CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
Maritime Security Part 1: Threats

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

1. World

The 2004 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic" from the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) finds that despite increased funding to combat the pandemic, the infection rate is rising quickly and proposes the "Next Agenda" to offer radical, innovative approaches to reverse this trend. Key points include:

At the annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Dr Andrew Silke, (University of Leicester forensic psychologist and UN adviser) reported that the term 'terrorist' is not a psychiatric diagnosis. He said that "the outstanding characteristic of terrorists is 'normality' with forensic assessments of terrorists from the Baader Meinhof to Al Queda [sic] revealing high levels of mental health. The widespread view that terrorists are isolated, vulnerable young men with paranoid or borderline personality disorders, is false." Furthermore, "A survey of 180 members of Al Queda revealed that all came from middle or upper class backgrounds, with two thirds being college educated, one in ten with a postgraduate degree and 73 per cent married with children". Instead of saying people are crazy, Dr. Silke said "that it was important to understand that the word terrorist is a political not a psychiatric diagnosis, with catalyst events, usually involving violence, creating the energy and the desire for revenge and the wish to punish the state. There is substantial evidence that people decide to join a terrorist group when they have been involved in a demonstration where police use excessive violence. There were 500 violent deaths in the four years before Bloody Sunday and 500 in the six months after it, a staggering increase in terrorist violence". In addition, " TV footage increasingly acts as a catalyst. Footage of a father and son cowering in a house immediately before the boy was shot dead by Israeli troops in Netzarin on the West Bank in 2000 triggered a staggering increase in violence." http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/press/preleases/pr/pr_598.htm

2. Africa

The African Union (AU) held its third general session, dominated by discussions of regional conflict that continue to interrupt development goals. They had discussions on improving the role of women, including the first debate on gender, and the fight against disease. They endorsed the strategic plan, though not its budget. They agreed to locate the pan-African parliament in South Africa and will send a stabilization force into the Darfur region of western Sudan. They adopted a report harshly critical of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe but will not make the report public. http://www.africa-union.org/

Burkino Faso has accused Ivory Coast of violating its airspace with illegal flyovers and warned it may shoot down further intrusions. Ivory Coast denies they have intruded but concede other aircraft may have done so. Burkinabe residents in Ivory Coast have been subject to abuse, and Burkino Faso has been accused of supporting the rebels in northern Ivory Coast. In eastern Burkino Faso, ethnic clashes between Fulani and Gourmantches killed at least eight people.

In Burundi former rebels of the National Liberation Forces (FNL) clashed with the army, killing at least one rebel. Burundi is nearing the end of its transitional period in recovery from the civil war but needs immediate help to ensure the constitution and electoral processes in the peace agreement are met. See the International Crisis Group's analysis here: http://www.crisisweb.org/home/index.cfm?id=2841&l=1

Clashes between armed groups and the government in Democratic Republic of Congo present an increasing risk of full-scale war. The worst fighting this week was in the northeast where rival militias fought over control of a gold mine. At least 50 fighters and an unknown number of civilians were killed.

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon have agreed to jointly explore for oil in disputed offshore waters while UN mediators address sovereignty over three small islands in the Corisco Bay.

In Guinea, food trucks carrying rice have been attacked by angry youths protesting high prices. President Conte lowered the price with a subsidy program and later suspended more than 100 elected officials who were accused of stealing the rice to sell at a profit. Despite these measures, attacks continued and police responded with gunshots that may have killed two. Near the border with Liberia, ethnic violence between local Guerze and immigrant Konianke is increasing, supported by an influx of arms.

Demonstrators frustrated by repeated delays in enacting the new constitution clashed with police a number of times. One was shot dead and ten were injured.

Libya says it has found a rebel camp of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat that was sheltering suspected terrorist Ammari Saifi ("Abderrezak", "Al Para"). Saifi, accused of masterminding the kidnappings of foreigners, is in the custody of Chadian rebel Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJC). Negotiations over his handover have bogged down and Libya has said it will bomb the MDJC unless he is surrendered to Libya.

