TERRORISM: FBI Training Elite Deep-diving Counterterrorism unit

photo courtesy fbi.gov

Underwater terrorismFBI training elite deep-diving counterterrorism unit

Published 18 October 2011

To bolster its counterterrorism capabilities, the FBI has created an elite group of special agents trained to track terrorism underwater.
Next year the ten-member Technical Dive Team will begin searching for evidence left behind by international terrorists in waters contaminated by chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear waste.
Pointing to the 2008 attack in Mumbai, India where terrorists entered the city by boat, supervisory special agent James Tullbane, a Technical Dive Team member, said, “There have been enough scenarios recently,” to justify the creation of the special unit.  Full article

FBI WMD Central: Five Years and Building

07/26/11

Five years ago this week, the FBI established its first Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Directorate to centralize and coordinate all WMD-related investigative activities, intelligence analysis capabilities, and technical expertise from across the Bureau. Recently, FBI.gov spoke with Dr. Vahid Majidi—the head of the WMD Directorate since its launch—on his office’s work over the past five years. Today, he talks about the current threat and specific focus of the directorate. Later this week, he’ll discuss case examples, lessons learned, and the future of the directorate.

FBI > Establishes Graduate Degree in WMD Studies

image courtesy of:  topsecretwriters.com

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The FBI has established a graduate program at a Pennsylvania university for its agents to study counterterrorism and weapons of mass destruction, thePittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on Tuesday (see GSN, Feb. 17).

The multiple year program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is currently only open to FBI personnel. Other departments ultimately might be able to have students study for the master of science in strategic studies in weapons of mass destruction.

"It's not going to be open enrollment (or) traditional students," university criminologist Dennis Giever said.

"You worry about whether you might be teaching the wrong person this stuff," he said.

The degree program includes studies of of radiological "dirty bombs," strikes on the energy infrastructure and food-based bioterrorism.

The FBI three years ago began talks with the university on establishing the WMD studies program, according to bureau Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate countermeasures and preparedness chief Doug Purdue.

While several universities were approached, only Indiana University of Pennsylvania had existing programs specializing in anti-WMD efforts, Purdue said.

Thirty-four FBI agents have to date taken specialized WMD classes through the university. The bureau and other government branches anticipate spending $300,000 annually to send 15 to 20 personnel to enroll in the graduate program.

Some analysts who believe there is a low risk of a WMD strike on the United States have said such efforts are an unproductive use of government funds.

"It seemed ridiculous to some people," Federation of American Scientists Terrorism Analysis Project Director Charles Blair said. "But even if the risk is really low, it's still good to have some people looking at it in an academic sense" (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/Pennlive.com, July 12).

NUCLEAR > Nuclear Safety Journal Launched

Published 7 July 2011

Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima: for the third time in twenty-five years a nuclear power plant suffered a serious accident, precipitating a global review of the way to govern nuclear safety and security; a publisher of scientific journal is launching a new journal -- International Journal of Nuclear Safety and Security (IJNSS) -- which will offer a forum for the serious discussion of nuclear power plants' safety

pThree Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima: for the third time in twenty-five years a nuclear power plant suffered a serious accident, precipitating a global review of the way to govern nuclear safety and security.

The 11 March Fukushima accident was especially poignant because it came during — and may well put an end to — what was correctly termed a Nuclear Renaissance: as worries about climate change and the volatility of oil prices grew, interest in nuclear power generation was rekindled.

InderScience Publishers is launching a new journal — teInternational Journal of Nuclear Safety and Security (IJNSS) — which aims to address the growing interest in, and concern about, nuclear safety.

The publisher says that the international community must learn from these accidents in order to improve international co-operation, both in terms of crisis management and prevention of risks. IJNSS will provide an opportunity to exchange information on the implications of safe and secure operation of nuclear power plants and approaches taken by countries worldwide.   Full article

Among the topics which will be covered by the new journal:

• Strategic, managerial, organizational issues; total quality management (TQM) and environmental management
• Macroeconomics, nuclear economics and business
• Technological advances, issues, innovation, hazards; role of information and communication technologies (ICTs)
• Analysis/assessment methodologies, performance measurement
• Governance, policy strategy, assessment, review
• National/international environmental protection policy; ecosystem research
• Ecological/environmental impacts; risk assessment/legal aspects of pollution
• Waste disposal strategies; clean technologies
• Energy security and risk assessment; policy, standards and regulations
• Critical infrastructures design, protection, management
• Risk assessment, control, characterization, perception, communications, models
• Integrated risk assessment and safety management
• Nuclear systems management, transport, resource development, power quality
• Public policy, regulations, governance and nuclear use; public attitudes
• Knowledge based policies and education; knowledge transfer

