This Week in the Blackwater Tactical Weekly…

Weekly Security Developments

• Pakistan Arrests American-Born
• Al-Qaeda Adam Gadahn
• Conservatives Rally Behind SEALs Accused of Mistreating Iraqi
• Nearly 160,000 Sign Petitions Urging Pentagon to Drop Charges Against Navy Seals for Allegedly Punching Terrorist
• Piracy Costs Shipping Firms Over $100 Million Annually
• Is al Qaeda Bankrupt?

U.S. Defense News

• Army Solicits Proposals for New Combat Vehicle
• DoD: Special Forces Troops Need Stealthy Airlifter
• Army Awards Lucrative Iraq Support Contract to KBR
• Army May Slash “Warrior Task”" Training
• Lend Me Your Ears: US Military Turns to Contractor Linguists

International Military News

• India Prepares for a Two-Front War
• China Unveils Smallest Defense Budget Hike in Years
• Iran Begins Production of Cruise Missiles
• Iran to Test ‘New Generation’ of 2,000-Pound Bombs
• India Set to Buy 42 More Russian Su-30 Fighter Jets

Afghanistan–Pakistan Developments

• Soldiers Deploying to Afghanistan to Get New MultiCam Uniforms, Boots, Gear
• Contractors Could Make or Break Afghanistan Surge
• Command Issues New Rules for Night Raids in Afghanistan
• British SAS in Afghanistan Suffers Worst Losses for 60 Years
• High Noon in Marjah
• Encouraging Signs in Afghanistan

Homeland Security–First Responder

• John Patrick Bedell: Did Right-Wing Extremism Lead to Pentagon Metro Shooting?
• Right Wing: Pentagon Shooter and the Battle to Disassociate
• Homeland Security: More 'Lone Wolves' Circulating in U.S.
• U.S. Hunts for Citizens Training With Terror Groups
• US Facing Surge in Right-Wing Extremists and Militias

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“Time is the only thief we can't get justice against” 

Pakistan Arrests American-Born Al-Qaeda Adam Gadahn

Associated Press

Pakistani intelligence agents have arrested Adam Gadahn, the American-born spokesman for al-Qaida, in an operation in the southern city of Karachi, two officers and a government official said Sunday.  The arrest of Gadahn is a major victory in the U.S.-led battle against al-Qaida and will be taken as a sign that Pakistan is cooperating more fully with Washington. It follows the recent detentions of several Afghan Taliban commanders in Karachi.

Full Story

Conservatives Rally Behind SEALs Accused of Mistreating Iraqi

Washington Post

Three Navy SEALs are facing courts-martial on charges that they mistreated an Iraqi prisoner suspected in the deaths of four Blackwater security guards whose charred bodies were dragged through the city of Fallujah in 2004.  U.S. military officials have charged one of the SEALs with punching the prisoner, Ahmed Hashim Abed, after he was taken into custody Sept. 1 in Iraq. All three SEALs have been charged with dereliction of duty and lying to Navy investigators to cover up the incident.

Nearly 160,000 Sign Petitions Urging Pentagon to Drop Charges Against Navy Seals for Allegedly Punching Terrorist

CNS News

About 160,000 people have signed a pair of petitions calling on top military commanders to drop the charges brought against three Navy SEALs over the alleged punching of a terrorist in Iraq.  The petitions will be sent to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Maj. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, commanding general of Special Operations Command Central, who ordered the court martial, and to Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of Naval Operations.

Piracy Costs Shipping Firms Over $100 Million Annually

East African

Piracy off the coast of Somalia is costing the international shipping industry at least $100 million a year, a new report states.  Aside from payments in ransom — estimated at about $110 million over the past two years — there have also been increased transportation and insurance costs, as well as costs related to protecting ships.  The report from the World Peace Foundation noted that piracy was now “big business” with an estimated 1,500 buccaneers off the coast of Somalia involved in seven syndicates.

Is al Qaeda Bankrupt?

