Terrorists, Spies, And Cyber Criminals: My Counterterrorism Magazine Piece On The FBI And Threats To The Homeland

Counterterrorism magazine published my piece on the FBI and threats from terrorists, spies, and cyber criminals.

You can read the piece above and below.

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.

'Victory Will have A Clear Definition': President Trump Unveils New Afghanistan, South Asia Strategy

Jim Garamone at the DoD News offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2017 — President Donald J. Trump unveiled an expansive new strategy for South Asia aimed at bolstering American security.

The new strategy encompasses Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the Central Asian nations and extends into Southeast Asia. He stressed the strategy will not have artificial timelines built into it.

Trump spoke before a crowd of hundreds of service members at Conmy Hall at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia.

Trump said the American people are frustrated by the nation’s longest war in Afghanistan, calling it a war without victory. The new strategy, he said, is a path toward victory and will step away from a policy of nation building.

The new strategy, Trump said, is a result of a study he ordered immediately after he was inaugurated in January. The strategy is based on three precepts.

“First, our nation must seek an honorable and enduring outcome worthy of the tremendous sacrifices that have been made, especially the sacrifices of lives,” Trump said. “The men and women who serve our nation in combat deserve a plan for victory. They deserve the tools they need and the trust they have earned to fight and to win.”

No Hasty Exit

Trump said the second precept is that a hasty exit from Afghanistan would simply allow terrorists to flood back into that country and begin planning attacks on America and its allies and partners.

The third precept, he said, concerns the threats emanating from the region, which are immense and must be confronted.

“Today, 20 U.S-designated foreign terrorist organizations are active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the highest concentration in any region anywhere in the world,” the president said. “For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror. The threat is worse because Pakistan and India are two nuclear-armed states whose tense relations threaten to spiral into conflict. And that could happen.”

The United States and its allies and partners are committed to defeating these terrorist groups, Trump said.

“Terrorists who slaughter innocent people will find no glory in this life or the next,” he said. “They are nothing but thugs and criminals and predators and -- that's right -- losers.”

Trump added, “Working alongside our allies, we will break their will, dry up their recruitment, keep them from crossing our borders, and, yes, we will defeat them, and we will defeat them handily.”

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the United States will work to stop the resurgence of safe havens that enable terrorists to threaten America, Trump said.

“And we must prevent nuclear weapons and materials from coming into the hands of terrorists and being used against us, or anywhere in the world, for that matter,” he said.

Conditions-Based Strategy

Trump emphasized the strategy will be conditions based and not set to a timetable. “I've said it many times how counterproductive it is for the United States to announce in advance the dates we intend to begin or end military options,” the president said. “We will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities. Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables, will guide our strategy from now on. America's enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out.”

Trump said the new strategy will involve all aspects of American power, employing diplomacy, economic might, intelligence and military power to advance American interests and ensure the safety of the homeland and American allies and partners.

The United States, he added, will continue to support the Afghan government and its military.

“Ultimately, it is up to the people of Afghanistan to take ownership of their future, to govern their society and to achieve an everlasting peace,” Trump said. “We are a partner and a friend, but we will not dictate to the Afghan people how to live or how to govern their own complex society. We are not nation building again. We are killing terrorists.”

Trump said Pakistan is a major concern, and he said Pakistan must stop providing safe havens for terrorists who rest and refit for actions in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

“Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan,” the president said. “It has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists.”

Pakistan Must Change

Trump noted that Pakistan has worked with the United States in the past, but the nation’s policies must change.

“No partnership can survive a country's harboring of militants and terrorists who target U.S. service members and officials,” Trump said. “It is time for Pakistan to demonstrate its commitment to civilization, order and to peace.”

Trump said India will be a key component in any strategy in the region, and the president wants to work with India’s leaders to provide more economic assistance and targeted development to the people of Afghanistan.

“We are committed to pursuing our shared objectives for peace and security in South Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

The president pledged that service members will have the rules of engagement they need to take swift, decisive actions. “I have already lifted restrictions the previous administration placed on our warfighters that prevented the secretary of defense and our commanders in the field from fully and swiftly waging battle against the enemy,” he said. “Micromanagement from Washington, D.C., does not win battles. They're won in the field, drawing upon the judgment and expertise of wartime commanders, and front-line soldiers, acting in real time with real authority, and with a clear mission to defeat the enemy.”

