Morning Security Brief: Oily Hurricane Season, War and Terrorism, Blackwater, Online Dating Sites, & Terrorism Watchlist

♦ With a hurricane approaching the Gulf of Mexico, coastal residents have one more thing to worry about: an oily hurricane. "That is intensifying apprehension and preparations along a Gulf Coast battered first by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and now by the worst oil spill in the nation's history," reports USA Today. "Federal, state and local officials are devising plans for evacuating residents, dismantling the oil recovery operation and securing heavy equipment and ships should a storm approach." The big worry is that a strong hurricane could possibly push oily seawater towards the coast in a storm surge, bathing the coast in oil and complicating the spill response and recovery even more.

♦ The New York Times on Sunday asked whether American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and interventions in Somalia and Yemen are producing more terrorists than the United States is defeating. "Has the military’s still-expanding fight against terrorism now become the fuel for terrorism, recruiting more militants than it kills?" NYTs reporter Scott Shane asked, followed by this: "And where exactly does the Afghan war fit into the overall campaign against terror, when the enemy’s cause can lure a man like Mr. Shahzad, a former financial analyst for the Elizabeth Arden cosmetics company in Stamford, Conn., and a naturalized American citizen?"The reason behind these questions? Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad's guilty plea last week where he said his attack was in revenge for military actions against Muslims.

♦ The CIA has retained the company formerly known as Blackwater to protect its intelligence installations in Afghanistan, reports The Wall Street Journal. The contract Xe Services LLC has received is reportedly worth $100 million. The company also has another contract with the State Department to provide security services. "Blackwater was involved [in] a series of controversial incidents, including a deadly shootout in Baghdad in 2007 that claimed the lives of Iraqi civilians and became a political liability for the U.S. government," reports the Journal's Nathan Hodge. CIA Director Leon Panetta defended the decision by telling ABC's "This Week" that Xe had underbid competitors by $26 million.

♦ The San Francisco Chronicle reminds online love seekers to do their due diligence on potential mates when using dating sites. "A retired San Antonio motorcycle-salvage yard owner, who also is a convicted murderer, was looking for love on a popular online dating Web site last week," reports the Chronicle. "Match.com doesn't screen members for criminal records, which explains why Abraham Fortune was able to post a profile and interact with other members on the site."

♦ A 6-year-old girl had to undergo secondary screening at an airport in Ohio after her name appeared on the terrorism watchlist, reports New York's Daily News. "She may have threatened her sister," her father told CNN. "But I don't think that constitutes Homeland Security triggers."