| From The Editor October 23, 2006 |
Disarming the MullahsNOW THAT NORTH KOREA has called America's diplomatic bluff by testing a nuclear device, and the wrangling has begun over how best to sanction Pyongyang, the question arises of what's in store for Iran. Will we bomb? Some insiders say yes, that President Bush has already decided that if Iran fails to freeze its enrichment program, he will direct our Air Force to attack Iran's nuclear plants sometime before he leaves office. The urgency for bombing, of course, turns on the assumption that we can know precisely when Iran will acquire its first nuclear weapon--which we can't. A decision to bomb also presumes we can set Iran's nuclear weapons program back significantly with a single targeting campaign. This, at best, is unclear. Iran, for instance, might have a parallel, hidden nuclear weapons effort. Given Teh ran's ability to tunnel a kilometer deep, and its stonewalling on what it has done with the advanced uranium enrichment plant designs it bought and claims it chose not to build, there's cause for concern. No bombing campaign is likely to destroy Iran's nuclear engineers. Whatever plants we destroy, they can rebuild. Full Story Gary Jackson |
| QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
| Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country. Calvin Coolidge |
| PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS |
On July 5, 2005, police in Torrance, Calif., a small city bordering Los Angeles, arrested two men leaving a gas station after a robbery. That kind of crime predates Bonnie and Clyde. The next day, Torrance detectives executed a search warrant on the apartment of one of the suspects in my city, Los Angeles. There they found documents that seemed to give clues to the planning of attacks on locations in Los Angeles. |
| BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
If Disaster Strikes, Is Your Company Ready?Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001 -- and more recently, Aug. 29, 2005 -- disaste recovery has moved to the forefront of executive minds in corporate America Terrorist attacks and natural catastrophes have prompted reviews of data storag practices, customer care locations and tech support "Business continuity continues to be first and foremost on the minds and radar screens of enterprises from very high-cap businesses such as [those in] financial services and healthcare to small and medium businesses, even to work-at-home professionals," says Jerry Shammas, AT&T's (NYSE: T) director of business continuity and recovery services. Some of the drivers of increased attention to disaster recovery planning include a global economy in which businesses operate 24/7, a constant focus on optimizing productivity with limited resources and recurring threats from spam, spyware, viruses and worms.Full Story Football stadium threat is a hoax, FBI says after interviewing Milwaukee manInternet threats of "dirty bomb" attacks at NFL stadiums this weekend were a hoax, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said Thursday. The FBI made the announcement after agents questioned a 20-year-old Milwaukee man in an effort to determine who made the threats, which were posted on a website last week. "The investigation has determined that this is a hoax. The public should be reassured of their security as they continue to attend sporting events this weekend," said the agencies' joint statement.Full Story PSD: Not Your Everyday JobIn the early morning hours, a Soldier awakens to the sound of his internal communications radio as a stern voice blaring over the radio instructs the leader to rally his men and be ready to move into southern Baghdad in less than 30 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, approximately 14 combat-ready Soldiers line-up their armored vehicles with their weapons ready and mounted atop their steel turrets. The Soldiers stand ready to greet the brigade commander before leaving the safe haven of a small forward operating base on the edge of the International Zone. This is the life of the Soldiers who make up the command Personal Security Detachment teams of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in Baghdad.Full Story Money launderers seeking new outlets, police warHampered by rules that have made it more difficult to launder money through banks, criminals are turning to other methods to whitewash their ill-gotten gains, including electronic transfers and moving cash around by couriers. "The days are long gone where you could walk into a bank with a bag of twenties and deposit the cash," RCMP Superintendent Don Panchuk told delegates to a money laundering conference yesterday.Full Story In a Land Without Order, Punishment Is PowerA year or so ago, just one poster adorned Sheik Adnan Aidani's wall. It was a portrait of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's faded but still preeminent cleric, whose stern visage glared down on visitors to the tribal sheik's house along a forest of date palms in the southern Iraqi countryside. Today, there are perhaps a dozen posters with new faces. The names blur, but together they represent the power, beyond appeal, of men with guns. Aidani smiled, a little sheepishly, as he surveyed the posters. Gifts, he called them, the kind you don't return. "Everyone's on his own," he explained.Full Story |
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| SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
`Weapons of identity destruction'Dr. Stephen Haag spends upwards of 80 hours each week on his computer, mapping out terrorist attacks. Haag, an expert in emerging technologies, believes the next attack on the U.S. will come not in the form of bombings or military movements, but from terrorists armed with computer keyboards, credit cards and Social Security numbers. A calculated cyber identity strike could erase or manipulate the identities of millions of Americans, effectively closing the financial markets and crippling the economy. ATMs would fail, airports would shut down, banks would close--all transactions would cease, says Haag, 45, an associate dean at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.Full Story The Public Side of Private InvestigationsDeception, personal surveillance and sting operations are commonplace tools for private investigators hired by companies to handle low-level security problems. These also happen to be among the aggressive methods Hewlett-Packard contractors used to try to uncover the source of boardroom leaks