Hey, check out this website. I know James from the Black Flag Cafe and his website about civilian contractors.  The Expat Rockstar Magazine is an extension of what he is really expert in, and if you want an interesting read, check it out. -Head Jundi 

Website Here

     A great little article about how we used to do things, when it came to pirates. Send the Marines and some Mercenaries, and attack the land bases of these pirates.  That and stop paying these ransoms, because it only encourages these guys.

     Now do I see an Obama administration sending troops to the shores of Somalia, just like we did in 1804? Or will the memory of our efforts in Somalia in the early nineties kick in, and prevent us from  doing what we need to do?  

     I don’t see us doing anything on land because of the bitter memory of our last venture there, but you never know.  If piracy becomes a money making tactic of the mufsid dorks, then we might see more of an effort to combat it as part of the overall war strategy.  More than likely, it will continue to be treated as a criminal thing, and ships will be on their own and the various navies involved will only have a partial impact on protecting them all.        

     Although, if we are to learn anything from history, we must deal with the land component of piracy as part of an overall strategy, if we are truly serious about combating it.  -Head Jundi

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To the Shores of Tripoli . . .

The place to stop pirates is on the beaches.

by Seth Cropsey

12/08/2008, Volume 014, Issue 12

The November 15 hijacking 450 miles east of Mombasa, Kenya, of a thousand-plus foot oil tanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil forced international recognition that the seas have been dramatically added to the world’s list of outlaw space. According to the International Maritime Bureau, recorded attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Aden area have more than tripled–to 92–in the past year. The million square mile swath of the Indian Ocean off, and south of, the Somali coast through which approximately 20,000 ships a year pass between Asia, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere is within hailing distance of smaller, but no less significant, portions of the Middle East and South/Central Asia whose lawlessness has produced important consequences around the world. The prospect of a large-scale meeting of lawless land and lawless sea would be especially troubling even if the possible failed state in the middle–Pakistan–didn’t possess nuclear weaponry.

But for now, the problem is that Somali pirates who use global positioning devices to help identify potential targets, who deploy “mother” ships that can venture out to sea to launch and recover small fast boats, and who have mastered simple but effective tactics for capturing ships have transformed one of the world’s strategic choke points into a watery version of the Cyclops’ island home, a place without law. The consequences transcend what is already happening: spiking maritime insurance rates, significantly increased costs to international consumers as shipping lines reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, and a growing problem of captured ships’ crews held hostage in Somali pirate havens–330 crew members from 25 nations at last count.

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   So I am watching video and reading all of these reports coming out of Mumbai, and I have just been cringing. I mourn the deaths of hostages, and my heart goes out to the families. But there is a part of me that watched this attack from a tactical command point of view, and it pissed me off.  Could the death toll have been minimized if in fact the Indian response was coordinated and well managed under one management system?  I think so.

   Incident Command System or ICS is the most important element of the response to any incident or attack.  And this management system, if applied correctly, could have saved lives.  It is a system that would have helped to organize and call up resources quickly, and help to control and end the attack quickly.  ICS is a system used to bring order to chaos, and if the Indian government would have trained on this aspect of command, then they could have dealt with this in a much more efficient manner. 

    As for some thoughts on what was missing from the response, where do I start?  For one, if all of the police and military were briefed on ICS and how it works, then that would be a great start.  From there, the police(who are the first responders), would act as the Incident Commander for their particular scene, and request more resources.  That request should be in the form of how do we expand the ICS, because this attack is spreading all over the city.  I would also ask all resources to make communications with the Incident Commander, and establish the on scene chain of command.  But really, the first order of business is make your assessments of the situation, and order resources. And if that initial Incident Commander of the scene is not qualified for larger incidents, then he orders up a more qualified Incident Commander through dispatch.  Until then, that individual is in command, because there is no one else.

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SA ‘heroes’ save Mumbai hostages

November 28, 2008

BBC

A team of South African bodyguards have been explaining how they led 120 hostages to safety from a hotel seized by gunmen in the Indian city, Mumbai.

The guards, armed only with knives and meat cleavers, helped other hotel guests to safety down a fire escape.

They carried a traumatised old woman in a chair down 25 flights of stairs.

“Everybody was calm and no-one became hysterical,” said Bob Nicholls, director of the security company in Mumbai for a cricket tournament.

Mr Nicholls said he and his employees were eating in the restaurant and were planning to get an early night when they heard shooting in another part of the five-star Taj Mahal hotel.

The seven bodyguards were in Mumbai providing protection for cricketers playing in the Indian Premier League tournament.

