Homeland Security Watch

The Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy has reported out on a manual entitled, The Art of Recruiting Mujahedeen which is being distributed online.  According to a story this morning on NPR, “One of the most worrisome aspects of the manual is that it is focused on keeping recruits right where they are — in the countries in which they already live.”

This appears to be the same online manual identified and summarized by the Jamestown Foundation in September 2008.

More from National Public Radio , Security Management, and the Jamestown Foundation.

Following are a few Homeland Security events for this week.  Please access the links for more information on time, place, and purpose. Please use the comment function to add other events you would like to be covered in the days ahead.   If you are attending the hearings or otherwise directly involved, please consider contributing a report to HLSwatch.

Monday, March 23

Severe flooding is predicted for the Red River Valley and other Upper Midwest watersheds.  The NOAA forecast also calls for continued drought across the West setting the stage for an early wildfire season in some areas.

Tuesday, March 24

9:30 am (eastern) AEI Seminar on Trade vs. Security opens.

5:30 pm (eastern) Philip Bobbit speaks on Terror and Consent.   A review of Bobbit’s most recent book is available at Homeland Security Affairs Journal.

Various Times  Terry Gross will interview the publisher of Mexico’s largest newspaper chain, focusing on drug-related violence: Fresh Air from WHYY in Philadelphia and on many local NPR stations.  Available by listening to WHYY online at 12 noon (eastern).

Wednesday, March 25

9:30 am (eastern) Secretary Napolitano will testify before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about violence along the Southwest border.

12 noon (eastern) Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley will speak on Homeland Security Best Practices at the Center for National Policy. (Thanks to a reader for the notice.)

Thursday, March 26

10:00 am (eastern) Senate HSGA hearing on nomination of Jane Holl Lute to be Deputy Secretary of DHS.

Friday, March 27

Anniversary of 1994 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak across the Southeastern United States. Involved 27 confirmed tornadoes and killed 42.  One of three especially intense so-called Palm Sunday tornado outbreaks.

I know how and when to pull the trigger, Janet tells us.

Tom tells us there are entirely too many triggers.

But together we can triumph, Chad tells Texans.

Great God Almighty
   What’s to be done?
   O what’s to be done?
Sings the majestical keener
   and moaner
At the Mexican Funeral home -
And from a clap in the upclouds
Comes a clap of clouts,
All has been done.
As Theravada say “Nothing”

224th Chorus of Mexico City Blues by Jack Kerouac (1959)

More from the Houston Chronicle, El Paso Times, and the Washington Post.

President Obama has nominated Tim Manning as Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness (White House announcement is below).  This is a relatively new FEMA leadership position established by the Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act. 

When the National Preparedness office was stood up, here is how DHS described it: “The Preparedness Directorate  will focus on policy, contingency planning, exercise coordination and evaluation, emergency management training and hazard mitigation with respect to the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness (CSEP) and Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program (REPP). National Preparedness will oversee two divisions: Readiness, Prevention and Planning (RPP), and the National Integration Center (NIC). Readiness, Prevention and Planning will be the central office within FEMA handling preparedness policy and planning functions. The National Integration Center will maintain the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the National Response Plan (NRP), and will coordinate activities with the U.S. Fire Administration.”

Either by design – or perhaps as a legacy of practice and personnel – the grants office has not been as tightly tied to the Preparedness Directorate as I perceive would be helpful.  As the description suggests, this is the place where policy is translated into practice… and the right office to be sure that DHS grants do the same.

Mr. Manning may be most widely known as a co-chair of the National Homeland Security Consortium.  In that role he was credited for herding cats (or lions, tigers, and bears) in crafting the influential NHSC White Paper: Protecting Americans in the 21st Century (large pdf).

