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10 More Dead Found in Mexican Port of Veracruz
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 8/Oct/2011 18:21
“Mexican officials say 10 more bodies have been found in what appears to be more bloodshed in the battle between rival cartels for control of drug trafficking in the port city of Veracruz.
The discoveries raise the number of deaths since Sept. 20 to at least 75 as the relatively new Jalisco New Generation gang claims to be attacking members of the Zetas cartel.”
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/10-dead-found-mexican-port-veracruz-14697388
‘Zeta Killers’ Kill 32 More in Mexico
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 7/Oct/2011 20:35
(MEXICO CITY) — “A relatively new drug gang is responsible for killing at least 67 people whose bodies were found over the course of a couple of weeks in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, Mexican authorities said Friday.
Marines arrested eight members of the Jalisco New Generation drug gang Thursday, navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara told a news conference. The suspects later led authorities to 32 bodies left in three houses in Veracruz, a port city that carries the state’s name.
Vergara said the gang is also responsible for dumping 35 bound, tortured bodies on a busy boulevard in a suburb of Veracruz on Sept. 20”.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2096508,00.html#ixzz1a9Lxb36x
Yemen: Fallout from the al-Awlaki Airstrike
Posted by Brian in News, Threat Watch on 6/Oct/2011 21:09
Yemen: Fallout from the al-Awlaki Airstrike is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Scott Stewart
U.S.-born Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an ideologue and spokesman for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al Qaeda’s franchise in Yemen, was killed in a Sept. 30 airstrike directed against a motorcade near the town of Khashef in Yemen’s al-Jawf province. The strike, which occurred at 9:55 a.m. local time, reportedly was conducted by a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and may have also involved fixed-wing naval aircraft. Three other men were killed in the strike, one of whom was Samir Khan, the creator and editor of AQAP’s English-language magazine 
Inspire.
Al-Awlaki has been targeted before; in fact, he had been declared dead on at least two occasions. The first time followed a December 2009 airstrike in Shabwa province, and the second followed a May 5 airstrike, also in Shabwa. In light of confirmation from the U.S. and Yemeni governments and from statements made by al-Awlaki’s family members, it appears that he is indeed dead this time. We anticipate that AQAP soon will issue an official statement confirming the deaths of al-Awlaki and Khan. Read the rest of this entry »
Afghanistan – The Longest War
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch on 4/Oct/2011 08:04
From: CBS
Ten years ago this week, U.S. forces went to war in Afghanistan to root out the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11, and to topple the Taliban government that gave them safe haven.
That’s been done, but Taliban insurgents – using Pakistan as a base – fight on, and the top U.S. general in Afghanistan says that the U.S. troops will remain there for a “long time,” likely far beyond a planned 2014 handover of security responsiblity.
Afghanistan, Who is the Enemy?
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch on 3/Oct/2011 08:58
From: LA Times
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan— After 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan, Western forces and their Afghan allies are finding no simple answer to a seemingly straightforward question: Who, exactly, is the enemy?
Joseph Carmichael Jr., a Carrier Hero, Dies at 96
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Warriors on 2/Oct/2011 21:18
“It was midmorning on May 11, 1945, near the Japanese island of Kyushu when the Bunker Hill, an aircraft carrier with dozens of planes and vast stores of fuel and ammunition on its flight deck, was struck by two kamikaze planes in suicide attacks within minutes of each other.
Lt. Cmdr. Joseph R. Carmichael Jr., the Bunker Hill’s chief engineer, had just finished his shift and was in his office doing paperwork. “He could definitely have stayed there and never been criticized,†said Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, the author of “Danger’s Hour: The Story of the U.S.S. Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her.†The book recounts what could have been a far more calamitous day but for the bravery of Commander Carmichael and his engineering crew.
“Instead,†Mr. Kennedy said in an interview on Wednesday, “he ran down through five decks, passing sailors who were evacuating, and made it to the engine compartment about 25 feet below sea level. This was in a ship that he knew was burning above him and could sink at any moment.â€
Commander Carmichael, who would receive the Navy Cross for “extraordinary heroism†in keeping the Bunker Hill afloat that day, but who would never forget the loss of many men under his direct command, died on Monday in Manhattan after a long illness, said his wife, Jeanne. He was 96.”
The Warrior Habit – and now for something completely different
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Warriors on 2/Oct/2011 20:18
At the risk of being mistaken for a Monty Python bit, we share this gem. Nuns, too, may have the warrior spirit.
