Feral Jundi

Friday, January 14, 2011

Israel: The Dubai Job, By Ronen Bergman

     According to the official police report, the killers first injected Al-Mabhouh with a poison, then smothered him with a pillow. Saeed Hamiri, M.D., of the Dubai forensic lab, said the crime-scene investigators found a trickle of blood on Al-Mabhouh’s pillow, bruises on his nose, face, and neck, and an injection mark on his right hip. Along with signs of struggle in the room—a damaged headboard, for example—these details would seem to suggest that the target was smothered to death. But one has to wonder about the plausibility of these conclusions. (The Dubai chief of police did not respond to several requests from GQ for an interview.)

 

     Why did the Mossad permit things to go so wrong in Dubai? In a word, the answer is leadership. Because Dagan refashioned the Mossad in his own image, and because he drove out anyone who was willing to question his decisions, there was no one in the agency to tell him that the Dubai operation was badly conceived and badly planned. They simply did not believe that a minnow in the world of intelligence services such as Dubai would be any match for Israel’s Caesarea fighters.

     Wow, what a cool article and it really shed some light on this assassination performed by the Mossad’s Caesarea.  I posted a deal about this incident when it first came out and it was very interesting to see how this played out on the world stage.

    Of course some folks called it an embarrassment for the Israelis, because the operatives and operation were revealed by the Dubai police.  And others called it a success and that maybe the Israelis wanted to show the world that the finest security out there could not stop them from doing what they had to do. Either way, the Hamas jackass they targeted is dead.

     Now that some time has passed and folks have been able to put the pieces together, we are now getting a better picture on how this went down.  I didn’t know back then if they used poison or a stun gun to incapacitate Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, so that they could smother him with a pillow. I guess it was poison and toxicology boiled it down to succinylcholine. *

     But with this stuff, the drug itself could have killed him. The pillow could have been used to muffle the target’s voice while waiting for the drug to do it’s thing. The big benefit of this drug is that it is one of the fastest acting muscle relaxants out there, so the struggle would have been minimal.

     The other part of this story that was interesting, was the commentary on Dagan–Mossad’s director.  If it is true that he is not seeking feedback or other people’s opinions then that is not good. Ultimately, an organization must be a learning organization if it wants to continuously improve. And because Dagan has forced out or shut down anyone that disagrees with him, now he is at the mercy of what Irving Janis calls groupthink. Not good. –Matt

The Dubai Job

One year ago, an elite Mossad hit squad traveled to Dubai to kill a high-ranking member of Hamas. They completed the mission, but their covers were blown, and Israel was humiliated by the twenty-seven-minute video of their movements that was posted online for all the world to see. Ronen Bergman reveals the intricate, chilling details of the mission and investigates how Israel’s vaunted spy agency did things so spectacularly wrong

By Ronen Bergman

January 2011

Monday, January 18, 2010. MorningAt 6:45 a.m., the first members of an Israeli hit squad land at Dubai International Airport and fan out through the city to await further instructions. Over the next nineteen hours, the rest of the team—at least twenty-seven members—will arrive on flights from Zurich, Rome, Paris, and Frankfurt. They have come to kill a man named Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, a Hamas leader whose code name within the Mossad—the Israeli intelligence agency—is Plasma Screen.

Most of the operatives here are members of a secretive unit within the Mossad known as Caesarea, a self-contained organization that is responsible for the agency’s most dangerous and critical missions: assassinations, sabotage, penetration of high-security installations. Caesarea’s “fighters,” as they are known, are the elite of the Mossad. They rarely interact with other operatives and stay away from Mossad headquarters north of Tel Aviv, instead undergoing intensive training at a separate facility to which no one else in the agency has access. They are forbidden from ever using their real names, even in private conversation, and—with the exception of their spouses—their families and closest friends are unaware of what they do. As one longtime Caesarea fighter recently told me, “If the Mossad is the temple of Israel’s intelligence community, then Caesarea is its holy of holies.”

(more…)

Friday, December 3, 2010

Job Tips: UAE Travel And Shipping Stuff

     What sucks is; just a few months ago I brought most of my gear through Dubai; and I could have been arested. This was because the US Military P.O. would not let me ship most of my gear from APO in Iraq to APO in Afghanistan. It’s BS man,  and it is going to come down to-we have to risk getting arrested just to get our gear to our work place.-FJ Reader

    I wanted to get this out there for folks to think about and discuss.  Many contractors pass through the UAE for work, and this country keeps changing their laws and rules without getting the word out to the companies or contractors. All I have to say is that they are doing a poor job of strategic communications, and an excellent job of arresting contractors. (perhaps that is the goal? lol)

    If you look at the DoS travel advisory for the UAE, their treatment of the subject is pretty thin.  Do they not understand that thousands of contractors pass through these airports every year, and most of them are doing the good work of protecting folks and things in the war zones? They are putting their lives on the line for the US and it’s allies in the war, and they continue to be treated as a second class citizens.  At the very least, DoS could be a little more responsive to this issue, and maybe even push back. American citizens are getting arrested because they are not getting the word, or they have poor interpretations of the laws, or they are not aware of any new laws the come up out of the UAE, and the US embassy should be out there doing what they can to prevent this type of thing.

