A Department of Homeland Security internal report that assesses terrorist organizations, their anticipated targets and preferred weapons concludes that the threat to the United States presented by North Korea and several other countries long described as "state sponsors of terrorism" is declining.
"In the post 9/11 environment, countries do not appear to be facilitating or supporting terrorist groups intent on striking the U.S. homeland," says the draft report, which is intended to help the Homeland Security agency define its spending priorities through 2011.
Of the six nations identified by the State Department as terrorist sponsors, five of them -- North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Cuba -- are described by Homeland Security as a "diminishing concern." Iran, the final country on the list, alone is highlighted as a likely threat over the next five years.
"Only Iran appears to have the possible future motivation to use terrorist groups, in addition to its own state agents, to plot against the U.S. homeland," the report says, adding that "ideologically driven nonstate actors" are the biggest threat to the United States.
Terrorism experts said Wednesday that while the assessment seemed accurate, it was an unusual statement for the Bush administration, which has often called North Korea and several other nations serious threats.
"The administration has been very reluctant to accept that state sponsorship is a waning phenomenon," said Daniel Benjamin, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
This the first time the 2-year-old department has prepared what will now be an annual Integrated Planning Guidance Report, a document that is listed as "sensitive" but not classified, meaning it was not intended to be released publicly.
Al Qaeda, not unexpectedly, tops a list of adversaries in the report, although the authors question if the group can still pull off attacks similar in scale to those of Sept. 11, 2001.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Recruiting Numbers Jump in Fiscal 2006
All U.S. armed forces made their
active-duty recruiting goals for fiscal 2006, the Defense Department's top
personnel officer said here today.
In fiscal 2005, the Army missed its recruiting goal by 7,000. This
year, the Army exceeded the goal by 635 soldiers. The goal both years was
80,000.
The other services all made their goals, as well, with the Navy
enlisting 36,679 new members, the Marine Corps enlisting 32,301, and the Air
Force 30,750.
The news was almost as good on the reserve-component side, with the
Army National Guard just missing its target of 70,000 by enlisting 69,042.
The Army Reserve met 95 percent of its goal, with 34,379; the Marine
Reserve met 100 percent, enlisting 8,056; and the Navy Reserve made 87
percent of its goal, at 9,722. The Air National Guard made 97 percent of
its goal, at 9,138; and the Air Force Reserve enlisted 106 percent of
its goal at 6,989.
"We speak often about an all-volunteer force, ... but it is really an
all-recruited force," Chu said. "People don't just walk in the door,
particularly people we want to have in the military. You have to go out
and seek them out and persuade them that this is a good choice for them."
The undersecretary said the services made their recruiting goals
without lowering standards for all recruits.
Chu said there are two reasons why fiscal 2006 was successful. "First,
focus," he said. "Focus by the military services putting more
recruiters out there.
"Second is patriotism," he continued. "One of the things we read into
the survey results of young Americans today is (that) patriotism has
risen to a much higher place on the list of reasons why people join the
military. In a sense, we are seeing right before our eyes the unfolding
of a new 'greatest generation' in the history of our republic."
active-duty recruiting goals for fiscal 2006, the Defense Department's top
personnel officer said here today.
In fiscal 2005, the Army missed its recruiting goal by 7,000. This
year, the Army exceeded the goal by 635 soldiers. The goal both years was
80,000.
The other services all made their goals, as well, with the Navy
enlisting 36,679 new members, the Marine Corps enlisting 32,301, and the Air
Force 30,750.
The news was almost as good on the reserve-component side, with the
Army National Guard just missing its target of 70,000 by enlisting 69,042.
The Army Reserve met 95 percent of its goal, with 34,379; the Marine
Reserve met 100 percent, enlisting 8,056; and the Navy Reserve made 87
percent of its goal, at 9,722. The Air National Guard made 97 percent of
its goal, at 9,138; and the Air Force Reserve enlisted 106 percent of
its goal at 6,989.
"We speak often about an all-volunteer force, ... but it is really an
all-recruited force," Chu said. "People don't just walk in the door,
particularly people we want to have in the military. You have to go out
and seek them out and persuade them that this is a good choice for them."
The undersecretary said the services made their recruiting goals
without lowering standards for all recruits.
Chu said there are two reasons why fiscal 2006 was successful. "First,
focus," he said. "Focus by the military services putting more
recruiters out there.
