Morning Security Brief: Drone Strikes, Border Security, al Qaeda's Muscle, NYC Subway Plot, & Security Installation

♦ The United States would be irresponsible if it did not utilize drones to kill terrorist plotters, the head of the National Counterterrorism Center Michael Leiter said yesterday during a panel discussion at the Aspen Security Forum. Leiter also said targeting American citizens abroad, such as New Mexico-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, is defensible when they participate in terrorist attacks, reports the Los Angeles Times. During the panel discussion, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, almost publicly acknowledged that the United States' drone strikes in Pakistan are done with the central government's cooperation.  "Pakistan has never said that we do not like the elimination of terrorists through Predator drones," he said, according to the Times, calling the technology "very, very useful."

♦ When it comes to border security, Americans do not believe the Department of Homeland Security's story. "Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had a tough time convincing crowds at the Aspen Security Forum this week that America's border with Mexico is more secure than ever," reports The Aspen Times. "There were audible murmurs of disbelief from the audience Tuesday when Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Jane Holl Lute noted that her boss, Secretary Janet Napolitano, has said 'many, many times, the southern border has never been more secure than it is today.'

♦ In more news from the Aspen Security Forum, Michael Leiter, the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, offered a rare public assessment of al Qaeda's strength in Pakistan yesterday, saying there are "more than 300" fighters and leaders in the country's tribal areas. "Taken together with the recent estimate by the C.I.A. director, Leon E. Panetta, that there are about 50 to 100 Qaeda operatives now in Afghanistan, American intelligence agencies believe that there are most likely fewer than 500 members of the group in a region where the United States has poured nearly 100,000 troops," reports The New York Times.

♦ U.S. counterterrorism officials say a top al Qaeda leader played a role in  Najibullah Zazi's plot to suicide bomb the New York City subway system last year. "Current and former counterterrorism officials said top al-Qaeda operative Adnan Shukrijumah met with one of the would-be suicide bombers in the plot," the Associated Press reports."Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have named Shukrijumah in a draft terrorism indictment, but on Wednesday the Justice Department was still discussing whether to cite his role. Some officials feared that the extra attention might hinder efforts to capture him." Shukrijumah, 34, who once studied at a community college in Florida, may be next line to become al Qaeda's head of external operations.

♦ Security system installers take note: you may not be needed that much anymore. "But a new breed of home-security systems promises to be simple enough to install without any professional help, cutting the cost of traditional alarm systems by taking advantage of technologies like wireless connectivity and battery-operated sensors," says The New York Times. "Some of these systems even allow you to monitor your home yourself, using a Web browser on a computer or a smartphone."