Georgetown Security Law Brief

TSA rail, subway spot-checks raise privacy issues

01/29/12: CNN reports that at a time when TSA airport searches are unpopular among many air travelers, civil liberties groups say the joint participation of special TSA Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response teams (VIPRS) with local police in "warrantless" searches have been "flying under the radar" in violation of constitutional protections. Transit police say it helps them better guard against attacks like those that have hit Madrid, London and Moscow since 2004. VIPRS are tasked with performing random, unpredictable baggage and security checks at passenger train, subway and bus stations as well as trucking weigh stations across the nation.

Papua New Guinea's mutiny leader arrested

01/29/12: Reuters reports that an army officer who led a military revolt aimed at reinstating Papua New Guinea's ousted prime minister appeared in court on Sunday on mutiny charges, police said. Retired Colonel Yaura Sasa, who led last week's attempt to restore Sir Michael Somare to power, appeared in a court charged under the criminal code with incitement to mutiny following his arrest overnight. Police spotted Sasa by chance at a lodge away from the Taurama barracks, where his supporters have been holed up with weapons since last week's failed mutiny, police media spokesman Superintendant Dominic Kakas said.

Opinion: Privacy, technology and law

01/29/12: The New York Times features an opinion piece by Barry Friedman. Everyday, Friedman contends, those of us who live in the digital world give little bits of ourselves away. On Facebook and LinkedIn. To servers that store our e-mail, Google searches, online banking and shopping records. Does the fact that so many of us live our lives online mean we have given the government wide-open access to all that information? Friedman argues that the Supreme Court’s decision last week in United States v. Jones presents the disturbing possibility that the answer is yes.

Israeli and Palestinian peace talks flounder

01/29/12: The Boston Globe reports that Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday blamed each other for the impasse in newly launched peace efforts, raising doubts about whether the dialogue would continue just weeks after it began. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of spoiling the low-level talks, saying it failed to present detailed proposals for borders and security requested by international mediators. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Palestinians "refused to even discuss" Israeli security needs.

Counter-terrorism chemical labs test for synthetic pot

01/29/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that Jeffery H. Moran, chief of the counter-terrorism laboratory at the Arkansas Department of Health — one of 62 such federally funded labs in the country — has been armed with $2 million worth of new equipment. Recently, Moran has given his staff a new task — helping police in half a dozen states identify "Spice," a chemical substance that produces a marijuana-like high and has sent hundreds of users to emergency rooms. Using a counter-terrorism lab to test for synthetic marijuana is the latest sign of how a multibillion-dollar national infrastructure built to detect or respond to chemical or biological attacks over the last decade has adapted to the lack of any actual attacks.

Egyptian Member of Parliament calls for Zawahiri's return

01/29/12: The Long War Journal reports that a member of the newly elected Egyptian parliament has called for al Qaeda's emir to return to the country "with his head held high and safely." Aboud al Zomor, who served as the first emir of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and was later imprisoned for his role in President Anwar Sadat's assassination, said that he welcomes Ayman al Zawahiri's return to Egypt and that he would be given safe haven, according to a report published yesterday in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.

Private snoops find GPS legal trail to follow

01/29/12: The New York Times reports that tens of thousands of Americans are tracking cars with little oversight, for purposes as seemingly benign as tracking an elderly parent with dementia or a risky teenage driver, or as legally and ethically charged as spying on a spouse or an employee — or for outright criminal stalking. Last Monday’s Supreme Court decision held that law enforcement placement of a GPS tracker on a vehicle constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. But sales of GPS trackers to employers and individuals, for a multitude of largely unregulated uses, are growing fast, raising new questions about privacy and a legal system that has not kept pace with technology.

UN nuclear team arrives in Iran seeking answers over alleged weapons program

01/29/12: The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that UN nuclear inspectors began a critical mission to Iran on Sunday to probe allegations of a secret atomic weapons program amid escalating Western economic pressures and warnings about safeguarding Gulf oil shipments from possible Iranian blockades. The findings from the three-day visit could greatly influence the direction and urgency of US-led efforts to rein in Iran's ability to enrich uranium — which Washington and allies fear could eventually produce weapons-grade material.

Slow FOIA request responses cloud a window into Washington

01/29/12: The New York Times reports that the intent of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was to provide citizens, scholars and journalists a window into the workings of their government, but sometimes it seems as though the shades are drawn. According to the act, federal agencies are supposed to promptly release documents requested by the public. In the dialect of Washington, it can be a noun or a verb. But the FOIA process is seldom prompt. The courts have ruled that government agencies must respond to FOIA requests in 20 days. But some requests are approaching 20 years old.

