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This Week in the Blackwater Tactical Weekly…

Weekly Security Developments

• Fort Hood Rampage: Shooter Acted Alone, Officials Say. But Why?
• Israel Displays Huge Weapons Cache from Captured Ship
• Russia Spy Chief warns of new Georgia War
• Violence Threatens Iraq’s Fragile Peace

U.S. Defense News

• US Deploying New Armored Vehicle to Afghanistan
• Brigade Tests New Concept in Iraq
• US CNO: Use of Drones Raises Legal Questions
• Army Develops ‘Ghost’ Imaging to Aid on Battlefield

International Military News

• Advanced Radar Improves Iraqi Air Surveillance
• China’s Military Making Strides in Space
• Russia Test Launches Ballistic Missile from Under Water

Afghanistan-Pakistan Developments

• 5 British Soldiers Slain by Afghan Policeman
• Pakistan Captures Two Taliban Strongholds in South Waziristan
• Iraq Surge Could be Model for Afghan War
• Pakistan Taliban Chief Urges Troops to Fight Army

Homeland Security-First Responder

• Counterterrorism: Shifting from ‘who’ to ‘how’
• How Technologies and Techniques Proving Themselves in Combat Care may Benefit Patients of Civilian EMS
• DHS Accepting Comments on Anthrax Attack Guidelines

From Our Friends at Total Intelligence Solutions
Frank’s Review
Chaplain’s Corner
Job Opportunities
Blackwater Pro Shop – On Sale This Week

Fort Hood rampage: Shooter acted alone, officials say. But why?

Voice of America

Dozens of investigators at Fort Hood are building a psychological profile of the suspect, Nidal Malik Hasan, as they try to understand the motive. Belligerent fanaticism, deepening anger over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and fear about deployment may have played a role.

Full Story

US Deploying New Armored Vehicle to Afghanistan

Voice of America

The U.S. military has begun deploying a new generation of relatively light-weight all-terrain armored vehicles to Afghanistan, which have enough armor to protect troops from deadly roadside bombs but are not too heavy for the country's relatively undeveloped road network.

Brigade Tests New Concept in Iraq

Defense News

The first new “advise and assist” brigades already in Iraq and others slated to arrive soon have a big leg up on their new mission, thanks to the groundwork laid by the “Highlander” brigade, which provided a test bed for the new concept.

U.S. CNO: Use of Drones Raises Legal Questions

Defense News

Legal concerns about the use of unmanned technology like airborne drones, as well as operations in cyberspace, have prompted the U.S. Navy to focus some of its own lawyers on the potential implications.

Army Develops ‘Ghost’ Imaging to Aid on Battlefield

American Forces Information Service

Physicists at the Army Research Laboratory are bringing quantum “ghost” imaging from the realm of scientific curiosity to practical reality. Ghost imaging is a technique that allows a high-resolution camera to produce an image of an object that the camera itself cannot see. It uses two sensors: one that looks at a light source and another that looks at the object.

Advanced Radar Improves Iraqi Air Surveillance

American Forces Press Service

The Iraqi air force significantly enhanced its air defense capabilities recently with the arrival of a digital air surveillance radar system. The DASR system, which includes the radar and the radar control facility, allows Iraqi air traffic controllers to monitor aircraft up to 120 nautical miles away, permitting them to detect aircraft along their borders with Syria, Turkey and Iran.

China's military making strides in space: US general

Agence France-Presse

the goals of its program remain unclear, a top American general said. Citing Beijing's advances in space, General Kevin Chilton, head of US Strategic Command, said it was crucial to cultivate US-China military relations to better understand China's intentions.

Russia test-launches ballistic missile from under water

Xinhua

A Russian submarine successfully test-launched a ballistic missile on Sunday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. "On Nov. 1, the Northern Fleet's nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine, Bryansk, successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Barents Sea from a submerged position," said the statement.

