The Counter Terrorist Magazine April May 2019

ISLAMIST TRAVEL AGENCY•MEXICAN SUPPLY AND AMERICAN DEMAND•UNIVERSAL GLOCK HOLSTER

Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals

APRIL/MAY 2019

VOLUME 12 • NUMBER 2

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Counter CONTENTS

The Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals

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6

10

APRIL/MAY 2019

VOLUME 12 • NUMBER 2

COVER STORY:

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RISK FACTOR

by Garret Machine

FEATURES:

6

EVERY DAY CARRY MEDICAL ASSETS BUILDING A LOW PROFILE PERSONAL KIT

by Karim Manassa

10

KILLING AND DYING FOR AMERICA’S ADDICTION

by Orlando Wilson

26

ISLAMIST TRAVEL AGENCY

by Benjamin Baird

DEPARTMENTS: 06

From the Editor

32

Innovative Products

34

Product Review

Selecting the Right Pistol for Your Best Girl Israel's Fibernet LTD

The Universal Glock Concealment Holster

Cover Photo:

IDF

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The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 3

Counter The

FROM THE EDITOR: Selecting the Right Pistol for Your Best Girl

by Garret Machine

T

he simple fact is that women’s fashion is not conducive to concealed carry of firearms.

While women may need to carry firearms most, they elect to carry them least. Most men who fancy themselves regular John Waynes tend to dress alike in “tactical” pants or athletic type jeans on the bottom and a polo shirt or a button down on the top. They wear Solomon or Merrill or another trail-type shoe, and they may even wear the same earthy colors. These monochromatic outfits almost look like a uniform.

On the other hand, Honey Baby will dress different from her friends and her equivalent to tactical pants or jeans is yoga pants. While not good for concealed carry (though it is better than nothing), purse carry is an issue because a purse may be the target of a would-be attacker. We know that, comparatively, women are not likely to pack heat in their waistband, but they are likely to carry in their purse—or, as I like to call it, their “action pack.” At this point in the discussion the same question always comes up: What type/kind/caliber of weapon should I buy?

I facilitate training for about 2000 people, issue about 500 weapons permits, and run 200 training blocks annually. The men who come for training arrive with a common mindset— that they are “Batman” and will be armed and ready to stand in harm’s way to save and protect. Women, who make up about 10% of the trainees, come with the mindset of selfdefense. Different scenarios, different priorities. The fact is that both of these groups should have a weapon that is easy to shoot quickly and accurately.

Science tells us that the lower the bore axis on a weapon and the more surface contact we can make with our hands, the easier it will be to control the weapon while it is cycling. Pick the pistol with the lowest bore axis, in a size that will enable control of the recoil. Too small of a weapon results in too much muzzle flip due to loss of contact. Too large of a weapon and the hands cannot dominate the grip circumference.

It makes no difference how large the frame of the weapon is (within reason) because Sweetheart is not concealing the pistol in her waistband; it is in her purse, vehicle, or nightstand. My recommendation is a Glock 19 in a gen4 or 5. Both weapons enable the user to benefit from the low bore axis, narrow grip circumference, and high capacity. They are not too big to conceal and not so small that they are impossible to shoot. Avoid anything with an external safety or sharp, rough edges that are likely to scuff up her hands and make it uninviting to train or practice. 9mm Hornady Critical Defense Lite ammo is the best choice because it shoots flat; has low recoil; and has reduced flash, sound, and smoke. It also has exceptional expansion on target when compared to its counterparts.

If more women carried, the world would be a safer place because females are not usually the perpetrators of violence but are often the victims. Think about that.

Garret Machine Editor, The Counter Terrorist

Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals

VOLUME 12 • NUMBER 2 APRIL/MAY 2019

Editor Garret Machine Director of Operations Carmen Arnaes Director of Advertizing Sol Bradman Administrative Jennifer Junatas Contributing Editors Orlando Wilson Garret Machine Benjamin Baird Karim Manassa Graphic Design Morrison Creative Company Copy Editor Laura Town Advertising Sales Sol Bradman bradman@homelandsecurityssi.com 305-302-2790 Publisher: Security Solutions International 3479 NE 163 St. • STE 127 N Miami Beach, FL 33160 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. The opinions expressed herein are the opinions of the authors represented and not necessarily the opinions of the publisher. Please direct all Editorial correspondence related to the magazine to: Security Solutions International SSI, 13155 SW 134th Street, Suite 103, Miami, Florida.

33186 or info@thecounterterroristmag.com The subscription price for 6 eZine issues of the magazine is $19.99. (1-866-573-3999) Fax: 1-786-573-2090.

For article reprints, e-prints, posters and plaques please contact: Security Solutions International at villegas@homelandsecurityssi.com or call 786-573-3999 Please visit the magazine web site where you can also contact the editorial staff:

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EVERY DAY CARRY MEDICAL ASSETS BUILDING A LOW PROFILE PERSONAL KIT

Photo by: Pixabay 6 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

by Karim Manassa

While there is a growing positive trend in the every day carry (EDC) world for carrying a hand-held flashlight and spare magazine, too many folks still lack medical training and fail to carry medical assets that can save lives.

C

onsidering that the

GWOT taught us that the traditional “golden hour� to intervene in gunshot or traumatic shrapnel injuries in order to increase survival and recovery rates is actually a mere 23 minutes, the ability to offer a medical solution that helps avoid a preventable death is paramount.

Approximately 64% of preventable deaths are from exsanguination (bleeding out), 30% are from chest wounds (tension pneumothorax), and 6% are from airway obstruction.

Given the large role that bleeding plays in preventable deaths, bleeding control education and assets have gained the attention of law enforcement and

civilian administrators in recent years.

Crisis planners seek to train and equip first responders with tourniquets and basic education and to co-locate tourniquets with static AED devices in structures.

