This Week in the Blackwater Tactical Weekly…

Weekly Security Developments

• Al-Qaeda Suspect Arrested in Pakistan Not American Adam Gadahn
• 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” 

Al-Qaeda Suspect Arrested in Pakistan Not American Adam Gadahn

Reuters

Pakistani security agents denied on Monday that an American al Qaeda spokesman wanted in the United States for treason had been arrested, saying there had been confusion over the identity of a detained suspect. Some Pakistani officials had said on Sunday that Adam Gadahn, a California-born convert to Islam with a $1 million U.S. bounty on his head, had been arrested on the outskirts of the city of Karachi.  But a senior government official and two security agents said on Monday the suspected al Qaeda operative picked up in Karachi was not Gadahn.

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.

India Set to Buy 42 More Russian Su-30 Fighter Jets

Defense Talk

India and Russia are negotiating a new contract on the delivery of 42 Su-30MKI to the Indian Air Force, an Indian newspaper reported, citing military sources.  According to the Daily News and Analysis newspaper, the new deal, which is reportedly worth more than $3 billion, has been in the works for several months.  The new air-superiority fighters will come on top of the 230 already contracted from Russia in three deals worth a total of $8.5 billion.

Soldiers Deploying to Afghanistan to Get New MultiCam Uniforms, Boots, Gear

Defense Talk

Soldiers deploying to Afghanistan will be issued the new "MultiCam" fire-resistant Army Combat Uniform complete with new Mountain Combat Boots and MultiCam-patterned Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment, or MOLLE, gear beginning in July.  At mobilization sites throughout the U.S., the uniform will be issued to deploying troops as part of the Rapid Fielding Initiative process, and Soldiers already in Afghanistan are scheduled to receive the MultiCam this fall.  "Anything we can do to give our Soldiers an edge, we want to do," said Col. William E. Cole, project manager for Soldier protection and individual equipment at the Program Executive Office, or PEO, Soldier on Fort Belvoir.

Contractors Could Make or Break Afghanistan Surge

Government Executive

The armed forces aren't the only ones ramping up their involvement in Afghanistan. Quietly, and with comparatively little documentation, tens of thousands of private contractors are flooding into the country, reconstructing war-torn cities, drilling wells for drinking water and providing electricity to residents. The success of these contractors could accelerate the gains of the military and hasten America's exit from this increasingly deadly war zone. But if stories of waste, corruption and fraud emerge en masse from Afghanistan, as they did so publicly in Iraq, then the mission could be jeopardized and taxpayers could be left to pick up billions of dollars in unnecessary costs.

Command Issues New Rules for Night Raids in Afghanistan

Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs

The commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan has issued new rules governing night raids, acknowledging that although they can have value militarily, they also can foster ill will toward international forces on the part of the Afghan people.  In a written statement, International Security Assistance Force officials released unclassified portions of Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's new guidance "to ensure a broader awareness of its intent and scope."

British SAS in Afghanistan Suffers Worst Losses for 60 Years

Times Online

Britain’s special forces have suffered the worst blow to their fighting strength since the second World War, with 80 members killed or crippled in Afghanistan.  Serious injuries have left more than 70 unable to fight, while 12 have been killed. It means the forces have lost about a sixth of their full combat capacity.

High Noon in Marjah

FrontPage Magazine

The aggressive new strategy in Afghanistan embraced by the Obama Administration, modeled on the successful “surge” in Iraq, is costly, with a third of all American casualties in the conflict occurring since the first reinforcements were sent in May 2009. The latest offensive in Marjah in Helmand Province is going slower than anticipated due to fierce resistance, and it is only a warm-up for a much larger battle in the coming months in Kandahar, the Taliban’s stronghold. And Pakistan remains the key to victory.

Encouraging Signs in Afghanistan

Wall Street Journal

What if the West's war in Afghanistan is in the process of being won? It has become standard practice to presume that this isn't possible and that immersion in a quagmire followed by ignominious retreat is guaranteed.  Much of the discussion among policy makers and commentators has priced in a debilitating stalemate or defeat. But what if these presumptions turn out to be plain wrong?  There are some encouraging signs of progress becoming visible on the horizon in Afghanistan. Operation Moshtarak in Helmand province got under way in mid-February, with a combined force in the region of 15,000 taking on the Taliban.

John Patrick Bedell: Did Right-Wing Extremism Lead to Pentagon Metro Shooting?

Christian Science Monitor

John Patrick Bedell, whom authorities identified as the gunman in the Pentagon shooting on Thursday, appears to have been a right-wing extremist with virulent antigovernment feelings.  If so, that would make the Pentagon shooting the second violent extremist attack on a federal building within the past month. On Feb. 18, Joseph Stack flew a small aircraft into an IRS building in Austin, Texas. Mr. Stack left behind a disjointed screed in which, among other things, he expressed his hatred of the government.