"Second is patriotism," he continued. "One of the things we read into
the survey results of young Americans today is (that) patriotism has
risen to a much higher place on the list of reasons why people join the
military. In a sense, we are seeing right before our eyes the unfolding
of a new 'greatest generation' in the history of our republic."
American Al Qaeda Member to Be Indicted for Treason
The American Al Qaeda spokesman known as "Azzam the American" will be indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, FOX News has confirmed.
Adam Yahiye Gadahn, whose exact whereabouts is unknown but is believed to be in Pakistan, is expected to be charged with material support and treason, sources told FOX News. It will be the first time an American has been charged with treason since 1952.
The treason charge, according to sources in Los Angeles and Washington, is based primarily on the statements Gadahn has made in his video presentations.
A 48-minute video posted on an Islamic militant Web site last month included footage of Al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Gadahn, who the FBI believes attended Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan and served as an Al Qaeda translator.
Federal Budget Deficit Falls to Four-Year Low
The federal deficit in the budget year that just ended fell to a four-year low of $247.7 billion � a figure President Bush touted Wednesday as "proof that pro-growth policies work."
The deficit for the budget year that ended Sept. 30 was 22.3 percent lower than the $318.7 billion imbalance for 2005.
Bush, speaking to members of his administration, called his first term tax cuts the "cornerstone of our economic recovery policy" and said he would keep working to get Congress to make those tax cuts permanent.
In an earlier news conference, Bush said the deficit outcome for the 2006 budget year represented a "dramatic reduction" that redeemed his 2004 campaign pledge to halve the deficit earlier than his original 2009 target date.
"These numbers show that we have now achieved our goal of cutting the federal deficit in half and we've done it three years ahead of schedule," Bush told reporters at a Rose Garden news conference.
The reason for the improvement this year was a second consecutive big jump in revenues, propelled by strong economic strength. The 11.7 percent increase in revenues was the second biggest percentage gain in history.
The deficit for the budget year that ended Sept. 30 was 22.3 percent lower than the $318.7 billion imbalance for 2005.
Bush, speaking to members of his administration, called his first term tax cuts the "cornerstone of our economic recovery policy" and said he would keep working to get Congress to make those tax cuts permanent.
In an earlier news conference, Bush said the deficit outcome for the 2006 budget year represented a "dramatic reduction" that redeemed his 2004 campaign pledge to halve the deficit earlier than his original 2009 target date.
"These numbers show that we have now achieved our goal of cutting the federal deficit in half and we've done it three years ahead of schedule," Bush told reporters at a Rose Garden news conference.
The reason for the improvement this year was a second consecutive big jump in revenues, propelled by strong economic strength. The 11.7 percent increase in revenues was the second biggest percentage gain in history.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
N.Korea Nuke Test A Partial Failure
Scientists and other governments suggested that North Korea's underground test on Monday was a partial failure, producing a smaller blast than planned.
A South Korean newspaper quoted a North Korean diplomat, whom it did not name, saying that the blast was "smaller in scale than expected".
"But the success in a small-scale (test) means a large-scale (test) is also possible," he said in comments posted on the Web site of the liberal newspaper Hankyoreh, which has good ties with the communist nation.
Philip Coyle, at the Center for Defense Information in Washington, a nongovernment think tank, expressed a growing view that "they got a partial result" and not the full-power explosion that they sought. Several Western estimates said the blast was less than a tenth the size of the bomb that the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945; the force of the Hiroshima bomb was equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT.
But "for them it was enough ... to say that it was a success. It helps them to claim that they are a nuclear power, and that the world should take them seriously, which is what they want. But I wouldn't be surprised if after several months they don't try again."
A South Korean newspaper quoted a North Korean diplomat, whom it did not name, saying that the blast was "smaller in scale than expected".
"But the success in a small-scale (test) means a large-scale (test) is also possible," he said in comments posted on the Web site of the liberal newspaper Hankyoreh, which has good ties with the communist nation.
Philip Coyle, at the Center for Defense Information in Washington, a nongovernment think tank, expressed a growing view that "they got a partial result" and not the full-power explosion that they sought. Several Western estimates said the blast was less than a tenth the size of the bomb that the United States dropped on Hiroshima in 1945; the force of the Hiroshima bomb was equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT.
