the counter terrorist magazine - february/march 2010

The Counter Terrorist ~ February/March 2010 1

The

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Counter fort hood attack • undercover influence • cyber jihad • s.a.r.s.

u.n. peacekeepingOperatiOns in aFrica

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february/march 2010

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Counter Thefebruary/march 2010


48

cO

nte

nts

58

cOVer stOry: 34 u.n. peacekeeping operations in africa By Eeben Barlow

Features:

8 Firsthand: agents of influence in undercover operations By Bill Majcher

20 Case Study: fort hood attack By Richard Marquise

48 the suspicious activity reporting system and the citizens’ role By Dr. Ross L. Riggs

58 jihad in cyberspace By John Bumgarner and Michael Mylrea

departMents:

6 from the editor Expert of What?

30 book review Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of Al Qaeda Strategist Abu Mus’ab Al-Suri

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34

8


ince June, 2009, a self described “progressive Washington, D.C. based think tank” has inundated me with emails requesting that

I interview their two “national security experts”. Where did these two “experts” gain their expertise? One gained his expertise as a military reservist civil affairs officer and the other as a political campaign staffer. According to their publicist, they are “experts”.

“Experts” are everywhere. Any news channel can provide a retired general or PhD to render their opinion on a given subject. Of course, many of the military experts will never have personally been involved in a successful real world operation of the type being discussed. Many of the PhD’s will never have visited the region for which they claim expertise.

See Nassim Taleb’s book, The Black Swan, for additional enlightening entertainment on the subject of “experts”. The Counter Terrorist, however, has always been discriminating in selecting the writers that we bring to you.

In this issue, you will, as always, find insight in each article that is not available elsewhere. In our case study you will find the authoritative report of a former FBI agent on the Fort Hood shootings and in our cover story, Eeben Barlow has provided an assessment of United Nations stabilization operations in Africa.

Mr. Barlow, founder of the company Executive Outcomes, has been alleged to be complicit in many illicit activities in previous years. I can neither confirm nor refute any of those allegations. I can, however, confirm that he is one of extremely few living men to have run multiple successful counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism campaigns. Ignore his insight at your peril.

Semper Fidelis,

Chris GrahamEditor of The Counter Terrorist

s

From the editor:

Expert of What?by chris graham Official Journal of the Homeland Security Professional

Counter The

Volume 3 • Number 1 February /march 2010

EditorChris GrahamDirector of OperationsSol BradmanDirector of AdvertizingCarmen ArnaesDirector of ProductionKelli richardsonContributing EditorsJohn AndrewsJennifer Hestermanrichard marquiseJ.J. StepienGraphic DesignMorrison Creative CompanyCopy EditorLaura TownOffice ManagerLily ValdesPublisher:Security Solutions International13155 SW 134th St. • STe 204miami, Florida 33186

ISSN 1941-8639 The Counter Terrorist Magazine, The Official Journal of the Homeland Security Professional, is published by Security Solutions International LLC, as a service to the nation’s First responders and homeland Security Professionals with the aim of deepening understanding of issues related to Terrorism. No part of the publication can be reproduced without permission from the publisher. The opinions expressed herein are the opinions of the authors represented and not necessarily the opinions of the publisher. Please direct all Editorial correspondence related to the magazine to: Security Solutions International SSI, 13155 SW 134th Street, Suite 204, miami, Florida. 33186 or [email protected] The subscription price for 6 issues is $34.99 and the price of the magazine is $5.99. (1-866-573-3999) Fax: 1-786-573-2090.For article reprints, e-prints, posters and plaques please contact:ParS International corp.Web: www.magreprints.com/quickquote.asp Email: [email protected]: 212-221-9595 • Fax: 212-221-9195Please visit the magazine web site where you can also contact the editorial staff:

www.thecounterterrroristmag.com© 2010 Security Solutions International


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Agents of Influence in undercOVer OperatiOns

Firsthand:

Counter The

by bill majcherAs a long term undercover (UC), I enjoyed a 100% success rate of engaging each target that I was sent out to meet. I have never once had the luxury of having a cooperating witness (CW) or another well placed UC to introduce me into the target group. On every occasion, I have had to make a “cold approach” to a target or a targeted organization.

©istockphoto.com/


Agents of Influence in undercOVer OperatiOns

from, what their religion was, what group or gang they belonged to, how many wives they had or how rich they were. I just needed to make sure we could communicate. This fundamental understanding of “self-interest” was taught to me by my father, and I have never forgotten the lesson.

My FAThER’S LESSOnDuring the Cold War, my father was

a Canadian military representative at NATO. Popular books and movies at that time often showed russia as an evil empire, ergo suggesting that all russians were evil. I was about 12 years old and I commented on an article in the newspaper describing some alleged russian atrocity. I said that I hated russians and it was too bad that they couldn’t all be wiped out. My father stopped what he was doing and asked me why I would make such a statement.

He asked if I had ever met any

his has included the Medellin Cartel, Sikh terrorists, Vietnamese gangs, Chinese triads, outlaw bikers, traditional organized crime

(Italian, Greek mafia), corporate ceo’s, lawyers, bankers and Iranian groups.

I am an average white male and I only speak english (and some French). I grew up in a normal middle class military family. I am Catholic, relatively athletic with average intelligence, and yet I was able to engage each and every target, even though I had no cultural, religious, political or even language commonality with many of them. In some cases, I met targets in countries or cities that I had never visited before. Many of these targets were paranoid by nature and living violent lives.

Why was I successful? Because I understood early in my career that SelF-INTereST is the most powerful motivator of the human species. I didn’t care what country the targets were

ti didn’t care what country the targets were from, what their religion was, what group or gang they belonged to, how many wives they had or how rich they were. i just needed to make sure we could communicate.

©istockphoto.com/


russians, and I said no. he asked if I thought russians laughed and cried just like us, and I said yes. He said he had a counterpart in the russian military and most likely his counterpart had a family with children. My father asked me if I thought this russian father wanted his children to be safe and happy and to have a better life than what he probably had growing up, and I said yes. He then asked me if I thought these russian children would rather play with me or kill me, and I said that they would probably want to play. My father went on to tell me that he had family members who had been murdered by the Soviets and that his aunt had spent time in a Siberian Gulag, and that he hated their political system but not the russian people.

My father said that, but for the grace of his parents immigrating to Canada when they did, I could easily have been a

GSG 9 Fragmentary Order. Photo courtesy of the author.

i only needed to determine

which agent of influence—greed, power or ego—or which combination

of agents would allow me to

become a person of interest to the

person i was targeting.

child with a father in the Soviet military. The point that resonated with me from this conversation was simple…people have similarities in goals and aspirations, regardless of race, religion or creed. It is often the methods that some people utilize to attain their objectives that we must fight against.

I am confident that Osama bin Laden was happy when his children were born. I suspect he gets angry or sad when they do something he doesn’t like. If I am able to facilitate satisfying bin Laden by facilitating his achievement of a need or desire, will he have a relationship with me? Under the right circumstances, of course he will. Whether it is criminals lusting for money and power, or terrorists driven by ego and alien beliefs, they are still open to methods and people who can facilitate their desires, thus making a proper undercover approach possible.

©istockphoto.com/

12 The Counter Terrorist ~ February/March 2010 Circle 135 on Reader Service CardCircle 49 on Reader Service Card


August Mission: August 21-29, 2009November Mission: November 6-14, 2009

AIRLInE BOMBInGon June 23, 1985, an air India 747

with 329 people on board left Montreal bound for India via London. A bomb exploded on the aircraft just off the coast of Ireland, killing all aboard and representing the single deadliest terrorist attack involving an aircraft prior to 9/11. Two hundred eighty canadians were murdered that day. A second bomb designed to blow up a Canadian Airlines flight bound for India from Vancouver had gone off moments earlier, killing two

blown out of the sky with another 300 or so fatalities. The previous year, Sikh militants had assassinated Indira Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister who had ordered the army to storm the Golden Temple, the most sacred of Sikh temples, and arrest insurgents and terrorists who were hiding there. The storming of the Temple enraged many Sikhs worldwide and created a schism within the Sikh community that pitted extremists against moderates in temples around the world. The Golden Temple was more than a holy

©istockphoto.com/

baggage handlers at Narita Airport as they were preparing to reload the plane for continuation of the flight to India. Because the flight was delayed arriving at Narita, it was two hours late departing for India, otherwise it, too, would have been

site alone. Pitched gun battles took place there for many days before the Temple was overtaken by the Indian Army, which found a large weapons cache hidden in the basement of the Temple.

It would be many years before a


number of suspects were identified as having masterminded and contributed to the events surrounding the horrific aircraft bombings. One of the accused was active in the Sikh community as a business leader, with close links to the baba Khalsa and the World youth Sikh Federation. Both groups are identified today as terrorist organizations. Both groups were very active in drug trafficking as part of their fund raising efforts.

I was tasked with engaging the Sikh business leader who was widely believed to have financed these bombings. He was arrested. In jail, I became his cell mate. My bosses were not expecting me to obtain evidence or a confession. They were mostly interested in gaining some insight before interrogation teams were set upon him. I learned what I could about this target and it was apparent to me that he was simply a greedy, narcissistic man who saw

that the militants were taking over the various Sikh temples, and that whoever controlled the temples controlled the temple finances, which totalled millions of dollars. By aligning himself with the militants and by demonstrating his support for them, he gained control of much of the money flowing through the temples. He thus contributed financially to the terrorists bent on causing as much death and destruction as possible in order to destabilize the Indian government.

