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From Los Angeles Times

Two Iraqi refugees in U.S. charged in terrorism-related case

Two men are charged with sending cash, explosives and missiles to Iraq for use against Americans. Their case underscores gaps identified in the U.S. refugee vetting process before last year.

by Brian Bennett and Michael A. Memoli, Washington Bureau

May 31, 2011

Reporting from Washington

Before he was granted refugee status in the U.S. and settled down in Bowling Green, Ky., Waad Ramadan Alwan was allegedly a sniper and skilled bomb maker who targeted U.S. forces and bragged that his "lunch and dinner would be an American."

Alwan is one of two Iraqi refugees who the Justice Department announced Tuesday had been charged with participating in an alleged plot to send cash, explosives and Stinger missiles to Iraq for use against Americans.

The men are among 56,000 Iraqis who took advantage of special programs to come to the United States after demonstrating they were in danger from Iraqi militias for their religious beliefs or because they were translators for U.S. government or media organizations.

Alwan was admitted into the U.S. in 2009 even though his fingerprint was found in 2005 on an unexploded roadside bomb that was set to blow up a U.S. convoy in Iraq, according to court documents. His print was loaded into a Defense Department database. But when he applied for U.S. refugee status, a search of that database was not yet a part of the application process.

Since then, those information-sharing weaknesses have been identified and corrected, said an official with the Department of Homeland Security. Also, as new records go into the terrorist watch list, he said, refugees already in the U.S. are being vetted again.

When asked how men who actively fought against the U.S. in Iraq could have been allowed in the country, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said the case demonstrated that there were "specific gaps" in refugee vetting procedures before 2010.

Alwan, 30, and his cousin Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 23, were arrested in Kentucky on May 25, and a federal grand jury returned the 23-count indictment the next day.

Charges against Alwan include conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals abroad; conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction against U.S. nationals abroad; attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq; and conspiracy to transfer, possess and export Stinger missiles.

Hammadi was charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to Al Qaeda in Iraq and conspiracy to transfer, possess and export Stinger missiles.

Each faces life in prison if convicted.

Alwan had been under investigation since September 2009. According to charging documents that were unsealed Tuesday, Alwan recruited Hammadi to assist him, describing him as a relative who had worked as an insurgent in Iraq.

Over the course of a long undercover investigation, the documents say, Alwan and Hammadi picked up weapons provided by an FBI informant, at least some of them made inoperable by the FBI, and delivered them to a location believing they would be shipped to Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Starting in September 2010, the FBI informant told Alwan he was helping support insurgents in Iraq by smuggling weapons and money in used vehicles sent to Iraq. After that, Alwan and later Hammadi allegedly helped load into a tractor-trailer rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Kalashnikov PKM machine guns, sniper rifles, cases of inert C-4 explosives, two inert FIM-92A Stinger surface-to-air missiles and $100,000 cash, according to court documents.

There are no indications in the charging documents that Alwan or Hammadi had made plans to attack targets in the U.S.

In conversations with an FBI informant, Alwan described himself as a holy warrior, or "mujahid," who came to the U.S. because he was wanted in Iraq and a U.S. passport would allow him to travel freely, the documents say. "I didn't come here for America. I came here to get a passport and go back to Turkey, Saudi or wherever I want," Alwan allegedly said.

Experts said Alwan's and Hammadi's history of attacking U.S. troops should have been detected earlier. The FBI "may have done a good job preventing an incident. But it should have never gotten to that status. I still don't understand how he was able to get into the country," said Frank Cilluffo, who was White House domestic security advisor to President George W. Bush and is now the director of a domestic security studies program at George Washington University.

Iraqi refugees in the U.S. have come under renewed scrutiny in the last year and a half, ever since serious gaps were identified in the refugee vetting process. FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told a House hearing in February that he had information that Al Qaeda in Iraq may have used the weaknesses to send operatives to the U.S.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-kentucky-terror-arrests-20110601,0,3712729,print.story

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Too costly for prison

Releasing aged or infirm inmates is a responsible way to save money and reduce overcrowding.

May 31, 2011

Steven Martinez was sentenced to 157 years in prison after abducting, beating and raping a San Diego woman in 1998. Three years later, during a prison knife attack, he was stabbed in the neck, his spinal cord was severed and he was left a quadriplegic.

Though he cannot eat, bathe himself or move his arms or legs, Martinez remains an inmate in the state prison system, and his medical treatment costs taxpayers about $600,000 a year. He has also had to spend long periods in an outside medical facility, which costs the state an additional $800,000 a year for round-the-clock guards.

