This Week in the Blackwater Tactical Weekly…

Weekly Security Developments

• Drug Cartels Launch a Coordinated Assault Against 2 Northern Mexican Army Bases
• Beheadings Become Signature of Mexico's Drug Gangs
• Case Against 3 Navy SEALs Weakens
• Teenage Bride of Islamist Militant Named as 'Black Widow' Moscow Suicide Bomber
• The KBR, U.S. Government Relationship Grows Chillier

U.S. Defense News

• Raytheon’s New Artillery Shell Gets High Marks From Pentagon
• BAE to Produce Lightweight Helmets for the US Marines
• Saving Soldier Lives with Unmanned Systems
• Air Force Works to Instill 'Warrior Culture' in Drone Crews
• Special Forces in Iraq to Remain through Drawdown
• The Professor of War: General David Petraeus

International Military News

• South Korea Claims Torpedo May Have Sunk Warship
• Pakistan to Get US Drones in 2010
• China Buys Air Defense Systems From Russia
• India Successfully Tests 2 Short-Range Missiles
• Israeli Unveils Tank-Defense System of the Future

Afghanistan–Pakistan Developments

• The Weakness of Taliban Marksmanship
• Pakistani Taliban Gunmen Launch Multi-Prong Attack Against US Consulate in Peshawar
• Army Chinooks Commence Summer Operations in Afghanistan
• Kandahar, a Battlefield Even Before U.S. Offensive
• War is Boring: In Eastern Afghanistan, Virtual 'No Go' Zones for NATO Forces
• CNN Video: Marine and Her Dog Hugo Hunt for IEDs in Afghanistan.

Homeland Security–First Responder

• Undercover FBI Agent Infiltrated Radical Christian Militia
• NYC, DC on High Alert After Moscow Terror Attacks
• Mystery Bomber Targets East Texas
• After Gang Crackdown in California, Police Become Targets
• FBI Warns Extremist Letters May Encourage Violence
• FBI Giving Cops Critical Info: How to Spot an IED

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“Let us be thankful for the fools.  But for them the rest of us could not succeed.” 

Drug Cartels Launch a Coordinated Assault Against 2 Northern Mexican Army Bases

Associated Press

In a ratcheting up of tactics in a long, bloody war, drug cartel gunmen made seven especially brazen assaults on Mexican soldiers in one day this week, throwing up roadblocks near army garrisons and spraying checkpoints with automatic weapons fire.  The apparently coordinated assaults raise the prospect that parts of Mexico could be descending into open warfare between the cartels and the government.

Full Story

Raytheon’s New Artillery Shell Gets High Marks From Pentagon

Business Week

Raytheon Co.’s new satellite-guided artillery shell has proven to be the Army’s most accurate and has minimized civilian casualties and accidental military deaths, according to the Pentagon’s testing office.  This finding and similar praise from congressional auditors are good news for Raytheon, which is competing with Alliant Techsystems Inc. for an order worth as much as $1.2 billion to produce as many 26,000 shells for the Army.

BAE to Produce Lightweight Helmets for the US Marines

Defense Talk

BAE Systems has been awarded a $28 million contract by the Defense Logistics Agency to manufacture 120,000 lightweight helmets (LWH) for the U.S. Marine Corps. The contract also includes an option for an additional 120,000 lightweight helmets.  Weighing less than four pounds, BAE Systems’ LWH replaces the Personnel Armor System Ground Troops helmet and represents the latest in high-performance combat helmet protection.

Saving Soldier Lives with Unmanned Systems

Defense Talk

When it comes to unmanned systems, the Army's scientists and engineers along with program managers and contractors have given Soldiers on the battlefield tools designed to save lives and complete the mission against ever-changing threats.  And those systems are keeping the U.S. one step ahead of the enemy, said Maj. Gen. Jim Myles, commander of the Aviation and Missile Command and Redstone Arsenal.

Air Force Works to Instill 'Warrior Culture' in Drone Crews

Los Angeles Times

As part of an effort to extend the military's "warrior culture" to unmanned planes, the Air Force is overhauling how it trains the crews that operate its rapidly growing fleet of Predators, Reapers and other remotely piloted aircraft.  The changes in training will affect hundreds of personnel who fly the unmanned aircraft remotely over war zones from distant bases and control their powerful cameras and targeting systems.  The effort is part of a move by the Air Force to put as much emphasis on drones as it does on traditional fighters and bombers, officials said.  It also underscores the continuing expansion of the role of unmanned aircraft in the hunt for militants in Afghanistan and the increasing importance of the airmen who operate them.

