~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Los Angeles Times

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

U.S. terrorism threat at 'heightened' state

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the terrorism threat is the highest it has been since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

by Richard A. Serrano, Washington Bureau

February 9, 2011

Reporting from Washington

Senior Homeland Security Department officials warned Wednesday that the threat to the United States is the highest it has been since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, citing the emergence of more foreign terrorist groups, a sharp increase in extremists in this country and the "lone wolf" operator whom authorities worry they may not be able to stop.

"The terrorist threat facing our country has evolved significantly," said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. "In some ways, the threat facing us is at its most heightened state since those attacks."

Michael E. Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said his concerns included someone operating unbeknownst to authorities and with the means and determination of a Faisal Shahzad, who is accused of parking a car bomb in New York's Times Square last May. The bomb failed to detonate, and Shahzad was arrested as he was boarding a flight out of the United States.

"Perfection is no more possible in counter-terrorism than it is in any other endeavor," Leiter said. Though officials "work tirelessly," he said, "we cannot guarantee safety."

The officials appeared before the House Homeland Security Committee in its first hearing since Republicans took control last month. Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), the panel's new chairman, is planning more hearings next month into the radicalization of American Muslims. Despite growing complaints that the hearings will unfairly target the Muslim community, King vowed again Wednesday to press forward.

"Homegrown radicalization is a growing threat, and one we cannot ignore," he said. "This shift, as far as I'm concerned, is a game-changer that presents a serious challenge to law enforcement and the intelligence community."

King also wants to study the danger from biological and chemical weapons.

"It's very likely that the next attack against a major city in this country will be launched from the suburbs, similar to what happened in Madrid and London," he said. "The nightmare scenario would be to have that attack involve a dirty bomb, which would put that metropolitan area off-limits, besides the massive loss of human life."

Napolitano said "there still is much work to be done" in combating biological or chemical weapons, but added, "We are more prepared than we were two years ago."

She and Leiter said that though Al Qaeda has been damaged by U.S. retaliation, other terrorist groups in Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan are gaining in strength and numbers, and have been linked to recent attempts to strike in this country. They mentioned the Times Square incident and the Christmas Day attempt in 2009 to bomb an airplane landing in Detroit.

Leiter said Al Qaeda's loss of some of its effectiveness "reduces the likelihood of a large-scale organized attack." But, he said, "the negative aspects of it is it allows the franchises to innovate on their own."

On another matter, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) said the FBI often infiltrated mosques in her district. "What are the safeguards that we now have in place that we aren't sending people into mosques and trying to elicit proactively somebody to create some sort of terrorist attack?" she asked.

Leiter said FBI and Justice Department guidelines prohibited targeting religious groups, and added: "Many of our tips to uncover active terrorist plots here in the United States have come from the Muslim community. So we have to make quite clear that the communities are part of the solution and not part of the problem."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-terror-threat-20110210,0,3432156,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

California plans $2-billion program to help distressed homeowners

The Keep Your Home California program could help more than 100,000 struggling homeowners, including about 25,000 borrowers with underwater mortgages.

by Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times

February 10, 2011

More than 100,000 struggling homeowners could get help from a $2-billion program that California is launching, including about 25,000 borrowers who owe more than their properties are worth and could see their mortgages shrink.

The Keep Your Home California program, which uses federal funds reserved for the 2008 rescue of the financial system, has the potential to make a sizable dent in California's foreclosure crisis and help the general housing market. State officials hope to fend off foreclosure for about 95,000 borrowers and provide moving assistance to about 6,500 people who do lose their homes.

Consumer advocates have criticized other attempts at foreclosure prevention as falling short, particularly the Obama administration's $75-billion program to help troubled borrowers. They were heartened by the scope of California's effort but concerned it would be hampered if the state can't get major banks on board.

Out of the five major mortgage servicers — Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Ally Financial and Citigroup Inc. — only Ally has formally signed on to a key part of the plan: reducing mortgage principal on homes that are "underwater," or worth less than the size of the mortgage. A Bank of America spokesman said the bank intends to participate but hasn't yet reached a formal agreement with the California Housing Finance Agency, which designed the program.

Said Paul Leonard, California director for the Center for Responsible Lending, "Two billion dollars in total for the state to provide assistance to help borrowers avoid foreclosure is a substantial amount of money, and we hope that it will have some significant impacts in achieving its goals.

"Cal HFA went out of its way to meet the needs of the financial industry in terms of providing a generous incentive to get them to participate, and even after taking their extensive input into the design, the banks are still not stepping up to participate in what is really a critical element of the program."

Preeti Vissa, community reinvestment director for the Greenlining Institute, called lender involvement "pretty dismal."

"The key to this program is how much the banks are willing to participate and be flexible toward homeowners' needs," Vissa said.

The size of the Golden State's foreclosure problem was underscored by data slated to be released Thursday, showing 15,893 California homes seized by big banks last month, the third-worst performance in the nation.

January's tally was a 32% increase from the previous month, though still down 7% from January 2010, according to RealtyTrac of Irvine. Nationwide, lenders took back 78,133 properties in January, up 12% from the previous month but down 11% from January 2010.

"We are not out of the woods by a long shot," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac senior vice president. "Economic factors are what are driving most foreclosures right now, and so the state's economy being what it is, it doesn't appear that there is going to be a near-term correction either."

The state's new program, which officials plan on detailing in Sacramento on Thursday, aims to address the two central issues facing California's beleaguered housing market: the state's stubborn joblessness problem and the massive number of underwater homeowners.

By keeping some cheap foreclosed properties from reaching the market, the program could give a boost to home values in general.

"If they can actually stave off foreclosures and the people stay in the homes, then that is a great thing for the market," said Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow.com. "It would be great because the continuing flow of foreclosures on the marketplace exerts downward pressure on home prices, and it also creates more supply of inventory on the marketplace, so foreclosures are really a double whammy."

The biggest of the plan's four parts allocates $875 million as temporary financial help to people who have seen their paychecks cut or have lost their jobs, providing as much as $3,000 a month for six months to cover home payments and associated costs. The second-largest chunk of money, $790 million, is slated for a principal reduction program that would write down the value of an estimated 25,135 underwater mortgages.

Another piece would use $129 million to provide as much as $15,000 apiece to help homeowners get current on their mortgages, and another would take $32 million to provide moving assistance for people who can't afford to remain in their homes.

