| From The Editor February 05, 2007 |
House of HealingIn a show of support for the troops, thousands of Americans pitch in to fund a dazzling new rehabilitation center for severely injured servicemen and women.Pennies from kids who thought they were giving a fortune. Checks written in modest amounts from ordinary families. And one eye-popping anonymous contribution of $22.5 million. It was private donations like these from more than 600,000 Americans that paid for a comprehensive new rehabilitation center for wounded troops that opened Monday at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Military brass and privates shuffling on crutches joined senators, actresses and country-music stars under a chilly South Texas winter sky at the ribbon cutting for the Center for the Intrepid, which opened along with two new Fisher House suites that house the families of the recovering troops. The pomp and pageantry, including a fighter-jet flyover and the crooning of singer John Mellencamp, was meant to pay tribute to the wounded and fallen and to the citizens who tried to repay their sacrifices with world-class medical and support facilities. "Today is a celebration of life, heroism, duty, honor and commitment," said Bill White, president of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which spearheaded the 16-month fund-raiser. White spoke to wounded troops in the audience of more than 3,000, when he said: "We salute you." Democratic Senator and presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton sat in the front row on stage next to her Republican colleague Sen. John McCain, both of whom personally donated to the project. "We are blessed to have so many who have given so much. But in return we are obligated to ensure in every way we can, that they and their families are given the support they have so richly earned and deserve," she said.Full Story Gary Jackson |
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| QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
| "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. " Henry David Thoreau |
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| BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Turner Broadcasting accepts blame, promises restitutionTurner Broadcasting System yesterday accepted full responsibility for the guerrilla marketing campaign that caused a scare in Boston. Mayor Thomas M. Menino said that the company had agreed to pay the cost of the massive effort to defuse what authorities had believed was a potential bomb plot. Those costs are expected to top $500,000 in Boston and approach another $500,000 for the MBTA, Cambridge, and Somerville. "We have no intention of shirking the responsibility onto any other company," said Shirley Powell, a spokeswoman for Turner Broadcasting. "We are taking full responsibility for this."Full Story An Atomic 9/11?SINCE Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have maintained an understandable preoccupation with securing sensitive sites against airborne attack. Hence the appeal of the petition an advocacy group filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that, among other things, asks the federal nuclear authority to require plant operators to build protective "beamhenges" -- basically tall (and expensive) steel barriers -- around their power stations. This week the NRC's commissioners rejected the request, saying that there are far more cost-effective measures to secure such targets that plant owners and federal authorities have already applied. It's a controversial decision. After all, without physical barriers to thwart airborne attacks, couldn't a hijacked plane smashing into a nuclear plant produce a widespread catastrophe? That's not likely, says commission member Jeffrey S. Merrifield. After a $20 million study on the possible effects of an attempted airborne attack on a nuclear power plant, the NRC concluded that the chances of neighboring communities being exposed to radiological materials are extremely low -- the actual number is classified -- because of the strength of the containment domes that seal nuclear fuel from the outside world and because the chances of an errant plane even having the opportunity to approach a nuclear power plant are small.Full Story At Miami airport, the staff is all eyesSuper Bowl events in Miami are considered high-value terrorist targets by law enforcement. But at Miami International Airport, there's now a new twist on security. "The only way we're going to make this airport 100 percent safe is that everyone that works at this airport does their job to keep it safe," says Rafi Ron with New Age Security Solutions. Janitors are now training to look for suspicious activities, like Gloria Hernandez, one of 485 people on the airport cleaning staff. She's often in areas - like restrooms - where there are no security cameras.Full Story Al-Qaeda tells British cells to carry out wave of beheadingsISLAMIC terror cells in Britain have been instructed to carry out a series of kidnappings and beheadings of the kind allegedly planned by the nine terrorist suspects arrested in Birmingham last week. The "strategic" assassination instruction was issued by Al-Qaeda's leaders in Pakistan and Iraq to dozens of their followers in this country. It was uncovered by MI5 last autumn, senior security sources say. As a result police are on standby for multiple attempts by terrorists to kidnap and then behead people across Britain. MI5 is conducting a counter-terrorism surveillance operation to prevent such an attack. The alleged attempt to kidnap and behead a Muslim soldier or soldiers in Birmingham was just the first of a series of planned attacks, security sources say.Full Story Man was arming for 'war,' FBI saysA St. Charles man obtained fully automatic weapons and tried to buy as many explosives as possible in preparation for what an associate called "war," the FBI says in court documents. He bought three rifles and a Claymore anti-personnel mine and negotiated for a case of hand grenades, documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch show. Mousa M. Abuelawi, 22, of Franjoe Court, was arrested Dec. 29 and charged on complaints accusing him of three counts of illegal possession or distribution of a machine gun and conspiracy to violate machine gun statutes.Full Story |
