| July 9, 2007 Edition |
|
Today we cherish home; they dream about itJohn Carlson Des Moines Register It's a special day, this particular Fourth of July, and we'll honor our nation. So will our soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen, scattered so many places around the world. Here at home, we'll go to a Main Street parade and see floats, firetrucks, marching bands and rows of flags. Our military men and women will be in parades, driving Humvees and armored personnel carriers as fast as they can, hoping the terrorist with the grenade launcher is a lousy shot. We'll yell "oooh" and cheer the spectacular, sparkling fireworks, wishing the show could go on for hours. They'll have fireworks, too - mortars and rockets fired from the desert onto their base. They'll try to get their helmets on before the next one hits and be very, very glad when it's over. We'll complain about those pesky mosquitoes. They'll scratch the hideous little sand flies that gnaw at their legs and bellies. They'll take their anti-malaria pills and, if they slept outside, will check their boots in the morning to make sure a scorpion didn't crawl inside during the night. We'll sit in the shade and sip a cold beer or some iced lemonade. They'll drink a couple of gallons of warm water, trying to keep their bodies from withering in the 130-degree heat. Full Story |
 |
| QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
|
Every right implies a responsibility; Every opportunity, an obligation, Every possession, a duty. John D. Rockefeller |
| PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS |
Perseverance and fortitudeChicago TribuneThomas Paine These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to tax) but "to bind us in all cases whatsoever" and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God. Whether the independence of the continent was declared too soon, or delayed too long, I will not now enter into as an argument; my own simple opinion is, that had it been eight months earlier, it would have been much better. We did not make a proper use of last winter, neither could we, while we were in a dependent state. However, the fault, if it were one, was all our own; we have none to blame but ourselves. But no great deal is lost yet. All that Howe has been doing for this month past, is rather a ravage than a conquest, which the spirit of the Jerseys, a year ago, would have quickly repulsed, and which time and a little resolution will soon recover. Full Story The Next Battle in Iraq?Washington PostJim Hoagland The relative stability and prosperity of Iraqi Kurdistan provide the only bright spots of redemption for President Bush in the bloody anarchy that Iraq has become under a mismanaged occupation. Permanently securing the Kurdish minority from Baghdad's genocidal impulses and acts would be a historic accomplishment. But the growing likelihood of Turkish military strikes into Iraq's northern region threatens to erase that last positive legacy of the American invasion -- and to undermine prospects for a major U.S. redeployment out of Iraq's chaotic cities to bases in the north in the near future. Eagerly sought by the Kurds, such redeployment is strongly opposed by Ankara, which listens to an urgently ticking electoral clock. Managing Turkey's legitimate grievances against its own Kurdish rebels who take sanctuary among their Iraqi kin requires both agility and firmness from Washington. Thus far, the administration has shown neither quality in dealing with a devastated Iraq and its grasping neighbors. There is no better time than a moment of political extremis to change habits. American failure in transforming Iraq has many causes. None is more important than Bush's inability to set clear, achievable priorities and to stick to them when they collide with the vested interests of Iraq's neighbors and of significant parts of the U.S. bureaucracy. Full Story Are We Playing for Keeps?Wall Street Journal Op-EdMichael Rubin On Feb. 22, terrorists bombed the Askariya shrine in Samarra, Iraq. The attack shocked Iraqis and infuriated Shiites. The Iranian government sought to direct public anger toward Washington. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei blamed "intelligence agencies of the occupiers of Iraq and the Zionists." Iran's Arabic-language al-Alam television repeated the accusations on Feb. 23. Because al-Alam is broadcast terrestrially, it is particularly influential among poor Iraqis who cannot afford a satellite dish. Furthermore, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the powerful Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri), a movement aligned to Tehran, blamed U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad for the attack. "Certainly he is partly responsible for what happened," Mr. al-Hakim said. He is not, nor is Washington, despite the U.S. policymaking elite's tendency to self-flagellate. Blame for terrorism rests solely upon its perpetrators and their sponsors. Here, though, the White House has lost focus. While journalists concentrate on the daily blood, Iraqis describe a larger pattern which U.S. officials have failed to acknowledge let alone address: Step-by-step, Iranian authorities are replicating in Iraq the strategy which allowed Hezbollah to take over southern Lebanon in the 1980s. The playbook -- military, economic and information operation -- is almost identical. Hezbollah's story begins in 1982. As the Israeli army evicted the PLO from Lebanon, Ayatollah Khomeini dispatched his elite Revolutionary Guards to the Bekaa Valley to arm and organize its Shiites. Hezbollah was born. Iranian authorities simultaneously built Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah's Sunni equivalent. (The idea that Shiites do not arm Sunnis is taken far more seriously in Langley than in Lebanon.) Tehran was so brazen in its support that, until the early '90s, it even carried a budgetary line-item. The investment paid off: Even after last year's Cedar Revolution, southern Lebanon remains under Hezbollah's control. Islamic Jihad remains a force. Full Story |
| BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Our soldiers need allies at homeBoston HeraldGordon England One evening last week while leaving the Pentagon I chanced to meet Alexander Milley who was visiting from Winchester. Milley is 83 years old and was introduced to me by his son, Col. Mark Milley, a great American soldier who will shortly become the assistant division commander of the famed 101st Airborne. Alexander Milley was a U.S. Marine during World War II and landed with the 4th Marine Division on Iwo Jima. He also saw combat in amphibious landings at Tinian, Saipan and Kwajalein. He is the reason we refer to him and his band of brothers as the Greatest Generation. Meeting Alexander caused me to remember my first experience with the military. I learned about the sacrifices for freedom as a 7-year-old growing up in Baltimore in 1945. At the small square of grass where streets came together, and where we kids played, a sign was erected that read: Frances Callahan Jr. Square. That night, I learned from my mom that the Callahan family lived in one of the houses on the square, and that their son was a Marine who was killed on Iwo Jima. Full Story Religion is the root cause of terrorist threatThe AustralianIrshad Manji THIS week's arrest of Mohamed Haneef in Brisbane may be more curious for the fact he's a professional lifesaver than for the possibility that he's a terrorist. So far, most of those being investigated in the latest British car bomb plots are, as is Haneef, doctors. The seeming paradox of the privileged seeking to avenge humiliation has many scratching their heads. Aren't Muslim martyrs supposed to be poor, dispossessed and resentful? September 11 should have stripped us of that breezy simplification. The 19 hijackers came from means. Mohammed Atta, their ringleader, earned an engineering degree. He then moved to the West, opting for postgraduate studies in Germany. No aggrieved goatherder, that one. In 2003, I interviewed Mohammad al-Hindi, the political leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza. A physician himself, al-Hindi explained the difference between suicide and martyrdom. "Suicide is done out of despair," the good doctor diagnosed. "But most of our martyrs today were very successful in their earthly lives." Full Story After The Next AtttackReal Clear PoliticsDavid Ignatius How would America react to a future terrorist attack? Would the country come together to combat its adversaries, or would it pull further apart? Perhaps we will never have to confront the question, you say. Perhaps our good luck will hold, or our intelligence will detect all the plots and plotters, or the terrorists will conclude that America is so divided anyway, why do anything that might unite the country. Maybe things will turn out that way, but a prudent person wouldn't bet on it. The British car bomb plots uncovered this past week remind us of our vulnerability to terrorist attack, wherever we live. Muslims have mostly been killing other Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that imploding jihad won't continue forever. What's ahead is a phenomenon that an intelligence official described several years ago as "bleed-out," in which the suicide bombers of Baghdad look outward for targets -- to Europe and America. A chilling measure of Muslim anger is that several of the suspected bomb plotters arrested by the British are medical doctors. What kind of rage would lead a physician trained in the healing arts to pack together nails, explosives and propane gas in a mix that would shatter bones and rip apart human flesh? This is a revolt of the privileged, the uprooted, the disconnected. It speaks of self-mutilation, as much as mayhem against others. Full Story Nuclear juggernautChicago TribuneWith each passing day, with each triumphant pronouncement from Tehran (even if exaggerated for maximum effect), the chances dim that diplomacy will -- or can -- stop Tehran's juggernaut rush to develop nukes. This week, President Bush and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin talked about an escalation of pressure on Tehran. At the same time, reports swirled that the U.S. and its allies have offered the mullahs a "timeout." The proposal: The UN would stop pursuing a third round of sanctions if Iran stopped expanding its uranium enrichment program. Leaving aside whether this is a good or bad idea, here's a telling point: The offer was delivered weeks ago, the Associated Press reported. And Tehran apparently hasn't responded yet. It has been more than a month since Iran ignored the last UN Security Council deadline to freeze its nuclear program. Just in case anyone's keeping track. After two rounds of tepid sanctions and years of fruitless negotiations, one thing is clear: This is not a country looking to use its nuclear program as a bargaining chip for something else. It is a country looking to become a nuclear power. Full Story TWO WARS - AND NO LEADERSHIPNew York PostRalph Peters WE'RE not fighting a single war against terrorists. We're stuck in two. The past few days saw both conflicts hit the headlines. And we're still not serious about either one. One war in this