Sudan is under increasing international pressure to make good on last week's promise to end the violence in Darfur or face substantive consequences. Government-supported militia violence has continued, including attacks directed against food and water sources. Combined with continued restrictions on delivery of aid and the early onset of the rainy season, the humanitarian situation is extremely poor, with more than a million displaced people facing disaster. Sudan and Chad have agreed to set up joint patrols along the border.

Ugandan rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army raided villages in southern Sudan, killing some 122 people and displacing at least 14,000.

3. Americas

South American trade bloc Mercosur's presidential summit reached trade agreements with India, South Africa and Egypt and has accepted Mexico and Venezuela as associate members. http://www.mercosur.org.uy/
The Caribbean Community meeting decided to continue to withhold recognition of Haiti's new government but will send a delegation.

Caribbean security experts reviewing regional threats are concerned that local people could be recruited by international terrorist groups to conduct activities in the region directed against foreign, primarily US, interests. http://www.nationnews.com/StoryView.cfm?Record=51284&Section=LO&Current=2004%2D07%2D06%2000%3A00%3A00

Colombia has proposed suspending operations against the rebel National Liberation Army (ELN) in exchange for a ceasefire. The larger rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has killed Bernardo Velez, elder brother of the education minister, after holding him captive for more than three years and two ransom payments.

Guatemalan victims of the civil war will be eligible for state compensation through the newly inaugurated National Compensation Commission.

The US Senate Intelligence Committee released a public version of their "Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq". It finds that the CIA overstated the threat posed by Iraq by relying on unquestioned assumptions underlying assertions that were not supported by evidence. There had been no human sources in Iraq since 1988. As well as failing to define when intelligence was uncertain, the CIA withheld intelligence from other agencies. The US and its allies went to war based on this flawed information. Committee members suggested that if accurate information had been provided it was unlikely they would have voted for the war or perhaps would have considered a humanitarian effort since the military reasons did not exist. The Republican majority said that the Bush administration did not influence intelligence reports, but several Democrats dissented from this conclusion, that will be revisited in a separate report being released after the fall election. http://intelligence.senate.gov/ Also note related documents from the national Security Archive http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB129/index.htm

The US Pentagon is setting up new military tribunals to review the legal status of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay and will notify the prisoners within 10 days of the Supreme Court ruling giving them the right to challenge their detention in US courts.
http://www.pentagon.mil/news/Jul2004/n07092004_2004070902.html
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/detainees.html

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Ridge spoke of the increased risk of a terrorist attack over the summer and efforts of law enforcement and homeland security to address the threat, including the opening of the Homeland Security Operations Center nationwide.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=3810
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=45&content=3708
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0456.xml

4. Asia Pacific

Asia has been warned in stark terms to take urgent action to stem the current trajectory of the HIV/AIDS pandemic as it spreads to these most populous regions of the world. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says fighting AIDS must be the country's top priority and that the public must join in combating a disease that has reached every level of society.

New outbreaks of avian flu have been confirmed in Thailand and the strain that created a regional alert earlier this year has also been identified in China.

Australia has agreed to join the US missile defense shield project. US forces will be allowed greater access to Australian training facilities, three of which will be upgraded to support this commitment.

Hong Kong's Select Committee to inquire into the handling of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak by the Government and the Hospital Authority has released their report, criticizing the slow initial response to last year's outbreak. http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr03-04/english/sc/sc_sars/reports/sars_rpt.htm
The Health Secretary, one of those criticized, has resigned.

Indonesia held its first direct elections for president. The initial vote did not give a majority to one candidate so there will be a run-off election in September. In Aceh province the voting was marked with gunfights and voter intimidation. Six suspected members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were arrested and 221 have been released following a 3-month "re-education" course. On the 35th anniversary of Indonesia's annexation of West Papua, the National Security Archives have released documents showing US support for Indonesia and human rights abuses by the Indonesian military. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB128/index.htm

Papua New Guinea and Australia have signed an agreement for around 300 Australian police and civil servants to help fight crime and corruption and improve overall governance.

Philippines security forces and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed to cooperate against foreign Jemaah Islamiah and other militants in the area. They will sign the agreement during peace talks later this month. The Philippines has banned citizens from working in Iraq following the capture of a worker there who is threatened with beheading. Authorities have suggested they would leave at the end of their deployment but the Iraqi kidnappers have insisted on a clear indication of early troop withdrawal.

