| June 25, 2007 Edition |
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Announcing a New Section to the BTW - The BlogosphereDear Valued Reader:Almost everyone is now familiar with weblogs or, "blogs." There are over 14 million known blogs with around 12,000 new ones being created each day. It seems that there is a blog for everything and everyone. However, the true power of the blogosphere is its numbers. In fact, there is evidence that some 50 million people read blogs each and every day. More and more, blogs are being regarded as legitimate sources where a reader can get "real information" directly from "the people." More and more, they are becoming powerful. In fact, the investigations of "amateurs," and the speed at which information is posted can influence not only public opinion, but also what is reported by the major media outlets, virtually in real time. Unfortunately, as there is no regulation, they can also be extremely partisan and horribly inaccurate. In other words, "Reader Beware." Starting this week, the BTW will include a new section entitled, The Blogosphere. In this section you will find blogs that are relevant to the private security industry and that we at Blackwater find interesting. Nevertheless, the inclusion of any specific blog in no way should be interpreted as an endorsement (please refer to our Legal Notice at the bottom of the BTW for further clarification). Still, we ask that you check them out, and if you are so inclined, support them with commentary and forward them to friends. It is our belief that that is how blogs become great! If you believe that other blogs are relevant, forward them to us for our consideration to btw@blackwaterusa.com, but for now here are the blogs we find interesting: The Other Side of The Story (http://pmc-psc-truth.blogspot.com/) Blogs of War (www.blogsofwar.com) The White Rabbit (http://www.psc-looking-glass.blogspot.com/) The Spy Who Billed Me (www.thespywhobilledme.com) Iraq Slogger (www.iraqslogger.com) Lion Watch Blog (http://ipoaonline.org/php/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=140 ) It is our hope that you enjoy this new section of the BTW, and we sincerely thank you for all of your years of support. We hope to continue to provide valuable information from diverse sources regarding tactical and strategic security issues. Gary Jackson Blackwater USA |
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| QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
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Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one. Thomas Paine |
| PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS |
NBC's Body Armor EmbarrassmentAnother failed attempt to paint soldiers as victims.Weekly StandardTom Donnelly ONE OF THE RECURRING themes of press coverage of the Long War, and particularly the conflict in Iraq, is that soldiers are victims. According to this trope, soldiers and Marines are sacrificing themselves in a cause already lost, by an administration that cares little for the men and women in uniform. The proof of this last proposition was demonstrated to the media's satisfaction long ago, and confirmed for them in former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's proclamation that we went to war with the force we had rather than the one we'd liked to have. Exhibit number one in the press's case for the prosecution was the question of armor protection for soldiers--not only armor for trucks and Humvees but individual body armor. Facts have never been allowed to get in the way of these stories--nor have questions about the tradeoffs between mobility and protection --and, if a recent report by NBC's Lisa Myers is any indication, they still aren't. In Myers's report, done in the classic "I-team" TV investigative style, NBC paid for an independent ballistics test comparing something called Dragon Skin body armor (so-called because it is made up of overlapping ceramic discs) with the Interceptor body armor now being worn by soldiers. Far from being a case of independent investigation, the report smells more like a piece of special pleading. Dragon Skin is made by Pinnacle Body Armor, whose chief executive, Murray Neal, has long complained that the Army has been lying about his product. According to Myers, "In our limited testing at a renowned ballistics lab in Germany, Dragon Skin was able to defeat more bullets than the Army's Interceptor and did so with significantly less body trauma." Full Story Gov't Struggles to Care for Wounded GI'sNew York PostMarilynn Marchione More than 800 of them have lost an arm, a leg, fingers or toes. More than 100 are blind. Dozens need tubes and machines to keep them alive. Hundreds are disfigured by burns, and thousands have brain injuries and mangled minds. These are America's war wounded, a toll that has received less attention than the 3,500 troops killed in Iraq. Depending on how you count them, they number between 35,000 and 53,000. More of them are coming home, with injuries of a scope and magnitude the government did not predict and is now struggling to treat. "If we left Iraq tomorrow, we would have the legacy of all these people for