For civilians or off-duty law enforcement self-responders, the challenges to maintaining self-

The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 7

Once training is completed, the next challenge is comfortably carrying a small enough medical kit in normal pants pockets.

sufficiency lie with obtaining proper education and physically carrying enough assets to impact at least the two most prevalent forms of preventable death (totaling 94% statistically). Given the nature of active shooter situations and the time it takes for law enforcement to secure the scene before medical first responders become involved, we are truly on our own if we are to intervene inside the 23-minute window.

The first step is training. In the self-responder context, a care under fire course is invaluable. This training should cover six key components: scene security, triage, bleeding control and chest wounds, crowd control, communication, and evacuation. To adequately cover these components, a hands-on, high stress, live-fire range training experience is preferable to a sterile, classroom-setting training experience.

Once training is completed, the

next challenge is comfortably carrying a small enough medical kit in normal pants pockets. After an unsatisfactory search of a variety of vendors who offer EDC kits, I decided to build my own kit that addresses the 94% of preventable deaths that we can treat.

I divide my kit up according to pants pockets. In a front pants pocket, I include a 3" x 4” 4 mil Ziploc containing Triton TE gloves for personal protection, Celox Rapid Ribbon combat gauze for plugging holes, and seven pre-cut strips of Phokus Research Group’s Frog Tape for crafting an improvised vented chest seal from either the Celox packaging or the Ziploc using a folding utility knife that is clipped to the same front pocket. In a back pants pocket, I include a flat-folded SOFFT-W Tourniquet secured with rubber bands.• *** To ensure an agnostic review process, we receive ZERO remuneration or consideration from the vendors. ***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Karim Manassa owns EDC Pistol Training, a South Florida based training company specializing in solo selfresponder training for civilians and offduty law enforcement. Comprised of five instructors from different lanes, EDC provides a comprehensive program of live fire, force on force, and care under fire training. Please visit our site at www. edcpistoltraining.com.

Homemade medical kit with minimum form factor and maximum capability: tourniquet, utility knife, and 3” x 4” Ziploc containing gloves, Celox gauze, and tape.

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KILLING AND DYING FOR AMERICA’S ADDICTION

by Orlando Wilson

10 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May February/March 20192019

Jaral de Berrios, Guanajuato, Mexico. Photo by:Tomascastelazo

Last week, I was sent an article from a newspaper in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico, a place with which I have a connection.

T

he article showed a banner that had been hung over a bridge that crosses a busy road in the city of León. The banner named a couple of officials who had supposedly made a deal with a drug cartel that is operational in that area.

I know one of the people named on the banner, state justice minister Carlos Zamarripa. I met him when I was training various police units in Guanajuato. He did not care for our group being there and we were happy that he kept his distance. He stepped in 2008, however, when video from one of our courses was leaked and we made international media headlines

for teaching “Torture Techniques.”

Zamarripa stated the facts—it was a training exercise and the media needed to mind its own business.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done; I will write more about this incident in the future.

The fact that Zamarripa is accused of dealing with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) on a banner is not proof of guilt. I am sure that he has plenty of political and personal enemies who would love to cause him problems and see him discredited. I am also sure that, if he has problems with CJNG, his days on the earth are numbered.

The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 11

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt meeting Raed al-Saleh, the leader of the Syrian Civil Defence (White Helmets) in London. Photo by: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

It is easy these days to make false, sensational accusations against a person or an organization. In many cases, mainstream media runs with it, without checking the facts. I speak from experience: I was accused of human rights abuses in 2008. To date, I think I am the only foreigner who has ever been accused of torturing Mexican police.

Consider the recent U.S., U.K., and French bombings in Syria, triggered by social media videos of a supposed chemical attack. The videos were associated with the White Helmets, a group that has been proven to stage photo shoots and may be connected to terrorist groups. When independent journalists reached the Syrian city of Douma, where the alleged attack took place, there was no evidence and witnesses stated it was a staged event.

So, when something appears on social media or in TV headlines, it may be misinformation rather than fact.

Mexican police and security forces have an extremely difficult job: they are criticized by the public, demonized by the media, murdered 12 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

by the criminals, and often directed by corrupt officials at the behest of the drug cartels. Individuals who join the security forces in Mexico do so for the same reason as people in other countries—for a career, for job security, and to make a difference. The reality is that, in many places, security forces wind up in the middle of turf disputes between rival cartels that are far better armed and equipped.

If forces choose to take a side, they and their families become targets for rival cartels. If they choose to stay neutral, they are targeted for being uncooperative or are suspected of working for rival cartels.

They are also accountable to the law, both state and federal.

One issue that many people outside of Mexico don’t comprehend is the power and influence of the drug cartels. Not only are the cartels very well armed, they are also very well politically connected. At the basic level, if people do not cooperate with the cartels they are killed, and their family members are killed. There are parts of Mexico where the cartels are essentially the law enforcement,

and the municipal, state, and federal forces that do exist in these areas are outmanned and outgunned.

Guanajuato has a very good police academy and has spent money training its officers and trying to get them adequate weaponry; this a lot more than some states even attempt. The majority of police officers are not even allowed to take their service pistols home and carry off duty. How can they protect themselves and their families when the narcos come to ask a favor?

The Mexican police I have worked with—many of whom I classify as friends—are far from Hollywood stereotypes. They are very diligent men and women who work and train to the best of their abilities. Many times they have gone willingly into situations that their critics in the U.S. can talk and dream about while sipping their lattes, but cannot even begin to comprehend.

