FROM THE EDITOR

February 27, 2006

Soldiers versus Contractors: Emerging Budgetary Reality?

This year's 7% increase notwithstanding, the Pentagon budget is expected to level out over the next few years. With budget deficits exceeding $400 billion per year, moves to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent, and tens of billions being allocated for rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, even the seemingly untouchable Pentagon budget will eventually have to share some of the cuts spurred by tight budgets. This is potentially bad news for major defense contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics. These companies are already involved in major weapons programs that exceed the funds available under long-term Pentagon budget projections. While they are hardly hurting for funds — the four contractors referenced above split $51.8 in Pentagon prime contracts in FY 2005 — they can be expected to lobby vigorously against attempts to cut back or eliminate specific weapons programs.
http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/soldiers.html

Gary Jackson
President
Blackwater

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
- John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS

U.S. Tests Its Bomb Checks on PATH Riders and Bags

From our friends at the Terrorism Research Center (http://www.terrorism.com)

Some Manhattan-bound commuters were surprised yesterday to become part of the federal government's latest experiment in preventing terrorism on the nation's rail network. Shortly after 10 a.m., the Department of Homeland Security started selectively screening passengers and their bags for explosives as they entered the PATH station at Exchange Place in Jersey City. A team of 11 screeners flown in from California asked commuters to walk through metal detectors and pass their briefcases and backpacks through scanning machines, just as they would at an airport.
http://www.terrorism.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=WarReports&file=index&view=982

Myths of the Current War

The debate about American policy and strategy in Iraq has veered off course. A number of myths have crept into the discussion over the past two years that distort understanding and confuse discussion. It is possible and appropriate to question the wisdom of any particular strategy proposed for Iraq, including the Bush administration’s strategy, and there is reason to be both concerned and encouraged by recent events there. But constructive dialogue about how to choose the best way forward is hampered by the distortions caused by certain myths. Until these myths recede from discussions about Iraq strategy, progress in those discussions is extremely unlikely.

http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.23941,filter.all/pub_detail.asp

The Politically Correct vs. the Politically Ridiculous

With the approval of the Bush administration, a company owned by the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over commercial management of shipping and stevedoring operations at six major American ports, located on the eastern seaboard and in New Orleans. When attention was suddenly drawn to this development last week, the urge toward public-safety questions was understandable. Not panic, but legitimate questions.
http://www.nationalreview.com/mccarthy/mccarthy200602231409.asp

BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL

Probe finds terrorists in U.S. 'training for war'

The Pakistani terrorist group Jamaat ul Fuqra is using Islamic schools in the United States as training facilities, confirms a joint investigative report by an intelligence think tank and an independent reporter.
A covert visit to an encampment in the Catskill Mountains near Hancock, N.Y., called "Islamberg" found neighboring residents deeply concerned about military-style training taking place there but frustrated by the lack of attention from federal authorities, said the report by the Northeast Intelligence Network, which worked with an Internet blogger, "CP," to publish an interim report.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48868

Standoff at Afghan Prison Continues

Hundreds of Afghan soldiers with tanks and grenade-launchers surrounded Kabul's main prison Sunday after rioting inmates seized control of much of the facility in an uprising that officials blamed on al-Qaida and Taliban militants.
Local media reported several people were killed and dozens injured. But it appeared security forces had yet to gain access to parts of the jail under prisoners' control, so officials could not confirm reports of casualties. One official said at least four inmates were injured.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060226/D8G10VSG0.html

Paper: Three Escapees Surrender in Yemen

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said three al-Qaida convicts among the two dozen who escaped earlier this month have turned themselves in, according to a newspaper report on Sunday.
Saleh told the pan-Arab Al Hayat newspaper that the three had surrendered and the other 20 escapees remained in Yemen. He said some were in touch with authorities but did not identify them or say when the three had surrendered.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060226/D8G0TUVG0.html

More Tests Needed in Texas Ricin Scare

A University of Texas student found a substance in a roll of quarters that tested positive for ricin, a potentially deadly poison, but more tests were needed, officials said Saturday. The 19-year-old student, who said she unwrapped the powder in her dormitory room Thursday, and her roommate were checked at a hospital for potential exposure to the poison, although neither had any symptoms, officials said.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060226/D8G0QAG02.html

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SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL

Fears over a 'new Saddam' as Iraq battles to avert civil war

HUNKERED down in the heavily guarded green zone of central Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador, was already at his desk in the early morning when news came through that one of Iraq’s holiest Shi’ite shrines had been bombed.
It was not only the golden-domed mosque in Samarra that lay in ruins. His strategy of building a broad-based government of national unity in Iraq was suddenly threatened by the prospect of civil war.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2058790,00.html