The program is aimed at helping low- and moderate-income people who own only one property. To qualify in Los Angeles County, for instance, a family couldn't earn more than $75,600 a year. The maximum benefit for any household participating in the program is $50,000. Homeowners who refinanced their homes to take cash out of their properties won't be allowed to participate.

The principal-reduction component would pay lenders $1 for every dollar of mortgage debt forgiven. Many experts have said reducing principal on such underwater loans would go far toward reducing foreclosures because home values have fallen so steeply that homeowners are tempted to walk away from their obligations.

But banks have been reluctant to significantly reduce principal on loans other than on certain kinds of risky mortgages that are now seen as having been highly imprudent.

"You hear a lot of people calling for it, but there are not a lot of people in the mortgage industry who favor it," said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. "There are a lot of issues around who deserves principal forgiveness."

The nation's largest mortgage investors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, also aren't taking part in the principal-reduction program. That's not surprising, Cecala said, because the two are in government conservatorship and billions of taxpayer dollars already have been spent rescuing them.

Diane Richardson, director of legislation for the state's housing finance agency, said she expects other lenders to join the principal-reduction program.

"We are continuing to have conversations with other lenders about coming on board," she said. "So if somebody sees their lender, and it doesn't show them participating, they shouldn't assume that they won't be." Money will be reallocated to other parts of the program if it isn't spent on principal reduction.

Even as the state struggles to get big lenders to sign on, the program has prompted complaints that it's a giveaway to the banks. Critics have said that property values have fallen so steeply that much troubled mortgage debt is not worth what the banks would be paid. Foreclosures on the homes are so costly that the banks will come out ahead financially by writing down loan balances to keep borrowers in the homes, they contend.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-keep-your-home-20110210,0,939520,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Targeting Muslims

Rep. Peter King wants to hold hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims, but he's not identified any true threats to national security.

February 10, 2011

Next month, Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, plans to hold hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims. Unlike some of his critics, we don't think King is motivated by animus toward Islam. Nor do we believe that the hearings' subject matter should be broadened, for appearances' sake, to include other sorts of extremism. If the radicalization of American Muslims is, as King suggests, a significant and growing threat to the nation's security, then hearings should by all means be held.

The problem is that King hasn't identified such a threat, and certainly not at a level that would justify singling out one religion to be targeted for special scrutiny.

Take the congressman's comments about Islamic clerics. He says that federal and state law enforcement officials have told him they received "little — or in most cases no — cooperation from Muslim leaders and imams." He also says that he knows of "imams instructing members of their mosques not to cooperate with law enforcement officials investigating the recruiting of young men in their mosques as suicide bombers." But King has offered few details; his evidence is anecdotal and sketchy. And it is contradicted by others, including Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who said this week that Muslims in the county have been pivotal in helping to fight terrorism.

Obviously, some American Muslims have been converted to radical Islam and have engaged in terrorism. The alleged Ft. Hood gunman — an American-born U.S. Army major of Palestinian descent — is often held up as an example. It would be negligent for the FBI not to investigate such cases, and in some situations that may involve interviewing Muslim clergy and worshippers.

But the premise of King's hearings has yet to be established. And while ordinarily no great harm is done when a hearing is based on inadequate evidence, the proceedings to be chaired by King are different. They appear to attribute danger and disloyalty to one particular religious group — a group that is, not incidentally, relatively unpopular at the moment.

It is especially worrisome that the committee might adopt an overly broad definition of "radicalization"; committee members should remember that many "radical" notions are protected under the 1st Amendment. Thankfully, some of the more vehement critics of Islam are not on the witness list, and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a Muslim who challenges King's thesis, is. So the hearings may not be as incendiary as some fear.

Even so, an investigation of members of a single religion makes us uneasy. As the controversy over a proposed mosque and community center in Lower Manhattan demonstrated, anti-Islamic feeling in this country is real and widespread. King's hearings run the risk of exacerbating that.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-king-20110210,0,4093290,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the New York Times

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lawmakers Hear of Threat by Domestic Terrorists

WASHINGTON — The House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday opened a wide-ranging review of terrorist threats facing the United States as the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches.

Additional hearings the Republican-led committee has scheduled for the week of March 7 on the threat of homegrown Islamic terrorism have drawn criticism from both the right and the left over the scope of the topic and the witnesses to be summoned.

But the panel's debut session on Wednesday with two of the government's top counterterrorism officials underscored an increasingly familiar and commonly accepted concern: One of the most serious emerging threats to the country is posed by radicalized American citizens or residents capable of carrying out terrorist attacks with little or no warning.

The increase in homegrown terrorists inspired by, but not necessarily directed from, Al Qaeda's headquarters in Pakistan or its affiliates in Yemen and Africa, has forced the Obama administration to scramble to thwart a small but rapidly evolving domestic threat that authorities say is much more difficult to detect than most foreign-based plots.

“In some ways, the threat today may be at its most heightened state since the attacks nearly 10 years ago,” Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, told lawmakers.

The testimony from Ms. Napolitano and Michael E. Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, served as a scene-setter for the more contentious hearings next month called by the panel's new chairman, Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York.

The panel's focus on domestic extremism comes after a two-year period in which, United States authorities say, two dozen American citizens or residents have been arrested on terrorism-related charges. Those include the failed plot to bomb the New York City subway system in 2009 and an attempt last year to detonate an S.U.V. packed with explosives in Times Square.

After years of largely playing down the threat of homegrown terrorists more common in Europe, American officials are now rushing to catch up, enlisting the help and playbooks of counterterrorism officials from Canada, Britain and other countries with more experience in dealing with domestic extremism.

“This shift, as far as I'm concerned, is a game changer that presents a serious challenge to law enforcement and the intelligence community,” Mr. King said.

At issue are Americans who are being inspired to violence over the Internet; many are recruited by Qaeda affiliates looking for Westerners or individuals who have connections to the West but do not have strong links to terrorist groups, and are thus more difficult for the authorities to identify.

“They are also encouraging individuals in the West to carry out their own small-scale attacks, which require less of the coordination and planning that could raise red flags and lead to an attack's disruption,” Ms. Napolitano said.

This threat requires the United States to improve its existing techniques and strategies to detect and deter terrorist attacks, Ms. Napolitano said. And that means relying increasingly on a new group of terrorism fighters.

