Feral Jundi

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Disaster Response: PSC’s Come To The Rescue For Massive Evacuations In Libya

Filed under: Disaster Response,Industry Talk,Libya — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 10:26 AM

     Governments and private companies around the world scrambled Thursday to evacuate citizens and workers from violence-hit Libya, as Italy braced for a “biblical” exodus of up to 300,000 migrants.

     Fears of a full-scale civil war in the North African country prompted countries from Canada to China to scramble to charter ferries and planes to secure their citizens’ safety despite poor communication links and growing violence.

     Thousands of foreigners packed Tripoli’s airport hoping to leave the widening chaos behind.

     I am only scratching the surface here on what private security companies are actually doing in Libya. But to say the least, what they are doing is incredible and life saving.  There are thousands of citizens and clients trapped in Libya, and it is a massive evacuation effort to get them all out. From the oil workers and engineers, to the diplomats and businessmen from all over the world–there is a massive exodus going on in Libya and private security companies are a crucial part of this evacuation.

    One of the pieces of news that jumped out at me was the mention of the British SAS working with PSC’s to rescue British citizens.  There are many of that country’s expats working in Libya, and they are scrambling forces to get in there and rescue folks.  The PSC’s are on the ground already and many are prior service folks with connections to special forces units from all over. It makes perfect sense that they would coordinate with groups like the SAS.  The point I wanted to emphasize here is that it isn’t just private industry or government doing this alone. This is an ‘all hands on deck’ moment, and it takes private industry and government working together to accomplish the task.

     It is also important to note that we are hearing the same kinds of pleas coming from the folks trapped in Libya, that we heard in places like New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.  That too was a massive evacuation effort that dwarfed the capabilities of the government and what was available to deploy right then and there. During that disaster, PSC’s were called upon to participate in a massive evacuation effort as well, and their use was driven by the concept of ‘do whatever it takes’ to save people.  That included using private security along with the thousands of fire/police/military units from across the US. Plus, PSC’s can deploy extremely fast and can scale up or down pretty fast to meet the needs on the ground.

     Now on to the future of PSC’s in Libya.  After everyone is evacuated, the next step will be either extracting equipment or protecting it in place.   There are millions, if not billions of dollars worth of equipment in the oil fields of Libya and I just can’t see the companies that either own or leased that equipment willing to just throw it away or leave it to be pillaged and neglected. Not to mention the money lost in oil revenues.  So will we see future contracts like when EO was contracted back in the early nineties to rescue equipment for Ranger Oil in Angola?  Who knows, but I do know that these oil company assets are definitely exposed and extremely vulnerable right now.

     Finally, bravo to SOS International, Control Risks, Blue Mountain Group and all of the other PSC’s for all the work they are doing out there. These guys are saving lives in an an extremely dangerous and chaotic environment and they are the unsung heroes of this historic uprising spreading like fire across the Middle East and Africa. –Matt

BREAKING NEWS… Successful Libyan Evacuation

Control Risks supports clients in wake of Egypt protests

International SOS responds to unrest in Libya

SAS ready to rescue desert Britons

Countries rush to evacuate citizens from Libya

BREAKING NEWS… Successful Libyan Evacuation

Blue Mountain Group News

February, 2011

BLUE MOUNTAIN TEAM HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A SAFE EVACUATION OF CLIENT PERSONNEL FROM LIBYA.

*****

Success has its own rewards, growth is one of them, welcome to the new Blue Mountain Group website.

The Blue Mountain Group is a Special Forces based company that has evolved into four distinct operational divisions (click on the links to the left) specialising in Security, Maritime Security, Driver Training and Adventure.

Each division is specialised and focused on delivering unique quantifiable services which are customer driven and client  focused (please review our news column below and on each of the four main home pages where some of our recent activity can be seen).

In a market saturated with companies offering the ‘best available’ we stand or fall on our reputation.

Please review the services that you are interested in and then allow us to validate these services through demonstration of capability and through our historic client recognition.

(more…)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

History: Gaddafi’s Islamic Legion

Filed under: Al Qaeda,Chad,History,Libya — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 3:02 PM

     What I wanted to do here was bring up some history about Gaddafi and his use of an Islamic Legion, and his contracts with Islamic extremist mercenaries like Abu Nidal. From his desire to cleanse North Africa of all non-Arabs to his misguided wars against his neighbors and the West–this dictator has definitely been busy.

     I think what fascinated me the most was his usage of his Legionnaires in Chad, versus France’s use of their Legion and military forces.  The Islamic Legion started off alright in it’s beginnings, but later was poorly used, had low moral and was poorly organized in subsequent years. Hence why they failed in key battles towards the end.  The low moral was also a result of forcing folks to serve in this legion, and sending them to Chad to fight against a superior enemy with a better strategy.

