Feral Jundi

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Al Qaeda: AQ’s Top Leadership Have Been Decimated In Iraq

Filed under: Al Qaeda,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:51 AM

   This is awesome. Nothing like waking up and reading in the news that AQ’s top leadership in Iraq have been decimated.  Two separate attacks, with the top three leaders being al-Masri, al-Baghdadi, and al-Obeidi. Bravo to the SF and Iraqi units involved, and way to stick it to the enemy.-Matt

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U.S. air strike kills al Qaeda in Iraq leaders

Ernesto Londono

April 20, 2010

Two leaders of the Sunni insurgent group al Qaeda in Iraq have been killed in an air strike carried out by American troops, Iraqi and U.S. officials announced Monday.

The deaths of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, as the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq is known, and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the alias of the head of an umbrella group that includes al Qaeda in Iraq, should disrupt insurgent attacks inside the country, officials said. Their slayings could also provide Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with a decisive political boost at a critical time.

“The death of these terrorists is potentially the most significant blow to al Qaeda in Iraq since the beginning of the insurgency,” Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, said in a statement. “There is still work to do, but this is a significant step forward in ridding Iraq (of) terrorists.”

The Saturday night raid was carried out a few miles southwest of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown, U.S. officials said, after a series of Iraqi-led operations led to a safe house used by the insurgent leaders. An American soldier was killed during the operation when a helicopter crashed.

Al-Masri and al-Baghdadi were killed after “engaging the security team,” the U.S. military said. Al-Maliki said their bodies were found in a ditch. “We have found a lot of documents and hand-written letters” that implicated the men, the prime minister added.

Security forces also killed al-Masri’s assistant and one of al-Baghdadi’s sons, the U.S. military said. Iraqi troops took 16 men into custody after the raid.

In Washington, Vice President Joe Biden declared that the operation demonstrated the growing strength of the Iraqi security forces. “The Iraqis led this operation,” Biden told reporters, adding that Iraqis also gathered the intelligence that led to the targeting. “In short, the Iraqis have taken the lead.”

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs described the United States as playing a supporting role.

Al-Masri, an Egyptian, rose to the helm of the al Qaeda in Iraq organization after former leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike in June 2006.

Story here.

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Third High-Ranking Al-Qaeda Figure Killed In Iraq

April 20, 2010

Iraqi and U.S. troops killed a regional leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq today, the third top terrorist reported killed in that country in the past 24 hours.

An Iraqi military spokesman, Qassim al-Musawi, said U.S. and Iraqi joint forces launched a morning attack in the northern province of Niniveh, killing suspected insurgent leader Ahmed al-Obeidi.

(more…)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Industry Talk: Pentagon Planning More Oversight Of War Zone Contractors

Filed under: Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 4:15 AM

   Man, I am getting kind of sick of these stories.  How many panels, commissions,  reports and news articles does it take to get these folks off their ass and manage this stuff? How long have we been using contractors in this war, and the Pentagon/government is still trying to figure it out?

   Which leads me to believe that if they can’t even manage contractors, then what does that say about their ability to manage federal workers?  Wait, I already know the answer to that.  I spent plenty of years working for the federal government, and believe me, it does not surprise me that they would be so horrible at managing anything. lol

   Either way, I fully support as I always do, any effort what so ever to get a handle on the whole contracting thing.  Hire more contracting specialists, raise their pay, give them the necessary training, and get them out of the office and into the field to manage this stuff.  If anything, we are all sick of you guys talking about it.  Action speaks louder than words, and we will believe you when we see that action.  So get it done. Pfffft.-Matt

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Pentagon planning more oversight of war-zone contractors

By Dana HedgpethTuesday, April 20, 2010

The Defense Department said Monday that it plans to improve oversight of contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq by hiring more contracting specialists and providing additional training to government employees who supervise work performed by outside firms.

Pentagon officials told a congressionally appointed panel monitoring federal spending on contracts in the two war zones that years of attrition in the department’s acquisition workforce have hampered oversight, particularly as defense budgets have skyrocketed. The Army’s contracting workforce, for example, is only 55 percent of what it was in the mid-1990s, while the dollar value of contracts overseen has jumped from $11 billion to $165 billion, officials said.

“The Army is reversing this 15-year steady decline in its workforce,” said Lt. Gen. William N. Phillips, principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. “We project recovery will take at least 10 years.”

