AQ et al articles, 12/11

Al Qaeda-related and other articles, collected 12/11, covering 12/1 to 12/11...

Al Qaeda-Related and Other Articles, Collected 12/11/12

Table of Contents

1.1. Summary

1.2. US

1.2.1. Cases

1.2.1.1. New York
1.2.1.1.1. AP Exclusive: ACLU Seeks OAS Probe of Padilla Case
1.2.1.1.2. NY's Top Court: NYC Gang Member Not a Terrorist
1.2.1.2. Would-be suicide bomber to be sentenced
1.2.1.3. 2 Alabama Men Named in Terror Charges

1.2.2. Security
1.2.2.1. Study Predicts Future for U.S. as No. 2 Economy, but Energy Independent
1.2.2.2. Checking the Costs of Homeland Security
1.2.2.3. Pentagon Counsel Speaks of Post-Qaeda Challenges
1.2.2.4. Senate Votes to Curb Indefinite Detention

1.3. Europe

1.3.1. UK
1.3.1.1. HSBC Names Head of Financial Crime Compliance
1.3.1.2. HSBC to Pay $1.92 Billion to Settle Charges of Money Laundering
1.3.2. Drugs and Politics Stoke Ireland Gang War

1.4. Middle East

1.4.1. Syria
1.4.1.1. U.S. Places Militant Syrian Rebel Group on List of Terrorist Organizations
1.4.1.2. Fighting Drives an Old Sense of Peace From Damascus
1.4.1.3. Syrian Rebels Tied to Al Qaeda Play Key Role in War
1.4.1.4. U.N. Envoy Is Seeking a Deal to Oust Assad From Syria
1.4.1.5. Aid Group Hit by Car Bomb in Damascus
1.4.1.6. Wider Chaos Feared as Syrian Rebels Clash With Kurds
1.4.1.7. Pressure Builds on Syrian Opposition Coalition; Fears of Chemical Weapons Rise
1.4.1.8. Amid Syrian Violence, School Is Hit and U.N. Says Food Shortages Worsen
1.4.2. Morsi s Opponents Describe Abuse by President s Allies
1.4.3. Sectarian Conflict Kills at Least 17 in Northern Lebanon in Spillover of Syrian Civil War
1.4.4. Political Leader of Hamas Visits Gaza for the First Time
1.4.5. Disruptions: Silencing the Voices of Militants on Twitter

1.5. Asia

1.5.1. Afghanistan
1.5.1.1. Pentagon Says Afghan Forces Still Need Assistance
1.5.1.2. Afghan Spy Chief Is Wounded in Attack, Officials Say

1.5.2. Pakistan
1.5.2.1. Several Are Killed in Attack on Pakistan Police Post
1.5.2.2. U.S. Drone Strike Kills a Commander for Al Qaeda in Pakistan
1.5.2.3. Pakistan Reels With Violence Against Shiites
1.5.3. For Iran, Unrest in Syria Is Noise, Not Brutal War

1.6. Africa

1.6.1. Mali
1.6.1.1. Mali s Prime Minister Resigns After Arrest
1.6.1.2. African Union Asks United Nations to Finance Intervention in Mali
1.6.1.3. American Commander Details Al Qaeda s Strength in Mali

1.6.2. Libya
1.6.2.1. Libyan Reluctance Hampers U.S. Investigation Into Deadly Benghazi Assault
1.6.2.2. U.S.-Approved Arms for Libya Rebels Fell Into Jihadis Hands

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1.1. Summary (back)

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1.2. US (back)

1.2.1. Cases (back)

1.2.1.1. New York (back)

1.2.1.1.1. AP Exclusive: ACLU Seeks OAS Probe of Padilla Case (back)

December 11, 2012
AP Exclusive: ACLU Seeks OAS Probe of Padilla Case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) — A civil liberties group asked the Organization of American States' human rights commission Tuesday to investigate the U.S. government for what it says are violations of the rights of convicted terrorism plotter Jose Padilla.