    I also put some blame on the companies for not taking care of their people.  You need to be pressing the embassy and the UAE for exactly what is required, and not just ‘ho hum’ your way through the whole thing. Contractors should be considered your most valuable asset, and by not doing everything you can to educate them with the most up to date laws of other countries, just shows a lack of compassion or responsibility on the company’s part.

    Then of course there is personal responsibility.  Guys have to get educated on this stuff, and that is why I constantly tell folks to do your homework about this industry.  Go to the forums and relevant websites out there, read what everyone is talking about, ask your questions if you haven’t found it in a search, and get educated. It is also important to really listen to your company or what the older guys have to say in this industry, because sometimes they do get it right and they do know what is best for travel on that particular contract. Don’t assume anything and get the facts.

    The quote up top was from a reader that was in a sticky situation, and this is a good example of the kind of dilemmas you can get into. In their case, they were traveling from one war zone to the next and their equipment was essential for the job.  They did not have a civilian parcel company at the base to use, and the only means of getting the stuff to their work site was carrying it through checked baggage or sending it APO to APO via military post office. My question here is why is the US military not working with contractors by allowing them to ship APO to APO? And because this contractor had no idea about the new laws or updates to the laws in the UAE, he could have been arrested just like the other guys.

    The other point about this situation was that sometimes at these airports, no one cares and it seems these policies and laws are only enforced by the officers that wish to do their job that day.  Or an officer does their own interpretation of the vague rules, and once they commit to the arrest, of course they are not going to backtrack and admit they were wrong. (unless a higher up that has been pressured diplomatically intervenes-hint, hint to the embassy) Some officers demand a bribe or maybe they have some bias–who knows. But this is the way travel is in some foreign countries and their airports.

     Now looking at all of these scenarios, you would think that companies would provide all the equipment necessary to do the job out there.  The truth is, that they don’t. Most contractors, to include myself, have had the unfortunate experience of being without some essential equipment in war zones, and all because a company made false promises about equipment, or the stuff they had was limited or in poor condition.  As more airports and countries introduce more strict rules on contractor related equipment, and as the enemy continues to conduct system disruption attacks that spawn more idiotic rules in airports, it will be increasingly important for contractors to be aware and/or increasingly depend up the company to provide this stuff. But that would require a company to actually care or cut into their profits to properly outfit their contractors.

    Which brings up another point.  Many companies use contractors because of the tax benefits and the ease of hiring or getting rid of them.  They also like security contractors because we usually have our own ‘tools’, much like a contractor in the building industry. Contractors even write off that equipment on their taxes.  So as more of these airports clamp down on contractors and limit their ability to transport their kit or ‘tools’ to a work site, then companies will be forced to incur more cost and provide those tools for the contractor. That kind of sounds like ’employee’ country, and not contractor stuff now and companies need to be aware of this stuff. (some companies rent the gear to the independent contractor, as an example)

    Now for another issue with shipping. What is with this dumb rule that came out where guys could not send their ACOG scopes home through military PO’s, because of the ‘gas’ that is in the ACOG? I have heard this from several contractors that tried to ship home their ACOG’s and the military told them they couldn’t do it. Luckily, from what I heard on the forums, folks are able to ship home their ACOG’s through a civilian parcel.

    I remember going through the same hassle with body armor or knives, and in my view, a military PO should do all they can to accommodate and work with contractors so that they can get this done.  In my case, I just sent the stuff home through civilian parcel because I was not allowed to send this stuff. But it was also more expensive and I was lucky that I was on a base that had a civilian parcel office. On some of my other contracts, I just had to give my stuff away to someone else that could use it, and eat the loss. This is repeated many times by contractors in the war zones and I guess you could call this the cost of doing business. –Matt

UAE authorities will confiscate any weapons, weapon parts, ammunition, body armor, handcuffs, and/or other military/police equipment transported to or through a civilian airport. U.S. citizens have been arrested and jailed for transporting such weapons and equipment without the express written authorization of the UAE government, even though airline and U.S. authorities allowed shipment on a U.S.-originating flight. – DoS Travel Advisory here.

UAE’s website with travel section here.

Discussion on Lightfighter.net here and here.