DETECTION > TSA could begin searching for explosives hidden inside you

photo courtesy of HSNW

[2 mins read] 

TSA could begin searching for explosives hidden inside you 

Published 7 July 2011

Government intelligence officials are now warning airlines that terrorists could be using surgically implanted explosives to bypass security measures; there is no information regarding a specific plot or threat, but airlines could begin to implement additional screening procedures as the current body scanners cannot effectively detect bombs hidden inside an individual; last year, al Qaeda operatives in Iraq implanted two dogs with explosives, but the dogs died before they could be loaded onto a U.S.-bound plane.

According to the Los Angeles Times, U.S. officials have received new information that suggest terrorists may be seriously considering surgically implanting explosive devices to circumvent existing screening procedures.

In response, Nicholas Kimball, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said airline passengers flying into the United States will likely face additional screening measures.

“These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same activity at every international airport,” Kimball said. “Measures may include interaction with passengers, in addition to the use of other screening methods such as pat-downs and the use of enhanced tools and technologies.”

Current body scanners cannot detect explosive materials hidden in body cavities or below the skin, so airport screeners will rely on explosive trace detection swabs.

In 2009, in a failed suicide bomb attack aimed at assassinating Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef, the head of Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism operations, an al Qaeda operative hid a pound of high explosives and a detonator in his rectum.  Read more

Pakistan > Militant Strike Refreshes Doubts on Pakistani Nuke Security

Militant Strike Refreshes Doubts on Pakistani Nuke Security

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The siege by militants on a Pakistani military base on Monday is expected to again increase concerns about the South Asian state's capacity to protect its nuclear arsenal, the Los Angeles Times reported (see GSN, May 23).

(May. 24) - Military personnel arrive on Monday at Pakistan's Mehran Naval Station following an attack on the installation by Taliban gunmen. The strike could heighten worries over Pakistan's capacity to secure its nuclear weapons (Rizwan Tabassum/Getty Images).

Four to six militants were initially believed involved in the physical operation that killed no fewer than 10 and hurt another 15 at the Mehran Naval Station in Karachi. The number of attackers as of Tuesday was being assessed at up to 12.

The attackers used two ladders and wire cutters to overcome the security perimeter of the installation, where they proceeded to destroy two high-tech spy aircraft provided by the United States. It took Pakistani authorities the better part of the day to overpower the attackers who were armed with grenades, rocket launchers and guns.

The Pakistani Taliban has taken credit for the siege, which it said was retaliation for the U.S. killing earlier this month of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (see related GSN story, today).  Full article

Iran Infiltrated IAEA Electronics, Officials Allege

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Iran has allegedly tried to glean data from portable computers and cellular telephones left by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors carrying out nuclear safeguards checks in the Middle Eastern country, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday (see GSN, May 16).

(May. 18) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, shown last year. Clinton and Ashton on Tuesday pressed Iran to join new multilateral discussions aimed at resolving the dispute over its atomic activities (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images).

The Vienna-based nuclear watchdog is looking into "a range of events, ranging from those where it is certain something has happened to suppositions" during first three months of 2011, one IAEA member nation diplomat said. Agency officials had first informed the U.N. organization of "unusual events" pointing to possible interference with their computers and phones, the official added.

Two additional IAEA member nation diplomats verified key elements of the allegations. Agency spokeswoman Gill Tudor declined to address the matter.

Inspectors typically place their cellular telephones inside closed and signed envelopes while conducting safeguards visits, which are intended to ensure that civilian atomic operations are not turned toward military purposes, one U.N. nuclear watchdog official said. Portable computers are either similarly sealed in envelopes or placed inside secured containers. Inspectors occasionally leave such computers behind in temporary lodgings after working hours, the official said Full article

image courtesy of:  enviro.org.au

Iran to Display New Ballistic Missiles

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Iran plans next Tuesday to show off a new set of ballistic missiles built recently within its borders, the country's Fars News Agency reported (see GSN, March 1).