Late Friday, the White House Press Office released the nomination as follows:

Timothy W. Manning, Nominee for Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security

Timothy W. Manning is the Director of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Homeland Security Advisor to Governor Bill Richardson. Manning was named the Department’s first Director by Governor Richardson in April 2007, having previously been appointed to the Cabinet as Director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security in 2005 and as the State Director of Emergency Management since early 2003. Manning has also served as a Deputy Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Manning has a diverse background in emergency services, working in a number of positions in the State’s emergency management agency, including Chief of the Emergency Operations Bureau, and having been, at various times, a firefighter, EMT, rescue mountaineer, hazardous materials specialist, and hydrogeologist. In addition to Homeland Security, Manning also oversees the daily administration of the State’s disaster and emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts. He is currently the Chairman of the Response and Recovery Committee and regional Vice President of the National Emergency Management Association, incoming Chair of the Association’s Homeland Security Committee, Co-Chair of the National Homeland Security Consortium, Chair of the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisory Committee, a Commissioner on the Emergency Management Accreditation Program, and serves as chair or member on many other National and State boards and commissions. Manning received a Bachelors of Science in Geology from Eastern Illinois University and is a graduate of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

On Wednesday the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment held a hearing entitled, Homeland Security Intelligence and Limitations.   Access the link for prepared statements and a video of the hearing itself.

Local law enforcement pressed for a more proactive counterterrorism stance, especially in the use of Suspicious Activity Reports. Local law enforcement also asked for more and better federal cooperation in sharing intelligence.  This is hardly a headline. 

The director of the ACLU’s Washington legislative office offered,  “… an unfocused all crimes, all hazards approach to intelligence collection poses significant risks to our individual liberties, our democratic principles and, ironically, even our security.”  Once again, not exactly a surprise.

Unfolding before us in the Cannon House Office Building  was empirical evidence for quantum theory’s notion of parallel universes existing in shared space.  Each side was complete unto itself and detached from the alternative experience with which it was sharing space.  You could perceive subcommittee members playing political cosmologists and working to link the two. But – so far – this apparently exceeds human wisdom.

Other than space, those testifying seemed to share very  little interest in training and education.  Laws, regulations, internal controls, standards, guidelines, strategies, principles, and priorities were all discussed at some length.  Helping law enforcement  professionals learn how to practice intelligence functions effectively and constitutionally… not so much.

For many years the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts has facilitated helpful training.  The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis offers training to its state and local partners.  Last year DHS awarded a grant to the National Consortium for Intelligence-Led Policing.  It received $2.48 million to, in part, develop and deliver training and education.  More is being done.  More could undoubtedly be done.

But sometimes we become so preoccupied by “what” we neglect the “how.”  I have never talked to a cop who wanted to undermine the constitution.  I am sure they exist, but I have not talked to one.  I have talked to plenty of cops and other public safety professionals who do not receive any regular training beyond the absolute minimum to keep their badge.  That’s a problem for all sorts of reasons.

The Washington Post demonstrates the benefits of being a media big boy with a comprehensive, interactive, online tool for researching and tracking those named to key administration positions.

I suggest you start by choosing your favorite (or enemy) office or agency at http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2009/federal-appointments/by-branch/

One of the most helpful features on the site is the list of  positions for which the Post can confirm there has been ”No action taken.”  To answer one reader’s specific question, at DOD the NAT list includes Homeland Defense and Health Affairs.

Four animal-rights protesters pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court to charges that they harassed and threatened researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, saying they had been exercising their free-speech rights.

At issue for the activists and their attorneys is the constitutionality of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which makes it a federal crime to interfere with the operations of an animal enterprise through force, violence or threats while placing a person in a “reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury.” The law carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

More in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Meanwhile federal prosecutors are seeking a reduced sentence for convicted eco-terrorist Ian Wallace.  He admitted his involvement in vandalizing vehicles and an arson.  But he subsequently helped federal authorities crack an “attack on trees” in Wisconsin.

More from the Seattle Times.

An Alabama sheriff tells CNSnews he requested help from the Army’s Ft. Rucker when his county was dealing with a shooting spree that killed ten.  DOD has launched an investigation to see if  federal forces were deployed in a manner consistent with the Posse Comitatus statute.

“I’m assuming that the problem would be that their thinking is that the military came in and actually did police work – investigating, or whatever – and that’s bull,” said Greg Ward, Sheriff of Geneva County, Alabama. 