When I met this individual, I portrayed myself as an arrogant stockbroker who had been arrested for fraud and, after proclaiming my innocence, I used my “facilitator of commerce” line. He opened up and was happy to talk with me, telling me about his various business interests and how I should meet his wife and sons when I got out of jail to see if we could do business together. He did not appear overly stressed about being in jail and, in

i was able to sit beside him on a

long flight and, by the time the flight ended, we had agreed to meet

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my view, seemed to almost be enjoying his “special” status. He appeared to be guided by ego and greed and was easy to engage. My views on this subject were later affirmed.

He had wanted others to carry bombs onto planes and sacrifice themselves for the greater cause, but he wasn’t prepared to martyr himself or sacrifice the lives of his children as de facto suicide bombers. Self-interest, as he saw it, decided the actions that he took.

GREEd, POWER OR EGO When I met a target, I knew that I

only had to identify what the agent of influence would be for me to successfully engage, manipulate, and ingratiate myself to the target. I only needed to determine which agent of influence—greed, power or ego—or which combination of agents would allow me to become a person of interest to the person I was targeting. Obviously, I often had the benefit of surveillance reports and detailed profiles that provided me with intelligence and insights regarding the target or the organization that they were a part of.

We tend to complicate and overanalyze the people we are after. I have always believed in the “keep it simple” approach. let’s face it, organized crime (oc) does not exist to sell drugs, commit fraud or intimidate people. OC exists to make money, pure and simple. Greed and ego were, for me, the most common points at which to develop a relationship.

MEdELLIn CARTELWhen I did a cold approach into

one of the primary “cambionistas” for the medellin cartel in 1993, I already knew that the target fancied himself a sophisticated financial player. I was able to sit beside him on a long flight and, by the time the flight ended, we had agreed to meet for dinner. This was the

be implemented, and were looking to buy trucking and warehousing facilities along the canadian/uS and uS/mexican borders. Even then, they were investing heavily in infrastructure and businesses in Mexico.

It was during this undercover operation that I developed “the line”

beginning of a three year relationship which grew to the point where I was asked to be the financial front man for the legitimate investments the Cartel wanted to make in North America.

They were already alive to the ramifications of the North American Free Trade Agreement that would soon

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and the persona that worked so well for me throughout my career. When the Colombian asked me what I did for a living I replied, “I am a facilitator of commerce. I don’t care where the money comes from and I don’t care what the investment opportunity is, I simply try to match money to opportunities.” The beauty of using this line is that I could be flexible, either having money laundered on my behalf or being the one doing the laundering. Thus, it allowed me to keep my options open.

The concept of self-interest reared its head often during this lengthy operation. One conversation that I recall occurred when a major Cartel money launderer advised me that he wanted to move out of Colombia. When I asked him why, he became hardened and said his oldest son would be 17 the following year and would be drafted into the army.

character that all human beings possess. Working undercover is nothing more or less than relationship building. The skilled undercover just has to keep it simple and recognize that base people are guided by base ideals, and that it is the job of the undercover to recognize what type of motivation is at work and exploit it. •ABOUT ThE AUThORMr. Majcher retired from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as an Inspector after 22 years of service. The author was a highly decorated undercover officer who spent much of his career working on behalf of U.S. agencies. He continues his role as a “facilitator of commerce” overseeing international business for Baron Group, a Hong Kong based Merchant Bank.

He advised me that he did not raise his children and send them to private schools around the world so they could be killed in the jungles by some narco-terrorist! Interesting that he didn’t mind facilitating the most murderous criminal group on the planet because he made a good living from it, but when it meant that his son might die in the jungle fighting the very group that he worked for, he wanted to bail.

RELATIOnShIP BUILdInGObviously, there were many other

factors and scenarios that had to play out before I had the opportunity to meet these targets. Considerable effort went into my interactions with the various targets I met throughout my career. Through it all, however, I always remained focused on the fact that they were human beings and, as such, were vulnerable to the imperfections in



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Case Study:

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by richard marquiseOn november 5, 2009, after giving away possessions including: food, furniture and copies of the Koran, army psychiatrist nidal hasan, who had told friends he was going to visit his (deceased) parents before deploying to Afghanistan, concealed his Fn herstal 5.7x28mm pistol (and possibly a revolver). he had purchased 13 extra magazines. he made his way to the Soldier Readiness Center at Ft. hood, Texas where hundreds of deploying soldiers were being given shots and eye examinations. hasan jumped on a table and yelled “Allahu Akhbar!” (God is Great) in Arabic, a language he did not speak.

FOrt hOOd

©istockphoto.com/

attack


he became one of only a few hundred psychiatrists in the military. He was assigned to Ft. Hood, a Texas base that has reported a large number of suicides.2 Hasan had asked about resigning his com-mission and reportedly offered to pay back his educational expenses. Hasan report-edly doubted his military commitment, a situation some believe worsened after he received orders to Afghanistan.

Hasan met Anwar al-Aulaqi, a radi-cal yemeni-american imam while living in the Washington, DC area and later corresponded with him on the internet. Al-Aulaqi had left the United States for yemen after being investigated in connec-tion with the 9/11 attacks 3. on July 15, 2009, al-Aulaqi had posted a message on

After purchasing his weapon in August 2009, he began frequenting a firing range. 7 He was reported to have “applauded the killing of a US soldier at an Arkansas recruiting center”. 8

asan reportedly opened fire and within minutes, 13 lie dead or dying and 31 more

were injured. Hasan’s rampage ended when two base police officers shot and seriously wounded him. 1 When word of the attack became public, it was quickly followed by the release of his name and occupation. “Had a US military man committed a terrorist attack within our borders, targeting his own force?” His motives may not be fully known for some time, if ever.

Born in the United States to Palestin-ian parents, Nidal Malik Hasan graduated from Virginia Tech and against the wishes of his family, joined the U.S. Army. The military sent him to medical school and

h©istockphoto.com/attack Nidal Hasan. ©istockphoto.com/


Arkansas recruiting center”. 8

Information has also emerged since the attacks that suggests that Hasan had busi-ness cards which contained the abbrevia-tion “Soa(SWT)” which some experts claim is common shorthand for “Soldier of Allah,” and “Subhanahu Wa Ta’all,” or “Glory to God.” 9

In December 2008 his emails to al Aulaqi were discovered by a Joint Terror-ist Task Force (JTTF) in San Diego. a report stated that the “content of those communications was consistent with research being conducted by Major Hasan in his position as a psychiatrist at… Walter reed….and nothing else derogatory was found…. the JTTF concluded (he) was not involved in terrorist activities or plan-ning.” This information was shared with members of the Washington JTTF. The FBI did not indicate whether Department of Defense personnel assigned to that task force saw the content of the emails. 10 However, it has become clear that Major Hasan’s actions over the past several years

his website; “Blessed are those who fight against them (armies fighting in the Mus-lim world) and blessed are these (martyrs) who are killed by them.” 4 Three weeks later, Hasan purchased the weapon used on November 5 at a Killeen, Texas gun store for $1140. 5

Hasan apparently criticized the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He called himself a Muslim first and an American second. He spoke at a seminar at Walter reed military hospital in Washington in June 2007, making a presentation entitled “Why the War on Terror is a War on Islam.” Dur-ing his presentation he said, “It’s getting harder…for Muslims…to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims.” 6 He had reportedly attempted to find a Muslim wife but after assignment to Ft. Hood in the fall of 2009, he began frequenting strip clubs. After purchasing his weapon in August 2009, he began frequenting a firing range. 7 He was reported to have “applauded the killing of a US soldier at an

Aden, Yemen, Oct. 12, 2000 — Seventeen Sailors aboard USS Cole (DDG 67) were killed as a result of an explosion Oct. 12 which left a 40 foot by 40 foot hole in the port side of the

Norfolk, Va.,- based destroyer. U.S. Navy photo. Circle 343 on Reader Service Card


had come to the attention of those in his chain of command.

The investigation has allegedly deter-mined that hasan had donated $20,000 to $30,000 a year to overseas Islamic chari-ties.11 There have also been allegations that his emails to al Aulaqi, contained “cryptic and coded exchanges” explaining how to transfer money overseas so as to not attract the attention of law enforcement.12

Based on all that is known, many have concluded that the Ft. Hood attack was a terrorist attack against the U.S. military. The military has, in fact, been targeted domestically numerous times in the past few years. Normally, these ideologically motivated attacks originate from outside of the military.

In July 2006, adam Gadahn (azzam the american), a self described al Qaeda internet spokesman, encouraged those with grievances against the US military action in Iraq “to go on a shooting spree at the Marine housing facilities at Camp

Pendleton” (california).13 Derrick Shareef, who was later convicted

in a plot to attack Illinois shopping centers, conspired in 2003-2004 with a former u.S. Navy sailor, Paul Hall, to attack military recruiting targets in Phoenix or a base in San Diego. They did not carry out these attacks but in 2006 again planned to attack either a recruiting station or a military base with a rocket propelled grenade. Hall, while on duty in the Navy, had emailed an al Qaeda website congratulating them on the 2000 attack on the USS Cole. Hall was indicted on terrorism and espionage charges in 2007. 14

In June 2005, Kevin James and three other men were indicted in California on charges alleging that they were about to “wage war” on the United States. They conducted surveillance of an army ball and ten army recruiting centers near Los Ange-les. These men believed an armed assault would be the most effective type of attack to cause mass casualties. Some of these

hall, while on duty in the navy, had emailed an al Qaeda website congratulating them on the 2000 attack on the uss cole.