Military equipment "including some vessels, ballistic missiles and new ammunitions will come into use on the occasion of Khorramshahr Liberation Anniversary," Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Wednesday, referring to Iran's 1982 victory against Iraq in a southern coastal city.

The nation's military would soon formally receive the new missiles, Vahidi said.

Iran's missile manufacturing systems have advanced significantly over the past 10 years, according to the media report. The Middle Eastern nation tested an antiship ballistic missile in February (see GSN, Feb. 10).

Iran's Revolutionary Guard last October received the third variant of the Fateh 110 ballistic missile, and another version of the weapon was due for testing soon, Fars reported. The Fateh 110 is a short-range, solid-fuel weapon suited for firing from a mobile launcher. The missile has sophisticated command and guidance mechanisms, the news report said (see GSN, Sept. 22, 2010; Fars News Agency, May 18).

Iran's Shahab 3 ballistic missile is the greatest source of worry for Western countries, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported. The weapon has a 1,240-mile range and could strike any point in Israel (Deutsche Presse-Agentur/Monsters and Critics, May 18)
.

Russia Threatens Nuclear Arms Boost if Antimissile Dispute Persists

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday his nation would enhance its stockpile of nuclear weapons if it reaches no agreement with the United States to collaborate on a European antimissile framework, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 11).

(May. 18) - A Russian Topol-M ICBM, shown on display during a parade last week in Moscow's Red Square. Russia could bolster its nuclear arsenal if its reaches no deal with the United States on European missile defense cooperation, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday (Dmitry Kostyukov/Getty Images).

Moscow and NATO agreed last November in Lisbon, Portugal, to jointly explore areas for possible antimissile collaboration (see GSN, Nov. 22, 2010). A Kremlin proposal that Europe be divided into two sectors of missile defense responsibility, with NATO managing one and Russia the other, has not generated much interest among alliance members. The United States has said it would never place any NATO state's missile protection in Moscow's hands (see GSN, May 16).

"I hope the questions that I put to my colleague and friend President Obama will be answered and we can work out a model for cooperation in antimissile defense," Medvedev said.

"If we don't work this out, then we will have take steps to counter it, which we would not like. Then we are talking about forcing the development of our nuclear strike potential," the Russian president said. "This would be a very bad scenario, a scenario that would throw us back to the Cold War era" (Alexei Anishchuk, Reuters, May 18).

Failure to reach an agreement might prompt Moscow to cut short its compliance with the U.S.-Russian New START strategic arms control treaty, the Xinhua News Agency quoted him as saying. The pact requires both nations to cut their deployed strategic nuclear arsenals to 1,550 warheads and 700 delivery systems, and allows for verification inspections in the two countries (Xinhua News Agency, May 18).

Meanwhile, Russia's RS-24 ICBM will be suited within two decades to penetrate any antimissile system operated by another government, Russian strategic rocket forces head Lt. Gen. Sergei Karakayev said (seeGSN, March 4).

"It is necessary to note the new missiles' ability to be invulnerable before launch thanks to their mobility, as well as their ability to tackle the task of defeating any possible missile defense system within the next 15-20 years, should such a need arise," Russia Today on Tuesday quoted Karakayev as saying.

"The first missile regiment, comprised of two batteries armed with Yars advanced land-based mobile missile systems, equipped with RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missiles with multiple warheads, entered duty
at the Teikovo missile division, based in Ivanov region, on March 4," he noted. “This is a weapon that has accumulated the best qualities of the Topol-M missile and has acquired new combat possibilities.”

The official did not directly address Washington's missile shield plans for Europe (Russia Today, May 17).

Russia intends to begin a new series of test launches next month of its experimental Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile, RIA Novosti reported last week (see GSN, May 11).

"The launch will take place between June 15 and 17 from the Dmitry Donskoy nuclear submarine (in the White Sea)," a Defense Ministry insider said.

The Bulava is designed to carry 10 nuclear warheads as far as 5,000 miles. Seven of the missile's 14 trial launches to date have been successes, including two tests conducted in October (RIA Novosti, May 13)
.

Pakistan’s Nuclear Surge

Photos obtained by NEWSWEEK reveal a more aggressive buildup than previously known. So why does Washington still stay mum?

Exclusive satellite imagery taken in April 2011 exposes a new nuclear facility (circled) in Khushab, Pakistan—which now has the fastest-growing nuclear program in the world. The facility was undetectable in satellite images take as recently as December 2009. Pictured directly above the circled area are two white boxes which are also nuclear reactors.