The American Civil Liberties Union says the U.S. violated Padilla's rights when it labeled him an 'enemy combatant' a decade ago and subjected him to interrogation that amounted to torture, including sleep and sensory deprivation in solitary confinement.

The watchdog legal group told The Associated Press it had filed a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which serves as the human-rights investigation arm of the Washington-based OAS.

The U.S. has argued in the past that it is not bound by the commission and views its findings as 'only recommendations that the United States can ignore or it can follow,' according to Steven Watt, the ACLU lawyer who filed the petition. But the findings could still prove awkward for the U.S., which sees itself as a leader on human rights and is quick to criticize other countries it views as falling short on that front.

Jamil Dakwar, the ACLU's human rights program director, said this is the first-ever petition to be filed to the OAS commission by an American citizen against the U.S. government alleging torture and abuse.

It asks the OAS body to recommend that the United States publicly acknowledge the violations and apologize for its unlawful conduct.

The OAS promotes cooperation among the 35 independent countries of the Americas.

State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson referred queries to the Justice Department. Officials at Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday and Tuesday.

Among the allegations in the ACLU's petition are that:

—Padilla's interrogation included 'painful stress positions, sleep deprivation and sensory deprivation, which caused him severe physical and psychological trauma that persists to this day.' It characterized these as 'physical and psychological torture and abuse.'

—Padilla was denied contact with his lawyers or family during interrogation.

—He was not allowed to practice his religion, Islam. The copy of the Quran he was initially allowed was confiscated.

—His mental state deteriorated so badly that he often refused to meet with lawyers or his family, fearing that would result in his return to military custody.

The ACLU said it was filing the petition on behalf of Padilla and his mother Estela Lebron, contending her rights were also violated when she was not allowed to communicate with or visit her son for years. It said her health has suffered as a result.

Padilla, now 42, a one-time Chicago gang member and car thief, converted to Islam and had lived in Egypt for four years prior to his arrest. He was detained in 2002 in Chicago when he flew back to visit his mother. He was designated an 'enemy combatant' — a status applied by the administration of President George W. Bush to al-Qaida and Taliban terror suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. It meant that he was placed in military custody and denied access to the U.S. civilian justice system.

Padilla was initially held as a 'material witness' to the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Authorities at the time said he was on a terrorist mission to detonate a radioactive 'dirty bomb' in a major U.S. city, but he was held at the Navy brig in South Carolina for more than three years without being charged. Padilla eventually was added to an existing terrorism indictment, and was convicted in U.S. federal court in 2007 of supporting terrorism in Kosovo, Bosnia and Chechnya, and is serving a 17-year sentence.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights can undertake investigations of complaints, and in the past has probed massacres in Peru, Colombia and Guatemala. It can also issue 'precautionary orders' to ask for the protection of the rights of people in cases under review, and has done so in the case of several Guantanamo detainees who were not U.S. citizens.

'The United States has its obligation under the Constitution and federal law, but it also has its obligations under international law. The U.S. will have to formally respond to the allegations in that petition as if it was filed in a federal court,' said Watt, the ACLU attorney filing the petition.

Watt said the OAS commission would probably give the U.S. government about six months to prepare a response, reflecting the legal complexity of the case, which churned through U.S. courts for 10 years and reached the U.S. Supreme Court twice.

The ACLU's filing says those initial accusations against Padilla, according to a sworn U.S. declaration, were based on statements 'made by two unnamed suspected terrorists who had been detained and interrogated outside of the United States,' one of whom later recanted and the other who had been drugged during interrogation.

In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Padilla's case against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other U.S. officials in which he claimed he was being held illegally and denied due process. The high court ruled he should have taken the case to a federal court in South Carolina and that the brig commander should have been the target of the case. In June of this year, the Supreme Court declined to hear another appeal of the case.

