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.

INVESTIGATIONS

United States

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

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

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)

Al Qaeda

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)

Bulgaria

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)

Saudi Arabia

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)

Militants Killed Belonged to Same Cell

Three of the four militants who were killed by Saudi security forces recently and were identified belonged to a single cell which tried to carry out a number of attacks in the Kingdom, the Saudi Interior Ministry revealed. Asharq Al Awsat published the names of the militants today, including details about Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Farraj, who is believed to be one of the active members of the terrorist group. (Asharq Al Awsat)

Canada

Moroccan Aided Al Qaeda, CSIS Documents Say

A former literature student and karate instructor aided and financed a deadly al-Qaeda splinter group, newly released documents from Canada's spy agency say.(The Globe and Mail)

LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS

United States

Moussaoui Asks Supreme Court to Ban al Qaeda Witnesses

Attorneys for Zacarias Moussaoui yesterday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to bar the government from seeking the death penalty and from presenting evidence related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at his trial. (Washington Post)

Report: Terror Witnesses' Visas Canceled

Lawyers for a Yemeni sheik accused of funneling millions of dollars to terrorist networks say American officials have canceled visas for four men expected to testify for the defense, according to a published report. (AP)

CIA Taken To Court By Spies Left Out In Cold

Former agents say promise of new life in U.S. went sour. (The Guardian)

IRAQ NEWS

At Least 15 Dead In Iraq Attacks

At least 15 people have been killed in the latest violence in Iraq. (BBC)

Ex-Baathists Play Crucial Insurgent Role, U.S. Says

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. (LA Times)

Gunmen kill Deputy Chief of Baghdad Police

Gunmen assassinate Baghdad's deputy police chief, the second high-profile killing in the capital in a week. (The Guardian)

Central Figure in Iraq Abuse Goes on Trial

Prosecutors unveiled new graphic photographs and videos from Abu Ghraib prison on Monday as they tried to portray the soldier accused as the ringleader of the abuse scandal there as a sadistic thug who punched detainees for sport, posed smiling next to the bloody face of a detainee and bragged about forcing an Iraqi woman to let him photograph her naked. (NY Times)

Abu Ghraib Inmates 'Like Cheerleaders'

Detainees stacked naked on top of each other were no worse off than performing cheerleaders, court hears. (The Guardian)

Iraqi Rebels Grow Strong in Saddam's Old Haunts

Violence has spiked against Iraqi and U.S. forces in the battleground provinces of north-central Iraq, with less than three weeks to go before landmark national elections. (AFP)

Frenchmen Told of Iraq 'Holy War'

The two French journalists released by kidnappers in Iraq last month have told the BBC that their captors supported the goals of Osama Bin Laden. (BBC)

U.S. Considers 'Salvador Option' in Iraq

Plan modeled on Reagan-era support for Central American 'death-squads.' (CS Monitor)

ANALYSIS & OPINION

A Man-Made Tsunami

Why are there no fundraisers for the Iraqi dead? (The Guardian)

The Taming of Sadr City

The US effort to destroy the insurgency in Iraq can only succeed if it also destroys the ability of the Iraqis to govern their own communities - hence the attack on the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah. Yet Sadr City, the vast slum in Baghdad at the heart of the Shi'ite rebellion, has evolved into a virtually independent city-state, a "liberated area" in the classic guerrilla warfare model. Something will have to give. (Asia Times)

The Moment of Truth in Iraq

It is now crystal clear that the proposed political process in Iraq is fatally flawed. If a way is to be found out of the present blood-stained impasse, a fresh start on a new basis is essential. The moment of truth in Iraq is fast approaching. (Al Hayat)

Deadly Attacks Pockmark Iraq

U.S. troops, civilians and Iraqi officials are among those killed as the prime minister declares progress in capturing insurgents. (LA Times)

Can We Save Iraq? No, but the Iraqis Can

Is there any way this can still work? Is there any plausible scenario for how Iraq can turn into a functioning society? (NY Times)

Time Is a Weapon

Time is now the crucial variable in the war in Iraq. (Washington Post)

Who Kidnapped Khaled El-Masri?

On Sunday, the New York Times broke the shocking tale of Lebanese-born German national Khaled El-Masri, a salesman, whose vacation turned into a living hell. After a row with his wife, El-Masri hopped on a tourist coach headed for Skopje and was horrified to find himself detained by Macedonian border guards, accused of terrorism. (Arab News)

The Insider Daily Investigative Report (DIR) is a summary of major news articles and broadcasts relating to investigative news, including international terrorism and developments in Iraq. The DIR is edited daily from foreign and U.S. sources by Chris Isham, Hoda Osman and Brinda Adhikari of the ABC News Investigative Unit. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ABCNEWS.