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ons and engaged in tactical and firearms training in rural Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They had surveilled military ship-yards and bases in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as the location of the annual Army-Navy football game. They discounted some targets because of security. These men planned to conduct a small arms attack but were arrested before they took further action.16

on June 1, 2009, carlos bledsoe, a native born American, shot two soldiers standing in front of an Army recruiting center in little rock, arkansas, killing one. He later said he was upset with the U.S. military because of “what they had done to Muslims in the past.”17 A number of weapons were found in his vehicle but a search of his computer indicated that he had targeted military recruiting centers in the southeastern united States, New york and Philadelphia. 18 He had previously been arrested then released while travel-ing in yemen on a false Somali passport (and interviewed by an FbI agent). his attorney later said that he was “an impres-sionable youth driven to public service in an impoverished Middle Eastern country. Teachings by hardened terrorists in ye-men…drove him to become someone his parents did not know.” 19 He had come to the attention of a local JTTF but was not deemed an immediate threat.

on September 24, 2009, a 19 year old Jordanian citizen parked a vehicle filled with what he thought were explosives under a 60 story Dallas, Texas, office building. His “associates”—undercover FBI agents—furnished him with a vehicle; cell phone and what he thought were explosives. When his attempts to detonate his bomb with the cell phone failed, he was arrested. He had told agents a few months before that “I want to destroy…targets…everything that helps America on its war with Arabs will be targeted.” He said one of his initial targets were military recruiting centers. 20

That same day, authorities in North Carolina filed a superseding indictment

men did physical and firearms training in a Los Angeles park. The plot unraveled after the men were arrested following a gas station hold up.15

In may 2007, six men from the balkans were arrested in New Jersey and charged with planning to attack soldiers at the Ft. Dix army base. They had procured weap-

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he said one of his initial targets were military recruiting

centers. 20


against Daniel Patrick Boyd and seven co-defendants (all but one uS citizens). The conspirators planned to raise money, buy weapons, train and “become ‘mujihadeen’ and die ‘shahid’ (martyrs), in further-ance of violent jihad.” Boyd had received training in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They said if efforts to fight jihad overseas proved impossible, they would act within the United States. Boyd had conducted surveillance of the Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia. he had researched maps of the base on the internet, and had acquired weapons and ammunition for the attack. 21

In the past 30 years, terrorists have infrequently targeted military personnel in the United States. Most terrorist targets in America have been symbolic, corporate or non military government facilities.

These attacks demonstrate that there are a number of individuals interested in attacking U.S. military personnel in the United States. Most have no connec-tion to the military, but view them as the enemy. Hasan’s attack may be an anomaly, yet one must wonder how many others having a similar view would be willing to give their lives to conduct such a symbolic attack.

Military targets abroad have been hardened, but the freedoms we enjoy allow enemies living in the United States to tar-get what they perceive to be softer targets. There are countless military targets in the United States. Hasan’s attack demon-strates the significance of the threat. Inhib-iting soldiers from defending themselves and failing to acknowledge the existence of the threat will not prevent similar future incidents.

Intelligence sharing, improved facility security (to include all military facilities, not just bases), and acknowledgement of the threat are necessary actions. Building force protection relationships with the local JTTF as well as appropriate state and local law enforcement entities in advance, as well as reporting thefts or acquisition of military uniforms, vehicles or identifica-



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DISCLAIMER: This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number 2006-GD-T6-K001 administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, Training and Exercises Integration Secretariat. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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tion is the key to preventing many of these types of attacks from succeeding in the future. •ABOUT ThE AUThORMr. Marquise is a retired FBI agent. He led the American task force which investigated the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland and is the author of “Scotbom: Evidence and the Lockerbie Investigation” Algora, 2006. He is a Senior Research Associate with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research and teaches in the State and Local Antiterrorism Training (SLATT) program. He also teaches for the US Department of State in the Anti Terrorism Assistance Program.

EndnOTES1 “Terrified or Terrorist,” by Nancy

Gibbs, Time Magazine, November 23, 2009

2 http://www.upi.com/Top_News/uS/2009/11/06/Fort-hood-plagued-by-suicides/uPI-33131257558240/ retrieved November 23, 2009

3 “anwar al awlaki: Pro al-Qaida Ideo-logue With Influence in the West,” Febru-ary 5, 2009, NeFa Foundation report

4 “hasan’s Ties to radical cleric raises Issues for Law Enforcement,” by Spencer S. hsu, Washington Post, November 18, 2009

5 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/baracko-bama/6531599/Fort-hood-massacre-Barack-Obama-would-have-to-sign-death-warrant.html retrieved November 23, 2009.

6 “Terrified or Terrorist,” by Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine, November 23, 2009

7 “Accused Fort Hood Shooter Was a regular at Shooting range, Strip club,” by Joseph rhee, mary-rose abraham and brian ross, abc News, November 16, 2009.

in the past 30 years, terrorists have infrequently targeted military personnel in the united states. Most terrorist targets in america have been symbolic, corporate or non military government facilities.

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8 “Terrified or Terrorist,” by Nance G8bbs, Time magazine, November 23, 2009.

9 “Alleged Fort Hood Shooter Had Jihad Message on his Business Cards,” by Dave Gibson, Norfolk Crime Examiner, Novem-ber 13, 2009.

10 “Investigation Continues into Fort Hood Shooting,” FBI Press release, Novem-ber 11, 2009.

11 “hasan Was Worried about results of recent hIV Test Investigators also Find accused Fort hood Shooter Sent $30,000 a year overseas to Islamic ‘charities’,” by Joseph rhee, anna Schecter and brian ross, abc News, November 19, 2009

12 “Hasan had intensified contact with cleric,” by Carrie Johnson, Spencer S. Hsu and Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, November 21, 2009.

13 http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&area=sd&ID=SP120106 retrieved November 23, 2009

14 “The Illinois Shopping Mall Plot,” report #3 in a NeFa series, “Target america,” updated December 2007.

15 U.S. v James, Central District of Cali-fornia, Indictment filed august 31, 2005.

16 U.S. v Duka, District of New Jersey, No 1: 07-cr00459rbK, complaint filed may 7, 2007.

17 little rock, arkansas Police report of Detective Tommy hudson 11997, June 1, 2009.

18 Search Warrant return filed in District court, little rock, arkansas, June 2, 2009.

19 “lawyer: Shooting Suspect radicalized in yemen,” Jon campbell, army Times, June 6, 2009.

20 “Bomb Plot Targeting Dallas Sky-scraper Foiled,” Jason Trahan, Todd J. Gil-man and Scott Goldstein, Dallas Morning News, September 25, 2009,

21 U.S. v Daniel Patrick Boyd, et al, Eastern District of North Carolina, NO 5:09-cr-216-1-Fl to 5:09-cr-216-8-Fl, Superseding Indictment

22 “Cleric says he was confidant to hasan,” by Sudarsan raghavan, Washing-ton Post, November 16, 2009.


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Book review

Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of Al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus’ab al-Suri

reviewed by: john andrews

Nation of Islam, and to open the minds and hearts of the nation’s youth so they feel a commitment to the nation as a whole and not to some individual country drawn on a map by the infidels or their lackeys (lia, 370).

Al-Suri stated that although it is not possible to gather the Islamic nation in

training camps, and in secret training within jihadists’ own houses. The group providing this training and establishing the units would not be involved in military operations or under the scrutiny

by: brynjar lia

training camps, it is possible to plant training camps where members of the Islamic nation reside. The operational units must first be trained in Islamic doctrine in general and jihadist doctrine in particular. They must be provided with the necessary materials to prepare them mentally and ideologically to develop a desire to fight. This training could be provided through the Internet, in mobile

a bu Mus’ab Al-Suri is the subject of brynjar lia’s 2008 book, Architect of Global Jihad: The

Life of Al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus’ab al-Suri (columbia university Press). Al-Suri is a career jihadist. Lia’s book chronicles al-Suri’s Syrian experience; exile in Europe; Afghanistan, Algeria and London experience; Taliban experience; and finally excerpts from al-Suri’s own book The Global Islamic Resistance Call. It is this work that has influenced al-Qaida in moving away from a secret hierarchical organization to decentralized cells and individuals acting independently of any central organization.

Al-Suri was an intellectual, not a cleric. He applied logical reasoning and secular knowledge to provide strategic and operative frameworks for future jihadist warfare. His goal was to support individual terrorism by using loners or self-sustained, independent cells. (Lia 2008, 6–11) al-Suri’s teachings melded leftist radicalism with a militant, pan-Islamic nationalism that would appeal to well–educated, young jihadists.

Al-Suri believed that secret organizations that the jihadists established were defeated because the cells were exposed and infiltrated by governments. The jihadists did not keep their propaganda, media, and indoctrination activities separate from their operational cells (lia, 339). They also failed to reach out to the masses and become popular from a grass-roots perspective. He believed that it was absolutely necessary to have a sense of commitment to the

according to an-nabhani, such a government would be led by a caliph, who is a substitute for Mohammed, a political as well as a religious leader. he would declare jihad and wage war against all nonbelievers, and would not recognize existing national, tribal, or clan differences.

of the security services. The group would carry out surveillance, information gathering, fund-raising, and recruitment. Once it had completed its task, it would leave the area to preserve security.

Up to four or five units could be created; however, security would be maintained because if one of the units


were infiltrated, it could only reveal information about that one unit. The other units would be autonomous and known only by the trainer who is no longer in the area. The remaining operational units that had been training in jihadist-guerrilla warfare would then conduct their operation, attacking their target (lia, 451–455).