Special Forces in Iraq to Remain through Drawdown

Department of Defense

U.S. special operations forces in Iraq will remain at current levels even as the number of American troops there is nearly halved over the next five months, the top special operations commander said today.  As the 98,000-strong force in Iraq is reduced to 50,000 by Aug. 31 in accordance with a U.S.-Iraqi agreement, roughly 4,500 special operations forces will maintain a presence there, military officials said.

The Professor of War: General David Petraeus

Vanity Fair

At 57, General David Petraeus has revolutionized the way America fights its wars, starting with the surge in Iraq and continuing into his current command, with responsibility for Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen. Charting Petraeus’s relentless challenge to the institution he reveres—the U.S. Army—and to himself, the author hears about the unceasing drive, groundbreaking methods, and darkest moments of a four-star rebel.

South Korea Claims Torpedo May Have Sunk Warship

Voice of America

South Korea's defense minister says a torpedo might have been responsible for the sinking of a warship near the tense North Korean border last week.  Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told parliament Friday that he believes a torpedo and not a North Korean sea mine as he had claimed earlier in the week was the more likely cause of the ship's destruction.  The 1,200 ton warship Cheonan broke in half and sank last Friday after an explosion during a patrol along the tense maritime border west of the Korean peninsula.

Pakistan to Get US Drones in 2010

Defense Talk

The Pentagon hopes "within a year" to deliver around a dozen unarmed drone aircraft to Pakistan to aid its fight against Islamic extremism, a US senior military official said Monday.
"I would like to think that we would get them there within a year, but quantity and so forth, I think, will depend on what are the right ones, and how many make sense for the fight that they're in," said theofficial, who spoke on condition of anonymity.  The official told reporters that while the United States is looking at sending about a dozen aircraft to Islamabad, the actual number of drone aircraft "could be more or less, depending on the need."

Full Story

China Buys Air Defense Systems From Russia

Associated Press

Russia has delivered 15 batteries of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to China, Interfax news agency reported on Friday, under a contract analysts said could be worth as much as $2.25 billion.  China is a major buyer of Russian weapons, and the two countries say they are trying to forge a strategic partnership, though senior Russian officials are privately concerned about an increasingly assertive China.

India Successfully Tests 2 Short-Range Missiles

US Defense News

India successfully tested two short-range nuclear-capable missiles from two sites off its eastern coast on March 27, a Defense Ministry official said.  India, which tested nuclear weapons in 1998, has developed a series of nuclear and conventional missile systems as part of a program begun in 1983.  Saturday's first test was the launch of the Dhanush, which has a range of 220 miles (350 kilometers) and was fired from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal off the shores of the state of Orissa.

Israeli Unveils Tank-Defense System of the Future

Associated Press

On a dusty, wind-swept field overlooking the Mediterranean, a small team of researchers is putting the final touches on what Israel says is a major game changer in tank defense: a miniature anti-missile system that detects incoming projectiles and shoots them down before they reach the armored vehicles.  If successful, the "Trophy" system could radically alter the balance of power if the country goes to war again against Hezbollah guerrillas in neighboring Lebanon or Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Its performance could also have much wider implications as American troops and their Western allies battle insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Weakness of Taliban Marksmanship

New York Times: At War Blog

Last week, At War opened a conversation about Afghan marksmanship by publishing rough data from several dozen recent firefights between the Taliban and three Marine rifle companies in and near Marjah, the location of the recent offensive in Helmand Province. The data showed that while the Taliban can be canny and brave in combat their rifle fire is often remarkably ineffective.  We plan more posts about the nature of the fighting in Afghanistan, and how this influences the experience of the war. Today this blog discusses visible factors that, individually and together, predict poor shooting results when Taliban gunmen get behind their rifles.

Full Story

Pakistani Taliban Gunmen Launch Multi-Prong Attack Against US Consulate in Peshawar

New York Times

Militants mounted an assault against the United States Consulate in this northern Pakistani city on Monday, using a powerful bomb and rocket launchers in a multi-pronged attack, said a senior Pakistani intelligence officer.  Pakistani soldiers watched smoke billowing from the scene of three bomb blasts near the United States consulates in Peshawar on Monday.  There were no casualties inside the consulate, the officer said, several guards outside were killed. Pakistani media reported that another eight were injured. A spokesman for the American Embassy in Islamabad, the capital, confirmed the attack.

