| From The Editor October 9, 2006 |
Afghanistan: Five Years LaterOn Oct. 7, 2001, President Bush spoke from the Treaty Room of the White House to announce the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, a mission designed to disrupt and destroy al-Qaeda operations in Afghanistan and the regime that had harbored and supported Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. Gary Jackson |
| QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
| If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. Thomas Paine |
| PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS |
In the past, the difference between terrorists and pirates was recognizable: each possessed distinct strategic goals, achieved through the same medium - the sea. More recent events, however, suggest that this distinction is becoming less clear. Terrorist organizations, like al-Qaeda, are collaborating with various piracy groups in strategic waterways to achieve broader and more destructive goals. Incidents of piracy are much higher and are more successful in relatively weak states, where the government has little to no power over their territorial waters. This is one reason Somalia has been a safe haven for pirates/terrorists. The increase of maritime terrorist attacks and piracy in the Horn of Africa region, and internationally, has called worldwide attention to Somalia, where the Juba Valley Alliance seized Chisimayu, the country's most popular and largest seaport. Even more pressing is the Islamic Courts Union militia leader's, Hassan Turki, public recognition that foreign Muslims were being brought into Somalia to bolster his forces. Because of the ICU's possible links to al-Qaeda or other terrorist organizations, Chisimayu could turn into a Somali stage to launch more pirate attacks. |
| BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Taliban Back, Using Iraq - Style ViolenceA sweating man wanders into a crowd and blows himself up, leaving a dozen bodies lifeless on the street. A few blocks away, a car bomb pulverizes an armored Humvee, killing two U.S. soldiers and 14 civilians. The kind of anonymous insurgent violence that is convulsing Iraq has migrated 1,500 miles east to plague Afghanistan five years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime. The prospect of a second downward spiral -- though so far Afghanistan isn't nearly as violent as Iraq -- has experts worried that Western militaries don't have an effective strategy for these irregular wars.Full Story Al-Qaeda's Far-Reaching New PartnerIn a video released last month on the Internet, al-Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, declared that he had "great news." Al-Qaeda, he reported, had joined forces with an obscure Algerian underground network and would work in tandem with the group to "crush the pillars of the crusader alliance." The Algerian partner, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, had fought the Algerian government in a barbaric civil war for almost a decade. But Zawahiri said the new alliance had different targets in mind. "Our brothers," he said, "will be a thorn in the necks of the American and French crusaders and their allies, and a dagger in the hearts of the French traitors and apostates."Full Story U.S. Military Is Still Waiting For Iraqi Forces to 'Stand Up'The strategy in Iraq, President Bush has said often over the past year, is to stand down the U.S. military as Iraq's security forces stand up. By strict numbers, the Iraqi side of that equation is almost complete. Training programs have developed more than 300,000 members of the Iraqi army and national police, close to the desired number of homegrown forces. Yet as that number has grown, so, too, has violence in Iraq. The summer was worse than ever, with July the deadliest month in three years, according to U.S. military data. With the insurgency undiminished and Iraqi forces seemingly unable to counter it, U.S. commanders say they expect to stay at the current level of U.S. troops -- about 140,000 -- until at least next spring. That requirement is placing new strains on service members who leave Iraq and then must prepare to return a few months later. Tours of duty have been extended for two brigades in Iraq to boost troop levels.Full Story Iraq war draws foreign jihadists, but not in drovesIt may be true that Iraq is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders, and that the US presence there is a "cause celebre" for jihadists, as a recently declassified US intelligence assessment holds. But that doesn't mean the Iraqi insurgency is a wholly owned Al Qaeda subsidiary. Foreign fighters make up a relatively small slice of the forces targeting the US military in Iraq. Most insurgents are native Iraqi Sunni Islamists or former members of the old Baath party regime. Thus, to Osama bin Laden, Iraq might be more important as a symbol than a physical battlefield or training ground. Fighting there may not produce as many hardened mujahideen eager to export jihad as did the struggle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.Full Story Seizures of radioactive materials fuel 'dirty bomb' fearsSEIZURES of smuggled radioactive material capable of making a terrorist "dirty bomb" have doubled in the past four years, according to official figures seen by The Times. Smugglers have been caught trying to traffick dangerous radioactive material more than 300 times since 2002, statistics from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) show. Most of the incidents are understood to have occurred in Europe. The disclosures come as al-Qaeda is known to be intensfiying its efforts to obtain a radoactive device. Last year, Western security services, including MI5 and MI6, thwarted 16 attempts to smuggle plutonium or uranium. On two occasions small quantities of highly enriched uranium were reported missing. All were feared to have been destined for terror groups.Full Story |