According to DOD Joint Doctrine, “Under imminently serious conditions, when time does not permit approval from higher headquarters, any local military commander, or responsible officials of other DOD components may, subject to any supplemental direction by higher headquarters, and in response to a request from civil authorities, provide immediate response to save lives, prevent human suffering, or mitigate great property damage.”  This is analogous to police action consistent with the emergency aid doctrine (Johnson v. United States, [1947] and Wayne v United States [1963]).

Peter Winn of CNSnews is continuing to scoop other media on this emerging story.

Who worries you the most?

• Drug cartels in Mexico and their wholesalers — and customers – in the United States;
• Pashtun nationalists, tribal loyalists, religious extremists, and political  opportunists in Pakistan;
• Underemployed, unemployed, and angry white supremacists in (fill in blank);
• Underemployed, unemployed, hungry, and desperate people in (throw a dart while blindfolded);
• Bored, brilliant hackers with a cause or just too much time on their time;
• Brilliant and motivated hackers purposefully organized to probe and subvert our precariously networked world;
• Young, comparatively privileged men (mostly) whose aspirations are frustrated and whose sense of alienation is ripe for making new meaning.  Since at least the French Revolution — maybe since the earliest days of our species — these have been our heroes and our monsters.

You can certainly list another seven – or seventy – candidates.

To address the continuum of intentional threats, yesterday locals pushed the Feds to do better sharing intelligence.

Earlier in the week the US offered the Europeans a new partnership in counterterrorism. (Is this the secret proposal?)

A fundamental reformulation of national security has been recommended by some.  Whether any such proposal is admirably holistic or a dangerous indulgence in hubris may be mostly a matter of taste.

As our Chinese creditors might say, “We are cursed to live in interesting times.”

As a teenager I enjoyed playing the board game Risk.  Somehow the real thing is not quite as fun.

The Alabama Department of Public Safety and CNSnews are reporting that military police based at the Army’s Ft. Rucker responded to last week’s murder spree in Southern Alabama.

According to CNSnews, the Department of Defense has begun an investigation into how and why the federal troops were deployed.  No official statement is yet available on the principal DOD website.  Under the so-called Posse Comitatus statute, use of federal troops to enforce the law is illegal except under very specific circumstances.

In recent months concern has been expressed regarding the potential role of federal military assets assigned to assist in domestic disaster response.  If confirmed – and depending on how it is confirmed – the Ft. Rucker incident will further fuel such concern.

UPDATE: Regional coverage from the Dothan Eagle.  National coverage from USA Today.  Story published by the Army Times.

In an interview Monday with Spiegal Online, Secretary Napolitano explained avoidance of the T word at her inaugural appearance before the House Homeland Security Committee:

“Although I did not use the word terrorism, I referred to ‘man-caused’ disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.”

Regarding the Secretary’s testimony James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation tells Fox News what everyone inside the beltway knows, but has been whispering,  “By deliberately trying not to use the T word they run a serious political risk. If something does happen, they’ll be accused of taking their eye off the ball and no amount of explanation after the fact will suffice.”

The markers for post-hoc accusation are being actively placed.  Several Republican members of the House HS Committee were very clear in their warning.  Former Vice President Cheney was his usual subtle self in telling CNN’s John King, that President Obama, ”is making some choices that, in my mind, will, in fact, raise the risk to the American people of another attack.”

The prospect of merging the HSC into the NSC runs the same political risk… among other risks.  In seeking to de-politicize terrorism the new administration is running the risk of handing their political adversaries a great gift.

Quite often in pursuing one goal we accept risk to another goal.  It is not always a zero sum game, but the trade-offs can be painful.  A big part of effective risk management is being explicit in advance about the potential trade-offs.

In an essay published on Monday,  James Carafano at the Heritage Foundation pushes for appointment of an Undersecretary for Policy and Planning at DHS.

An HLSwatch reader recently worried about the status of  DOD positions for Homeland Defense and Health Affairs, noting how crucial each appointment is to the overall homeland security mission.

Which appointments do you consider key to the homeland security mission? Who do you hear is being considered?  Who do you want to nominate?   Please use the comment function to add your voice to the mix.

