The Counter Terrorist Magazine - December/January 2012

Taliban shadow Government • pseudo operations • let • al-Manar propaganda

Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals

Counter The

Dec 2011/Jan 2012

Volume 4 • Number 6

Crime,innovation & the mexican border

An SSI Publication ®

October/November 2011 USA/CANADA $5.99

www.thecounterterroristmag.com The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 1

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Counter

The Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals december 2011/january 2012 Volume 4 • Number 6

COVER story: Crime, Innovation, and the Mexican 30 Border

contents

8

20

46

58

By Samuel Logan

FEATURES:

8

First Hand: Heliborne Marksmen target “Go Fast”

By Russell Rider and Phillip Null

20

Case Study: Improvised Chemical Dispersal Devices Detonated against Civilians

By Rick Hahn

46

Internal Repression in syria

By Jennifer Hesterman and Elena Mastors

58

Aryan Republican Army Hits 22 u.s. banks

By Friedrich Seiltgen

departments: 6

From the Editor Courage

44 Book Review The Coming Insurrection

69 Innovative Products TruDefender, E/T Light, Mag5-60

72 Training Review Defensive Handgun

Cover: Tijuana-San Diego border deaths. Photo: Tomas Castelazo

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 5

Counter The

From The Editor:

Courage

By Chris Graham

A

Volume 4 • Number 6 dec 2011/jan 2012

Editor Chris Graham

fter multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Marine scout/sniper Dakota Meyer was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor on September 15, 2011. Sgt. Meyer received the nation’s highest award for his courageous actions on September 8, 2009, while serving as an advisor to Afghan forces.

Sgt. Meyer’s citation states: “Meyer maintained security at a patrol rally point while other members of his team moved on foot with two platoons of Afghan National Army and Border Police into the village of Ganjgal for a pre-dawn meeting with village elders.

Moving into the village, the patrol was ambushed by more than 50 enemy fighters firing rocket propelled grenades, mortars, and machine guns from houses and fortified positions on the slopes above.

Hearing over the radio that four U.S. team members were cut off… Meyer seized the initiative. With a fellow Marine driving, Meyer took the exposed gunner’s position in a gun-truck as they drove down the steeply terraced terrain in a daring attempt to disrupt the enemy attack and locate the trapped U.S. team. Disregarding intense enemy fire now concentrated on their lone vehicle, Meyer killed a number of enemy fighters with the mounted machine guns and his rifle, some at near point blank range, as he and his driver made three solo trips into the ambush area. During the first two trips, he and his driver evacuated two dozen Afghan soldiers, many of whom were wounded.

When one machine gun became inoperable, he directed a return to the rally point to switch to another gun-truck for a third trip into the ambush area where his accurate fire directly supported the remaining U.S. personnel and Afghan soldiers fighting their way out of the ambush. Despite a shrapnel wound to his arm, Meyer made two more trips into the ambush area in a third gun-truck accompanied by four other Afghan vehicles to recover more wounded Afghan soldiers and search for the missing U.S. team members.

Still under heavy enemy fire, he dismounted the vehicle on the fifth trip and moved on foot to locate and recover the bodies of his team members. Meyer’s daring initiative and bold fighting spirit throughout the 6-hour battle significantly disrupted the enemy’s attack and inspired the members of the combined force to fight on.”1 Dakota Meyer’s actions demonstrate the courage, initiative, and judgment that built the US Marine Corps’ reputation. Meyer’s accomplishments serve as an example to each of us facing the challenges of today and the days to come. Semper fidelis, Sgt. Meyer.

Very Respectfully, Chris Graham Editor, The Counter Terrorist http://www.marines.mil/community/Pages/MedalofHonorSgtDakotaMeyer-Citation.aspx accessed on 10-01-2011 1

Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals

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ISSN 1941-8639 The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals is published by Security Solutions International LLC, as a service to the nation’s First Responders and Homeland Security Professionals with the aim of deepening understanding of issues related to Terrorism. No part of the publication can be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

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The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 7

Firsthand:

Heliborne Marksmen target “Go Fast�

Counter The

8 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

HH65. All photos courtesy of the author.

Traveling at 120 knots over the waters of the Pacific, I watched the horizon as our target, a 30-foot boat propelled by triple 500 horsepower outboards, came into view.

w

By Russell Rider and Phillip Null

e called the style of

vessel a “go fast,” not only for its speed, but because with no identifying markings on its hull there was nothing else to call it. Laden with cocaine from Colombia, the boat was following a common trackline toward Central America where its cargo would be offloaded and eventually transported over land through Mexico for sale in the United States. From my vantage point, I could see three narco-traffickers onboard, one piloting and the others, realizing they had been spotted, quickly throwing bales overboard.

Launched from a 210-foot, medium endurance US Coast Guard cutter, the helicopter I rode in was a Frenchdesigned Sikorsky airframe classified as an HH-65 Dolphin. Primarily known for its use in maritime search and rescue, this particular aircraft was armed for counter drug patrols, with a 7.62 mm M240B belt-fed medium machine gun mounted near the cabin door and an M107 Barrett .50 caliber precision rifle stored inside the cabin. There were four crewmen, or souls, onboard: the pilot, the copilot, and a two–man, precision marksman team of which I was a part. My partner and I

Laden with cocaine from Colombia, the boat was following a common trackline toward Central America where its cargo would be offloaded and eventually transported over land through Mexico for sale in the United States.

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 9

Once briefed of the suspects’ failure to comply, our commanders authorized the use of warning shots and disabling fire to stop the vessel.

flipped a coin prior to liftoff to make the tough decision about who would pull the trigger. I won, but my partner would still play a critical role in the operation and any shots I’d take. As the team’s controller, he would serve as a combination spotter, for calling targets and the accuracy of each shot, and as a link between our team and the command and control element back onboard the cutter. The cutter’s mission to locate, identify, and stop any suspect vessel traffic moving along the Pacific drug corridor, a name given to the body of water hundreds of miles wide extending north from the South American coast, relied on our two-man team to provide the force, when necessary, to make the stop.

The go fast we were tracking was first located by a fixed wing US Customs and Border Protection maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) flying search patterns over the

water in support of the cutter’s patrol.

Sighting the go fast on radar, the MPA closed on her position and, concealed by her altitude, acquired a close-up video feed of the boat without the crew’s knowledge. Confirming all indicators of a vessel trafficking narcotics—multiple outboards, tarp-covered decks, visible fuel barrels, and no identifying markings—the MPA relayed the target information to an onshore operations center on the US mainland, which briefed the cutter and provided an intercept course. Upon notification the Dolphin lifted off from the cutter’s flight deck with tasking to stop the go fast and allow an over-the-horizon inflatable boat to come alongside and deploy an armed boarding party. Those men would take custody of the suspects and seize the boat and its cargo while we covered their movements from the air.

Closing on the go fast, the Dol-

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Warning shots from an M-240 medium machine gun. phin began to pace its speed and move on a parallel track a hundred yards off its beam, or side. The pilot repeatedly ordered, “US Coast Guard, stop your vessel,” over VHF-FM radio and the helicopter’s loudhailer, but the commands went ignored. As the orders were repeated, my controller was on the radio with the cutter briefing our operational command with a detailed description of the go fast, the actions we were taking to stop it, and our intentions should the suspects continue to flee.

Once briefed of the suspects’ failure to comply, our commanders authorized the use of warning shots and disabling fire to stop the vessel. My controller advised me of this development and gave permission to load the M240B, our general-purpose machine gun fitted with an Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG). I swung the weapon’s mount outside the cabin’s open door and over the water, then laid a linked belt of 7.62mm tracer rounds on the weapon’s feed tray. After

jerking the weapon side to side to ensure the gun’s stops worked, I pulled the bolt back and depressed the safety before lowering my eye to its holographic sight.

Warning shots, live rounds fired in the path of a suspect vessel, but not intended to damage the vessel or injure her crew, are a common at-sea tactic to signal more forceful actions will result if orders are not followed. As the target came into view through my optic, I adjusted the point of aim a few yards forward of its bow and called out “Tracking” to confirm I had acquired the target and was able to follow its movements.

Assured that I was set up to deliver accurate fire, the Dolphin moved forward of the go fast’s bow, remaining a hundred yards off her beam to provide visibility and a clear line of fire. A final warning, “Stop your vessel or you will be fired upon!” was broadcast before the controller ordered “Open fire!” I immediately squeezed the trigger and eight rounds of tracer ammunition left the barrel Circle 106 on Reader Service Card

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The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 13

Unzipping a padded case inside the cabin, I removed our Barrett M107 .50 caliber rifle and inspected the action of the bolt, opening and closing it a few times to ensure proper and smooth operation.

and impacted the water, sending spouts several feet into the air and spraying the oncoming go fast with a fine mist. I sent another two volleys of tracer rounds down range shortly after the first to ensure the message was received. With over 20 rounds expended, the Dolphin backed off to wait for a response, but the go fast only continued on its original course and speed, a telling sign that our orders were still being ignored. With evidence that warning shots would be ineffective in this case, I swung the M240 into the cabin by its mount and secured it to the interior bulkhead for the remainder of the flight.

The actions of the go fast were briefed by the controller to the cutter, whose command ordered a progression to disabling fire. The intent of the next rounds wouldn’t be to injure those onboard, but they would be fired into the vessel in an attempt to stop it.

