Keeping Security in Shape

How Many Signs of Terrorism Activity Can There Be?

Recently the DHS, in cooperation with the Colorado Office of Homeland Security, has released an instructional video about the 8 signs of Terrrorism, with the purpose of instructing viewers on what to look for when an act of terrorism is being planned. Just a few years ago, the DHS in cooperation with the Illinois Office of Homeland Security released an instructional video about the 7 signs of terrorism planning.

I am waiting for the folks from Illinois to up the ante and say in fact that there are 9 signs of terrorsm planning and that Colorado is behind the times.

 

 

In all seriousness, dedicated terorist organization learn to adapt to out maneuver anti-terrorist methods. Knowing that terrorist groups will eventually expoit a weakness, the goal of anti-terrorism should be to delay the time it takes for terrorists to find a solution to our defenses.

Iranian Threat to or Not To Be

The latest National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) is quelling the alarm that Iran is intent on arming itself with nuclear weapons in the near future. Is it possible that this is in fact the case? Or is this latest announcement peppered with politicized intelligence and in fact is an underhanded jab at Israel?

The back story on the tension between the US and Israel has to do with Israel ignoring American requests to stop building Jewish settlements in the contested territories west of the Jordan River.  Israel, in relation to the Iranian threat, has done somewhat of a remarkable job in lobbying the rest of the world as to the dangers of a nuclear capable Iran. Furthermore, Israel has exposed and possibly may have destroyed (in Syria) some of Iran's nuclear building initiatives.

So by the US deflating the Iranian threat, Israel loses some global support for any unilateral actions it may take against Iran. With the Iranian threat in the background, the focus on an Israel West Bank compromise will be all the more prevalent.

No sooner do I write this than I read about the US scrapping the Missile Base Defense initiative in Europe. The Obama administration argued that the resources meant for this program can be better used to contain the Iranian missile threat (nuclear or otherwise I suppose).

http://www.newsweek.com/id/215529

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32889934/ns/politics-white_house

SHOOTING AT US HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

Shooting at Musuem

Hopefully everyone understands the importance of having security at the perimeter.

Israeli Independence Day - Happy 61

Need I say anymore:

http://www.golani.co.il

Khaled Mashaal Video Link Busted OOPS DID I DO THAT?

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/04/23/1004561/hamas-leader-to-address-british-lawmakers

LONDON (JTA) --  A technical problem prevented Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal from taking part in a question-and-answer session with British lawmakers.

The 25 lawmakers who gathered to hear Mashaal left when the video link failed.

Claire Short, a former British minister of international development who organized Wednesday's meeting during a visit to Damascus, said she would reschedule the event, according to reports. She drew criticism from the British government, the opposition and the Israeli government over the program.

Short, who resigned from the Blair government over the war in Iraq, has been a longtime critic of Israel.

The Damascus-based Mashaal is the head of Hamas’ political bureau and is considered to be the main decision-maker in the Islamic fundamentalist organization.

A spokeswoman for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that the members of parliament who plan to talk to Mashaal are doing so in a “private capacity,” adding that “there are no plans for any government contacts.”

“We do not believe it is productive to talk to Hamas directly,” said the spokeswoman, adding that “Hamas is a terrorist organization."

The Lord works in mysterious ways!

The Global Temperature is Rising

I am not talking about global warming, I am talking about how more and more hot blooded human beings are becoming on a daily basis. Shooting rampages in Germany and Alabama, suicide bombings in Iraq, gang violence in the US, drug cartel violence in Mexico, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Thailand - are having major issues in curbing militant organizations sprung from their own populations. Motorists are getting shot on California freeways, civil disobedience demonstrations are becoming more violent, cheerleaders are robbing liquor stores and beating ip each other, the list goes on.

It seems that people these days are a lot more angry with each other than in years past.
When people get angry they don't flip off the offending person and leave they now a days tend to shoot the poor SOB.

ISRAEL- HAMAS

At the start of the Israeli military response to Hamas rocket attacks fired into southern Israel, Israel had the initial respect and admiration of many nations for its actions. As I stated in my previous post, the Shock and Awe phase usually opens the eyes of the world's media with many democratic nations collectively thinking, "about time" when Israel seeks to route out a terrorist entity. 

The Israel haters will always condemn Israel no matter how small or great the scope of any Israeli military action will be; though morally Israel has the upper hand in fighting Hamas, the collateral damage to the civilian Gaza population has been incredibly high to the point where those Western democracies are starting to blame Israel and potentially seek harsh UN resolutions or war crime tribunals. Any military expert will tell you that when an enemy that hides amongst the civilian population and uses humanitarian institutions for cover, the surrounding population will suffer the reprisals of the responding force.

