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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (369492)	6/19/2010 10:00:52 PM
From: FJB	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 794015

Napolitano: Internet Monitoring Needed to Fight Homegrown Terrorism June 18, 2010 Fighting homegrown terrorism by monitoring Internet communications is a civil liberties trade-off the U.S. government must make to beef up national security, the nation's homeland security chief said Friday. WASHINGTON -- Fighting homegrown terrorism by monitoring Internet communications is a civil liberties trade-off the U.S. government must make to beef up national security, the nation's homeland security chief said Friday. As terrorists increasingly recruit U.S. citizens, the government needs to constantly balance Americans' civil rights and privacy with the need to keep people safe, said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. But finding that balance has become more complex as homegrown terrorists have used the Internet to reach out to extremists abroad for inspiration and training. Those contacts have spurred a recent rash of U.S.-based terror plots and incidents. "The First Amendment protects radical opinions, but we need the legal tools to do things like monitor the recruitment of terrorists via the Internet," Napolitano told a gathering of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy. Napolitano's comments suggest an effort by the Obama administration to reach out to its more liberal, Democratic constituencies to assuage fears that terrorist worries will lead to the erosion of civil rights. The administration has faced a number of civil liberties and privacy challenges in recent months as it has tried to increase airport security by adding full-body scanners, or track suspected terrorists traveling into the United States from other countries. "Her speech is sign of the maturing of the administration on this issue," said Stewart Baker, former undersecretary for policy with the Department of Homeland Security. "They now appreciate the risks and the trade-offs much more clearly than when they first arrived, and to their credit, they've adjusted their preconceptions." Underscoring her comments are a number of recent terror attacks over the past year where legal U.S. residents such as Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad and accused Fort Hood, Texas, shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan, are believed to have been inspired by the Internet postings of violent Islamic extremists. And the fact that these are U.S. citizens or legal residents raises many legal and constitutional questions. Napolitano said it is wrong to believe that if security is embraced, liberty is sacrificed. She added, "We can significantly advance security without having a deleterious impact on individual rights in most instances. At the same time, there are situations where trade-offs are inevitable." As an example, she noted the struggle to use full-body scanners at airports caused worries that they would invade people's privacy. The scanners are useful in identifying explosives or other nonmetal weapons that ordinary metal-detectors might miss -- such as the explosives that authorities said were successfully brought on board the Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He is accused of trying to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear, but the explosives failed, and only burned Abdulmutallab. U.S. officials, said Napolitano, have worked to institute a number of restrictions on the scanners' use in order to minimize that. The scans cannot be saved or stored on the machines by the operator, and Transportation Security Agency workers can't have phones or cameras that could capture the scan when near the machine.

To: LindyBill who wrote (369492)	6/20/2010 12:49:50 PM
From: FJB	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794015

Israel: Ease of Gaza blockade won't stop fight against Hamas terror Published 14:54 20.06.10 Latest update 14:54 20.06.10 haaretz.com Cabinet agreed in principle last week to relax Israel's four-year land siege, in plan coordinated with Mideast envoy Blair. By Barak Ravid Senior cabinet ministers on Sunday approved steps toward easing Israel's land blockade of the Gaza Strip, days after Jerusalem had issued a non-binding declaration supporting such a move. In a statement released following the cabinet vote on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office emphasized that the change would not counter Israel's policy "to defend it citizens against terror, rocket fire or any other hostile activities from Gaza." The PMO said that Israel would soon release a detailed list of goods that would not be allowed into the Gaza Strip, which would include all weapons. "Any item that does not appear on this list will be allowed entry into Gaza," said the PMO. Israel's new policy will allow an inflow of construction material into the Gaza Strip for projects approved by the Palestinian Authority or under the auspices of international supervision, including schools, health facilities, water, and other basic infrastructure. The change in policy is also aimed at improving economic activity in the coastal territory, said the PMO. The new policy was also to allow humanitarian aid to be brought into Gaza in a more effective way, said the PMO. Israel would consider further easing its siege as the situation on the ground improved, said the PMO. It would also continue to inspect every item brought to the Ashdod Port bound for the Gaza Strip. The PMO emphasized in its statement that its defense regime along the Gaza border would remain in place and that Israel still sees Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Prime Minister's Office announced late last week, after two days of extensive deliberations, that the security cabinet had agreed in principle to relax Israel's three-year blockade on the Gaza Strip. The ministers decided after their marathon talks on Wednesday and Thursday to "liberalize" Israel's policy regarding the entry of goods into the Hamas ruled territory, which was set in place after the Islamist movement violently seized control over the Gaza Strip in 2007. The aim of the discussions was to approve a plan drafted by Netanyahu in coordination with the United Nations' Middle East envoy Tony Blair. Over the course of the six-hour meetings last week, ministers voiced their opinions regarding the blockade and the defense establishment presented the plans for the "liberalization" of the blockade. However, upon concluding the discussions, the ministers did not vote on any binding practical draft of the decision. Prior to the vote on Sunday, the government was bound by a policy regarding the blockade decided by the security cabinet under former prime minister Ehud Olmert. Israel had "every intention to increase the transfer of goods into Gaza even before the cabinet meeting," a senior defense official said last week, indicating a change in the government's policy even before a binding decision. "We have notified the Palestinians, regardless of the cabinet meeting, that we will allow the entry of food items, house wares, writing implements, mattresses and toys. Beyond that, we have not said a thing," the official said. The international community welcomed Israel's announcement last week that it planned to ease its land blockade of the Gaza Strip. The White House called the announcement a "step in the right direction" and said the Obama administration hoped to see an expansion in the scope of goods flowing into the coastal territory.