Unzipping a padded case inside the

FIRSTHAND AC COUNTS AND FROM FRONTL INE PERSONNE ANALYSES L AND ExPERT IN THE wAR AG S AINS T TERROR Based on

Understanding

edite

ophir falk and hed by nry Morgenstern

Understandin

g and Confro nting the threat

and Confront ing the threat

U.s. and policymakers, first israeli experiences and detailed interv responders, and threat of suicide students of home iews with frontline personnel, terro Suicide Terror enab land security to understand and for future attacks. r. it analyzes recent suicide attac deal with the grow les ks as well as our following the expe current vulnerabili Moreover, they learn ing rt authors’ advic ties e, readers learn how to prepare possible measures and likely scenarios and losses in the event of an attac for and implement an effective and quick response to prevent an attack. k. following an overv to minimize casualties iew and historical review of suicide terror, the book cover • Global jihad s: • Israel’s confron tation with suicide te rrorism • America’s expe rience with suicide b ombi ngs • Internationalizat ion of suicide terroris m • High-risk scena rios and future trends • Methods for co nfronting suicide terror • Medical manag ement of suicide terro rism Using eye-witnes s accounts, the text recreates the studies help reade look and feel of rs actua these very dangerousget into the minds of suicide terro rists in order to unde l terrorism incidents. Detailed threats. case rstand how to best This book is a defin prevent and confr itive study of suicide ont experts who have terror, synthesizing t dealt with it firsth he experience of wel devastating threa and. anyone respo l-known Is t should read this book and consider nsible for understanding, preventing raeli and American its recommendation , and confronting OPHIR FALK, LLB, this s with all seriousness. institute for Coun MBA, is a Partner at the Naveh, K ter terrorism, wher of experience in e he has published antor Even-Har law firm and a Rese vario numerous articles carried out risk asses us security capacities and serve in the field. Mr. falk arch Fellow at the d as a sments for olympic has over a decade venues and critic consultant for the 2004 olympic HENRY MORGEN al national infras games, where he STERN is the Presi tructure. than 500 federal, dent of security solut state ions international, first responders to Is , and local agencies to effectively a company that of suicide terror. He rael to study Homeland Security. Mr. confront the threat of terror and regul has trained more radio stations, and has offered expert commentary on tMorgenstern is a widely publishe arly takes groups of d aut Web broadcasts. error-related issu es for NBC, ABC hor on the subject , CBS, Fox, numerous

SUICIDE TERROR

SUICIDE TERROR

falk Morgenstern

Ophir Falk and Henr y Morgenstern have serious about winn compiled a book that should be read ing the war on terro better understan r. By painstakingly by anyone who is d the nature of analyzing the empi our enemies and rical data, they they offer important why they employ help us insights on how these barbaric tacti terrorism can be In so doing, they cs. Most crucially, effec have performed tively confronte an invaluable servi d and ultimately crucial battle. ce for all those defeated. who are committed to winning this —Benjamin Neta nyahu, former Prime Minister of Israe l

cabin, I removed our Barrett M107 .50 caliber rifle and inspected the action of the bolt, opening and closing it a few times to ensure proper and smooth operation. I then strung a piece of nylon webbing called a strop across the door opening and rested the rifle on it. Shouldering the weapon I twisted each side of the scope to open its protective covers and sighted in on the nearest outboard.

Now authorized to escalate force, the Dolphin maneuvered on a course parallel to the go fast’s three outboard engines while I pulled the bolt back, and loaded a 10-round magazine of .50 caliber rounds.

Focusing on the second “a” in the word “Yamaha” printed on the outboard’s cowling from 50 yards away I called “On target!” to the controller. He verified the pilot could maintain a steady course and ordered “Open fire!” I pressured the trigger and the first round impacted the “a” at 2,500 feet per second, splintering

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Miami, FL (Apr. 12)--Displayed is an example of the tight bullet-grouping of one of the shotout engines by the MH90 Enforcer helicopter during a cocaine bust off the coast of Florida. The MH90 Enforcer helicopters working with a OTH RHIB and the Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin during a drug bust. The Coast Guard has recently unveiled its new MH90 Enforcer helicopter which is specifically designed to encounter the “go-fast� drug smuggling boat. Photo: USCG by PA2 Jeff Hall 16 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

the surrounding fiberglass. The controller called “Hit!”, but with a wake from the outboard still visible a second round was ordered. The weapon boomed as my second round impacted a fraction of an inch from the first. “Hit!” said the controller as the engine stopped and a cloud of white smoke formed above the two holes.

Word was passed to the pilot that the first engine was disabled while I adjusted my aim to the center outboard. “On target!” were my next words to the controller who immediately replied “Open fire!”

My third shot impacted the corner of the cowling and lodged somewhere inside.

“Hit!” A wake confirmed the engine was still spinning the prop and a fourth round chambered. “Hit! Engine’s dead” was the response from the controller after another trigger squeeze. He passed the information to the aircrew and, with the go fast’s speed reduced to a crawl, requested the pilot reposition to give me a clear shot at the remaining outboard. “Hold on” was his response as the Dolphin made a tight circle at speed and came alongside the remaining engine. With a clear field of fire, I stated, “On target!” and heard “Open fire”! With a Yamaha logo again visible I aimed for and destroyed the word’s second “a,” this time sending both fiberglass and smoke into the air. “Hit! Go fast disabled!” The engine, already strained by propelling the boat forward without the assistance of the two others, succumbed to a single round.

The Dolphin began to orbit the now slowly drifting go fast as I watched for any sign of aggression from her crew, whose driver joined the others’ efforts and unloaded bales of cocaine into the sea.

During the engagement, the cutter’s small boat had been launched and was already approaching our position. Minutes after the stop was made it arrived on scene and deployed an armed boarding team who jumped over the go fast’s gunnel with

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The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 17

sidearms drawn. I covered their embarkation with the M107 from the helicopter, watching the suspects’ hands for any sign of a weapon until they were handcuffed behind their backs.

Despite the traffickers’ best efforts to destroy their cargo, over 3,000 pounds of nearly pure Colombian cocaine were recovered from the go fast and surrounding waters. Only a small sample was needed for evidence at trial, the rest ultimately destroyed with fire by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which assumed custody of the suspects and contraband once the cutter delivered them to shore. Eventually convicted and sentenced to over a decade in prison, their smuggling endeavor failed. Unfortunately, we know other go fasts, semisubmersibles, and submarines are traveling undetected along the same route,

transferring their cargos to shore where they can be sold, and using the proceeds to fund violence and death as criminals compete for control of distribution territory and control of the market.

•

About the Authors Mr. Rider (pseudonym) is a US Coast Guard veteran of Tactical Law Enforcement Team (TACLET) South. He participated in the interdiction of over 12 tons of cocaine and deployed to the Gulf of Aden in support of counter piracy operations.

Mr. Null is a veteran of the US Coast Guard with assignments that include the Maritime Safety & Security Team in Miami, Florida, a nationwide deployable tactical unit responsible for antiterrorism and border interdiction missions.

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Case Study:

Improvised Chemical Dispersal Devices Detonated Against Civilians

By Rick Hahn

Counter The

A vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) burns after being discovered by US soldiers.

Photo: Ryan C. Heiser, U.S. Marine Corps

20 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

At 4:11 p.m. local time on Friday, March 16, 2007, a pickup truck loaded with chlorine gas cylinders rigged to an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded. It was detonated at a checkpoint northeast of Ramadi in Anbar province, Iraq.

A

statement from the US

military indicated that one US service member and one Iraqi civilian were injured. There is no report of any injuries from the chlorine.

A second attack occurred about two hours later at 6:36 p.m. in Amiryah, 17 km south of Fallujah. Again, the device was a truck-borne improvised chemical dispersal device (ICDD) with chlorine gas, but in this case a dump truck. It was detonated while in line at a police checkpoint. It appears that the suicide driver may have detonated the device before reaching its primary target. Reports suggest that up to eight were killed, including two policemen. Approximately 100 local residents suffered chlorine exposure, their symptoms ranging from skin and lung irritation to vomiting.1

Abu Musab al Zarqawi after U.S. air strike. Photo: US Government.

Then at about 7:13 p.m. a dump truck carrying a 200-gallon tank of chlorine gas was detonated about three miles south of Fallujah in the Abu Issa tribal district.

The attack appears to have targeted the reception center of one of the Abu Issa tribal sheiks who had recently denounced al-Qaeda. Some 250 residents were affected with chlorine exposure in this incident, including at least 7 children; however, no deaths were reported.

In the global jihad there has been an ongoing effort by a variety of terror organizations to develop and deploy successful ICDDs. Dating back to before the coalition invasion of Iraq, intelligence services were aware that jihad organizations were experimenting with toxins dispersed explosively. Abu Musab al Zarqawi, before becoming a member of

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 21

A pair of German soldiers moving through a gas cloud. Photo: Unknown

al-Qaeda, reportedly experimented with ICDD in northern Iraq, using livestock as his experimental subjects, training videos document al-Qaeda chemical experiments and there are reports of chemical dispersing IEDs being employed in Chechnya.

