Homeland Security Leader

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced an agreement today with the European Union Directorate General for Energy and Transport on air cargo screening standards for passenger carrying aircraft. The agreement was reached in advance of a February 2009 deadline to screen 50 percent of air cargo on passenger carrying aircraft.

Charles Allen spoke in Colorado to address at the sixth annual Symposium of the National Homeland Defense Foundation. He shared the progress of DHS' efforts to secure the Homeland and to describe the many ways DHS works in collaboration with partners at home and abroad.

The October 2008 edition of the CTC Sentinel has a very interesting article written by David Kilcullen a leading theorist in counter-terrorism strategies entitled “ Field Notes on Iraq’s Tribal Revolt Against Al-Qa’ida.” His articles focus in on the tribal uprising in Iraq against Al-Qi’ida in late 2006 and 2007. His analysis of the complexities of Iraqi society and the different levels of competing power structures remind me of the non-specific analytical tool utilized by Dr. Don Beck in SDI. Although not an expert on counter-terrorism, Dr. Beck offers some of the same type of thinking as Mr. Kilcullen. In his article, Mr. Kilcullen states that the

“Iraqi tribal leaders represent a competing power center with the formal institutions of the state and the tribes themselves are a parallel hierarchy that overlaps with the formal government structures and political allegiances at every level.

He continued, “ For most Iraqis, tribal affiliations exist alongside other strands of identity –religious, ethnic, regional and socio-economic.”

Also noted by Kilcullen is the relationship between religious sentiment and custom in Iraq.

Kilcullen’s explanation of the various dynamics at play in Iraq help us better understand what is working and not working in terms of our counter-terrorism/ counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq and in many cases why.

He concluded his article with some key lessons for the coalition forces, which include:

1. It is important to treat local tribal irregular forces as local allies and not employees.
2. Build relationships with local leaders based on honor and trust
3. Expect leaders to act in their groups interests
4. Find the key influencers who cross over local power networks (tribe, business, government, mosque)
5. Do not push tribal shaykhs, relationships and agreements need to develop organically.
6. Develop communication channels to enable deconfliction
7. Understand distributed power and non-classical hierarchy power structures.

Having trained with Dr. Beck and been certified in SDI 1 and SD2, and seeing a lecture Don gave to the World Bank post 911 on the complexities found in the tribal worlds of Afghanistan entitled “Stratified Democracy: The Cultural Dynamics of Nation Building in Afghanistan”
, I would think that they are on a similar train of thought.

Kilcullen does not seem to have developed a modeling system through which his work is articulated like Beck, and he does not offer the depth of complexity of Beck’s work and unlike Beck, his work is mostly empirical and not theoretical but they both seem to be expressing a similar
train of thought, which attempts to show and explain the complexities found in any particular socio-cultural system. This train of thought is a very important and a much needed contribution to the world of counter-terrorism. If utilized, it allows decision takers to move beyond binary thinking i.e. black and white thinking, which is over-utilized and counter-effective and into varying degrees of complexity of thought. It is that complexity of thought which would allow the United States to take better decisions in its future counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency strategy.  By Michael D. Ostrolenk,

WASHINGTON – Two white supremacists allegedly plotted to go on a national killing spree, shooting and decapitating black people and ultimately targeting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, federal authorities said Oct. 27.

In all, the two men whom officials described as neo-Nazi skinheads planned to kill 88 people – 14 by beheading, according to documents unsealed in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Tenn. The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community.

The spree, which initially targeted an unidentified predominantly African-American school, was to end with the two men driving toward Obama, “shooting at him from the windows,” the documents show.

“Both individuals stated they would dress in all-white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt,” the court complaint states. “Both individuals further stated they knew they would and were willing to die during this attempt.”

An Obama spokeswoman traveling with the senator in Pennsylvania had no immediate comment.

Sheriffs’ deputies in Crockett County, Tenn., arrested the two suspects – Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman 18, of Helena-West Helena, Ark. – Oct. 22 on unspecified charges. “Once we arrested the defendants and suspected they had violated federal law, we immediately contacted federal authorities,” said Crockett County Sheriff Troy Klyce.

The two were charged by federal authorities Monday with possessing an unregistered firearm, conspiring to steal firearms from a federally licensed gun dealer, and threatening a candidate for president.

