re-arrested after making inflammatory speeches against the country’s Shiite Muslim minority, a police officer said Wednesday. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi founder Malik Ishaq was picked up by police from his home late on Tuesday. Ishaq was not charged, but detained under a public order act. This means he can be kept for three months.

Islamic charity leader sentenced to nearly 3 years

09/28/11: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Pete Seda, the leader of the US branch of a defunct Islamic charity, was sentenced Tuesday to nearly three years in prison after being convicted of helping smuggle $150,000 to Saudi Arabia. US District Judge Michael Hogan said that while he has no doubt the money went to Islamic fighters battling the Russian army in Chechnya, as the prosecution maintained, there's no proof directly linking Pete Seda to terrorism.

Even those cleared of crimes can stay on FBI’s watch list

09/28/11: The New York Times reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is permitted to include people on the government’s terrorist watch list even if they have been acquitted of terrorism-related offenses or the charges are dropped, according to newly released documents. The files, released by the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act, disclose how the police are instructed to react if they encounter a person on the list and shed new light on how names are vetted for possible removal from the list.

State Department harassing officer who revealed Iraq waste

09/28/11: SpyTalk reports that Peter Van Buren, a veteran State Department officer whose new memoir colorfully describes his participation in the waste of millions of dollars of US reconstruction aid in Iraq, is under investigation by Foggy Bottom’s security office. Van Buren says State Department security sleuths told him that a blog he wrote about the transfer of US spare parts to Muammar Qadaffi in 2009, based on an unclassified US diplomatic cable exposed by Wikileaks, makes him a possible security risk.

Jihadi magazine commemorates 9/11 anniversary

09/28/11: The Washington Post reports that Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen did not manage an attack on the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, but it apparently still is hoping for a propaganda victory — in the form of commemorative issue of its magazine, Inspire. This seventh issue of the magazine departs from its usual mix of interviews and tips on bomb making in favor of remembrances of what Inspire’s editors call “The Greatest Special Operation of All Time.” The magazine appears only online.

Hamas shifts to an outside-in operational strategy

09/28/11: The Security Debrief reports that although Hamas has historically limited its operational focus to Israel, it has recently expanded its area of operations.  Information released by Israeli and American authorities suggests that Hamas has now extended its logistical efforts and even certain planning and operational activities as far afield as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, and China. Previously, although many non-Israelis have been killed in attacks within Israel, most of them were unintended victims of inherently indiscriminate terrorist tactics.

NATO peacekeepers, Serbs wounded after standoff escalates at Kosovo’s border with Serbia

09/27/11: The Republic reports that NATO peacekeeping forces clashed with Serb protesters in northern Kosovo on Tuesday, leaving 11 people wounded. The violence occurred near a disputed border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia, which has caused similar protests and clashes with peacekeepers in the past. NATO spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Kai Gudenoge said Tuesday’s clash began when the Serb protesters threw pipe bombs at the peacekeepers, injuring four of them and prompting the NATO soldiers to fire weapons at the Serbs.

Dutch prosecutors demand long sentences for Tamils

09/27/11: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Dutch prosecutors have demanded sentences ranging from 10 to 16 years for five ethnic Tamils accused of raising millions of euros in the Netherlands to finance the Tamil Tigers' fight for an independent homeland in Sri Lanka. Prosecutors accuse the men, all naturalized Dutch citizens, of extorting cash from Tamils living in the Netherlands, running illegal lotteries and laundering money.

Full body scanner "naked" pictures eliminated with new TSA software

09/27/11: Defense Media Network reports that when the Transportation Security Administration began using full-body scanners in airports, the now-iconic “naked” images spurred a public debate over privacy and security. As a result, TSA has started implementing new software in its Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines, removing all anatomical detail and automatically targeting concealed objects on a generic outline. “We believe it addresses the privacy issues that have been raised,” TSA Administrator John Pistole said.

Anti-crime chat users vow to keep posting despite beheading of Mexican woman for web comments

09/27/11: Newser reports that the killing of a Mexican woman purportedly in retaliation for her postings on an anti-crime website has left stunned chat users and employees at the newspaper where she worked wondering who can still be safe in the violent border city of Nuevo Laredo. Maria Elizabeth Macias’ decapitated body and head were found Saturday next to a message citing posts she wrote on "Nuevo Laredo en Vivo," a website used by Laredo residents to denounce crime and warn each other about drug cartel gunfights and roadblocks.