Forbes

Jihadists had a name for Abd al Hamid al Mujil--"the million dollar man." Al Mujil had forged a personal relationship with Osama bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, spending parts of the late 1990s in Afghanistan. In those days the Kuwaiti-born al Mujil traveled to various Arab countries to meet with bin Laden's deputies. As recently as 2006 al Mujil conducted fundraising in Saudi Arabia, where he was executive director of the eastern province branch of the International Islamic Relief Organization, a charitable group. He provided donor funds directly to al Qaeda, says the U.S. government, and was particularly focused on helping al Qaeda affiliates in the Philippines by handing out cash to a supporter who pretended to be on an Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Full Story

Army Solicits Proposals for New Combat Vehicle

Defense Talk

The Army released a request for proposal for the Ground Combat Vehicle Feb. 25 -- marking an official start for defense contractors to begin competing for the right to build the service's next combat vehicle.  Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli said the new vehicle will not be simply a rehash of the cancelled Future Combat Systems, but a relevant combat vehicle based on Army experiences in combat.

DoD: Special Forces Troops Need Stealthy Airlifter

US Defense News

By the 2020s, U.S. special-forces troops will need a stealthy new airlifter to sneak past ever-improving radar and missile systems into "denied areas," says the Pentagon's top civilian special operations official. "At some point, serious consideration will need to be given to the development and fielding of a more survivable, long-range SOF [special operations forces] air mobility platform that exploits advances in signature reduction and electronic attack," Michael Vickers, assistant U.S. defense secretary for special operations, low-intensity conflict and interdependent capabilities, said during a March 4 interview at the Pentagon.

Army Awards Lucrative Iraq Support Contract to KBR

Associated Press

Defense giant KBR Inc. was awarded a contract potentially worth $2.8 billion for support work in Iraq as U.S. forces continue to leave the country, military authorities said.  KBR was notified of the award Friday, a day after the company told shareholders it lost about $25 million in award fees because of flawed electrical work in Iraq.

Army May Slash “Warrior Task” Training

Tactical Life

The Army is set to cut down on the number of skills it teaches incoming Soldiers at boot camp and further constrain its “onerous” list of required training for all Joes across the force.  According to Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the Army’s chief of initial military training with Training and Doctrine Command, the service has recommended that the list of so-called “Warrior Tasks” be cut from a whopping 32 to 12 and that it further slash the “Battle Drills” required of all Soldiers from 11 to four.

Lend Me Your Ears: US Military Turns to Contractor Linguists

Defense Industry Daily

MultiLingual Solutions gets $62 million contract to provide foreign language linguist services in support of USAF operations.  The US military has come to rely more and more on contractors to provide linguist services to function effectively in non-English speaking regions. The need for these services is particularly acute in the Middle East and Central Asia where US troops are actively engaged.

India Prepares for a Two-Front War

Wall Street Journal

There is one country responding to China's military build-up and aggressiveness with some muscle of its own. No, it is not the United States, the superpower ostensibly responsible for maintaining peace and security in Asia. Rather, it is India, whose military is currently refining a "two-front war" doctrine to fend off Pakistan and China simultaneously.

China Unveils Smallest Defense Budget Hike in Years

Defense Talk

China announced its smallest defense budget increase in years amid national belt-tightening, and vowed that its rapid military modernization posed no threat to other countries.  The proposed military budget for 2010 is 532.1 billion yuan (77.9 billion dollars), up 7.5 percent from actual defense spending in 2009, a government spokesman said.  The figure breaks a string of double-digit increases going back many years that has caused worry among China's neighbors and the United States over the objectives of an effort to rapidly modernize its once-backward armed forces.

Iran Begins Production of Cruise Missiles

Stars & Stripes

Iran announced that it has started a new production line of highly accurate, shortrange cruise missiles, which would add a new element to the country's already imposing arsenal.  Gen. Ahmad Vahidi told Iranian state TV that the cruise missile, called Nasr 1, would be capable of destroying targets up to 3,000 tons in size.