Thailand's war on drugs and HIV/AIDS is the topic of a new Human Rights Watch report, "Not Enough Graves" that finds: "A government anti-drug campaign resulting in as many as 3,000 killings has driven drug users underground and away from lifesaving HIV prevention services". http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/08/thaila9012.htm

Vietnam has installed its first condom vending machine, at a bar in Hanoi.

5. Europe

Security ministers from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK discussed organized crime and terrorism, agreeing that strengthening Europol was an important measure to achieve closer cooperation and intelligence sharing, possibly including a DNA database.

Northern Cyprus will be granted 259 million Euros in financial aid provided by the European Commission to reward them for their positive approach to reunification and to help end 30 years of isolation. In Larnaca Cyprus, on the southeast coast, ten Pakistani youths were arrested on suspicion of being involved with al Qaeda and are in the process of being deported, which is permitted without access to court.

In France, nearly two million citizens are living in urban ghettos plagued by racial hatred, religious extremism, and oppression of women with such a degree of exclusion from French society as to constitute separate ethnic communities. The report, from a French intelligence agency, was leaked in part by Le Monde.

Georgian police who were held hostage in the breakaway region of South Ossetia have been released. President Saakashvili has warned Russia not to provide military support to the separatists after intercepting a Russian convoy carrying military equipment to the area.

Spain has opened a parliamentary commission investigating the Madrid train attacks.

Britain this week hosted the European Council for Fatwa and Research, an event that led to controversy over the participation of Islamic cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who has defended the use of suicide bombings in Palestine. The Metropolitan police submitted material, much provided by Jewish community leaders, to the Crown Prosecution Service. After review they have decided there is insufficient evidence of a criminal offense. Meanwhile, the Home Office announced plans to make inciting religious hatred a criminal offense.

Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy published a report today setting out the governing principles for the public inquiries into the deaths of Robert Hamill, Billy Wright and Rosemary Nelson. http://www.nio.gov.uk/press/040708a.htm

At a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, the Chief Constable said that video evidence shows that reports of a loyalist mob rioting through Mater Hospital last month were greatly exaggerated. The incident had followed a Protestant Orange parade. This week the Orange Order is preparing for the July 12 commemorations of the anniversary of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, the largest day in the Protestant marching season. A parade in County Donegal with 10,000 Orangemen was peaceful; they plan demonstrations to protest limits set on the Ardoyne parade on the 12th. (For marching season background, see https://terrorismcentral.com/Newsletters/2003/070603.html#FeatureArticle)

6. Middle East

The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East met, using the recent World Bank report "Disengagement, the Palestinian Economy and the Settlements" http://www.worldbank.org as a discussion guide. They reiterated support for Israel's withdrawal initiative and Egypt's efforts to assist the two sides.

In Gaza, clashes on Tuesday between the Israeli military and militants killed four militants as well as a professor and his son. On Thursday, Israeli forces targeting Palestinian rocket fire killed a Hamas member and five other militants as well as a mother who was leading her children away from the fighting. On Saturday, a car exploded, killing four, but the cause is not confirmed.

Iran will submit its own list of charges against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein connected with the 1980 attack on Iran and use of chemical weapons. These charges were not in the complaint read during Hussein's initial court appearance on Thursday. Check out an IRIN special report on Bam, six months after the devastating earthquake that killed more than 20,000. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42061

Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has signed into law new powers that allow him to impose martial law and take other security measures including curfews, checkpoints, and detentions. A US strike on Falluja, supported by Allawi, killed at least ten people and there have been many civilian deaths (more than 11,000 as of June 16). Insurgent kidnappings, bombings and other attacks continue. The militant believed responsible for many of the attacks, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has been threatened by the previously unknown group called the Salvation Movement: they called for Zarqawi to leave the country or be killed. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will recognize the interim government, making it eligible for IMF loans. The Financial Times has published a 2-part report on Iraq that looks at investigations into the "Oil for Food" program, intelligence collection, and other issues. http://www.ft.com/iraq

In Tel Aviv, Israel, a bomb hidden in bushes near a bus stop exploded, killing one person and injuring 21. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility. Israeli intelligence and security forces warn that Prime Minister Sharon is a likely target of assassination by a right-wing Jewish extremist opposed to settlement evacuation.

