Homeland @ MindSay

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

 

May 16, 2008 - America needs dedicated public servants now more than ever, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told graduates at the Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington, Va., today.  Gates congratulated the 246 graduates of the state military college on their accomplishments and said the institute has taught them lessons on the importance of public service and duty to their fellow citizens.  

 

"For generations, VMI has graduated young people ready to raise their right hands and defend their homeland," the secretary said. "This is something to be grateful for in any time period, but never more so than in a time of war."

 

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the number of VMI graduates taking commissions in the armed forces has risen. More than half of the class of 2008 will serve. Gates said.

 

"One of the strengths of America is that we have institutions like VMI, and young men and women like those sitting here today, who are answering this generation's challenge," he said. "From Kabul to Kirkuk, former VMI cadets are serving throughout the armed forces and the U.S. government in many roles: in military intelligence, organizing reconstruction efforts, building infrastructure, and commanding troops in the field."

 

Since 2001, 75 VMI cadets have been mobilized for active duty, and 41 have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. "More than 1,200 graduates of VMI have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since the start of the war on terror," Gates said. "Eight of them have not returned."

 

In Iraq and Afghanistan, initial military success has given way to stability and reconstruction campaigns against brutal and adaptive insurgents, the secretary said. "This has tested the mettle of our government, our military, and the patience of our people in ways we haven't seen in a generation," he said.

 

Not all graduates of the institute serve in the military, but all serve the nation in some way. Gates quoted from Gen. George C. Marshall, the most distinguished graduate of the college, who said, "Our graduates seldom amass great wealth, but just as seldom do they display weakness or indifference to their duties as citizens. They are trained to be soldiers, if there be need for soldiers. ... But what is far more important, they are trained to be good citizens."

 

Working as a public servant is not easy, as even Marshall found out. Following his service as the "architect of victory" in World War Two, he was pilloried by some Americans for his actions while serving as secretary of state and secretary of defense, Gates said. Benjamin Franklin called the carping critics "bugwriters," the secretary said.

 

Today, the United States faces many challenges at home and abroad. "We live in a time of great necessities, a time in which we cannot avoid the burdens of global leadership," he said. "The stakes are too high. And it is precisely during these times that America needs its best and brightest from all walks of life to step forward and commit to public service -- to exchange the life of ease and contentment and take on the burdens and the bugwriters."

 

If America is to continue to be a force for good and justice and the rule of law in the world, "if America is to exercise global leadership consistent with our better angels, then the most able and idealistic of today's young people must step forward and agree to serve their country with the same honor and courage and dignity that marked the service of the long line of patriots that came before them," Gates said.

 

"Your country asks nothing more than that you live up to the values you have learned and lived in this place for these past four years. You owe yourself nothing less."

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Gail Braymen

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

May 14, 2008 - North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command unveiled their new integrated command center in a ceremony attended by Canadian and U.S. dignitaries here yesterday. The command center opening coincided with NORAD's observance of the 50-year mark in the partnership between Canada and the United States in defending North America from air and space threats.

 

Attendees included U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Canadian National Defense Minister Peter MacKay; Rick Casson and Anthony Rota, members of Canada's Parliament; Paul McHale, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and Americas' security affairs; Navy Adm. Jonathan Greenert, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Lt. Gen. M.J. Dumais, commander of Canada Command; and Lt. Gen. Angus Watt, Canadian air force commander.

 

U.S. Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart, who wears two hats as commander of NORAD and NorthCom, praised the cooperative spirit the new command center represents.

 

"This is really the culmination of a lot of great effort by people who have taken this idea of unity of effort, of integration of capabilities, and brought them together in this room as a symbol of a true integrated approach to both warning and defense of our homelands," he said.

 

NORAD and NorthCom have shared a commander and a headquarters building since 2002, when NorthCom was established. Sharing a command center with integrated land, air, space, missile warning, maritime and cyber domains brings the commands' missions together in a way "that creates great synergy," Renuart said.

 

"Our command center will be a huge improvement in our ability to integrate situational awareness, to begin to respond to a major event in either of our countries, and then to take the national capabilities that respond to disasters, both man-made and natural, and bring relief to our citizens in our communities," the general continued. "So this is really a weapons system for the future."

