President-Elect Obama has just announced that he has picked Democrat Leon Panetta for Director of the CIA. Leon served as White House Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton, and before that was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 1993. Panetta took part in the 2006 Iraq Study Group. -Matt
Wikipedia for Leon Panetta here.
”The extremist al Shabaab Islamist group is best placed to take control of Mogadishu, but this is not a foregone conclusion,” said David Shinn, a U.S. expert on the Horn of Africa at George Washington University.
While al Shabaab have spearheaded attacks this year to become the face of the insurgency, they lack popular support, and do not have enough fighters to rule on their own without alliances with Islamist movements, analysts say.
Al Shabaab’s hardline ways — such as strict imposition of sharia law, banning drinking or films, and the beheading of several suspected government collaborators — sit uncomfortably with many among Somalia’s traditionally moderate Muslims.
Both of these articles point to the same reality. Islamists will be ruling Somalia. The question is what kind of Islamists will be ruling Somalia and will they work with the west and put a check on the things we worry about? Namely harboring terrorists and allowing piracy. Al Shabaab is way to extremist for Somalis, and once they have taken control and there is no one else to fight, how will the Somalis view their form of Sharia Law?
Strategically, I think that is the idea. Let them take the city, and then diplomatically we support the moderate factions who would be better to negotiate with in the future and better for the people of Somalia. The support should not be overt though, because anything the west touches, will disgust the local populations.
And get the Ethiopians out of there, because those forces are infuriating the local populations and driving support to Al Shabaab. When the dust settles, we must find a competitor to Al Shabaab who is willing to work with the west and the rest of the world, and who also can win the support of the people. Good luck with that one though, and that is the challenge. A good first step towards that goal though is to reshuffle the deck, and watch what happens when Ethiopia leaves, the President resigns and more than likely Al Shabaab takes over.
-Matt
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Somalia: Fresh turmoil, uncertainty as president resigns
Date: 29 Dec 2008
NAIROBI, 29 December 2008 (IRIN) – Fresh turmoil and uncertainty loom for the people of Somalia – already ravaged by displacement, conflict, drought and hyper-inflation – after the country’s interim president resigned on 29 December.
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed resigned after disagreements with parliament and his prime minister, as well as pressure from the international community.
Yet many within the tightly knit Special Forces community say the Special Forces teams already in use in Afghanistan should be employed far more effectively before any new teams, which number about a dozen men each, are deployed.
“I just don’t think it’s a very good use of the units if they are not going to be doing combat advising in an effective way,” says one Special Forces officer with recent experience in Afghanistan. “I don’t know any Special Forces who think that’s really what we need over there.”
It sounds like the SF community is a little skeptical to say the least about how they will be used. Hopefully Petraeus and company will listen to these guys as to the best way to use them. That is how a ‘learning organization’ must operate, and the SF community would have a pretty good idea on how they could be most effective out there.
On a side note, if we do see a SF surge along with a general troop surge, then aviation services are going to be big. I am talking helicopters, transport aircraft, and paracargo operations to supply these outposts. So companies like Presidential Airways or Dyncorp will certainly be doing more business. I think we will also see a focus on bringing in more STOL type aircraft as well, because of how much cheaper they are to operate. -Matt
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A surge of Special Forces for Afghanistan likely
Defense officials say it will fill urgent gaps but Special Forces officers are skeptical.
By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
December 23, 2008
Washington – The Pentagon is likely to send up to 20 Special Forces teams to Afghanistan this spring, part of a new long-term strategy to boost the Afghan security forces’ ability to counter the insurgency there themselves.
The “surge” of elite Special Forces units would represent a multiyear effort aimed at strengthening the Afghan National Army and police units that the US sees as key to building up Afghanistan’s security independence, say defense officials who asked to remain anonymous because the controversial decision has not yet been announced. The US already plans to send thousands of additional conventional forces to Afghanistan sometime next year. But it is hamstrung by limited availability since so many of those forces are still in Iraq.