When trying to solve a problem, I always look to the source. So, what is the source of the problems in Mexico that are causing the killings there and the immigration problems for the U.S.? Well, the cartels get the majority of their money from the U.S., and the majority of their weapons as well. Put simply, the cartels are funded and armed by the U.S., and they spread terror in Mexico and drive out industry. This prompts a lot of Mexican people to flee to safer areas or areas where there are jobs, like the U.S. Are you beginning to see the pattern?

The source of narco terrorism in Mexico and Latin America is the U.S.’s drug addiction. If you take illegal narcotics out of the U.S. economy, how many jobs will be lost for police officers, prison staff, lawyers, and rehab workers, and how would this affect the U.S. economy? The U.S.’s

drug addiction has even impacted family doctors and pharmaceutical companies, giving rise to the major opioid epidemic the U.S. is experiencing.

So, what are the first steps to helping an addict? From what I understand, the addict must help themself by first admitting they have an addiction.

The addict cannot see that they have a problem; meanwhile they cause chaos for, destroy, and push away those close to them. The signs are there for those who want to see, but I don’t think the U.S.’s ego will allow it to admit that it has a very big problem.

Now, back to basics—let’s put things into context for the reality that is Mexico. The narcos have asked you to do them a favor and you have declined because you are a decent family man with a good job who wants a peaceful life. When they ask a second time, refusing could put you and your family at risk. Do you help them or not? You can call the police, but will they want to risk their lives and their families’ lives for you? Even if you are a policeman, you will be on your own. So, do you comply, do you fight, or do you flee? Refusing is an option; so is committing suicide to save your family. Think about this.

My answer would be easy, but I don’t have a family! •

REFERENCES Zamarripa: http://guanajuatoinforma. com/2018/05/15/cjng-acusa-azamarripa-alvar-y-hector-lopez-deromper-el-pacto/ 2 Cartel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Jalisco_New_Generation_Cartel 3 Opioid: https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/ about-the-epidemic/index.html 1

Mexican police officers. Photo by: Ken Kistler The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 13

RISK FACTOR

by Garret Machine

14 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

Photo by: Pixabay

“You were always someone special, now it is just obvious to everyone else.”

-Garret Machine

T

he whole thing starts on a Tuesday in September around noon, usually the time of the year when college students are starting back to school. It was just more than a few short years ago that I, too, had been a university student.

On this Tuesday afternoon, I was informed of the possibility that I might be able to go home for the night due to the week’s inactivity.

When it is known there will be a

period of inactivity for a few days, some of the men are sent home for the night. This is called an “afternoon,” or “after” for short.

A week packed with missions is fast paced and goes by quickly, but a week of training and no operational activity drags slowly on. So, I had planned to drive into Jerusalem to visit my cousin from Miami, who was living in Jerusalem for about a year. I planned to return the next morning around 10:30 a.m.

Photo by: Israel Defense Forces The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 15

About two hours after going out for the night, I received a call to return to the living quarters for a meeting. I was in the gym at the time; because it was a Tuesday, it was my body weight and distance run day. That is usually about an hour workout, which is always fueled by good old-fashioned rock n’ roll.

As soon as I returned to my room,

I was informed of an emergency operation involving the entire unit—I knew that an immediate, unit-wide operation was not common. Usually, when there was an emergency mission, it was for a hostage situation somewhere in the center of the country. Depending on the exact location and circumstances, a hostage situation was usually addressed by our

unit or the National Hostage Rescue Team (YAMAM) But even something like this was handled on the team level, not the unit level.

The catalyst for this unit-wide operation was a shooting that occurred earlier that day. You see, that day the Pulsar Tzanhaneem (a unit similar to the U.S. Army Airborne Rangers) had gone in to Nablus to

On the night of June 12, three Israeli teenagers suddenly went missing in Judea and Samaria.

Photo by: Israel Defense Forces

16 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

capture a wanted man for smuggling illegal weapons—a gunrunner, if you will. A gunfight had ensued from the peripheral. This is a key element to consider: It is this type of attack that makes what we do guerrilla warfare because we are always a small team operating in enemy territory, and we are subject to attack from the larger inhabiting force. With no threat from

the environment itself, we would be more similar to an law enforcement tactical team doing a domestic arrest or raid. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and it was not the case in this instance. The team heading up the capture came under fire, and they lost a man. It is a non-permissive environment.

In the Israeli Defense Force like most we Western militaries, no loss of life is acceptable. No man is left behind. Each individual counts. Because of this incident, the commander of the West Bank divisions (Judea and Samaria) had requested that our unit move in and search the entire city for weapons and terrorist cells. This would be our mission.

Our "after" taken away by the mission, but we were about to embark upon what turned out to be several days in the field. Anything is possible in this army, and you never know what is going to happen next. This is especially true with regard to timing.

Some weeks are a rolling cascade of missions—kidnappings in Ramallah, arresting this or that guy in Nablus, ambushing someone in Jenin and assassinating him over in Gaza. Other times, it’s a barbeque at the Dead Sea for a unit “fun day.” This, however, was not going to be a vacation. It was to be days of constant, high-pressure operational activity; the week was going to be taxing.

This could be considered an honorable mission, knowing that we alone are the number one choice for urban operations. On the other hand, we are not used to staying inside for so long. Hit and run— that’s what we do. This type of operation is good for mixing things up and making our "unit life" a little more interesting, assuming you’re

bored with vehicle interdiction and roadside assassinations. There are, of course, drawbacks to this sort of mission as well. First, being inside under the stress of battle without break for several days wears down our professional abilities. For example, the stress of gun battle gets your adrenalin pumping, but you can’t run on adrenalin all day, let alone several days. Second, it is dangerous to become accustomed to constant shooting because fear keeps you sharp and prevents you from being frightened. Being frightened catches you off guard—to your detriment— while having fear actually keeps you sharp. Third, we usually travel light in order to be quick, but when we are out for several days, we need to bring food/water/ammo on our backs.