But "for them it was enough ... to say that it was a success. It helps them to claim that they are a nuclear power, and that the world should take them seriously, which is what they want. But I wouldn't be surprised if after several months they don't try again."
U.S. doubts Korean test was nuclear
U.S. intelligence agencies say, based on preliminary indications, that North Korea did not produce its first nuclear blast yesterday.
U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that seismic readings show that the conventional high explosives used to create a chain reaction in a plutonium-based device went off, but that the blast's readings were shy of a typical nuclear detonation.
"We're still evaluating the data, and as more data comes in, we hope to develop a clearer picture," said one official familiar with intelligence reports.
"There was a seismic event that registered about 4 on the Richter scale, but it still isn't clear if it was a nuclear test. You can get that kind of seismic reading from high explosives."
The underground explosion, which Pyongyang dubbed a historic nuclear test, is thought to have been the equivalent of several hundred tons of TNT, far short of the several thousand tons of TNT, or kilotons, that are signs of a nuclear blast, the official said.
The official said that so far, "it appears there was more fizz than pop."
A successful nuclear detonation requires a properly timed and triggered conventional blast that splits atoms, setting off the nuclear chain reaction that produces the massive explosions associated with atomic bombs.
Nuclear bombs make big waves, with clear signatures that make them fairly easy to detect, analyze and confirm that they were caused by splitting atoms. But smaller blasts -- as North Korea's appears to have been -- are trickier to break down, scientists told the Associated Press.
U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that seismic readings show that the conventional high explosives used to create a chain reaction in a plutonium-based device went off, but that the blast's readings were shy of a typical nuclear detonation.
"We're still evaluating the data, and as more data comes in, we hope to develop a clearer picture," said one official familiar with intelligence reports.
"There was a seismic event that registered about 4 on the Richter scale, but it still isn't clear if it was a nuclear test. You can get that kind of seismic reading from high explosives."
The underground explosion, which Pyongyang dubbed a historic nuclear test, is thought to have been the equivalent of several hundred tons of TNT, far short of the several thousand tons of TNT, or kilotons, that are signs of a nuclear blast, the official said.
The official said that so far, "it appears there was more fizz than pop."
A successful nuclear detonation requires a properly timed and triggered conventional blast that splits atoms, setting off the nuclear chain reaction that produces the massive explosions associated with atomic bombs.
Nuclear bombs make big waves, with clear signatures that make them fairly easy to detect, analyze and confirm that they were caused by splitting atoms. But smaller blasts -- as North Korea's appears to have been -- are trickier to break down, scientists told the Associated Press.
N. Korea issues threat to Washington
A North Korean official threatened that the communist nation could fire a nuclear-tipped missile unless the US acts to resolve its standoff with Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday.
"We hope the situation will be resolved before an unfortunate incident of us firing a nuclear missile comes," the unnamed official said on Monday, according to a Yonhap report from Beijing. "That depends on how the US will act."
Earlier, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that North Korean official said that Pyongyang was willing to return to international arms talks and abandon its atomic program if the US takes "corresponding measures."
"The nuclear test is an _expression of our intention to face the United States across the negotiating table," the unnamed official said, according to a Yonhap report from Beijing. "What we want is security of the (North), including guaranteeing our system."
Yonhap didn't say how or where it contacted the official, or why no name was given.
The official also dismissed moves at the UN Security Council to sanction the communist nation over its reported nuclear test.
"We have lost enough. Sanctions can never be a solution," the official said. "We still have a willingness to give up nuclear weapons and return to six-party talks as well. It's possible whenever the US takes corresponding measures."
The official didn't elaborate on what the corresponding measures would be. But one of them is believed to be a long-standing North Korean demand that Washington lift financial restrictions on the communist regime for its alleged counterfeiting and money laundering.
North Korea has cited the financial issue in boycotting nuclear talks with China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US The talks last convened in November.
"We hope the situation will be resolved before an unfortunate incident of us firing a nuclear missile comes," the unnamed official said on Monday, according to a Yonhap report from Beijing. "That depends on how the US will act."
Earlier, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that North Korean official said that Pyongyang was willing to return to international arms talks and abandon its atomic program if the US takes "corresponding measures."
"The nuclear test is an _expression of our intention to face the United States across the negotiating table," the unnamed official said, according to a Yonhap report from Beijing. "What we want is security of the (North), including guaranteeing our system."