‘Victory Will Have a Clear Definition’

The president described what he believes victory will look like. “From now on, victory will have a clear definition: Attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al-Qaida, preventing the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan, and stopping mass terror attacks against America before they emerge,” he said.

NATO allies and global partners like Australia will support the new strategy and have already pledged additional troops and funding increases, the president said.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he has directed Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to prepare to carry out the president’s strategy. “I will be in consultation with the secretary general of NATO and our allies -- several of which have also committed to increasing their troop numbers,” Mattis said in a written statement. “Together, we will assist the Afghan security forces to destroy the terrorist hub.”

The president concluded his speech speaking directly to service members in the hall and around the world.

“With our resolve, we will ensure that your service and that of your families will bring about the defeat of our enemies and the arrival of peace,” Trump said. “We will push onward to victory with power in our hearts, courage in our souls and everlasting pride in each and every one of you.” 

Spies, Crooks, Terrorists And Jan Fedarcyk, The FBI's First Lady

In my previous post - http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2016/12/the-fbis-first-lady-my-q-with-jan.html - I offered my Counterterrorism magazine Q&A with Jan Fedarcyk, the former Assistant Director of the FBI's New York Office and author of Fidelity.

Below is an accompanying piece on Jan Fedarcyk:

Note: You can click on the above to enlarge.

Southcom Commander: Illicit Networks Are Region’s Greatest Security Challenge

Cheryl Pellerin at the DoD News offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2016 — In Latin America and the Caribbean the biggest security challenge confronting the United States comes from illicit networks used by criminals and terrorists, U.S. Southern Command commander Navy Adm. Kurt W. Tidd said yesterday during a media roundtable at the Pentagon.

Southcom is responsible for Defense Department security cooperation in the 45 nations and territories of Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea, an area of 16 million square miles. During any given week there are up to 7,000 service members in the region, Tidd said.

The admiral called it a region where the United States has significant opportunities, friends and longstanding relationships with countries that see the United States as the security partner of choice.

Opportunities and Challenges

The Southcom area of responsibility has been characterized by the absence of ongoing armed conflict between nations for some time,” he noted, “but it's not a region that is without challenges ... [and] the biggest security challenge when you look at Latin America and the Caribbean … is the illicit networks.”

Sometimes the networks are used by criminals, and sometimes by terrorists, but more often the lines blur between them, Tidd said.

To go after the networks, he added, the U.S. military plays a useful role by working with all its partners -- partner nations, U.S. interagency partners, and those in the diplomatic, intelligence and law enforcement communities -- and using experience developed over the past 15 years to detect, illuminate and disrupt the networks.

“The disruption piece is almost always going to be by partner-nation law enforcement organizations, or by partner-nation military organizations, so that drives a lot of our activities where we work closely to build their capacity to deal with these networks,” Tidd said.

“The last disruption piece is our own U.S. federal law enforcement agencies that are active down in the region working on our country teams,” he added, noting that “pretty much everything that we do, we do in support of our country teams, of our ambassadors.”

The State Department is probably Southcom’s closest partner, Tidd said, and one of his two deputy commanders is a senior State Department official.

Illuminating Networks

Law enforcement and intelligence communities have determined that most of the terrorist networks engage in some kind of criminal activity to raise money, the admiral (seen in the above photo) said.

As one example, there is longstanding concern in the region about organizations like Hezbollah -- a Shiite Islamist militant group based in Lebanon -- “raising money in one region and funneling it to nefarious activities in other regions, and that certainly continues,” Tidd said.

The networks support illicit activities that include smuggling drugs, wildlife, bulk cash, weapons and people, along with illegal logging and mining.

“Our friends in Colombia have said more money is raised in illegal gold mining than is raised in illegal drug smuggling out of Colombia,” Tidd said, “ ... the way they do this leads to enormous ecological damage, where they destroy river systems and leave them a ruin.”

First Steps with Cuba

After the United States and Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations and reopened embassies last July, Tidd said several activities -- the first one a medical interaction -- were identified as useful first steps for Southcom.

A Cuban military medical unit was in Haiti when the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort made a port visit in September 2015, and ship personnel brought the Cuban medical team aboard for a tour and for discussions about humanitarian assistance activities, the admiral said.

Then, in January, Southcom and Jamaica co-hosted the 14th Caribbean Nations Security Conference, where delegations from 18 nations, including the United States -- and for the first time Cuba -- met in Kingston, Jamaica, Jan. 26-29, for talks on security cooperation and capacity building in the Caribbean.