What I have just described is a system of action, not a centralized organization. It is a system that has the ability to perpetuate itself without any guidance from a central command. It can even be formed spontaneously without any direct intervention from the outside. If an individual is extremely upset about an action by the U.S. government and wants to react, he can train himself through the Internet, books, pamphlets, and computer discs. He can engage in a physical training program, join a gun club to learn how to handle small arms, and obtain literature on intelligence, spying, and secret warfare. He would, in effect, become a jihadist lone wolf as it appears that Major Nidal Hasan may have done at Fort Hood. The glue that bonds these disparate individuals and units together is a common doctrine and goal. That doctrine is jihad and that goal is to defeat God’s enemies.

The concepts espoused by al-Suri are also employed by a little-known organization called Hitzb ut Tahrir or the Islamic Party of Liberation. It was founded in 1952 by Sheikh Taqiuddin an- Nabhani al Falestini. It is a political party based on Islam. Islam in this context is not only a religion but an all-encompassing ideology and way of life that claims to have an answer for all man’s problems, whether economic, cultural, social, or political. In this specific school of thought, one can only truly live as a Muslim if he lives under a government controlled by Muslims. Only under such


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a system can human nature thrive and one experience tranquility. All other forms of government contradict human nature and bring nothing but misery to mankind. This is especially true of democracy, which states that sovereignty belongs to the people and not to Allah. The goal of this organization according to its website is “ . . . seizing the reins of power through the Ummah (Muslim community) in order to implement the ideology in a comprehensive manner, because it is forbidden to seize partial power. Hence, the arrival at the ruling must be total and the implementation of Islam must be comprehensive” (Hizb ut Tahrir website).

According to an-Nabhani, such a government would be led by a caliph, who is a substitute for Mohammed, a political as well as a religious leader. He would declare jihad and wage war against all nonbelievers, and would not

recognize existing national, tribal, or clan differences. The caliph would be appointed by a group of prominent men and remain a caliph as long as he follows Islamic law. He would not be accountable to the people (cohen 2003, 2). a three-pronged approach is used to achieve the caliphate.

First, establish a vanguard of loyal cell members. These members would undergo a two-year period of study supervised by a party member. After their indoctrination is complete they would become a cell member along with five to eight other members. Only the commander of the cell knows the next level of the leadership.

Second, convince the Ummah to adopt the ideology of the party and follow the established vanguard. Militants advocate accomplishing this by attacking the West as colonial powers who control the intellectual, political, economic, and military apparatus of the Islamic


countries through the corrupt regimes of the current Muslim leaders who do not follow the rules of Islam.

Third, seize the reins of power and establish the caliphate through the Ummah and the vanguard. The party may then appoint an emir or military leader who would declare jihad against nonbelievers, expel Western citizens, and terminate existing diplomatic agreements with Western governments (Cohen 2003, 3–5).

There are approximately 10,000 hard-core Hitzb ut Tahrir members operating in more than 40 countries, with a significant presence in London (cohen 2003, 1). They have recently conducted open forums in the United States, including in the Chicago area. on July 19, 2009, approximately 500 people attended a conference sponsored by the Hizb ut-Tahrir captioned “The Fall of capitalism and the rise of Islam” in Oak Lawn, Illinois. A spokesman for the group, Mohammad Malkawi, stated that Hizb ut-Tahrir condemns terrorism and has never indulged in recruiting jihadists. He said, “We do not train them for violence or for jihad. Our objective is to create an Islamic state of Khalifah in the Muslim world.” However, intelligence sources have indicated that Khalid Sheikh mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, and abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the former leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, are both former members (Fox News).

Compare what Malkawi said to the U.S. press with what Muhammad Ibrahim, member of the advisory council of Hizb al-Tahrir in Lebanon, stated: “Some people tried to interpret jihad to mean nothing more than self-defense. Thus, the Muslims abandoned the pinnacle of their glory, and relinquished their responsibility toward the world, as a result of their ideological weakness and their lack of understanding of the laws of



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the Shari’a of the Prophet Muhammad. In principle, Jihad is an offensive Jihad, which was instated in order to spread Islam throughout the world.” Also Salah Al-Din Adhadhda, member of the press bureau of Hizb al-Tahrir stated “ . . . the Jihad of a nation over 1.5 billion strong has been reduced to the killing of an American in Iraq, a Briton in Afghanistan, a Jew in Palestine, or a russian in chechnya . . . .true celebration should only occur with the conquest of the capitals of the world by the message of Islam . . .” (memrI).

The jihadists reveal their goals. It is not only in the historically Islamic countries that they wish to establish their caliphate, but in all the capitals of the world. We only have to pay attention and listen to them—not what they disseminate to media outlets, but to what they tell their own followers. The merging of orthodox

Islamist ideology with Leninist strategy and tactics is a combination that may prove to be the most challenging yet. •ABOUT ThE AUThOR

Mr. Andrews served as a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for twenty-three years. He worked the Vernon Jordan shooting in Indiana as a first office agent, and he conducted international terrorist investigations for nine years. Mr. Andrews currently serves as an adjunct professor at Florida State University, and he has also been a guest lecturer at Troy University. He conducts police training throughout the United States for Benchmark Professional Seminars and Unitech.

REFEREnCEScohen, ariel, (2003) “hizb ut-Tahrir:

An Emerging Threat to U.S Interest in

central asia” retrieved from http://www.heritage.org.

Fox News, (July 20, 2009) “Protesters Gather Outside Islamic Conference Near Chicago”, retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com

Hizb ut Tahrir website, retrieved from http://english.hizbuttahrir.org

lia, brynjar, (2008) “architect of Global Jihad: The life of al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus’ab al-Suri, Columbia University Press.

memrI, “on al-Jazeera TV: Lebanese Islamists Favor Offensive Jihad to Conquer the World, Impose Islam, Special Dispatch, No. 2485, august 12, 2009.



Counter The

u.n. peacekeepingOperations in Africa

by eeben barlowSince fielding the first United nations (U.n.) peacekeeping mission in 1948, the world has witnessed the deployment of about 63 U.n. peacekeeping operations. Since 1989 the U.n.’s department of Peacekeeping Operations (dPKO) has deployed 18 missions to Africa.

©istockphoto.com/


y November 2006 the DPKo’s deployment had reached an all-time high with 81,000 military and police personnel

and 15,000 civilians. With 18 active missions in progress at that time, it was estimated that the DPKO would possibly require a budget of u.S. $7 billion.1 by 2010 this figure will have increased significantly, particularly in Africa.

ThE U.n.’S dPKO AFRICAn MISSIOnS

When the DPKO’s African missions are tabulated, one can gain some perspective of the scope of the U.N.’s involvement in africa. Table 1 below chronicles these operations.

ONUC

UNAVEM I

UNTAG

MINURSO

UNAVEM II

UNOSOM I

ONUMOZ

UNOSOM II

UNOMUR

UNAMIR

UNOMIL

UNASOG

UNAVEM III

MONUA

MINURCA

UNOMSIL

UNAMSIL

MONUC

UNMEE

UNMIL

UNOCI

ONUB

UNMIS

United Nations Operation In The Congo

United Nations Angola Verification Mission I

United Nations Transition Assistance Group

United Nations Mission For The Referendum In Western Sahara

United Nations Angola Verification Mission Ii

United Nations Operation In Somalia I

United Nations Operation In Mozambique

United Nations Operation In Somalia Ii

United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda

United Nations Assistance Mission For Rwanda

United Nations Observer Mission In Liberia

United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group

United Nations Angola Verification Mission Iii

United Nations Observer Mission In Angola

United Nations Mission In The Central African Republic

United Nations Observer Mission In Sierra Leone

United Nations Mission In Sierra Leone

United Nations Organization Mission In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo

United Nations Mission In Ethiopia And Eritrea

United Nations Mission In Liberia

United Nations Operation In Côte d’Ivoire

United Nations Mission In Burundi

United Nations Mission In The Sudan

July 1960

December 1988

April 1989

April 1991

May 1991

April 1992

December 1992

March 1993

June 1993

October 1993

September 1993

May 1994

February 1995

June 1997

April 1998

July 1998

October 1999

November 1999

July 2000

September 2003

April 2004

June 2004

March 2005

June 1964

May 1991

March 1990

ongoing

February 1995

March 1993

December 1994

March 1995

September 1994

March 1996

September 1997

June 1994

June 1997

February 1999

February 2000

October 1999

December 2005

ongoing

ongoing

ongoing

ongoing

ongoing

ongoing

Congo

Angola

Namibia

Western Sahara

Angola

Somalia

Mozambique

Somalia

Rwanda, Uganda

Rwanda

Liberia

Chad, Libya

Angola

Angola

Central African Republic

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Democratic Republic of Congo

Ethiopia, Eritrea

Liberia

Côte d’Ivoire

Burundi

Sudan

VI from the beginning, later added Chapter VII authorization

Chapter VI authorization only




Chapter VI authorization only*


Chapter VI and VII authorization from the beginning
















Official Mission Name Mission Start Mission End In Countries Mandate according to U.N. Charter Chapter Abbrev.

TABLE 1

Source: Based on data published by U.N. (http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/index.asp, 5.5.2006) *UNOSOM was established to monitor the ceasefire in Mogadishu and to escort deliveries of humanitarian aid. It later worked together with the Unified Task Force (UNITAF—contingents from 24 countries led by the United States) in an effort to establish a safe environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The U.N .Security Council used Chapter VII to authorize the UNITAF operation.