Finally, if missions like these are a success, we will surely be tasked with further similar jobs, which we don’t want because they divert us from our day job. But it is our duty and reputation on the line. When we have been called in for a job, we must do it to the best of our abilities no matter the price.

This mission was set to take place in one of the refugee camps in Nablus, Ein Beit el-Ma. At the time I don’t know it, but this operation was to be the most intense three days of my life. To my surprise, it wound up involving some of the most challenging and dynamic missions and the highest concentration of action any of us had operationally had thus far in our military careers.

You might ask yourself while reading this: How is it possible to enjoy this type of work? My answer is that these types of operations are the reason we are here to begin with. This is what gives us the motivation, the drive, and The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 17

Nablus. Photo by: Alina Yavtushenko the will to make it this far—and the desire to do our part to the fullest, by any means necessary, to accomplish our goals.

For three days straight, we surgically moved through the city, night and day, house to house, alley to alley, roof to roof, wall to wall, corner to corner. It was fascinating and rewarding. I used all of my training and skills during the course of the mission. It was exactly what we were trained to do, as if it was meant to test all that we had ever learned.

To say that the city we were working in was disgusting would be a gross understatement. The place bore the foulest stench I had ever smelled in my life. The deeper we moved into 18 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

the 750 meter by 750 meter block of housing, the more nauseating the smell became. To better understand what we were dealing with, you must first picture the city’s physical structure: All of the houses are built of concrete and block, as is the street.

Over time, as population expands, one house is built on top of another.

The tradition of the culture is to build another level on top of an existing family home in order to house a newly married son from that family. There are no building codes, no standards for safety. There is no street inside the city that a car could pass through and, on most streets, you could touch the walls on either side by extending your hands straight

out to your sides. It is like being a giant maze of filth, bacteria, and God knows what else. There is garbage strewn throughout the streets. It looks as though people have carelessly thrown their trash from inside their homes out onto the streets, right out their doors or windows. Each house has its own unique, wretched smell. It is completely revolting.

Unfortunately, these conditions are common in places such as this, among people with similar lifestyles, living in this region of the world.

This place is the textbook definition of third world living. You cannot drink the water there, not unlike many places in Mexico. The water will not kill you, but if you are not used to the type of bacteria found in the water, there is a chance you will get diarrhea, which was not an option for us. We had to bring our own water in with us and one man carried an additional thirteen liters on his back. When more was needed, a squad of men had to meet with a transport outside the block and carry the water back in. We had to carry our food on us as well, which was mostly dried meat that we stuffed right into our pockets. We had to have "enough" to last the whole three days. Going out to get more food and water was a small mission itself, requiring a route, a squad, and logistics of its own.

We started on one end of the block on the first day with a city map, and we moved through every single structure. Each one had to be thoroughly searched. Sometimes, I was the breacher on my team; breaching, for me, is probably the most fun job. I love the feeling of hammering a door down with a

sledgehammer, knowing that staying in the alley could draw fire from any window. As the breacher, you are in a catch 22: Lingering with your squad in the ally will attract the attention of the shooters on the rooftops, but the noise you are making in the middle of the day will inform the dwelling’s occupants that you are coming in. In other words, entering as the first man may draw fire from the inhabitants of the house. There is this clear sense of accomplishment when you approach a locked, outer steel door; give it three of the hardest strikes you can with the sledgehammer; and see it pop open.

You need to be one hundred percent committed with each strike.

I was the point man on several of the apartments we raided. Each structure was about three stories plus a roof, and

each one had a totally different interior design: some ceilings were high while others were low, the rooms were all varying sizes, some had balconies, and some had multiple levels that lead to other apartments. Whenever I go into a structure like this, anything could be on the other side of the door, and there is a crazy flood of adrenalin that kicks in—with no time or energy for fear—to produce sheer aggression. We also use dogs to search alleys for booby traps and explosives, and these dogs are lifesavers.

On this mission, our dog found one trip wire leading to the homemade equivalent to a claymore mine, meaning that an explosive device was set up to blast BBs, nails, and other projectiles in the direction of the trip wire. We called in a specialist from the bomb squad to disarm it. Most of the apartments we

Lingering with your squad in the ally will attract the attention of the shooters on the rooftops, but the noise you are making in the middle of the day will inform the dwelling’s occupants that you are coming in.

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raided were safe, but other ones were not particularly safe at all. The dogs again proved invaluable, and our surprise entry gave us an edge, but unfortunately this was not always enough.

Chaos appeared at every corner.

On day one, we stopped searching at about 20:00. We had already shot and killed the man who had shot the paratrooper. We had engaged him in a gun battle earlier that day, and he was the reason we were originally called in. All along we had been working our way back and forth through the camp, closer and closer to his known whereabouts, until he opened fire on us. In one of the houses we entered, I secured the occupants in a room while the rest of the team searched the remainder of the house. I was watching over ten Arabs in this room, and they started trying to speak to me in English. They didn’t know Hebrew and my Arabic was basic, but they did know some English. There was one woman, about 23 years old, who told me she wanted to kill us and that she wanted to see us dead; she claimed we had murdered her brother. By complete coincidence, her brother happened to be the shooter who had killed the paratrooper. He had been holed up in her house until his end, and after matching their ID cards we made the final connection. She said to me, “Give me a gun and I’ll kill all of you now.”

We treated the house with respect and dignity. She was the one who opened the door for us (I didn't get to smash that one in) and we searched the house as necessary. She kept shouting about killing us and accused us of being baby killers. As obvious as it may seem, I feel it is necessary to mention that—as a very successful, 20 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

highly skilled professional fighting force with specific mission objectives—it is appalling to me that people believe this type of propaganda. To a rational person, the statement “baby killers” seems so ridiculous that it doesn't even warrant an intelligent response—or any response at all. Furthermore, there has never been one piece of evidence linking us to a mission that has killed anyone who was not a terrorist. It is rather the fundamentalist terror factions that mold youth into suicide bombers.

