THIS IS AN OPINION PIECE.  IT IS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO ALL SORTS OF SECOND GUESSING.

So much has been made of the “intelligence” (faulty or misinterpreted or whatever) that led to the War in Iraq and the lack of found WMDs, that I’ve been wondering about the real underlying strategy of the action(s) and where it could be leading.

Long ago, I wrote a piece that was much maligned at that time, in which I reported and commented on a report written by Dr. Jeffrey Record, a visiting professor at the Army War College in Carlisle Pa. (on loan from the Air Force’s Air War College in Montgomery, Ala.). At the time (December 2003), Record examined three features of the war on terrorism as then defined and conducted: (1) the administration’s postulation of the terrorist threat, (2) the scope and feasibility of U.S. war aims, and (3) the war’s political, fiscal, and military sustainability. He believes that the war on terrorism–as opposed to the campaign against al-Qaeda–lacks strategic clarity, embraces unrealistic objectives, and may not be sustainable over the long haul. He calls for downsizing the scope of the war on terrorism to reflect concrete U.S. security interests and the limits of American military power.

Unlike many who reacted to the Record premises, I was interested in the strategic component of his report, since I believe that all military and diplomatic actions should be analyzed in terms of strategy, tactics and outcomes (I’m a really “fun guy” but that’s what comes from idolizing brilliant thinkers like the recently deceased Peter Drucker).

For anyone interested in reading Dr. Record’s report, here is a link to it: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB207.pdf

I’m wondering now if Record wasn’t misled by a lack of total perspective on the overall U.S. strategy. Considering the controversy created by Cong. Murtha’s proposal (not voted upon in any way, but eventually, in essence, supported by recent statements by various U.S. Generals), and the most recent (and another) unsubstantiated rumor circulated by Debka (of a U.S.-Syria firefight in al-Qaim), I’ve concluded that there may be a much broader and grander scheme associated with the strategy of overthrowing Hussein in Iraq, and the additional pre-emptive strikes that may yet be coming.

The Debka blurb is still on the web site. But it has been moved from the banner headline…LOL…to a position of lower prominence. But nowhere else, anywhere, whether in the media (the so-called and much distained, "mainstream media"), or on the Internet (blogs or Arab news), has there been any corroboration (it hasn’t been mentioned by ThreatWatch, the Counterterrorism Blog or Global TerrorAlert either, but that could be a function of the Thanksgiving Holiday, but even Michelle Malkin hasn’t blogged on this subject – again, possibly because of Thanksgiving…and it certainly doesn’t show up in any Google search on the subject). I even asked one of my business associates who lives in Israel about it, and his response seemed to be a close paraphrase of the Debka blurb…leaving me no further along in my desire to confirm this Debka rumor than I was before.

Personally, I don’t place much weight in Debka blurbs until the information is confirmed. Lots of other people, though, buy their blurbs "hook line and sinker." Although an article just appeared on SF Indy Media (a well known, liberal website), http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2005/11/1722454.php, I’ve yet to see or read any reputable corroboration.  I suspect we won’t know for sure, for a while.

But nay, I stray from my initial intent.

My premise is that looking at the War in Iraq as a microcosm instead of a much broader regional campaign might well be very wrong.

http://www.jhuapl.edu/colloquium/topics/friedman.html

If you follow this reasoning, then the War in Iraq is one “episode” in a grander, wider pre-emptive campaign against Islamic jihadism. Because of Iraq’s geographic significance, bordering on six other potentially hostile nations, and that fact that it offers a ground base jumping off point from which additional protective/pre-emptive efforts could be launched. “…The Weapons of Mass Destruction issue was a real but subsidiary consideration, but was made central for diplomatic and political reasons. It was seen as a stronger justification than geopolitics and it was assumed that it would be self-validating…”

Once you “buy-into” the premise that the War in Iraq is/was part of a broader strategy and initiative, then the possibility (if proven) of an incursion by U.S. troops into Syria makes more sense.

Of course, if the precedent is set that U.S. troops will pursue al Qaeda mercenaries across the border from Iraq into Syria, does that mean that pursuit of Palestinian thugs and terrorists from Israel to anywhere else is the next phase of what might be shaping up as a “Wild West” strategy in the Middle East of “seek and destroy” all fleeing terrorists becomes the rule and not the exception.