In September, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Padilla's original 17-year sentence was too lenient for a trained al-Qaida operative who also had a long criminal record as a Chicago gang member. The appellate court granted a request by the Justice Department that Padilla be resentenced. Padilla, according to trial testimony, trained at an al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan.

Last month, Padilla's resentencing was postponed until Jan. 29 by a federal judge after his defense attorney, Michael Caruso, argued his client is deteriorating psychologically after years of isolation and needs more time for family visits.

Caruso said Padilla's family in South Florida has only been able to visit him one time since 2008 at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, where he is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day and allowed no contact with other inmates. His mother and sisters were able to see him more regularly after he was taken to a Miami detention center to await resentencing.

Caruso called the harsh prison conditions akin to torture, which was rejected by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Frazier. 'He is not in some black hole of Calcutta,' Frazier said.

Counting time off for good behavior, Padilla's current prison release date is Jan. 4, 2022.

Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/12/11/us/ap-us-padilla-terror-charges.ht...

1.2.1.1.2. NY's Top Court: NYC Gang Member Not a Terrorist (back)

December 11, 2012
NY's Top Court: NYC Gang Member Not a Terrorist
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Street gangsters who commit assaults and killings are not terrorists under the statute enacted after hijackers crashed jets into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, New York's highest court ruled unanimously Tuesday.

There's no indication New York lawmakers passed the law to elevate gang-on-gang street violence to the status of terrorism, which carries tougher penalties, the Court of Appeals said. The court ordered a new trial for Edgar Morales, a member of the St. James Boys gang who was convicted of fatally shooting a 10-year-old bystander and paralyzing a rival gang member at a christening party.

Bronx prosecutors argued the gang sought to intimidate the entire Mexican-American community in the neighborhood. The anti-terrorism law applies to crimes committed with 'intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population.'

The six judges, agreeing with a midlevel court, concluded there was insufficient proof of that. They also said that prosecutors' terrorism theory, which allowed evidence of the gangs' alleged criminal acts over three years, probably prejudiced the jury.

'If we were to apply a broad definition to 'intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population,' the people could invoke the specter of 'terrorism' every time a Blood assaults a Crip or an organized crime family orchestrates the murder of a rival syndicate's soldier,' Judge Victoria Graffeo wrote.

'But the concept of terrorism has a unique meaning and its implications risk being trivialized if the terminology is applied loosely in situations that do not match our collective understanding of what constitutes a terrorist act,' she wrote.

Graffeo noted that the legislative findings in support of the statute cited seven terrorist acts, including the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in Manhattan and the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal office building in 1995.

The court does not believe that the 'discrete criminal transaction against identified gang enemies' allegedly committed by Morales, now 30, in the August 2002 fracas outside a church was designed to intimidate or coerce the neighborhood's entire Mexican-American community, she wrote.

Morales was convicted of manslaughter, attempted murder, weapon possession and conspiracy — each count enhanced in seriousness by the anti-terrorism law. He was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. He said he handled the gun but denied firing the five shots.

Bronx prosecutors said the case needs to be retried and they will begin to reassemble witnesses.

'We knew that the applicability of the terrorism statute was a novel legal issue, and that the statute would not apply to most street crimes,' said Steven Reed, spokesman for District Attorney Robert Johnson. 'However, we presented specific evidence concerning the reasons and intentions of the gang, including evidence that their purpose went beyond intimidating another gang. We believed that this fit squarely within the language of the statue.'

Defense attorney Catherine Amirfar said their research showed a handful of states with versions of anti-terrorism statutes.

'Their decision will impact not only how New York law enforcement can pursue terrorism, but the rest of the nation, as well,' she said.

Bringing the terrorism prosecution did more than taint the courtroom atmosphere against Morales, Amirfar said.

'By charging this as a charge of terrorism, that allowed the DA to bring in all types of evidence that otherwise would have been inadmissible, including acts by other people unrelated to Mr. Morales' alleged conduct.'

Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/12/11/us/ap-us-gangs-terrorism-law.html?...

1.2.1.2. Would-be suicide bomber to be sentenced (back)

Would-be suicide bomber to be sentenced

December 11, 2012 10:34 AM EST | Associated Press

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Chicago is scheduled to sentence a 28-year-old man for plotting to attend a Somalia training camp to become a suicide bomber for terrorist groups al-Qaida and al-Shabab.

Prosecutors have asked the judge to sentence Shaker Masri (SHAHK'-uhr MAHZ'-ree) on Tuesday to more than nine years in prison.

The Chicago man was arrested in 2010. He pleaded guilty in July to attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization.

He'd allegedly expressed admiration for U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki (ahn-WAHR' al-aw-LAH'-kee). Al-Awlaki is believed to have inspired the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings and a failed Christmas bombing of a Detroit-bound jet. A U.S. drone attack killed al-Awlaki last year.

Masri was born in Alabama and lived abroad before returning to the U.S. at age 18.

Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121211/us-chicago-terrorism-charges/

1.2.1.3. 2 Alabama Men Named in Terror Charges (back)

December 11, 2012
2 Alabama Men Named in Terror Charges
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say two Alabama men who they say wanted to wage violent jihad overseas have been arrested on terrorism charges.

Authorities say Mohammad Abdul Rahman Abukhdair and Randy Wilson are both named in terrorism charges filed Monday in Mobile. Both are 25 and from Mobile.

Prosecutors say Abukhdair was arrested at a bus terminal in Augusta, Ga., and Wilson was stopped in Atlanta while attempting to board a flight for Morocco.

Authorities say the men met online in 2010. Wilson allegedly told an FBI employee that he and the other man planned to travel overseas to participate in violent jihad.

Court records don't show whether either man has an attorney.

They are charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists with plans to kill people outside the United States.

Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/12/11/us/ap-us-terror-charges-alabama-.h...

1.2.2. Security (back)

1.2.2.1. Study Predicts Future for U.S. as No. 2 Economy, but Energy Independent (back)

December 10, 2012
Study Predicts Future for U.S. as No. 2 Economy, but Energy Independent
By THOM SHANKER
WASHINGTON — A new intelligence assessment of global trends projects that China will outstrip the United States as the leading economic power before 2030, but that America will remain an indispensable world leader, bolstered in part by an era of energy independence.

Russia's clout will wane, as will the economic strength of other countries reliant on oil for revenues, the assessment says.

"There will not be any hegemonic power," the 166-page report says. "Power will shift to networks and coalitions in a multipolar world."

The product of four years of intelligence-gathering and analysis, the study, by the National Intelligence Council, presents grounds for optimism and pessimism in nearly equal measure. The council reports to the director of national intelligence and has responsibilities for long-term strategic analysis.

One remarkable development it anticipates is a spreading affluence that leads to a larger global middle class that is better educated and has wider access to health care and communications technologies like the Internet and smartphones. "The growth of the global middle class constitutes a tectonic shift," the study says, adding that billions of people will gain new individual power as they climb out of poverty. "For the first time, a majority of the world's population will not be impoverished, and the middle classes will be the most important social and economic sector in the vast majority of countries around the world."

At the same time, it warns, half of the world's population will probably be living in areas that suffer from severe shortages of fresh water, meaning that management of natural resources will be a crucial component of global national security efforts.

The study also warns of the risk that terrorists could mount a computer-network attack in which the casualties would be measured not by the hundreds or thousands killed but by the millions severely affected by damaged infrastructure, like electrical grids being taken down.

At least 15 countries are "at high risk of state failure" by 2030, the report predicts, among them Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Uganda and Yemen.

The study acknowledges that the future "is malleable," and it lists important "game changers" that will most influence the global scene through 2030: a crisis-prone world economy, shortcomings in governance, conflicts within states and between them, the impact of new technologies and whether the United States can "work with new partners to reinvent the international system."

