Hotels, motels, and other lodging facilities have been used by extremist individuals and groups as locations to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in close proximity to their intended targets. Hotels, specifically rooms with kitchens or kitchenettes, allow these groups or individuals to greatly reduce the potential for a premature detonation. Given the short distance to the intended target the risk of premature detonation during transportation is minimized.
Author Archive for Public Intelligence
Archistrategos.
Documents
Global Private Security/Police Officer Personnel Levels By Country/Per Capita 2011
Global private security/police officer personnel levels from seventy leading countries including per capita figures from the 2011 Small Arms Survey.
Customs and Border Protection
(U//FOUO) CBP Killing or Capturing Cartel Leaders Has No Effect on Drug Trafficking
CBP BorderStat drug seizure information was used to evaluate seizure statistics in relation to the arrest or death of key DTO personnel. The drug seizure data was collected from January 2009 through January 2010. This data was analyzed to determine if the arrest or death of key personnel had a direct impact on the flow of U.S.-bound drugs. This research indicates that there is no perceptible pattern that correlates either a decrease or increase in drug seizures due to the removal of key DTO personnel.
U.S. Agency for International Development
USAID Afghanistan Ministry of Finance/Da Afghanistan Bank Assessment July 2009
Our assessment of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) disclosed that the financial management systems and procedures of the MoF and DAB are adequate for purposes of accounting for and managing funds that may be provided directly to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) by USAID. With regard to the Control and Audit Office (CAO), our review disclosed that the CAO has limited capacity to audit donor funds. This limitation, however, could be sufficiently mitigated by providing technical assistance to the CAO and through USAID/Afghanistan’s direct contracting for audit services as well as in-house Financial reviews performed by USAID/Afghanistan staff or RIG-approved audit firms.
Germany
German Army Office Counterinsurgency Training Manual
The term “counterinsurgency” (COIN) is an emotive subject in Germany. It is generally accepted within military circles that COIN is an interagency, long-term strategy to stabilise a crises region. In this context fighting against insurgents is just a small part of the holistic approach of COIN. Being aware that COIN can not be achieved successfully by military means alone, it is a fundamental requirement to find a common sense and a common use of terms with all civil actors involved. However, having acknowledged an Insurgency to be a group or movement or as an irregular activity, conducted by insurgents, most civil actors tend to associate the term counterinsurgency with the combat operations against those groups. As a result they do not see themselves as being involved in this fight. For that, espescially in Germany, the term COIN has been the subject of much controversy.
U.S. Joint Forces Command
U.S. Joint Irregular Warfare Center Irregular Adversaries and Hybrid Threats 2011 Assessment
To understand irregular warfare’s importance to the United States, it is first necessary to understand who is capable of threatening our national security using irregular means. This assessment discusses three types of groups that conduct their conflict with the United States using such means: insurgent groups, violent extremist organizations, and criminal networks. The descriptions we provide here are not intended to be comprehensive definitions, since such definitions would incorrectly imply a consensus among policymakers, officers, and analysts that simply does not exist.
United Kingdom
United Kingdom “Contest” Strategy for Countering Terrorism July 2011
The leadership of Al Qa’ida is now weaker than at any time since 9/11. It has played no role in recent political change in North Africa and the Middle East. Its ideology has been widely discredited and it has failed in all its objectives. Continued international pressure can further reduce its capability. But Al Qa’ida continues to pose a threat to our own security; and groups affiliated to Al Qa’ida – notably in Yemen and Somalia – have emerged over the past two years to be a substantial threat in their own right.
Department of Defense, U.S. Army
(U//FOUO) U.S. Forces Afghanistan DCGS-A Problems Mean “Lives Lost” Memo
Intelligence analysts in theater do not have the tools required to fully analyze the tremendous amounts of information currently available in theater. The impact of this shortfall is felt in almost every activity that intelligence supports. Analysts cannot provide their commanders a full understanding of the operational environment. Without the full understanding of the enemy and human terrain, our operations are not as successful as they could be. This shortfall translates into operational opportunities missed and lives lost.