Please do not restrict yourself to DHS.  Don’t even limit your thinking to the federal government.  Which positions are the crucial “network nodes” for effective homeland security in states, localities, private enterprise, and the not-for-profit sectors?

Some suggest that 30 to 50 is the optimum number for authentic and effective teamwork.  Are there 30 to 50 positions that make up the homeland security olympic team?

An Inspector General’s prose styling can sometimes  take your breath away:

“The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursed a subgrantee receiving Stafford Act funds $3.8 million for rocks used for emergency repairs and improvements to facilities, notwithstanding that the rocks had originally cost the subgrantee less than $20,000.”

As the late Paul Harvey might have said, you can read the rest of the story on page 2.

In testimony yesterday, Dr. David  Boyd, Director of Command, Control and Interoperability Division of the DHS S&T Directorate, explained that an effective national network for interoperable communications need not connect every first responder in San Diego to every first responder in Miami. The tactical and operational needs of different communities are too diverse to be encompassed by any single system.  “A system of systems is the only viable solution for the next two decades,” he told the House Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee.

Developing and implementing standards that will ensure effective linkage within this system of systems would produce three benefits according to Boyd:

1. Allow the system of systems to be built on the back of exisiting investments and networks, potentially saving substantial time and money.

2. Allow the system of systems to reflect very real, sometimes daunting, differences in local geography, structural density, and other crucial variabilities.

3.  Eliminate the risk of a single point of failure that a monolithic national system would probably entail.

Dr. Boyd’s prepared testimony is available. The prepared testimony of others who were testifying is also available at the Committee website.  Boyd’s comments were the only part of the webcast I was able to catch.

On Monday Vice President Biden and Secretary Napolitano addressed the International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference.

Given the audience, it was not surprising that Napolitano continued her constant refrain on the need for improving federal relations with states and localities .  The Secretary said, “the job of Homeland Security cannot be done, nor should it be expected to be done, by one, federal department alone.  We are one part of a vital and vibrant partnership that should extend across this country to every state, North, South, East, West, and to every community big and small. And those partnerships, I believe, can be made even more robust.”

A bit more surprising was the Secretary’s attention to the role of FEMA.   This is at least the third time where she has gone out of her way to lower expectations – or correct expectations – of the FEMA role.  She said, “FEMA is not a first responder. You are the first responders. And FEMA is there to back you up and not to be a substitute for emergency workers and fire fighters and the like.”

“FEMA’s job is to support you, and to support you in a number of ways, by providing grants, training, equipment, exercises, by helping coordinate disaster planning across the country, including pre-disaster planning; and to assist in to assist in post-disaster recovery.”

“But it is really our firefighters, our police, those are the individuals that show up at the door on the day, the hour of a disaster, the day after, and the like. And when a city or locality needs assistance, the state comes in and then FEMA is there to back it up.”

“And so one of the things that we can all do is really educate and keep emphasizing that message. You are our first responders. We are here to back you up, to support you, and to provide an important level of making sure there is national pre-disaster planning and post-disaster recovery planning going on.  And that, to me, is a fundamental reassessment in the public eye of FEMA’s role.”

Got that?  Secretary Napolitano’s complete remarks are available at the DHS website. 

RumorWatch: The FEMA backup role is also consistent with rumors, loose talk, and alcohol-fueled speculation that this administration intends to give much more attention to policy and practice for long-term recovery.   The troubled New Orleans recovery is the most common problem cited.  Yesterday’s Houston Chronicle reminds us the Big Easy is not alone in finding recovery to be really hard.

“Contracting documents are in disarray at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s headquarters office, with the agency unable to find two-thirds of the files requested during a recent audit. Contracting officers at FEMA’s Washington office could not locate 16 of the 24 files the accounting firm Urbach Kahn and Werlin requested, according to the audit released March 13 by the Homeland Security Department’s inspector general,” Alice Liposwicz reports in Federal Computer Week.   I empathize.  Thirty days left to tax day.  Where are those receipts?

The DHS Inspector General has a complete report on the problems.