The attacks around Fallujah appear to have been designed to reignite violence, and resistance to coalition forces, and punish two groups that had cooperated with the new government. One was the Abu Issa tribe, located in a region just south of Fallujah. Members of the tribe had become police officers working with the coalition forces in the region. The attack in Ramadi was likely designed to punish another group that had become the focus of al-Qaeda in Iraq attacks, the Anbar Salvation Council (ASC). The Ramadi home of the leader of the ASC had been attacked by suicide bombers in February 2007, and another leader of the ASC had been attacked in neighboring

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Amiriya on March 1 of that year. Both attacks were attributed to al-Qaeda in Iraq, then led by Zarqawi.2 Further suggesting the motive for the attacks is the fact that they occurred just three days after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had visited the region in a bid to win support from local clan chiefs to oppose the Sunni insurgency and al-Qaeda in the area.3 In each case, the devices were a simple combination of IEDs detonated beside cylinders of compressed liquid-free chlorine (“free� in that it was pure chlorine that had not reacted with anything to form chloramine compounds). Free chlorine is a gas at normal atmospheric pressure and temperatures. It is used in a variety of industries, but most commonly in water purification and sewage treatment. Compressed to a liquid, much like propane or liquefied natural gas, it is used at literally thousands of small water treatment facilities worldwide. Injected

into drinking water in small quantities, chlorine kills bacteria, making the water potable. However, released into the atmosphere free chlorine is a heavier-thanair gas and choking agent. In concentrations of 1–3 parts per million (ppm) it is an irritant to eyes, nose, throat, lungs, and possibly skin, particularly if there are open wounds or abrasions. In concentrations of as little as 15 ppm it begins to do damage to lung tissue, causing respiration to be difficult. At still higher concentrations, estimated to begin at 430 ppm, it will be fatal in 30 minutes or less.

(Factors are, of course, variable based on age, physical condition, and preexisting illness.)4 Chlorine gas was first used in open combat by German forces in World War I, and used quite effectively. Thousands reportedly died in the trenches from asphyxiation by the gas. The conditions were, however, optimum for it to be so

Yellow chlorine dioxide gas with yellow chlorine dioxide solution Photo: W. Oelen

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The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 23

effective in that case. In WWI, forces were generally dug in, living in trenches along battle lines. Chlorine, being heavier than air, naturally settled into the trenches. Though there is no doubt that soldiers could readily detect the gas, they couldn’t leave the trenches without exposing themselves to machine gun fire.

There was, however, a downside to its employment. German forces had to be cautious using gas because a shift of wind could blow the deadly fog back into their own trenches. Nonetheless, it was excruciatingly deadly, leading to various treaties banning the use of such weapons over the years.

Absent confinement in a low-lying area, a building, or other restricting space, the chlorine will dissipate, blown by the wind, ultimately reacting with any moist material and losing potency. Consequently, covering one’s face, including the eyes, with a moist cloth has been

Coalition forces reportedly attempted to increase security on shipments of chlorine to water facilities in Iraq, which may have contributed to the rarity of these attacks.

a popular technique for attempting to minimize the effects of free chlorine.

These attacks appear to have been designed to cause massive civilian casualties by unleashing the deadly free chlorine in large quantities within the population. The attacks in Iraq described above were a failure. Taking into account the largest variation in number of reported killed, the attacks at best killed eight, and although there were reportedly some 350 injured by chlorine exposure, whether significant numbers were serious injuries is unreported. Additionally, each attack required a vehicle-borne IED (VBIED) and suicide driver. The number of deaths inflicted were paltry compared with the typical body count resulting from a VBIED attack on an occupied building, or a suicide bomber on foot carrying a device into a crowd.

Why were these attacks unsuccessful?

First, the objective of these ICDD attacks

A Seabee assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74 waits out a chemical attack during a field training exercise. Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Hulle/Released

24 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

was apparently to envelope a large crowd in the chemical and injure or kill them.

Because the dispersal is through the air, enveloping a crowd will almost certainly require an open-air environment. This leads to complications, including wind, heat, weight of the chemical when dispersed in air, and relative elevation of the target crowd in relation to the surrounding area.

Another factor that may have limited their success is the thermal effect of the IED used to disperse the chlorine. Some theorize that the thermal effect of the bombs in these attacks neutralized much of the chlorine, making the devices far less effective than if the chlorine had been dispersed by other means, such as by simply opening a valve.

It’s worth noting that following the attacks of March 16, 2007, there were only two more attacks utilizing dispersal of chlorine reported in Iraq. Both resulted

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Camp Coyote, Kuwait (Feb. 17, 2003) -- U.S. Army Spc. James Johnson, Combat Documentation Production Specialist from the 55th Signal Company, Fort Meade, Md., documents members of the 1st and 2nd Force Services Support Group (FSSG) receiving Chemical Biological Protective Shelter (CBPS) training from Dan Breitenstein, Department of Defense Equipment Specialist. The CBPS is the Department of Defense’s latest technology used to provide medical personnel shelter from chemical and biological agents, while providing medical attention to troops in the field. Petty Officers Bradford and Miller are deployed from Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Naval Hospital Corpus Christi, Texas, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Quinton T. Burris. (RELEASED) Photo: U.S. Navy photo

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 25

in many more deaths than the events of March 16, but again, it is unclear if the deaths were primarily from the chlorine or the explosion itself.

Coalition forces reportedly attempted to increase security on shipments of chlorine to water facilities in Iraq, which may have contributed to the rarity of these attacks. I have found no record to indicate a shift in process in Iraq, but there are alternatives to the use of free chlorine in purifying water, alternatives that do not include such a readily hazardous material.

Most likely the reason why this tactic was not more widely replicated was because it was not delivering the results desired.

So where are we today, some four years hence? First, one must consider the objectives of jihadis and others who practice unrestricted warfare. They want to inflict significant damage. The question for them is how best to do so. As a matter of science, the chemical attack is still an

26 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

efficient solution. Despite its limitations, it may still be a more easily achieved improvised weapon of mass destruction (WMD) than a biological, radiological, or nuclear device.

Biologics require the ability to grow virulent strains of something, safely possess and transport them, and then have a means to disseminate them over wide areas. The concept of spraying biologic agents from crop dusters may be impractical because most may not survive the pressure and impact involved in the spraying process.

As for the “dirty bomb,� gathering enough radiological material is a challenge. Additionally, the detonation of a dirty bomb affects a singular area, and, like the ICDD, is subject to atmospheric conditions at the time of detonation (i.e., wind, heat, thermal rise, etc.). Then, of course, there is the possibility of nuclear attack from a non-state operator. This too

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may be a lesser likelihood. If a nuclear device were controlled by non-state adversaries, they would face the technical challenge of making it function as a fission or fusion device. A possible result would be the dispersal of nuclear material by the explosives contained in the device. The dispersed nuclear material would be a mess to clean up, but might not amount to WMD-scale human loss.

We must be vigilant to the threats of improvised WMDs, and in particular ICDDs. Adversaries have launched chemical attacks against civilians and will likely make future attempts. Although various jihadist publications give instruction on building devices that would be effective in enclosed environments, such as a single room or train car, that is not any more effective than other existing weapons. These attacks may be limited by weather, heat, and other environmental conditions. Unfortunately, we can expect that Chemical weapons will be encountered again.

•

About the author Mr. Hahn is a retired FBI Agent, former FBI laboratory explosives examiner and managed the crisis crime scene at the bombing of the Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City. He is the founder of R. Hahn & Company. rhahninc.com

Endnotes Frayer, Lauren, Al Qaeda Blamed for Chlorine Bombs, Associated Press, March 18, 2007.

2 Roggio, Bill, The Long War Journal; Al Qaeda’s Chlorine Attacks: The Dirty War in Anbar, March 17, 2007 3 Associated Press, Insurgent Chlorine Attacks Injure 350 Iraqi Sunnis: GI Killed in Baqouba; March 16, 2007.

4 Jones, Robert, MD; Wills Brandon, DO; Kang, Christopher, MD; Chlorine Gas: An Evolving Hazardous Material Threat and Unconventional Weapon; Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, Volume XI, No. 2: May 2010.

1

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28 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

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Crime, Innovation, &

the Mexican Border

Counter The

30 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

Four ounces of marijuana, usually referred to as a quarter-pound or QP. Photo: Alkivar

Members of the Tohono O’odham Indian Nation, located in southern Arizona just west of Tucson and roughly the size of Connecticut, retain special access to Mexico.

By Samuel Logan

T

he nature of their reservation facilitates cross-border traffic with limited federal oversight on either side of the border—a little known fact that criminal entrepreneurs leveraged into a profitable relationship with Mexico’s Sinaloa Federation to smuggle marijuana into the United States until an 18-month Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation ended the operation in May 2011.

DEA and Arizona police arrested 27 suspected members of the Jesus Valencia-Rodriguez organization, a group authorities believed operated as a marijuana-trafficking subsidiary of Mexico’s Sinaloa Federation criminal enterprise.1 Members of the Valencia-

US-Mexico Border west of Jacumba, California is a wooden fence just South of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern railroad track. Photo: Perdelsky

Rodriguez organization took advantage of the reservation border that represented 75 miles—less than 4 percent—of the entire US-Mexico frontier, yet represented an estimated 5 to 10 percent of marijuana smuggling from Mexico to the United States.2 With only a makeshift wooden fence separating the two countries, criminal organizations aware of the ease of access to the Indian reservation focused their smuggling activity in the area.