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Man ordered to surrender guns – because of what he wrote on blog
Posted by Jack Sinclair in Law, News on 30/Sep/2011 11:20
‘My life’s in danger now. I can’t defend myself, I can’t defend you’
By Joe Kovacs
“An Arizona man has filed a federal lawsuit against some of the state’s top judges, claiming they’re taking away his freedom of speech and right to own firearms, all because someone didn’t like what he wrote on his blog.
“You can’t suspend someone’s constitutional rights [for blogging],” said Mike Palmer, who is bringing forth the legal action. “Everybody in America blogs or Twitters, so it’s a First and Second Amendment issue.”
The scenario started when Palmer, a 55-year-old Christian missionary from Phoenix, was online discussing “spiritual death” often referred to in the Bible.
But, according to the suit, a woman from Prescott, Ariz., Melody Thomas-Morgan, complained to authorities that Palmer was threatening her with “death,” keeping that word in quotes in her legal filings.
Kenton Jones, superior court judge for Yavapai County, went along with the woman’s harassment complaint and ordered Palmer to surrender his guns.
“The order says that I am not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition, and directs me to turn over any weapons to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office,” Palmer told WND.
“I certainly want my gun rights,” he added. “There is no law in Arizona which allows the courts to suspend any constitutional right, but in this instance, my Second Amendment right. And, of course, my life’s in danger now. I can’t defend myself, I can’t defend you. I can’t defend my fellow man.”
Adm. Mullen Calls Out Pakistan
Posted by Gary in News, Threat Watch, Warriors on 30/Sep/2011 08:26
From: Stars and Stripes
In 43 years, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the son of a Hollywood publicist, has graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, deployed to Vietnam, commanded an aircraft carrier strike group and the Second Fleet, detoured through Harvard Business School and become the nation’s highest-ranking naval officer.
… But it is what Mullen did last week that may be most remembered: He called out Pakistan.
In his last words to Congress, Mullen accused the Pakistan government of aiding terrorist attacks against U.S. troops and for “choosing to use violent extremism as an instrument of policy.â€
When White House officials distanced themselves from Mullen’s strong words, the chairman held firm.
Service Members Say the Medal of Honor Is Too Hard to Get
From: Defense Media
Throughout the U.S. armed forces today, many feel that too few service members are receiving the nation’s top award for valor.
The Medal of Honor, in past wars a symbol of the selflessness and valor of American service members, has been mostly missing from America’s twenty-first century conflicts. Only ten Medals of Honor have been awarded for action in recent conflicts – six for Afghanistan and four for Iraq. The nation awarded 464 Medals of Honor for actions in World War II, 135 for the Korean War and 246 for Vietnam. On Oct. 7, 2011, the war in Afghanistan will enter its eleventh year, making Afghanistan the United States’ longest war if the length of U.S. involvement in Vietnam is measured from Aug. 7, 1964 to January 1973.
The culminating point in any nation’s history:
Posted by Jack Sinclair in Opinion on 26/Sep/2011 00:43
“Economic and political prosperity are not the final measures of human progress.
The Rome of Trajan was immeasurably more splendid than the Rome of the Scipios; yet the progress had been downwards nevertheless.
If the object of our existence on this planet is the development of character, the culminating point in any nation’s history is that at which it produces its noblest and bravest men.”
– James Anthony Froude, The English in the West Indies
Cutting Through the Lone-Wolf Hype
Posted by Brian in Opinion, Threat Watch on 24/Sep/2011 15:31
Cutting Through the Lone-Wolf Hype is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Scott Stewart
Lone wolf. The mere mention of the phrase invokes a sense of fear and dread. It conjures up images of an unknown, malicious plotter working alone and silently to perpetrate an unpredictable, undetectable and unstoppable act of terror. This one phrase combines the persistent fear of terrorism in modern society with the primal fear of the unknown.