The best-case situation for global security until 2030, according to the study, would be a growing political partnership between the United States and China. But it could take a crisis to bring Washington and Beijing together — something like a nuclear standoff between India and Pakistan resolved only by bold cooperation between the United States and China.

The worst-case situation envisions a stalling of economic globalization that would preclude advancement of financial well-being around the world. That would be a likely outcome after an outbreak of a health pandemic that, even if short-lived, would result in closed borders and economic isolationism.

The chief author and manager of the project, Mathew Burrows, who is counselor for the National Intelligence Council, said the findings had been presented in advance in more than 20 nations to groups of academic experts, business leaders and government officials, including local intelligence officers.

In an interview, Mr. Burrows noted that the audiences in China were far more accepting of the American intelligence assessments — both those predicting China's economic ascendancy and those warning of political dangers if there was no reform of governance in Beijing — than were audiences in Russia.

To assess the validity of this study, the research and analysis team graded its past work on global trends, an effort undertaken every four years since 1996. Past studies, it found, underestimated the speed with which changes arrived on the global scene.

Concerns were raised that past reports may have suffered "blind spots and biases." And while grand "isms" like fascism and communism might not be on the horizon, this study noted, previous assessments should have paid greater attention to ideology.

The risk of conflict within a state — like a civil war or an insurgency — is expected to decline in Latin America, but will remain high in sub-Saharan Africa, in parts of the Middle East and South Asia, and in some Asia-Pacific island hot spots, the study warns.

"A more fragmented international system increases the risks" of conflict between states, the study says. "Additionally, increased resource competition, spread of lethal technologies and spillover from regional conflicts increase the potential for interstate conflicts."

Most worrisome — and already a part of the global security dynamic — is an assessment that future wars in Asia and the Middle East could include nuclear weapons.

Other important demographic trends will be aging populations in Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which could slow their economies further. The report warns that Russia's economy will join those places in experiencing "slow relative declines." The United States will benefit from its domestic oil and natural gas supplies and new technologies to tap them, allowing the nation to become energy independent and even a net exporter of fuel.

In general, it found, "the health of the global economy increasingly will be linked to how well the developing world does — more so than the traditional West."

In addition to China, the developing nations that "will become especially important to the global economy" include Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa and Turkey.

Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/world/china-to-be-no-1-economy-before-2030-...

1.2.2.2. Checking the Costs of Homeland Security (back)

December 9, 2012
Checking the Costs of Homeland Security
It was no surprise that a fierce budget hawk like Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, pounced on ridiculous grants doled out by the Department of Homeland Security supposedly to help local police and fire departments prepare for terrorist attacks. Mr. Coburn's recent report on the department's decade-long, $7 billion program, called the Urban Areas Security Initiative, offers many depressing examples of locally misspent money.

There was an armored car in New Hampshire whose duties included patrolling the annual pumpkin festival. Car-bomb barriers and surveillance cameras, purchased by authorities in Peoria, Ariz., to protect spring-training fans. License plate reading machines in Louisiana used to track car thieves. An $88,000 truck-mounted, piercingly loud device for crowd control in Pittsburgh. And $1,000 fees for first responders to attend a "zombie Apocalypse" demonstration at a counterterrorism conference in California to learn how to handle chaotic events, with actors playing the living dead.

Beyond these items, however, the 54-page report did not say much about the bulk of the grants that the department argues really do improve urban security: setting nationwide training standards for more than four million first responders; building search-and-rescue disaster teams for the riskiest areas; improving communications among multiple jurisdictions of first responders; and upgrading bomb squads with robotic technology.

The agency makes a sound argument that the considerable success of emergency responders during Hurricane Sandy and in its aftermath was the result of programs and equipment paid for by earlier homeland grants. Senator Coburn, who is expected to be the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee next year, questions whether the grants going to 31 urban areas have degraded to political pork. Homeland Security officials insist that the money is for the most part well spent, with the agency working with the F.B.I. to focus on true risks.