Yet at the conclusion of this 18-month investigation, two salient items surfaced to engender debate and discussion among analysts and law enforcement officials that in many ways have served to set the tone for Mexico’s “war on

DEA and Arizona police arrested 27 suspected members of the Jesus Valencia-Rodriguez organization, a group authorities believed operated as a marijuanatrafficking subsidiary of Mexico’s Sinaloa Federation criminal enterprise.1

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 31

drugs” in 2011: Mexico’s criminal organizations have evolved at a pace set by the threat from rivals and government forces, and black market pressures; and, Mexican criminal networks remain largely misunderstood and are a source of considerable disagreement between local, state, and federal authorities in both Mexico and the United States.

Innovation

The DEA reported that observers remained at posts for between 30 to 60 days at a time.

One television reporter stated: “…We saw clear evidence that a surveillance team had been camping out.”

“Use of a wire communication or electronic communication in a drugrelated transaction,” stuck out as one of the more interesting charges listed by DEA (acting) special agent-in-charge in Arizona, Doug Coleman, during a press conference to announce the arrest of several Valencia-Rodriguez operatives in mid-May 2011. Essentially, members of the small-time drug trafficking organization (DTO) occupied hides in the Arizona mountains to serve as observation posts from which to watch law enforcement traffic and report to runners on the ground the appropriate times to move the product north. The technique of using lookouts is not new, but this case demonstrated an innovation;

criminal sentinels perched at altitude inside the United States to observe and report on threats presented by patrolling law enforcement in their assigned drug trafficking sector.

The DEA reported that observers remained at posts for between 30 to 60 days at a time. One television reporter stated: “…We saw clear evidence that a surveillance team had been camping out. Two blankets were spread out next to a pair of shoes. Nearby were boxes of food, tarps, water jugs, toothpaste, and a portable stove, on top of which was a pan with fresh cooking oil still in it.”3 The television crew also found radio chargers

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and car batteries. One of their DEA guides remarked that at any given time, 200 to 300 such scouts could be placed in the mountains in and around the Tohono O’odham Nation.

One of the DEA agents accompanying the television crew added that the scouts working in that particular sector likely used night-vision goggles, frequency hopping, radio-encryption, repeaters and solar panels, and performed “almost like air traffic controllers” as each spotter facilitated the movement of smuggling groups on the ground, “handing off or contacting the traffickers as they leave or enter the spotters’ area of control.”4 The tactics that allowed significant amounts of contraband to pass through Indian lands in Arizona represent only a small slice of the innovations developed

within the Mexican criminal ecosystem, where every organization, from the Sinaloa Federation to Los Zetas and the Knights Templar, is an economic actor motivated by profit and power.

New Revenue Sources One of the most significant innovations recorded on the profit side of Mexico’s crime equation since the beginning of President Felipe Calderon’s six-year term has been the theft of petroleum products from pipelines owned and operated by Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) state energy company.

September 2007 gas pipeline bombings that disrupted services to several companies across Mexico demonstrated pipeline vulnerabilities. A Pemex

36 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

company report announced that of the 62,000 kilometers of pipeline that the company operates, 4,000 are considered “strategic assets.” Of course, Pemex cannot protect its pipelines without military assistance, but recent reports suggest that the Mexican army may be occupied elsewhere.

As of August, 2011, Pemex had counted 32 illegal punctures on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipelines, and a theft of some 64,000 barrels of combustible. This can be compared with 54 LNG punctures recorded during all of 2010. When all the illegal pipeline taps are aggregated across all products—LNG, natural gas, gasoline, and petroleum—710 taps were registered in 2010 and 730 reported by the end of August, 2011, resulting in a reported

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Mexican president Felipe Calderón (left) and Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (right) during an official ceremony in Mexico City.

Photo: Ricardo Stuckert loss of some $280 million, which could surpass $490 million by the end of 2011.5 Many observers suspect Los Zetas as the innovator behind this expansion of criminal revenue streams, and Texas-state criminal indictments appear to support such claims. Several businessmen (across five companies) have been indicted for the purchase and sale of stolen petroleum products.6 Meanwhile, 2011 has seen Los Zetas and other criminal organizations leverage border crossing zones like the Tohono O’odham Nation, to expand profits

earned through human trafficking. As far south as El Salvador, where networks have run smoothly since the beginning of that country’s civil war in 1982, Los Zetas and members of the Sinaloa Federation have reached far into Central America to find paying “passengers” for a “guided” trip along the insulated immigrant trail that they have established north from Central America to US cities such as Phoenix and Houston.

According to one human smuggler interviewed in El Salvador, the larger Mexican organizations are increasingly

interested in this business because there is less risk involved with moving the passengers. Those who leave El Salvador pay up front a reported average of $7,000 a head. Unlike cocaine, which can represent a loss if interdicted, lost loads of illegal immigrants represent little financial risk to the criminal organizations because the fee is paid up front.7 Apart from innovations in revenue generation, Mexico’s criminal organizations continue to innovate on the battlefield, most notably across two distinct lines of development: explosives

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 37

and troop deployment.

Criminal organizations continue to develop ever more powerful paramilitary subsidiaries tasked with both defensive and offensive operations. Media reports since the beginning of Mr. Calderon’s presidency have tracked the use of hand grenades steadily from Mexico, linking the use of explosives in Mexico— specifically fragmentation grenades— to the theft of military weaponry in Guatemala and El Salvador. The fragmentation grenade thrown near the US consulate in Monterrey in October 2008, for example, was reportedly diverted from a Salvadoran military stockpile earlier that year.8 Fast forward to 2011 and we find a Mexico where any attack across the country is likely to involve the use of fragmentation grenades or other explosives, such as rockets, most originating from military stockpiles.

Grenades used across Mexico, as well as the ubiquity of small arms, explains in part why Mexican authorities in 2011 discovered the use of armored transports, or as analysts have labeled them, improvised armored fighting vehicles (IAFVs).9 The most ostentatious examples of this new trend surfaced in northern Mexico, where authorities discovered the so-called “monstruo” and “monstruo II” that featured armored plates welded to the body, cab, and trunk of modified SUV vehicles. More common, however, was the use of steel plates to construct square-shaped armored boxes slotted into the beds of heavy-duty pickup trucks.

Inside these protective shells, Los Zetas, Gulf Cartel, or other gunmen could confidently assault rival groups until the truck was incapacitated, or rival groups managed to penetrate the armor and kill those inside. As described Circle 328 on Reader Service Card

38 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

by the authors of a recent Small Wars Journal article, an example of this form of “narco-truck is an IAFV with armor plating, air conditioning, and gun ports.

Some models have 2.5 cm steel plates.

Others have gun turrets. These trucks frequently defeat small arms but not heavy weapons. While these IAFVs have limitations, they are flexible enough to serve in a combination of [direct action] and transport roles…some narco-trucks can transport a squad, and loosely resemble armored personnel carriers.”

International Ties and Domestic Dissonance As Mexico’s transnational criminal organizations continue to evolve through 2011 and into 2012, Mexico approaches the final year of the Calderon administration, a window of time that may represent the period when the Mexican criminal system went through several fundamental shifts. The most important of these shifts may prove to be an evolution from less pugnacious, “old school” drug lords to a “new school” set of leaders, such as La Barbie and El Lazcano, who wield fear as a weapon and push macabre acts onto the Internet.

This shift has settled into place even as Mexico City and Washington have deepened cooperation to defeat criminals and prevent men such as El Lazcano from gaining power and influence in the criminal system and political circles.

Inside the United States, the thorny political issues over so-called harm reduction continue to work against political will for a stronger demand reduction policy. The focus remains on supply side interdiction and smarter policing, but disagreement has arisen between state and federal governments

A CBP officer examines bundles of marijuana found in a commercial shipment of scrap metal at the Bridge of the Americas international crossing/El Paso port of entry. Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection over the bottom-line effects of “spill over violence,” the term used to describe how violence in Mexico threatens US security.

The US government appears to be diving deeper into its relationship with Mexico through the Merida Initiative - an assistance package between the US government and select Latin American government that supports apprehending or killing high-ranking criminal leaders despite the accompanying spikes in violence.

Late August reports suggest that the Obama administration has begun to allow Mexican operatives to stage and launch anti-narcotic operations from US soil, where the DEA provides intelligence and logistical support.10 According to a New York Times report, “…many aspects of the campaign remain secret, because of legal and political sensitivities. But in recent months, details have begun to emerge, revealing efforts that would have been unthinkable five years ago.

American Predator and Global Hawk drones now fly deep over Mexico to capture video of drug production facilities

and smuggling routes. Manned American aircraft fly over Mexican targets to

eavesdrop on cell phone communications.

And the D.E.A. has set up an intelligence

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As 2011 ends, Mexico will have surpassed 40,000 dead since the end of 2006. outpost…on a Mexican military base.”

Yet amid what appears to be a “sea-change” in the US-Mexican relationship, as Mexican ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhán recently described it, others have pointed out that Washington seeks return on investment for the reported $1.4 billion Merida Initiative investment as well as money spent across the region. The

Obama administration is hard pressed to articulate where the money has caused a decline in the flow of drugs north into the United States. The US Government Accountability Office concluded that the State Department, which oversees the Merida Initiative fund disbursement in Mexico, “does not evaluate the overall success of its counter-narcotics program.”12 Perhaps the most egregious affront to Washington’s well-intentioned, collaborative role in supporting Mexico came with the fallout of Operation Fast and Furious, apparently set up to trace weapons purchased inside the United States and trafficked to Mexico. One of the weapons allowed to “walk” into Mexico was used to kill a US federal agent, and several others have been found at crime scenes across Mexico.13

The nature of the Mexican criminal ecosystem continues to evolve at a pace that has forced law enforcement on both sides of the border to run apace with innovation into the headwinds of political baggage, domestic squabbling, and international political priorities.

