DHS Chief Selection

Jan. 11, 2005 -- President Bush has chosen federal appeals court judge Michael Chertoff to be his new Homeland Security chief, turning to a former federal prosecutor who helped craft the early war on terror strategy, news wires reported today.

And the L.A. Times reports today that U.S. military commanders say a new assessment of the Iraqi insurgency has led them to focus on 34 former Baath Party leaders who they believe are financing and directing attacks against American troops and their allies.

Bush Picks Ex-Prosecutor for Homeland Post

President Bush has chosen federal appeals court judge Michael Chertoff to be his new Homeland Security chief, turning to a former federal prosecutor who helped craft the early war on terror strategy, The Associated Press has learned. (AP)

Michael Chertoff : Resume (Dept. of Justice)

Guantanamo Britons Free in Weeks

Britons held in Guantanamo Bay will be returned to the U.K., Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announces. (BBC)

At-a-Glance: Guantanamo Bay Britons
Four Britons held by the US in Guantanamo Bay are to be returned to the UK. (BBC)

Kuwait Hunts for Suspected Al Qaeda Militants

Interior minister orders crackdown on militants after deadly gunfight with security forces in Kuwait City. (Middle East Online)

Bin Laden May Be in Eastern Afghanistan

Osama bin Laden and other militant leaders could be hiding in eastern Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. forces along a key stretch of the Pakistani border told the Associated Press on Monday. (Chicago Sun-Times)

U.N. Sanctions 'Hitting Al Qaeda'
International efforts to cut off funding to al Qaeda have made it more difficult for the terror network to operate, a top US official has said. (BBC)

Bulgarian Intelligence Says Al Qaeda Affiliate Groups Exist in the Balkans

There are organizations and people with relations to al Qaeda in the Balkan area, the head of Bulgarian intelligence told a Bulgarian newspaper. He stressed on the importance of keeping an eye on those organizations and said they may carry out attacks and attribute them to al Qaeda. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Al Qaeda Weaker in Saudi But Still a Threat — Report

Saudi Arabia's crackdown on al Qaeda militants has seriously eroded their forces and capabilities but the network will remain a threat in the world's biggest oil exporter for years, a U.S. research group said. (Reuters)

BA to Axe Flights to Saudi Arabia
Security fears in Saudi Arabia and the resulting plunge in the number of Westerners flying there has prompted British Airways to axe services to Jeddah and Riyadh. (This is London)