to the media. The resulting scandal at HP has drawn new attention to intrusive techniques available to private investigators and has raised questions about when and how they are used. Many companies, big and small, allow -- at least tacitly -- their security contractors to push the legal envelope on uncontroversial matters, like combating employee theft or counterfeiting.Full Story Farmers to be trained to fight terrorThe University of Tennessee is creating a new center to train communities and farmers in protecting the nation's food supply from terrorists. Funded with a $2 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the Center for Agriculture and Food Security and Preparedness will address safeguards that can be applied across the agricultural spectrum _ from crops to dairies to meat processors, UT officials announced Monday. "We will be training industry folks, in particular, to assess their own facilities for vulnerability to someone coming in and intentionally contaminating their product," said Dr. Sharon Thompson, center director.Full Story Smugglers seen getting 'sophisticated, organized'Law-enforcement authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border are outgunned and outmanned by drug smugglers armed with automatic weapons, grenade launchers, bazookas, improvised explosive devices and state-of-the-art communications and tracking systems, a congressional report said yesterday. "While the United States has taken positive steps to secure its borders, much more is needed to combat an increasingly powerful, sophisticated, organized and violent criminal network, which seeks to move illegal contraband ... into our country for profit," said the House Homeland Security management, integration and oversight subcommittee report.Full Story Intelligence Plan Targets Training, Keeping PersonnelU.S. intelligence efforts are hampered by inefficient methods for recruiting, training and assigning personnel, according to a new human resources plan that calls for a more "corporate" business model and increased cooperation within the 16-agency intelligence community. Among the problems cited by the "Strategic Human Capital Plan" prepared for John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, is an inability to compete with the private sector for the "best and the brightest" workers in language, scientific and technological skills. Security-clearance restrictions have impeded hiring a diverse workforce, including noncitizens with critical expertise in other countries and cultures.Full Story |
| TRAINING FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Blackwater Language SchoolLearn the language... and the culture... then deploy. Operators, analysts, military and civilian support personnel working with or deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan have two classes to choose from: IRAQI ARABIC from - 13 November - to - 17 November PASHTO/DARI from - 27 November - to - 01 December INTENSITY - Live and breathe Arabic or Pashto/Dari Blackwater Language School provides an intensive language learning environment in which participants challenge themselves and learn at a rate beyond normal limits. This intensive experience has proven to be very successful. Because you and your team-mates have limited time to study the language and culture of Iraq or Afghanistan, we substitute time with intensity. Every student is encouraged to communicate as much as possible in Iraqi dialect Arabic or Pashto/Dari during the entire week-long course. This is no ordinary course of study- it is an endeavor that is emotionally taxing- and rewarding! SURVIVABILITY - Cultural Awareness = Situational Awareness If you don't understand the culture...you can cause real trouble. Our team of accomplished staff is dedicated to helping students survive and thrive in the subject culture. A series of cultural activities will take place throughout the program. Students will be encouraged to use their new skills as they eat Middle Eastern meals and engage in situational interviews- in the immersive environment. This highly intensive language environment empowers you to immediately put your language skills into action and test the boundaries of your cultural survival skills! At only $1495 per student, space is extremely limited. To reserve a space for you or your unit... ...call or email us today! (252) 435-2016 languages@blackwaterusa.com |
| FRANKS REVIEW |
Service Equipment ReviewWagner Reality-Based Knife from BokerWhen Boker decided that they needed a knife designed for them, instead of contacting any one of the many "knife experts" in the world, they pursued Jim Wagner. What could Jim bring to the design table? Jim's bio shows that he has numerous years of experience training police and military units how to survive knife attacks, as well as how to effectively use knives as primary offensive weapons. Jim's even trained Germany's counterterrorist unit, GSG9. Knowing that, Boker asked him to design "the ultimate tactical folding knife for police, military, security personnel, and civilians alike." I received my Jim Wagner Reality-Based Blade from Boker a few weeks back and have enjoyed putting it through its paces. I have few criticisms and will share them here along with all the positive features about this lockblade folder.Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/knives/bokerwagner.htm Recreational Equipment ReviewVioSport SCOUT CamI have to admit that I'm not usually big into electronic "tactical" items. Outside of flashlights, most of the electronics I see as invaluable have to do with communications - and I like them as simple as possible. I'm one of those people who believe that if anything can go wrong it will. Electronics that you bet your life on are some of the things that will most often break, or the batteries will die, etc. That said, often the electronics are mandatory for whatever reason, and as I've recently discovered, they can be downright fun. I received a test & evaluation unit from VioSport: the Viotac S.C.O.U.T. Cam. SCOUT stands for Security, Combat, Observation, Undercover, Tactical. I didn't use it for any of that. I took it hiking and exploring. I did some minor rock climbing with it. I'm very much looking forward to sending it out to Chuck our resident skydiving aficionado, so that he can jump out of a plane with it on. THAT video ought to be interesting!
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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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