Security

The Iraqi government launched a massive security operation in Baghdad as Iraqis buried their dead Monday, a day after a pair of suicide attacks against government buildings killed dozens of people and exposed the fragility of Iraq's fledgling institutions. The death toll increased to 155, including about 30 children, some of whom were killed in a bus that was taking them to kindergarten, Interior Ministry officials said. Hundreds more people were injured in the blasts, officials said.

BENGHAZI, Libya - Face down on a roof inside the besieged American diplomatic compound, gunfire and flames crackling around them, the two young Libyan guards watched as several bearded men crept toward the ambassador's residence with semiautomatic weapons and grenades strapped to their chests. "We are finished," one of the guards says he remembers thinking. Both are veterans of the ragtag revolutionary forces that toppled Moammar Kadafi. Over the last year, while assigned by their militia to help protect the U.S. mission in Benghazi, the pair had been drilled by American security personnel in using their weapons, securing entrances, climbing walls and waging hand-to-hand combat.

Security and intelligence lapses allowed a suspected terrorist to board a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day, President Obama said from Hawaii today, interrupting his vacation to speak about the failed bombing attempt. "A systemic failure has occurred, and I consider that totally unacceptable," Obama said. The president said he learned in the last 24 hours that information about the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, had been passed to "a component of our U.S. intelligence community" weeks ago, but that the information was not effectively distributed and the Nigerian man was not added to a "no-fly" list.

Prince Harry may be off the hook for his Las Vegas nude photo romp, but a head or two is going to roll in the palace. Figuratively, of course. While the third-in-line for the throne has always been the more free-spirited child of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, his security detail is reportedly catching heat for the pictures of Harry in the buff. His "minders were asleep at the wheel, enjoying the party more than protecting the Prince from himself," reports TMZ, citing a source that adds the royal family is "furious" over the scandal.   LIVE CHAT TODAY AT 11 A.M. Several Sin City VIP coordinators were quizzed about why such an avoidable situation wasn't, well, avoided, and the answer was a lacking sense of professionalism.

With Friday's opening of the Winter Olympics, Canada is preparing for the biggest domestic security operation in its history -- a $900-million policing nightmare that takes in 3,860 square miles of downtown stadiums, remote woodland valleys and miles of urban waterways. The military contingent alone will require nearly twice the 2,500 soldiers Canada has in Afghanistan. Police and contract security agents must screen up to 1.6 million ticket holders and protect 5,500 athletes and officials -- while preparing for domestic protesters, who a year ago announced preparations for "Riot 2010."

Just as U.S. companies are coming to grips with threats to their computer networks emanating from cyber spies based in China, a noted expert is highlighting what he says is an even more pernicious vulnerability in smartphones. Dmitri Alperovitch, the former McAfee Inc. cyber security researcher best known for identifying a widespread China-based cyber espionage operation dubbed Shady Rat, has used a previously unknown hole in smartphone browsers to plant China-based malware that can commandeer the device, record its calls, pinpoint its location and access user texts and emails.

Re "City Gives Staples Center New Terms for Repaying Subsidies," April 12: The L.A. City Council does not feel it needs security from Philip Anschutz and Ed Roski for their $70-million debt. The council is probably right. They probably won't default. I probably won't default on my home loan either. But the bank still insists on security for my loan. Where public funds are concerned, the need for security should be even greater. Howard L. Ekerling Studio City

When Baghdadis awoke Tuesday to find their streets sealed off and the Iraqi capital under virtual lockdown, the rumors began to fly. Army officers had staged a coup in the Green Zone, one version went. No, members of the Baath Party loyal to the former regime had taken over, according to another. At midday, officials appeared on television to try to calm the city. "The security forces can't stage a coup. Our security forces are professional," military spokesman Mohammed Askari said at a news conference.

Russia stepped up security in major cities, deploying thousands of extra police a day after officials warned of a possible terrorist threat against public transportation. In Moscow, officials ordered cellphone service shut off in the subway system. The measure appeared to be an effort to avert the possibility of explosives being detonated by the phones.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accepted the resignation of a top security chief Saturday and ordered hundreds of senior security officers to retire in a bid to reform his forces and halt violence, an official said. Abbas, who took office Jan. 15 after the death last year of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has been under pressure from Israel and Washington to impose law and order in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.