B


dEFInInG SUCCESSSuccess can only be achieved or

claimed if a mission has succeeded in bringing about and maintaining peace, allowing for nation-building to take place in an environment where the local population can live with the knowledge that they are secure.

However, in order to assess the success of the DPKO’s missions, one needs to analyze differences between a DPKO

mission and an alternate option exercised by an African government that has experienced the DPKO’s deployment in its country.

ThE SIERRA LEOnE dEBACLE

Sierra Leone has had firsthand experience of a devastating, cruel, and vicious civil war. With a civil war already in progress when he seized power,

Organization Costs Result

United Nations (UNAMSIL1)1998–2005

Executive Outcomes1995–1997

International Community

World Food Programme and other U.N. agencies and NGOs

Military coup ousts elected president.RUF2 over-runs Freetown.Thousands of civilians killed.Damage estimated at millions of dollars. Thousands become refugees.U.N. considers UNAMSIL to be most successful U.N.-mission.

RUF defeated on battlefield.Thousands of civilian lives saved.Child-soldiers demobilized.Government gains control of diamond fields and rutile mines. Food convoys travel in safety. RUF signs cease-fire. Refugees return home to SL. Elections held.

Thousands of people prevented from dying of malnutrition.

?

U.S. $600 million per year (2001)

U.S. $31 million per year (approx.)

U.S. $60 million per year to maintain refugees outside of Sierra Leone

?

From: Barlow, Eeben, Executive Outcomes, Against all Odds, Galago, 2007.1 UNAMSIL arrived in Sierra Leone after EO left the country, ostensibly to “take over and maintain peace.” 2 Revolutionary United Front

TABLE 2

©istockphoto.com/


When the genocide in rwanda erupted in early april 1994, the united nations had had ample warning of what was to come. indeed, kofi annan had ordered that no action be taken.3

Captain Valentine Strasser’s calls to the United Nations for assistance were ignored. He subsequently contracted a private military company (Pmc) known as executive outcomes (eo) to come to the rescue of Sierra Leone. EO arrived in Sierra leone in april 1995 and when the company left in January 1997 because of massive international pressure, the rebel forces that had terrorized the country were all but destroyed. The United Nations then stepped in.

In assessing the U.N.’s role in terms of cost and achievement, one gains perspective by comparing it against EO. This is illustrated in Table 2 at left:

Whereas there can be no doubt that the United Nations has the potential to be an instrument for peace and stability, there are certainly grave doubts about how this organization went about its business in Sierra Leone.

As Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, commented on the situation in Sierra Leone:

Diplomatic pressure, expressions of international outrage, and U.N. missions have all failed. People die, refugees flee, children starve, societies disintegrate.

The only strategy that has worked is military force. In 1995, Sierra Leone’s

©istockphoto.com/


government was tottering before an offensive of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The regime hired the firm Executive Outcomes, made up of South African mercenaries, which routed the RUF.

But one requirement of the political “settlement” pushed by the United States was to send Executive Outcomes home. U.N. peacekeepers proved to be dismal replacements.2

ThE RWAndA ERUPTIOnWhen the genocide in rwanda erupted

in early april 1994, the united Nations had had ample warning of what was to come. Indeed, Kofi Annan had ordered that no action be taken.3

The case of rwanda becomes even more tragic when considering that the United Nations approached EO around 12 april 1994. The request by the United Nations was to rapidly

©istockphoto.com/



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put together a force and intervene in rwanda. The company’s proposal was immediately rejected by the United Nations for being “too expensive.” It also needs to be mentioned that EO had to make provision for the purchase of all of its equipment, including all weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, signals equipment, vehicles, and aircraft. Table 3 chronicles the relevant operational costs and their achievements.

Indeed, the United Nations itself released reports documenting two of its “worst stumbles”:

According to these confessions, u.N. peacekeepers in rwanda stood by as hutu slaughtered some 800,000 Tutsi. In Bosnia . . . its blue-helmeted troops were used as hostages by the Serbs to deter a military response from the West. Presumably, Secretary-General Kofi Annan—who was head of the U.N.’s peacekeeping department at the time—hopes that an institutional mea culpa now will wipe the slate clean and allow the organization to play a more vigorous role in the future.4

Organization Costs Result

U.N.

U.S. MilitaryOps Distant Runner and Support Hope

Executive Outcomes

France

Belgium

Hundreds of thousands of civilians slaughtered (approx. 500,000)

Rescue of 148 Americans and 82 “others” 500,0001 people killed in genocide

Rejected by U.N. as too expensive

See U.N. Result

See U.N. Result

U.S. $600 million for 6 months (approx.)

U.S. $147.8 million for 6 months

Budgeted U.S. $100 million for 6 months

Unknown

Unknown

From: Barlow, Eeben, Executive Outcomes, Against all Odds, Galago, 2007. 1Later estimates have put the civilians killed at 800,000.

TABLE 3

From a strictly operational point of view, the u.n.’s peacekeeping operations are nothing short of disastrous.


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The above comparisons illustrate certain weaknesses in the DPKO’s makeup and mandate.

From a strictly operational point of view, the U.N.’s peacekeeping operations are nothing short of disastrous. With a lack of strategy, poorly defined and unstructured operational missions, inadequately trained troops, and apparently dubious leadership, these operations tend to prolong the conflicts instead of shorten them. As the conflicts deepen, the United Nations appears to attempt to rectify the failure by increasing its troop levels. Thus, “mission creep” sets in—and the costs of maintaining these operations soar.

In addition to the above criticisms and the excessive costs to fund and maintain these missions, the allegations of bias, rampant u.N. sexual assaults, cover–up, and the inability to secure peace are synonymous with U.N. peacekeeping missions.5

Countries such as Angola, Burundi, Democratic republic of the congo, Chad, Somalia, and Sudan simply add to the long list of U.N. failures. In none of

these countries did the United Nations bring about peace, resolve the conflict, stop the killing, or even partially resolve the underlying tensions and conflicts. yet, even failures are lauded by the United Nations as achievements.

The United Nations states that its peacekeeping “continues to evolve, both conceptually and operationally, to meet new challenges and political realities. Faced with the rising demand for increasingly complex peace operations . . . . The Organization has worked vigorously to strengthen its capacity to manage and sustain field operations and, thus, contribute to the most important function of the United Nations—maintaining international peace and security.”6

Whereas these claims may seem reasonable on paper, the reality in the field is disconcerting. As the organization involves itself with its own troop surges and ever-growing budgets, people continue to be displaced and slaughtered, thugs and criminals continue to control entire regions, and the human disasters continue to grow. The result is a lack of confidence in these missions by the local population.

But the root cause of these failures

Army camp in the Sudan. ©istockphoto.com/Claudiad



seems to escape the United Nations. Perhaps it is viewed as politically incorrect to assess the real reasons for failure or perhaps it is that the United Nations wishes to see itself as an organization that will only involve itself in “keeping peace.” However, to speak of keeping peace when there is no peace is a fallacy.

To keep peace there needs to be an end to hostilities. The conflict needs to be resolved—either politically or militarily—and the antagonists need to accept that peace.

ARMEd InTERvEnTIOn As retired Australian General John

Sanderson once remarked, ”you either go to war or go home.”7 In dealing with civil wars and failed states, armed intervention remains the only option available to force the antagonist to the negotiation table or destroy the antagonist on the battlefield once talks have failed.

The U.N.’s DPKO has the legitimacy to intervene in conflicts but it does not have the ability to end them.

As a continent, Africa will continue to haunt the DPKO. As journalist Neil MacFarquhar noted recently:

Among the most noticeable failures in recent months: the inability of troops in Congo and the Darfur region of Sudan to stop the violence that is killing civilians, the difficulty in finding enough

troops for either of those missions, and the unwillingness of any nation to lead a possible mission in Somalia.

In Congo in December, a contingent of 100 peacekeepers that was less than a mile away did not intervene in a rebel massacre that human rights investigators said killed 150 people; the peacekeepers reported that they were short of equipment and manpower and lacked the intelligence capacity to figure out what was happening in the nearby town.8

Such excuses do nothing to enhance the image of the U.N. DPKO’s competence.

The international community will never accept a U.N.-controlled and led “standing force” to ensure an end to hostilities or conflict. Many nations will refuse to put their forces under U.N. commanders. Others have their doubts about such a force intervening in conflicts across the globe. While this uncertainty continues, Africa burns. This was alluded to by Bruce Jones, the director of the Center on International Cooperation at New york:

Peacekeeping has been pushed to the wall. There is a sense across the system that this is a mess—overburdened, underfunded, overstretched.Has the time not come for the United

Nations to accept its inability in the field and acknowledge its failures? Are

peacekeeping has been pushed to the wall. there is a sense across

the system that this is a mess—overburdened, underfunded, overstretched.

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the claims of being underfunded not a direct result of using ill-trained troops from poorer countries—and in the documented case of Bulgaria, hardened criminals dressed in military uniforms—as opposed to professional soldiers? Is it not the time to begin vetting and training troops correctly prior to mission deployment?

