| January 7, 2008 Edition |
Dumb And DumberIslamabad's bungling after the Bhutto assassination.The Weekly StandardReuben F. Johnson "They are fecklessly pouring gasoline on a roaring fire," was how a western intelligence official in Islamabad described the actions of the Pakistan government in its handling of the inquest into last Thursday's assassination of former prime minister and political candidate Benazir Bhutto. This comment was made in reference to the assertion by official government spokesmen just after Bhutto's assassination that she had died not from gun shot wounds but had instead been killed when the explosion of a suicide bomber caused her to strike her head on the sunroof handle inside her armored SUV. These statements were already implausible given that so many eyewitnesses reported seeing an assassin shoot Bhutto in the back of the head seconds before a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest. Full Story |
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| QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
| You gain strength, courage and confidence by every
experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You
are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I
can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you
think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt |
| PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS |
Iran's Dangerous Nuke GameWhy Israel Might Rush to StrikeNew York PostPeter Brookes Iran turned up the heat this week on still-sim mering concerns about its atomic aspirations. It crowed that its 1,000-megawatt Bushehr nuclear-power plant would be "online" as early as this spring, putting in place another important building block of its nuclear program. That sort of news can't help but rattle the steadiest of nerves, no matter what the (narrowly focused) US National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear-weapons program said about the current state of affairs. Seemingly not swayed one iota by the NIE's conclusions, you have to wonder if Israel - the country most threatened by an Iranian nuclear (weapons) breakout - might take matters into its own hands. Full Story Nicaraguan opposition resists Chávez's expanding 'revolution'Some lawmakers say that President Ortega is taking a page from the Venezuelan leader's playbook to expand his own presidential powers.Christian Science MonitorTim Rogers Emboldened by the recent defeat of the constitutional referendum to expand Hugo Chávez's "21st-century socialist revolution" in Venezuela, the opposition in Nicaragua has started to organize against what it claims is President Daniel Ortega's similar intentions to consolidate power in this country. Mr. Ortega, an ally of Venezuela's president, has promised to implement his own version of "direct democracy," similar to the model of government in Venezuela and Cuba. Full Story Planning and Managing Security for Major Special Events: Best Practices for Law Enforcement AdministratorsPolice Chief MagazineKarl Bickel and Ed Connors Special events are important to local governments for many reasons, including the public enjoyment and sense of community they provide as well as the revenue they generate. Effective security, a critical feature of these events, requires that law enforcement agencies conduct extensive planning to achieve the right balance between ensuring the public safety and supporting an atmosphere of hospitality. Full Story |
| BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Army Using Sensors to Build Better HelmetsAccelerometers, pressure transducers help military understand the brain traumaDesign NewsCharles J. Murray Sensor makers are working with the U.S. Army to develop a helmet that will aid in understanding the nature of head injuries sustained by soldiers. U.S. Army officers say they hope the effort will help their Advanced Combat Helmet project and will also give military doctors a better handle on the accelerations and pressures sustained by soldiers during explosions and other "concussive events." "We hope to get enough data to determine how much acceleration or pressure our soldiers are being exposed to,"says Lt. Col. Robert Myles, product manager for soldier survivability at Fort Belvoir. "Further down the road, we hope to learn more about the traumatic brain injuries (soldiers) may be sustaining while in theater." Full Story The great fall of ChinaRevised GDP calculations show that Beijing isn't the giant we thought it was.Los Angeles TimesWalter Russell Mead The most important story to come out of Washington recently had nothing to do with the endless presidential campaign. And although the media largely ignored it, the story changes the world. The story's unlikely source was the staid World Bank, which published updated statistics on the economic output of 146 countries. China's economy, said the bank, is smaller than it thought. About 40% smaller. Full Story Still in ControlHow will Musharraf's decision to postpone Pakistan's elections affect the fortunes of Benazir Bhutto's political party?NewsweekFasih Ahmed Pervez Musharraf was calm, confident and - despite a flurry of rumors - not about to announce his resignation. Instead, the Pakistani president's "concession" to his troubled nation was an announcement that he would allow Britain's Scotland Yard to help local law enforcement agencies with their investigation into last week's assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Speaking in a nationally televised address two hours after Pakistan's election commission announced the postponement of the ballot to Feb. 18, six weeks later than had been scheduled, Musharraf was notably deferential in his remarks about Bhutto, often invoking her "martyrdom" and extolling her liberal democratic credentials. "May she go to heaven, " he said. "I stand for the same things she said." Full Story Study GroupFire ChiefChris DeChant and Jim Higgins Gilbert Highet wrote in The Art of Teaching that "Wherever there are beginners and experts, old and young, there is some kind of learning going on, and some sort of teaching. We are all pupils and we are all teachers." That certainly describes the philosophy behind a new multiagency training facility in Arizona. The Glendale Regional Public Safety Training Center has been a unique venture for the city. Its acronym, GRPSTC, also could represent Greater Regional Partnering for a Successful Training Center. The regional partnership began in the late 1970s during the development of the Phoenix Regional Automatic Aid System under the leadership of Chief Alan Brunacini (Ret.) and included the Avondale, Peoria, Glendale and Surprise fire departments; Glendale Police Department; and the Maricopa County Community College District. Full Story The Duel in IslamTurkey's New Model vs. Iran'sNew York PostAmir Taheri For centuries, Iran and the Ottoman Empire, of which modern Turkey and Egypt were parts, fought for influence in the Muslim world. That changed when Turkish westernizers under Kemal Ataturk and their Iranian counterparts under Reza Shah Pahlavi decided that religion was the cause of their nations' decline. Ataturk adopted the legend that the Turks descended from the Celts while Reza Shah promoted the idea of Iran as an "Aryan nation." For a while, Egypt (thanks to its Al Azhar theological center) remained influential. Full Story |
| JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
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To view the latest contract opportunities at Blackwater, visit our Contract Web Page. TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND SUBMIT YOUR RESUME CLICK HERE Questions regarding Security Consulting or Training at Blackwater (252) 435-2488 or email webmaster@blackwaterusa.com. |
| SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Hope and horror in KenyaInternational Herald TribuneThe murderous tribal violence that has spread through Kenya in recent days would be horrifying anywhere. It is particularly tragic to see this happening in a country that seemed finally to be on the path to a democratic and economically sound future. There may still be a chance to retrieve some of these hopes. That will likely require stepping back from the suspicious and hastily declared election results that sparked this ugly upheaval. Officially, those results gave a second term to President Mwai Kibaki, despite independent reports of egregious irregularities. Full Story Terror Threat Nixes Dakar RallyTimeAngela Doland Al-Qaeda threats against the Dakar Rally and an attack in Mauritania forced organizers to cancel the annual race on Friday, the eve of the 5,760-mile trek across North African desert scrubland and savannah. It was the first time the automobile, motorbike and truck rally has been called off in its 30-year history. In a statement, organizers blamed "threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organizations," the Dec. 24 killings of a French family and international tensions. Full Story Bhutto's deadly legacyInternational Herald TribuneWilliam Dalrymple When, in May 1991, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India was killed by a suicide bomber, there was an international outpouring of grief. Recent days have seen the same with the death of Benazir Bhutto: another glamorous, Western-educated scion of a great South Asian political dynasty tragically assassinated at an election rally. There is, however, an important difference between the two deaths: while Gandhi was assassinated by Sri Lankan Hindu extremists because of his policy of confronting them, Bhutto was apparently the victim of Islamist militant groups that she allowed to flourish under her administrations in the 1980s and 1990s. Full Story American Airlines to test anti-missile systemMove latest phase in testing technologies to protect commercial jetsAssociated PressUp to three American Airlines jets carrying passengers will be outfitted with anti-missile technology this spring in the latest phase of testing technology to protect commercial planes from attack. An American Airlines spokesman said Friday that the test will determine how well the anti-missile system holds up under the rigors of flight. The first Boeing 767-200 will be equipped in April or later, said the airline spokesman, Tim Wagner. American operates that Boeing model mostly between New York and San Francisco and Los Angeles. Full Story Chávez`s New Diplomatic DefeatTimeTim Padgett In Latin America, New Year's Eve is a more important celebration than Christmas. It is the one night when families make certain they're together. In Venezuela`s most beloved poem, "The Grapes of Time," by Andres Eloy Blanco, an expatriate in Madrid weepily laments that he's not toasting midnight back in Caracas with his mother. That made it all the more emotional last week when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, in his new role as mediator between the Colombian government and Colombia's fierce Marxist guerrillas, raised hopes that three of the rebels' hundreds of civilian hostages would be reunited with their families on New Year's Eve. Full Story |
| TACTICAL TRAINING & INTELLIGENCE RESOURCES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Free Terrorism Daily Newsletter Now Available as an RSS FeedSince 1999, the Terrorism Research Center has provided a FREE daily compilation of the top terrorism and homeland security stories. Published as TRC's RealNews, the service has thousands of subscribers and is often referred to as the "terrorism early bird", in reference to the open source newsletter provided to senior government leaders each morning. If you are interested in terrorism, homeland security or other international security issues, you will find it an invaluable resource. RealNews RSS Feed - Click here to subscribe! |
| FRANKS REVIEW |
Tactical Equipment EvaluationV.I.O. Sport POV-1 CamLast week's recreational review touched on a technology item for tracking purposes. Such devices offer a limited level of feedback and that's all they're supposed to do. When we start using technology for greater input, however, then design, use and maintenance become more intricate. This week's tactical review is of the VIO Sport POV-1 Cam: a relatively small, relatively simple video capture and share device. For unit commanders, under certain circumstances, this may be ideal for 'being there' without being there.Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/other/viopov1.htm
Recreational Equipment ReviewSteriPEN Water PurifierOkay: I have to start out with the qualifying statement that Borelli Consulting doesn't own or operate a laboratory facility. I have no way of scientifically measuring what impurities do or don't exist in filtered water and therefore cannot quantify my statement that 'SteriPEN works'. What I CAN do is use it as it's supposed to be used, drink the water and then report on how sick I get or not. Thankfully, in this case, NOT. Given the need for hydration in the field under sometimes less than ideal conditions, I think the SteriPEN offers a good solution.Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/recevals/campback/steripen.htm |
| CHAPLAINS CORNER |
WE...We have arrived at the beginning of another week... And some are cheering because we have arrived at the beginning of a new year on the calendar...We have survived that which some others did not survive... We have done that which needed to be done so that the world in which we live can and will survive... We gave as we had opportunity to give... Some gave all they had to give... Each day brings new opportunities and new service... We are the Peace Keepers. Some of our contributions have been dim when compared to the actions of some others... But we are all the glue that the Creator uses to keep it all together for the lives around us. Some of those around us were glad that we were there... Some were very sorry that we were there... Not long ago I entered an elevator in my chaplain uniform and a passenger said to me, "It always means trouble to see one of you around." Moments later when I arrived at the ICU one nurse jumped for joy to see me enter the unit and she asked me to bless her... Another nurse was very expressively glad that I was there. Here in the span of a few moments I had experienced the extremes of the responses given to Peace Keepers and Clergy... Some want us and are exceptionally glad to see us... Others object to our presence and want to get away from being in our presence and seeing us. http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2007/article/010708chaplain.htm |
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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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