“It was the first time we were at one of these security conferences together,” the admiral said.
Some initial warming up was required, he added, while the Cuban delegation members were getting used to the idea of listening to broad discussions about security concerns.

“The island of Cuba sits directly astride principal north-south trading routes. Those trading routes also happen to be smuggling routes and Cuba has concerns about illicit trafficking,” Tidd said.
Calling it a first step, the admiral said the timeline will be driven largely by the Cuban government, “because they're not prepared for that degree of openness, frankly, and I think it will take [time] to get to that point.”

Southcom, Zika

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Zika virus outbreaks occurred in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands before 2015. In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infections in Brazil. Outbreaks now are occurring in many countries and territories.

On Feb. 1, CDC says, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern because of clusters of microcephaly and other neurological disorders in some areas affected by Zika, for which CDC travel warnings include many countries in the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Tidd says Southcom supports U.S. national and multinational efforts in two areas -- understanding the transmission vectors -- primarily mosquitoes -- and helping with their eradication, and contributing to the international medical research effort to develop a Zika virus vaccine.

The mosquito-borne vector is well understood in this part of the world, he added, going all the way back to U.S involvement in digging the Panama Canal and dealing with the mosquito-borne viruses responsible for yellow fever and malaria.

“More recently [mosquito-borne diseases] dengue and chikungunya … have a much more immediate deadly impact that we've been paying attention to for some time down there,” the admiral added, “and the protective measures that we take for Zika are the same measures we take for dengue fever and chikungunya.”

Zika Eradication, Research

Partner nations in the region know what’s required for mosquito eradication, which Tidd called a labor-intensive challenge, particularly in an urban setting.

For the vaccine effort, the Defense Department funds Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6 in Lima, Peru, co-hosted with the Peruvian Navy, he said, noting that the unit is working closely with CDC and other international partners and themselves doing cutting edge work on world class virology and bacteriology studies.

Fewer than five service members are confirmed to have the Zika virus, Tidd said.

One female service member so far has taken advantage of the military policy in place to allow service women or spouses of service members who are living in country to request a transfer, the admiral said.

“We continue to watch it very closely,” he added, “and along with everyone else we're providing pretty vocal guidance about self-protection measures.”

Note: The top photo show U.S. Army Sgt. King David, a CH-47 Chinook crew chief with the 1st Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment, observing the San Cristobal volcano, one of at least six active volcanoes in Nicaragua, while transporting the Joint Task Force-Bravo U.S. Southern Command Situational Assessment Team on May 19, 2016. The U.S. Air Force photo was taken by Captain David Liapis.

Terrorists, Cop Killers Are Communist Cuba's Gruesome Guests

I agree with the New York Post's editorial that Cuba should allow the U.S. to extradite the American terrorists and murderers hiding in Cuba prior to any normalization of relations with the communist island.

The Obama administration — eager to normalize relations with Cuba — is plainly paying lip service to demands that Havana extradite 70-plus American terrorists and murderers whom the Castro regime has granted asylum.

In answer, three New Jersey House Republicans aim to use the power of the purse to exert some much-needed pressure.

Reps. Scott Garrett, Leonard Lance and Tom MacArthur have asked both the GOP chairwoman and the ranking Democrat on a key House Appropriations subcommittee to withhold all funding needed to normalize US-Cuban diplomatic ties.

Their particular concern is Joanne Chesimard (seen in the above photo), a k a Assata Shakur — the Black Liberation Army terrorist sentenced to life in prison in 1977 for the coldblooded killing of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster (seen in the below photo). Six years later, she escaped from prison and made her way to Cuba.

You can read the rest of the editorial via the below link:

http://nypost.com/2015/03/26/havanas-gruesome-guests/

U.S. Special Operations Rescue Mission 'Quick, But Thorough' Official Says

Jim Garamone at DoD News offers the below piece:

ROTA, Spain, Dec. 6, 2014 - The operation to rescue a U.S. hostage in Yemen was quickly but thoroughly planned, a senior U.S. military official said here today.

U.S. Special Operations forces were close to the Yemeni compound when al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula terrorists detected them and murdered American Luke Somers and another Western hostage. President Barack Obama approved the rescue attempt early Dec. 5, the official said on background.