global struggle involves Sunni-Arab fanatics, exemplified by al Qaeda, who believe not only that the atrocities they commit will revive the caliphate - a romanticized religious empire - but that their merciless brand of Islam is destined to rule the world. Our other fight is with Shia extremists, such as the god-gangsters wrecking Iran, Muqtada al-Sadr's thugs and Hezbollah. Their goals are regional (for now): They want to master the heart of the Middle East and gain hegemony over the world's oil supply. In London, then in Glasgow, we saw attempts (blessedly incompetent ones - thanks, Allah!) to generate mass civilian casualties, challenge Britain's new government and strengthen the U.K.'s appeasement faction. The terrorists involved weren't the "wretched of the earth" beloved in left-wing mythology, but included at least two doctors, as well as other middle-class immigrants. Full Story |
| JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
|
TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND SUBMIT YOUR RESUME CLICK HERE Questions regarding Security Consulting or Training at Blackwater (252) 435-2488 or email dcarter@blackwaterusa.com. |
| SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Who Will Sound The Call to Service?Washington PostJeff McCausland Asoldier's day was once regulated by bugle calls, from morning reveille to chow call at noon to retreat at sunset and taps late at night. Thus the phrase "to answer the bugle call" has been used to describe citizens responding to a national threat. Those who rise to this call to defend their country are the young, and they sacrifice accordingly. We witnessed this during World War II with my father's generation. We heard it clearly in the words of John F. Kennedy, who told us to ask not what our country can do for us but what we can do for our country. But we've also witnessed serious divisions. Our nation has been in a state of war for nearly six years. American forces have been in Iraq for more than four years, a longer commitment than during World War II. A new generation has risen to defend us once again, but strangely this time there has been no bugle call. No leader has made a broad appeal for service in a time of need, and no real request has been made for most Americans to sacrifice in any way. Most of us go about our daily lives unaffected by the trauma and tragedy that occur daily in Iraq and Afghanistan, whether we support the war or oppose it. Full Story Danger in UniformNewsweekJoseph Contreras and Ed Caram The Pentagon has long prided itself on the capability of U.S. combat units to operate under cover of darkness. In a prepared statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2002, Paul Wolfowitz, then deputy Defense secretary, noted the great strides that the U.S. military had made since the Vietnam War to reduce its vulnerability to nighttime attacks. "We acquired technology such as night-vision goggles that allow us to virtually turn night into day . . . and we have turned a vulnerability into an advantage," boasted Wolfowitz. "Today, it is not hyperbole to say we 'own the night'." But that important advantage over enemy forces could be eroded if a key component-infrared identification patches attached to combat fatigues that can be detected at night-were to fall into the wrong hands. NEWSWEEK has learned that 4,800 used combat uniforms bearing "glo-tape" patches were inadvertently sold to 23 U.S. and Canadian clients of an Arizona-based company between August and October of 2006, despite a determination by a Defense Department office in July of that year that the patches had to be removed and destroyed before such uniforms could be put on sale. Full Story The Crisis of the Wahhabi RegimeWeekly StandardStephen Schwartz and Irfan al-Alawi Long accustomed to abusing their power with impunity, the Saudi mutawiyin or "religious police" (more on that misleading translation in a moment) suddenly find themselves on the defensive. Increasingly challenged by critics, they felt compelled early this year to go through the motions of announcing a "modernization": Warrants would be required for searches, the use of force for moral violations would be banned. In practice, however, nothing changed. And when, this spring, two Saudi men died in custody, events took an unprecedented turn: Controversy erupted in the Saudi media; several mutawiyin members were dragged into court; and the boldest reformers called for dismantling altogether this hated institution. But to make the story intelligible, it is necessary to begin at the beginning--with the uniqueness of Saudi Arabia. In addition to being the only state named after its rulers, and having no constitution except the Koran, this is the homeland of the radical Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam. Wahhabism, the official sect of the kingdom, is a patched-together, relatively recent expression of the faith of Muhammad, and the Wahhabi institutions that support the Saudi order often seem amorphous and opaque. Given the general absence of transparency in the kingdom, this should come as no surprise. Full Story Hamas won the propaganda war this weekTImes OnlineGerard Baker How do you like your jihadi? Is yours the avenging physician sort; self-immolating practitioner of weird medicine outside nightclubs and airport terminals who hopes to take hundreds of innocents with him on his journey to Paradise? Or do you prefer the voice of sweet reason, the heroic freedom fighter turned politician, who magnanimously leaps into a hostage drama and helps to free your innocent journalist from his captors? Not difficult, is it? We've