“Our focus must be on aiding law enforcement and helping to provide them with the information and resources they need to secure their own communities from the threat they face,” she said.

The Homeland Security Department is trying to increase the abilities of a loose national network of so-called fusion centers, sites operated by state or local governments where law enforcement and emergency personnel share information about terrorist threats and other crises.

Last year, however, an assessment by the department found that half of the nation's 72 fusion centers failed to meet basic standards of effectiveness, including the ability to apply information sent from Washington to their local communities. Since then, the department has sought to bolster the weaker centers, and officials say all the centers now meet a minimum set of standards.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/us/politics/10terror.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

North Carolina Man Admits to Aiding a Jihadist Plot

Daniel Patrick Boyd, a North Carolina man whose arrest on terrorism-related charges surprised the residents of his bucolic town, pleaded guilty in Federal District Court in New Bern, N.C., on Wednesday to conspiring to assist violent jihadists and to participate in attacks in foreign countries, Justice Department officials said.

Mr. Boyd, 40, an American citizen who worked for a company that installed drywall, and six other men, including two of his sons, were first charged in July 2009 with participating and supporting violent jihad overseas.

A superseding indictment two months later contained more charges, including one accusing Mr. Boyd and another man of plotting an attack on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. He did not enter a plea on that charge on Wednesday.

Mr. Boyd is scheduled to be sentenced in May. He faces up to 15 years in prison on one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and a life sentence for conspiring to “murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons in a foreign country.”

The cases involving the other defendants, including Mr. Boyd's sons, are working their way to trial, said Robin G. Zier, a spokeswoman for the United States attorney's office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

At the time of his arrest, Mr. Boyd's neighbors in Willow Spring, N.C., about 15 miles south of Raleigh, were in disbelief.

Although they knew he was a devout Muslim, many were hearing for the first time that Mr. Boyd was known by an alias, Saifullah, and that he had been in Afghanistan and Pakistan from 1989 to 1992, training with and supporting fighters who were trying to overthrow the government in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The charges also said that he had taken his sons to Gaza to introduce them to jihadists, and that Mr. Boyd had been stockpiling assault weapons and had participated in paramilitary exercises with other Islamic radicals in the North Carolina countryside.

The indictments described a period from 2006 to 2009 during which Mr. Boyd plotted with other radical Muslims to recruit jihadists and send material support to fighters overseas.

“This case proves how our world is changing,” the United States attorney, George E. B. Holding, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Terrorists are no longer only from foreign countries, but also citizens who live within our own borders.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/us/10boyd.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Google News

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veterans more likely to be homeless, study says

More than 75,000 veterans were living on the streets or in a temporary shelter that night. In that year, 136,334 veterans spent at least one night in a homeless shelter — a count that did not include homeless veterans living on the streets.

The urgency of the problem is growing as more people return from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The study found 11,300 younger veterans, 18 to 30, were in shelters at some point during 2009. Virtually all served in Iraq or Afghanistan, said Mark Johnston, deputy assistant secretary for special needs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

"It's an absolute shame," he said.

President Obama has set a goal of ending chronic homelessness of veterans and others by 2015.

"This report offers a much clearer picture about what it means to be a veteran living on our streets or in our shelters," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said. "Understanding the nature and scope of veteran homelessness is critical if we hope to meet President Obama's goal of ending this national tragedy within five years."

HUD, Veterans Affairs and the Labor Department have begun a homelessness-prevention test project in five communities near military installations. HUD is providing $10 million in short-term rental assistance, the VA is providing $5 million for medical services and case management, and the Labor Department is providing job training and counseling.

The findings about homeless veterans are in a joint analysis by HUD and the VA. The report, a copy of which was obtained by USA TODAY, is a follow-up to HUD's report on homelessness last year.

The report analyzed data from a nationwide homeless survey conducted around the country on one night in January 2009 and a second study looking at who falls into and out of homelessness over the course of a year.

Of the 75,609 homeless veterans found on a single night in January 2009, 43% were living on the streets without shelter, and 57% were staying in an emergency shelter or transitional housing.

Nearly half were in California, Texas, New York or Florida.

Other findings:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-10-1Ahomelessvets10_ST_N.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Department of Homeland Security

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Testimony of Secretary Janet Napolitano Before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, "Understanding the Homeland Threat Landscape – Considerations for the 112th Congress"

Release Date: February 9, 2011

Cannon House Office Building
(Remarks as Prepared)

Chairman King, Ranking Member Thompson, and members of the Committee: Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the changing terrorist threat that the United States faces, and how the Department of Homeland Security is responding. I am glad to be here today with my colleague, Director Leiter. I look forward to continuing to work with this Committee and its leadership in this new Congress, and I expect that, working together, we will continue to make great strides in securing our country.

The Response to a Changing Threat

Since 9/11, the United States has made important progress in securing our Nation from terrorism. Nevertheless, the terrorist threat facing our country has evolved significantly in the last ten years – and continues to evolve – so that, in some ways, the threat facing us is at its most heightened state since those attacks. This fact requires us to continually adapt our counterterrorism techniques to effectively detect, deter, and prevent terrorist acts.

Following 9/11, the federal government moved quickly to build an intelligence and security apparatus that has protected our country from the kind of large-scale attack, directed from abroad, that struck us nearly ten years ago. The resulting architecture yielded considerable success in both preventing this kind of attack and limiting, though not eliminating, the operational ability of the core al-Qaeda group that is currently based in the mountainous area between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Today, however, in addition to the direct threats we continue to face from al-Qaeda, we also face growing threats from other foreign-based terrorist groups that are inspired by al-Qaeda ideology but have few operational connections to the core al-Qaeda group. And, perhaps most crucially, we face a threat environment where violent extremism is not defined or contained by international borders. Today, we must address threats that are homegrown as well as those that originate abroad.

One of the most striking elements of today's threat picture is that plots to attack America increasingly involve American residents and citizens. We are now operating under the assumption, based on the latest intelligence and recent arrests, that individuals prepared to carry out terrorist attacks and acts of violence might be in the United States, and they could carry out acts of violence with little or no warning.