Fate of Carroll Unknown As Deadline Passes

Iraqi police conducted raids in search of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll on Sunday, the deadline set by her captors for the United States to meet their demands. The day passed without word on whether her captors carried out their threat to kill her.
The 28-year-old freelancer for the Christian Science Monitor was kidnapped Jan. 7 in Baghdad and was last seen in a videotape broadcast Feb. 9 by the private Kuwaiti television station Al-Rai.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060226/D8G11L580.html

Hamas leader: We will never recognize Israel

Hamas’s prime minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday denied he had suggested the Palestinian Islamist group might one day recognize Israel, saying there was only a possibility of achieving a long-term truce.
Hamas chose Haniyeh, a 43-year-old Gazan viewed by many Palestinians as a pragmatist, as the new prime minister after its election victory on Jan. 25. The militant Islamist group hopes to form a Palestinian government within two weeks. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11574574/

Al-Qaida threatens to hit more Saudi oil sites

Al-Qaida suicide bombers will attack more Saudi oil facilities, the terror group purportedly threatened Saturday in an Internet statement that claimed responsibility for the foiled attack on the Abiqaiq plant in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Two suicide bombers tried to drive cars packed with explosives into Abiqaiq, the world’s largest oil processing facility, on Friday afternoon, but security guards opened fire and the vehicles exploded outside the gates, killing the bombers and fatally wounding two guards.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11538965/

Bin Laden vows never to be captured alive

Osama bin Laden promised never to be captured alive and declared the United States had resorted to the same “barbaric” tactics used by Saddam Hussein, according to an audiotape purportedly by the al-Qaida leader that was posted Monday on a militant Web site.
The tape appeared to be a complete version of one that was first broadcast Jan. 19 on Al-Jazeera, the pan-Arab satellite channel, in which bin Laden offered the United States a long-term truce but also said his al-Qaida terror network would soon launch a fresh attack on American soil.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11452123/

FRANKS REVIEW

Service Equipment Review:

Night-Ops Falcata Flashlights

The traditional big names in lighting have a new competitor to worry about - and the new guy on the block is turning the tactical light industry on its collective ear. Night-Ops, a Brand Name part of the BlackHawk Products Group family, has - in less than a year - released four new illumination tools and revealed a prototype of another. After the Gladius rocked the tactical lighting community, some thought Night-Ops would relax. Not satisfied with putting out the most versatile LED flashlight on the market, Night-Ops has now released their first incandescent line of lights: the Falcata series.

Staying with their policy of naming their lights after ancient weapons, Night-Ops chose the "Falcata" name as the original Falcata was a sword used by both Hannibal and the Roman Legion armies. Known for its sharpness and simplicity of use, the sword almost foretold of the Falcata light. It's bright and simple to use (vs sharp and simple to use).

The rest of the story: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/lights/falcata.htm

Recreational Equipment Review:

BlackHawk X-4 Backpack

At this year's SHOT Show, BlackHawk Products Group announced their entry into the outdoor market. This was a simple and logical business step for them to take since so many of their products are useful to those who hunt, fish, camp, hike, backpack, etc. If you want to take a great line of backpacks (as an example) and expand your market to all of the nation's outdoorsman, all you have to do is make the nylon in Mossy Oak or Real Tree camouflage. Hunters will buy a good product.

This week we're going to take a look at one of the packs I'm sure outdoorsman will find a use for: the X-4 OPSEC. Now, just like with the CQC SERPA "Tactical" Holster, one might expect the X-4 "OPSEC" pack to be designed, and only useful for, the operational military or law enforcement special operations communities. Not so. After we've taken a closer look at the pack, its features and unique design qualities, I think you'll see just how well suited it is for the backpacker or camper.

The rest of the story: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/recevals/campback/bhx4.htm

CHAPLAINS CORNER

CHANGE...
In the course of Peace Keeping we often encounter this most unsettling condition
being forced upon us when we do not want it nor like it nor the results that the forced
change brings about. We like to continue in the comfort of what we know or in the
comfort of what we have done in times past... most especially if the change greatly
alters something that we designed, implemented or greatly enjoyed the use of.

When I pray daily for you, I also pray for myself for the will of my Commander-in-Chief
to be made known to me and implemented into my life. That kind of praying
sometimes brings changes to me that I must adapt to even when I do not like them nor
enjoy them... or even do not want to hear them...

For Peace Keepers, one detail immediately springs to mind... we are people who
have sworn to place ourselves under the authority of someone else for direction and
instruction. This is often the most uncomfortable place for a person to be but we did
it to ourselves voluntarily.

http://blackwaterusa.com/btw2006/articles/022706chaplain.html

Be Blessed(a condition to be envied by the world).
Be Successful. Be SAFE.
VSP ALUMNI 757-431-2190
Chaplain D.R.Staton, VBPD (Don, C1)
chpln1@verizon.net

BUMPER STICKER

If you're not outraged, you are not paying attention

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