This is the ‘shock and awe’ part of the campaign, and it looks like the Israelis were pretty successful in taking out some good targets. They really worked the surprise factor in this operation. To me, the ground campaign is the one to watch, and Omert has a lot riding on this one. The memories of the 2006 campaign in Lebanon are still fresh, and you can bet that Hamas has studied the crap out of how Hezbollah worked the angles in that war. -Matt
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Israel pounds Gaza for second day
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Reuters
Sunday, December 28, 2008; 9:23 AM
GAZA (Reuters) – Israel destroyed Hamas’s main Gaza security complex in an air strike on Sunday and prepared for a possible invasion of the territory after killing nearly 290 Palestinians in the opening rounds of a powerful offensive.
Israel said the campaign that began on Saturday was a response to almost daily rocket and mortar fire that intensified after Hamas, an Islamist group in charge of the coastal enclave Israel quit in 2005, ended a six-month ceasefire a week ago.
Despite the air attacks, militants fired some 80 rockets into Israel, emergency services said. In one of the longest-reaching salvoes, two rockets struck near Ashdod, a main port 30 km (18 miles) from Gaza, causing no casualties.
I don’t post a lot of these types of stories, because unfortunately bombers are all too common in this part of the world. But what made this story interesting to me is the symbolism. One group of muslims protesting Israel should be off limits to another muslim suicide bomber-you would think. Israel is equally hated by both Shia and Sunni, so this was an odd attack. I wonder if the bomber even knew what the group was protesting? Or maybe they just didn’t care about that, and just wanted to kill some IIP guys for their martyrdom mission? -Matt
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Suicide bomber hits anti-Israel protest in Iraq
12/28/2008
MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) — A suicide bomber on a bicycle in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul targeted a protest condemning Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip, killing one civilian and wounding 16 on Sunday, police said.
“One civilian was killed and 16 were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up when he rode his bicycle into the middle of an anti-Israeli demonstration in the city,” local police Major Wael Rasheed told AFP.
Thanks to Jeff for sending this. Hopefully there is an explanation for why this officer did this, or he could be in some serious trouble. I could not find a website for Elite Security out of Belize, and if anyone can find it, I will put it up on FJ. -Matt
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U.S. is investigating LAPD officer
A department veteran allegedly bought guns at the Police Academy and sent them to Belize, where he runs a security firm.
By Richard Winton and Scott Glover
December 21, 2008
A veteran Los Angeles police officer who operates a security company in Belize is under federal investigation for allegedly smuggling handguns into the Central American nation, according to law enforcement sources and internal LAPD documents.
Finally some push back. This was an Opinion piece that Blackwater CEO Erik Prince wrote for the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, this message will be completely drowned out by the sea of negative press that has been brought against his company. Wired’s Danger Room blog decided to be assholes about this opinion piece and completely ignore the main message by nitpicking the thing. Boy, that was bold.(sarcasm) I think I would have more respect for their post, if the author was actually a little more fair on their evaluation of why Prince would even say such things or the points that he made.
So to counter what the Danger Room decided to focus on, here are my thoughts. Mind you, I am a security contractor and I do know how dangerous Iraq is. In other words, I am not some computer geek writing about the secret evil world of ‘Mercenaries’. And really, if Wired wants to give some credibility to their work in the Danger Room, then need to reach out to those of us that know what we are talking about.
The thing I had an issue with, is Wired spending all their time in their article, trying to refute the idea that Blackwater only hires military and police. Who cares? Maybe in the early days they did this, but not now. And in this industry, Erik Prince is spot on. Most of us are prior military or police, and it is very rare to get individuals that get in without that background. But really, someone that is able to hustle and get in that way, I have a lot of respect for. It’s just very rare. So yes, there are those that do get in without that background, but it is more albino rare than a common practice to worry about or some significant argument against what Prince said. It was just nitpicky crap.
And with today’s massive amount of veterans available, Blackwater has nothing but vets to choose from. There is extreme competition for security positions with Blackwater, and those without combat experience/military service have a lot to contend with for those jobs.
I also have read the book Licensed to Kill by Robert Young Pelton, and the individual that the Wired author used as an example was hired at a time when Blackwater did not have a massive applicant pool of combat veterans or qualified close protection specialists. So Mr. Prince did think outside the box, and use some guys that were ‘locked on’ and could handle the job of high risk close protection.
Even close protection is a skill that is not commonly taught in the police or military schools, and some civilians are more locked on in that field. Especially in the beginning, when those skills were rare to have. When I was a grunt in the Marines, if someone would have mentioned ‘executive protection’ in conversation, I would have thought it was some athletic equipment or something. Of course now, that is a different story and close protection is very common out there because of the news and the war. And it is big money for these companies, because the US government did not have enough resources for the task.