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Live Piracy Map 2008

     This map shows all the piracy and armed robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre during 2008. If exact coordinates are not provided, estimated positions are shown based on information provided. Zoom-in and click on the pointers to view more information of an individual attack. Pointers may be superimposed on each other.

Check Out Map Here

    Boy, on the surface, the story does not sound good.  Why are the guards jumping ship, and leaving their client to the mercy of pirates?  And how did these guards miss this one?  Most of all, were they even armed to defend the ship?  Lots of questions about this incident, and I will not judge before I hear everything.  

   Like I have said before, sooner or later these pirates will catch on to the fact that most of these security companies that are posting guards on these ships are lightly armed, or worse yet, just outfitting them with less than lethal stuff like the LRAD.  These guys are smart, and they will do all they can to sneak up on these ships.  They will pose as coast guards, or a distressed ship in need of help, and as soon as they can get up on the craft, they will board. It is a tactic as old as the sea, and in my opinion, we need to start learning some of these ancient lessons on how to deal with pirates. -Head Jundi 

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Somali pirates hijack ship, British guards escape

By KATHARINE HOURELD 

November 28, 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Somali pirates hijacked a chemical tanker with dozens of Indian crew members on board Friday, and three British security guards were rescued by helicopter after jumping into the sea, officials said.

A warship on patrol nearby had sent helicopters to intervene in the attack, but they arrived after pirates had taken control of the Liberian-flagged ship, diplomatic officials said on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak with media.

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   This story was from last year, but I thought I would bring it up again for turkey day.  Enjoy and happy holidays. -Head Jundi

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Thanksgiving, the colonies security,  and the private security contractor Myles Standish that made it all happen.

Link Here

Nuclear Security Officer – Armed

The Wackenhut Corporation

Job Snapshot

Location:

6501 South Ocean Drive

Jensen Beach, FL 34957 ( map it!Map it )

Base Pay:

$42,500 - $54,700 /Year

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   So it is law, and January 1, 2009 is the date.  In the meantime, maybe the DoS and DoD can answer these questions for those contractors operating in Iraq as we speak?  

***** 

Will there be retroactive application of criminal jurisdiction?(It is unclear whether Iraqi law will preclude ex post facto prosecutions based on allegedly criminal acts that occurred before January 1, 2009.)              

The agreement includes language about the “parties” retaining their rights to legitimate self-defense as defined in applicable international law. “Parties” to the agreement only includes the US government and the Iraqi government, thus apparently excluding contractors from the right to self-defense.  Will there be further guidance forthcoming as to contractors’ rights to self-defense, especially for those contractors who are required or authorized to carry weapons?                                                                                                          

Will the 1934 extradition treaty with Iraq mean that US citizens now in the US will be extradited back to Iraq for trial?

Will contractor equipment in Iraq be subject to pre- or post-judgment attachment when a civil suit is filed against a contractor?

Will there be retroactive application of civil jurisdiction? 

How will the statutes of limitations apply for tort and contract claims, and will this mean that contractors be sued on January 1, 2009 in Iraq based on occurrences in the past? 

***** 

     All of these questions were asked at the briefing given by the DoD and DoS, by legal experts, and they had no answer!  Amazing that we have gotten this far with this document, and these kinds of questions have not been answered.  Talk about being thrown under the bus. 

     I suggest that if you are reading this, and you are a security contractor operating in Iraq as we speak, then ask your company to press the DoD and DoS about these issues.  Or as a civilian, you can write the DoD and DoS and express your concern. -Head Jundi

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Iraqi Parliament approves security pact

By Alissa Rubin, Campbell Robertson and Stephen Farrell

Thursday, November 27, 2008

BAGHDAD: The Iraqi Parliament ratified a long-delayed security agreement on Thursday that lays out a three-year timetable for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.

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Some are saying it is Indian Mujahadeen, and the Deccan Muj. could be a front.  Still no real confirmation on who was responsible.

127 people killed(figure still being updated) 

three Americans have been injured(figure still being updated)

nine terrorists killed, one captured, one believed to be still fighting.(figure still being updated)

the terrorists came in by zodiac boats

fires still burning in hotels

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Geopolitical assessment:  From what I can gather, the real fear here, is the reaction that India’s Congress will have to this latest attack.  The people will want blood, and everyone wants to put the blame on Pakistan for this.  So will India try to put the blame on Pakistan for this?  Or will they keep Pakistan out of this, and make this into an internal/local problem?  Politics could drive this towards a conflict with Pakistan, regardless if they were at fault or not.  Check this story out at Stratfor, and they talk about the same thing. -Head Jundi

Stratfor Link