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Iraqi Police Unit Linked to MilitiasIraqi authorities have taken a brigade of up to 700 policemen out of service and put members under investigation for "possible complicity" with death squads following a mass kidnapping earlier this week, the U.S. military said Wednesday. Meanwhile, a series of bombs went off in rapid succession in a shopping district in a mainly Christian neighborhood of Baghdad, killing 12 people and wounding 87, police said. The dead were among 28 people killed in attacks across IraqFull Story Military Hones a New Strategy on InsurgencyThe United States Army and Marines are finishing work on a new counterinsurgency doctrine that draws on the hard-learned lessons from Iraq and makes the welfare and protection of civilians a bedrock element of military strategy. The doctrine warns against some of the practices used early in the war, when the military operated without an effective counterinsurgency playbook. It cautions against overly aggressive raids and mistreatment of detainees. Instead it emphasizes the importance of safeguarding civilians and restoring essential services, and the rapid development of local security forces.Full Story Tribes Heed Call to Join Battle for IraqAs tribal leaders from Iraq's troubled Al Anbar province met last week with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, pledging their support to clean out Al Qaeda insurgents, it soon became clear that they were as good as their word. That day, at a mosque in the town of Ramadi, armed tribesmen seized four men - two Iraqis and two non-Iraqi Arabs - whom the tribesmen believed to be Al Qaeda fighters. The men pleaded for their lives, "for the sake of Islam, and for the sake of the prophet," according to a man who witnessed the incident during group prayers. Their bodies were found a few hours later in a dumpster. Abdul Jabber Hakkam, spokesman for a coalition of 11 tribes that have pledged to fight insurgents in Al Anbar, said that despite what apparently happened in Ramadi, the tribes' plan was not to dispatch suspects on the spot. Instead, he hopes his fighters will arrest suspects and take them to court or shun them until they leave.Full Story British soldiers prepare for tough Afghan winterBritish troops in Afghanistan face the prospect of fighting the Taliban throughout the winter, senior Whitehall officials warned yesterday, making it clear that military operations there were entering a crucial stage. As a British general took command of an expanded Nato force - including 12,000 American soldiers - which will now operate throughout Afghanistan - the officials warned against assuming the Taliban would stop fighting over the winter months and wait until next spring to resume its campaign. "Climatically in Helmand there is not snow, there are no high mountain passes," said a senior Foreign Office official, referring to the southern Afghan province that will be the base for 4,500 British soldiers, including the Royal Marines' 3 Commando Brigade, for the next six months. "It must therefore be conceivable to see continuing operations throughout the winter."Full Story In Afghanistan, US troops tackle aid projects - and skepticismThe white-bearded Afghan police chief is not pleased with his village "force" of 15 rag-tag cops. They have no radios, just two AK-47 assault rifles, and a single pistol with 9mm ammunition that jams. Afghan officials have also not paid police salaries for months in this remote eastern Afghanistan province of Nuristan on the Pakistan border. An officer is said to be collecting funds now - the proverbial "check is in the mail" - but the delay is hampering US plans to start police training this week. "Of course it's a good idea to train," chief Nur Mohamed tells the US Military Police platoon leader, as they meet under a rock overhang. "The day they pay us, we will be there."Full Story |
| TRAINING FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Heading to IACP...Know Someone Who IsIf you are, or if someone from your department is heading to the Annual IACP Conference in Boston October 14-18, be sure to leave time to catch these valuable presentations: Solutions Presentation Theater: Where's the Beef? Understanding Federal Grants and Assistance Programs By James T. Kirkhope, Vice President, Terrorism Research Center, Inc. Sunday, October 15 - 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Boston Convention & Exhibition Center - Halls A, B & C This briefing will discuss the rise and now apparent decline of federal funds, highlight continuing forms of assistance, and emphasize free, readily-available information sources to help acquisition, management and budget planning. Solutions Presentation Theater: Why Not Here Yet? A threat assessment of the US By Jennifer Hardwick, Senior Director, Terrorism Research Center, Inc. Tuesday, October 17 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Boston Convention & Exhibition Center - Halls A, B, & C This presentation will include discussions on: Who would be interested in targeting the US? Why (Intentions)? How? Likelihood? Unconventional warfare. For more detailed information regarding these presentations or the speakers, please Click Here for the entire IACP Conference agenda. |
| FRANKS REVIEW |
Service Equipment ReviewMagnum BootsNot to date myself, but I remember - in the late 1980s - when Hi-Tec boots were all the rage. They were cost effective (but that's different from "cheap"), comfortable and provided an acceptable level of comfort. I remember believing that, because of the prices they were sold at, they couldn't be but so good. In the early '90s, Hi-Tec created the Magnum brand name, and Magnum Boots were born. For awhile everyone thought, "Wow; Magnum sure is making good copies of Hi-Tecs" until the Hi-Tec supply ran out and everything coming from them had the Magnum name. Fifteen years later the company has continued to evolve its product line and today Magnum Boots are a good value. This week we're going to take a look at two types of Magnum Boots and how well they've held up under use and abuse.Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/footwear/magnumboots.htm Recreational Equipment ReviewDean Koontz's "Frankenstein"When Mary Shelley wrote "Frankenstein" in 1816 (yeah, it was that long ago) and it was published in 1818, I don't think she had any concept of how far the legend would grow. Multiple versions of the tale have been written. Plenty of movies have been made. Frankenstein has been inseparably woven into stories about Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Mummy. Still, most of the versions adapted from Shelley's original vision have remained limited; they have stayed true to her expression of the monster and his creator. Dean Koontz, one of today's most prolific and imaginative writers, has created his own vision of the monster and his creator, Victor Frankenstein... er, Victor Helios... er, well... you have to read the books.
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The Blackwater Tactical Weekly is a free weekly e-publication. The BTW provides readers valuable information from diverse sources regarding tactical and strategic security issues. Editor-in-Chief – Gary Jackson (btw@blackwaterusa.com) Questions regarding Security Consulting or Training
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