Corporate
Center for Copyright Information ISP Copyright Alert System Memorandum of Understanding
While the government maintains a critical role in enforcing copyright law, it should be readily apparent that, in an age of viral, digital online distribution, prosecution of individual acts of infringement may serve a purpose, but standing alone this may not be the only or best solution to addressing Online Infringement. If Online Infringement is to be effectively combated, law enforcement must work with all interested parties, including copyright holders, their licensees, artists (and the guilds, unions and other organizations that represent them), recording companies, movie studios, software developers, electronic publishers, Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”), public interest groups, other intermediaries and consumers on reasonable methods to prevent, detect and deter Online Infringement. Such efforts must respect the legitimate interests of Internet users and subscribers in protecting their privacy and freedom of speech, in accessing legitimate content, and in being able to challenge the accuracy of allegations of Online Infringement. This work should include an educational component because evidence suggests that most informed consumers will choose lawful services and not engage in Online Infringement. This work also should include the development of solutions that are reasonably necessary to effectuate the rights that are granted by copyright without unduly hampering the legitimate distribution of copyrighted works online or impairing the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and ISPs.
Corporate
Center for Copyright Information ISP Copyright Alert System Fact Sheet and FAQ
Center for Copyright Information ISP Copyright Alert System Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions.
Headline
Bizarre Libyan Muammar Gaddafi Postage Stamps
These bizarre and fascinating postage stamps are from Libya over the last twenty years. They depict a variety of different versions of a fist-pumping Muammar Gaddafi improving science, the arts, medicine, school children, associating with Nelson Mandela, somehow aiding what…
Russia
Russian Ministry of Justice List of People and Organizations Linked to Russian Terrorism Financing
This “previously confidential list of people and organizations found to be involved in laundering money and funding terrorism” was presented by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russian-government owned newspaper. It was originally compiled by the Russian Ministry of Justice.
Russia
Russian Foreign Ministry List of People and Organizations Financing Terrorism
This “previously confidential list of people and organizations found to be involved in laundering money and funding terrorism” was presented by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the Russian-government owned newspaper. It was originally compiled by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Arizona
(U//FOUO) LulzSec Release: Arizona Police Say Hezbollah is in Mexico
Literally meaning “Party of God”, Hezbollah began as a militia in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The Shi’a Islamist organization has since grown into a worldwide political and paramilitary network with seats in the Lebanese government, numerous social services programs, long-standing ties with the Syrian and Iranian governments, and an annual income estimated to be anywhere between $200-$400 million. Hezbollah’s main goal is to cast out any form of Israeli rule and/or occupation. Due to the U.S.’ political and financial support of Israel, Hezbollah regards our nation as a viable target. While there is no immediate or confirmed threat to the Tucson area, recent events and the current middleeastern political arena merit a renewed awareness of the group’s capabilities and presence throughout the Western Hemisphere.
News
DHS National Cybersecurity Center Warns of Crude, But Effective LulzSec/Anonymous/AntiSec Attacks
A bulletin released in late June by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) warning of the recent activities by LulzSec and Anonymous has surfaced online. The unclassified bulletin titled “Hacktivist Groups Target U.S. and Foreign Networks” was recently posted to an unknown online network security website Aisle.net before being subsequently removed. The site it was posted to has also disappeared and now visitors to the domain are greeted with a blank screen. While the full document is not recoverable at this point in time, a cached version of the document’s summary contains a number of surprising admissions regarding the effectiveness of basic techniques utilized by LulzSec/Anonymous.
United Kingdom
UK Communities Secretary Letter to David Cameron Warning of Homelessness Following Welfare Reform
Letter from the personal secretary of UK Communities Secretary Eric Pickles originally leaked to the Observer. It states that part of the current government’s “welfare reform” policies, namely an “overall benefits cap”, in the UK will make 40,000 more families homeless if it is instated, disproportionately affecting those families and creating greater costs for taxpayers.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
ICE List of Specially Designated Countries (SDCs) that Promote or Protect Terrorism
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General issued a report in May 2011 titled “Supervision of Aliens Commensurate with Risk” that details Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention and supervision of aliens. The report includes a list of Specially Designated Countries (SDCs) that are said to “promote, produce, or protect terrorist organizations or their members”. The report states that ICE uses a Third Agency Check (TAC) to screen aliens from specially designated countries (SDCs) that have shown a tendency to promote, produce, or protect terrorist organizations or their members and that the purpose of the additional screening is to determine whether other agencies have an interest in the alien. ICE’s policy requires officers to conduct TAC screenings only for aliens from SDCs if the aliens are in ICE custody.