Doug Brooks of the International Peace Operations Association said:

The much maligned South African PMC, ‘Executive Outcomes’ (EO), actually brought two African wars to an end, and they did it cheaper and

faster than would have been possible using multinational organisations. In Sierra Leone, ECOMOG (the Cease-Fire Monitoring Group of ECOWAS) spent hundreds of millions of dollars over several years, losing a war that EO had won in ten months for only 35 million dollars. Before that, in Angola, the UN spent 1.5 billion dollars in its failed attempt to solidify a peace under the Lusaka Protocol that EO had created in a year’s fighting, for only 80 million dollars. In both cases, the PMC had done the hard combat, but the subsequent peace was lost because the international organisations were unable to provide the effective post-conflict security necessary to establish a long-term settlement. In both cases, EO. . . could easily have continued to provide the necessary security that would have permanently ended those wars.

. . . African conflicts are complex and nuanced. It is unrealistic to expect PMCs to solve the larger political issues. A PMC can stop the killing and provide the essential window of peace that will

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SUICIDETERROR

Understanding and Confronting the threat

edited byophir falk and henry Morgenstern

falkM

orgensternSUICIDE TERROR

Understan

ding an

d Confron

ting the threat

Based on U.s. and israeli experiences and detailed interviews with frontline personnel, Suicide Terror enables

policymakers, first responders, and students of homeland security to understand and deal with the growing

threat of suicide terror. it analyzes recent suicide attacks as well as our current vulnerabilities and likely scenarios

for future attacks. following the expert authors’ advice, readers learn possible measures to prevent an attack.

Moreover, they learn how to prepare for and implement an effective and quick response to minimize casualties

and losses in the event of an attack.following an overview and historical review of suicide terror, the book covers:• Globaljihad• Israel’sconfrontationwithsuicideterrorism• America’sexperiencewithsuicidebombings• Internationalizationofsuicideterrorism• High-riskscenariosandfuturetrends• Methodsforconfrontingsuicideterror• MedicalmanagementofsuicideterrorismUsing eye-witness accounts, the text recreates the look and feel of actual terrorism incidents. Detailed case

studies help readers get into the minds of suicide terrorists in order to understand how to best prevent and confront

these very dangerous threats.Thisbookisadefinitivestudyofsuicideterror,synthesizingtheexperienceofwell-knownIsraeliandAmerican

experts who have dealt with it firsthand. anyone responsible for understanding, preventing, and confronting this

devastating threat should read this book and consider its recommendations with all seriousness.OPHIR FALK, LLB, MBA, isaPartnerattheNaveh,KantorEven-HarlawfirmandaResearchFellowatthe

institute for Counter terrorism, where he has published numerous articles in the field. Mr. falk has over a decade

of experience in various security capacities and served as a consultant for the 2004 olympic games, where he

carried out risk assessments for olympic venues and critical national infrastructure.HENRY MORGENSTERN is the President of security solutions international, a company that has trained more

than 500 federal, state, and local agencies to effectively confront the threat of terror and regularly takes groups of

firstresponderstoIsraeltostudyHomelandSecurity.Mr.Morgensternisawidelypublishedauthoronthesubject

ofsuicideterror.Hehasofferedexpertcommentaryonterror-relatedissuesforNBC,ABC,CBS,Fox,numerous

radio stations, and Web broadcasts.

Ophir Falk and Henry Morgenstern have compiled a book that should be read by anyone who is

serious about winning the war on terror. By painstakingly analyzing the empirical data, they help us

better understand the nature of our enemies and why they employ these barbaric tactics. Most crucially,

they offer important insights on how terrorism can be effectively confronted and ultimately defeated.

In so doing, they have performed an invaluable service for all those who are committed to winning this

crucial battle. —Benjamin Netanyahu, former Prime Minister of Israel

FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS AND ANALYSES FROM FRONTLINE PERSONNEL AND ExPERTS IN THE wAR AGAINST TERROR

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allow reconciliation and free and fair self-determination . . .Ultimately, only Africans can provide the enduring political solutions to Africa’s seemingly endless wars.

Nevertheless, of all the tools currently available to end organized African violence, only PMCs are capable of quickly bringing peace to the African continent. They should not be dismissed as mere ‘mercenaries.’ They have proven their ability to push low-intensity conflicts to settlements, and they have shown their willingness to enter seemingly intractable conflicts, where Western powers dare not tread. They have a unique and remarkable ability to act as a force multiplier, working with local forces and nullifying problems of scale. PMCs can be used to pacify areas of ethnic tension, provide peacekeeping services, oversee truce monitoring operations, protect NGO programs, undertake

humanitarian rescue operations, and if necessary, even conclude wars decisively.9 A closer look into the U.N.’s claims

that it achieved success in Namibia, Angola, Sierra Leone, and elsewhere reveals that its claims are unfounded. Whereas its presence in those countries cannot be disputed, it took the intervention of other forces on the battlefield to end the conflicts—under the watchful gaze of the United Nations. That, in itself, is an indictment of the DPKO. •ABOUT ThE AUThOR

Mr. Barlow is a former special operations officer and intelligence officer of the South African Defence Force. The author was also the founder of the private military company, Executive Outcomes and author of the book “Executive Outcomes” (Galago Publishing, 2007).

EndnOTES 1 uN News Service, 10 November

2006 2 http://www.cato.org/pub_display.

php?pub_id=4682 3 Pioneer Press, 4 may 1998 4 http://www.foreignaffairs.com/

articles/55875/max-boot/paving-the-road-to-hell-the-failure-of-u-n-peacekeeping

5 http://abcnews.go.com/blotter/unitedNations/story?id=489306&page=1

6 uN official website, http://www.un.org/

7 Washington Times, 9 June 2000 8 The New York Times, 10 February

2009 9 Brooks, D: Write a cheque, end a war,

www.accord.org.za


s.a.r.s.

Counter The

by dr. ross l. riggs

Photo: Scott Morrison

The Suspicious Activity Reporting System and the Citizens’ Role


by dr. ross l. riggs

The Suspicious Activity Reporting System (SARS) of the department of homeland Security is an avenue by which citizens can become active participants in defending against terrorism. The department of homeland Security and a host of other entities have worked to protect our citizens from unprecedented domestic acts of war against the United States.

it will never be enough to beef up our patrol forces or better train our infrastructure security officers.

here are direct, specific actions that citizens can take to participate in their own defense. Local law enforcement is part of the solution,

but police officers need the help of the citizens they serve. SarS is the key to providing that help.

Who is responsible for protecting people in any given society, institution or organization? The answer is simple: the people themselves. Sadly, individuals often no longer realize the need to be responsible for their own safety or that of their families. The old adage of police, to protect and to serve, may create a misimpression that the government will protect every citizen. Many in law enforcement realize that local police have never truly had the ability to protect. A strong police presence and

effective investigations followed by a strong judicial stance against crime will deter some criminals. However, personal safety is the responsibility of the individual. It will never be enough to beef up our patrol forces or better train our infrastructure security officers. Local citizens, armed with information and a method for sharing that information with officials, provide the critical pieces of the puzzle needed to thwart the next enemy attack.

War was declared on the citizens of the united States long before 9/11, but that September morning should have been the bugler’s reveille to a sleeping nation. In the classic WWII story, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Japanese admiral Isoroku yamamoto is quoted as saying after the attack on Pearl Harbor, “I fear all we have done is to

t

©istockphoto.com/jcarillet


private industrial security, law

enforcement at every level of government, intelligence,

and the general public are the

essential sources of the required

information.

awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”1 Interestingly, in the movie Pearl Harbor, admiral yamamoto’s quote was shortened to, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant.”2 could it be that 9/11 awoke a sleeping giant, but that America is no longer filled with such resolve? The brave men and women in the military, police, fire and emergency services uniforms have held that resolve on behalf of the American people, but what about the people themselves and their representatives?

Experts agree that effective counter terrorism is multidisciplinary, with multiple levels in each discipline. As much of an art as it is a science, the practitioners of counter terrorism need input from every possible level. Private industrial security, law enforcement at every level of government, intelligence, and the general public are the essential sources of the required information. Heinous acts of terror against a populace can be accomplished if the will to commit those acts, at all costs, exists. The individual must take effective action of his own initiative to “elude(s) the threat of the enemy, to cease to be an isolated

target that no police force can protect…”3 and he does so by participating in his own defense.

At what point can those who seek to harm American citizens best be stopped? When the enemy first plots an act of aggression, before the plan has fully come together, is the time when circumstances bring the most vulnerability to plotters. The purpose behind the FUSION ceNTerS4, which were developed both nationally and on state levels through the Department of Homeland Security, is to be a repository for small pieces of the intelligence puzzle that are examined and combined by trained personnel. The corner pieces begin to outline the making of a plot. The smaller pieces fit into the larger ones and the picture begins to take shape. One small, seemingly insignificant, yet suspicious, act meshes with other suspicious activity reported through SarS, a plot is discovered, and lives are saved.

Federal officials learned, early in the months following 9/11, that communication between agencies and officers in different branches of federal law enforcement was critical to success.

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Next, there needed to be more flow of information between state and federal agencies. As the concept of FUSION ceNTerS was developed, it became apparent that more information needed to come from patrol officers. However, the first point in the communication channel was perhaps the single most critical and the most overlooked; the flow of information from citizens to law enforcement.

currently, SarS information first enters the system through a local police department.5 “Locally generated threat and other criminal and/or terrorism-related information is identified, gathered, entered into an appropriate data/retrieval system, and provided to appropriate analysis centers.”6 Four thousand to eight thousand cables come into the NCTC every day.7 Where does the local police department get the initial

information of suspicious activity that becomes a SarS report? Patrol officers and law enforcement officials in various subspecialties within the agency gather information that is transmitted through the SarS system. If the link between local citizens and police can be rejoined, then it will be possible to re-open the channels of communication between citizens and police that will make SarS reporting perhaps the single best inhibitor of continued aggression against the United States.