When the structure was finally deemed clean, we moved to the next apartment by rooftop, where I discovered bomb-making equipment, explosives, wires, nails, bolts, pipes, a megaphone, and a Hamas uniform—all of which were confiscated and destroyed.

That night, my team occupied a large house. We could only sleep in shifts—two hours of sleeping, one hour of guarding—until about 5:30 the next morning, when it was time to start again. That night, just as the sun was out of sight and the city became shadows, we begin to hear the propaganda again. The Arabs use megaphones with speakers mounted throughout the city five times a day to announce prayer times to the whole village. That night, however, they used this method of communication to alert the city to our presence. One of our Arabic language specialists translated the announcement for me, and it was something like this: “The evil occupiers are here within our city walls; they must be stopped.

They are killing our children, raping our women, robbing our homes, and beating men in the street. They must be resisted at all costs. We must destroy these Israeli occupiers; they are here now. Rise up and shoot them

on sight. Everyone must do their part to defend our city in the name of our holy war.” Imagine hearing this over a speaker at sundown—that you are the enemy of the city and that all of the residents should fight you, at any cost. Needless to say, it was an extremely unnerving scenario, but we would soon find out if these announcements would have an effect on our goals.

We started at daybreak on the second day, and our sweep that day was even more violent. On average, we encountered gunfire at every fifth corner we turned. At every second house we found terrorist propaganda, and in every fourth house there were illegal weapons, including bomb-making materials, knives, shanks, and lots of zip guns.

There were also plenty of Molotov cocktail-making supplies. I was positioned in the doorway of one of the houses that we were searching, aiming into the unknown corner; in our unit, this is something we call “taking up a Zig.” The team was inside completing the search and I was facing the direction we were supposed to move toward next. Per usual, I had one man with me (soldier J, who is my battle buddy); we never fly solo. I was also aiming toward the T-intersection about twelve meters ahead of me. At that moment, from the left of the intersection, I heard the voice of a native English speaker.

“Americanization causes terrorism,” he said. He was a pro-Palestinian Arab sympathizer.

When I looked closer at the protesters, I discovered they were a bunch of ultra left-wing liberal twenty-somethings. There were about eight of them, as well as an

Arabic guide. They held out their documents to us and said, “Don’t shoot” Then they spoke to me in slow, dumbed-down English, as if I didn’t understand. I responded, “Hey, I speak English better than you do. What the hell are you doing here, looking for Starbucks?” They told me that they were there to “help rebuild the city,” to “remove the dead and wounded,” and “to provide first aid to the combatants that are not killed, but only wounded.” Standard operating procedure for ending a gunfight is a dead terrorist. This must be confirmed with a headshot.

We never arrest or treat an armed wounded gunman. We render first aid to all persons injured (as a direct result of our activity) who are unarmed. I badly wanted to give the kids a piece of my mind, but instead I followed procedure and respected their right to do as they pleased. I radioed my officer and when he came to the entrance, I gave him their papers. The activists stood in the alley, we moved them to a position of cover as I held my position at the door. The officer called their IDs in to headquarters on his radio. After about seven minutes, my officer said, “Here are your papers; now get out of the refugee camp until we leave.”

We never saw the protesters again. It was funny—I had never once heard my officer speak in English, not to me or to anyone, but at that moment he spoke perfect English. After that, it was back to Hebrew as if the whole thing had never happened. I hope they made it home safely.

Every house we entered told a different story. The city walls were covered in posters of the local terrorist heroes displaying their

weapons. There were shrines built up to these guys and there were recruiting posters everywhere.

Consider this: When Gaza was turned over to the Palestinians after the withdrawal of all the settlers and the military, an election was held.

The first place winner was a dead suicide bomber, and the second and third place winners were terrorists

featured on all the posters outside.

“We want him. Where is he?” we demanded.

“I don’t know him at all,” the man responded. “We have seen him, and because he is famous, we got a lot of pictures with him,” he continued nervously in Arabic. His demeanor was hard to gauge; he was either lying or just plain scared. He seemed legit and

in Israeli prisons. So, to say the people in that city idolize them is an understatement.

The duration of the mission—and all of the factors that came with it— was taxing. As the second day drew to a close, I had already used 60+ rounds of ammunition and half of my stun grenades. I started to develop a rash on my stomach from wearing my equipment and sweating in the same clothes for days. That night we slept in another house, where a 33-year-old man and a woman lived. They had pictures all over the walls and on the counters of a man holding all kinds of guns. It was the same man who was

so did his story; every house we’d been in had various pictures and posters of terrorists, some with the house occupants smiling in the photos.

We slept in shifts again. One man watched while the others slept. Two guys guarded the entrance. Two hours of sleep, one hour on guard, and repeat. We slept in the house of a man who wanted us dead. Think about that. One of our guys (battle buddy J) noticed the man doing something suspicious in the corner of the room where he was supposed to be sleeping.

Our guy investigated the activity and found the man hiding a cell phone.

This was important because as soon Photo by: IDF

The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 21

as we enter a new structure, it is crucial that we interrupt all means of communication.

If people have their phones, they can give the terrorists real time intelligence about where we are, what we are doing, how many we are, and other relevant details. We told the officer heading our team about the phone; he confiscated it and found further pictures on it of the man and the terrorist posing together. At this point, it was obvious the man was holding out on us. We questioned him, but he said nothing. So, we interrogated him. He talked and told us where the terrorist lived. We left, and of course took his cell phone with us because it was considered hard evidence. We moved through the city to the terrorist’s house and, like a surgical team working a body, we meticulously combed through his house and all of the surrounding homes. But we did not find him.