Full Story

Army Chinooks Commence Summer Operations in Afghanistan

Defense Talk

Australian Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters have commenced the summer rotation of rotary wing operations in Afghanistan while embedded with the United States 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade.  The two Australian 'Chooks' are based at Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan and will operate for eight months over the Afghan summer to provide airlift support to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Kandahar, a Battlefield Even Before U.S. Offensive

New York Times

American forces have begun operations to push back Taliban insurgents in this most important southern province, the birthplace and spiritual home of the Taliban, and a full-scale offensive is expected in coming weeks.  But the Taliban have already turned this city into a battlefield as they prepare for the operation, which American officials hope will be decisive in breaking the insurgency’s grip on southern Afghanistan.

War is Boring: In Eastern Afghanistan, Virtual 'No Go' Zones for NATO Forces

World Politics Review

When U.S. Army Capt. Joe Snowden first asked the elders in this remote valley in eastern Afghanistan to stop growing poppies, they laughed. The poppies, once processed into heroin, fuel the drug trade that provides much of the financing for the Taliban and other fighters in the area, explained Snowden, who is deployed here from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Italy. Although the elders assured Snowden that they understood this, his request still bordered on the absurd..

CNN Video: Marine and Her Dog Hugo Hunt for IEDs in Afghanistan

CNN

When U.S. Army Capt. Joe Snowden first asked the elders in this remote valley in eastern Afghanistan to stop growing poppies, they laughed. The poppies, once processed into heroin, fuel the drug trade that provides much of the financing for the Taliban and other fighters in the area, explained Snowden, who is deployed here from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Italy. Although the elders assured Snowden that they understood this, his request still bordered on the absurd..

Undercover FBI Agent Infiltrated Radical Christian Militia

Associated Press

An undercover federal agent infiltrated a Christian militia group that authorities say plotted to incite violent revolt, and the agent built explosives under the direction of the group's suspected ringleader, a prosecutor said Wednesday.  Arguing for the detention of accused Hutaree leader David Brian Stone, 44, and six other members, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet said the agent accompanied Stone and others in a van as they tried to attend a Feb. 6 meeting of militias in Kentucky.

NYC, DC on High Alert After Moscow Terror Attacks

AOL News

there today hit close to home for New York City and Washington, D.C.  Hours after a terrorist attack killed 38 people on the Moscow metro, the New York and D.C. subway systems were on high alert.  In New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was operating under a "heightened security presence," spokesman Kevin Ortiz told the Associated Press. The city doubled the number of police patrols this morning and sent specially trained anti-terror teams into bus and train stations "in response to the Moscow bombings," the New York City Police Department said in a statement.

Full Story

Mystery Bomber Targets East Texas

CBS News

Two more "suspicious devices" were discovered in a blue post office collection box and a mailbox in East Texas yesterday afternoon.  They are just the latest in a terrifying series of homemade devices found in East Texas post office boxes over the past several months.  According to documents obtained by CBS News, at least 17 devices ranging from pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails to "hangman style" nooses, have been found in United States Postal Service collection boxes and mailboxes since March 9 of this year. U.S.Postal Inspector Amanda McMurrey said they have been finding the devices since January 1.

Full Story

After Gang Crackdown in California, Police Become Targets

New York Times

By the time four city trucks were set ablaze next to Hemet City Hall last week, the police here had become familiar with their new life under siege.  The arson was the most recent episode during four months of threats of violence and attempted attacks against peace officers in the city that officials say are reprisals for crackdowns on local motorcycle gangs.  Now this city of tract homes and trailer parks in Riverside County, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, is on edge, with barricades and an iron fence going up around the Police Department downtown, “to prevent someone from lobbing a grenade or something in the window,” Police Chief Richard Dana said in an interview.

Full Story

FBI Warns Extremist Letters May Encourage Violence

Associated Press

A federal intelligence note is warning police that an anti-government group's call to remove dozens of sitting governors may encourage others to act out violently.  A group that calls itself the Guardians of the free Republics has a plan to "restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the government, according to its Web site.  As of Wednesday, more than 30 governors had received letters demanding they leave office within three days or they will be removed, according to an internal intelligence note by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, which was obtained by The Associated Press.

