April « 2010 « Feral Jundi

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Afghanistan: Taliban Targets U.S. Contractors Working On Projects In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: Afghanistan, contractors, NATO, Strategy, Taliban, USAID — Matt @ 5:44 AM

Rest in peace to all those contractors who have fallen at the hands of the Taliban. My heart goes out to the friends and families of these heroes.

What I also want to mention is that it sounds like what these contractors are doing, is a threat to the Taliban. That is awesome! These USAID implementing partners are the ones going around and dishing out the money and projects that make the government look good, and keep potential Taliban fighters busy with work. I say double the size of the program if this is the effect it has, and give these guys what they need for success.

I also want to highlight all the Afghan guards that have perished in the defense of these folks. Just read all the incidents below and it is filled with Afghan security contractor KIA’s. Perhaps it is time to supplement the security for these implementing partners with some expat security, just to make sure that security is being properly done? Or dress up some military folks to look like civilians, and have them soup up the security for these guys? The point is, if this current aid strategy is a threat to the Taliban, then maybe we should work a little harder on providing proper security for it? Or maybe these Afghan security forces are sufficient? Tim would probably have something to say about it. –Matt

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Taliban targets U.S. contractors working on projects in Afghanistan

By Joshua PartlowSaturday, April 17, 2010

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — The Taliban has begun regularly targeting U.S. government contractors in southern Afghanistan, stepping up use of a tactic that is rattling participating firms and could undermine development projects intended to stem the insurgency, according to U.S. officials.

Within the past month, there have been at least five attacks in Helmand and Kandahar provinces against employees of U.S. Agency for International Development contractors who are running agricultural projects, building roads, maintaining power plants and working with local officials.

The USAID “implementing partners,” as they are known, employ mainly Afghans, who are overseen by foreigners. The companies’ role is becoming increasingly important as more aid money floods into southern Afghanistan as part of a dual effort to generate goodwill and bolster the Kabul government.

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Maritime Security: Top Admiral Says Navy Can’t Sustain Level Of Operations Forever, Shipping Should Think About Armed Guards

Filed under: Maritime Security,Military News — Tags: Fitzgerald, Maritime Security, navy, piracy, top admiral — Matt @ 2:37 AM

“I don’t think we can sustain the level of operation we’ve got down there forever,” said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald did not indicate the Navy would abandon the mission any time soon. Instead, his remarks suggest that the answer to piracy may lie elsewhere – especially if it becomes a more violent activity. He says the shipping industry should ensure it is doing everything to deter attacks, including hiring armed security guards, as well as taking other nonlethal actions to thwart pirates.

“The maritime industry has got to make a decision about how seriously they want to take this on,” he said, in a roundtable discussion with reporters at the Pentagon this week.

*****

Could this be a planned strategic communications, to coincide with the Executive Order on piracy? Because if it is, I am hearing the message loud and clear. The Navy is getting the memo from DC that chasing pirates costs money, and Destroyers chasing after pirates armed with RPGs in little motorized rowboats is not the most cost effective or best long term solution to the problem.

But telling the shipping industry to hire security is a solution, and that is exactly what Admiral Fitzgerald said. So the U.S. administration signs an executive order, and the U.S. Navy is wanting to reduce their pirate hunting operations do to cost or practicality? I guess this means that the Navy will stop playing those ‘Master and Commander’ themed commercials on AFN? lol –Matt

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Navy looks for ways other than armed patrols to fight Somali pirates

A top admiral says US Navy armed patrols can’t chase Somali pirates indefinitely. Other ways must be found to get to the source of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

By Gordon LuboldApril 16, 2010

The US Navy will be unable to continue long-term operations against pirates off the coast of Somalia, and it’s looking for other ways to solve the growing problem, according to a top admiral.

As Somali pirates continue to find attacking cargo ships in the West Indian Ocean profitable, they have become more and more aggressive, forcing the international community to send naval ships from more than a dozen countries to help patrol the vast waters off Somalia.