Russia backs Assad, last friend in Arab world

01/29/12: The Albany Democrat Herald reports that Russia's defiance of international efforts to end Syrian President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests is rooted in a calculation that it can keep a Mideast presence by propping up its last remaining ally in the region and has nothing to lose if it fails. The Kremlin has put itself in conflict with the West as it shields Assad's regime from United Nations sanctions and continues to provide it with weapons even as others impose arms embargoes.

Israel proposes West Bank barrier as border

01/28/12: The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that Israel is proposing to essentially turn its West Bank separation barrier into the border with a future state of Palestine, two Palestinian officials said Friday, based on their interpretation of principles Israel presented in talks this week. The officials said Israel wants to keep east Jerusalem and consolidate Jewish settlements behind the separation barrier, which slices close to 10 percent off the West Bank.

France, Karzai want faster NATO Afghanistan exit

01/28/12: The Boston Globe reports that France and Afghanistan agree NATO should speed up by a year its timetable for handing all combat operations to Afghan forces in 2013, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday, raising new questions about the unity of the Western military alliance. Sarkozy also announced a faster-track exit for France, the fourth-largest contributor of troops in Afghanistan -- marking a distinct break from previous plans to adhere to the US goal of withdrawing combat forces by the end of 2014.

Libya torture causing prisoner deaths

01/28/12: Jurist reports that Amnesty International has released information concerning the recent deaths of several Libyan detainees who were apparently tortured while in custody. The deaths come amid allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment of detainees accused of being pro-Gaddafi loyalists and fighters during the Libyan conflict last year. The organization reports that both official military and security entities as well as the multitude of unrecognized armed militias are responsible for the torture and subsequent deaths.

Vatican rewrites anti-money laundering, terror finance law

01/28/12: The Washington Post reports that the Vatican has rewritten its 2010 anti-money laundering law after European inspectors found that it didn’t fully meet their tough standards to combat the financing of terrorism. The new law requires the Vatican to create a list of terror organizations based on those issued by the United Nations and requires the Vatican enter into agreements with other countries to share financial information.

Justice Department turns over documents to Congress concerning Operation Fast and Furious

01/28/12: The Columbus Telegram reports that newly released Justice Department emails sent to Capitol Hill for a congressional inquiry into a gun-smuggling operation indicate that the head of the department's criminal division suggested letting some illicit "straw" weapons buyers in the US transport their guns across the border into Mexico where they could be arrested. According to the emails turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday night, the Justice official, Lanny Breuer, made the suggestion to Mexican officials because it "may send a strong message to arms traffickers."

Legal limbo for captured pirates

01/28/12: The New York Times reports that the many navies involved in counterpiracy patrols off Africa’s northeastern shore have learned the pirates’ habits and sharpened interdiction efforts. Hijackings have declined sharply in the past year. But where interdiction ends, an enduring problem begins: what to do with the pirates that foreign ships detain?  Vessels from several navies collaborating on counterpiracy are holding a total of 71 captured pirates, but no system has been developed for prosecuting their cases.

US transfers security control to Afghans in Jalalabad

01/28/12: The New York Times reports on the latest transfer of power from NATO forces to Afghan authority in the city of Jalalabad and four districts in eastern Afghanistan. As in other areas that have transferred authority, American forces will remain in the region to provide support but, from now on, the Afghan Army is to be in charge. So far, about 20 such ceremonies have taken place across the country, part of the unfolding plan for all NATO combat troops to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Iran's envoy to IAEA is hopeful on eve of nuclear watchdog visit

01/28/12: CNN reports that Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency said he is hopeful that the recent planned visit by representatives of the nuclear watchdog will "resolve any ambiguity and show (our) transparency and cooperation with the agency." "This trip is aimed at neutralizing enemy plots ... and baseless allegations, and proving the peaceful nature of our nuclear activities," Ali Asghar Soltanieh told the state-run Islamic Republican News Agency.

Arab League halts observer mission in Syria

01/28/12: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Arab League halted its observer mission to Syria on Saturday, sharply criticizing the regime of President Bashar Assad for escalating violence in recent days that has killed at least 80 people across the country. The rising bloodshed has added urgency to new attempts by Arab and Western countries to find a resolution to the 10 months of violence that according to the United Nations has killed at least 5,400 people as Assad seeks to crush persistent protests demanding an end to his rule.