Interagency officials had such confidence in the intelligence that they unanimously recommended the rescue operation to the president. The Yemeni government approved the operation and gave its full support. "There is no excuse for the brutality and inhumanity of groups like AQAP and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," said Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We will relentlessly seek to protect our citizens and punish those who threaten us."

Military, law enforcement and intelligence specialists pinpointed where AQAP was holding the hostages and the threat the terrorists posed to them. Intelligence indicated AQAP planned to murder the hostages within 72 hours, giving added impetus to the attempt. "The time was short to plan the operation, but it was thorough, and balanced the risks to the special operations forces," the official said on background.

Mission Conducted in Darkness

Under the cover of darkness, Special Operations forces infiltrated from CV-22 Ospreys near the remote compound in the Shabwah governate. The terrain was difficult and illumination lacking.

AQAP terrorists detected the special operators as they began their final approach to the compound and they began firing wildly at the Americans. Military assets detected a terrorist entering the building where the hostages were held and exited soon after. The terrorist had shot them, officials said. "There is zero possibility that the hostages were victims of cross fire," the military official said. "This was an execution."

The special operators quickly overcame the terrorists and entered the building and reached Somers and his fellow hostage. Both were still alive. The special operators quickly moved them to the CV-22s and evacuated them to the USS Makin Island.

Surgeons and medics worked on the two men on the way to the ship, but one died en route and the other on the operating table.

All told, the operation lasted about a half-hour, with the most difficult and intense portion lasting about 10 minutes, officials said.

Six Terrorists Killed in Operation

There were no injuries to any of the 40 U.S. special operators in the rescue operation and no casualties to Yemeni civilians. Officials estimated the special operators killed six AQAP terrorists.

Dempsey, who is hosting a USO tour of the base here, said all American service members will keep the victims and families in their prayers and thoughts. "We remain on watch for the nation," the chairman said.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the mission was a reminder to those who wish Americans ill, that the United States will protect its citizens wherever they are threatened. "I commend the troops who undertook this dangerous mission," Hagel said in a written statement. "Their service and valor are an inspiration to us all."

Note: The above DoD photo shows a CV-22 Osprey.

U.S. Military Conducts Airstrikes Against ISIL in Syria and Iraq

The U.S. Central Command released the below information:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2014 - U.S. military forces continued to attack ISIL terrorists in Syria yesterday and today, using fighter aircraft to conduct three airstrikes.

Separately, in Iraq U.S. military forces used helicopters and attack, bomber, and fighter aircraft to conduct six airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq.

In Syria, one strike northwest of Al Mayadin destroyed an ISIL bulldozer, two ISIL tanks and destroyed another ISIL vehicle. Two strikes northwest of Ar Raqqah struck a large ISIL unit and destroyed six ISIL firing positions. To conduct these strikes, the U.S. employed fighter aircraft deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations. All aircraft departed the strike areas safely.

In Iraq, four strikes northeast of Fallujah struck two mortar teams, a large ISIL unit and two small ISIL units. One strike southeast of Hit destroyed two ISIL Humvees. One strike northeast of Sinjar destroyed an ISIL Humvee.

To conduct these strikes, the U.S. employed helicopters and attack, bomber, fighter aircraft deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations. All aircraft departed the strike areas safely.

Note: The above U.S. Air Force photo shows an Air Force KC-10 Extender in flight.

You can click on the photo to enlarge.

You can also read a Philadelphia Inquirer piece on the New Jersey base that supports the airstrikes in Iraq & Syria via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20141003_Massive_N_J__base_helps_Liberia_fight_Ebola__and_the_drive_against_ISIS.html

Jack Is Back: Jack Bauer And "24" Returns To TV

Benji Wilson at the British newspaper the Telegraph offers a piece on the new season of 24.

After a four-year hiatus, Jack is Back. Which means 24, the real-time thriller in which Armageddon was averted eight times between 2001 and 2010, is back too. When Jack Bauer first appeared as a superhuman counter-terrorist agent in November 2001 a hashtag was a noise you made when you sneezed, terror was something you could declare war on and it was an article of note that the show featured a black president of the United States. Now Jack has his own hashtag, the War on Terror has “officially” ended and Barack Obama has been in power for five years.
 