All we discovered were his weapons, ammo, and some other equipment.

We called in a demolition team to level the whole house.

At around noon on day three, the whole house fell with a huge crash that sounded like a massive clap of thunder. Thick dust filled the air and made our breathing difficult and our movement dangerous. That afternoon, we held our position in an alley. I was just about to hammer in a door when two Arab women came around the corner. They were dressed in full Arab garb, with their heads covered, and they tried to pass casually by unnoticed. My officer stopped them and asked for ID cards. When they showed their cards, something seemed off; one of them had an ID that did not match.

22 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

My commander said, “Take off your veil; I need to see if this is you.” She refused and he said to me, “Garret, open the door.” I proceeded to knock down the door while the other soldiers covered my position in the alley. Sometimes we use explosives to open a door, sometimes hydraulics, sometimes electronics, and in some cases a hammer.

"Iftach elbab, echne jesh!” we screamed. This means, “Open the door, we are the army.” If, by day three, this did not cause the occupant to open the door immediately, I smashed it in and made ready for a fight. We always spoke to them in Arabic and by that point they all knew that we are there, so there was no excuse for not opening the door, unless they had something to hide.

The officer sent the other woman on her way. We piled into the house with four men, including myself, heading up the steps that were visible as soon as we entered. Two others checked the closet that was located in the stairwell. The officer and the woman stood in the alcove until we deemed the house safe. We returned with only a mother and two children who were inside, and who claimed that it was not their house. They also said that they “didn’t hear us” hammering the door down, otherwise they would have opened it. The woman we brought in off the street was acting very suspicious and did not speak. We raised our guns on her in the tiny six foot by six foot corridor. It was tight, with four of us still on the steps. There was a separate team across the street in another house. As the lieutenant and his radioman raised their weapons to the woman, the mother gasped

Photo by: Israel Defense Forces The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 23

The officer told the woman from the street to “take off that veil now,” and she nervously shook her head no.

24 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

and held the children close. They looked to be about nine to eleven years old, but it is always hard for me to tell with such young children.

The officer told the woman from the street to “take off that veil now,” and she nervously shook her head no.

In the close-quarters environment, we could clearly see the telltale mannerisms of a man, rather than a woman. These types of disguises are effective from a distance or when only noticed by peripheral vision, but in close proximity, even a disguise that covers 98% of the body soon becomes useless. The cover became blatantly clear to us when “she” would not talk or move the veil.

The radioman instantly moved in, put the man on the wall, and quickly cuffed him. We searched him and found a pistol. After stripping all of the fabric from him, we realized that his real clothes were under his costume. He was the wanted man whose house we had demolished earlier that day, and he was now in our custody. The woman with the children could not believe what had seen. The radioman is always the right-hand man of the officer; in the IDF, the combat officer is always the point man on a mission (first one up the mountain, first one through the door, first one out of the car or aircraft, always leading).

He does everything first, and you as a warrior on his team follow. Being the radioman means you get a lot of action, without all of the headaches.

It is an honor to be asked to be the officer’s radioman, and there is a lot of shooting, too.

The day was filled with surprises and small victories in the war on

terrorism, and later, as we were working our way to the end of the block, we felt that things were going to heat up. We had basically pushed every male who we had not killed, captured, or checked out to the back of the housing block. The shot-up bodies throughout the block would soon attract cats and other vermin.

I had actually stepped in some brain matter and skull fragments that were splattered across the alley and onto the wall.

As we approached the next set of homes, we were engaged from a rooftop. We returned fire and flooded the nearest buildings with our presence. We looked for any and all possible ways to take aim from cover on the buildings that the fire was coming from. It seemed that there were about three shooters inside, with whom we exchanged fire for about fifteen minutes. We ultimately realized that there was not going to be a way for us to advance because of their tactical superiority of being above us and on their home court. At that point, we estimated closer to five shooters, but we were still not sure. Usually, we engage the enemy and slowly work our way up and into a structure, all the while firing on the subject, working the object. Eventually, the suppressive fire allows us to slowly move in on the terrorist until he is barricaded in one room, where we will eventually kill him. In order to advance in this situation, we attached a small block of C4 (explosives) to a wall that was separating us from the adjacent house—the one that we needed to get in to. Up to this point, we were unable to advance due to the heavy

fire from the rooftop down into the alley. We are all trained in the basic use of explosives, like C4; in this case, we used it to create a passage from the home we were in to the home next door that we wanted to be in. The C4 was powerful and exploded with a crash of sound, energy, heat, shock, and shrapnel. The hole was about a meter+ in diameter, and we were able to enter smoothly with little resistance from inside. The entrance proved to be valuable and allowed for our advancement within the structure. We eventually reached our gunmen, who we shot dead.

The Katusha rocket attack I had experienced a year earlier must have taken place about 20 meters away from the room we were in. A rocket

also makes quite a blast, can shake a building, and can make you fear for your mortal existence. But that week, it was on a whole other level.

It was the type of mission that makes you thankful when you make it out healthily.

Nightfall arrived quickly and it was an utterly sleepless night. By 5:00 a.m., we moved to exit the city—a city where raw sewage literally leaks from the walls; a city with sewage piping that is exposed and cracked, and held together by duct tape. A city where we had found dead bodies in the alleyways that had just been left to rot and bleed out.