Go ahead and think about it. To me it makes a lot of sense. Who are our allies in this grander scheme? To me, one thing is certain…our military resources are stretched quite thin at this point. I don’t see how multiple fronts could be sustained under current military allotments (noting of course that the FY’06 Defense Spending bill went into another Continuing Resolution Act that runs through 12/18/05).

All of the preceding is my opinion and analysis, and has nothing to do with rumor or innuendo…of course, sometimes events that start out unsubstantiated, soon become real. I await the passage of time to prove me wrong about that.

Hopefully I haven’t missed or forgotten anything here…

Current Affairs, International Issues, Iraq, Opinions

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One man, in my opinion, towers above all of the "armchair warriors" writing blogs.  So many bloggers on the war simply replay other peoples’ opinions…Bill Roggio’s opinion (Fourth Rail - http://billroggio.com) is one based on fact.  Although one of my very close friends remains in country as security chief for one of the major reconstruction companies in Iraq, Bill is doing something that I don’t know many who would.  He is leaving his family and going to Iraq later this week on a mission to cover the war first hand.  He’ll be heading to Anbar Province and may be embedded with the 2nd Marine Div.

http://billroggio.com/archives/2005/11/a_journey_to_ir.php
http://billroggio.com/archives/2005/11/milbloggers_go.php

Bill Roggio is one whose blog I read (along with the Counterterrorism Blog) for accuracy.  And now, he’s putting his feet on the ground.  Bill Roggio…good luck on your trip and safe return.

Opinions

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This is just too good to be true.

http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/

1: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science  department, MIT.
2: Media Laboratory, MIT.

Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250,000 network analyser, we find that although on average all helmets attenuate invasive radio frequencies in either directions (either emanating from an outside source, or emanating from the cranium of the subject), certain frequencies are in fact greatly amplified. These amplified frequencies coincide with radio bands reserved for government use according to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Statistical evidence suggests the use of helmets may in fact enhance the government’s invasive abilities. We speculate that the government may in fact have started the helmet craze for this reason.

Introduction

It has long been suspected that the government has been using satellites to read and control the minds of certain citizens. The use of aluminum helmets has been a common guerrilla tactic against the government’s invasive tactics [1]. Surprisingly, these helmets can in fact help the government spy on citizens by amplifying certain key frequency ranges reserved for government use. In addition, none of the three helmets we analyzed provided significant attenuation to most frequency bands.

We describe our experimental setup, report our results, and conclude with a few design guidelines for constructing more effective helmets.

Experimental Setup

The three helmet types tested

The Classical	The Fez
The Centurion

We evaluated the performance of three different helmet designs, commonly referred to as the Classical, the Fez, and the Centurion. These designs are portrayed in Figure 1. The helmets were made of Reynolds aluminum foil. As per best practices, all three designs were constructed with the double layering technique described elsewhere [2].

A radio-frequency test signal sweeping the ranges from 10 Khz to 3 Ghz was generated using an omnidirectional antenna attached to the Agilent 8714ET’s signal generator.

The experimental apparatus, including a data recording laptop, a $250,000 network analyser, and antennae.

A network analyser (Agilent 8714ET) and a directional antenna measured and plotted the signals. See Figure 2.

Because of the cost of the equipment (about $250,000), and the limited time for which we had access to these devices, the subjects and experimenters performed a few dry runs before the actual experiment (see Figure 3).

Test subjects during a dry run.

The receiver antenna was placed at various places on the cranium of 4 different subjects: the frontal, occipital and parietal lobes. Once with the helmet off and once with the helmet on. The network analyzer plotted the attenuation between the signals in these two settings at different frequencies, from 10Khz to 3 Ghz. Figure 4 shows a typical plot of the attenuation at different frequencies.

A typical attenuation trace form the network analyzer

Results

For all helmets, we noticed a 30 db amplification at 2.6 Ghz and a 20 db amplification at 1.2 Ghz, regardless of the position of the antenna on the cranium. In addition, all helmets exhibited a marked 20 db attenuation at around 1.5 Ghz, with no significant attenuation beyond 10 db anywhere else.

Conclusion

The helmets amplify frequency bands that coincide with those allocated to the US government between 1.2 Ghz and 1.4 Ghz. According to the FCC, These bands are supposedly reserved for ”radio location” (ie, GPS), and other communications with satellites (see, for example, [3]). The 2.6 Ghz band coincides with mobile phone technology. Though not affiliated by government, these bands are at the hands of multinational corporations.

