Wednesday, March 10, 2010

CQ Politics | Technology Not the Main Problem in Sorting Intelligence, Expert Says

CQ Politics Technology Not the Main Problem in Sorting Intelligence, Expert Says: "Russell Travers, the deputy director for information sharing and knowledge development at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)."
...
"The center [NCTC] already has some capacity to do search-engine-like mining of information, he [Travers] said, but privacy concerns about sharing data across intelligence services inhibit full integration of approximately 30 classified intelligence and law enforcement networks that feed into the NCTC."


This is why it is time for privacy laws to catch up with growing technological capacity and increasingly urgent counterterrorism policy needs...
- AB


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Behind the scenes, crafting the US no-fly list - Yahoo! News

Behind the scenes, crafting the US no-fly list - Yahoo! News: "In the months since the arrest of Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, the no-fly list has nearly doubled — from about 3,400 people to about 6,000 people, according to a senior intelligence official. The list expanded, in part, to add people associated with al-Qaida's Yemen branch and others from Nigeria and Yemen with potential ties to Abdulmuttalab, a counterterrorism official said.

The no-fly list has been one of the government's most public counterterrorism tools since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Adding more people to the list could make Americans safer when they fly. But it could also mean more cases of mistaken identity."


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In rare case, Pa. woman accused of aiding terror - Yahoo! News

In rare case, Pa. woman accused of aiding terror - Yahoo! News: "PHILADELPHIA – An indictment against a suburban Philadelphia woman accused of recruiting jihadist fighters online and moving to Europe to try to kill a Swedish artist is a rare case of an American woman aiding foreign terrorists, authorities say, and shows the evolution of the threat of terrorism.
Colleen R. LaRose agreed to murder the artist, marry a terrorism suspect so he could move to Europe and martyr herself if necessary, the indictment filed Tuesday said."


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Friday, March 5, 2010

WH considering military trials for 9/11 suspects

AP: WH considering military trials for 9/11 suspects

WASHINGTON – In a potential reversal, White House advisers are close to recommending that President Barack Obama opt for military tribunals for self-professed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four of his alleged henchman, senior officials said.
The review of where and how to hold a Sept. 11 trial is not over, so no recommendation is yet before the president and Obama has not made a determination of his own, officials said. The review is not likely to be finished this week.


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Monday, March 1, 2010

Grading James Bond and Fiction's Greatest Spies - WSJ.com

Grading James Bond and Fiction's Greatest Spies - WSJ.com: "Frederick P. Hitz, former inspector general of the CIA, rates the spycraft of his four favorite agents"


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Mike McConnell on how to win the cyber-war we're losing - washingtonpost.com

Mike McConnell on how to win the cyber-war we're losing - washingtonpost.com: "Ultimately, to build the right strategy to defend cyberspace, we need the equivalent of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Project Solarium. That 1953 initiative brought together teams of experts with opposing views to develop alternative strategies on how to wage the Cold War. The teams presented their views to the president, and Eisenhower chose his preferred approach -- deterrence. We now need a dialogue among business, civil society and government on the challenges we face in cyberspace -- spanning international law, privacy and civil liberties, security, and the architecture of the Internet. The results should shape our cybersecurity strategy."


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