As this six-year chapter draws to a close, observers may not remember the measured success of interdiction in the United States or the death of Mexican drug lords such as Arturo Beltran-Leyva or Ignacio Coronel, but rather the spike in violence experienced in Mexico that accompanied their passing.

As 2011 ends, Mexico will have surpassed 40,000 dead since the end of 2006. Lack of return on investment for billions spent in anti-narcotic efforts are overshadowed by the tragic loss of life in Mexico, and across the Americas. So

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Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 41

far, it appears as though the criminal system is winning, and leaders in Mexico and the United States have room for improvement from lessons hopefully learned. Evidence does not suggest that current efforts have been particularly successful for protecting the lives of people inside Mexico, though the true test of Calderon’s strategy will begin when his administration ends. Any traction gained in the six years between December 2006 and December 2012 could quickly slip if the new administration in Mexico City places less emphasis on what has “worked” and more on what is politically expedient.

•

About the author Mr. Logan is author of This Is for the Mara Salvatrucha (Hyperion, 2009). He is also the regional manager for the Americas with iJET International. He is the founder

and managing director of Southern Pulse | Networked Intelligence, and has reported on security issues in Latin America since 1999.

Endnotes “Agency Heads Announce Major Criminal Action Against Cartel,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, May 19, 2011.

2 “U.S. Southwest Border Smuggling and Violence,” U.S. Department of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center, National Drug Threat Assessment 2010, February 2010.

3 Mark Potter, “Cartels using Ariz. mountaintops to spy on cops,” NBC Nightly News, May 19, 2011.

4 Ibid.

5 “México perdirá casi US$500 milliones por robo de petróleo en 2011,” Reuters, August 18, 2011.

6 Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, 1

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“Mexico’s Pemex Sues US Firms Over Oil Theft,” InSight Crime, June 2, 2011.

7 Author interview with “William” (real name withheld), Salvadoran human smuggler, February 22 and June 16, 2011.

8 Daniel Valencia Caravantes, “Las 1,800 granadas y el mayor que se esfumó,” El Faro, June 27, 2011.

9 John P. Sullivan and Adam Elkus, “Narco-Armor in Mexico,” Small Wars Journal, July 14, 2011.

10 Mark Mazzetti and Ginger Thompson, “U.S. widens role in Mexican fight against crime,” New York Times, August 28, 2011.

11 Quoted in Ibid.

12 Quoted in Ibid.

13 For a crowd-sourced map of Fast and Furious weapons seizures, see: http:// tinyurl.com/3g4bfh9

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“toknowledge is critical deter the threat of terrorism.�

Elena Mastors, Ph.D. | Dean, School of Security & Global Studies Dr. Mastors represents the caliber of AMU scholar-practitioners, combining in-depth field research with academic rigor. A foremost expert in political-psychology pertaining to counter-terrorism, she taught at the U.S. Naval War College and frequently lectures on subjects of conflict, terrorism, and political leadership. A published author, her works include, Breaking al-Qaeda: Psychological and Operational Techniques and The Lesser Jihad: Recruits and the al-Qaida Network.

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The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 43

Book Review

The Coming Insurrection

By The Invisible Committee

T

he Coming Insurrection was first published in French (La Fabrique, 2007), then in English (Semiotexte, 2007) and is attributed to “The Invisible Committee.”

The book discusses seven topics. The committee describes: individuality, relationships, work, economy, geography, the environment, and civilization.

The book prescribes the formation of communes and revolutionary struggle around the world that will attack in moments of crisis (financial, political, and environmental) to support an anti-capitalist revolution. Insurrections envisioned by the Invisible Committee revolve around “the local appropriation of power by the people, of the physical blocking of the economy, and of the annihilation of police forces.”

The writers attempt to motivate pacifists with the statement, “An authentic pacifism cannot mean refusing weapons, but only refusing to use them.

Pacifism without being able to fire a shot is nothing but the theoretical formulation of impotence.” It is unclear if the idea of communist power acquisition without killing is self-deception, or deception targeted at the reader.

The revolutionaries provide an unexpected acknowledgment of the deterrent qualities of competent combatants. “From a strategic point of view, indirect, asymmetrical action seems the most effective kind, the one best suited to our time: you don’t attack an occupying army frontally. That said, the prospect of Iraq-style urban guerrilla warfare, dragging on with no possibility

Reviewed by: Chris Graham of taking the offensive, is more to be feared than to be desired.” The committee writes, “Even more than to actions, we must commit ourselves to their coordination. Harassing the police means that by forcing them to be everywhere

they can no longer be effective anywhere.”

The writers observe, “An insurrection triumphs as a political force. It is not impossible to defeat an army politically.”

They also state, “Thus, wherever the economy is blocked and the police are neutralized, it is important to invest as little pathos as possible in overthrowing the authorities.”

The committee’s strategy is unsophisticated, requires only tiny quantities of “off-the-shelf ” technology and little strategic vision, but it provides the ability to cause significant damage to property, injury to citizens, and possibly the manipulation of public policy. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael

44 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

Mullen acknowledged to CNN in 2010 that “The most significant threat to our national security is our debt.”1 Debt related instability has been witnessed around the world. Western governments that are a few steps deeper into their own debt debacles than the United States have already experienced civil disorder. Socialist provocateurs, anarchist adventurers, and others have rioted in Greece, Spain, Ireland, England, France, Italy, New York and elsewhere.

Will the combination of elastic currencies and human nature encourage the deficit spending crises of Western governments to accelerate until catastrophe? Maybe and maybe not.

Obviously, we hope that political leaders will choose to reverse this trend, but the world is already witness to significant instability. It is reasonable to anticipate the possibility of social friction in your jurisdiction or area of operations and it is always prudent to be operationally prepared to uphold your oath to defend the Constitution and protect the lives, liberty, and property of citizens.

The Coming Insurrection may sound like the stoned ramblings of a euro-student’s Che Guevara fantasy, but it is a valuable read. This book provides insight into ideology and techniques that have been recently witnessed in riots around the world. Much useful information can be obtained from this book. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-27/ us/debt.security.mullen_1_pentagonbudget-national-debt-michael-mullen?_ s=PM:US accessed 10-10-11 1

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The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 45

Internal Repression in Syria

Over 700,000 protesters gather in Al-Assy Square in Hama on July 22, demanding the fall of the regime during the Syrian Revolution 2011. Photo: syriana2011

Counter The

46 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

Internal suppression by governments is nothing new in postmodern society.

Perhaps the phenomenon was best captured in the iconic picture of a lone protestor standing down a row of tanks in Tiananmen Square, the day after the massacre of hundreds of students, civilians, and workers in China.

By Ms. Hesterman Ms. Mastors, PhD

U

nfortunately, the Tiananmen Square event on June 4, 1989, was far from being the most brutal event of its kind. Hama, Syria, home to 1.5 million people, has been the site of some of the most grievous examples of government repression in recent years.

Hama, Syria, 1982 Then-president Hafez al-Assad, facing an uprising and potential overthrow of his government by the Islamic supremacist group the Muslim Brotherhood, violently suppressed protestors. He ordered the Syrian Army into Hama on a “scorched earth” campaign, killing more than 20,000 citizens. Many innocent victims were caught in the offensive, including those attending mosque services, schoolchildren, medical personnel, and patients in hospitals. The city was shelled for three weeks, destroying the

infrastructure. The Syrian Human Rights Committee reported the use of cyanide gas in buildings where refugees sought shelter.1 Although many in Hama remember this catastrophic assault, they returned to the streets undaunted this year, apparently inspired by the “Arab Spring” movement.

Current Crisis Syrian President Bashar al-Assad now finds himself in a situation similar to that of his father, with mass civil unrest and demonstration. He has made no noticeable concessions, handling the uprisings with violent suppression. The levels of brutality associated with the current confrontations are startling; eyes of protestors have been gouged,2 refugee camps have been shelled,3 and government agents opened fire on mourners at a funeral for their dead children, victims of the violence.4

The Syrian Armed Forces consists of 400,000 military personnel, most of whom are dedicated to its vast army.

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 47

In October, the government began a campaign of executions aimed at eliminating dissidents and prominent spokesmen for the opposition. Since the unrest began in March, more than 1,700 civilians have been killed in Hama, with another 10,000 arrested or missing.5 Undeterred, the protests seem to have grown larger. On July 1, over 300,000

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people reportedly gathered for a protest in Hama, overwhelming tanks and militia, forcing them to withdraw.6

Executors of Internal Repression The Syrian government has depended upon several military and specialized units in its repression efforts against the uprising. These units are seen as the state’s “pillars;” the most loyal and well funded of all defense forces.7 The Shabiha are armed plainclothes militiamen who are used as the regime’s “shock troops.” Members of the Shabiha are integrated with army units and given black armbands to make them recognizable when they wish to be. They are loyal to the Syrian president and are well equipped.8 A Syrian Army officer who defected and fled the country told a Newsweek reporter that he witnessed Shabiha forces raping a woman (possibly as a deliberate enforcement tactic).9 Syrians widely reported to news outlets that Shabiha militia fired on food convoys to prevent them from entering Hama, and have taken positions as snipers engaging protestors. When four policemen tried to stop a sniper, they were also reportedly shot and killed by the Shabiha.10 Agents from Mukhabarat, the Syrian Military Intelligence branch, are heavily engaged in repression efforts.