It requires no stretch of the imagination to conclude that the current helmet craze is likely to have been propagated by the Government, possibly with the involvement of the FCC. We hope this report will encourage the paranoid community to develop improved helmet designs to avoid falling prey to these shortcomings.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Andy (Xu) Sun of the MIT Media Lab for helping with the equipment, Professor George Sergiadis for lending us the antennae, and Professor Neil Gershenfeld for allowing us the use of his lab equipment.

Technology

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This is Moon chiming in.  This is purely 100% a Homeland Security issue, so felt it should be discussed here.  Writing for Jewish World Review, Michelle Malkin has some unusuallu harsh words for President Bush:

Things are going from bad to worse at the Bush Department of Homeland Security.

Do not be fooled by DHS chief Michael Chertoff’s tough-sounding rhetoric. While the Washington muckety-mucks pay lip service to reforming the nation’s broken detention and deportation system, catch-and-release of immigration lawbreakers remains the order of the day — not only at the border, but all across the country’s interior.

The rudderless and overwhelmed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency still does not have a new chief. Which is just as well since Bush nominee Julie Myers (a nice Bush lawyer with virtually no immigration or customs enforcement experience who happens to be the niece of recently retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers/wife of Chertoff’s chief of staff/former employee of Chertoff and former colleague of outgoing ICE head Michael Garcia) would provide as much leadership and morale-boosting ability as a pair of junior high pom-poms. Her nomination is still pending.

Meanwhile, as illegal immigration continues unabated, the White House has seen fit to honor the chief of the Border Patrol, David Aguilar, with a presidential "Meritorious Executive" award, which comes with a cash bonus, for his outstanding performance. I kid you not.

It’s not much better over at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which administers all immigration benefits, from citizenship applications to asylum requests to work permits, and is responsible for overseeing all amnesty, student visa and marriage visa applicants. The head of the agency, a nice banker named Eduardo Aguirre whose only experience in immigration law was his own personal background as a Cuban refugee, left in June after two years in office to become ambassador to Spain. Aguirre’s biography says that under his "leadership," CIS "made significant and measurable progress towards eliminating the immigration benefit application backlog, improving customer service, and enhancing national security."

Mission accomplished? Don’t make me laugh.

A new report by the DHS inspector general’s office showed that Aguirre’s agency has failed miserably to crack down on the estimated 4 million to 8 million foreigners who have overstayed their visas — a supposed priority in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which highlighted how lax enforcement against visa overstayers has enabled many al Qaeda operatives to stay in the country.

Of the 301,046 leads the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency received in 2004 on possible visa violators, the inspector general found, only 4,164 were formally pursued, resulting in just 671 apprehensions — few of which will actually result in deportation.

In these trying times for conservatives in Washington, you’d think the last thing the Bush administration might do is send up yet another crony/diversity nominee to fill a sensitive post. But Aguirre’s proposed replacement, Emilio T. Gonzalez, is just such an embarrassment. He appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee recently and was endorsed by two Florida Republicans — Sen. Mel Martinez and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who said Gonzalez would "bring an understanding of national security and my own personal immigration experience to bear."

Gonzalez is a Cuban refugee who arrived in the U.S. at the age of 4, achieved the American dream, and served honorably in the Army for 26 years. This makes him a remarkable success story. It does not make him a good candidate to head the Citizenship and Immigration Services agency in a time of war.

Scouring his resume, one finds no immigration law expertise whatsoever outside his personal experience.

No indication that he has any clue about how to curtail rampant asylum fraud.

No indication that he has any idea how to deal with those massive numbers of visa overstayers and immigration benefit fraudsters, let alone root out terrorist operatives among them.

And no indication that he would have the ability or willingness to ensure that the millions of "guest workers" under Bush’s proposed amnesty plan would be competently screened, registered and deported after their "guest" terms are up.

Zip. Nada. None.

This has been the Bush plan on immigration enforcement and border security:

Recruit the clueless. Reward the failures. Those who abide by the law lose. The con artists, the criminals, the ideological border saboteurs and the terrorists win.

The reason I felt compelled to put this here is Michelle Malkin is a staunch neo-conservative.  Bush has been getting a LOT of heat on border control.  If the Michelle Malkin’s are this fed up with the lack of something tangible being produced, my bet is the polls showing Bush’s declining popularity are probably correct.