The title of the new “event” series of 24 is Live Another Day, which in itself quietly concedes that this repeat performance is slightly unexpected (it was cancelled because of falling ratings). Kiefer Sutherland, the show’s star and executive producer, admits he had reservations about a resurrection: 
 

“I said, ‘Yeah, I’d absolutely like to do it,’ and then I spent the next six months petrified, going, ‘Oh my God, why would I open that up again?’ because I was nervous. I was very proud of everything that we had accomplished in eight years and there was something very satisfying about saying, ‘OK, it’s done.’ ”
 

But it isn’t done. And the new series has a twist. It’s set in London – complete with Stephen Fry as our own PM (rather improbably named Trevor). Once again Jack, now a fugitive from the US government, has to foil a plot to kill the American president, who happens to be in town. Some topical window dressing has been employed – where once the threat was thermonuclear now it involves drones; where once Jack’s long-term IT gopher Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) was a government employee with a sensible haircut, now she has become disenchanted with politics, acquired a bob and gone to work for an Assange-style high-profile hacker.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10784964/Can-24-still-make-an-impact.html 

A Pre-9/11 Mindset: Obama Leads From Behind On NSA

Gary Schmitt at the Weekly Standard offers his take on the president's speech on NSA.

Thankfully, President Obama is not a doctor.  If he was and you happened to visit him in his office and mentioned that you were worried about the potential for lung cancer, he’d immediately put you under, open you up, and pull out a lung—or, at least, that’s the logic that seems to be guiding his decisions on NSA’s collection programs.  Yes, no one has found any evidence that NSA has broken the law, invaded constitutionally-protected privacy rights, or is about to.  But never mind, it’s the very possibility that someday, somehow, NSA will jump the tracks that requires the president now to unduly complicate the use of what he admits has been an important counterterrorism tool.

On the domestic front, the president has decided to modify substantially the 215 metadata collection program in which American telephony data (numbers called, numbers called from, and length of call) is currently stored in bulk by NSA and examined there to look for connections to foreign terrorists and terrorist organizations—all of which is done under the supervision of both congressional committees and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).  Starting now, however, the president will have the Justice Department go to the court for every discrete query of the database.  This is in contrast to the current process by which NSA can query the telephony database in any instance where an already FISC-approved, reasonably suspected terrorist number comes up on its screen.  Obviously, having to get court pre-approval for what have been a couple hundred queries annually will slow down the effort, make it far more burdensome and, in spirit, as former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden recently said, return us to “a pre-9/11 mindset.”

... If there is any good news coming from the president’s speech it’s that he didn’t accept any of the presidential panel’s even wilder recommendations about breaking up NSA into offensive and defensive components—a sure fire way of making both less effective—nor did the president adopt perhaps the panel’s silliest recommendation of all: telling NSA to stop looking for ways to defeat encryption systems that, needless to say, terrorists, criminals, and rogue states might want to use.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-leads-behind-nsa_774826.html

U.S. Special Operators Conduct Two Major Raids On Terrorists In Africa

Foxnews.com offers a piece on two U.S. Special Operations missions in Africa.

US forces have conducted two separate raids in Africa -- one on the Al Shabaab militant group in Somalia linked to last month’s Kenya mall attack that killed more than 60 people, and the other to capture a Libyan Al Qaeda leader wanted for his role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, Fox News can confirm.

In Somalia, the strike on Al Shabaab was carried out in the early hours before morning prayers in the seaside town of Barawe.

A resident said by telephone that heavy gunfire woke up residents before dawn prayers. The raid was carried out by US Navy SEALs, who came ashore and killed at least one individual at a villa where multiple high level Al Shabaab high level targets were supposed to be located. 

The targets were specifically wanted in connection with the Kenyan Mall attack that left dozens dead. The leader of Al Shabaab, Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, also known as Ahmed Godane, had claimed responsibility for the shopping mall attack in Nairobi.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/05/us-forces-conduct-2-major-terror-raids/

Note: The above U.S. Navy photo shows Navy Seals in training.

Blind Eye: Conciliatory FBI Policies Towards Islamism Hampered Probe Into Boston Bombers, Experts Say

Veteran national security reporter Bill Gertz at the Washington Free Beacon offers a piece on how political correctness at the FBI hampered the probe into the Boston Marathon bombers (seen in the above FBI photo).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s failure to recognize political Islam as a driver of jihadist terrorism is partly to blame for the FBI not identifying one of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2011 as a security risk, according to U.S. officials and private counterterrorism analysts.

The FBI revealed last week that it was warned by a foreign government in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed Friday, was tied to “radical Islam” but the FBI was unable to confirm the links.