Martinez is just one of dozens of sick, aged, infirm and even comatose inmates who authorities say pose no further threat to the public, yet who together cost state taxpayers tens of millions of dollars annually because of their medical treatment and security requirements. In 2010, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, calling such expenditures a waste, signed a "medical parole" bill into law under which inmates who are deemed "permanently medically incapacitated" may be released and their medical costs shifted to themselves or their families. If for some unanticipated reason an inmate's condition were to improve, he or she could be sent back to prison.

It is a reasonable law. But last week, when Martinez became the first inmate to come before the parole board under its provisions, his release was strongly opposed by the San Diego district attorney, and the board ultimately voted to keep him behind bars.

It's understandable that there's resistance to the new program. Prison serves many purposes in the view of the public. One, of course, is to keep society safe. But another is punishment. Just because Martinez can't commit further crimes (assuming he can't, and the D.A.'s office is not entirely conceding that point), it still seems wrong to many people to free him before his term is up. "I don't think this guy has the right to see another sunset, to sit in front of a TV, to be with his family or to be able to enjoy anything," Rick Bulette, the San Diego police officer who arrested him, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He's a monster."

No one is eager to release brutal criminals. But given California's extraordinary budget crisis and last week's U.S. Supreme Court order that the state reduce its inmate population by at least 33,000 (because the current overcrowding constitutes cruel and unusual punishment), it defies common sense to continue holding inmates who are permanently incapacitated. Officials say they can save more than $10 million a year by releasing these prisoners (although some would no doubt end up on public assistance somewhere else).

Releasing a prisoner who no longer poses a threat doesn't mean that he has been forgiven or that the state is no longer repulsed by his crimes. It reflects the reality that California's prisons must reduce overcrowding and cut costs in a manner that is safe and sensible.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-parole-20110531,0,4265779,print.story

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From the Department of Justice

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Attorney General Eric Holder, Justice Department and Administration Officials Join with Actors from HBO's The Wire for Launch of Drug Endangered Children Public Awareness Campaign

Drug Endangered Children (DEC) Task Force Announces Launch of Website to Better Serve Children Endangered by Drug Abuse

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the launch of a public awareness campaign at a Federal Interagency Drug Endangered Children (DEC) Task Force event to bring attention to the challenges faced by children and families affected by drug abuse and highlight the work being done across the country to address these issues. Following opening remarks by Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) moderated a panel discussion, featuring Attorney General Holder and actors Jim True-Frost (“Prez”), Wendell Pierce (“Bunk”) and Sonja Sohn (“Kima”) from the HBO hit series, The Wire . Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Gil Kerlikowske delivered closing remarks.

Focused on protecting children from drug abuse and exploitation, the public awareness campaign will emphasize the important role law enforcement officials, health professionals, educators and community leaders play in helping first responders identify whether a child is endangered by drugs, as well as the resources available to assist vulnerable children.

“This public awareness campaign will highlight the risks posed to drug endangered children across the country and empower communities to better serve children exposed to drug abuse, trafficking and addiction by their parent or childcare provider,” said Attorney General Holder. “Protecting youth from exposure to drug abuse is a key priority for this department, and we are unwavering in our commitment to raising awareness about this vital mission and continuing our efforts to assist the most vulnerable victims of the illicit drug industry.”

“In collaboration with our federal, state and local partners, we are creating a more cohesive strategy to support communities to better respond to the special needs of drug endangered children,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole. “The DEC public awareness campaign will help strengthen our multi-faceted approach to serve children and families devastated by drug abuse.”

“Protecting drug endangered children is an essential tool to combating crime and safeguarding our communities,” said DEA Administrator Leonhart. “Children exposed to drug abuse are more than 50 percent more likely to be arrested as juveniles, so it is critical that we play an active role in preventing children's exposure to drug abuse, as well as better serving children who are victims of drug abuse when it does occur.”

“Too many of our Nation's children are at serious risk from drug use and its devastating consequences,” said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy. “This task force will help break the cycle of abuse and neglect by providing vital services for drug endangered children. By offering valuable tools and encouraging collaboration across local organizations, we will be better able to rescue, protect and serve the victims of drug-related crimes.”

The DEC Task Force includes more than eight federal agencies and more than 80 participants. Following the task force's kick-off meeting in May 2010, the DEC Task Force established multidisciplinary, multijurisdictional teams to assist communities with at-risk children. These teams include representatives from law enforcement, child protective services, health professionals, educators, victim services specialists, child advocates and the courts.

In coordination with the public awareness campaign, the DEC Task Force will launch a website providing resources to federal, state and local partners to better serve children endangered by drugs. The website can be viewed at: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/Children .

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/May/11-ag-702.html

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