Olympic Security Review After France Attacks

“Britain has planned for a dizzying array of security nightmares surrounding the Olympics, including a coordinated attack like the London transit bombings, a dirty bomb or a cyberattack.”

(Source: Olympic Security Review After France Attacks – ABC News.)

Link Grows Between Terrorism, Organized Crime, Officials Say

” The two missions of fighting terrorism and combating global organized crime are increasingly linked, senior Defense Department officials told Congress yesterday.

Michael A. Sheehan, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict; Garry Reid, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism; and William F. Wechsler, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics and global threats, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee’s emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee.
The hearing focused on the Pentagon’s role in implementing the national strategies for counterterrorism and combating transnational organized crime under the 2013 defense budget request.

“Terrorism, drug trafficking and other forms of transnational organized crime are increasingly intertwined,” Sheehan noted, adding that his office — which is responsible for overall supervision of special operations forces — is uniquely positioned to provide policy guidance and program oversight to the department’s efforts in both missions.

Wechsler noted four trends in terrorism and transnational crime:
– Terrorist groups are adopting criminal techniques, including drug trafficking, to raise funds;

– Criminal organizations are adopting terrorist techniques, such as beheadings;

– Terrorist organizations and criminal organizations that have been separate are now “working together in ways that previously we hadn’t seen … [such as] the attempted assassination of a Saudi ambassador here in the United States”; and
– Some countries are using criminal activity to produce revenue.
Sheehan said that while the Defense Department plays a central role in fighting terrorism and a more supporting role battling transnational organized crime, the national strategies governing the two missions are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
While the counterterrorism focus on al-Qaida remains, he said, the landscape is changing. As al-Qaida and other terror groups meld with international criminal networks, DOD is expanding its efforts beyond direct strikes against terrorist targets in supporting an interagency approach, Sheehan said.
“All our national security challenges … [are] becoming increasingly interagency,” he noted.
Fighting terrorism increasingly includes targeting the global drug trade, he said. “Nowhere is the link between transnational organized crime, insurgency and terrorism more apparent than in Afghanistan, where the Taliban continues to receive a large percentage of its revenue through heroin trade,” he added.
Fighting insurgents, prosecuting criminals and applying pressure to states profiting from terror or criminal activity involves agencies from DOD to the Drug Enforcement Agency to the State Department, Sheehan noted. And while direct strike is an important special operations capability, even purely military action often focuses on a partnering approach, he said.
“Just as important … are the special operations forces’ efforts that build the capability and capacity of our partners to shape the global information and ideas environment, as well as train and equip the capacity of other countries,” he added.
Working with Pakistan to keep pressure on al-Qaida is essential, and Yemen serves as an important front against al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula, he noted.
“DOD continues to collaborate extensively with the Yemeni forces on operational matters, and together we are closely monitoring [al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula] and regularly improving our understanding of its external plots,” Sheehan said.
Combating the nexus of terrorism and transnational organized crime, he said, “is a call to action to leverage all of the elements of national power to protect citizens and U.S. national security interests and to enable our foreign partners to do the same.””

(Source: Defense.gov News Article: Link Grows Between Terrorism, Organized Crime, Officials Say.)

Attack on aid worker ‘payback for massacre’

“THE attack on an Australian aid worker in Afghanistan was retribution for the night-time murder of 17 unarmed Afghan civilians by US soldier Robert Bales, the Taliban has said.”

(Source: Attack on aid worker ‘payback for massacre’.)

Security tight for Greek Independence Day parades

“Authorities in Greece are implementing massive security measures for fear that anti-austerity protests could disrupt national parades to mark Greek Independence Day this weekend.”

(Source: The Associated Press: Security tight for Greek Independence Day parades.)

Cyber-attack on BBC leads to suspicion of Iran’s involvement

“A “sophisticated cyber-attack” on the BBC has been linked to Iran’s efforts to disrupt the BBC Persian Service.

In a speech Director General Mark Thompson plans to say that the internet attack coincided with efforts to jam two of the service’s satellite feeds into Iran.”

Source: BBC News – Cyber-attack on BBC leads to suspicion of Iran’s involvement

3 dead in Kenya bus station blast

“At least three people were killed and others were treated for wounds following explosions at a bus station in the Kenyan capital Saturday, the Red Cross said.

The explosions occurred in central Nairobi, the agency said.”

(Source: 3 dead in Kenya bus station blast – CNN.com.)

IDF foils major attack; kills 2 terrorists

“The IAF struck a vehicle in Gaza on Friday, killing two senior officials of the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC), in a move to thwart a large-scale terror attack that was in its last stages of preparation, according to the IDF spokesperson.”

Source: IDF foils major attack; kills 2 terrorists in … JPost – Defense

Unpredictable ‘lone wolves’ pose biggest Olympic security threat

“Amateurs they might be, but it only takes one home-grown, self-radicalised, extremist to get lucky once – while, in the words of the IRA after the Brighton hotel bombing in 1984, the security services and police “will have to be lucky always”.”

Source: Unpredictable ‘lone wolves’ pose biggest Olympic security threat | Analysis | UK news | The Guardian

Police: Gunmen attack police station in Nigeria

“Police say gunmen have attacked a police station in Nigeria’s restive northeast.
Bauchi police chief Ikechukwu Aduba said Tuesday the attack occurred in Jama’are, a town about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from the city of Bauchi that was once a stronghold of a radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram.”

(Source: The Associated Press: Police: Gunmen attack police station in Nigeria.)

Qur’an protesters attack Kabul compound housing foreigners

“Afghan protestors armed with stones and molotov cocktails have attacked a military base and a compound housing foreign workers in Kabul, in a second day of violence over the burning of copies of the Qur’an by foreign forces.”

Source: Qur’an protesters attack Kabul compound housing foreigners | World news | guardian.co.uk