many years to come," said Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine and an adviser to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "The military simply wasn't prepared for its own success" at keeping severely wounded soldiers alive, he said. Survival rates today are even higher than the record levels set early in the war, thanks to body armor and better care. For every American soldier or Marine killed in Iraq, 15 others have survived illness or injury there. Unlike previous wars, few of them have been shot. The signature weapon of this war - the improvised explosive device, or IED - has left a signature wound: traumatic brain injury. Full Story Big battle, small newsMainstream media virtually ignore the major U.S. push in IraqPittsburgh Post-GazetteJack Kelly Imagine it's June 7, 1944, the day after the D-Day invasion. You pick up your newspaper. There's no mention of Normandy on the front page, and only a brief reference to it in a roundup story on an inside page. The biggest battle since the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime is under way in Iraq. It's outcome could determine whether the war is won or lost. But our news media have paid less attention to it than to Paris Hilton's legal troubles. The heart of the offensive is Operation Arrowhead Ripper, in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, involving some 8,000 American and 2,000 Iraqi troops. Many members of al-Qaida fled from Baghdad to Diyala, which borders on Iran, when the U.S. troop surge began in January. There are thought to be between 1,000 and 2,000 hard-core al-Qaida fighters in Diyala, mostly in the provincial capital of Baquba. "They are ready for us," said former special forces soldier Michael Yon, now a freelance journalist embedded with the U.S. troops. "Giant bombs are buried in the roads. Snipers have chiseled holes in walls so they can shoot not from roofs or windows, but from deep inside buildings, where we cannot see the flash or hear the shots ... Car bombs are already assembled. Suicide vests are prepared." Full Story |
| BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
How to Deal With HamasTime MagazineTim McGirk In the scorching heat of the Palestinian territories, you wouldn't think a woolly ski mask would be popular. But for Palestinian militants, the ski mask is an essential fashion accessory, just like the Kalashnikov assault rifle. The mask confers a sinister power, anonymity and a definite edge. The idea is that you don't know who is shooting at you from behind the ski mask, so you can't take revenge. In Gaza the members of Hamas have stripped off their masks, because they are the victors. For months Hamas and its rival, Fatah, loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, brawled for power in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza--until June 10, when the shooting erupted into a climactic, vicious battle. Hamas didn't so much destroy the Fatah forces as cow them into surrender: only 5,000 of the 45,000 men on Abbas' payroll actually put up the pretense of a fight. And for the most part, top Fatah commanders deserted their men, either fleeing on foot to Egypt or aboard a small armada of fishing boats. The war for Gaza is over. After the firing ceased, Gazans dashed to the bazaar to stock up on emergency supplies, certain that Israel would close the borders. Then families flocked to the beach to celebrate an end to months of fighting. The Islamic militants of Hamas--whose charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, an aspiration the group has sought to fulfill through scores of suicide bombings against Israel--are now the lords of Gaza, with 1.5 million Palestinians under their rule. Full Story When the anti-terrorism cop is MuslimLos Angeles TimesSebastian Rotella Like the other detectives in his anti-terrorism unit, Mustafa wears a mask during raids. He calls it "the Spiderman thing." The mask protects his identity and adds to the intimidating effect as he bursts through doors behind SWAT officers aiming laser-sighted weapons at suspects. During interrogations, the mask comes off. The suspects stare at a young man much like themselves: a son of North African immigrants, an Arabic-speaker, a practicing Muslim. They react with surprise or hate - never indifference. "I am the worst enemy for them," Mustafa says. "I speak their language. I know how they think. I have gotten a lot of threats. They say: 'You are worse than the Americans. The Americans are Christians. They are fighting their crusade. But you are a Muslim traitor.' ... One guy told me: 'If I could get hold of one of your guns and it only had one bullet, it would be for you.' " Full Story Tipping off the enemyDid a 2002 story in The Times contribute to Iran's detention of four Americans as spies?Los Angeles TimesGabriel Schoenfeld, SO FAR, four Iranian Americans have been detained by the Iranian government and charged with espionage. The most well-known case is that of Haleh Esfandiari of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, who was detained and later arrested after traveling to Tehran to see her 93-year-old mother late last year. The most recent case is