Putin may restore tougher tone to relations with US

09/27/11 The Washington Post reports that when Putin, currently Russia’s prime minister, makes the very short trip back to the Kremlin next May from his current digs, he will likely bring a tougher tone to Moscow’s engagement with the Obama administration, and the next administration, and possibly the one after that. “There is a really good chance that this makes the atmosphere more frosty,” said Fiona Hill, director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution. “We know that Putin is more distrustful of the relationship as a natural condition than Medvedev.”

Australian women to serve in frontline combat

09/27/11: The Financial Times reports that Australia will join a short list of nations that allow women soldiers to take on frontline combat roles after Canberra announced plans to remove gender restrictions in the nation’s defense forces over the next five years. The reforms will see Australia join Canada and New Zealand in removing restrictions barring women from serving in infantry and special forces units.

Northern Ireland police arrest 3 for Londonderry car bomb

09/27/11: The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that Northern Ireland police say they have arrested three suspected Irish Republican Army dissidents over a car bomb that was planted on a road junction in Londonderry. The alert snarled traffic in Northern Ireland's second-largest city from Monday afternoon until early Tuesday as police removed the bomb. The area's police commander, Chief Inspector John Burrows, declined to speculate on the dissidents' target or why the bomb failed to explode.

Official resigns over alleged spy ring

09/27/11: The Boston Herald reports that Michael Furlong, accused of running an illegal contractor spy ring in Afghanistan, has resigned from the Air Force. Two investigations continue in a case that has tested the definition of what contractors are allowed to do in war zones. Furlong, together with his boss, Mark Johnson, resigned in July after the Air Force inspector general told the men they’d face official censure for how they ran an information gathering network in Afghanistan.

Police in Spain arrest 5 suspected of financing terrorists

09/27/11: CNN reports that Civil Guards arrested five Algerian men early Tuesday in northern Spain on suspicion of providing logistical and financial support for Islamic terrorist activities, Spain's interior ministry said. The suspects, aged 36 to 49, allegedly supported "terrorist groups that operate in the Algerian area of the Maghreb, specifically for al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," a ministry statement said. They also had suspected links to Islamic militants in Italy, France and Switzerland.

In China, business travelers take extreme precautions to avoid cyber-espionage

09/27/11: The Washington Post reports that China’s massive market beckons to American businesses — the nation is the United States’ second-largest trading partner — but many are increasingly concerned about working amid electronic surveillance that is sophisticated and pervasive. In China, the use of cyber-espionage is often corporate, part of a broader government strategy to help develop the country’s economy.

Event: Brennan Center panel on “Curbing Needless Secrecy”

09/26/11: Secrecy News reports that the Brennan Center for Justice will sponsor a panel discussion October 5 at the National Press Club in Washington DC on overclassification and “Curbing Needless Secrecy” to accompany the release of a new report on the subject. Participants include former Rep. Christopher Shays, former Information Security Oversight Office director J. William Leonard, former National Reconnaissance Office director and chair of the Public Interest Declassification Board Martin C. Faga, and Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center.

Opinion: The danger of space debris

09/26/11: The Council on Foreign Relations website features an opinion piece by Micah Zenko, a Fellow for Conflict Prevention. Zenko discusses the growing threat space debris pose to civil, military and commercial satellites. Zenko characterizes the space debris problem as a classic global governance dilemma: though eleven states can launch satellites, and over sixty countries or government consortia own or operate the approximately 1,100 active satellites, no one country or group of countries has the sovereign authority or responsibility for regulating space.

India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile

09/26/11: The Times of India reports that the nation successfully test-fired its nuclear capable 'Prithvi-II' ballistic missile, with a range of 350 kilometers, on Monday as part of user trial by the armed forces from Chandipur off the Orissa coast. "The indigenously developed surface-to-surface missile was flight tested at around 8:50 AM from a mobile launcher from the Integrated Test Range launch complex-III," ITR director S P Dash said.  The trial, conducted as part of operational exercise, was "fully successful," he said.

Department of Justice releases Islamic bank agreement

09/26/11: The Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that the Department of Justice has released a multimillion dollar agreement reached last month with an international Islamic banking network after a four-year criminal investigation. After stonewalling all requests for a copy of the report and refusing to discuss the non-prosecution agreement with the Islamic Investment Company of the Gulf for weeks, a copy was given to US Representative Frank Wolf late Friday.

Pentagon to beam war crimes trials to US soil

09/26/11: The Miami Herald reports that the Obama administration’s handpicked choice to run prosecutions at the Guantánamo war crimes court is pledging a new era of transparency from the remote base, complete with near simultaneous transmissions of the proceedings to victims and reporters on US soil. Two death penalty cases are already in the pipeline: That of the alleged architect of the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen, and that of the five alleged 9/11 plotters.