Full Story

FBI Giving Cops Critical Info: How to Spot an IED

Associated Press

If police officers find grainy white powder at a makeshift lab and assume they've made a drug bust, they could be making an explosive mistake.  The FBI has been training thousands of law enforcement officials across the nation to identify, disrupt and dismantle improvised explosive devices, including bombs made out of ordinary household products.  The need was underlined this week when federal authorities said they disrupted a suspected plot by a Christian militia to kill police officers with homemade bombs. That follows last year's alleged plot to make bombs out of beauty supplies and an airline passenger's alleged attempt on Christmas Day to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear.

Full Story

Iraq: Elections, Coalitions, and Unrest

Highlights

1. Elections results announced, Allawi wins, Malaki claims widespread fraud
2. Creation of coalition likely to be uphill battle
3. Threat of renewed widespread Shiite, Sunni violence looms

The 2010 Iraqi parliamentary elections were intended to be a benchmark of progress and democracy, displaying how far the country has come since the 2003 US invasion.  The initial results illustrate this progress, with the incumbent party, the State of Law Coalition, failing to win the majority of seats by a margin of two votes.  The initial results are as follows:

• Iraqiya: The largely secular Sunni and Shiite coalition won 91 seats.
• State of Law Coalition: Led by the incumbent prime minister, Nuri al-Malaki, the Shiite coalition won 89 seats.
•  Iraqi National Alliance (INA): This successor to the United Iraqi Alliance, a Shiite party, which had dominated the 2005 election, won 70 seats.
• Kurdistan Alliance: The two dominant Kurdish parties formed a formidable alliance winning 43 seats.

As no single coalition came close to winning a majority of seats – 163 of the total 325 –and Malaki, among other Shiites, have claimed rampant fraud, the country may be poised to face a long battle to form a new government. Moreover, Allawi’s thin victory could potentially set the stage for a protracted period of uncertainty and violence that could derail US withdrawal plans that the Obama administration has hinged on a fair and democratic election.

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.

Tactical Equipment Evaluation

Colt Grip Laser

While at SHOT Show in the LaserMax booth I saw a rifle accessory I didn’t remember seeing before. When I inquired I found out that it was the new Colt Grip Laser (CGL). The unit is pistol-grip shaped, incorporates an LED light, a laser aiming device and attaches via a quick release lever to any picatinny rail system. I submitted my request for a test unit and it arrived a couple weeks later. Since that time it’s been mounted on an AR-15, a paintball gun, an airsoft gun and been used as a stand-alone light/laser unit. Here’s how it’s done so far.

Recreational Equipment Review

RAT Grips

Another booth I found while walking around SHOT Show (actually my business partner dragged me over) was that of Rapid Adaptation Technology (RAT). The gentleman there was busily showing people how quick and easy he could make custom-molded grips for their pistols, rifles, etc. As I watched, in about two minutes or less, he cut a pad, heated it, molded it, gripped it so that it formed specifically and perfectly to the shape of his hand’s grip, and then cooled it. That quickly he had created a custom-molded rubberized grip shaped like his hand and mounted on his (pretend) weapon. I had to check that out further.

FREEDOM, LIBERTY, JUSTICE & GUARANTEES

This week has been a time of reflection and reviewed influences.  The influences have been many but four female images come to mind immediately because they are governmental symbols of powerful influences in my daily life since I began to learn history and became a Peace Keeper.

1.  The Statue of Freedom atop the Capitol Dome in Washington, D. C.
I seldom hear anyone speak of her or mention her in any way, yet there she is looking to the East toward the dawn and the coming light…  a sheathed sword in her right hand, point resting on the ground…  a shield in her left hand, resting on the ground, and a Laurel Wreath of Victory in her left hand atop the shield…  a helmet on her head…  standing in a relaxed position rather than a ready position, but obviously prepared to change stance at any moment, ready and willing to engage any enemy or meet any friend.  She is fresh and vigorous, not scarred and ragged.  She is an image meant to make us aware of non-threatening strength that is ready to receive a friend or engage an enemy, whichever is the demand of the moment….  ready to use sword, shield, battle or friendship whenever she is approached, whatever the encounter demands.  Freedom, the right to live as I please as long as I recognize the same rights of others and do not violate their rights as I do my own living.  Freedom to preserve my rights, protect my rights and to preserve and protect the rights of others as well.  I am blessed to have spent my life in that endeavor.

Full article can be seen at: http://www.ustraining.com/new/btw/chaplain/0040510chaplain.htm

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