As ridiculous as it sounds,many European countries in fear of facing the wrath of their growing Islamic populations, are sounding the bell for the UN to step in, penalize Israel, and ignore the fact that Hamas' true purpose is the destruction of Israel.

 Israel is targeting Hamas, not the Palestinian people in general. The tactics Israel is employing are no different than what Allied Forces did in WWII against the Nazis in an effort to route out Evil. True, Hamas doesn't have a huge military force with planes, tanks, and submarines, but if nothing is done to stop Hamas now they will build and build a large military arsenal that could endanger Israel and potentially parts of Egypt.

Where Hamas has outfoxed Israel is in the media and in turning the global media's perception of the conflict from Israel versus Hamas to Israel versus Gaza.

 

 

Hamas on the run?

Once again the Israel Defense Forces are launching attacks targeting Hamas. This time former Prime Minister and current Defense Minister, Ehud Barak has essentially declared, "All in" as the Israeli Air Force and artillery units are taking the fight to Hamas.

Every few years Israel  launches impressive looking military campaigns in either Lebanon, the West Bank, or Gaza usually in response to repeated unanswered terrorist attacks. Such military initiatives undertaken by Israel have developed a pattern of their own:

1. "Shock and Awe"  air bombing campaign followed by

2. Lots of international condemnation, followed by

3. Limited ground engagement, followed by

4. Limited Israeli casualties, followed by

5. A cease fire, followed by

6. A commission of inquiry by the IDF as to what went wrong, followed by

7. Big Aid package to defeated enemies, followed by 

8. More attacks 

This latest military operation is quite different than in past years in that an end goal has been defined, the elimination of Hamas from control of the Gaza strip.

To the casual observer, one might think these are revenge attacks for the nearly 4,000 missiles that have rained down in Israel over the last few years, but no, the IDF is "in it to win it"; to borrow a cheesy phrase.

Israel may have to withstand another wave of terrorist attacks or suicide bombings from inside or outside Israel, even though the IDF is doing the Abbas led Fatah movement in the West Bank a favor by diminishing Hamas' power in Gaza.

Stay Safe and Stay Informed

Back with a Vengeance

Hi friends, I was away for a while- work, family, work, travel, work, training, and work again. A lot has happened that has impacted the international security landscape. The attacks in Mumbai have awaken much of the global security community. The group Deccan Mujahedin was the group primarily claiming responsibility for the Mumbai attacks.

This event was much more than some India vs. Pakistan turf war. Westerners and more specifically Jews, were isolated from people of other nationalities and religions when the terrorists overtook the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Nariman House (the Chabad Jewish Center). All locations of which the terrorists struck were soft targets - hotels, restaurants, gas stations; places where there were bound to be lots of people. A hard target would typically be army bases, police precincts, and government buildings.

Apart from specifically targeting Jews along with the other symbolic targets of Mumbai, the terrorists demonstrated military like precision in executing their attack. Such an attack takes hours of planning, surveillance, and training. 

My scary question to all of my American security friends is, how many hours of anti-terrorism training do you think the security staff at major American hotels have completed?

 

Though the investigation into the attack is still unraveling, 

Presidential Transition

Obama was elected and the nation temporarily felt good about itself until the US stock market plunged yet again.

Transition, whether it is between presidential administrations or simply for the layperson traveling from A to B, is a period of vulnerability. Too many successful assassinations occured while the victim was "in transit" - JFK, RFK, German banker Alfred Herrhausen, Yitzhak Rabin, Benazir Bhutto. All were killed between leaving the relative safety of one place and their next destination.

The American Presidency is now "in transit". A seamless exchange of power is the ultimate goal for both the Bush adminstration and the incoming Obama cabinet. It is now when the USA has to be its most vigilant in ensuring that no terrorist act will undermine our democratic process.

Much work has to be done to get the Obama presidency up to speed on national security affairs. Obama's own appointees have to past muster to get top secret clearances as Bush's outgoing team must relinquish their "keys to the castle." A couple of questions which may be on the minds of numerous security professionals: 

"What if a major terrorist attack is launched on US soil just prior to Barack Obama taking office?"

"Do the Bush folks still run the national security apparatus well into Obama's administration or will the new national security team be prepared in case an attack should occur?"

Some good news is that since 9/11, local and state law enforcement agencies have been preparing for large scale terrorist attacks and have set up efficient emergency operation centers at the local state, and regional levels. Much first responder training, tabletop, and realtime emergency response drills have been enacted in every state since 9/11.

Personally, I don't want to find out the answers to the questions highlighted above, but just like the man in the street, I put my faith, be it blindly, in the "system."