Morning Security Brief: Private Border Fence Plans in AZ, Rep. Wants Cartels Branded Terrorists, Post-9-11 Security, & Much More

♦ Arizona state lawmakers want to build a privately-funded fence on private land to secure the state's border with Mexico. "The special committee created after SB 1070 met for the first time Wednesday. Committee members mostly talked about SB 1406 -- the bill would allow for a border fence to be built on private land. The fence would be built by inmates and funded by private donations," reports MyFoxPhoenix.com. "If passed, it's the first time a state would use private donations to fence the border. Aja says something needs to be done to protect families who live along the border."

♦ A Texas congressman wants to designate six Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. "Such a designation by the State Department could expose Mexican drug traffickers and U.S. gunrunners to charges of supporting terrorism," reports the Houston Chronicle. "McCaul spokesman Mike Rosen said it was the first time that a member of Congress had proposed the designation for the powerful Mexican drug gangs that have waged all-out war against Mexican security forces over the last five years, claiming nearly 35,000 lives."

♦ The two former chairs of the 9-11 Commission told senators yesterday that the United States is still vulnerable to an al Qaeda attack, reports Voice of America. “Al-Qaida and its allies continue to have the intent and the reach to kill dozens or even hundreds of Americans and do so in a single attack," said Thomas Kean. "There is a high risk of attacks, but we believe that they will likely be smaller.” Lee Hamilton told the committee that the White House's effort to secure loose nukes is critical to U.S. homeland security. “The access to nuclear materials and the ability to use those materials and to explode them is much greater than people generally think."

♦ The cyberintrusion into security firm RSA may leave the Pentagon's information vulnerable. "Earlier this month, RSA announced that an unknown attacker had launched an 'extremely sophisticated' intrusion that snared information about its widely distributed SecurID token," reports Stars and Stripes. "It’s a device that generates random numbers designed to confirm identities of users logging into secured networks — so-called 'two-factor authentication,' similar to a military Common Access Card. Many government agencies, including the Department of Defense, rely on SecurID or other RSA security services."

♦ STRATFOR analyzes political instability in Yemen and what that means for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and U.S. counterterrorism efforts. "The United States has spent the past several years training up a 'new guard' within the Yemeni security apparatus — mainly the Counter Terrorism Unit, National Security Bureau, Special Forces and Central Security Forces, which are all led by Saleh’s relatives — in an effort to counterbalance the influence of the Islamist old guard in the military (led by Saleh’s big competitor right now, Ali Mohsin)," reports the private intelligence firm. "These select forces are now being tasked with protecting the Saleh regime against dissident units of the Yemeni military, which means there is no one left on the Yemeni side to focus on AQAP.... If there is a transition of power in Yemen, and Mohsin and his faction come to power, there is likely to be a purge of these new guard forces and their leadership, which is loyal to Saleh. The result will be a removal of the new guard and an increase in the influence of the Islamists and jihadist sympathizers in the Yemeni security and intelligence apparatus. This could have a significant impact on U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Yemen, and provide a significant opportunity for AQAP."