Yonhap didn't say how or where it contacted the official, or why no name was given.
The official also dismissed moves at the UN Security Council to sanction the communist nation over its reported nuclear test.
"We have lost enough. Sanctions can never be a solution," the official said. "We still have a willingness to give up nuclear weapons and return to six-party talks as well. It's possible whenever the US takes corresponding measures."
The official didn't elaborate on what the corresponding measures would be. But one of them is believed to be a long-standing North Korean demand that Washington lift financial restrictions on the communist regime for its alleged counterfeiting and money laundering.
North Korea has cited the financial issue in boycotting nuclear talks with China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US The talks last convened in November.
US detects second N Korea 'blast'
US intelligence has detected an explosion of less than one kilotonne in magnitude in North Korea but has not been able to determine whether it was nuclear or not, a senior intelligence official said.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said that first-time nuclear tests historically have been in the several kilotonne range.
�We are aware that there was a sub-kilotonne explosion in North Korea,� said the official. �We have not been able to determine at this point whether it was in fact nuclear.�
The official, who asked not to be identified, said that first-time nuclear tests historically have been in the several kilotonne range.
�We are aware that there was a sub-kilotonne explosion in North Korea,� said the official. �We have not been able to determine at this point whether it was in fact nuclear.�
Gitmo 'saved lives'
Evidence from the camp where torture is alleged foiled attacks in Britain, says intelligence chief
The interrogation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay has saved Britain from at least two major terrorist attacks, according to President George Bush's chief intelligence adviser.
John Negroponte, Director of National Intelligence, claims information obtained from inmates at the camp has proved vital in thwarting a series of terror attacks around the world, including in Britain.
A summary of the so-called 'High-Value Terrorist Detainee Program', states that 'reporting from terrorist detainees has become a crucial pillar of US counterterrorism efforts, representing the single largest source of insight into al-Qaeda for the US and its CT (counter-terrorism) partners. The detention of terrorists disrupts - at least temporarily - the plots they were involved in, saving the lives not only of Americans, but also of countless men, women and children around the globe.'
It identifies two key terror plots in Britain that it says were disrupted thanks to information provided by detainees. 'In mid-2004, the US and its counterterrorism partners disrupted a plot that involved attacking urban targets in the United Kingdom with explosive devices. Some of the key leads to these plotters came from detainees.'
It also states that a 2003 plot to attack Heathrow airport using hijacked airliners was disrupted thanks to information from detainees. Other countries have apparently benefited too. The document states: 'In the spring of 2003, the US and a partner detained key al-Qaeda operatives who were in the advanced stages of plotting an attack against several targets in Karachi, Pakistan, that would have killed hundreds of innocent men, women and children.'
In all, the agency believes detainees have provided the names of 86 al-Qaeda operatives that are or have been 'deemed suitable for Western operations'.
The interrogation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay has saved Britain from at least two major terrorist attacks, according to President George Bush's chief intelligence adviser.
John Negroponte, Director of National Intelligence, claims information obtained from inmates at the camp has proved vital in thwarting a series of terror attacks around the world, including in Britain.
A summary of the so-called 'High-Value Terrorist Detainee Program', states that 'reporting from terrorist detainees has become a crucial pillar of US counterterrorism efforts, representing the single largest source of insight into al-Qaeda for the US and its CT (counter-terrorism) partners. The detention of terrorists disrupts - at least temporarily - the plots they were involved in, saving the lives not only of Americans, but also of countless men, women and children around the globe.'
It identifies two key terror plots in Britain that it says were disrupted thanks to information provided by detainees. 'In mid-2004, the US and its counterterrorism partners disrupted a plot that involved attacking urban targets in the United Kingdom with explosive devices. Some of the key leads to these plotters came from detainees.'
It also states that a 2003 plot to attack Heathrow airport using hijacked airliners was disrupted thanks to information from detainees. Other countries have apparently benefited too. The document states: 'In the spring of 2003, the US and a partner detained key al-Qaeda operatives who were in the advanced stages of plotting an attack against several targets in Karachi, Pakistan, that would have killed hundreds of innocent men, women and children.'
In all, the agency believes detainees have provided the names of 86 al-Qaeda operatives that are or have been 'deemed suitable for Western operations'.
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