“The fact is religion has been expunged from counterterrorism training,” said Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism specialist with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The FBI can’t talk about Islam and they can’t talk about jihad.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://freebeacon.com/blind-eye/

Southern Command's Marine General Warns Of Potential Crime-Terrorism Nexus In Latin America

Jim Garamone at the American Forces Press Service offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2013 - A potential connection between crime syndicates and terrorists in Latin America would constitute a clear danger to the region, U.S. Southern Command's senior leader told reporters at the Pentagon today.

Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly said the increase in Iranian influence in Latin America is worrisome, and an example of the peril that the combination of criminal networks and states that sponsor terrorism, like Iran, could pose.

Kelly, who took over U.S. Southern Command in November, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference that in the past six years Iran has tried to increase its influence in Central and South America. The Iranian government, he said, has built embassies and cultural centers in the region.

"The concern is that ... they're looking ... for influence -- say for votes in the U.N. on sanctions," he said. "But also, and I've ... made mention to some of our friends in the region that these guys are very, very good at what they do, and very, very skilled at what they do, and that people should just be careful as to who they're dealing with."

The general stressed he is not accusing Iran of sponsoring terrorism in Latin America, but he noted that Iran is involved in terrorism in other areas of the world.

"We do know that some terrorist organizations are able to skim off fairly substantial sums of money from the drug profits," Kelly said. "And so there has to be kind of a network for that to happen."

The criminal networks in Latin America are very sophisticated and very well financed, he said.

Drugs are the basis for this wealth and the drug-related money coming out of the United States "is astronomical," Kelly said.

"I mean palettes of money," he said. "For a buck, anything can get on the [drug transport] network."

That network, Kelly said, transports tons of drugs into the United States and Europe and moves bales of money back out.

"The point of it all is the network is a very dangerous thing to have working as effectively as it does, because anything can get on it," he said.

Kelly said his command is working to build military-to-military contacts throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

"The good news about Latin America and my part of the world is that there are no wars," he said.

And most Latin American countries, including Brazil -- the world's fifth-largest economy -- want the United States as a partner, Kelly said.

The countries of the region don't ask for much, the general said.

"When I go down and visit, they're not asking for an awful [lot] -- they're not asking for money," Kelly said. "They're willing to pay their own way."

What the Latin American countries need is expertise, the general said. For example, Peru is asking for help in getting its separate military services to work together better. Colombia needs help in countering improvised explosive devices that the terror group FARC and criminal syndicates use to protect coca fields and factories. Other nations need medical expertise.

Turning to another topic, Kelly noted that sequestration will hit his command hard. He said there will be fewer vessels to interdict cocaine shipments, and fewer troops to operate with partner militaries.

Combating Threats In The Cyber World: FBI Director On Outsmarting Terrorists, Hackers And Spies

Robert Mueller, III, the director of the FBI (seen in the above official FBI photo), addressed the RSA Cyber Security Conference in San Francisco on March 1st.

"Terrorism remains the FBI's top priority," Mueller told the conference attendees. "But in the not too distant future , we anticipate that the cyber threat will pose the number one threat to the country."

You can read the rest of of Mueller's speech via the link below to the FBI's web site:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/speeches/combating-threats-in-the-cyber-world-outsmarting-terrorists-hackers-and-spies?utm_campaign=email-Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=executive-speeches&utm_content=75784

You can also read my two-part piece on the FBI's Infragard program via the below links:

http://www.allbusiness.com/operations/16739399-1.html

http://www.allbusiness.com/operations/16739400-1.html

A couple of years back I covered the opening of the International Spy Museum's Weapons of Mass Disruption Gallery for Counterterrorism magazine.

In the audience were a virtual who's who of modern intelligence history, including several former CIA directors, a former FBI director, a former British MI5 chief, and a former KGB general.

You can read the piece via the below links: 

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/WeaponsMassDisruption1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/WeaponsMassDisruption2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/WeaponsMassDisruption2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/QAThomasBoghardt1.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/QAThomasBoghardt2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~pauldavisoncrime/pwpimages/QAThomasBoghardt3.jpg

Two Indicted For Conspiracy To Provide Material Support To Terrorists

WASHINGTON—Ali Charaf Damache, an Algerian man who resided in Ireland, and Mohammad Hassan Khalid, a Pakistani citizen and U.S. lawful permanent resident who resided in Maryland, have been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists in a superseding indictment returned today in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The charges were announced by Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Zane David Memeger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; and Mark Giuliano, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s National Security Branch.