 

Canadians greatly value their defense partnership with the United States, MacKay said. "In fact, we're constantly revisiting and constantly upgrading our participation --– our ability --– to continue this strong relationship that we have enjoyed now for 50 years. The opening of NORAD and NorthCom's new command and control center, especially now in the context of this ongoing 50-year anniversary celebration, is truly something that we value.

 

"NORAD remains the cornerstone of Canadian-American continental defense partnership," MacKay added. "This new command and control center is certainly evidence of that. It will maintain constant links with Canada Command, Canada's domestic military operations command, and it will help NORAD meet the challenges of the future by allowing for effective, efficient communications between Canada Command, NORAD and U.S. NorthCom. These links, and the work of the personnel who staff the command center, contribute to the defense of the continent every day."

 

The new command center, Gates said, "enhances the collaboration between Canada and the United States [and has] a key role in defending the United States and Canada in the near and far future."

 

"It embodies our nations' shared commitment to protecting the North American continent from any and all threats," he said. "Additionally, this center will be able to connect and coordinate with other command centers around the nation with improved communication processes, thus allowing us to respond more quickly to any threat."

 

NORAD is the binational Canadian and American command responsible for the air defense of North America and maritime warning for Canada and the United States. U.S. Northern Command was established on Oct. 1, 2002, to anticipate and conduct homeland defense and civil support operations within the assigned area of responsibility to defend, protect, and secure the United States and its interests.

 

(Army Sgt. 1st Class Gail Braymen serves in Public Affairs with North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.)

By Army Capt. Mike Starz

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

April 18, 2008 - Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division are working with Iraqi Army troops to help create a Daughters of Iraq program to complement the work done by the Sons of Iraq.  The Iraqi women in the program would be able to search other females at security checkpoints, expanding the capabilities of the Sons of Iraq currently manning the checkpoints.

 

The Sons of Iraq are an organization of volunteers who have united to stand against terrorists in their homeland. They have been credited with helping bring peace to much of Iraq.

 

Steve Martinez, a law enforcement professional attached to the division's Company C, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, said it became necessary to integrate women into security roles because terrorists began using females to carry out suicide attacks against Iraqis and Coalition forces.

 

Employing women at checkpoints, Martinez said, would "provide a complete and thorough search of suspect females with the utmost respect for the individual and local customs without compromising the safety of others."

 

The Daughters of Iraq will search other women in and around Yusifiyah to help prevent trafficking of weapons, explosives and dangerous materials. In addition to the significant security gains that these women will bring to the checkpoints, there are other advantages.

 

"The Daughters of Iraq will facilitate female empowerment and the creation of the group represents a significant step towards a properly functioning democratic society," said Sgt. Jason G. George, Company C intelligence noncommissioned officer. "While the group may face criticism from traditionalists, ultimately, their success will demonstrate their value to the populace."

 

Another benefit of the creation of the program is the opportunity for some of the more disadvantaged women to receive benefits, most of whom have been specifically targeted to join the program.

 

"We have been working to assist the impoverished women and, particularly, the widows in the area. There are limited employment opportunities for women widowed by insurgent violence and burdened with supporting their children," said 1st Lt. Chris Hafner, Company C intelligence officer. "This program is ideal for these women."

 

The details for Daughters of Iraq contracts are being finalized and will start with 30 women.

 

"Integrating patriotic Iraqi women into the Daughters of Iraq is a huge step in the right direction of freedom for the Iraqi people," said Staff Sgt. Thai A. Starkovich, military transition team noncommissioned officer in charge. "With the cooperation of the Iraqi Army and the Sons and Daughters of Iraq, the safety of Iraqis is a goal that is now visible on the horizon."

 

(Army Capt. Mike Starz is assigned to the 101st Airborne Divison's 3rd Brigade Combat Team.)