Then the author made a comment about discharging weapons. I think what Prince was referring to is possibly accidental discharge of weapons. In the contracting community, that is bad because it shows a lack of safety protocols or poor weapons handling. Perhaps Mr. Prince was referring to that, or he meant all weapons discharge in Iraq. But yet again, who cares? It is a war zone and these men are tasked with protecting high level targets. They are armed with machine guns and sniper rifles and everything in between to protect their client. And I say high level targets, because the insurgency knows that Blackwater was protecting these DoS employees and to kill just one would be a fantastic accomplishment. So yeah, if Blackwater guards were firing their weapons, then that might indicate how dangerous their job really was. Like I said, it is a war zone and weapon usage is a factor in a war zone. To nitpick how many times a weapon is fired over there, is just stupid.
And then there is the boast factor. Guys stretch the truth all the time to impress people. Military veterans do the same thing, and unless these pseudo facts and figures are verified by the authors at Wired, then it is just hearsay that they pick up from other authors that are trying to sell books. I always cringe when bloggers or reporters reference books like Jeremy Scahill’s ‘Blackwater’, or that latest dorky book called ‘Big Boy Rules’ by Steve Fainaru. Why they give these books so much credit I do not know. Jeremy never interviewed Prince and he was factually wrong in several areas of the book, and Fainaru took isolated incidents, and defined an entire industry with those incidents. Every other word out of his mouth is mercenary this and mercenary that–pffft.
The final point that I wanted to bring up, is the mention of driving on the wrong side of the road. Guess what, that is actually a tactic that saves lives, and not some accidental thing that companies do. It sucks if the tactic caused an accident, but yet again, I default to Blackwater’s job–hauling around ‘high value targets’ that everyone wants to kill. If the tactic saves lives and gets the client from point A to point B, then it works. And all the companies used that tactic, and not just Blackwater. So I did not like the tone or context of the last comment that Wired’s author made.
Overall, Wired’s Danger Room does a great job about reporting on gadgets in the war or interesting little tidbits about the contracting world, but as soon as they get into the business of providing some kind of opinion about what professionals with guns actually do for a living out there, they often miss the mark. And notice, not one mention of Blackwater’s sacrifice– of all the guards that have been killed in defense of the client, and not one mention that ‘not one’ DoS employee that was protected by Blackwater was killed in Iraq. That means a lot to me and this country, is certainly significant in the context of the war in Iraq over the bloody years, yet this fact continues to be ignored by the media and the so-called experts out there who scream for our attention. -Matt
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How Blackwater Serves America
Think of our staff as soldiers who re-enlist.
DECEMBER 16, 2008
By ERIK D. PRINCE
Since United States military operations in Iraq began in 2003, I have visited Iraq at least 15 times. But unlike politicians who visit, the question for me has never been why the U.S. got into Iraq. Instead, as the CEO of Blackwater, the urgent question was how the company I head could perform the duties asked of us by the U.S. State Department.
Last week the Department of Justice announced charges against six Blackwater security guards for a shooting incident in Baghdad in September 2007. But before the histories are written, it is crucial to understand the often mischaracterized role of security contractors in this unique war.
In Iraq, State Department civilians and U.S. soldiers have been operating in the same location in an active war zone. While the troops have been facing insurgents, the State Department civilians have been working to rebuild institutions and infrastructure. Blackwater’s role in this war evolved from this unprecedented dynamic. The government saw a need for highly experienced, highly trained Americans to protect our civilians abroad, and so it selected Blackwater.
I am sure Blackwater has been seeing the writing on the wall with this one. I would like to get a copy of this report as soon as it gets out, and do a further review. This could go one of two ways. Either the WPPS program gets abolished, and DoS makes a big push to fill the ranks with DSS folk. Think Border Patrol style recruitment, because there are a lot of diplomats out there that need protection.
The other way this goes, is Blackwater loses all of it’s privileges to submit bids on the WPPS, and the other big companies will take over. Triple Canopy and Dyncorp come to mind as a few of the other WPPS contenders.