Iran to Test ‘New Generation’ of 2,000-Pound Bombs

Business Week

Iran will test a “new generation” of 2,000-pound bombs, the nation’s Air Force commander said, in the third announcement of an Iranian military development in the past month.  The Ghased-2 bomb will be more destructive and hit targets with greater precision than its predecessor, the Ghased-1, Air Force Commander Hasan Shah-Safi said today, according to the state-run Fars news agency. The Ghased-1 is now in production and operational, he said. Both versions use “smart” technology, Fars cited him as saying without providing details.

Sweden Launches Next-Generation Submarine Project

Defense Talk

Kockums AB, part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, has signed a contract with FMV (the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration), concerning overall of the design phase of the next-generation submarine.  This confirms the intention to develop Sweden’s submarine capability. Kockums is prime contractor for the order.  The Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces has emphasized the importance of acquiring the next-generation submarine on a number of different occasions.

Afghan Flag Raised Over Marjah After Battling Taliban for 12 Days

ABC News

After 12 days of combat, U.S. commanders said today the worst of the fighting is over and as if to prove the point they watched as the new Afghan government raised its flag over the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah for the first time in years.  U.S. military commanders were upbeat, bolstered by the high turnout in the center of town to watch the flag raising ceremony and the swearing-in of Abdul Zahir Aryan as the town's new administrator.  "What you see here is Afghan government getting under way and the hard work really starts from today onwards," Major Gen. Nick Carter said.

Trash Talking the Taliban During Firefights

ABC News

It's a remarkable combination of psychological warfare, political roundtable and trash talking. Afghan soldiers and Taliban fighters taunt each other, debate each other and try to persuade each other almost daily over their radios, at times while even shooting at each other. I came across the astonishing facet of the Afghan War while spending time with the 302nd kandak, or battalion, of the Afghan National Army. The foes chatter with each other over their Vietnam-era, two-way radio system. It's such an antiquated system that the Taliban and the Afghan forces share radio frequencies, and verbal barbs, as they try to kill or capture one another.

Planning Underway for NATO Offensive in Kandahar

Agence-France Presse

The commander of international forces in Afghanistan was quoted as saying Monday that the southern province of Kandahar was likely to be the next target of operations to eradicate the Taliban. US General Stanley McChrystal, commander of 121,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, said a major offensive now in its second week in a poppy-growing valley in Helmand province was a "model for the future". Helmand and neighboring Kandahar -- where Kandahar city was once the Taliban capital -- have been the main hotspots of the insurgency launched soon after the US-led invasion toppled the Islamists' 1996-2001 regime.

Marines Do Heavy Lifting as Afghan Army Lags in Battle

New York Times

As American Marines and Afghan soldiers have fought their way into this Taliban stronghold, the performance of the Afghan troops has tested a core premise of the American military effort here: in the not-too-distant future, the security of this country can be turned over to indigenous forces created at the cost of American money and blood.  Scenes from this corner of the battlefield, observed over eight days by two New York Times journalists, suggest that the day when the Afghan Army will be well led and able to perform complex operations independently, rather than merely assist American missions, remains far off.

War Dog Treo Wins Bravery Medal

The Sun

BOMB hunting dog Treo has been awarded the animal version of the Victoria Cross — for saving Our Boys by sniffing out Taliban booby traps.  The heroic nine-year-old black Labrador twice averted catastrophe by seeking out rigged devices with his handler Sergeant Dave Heyhoe.  And today loyal Treo — who is now retired — was handed the highest honor for a military dog, the Dickin Medal, by animal charity PDSA.

Laying Down the Law in Herat

Stars & Stripes

The muddy, flood-prone roads through tiny villages in this district of Herat province tell the Afghan story of remote poverty.  But something unusual is happening in this small slice of a nation ravaged by war.  A police commander bent on fighting corruption leads a local force that is winning the trust of the people. Peace holds such sway here that there have been no significant attacks against Afghan or U.S. security forces in months.  And village elders, typically susceptible to insurgent threats, readily shake the hands of security forces in Pashtun Zarghun.

Two Charged With Plotting Bomb Attack on N.Y. Subway

Business Week

Two New York men were charged in more detail with conspiring with confessed terrorist Najibullah Zazi in an al-Qaeda plot to detonate bombs on New York subways around the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.  Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay, both 25, were accused today in a revised indictment of working from September 2008 to last September with Zazi, who admitted in court on Feb. 22 that he provided material support to al-Qaeda and planned to use a weapon of mass destruction on the subway system.