Over the past two years, we have seen the rise of a number of terrorist groups inspired by al-Qaeda ideology – including (but not limited to) al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) from Yemen, al-Shabaab from Somalia, and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – that are placing a growing emphasis on recruiting individuals who are either Westerners or have connections to the West, but who do not have strong links to terrorist groups, and are thus more difficult for authorities to identify. We saw this, for instance, in the case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is accused of attempting to detonate explosives aboard a Detroit-bound plane on December 25, 2009; and Faisal Shahzad, who attempted to detonate a bomb in Times Square in May of last year. These groups are also trying to inspire individuals in the West to launch their own, smaller-scale attacks, which require less of the advanced planning or coordination that would typically raise red flags. The logic supporting these kinds of terrorist plots is simple: They present fewer opportunities for disruption by intelligence or law enforcement than more elaborate, larger-scale plots by groups of foreign-based terrorists.

This threat of homegrown violent extremism fundamentally changes who is most often in the best position to spot terrorist activity, investigate, and respond. More and more, state, local, and tribal front-line law enforcement officers are most likely to notice the first signs of terrorist activity. This has profound implications for how we go about securing our country against the terrorist threat, and requires a new kind of security architecture that complements the structure we have already built to protect America from threats coming from abroad.

Over the past two years, the Department of Homeland Security has been working diligently to build this new architecture in order to defend against this evolving threat. There are two dimensions of this architecture that I will discuss today before I detail other major developments in our defenses against terrorism over the past year.

The first part of our effort is working directly with law enforcement and community-based organizations to counter violent extremism at its source, using many of the same techniques and strategies that have proven successful in combating violence in American communities. Law enforcement at the state, local and federal levels are leveraging and enhancing their relationships with members of diverse communities that broadly and strongly reject violent extremism.

Second, DHS is focused on getting resources and information out of Washington, D.C. and into the hands of state and local law enforcement, in order to provide them with the tools they need to combat the threats their communities face. Because state and local law enforcement are often in the best position to first notice the signs of a planned attack, our homeland security efforts must be interwoven in the police work that state, local, and tribal officers do every day. We must make sure that officers everywhere have a clear understanding of the tactics, behaviors, and other indicators that could point to terrorist activity. Accordingly, DHS is improving and expanding the information-sharing mechanisms by which officers on the beat are made aware of the threat picture and what it means for their communities. DHS is doing so in alignment with the vision of Congress and the direction the President has set for a robust information sharing environment. These efforts include providing training programs for local law enforcement to help them identify indicators of terrorist activity, as well as our work with our partners at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative, which has created a standardized system for reporting suspicious activity so that this information can be analyzed against national trends and shared across jurisdictions. And we are encouraging Americans to alert local law enforcement if they see something that is potentially dangerous through the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign. The kind of vigilance that this campaign promotes has helped to foil terrorist plots in the past, including last month in Spokane, Washington.

Taken together, these steps lay a strong foundation that police and their partners across the country can use to protect their communities from terrorism and violence. While many kinds of violent motivations threaten our security 1 , these initiatives are helping to build a strong foundation of preparedness that will be embedded in the fabric of cities and towns across the Nation. Indeed, what we are building to secure America from every type of attack is a homeland security architecture that helps law enforcement everywhere protect their communities from any type of attack. This homeland security architecture will be paired with efforts to better understand the risk confronting the homeland, and to protect the privacy rights and civil liberties of all Americans.

Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)

Since 2009, more than two dozen Americans have been arrested on terrorism-related charges. More broadly, a report last month from the New York State Intelligence Center, the fusion center for the State of New York, examining 32 major terrorism cases in the United States related to al-Qaeda-like ideology since 9/11, shows that 50 of the 88 individuals involved in those plots were U.S. citizens at the time of their arrests, and among those citizens, a clear majority of were natural-born. 2

This report demonstrates why we must confront the threat of homegrown violent extremism in order to truly secure our country. We have a clear path forward to guide our efforts on this front. The Homeland Security Advisory Council's (HSAC) Countering Violent Extremism Working Group – comprised of security experts, elected officials, law enforcement leaders, community leaders, and first responders from around the country – has provided DHS with a number of recommendations on how to support local law enforcement and community-based efforts to identify and combat sources of violent extremism.

One major recommendation was to develop a CVE curriculum for state and local law enforcement that is focused on community-oriented policing, and that would help enable frontline personnel to identify activities that are indicators of potential terrorist activity and violence. We have now developed the first iteration of this curriculum, through partnership with the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Department of Justice, the Counter Terrorism Academy, and the Naval Postgraduate School. The first training with this CVE curriculum will take place this month at DHS' Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). Law enforcement from New York, Detroit, the Twin Cities, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles are invited to participate. This curriculum will continue to be developed and refined in consultation with our partners, and it will become widely available through regional policing institutes, in addition to FLETC. The eventual goal is to include this curriculum in the basic and in-service training that is provided to all new law enforcement personnel.

In forming these kinds of community-based partnerships, it is important that communities learn from each other about what works in countering violent extremism. To support this effort, we work closely with a diverse collection of religious, ethnic, and community organizations. As the President said in his State of the Union address, in the face of violent extremism, "we are responding with the strength of our communities."  A vast majority of people in every American community resoundingly reject violence, and this certainly includes the violent, al-Qaeda-style ideology that claims to launch attacks in the name of their widely rejected version of Islam. We must use these facts as a tool against the threat of homegrown violent extremism. In conjunction with these communities and with the Department of Justice and the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment, we have published guidance on best practices for community partnerships, which has been distributed to local law enforcement across the country. DHS also holds regular regional meetings – which include state and local law enforcement, state and local governments, and community organizations – in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. These regional meetings have enabled participants to provide and receive feedback on successful community-oriented policing and other programs aimed at preventing violence.

DHS has also issued, and continues to compile, unclassified case studies that examine recent incidents involving terrorism so that state and local law enforcement, state and local governments, and community members can understand the warning signs that could indicate a developing terrorist attack. These case studies focus on common behaviors and indicators regarding violent extremism to increase overall situational awareness and provide law enforcement with information on tactics, techniques, and plans of international and domestic terrorists.

DHS has also conducted "deep dive" sessions with the intelligence directors of major city police departments and with the leadership of state and major urban area fusion centers. DHS leaders meet with these individuals to discuss case studies, terrorist techniques, and current or novel indicators of terrorism, so that these leaders can inculcate these lessons in their own institutions.

The United States government as a whole is also working with our international allies who have experience with homegrown terrorism. The State Department has the lead for these international activities, but DHS is also working with foreign governments that share many of our security concerns. In the past several months, DHS has participated in bilateral conferences with partners in Canada and the United Kingdom on countering violent extremism, and these and additional conversations will continue to leverage lessons our partners have learned that may benefit law enforcement in the United States.