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New Fears: The Return of a SuperterroristBefore Osama bin Laden, there was Imad Mughniyeh. The Lebanese terrorist from Hizbullah was considered the most dangerous in the world. Now the White House worries that he's back, after years of lying low. Four serving U.S. intel and counterterrorism officials, anonymous when discussing sensitive material, said Mughniyeh is prominent in recent reporting from the field about Hizbullah activity. Bruce Riedel, a veteran Mideast expert recently retired from the CIA, told NEWSWEEK there is "no question he is heavily involved in [formulating] terrorist contingency plans in case of a U.S.-Iran confrontation." Mughniyeh has the resume to be a potent threat. He was the alleged organizer of a series of devastating bombings and kidnappings against U.S. targets in Lebanon during the 1980s, including two bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.Full Story Gun manufacturer reports suspicious people try to enter buildingA statewide alert was issued Thursday for subjects who asked questions of Barrett Firearms Manufacturing employees and tried to enter the facility, according to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department. According to a release issued today, the subjects trying to enter the facility were described as being of Middle Eastern descent.Full Story Pipe bombs found in Kansas City, ChicagoA pipe bomb was delivered to a Chicago skyscraper a day after a similar device arrived at a Kansas City business, and federal agents were investigating possible connections. Both devices were defused without incident. The FBI said a threatening note accompanied the explosive device that arrived Wednesday at American Century Investments' midtown Kansas City mail facility, a few blocks from the company's national headquarters.A similar explosive was found Thursday at a business in a downtown Chicago office tower, said Wanda Shipp, a Postal Inspection Service spokeswoman. That package also contained a note, though it was not threatening, Shipp said.Full Story 'If they pay we kill them anyway' - the kidnapper's storyFadhel is a slim, well-muscled 26-year-old Mahdi Army commander with a thin goatee beard and smoothed down hair that looks like a flat cap. One day last month he described how he and his men seized a group of three Sunni men suspected of killing his fellow Shia. "I followed the group for weeks and then one of them crossed the bridge to Karrada [a Shia district]. We first informed a nearby Iraqi army checkpoint that we were arresting terrorists then we attacked them and put them in the boots of the cars. We only have six to seven minutes when we grab someone - we have to act quickly, if he resists we shoot him." In this case, he said, the men were taken to Sadr City, the Shia slum to the north-east of Baghdad, where they were interrogated by a "committee" which ordered their execution. "We ask the families of the terrorists for ransom money," said Fadhel. "And after they pay the ransom we kill them anyway."Full Story Iraq Report Offers Little Encouragement on FutureIn the debate raging in Washington over Presidents Bush's new Iraq strategy, both his backers and critics will find something to hold on to in the intelligence community's new assessment of the Iraq conflict. But the grim National Intelligence Estimate, subtitled "A Challenging Road Ahead," does not offer much encouragement that anything in Iraq will get much better anytime soon. In one of the clearer statements yet, the estimate, released by the director of national intelligence, effectively calls the situation in Iraq a "civil war," a term the Bush administration has tried to avoid. DNI analysts point to the hardening of sectarian identities, a change in the patterns of violence, and large numbers of people being forced out of their homes.Full Story National Intelligence Estimate's Key Judgements |
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Blackwater Language SchoolLearn the language... and the culture... then deploy.Operators, analysts, military and civilian support personnel working with or deploying to a foreign country have four classes to choose from: IRAQI ARABIC - 26 February - 2 March 7 May - 11 May 6 August - 10 August 29 October - 2 November PASHTO - 5 March - 9 March 14 May - 18 May 13 August - 17 August 5 November - 9 November DARI - 12 March - 16 March 21 May - 25 May 20 August - 24 August 12 November - 16 November SPANISH - 19 February - 23 February 27 August - 31 August INTENSITY - Live and breathe Arabic, Pashto/Dari, or Spanish 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 teammates have limited time to study the language and culture, we substitute time with intensity. Every student is encouraged to communicate as much as possible in the target language during the 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 cultural 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 ReviewNotable Products from 2006Every now and then in the law enforcement community a new product is introduced that has the potential to change our level of preparedness; to make us more comfortable during operations; to increase our level of protection or to simply make our lives a little easier. As I looked back at the reviews I've written in 2006, it occurred to me that this has been a pretty good year for innovation. Each year I write fifty-two (52) evaluations and in 2006 I've found ten items that still seem impressive to me. At least two of them were submitted for awards from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Having spent the majority of the past few weeks looking at SHOT Show "new" equipment items, I wanted to revisit those from 2006 that I feel can really have a positive impact in public safety (and some in military ops as well).Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/other/06notables.htm Recreational Equipment ReviewGerber Mk II KnifeA few years ago (really about 25) I purchased a Gerber Mk II "fighting dagger". Now, as a teenager I certainly had no use for the knife as a combat weapon. I was, however, a person who spent an awful lot of time in the woods (by my own choice) and I was always looking for the next great knife to carry "in the field". I found the Gerber Mk II in a simple black leather sheath at a gun store I frequented and purchased it brand new for $28. Of course, being young and not really knowing what I'd gotten for such a good deal, I ended up giving that one to a friend. A couple years after that, as an MP, I came into possession of another one that I still have today. I've not had reason to carry it for a couple of years, but I pulled it out recently to examine, test, and write up. In doing so I had to do some basic research and I learned just how famous this knife has now become.
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