    Now compare this to France and it’s use of it’s military forces. The French Foreign Legion played a pretty important role, but what was probably more important of a factor in defeating this Libyan enemy in Chad was the concept of the Toyota War and air domination. (pickup trucks with Milan Anti-tank missiles mounted)

    But back to the other areas of interest with Gaddafi’s Islamic Legion.  The Janjaweed was an unfortunate outcome of this legion, and of course they are famous for their genocidal activities in the Sudan.  The leaders of this group got their start in the Legion.

    The other bit of history that needs to be brought up is Gaddafi’s relationship with Abu Nidal, one of the world’s most infamous mercenaries and terrorist. He was contracted by Libya to do all sorts of awful things. Matter of fact, you could look at all of the attacks linked to Libya as contracts that Gaddafi issued to Islamist mercenaries, and they certainly did some damage. The 1986 Disco Tech Bombing and the 1988 Lockerbie Bombing come to mind, and no telling what else Libya and their buddy Abu were a part of.

     The Disco Tech Bombing is also why the US bombed Libya back in 1988.  But the really kick ass retaliation was when the US supplied missiles, Toyotas and equipment to the Chadian Army, and helped Chad to defeat Libya. Interesting history and certainly relevant to today’s events. –Matt

The Islamic Legion of Libya

Paramilitary forces of Libya

Abu Nidal’s Relationship with Gaddafi

History of the Janjaweed

This is just a parade of his current military forces. I could not find any photos of the Islamic Legion.

The Islamic Legion of Libya

The Islamic Legion (aka Islamic Pan-African Legion) was a Libyan-sponsored pan-Arab paramilitary force, created in 1972. The Legion was part of Muammar al-Gaddafi’s dream of creating the Great Islamic State of the Sahel.

Creation

Gaddafi, who had come to power in September 1969, was not only a Pan-Africanist, but an Arab cultural supremacist. His hostility to Chad’s government of President François Tombalbaye was at least partly inspired by Tombalbaye’s African and Christian background. It also led Gaddafi to drive the Toubou of Libya, who were considered ‘black’, off Fezzan and across the Chadian border. Gaddafi supported the Sudanese government of Gaafar Nimeiry, referring to it as an “Arab Nationalist Revolutionary Movement”, and even offered to merge the two countries at a meeting in late 1971. Gaddafi’s plans for the peaceful formation of an “Arab Union” were dashed when Nimeiry turned down his offer and negotiated the Addis Ababa Agreement ending the First Sudanese Civil War, fought with the black animist and Christian South. Gaddafi’s definition of “Arab” was broad, including the Tuareg of Mali and Niger, as well as the Zaghawa of Chad and Sudan.

In 1972, Gaddafi created the Islamic Legion as a tool to unify and Arabize the region. The priority of the Legion was first Chad, and then Sudan. In Darfur, a western province of Sudan, Gaddafi supported the creation of the Arab Gathering (Tajammu al-Arabi), which according to Gérard Prunier was “a militantly racist and pan-Arabist organization which stressed the ‘Arab’ character of the province.” The two organizations shared members and a source of support, and the distinction between the two is often ambiguous.

(more…)

Monday, February 21, 2011

Libya: Reports Of Gaddafi Using Mercenaries To Quell Uprising

Filed under: Black Swan Events,Libya,Saudi Arabia — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:20 PM

     Interesting, but this is not very solid yet. I have been trying to find any information I could about Gaddafi’s supposed use of mercenaries to quell the current uprising there, and this is what I have found so far.  Although this is hard to verify because there is a media block there, and Gaddafi has shut down the internet in his country.

    I do know that guys like this have lots of money because of all the oil and foreign investment. There are reports of part of his military defecting because they are being ordered to attack the protestors. I don’t blame them for leaving and I wouldn’t want to bomb my own countrymen either.  Which both points bring up the question of mercenaries as a possible solution for the dictator.  Would Gaddafi hire thugs from outside of his country to do this dirty work?

     Also, it would be easy for people to confuse the evacuations of expats and oil workers with some kind of mercenary invasion force.  These PSCs are landing at airports to simple provide a secure transport for folks to get out.  From what I gather, companies like SOS International will be involved in evacuations in Libya, similar to what they did in Egypt.

    Finally, Libya is important to watch because it is an OPEC nation.  If oil workers are being evacuated, then oil facilities could be shut down or in danger of being attacked.  Not good and this will impact the oil markets.  And if Saudi Arabia fires up as another domino in this string of uprising dominoes, then stand by for a major shock to the oil market. This will only get more interesting and complex as this fire continues to rage.-Matt

Edit: 02/23/2011 – Check out the comments below. I have posted some really interesting stories that have elaborated on the history of mercenary usage in the middle east, and especially Libya. I will continue to dump stories that are relevant in the comments.