(more…)

Mexico: Cartels Team Up To Destroy Los Zetas

Filed under: Law Enforcement,Mexico — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:31 AM

   You know, on the flip side I guess this should be good news that the cartels are killing each other.  But the violence impacts the locals, and the police and army get in the way and they get killed too. And eventually someone takes the top position of the heap, and imposes their will on the population.  It will be interesting to see what cartel wins in this exchange, and it would be a fascinating study to find out what was the strategy involved.  This kind of cartel/gang warfare, is really free market warfare. It is also hybrid warfare, because these guys are using military hardware and tactics–complete with grenade launchers, assault rifles, and IED’s.

   The cartels contract their hit men or contract killer companies, and they all fight each other with no limitations on strategy or tactics. That is interesting, because in that kind of environment, innovation can really flourish.  If chopping someone’s head off makes strategic sense, they do it. Putting a price on the head of their enemies, and turning it into a sustainable industry makes sense to them.   So this kind of cartel/private warfare is interesting to watch.

   The question I have is when the dust clears, will we see a cartel that rises to the top that has the kind of capability that not only can destroy their competitors, but can take on the government and all of it’s forces?  For the sake of Mexico and the world, I hope not. –Matt

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Mexico: Cartels team up to destroy hit men gang

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ

Apr 12, 2010

MEXICO CITY — Two Mexican drug cartels have joined forces to destroy a feared gang of hit men along the border with Texas, a shift in allegiances that is fueling drug-war violence, federal police said Monday.

Intelligence reports indicate the Gulf and La Familia cartels — formerly bitter rivals — have formed an alliance to fight the Zetas gang in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas, said Ramon Pequeno, the head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico’s federal police.

It was the first official confirmation of the alliance, which has been rumored since banners appeared throughout the region announcing the pact and warning residents not to leave their homes, saying the conflict would get worse. E-mails were also sent with the same message.

(more…)

Somalia: Al Shabab Recruits ‘Holy Warriors’ With $400 Bonus

Filed under: Al Qaeda,Somalia — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:12 AM

    So, here we are again with another group of window lickers paying more than the local government to raise an army.  If we want to invigorate the government and it’s army, then they need the money to at least be able to pay more than the Al Shabab. That’s just common sense, and the rule of choice.

   Even this industry is guided by this rule.  People not only join something because they believe in it, but they also join a group/company/gang because it will improve their capacity for independent action. It could be for food, money, protection, whatever–we are all striving to improve our lot in life. If Al Shabab has a better deal than the government, then that is what the government should worry about and fix. –Matt

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Somalia’s Al Shabab Recruits ‘Holy Warriors’ with $400 Bonus

War-torn and Impoverished, Some Somali Youths Join Extremist Group to Make Money

By SCOTT BALDAUF and ALI MOHAMED

April 17, 2010

When Dahir Abdi joined the Somali extremist group Al-Shabab early last year, his motive had more to do with money than with God.

Back home in the Barawa district of southern Somalia, his parents and younger brothers and sisters were living on less than a single meal per day. His mother was too weak to fetch firewood to sell in the market, and too poor to buy the all-covering veil that was now required by Al-Shabab.

So when a recruiter from Al Shabab (whose name means “the youth” in Arabic) gave him $400 and the promise of a regular salary, Dahir joined willingly. He knew that even if he didn’t survive the war, his family would have a better chance to ward off starvation.

(more…)

Monday, April 19, 2010

Industry Talk: U.N. Security Officer Louis Maxwell ‘Executed By Afghan Police’

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 3:51 AM

   I posted a deal about the brave actions of Louis when this originally happened and hoped that the UN would recognize his bravery and sacrifice with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal.  Now that this story came out, this adds even more tragedy to the mix.  Imagine surviving all of that fighting, and then getting executed by the so called ‘police’?  Perhaps these were not police at all, and were just the enemy dressed like the police? This doesn’t sound like friendly fire to me.  Who knows and I certainly hope the UN continues the investigation on this. –Matt

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 Louis Maxwell

Louis Maxwell. 

UN bodyguard ‘executed by Afghan police’

A United Nations bodyguard who saved 17 colleagues by holding back Taliban fighters who stormed a guesthouse was minutes later executed by Afghan police, according to a video which has been seen by officials.

 By Ben Farmer in Kabul17 Apr 2010

Louis Maxwell, a UN security officer from the United States, was among five international UN workers who died in the early morning October 28 attack in Kabul.

Mr Maxwell climbed onto a roof of the privately-run Bakhtar guesthouse and held the suicide attackers at bay with an assault rifle so colleagues could escape.

(more…)

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