The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel's West Bank barrier violates international law and therefore construction should stop, portions already built dismantled, and compensation paid to the Palestinians. The decision is not binding but serves as a basis for UN action. For more details see Human Rights, below.

In the West Bank, a nighttime raid against two wanted members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine resulted in the death of both, as well as the death of an army captain. There were several gunfights during the week, with additional casualties.

7. South Asia

Afghanistan will hold presidential elections on October 9. Parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for June but has been rescheduled twice due to poor security and slow voter registration, will be held separately next April or May. Increased NATO support has still not been worked out. Attacks around the country continue, including a bomb blast in Herat that killed at least five. Afghan security forces have arrested three US mercenaries and four Afghans who were misrepresenting themselves as security officials and illegally detaining and interrogating people in order to carry out vigilante anti-terrorism efforts and possibly get bounty payments.

Indian Interior Minister Patil announced plans to introduce laws to combat communal violence and protect religious minorities. In Bombay, India, a court has sentenced eleven people to life in prison for the January/February 1998 attacks that killed four and injured 30. Of the 13 arrested, one was acquitted and another died in prison.

In Kashmir, the 115-year-old Islamia high School was burned down in a suspected arson attack that sparked a strike in protest. Another protest involved thousands of people protesting the alleged torture of a 17-year-old schoolgirl. The moderate leader of the All Party Hurriyat Conference has resigned as chairman to try to restore participation from hardline elements that were opposed to his talks with the Indian government.

Nepal's Maoist rebels ambushed a police operation with a landmine, killing 12 police and a civilian. A separate fight killed two rebels and a prolonged battle killed 11 soldiers and 11 rebels.

In Pakistan, security alerts closed the US and UK embassies for a few days.

Sri Lankan rebels of the Tamil Tigers celebrated Black Tigers Day to commemorate suicide bombers. Unknown gunmen attacked groups of rebels in Batticaloa and Vanthaarumoolai, killing one and injuring three. The army was accused of carrying out the attacks, which were followed a few days later by a suicide bomber who killed herself and four police officers when she had been taken into a police station for questioning. Six police and three civilians were injured. Tamil Tigers deny responsibility for the bombing but warn that the peace process is at its lowest ebb and may end in renewed war.

8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

The UK All Party Parliamentary Internet Group released its report on the Computer Misuse Act. Their key recommendations, emphasizing enforcement, are:

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted a comprehensive review of automated fingerprint-matching systems. They tested 34 systems from 18 companies around the world, using 48,105 sets of fingerprints from 25,309 people, (393,370 images) from various sources to see if the equipment could fulfill requirements of the Patriot Act and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act. The review found: "The most accurate systems were from NEC of Japan, SAGEM of France and Cogent, an American company.... The best system was accurate 98.6 percent of the time on single-finger tests, 99.6 percent of the time on two-finger tests, and 99.9 percent of the time for tests involving four or more fingers. These accuracies were obtained for a false positive rate of 0.01 percent." http://fpvte.nist.gov.

The Bichard Report into failures that led to the murders of two schoolgirls points to endemic flaws in police information systems and the delays in establishing a criminal intelligence database to cover all of the UK. http://www.bichardinquiry.org.uk/

July 11 opens "National Fraud Awareness Week", sponsored by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. http://www.fraudweek.com/
It includes a Fraud Prevention Check-Up. http://www.cfenet.com/services/FrdPrevCheckUp.asp

"Telecom Fraud on the Rise" is the subject of an article by John Guerra in "Billing World and OSS Today", July 2004, citing annual increases in fraud of up to 12 percent annually.
http://www.billingworld.com/archive-detail.cfm?archiveId=7575&hl

9. Finance

The Republic of Congo has been ejected from the Kimberley Process countries recognized for legitimate diamond trade following accusations of large-scale smuggling including taking rough diamonds from other African countries and sending them through Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates to avoid detection. http://www.kimberleyprocess.com
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373627312

