This is pretty cool and I had to post this after finding it over at the FJ Facebook page. Til Valhall is Norwegian for ‘To Valhalla’. Valhalla in Norse mythology was the ultimate viking paradise for a warrior to go to if they died in battle. This is a short video of a Norwegian military unit in Afghanistan and that is all I know about it. –Matt
This is fantastic news! Both La Familia and the Los Zetas just took it in the shorts with these latest operations. From a historic seizure of ‘meth precursors’ in Mexico, to 1,985 arrests of meth dealers in the US. Awesome news and good job to all involved. What is really cool, is that all of those arrests will lead to more information that could be fed into these fusion centers that have been created to take on the cartels. I love it.
But this also is interesting in that this is a major attack on the center of gravity of these cartels. These groups are all about business, and anything that disrupts that business will make them very mad. Now will that translate that into attacks on US or Mexican authorities? Already, we see the cartels targeting Mexican authorities, so to see the jump to targeting US authorities operating in Mexico or even in the US, would not be out of the question.
The other reason I mention this, is that this is more a war and not some police action. True, we use police to pry the bad seeds from society, but we are also dealing with a class of criminal that actually wages war. In Mexico, this combatant has no problems with ambushing the police or assassinating politicians. Or paying them. Anything to keep the business going. Hell, towns like Jaurez are more dangerous than any town in Iraq or Afghanistan, and that’s because the cartels are waging war for market share and territory.
The point is, is that we have attacked cartel business in a major way. Now what will they do in retaliation is the question? Did I mention that the State Department issued a warning early this month that stemmed from ‘recent successes against drug cartel figures‘? I also think that this is a war worth fighting, and I will cheer on any and all efforts that destroy these vile criminal organizations. –Matt
Mexican army seizes 840 tons of drug precursors
July 21, 2011
Mexico City – Troops found more than 839 tons of drug precursor chemicals at a warehouse in the central city of Queretaro, the largest such seizure in Mexican history, the Defense Secretariat said.
The chemicals, used to make synthetic drugs such as crystal meth, were discovered Monday at a warehouse in the city’s industrial zone, the secretariat said in a statement.
No arrests were reported in connection with the seizure.
This week’s confiscation tops the previous record of 200 tons of precursors seized almost a year ago in the Pacific port of Manzanillo.
Mexico, which produces most of the crystal meth consumed in the United States, has imposed tight restrictions on the import of chemicals used to make illegal synthetic drugs.
Story here.——————————————————-
Project Delirium Results in Nearly 2,000 Arrests During 20-Month Operation, Seizures of More Than 12 Tons of Drugs and $62 Million in U.S. Currency
U.S. Department of Justice July 21, 2011
• Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/TDD (202)514-1888
WASHINGTON—Approximately 1,985 individuals have been arrested on narcotics-related charges as part of a 20-month multi-agency law enforcement investigation known as Project Delirium, which targeted the La Familia Michoacana drug cartel, the Department of Justice announced today.
As part of an ongoing takedown that began June 1, 2011, 221 individuals have been arrested across the United States as part of Project Delirium, including more than 70 individuals apprehended yesterday and today. In addition, $770,499 in U.S. currency, 635 pounds of methamphetamine, 118 kilograms of cocaine, and 24 pounds of heroin were seized by law enforcement agents since June 1, 2011.
This is good news for German private security companies and German shipping. With the blessing of their government, now they have a means of securing PSC’s to legally protect their country’s ships. The German shipping market is big as well, so this should lead to an increase of contracts for PSC’s in this market.
I also like the quote about the monopoly of the use of force. All I can say is Max Weber is rolling in his grave right now! lol
The government had until now always rejected such a solution, unwilling to give up the state’s monopoly on the use of legitimate force.
But seriously, this was the right move. If the state cannot provide that protection because of other commitments or a lack of government funding, then of course allowing private industry to contract with PSC’s is the next best thing. The shipping companies can also choose the best company that meets their needs.
The other interesting quote was the study that was done on how many shipping companies had already contracted armed security:
Shipping firms have started taking matters into their own hands, with a study published last week by the consultancy firm PwC showing 27 German ships already carry armed security men on board, with a further six employing unarmed security operatives. Just 17 percent of the 100 firms questioned said they thought the ‘Atalanta’ mission added to safety in the pirate regions.
The Association of German Ship Owners (VDR) confirmed the move towards employing armed guards, but said it was only a second-best solution.
If just 27 ships out of this survey group of 100 have armed security, and that only 17 % thought the Atalanta task force mission of protection was successful, then do the math? Not to mention an increase of attacks on German boats. The German PSC market should see pretty drastic growth now that the government is blessing this, and those companies positioned to be first movers on this market will do well. Did I mention that German ship owners control 3,500 ships, the world’s third largest fleet? Interesting stuff. –Matt
Ships turn to private security to fight pirates
July 21, 2011
German ships braving the waters off Somalia will now be able to officially employ private security firms to fight off attacks by pirates, after the government admitted it could not provide the protection itself.
State secretary in the economics ministry responsible for maritime affairs, Hans-Joachim Otto, said on Thursday that he could not answer the repeated calls from shipping companies for soldiers or armed police officers to accompany their boats.
“We don’t want desperadoes, so we are looking into a certification,” said Otto. He said security firms offering protection would have to meet certain standards. The government had until now always rejected such a solution, unwilling to give up the state’s monopoly on the use of legitimate force.
He said the number of pirate attacks on German ships had risen from 100 to 163 during the first half of 2011. The number of successful hijackings had dropped though, from 27 in the first half of 2010 to 21 in the first six months of this year.
Excellent little story, although I would like to hear it from the security contractors involved. There is no mention of the company either. So whomever was involved, if you would like to confirm this here on the blog or talk to me in private, I can make the edits to show this actually happened.
The concept of the app is great and it would be nice to get some more details about this incident. Like how the contractor found out about the Tac NAV, and did it work as advertised? It sounded like he was able to communicate the needed information for this incident, and get a UAV over the attacking force.
On the other hand though, did the Taliban run because of the UAV, or were they only conducting a ‘hit and run’ attack and they happened to be gone when the UAV arrived on scene? That is why I would like to get a little more detail before cheering this mobile app on.
Cool stuff though, and if you have a smartphone this would be a good mobile app to have, just because it doesn’t weigh anything and you can store it indefinitely on your phone. –Matt
Tactical NAV Smartphone App Directs UAV – Thwarts Taliban Attack
Jul 21, 2011
Kabul, Afghanistan – With the number of private military contractors exceeding the number of troops on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan, a growing concern for keeping contractors safe is more pressing than ever. ?On June 28, a private contractor located near Kabul came under insurgent fire while located in an area where he and his American contractors were working. The contractor immediately called the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) tactical operations center (TOC) for military support, and ISAF personnel then quickly responded by requesting the military grid reference system (MGRS) grid coordinates to the insurgent threat.?However, the contractor was not equipped with a military GPS device or a 1:50,000-scale map to give the proper MGRS coordinates to the TOC. Instead, the contractor used Tactical NAV on his iPhone, and was able to quickly and accurately provide the assisting military personnel with his location, and also the location where the insurgent fire was coming from. As a result, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was dispatched to survey the perimeter of the base, and the insurgent attack was thwarted.?Developed for Soldiers by Soldiers, Tactical NAV assists troops in mapping, plotting and photographing waypoints on the battlefield and also helps Soldiers convey coordinates to other supporting units. Tactical NAV incorporates a compass, camera and a gridded map reference system to accurately pinpoint specific locations and relay that information to other users.Device Requirements:-iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad-Requires iOS 4.2 or later-5.9
Story here.
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