Mukhabarat typically wear civilian clothes to blend with the populace when arresting citizens. Tactics demonstrated include arming themselves with clubs and AK-47 assault rifles and positioning outside of mosques to intimidate. Busloads of Mukhabarat are also routinely pre-positioned on major squares to deter protests.11 Most troubling are the reports by human rights organizations of the Mukhabarat

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Syrian Army in Daraa, April 2011. Photo: syriana2011 kidnapping and torture of adults and their children. Electric shock and beatings are reportedly commonplace.12 The Syrian Armed Forces consists of 400,000 military personnel, most of whom are dedicated to its vast army.

Notably, this country, roughly the size of Washington State, has 5,000 tanks13 and is ranked 10th in the world for military expenditures.14 Most of Assad’s army has been on lockdown during the uprising, except for the 4th Armored Division, known as Syria’s “Emergency Task Force.” This unit, commanded

by Assad’s younger brother, Maher, consists of personnel previously with Unit 569, the Syrian paramilitary special operations force “Defense Companies,” which took part in the 1982 assault on Hama. The 4th Armored Division has fired on protestors, used tear gas, and positioned its tanks to cut off towns and refugees from Hama from food and other supplies.15 Maher al-Assad also commands the Syrian Republican Guard, which consists

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50 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

of three armored brigades and 10,000 men. Whereas US military personnel swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States”, Syrian Republican Guardsmen are loyal to the president himself. They are feared and renowned for vicious tactics used in quelling uprisings. A Guard defector recently testified to the unit’s deployment of 250 soldiers to the town of Harasta with combat equipment.

Upon arriving, the soldiers reportedly fired into a crowd of unarmed civilians.

When a Guard soldier refused to fire, he was reported to have been shot at by his own men. He is said to have escaped with the help of villagers.16 Confirming the use of these special units by the government in its violent repression efforts, the European Union (EU) recently censured the leaders of the Syrian Army, Shabiha and Mukhabarat, freezing their assets and prohibiting them from entering the EU. The reason cited for these restrictions was the leader’s involvement in repression and

As seen in other countries in the region, there are opposition elements that attempt to form some semblance of alternative leadership in the midst of turmoil. Syria is no different.

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and verbally condemn the regime, this has not alleviated the repression inside the country aimed at people already fearful of Syrian security forces. Any confrontation to the regime by those who continue to push the envelope can be expected to be met with repression.

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Maher al-Assad, the brother of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the commander of the Republican Guard and the army’s elite Fourth Armored Division.

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As seen in other countries in the region, there are opposition elements that attempt to form some semblance of alternative leadership in the midst of turmoil. Syria is no different. There are many elements of what is referred to as the “Syrian opposition.” Toward the end of April, local coordination committees appeared and called for the release of political prisoners, the resignation of the president, the cessation of violence and torture, and constitutional reform that would supposedly lead to democracy

that includes tolerance for nationality, ethnicity, and religion.18 In late May and early June, 68 different opposition groups, including Syrian residents and exiles gathered in Antalya, Turkey, and elected a 31-member Consultative Council, of course it is difficult to gauge how far these tenets were actually accepted throughout the myriad of opposition forces.19 Opposition leaders met in July to discuss the formation of a “shadow” government.20 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conferred with expatriate Syrian activists and the Syrian ambassador has also reached out to opposition members. In October, following fierce and bloody fighting between civilians and the Syrian Army, the opposition made a renewed effort to oppose the government by forming the Syrian National Council (SNC). The SNC claim a variety of members ranging from the Damascus Declaration group,

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In this volatile situation, there is one certainty: Al-Assad is determined to face down the opposition threatening his authoritarian lock on power.

a reportedly pro-democracy network to the Syrain Muslim Brotherhood.21 In an effort to demonstrate he has the capability to promulgate reform, alAssad decried that political parties could now function alongside the ruling Baath Party.22 In the face of this decision is the reality that the crackdowns continue as the regime endures and the opposition still does not appear strong enough to fill any potential power vacuum.

In this volatile situation, there is one certainty: Al-Assad is determined to face down the opposition threatening his authoritarian lock on power. He adheres to no constitution or law outside of himself and is willing to burn diplomatic bridges, world opinion be damned.

•

About the Authors Ms. Hesterman is a retired US Air Force colonel. She is director of the National Security Studies program at American

Military University, a senior analyst for the MASY Group, and vice president of Academic Research and Development for the 5th Generation Warfare Educational Institute. She is author of the blog www. counterterrorforum.com and Transnational Crime and the Criminal-Terrorist Nexus.

Ms. Mastors, PhD, is dean of the School of Security and Global Studies at American Military University. She is also a research professor at the Institute of Intercommunal Conflict at Washington State University and has held positions in the office of Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and the Defense Intelligence Agency. Her most recent books include Introduction to Political Psychology, The Lesser Jihad: Recruits and the al-Qaida Network, and Breaking al-Qaeda.

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http://abcnews.go.com/ International/wireStory?id=14094461 3 http://www.upi.com/Top_News/ World-News/2011/08/15/UNPalestinians-flee-Syrian-shelling/UPI76701313411574/?dailybrief 4 http://www.nytimes. com/2011/04/24/world/ middleeast/24syria.html 5 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/ international/countriesandterritories/ syria/index.html 6 http://topics.nytimes. com/top/news/international/ countriesandterritories/syria/index.html 7 http://www.nytimes. com/2011/06/08/world/ middleeast/08syria.html?pagewanted=all 8 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ id/44752904/ns/world_newsmideast_n_africa/#.TooVw3LleSo 9 http://www.thedailybeast.com/ 2

articles/2011/08/01/syrian-armydefector-speaks-of-crackdown-underbashar-al-assad.html 10 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ worldnews/middleeast/syria/8409870/ Syria-feared-militia-kills-up-to-21people-as-protests-continue.html 11 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/ world-middle-east-13475513 12 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ worldnews/middleeast/syria/8409870/ Syria-feared-militia-kills-up-to-21people-as-protests-continue.html 13 http://globalfirepower.com/countrymilitary-strength-detail.asp?country_ id=Syria 14 https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ sy.html 15 http://www.worldtribune.com/ worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_ syria0530_05_04.asp

http://globantihumantraffickwatch. blogspot.com/2011/06/soldier-in-syrianrepublican-guard.html 17 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/ LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:20 11:227:0003:0003:EN:PDF 18 http://www.tnr.com/article/ world/91253/syrian-opposition-assadkucinich 19 http://www.tnr.com/article/ world/91253/syrian-opposition-assadkucinich 20 http://www.thisdaylive.com/ articles/syrian-activist-plans-for-shadowgovernment/94907/ 21 http://www.reuters.com/ article/2011/08/03/us-syria-usaidUSTRE7726TY20110803 22 http://news.ninemsn.com.au/ world/8281118/syrian-army-shellshama-tanks-roll-in 16

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Aryan Republican Army

Hits 22 U.S. Banks

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58 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

The Aryan Republican Army (ARA) was a small group of white supremacist criminals who waged a criminal campaign against the US government for two years in the mid-1990s. The ARA is believed to be responsible for at least 22 bank robberies in the American Midwest.1

By Friedrich Seiltgen

w

“

e call ourselves the Aryan Republican Army because in some of our tactics, and some of our goals, we have modeled the organization after the successful and yet undefeated Irish Republican Army,” said Peter “Commander Pedro” Langan in a self-made video titled “The Aryan Republican Army Presents: The Armed Struggle Underground.” This organization reportedly pursued the establishment of an “Aryan republic” on the North American continent and the extermination of America’s Jews.2 The organization has been classified as Nazi and may have subscribed to the “leaderless resistance structure

of impenetrable underground cells” concept advocated by Ku Klux Klan leader Louis Beam3 and practiced by various jihadist elements to this day.

ARA Bank Robbery Tactics ARA members sometimes committed robberies in costume, dressed as Santa Claus or FBI agents (with counterfeit raid jackets).

According to Mark Hamm, author of In Bad Company: America’s Terrorist Underground and interviewer of Peter Langan, the gang’s bank robberies started to follow a pattern. A robbery would begin with Langan running in

The group is alleged to have associated with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 59

United States Marshal Silver Badge. Photo: USMS Publishing & Multimedia Services

Agents fired approximately 30 rounds of small arms ammunition into his Chevrolet van.

Langan was taken into custody without any serious injuries.

first, with the others following behind.

Langan would take a running leap and jump over the counter, brandishing his rifle, and yell, “No alarms, no hostages” twice. The robbers used two-way radios to communicate with one another and with gang members outside. All sometimes dressed in camouflage and combat boots. When not wearing ski masks, they often wore Halloween masks of American presidents.