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe held a workshop on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing. Held in Armenia, they reviewed measures that Armenian authorities had been taken already: "he United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime have already been ratified by the Armenian Parliament. Measures have also been adopted by the Bank and a draft law is being prepared by the Ministry of Finance and Economy". http://www.osce.org/news/show_news.php?ut=2&id=4213

In Switzerland, telephone companies are obliged to register by August 1 the details of prepaid card customers purchased since November 1, 2002 after finding that al Qaeda militants used anonymous cards purchased there. Telephone operators are finding this is a big challenge, including the problems of pay-as-you-go cards and the volume of prepaid registrations. http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=5069902

The US Treasury has resumed information sharing with its Mexican financial intelligence unit counterpart, the Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF) after assurances of data secrecy were confirmed. http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js1767.htm

The Police Service of Northern Ireland seized counterfeit DVDs, CDs, and related equipment worth some GBP1 million. Counterfeiting operations have been linked to loyalist and republican paramilitary groups. http://www.psni.police.uk/

Guatemalan prosecutors will file money-laundering charges against former President Portillo and other officials implicated in transferring government funds to Panama.

Laos has reduced opium cultivation by 45 percent, resulting in a cumulative decline of 75 percent from 1998-2003. However, the reduced supply has increased farm prices by 27 percent and could encourage increased cultivation next year. http://www.unodc.org

The European Commission and cigarette maker Philip Morris have reached a settlement. In exchange for the European Union dropping legal action over accusations that the company had colluded with cigarette smugglers, Philip Morris will pay $1.25 billion over 12 years.
http://www.philipmorrisinternational.com/pages/eng/stories/f001_eu.asp
http://www.europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/04/882&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en

10. Human Rights

The International Court of Justice responded to a request from the United Nations General Assembly to review Israel's building of a wall in the occupied Palestinian Territories. Their advisory opinion concluded that the construction is illegal and must stop immediately, and that Israel should nullify any laws related to its construction and make reparations for any damage caused. Key points include:

Tajikistan has enacted legislation to combat human trafficking. It is the first such legislation in Central Asia. http://www.iom.int/en/news/PBN060704.shtml

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has assigned its first two cases to its pre-trial chambers to decide on their merits. They deal with the conflict in northern Uganda with the Lord's Resistance Army and situations throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) including alleged massacres. http://www.icc-cpi.int/home.html&l=en

Jamaica's mandatory death penalty for murder has been abolished, opening the possibility of alternate punishments. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20040707t230000-0500_62440_obs_death_penalty_ruling_pleases_rights_activists.asp

11. Law and Legal Issues

Victor Manuel Duran, Edwin Chavez, Jose Francisco Florea, Juan Carlos Alfaro and two minors, all members of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, have been arrested in El Salvador for the murder of former TACA airlines president Federico Bloch.

Ghassan Elashi, director the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, and his four brothers, have been convicted in a Texas court for selling computer equipment to Libya and Syria. At the time both countries were considered state sponsors of terrorism. Ghassan, Basman, Bayan, Hazim and Ihsan Elashi were tried on more than 20 counts of money-laundering and false statements on export documents. Three face separate charges of channeling money Hamas.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel04/elashi_conv.pdf

Toshiyuki Kosugi, Tetsuya Uemura and Mitsuo Sunaoshi, all former members of Aum Shinrikyo, have been arrested in Japan for the 1995 attempted murder of police chief Takaji Kunimatsu.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's conviction of theft and fraud connected to loans obtained for ANC workers, has been revised on appeal when the judge overturned her theft conviction and suspended in full her jail sentence because the crimes were not for personal gain.

Mijailo Mijailovic , convicted of last year's murder of Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, has been found to have a mental illness and will e taken from prison to a closed psychiatric ward.

Slobodan Milosevic's defense in his war crimes and genocide trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was delayed due to persistent ill health but is expected to resume next week, pending a further medical assessment, and possibly requiring he use an attorney rather than defending himself.