5 British soldiers slain by Afghan policeman

Washington Post

Five British soldiers were shot and killed Tuesday by an Afghan policeman while they were working together in southern Afghanistan, British officials said. The shooting occurred in the Nad e-Ali district of Helmand province, one of the most violent areas of the country.

Pakistan captures two Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan

Long War Journal

The Pakistani Army has captured two more Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan and is close to taking another, while a Taliban spokesman claimed the group has conducted tactical withdrawals and is prepared to fight "a long war" in the tribal agency.

Iraq surge could be model for Afghan war: US admiral

Agence France-Presse

The top US military officer held out the possibility of a draw-down of American forces from Afghanistan within a few years, citing the troop "surge" in Iraq as a model. As President Barack Obama weighs a request for more troops in Afghanistan, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen said it was "reasonable" to look at Iraq -- where additional American forces were sent to bolster security in 2007 -- as a guide.

Pakistan Taliban chief urges troops to fight army

Associated Press

The leader of the Pakistani Taliban urged his fighters to stand fast against a military offensive in tribal South Waziristan, warning them in an intercepted message obtained Thursday that cowards will go to hell.

Full Story

Counterterrorism: Shifting from 'who' to 'how'

Police One – Terrorism Articles

In the eleventh edition of the online magazine Sada al-Malahim (The Echo of Battle), which was released to jihadist Web sites last week, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Nasir al-Wahayshi wrote an article that called for jihadists to conduct simple attacks against a variety of targets.

How technologies and techniques proving themselves in combat care may benefit patients of civilian EMS

October 2009 Issue of EMS Magazine

On today's modern battlefield, medical care has made remarkable strides in saving the lives of the wounded. Soldiers and Marines who would have perished in yesterday's wars are returning home in spite of devastating injuries. Our troops are equipped to stabilize their own injuries and those of their buddies, even in the absence of medical personnel. Medics and corpsmen are armed with advances in technology as they emerge, and our experience helps set new standards of trauma care.

Full Story

DHS Accepting Comments on Anthrax Attack Guidelines

Cornerstone Government Affairs

In today’s Federal Register¸ the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Health Affairs published a notice announcing it is accepting comments on the proposed guidance document “Protecting Responders' Health During the First Week Following a WideArea Anthrax Attack''.

Full Story

Pakistan: Military Claims South Waziristan Operation Complete by Mid-December

Highlights

1. Pakistani military slowly advancing in third week of Operation Rah-e-Nijat
2. Flow of information from war front controlled by the Pakistani military
3. TTP violence expected to remain high in November 2009

On November 1, 2009 Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi claimed the country’s military invasion of South Waziristan on October 17, 2009 was thus far a major success. The foreign minister went a step further by predicting a final victory would be achieved by mid-December 2009, primarily due to government claims that insurgents are not putting up the resistance expected.

While the Pakistani military has gained some ground and surrounded or occupied key towns in South Waziristan, we believe the government’s assessment that the war will be over by mid-December is overly optimistic. The government has repeatedly issued statements claiming the insurgents are on the run, disorganized, and in disarray, but we note the Pakistani government carefully manages the flow of information regarding progress of the offensive. The Pakistani government must maintain widespread public support for the campaign, proclaiming achievements that otherwise may only be modest gains and overestimating enemy deaths and operational capabilities.

We note the Pakistani military’s primary goal in launching the South Waziristan offensive on October 17th was to defeat Hakimullah Mehsud’s Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) organization. With both sides engaged in intense fighting, the TTP continuing its bombing campaign against civilian and military targets throughout Pakistan, and the organization’s leaders remaining at large, we believe the war is far from over and the government’s goal of defeating the TTP by mid-December is unlikely.

Operation Rah-e-Nijat, A Slow Advance

While the Pakistani army appears to have an effective military strategy for its ground offensive, primarily due to lessons learned from previous military invasions of South Waziristan and Bajaur Agency, the army’s advance has been slow despite vastly outnumbering the enemy. However, Pakistani military leaders claim that in the third week of Operation Rah-e-Nijat, or Path to Salvation, the offensive is proceeding according to plan.