On this particular mission, I was more afraid of contracting some sort of bacterial infection then actually getting

shot. It somehow made all other missions seem easy. During those three days, I really felt a constant threat to my life because we were so few and the city was so massive and vile. We received a lot of local news the next day. Articles elaborated that city is a simmering hotbed of terrorism, and in those three days alone we confiscated several weapons, ammunition, and arrested about 50 militants—one of whom was the regional head of Hamas, the most wanted man in the region. A major bombing in Tel Aviv was thwarted as a direct effect of our mission. The bomb itself was recovered in a south Tel Aviv apartment the next day due to our actions. •

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The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 25

ISLAMIST TRAVEL AGENCY

ISLAMIST TRAVEL AGENCY’S RADICAL INFLUENCE ON MUSLIM AMERICA

by Benjamin Baird

Orlando, Orange County, Florida. Photo by: Michael Rivera 26 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

On May 8, 2018, the owners of the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando unveiled a memorial mural to the dozens of victims of the Pulse Orlando nightclub massacre, many of whom were part of Orlando’s LGBT community.

W

hile the

commemorative work claims to be a source of healing for survivors and for victims’ families, many people continued to grapple with unanswered questions about the tragedy following its two-year anniversary on June 12, 2018.

In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Orlando, national security experts and Muslim leaders speculated that Pulse shooter, , had embraced a militant form of Islam during

successive trips to the Middle East to perform Umrah (a lesser, optional Islamic pilgrimage ritualistically similar to the Hajj).

A 2016 Fox News report detailing Mateen’s pilgrimages noted that “his trips to Saudi Arabia would have put him within a day’s drive of Yemen, where Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula has long had a large presence, and where ISIS also has gained a foothold in recent years.” However, Mateen did not need to embark on an

off-script excursion to hear the strict, puritanical, and often violent approach to Islam sermonized in parts of the Middle East.

Both of Mateen’s pilgrimages were facilitated by the New York-based Dar El Salam Islamic World Travel (DST), a global travel agency that specializes in arranging trips abroad to Islam’s holy sites. At first glance, DST appears to be just a travel agency. However, the Islamist preachers appointed by DST to serve as “religious advisors” The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 27

A driver's license photo of Omar Mir Mateen. Photo by: Florida DHSOMV predominantly hail from a single, strictly orthodox Islamic seminary known as AlMaghrib Institute. Muslim Americans who simply want to fulfill their religious obligations with DST may be met with extremist, radicalizing rhetoric from these ultra-conservative clerics who routinely employ virulently homophobic slurs and anti-Semitic tropes in their sermons and lectures.

Although the recently concluded trial of Mateen’s wife has caused some doubt about whether he intentionally targeted a gay nightclub, there is still significant evidence suggesting that he was motivated by homophobic rage.

What is abundantly clear, however, is that Mateen was twice the guest of a pilgrimage company that hired clerics who have a long history of inciting hate and even violence against homosexuals.

JIHADI DREAM TEAM With offices conveniently located on Madison Avenue, DST claims to

28 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

be the number one Hajj and Umrah tour operator in the U.S. and Canada, having scheduled religious trips for over 25 years. The agency’s preacher consultants are principally drawn from the AlMaghrib Institute, a Houstonbased Islamist “non-profit college.”

Indeed, the union between DST and AlMaghrib is so strong that DST advertises pilgrimage services that are “powered by AlMaghrib Institute in partnership” with the travel agency, making it difficult to determine who, exactly, is leading a journey.

Muhammad Alshareef, a Canadianborn Islamic scholar who personally leads an annual Hajj pilgrimage, founded AlMaghrib in 2002 to bestow “self-accredited” bachelor’s degrees in Islamic Studies. Alshareef wears the term homophobic like a badge of honor, telling students during the “Perished Nations” speaker series that, “Homophobia means a fear of homosexuality. Alhamdulillah [praise God], we have a fear of homosexuality.

And then they will say it as if it is a derogatory term, but in fact it is a praiseworthy term.”

The institute’s instructors—many of whom moonlight as DST lecturers in an undeniably interdependent relationship—have studied at hardline Islamic seminaries. These clerics include Said Rageah, who has called on God to “destroy” the enemies of Islam, and Abdullah Hakim Quick, who has claimed that AIDS is due to the “filthy practices” of homosexuals and that the Islamic position on homosexuality is “death.”

Yasir Qadhi, AlMaghrib’s Dean of Academic Affairs—who has at

least 14 pilgrimages under his belt— has become the face of the DSTAlMaghrib partnership in recent years and has offered practical and spiritual advice to pilgrims since at least 2012. This is a troubling sponsorship considering Qadhi’s track record of anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, and homophobia.

Those familiar with Qadhi’s invective will remember his statements that society has “regressed—not progressed” since

the 1980s, when homosexuals were referred to by vile names and “the average masses” were “disgusted” by homosexuality. Qadhi has taught that Christians and Jews are “filthy, impure, [and] dirty,” and that “during a state of jihad” their lives hold “no value.” In one undated recorded lecture, Qadhi even told his audience that killing homosexuals “is all a part of our religion.” He added, “This doesn't mean we go and do this in America,

but I'm saying if we had an Islamic State we would do this."

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf has echoed his colleague’s contempt for homosexuals and the West. In 2011, Mateen participated in the “Sacred Caravan” Umrah led by the sheikh.

Yusuf, whom The Guardian once called “the [W]est’s most influential Islamic scholar,” is reported in an Islamic Circle of North America publication to have stated, “Jihad is the only way.” According to Yusuf,

America is guilty of “war crimes” and “cannot win a war with Islam. “I swear to God,” he said, “[America] must be stopped.”

Although Yusuf recanted many of his radical views following September 11 and has publicly condemned religiously motivated violence, his statements regarding the LGBT community have remained acutely inflammatory.

Yusuf has said of homosexuality that, “I don’t want someone to say

Vigil to unite in the wake of the Orlando Pulse shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Photo by: Fibonacci Blue The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 29

Photo by: Pixabay this is a normal, healthy lifestyle. It’s not. It’s pathogenic.”

He insists that there is no room in Islam for an “active homosexual lifestyle.”