Commentary: North Korea succession offers US opportunity

01/28/12: The San Francisco Chronicle features an opinion piece by Joel Brinkley concerning the succession of Kim Jong Un. Brinkley contends that North Korea’s elite has its own goals in mind when it presents him as a militant god-like leader. Brinkley argues that even in his first few days in office, Kim has offered indications that he may not preside over business as usual. North Korea did not go through with a predicted unprovoked attack on South Korea, and announced it would release prisoners, the first general amnesty in seven years.And then, for the first time, it agreed to allow a Western news agency, the Associated Press, to open an office in Pyongyang.

Violence rises sharply in Syria, flustering Arab League monitors

01/27/12: The New York Times reports that violence in Syria has escalated sharply in the past two days, with heavy bloodshed reported Friday in at least three flash points as Arab League monitors expressed exasperation and the United Nations Security Council prepared to discuss the crisis as a step toward a possible resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Syrian rights activists reported government troops attacking targets in the central cities of Homs and Hama and the northern city of Idlib.

US cybersecurity efforts trigger privacy concerns

01/27/12: The Washington Times reports that the federal government’s plan to expand computer security protections into critical parts of private industry is raising concerns that the move will threaten Americans’ civil liberties. In a report for release Friday, The Constitution Project warns that as the Obama administration partners more with the energy, financial, communications and health care industries to monitor and protect networks, sensitive personal information of people who work for or communicate with those companies could be improperly or inadvertently disclosed.

CIA officer to leave NYPD in April

01/27/12: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says the CIA officer working as an assistant to the department's top intelligence officer will leave in April after nine months. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the officer's assignment was being cut short. On Friday, Kelly said the department was notified in November of when the officer would leave. The CIA's inspector general earlier cleared the agency of any wrongdoing in its relationship with the NYPD but criticized how the collaboration was established.

Irish may try IRA veteran over North Korean scam

01/27/12: The Omaha World Herald reports that an Irish Republican Army veteran long accused of laundering counterfeit US $100 bills on behalf of North Korea could face trial in Ireland. High Court Justice John Edwards said he has forwarded an evidence file to state prosecutors against Sean Garland, 76, who denies smuggling more than $250,000 worth of fake American banknotes from the North Korean embassy in Moscow in 1998. Edwards issued his follow-up statement one month after he rejected a 6-year-old US extradition warrant for Garland.

Justice Department takes on itself in probe of 2001 anthrax attacks

01/27/12: The Washington Post reports that since it began a decade ago, the federal government’s massive investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks has been plagued by missteps and complications. Investigators initially focused on the wrong man, then had to pay him a nearly $6 million settlement. In 2008, they accused another man, Bruce E. Ivins, who killed himself before he could go to trial. Now, in the latest twist, the government has argued Ivins was likely not the anthrax killer.

Egypt bans travel for US official’s son, 9 others, amid crackdown on human rights groups

01/27/12: The Washington Times reports that Egypt is preventing at least 10 Americans and Europeans from leaving the country, including the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, raising tensions with Washington over a campaign by Egypt's military against groups promoting democracy and human rights. The United States warned Thursday that the campaign raised concerns about Egypt’s transition to democracy and could jeopardize American aid that Egypt’s battered economy needs badly after a year of unrest.

Defense budget plan would cut spending by half a trillion

01/27/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Pentagon has released a budget blueprint that cuts projected military spending by nearly half a trillion dollars, yet still calls for increasing the base defense budget in all but one of the next five years. The proposal meets both goals because spending on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is dropping sharply, allowing the base budget — the annual cost of paying troops and buying planes, ships and tanks — to increase modestly, even while complying with last year's bipartisan deal in Congress to reduce the deficit.

Israel says Iran 'drifting' toward nuke goal line

01/27/12: The Charlotte Observer reports that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday the world must quickly stop Iran from reaching the point where even a "surgical" military strike could not block it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Amid fears that Israel is nearing a decision to attack Iran's nuclear program, Barak said tougher international sanctions are needed against Tehran's oil and banks so that "we all will know early enough whether the Iranians are ready to give up their nuclear weapons program."

Maryland man pleads guilty to plotting attack on military recruiting center

01/27/12: The Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that a Maryland man pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to blow up an Army recruiting center near Baltimore. Antonio Martinez, a Muslim convert who also goes by Muhammad Hussain, was arrested on December 8, 2010, in an FBI sting after he tried to detonate a car bomb at the Armed Forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Maryland. The bomb, supplied by federal agents, was inert.

Papa New Guinea mutineers seek pardon following failed coup

01/27/12: The BBC reports that a group of soldiers who staged a failed mutiny in Papua New Guinea on Thursday are demanding a full pardon. Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said that the attempt in Port Moresby was ''a desperate act''. The group of up to 20 soldiers demanded the reinstatement of ousted Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare. The incident related to the conflict between Mr O'Neill and Sir Michael, who both claim the role of prime minister.