The latest towns to reportedly be surrounded by Pakistani military forces are Makeen and Sararogha. Makeen is symbolic as it is the hometown of former TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud, while Sararogha is more strategic due to reports that the TTP’s South Waziristan commander Waliur Rehman is directing operations from there. A third town, Kanigoram, a location that has a high concentration of Uzbek fighters from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), was reportedly taken by Pakistani military personnel after days of intense fighting. Lastly, the Pakistani military has focused on Kotkai, the hometown of current TTP leader Hakimullah Mehsud and training base for suicide bombers. By November 1, 2009, the Pakistani government announced the town had been taken after switching sides numerous times.

Despite the slow advance, the Pakistani military is employing a strategy that is showing more promising results in comparison to previous offensives in the region. The military is surrounding towns and villages of strategic and symbolic value, effectively cutting off escape routes, and relying on jets, helicopter gunships, and artillery to weaken insurgents still operating within the locations. The military’s capturing of several key towns, dismantling of numerous training camps, and seizure of large caches of arms and ammunition represent operational successes, but has yet to officially end the TTP’s terrorist campaign against the country.

TTP’s Capabilities Remain Intact

Operation Rah-e-Nijat has provoked a major escalation in terrorist violence throughout Pakistan, with insurgents proving the capabilities to target high-level security and government infrastructure. The Pakistani government anticipated retaliatory violence prior to launching the offensive, but the scale, spread, and intensity of the violence in October 2009 has exceeded expectations and is indicative that the TTP’s operational capabilities remain intact despite losses suffered in South Waziristan.

However, we believe it will be difficult for the TTP to continue the current pace and scale of suicide bombings, given that its training camps are under continued bombardment and surrounded by Pakistani military personnel. We attribute the latest wave of violence in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar to a sophisticated TTP network of sleeper cells operating in the cities. We also believe the TTP has effectively enhanced its operational capabilities through alliances with militant groups that have sophisticated networks in Punjab, particularly Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM).

Concluding Operation Rah-e-Nijat

The proclaimed goal of concluding the South Waziristan offensive within an eight-week campaign is unlikely, given the complexity of the region and the government’s prolonged absence from involvement in South Waziristan. We believe the government has learned from its previous mistakes in the tribal regions, as military planners have created an elaborate three-pronged advance strategy, constructed temporary peace deals to neutralize “moderate” Taliban elements, committed nearly 60,000 troops, choked off TTP supply lines, and blocked entry and exit points at key locations.

In the near-term, however, the offensive is likely to continue to warrant revenge attacks by TTP cells still operating in the Punjab and Sindh provinces. We believe the death toll in November 2009 from terrorist violence will be high, but is unlikely to surpass October 2009 levels.

As the military is likely to continue making advances, TTP insurgents are likely to disperse and focus more on a classic hit-and-run guerrilla campaign once Pakistani military personnel are in the “hold” phase. This will challenge the Pakistani military’s overall commitment to achieving long-term stability in South Waziristan, which will also involve advanced reconstruction projects and care for refugees.

The post-conflict phase has not been officially explained, a phase arguably just as important as the military offensive itself. Without holding captured areas and launching reconstruction projects, an environment hospitable for militants will remain and the short-term gains made during the military offensive will not have a lasting effect in achieving the military’s stated goals.

The preceding article is part of a subscription service created by Total Intelligence Solutions (TIS).

The preceding article is part of subscription service created by TIS. For additional information, please contact Brad Slade at bslade@totalintel.com.

Tactical Equipment Evaluation

2009 Christmas Wish List

Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.newamericantruth.com/reviews/other/xmaswish09.htm

Recreational Equipment Review

The Twilight Series by Stephanie Myers

Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.newamericantruth.com/reviews/recread/twilightseries.htm

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