| From The Editor November 13, 2006 |
Crossover extremists pose big threat to U.S., elsewhere, new FBI counterterror chief saysTerrorists from different extremist groups who unite against a common cause - say, the United States - may be one of the next big threats to the country, the FBI's newly promoted counterterror chief said Thursday. FBI Assistant Director Joseph Billy Jr., named Thursday as the permanent chief of the agency's counterterrorism division, said there's been no evidence yet of "crossover" extremists in the United States. But "there's always the potential of the like-minded individuals rising up against their home country," Billy said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Groups cross lines, and we have to look at it less defined (instead of) to say we're looking strictly at Hezbollah, looking at Hamas," Billy said. "In a coffee shop, it doesn't take much for the rhetoric to incite and recruit people. You may be aligned with one particular cause, but the fact is you have a common enemy. And the common enemy means that people can team up." Full Story Gary Jackson |
| QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
| Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Mark Twain |
| PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS |
Awhile ago I visited a major transportation hub on the East
Coast and delivered a seminar to the local security force. It wasn't
the conventional security force, but merely a police squad containing
guns, badges, and uniforms - American Pride. I discussed issues about
their security protocol, a collection of orders and recommendations
that nobody really reads and more than that - implements. |
| BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
LAPD, FBI probe arrest on videotapeThe FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating two officers for allegedly beating a man during an arrest last summer that was captured on video and posted on the popular YouTube website. The video of the Aug. 11 arrest in Hollywood shows an officer sitting on 23-year-old William Cardenas as a second officer places his knee on the man's neck and punches him six times. Cardenas is lying on his back, waving his arms and yelling, "I can't breathe!" Cardenas' attorney, B. Kwaku Duren, said his client was treated at a hospital for black eyes, a split lip and facial bruises.Full Story 'Mafia Cops' appeals cases tossed outA federal appeals court agreed that because the racketeering conviction of the "Mafia Cops" for eight gangland murders was thrown out in June, they have no basis now for challenging rulings made during the trial, according to defense and government attorneys. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Tuesday dismissed the appeals of Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa that concerned rulings made by Judge Jack B. Weinstein during the April trial, said defense attorney Daniel Nobel, who is representing Caracappa.Full Story Fighting Multiple AdversariesWe've all shot multiple-target drills. To start, the shooter usually stands seven yards from three evenly spaced targets. A buzzer or whistle signals the beginning of the drill, which requires the shooter to fire a set number of shots on each target, either from the ready position or the holster. There might be a reload in the middle, or maybe not. The shooter usually stands still with no use-of-cover required. Normally, a very liberal time frame is placed on the drill - six shots in 20 seconds, something like that. The time frame must remain liberal because the intent is not to challenge the shooter, but to get them qualified in some type of multiple-target drill so they can go back on the street. After all, the goal is not to prepare the officer for what they'll likely face if they're involved in a gunfight with multiple adversaries (I could use the more palatable word "confrontation," but gunfight is the reality); the goal is to meet some agency or state qualification mandate. After all, qualification is the same as preparation, right?Full Story Gangland killings trigger rise in homicide rateGangland killings contributed to an overall increase in the national homicide rate for a second straight year in 2005, according to a new Statistics Canada report. The number of gun-related homicides in Canada increased by more than 30 per cent over the previous year, accounting for 222 of the 658 homicides in the country. The jump in gun-related deaths is largely being attributed to an increase in gang-related shootings, particularly in Ontario and Alberta, according to Statscan's annual homicide survey. Police reported that 107 slayings were believed to be gang-related last year, 35 more than in 2004. Two-thirds of gang-related homicides involved a firearm, usually a handgun, and these gang-related homicides accounted for 16 per cent of all homicides reported in 2005.Full Story `Ridiculously dangerous': prison guards say Supermax understaffedCory Hodge was a prison guard for less than three years at Supermax - home of America's most feared and notorious criminals - before he decided he had had enough. He left to take a job as a train conductor. "I felt like staffing levels were coming to a point where it was getting ridiculously dangerous to be there," said Hodge, who was stabbed in the head and arms at another prison before going to Supermax. "I have a wife and children. I want to be around for them." Guards at Supermax complain that because of cost-cutting, staffing levels are perilously low, and as a result, prisoners are growing angrier and threats and assaults against the staff are on the rise at the Alcatraz of the Rockies.Full Story |
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TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND SUBMIT YOUR RESUME AND DD-214 CLICK HERE Questions regarding Security Consulting or Training at Blackwater (252) 435-2488 |
| SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