U.S. Army Awards General Dynamics Contract for Biological Detection System Production and Support

“The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Acquisition Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., has awarded General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products a contract option worth approximately $43 million to produce and test Joint Biological Point Detection Systems (JBPDS).” (Carolina Newswire; 08Apr08) http://carolinanewswire.com/news/News.cgi?database=01news.db&command=viewone&id=2561&op=t

 

Commissioners to consider asking for study of Detrick lab expansion

“Frederick's commissioners will vote Thursday whether to ask Sen. Barbara Mikulski to support a National Research Council study of plans to expand biodefense labs at Fort Detrick. […] Gardner said the study would be both more informative and less confrontational than a lawsuit that had been proposed earlier. […] USAMRIID [U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases] doesn't believe another study is necessary, [Caree Vander Linden, AMRIID’s spokeswoman] wrote. […] Last year, a NRC study of a proposed BSL-4 lab at Boston University found that a risk assessment for that lab wasn't based on sound and credible science. As a result of the NRC study, the National Institutes of Health, one of the lab's sponsors, are undertaking more reviews of the project, which will likely delay the lab's opening.” (Frederick News Post; 08Apr08; Justin M. Palk)

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=73499

 

DoD [U.S. Department of Defense] funds development of anthrax vaccine patch

“Iomai Corp., a biotechnology company that specializes in needle-free vaccines, announced today that it will receive a grant from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to fund preclinical development of a patch-based anthrax vaccine. The 1-year grant to Iomai, based in Gaithersburg, Md., will be in the form of a $943,856 cost reimbursement from the US Army Medical Research and Material Command, according to a press release from Iomai.” (Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy [CIDRAP]; 08Apr08; Lisa Schnirring) http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/anthrax/news/apr0808anthrax.html

 

Israeli intel projects a one-month war with Syria

“Israel's intelligence community has concluded that the next war would involve missiles and H[e]zbullah, last at least a month and include Syria. The intelligence community has drafted a series of scenarios for Israel's emergency services to prepare for future war. The scenarios envisioned the next war as including massive missile and rocket salvos, some of them containing chemical weapons, on Israeli cities.” (World Tribune; 08Apr08) http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2008/me_israel0033_04_08.asp

 

Israel in the Crosshairs

“Israel's security cabinet convened Wednesday, April 2, to examine the homeland's preparedness for war. It decided to redistribute the bio/chemical warfare masks a few months after they were called in. DEBKAfile's [Israeli website] military sources disclose intelligence data indicating the possibility that Syria may transfer to Hezbollah chemical or biological warheads known to have been developed for its war arsenal. […] A cursory perusal of Israel’s leading newspapers and Internet news sites does not reveal that it is about to move to a full war-footing, but that might just be part of the effort to deceive the militias poised in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as the military forces being massed in Syria.

The Syrians are still smarting from a recent Israeli attack on structures said to contain possible nuclear or other WMDs.” (Israel e News; 09Apr08; Alan Caruba)

http://www.israelenews.com/view.asp?ID=1685

 

Safe 'Green' Decontamination Method Detoxifies Nerve Agents In Chemical Weapons And Pesticides

“Research by two Queen's University [Ontario, Canada] scientists has resulted in an exciting new method for rapidly and safely destroying toxic agents such as chemical weapons and pesticides. […] Recently completed testing by an independent European defen[s]e corporation has shown the researchers’ method to be greater than 99 per cent effective when used on the deadly nerve agents Tabun, Soman and VX.” (Science Daily; 08Apr08; adapted from Queen’s University materials) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408132133.htm

 

Consultancy firm probed over shady deals tied to ODA projects

“Major consultancy firm Pacific Consultants International made payments totalling [sic] about 25 million yen to influential people in Costa Rice [sic] and other nations in the period 2000 to 2004, to enable it to carry out agricultural and other surveys for official development assistance projects, sources said Tuesday. Tokyo-based PCI was previously found to have misappropriated government funds earmarked for the disposal of chemical weapons left in China by the former Imperial Japanese Army.”

(Yomiuri Shimbun; 09Apr08)

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080409TDY01306.htm

 

CU [University of Colorado, Boulder] wins chemical warfare grant

“The $1.2 million, three-year grant from the U.S. Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency asks CU researchers to develop breathable, thin-film membranes that can be used to make protective suits or building filtration systems that filter out harmful molecules, CU said Tuesday.”