We will also leverage grant programs to support training and technical assistance in building community partnerships and local participation in the SAR Initiative. Pending our FY 2011 appropriation, DHS, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) within DOJ, and the DOJ Bureau for Justice Assistance within the DOJ are working together to develop a joint grant resource guide for state and local law enforcement that leverages relevant funds and programs for community-oriented policing. At the same time, DHS is expanding engagement through our Privacy Office and our Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to help DHS personnel and law enforcement on the ground better understand and identify threats and mitigate risks to our communities while ensuring these efforts respect the rights enjoyed by all Americans.

Supporting Law Enforcement with the Information and Resources They Need

As I mentioned above, a major role of the Department of Homeland Security is to get information and resources out of Washington, D.C. and into the hands of law enforcement throughout the country. Local law enforcement, community groups, citizens, and the private sector play as much of a role in homeland security as the federal government. That is why we emphasize that "homeland security starts with hometown security."

DHS has been working to expand our efforts to build the capacities of state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement over the past two years to support four main priorities. First, the information and intelligence provided to states and local authorities should be timely, actionable, and useful to their efforts to protect local communities from terrorism and other threats. Second, we should support state and local law enforcement efforts to recognize the behaviors and indicators associated with terrorism, and incorporate this knowledge into their day-to-day efforts to protect their communities from terrorist acts violent crime. Third, we should ensure that information about terrorism-related suspicious activity is shared quickly among all levels of government, so that information from the front lines can be factored into larger analytic efforts regarding the threat picture across the whole country. Fourth, we should encourage a "whole of nation" approach to security, where officers on the ground are supported by an informed, vigilant public that plays a key role in helping to secure our country against new and evolving threats.

We have dedicated significant resources to building four major pieces of our new homeland-security architecture to work towards these goals. The four pieces are Joint Terrorist Task Forces (JTTFs), state and major urban area fusion centers, the Nationwide SAR Initiative, and the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign.

Joint Terrorism Task Forces

A critical piece of the homeland security architecture is the mechanism created to jointly investigate terrorism cases: the Joint Terrorism Task Forces led by the FBI. Hundreds of DHS personnel from eleven DHS components are currently working to support and participate in the 104 JTTFs across the country, all of which marshal resources from a number of sources to jointly conduct terrorism investigations. Our Nation's JTTFs have been successful in mitigating the terrorist threat in a number of instances, including in the investigation of Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested in 2009 for a terrorist plot to attack the New York transit system. In that case, several FBI field offices and their JTTFs (including the New York JTTF) contributed to efforts in identifying Zazi, conducting surveillance of him, and arresting Zazi before he could execute his attack, while also identifying Zazi's associates.

Fusion centers

The second element is the network of state and major urban area fusion centers, which serve as focal points for information sharing among all levels of government. While JTTFs are investigative teams that bring agencies together to investigate particular terrorism cases, fusion centers are analytical and information-sharing entities that bring agencies together to assess local implications of threat information in order to better understand the general threat picture. These centers analyze information and identify trends to share timely intelligence with federal, state, and local law enforcement including DHS, which then further shares this information with other members of the Intelligence Community. In turn, DHS provides relevant and appropriate threat information from the Intelligence Community back to the fusion centers. Today, there are 72 state- and locally-run fusion centers in operation across the nation, up from a handful in 2006. Our goal is to make every one of these fusion centers a center of analytic excellence that provides useful, actionable information about threats to law enforcement and first responders. To do this, we have deployed 68 experienced DHS intelligence officers to fusion centers across the country. We are committed to having an officer in each fusion center. DHS further supports fusion centers through the grants process,and, as fusion centers become fully operational, by deploying the Homeland Security Data Network to provide access to classified homeland security threat information to qualified personnel. Our support for fusion centers is focused on supporting them to fully achieve four baseline capabilities: the ability to receive classified and unclassified threat-related information from the federal government; the ability to assess the local implications of threat-related information through the use of risk assessments; the ability to further disseminate to localities threat information, so local law enforcement can recognize behaviors and indicators associated with terrorism; and the ability to share, when appropriate, locally-generated information with federal authorities, in order to better identify emerging threats. The Department of Justice also work closely with fusion centers to ensure that the analytical work of fusion centers and the investigative work of JTTFs complement each other.

Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative

The third piece of our homeland security architecture that I described earlier is the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting, or SAR, Initiative, which DHS is working closely with DOJ in order to expand and improve. The Nationwide SAR Initiative creates a standard process for law enforcement to identify, document, vet, and share reports of suspicious incidents or behaviors associated with specific threats of terrorism. The reports then can be used to identify broader trends. To date, the SAR Initiative is under various stages of implementation at 33 sites that cover two-thirds of the American population, and it should be fully implemented across the country by September of this year.

Importantly, this initiative also trains frontline, analytic, and executive personnel to recognize behaviors and indicators associated with terrorism, and to distinguish them from non-suspicious and legal behaviors. Thus far, more than 13,000 frontline federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel across the country have received SAR training, and it is expected that virtually all frontline law enforcement personnel in the United States – hundreds of thousands of officers – will receive this training by the autumn of this year, thanks in large part to the partnership of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Major County Sheriffs' Association, and the National Sheriffs' Association. As part of the SAR Initiative, we are also installing information-sharing technologies within DHS that enable suspicious activity reports that are vetted by specially trained analysts to be forwarded to JTTFs and to be accessible to other fusion centers and DHS offices. In conjunction with the Nationwide SAR Initiative, DHS is also working to provide reporting capability directly to owners and operators of critical infrastructure.

The initial stages of this program have underscored the value of this initiative. For example, over the two years it was involved in the pilot, one major city reported that implementation of the initiative resulted in seventeen reports related to an open FBI terrorism case. Over those same two years, a total of 393 reports were accepted by local JTTFs for further investigation, and local investigations resulted in 90 additional arrests for weapons offenses and related charges. Separately, as the media has already reported, a Chicago Police Department officer filed a suspicious activity report in summer 2009 about David Coleman Headley based on observations the officer made in a Chicago park. Headley was subsequently tied to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November of 2008 and was arrested on U.S. charges as well. In addition, fusion centers in New York, Florida, and Virginia used suspicious activity reports and other documents to identify associates of both Faisal Shahzad and Najibullah Zazi.

