Pentagon Sends Its Spies to Join Fight on Terror; Militant Declares War on Iraqi Vote; IBM Deal Raises Security Concerns

Pentagon Sends Its Spies to Join Fight on Terror

The Pentagon’s special operation forces will be working with new clandestine intelligence groups assigned by the Defense Department to help with counterterrorism missions. The New York Times reports that such intelligence gathering has traditionally been under the purview of the CIA. “It is accurate and should not be surprising that the Department of Defense is attempting to improve its longstanding human intelligence capability,” the Pentagon spokesman, Lawrence Di Rita, said in a statement on Sunday. “A principal conclusion of the 9/11 commission report is that the U.S. human intelligence capability must be improved across the board.” Di Rita also denied a Washington Post report Sunday that said the new spy groups would report to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

For more details, read the full article in The New York Times.

Militant Declares War on Iraqi Vote

One of the most wanted men in the war on terrorism, Abu Musab Zarqawi, has declared a “fierce war” against democracy in Iraq. The Washington Post reports that Zarqawi called those running for seats in the Jan. 30 elections “demi-idols” and those who planned to vote “infidels.” In response to the threats of violence, U.S. and Iraqi officials have announced several security measures. Travel between provinces will be prohibited, no weapons will be allowed on the streets and the country’s borders and airports will be closed. Iraqis also will be banned from congregating near polling centers and checkpoints.

For more details, read the full article in the Washington Post.

IBM Deal Raises Security Concerns

U.S. regulators are wary of IBM’s deal to sell its PC business to China’s Lenovo Group. According to Bloomberg News, members of the Committee on Foreign Investment must approve the $1.25 billion deal. Those on the committee, as well as other officials in the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, worry that the Chinese may use IBM facilities to conduct industrial espionage. The Committee on Foreign Investment, which reviews takeovers of U.S. companies by international buyers, previously has blocked acquisitions by companies with links to China, Bloomberg reports.

For more details, read the full Bloomberg News article in the Los Angeles Times.