Homeland Security Leader

The Department of Homeland Security's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) David Norquist will leave the department after more than two years of managing one of the most complex financial management organizations in the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it is expanding the categories of non-U.S. citizens required to provide digital fingerprints and a photograph upon entry to the United States through the US VISIT program on December 18, 2008.

The Department's end-of-2008 accomplishments and success in protecting the nation from dangerous people and goods, securing the nation’s critical infrastructure, strengthening emergency preparedness and response and unifying department operations.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman Michael Dougherty issued a study and recommendations on naturalization oath ceremonies on December 16, 2008.

The Department of Homeland Security opened the application period for approximately $34 million under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) Grant Program on December 16, 2008. These grants are intended to improve state, local and tribal emergency management and preparedness capabilities by supporting flexible, sustainable, secure and interoperable Emergency Operations Centers.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today opened the application period for approximately $48.6 million under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Driver’s License Security Grant Program. These grants support state efforts to prevent terrorism and reduce fraud by improving the reliability and accuracy of identification documents that state governments issue.

From AP Reports

A well-known U.S. anti-kidnapping expert has himself fallen victim to the wave of abductions in Mexico as unidentified assailants snatched him from a street in the northern state of Coahuila.

Local authorities say American Felix Batista was in Mexico to give talks and offer advice against kidnapping. The former U.S. army officer sometimes serves as a negotiator with kidnappers.

Batista is a consultant for the Houston, Texas-based security firm ASI Global LLC.

Full Story…

By Olivier Guitta

WASHINGTON — Until recently Morocco was more likely to be associated with tourism, rather than terrorism. That trend however is slowly changing.

That change began on May 16, 2003 when Morocco suffered its first experience at the hands of Islamist terrorism. That day, Casablanca was hit with four simultaneous terror attacks that left 45 people dead and hundreds injured. Al-Qaida style attacks were perpetrated by Moroccan citizens belonging to the GICM (Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, known by its French acronym), a group affiliated with Osama bin Laden’s organization.

Needless to say that the kingdom was stunned that its sons had turned violently against it. Since then numerous – over 30 – local Islamist cells have been dismantled by Moroccan security forces that have tackled the problem head-on. Most of the cells have been linked to terrorist networks specializing in recruitment of volunteers for al-Qaida in Iraq, some of whom cooperate with individuals based in France and Belgium. Also the Mezwak mosque in Tetouan, where over a dozen young men were recruited to commit suicide attacks against coalition forces in Iraq, has become quite infamous.

The Saudi-owned daily Asharq al-Awsat called it ” the highway for suicide bombers to Iraq.” Unsurprisingly, among foreigners, Moroccans are second in the number of jihadists in Iraq right after the Saudi contingent.

But that is not all: Moroccans living abroad are more and more showing up in Islamist terror groups. In fact Moroccans have been involved in terror operations from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan, from Iraq to Spain, from Holland to Belgium.

Full Report…