While Langan cleaned out the teller drawers, a teammate would guard the lobby, yelling foreign-sounding gibberish. They never went to the vault because they believed that would take too much time. When they were finished, they would often toss a smoke grenade behind them, leaving the bank in a cloud. After racing away in a cheap “drop car,” they would transfer to another, more reliable car to complete their getaway, monitoring police radio frequencies as they went.4

End of the Line The FBI pinpointed Richard Lee Guthrie Jr., a member of the ARA, in a Cincinnati, Ohio, restaurant reportedly based on a tip from a confidential informant. Guthrie was apprehended on January 15, 1996. Two days after his arrest, Guthrie is believed to have struck a plea bargain and told FBI agents where they could find coconspirator Peter Langan. On July 12, 1996, Guthrie was found hanged in the Kenton County, Kentucky, jail, apparently by his own hand.5 On January 18, 1996, federal officers confronted Langan on a residential street near his home in Columbus, Ohio. Agents fired approximately 30 rounds of small arms ammunition into his Chevrolet van. Langan was taken into custody without any serious injuries. He was carrying a

60 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

US Marshal’s badge when arrested.

Inside the van were 3,400 rounds of ammunition, firearms, pipe bombs, hand grenades, FBI hats, police uniforms, false IDs, and a hollow Bible made to conceal a gun.6 A box of blasting caps wrapped in Christmas paper was found in his apartment.

On February 10, 1997, Langan was convicted of robbing two banks, assaulting federal officers, using a deadly weapon in a crime, and being a felon in possession of firearms and a pipe bomb. He was also convicted in February, 1998 on five charges involving bank robberies in Columbus and Springdale, Ohio. Langan received a life sentence without parole plus 35 years. He now resides in the Supermax Prison in Florence, Colorado.7 Known members of the ARA robbery gang also include Michael Brescia, Mark Thomas, Kevin McCarthy, and Scott Stedeford.

Michael Brescia was apprehended on January 30, 1997, in connection with the robbery of a Bank One branch in Madison, Wisconsin, on August 30, 1995. Brescia is believed to have carried a pipe bomb into that bank and threatened customers and employees with a 9x19 mm pistol. The gang’s take from that bank was $9,845.8 Mark Thomas surrendered to the FBI in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and was brought up on grand jury charges stating that he “recruited young people at his residence...to rob banks and commit other crimes on behalf of the Aryan Republican Army.”9 On February 18, 1997, Thomas struck a plea deal and received an eight-year sentence for conspiracy charges in plotting seven bank robberies and using the funds to further the cause of the ARA.10 McCarthy was apprehended in

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National Socialist Movement event on the West lawn of the US Capitol. April 19, 2008.

Photo: Utilisateur bootbeardbc de flickr Philadelphia without incident and pled guilty to three robberies and agreed to testify against the others. He received a five-year prison sentence in consideration for his cooperation.11 Stedeford was apprehended by the FBI without incident while working at a recording studio in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania12 (Stedeford was a member of the Christian Identity band Day of the Sword). He pled guilty to charges of conspiring to rob seven Midwestern banks in US District Court in Philadelphia. He also pled guilty to a federal bank robbery charge involving an August 30, 1995, robbery in Madison, Wisconsin. Stedeford was already serving a federal prison sentence of nine years without parole for bank robberies in Iowa.13 He is currently serving a 30-year sentence

for his crimes and now resides at the Federal Correctional InstitutionSchuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania.

Unanswered Questions ARA frequented Elohim City, Oklahoma, a private community then popular with adherents of various strains of National Socialist ideology.

The group is alleged to have associated with convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Elohim security director Andreas Strassmeir was a known McVeigh associate and the FBI confirmed McVeigh spoke to him approximately two weeks before the bombing.14 It has been alleged that Strassmeir was the John Doe #2 in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation.15

American National Socialism Today Today the National Socialist Movement (NSM) is the largest and most active National Socialist group in America.16 The NSM has seen its membership grow under the leadership of its charismatic leader, Jeff Schoep.

Schoep, convicted of a series of petty crimes and theft, took over leadership of the NSM in 1994.17 The NSM’s stated ideals include “defending the rights of white people everywhere, preservation of our European culture and heritage, strengthening family values, economic self-sufficiency, reform of illegal immigration policies, and immediate withdrawal of our national military from an illegal Middle Eastern occupation and promotion of white

The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 63

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National Socialist Movement USA. Photo: Chatsam separation.”18 The NSM funds itself via its online merchandising site that boasts over 700 items, including the video game ZOG’s Nightmare19 in which players make their way through various levels in a city populated by “inferior” races while being hunted by law enforcement agencies that have been infiltrated by Jews. The NSM music site sells white power-metal CDs under the banner “NSM88 Records.”

NSM also owns the New Saxon social networking website.20

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National Socialist and white supremacist groups in the United States have demonstrated a reduction in the volume of violent crime sprees carried out in recent years. Examples of successful, significant violent crimes are rare. Crimes committed by followers today often demonstrate low levels of operational sophistication and competence. Evidence suggests that much of their agendas are currently supported by legitimate or semilegitimate enterprises. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that these groups are operationally defunct. Some wield considerable power in prisons.

Followers of these groups are convicted on theft, drug, and other charges.

64 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

History demonstrates that individual liberty is in jeopardy when not protected. Groups that advance the repressive, anti-constitutional ideologies of socialism, fascism, and shariah must be scrutinized as closely today as at any time in history.

•

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mr. Seiltgen is a master police officer with the Orlando Police Department currently serving in the patrol division.

He is an intelligence liaison/subject matter officer regarding officer safety, neo-Nazi, and Islamic radicalization issues.

ENDNOTES The New American, “Terror, lies & memos: recently uncovered FBI documents expose official lies and complicity in one of our nation’s most deadly terror attacks,” by William F. Jasper (November 28th, 2005).

2 Philadelphia inquirer, “Eagle Scout was soldier for far Right”, By Mark Fazlollah February 28, 1997.

3 The Seditionist, “Leaderless Resistance”, Issue 12, February 1992: 4 Indiana State University, “In Bad Company: America’s Terrorist Underground”, by Mark Hamm, 2001.

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Los Angeles times, “Suicide Rocks White Supremacist Probe” by Judy Pasternak and Stephen Braun , July 13, 1996 6 Indiana State University, “In Bad Company: America’s Terrorist Underground”, by Mark Hamm, 2001.

7 Associated Press, By Erich Smith, March 1997 8 Philadelphia inquirer, “Eagle Scout was soldier for far Right”, by Mark Fazlollah, February 28, 1997.

9 American Patriot Friends Network, “The Aryan Republican Army, Elohim City, and the OKC Bombing”, 10 The Morning Call, “Thomas indicted in Bank Robberies”, Jan, 31, 1997 11 Columbus Ohio Dispatch, “Friend’s Tip to FBI Led to Arrests in Bank Bandits Case” Robert Ruth, 12/12/1996 12 Philadelphia Enquirer” Man Arrested 22 Midwest Bank Robberies”,

by Joseph A. Slobodzian, 5/24/1996 13 Philadelphia Inquirer, “Guilty Plea in Bank Heists by Hate Group” by Joseph A. Slobodzian, 12/9/1997.

14 Philadelphia Inquirer, “Guilty Plea in Bank Heists by Hate Group” by Joseph A. Slobodzian, 12/9/1997.

15 London Sunday Telegraph, “Did Agents Bungle U.S. Terror Bomb” Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, 5/19/96.

16 Anti-Defamation League, Staff Writer, www.adl.org, 2011 17 Anti-Defamation League, “American Stormtroopers: Inside the National Socialist Movement”, 2008 18 National Socialist Movement Headquarters Official Website, www. nsm88.org, 2011 19 Anti-Defamation League, “American Stormtroopers: Inside the National Socialist Movement”, 2008 20 National Socialist Movement Headquarters Official Website, www. nsm88.org, 2011

30th Executive Protection International Conference

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December 8-10, 2011 • Orlando, Florida Speakers: Eugene Ferrara, Chief Instructor, EPI Joseph Autera, President and CEO, Tony Scotti’s Vehicle Dynamics Institute Elijah Shaw, CEO, Icon Services Corporation Robert “Rick” Colliver, Global Security Director, Eaton Group Rick Neal, Retired Swat Captain, President of Neal Group Charles Randolph, Microsoft Protective Intelligence Harlan “Hucky” Austin, BodyGuardCareers.com ...and more Hosted By:

Sponsored by:

For more information :

www.executiveprotectionconference.com

Executive Protection Institute

16 Penn Plaza, Suite 1570 New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212.268.4555 • www.personalprotection.com

Keynote Speaker: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman Saturday 12/10/11

The Bullet Proof Mind Lt. Col. Dave Grossman is the featured speaker for this conference. He is an internationally recognized scholar, author, soldier, and speaker who is one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of human aggression and the roots of violence and violent crime.

Don’t miss out on this outstanding presentation.

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IR “Using lights for triage reduce patient collection times by over 30% with a reduction in patient collection errors from 4 down to 1”

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Innovative Products TruDefender Thermo Scientific TruDefender analyzers are rugged, handheld FTIR (fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) systems for rapid, field-based identification of unknown chemicals including explosives, narcotics, toxic chemicals and precursors. They bring the power of FTIR directly into the hazard zone. Users are able to send comprehensive analysis results directly from the hotzone to incident command or reachback support.