had an exercise in good-cop, bad-cop with our Islamist friends in the past week. In London and Glasgow, the nutters - the scale of their murderous ambition matched only by their ineptitude with a car a mobile phone and a tankful of petrol - tried the explosive, take-no-prisoners approach to persuading the West to do their bidding Over in Gaza, they're a bit more sophisticated. They've figured out that, at least when it comes to Europeans rather than Israelis, the direct approach is less effective than the power of high-profile good deeds. Hamas prefers the take-prisoners-and-then-generously-let-them-go approach. Full Story Lessons Unlearned In IraqWashington PostKiki Munshi Last year at this time, I traveled from Forward Operating Base Warhorse into the Iraqi town of Baqubah several times a week to meet with the governor, the provincial council chairman and other officials. Yes, it was dangerous. But it wasn't suicidal. Today, though, such trips would be almost impossible. Baqubah is a battlefield, the site of a major push against al-Qaeda and other insurgents. The houses that haven't been destroyed are riddled with bullet holes. Many of the Iraqis I worked with are dead, and many others have fled. The reason for some of this destruction lies, as our newspapers tell us, in the outpouring of al-Qaeda operatives from Baghdad, a result of the latest U.S. troop "surge" into the capital. Much of the responsibility, however, is ours. The actions of American troops have prompted much of the resistance in Diyala province. More important, these actions are symptomatic of other factors, including the short attention span of the American people, the regular rotation of our troops, the understandable desire of each commander to distinguish himself, and our very American belief that we can solve problems quickly when others can't. We have allowed all of these factors to run away with the war in Iraq. Full Story |
| TACTICAL TRAINING & INTELLIGENCE RESOURCES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
|
Blackwater USA has been awarded a contract to assist the US Navy in the
recruitment and training of SEAL, Special Warfare Combatant-Craft
Crewman (SWCC), EOD, Navy Divers and Air Rescue personnel. Blackwater
mentors these outstanding young men and women in physical fitness and
community awareness in order to increase their success rate in these
challenging programs. If you or someone you know is interested in one
of these programs, please contact the Blackwater NSW-NSO Mentor in
your local districts (Click Here). The NSW-NSO Mentors will be able to
provide current information on the different communities and their
training pipeline.
| |
| FRANKS REVIEW |
Tactical Equipment EvaluationBasic Immediate Action Medical Kit
The Immediate Action Medical Kit, its basic components, uses and practical applications described in the following text are intended for the Active Shooter scenario where a hasty team comprised of one or more officers are responding to a threat. This article`s purpose is to act as a primer regarding ONLY the important life-saving actions that would be taken under fire to preserve a responder`s life in the event of receiving a life threatening wound so that he or she or a partner may stay in or survive the fight. It is highly recommended that the reader have in-depth training and practice in the use of the IAMK components.
|
| CHAPLAINS CORNER |
JULY 4, 2007...Today I took a journey. I traveled through our history with the Peace Keepers who have fought in all of the battles... Those well known detailed battles... And those everyday actions of peace keeping that most people do not know about. I deeply considered the Leathernecks in Tripoli fighting the pirates for the safety of the ships of our young nation... I thought on the Revolutionary War and all of the actions that brought us into being a nation governed by ourselves and no other earthly entity... I felt the misery of the troops who had little equipment and frozen feet at Valley Forge... I listened in on the prayers of General George Washington... I admired his audacity and intelligence as he conceived the river crossing and the attack upon the Hessians at Trenton... I dwelt awhile on the battles for expanding our nation from the east coast to the west... In that process I considered the explorers and Peace Keepers who governed the efforts of crooks and thieves in order to build new settlements and spread civilization to the west until it reached the Rio Grande and the West Coast... Speaking of audacity and courage... I reckoned upon the actions at the Alamo for the independence of Texas from Mexico... Then the Mexican War... The War of 1812... The War Between the States... The Spanish-American War... The World Wars... Korea and the Chosin Reservoir... Viet Nam... Afghanistan... Iraq... Mogadishu... Blackhawk Down... and all of the other unnamed conflicts in which all of our Military has fought, suffered and won on land, sea and in the air... http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2007/article/070907chaplain.htm |
|
| THE PRIVATE SECURITY BLOGOSPHERE |
|
The Other Side of The Story (http://pmc-psc-truth.blogspot.com/) Thank you to everyone who submitted blogs for the BTW staff to include in this section. We were overwhelmed with all the great responses. We are spending this week reviewing all the wonderful suggestions. Thank you to our readers. Please continue to submit your suggestions. |
|
| BUMPER STICKER |
The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson. |
| CONTACT INFORMATION |
|
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. |
 |
          
       |
|