"If You See Something, Say Something"

The fourth element of the homeland security architecture I referenced is the effort to spread awareness about the role the public plays in our security. The vigilance of Americans continues to help save lives and aid law enforcement and first responders. We saw this last month in the brave responses of many Americans in the moments after the shootings in Tucson, when members of the public subdued the shooter. We saw how the vigilance of the public can prevent an attack when a potentially deadly bomb was found prior to the start of a Martin Luther King Day parade in Spokane, Washington, after several city workers noticed a suspicious backpack and reported it to police. Of course, we all remember how last May, a street vendor alerted police to smoke coming from a car and helped to save lives during the attempted bombing in Times Square. Time and time again, we see vivid examples of why the American public's vigilance is a critical part of our security.

To foster this vigilance, we have taken a public awareness campaign with a familiar slogan – "If You See Something, Say Something," initially used by New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority and funded in part by DHS – and are spreading it across the country. This program is based on those tenets of community-oriented policing that enable the public to work closely with local law enforcement to protect their communities from crime. The campaign outlines a positive role that Americans can play in our shared security. This public education effort is being expanded to places where the Nationwide SAR Initiative is already being implemented, so we can ensure that calls to authorities will be handled appropriately and in an environment where privacy and civil-liberties protections are in place. The campaign has already been launched in a number of state and local jurisdictions, as well as within several key sectors, including Amtrak, the general aviation community, the Washington Metro, New Jersey Transit, with the NFL and the NCAA, the commercial services sector at hotels and major landmarks such as the Mall of America in Minnesota, and national retailers like Walmart; and at federal buildings protected by the Federal Protective Service.

In addition to these four major pieces of our homeland security architecture, we are further enhancing our Nation's defenses against threats through reforms we have made to the DHS grants and the grant process. Our state and local partners everywhere are struggling to pay their bills and fund vital services. As a former governor, I know the hard choices they face. But it is critical to our national security that local communities maintain and continue to strengthen their public safety capabilities. In 2010, DHS awarded $3.8 billion to states, cities, law enforcement, and first responders to strengthen preparedness for acts of terrorism, major disasters and other emergencies. We are also changing the grant process to help them stretch these dollars even further. We have eliminated red tape by streamlining the grant process; expanded eligible expenses to fund maintenance and sustainability; and made it easier for fire grants to be put to work quickly to rehire laid-off firefighters and protect the jobs of veteran firefighters.

We also are making significant changes to the National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS), which will make the system a better tool for disseminating information about threats both to the public and to specific sectors. Last month, I announced the end of the old system of color-coded alerts, and that we are moving forward on a 90-day implementation period in which state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, private and non-profit sector partners, airports, and transport hubs will transition to this new system.

Americans have a stake in our collective security, and we trust them to do their part in our shared responsibility for our Nation's security. The new system is built on the simple premise that when a threat develops that could impact the public, we will tell the public and provide whatever information we can.

The new system reflects the reality that we must always be on alert and ready. When we have information about a specific, credible threat, we will issue a formal alert with as much information as possible. The alert may also be limited; depending on the nature of the threat, alerts may be issued only to law enforcement, or, for example, to a segment of the private sector such as shopping malls or hotels. Alternately, the alert may be issued more broadly to the American people. The alert may ask Americans to take certain actions, or to look for specific suspicious behavior. And alerts will have an end date.

This new system was developed collaboratively. It was largely the work of a bipartisan task force that included law enforcement, former mayors and governors, and members of the previous administration. I look forward to continuing to work with our many partners and with this Committee to improve this system as it moves forward.

Strengthening Vulnerable Sectors

In addition to building this foundation, DHS has also been at work strengthening sectors that have been – and continue to be – targets of attacks.

Commercial aviation

The latest threat information indicates that commercial aviation is still the top target of terrorists, a fact that is underscored by the terrible bombing in Moscow's Domodedovo airport last month. The attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day 2009 illustrated the global nature of the threat to aviation. That incident involved a U.S. plane flying into a U.S. city, but it endangered individuals from at least 17 foreign countries. The alleged attacker, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is a Nigerian citizen educated in the United Kingdom. He received training in terrorist tactics in Yemen, purchased his ticket in Ghana, and flew from Nigeria to Amsterdam before departing for Detroit.

After this attempted terrorist attack, the U.S. government moved quickly to strengthen security. We took immediate steps to bolster passenger screening, while addressing larger systemic issues on a global scale. We launched a global initiative to ensure international aviation security efforts were stronger, better coordinated, and designed to meet the current threat environment. With the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations body responsible for air transport, we held five regional aviation security summits which resulted in five major regional aviation security declarations, and worked closely with U.S. and international airline and airport trade associations and airline CEOs on a coordinated, international approach to enhancing aviation security. These meetings culminated in the ICAO Triennial Assembly at the beginning of October, where the Assembly adopted a historic Declaration on Aviation Security, which forges a historic new foundation for aviation security that will better protect the entire global aviation system from evolving terrorist threats.

DHS coupled these international efforts with significant advances in domestic aviation security. We have deployed additional behavior detection officers, air marshals, and explosives-detection canine teams, among other measures, to airports across the country. Through the Recovery Act, we accelerated the purchase of Advanced Imaging Technology machines for deployment to airports around the country, and currently have 486 deployed. The President's fiscal year 2011 budget request would provide funding for a further 500 AIT machines for deployment to our Nation's airports. We are also purchasing and deploying more portable explosive detection machines, Advanced Technology x-ray systems, and bottled liquid scanners. In addition, in April 2010, the United States implemented new, enhanced security measures for all air carriers with international flights to the United States that use real-time, threat-based intelligence to better mitigate the evolving terrorist threats. And in November, DHS achieved a major aviation security milestone called for in the 9/11 Commission Report , as100 percent of passengers on flights within or bound for the United States are now being checked against government watchlists.

The global supply chain

In addition to our ongoing efforts to enhance international aviation security, last month I announced a new partnership with the World Customs Organization to enlist other nations, international bodies, and the private sector to strengthen the global supply chain. As illustrated this past October by a thwarted plot to conceal explosive devices onboard cargo aircraft bound for the United States from Yemen, the supply chain is a target for those who seek to disrupt global commerce.