(Denver Business Journal; 08Apr08)

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/04/07/daily27.html

 

Iraqi culture in the~firing line

“Filmmaking was hampered under Saddam's regime, and for some unexpected reasons. The UN trade embargo prevented the import of film stock because the chemicals used to develop it were classified as dual use: that is, the UN considered they could be used to produce chemical weapons.” (The Australian; 09Apr08; Michael Bodey) http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23508228-16947,00.html

 

UN [United Nations] chief calls for world free of chemical weapons

“UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged on Monday Member States to work toward a world free of chemical weapons. […] He noted that, because of the Convention, some 27,000 tons of chemical weapon agents and 2.9 million chemical munitions and containers have been destroyed.” (People’s Daily, China; 08Apr08; Xinhua) http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90856/6388290.html

 

Destruction of chemical weapons top priority of convention, China says

“China said Tuesday that the complete destruction of chemical weapons within the deadline remains the top priority of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). [Cheng Jingye, head of the Chinese delegation] asked Japan to initiate as soon as possible the destruction process for chemical weapons it had abandoned in China. […] A new implementation roadmap has been worked out for the following five years.” (Window of China; 08Apr08; Wang Hongjiang) http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/08/content_7941660.htm

 

Boost for chemical weapons treaty

“IRAQ and Lebanon will be the latest signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention at this week’s meeting in The Hague in The Netherlands, providing a significant boost to the United Nations’ (UN’s) most successful treaty.” (Business Day; 09Apr08; Hopewell Radebe)

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/world.aspx?ID=BD4A744458

 

Statement to the Second Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention [by Amb. Eric M. Javits, Head of the United States Delegation]

“I warmly welcome the Republic of the Congo, the newest member of the Convention, into our organization. Other states -- Iraq, Lebanon, Guinea Bissau, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas -- are on the verge of accession, and I urge them to take the final steps to join us as soon as possible. For those few states remaining outside the Convention, we must renew our efforts to urge ratification and accession. Unless and until our membership is truly universal, we will not fully meet the aims of the Convention. […] The destruction of chemical weapons is fundamental to the Convention. Those of us who possess chemical weapons have special responsibilities to secure these weapons, to declare them, and to destroy them under international monitoring. Destruction has not been as rapid as any of us would wish. Most possessors of chemical weapons were forced to seek extensions to their original 10-year deadline. But destruction is proceeding. Albania has completed its destruction. India and another State Party are nearing completion. The United States, with the second-largest stockpile in the world, has destroyed over 51 percent of its chemical weapons.” (U.S. Department of State; 07Apr08; Eric M. Javits) http://www.state.gov/t/isn/rls/rm/103312.htm

 

Radioactive substance stolen in Japan: police

“A sealed metal container holding a small amount of iridium 192 was stolen on Monday from the office near Tokyo of a company that inspects industrial products, police said. Iridium 192 is commonly used in cancer radiation treatment but it is also cited in scenarios by anti-terrorism investigators as an ingredient for a makeshift nuclear bomb. Police said they did not know the motive of whoever stole the substance from the office of Non-Destructive Inspection Co. Ltd in the Tokyo suburb of Ichihara.” (The Anatolian Times; 08Apr08; Associated Press) http://www.anatoliantimes.com/hbr2.asp?id=&s=int&a=080408072558.a65jti4h

 

EMS [emergency management system]: preparing for every disaster [Johannesburg, South Africa]

“Johannesburg's emergency management services (EMS) is leaving nothing to chance in preparing for the 2010 Fifa World Cup™, and is learning new lessons from the best in the field. […] Over 1,000 Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD) officers have already been trained in level three first aid. Likewise, the City's healthcare services will be strengthened to create a link to the EMS. […] Although an expensive capability, the EMS has already trained 56 individuals in terrorism and biological warfare. Training is done with the assistance of United States expertise and the South African National Defence Force. Hazardous material technicians have also been added to the growing specialist base. “ (JoBurg; 08Apr08; Emily Visser)

http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/2356/168/

 

Sirens wail in Israel as part of largest ever civil defen[s]e drill [an update]

“The drill, dubbed ‘Turning Point 2,’ began Monday and will include, among other scenarios, simulated missile attacks on towns in populated areas. Rescue services will simulate mass evacuation from hit zones - including those hit with chemical and biological weapons - and hospitals will practi[c]e treating thousands of casualties. […] ‘I believe an initial strike on Israel would see hundreds of missiles hit us ... all of Israel will be within range of Syrian and Hezbollah missiles,’ [Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure Benjamin Ben-Elizer] said.” (The Earth Times;