Scholarship: Evaluating the use of public surveillance cameras for crime control and prevention

09/26/11: The Urban Institute has released a report documenting the use of public surveillance by law enforcement agencies in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Chicago and how they impacted crime. A growing number of cities are using surveillance cameras to reduce crime, but little research exists to determine whether they’re worth the cost. With jurisdictions across the country tightening their belts, public safety resources are scarce—and policymakers need to know which potential investments are likely to bear fruit.

Mass grave found in Libya with remains of 1,270

09/25/11: ABC News reports that Libyan revolutionary authorities say they have discovered a mass grave containing the remains of 1,270 inmates killed by the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in a 1996 prison massacre. The site was found near Tripoli's Abu Salim prison, where the victims were killed on June 26, 1996, after protesting conditions at the facility. Investigators found the grave two weeks ago after getting information from captured regime officials and witnesses.

Obama faces hurdles in aiding Arab Spring countries

09/25/11: The Washington Post reports that although President Obama has vowed to support the democratic transitions in the Arab world with greater trade and investment, his effort to back up that promise has run into hurdles in Washington and the Middle East. Congress still hasn’t passed two programs Obama announced in May to help the emerging Arab democracies: economic development funds and a $1 billion debt relief package for Egypt.

Senator says OnStar invades privacy of ex-customers; OnStar says privacy honored

09/25/11: The Chicago Tribune reports that US Senator Charles Schumer of New York is calling on OnStar to stop what he bills a blatant invasion of privacy: the company’s maintenance of a two-way connection with a customer even after service is discontinued. Schumer is asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. But OnStar says former customers can stop the two-way transmission, and no driving data of customers has been shared or sold.

Hezbollah leader could get military tribunal in US

09/25/11: Forbes reports that the Obama administration is considering a military trial in the United States for Ali Mussa Daqduq, a Hezbollah commander now detained in Iraq, previewing a potential prosecution strategy that has failed before but may offer a solution to a difficult legal problem for the government. While the US hasn't made a decision, officials said a tribunal at a US military base may be the best way to deal with Daqduq, who has been linked to the Iranian government and a brazen raid in which four American soldiers were abducted and killed.

Citing scope of 9/11, NY judge tosses 7 WTC suit

09/24/11: CBS News reports that in tossing out a negligence lawsuit, a judge on Friday cited the "strange, improbable" events that destroyed a 47-story World Trade Center building a decade ago on September 11, several hours after the 110-story twin towers fell. The claims by the Consolidated Edison Co. of New York were "too farfetched and tenuous" to survive, US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said.

Erdogan says US to provide drones to Turkey

09/24/11: The Jerusalem Post reports that the United States has agreed in principle to deploy US Predator drones on Turkish soil to aid in the fight against Kurdish separatist rebels, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said.  The US military flies unarmed surveillance Predators based in Iraq and shares images and vital intelligence with Turkey to aid Ankara as it battles Kurdish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels who have camps in northern Iraq.

DHS advisors recommend changes to controversial immigrant screening process

09/24/11: JURIST reports that the US Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) approved a report on Thursday detailing concerns with the controversial Secure Communities Program, a federal enforcement program that partners local law enforcement with federal immigration authorities. A subcommittee of HSAC was formed in June by the Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and was asked to consider how US Immigration and Customs Enforcement could improve the program.

US use of secret information to target Islamic group upheld by court

09/24/11: Bloomberg News reports that the US Treasury Department’s use of classified information to designate a now defunct Oregon Islamic charity as a terrorist organization was upheld by a federal appeals court in San Francisco. The court held that while the Office of Foreign Assets Control violated Al- Haramain Islamic Foundation Inc.’s constitutional rights to due process by failing to give the charity a chance to respond or an unclassified summary of the information it was using, the designation as a terrorist group wouldn’t have been altered.

Moroccan security thwarts Al-Qaeda linked ‘Assassination Cell’

09/24/11: The Gibraltar Chronicle reports that Moroccan security has arrested three people, including an active blogger on jihadist websites, who had planned to receive training at an al Qaeda camp abroad in order to carry out attacks in Morocco.  The suspects, who were to be trained in camps of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), had planned to assassinate members of the security services in order to seize their weapons and use them in planned sabotage acts.

Report says Border Patrol abuses widespread

09/23/11: CNN reports that back in 2006, volunteers with No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization dedicated to helping migrants along the Arizona-Mexico border, began hearing the same stories from many who had been in the custody of the US Border Patrol. Thwarted would-be unauthorized immigrants spoke of being denied water or food and of being beaten during their custody. The organization started properly documenting these allegations, and the stories added up to nearly 13,000 testimonies whose results were released in a report this week.