New Al Qaeda Leader Planning Attack Against U.S.Pakistani officials told ABC News that they believe they have indications that a new terrorist attack against the United States is being planned there. They told ABC News that while their intelligence does not give any specific details as to a target or time, it does indicate that an emerging al Qaeda figure is making plans. Pakistani military officials say Matiur Rehman, 29, a Pakistani militant, is behind the new plans for an attack against the United States. Pakistan has posted a 10-million rupee (about $166,000) award for his capture. "He is probably Pakistan's most wanted right now," says Alexis Debat, a former adviser in the French defense ministry and now an ABC News consultant. "He is extremely dangerous because of his role as the crucial interface between the brains of al Qaeda and its muscle, which is mainly composed these days of Pakistani militants."Full Story New Mexico Officers Sue Burger King over Alleged Pot BurgersTwo police officers have sued Burger King Corp., claiming they were served hamburgers that had been sprinkled with marijuana. The lawsuit says Mark Landavazo and Henry Gabaldon, officers for the Isleta Pueblo tribal police, were in uniform and riding in a marked patrol car when they bought meals at the drive-through lane Oct. 8 of a Burger King restaurant in Los Lunas, N.M. The officers ate about half of their burgers before discovering marijuana on the meat, the lawsuit said. They used a field test kit to confirm the substance was pot, then went to a hospital for medical evaluations.Full Story Feds eye terrorist recruiting in prisonsThe federal government is working with prisons in dozens of states to improve intelligence gathering and monitoring of inmates in a stepped-up campaign to curb homegrown terrorism behind bars. The FBI and Homeland Security are urging prison officials to do more extensive background checks on workers and volunteers who meet with inmates. And members of Congress are looking at possible reforms in prison security as a way to combat the spread of extremist Islamic beliefs.Full Story Calif. Judge Blocks Sex Offender RulesA federal judge on Wednesday blocked enforcement of key provisions of a ballot measure designed to crack down on sex offenders, ruling the law was unconstitutional just a day after voters overwhelmingly approved it. The so-called Jessica's Law prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park, effectively banning parolees from many California communities. It also requires lifetime satellite tracking for some paroled sex criminals upon their release from prison. More than 70 percent of voters approved the initiative Tuesday. Hours later, an unidentified sex offender filed the lawsuit, arguing that the measure should apply only to offenders who register after the law was approved.Full Story U.S. Agents, Mexican Cops Had StandoffU.S. Border Patrol agents chasing suspected drug traffickers on the Texas border allegedly crossed into Mexico and had a brief standoff with Mexican police before peacefully returning, Mexican authorities said Friday. Jose Luis Delgado, a police officer in Guadalupe, about 25 miles southeast El Paso, Texas _ said he and two colleagues encountered some U.S. Border Patrol agents on Mexican territory. He said the Mexican police responded Thursday with guns drawn to a report that a marijuana-laden pickup truck had been abandoned in the Rio Grande.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 ReviewSabre Defence Industries Massad Ayoob Signature Professional RifleAt SHOT Show this year ('06) I had the surprise of finding Massad Ayoob standing in the Sabre Defence Industries booth. I've had the pleasure of Mas' company a few times and knew that he had something working with Sabre Defence, but this was the first time I'd had the opportunity to actually see and handle "his"rifles. During SHOT I made sure to get all of the necessary information to receive some test & evaluation samples of the rifles and my two rifles showed up a couple months ago. Since then I've been enjoying them at the range and putting them through their paces. The two test rifles I received are both Massad Ayoob Signature rifles: The Professional (which we'll review here) and the Elite which will be fully reviewed at a later date. Let's get into the Professional...Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/guns/sdimapro.htm/ Recreational Equipment ReviewRecreational Skydiving: An Introduction Courtesy of Chuck BennettThis is not a "how to" article on skydiving. This is
a broad overview on the sport of parachuting (or skydiving) in the
United States. It is intended to give the reader enough information
to help them determine if, and how to get into the sport. Personally,
I can't see why anyone wouldn't want to jump out of an airplane.
Yes, I am biased, but if you haven't tried it you will never understand.
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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
at Blackwater (252) 435-2488 Editorial Calendar: The weekly theme may change at the discretion of
the Editor based on current events. To view an archived BTW, Click Here |
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| Blackwater USA (the "Company"), provides this Newsletter as a source of diverse information to its readers. The Company does not warrant or endorse the products or services advertised in or reviewed in the Newsletter. The views and statements of the reviewers and commentators presented in the Newsletter are entirely their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Company or its affiliates. The Company does not monitor or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the material provided in this Newsletter or presented at any of the third-party websites to which links are provided in this Newsletter. WARNING: Use of certain of the products and services discussed or reviewed in this Newsletter can lead to personal injury or death. It is critical to follow manufacturers' instructions in using such products or services. The Company will not accept any liability for damages, injuries, or death resulting from the use or misuse of any such products or services. |
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