Even in the best of times, Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons program warrants alarm. But these are perilous days. At a moment of unprecedented misgiving between Washington and Islamabad, new evidence suggests that Pakistan’s nuclear program is barreling ahead at a furious clip.  Full article

Hazmat trucks stopped in downtown Dallas

Tankers carrying hazardous materials // Source: ehow.com

City of Dallas police are enforcing city laws prohibiting truckers from hauling hazardous materials through downtown Dallas; last week the police stopped twenty-seven trucks in downtown Dallas, carrying, among other things, cyanide, gasoline, and dynamite   Read more

First Bin Laden Revenge Strike Hits Pakistan; 80 Dead

The first terrorist revenge attack for the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was claimed on Friday after two individuals detonated suicide bomb vests at a paramilitary training facility in Pakistan. The strike resulted in 80 deaths, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 12).

(May. 13) - Security officials examine wrecked vehicles outside a training center for Pakistan's Frontier Constabulary, where two people detonated suicide bomb vests on Friday. The Pakistani Taliban said the attack was carried out in retaliation to the U.S. raid last week that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (A. Majeed/Getty Images).

The attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban was intended to "avenge the Abbottabad incident," spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said, referring to the May 1 U.S. commando raid that resulted in bin Laden's death at a compound in the town of Abbottabad.

The two suicide attackers detonated their explosives at the primary entrance to a military training center for the Frontier Constabulary, which has been financially supported by the United States and has sent troops to fight al-Qaeda and other extremists near the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. Police officer Liaqat Ali Khan said 66 of those killed were recruits.

Ehsan said the Friday attack in Shabqadar would be followed by strikes targeting U.S. citizens residing in Pakistan.

An explosion at a parking lot in northwest Pakistan also caused the destruction of about 24 vehicles, including 15 tanker trucks transporting fuel for NATO into Afghanistan (Riaz Khan, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, May 13).

Even as bin Laden for years evaded a massive manhunt, he pondered ways to mount another terrorist assault in the United States as a follow-up to the September 11 attacks. His thoughts, recorded in a diary, show he focused on maximizing U.S. casualties by attacking large population centers such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The journal, other documents, data storage devices and computers were captured by U.S. Navy SEALs during their raid on the Abbottabad compound. U.S. intelligence analysts are now racing to analyze the large information cache.  Read more

India's Army Could Receive WMD-Resistant Gear

When you go to the webpage to read this article, be sure and read the referenced web pages also; otherwise, the article gets confusing.  3 mins read.  This is the future of gear for responders.

image courtesy of:  answers.com

India's army could receive new gear designed to provide protection against chemical, biological or nuclear materials, the Press Trust of India reported on Wednesday (see GSN, April 26).

Kanpur's Defense Material and Stores Research Development Establishment "has developed a new NBC or nuclear-biological-chemical suit that would be proved effective against any kind of dangerous weapons or chemicals and protect soldiers from any sort of attack," agency head Arvind Kumar Saxena said.

Read more

WMD > Russian missile troops get more WMD protection

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Russia has been providing significantly higher levels of WMD defense gear to the
military branch that manages the nation's land-based nuclear missiles, Interfax
reported on Tuesday (see GSN, March 4).

"Given the importance of the implementation of tasks of provision of alert duty
service and nuclear security, over 40 [tons] of radiation, chemical and biological
protection means were supplied to [the Russian strategic missile troops] in 2010,
which is double the volume of deliveries in previous years," said branch
spokesman Col. Vadim Koval.

Koval cited specifically a transportable decontamination system and a vehicle that
 would allow troops to safely investigate an area that might have been subject to
a WMD strike.

"These models of arms make it possible to reduce the time a commander needs to
take a decision and to maintain the combat capability of his subunits," Koval said.
"They will replace obsolete military hardware. Three chemical reconnaissance
vehicles will be supplied to [strategic missile troops] units in 2011. The delivery
of mobile spray stations started in 2008. Overall, the plan is to replace up to
80 percent of [missile troops] arms and means of radiation, chemical and biological
protection by 2020," he added (Interfax, May 3).

Read more

Free Courses > Domestic Preparedness Campus

Great courses on; Cyber Security, Terrorism Awareness, WMD HazMat Awareness and Basic EMS Awareness.  All classes are very good and very indepth, therefore, more difficult than most.