Counterterrorism chief discusses efforts to fight terrorist financing

09/23/11: The War on Terrorism blog reports that Ralph S. Boelter, acting assistant director of the Counterterrorism Division, today discussed FBI efforts to fight terrorist financing with a Senate subcommittee in Washington, DC. In particular, he highlighted the role of the Terrorism Financing Operations Section, or TFOS, which was established shortly after 9/11. Just in the last year, Boelter said, the FBI has conducted terrorist financing investigations which led to the indictment of individuals for providing funding to the Pakistani Taliban, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and al Shabaab.

New York court: Port Authority not liable for 1993 World Trade Center bombing

09/23/11: Jurist reports that The New York Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was not liable for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, finding governmental immunity. The plaintiffs argued that the operation of the parking garage was more akin to a proprietary, rather than governmental, function and thus qualified immunity should not apply. The court disagreed, stating that "[a]ny failure to secure the parking garage against terrorist attack predominantly derives from a failed allocation of police resources and thus" is considered to be a governmental function.

Scholarship: Calderón’s Caldron – Lessons from Mexico’s Battle Against Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking

09/23/11: The Brookings Institution has published a new study by Vanda Felbab-Brown concerning efforts to combat organized crime and drug trafficking in Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and Michoacán. This monograph explores the effectiveness of the security and law enforcement and socio-economic approaches adopted in Mexico over the past several years to combat the drug trafficking organiza­tions. It also analyzes the evolution of organized crime in Mexico, including in reaction to anti-crime actions taken by the Mexican government.

Event: live webcast of Case Western lecture - the university and national security after 9/11

09/23/11: Case Western Reserve University School of Law is hosting the Arthur W. Fiske Memorial Lecture, “The University and National Security After 9/11” today from 9:15 am to 4 pm CST.  The event is free and open to the public, and a webcast will be live and also available after the event for viewing on demand. The event will discuss the impact of post-9/11 national security concerns on universities and those who teach and learn within them. HT to Robert Chesney.

Walkout at UN as Ahmadinejad speaks

09/22/11: CNN reports that delegations from the United States and several European nations walked out of the UN General Assembly Thursday during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech, in which he repeatedly condemned the United States and called the September 11, 2001, attacks a pretext for a US-led war against Afghanistan and Iraq. Delegates from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were among those who walked out. Delegations from Canada and Israel were not present from the beginning.

US using controversial money-transfer system to deliver aid in Somalia

09/22/11: Fox News reports the United States is using a controversial money-transfer system to deliver aid directly to Somali famine victims and keep it out of the hands of militants. The director of USAID, Raj Shah, says the US and UN officials are now using the hawala system to deliver food vouchers in order to prevent the militant group al-Shabab from seizing aid. US authorities have long complained that the informal network for money exchange common in the Muslim world is a conduit for al-Shabab and other groups accused of terrorism.

Homeland security chief says disaster aid fund ‘running on fumes,’ could be empty next week

09/22/11: The Washington Post reports that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the government’s main disaster aid account is “running on fumes” and could be tapped out by early next week. Napolitano says she’s counting on Congress to provide more aid money because without the additional relief dollars, there will be delays in getting disaster projects approved. She wouldn’t say what arrangements the Federal Emergency Management Agency has made to prepare in the event the money runs out.

At CIA, climate change is a secret

09/22/11: Secrecy News reports that when the Central Intelligence Agency established a Center on Climate Change and National Security in 2009, it drew fierce opposition from congressional Republicans who disputed the need for an intelligence initiative on this topic.  But now there is a different, and possibly better, reason to doubt the value of the Center:  It has adopted an extreme view of classification policy which holds that everything the Center does is a national security secret.

Top Pentagon leaders face questions on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq from skeptical Congress

09/22/11: The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Obama administration is on an increasingly uncertain path in Pakistan. Islamabad's suspected ties to Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants risk drawing the US deeper into conflict in that nuclear-armed nation. The Pakistan problem is certain to surface Thursday when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Admiral Mike Mullen, the soon-to-retire chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testify at a Senate hearing billed as an examination of administration exit strategies for Iraq and Afghanistan.

With more space needed, US planning major expansion at detainee facility in Afghanistan

09/22/11: The Washington Post reports that even as US-led forces draw down in Afghanistan, US officials expect the number of detainees at their main prison to increase — and by a significant margin. Officials had already announced that they would retain control of the Parwan Detention Center north of Kabul well beyond the planned 2012 transfer date because of concerns that the Afghan legal system is still too weak. But US officials recently said they intend to solicit contractors to help expand the facility’s capacity from about 3,500 beds to 5,500 beds.