The information is sent wirelessly via e-mail or SMS text directly to a mobile device or computer. www.ahurascientific.com

E/T Light Emergency/Triage (E/T) Lights have IR, red, yellow, green, and blue colors in one light. Designed for JSOC medics, E/T Lights reduce weight and volume carried by first responders. The E/T Lights have application in special operations, SWAT, EOD, CBRNE, EMT, and mass casualty incidents. They are used to illuminate IEDS, hazardous chemicals, and mark cleared/un-cleared rooms. www.triagelights.com

MAG5-60 This SureFire high-capacity 5.56x45 mm magazine is compatible with M4/ M16/AR-15 variants and other firearms that accept standard STANAG 4179 magazines. Constructed from Mil-Spec hard-anodized aluminum, they are designed to feed smoothly and reliably.

These magazines require no lubricants and can be easily disassembled without tools for cleaning. The 60-round magazine—slightly thinner than two 30-round magazines and about the same overall length—fits in most dual magazine pouches. www.surefire.com The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012 69

Counter

advertiser index

The

december 2011/january 2012 Volume 4 • Number 6

Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals To request detailed product information, circle the appropriate reader service number (RSN) on the attached Reader Service Card. The card is self-addressed and includes postage. For more information on all of our advertisers and advertising opportunities, please visit our website at: www.thecounterterroristmag.com/advertising.asp Individual advertisers’ websites are also provided below for your convenience.

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Ad/Company • website and/or email........................................................................................................ RSN Number 2012 Southeast Regional Warrior Symposium • www.sarksecurities.com.............................................................................. 237 30th Executive Protection International Conference • www.personalprotection.com.............................................................. 227 4Sevens, LLC • www.4sevens.com/ctm......................................................................................................................................... 252 Adams Industries • www.adamsindustries.com................................................................................................................... 308 Ahura Scientific • www.thermoscientific.com/mil-chemID..................................................................................................... 254 ALS Technologies Inc • www.lesslethal.com........................................................................................................................ 106 American Public University • www.amuonline.com/counter-terrorist................................................................................... 211 Applied Research Associates, Inc. • www.ara.com/robotics............................................................................................. 256 Combined Tactical Systems • www.combinedsystems.com.................................................................................................. 217 Condor Outdoor Products Inc. • www.condoroutdoor.com................................................................................................. 219 Controlled F.O.R.C.E. www.con • trolledforce.com............................................................................................................ 241 Counter Terror Expo US • www.counterterrorus.com........................................................................................................... 221 Defense Group - CoBra Software • 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www.heat-armor.com.................................................................................................................................... 175 Homeland Security Network • www.homelandsecuritynet.com.......................................................................................... 19 Icor Technology • www.icortechnology.com......................................................................................................................... 81 Infrared, Inc. • www.infrared.com...................................................................................................................................... 177 ITI • www.scopes.com.......................................................................................................................................................... 120 K-9 Cop Magazine • www.k9copmagazine.com................................................................................................................. 183 Laser Genetics • www.lasergeneticsnd3p.com..................................................................................................................... 213 Lenco Industries Inc. • www.swattrucks.com....................................................................................................................... 13 Lind Electronics Inc. • www.lindelectronics.com................................................................................................................... 220 Line of Fire • www.lineoffire.ca........................................................................................................................................... 49 Lone Wolf Distributors Inc. • www.lonewolfdist.com/ctmag................................................................................................ 231 NTOA • www.ntoa.org........................................................................................................................................................ 222 Oasys Technology • info@oasys-technology.com................................................................................................................. 334 Patriot 3 • www.patriot3.com.............................................................................................................................................. 233 PoliceOne • www.policeoneacademy.com............................................................................................................................ 180 PoliceTraining.net • www.policetraining.net........................................................................................................................ 191 Precision Reflex Inc. • www.pri-mounts.com....................................................................................................................... 235 ResQ-Pak • www.resq-pak.com........................................................................................................................................... 134 RM Equipment • www.m203grip.com................................................................................................................................. 207 RONCO Consulting • www.roncoconsulting.com................................................................................................................. 324 Seabotix • www.seabotix.com............................................................................................................................................. 282 Soldier Technology US 2012 • www.soldiertechnologyus.com............................................................................................ 249 Southern Police Equipment • www.southernpoliceequipment.com....................................................................................... 328 Southwest Synergistic Solutions • www.triagelights.com.................................................................................................. 330 SSI Building Safety and Security Engineering Training • www.homelandsecurityssi.com................................................. 257 SSI Global Security Workshop in Tel Aviv • www.homelandsecurityssi.com...................................................................... 37 SSI MACTAC Training • www.homelandsecurityssi.com........................................................................................................ 228 SSI PVBs • www.ssipvb.com................................................................................................................................................ 226 SSI Suicide Terror Book • www.suicideterror.com............................................................................................................... 117 SSI SWAT CTU-Ops Training • www.homelandsecurityssi.com............................................................................................. 179 SSI The Islamic Jihadist Threat Training • www.homelandsecurityssi.com.......................................................................... 253 STI International catalog@stiguns.com................................................................................................................................ 241 Tac Arm • www.TacArm.com.............................................................................................................................................. 243 Tactical Products Group Inc. • www.tacprogroup.com........................................................................................................ 201 TEA SWATheadsets • www.teaheadsets.com....................................................................................................................... 302 Tech Valley Technologies • www.techvalleytech.com........................................................................................................... 245 Tex Shield Inc • info@tex-shield.com................................................................................................................................... 29 The SESOLINC Group • www.sesolinc.com......................................................................................................................... 239

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Do you want to stay current on tactics and training?

NTOA is for you!

Thousands of police officers look to the NTOA’s renowned publications, training and member benefits programs for expertise and direction in responding to the most pressing issues facing law enforcement today.

mBer e m a e m o c Be o a .o r g at w w w.n t

National Tactical Officers Association PO Box 797, Doylestown, PA 18901 | 800-279-9127

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Training Review

Defensive Handgun

P

erhaps you are a seasoned professional, well trained and cut from the finest of warrior cloth. That’s a simple deduction since you are reading The Counter Terrorist. Your experience may have prepared you well to defend yourself, when the need arises. However, when you are overseas fighting for this country, or across town serving a warrant, who is watching over your loved ones?

Who is protecting your daughter as she eats breakfast at an IHOP in Reno? Who is watching out for your son when he is in class at Virginia Tech? Who has your wife’s back as she makes a withdrawal from the ATM? The answer is probably “nobody” and the solution is simple: give your wife a Glock and a couple of loaded magazines and hope for the best. Sound ridiculous?

This happens more often than you can imagine. There is nothing wrong with “hope” as long as it is part of the formula “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.” Preparing your loved ones to win a potentially lethal encounter is the mission of the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Front Sight’s primary client is “mainstream America.” The staff at Front Sight consists of skilled professionals who teach with a calm, friendly demeanor.

Students are taught to avoid a fight if at all possible. This is done by installing the Color Code of Mental Awareness system to aid in spotting the problem brewing in advance, and from a distance. With extra time come options. If the fight cannot be avoided, students are taught the most ef-

By Brad Ackman

ficient methods to stop adversaries. Front Sight teaches stopping the fight that someone else started.

The most popular course is defensive handgun, probably because a handgun

72 The Counter Terrorist ~ December 2011/January 2012

fits into a purse or briefcase far better than an M4. Front Sight’s flagship training is the 4-Day Defensive Handgun course because it is thorough, well designed, and lengthy enough to engrain

Photo courtesy of Front Sight.

the complex skills necessary for safe, accurate, and efficient shooting.

On the first day of training, students discuss safety considerations and conduct dry practice. They start with fundamentals and incrementally add focus on each factor that supports sight alignment, sight picture, and trigger control during live fire. Students receive lectures on the color code, combat mindset, and other considerations. Live fire is conducted from three to seven yards where students hone their draw stroke, precision, and efficient trigger reset.

Day two includes practicing tactical reloads, malfunctions (and immediate action), and live fire from three to fifteen yards. Then emergency reloads are practiced and failure-to-stop drills are introduced. Lectures on criminal and civil liabilities are discussed and verbal chal-

lenges are practiced.

On day three students practice tactical movement: clearing corners, doors, and T-intersections. They experience a live-fire tactical simulator using gun handling, marksmanship, and tactical movement skills to clear a simple, single-story structure. Students practice repetitive live-fire drills (from a concealed holster), reloads, and malfunctions under time pressure.

Day four involves live-fire drills for designated headshots and failure to stop.

Students receive lecture, demonstration, and live-fire training for multiple adversaries. The day includes man-onman competition; shooting steel targets in a head-to-head challenge to add some stress. The course is concluded with a skills test. This is a qualification course that tests all the gunhandling and marksmanship skills practiced over the previous

four days. It is shot from concealment against the clock. Most students can identify a threat, present their weapon from a concealed holster, and deliver two hits to their opponent’s chest in 1.5 seconds or less.

Students are encouraged to keep skills sharp with perfect dry practice at home and occasional live-fire training sessions at local ranges, and to return to Front Sight for more advanced training when desired. For young soldiers who want to be able to outshoot the guys in their fire team, police officers who wish to study a new weapon, and citizens who wish to exercise their second amendment rights and develop the skills necessary to defend themselves, Front Sight provides a great opportunity to attain shooting goals in a fun, low-stress environment. www.frontsight.com

•

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