Cowart and Schlesselman were being held without bond. Agents seized a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun and three pistols from the men when they were arrested. Authorities alleged the two men were preparing to break into a gun shop to steal more.

Jasper Taylor, city attorney in Bells, said Cowart was arrested Wednesday. He was held for a few days in Bells, then moved over the weekend to another facility.

Until his arrest, Cowart lived with his grandparents in a southern, rural part of the county, Taylor said, adding that Cowart apparently never graduated from high school. He moved away, possibly to Arkansas or Texas, then returned over the summer, Taylor said.

Attorney Joe Byrd, who has been hired to represent Cowart, said in a written statement that he was was investigating the charges against his client and would have no further comment. Messages left on two telephone numbers listed under Cowart’s name were not immediately returned.

No telephone number for Schlesselman in Helena-West Helena could be found immediately.

The court documents say the two men met about a month ago on the Internet and found common ground in their shared “white power” and “skinhead” philosophy.

The numbers 14 and 88 are symbols in skinhead culture, referring to a 14-word phrase attributed to an imprisoned white supremacist: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children” and to the eighth letter of the alphabet, H. Two “8″s or “H”s stand for “Heil Hitler.”

Court records say Cowart and Schlesselman also bought nylon rope and ski masks to use in a robbery or home invasion to fund their spree, during which they allegedly planned to go from state to state and kill people. Agents said the skinheads did not name the African-American school they were targeting.

Jim Cavanaugh, special agent in charge of the Nashville, Tenn., field office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, said authorities took the threats very seriously.

“They said that would be their last, final act – that they would attempt to kill Sen. Obama,” Cavanaugh said. “They didn’t believe they would be able to do it, but that they would get killed trying.”

He added: “They seemed determined to do it. Even if they were just to try it, it would be a trail of tears around the South.”

An ATF affidavit filed in the case says Cowart and Schlesselman told investigators the day they were arrested they had shot at a glass window at Beech Grove Church of Christ, a congregation of about 60 black members in Brownsville, Tenn.

Nelson Bond, the church secretary and treasurer, said no one was at the church when the shot was fired. Members found the bullet had shattered the glass in the church’s front door when they arrived for evening Bible study.

“We have been on this site for about 120 years, and we have never had a problem like this before,” said Bond, 53 and a church member for 45 years.

The investigation is continuing, and more charges are possible, Cavanaugh said. He said there’s no evidence – so far – that others were willing to assist Cowart and Schlesselman with the plot.

At this point, there does not appear to be any formal assassination plan, Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said.

“Whether or not they had the capability or the wherewithal to carry out an attack remains to be seen,” he said.

Zahren said the statements about the assassination came out in interviews after the men were arrested last week.

The Secret Service became involved in the investigation once it was clear that an Obama assassination attempt was part of the plot. Obama received a Secret Service detail in May 2007, the earliest a candidate has ever been assigned protection, in part because of his status as a prominent black candidate.

“We don’t discount anything,” Zahren said, adding that it’s one thing for the defendants to make statements, but it’s not the same as having an organized assassination plan.

Helena-West Helena, on the Mississippi River in east Arkansas’ Delta, is in one of the nation’s poorest regions, trailing even parts of Appalachia in its standard of living. Police Chief Fred Fielder said he had never heard of Schlesselman.

However, the reported threat of attacking a school filled with black students worried Fielder. Helena-West Helena, with a population of 12,200, is 66 percent black. “Predominantly black school, take your pick,” he said.

Charles Allen gave the keynote at the GEOINT Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 28, 2008, discussing the critical role that geospatial intelligence plays in Departmental operations every day.

Despite the global economic downturn, the growth potential for government programs aimed at verifying the identity of people in the United States and abroad remains strong, industry officials said at a conference in Washington today.

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Reluctant in its waning months to launch a full-frontal assault on Iran but convinced of its leaders’ incorrigibility, the Bush administration has advanced, and its allies in Congress have proposed, a variety of escalating pressures against the Islamic republic. Among them, argues Col. Sam Gardiner in a new paper for The Century Foundation, are covert operations through proxy groups inside Iran. How well matched are U.S. goals to the various means planned or in place? And how do these new pressures expand or limit the choices of new leaders taking office in Washington—and perhaps Tehran—in winter and spring 2009.

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