Congressional Research Service
China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles
Congress has long been concerned about whether U.S. policy advances the national interest in reducing the role of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missiles that could deliver them. Recipients of China’s technology reportedly include Pakistan and countries said by the State Department to have supported terrorism, such as Iran. This CRS Report, updated as warranted, discusses the security problem of China’s role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response since the mid-1990s. China has taken some steps to mollify U.S. and other foreign concerns about its role in weapons proliferation. Nonetheless, supplies from China have aggravated trends that result in ambiguous technical aid, more indigenous capabilities, longer-range missiles, and secondary (retransferred) proliferation. According to unclassified intelligence reports submitted as required to Congress, China has been a “key supplier” of technology, particularly PRC entities providing nuclear and missile-related technology to Pakistan and missile-related technology to Iran.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS Interagency Security Committee Threats to Federal Facilities Assessment
The DBT Report is a stand-alone threat analysis to be used with the Physical Security Criteria for Federal Facilities: An ISC Standard. The document establishes a profile of the type, composition, and capabilities of adversaries, and it is also designed to correlate with the countermeasures in the compendium of standards and to be easily updated as needed. The DBT is an estimate of the threats that face Federal facilities across a range of undesirable events and based on the best intelligence information, Intelligence Community (IC) reports and assessments, and crime statistics available to the working group at the time of publication. Users of the DBT must consider that undiscovered plots may exist, adversaries are always searching for new methods and tactics to overcome security measures, and the lone-wolf adversary remains largely unpredictable.
Afghanistan, U.S. Agency for International Development
USAID Kabul Bank Fraud Report Classified/Unclassified Version Comparison
In May 2011, the USAID Office of the Inspector General published a report on the agency’s supervision and oversight of assistance activities in Afghanistan and the Kabul Bank crisis. This report was quickly withdrawn and the Federation of American Scientists’ Steven Aftergood quoted a USAID official as saying that “At the time our report was issued, it was written utilizing information from non-classified sources. After our report had been issued, USAID subsequently classified two documents that were cited in our report. This action resulted in the report becoming classified and we removed it from the web site.” Now that an “Unclassified” version of the report has been released, a comparison of the two versions reveals the “classified” portions of the report that were concealed by USAID. These sections of the report indicate that a material loss review was commissioned by USAID/Afghanistan and completed in May 2010 indicating that $850 million, or 94 percent of the value of the bank’s outstanding loans, had been fraudulently diverted to “insiders” connected with the bank. The concealed sections also indicate that Deloitte and Da Afghanistan Bank failed to provide this report to USAID for nearly six months.
Headline
Greece Syntagma Square Protest Photos June 2011
linmtheu – http://www.flickr.com/photos/26040773@N07/ SekaRuis – http://www.flickr.com/photos/sekarius/ endiaferon – http://www.flickr.com/photos/endiaferon/ cortlinux – http://www.flickr.com/photos/cortlinux/
Corporate
(U//FOUO) General Dynamics Comparison of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Vendors
General Dynamics Comparison of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Vendors: Microsoft vs. Red Hat from 2011.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
ICE Pattern Analysis and Information Collection (ICEPIC) System
The ICE Pattern Analysis and Information Collection (ICEPIC) system was established in 2008 to enable ICE law enforcement agents and analysts to look for non-obvious relationship patterns among individuals and organizations that are indicative of violations of the customs and immigration laws that are enforced by DHS agencies, as well as possible terrorist threats and plots. From these relationships, ICE agents develop specific leads and intelligence for active and new investigations. Identified relationships are also recorded for reuse in subsequent investigative analyses. The information processed by ICEPIC comes from existing ICE investigative and apprehension records systems, as well as immigration and alien admission records systems. ICEPIC includes capabilities that assist investigators in recording results of analyses performed in support of investigations and in capturing additional relevant information obtained from outside sources. The information collected by, on behalf of, in support of, or in cooperation with DHS and its components may contain personally identifiable information collected by other Federal, State, local, tribal, foreign government agencies, or international organizations.
Department of Defense, National Security Agency
Declassified DoD Inspector General Report on NSA Thinthread and Trailblazer Systems
Declassified DoD Inspector General Report on NSA Thinthread and Trailblazer Systems from December 15, 2004.
Arizona, Intelligence Fusion Centers
(U//LES) LulzSec Release: Arizona Fusion Center Undercover Officer Safety Guide
On April 8, 2011, an undercover officer working as part of a drug task force was shot while conducting surveillance. The officer survived the shooting but suffered injuries not only related to being shot but also from having his vehicle rammed several times during the incident. This bulletin is being produced to help outline some of the officer safety issues discussed during the initial review of the shooting incident, which may impact your future surveillance operations. The investigation into this shooting is on-going so specific details are not included, as to avoid compromising that investigation.