that of Ali Shakeri, a "peace activist" from Irvine, who was arrested in mid-May. It's not exactly clear why the Iranians have detained these American citizens, nor what they plan to do with them. But consider this: On Jan. 15, 2002, nearly five years before the detentions began, the Los Angeles Times ran a story under the headline "CIA Looks to Los Angeles for Would-Be Iranian Spies," disclosing on its front page that the CIA was recruiting Iranian Americans in Southern California, home to the largest concentration of Iranian emigres in the United States. According to the paper, the agency was "offering cash for useful information" to Iranian Americans who "have business connections [in Iran] or relatives in [a] position to provide valuable information from inside the largely impenetrable republic." Full Story Al-Qaida's End?Investor's Business DailyKevin Ferris You've no doubt heard of Paris Hilton, and of Rosie O'Donnell as well. We're pretty sure you know what Barry Bonds is up to. But have you ever heard of Arrowhead Ripper? The likely answer is no. But if that's the case, it's not your fault. Arrowhead Ripper isn't an athlete, a TV star or a person famous for being famous. It's the code name for a massive U.S.-led assault under way in Iraq's Diyala province - an undertaking that has garnered token media coverage since it began Tuesday. After getting some initial front-page treatment in major U.S. newspapers, the story was pushed back to page 18 in the Washington Post Thursday and Page 10 in The New York Times on Friday. The Los Angeles Times ran a front pager Thursday, then nothing. Meanwhile, NPR radio this week highlighted U.S. soldiers' deaths during the assaults, with nary a mention of the bigger context for the soldiers' sacrifices. Full Story New Iraq tribal alliances fighting al-QaedaPhiladelphia InquirerTrudy Rubin One of the most promising - and most tricky - developments in Iraq has been growing opposition by Sunni tribal leaders to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Over past months, a tribal coalition has sharply reduced violence in Anbar province, the Sunni region that once hosted the terrorist group. News stories claim this coalition is crumbling. But new tribal alliances are being organized to fight al-Qaeda, along with hard-line Baathist insurgents (known as "Saddamists"). This is some of the best news out of Iraq, at a time when there is little good news to be had. These new alliances are emerging not only in Anbar but also in troubled areas around Baghdad, where al-Qaeda and Saddamists fled when pushed out of Anbar. One example: Shiite members of the tribe known as the Bani Tamim are mobilizing in Diyala province east of Baghdad - in cooperation with Sunni tribes. This is an area where U.S. troops are conducting an offensive. Leaders of the Bani Tamim have 5,000 names of tribesmen willing to fight and to protect vital oil pipelines. They want help from the Americans to do the job. Full Story |
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| SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
The Pakistan ConnectionThe little-noticed arrests of three men allegedly planning U.S. attacks renews questions about the country's tolerance of terrorists.NewsweekMichael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball The international media barely noticed when Pakistani authorities recently picked up three foreign jihadis, including two German passport holders, in the remote town of Taftan near the Iranian border. But the arrests are being taken seriously by Western intelligence agencies. The suspects were allegedly carrying sophisticated satellite phones and traveling through a lawless region known as a hotbed of Islamic radicalism. That and other circumstances have touched off an international investigation into the backgrounds and prior travel of the suspects. The chief concern is that the suspects may have been planning to cross into Iran on their way to Western Europe-or even the United States-to act as potential "muscle" in possible terror attacks, a European intelligence official tells NEWSWEEK. (The official asked not to be publicly identified talking about sensitive intelligence matters.) Although little hard evidence about the intentions of the suspects has surfaced, the interest in the three alleged jihadis-one of whom hails from Kyrgyzstan-reflects mounting worries among Western intelligence officials about developments in Pakistan's border regions. It also underscores concerns among U.S. officials that potential terrorists could take advantage of loose travel rules for European citizens to enter the United States on tourist visas. Full Story A Message From the BazaarWashington's drive toward regime change in Iran is only rallying the country around its radical president.NewsweekMichael Hirsh "So, is America going to attack us?" asked the grinning young tough at Tehran's Grand Bazaar, a vast labyrinth of well-stocked shops where he was idling with four of his friends, one of whom was a slightly older man dressed in militant black. I had approached them as an American journalist on my second day in Iran, hoping to record a little vox populi