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Maritime Security: The Catch And Release Saga Continues–Kenya Falters On Prisoner Deal

Filed under: Kenya,Legal News,Maritime Security — Tags: Kenya, Legal News, Maritime Security, piracy, Prisoners, Somalia — Matt @ 1:23 AM

Thanks to Gary for sending me this. I read this and laughed, and then I wanted to pull my hair out. How incredibly frustrating this must be for the navies out there that continue to capture these pirates, and then let them go? At this point, the only real options available are either to kill these pirates, or let them go back home with a full tank of gas and some food so they can come back and do it all over again. It is the ultimate criminal venture, because there is no punishment.

All you have to do is survive the assault on your target, and collect your pirates salary in the form of a ransom. If the Obama administration wanted to provide some leadership in an area of this issue, squaring away the legal mechanism for dealing with these thugs would have been an excellent move. –Matt

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Diplomatic eruption over piracy aid

April 17, 2010

Kenya’s U-turn over a deal to try Somali pirate suspects is based on Nairobi’s conviction that the European Union has been slow to hand over cash promised months ago, according to people close to the situation.

Diplomatic row erupts over piracy aid payments

Kenya’s U-turn over a deal to try Somali pirate suspects is based on Nairobi”s conviction that the European Union has been slow to hand over cash promised months ago, according to people close to the situation.

The EU is now seeking a meeting with the Kenyan government to find out where it stands, and is actively looking for other countries in the region willing to undertake prosecutions. EU sources insist that Kenya has not made any formal complaints over the issue.

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Friday, April 16, 2010

Technology: Boron Nanowires Could Turn T-shirts Into Body Armor

Filed under: Technology — Tags: armor, boron nanowire, private military companies, security, security contracting, Technology — Matt @ 11:44 PM

How cool would that be? Not to mention the reduction for the soldier’s load or a reduction in the amount of medical claims for back problems do to wearing heavy armor. I like this kind of science and keep it up guys. –Matt

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Boron nanowires could turn T-shirts into body armor

April 6, 2010

(Nanowerk News) A simple cotton T-shirt may one day be converted into tougher, more comfortable body armor for soldiers or police officers.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina, collaborating with others from China and Switzerland, drastically increased the toughness of a T-shirt by combining the carbon in the shirt’s cotton with boron – the third hardest material on earth. The result is a lightweight shirt reinforced with boron carbide, the same material used to protect tanks.

Dr. Xiaodong Li, USC College of Engineering and Computing Distinguished Professor in Mechanical Engineering, co-authored the recent article on the research in the journal, Advanced Materials.

“USC is playing a leading role in this area. This is a true breakthrough,” Li said, calling the research “a conceptual change in fabricating lightweight, fuel-efficient, super-strong and ultra-tough materials. This groundbreaking new study opens up unprecedented opportunities.”

The scientists started with plain, white T-shirts that were cut into thin strips and dipped into a boron solution. The strips were later removed from the solution and heated in an oven. The heat changes the cotton fibers into carbon fibers, which react with the boron solution and produce boron carbide.

The result is a fabric that’s lightweight but tougher and stiffer than the original T-shirt, yet flexible enough that it can be bent, said Li, who led the group from USC. That flexibility is an improvement over the heavy boron-carbide plates used in bulletproof vests and body armor.

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Legal News: ‘To Deny Hostage Takers The Benefits Of Ransom’–W.H. Somali Piracy Policy

Filed under: Legal News,Maritime Security,Somalia — Tags: Legal News, piracy, private military companies, ransoms, security contracting, Somalia, White House — Matt @ 2:02 AM

U.S. government policy is “to deny hostage takers the benefits of ransom, prisoner releases, policy changes, or other acts of concession,” the White House said in a statement today.

*****

This is the only article I could find that listed the administration’s follow up statement on the matter. This quote was also added as an update to this article. I have not seen a lot of stuff written on this, primarily because it is still kind of new and vague. A reporter needs to nail down the White House on this, because I am sure there are shipping companies out there just scratching their head. Does this new order expressly prohibit paying ransoms to pirates or not?

If a lawyer (in the article below) states that this is vague and could be interpreted one way or the other, I tend to think that the American shipping industry is pretty confused right now.

It could also mean that this is a hint that the administration is dropping on the US shipping industry. A hint that says ‘you guys should probably think about doing something other than paying the salaries of Somali pirates with 3 to 5 million dollar ransoms’. Who knows, and we will see how this turns out. –Matt

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Obama Order May Block Ransoms Paid to Somali Pirates

April 15, 2010 (updated)