The connections that people across the country have through media, internet, and all types of communication options are amazing ways to gather and to disseminate information. The success of the amber alerT system that goes to radio, internet, traffic billboards, and cellular phones almost instantaneously is a great example of officials providing



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citizens with vital information8. It is possible to use some of the same concepts to reverse the information flow. The primary step to successful citizen participation is education.

Has the sleeping giant been awakened and is there a terrible resolve within the people of America to save themselves from their enemy? For the sake of all, let’s hope so. From local government to capitol hill, SarS, as a tool of modern warfare, begins with the citizens

themselves. Familiarity with the system must be developed so that citizens may take part in their own defense. ronald Kessler, author of The Terrorist Watch writes concerning those who work diligently to analyze this information: “Those who are fighting the silent battle against terrorism have produced an American success story. They are unsung heroes who have indeed made us safer. But only if Americans recognize the fact and pull together will we win this war

the connections that people across the country have through media, internet, and all types of communication options are amazing ways to gather and to disseminate information

Photo: Scott Morrison


for the country’s survival.” A sign at the entrance of the CIA’s Counter Terrorism Center’s Global Response Center reads, “Today is September 12, 2001.”9 •ABOUT ThE AUThOR

Dr. Riggs, is a retired police chief with over 24 years of law enforcement and military security experience. He is an FBI National Academy graduate and is the director of Security Consulting Investigations.

EndnOTES1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isoroku_

yamamoto’s_sleeping_giant_quote2 Ibid.3 Trinquier, roger. modern Warfare:

A French View of Counterinsurgency. combined arms research library, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KA

4 http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1156877184684.shtm

5 http://ema.ohio.gov/Documents/pdfs/Target_capabilities/Tcl_Info_Gathering_may_2008.pdf

6 http://ema.ohio.gov/Documents/pdfs/Target_capabilities/Tcl_Info_Gathering_may_2008.pdf Safety, Division of Homeland Security, Information Gathering and Recognition of Indicators and Warnings, (81)

7 Kessler, ronald The Terrorist Watch Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack crown Forum: New york 2007(p 164)

8 http://www.amberalert.gov/statistics.htm

9 Kessler, ronald The Terrorist Watch Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack crown Forum: New york 2007 (p 188)

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Counter The

jihadIn Cyberspace

Media coverage of jihadists has often focused on acts of violence in the physical world, such as suicide bombings and shooting sprees. Less publicized, however, is the growing importance of the virtual world to the extremist groups that make the news. The free territory of cyberspace offers them a virtual sanctuary where they may plan, train for, and finance physical attacks. The jihadists’ operations are facilitated by web-based services and applications, such as social networking sites, encryption programs, and streaming video.

by john bumgarner and michael mylrea


the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, india, involved the internet at multiple stages. prior to launching the attacks, the organizers used a variety of internet sites, such as google earth, to research their targets.16

In Cyberspace

anonymous communication that is provided by many social-networking sites shelters members of extremist organizations from detection by most law enforcement efforts. Many social-networking sites feature user controls that allow extremist groups to prevent or detect infiltration. For example, individuals who seek to become group members might have to be approved or invited to join the group. Individuals requesting membership may thus be thoroughly vetted before they are permitted to view the content on the group’s website or to participate in forum discussions with other group members. Additionally, many social-networking sites permit groups to monitor forum content

O rganizations such as al-Qaeda and factions of the organizations Hamas and Hezbollah have

used the Internet to propagate their extremist religious ideology. Members of these organizations use many of the most popular social-networking sites, including Facebook, Friendster, LiveJournal, MySpace,1 and Twitter,2 to spread propaganda. By providing access to a large network of users, these portals facilitate recruiting and fund-raising by extremist groups. These groups also use traditional social-networking sites, such as yahoo! Groups or Google Groups.

The architecture for private, quasi-


some extremist websites are hosted on servers within the physical boundaries of the united states.

or other website activities. These elements are critical to ensuring the group’s operational security.

Extremist groups have also learned to operate on social networking sites in a covert fashion. For example, public content may be carefully controlled to conceal the group’s true purpose. A simple masking technique avoids using any phrases (e.g., allahu akbar) or terms (e.g., al-mujahidin) that would trigger a search engine detection alarm.

Despite the advantages of social-networking sites for centralized and controlled collaboration, they also pose security risks to the extremist sects that use them. Infiltration is one danger; just as extremist groups will attempt to hide their operations, law enforcement and intelligence agencies will attempt to discover them. Security may also be compromised because extremist groups do not own the social-networking sites they use. To counter these risks, some

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extremists have established their own portals, most of which function on systems controlled by third-party hosts who are unaware of the extremists’ activities.3 Some extremist websites are hosted on servers within the physical boundaries of the United States. Access to these portals is often heavily guarded by the extremist groups that control them. For example, some groups restrict connections by their location of origin (e.g., egypt). access to forums may also be password protected, and forum participants may be thoroughly vetted before receiving a password. On the forums, participants discuss a variety of topics, from religious beliefs to the construction of improvised explosive devices (IeDs).

Forum organizers have begun to mask their communications through encryption, which presents a formidable challenge to efforts by law enforcement agencies to monitor the extremist groups’ activities. as early as 1998, louis Freeh, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, testified before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that “encryption has become the most important issue confronting law enforcement. Widespread use of robust, non-recoverable encryption is beginning to devastate our ability to fight crime and terrorism.”4

Evidence shows that extremist groups use and distribute sophisticated encryption programs. For example, in response to growing fears about eavesdropping, the Global Islamic Media Front5 released an encryption application called Asrar Al-Mujahidin (“Mujahideen Secrets”)6 first on several restricted forums and later on dozens of publicly accessible file-sharing sites. Mujahedeen Secrets supports several advanced encryption algorithms, including the Advanced encryption Standard (aeS). In 2001 the

U.S. government approved the AES to safeguard sensitive public information,6 and in 2003 the National Security Agency approved the AES to protect top secret information.7 Hezbollah has praised the brilliance of encryption programs such as Mujahedeen Secrets, which allow its members to communicate jihad messages without fear that they will be deciphered by “the Americans.”

Extremist groups distribute other applications and programs on their websites as well. Many of these sites are digital repositories for bootleg copies of commercially available programs that might help members of an extremist group evade detection while planning or executing an attack. For example, some applications conceal Internet-surfing activities.8 Others are designed to perform highly advanced anti-forensic tasks, such as securely deleting files via methods approved by the U.S. Department of Defense or erasing incriminating Internet-surfing trails from a member’s computer.9

The extremist groups also distribute training materials on their restricted portals. These materials include copies of training manuals used by the U.S. military, especially the U.S. Army, which are available on many extremist sites. The manuals, which describe combat techniques, further link these extremist groups to violence. For example, U.S. Army FM 3-23.35 Combat Training with Pistols, M9 and M1911, which describes fundamental marksmanship techniques, is available for download from several extremist sites. The manual illustrates advanced shooting skills, such as the “controlled pair” or “double tapping” technique, which allows a trained marksman to quickly neutralize an opponent with two shots to the center of the chest or head at close range. One extremist site that provides access to this

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manual advises its members to use public gun ranges to improve their handgun skills.10

Another manual, the TM 31-210 Improvised Munitions Handbook, created by the U.S. Army for Special Forces, has also been distributed on the websites of extremist groups. This technical manual offers practical advice on the construction of IEDs from materials that may be readily purchased from most home improvement centers. Although the techniques described in this book have been successfully exploited by terrorist groups for decades, the Internet has clearly lowered the cost of distributing these instructions.

Many jihadist organizations also develop and distribute their own training materials via the Internet. Improvements in streaming online video have expanded the capabilities of these virtual training

aids. Web-based distribution confers other advantages to the groups as well. For example, web-based training may be more secure than physical training camps, which are vulnerable to physical attacks. Furthermore, aerial bombardment or skirmishes with ground forces pose a threat not just to the training camps but also to the people who attend them. By contrast, if a web-based training site is shut down, its members remain unharmed and live to fight another day.

Web-based distribution also allows jihadist organizations to train more individuals in combat techniques.11 Web-based training materials may be disseminated quickly to members of extremist groups throughout the world. The materials may be downloaded (duplicated) by members at almost no additional cost and may be used by a large number of members simultaneously. The materials may also aid extremist organizations in their efforts to recruit and indoctrinate new members.

Virtual-training materials developed by extremist groups cover a wide range of topics, including IED construction and guidelines on the use of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.12 One video shows how to make an IED from common household items, such as a

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propane gas cylinder and a cell phone to serve as a detonator.13 The video also highlights the importance of using nails or other standard construction materials to create shrapnel that make the device more lethal. Another video demonstrates techniques for making a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, or car bomb.14 Car bombs have been used successfully in many terrorist attacks, including attacks on the Marine barracks in beirut, lebanon, in 1983, Khobar Towers in Saudi arabia in 1996, the u.S. embassy in Kenya in 1998, and the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, in 2008.