Search for nuclear waste dump could last up to 20 years

01/27/12: CNN reports that three years after the Obama administration killed controversial plans to store the nation's nuclear waste permanently at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a presidential commission has declared that the nation needs to adopt a "consent-based approach" to position disposal facilities, gaining the approval of any community before moving forward with future sites. Such an approach -- which may include "substantial incentives" for a community, if necessary -- would be frustratingly slow, the commission conceded, suggesting it could take five to 10 years to find a temporary nuclear storage site and 15 to 20 years to identify a permanent one.

Shot-up image of president draws a Secret Service inquiry

01/27/12: The New York Times reports that the Secret Service says it is looking into a photograph posted on the Internet that showed a group of young Arizona men posing in the desert with guns while holding up what appeared to be a bullet-riddled image of President Obama’s face. The photograph showed seven casually dressed young men, four of whom clutched weapons and one of whom held up a T-shirt covered with small holes and gashes and bearing a likeness of Mr. Obama above the word “HOPE.” The weapons held aloft appeared to be a revolver, a bolt-action rifle and two assault rifles.

Mexico increases swine flu screening as cases increase

01/27/12: ABC News reports that three years after swine flu closed Mexico City and caused an international scare, the Mexican government and local media are at odds over the severity of this season's flu virus. Newspapers are warning of an alarming increase in cases while the government insists there is no cause for alarm. Federal and state health officials agree there is an increase, but they say the number of cases is within the range of a normal flu season. The Mexican health ministry, however, has listed confusing numbers on its website and refuses to respond to inquiries as to the specific rise in cases.

DOJ defends keeping Bin Laden death photos secret

01/27/12: The Blog of Legal Times reports that the US Justice Department has asked a federal judge to keep secret photos showing the death of Osama bin Laden, saying the images are classified because of their potential to incite violence against the United States. The department filed court papers this week in a FOIA suit in Washington asking US District Judge James Boasberg to keep the photos out of the public domain. The DOJ asserts the photos reveal specific military and intelligence activities, methods and techniques.

Accused Pentagon shooter Melaku pleads guilty

01/27/12: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that an ex-Marine from Virginia pleaded guilty Thursday and has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence on charges that he fired a series of overnight pot shots in 2010 at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other military targets as part of what prosecutors called a campaign to strike fear throughout the region. Prosecutors revealed that Melaku’s intended next target was Arlington National Cemetery, where he was arrested before he was able to carry out a plan to deface gravestones there.

Commentary: The innate tension between efficiency and resilience in supply chains

01/27/12: Homeland Security Watch features commentary by Philip J. Palin concerning the administration’s new National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security. Palin contends this is an easy issue to underestimate. Like the plumbing in your house, it tends not to be at the forefront until something goes wrong: leaking, freezing, breaking, bursting, or when the well goes dry. He shares his brief quick take on context and potential implications of the new strategy.

Big Brother will be watching US intelligence world

01/26/12: The Denver Post reports that the top US intelligence official declared Thursday that it will take roughly five years to put in place new measures to stop another WikiLeaks-style exposure of classified information.  Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper said officials are working to "tag" information to be able to track back to which intelligence staffers shared it—something prosecutors could have used to help prove allegations that Bradley Manning copied thousands of war-related records that were leaked to the website Wikileaks.

Iraq will take legal action over US raid

01/26/12: The Ithaca Journal reports that Iraq will take legal action to ensure justice for the families of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians killed in a US raid in Haditha seven years ago, a government spokesman said Thursday, after the lone US Marine convicted in the killings reached a deal to escape jail time. Residents in Haditha, a former Sunni insurgent stronghold of about 85,000 people along the Euphrates River valley some 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, have expressed outrage at the American military justice system for allowing Staff Sergeant Frank Wultrich to avoid prison.

Security contractors see opportunities, and limits, in Mexico

01/26/12: The Washington Post reports that with the Iraq war over and the American presence waning in Afghanistan, US security contractors are looking for new prospects in Mexico, where spreading criminal violence has created a growing demand for battle-ready professionals. However, Mexico’s restrictive gun laws mean that foreign contractors must enter the bloody drug war unarmed as they take jobs ranging from consulting and technical training for the Mexican military to guarding business executives from kidnapping gangs and extortionists.