Both sides make valid points. Though the senator highlights some undeniable examples of waste, his final conclusion is that Congress, not the department, deserves the harshest criticism for creating the program and then failing to monitor it properly. He has said there is "no doubt that a large portion" of homeland funds actually toughened urban defenses. But he is right to demand greater vigilance from Congress on the state of homeland security and its costs.

Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/opinion/checking-the-costs-of-homeland-secu...

1.2.2.3. Pentagon Counsel Speaks of Post-Qaeda Challenges (back)

November 30, 2012
Pentagon Counsel Speaks of Post-Qaeda Challenges
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's top lawyer at the Pentagon laid out a vision on Friday for the legal challenges that will arise when the war against Al Qaeda winds down, looking ahead to when the terrorist network has been so degraded that the military conflict — and the legal authorities attached to it — will come to an end.

When that point is reached, said Jeh C. Johnson, the Defense Department's general counsel, the primary responsibility for mopping up scattered remnants of the group and unaffiliated terrorists will fall to United States law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and pressing questions will arise about what to do with any military detainees who are still being held without trial as wartime prisoners.

"I do believe that on the present course, there will come a tipping point — a tipping point at which so many of the leaders and operatives of Al Qaeda and its affiliates have been killed or captured and the group is no longer able to attempt or launch a strategic attack against the United States, such that Al Qaeda as we know it, the organization that our Congress authorized the military to pursue in 2001, has been effectively destroyed," Mr. Johnson said, according to a transcript of his speech.

Mr. Johnson emphasized that he was not declaring the war to be over, and that he could not say that even the "beginning of the end" of the armed conflict against the network was yet at hand. He said affiliates of Al Qaeda, particularly in Yemen and North and West Africa, remained a threat.

While other top military and national security officials have previously discussed the degradation of the original version of Al Qaeda and the evolution of the network, Mr. Johnson's remarks represented the most searching public discussion by a senior administration official about the prospect of eventually dismantling the legal architecture of military conflict put in place after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, rather than leaving it in place in a perpetual state of war.

Mr. Johnson, who is expected to step down early next year, made his remarks before the Oxford Union, the debating society in Oxford, England.

The majority of his speech was devoted to an explanation of the legal authorities the United States government believes it has to wage war against Al Qaeda and its allies, which he and other Obama administration officials have addressed before but usually to domestic audiences.

Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/us/politics/pentagon-counsel-looks-ahead-to...

1.2.2.4. Senate Votes to Curb Indefinite Detention (back)

November 30, 2012
Senate Votes to Curb Indefinite Detention
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted late on Thursday to prohibit the government from imprisoning American citizens and green card holders apprehended in the United States in indefinite detention without trial.

While the move appeared to bolster protections for domestic civil liberties, it was opposed by an array of rights groups who claimed it implied that other types of people inside the United States could be placed in military detention, opening the door to using the military to perform police functions.

The measure was an amendment to this year's National Defense Authorization Act, which is now pending on the Senate floor, and was sponsored by Senators Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, and Mike Lee, Republican of Utah. The Senate approved adding it to the bill by a vote of 67 to 29.

"What if something happens and you are of the wrong race in the wrong place at the wrong time and you are picked up and held without trial or charge in detention ad infinitum?" Ms. Feinstein said during the floor debate. "We want to clarify that that isn't the case — that the law does not permit an American or a legal resident to be picked up and held without end, without charge or trial."

The power of the government to imprison, without trial, Americans accused of ties to terrorism has been in dispute for a decade.

Last year, in the previous annual version of the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress included a provision stating that the government had the authority to detain Qaeda members and their supporters as part of the war authorized shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But lawmakers could not decide whether that authority extended to people arrested on American soil, and so they left it deliberately ambiguous.

Ms. Feinstein, arguing that law enforcement officials have proved capable of handling cases that arise on domestic soil, said the amendment was intended to "clarify" that the government may not put Americans arrested domestically in military detention.