08Apr08)

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/197409,sirens-wail-in-israel-as-part-of-largest-ever-civil.html

 

Fears of Iraq Becoming a Terrorist Incubator Seem Overblown, French Say

“Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière, France’s senior counterterrorism magistrate at the time, later warned that Iraq was a ‘black hole sucking up all the elements located in Europe.’ Some of them were coming back to Europe, he added, and some of those were armed with chemical and biological weapons training. […] The logistical challenges and expense of reaching Iraq has been one deterrent, [French and other European intelligence and law enforcement officials] said, particularly with Syria’s making episodic efforts to halt the use of its territory as a transit route. Compared with the thousands of European Muslims who joined the fight in Afghanistan in the 1990s through organized networks in Britain, the number of fighters going to Iraq has been extremely small, according to senior French intelligence officials.” (The New York Times; 08Apr08; Elaine Sciolino) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/world/europe/08terror.html?ref=europe

 

[Homeland Security Secretary Michael] Chertoff urges constant vigilance

“Comparing Islamic radicalism to communism, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned Yale students Monday that the United States will have to be on guard against the threat of terrorism for at least a generation. […] Chertoff wandered from the threat of the British empire against the young American confederacy to the power of a single rogue dissenter in the 21st century to kill thousands or even hundreds of thousands through the use of biological or chemical weapons. […]  ‘I’ve laid out what some of you may think is a grim scenario about what we face in the world,’ he acknowledged. ‘On the one hand, the Cold War is gone… On the other hand, we have a much more disorderly set of threats, much more networked, much more widely distributed, much more difficult to deter and, unfortunately, much better enabled to carry out acts of violence.’” (Yale Daily News; 08Apr08; Thomas Kaplan)

http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24294

 

CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.

By John J. Kruzel

American Forces Press Service

 

April 1, 2008 - In a 21st-century security environment with diverse global threats, the United States must underpin its offensive capabilities with protective systems such as missile defense, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday.  Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright said that mutually assured destruction -- the Cold War concept that global stability was achieved through the aversion to war that deadly U.S. and Russian arsenals produced -- is an outdated strategy, given today's security landscape.

 

"Coming out of the Cold War and having the 'luxury' of a single enemy, and moving to a world in which the threat is much more diverse, the actors are all over and global, the idea of a single strategy -- an offense-only type of construct -- just didn't seem appropriate," Cartwright told an audience at the sixth annual U.S. Missile Defense Conference here.

 

To adapt to realities of emerging threats, the United States developed the "New Triad," a posture that melds offensive and defensive capabilities into a unified strategy.

 

"The big idea was an integrated offense and defense, and the ability to pull that together and to offer the nation a broader range of tailored options against any adversary today and in the future," Cartwright said.

 

Highlighting the defensive side of the strategy is the missile defense system, a bundled network of ground-, sea- and space-based sensors that feed into silos capable of launching U.S. projectiles to collide with and destroy enemy missiles in flight.

 

Twenty-five years ago, President Ronald Reagan ushered in a new era of missile defense when he gave a landmark speech proposing a "Strategic Defense Initiative" with the intent of making nuclear missiles "impotent and obsolete."

 

A skeptical media famously dubbed Reagan's initiative "Star Wars."

 

But Cartwright said the credibility missile defense has brought the United States is apparent through American allies' embracement of the system.

 

Japan successfully tested the system in December when it fired a U.S.-developed missile into the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean and shot down a ballistic test missile. In Europe, U.S. officials are negotiating deals with the Czech Republic and Poland to build missile defense components on their soil.

 

"As we look across the globe today," Cartwright said, "this system -- which was to have as its priority defense of the homeland, defense of our deployed forces, defense of allies and friends -- has really taken off."

 

The vice chairman said missile defense affords the United States greater flexibility in dealing with emerging and unknown threats.

 

"This is not just about what it does to others, it's also about what it allows us to do and the diversity of the threats that we can now face and address," he said. "(It reflects) the opportunity to know that nobody's crystal ball is perfect and that we're going to be surprised, but that we can react."