Securing the global supply chain is an important part of securing both the lives of people around the world as well as the stability of the global economy. Beyond the immediate impact of a potential attack on passengers, transportation workers and other innocent people, the longer-term consequences of a disabled supply chain could quickly snowball and impact economies around the world. One consequence, for example, could be that people across the world would find empty store shelves for food, serious shortages in needed medical supplies, or significant increases in the cost of energy.

To secure the supply chain, we first must work to prevent terrorists from exploiting the supply chain to plan and execute attacks. This means, for example, working with customs agencies and shipping companies to keep precursor chemicals that can be used to produce improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from being trafficked by terrorists. We must also protect the most critical elements of the supply chain, like central transportation hubs, from attack or disruption. This means strengthening the civilian capacities of governments around the world, including our own, to secure these hubs; establishing global screening standards; and providing partner countries across the supply chain with needed training and technology. Finally, we must make the global supply chain more resilient, so that in case of disruption it can recover quickly. Trade needs to be up and running, with bolstered security, if needed, as quickly as possible after any kind of event.

I am confident the global community can make great strides on all of these fronts in 2011. Just as the nations of the world were able to make historic progress on enhancing international aviation security in 2010, so too can we make global supply chain security stronger, smarter and more resilient this year.

Surface transportation

DHS has also taken major steps to strengthen security for surface transportation, including passenger rail and mass transit. Many of the steps I have already described are especially important in helping to secure that environment. We conducted the initial launch of the national "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign at Penn Station in New York, in conjunction with Amtrak. The Nationwide SAR Initiative is also geared toward detecting signs of terrorism in mass transit hubs and vehicles like train stations, buses, or rail cars. This initiative includes as law enforcement partners the Amtrak Police Department as well as all police agencies serving rail networks in the Northeast corridor, providing officers to use this upgraded reporting system to refer suspicious activity to DHS and the FBI. This is in addition to the intelligence sharing that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) conducts with Amtrak on an ongoing basis, and the information-sharing work conducted by the Public Transportation Information Sharing Analysis Center. TSA special operation teams, known as Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams, work with local partners to support several thousand operations every year. The expansion of the Nationwide SAR Initiative will continue to include our partners in the transportation sector.

We are moving forward on the implementation of the 20 recommendations made in the Surface Transportation Security Assessment, released in April as part of an Administration-wide effort to address surface transportation security. DHS has the lead on 19 of these recommendations; to date we have completed five of the recommendations 3 and are making significant progress toward implementing the remainder. We are also in the rulemaking process to require background checks and security training for public transit employees, and to require vulnerability assessments and security plans for high-risk public transportation agencies, railroads, and bus operators. All of these actions will help to address a landscape where the threats to these systems are clear.

Cybersecurity

At the same time that we work to strengthen the security of our critical physical infrastructure, we are also working to secure cyberspace – an effort that requires coordination and partnership among the multitude of different entities in both the government and private sector that share responsibility for important cyber infrastructure. Indeed, in just the last year, we have seen the full spectrum of cyber threats, from denial-of-service attacks and spamming to attacks with spyware. However, we have made – and are continuing to make – substantial progress at building the capability necessary to address cyber incidents on a national level.

DHS has expanded its capabilities to further secure cyberspace. Last year, we entered into a new agreement with the Department of Defense and National Security Agency to enhance our capabilities to protect against threats to civilian and military computer systems and networks. Through this agreement, personnel from DHS and the DOD are now able to call upon the resources from each other and the NSA in order to respond to attacks against our interlinked networks. We also continue to expand the number of cyber experts working for DHS, a number which has increased about fivefold in the past two years.

The Cyber Storm III exercise was another milestone in 2010. This exercise simulated a large-scale cyber attack on our critical infrastructure and involved participants from DHS and seven Cabinet-level federal agencies, but also from 13 other countries and 11 states. It represented an important test for the country's National Cyber Incident Response Plan.

DHS has opened and is now growing the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), which is a 24/7 watch-and-warning center that works closely with both government and private-sector partners. In 2011, DHS will complete the deployment of the EINSTEIN 2 threat detection system across the Federal space. In addition, the Department will continue to develop, and begin deployment, of EINSTEIN 3, which will provide DHS with the ability to automatically detect and counter malicious cyber activity.

Conclusion

The terrorist threat to the homeland is, in many ways, at its most heightened state since 9/11. This threat is constantly evolving, and, as I have said before, we cannot guarantee that there will never be another terrorist attack, and we cannot seal our country under a glass dome. However, we continue to do everything we can to reduce the risk of terrorism in our Nation.

Our efforts are guided by a simple premise: to provide the information, resources and support that the hardworking men and women of DHS, our federal partners, and state, local, tribal, and territorial first responders need to effectively prevent and recover from acts of terrorism and to mitigate the threats we face. This support helps to build the kind of foundation that can guard against – and bounce back from – any kind of attack, from newly emerging threats to specific sectors that have been terrorist targets in the past. Working with our federal partners, law enforcement across the country, the private sector, and the American public, we are making great progress in addressing today's evolving terrorist threats.

Chairman King, Ranking Member Thompson, and members of the Committee: Thank you for inviting me to testify today. I can now take your questions.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/testimony/testimony_1297263844607.shtm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Department of Justice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

41 Gang Members and Associates in Five Districts Charged with Crimes Including Racketeering, Murder, Drug Trafficking and Firearms

Trafficking Enforcement Actions Against More Than 110 Individuals Across the United States in February as Part of Doj Efforts to Combat Gangs and Gang-Related Violence

WASHINGTON – Forty-one members of various street gangs have been charged in indictments or criminal complaints unsealed today in five judicial districts, the Department of Justice announced today.

The federal indictments and complaints unsealed today charge members and associates of a variety of street gangs, including:

The charges in these separate cases relate to a wide range of alleged illegal activity, including racketeering conspiracy, murder, murder conspiracy, narcotics trafficking, robbery and gun trafficking. The defendants will make initial court appearances in the respective districts in which they are charged. Teams of federal, state and local law enforcement officers have today arrested 29 of these defendants, with additional arrests expected.

“Gangs threaten the safety and stability of neighborhoods across our nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.  “Gangs spread fear in our communities, trading in guns, drugs, and violence, and they cause too many young people to choose lives of crime.  The Justice Department is fighting back, against both local street gangs and large organized criminal enterprises with international reach.  With the coordinated enforcement actions announced today, we are sending an unmistakable message -- that we are committed to dismantling gangs both large and small, and from coast to coast.” 