Damache, aka “The black flag,” 46, is charged in the superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and one count of attempted identity theft to facilitate an act of international terrorism. Damache was arrested by authorities in Ireland in March 2010 where he is currently being held on unrelated charges. The United States intends to seek his extradition from Ireland to stand trial in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. If convicted of the charges against him in the superseding indictment, Damache faces a potential sentence of 45 years in prison.

Khalid, aka “Abdul Ba’aree ‘Abd Al-Rahman Al-Hassan Al-Afghani Al-Junoobi W’at-Emiratee,” 18, is charged in the superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. Khalid was arrested in Ellicot City, Md., on July 6, 2011, and is currently in custody in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. If convicted of the charge against him in the superseding indictment, Khalid faces a potential sentence of 15 years in prison.

“Today’s indictment, which alleges a terrorist conspiracy involving individuals around the globe who connected via the Internet—including a teenager and two women living in America—underscores the evolving nature of violent extremism.” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco. “I thank the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who helped bring about this case.”

“Protecting the citizens of the United States from acts of terrorism is one of the highest priorities of the Department of Justice,” said U.S. Attorney Memeger. “This case demonstrates that we must remain vigilant within our communities to make sure that we bring to justice those terrorists, of any age or background, who seek to do great harm to our citizens.”

“This investigation highlights the diverse threat environment we face today,” said FBI Executive Assistant Director Giuliano. “As revealed in this case, individuals used the Internet to further their radicalization and contribute to the radicalization of others. The FBI is committed to disrupting individual and group plots and doing so in close coordination with our law enforcement, intelligence and private sector partners.”

The indictment alleges that, from about 2008 through July 2011, Damache and Khalid conspired with Colleen R. LaRose, Jamie Paulin Ramirez, and others to provide material support and resources, including logistical support, recruitment services, financial support, identification documents and personnel, to a conspiracy to kill overseas. LaRose, aka “Fatima LaRose,” aka “Jihad Jane,” pleaded guilty in February 2011 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, false statements, and attempted identity theft. Ramirez pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in March 2011 to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

According to the indictment, Damache, Khalid and others devised and coordinated a violent jihad organization consisting of men and women from Europe and the United States divided into a planning team, a research team, an action team, a recruitment team and a finance team; some of whom would travel to South Asia for explosives training and return to Europe to wage violent jihad.

The indictment alleges that Damache, Khalid, LaRose, and others recruited men online to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe. In addition, Damache, Khalid, LaRose, and others allegedly recruited women who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad. The indictment further alleges that LaRose, Paulin-Ramirez, and others traveled to and around Europe to participate in and support violent jihad; and that Khalid and LaRose and others solicited funds online for terrorists.

For example, the indictment alleges that in July 2009, Damache sent an electronic communication using the username “Theblackflag” to Khalid, asking Khalid to recruit online “some brothers that can travel freely . . . with eu passports . . . .[A]nd I need some sisters too.” Damache also allegedly advised Khalid that “sister fatima will be charge of other sister care . . . . [W]e have already organized every thing for her. . . .” The indictment further alleges that Paulin-Ramirez married Damache on the day she arrived with her minor child in Europe to live and train with jihadists, even though she had never met Damache in person, and that, while living together in Europe, the couple began training Ramirez’s minor child in the ways of violent jihad.

Among other things, the indictment further alleges that, in July 2009, Khalid posted or caused to be posted an online solicitation for funds to support terrorism on behalf of LaRose and later sent electronic communications to multiple online forums requesting the deletion of all posts by LaRose after she was questioned by the FBI. In August 2009, Khalid allegedly sent a questionnaire to LaRose in which he asked another potential female recruit about her beliefs and intentions with regard to violent jihad. In addition, Khalid allegedly received from LaRose and concealed the location of a U.S. passport that she had stolen from another individual. This case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Philadelphia, and the FBI Field Divisions in New York, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Authorities in Ireland also provided assistance in this matter.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Matthew F. Blue, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. The Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division also provided assistance.

Oliver North's Column: Never Forget 9/11

Retired Marine Lt Colonel Oliver North's column is about the anniversary of the horrific 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

North, seen above in the Fox News photo, suggests we never forget.

You can read the column via the below link:

http://townhall.com/columnists/OliverNorth/2010/09/10/never_forget/page/1