Homophobic and otherwise extreme attitudes have been so institutionalized among the ultraconservative clerics working for DST that they do not even attempt to hide their revulsion for the LGBT community. One anonymous lesbian blogger documented her experiences facing repeated anti-homosexual statements as an AlMaghrib student. One particular instance she remembers involves Riad Ouarzazi, an Islamic scholar who leads a “Journey of the Hearts” Umrah for DST: I once heard Riad Ouarzazi mention his time as a taxi driver in California and his dislike and disdain for picking up gay passengers complete with full affected facial and hand gestures.

Once he picked up two gay men and they embraced inside his cab so Ouarzazi made sure to break suddenly at least once or more so their heads would painfully bump against each other and their ride 30 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

would be as unpleasant as possible.

Another cleric, Abdul Nasir Jangda (from the hard-line Deobandi sect of Islam), is a prominent DST instructor who led a DST Umrah journey as recently as March 2018. Jangda teaches the “Firm Ground” weekend seminar at AlMaghrib. During this course, Jangda elaborates on the scriptural prescription for punishing the “crime” of homosexuality, discussing reprisals that range from public stoning to imprisonment.

Another DST regular, Imam Suhaib Webb has decried the social acceptance of homosexuality in America. He resents the “skinny jeans” and “effeminate clothing” popularized by today’s youth, arguing that the Prophet Muhammad “cursed the man who imitates the woman.”

If DST affiliates are willing to openly share these views with the public, what odious theological convictions are these spiritual shepherds sharing with their flock during DST’s guided tours and spiritual tutelage?

During Mateen’s second

consecutive Umrah in 2012— an eight day trip organized in a partnership between the Islamic Center at New York University (ICNYU) and DST—Mateen received religious guidance from New York Police Department chaplain and ICNYU Imam Khalid Latif. Although he is known for socializing in moderate Islamic circles, Latif claims that he has been surveilled by the FBI and has “been on a bunch of no fly lists.”

DUCKING RESPONSIBILITY Despite Mateen’s involvement with DST, its religious advisors have ignored calls to condemn Islamist homophobia. Sheikh Yusuf was granted the opportunity to reject homophobia when Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) reached out to him in the aftermath of the mass slayings in Florida to sign a pledge “affirm[ing] the dignity of LGBT individuals” and promising “to eradicate all homophobic teachings” in his community. A recent survey revealed that 45 percent of American Muslims accept

homosexuality, and 42 percent support gay marriage. Nevertheless, Yusuf refused to respond to MPV’s overture.

Yasir Qadhi, meanwhile, responded to the Pulse massacre by denouncing Mateen as a homosexual in a June 2016 Facebook rant.

Qadhi rejected the idea that Mateen had any ties to “‘radical Islam,” insisting that Mateen was just “a mentally deranged psychopathic American closet homosexual who was battling with his sexual identity.” (After conducting more than 500 interviews and combing through the gunman’s web searches, emails, and other electronic data, FBI investigators found no evidence that Mateen was gay.)

ISLAMIST CONVEYOR BELT Mateen was not the only terrorist who encountered AlMaghrib’s extremist preachers. Several terrorist alumni have called AlMaghrib their

alma mater. In addition to Mateen, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab—the failed "underwear bomber" who tried to detonate an explosive device he was wearing aboard a Northwest Airlines flight in 2009—took part in AlMaghrib seminars. Likewise, American jihadist convert Daniel Maldonado (Daniel Aljughaifi) attended classes at the institute before his arrest in Kenya and subsequent conviction for receiving training from a foreign terrorist organization.

Besides lying to the FBI in 2006 regarding Maldonado’s whereabouts, fellow AlMaghrib alumni Tarek Mehanna was sentenced to 17 years in 2012 for joining an al-Qaeda offshoot in Somalia, for providing material support to a terrorist group, and for conspiracy to commit murder. In yet another case, two former AlMaghrib students were detained in Pakistan in 2009 for attempting to join the Taliban and al-Qaeda to fight U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

In the past, DST has profited from a nearly one-fifth share of the annual American Hajj tourism marketplace. This means that every year as many as two thousand Muslim Americans taking part in the most spiritually important journey of their lives could encounter the hateful rhetoric and strict, unbending interpretation of Islam that may have influenced terrorists such as Mateen. Given these circumstances, how long will it be before another student of AlMaghrib or pilgrim with DST embraces violence?•

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Benjamin Baird is a writer for Islamist Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum.

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The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 31

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Press conference room at Wikimania 2015. Photo by: Romaine 32 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

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36 The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019

New and improved

( portable vehicle barrier ) When Law Enforcement in Dallas wanted a product to protect the greatest sporting event in the US they chose SSI’s PVB. The reason the PVB is used by agencies and militaries across the globe is that it transfers the momentum of the threatening vehicle upwards and stops it in its tracks. Two adults can deploy the barrier in minutes, and there is no need for electricity whatsoever.

The Portable Vehicle Barrier comes with several customized configurations: • You can put wheels on it so that it acts as a swing barrier and easily opens a road • You can toughen the line by adding anchoring cables or place the PVB’s in one single row or even three rows to stop anything • Additional safety features can be added PVBs can be folded down quickly –moved and stored with ease – the PVB is reusable and durable.

Best of all NO maintenance is required.

Made in the USA means jobs in the USA and supporting our national economy. Ordering is quick and easy allowing us to make the PVB available to your agencies immediately. Besides being the most cost effective barrier in the business today, the PVB is a VBIED killer. CALL NOW.

Call now for more information. Pricing dependent on quantity and delivery location. Call: (305) 401-6906 or email info@homelandsecurityssi.com

Or visit our website: www.SSIPVB.com

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The Counter Terrorist ~ April/May 2019 37

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