Senator Kelly Ayotte, Republican of New Hampshire, objected to the restriction on security grounds, saying that even American citizens arrested inside the United States on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack for Al Qaeda should be held under the laws of war and interrogated without receiving the protections of ordinary criminal suspects, like a Miranda warning of a right to remain silent.

From the other direction, an array of civil liberties and human rights groups — including the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First — objected to the amendment because it was limited to citizens and lawful permanent residents, as opposed to all people who are apprehended on United States soil.

"Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced an amendment that superficially looks like it could help, but in fact, would cause harm," said Chris Anders of the A.C.L.U.

But on the floor, Ms. Feinstein said that she limited the amendment to citizens and green card holders because she believed that language would "get the maximum number of votes in this body."

The Senate on Thursday also passed, 94-0, a series of additional American sanctions on Iran. The amendment would impose penalties on individuals selling commodities to Iran that might be used in ship-building or the nuclear program, including aluminum and steel. It also threatened countries, like Turkey, which are buying Iranian oil with gold, in an effort to circumvent banking sanctions.

The current language does not give the president the power to issue waivers, as he has done for countries like Japan, South Korea and India that buy Iranian oil. The White House has opposed the amendment, with officials saying they fear it could "threaten to confuse and undermine" existing effort to get allies, China and other countries to impose other sanctions already in the pipeline.

Also on Thursday, the Senate voted, 62 to 33, for a nonbinding amendment calling for an accelerated withdrawal of United States combat forces from Afghanistan. The measure was sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and was backed by 13 Republicans.

Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/us/politics/senate-votes-to-curb-indefinite...

1.3. Europe (back)

1.3.1. UK (back)

1.3.1.1. HSBC Names Head of Financial Crime Compliance (back)

December 10, 2012, 10:58 am--
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HSBC Names Head of Financial Crime Compliance--
By JULIA WERDIGIER--
LONDON - The British bank HSBC on Monday appointed Robert W. Werner, a former United States Treasury official, to direct financial crime compliance, a newly established role.--
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Mr. Werner, who joined HSBC in August as head of standards assurance, also became group money laundering reporting officer, the bank said in a statement. Mr. Werner is based in New York, and in his new role he will report to Marc M. Moses, the bank's chief risk officer.--
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HSBC is revamping its risk management and compliance after it became the subject of an industrywide money laundering investigation by United States authorities. The bank has set aside a total of $1.5 billion to cover potential fines stemming from the case. In part, the authorities are investigating whether some bank executives ignored warning signs in the firm's dealings with clients potentially linked to terrorism.--
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HSBC's chief executive, Stuart T. Gulliver, said in November that he and the board 'deeply regret what took place.'--
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Mr. Werner was previously head of the United States Treasury Department's office of foreign assets control and financial crimes enforcement network. As part of his new role at HSBC, Mr. Werner is to develop strategies, standards and policies aimed at preventing bribery, money laundering and financing linked to terrorist groups, the bank said in the statement.--
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Date Collected: 12/11/2012
Source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/hsbc-names-head-of-financial-crime-com...

