Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com When the U.S. invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein’s personal office was looted. One of those items was a gold-laden, 43-inch sword with an embellished blade and Arabic writing to the Iraqi ambassador, the Associated Press reports. The AP wrote that an American combat historian brought back the sword, which DHS said was a…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com An Army Ranger who served twice in Iraq and once in Afghanistan was on his way to his fourth overseas tour when his left hand was blown off in a training accident, NPR reports. Justin Slaby, who was fitted with a state-of-the-art prosthesis, opted to join the FBI but said he couldn’t…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Two former Iraqi residents who were living in Kentucky were sentenced to prison this week for their involvement with terrorist activities, the FBI announced Tuesday. Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 25, was given a life sentence, while his conspirator, Waad Ramadan Alwan, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison. Both had already pleaded…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com John G. Perren, assistant director of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) Directorate, who has been at the forefront of the FBI war on terrorism, has been named ticklethewire.com’s Fed Of The Year for 2012. Perren, whose tenure has been extended beyond the FBI’s mandatory retirement age, has been with the bureau…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com It was an IED that did it for Povas Miknaitis. After an initial deployment to Iraq in 2008, he was later sent to Afghanistan as a Marine rifleman. In Afghanistan, an IED blast sent shrapnel flying; some hit his arm and abdomen; larger pieces struck his face, shattering his jaw and…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Blackwater, the controversial security contractor that got in a whole lot of legal trouble for its deadly cowboy antics in Iraq, is trying once again to scrub clean that bad image. First it tried by changing its name to Xe Services LLC. But inevitably most articles included the phrase “formerly known…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com A Department of Homeland Security official on Wednesday announced a plan to hire veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan to operate satellite communications, blimps and other surveillance tech at stateside southern borders, reports NextGov. Drawdowns in troop levels and overseas actions will leave the Pentagon with more equipment and personnel on…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Scott Sweetow, who began his career with ATF in 1990 in Los Angeles, has been named special agent in charge of the agency’s Atlanta division. Sweetow spent several years assigned in the Arson and Explosives group, and served as a Certified Explosives Specialist. His duties included being part of ATF’s elite…