Texas Congressman Wants Drone Patrols Along Rio Grande

Dallas Morning News

A Texas congressman is pushing for the federal government to use an unmanned aerial vehicle – or drone – to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border to combat narcotics trafficking and potential threats of terrorism along the Rio Grande.  U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, chairman of the House Homeland Security subcommittee that oversees border and maritime issues, points to the use of the technology along the Canadian border, in Arizona and on the Florida coast.

SWAT Raids Common in Prince George County Maryland; 195 Tactical Entries in Six Months

Tactical-Life

Heavily armed tactical police in Prince George’s County raid more homes than any other law enforcement agency in the state, according to newly released data from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention.  In the last six months of 2009, police there conducted 195 tactical entries, 105 involving crime deemed nonserious felonies and misdemeanors. That’s compared with 84 such raids in Baltimore (at left, a scene from a barricade in East Baltimore in 2007) over the same time period, 63 in Baltimore County, 16 in Harford, 22 in Carroll and 27 in Howard.

Iran: A Dangerous Game of Chess

Highlights

1. Iranian government announces plans to build two new uranium enrichment plants
2. Israel and Iran continue to engage in dangerous game of chess
3. Sanctions continue to stall, military options not off the table

In November 2009, Iran announced plans to build 10 new uranium enrichment facilities in addition to its existing facility in Natanz. On February 22, 2010, the head of Iran’s nuclear program, Ali Akbar Salehi, announced that construction on two of these facilities is set to begin in March 2010. His remarks came just days after United Nations (UN) nuclear inspectors claimed to have evidence of “past or current undisclosed activities” by Iran’s military to develop a nuclear warhead.
 
Iran’s latest assertion of intent to expand its nuclear capacity, coupled with the conclusions of the UN inspectors is likely to deepen Tehran’s dispute with the United States (US) and other world powers. Iran’s continued nuclear defiance has not produced a satisfactory response for the Israelis, prompting them to resume their dangerous game of deterrence with Iran. Continued stagnation of international sanctions, paired with increasing Iranian defiance is likely to increase Israel’s determination to ensure Iran does not have the capacity to create a nuclear weapon at all costs.

Full Report

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

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Tactical Equipment Evaluation

Buck/TOPS Knife Collaboration

There have been a few cases in the past where two well known knife companies team up for something unique. Often this occurs between a company that has an excellent rep and good pricing and a company that has an excellent rep but higher pricing. The team up allows for an excellent well-priced design to be produced. Welcome to the reality of Buck Knives teaming up with TOPS Knives to produce a high performance locking folder.

Recreational Equipment Review

CamelBak Gloves

In recent years it has become a common business practice for companies – well known for one product line – to increase the variety of their product lines even though the newly added products seem disassociated from what they are known for. When I recently received a box from CamelBak I was fully expecting a pack / hydration system, but I wasn’t expecting the four pairs of gloves that were also in the box. Gloves? From CamelBak? Yep. Check it out.

TOOLS FOR THE JOURNEY…

In my pursuit of useful knowledge I have received useful it from many sources.  For this to happen I had to learn some very useful and important things…

I had to learn to listen.  Listening is a cognitive process…  Hearing is a physiological process.  If they function, your ears and brain will tell you about noise…  That is hearing.  Thinking and paying attention will identify the noise, the source of the noise and the meaning of the noise.  Just today I was in a classroom filled with students doing practical application of the information heard and seen in the class subject material.  I had to attach an AED and follow the instructions.  I could not hear the instructions because many others were doing the same activities verbally and physically carrying out the practical application to be certified.  I concentrated on my machine…  I had to listen intently…  I am so deeply appreciative that we can learn selective hearing and listening so that in the midst of what sounds like chaos we can still hear and identify pertinent sounds.  It also helped a lot that the machine had a readable screen that displayed the same instructions given by sound and words which leads to the next important thing I had to learn…

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