“Although these cases are in different parts of the country, they illustrate the common threats gang members pose to our communities,” said Assistant Director Kevin Perkins of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division. “Gangs were once found in big cities, but their operations are now migrating to rural areas. The types of offenses gang members commit are also changing, from drug running and petty crimes to home invasions and health care fraud. The FBI will use our task forces, undercover operations, and enhanced surveillance techniques to dismantle gangs to restore order to neighborhoods they terrorize.”

“Firearms trafficking and gang-related violent crime go hand in hand.  Guns are the tools of the trade to intimidate and murder innocent citizens and rivals,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( ATF) Acting Director Kenneth Melson . “Enforcement initiatives like today's place an emphasis on ending gang violence that erodes the quality of life in neighborhoods by putting criminal offenders behind bars for a long time.”

“ICE's work continues to have a significant impact on some of the most ruthless gangs in the country,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton. “Gangs thrive on violence, violence that is often fueled by profits from their illegal activities. Our goal in targeting these dangerous street gangs is to disrupt their criminal activities and ultimately to dismantle entire organizations.”

In the Washington indictment of MS-13 members (U.S. v. Carlos Silva, et al) the seven defendants added in the superseding indictment are charged with RICO conspiracy and other offenses including two murders, armed robbery, sexual abuse while armed, kidnapping and obstructing justice. The indictment alleges that between 2008 and 2010, MS-13 members sent money to gang leaders in El Salvador , as well as participated in the stabbing of rival gang members and kidnapping, among other crimes.

The Houston indictment (U.S. v. Jeffrey Juarez, et al) of the Tri-City Bombers charges 13 individuals with conspiring to sell cocaine and ecstasy and with firearm-related offenses. The nine Los Angeles indictments (U.S. v. Soto Martinez; U.S. v. Castellon and Reynosa; and U.S. v. Bravo, U.S. v. Jaime Garcia; U.S. v. Moises Limon; U.S. v. Luis Rodriguez; U.S. v. Blanco and Avalos; U.S. v. Villa and Melena; U.S. v. Espinosa) involving the Colonia Chiques gang in Oxnard, Calif., charge 12 members with trafficking methamphetamine, crack cocaine and heroin. Additional Colonia Chiques members have been charged in California state court.

In the Kansas City indictment (U.S. v. Kevion Darnell Bifford, et al) seven members of the Click Clack gang are charged for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and for illegally possessing firearms. According to court documents, the gang derives its name from the sound of cocking a gun or “racking the slide” (putting a round into the chamber) of a semi-automatic handgun. During the investigation, law enforcement officers recovered more than 20 firearms, as well as narcotics and cash.

The Las Vegas indictment (U.S. v. Jesus Guadalupe Felix Burgos, et al) charges two gang members and others with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine from July 2009 to the present.

In addition to today's enforcement actions, during the past eight days federal prosecutors have charged 53 members of the 38 th Street gang in Los Angeles, and three members of the Crips, Bloods and Gangster Disciples in Memphis with federal crimes, as well as added charges in a superseding indictment against 12 Blood gang members in Bridgeport, Conn. In Boston, a Fayston/Brunswick gang member and an MS-13 member each were charged with firearms offenses, and a Mozart Street gang member was arrested on a firearms charge. In addition, an MS-13 member was arrested in Alexandria, Va., on federal charges.

The charges carry a variety of maximum penalties, including up to life in prison on certain charges. The charges announced today are merely allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Since Feb. 1, 2011, additional charges against gang members have also been resolved in court, including: guilty pleas on Feb. 1 and 2, 2011, by four Crips members in Pittsburgh, Penn; a guilty plea by a Bloods member in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 8, 2011; a guilty plea by a Latin Kings leader on Feb. 3, 2011, in Greenbelt, Md.; and a life prison sentence imposed on a Grape Street Crips gang leader in Los Angeles for drug trafficking convictions. In San Francisco, two MS-13 members each were sentenced on Feb. 8, 2011, to 20 years in prison for their gang-related crimes. Also on Feb. 8, 2011, a Montes Park gang member was sentenced in Boston to 15 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Finally, on Feb. 3, 2011, a Cathedral gang member in Boston was sentenced to 21 months in prison for cocaine distribution.

In total, 112 new defendants have been arrested, charged, pleaded guilty or been sentenced in February 2011 as part of the department's ongoing efforts to combat gangs and gang-related violence in the United States.

Addressing gangs and gang-related violence is one of the department's top priorities. The National Gang Targeting, Enforcement & Coordination Center or GangTECC, is a multi-agency effort designed to unify federal efforts to disrupt and dismantle the most significant and violent gangs in the United States through case coordination and strategic intelligence. GangTECC, in partnership with the Special Operations Division, provided support for today's announcement.

In addition to prosecuting gang members and associates for their alleged crimes, the department works to promote gang and youth violence prevention efforts and programs in communities. Programs like Project Safe Neighborhood – a program among U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the country – also work to reduce violent crime by combining community-based policing, strategic prosecution and anti-crime initiatives with the resources of social service providers, educational systems and charitable foundations.

The department is also working to reduce childhood exposure to violence and raise awareness of its ramifications, while also advancing understandings of its causes and characteristics and countering its negative impact. In addition, the Sentencing and Corrections Working Group is reviewing federal sentencing practices and determine how to better prepare federal prisoners to transition back into their communities. Attorney General Eric Holder also recently convened the inaugural meeting of the Cabinet-level “Reentry Council” in Washington to identify and to advance effective public safety and prisoner reentry strategies.

In addition, the Criminal Division has announced efforts to merge its Gang Unit and Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, bringing together an elite group of prosecutors with extensive knowledge and experience in combating criminal groups.

The charged defendants will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys from each of the respective districts in which the cases were brought. The cases charged in Washington; Greenbelt, Md.; Nashville, Pittsburgh and San Francisco are also being prosecuted by trial attorneys from the Criminal Division's Gang Unit.

The cases were variously investigated by the numerous field offices of the FBI, ATF, and ICE Homeland Security Investigations, as well as numerous additional federal, state and local partners.

A copy of the department's survey on children's exposure to violence can be found at: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2009/ojjdp09162.htm

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/February/11-crm-167.html

.