The Philippines negotiates broader military ties with the US

01/26/12: The New York Times reports that Philippine foreign affairs and defense officials are visiting Washington to negotiate an expansion of the American military presence in the country, a senior defense official in Manila said Thursday. “They are thrashing out the details,” the official, Peter Galvez, acting chief of staff to the secretary of national defense, said by telephone. The discussions will be followed by higher-level discussions in March, Mr. Galvez said.

Mubarak’s lawyer contends US and Israel plotted shooting of protesters

01/26/12: The Centre Daily Times reports that the United States and Israel plotted the killing of Egyptian protesters during last year's 18-day uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, a lawyer for his former interior minister claimed Thursday. Lawyer Mohammed el-Gendi also accused security guards at the American University in Cairo of opening fire on protesters. The university's historical main building borders Tahrir Square, which was the focus of the anti-Mubarak revolt.

France agrees to two decades of support in Afghanistan, despite attack on its troops

01/26/12: The Washington Post reports that one week after four French troops were killed by a rogue Afghan soldier, prompting President Nicolas Sarkozy to suspend military operations in Afghanistan, France will sign a bilateral agreement outlining its commitment here over the next two decades. French troops will continue to train their Afghan counterparts well beyond 2014, when combat operations are due to conclude, according to the agreement described by Afghan and French officials.

New drone has no pilot anywhere, so who's accountable?

01/26/12: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Navy's new drone being tested near Chesapeake Bay stretches the boundaries of technology: It's designed to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier, one of aviation's most difficult maneuvers. What's even more remarkable is that it will do that not only without a pilot in the cockpit, but without a pilot at all. Although humans would program an autonomous drone's flight plan and could override its decisions, the prospect of heavily armed aircraft screaming through the skies without direct human control is unnerving to many.

Papua New Guinea’s premier rejects mutineers' demand for new government

01/26/12: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Prime Minister Peter O'Neill refused to step down despite a mutiny Thursday by soldiers who seized Papua New Guinea's military headquarters and demanded that he cede power to his ousted predecessor. Soldiers led by retired Colonel Yuara Sasa put the country's top commander under house arrest in a bloodless, pre-dawn takeover — part of the power struggle in which both O'Neill and former Prime Minister Michael Somare claim to be the rightful leader of the South Pacific island nation.

Egyptian protesters plan sit-in until army leaves

01/26/12: Reuters reports that Egyptian youths camped out on Thursday in Cairo's Tahrir Square and vowed to stay put until the army hands power to civilians, a day after a mass demonstration marked a year since an uprising which brought down Hosni Mubarak. The Tahrir crowd, tens of thousands strong, was broadly split between youths demanding the army cede control to civilians immediately and Islamists celebrating a political transformation that has handed them sweeping gains in parliament after decades of repression.

Khmer Rouge tribunal halts salaries for Cambodians

01/26/12: The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that about 300 Cambodians working at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal will not be paid this month — and some have worked without pay since October — because funds from donor countries have dried up. International staff are paid by the United Nations and will continue to receive salaries. The salaries of local staff, however, are funded by contributions from donor countries, said Huy Vannak, a tribunal spokesman.

Prosecution argues Reagan’s would-be assassin should not get more freedom

01/26/12: The Washington Post reports that prosecutors contend presidential assailant John W. Hinckley should not get more freedom from his psychiatric hospital, because of his pattern of deception, isolation and problematic relationships with women. Hinckley’s family and St. Elizabeths Hospital staff members say his mental health has improved and are asking a federal judge to expand his privileges.

Russia to keep blocking UN sanctions on Syria

01/26/12: Stars and Stripes reports that Russia is standing firm on blocking any UN sanctions against Syria, its longtime ally and a significant arms customer, saying that any resolution by the world body must exclude the possibility of international military involvement such as in Libya. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that UN approval for sanctions against Syria mirroring those by other nations would be "unfair and counterproductive."

Fight escalates over legal mail at Guantánamo

01/26/12: The Miami Herald reports that the chief defense counsel for the Guantánamo Bay war crimes tribunals said Wednesday that he has instructed attorneys not to follow a new rule subjecting legal mail to a security review, escalating a dispute with the prison’s commander. Marine Colonel Jeffrey Colwell said he issued the instructions to the more than 100 military and civilian lawyers involved with the tribunal in response to the order issued last month by the prison commander, Rear Admiral David Woods.

New UN envoy urges Afghan participation in peace process

01/26/12: The New York Times reports that the new United Nations representative to Afghanistan urged Afghans on Wednesday to embrace an inclusive peace process in which all the elements of society would have a voice. Speaking to reporters for the first time since his arrival on Jan. 17, the new envoy, Jan Kubis, said that “it should be an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process, because it is about the country and the people of the country.”