Right Wing: Pentagon Shooter and the Battle to Disassociate

Newsweek Blog

In a Townhall.com post titled “Tragedy Occurs. Media Rush to Blame Right-Wing” Kevin Glass writes that the stampede to peg the Pentagon shooter as a right-wing extremist is in full swing. He points to an ominous-sounding tweet by conservative blogger Allahpundit: "It begins"—which links to a Christian Science Monitor piece questioning whether right-wing extremism had led John Patrick Bedell to fire on Pentagon police officers, injuring two before being fatally shot himself.

Homeland Security: More 'Lone Wolves' Circulating in U.S.

ABC News

The man who opened fire at the Pentagon Thursday is part of a growing pattern in the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. John Patrick Bedell is described as an angry "lone wolf."  Bedell, according to family and friends, was mentally ill and a marijuana user. But he also had extreme views about the government, and he laid out those feelings in audio postings on the Internet.

U.S. Hunts for Citizens Training With Terror Groups

Fox News

The top U.S. diplomat in Pakistan said Friday that the Obama administration does not know how many Americans might have disappeared overseas to train with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, but the number is not thought to be large.  Speaking to the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles, Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson outlined a "nightmare scenario" in which people holding U.S. passports receive terrorist training then return legally to the U.S. to commit violent acts.

US Facing Surge in Right-Wing Extremists and Militias

The Guardian

The US is facing a surge in anti-government extremist groups and armed militias, driven by deepening hostility on the right to Barack Obama, anger over the economy, and the increasing propagation of conspiracy theories by parts of the mass media such as Fox News.  The Southern Poverty Law Centre, the US's most prominent civil rights group focused on hate organisations, said in a report that extremist "patriot" groups "came roaring back to life" last year as their number jumped nearly 250% to more than 500 with deepening ties to conservative mainstream politics.

Afghanistan: US Marines Look to Kandahar for Next Major Offensive

Highlights

1. Offensive in Kandahar likely to begin in summer
2. Marjah operation likely to be used as model for future operations in Afghanistan
3. Outcome of Kandahar conflict likely to determine future of Afghanistan

On February 21, 2010 commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and United States (US) forces in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal stated that the southern province of Kandahar was likely the next target of a major military offensive. The statement came as the US-led military offensive was in its second week in the Helmand province town of Marjah, the largest offensive since the Afghan Taliban regime fell in 2001.
 
We note that both Helmand and Kandahar provinces have been major hotspots of the insurgency and strongholds of the Afghan Taliban following the US-led invasion that overthrew the militant organization in 2001. Over the last nine years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Afghan government forces have achieved little success in eradicating the Afghan Taliban presence in both of these provinces. However, the early successes achieved in the Marjah offensive offers new hope in southern Afghanistan, and is likely to be a model for targeting other Afghan Taliban strongholds in southern and eastern Afghanistan for the next 12-18 months.
 
As the military aspect of the Marjah offensive is largely finished, the US is likely to look toward Kandahar province, where Kandahar city was once the Afghan Taliban capital. An offensive targeting the Afghan Taliban in Kandahar province is currently in its planning stages, and unlikely to begin until this summer. We believe the Afghan Taliban’s top priority is maintaining control of Kandahar province, specifically Kandahar city. Any attempt by the Afghan government and NATO to take control of the province will likely meet strong resistance from the Afghan Taliban. Using the Marjah offensive as a model, we expect a major offensive in Kandahar in coming months, which will likely represent one of the most decisive campaigns of the entire Afghan conflict and largely dictate the future of the country.

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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

Altama Panamoc Footwear

Let's face it: we don't wear boots ALL the time. Sure, they are comfortable for a lot of us, provide good support and protection and we've gotten used to whatever level of maintenance they require. But you can't wear boots (allegedly) with dress uniforms and they don't look quite right with casual business attire. So, what do you do then? I don't like wearing my low-quarters all the time and they require polishing. Enter the Altama Panamoc slip-on shoes. Casual enough for the boat but dressy enough for "casual Friday".

Recreational Equipment Review

Percy Jackson & The Olympians book series

Yes, this is a book series that was primarily written for the young-adult audience. My 12-year old son and my 19-year old daughter both enjoy them. With the release of the first movie (there are five books so far so I assume more movies will follow) I figured it might be a good idea to see what's in the books and determine whether or not I should be concerned about the zeal my children have shown in reading them. So, I sat down with the first book before the movie came out and met a 12-year old with dyslexia and ADHD - Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon.

THE COMING OF LIGHT

Light - visible illumination…
            the coming of clarity to the mind…

It was not yet dawn this morning… The sky was steel gray that was very softly luminescent from the moon that was obscured by a cloudy overcast, no stars.  I watched out my window to observe the creeping approach of daylight.  I did not expect to see any sunlight in the tree tops.  As the light intensified under the steel gray sky and details became clear I noted a brightness at the very tops of the trees…  Sun light in the topmost twigs of the branches.  I continued to watch as the light crept down the trees from top to lower branches.  I continued to watch as the brightness of the sun light oozed down the trunks of the trees and then across the windows of my den from which I was observing…  First it was just light, somewhat brighter than the gray of the dawn but not real sun brightness, just diffused daylight…  Then the sun broke through the clouds at the horizon and the brightness was intense, magnified, beautiful…  And it illuminated my den and all the area around me.

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