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Archive for February 3, 2009

Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Ongoing Winter Storm Response

February 3, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

Release Date: February 3, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

As our neighbors in the central U.S. face the aftermath of last week’s storm and a new weather system moving in today, we have been moving aggressively to help them get back on their feet.

I’ve been in touch with Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and his state emergency leadership to pledge our support and hear from them personally about how the Department of Homeland Security can best support their round-the-clock efforts.

I’ve also been in constant contact with Nancy Ward, Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, about her agency’s efforts in Kentucky.  FEMA was on the ground and began to respond as soon as the storm hit. Immediately following the storm, FEMA toured the damaged areas with Governor Beshear and the chief of Kentucky emergency operations, General John Heltzel. Over the past several days, FEMA has been working closely with its partners at the Regional Response Coordination Center and the Kentucky State Emergency Operations Center to provide direct response and relief, and to coordinate federal resources to get help where it’s needed most. 

FEMA is assisting Kentucky with communications, emergency power, commodities and removing debris from roadways. Nearly 40 truckloads of water and more than 25 truckloads of meals have arrived at a central federal distribution point at Fort Campbell, Ky., and from there move to commonwealth distribution centers in Greenville and Paducah.

I have also been in close contact with Governors Mike Beebe of Arkansas and Jay Nixon of Missouri, and am closely monitoring the response efforts in those states as well. We’ve brought in thousands of cots and blankets, food and water, and more than 330 generators to Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri, and more supply trucks are inbound today.

In the days and weeks ahead we’ll continue to work closely with our state and local partners on the ground to support the men, women and families in these communities.  I thank everyone involved in these recovery efforts.

Posted in CIP | Print | No Comments »

Nigeria (Country threat level - 5):

February 3, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

Two local militant groups, the Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV) and the Patriotic Force (PF), warned on 3 February 2009 that they will launch an “oil war” in the Niger Delta if major oil companies do not leave the region by 14 February. The militant groups stated that “Operation Zero Exploration” will include attacks on Shell, Agip, Intel, Nigeria LNG and the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) personnel and installations. The militants are accusing the oil companies of supporting and aiding the Nigerian military in carrying out attacks on their camps in the region. The latest confrontation occurred when the military’s Joint Task Force (JTF) apparently attacked an NDV camp on 30 January, causing the Movement for the Emancipation for the Niger Delta (MEND) — which is NDV’s parent organization — to call off its unilateral ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN), Nigeria’s senior oil workers’ union, threatened to go on strike beginning on 9 February over insecurity in the Niger Delta. The union stated that it will withdraw all services from upstream facilities unless the Nigerian government takes definitive steps to improve security in the region. PENGASSAN did not specify the steps that the government must take, but in the past similar threats to go on strike have been averted through negotiations.

Comments:  Watch this instability as it was in Venezuela.  This is ripe for nationalization.  As we have seen before in the African continent, nationalization leads to industry failure.

Posted in CIP, HLD | Print | No Comments »

North Korea (Country threat level - 3)

February 3, 2009 by Tim McDowell.

According to emerging reports on 3 February 2009, North Korea is preparing to test-fire a ballistic missile that is capable of hitting the United States. International intelligence agencies have confirmed activity in line with these reports and believe that the long-range missile, a Taepodong-2 model, could be ready within one to two months. The move comes amid increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula; since the beginning of 2009, North Korea has closed its borders with South Korea and has also stated that it is abandoning its pacts with Seoul. Although North Korea agreed in 2008 to abandon its nuclear program after six-party talks and dismantled a reactor, negotiations to complete the disarmament have come to a halt.

ASI Comment: It is likely that a number of issues play a role in the deteriorating circumstances, including the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama and the recent rumors regarding the health of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il — essentially questioning the country’s stability. It is likely that North Korea is attempting to assert its power and test the United States’ new leadership. Despite threats by the North that it will go to war with the South, no military activity has been reported near the border and it is unlikely that Pyongyang wants to provoke a major military conflict with its southern neighbor or the United States.

Posted in HLD | Print | No Comments »

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