Archive for September, 2012

Diplomatic Security in Light of Benghazi

Diplomatic Security in Light of Benghazi is republished with permission of Stratfor.”

By Scott Stewart

It has been more than two weeks since the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, yet the attack remains front-page news. One reason is that it has become unusual for a U.S. ambassador to be killed. After the 1968 assassination of John Mein in Guatemala — the first ever U.S. ambassador to be assassinated — several others were killed in the 1970s: Cleo Noel Jr. in Sudan in 1973, Rodger Davies in Cyprus in 1974, Francis Meloy Jr. in Lebanon in 1976 and Adolph Dubs in Afghanistan in 1979. However, following improvements in diplomatic security during the 1980s, no U.S. ambassador has died as a result of a hostile action since Ambassador Arnold Raphel, who was killed in the plane crash used to assassinate Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in August 1988.

Another reason for the continued publicity is that it is an election year. Since foreign policy is an area where Republicans believe President Barack Obama is vulnerable, Stevens’ death has become highly politicized. In any event, the Benghazi attack remains in the headlines. Unfortunately, as one goes beyond those headlines, there are many misunderstandings that have persisted in both the media coverage and the public discussions of the incident. There simply are not many people who understand how diplomatic facilities work and how they are protected.

With that in mind, and because other U.S. diplomatic facilities remain in harm’s way due to the protests occurring throughout the Muslim world, it is an opportune time to again discuss diplomatic security. Read the rest of this entry »

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Two More American Warriors Killed by Afghan “Allies”

The Reporter

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Daniel Defense: Build Your Own AR

From Gear Scout:

Using their new online build tool, you can build a complete DD AR or just an upper. The website lets you point and click your way through the selection of barrel length, gas system length, hand guard, muzzle device, sights, bolt carrier group and fore end grip. At the end of the process you can order your gun, print a parts list and even get an image of your gun to share or use as desktop wallpaper while you wait for it to arrive. Daniel Defense tells me their goal is to ship custom builds within a day of receiving the order.

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FBI Academy Graduates 250th Class

FBI National Academy

The FBI and its law enforcement partners across the globe mark a milestone in policing education—the FBI National Academy graduates its 250th class.

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“Hot” Weapons on the Range

From USA Carry:

I know that some would say (and have) that training a client to shoot and move with a loaded firearm is unsafe. Yet I would argue that not training a client to shoot and move safely with a loaded firearm does more harm than it does good, as doing so only transfers the training risk from the relative safety of the range to the much more hazardous real world environment where the safety net is not present. In the end, I would say that training and learning to safely move with a loaded firearm is safer than not training to safely move with a loaded firearm.

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Understanding Mils (Milliradians)

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Threatened Cyber Attack on US Banks is Underway

Raw Story reported the threat on 25 September.

From: Yahoo

The financial and banking industries are on high alert tonight as a massive cyberattack continues, with potentially millions of customers of Bank of America, PNC and Wells Fargo finding themselves blocked from banking online.

“There is an elevated level of threat,” said Doug Johnson, a vice president and senior adviser of theAmerican Bankers Association. “The threat level is now high.”

“This is twice as large as any flood we have ever seen,” said Dick Clarke, an ABC News consultant and former cybersecurity czar.

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New Molot VEPR Prototypes

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AR-15 Cleaning and Maintenance

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Attack on Camp Bastion: The Destruction of VMA-211

From: Defense Media

The attack on Camp Bastion began at around 10:00 PM local time, when about 20 Taliban fighters approached the perimeter, disguised in U.S. battle dress uniforms. One of the Taliban used his explosive suicide vest to blow a hole in the perimeter fence, which reportedly allowed three five-man sapper squads into the secured areas of the base. Armed with AK-47s, RPG-7s and explosive suicide vests, the Taliban fighters flooded into the U.S. area known as Camp Barber.

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Practical D.O.P.E.

From NSSF:

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Gunblast review of Rossi Ranch Hand

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Crazy People Can Make Sane Points

Jesse Ventura is crazy but he makes a good defense of the second amendment:

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Islamist group warns of new cyber attacks on U.S. banks

From: Raw Story

DUBAI — An Islamist group on Tuesday said it will carry out new cyber attacks on US banking targets, according to SITE Intelligence Group, following similar attacks last week in response to an anti-Islam film.

In a statement a group of hackers calling themselves the “Cyber Fighters of Izz al-Din al-Qassam” said they planned to attack the website of Wells Fargo bank on Tuesday, that of US Bank on Wednesday and the PNC Bank on Thursday, SITE said.

Last week the websites of US banks Chase (a JPMorgan Chase affiliate) and Bank of America suffered a suspected cyber attack following threats against them by the same group.

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The Gun Culture has Changed

From: Human Events

…the new generation of gun owners no longer fit the old-school sportsmen look of yesteryear. The new generation of gun owners are fiercely independent, yet socially active – especially in the online space. The new generation comes from urban centers as well as middle America. New gun owners are of all genders, colors, creeds and social strata. They are not Elmer Fudd.
Unlike the reserved approach to politics that the traditional firearms lobby has taken, the new generation is outspoken, unashamed and willing to fight for what they believe. They are educated on the origins of the Second Amendment and the fundamental right to be free. They do not advocate for the Second Amendment as a right to hunt, rather they perceive it as a guaranteed ability to resist an oppressive government.

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