The big one here, is capability. Blackwater has all the toys to play, to include helicopters. These other companies could get to that level of support, but it will take some time. It is also a risk for these companies, because they see how the DoS has treated Blackwater in this deal, and they probably can’t help but to think it could happen to them.
Finally, my view on this business side of this is that all the companies take turns at the top. If the WPPS program survives, a new service provider will rise to the top of the heap, and Blackwater will just stick with training or enter into new emerging markets like today’s piracy in the Gulf of Aden. In essence, the private industry will evolve and adapt, and Blackwater is a brand that won’t be going away anytime soon. -Matt
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Panel calls for dropping Blackwater guards in Iraq
12/17/2008
By MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — A State Department advisory panel is recommending that Blackwater Worldwide be dropped as the main private security contractor for American diplomats in Iraq, The Associated Press has learned.
A senior official familiar with a report commissioned by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the AP on Wednesday that the panel has called for Blackwater’s contract not to be renewed when it expires next year. A decision on the recommendation will be left to the Obama administration, which will be in place when the contract comes up for renewal in the spring.
Talk about an incredible fight! The best part of this article was Walding’s quote “I am John Wayne”. Anyone that can tie his amputated foot to his body, apply a tourniquet around the stump and self inject morphine, and still remain conscious in a fight like that, is pretty tough in my opinion. - Head Jundi
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Ten Silver Stars for Afghan battle
10 Special Forces soldiers honored for seven-hour firefight with insurgents
By Ann Scott Tyson
The Washington Post
updated 2:09 a.m. PT, Fri., Dec. 12, 2008
WASHINGTON – After jumping out of helicopters at daybreak onto jagged, ice-covered rocks and into water at an altitude of 10,000 feet, the 12-man Special Forces team scrambled up the steep mountainside toward its target — an insurgent stronghold in northeast Afghanistan.
“Our plan,” Capt. Kyle M. Walton recalled in an interview, “was to fight downhill.”
But as the soldiers maneuvered toward a cluster of thick-walled mud buildings constructed layer upon layer about 1,000 feet farther up the mountain, insurgents quickly manned fighting positions, readying a barrage of fire for the exposed Green Berets.
A harrowing, nearly seven-hour battle unfolded on that mountainside in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province on April 6, as Walton, his team and a few dozen Afghan commandos they had trained took fire from all directions. Outnumbered, the Green Berets fought on even after half of them were wounded — four critically — and managed to subdue an estimated 150 to 200 insurgents, according to interviews with several team members and official citations.
Today, Walton and nine of his teammates from Operational Detachment Alpha 3336 of the 3rd Special Forces Group will receive the Silver Star for their heroism in that battle — the highest number of such awards given to the elite troops for a single engagement since the Vietnam War.
That chilly morning, Walton’s mind was on his team’s mission: to capture or kill several members of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) militant group in their stronghold, a village perched in Nuristan’s Shok Valley that was accessible only by pack mule and so remote that Walton said he believed that no U.S. troops, or Soviet ones before them, had ever been there.
Pathetic. Whomever the security company was, that was contracted to protect this depot, did a horrific job of protecting it. When guards just stand by helplessly, and allow the attackers to come in and destroy everything, then something is severely screwed up. That much is apparent. You get what you pay for I guess, and we need to take a more assertive role in protecting our vital supplies out there.
Pakistan is doing a terrible job, Pakistani PSC’s are doing a terrible job, and 70 % of our logistics comes from Peshawar. If we are serious about fighting the war in Afghanistan, then we need to get serious about protecting our logistics. I say pay the money to hire competent security to protect these convoys and depots, or send the troops to protect this stuff. Or get out of the business of even dealing with Pakistan for our logistics. -Head Jundi
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More than 160 US, NATO vehicles burned in Pakistan
By RIAZ KHAN
December 7, 2008
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants torched 160 vehicles, including dozens of Humvees destined for U.S. and allied forces fighting in Afghanistan, in the boldest attack so far on the critical military supply line through Pakistan.
The American military said Sunday’s raid on two transport terminals near the beleaguered Pakistani city of Peshawar would have “minimal” impact on anti-Taliban operations set to expand with the arrival of thousands more troops next year.
However, the attack feeds concern that insurgents are trying to choke the route through the famed Khyber Pass, which carries up to 70 percent of the supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan, and drive up the cost of the war.
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