on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the radical Iranian president. Somewhat startled to have the tables turned on me so quickly, I said I didn't know for sure, but no, most likely we wouldn't attack. My response provoked a testosterone-filled round of chest-thumping and chortling. The black shirt, whose name was Hassan Mirzaie, recounted his experience as a soldier in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. He told an obscene joke about how tough even the female Iraqi commandos were back then. Hassan's friends laughed loudly. "If I can handle the Iraqis, I can handle the Americans," Hassan said. "We faced a very rough enemy, and they committed many atrocities, but we managed to defeat them." For good measure, he added that he'd recently been to Iraq on a "religious pilgrimage" and had seen how bogged down the U.S. military was. "The Americans can't do anything to us." Message to George W. Bush: if you're going to strike Iran, a country nearly three times the size of Iraq with 70 million people, it had better be with something a lot bigger than "shock and awe." Both the Iranian regime and many of its people, including the five comrades I talked to at the bazaar, seem fairly confident that Bush can't and won't. Apparently they're reading many of the same Western media reports that we are-about how Bush has no army left with which to invade. Full Story Turning on al-Qaeda in BaqubaTimesJoe Klein I helicoptered today into Baquba, the centerpiece of the current U.S. offensive in Iraq, with Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno -and then drove via Stryker brigade into the center of the fight for a briefing. It was midday, and the sun was so hot that both sides in the battle seemed to be taking a siesta. Only a few small explosions could be heard in the distance; there was no small arms fire. Odierno-a supertanker of a man with a shaved head who looks like ancient turtle-met with a group of battalion commanders in the ruins of a medical center that had been blasted, by someone, several years earlier. Situation maps were leaned against a white ceramic tile wall; the officers sat in campaign chairs, hunched in a tight semi-circle; bottles of cold water were passed around. The news from the battle was good. That was no surprise: in a guerrilla war like Iraq, every engagement that can be described as a "battle" is inevitably won by the superior force, which is part of the frustration. Baquba, the capital of Diyala province just northeast of Baghdad, had been infiltrated by al-Qaeda over the past year-between 400 and 500 al-Qaeda fighters were estimated to be in the city when the U.S. forces attacked on Monday, and now those who remain are surrounded, in a slowly tightening cordon. These sorts of operations have taken place multiple times in multiple cities during this war, to little effect-usually the terrorists slip away, as they did in Falluja in 2004, only to turn up elsewhere. That may well happen again this time. But there is one promising development in Baquba. Full Story After Iraq war, resist the isolationist impulseNo matter how the war ends, the United States must stay engaged in the world.Christian Science MonitorCarl Minzner Sometime, somehow, the Iraq war will end. The surge may stabilize the country sufficiently to allow the withdrawal of American troops (less likely). Or the American public may simply sicken of the war to such an extent that US forces are pulled out regardless of the consequences after the 2008 presidential election (more likely). Either way, the end of the war will be the starting bell for a much more sweeping battle over the future of American foreign policy. The question? Quite simply, What role should the United States play in the world? Both parties are in severe disarray over this issue. A shrinking group of Republican loyalists still holds fast to the Bush vision of remaking the world in America's image through the aggressive use of force. But many conservative thinkers and lawmakers have deserted the president. They accuse him of recklessly using American troops to pursue state-building abroad and advocate a return to isolationist policies aimed at protecting America's core interests. Full Story Kremlin AnxietyWashington PostFred Hiatt If Russia is back, why does the Kremlin still seem so insecure? The economy has steadily grown. President Vladimir Putin remains immensely popular, we are told, and the nation's influence abroad has been restored. Yet Putin and his minions do not radiate anything like self-confidence. At home, anyone with an independent perspective is treated as an enemy. Abroad, slights are suspected in every encounter, and every interaction is a competition that Russia must win. Kremlin adviser Igor Shuvalov was in Washington last week speaking to a friendly crowd at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He began with his assessment of the recent Group of Eight summit in Germany: "At the end, I would say that my president would appear as a winner." When Putin announced an agreement about natural gas with two Central Asian leaders this spring, a government-owned newspaper reported the development this way: "Caspian Victory: An alliance between Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan has become an obstacle to U.S. geopolitical plans in Central Asia." The government long ago succeeded in destroying the country's strongest private energy company. Its onetime owner is in a Siberian prison, its assets have been seized by the state at fire-sale prices. Yet the Kremlin still seeks to disbar the 53-year-old lawyer, Karina Moskalenko, who represented the owner -- "on the remarkable grounds," as The Post's Peter Finn reported earlier this month, "that she has failed to adequately represent" that victim of state repression. Full Story |