Many videos advertise the effectiveness of radical violence by extremist groups. For example, some videos show the tactical effectiveness of roadside bombs used against coalition forces in Iraq. Others document brutality inflicted by extremist groups on their captives. Some videos highlight the path to martyrdom chosen by other group members. The As Sahab Foundation for Islamic Media Publication, which has supported various organizations known to be al-Qaeda associated movements (aQam), created a unique video depicting the 2008 bombing of the Danish embassy that blends several of


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Video applications also play a pivotal role in the psychological warfare operations of extremist groups. Many videos direct persuasive communications toward a specific audience to propagate the groups’ ideologies. aQam organizations are increasingly featuring members who speak English in videos


aimed at Western audiences. The release of a video may also be timed to achieve the greatest possible impact. For example, a cell-phone video of an IED attack may be released immediately following the event, which attracts media attention and possibly an ancillary following by the general public. The video may thus intensify the emotional response of the public to an attack that has taken place.

Extremist groups use the Internet not only to plan, prepare for, and publicize physical attacks, but also to execute them. The 2008 attacks in mumbai, India, involved the Internet at multiple stages. Prior to launching the attacks, the organizers used a variety of Internet sites, such as Google Earth, to research their targets.16 Satellite images and maps available online enabled the attackers to reconnoiter their targets in Mumbai remotely. Using Google Earth, the attacks could be planned from afar with great precision, down to the entrances and exits to be used at the primary targets. Such detailed preparation would reduce the likelihood of encountering unforeseen obstacles along the assault paths and increase the effectiveness of the attacks. On the day of the Mumbai assault, the attackers reportedly communicated through the Internet with handlers in other locations. Armed with disposable cellular phones that were configured with subscriber identity module (SIm) cards obtained from different countries, the attackers shared updated intelligence with their handlers, who were listening on Voice over Internet Protocol equipment17. These steps made it more difficult for law enforcement agencies to intercept the calls or trace them after the attacks had taken place. It has also been speculated that the handlers used real-time television coverage to track the location of the police units and counter-terrorism commandos that had responded


recent report from the Commis- sion to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electro- magnetic Pulse (emP) attack

presented a fairly clear picture of an often unappreciated threat. An EMP strikes out in all directions within its line of sight, sending a series of high-energy pulses that tend to fry any exposed micro-circuitry, among other things, but does not have the flattening effects associated with a nuclear strike.

“A single EMP attack may seriously de-grade or shut down a large part of the electric power grid in the geographic area of EMP exposure effectively in-stantaneously. There is also a possibility of functional collapse of grids beyond the exposed area, as electrical effects propagate from one region to another.” The first HEMP (high altitude elec-tromagnetic pulse) experiment was performed July 8, 1962 in a test 900 miles west of Hawaii. The experiment, Starfish Prime, successfully launched a 1950s’ vintage Thor intermediate range ballistic missile (Irbm) carrying a 1.4 megaton warhead to test, among other things, if there were any detectable impacts on the ground from an EMP from the blast some 400 kilometers (km) in the air. It is important to note that these tests took place at a time when there was a fraction of integrated circuitry that exists today, though it seems that the impacts were significant.reports from hawaii included radios

malfunctioning, television sets blown, more than 100 streetlights blown or fused, burglar alarms sounding, and power lines fused. On neighboring Kauai, the EMP shut down telephone service, burning out equipment used in a microwave link. Later post-detonation reports indicated that the electromagnetic composition of the Van Allen belt, a ra-diation belt surrounding the planet, had been amplified or changed by the EMP. As a result, seven satellites were destroyed

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to the attacks. Updates based on the media coverage were transmitted to the attackers via their cellular phones.18

The Mumbai attacks are not the first example of the exploitation of online imagery technologies by an extremist group for remote target reconnaissance. It has been alleged that al-Qaeda has used similar technologies to study potential targets within the United States, such as nuclear power plants and natural gas storage facilities.

There is evidence that extremist groups are planning to use the Internet itself as a weapon to attack critical infrastructure in the United States and disrupt the national economy. Computers captured from al-Qaeda show evidence of research on the logistics of cyber attacks against computers that control critical utilities, such as electric power plants and water treatment facilities19. Transportation systems have also been targeted. These critical computer systems are also vulnerable to physical attacks. For example, an explosive charge could be strategically positioned to incapacitate a communications choke point that routes emergency (911) calls. If people were unable to report incidents, emergency services would be delayed in their response.

By providing a number of applications and services that substitute for face-to-face contact and physical training camps, the Internet enables extremist groups to promote their agenda. Cyber-jihadist elements use the Internet to recruit, indoctrinate, and train new members to wage violent attacks. These groups have also used the Internet to coordinate physical attacks as they unfold. Furthermore, some extremist groups have begun to investigate ways to use the Internet itself as a weapon to launch cyber attacks that would have catastrophic consequences in the real world. Extremist groups will use the

Internet more and more as their members gain more technical knowledge and as technology continues to improve. As cyber-jihadist elements continue to flourish, efforts to combat them must also grow more sophisticated. •ABOUT ThE AUThORS Mr. Bumgarner is the research director for security technology at the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit and a senior research fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He was formerly a member of the U.S. Army.

Mr. Mylrea is a Fulbright and critical Arabic language scholar in the Middle East. He has worked on various research projects for the Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism, Harvard Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

EndnOTES1 http://viewmorepics.myspace.

com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewalbums&friendID=481927459

2 accessed at: http://twitter.com/arrahmah

3 The Islamic website ekhlaas.org has been hosted by several United States service providers operating in Florida and Minnesota.

4 United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related Agencies. Federal Bureau of Investigation 1999 budget request. 105th Congress. Washington, D.c. march 3, 1998.

5 Global Islamic Media Front Blog. http://gimf.wordpress.com

6 Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 197. announcing the Advance Encryption Standard (aeS). accessed at: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips197/fips-197.pdf

7 NSA Suite B Cryptography. Accessed at: http://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/suiteb_cryptography/index.shtml

8 Webroot - Window Washer. http://www.webroot.com/en_uS/consumer-products-windowwasher.html

9 o&o Software - Safe erase. http://www.oo-software.com/home/en/products/oosafeerase/

10 How Can I Train Myself for Jihad. accessed at: http://www.alqimmah.net/showthread.php?p=19477

11 maujahideen Training/Fighting (martial arts). accessed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh86eTsplPy

12al-Qaeda Virtual Training. accessed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQFsQt8IJhQ

13 Media Department of Ansar al-Sunnah (army of Sunni Supporters), as Sahab Video. Accessed at youtube.com

14Media Department Ansar al-Sunnah (army of Sunni Supporters), as Sahab Video. accessed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwjlCKuIGjc

15 accessed at: http://www.youtube.com/user/3rbi1#p/a/u/2/Z_dcl6qs-yc

16 Jeremy Kahn, “Mumbai Terrorists relied on New Technology for attacks.” The New York Times, December 8, 2008. accessed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/world/asia/09mumbai.html

17 rhys blakely, “mumbai Terrorists Thwarted Security Agencies by Using Internet Telephones.” Times Online, December 10, 2008. accessed at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5317075.ece

18 Jeremy Kahn, “Mumbai Terrorists relied on New Technology for attacks.” The New York Times, December 8, 2008. accessed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/world/asia/09mumbai.html

19 Kelli Arena and Ensor, David, “U.S. Infrastructure Information Found on al Qaeda computers.” CNN, June 27, 2008. accessed at: http://edition.cnn.com/2002/uS/06/27/alqaeda.cyber.threat/index.html


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training review

.50 Long Rifleby chris graham

terrorists that evening. E had set down his assault rifle and emplaced his .50 caliber m82a1 Special applications Scoped rifle (SaSr) oriented down “Michigan”, the east-west highway we were monitoring.

The ac-130 was tracking a white Toyota pickup truck with two terrorists on board moving from the city center toward us. As it came into view, I nodded to E and said, “Slayer, you are cleared to engage,” into my Prc-148. e thunderously released a .50 raufoss round. It flashed green through my night vision goggles as it slapped into the center

of the truck’s engine block. Instantly halted, the truck exploded with two high explosive shells from the gunship orbiting invisibly overhead. The crumpled mass of the junked Toyota illuminated the darkness with small flickering flames.

By the time we were withdrawn from Fallujah a few weeks later, I had been impressed by the capabilities of the air force ac-130s that supported us each night and convinced that no other form of close-air-support could perform similarly. I also swore to myself that I would become proficient with the monstrous .50 SaSr at the

LSniper with .50 M107A1. Photo: Courtesy of Chris Graham.

ate on a chilly night in may, 2004, I crouched on a Fallujah rooftop. “S” (a talented young sniper),

“e” (the senior sniper), “P” (a communications specialist), and I had silently navigated an urban maze of side streets and alleyways. Stepping over slum debris and gliding from shadow to shadow while covering each other with our rifles, we found a collapsing set of concrete and rebar stairs that led to the rooftop that would serve as our observation post.

S had already shot two people and I had controlled an ac-130 strike, killing a total of about a half-dozen


soonest opportunity.On a cool November day five years

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on day one of the lr one course, I was provided with a .50 m82a1 rifle with a Leupold MK-IV scope. Don taught students about the assembly and function of the rifles and Jay provided classes on the fundamentals of shooting, scope operation, and the construction of a rifle data book.

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Day four was the first day of the lr Two course. I was teamed with a 19th Special Forces Group staff sergeant and traded my rifle for a .50 m107a1 with borS scope. Students (a different group from those in the lr one class) fired on the known distance range from the 500 and 1,000 yard lines in order to confirm rifle data. We tested a prototype .50 sound suppressor and conducted a night shoot against targets with little illumination at 500 yards.

Day five began with a 500 yard shoot against moving man-sized targets and a class on range estimation using objects of known size, mill measurements, and a constant variable. The day concluded with students creating a range card for an unknown distance range oriented toward a scenic ridgeline and engaging

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