1.3.1.2. HSBC to Pay $1.92 Billion to Settle Charges of Money Laundering (back)

December 10, 2012, 4:10 pm--
HSBC to Pay $1.92 Billion to Settle Charges of Money Laundering--
By BEN PROTESS and JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG--
4:37 a.m. | Updated --
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State and federal authorities decided against indicting HSBC in a money-laundering case over concerns that criminal charges could jeopardize one of the world's largest banks and ultimately destabilize the global financial system.--
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Instead, HSBC announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to a record $1.92 billion settlement with authorities. The bank, which is based in Britain, faces accusations that it transferred billions of dollars for nations like Iran and enabled Mexican drug cartels to move money illegally through its American subsidiaries.--
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While the settlement with HSBC is a major victory for the government, the case raises questions about whether certain financial institutions, having grown so large and interconnected, are too big to indict. Four years after the failure of Lehman Brothers nearly toppled the financial system, regulators are still wary that a single institution could undermine the recovery of the industry and the economy.--
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But the threat of criminal prosecution acts as a powerful deterrent. If authorities signal such actions are remote for big banks, the threat could lose its sting.--
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Behind the scenes, authorities debated for months the advantages and perils of a criminal indictment against HSBC.--
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Some prosecutors at the Justice Department's criminal division and the Manhattan district attorney's office wanted the bank to plead guilty to violations of the federal Bank Secrecy Act, according to the officials with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The law requires financial institutions to report any cash transaction of $10,000 or more and to bring any dubious activity to the attention of regulators.--
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Given the extent of the evidence against HSBC, some prosecutors saw the charge as a healthy compromise between a settlement and a harsher money-laundering indictment. While the charge would most likely tarnish the bank's reputation, some officials argued that it would not set off a series of devastating consequences.--
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A money-laundering indictment, or a guilty plea over such charges, would essentially be a death sentence for the bank. Such actions could cut off the bank from certain investors like pension funds and ultimately cost it its charter to operate in the United States, officials said.--
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Despite the Justice Department's proposed compromise, Treasury Department officials and bank regulators at the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency pointed to potential issues with the aggressive stance, according to the officials briefed on the matter. When approached by the Justice Department for their thoughts, the regulators cautioned about the effect on the broader economy.--
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'The Justice Department asked Treasury for our view about the potential implications of prosecuting a large financial institution,' David S. Cohen, the Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. 'We did not believe we were in a position to offer any meaningful assessment. The decision of how the Justice Department exercises its prosecutorial discretion is solely theirs and Treasury had no role.'--
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Still, some prosecutors proposed that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. meet with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, people briefed on the matter said. The meeting never took place.--
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After months of discussions, prosecutors decided against a criminal indictment, but only after securing record penalties and wide-ranging sanctions.--
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The HSBC deal includes a deferred prosecution agreement with the Manhattan district attorney's office and the Justice Department. The deferred prosecution agreement, a notch below a criminal indictment, requires the bank to forfeit more than $1.2 billion and pay about $700 million in fines, according to the officials briefed on the matter. The case, officials say, will claim violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and Trading with the Enemy Act.--
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As part of the deal, one of the officials briefed on the matter said, HSBC must also strengthen its internal controls and stay out of trouble for the next five years. If the bank again runs afoul of the federal rules, the Justice Department can resume its case and file a criminal indictment. An independent auditor will also monitor the bank's progress to strengthen its internal controls, and will make regular assessments on the firm's progress.--
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On Tuesday, HSBC said it had 'reached agreement with United States authorities in relation to investigations regarding inadequate compliance with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.' The bank is also expected to reach a settlement over the matter with Britain's Financial Services Authority, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.--
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'We accept responsibility for our past mistakes,'' HSBC's chief executive, Stuart T. Gulliver, said in the statement. 'We are committed to protecting the integrity of the global financial system. To this end, we will continue to work closely with governments and regulators around the world.'--
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The HSBC case is part of a sweeping investigation into the movement of tainted money through the American financial system. In 2010, Lanny A. Breuer, the head of the Justice Department's criminal division, created a money-laundering task force that has collected more than $2 billion in fines from banks, a number that is set to double with the HSBC case.--
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The inquiry - led by the Justice Department, the Treasury and the Manhattan prosecutors - has ensnared six foreign banks in recent years, including Credit Suisse and Barclays. In June, ING Bank reached a $619 million settlement to resolve claims that it had transferred billions of dollars in the United States for countries like Cuba and Iran that are under United States sanctions.--
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On Monday, federal and state authorities also won a $327 million settlement from Standard Chartered, a British bank. The bank, which in September agreed to a larger settlement with New York's top banking regul