| TACTICAL TRAINING & INTELLIGENCE RESOURCES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Blackwater® Personal Protection Specialist CourseSecurity Managers, Law Enforcement agencies and individual security professionals have asked Blackwater to offer open courses on conducting protective operations in permissive and semi-permissive environments. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center now does just that with the first in a series of Personal Protection Specialist courses and seminars! Upcoming Course Dates: July 8 - 14, 2007 Fairfax/Loudon County, Virginia August 12-18, 2007 Moyock, NC This course reflects how we train our own personal protection teams. Course content includes classes and discussions as applied to protective operations in permissive and semi-permissive environments. This is a practical application course students attending must be prepared for long days and training exercises which may take place overnight or out of town operations. This course meets the training requirements for the Virginia DCJS PSS Personal Protection Specialist registration (032E) DCJS #88-1453 Course Cost: $2,500.00 includes: most meals, student transportation during course and student handbook. Please contact Blackwater for assistance with lodging needs. Class size is limited to 24. Please register early! To register or for more information contact: Blackwater Sales at (252) 435-1748 or e-mail David Taft at: dtaft@blackwaterusa.com | |
| FRANKS REVIEW |
Tactical Equipment EvaluationModernizing Your 12g ShotgunNoted speaker / instructor LtCol Dave Grossman (retired Army Ranger) has said that it makes no sense to bring a shotgun onto today's battlefield. His voiced outlook that 200-year-old technology can't compete in the contemporary combat situation makes sense. However, I believe that with proper modification, the basic shotgun can be a suitable combat weapon. This week's review is going to look at how a standard 12g can be modified with sights, lights, stocks, slings and ammo to make it an efficient and versatile weapon for today's combat situations.Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/guns/modern12g.htm Recreational Equipment Review"The Good Guy" by Dean KoontzI've been a fan of Dean Koontz's books for more than a decade now. When I first read "Midnight" I thought, "Wow; this author has an extraordinarily weird imagination." As I began to read through some of his other works I realized that his books broke down into two basic categories: 1) Bad guy is chasing good guy and something is weird, and 2) Good versus evil where science-fiction or spirituality plays a role in how good will triumph. "The Good Guy" falls into that first category - just in case the name didn't give it away.Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/recevals/recreading/thegoodguy.htm |
| CHAPLAINS CORNER |
PEACE MAKERS... PEACE KEEPERS...PEACE MAKERS... PEACE KEEPERS...MATTHEW 5:9 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Peace = one, quietness, be at rest, + set at one again.) (King James Version) 9 Blessed. . . (enjoying enviable happiness, +spiritually prosperous- +with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) . . . are the makers and maintainers of peace,<(PEACE KEEPERS) for they shall be called the sons of God! (Amplified Version) BLESSED - pronounce fortunate: +--call blessed, +count happy. . . supremely blest (STRETCHED OUT, ONGOING!) +--happy(X -ier)... (MUCH MORE HAPPY. . .) HAPPY TO THE POINT OF BEING ENVIED BY THE WORLD! SO HAPPY THAT ALL THE WORLD WANTS YOUR HAPPINESS! HAPPY . . MEANS THE SAME AS BLESSED!!! Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2007/article/062507chaplain.htm |
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| THE PRIVATE SECURITY BLOGOSPHERE |
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The Other Side of The Story (http://pmc-psc-truth.blogspot.com/) Blogs of War (www.blogsofwar.com) The White Rabbit (http://www.psc-looking-glass.blogspot.com/) The Spy Who Billed Me (www.thespywhobilledme.com) Iraq Slogger (www.iraqslogger.com) Lion Watch Blog (http://ipoaonline.org/php/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=140 ) |
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I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to become a vegetarian! |
| CONTACT INFORMATION |
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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 |
| LEGAL NOTICE |
| 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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