Jamal Mohammedal-Badawi, Maamoon Ahmed, Fahd Mohammed, Ali M. Saleh, and Murad S. Saeedand sixth suspect Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri (who is in US Custody) have been charged at a preliminary penal court in Yemen with planning the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. http://www.sabanews.net/view.php?scope=f9129&dr=&ir=&id=73386

Mirko Norac, a former Croatian general, flew from Rijeka to the Hague war crimes tribunal to face charges of crimes against humanity during the Balkans war. He is already serving a 12-year prison sentence in Croatia for the 1991 execution of 50 ethnic Serbs.

Issa Sesay, Revolutionary United Front (RUF) military leader, RUF security chief Augustine Gbao and commander Morris Kallonwar are the first members of the RUF on trial at the war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone.

Major Harry Schmidt, who bombed a team of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, killing four in a "friendly fire" incident was found guilty of willful misconduct and dereliction of duty. He was reprimanded ad will forfeit $5,672 in pay.

12. Transportation

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority is enhancing traditional pilot licenses with forgery-resistant passports that will be inserted in current license booklets. They will include a secured photo and require proof of identity. http://www.casa.gov.au/media/2004/04-07-02.htm

The Netherlands will deploy sky marshals on a 6-month trial.

The flight incident on June 9 that led to the emergency evacuation of the Capitol and Congressional offices and the review of the National Capitol Region’s air space control was the focus of a Congressional oversight hearing. They investigated "a series of miscommunications, improper identification and tracking, lack of training, and the failure to adhere to proper security procedures, a general aviation aircraft flying to Ronald Reagan National Airport on a "waiver" was erroneously identified as a security threat." They found that despite improvements air-security communications remain spotty, including lack of secure lines, false alarms, etc. http://www.house.gov/transportation/

13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

The World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization warn that new outbreaks of avian influenza remain endemic and a threat to human health. The virus is more widespread than previously thought, particularly in wild birds, and more deadly. It will continue to circulate and different strains will emerge. http://www.fao.org, http://www.who.int

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed El Baradei held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other cabinet members. El Baradei said that "Israel will be looking forward to the establishment of a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East" and that although that is not a new policy its affirmation is welcome. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2004/middle_east.html

A US federal appeals court found that the government's standard of 10,000 years to protect from radiation leaks at the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste burial site was too short and ordered a new plan. http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste//
http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?PUBLIC_ID=16149&BT_CODE=PR_PRESSRELEASES&TT_CODE=PRESSRELEASE
http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/district-court.html

The US Departments of Energy and the Defense announced they completed "a joint operation to secure and remove from Iraq radiological and nuclear materials that could potentially be used in a radiological dispersal device or diverted to support a nuclear weapons program". http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?PUBLIC_ID=16141&BT_CODE=PR_PRESSRELEASES&TT_CODE=PRESSRELEASE

14. Recently Published

Carmen bin Laden, "Inside the Kingdom: M Life in Saudi Arabia" Warner Books

Christopher Catherwood, "Churchill's Folly: How Winston Churchill Created Modern Iraq" Carroll and Graf/Constable and Robinson

John Fullerton, "Give Me Death", Macmillan (suicide bombings)

Giancarlo Galli, "Finanza Bianca: La Chiesa, I Soldi, Il Potere" (White Finance: The Church, Money, Power about the Vatican bank) Mondadori

Stephen Glain, "Mullahs, Merchants, and Militants: The Economic collapse of the Arab World" St. Martin's

Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke, "America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order" Cambridge University Press

Michael Ignatieff, "The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror" Princeton University Press

Robert Reich, "Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America" Alfred A. Knopf

Lynda Schuster, "A Burning Hunger" Cape (apartheid)

Lawrence Weschler, "Vermeer in Bosnia: Cultural Comedies and Political Tragedies" Pantheon

FEATURE ARTICLE: Maritime Security Part 1: Threats

"At 5:15 this morning, Washington time, a large explosion blew a hole in the hull of the USS Cole as she was morning at Aden, Yemen, to refuel. According to current reports, five sailors are dead, 36 are wounded, and 12 are still missing."

That was how US Secretary of Defense Cohen announced an attack on October 12, 2000. Only later did investigations reveal that it was an attack by al Qaeda, with a total death toll of 17 and 39 other casualties.