The phrase has been used a lot lately. Anyone who has been paying attention to the American press over the past few weeks has been bombarded with a steady stream of statements regarding lone-wolf militants. While many of these statements, such as those from President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden and Department of Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano, were made in the days leading up to the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, they did not stop when the threats surrounding the anniversary proved to be unfounded and the date passed without incident. Indeed, on Sept. 14, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Matthew Olsen, told CNN that one of the things that concerned him most was “finding that next lone-wolf terrorist before he strikes.â€
Now, the focus on lone operatives and small independent cells is well founded. We have seen the jihadist threat devolve from one based primarily on the hierarchical al Qaeda core organization to a threat emanating from a broader array of grassroots actors operating alone or in small groups. Indeed, at present, there is a far greater likelihood of a successful jihadist attack being conducted in the West by a lone-wolf attacker or small cell inspired by al Qaeda than by a member of the al Qaeda core or one of the franchise groups. But the lone-wolf threat can be generated by a broad array of ideologies, not just jihadism. A recent reminder of this was the July 22 attack in Oslo, Norway, conducted by lone wolf Anders Breivik. Read the rest of this entry »
Does Venezuela pose a nuclear threat to the US? Have they put Iran at our doorstep?
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 24/Sep/2011 03:12
“The German newspaper, Die Welt, reported on Nov. 25, 2010 of a deal Iran struck to establish a military missile base on the northwestern shores of Venezuela. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is vying with Ahmadinejad for the title of most anti-American thug on the planet. According to Die Welt, Venezuela agreed to allow Iran establish a military base manned by Iranian missile officers, Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers and Venezuelan missile officers.
Iran also granted Chavez permission to use the missiles in case of an “emergency” and for “national needs” – radically increasing the threat to pro-American neighbors like Colombia. The report says Iran planned to place a variety of medium-range ground-to-ground missiles on the base.
In a related article published Dec. 8, 2010 by the Hudson Institute in New York, Anna Mahjar-Barducci cites published Russian reports of additional weapon sales to Venezuela, conveniently skirting around a UN sanction against Iran. The sale includes “five battalions of S-300PMU-1 air defence systems and a number of other weapons” originally contracted to Iran for $800 million. “If Iran, therefore, cannot get the S-300 directly from Russia, it can still have them through its proxy, Venezuela, and deploy them against its staunchest enemy, the U.S.” writes Mahjar-Barducci.
The Iran-Venezuela-Russia alliance establishes a missile base with nuclear weapons potential right “in the United States soft underbelly (and) many US cities will be able to be reached from there even with short-medium range missiles,” she warns.
Die Welt reported on May 13, 2011 that an Iranian engineering team had visited Venezuela in February, and confirmed the missile complex site is to be on the Paraguana peninsula – the northernmost tip of Venezuela. The article indicates that Iran and Venezuela will construct a complex of 20 meter deep underground silos for the Shahab-3 medium-range missiles. The article explains that the agreement between Venezuela and Iran would mean Chavez would fire missiles at “Iran’s enemies” should Iran face military strikes.
http://alineofsight.com/policy/the-telescope-iran-at-our-doorstep-part-1
EMP threat from IRAN?
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 24/Sep/2011 03:07
“General Vallely now serves as Chairman of Stand Up America, a private organization that includes numerous former military and intelligence community experts and analysts. In his September 4 article, Vallely wrote, “SUA believes strongly that Iran now possesses low yield nuclear war heads that can be mounted on the Shehab missile and deployed on the oceans in container ships with the Russian provided Club K missile launch system.” The General went on to explain that Iran’s objective is to “launch EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) weapons on U.S. Coastal cities and freeze our national grid systems.”
A June, 2011 RAND report agreed with Vallely’s analysis. According to RAND senior defense policy analyst Gregory S. Jones, Tehran’s nuclear program has progressed to the point that “it will take around two months for the Iranian regime to produce the 20kg of uranium enriched to 90 percent required for the production of a nuclear warhead.”
The window may have slammed shut on the opportunity to prevent Iran from going nuclear.”
Appeals Court OKs Challenge to Warrantless Electronic Spying
Posted by Gary in Comms, Law, News, Threat Watch on 22/Sep/2011 08:19
From: Threat Level
A legal challenge questioning the constitutionality of a federal law authorizing warrantless electronic surveillance of Americans inched a step closer Wednesday toward resolution.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the second time rejected the Obama administration’s contention that it should toss a lawsuit challenging the 2008 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act. Among other things, the government said the plaintiffs — Global Fund for Women, Global Rights, Human Rights Watch, International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association, The Nation magazine, PEN American Center, Service Employees International Union and others — don’t have standing to bring a constitutional challenge because they cannot demonstrate that they were subject to the eavesdropping or suffered hardships because of it.