U.S. struggles with little leverage to restrain Libyan government

By Mary Beth Sheridan and Scott WilsonMonday, February 21, 2011

…..Libya’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, who broke with Gaddafi on Monday, urged the international community to impose a no-fly zone over the country to prevent mercenaries and arms from reaching the government. But no other major power echoed the call.

Link to quote here.

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Libya ‘uses mercenaries’ to keep order on streets as 200 die in violent clashes

20th February 2011

….Security sources suggested the leader has hired foot soldiers from neighbouring states to maintain law and order.

Marc Ginsburg, former U.S. ambassador to Morocco told CNN: ‘First and foremost he (Gaddafi) has security support from Sudan and Pakistan and his intelligence advisers have received significant intelligence support from former KGB officials who were part of the Eastern Bloc countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Belarus.’

Link for quote here.

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Gaddafi recruits “African mercenaries” to quell protests

Saturday, 19 February 2011

Libya recruited hundreds of mercenaries from Sub-Saharan Africa to help quell a popular uprising that is threatening to unseat veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi after more than 41 years in office, witness told Al Arabiya from the eastern city of Benghazi on Sunday.The witnesses said protesters in Benghazi caught some “African mercenaries” who spoke French and who admitted that they were ordered by Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Khamis Gaddafi, to fire live ammunition at demonstrators.

The witnesses, who refused to be named for security reasons, added that they saw four airplanes carrying “African mercenaries” land in Benina International Airport near the city of Benghazi, the second largest city in the country. (more…)

Friday, June 4, 2010

Maritime Security: Crew Reclaim Ship From Somali Pirates

Filed under: Libya,Maritime Security,Somalia — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 11:48 AM

     Thanks to Gary for sending me this.  The thing that really got me with this, and with Gary, is that this crew was put in this position of fighting for their lives and having to kill these pirates.  We are talking about seaman from all around the world, who are not trained, who are unarmed, and all they wanted to do was work on a boat and feed their families.

     It disgusts me that companies continue this practice of sending their folks into harms way, and not providing adequate protections for them.  They spend thousands of dollars on safety training for their employees, or on life saving gear like rescue boats or dry suits for cold water.  But when it comes to giving their folks the means to protect themselves from piracy attacks, or to contract with a professional security force to protect them, they fall short.  And because there is no protections provided, you have crews like this that had to live with such a horrific experience. (surviving captivity, killing pirates, etc.)  I guarantee that the shipping company CEO’s would be singing a different tune if they had to go through the same experience as this crew.

     Contracting armed security should be required, just like it is required to have safety equipment on these ships.  It is the cost of doing business in today’s violent seas and anything less is unacceptable. –Matt

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Crew reclaim ship from Somali pirates

Jun 3, 2010

The crew of a Libyan-owned cargo ship pounced on their sleeping Somali captors, disarmed the pirates and killed five of them, regaining control of their vessel that had been hijacked almost three months earlier, officials said.

A sixth pirate who survived the attack by the MV Rim crew managed to lock himself in a room and call other pirates to say they had been overpowered before the crew took him hostage, said Abdiaziz Aw Yusuf, the Garacad district commissioner. Garacad is the coastal town near which the MV Rim has been anchored.

A crew member was seriously injured during the struggle, the European Union’s anti-piracy naval force said in a statement. The crew had reported to the force that they had retaken control of the ship on Wednesday morning. The EU said it is believed some of the pirates were killed during the incident.

(more…)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Al Qaeda: New Jihad Code Threatens Al Qaeda

Filed under: Al Qaeda,Libya — Tags: , , — Matt @ 10:44 PM

“Jihad has ethics and morals because it is for God. That means it is forbidden to kill women, children, elderly people, priests, messengers, traders and the like. Betrayal is prohibited and it is vital to keep promises and treat prisoners of war in a good way. Standing by those ethics is what distinguishes Muslims’ jihad from the wars of other nations.”

*****

   Doug sent me this one the other day and I thought it was pretty cool.  Anything that divides these idiots is alright in my book.  Although I highly doubt that AQ or any of the other booger eaters that claim an association will really give a crap.  ‘Killing women, children, elderly people, priests, messengers, traders and the like’ is what they like doing, and I really don’t see them changing their ways anytime soon. Pffft. –Matt

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New jihad code threatens al Qaeda

By Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank, CNN

November 10, 2009

Editors Note: This story is the result of a two-year CNN investigative report into peace talks held between the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and the Libyan Government which recently culminated in the LIFG, a militant jihadist group once close to Osama bin Laden, repudiating al Qaeda. “The Jihadi Code,” a documentary on the breakthrough against al Qaeda in Libya, airs on November 15 at 1200 GMT.

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — From within Libya’s most secure jail a new challenge to al Qaeda is emerging.

Leaders of one of the world’s most effective jihadist organizations, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), have written a new “code” for jihad. The LIFG says it now views the armed struggle it waged against Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s regime for two decades as illegal under Islamic law.

(more…)

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