Homeland Security
Blackwater leaves dirty trail
PBS’ Bill Moyers Journal features Jeremy Scahill, author of a book about Blackwater, a private U.S.-based company that is one of the largest private security contractors in Iraq, where its assignments have included protecting individuals and guarding the U.S. embassy. Scahill’s interview comes in the wake of Congressional hearings after the company’s employees were implicated…
Read MoreCollateral Damage – Human Rights and Military Aid after 9/11
The Center for Public Integrity has published “one of the most comprehensive resources on U.S. military aid and assistance in the post-9/11 era. ‘Collateral Damage’ couples the reporting of 10 of the world’s leading investigative journalists on four continents with a powerful database combining U.S. military assistance, foreign lobbying expenditures, and human rights abuses into…
Read MoreDelays impeded implementation of air defense system prior to 9/11
Michael Fabey of Aerospace Daily and Defense Report writes that the inability of the Pentagon and Canadian defense officials to keep a lid on costs and schedules may have cost them the opportunity to modernize their radar-based air defense system in time to possibly thwart the terrorist from completing their 9/11 attacks.
Read MoreFBI’s terrorism mission leaves white-collar crime unpunished
A story by Paul Shukovsky, Tracy Johnson and Daniel Lathrop of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on a profound shift in the FBI’s mission. Due to a shift in focus to national security following 9/11, the FBI has failed to pursue thousands of white-collar crimes. “Five-and-a-half years later, the White House and the Justice Department have…
Read MoreLax monitoring creates security issues at Chicago airport
Dave Savini of CBS 2 – Chicago investigates a breach of security at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Insufficient tracking of employee ID badges at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport have created a gaping hole in airport security. The badges enable employees of the airport to access high-security areas without being screened . A database obtained from Chicago’s Department…
Read MoreLax security leaves airports and community vulnerable
Investigative Reporter Jeremy Rogalski and the 11 Investigates team discovered that local general aviation airports in the Houston area have almost no security funding or regulation. As a result, the team was easily able to walk onto unattended small and medium-size jets. One expert described the planes as “flying weapon(s)” because they could be used…
Read MoreWashington’s $8 Billion Shadow
Writing for Vanity Fair, Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele uncover the influence of SAIC, a “mega-contractor” in Washington, D.C. SAIC, unlike other contractors, is often called upon for expertise “
Read MoreDodging Doomsday
Sam Roe of The Chicago Tribune exposes the story of America’s efforts to recover uranium that the U.S. government distributed to other nations in its Cold War-era “Atoms for Peace” program. The enriched uranium, suitable for making bombs, still circulates in politically unstable countries. “Today, roughly 40 tons of the material remains out of U.S.…
Read MoreTRAC data suggests shortcomings in FBI’s dealing with international terrorism
Data from the Justice Department indicates that federal prosecutors appear to have big doubts about the FBI’s criminal enforcement activities when it comes to fighting international terrorism. According to a TRAC report, federal prosecutors so far in FY 2006 have rejected 87% of the FBI’s referrals on international terrorism. The report also shows that despite…
Read MoreIssues of border security
Reporters from the Arizona Daily Star have put together an extensive investigation into the issues surrounding US-Mexico border security. Their multimedia investigations looks into the issues of why sealing off our borders will not work. “The Star sent a six-member reporting team on a three-week trek from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico…
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