Recent Changes In UAE Law For Travelers And Contractors

 … all US personnel – to avoid violation of Emirati laws by the intentional or accidental transport of any arms or items considered as law enforcement equipment or military gear. UAE airport personnel will x-ray all baggage – checked or carry-on – and cargo shipments, including household goods, both incoming and outgoing.  UAE authorities will confiscate any weapons, weapon parts, ammunition, body armour, handcuffs, sensitive electronics, cryptographic devices, and/or other military/police equipment transported to or through a civilian airport. Persons found to be carrying such items will be arrested and face strict criminal penalties, including imprisonment and large monetary fines…  One such incident involved one bullet, found in the bag of a traveler who had unknowingly left the item in his bag.  This individual was detained by the police and now faces a possible jail sentence and large monetary fine.  In other similar incidents, U.S. defense contractors transiting the U.A.E. with weapons were arrested and are now serving jail sentences of several months.The following is a sampling of the types of items that are illegal in the United Arab Emirates.

The list is NOT all inclusive, but does include the following:

• Weapons of any type, to include guns of any type, including simulators, assembled or disassembled, in carry-on or checked baggage.

• Ammunition or pyrotechnics of any type to include spent brass or casings.

• Body armor, including ballistic vests and military/police helmets.

• Police or law enforcement paraphernalia, including; handcuffs, flexi-cuffs, night vision goggles, gun holsters, pepper spray etc.

• Military-style electronics and cryptographic devices.The smallest quantity of any of the above mentioned items can result in detention and prosecution, to include a possible jail sentence, in the United Arab Emirates.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

PMC 2.0: The Middle East Declares War Against BlackBerry Smart Phones

     The  author of “City of Gold” a history of Dubai, Jim Krane said, “The U.A.E. has never been a place that offered much in the way of electronic privacy. “The government makes no secret that it monitors electronic communication, including text messages, phone calls and e-mail. The revelation that secure BlackBerry data is frustratingly out of the government’s reach only confirms this.” 

*****

     This is definitely some PMC 2.0 news, just because many contractors carry BlackBerry smart phones, and many companies have management teams that depend upon this phone.  So imagine all these guys having to give up those phones just to do business in the middle east?

     One interesting tidbit with all of this is that these countries really don’t have a problem with iPhones, just because they can easily monitor the traffic on those devices. That is good and bad for contractors that have iPhones.  It kind of confirms what the best phone is for privacy–the BlackBerry.  Although there are still ways to make iPhones secure, it’s just with this crackdown on ‘CrackBerry’s’, it seems that the BlackBerry is the winner.

      Below, I posted three articles.  The last one is from 2005, but still a good one on how PIN messaging works for BlackBerry phones. The other articles detail what fears the various middle eastern countries have in regards to the BlackBerry. Interesting stuff. –Matt

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UAE crackdown on BlackBerry services to extend to foreign visitors

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — The United Arab Emirates’ crackdown on BlackBerry services will extend to foreign visitors, putting the government’s concerns over the smartphones in direct conflict with the country’s ambitions to be a business and tourism haven.

The UAE’s telecommunications regulator said Monday that travelers to the city-state of Dubai and the important oil industry center of Abu Dhabi will — like 500,000 local subscribers — have to do without BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web services starting Oct. 11, even when they carry phones issued in other countries. The handsets themselves will still be allowed for phone calls.

UAE authorities say the move is based on security concerns because BlackBerry transmissions are automatically routed to company computers abroad, where it is difficult for local authorities to monitor for illegal activity or abuse.

Critics of the crackdown say it is also a way for the country’s conservative government to further control content it deems politically or morally objectionable.

(more…)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Funny Stuff: Mossad’s Dubai Operation Merchandise–Get Your ‘Hoodie’ While Supplies Last!

Filed under: Funny Stuff,Israel — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 12:47 AM

     This is funny, but it is also just weird.  This is merchandise that is being sold with the intent of showing support for the assassination that happened in Dubai. Hell, even the eyeglasses that a few of the team members were wearing are selling. –Matt

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Dubai Operation Merchandise

 

Buy the stuff here.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Jobs: Security Guard, UAE-Dubai

   Interesting headhunter company.  This graphic below pretty much spells it out on who they are working for, and this would be a good company to put in your career section bookmarks or RSS reader (they do have a RSS feed). The job itself is in Dubai–should I say anything more? Have fun trying to save your money there. lol

   I am not the POC or recruiter, and please follow the link below if you would like to apply for this job.  Good luck. –Matt

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Guards Location: UAE – Dubai 

Job Code: 23

Description: Guards

Responsible for safeguarding facilities, conducting patrols, and escorting visitors as necessary.  Full benefits and compensation depending on experience and qualifications.  All individuals must be a U.S. citizens with former U.S. military or law enforcement experience, who have been honorably discharged.  All must be capable of passing a physical fitness test, health exam, background investigation, and periodic drug test.  In addition, all applicants must have a current, valid passport with at least six months remaining until renewal.  To be considered for this position, please fill out the application on this website and attach your resume with contact information.

Apply here.

 

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