The USS Cole entered service in 1996. The Arleigh Burke class destroyer was equipped with the Aegis battle management system, making it one of the most sophisticated warships in the world. Its abilities made it ideal for the mission ahead: conducting operations in the northern Arabian Gulf in support of UN Security Council resolutions. Capable of complex computer modeling and able to counter incoming missiles skimming along the sea, it was unable to detect the small fiberglass boat piloted by two men who sidled up the Cole it as it refueled in the crowded Red Sea port of Aden. Packed with C4 explosives, the two men blew up themselves and drove a waterline hold in the Cole on the portside hull that was 60 feet wide and 40 feet high.

The use of a suicide boat as a weapon was modeled after the use of vehicles and was a precursor to the similar use of airplanes. Since the attack on the Cole, the technique was used against the Limburg, a French supertanker, in October 2002.

This is only one example of the threats facing maritime trade and industry. Risks are also presented by the cargo carried as well as the transit routes and their endpoints.

The maritime industry is massive. In 2001, 5.8 billion tons of goods were traded by sea. That is 80 percent, by volume, of international trade. ) In the US alone, over 318 billion gallons of petroleum products are shipped on domestic waterways.

The illegal trade is also massive. As of December 2003, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported 540 confirmed incidents involving illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials since 1 January 1993. Billions more are trafficked in illegal drugs, weapons, and natural resources. Likewise, millions of people are trafficked each year. Not all of this movement is by sea, but much of it has leveraged the easy access provided by vast stretches of ocean and the traditionally slack security of the industry. This smuggling can provide material support to terrorism both by the nature of the goods and by the profits gained from their sale.

One recent case illustrates this risk in several ways. On March 14, this year ten people were killed and 16 wounded in a double suicide bombing at Ashdod Port in Israel. Hamas and Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack that was carried out by two teenage suicide bombers from Gaza.

At first workers thought there was an accident with gas containers, but the truth was more complex. The first bomber walked up to a group of workers near a machine repair workshop. His blew himself up with such force it took off the roof and killed five workers. The second attacker detonated outside an adjacent facility, thereby destroying a trailer, and killing five office workers.

It was a mystery how the two bombers could have left Gaza since it is heavily fortified and completely encircled by tall fences. Access is tightly controlled and all cargo is inspected.

Further investigation provided the answer. The two boys, dressed in Israeli army uniforms, hid in a secret compartment hidden behind a false wall in the back of a 40-foot container that was filled with building materials. In addition, they had inside help. A Palestinian security officer employed at the port assisted them.

It could have been much worse. Fuel and chemical facilities at the port could have been targeted, or the attackers could have been using contaminated explosives as in a "dirty bomb".

As well as providing operational support, ships can be a source of financial support for terrorists. In addition to revenue realized from trafficking, ships can themselves be targets, as happens when they are attacked by pirates.

Piracy is a growing problem. It can serve terrorist aims by providing a craft that is later used in an attack but more commonly they are used for profit. Such attacks can happen in port or on the open sea.

Pirate attacks against ships have tripled in the last ten years. The latest quarterly piracy report from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) found that committed law enforcement in India, Malaysia, and the Philippines prevented attacks but Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and the Malacca Straits show significant rises. Indonesia had the highest number of attacks, with 21 incidents. There was a serious increase in the number of crew deaths, from four to 22 year over year.

In June, there was a sudden increase in armed pirates attacking ships in the northern Malacca Straits near the Indonesian region of Aceh. There were eight serious attacks, mostly kidnapping for ransom, in just twelve days. Earlier in the year, four sailors had been murdered.

These incidents raised concern over the vulnerabilities associated with the area. After the Bali bombings and international attention directed towards militant Islamic groups in Southeast Asia, this formerly neglected part of the world has assumed a new importance. Some 50,000 ships pass through the Strait every year, many carrying oil shipments. Attacks such as those in June have previously been associated with the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

That concludes the overview of common maritime risks. Over the next two weeks we will look further at maritime security by examining security measures and where they stand at present, continuing to focus on ships as weapons, containers, piracy, ports, and intermodal transportation.

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