– Moon

Opinions

1 Comment »

Shame on Congress!

Purely, unemotionally, totally and irretrievably…

Congressional budget negotiators have decided to take back $125 million in Sept. 11 aid from New York, which had fought to keep the money to treat sick and injured ground zero workers, lawmakers said Tuesday.

New York’s elected officials had sought for months to hold onto the funding, originally aimed to pay for workers compensation costs stemming from the 2001 terrorist attacks…[more]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–sept11aid1115nov15,0,2559531.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1316115

…and in my opinion, indefensible.

Just what do "we" (in the NY City area) have to do?  The First Responders of September 11th deserve to be treated with respect.  This doesn’t seem to be the right way.

Opinions

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Of all of the steps this government has taken since the attacks of September 11th, the controversial passage of the Patriot Act(s) is perhaps the least understood and one of the most important, IMO.

According to Andy Cochran of the Counterterrorism Blog, despite some publicity to the contrary the Patriot Act appears to be moving toward renewal before "sunsets."

(http://counterterror.typepad.com/the_counterterrorism_blog/2005/11/usa_patriot_act.html)

I don’t have all of the time I need to look for stuff I’ve written in the past about why I think that the Patriot Act is critical (hopefully, I’ll find some of it and add them as comments to this post).  To me, one of the most important elements of the Patriot Act are all of the provisions relating to money and financial transactions.  IMO, everything has a long way to go.

Oddly, there are some people who go through their lives each and every day, almost as though nothing happened in their lives after September 10, 2001, and still insist that their rights have been somehow abridged or reduced.  I’ve yet to figure out how my rights have been reduced or violated.

Federal Policy, Opinions

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This is likely to be the first of a few posts on this subject (and probably the shortest).

Who becomes a jihadi terrorist? What makes that person willing to "strap one on for the Gipper?" No doubt, in some cases, a child is born into terrorism, much in the same way that racist parents breed racist children and "Jew-hating" parents will more than likely breed a new generation of anti-semitic freaks. But that is not a complete explanation.

A few people insist that all of Islam is bad for one or another reason including the point of view that since the non-militant Muslim does not outwardly denounce the militant faction, then the entire religion and all who worship it, are therefore guilty as those who follow jihad. That’s a "mighty-whitey" big blanket to cast on so many people, especially since millions of Germans stood by or more to the point, "heiled hitler" while 6 million Jews were gassed and furnanced. Thus, to damn every Muslim man, woman and child and the next Muslim generation(s) for the acts of today’s Islamic fundamentalist jihadists, one must also damn every man, woman and child, and in fact every offspring of every German who stood by while the "Final Solution" was undertaken for each of the deaths of the 6 million. Its a parallelism…accept one in my opinion, you are bound to accept the other. [FWIW, I have more Muslim friends than I do German friends.]

<>

Terrorists Are Made, Not Born: Creating Terrorists Using Social Psychological Conditioning
What is it that makes a French Muslim man riot in the streets?  "Some" seem to want to attribute it to:

- the simple fact that he is Muslim
- the French have brought it on themselves because of multi-culturalism
- the French government is too liberal or some such other inanity (my opinion, of couse)

Is that rioter a terrorist today, or simply a disenchanted, disenfranchised or disoriented individual protesting (yes, violently, but protesting)…These aren’t (yet) jihadi riots…these are riots spawned by socio-economic factors.  Today, that rioter in my opinion is still a rioter and protester, and is not a jihadi warrior…but what is to stop that person who is now one who is highly susceptible to the appeals of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism from becoming one?

What is it that made the first and second generation British or Australian citizens, Muslims, turn coat and attack people of their own country. What made the members of the Lackawana terror cell become accused terrorists? What made Johnny Walker Lindh a jihadist? It is easy to point to religious indoctrination…and it is easy to say, "they’re Muslims, afterall, what did you expect." Its quite another thing to try to understand why they became susceptible to the jihadist call. Why is it that one of my Muslim friends moved to Australia ironically to avoid being in the line of jihad? The explanation is more than simple business opportunities.

Here I reiterate a few previously written comments:

(*) Look at terrorism in any one location as a microcosm, and you will miss the big picture. Focus on hatred of Muslims because Islamic fundamentalists are waging the war against the infidels (jihad), and I contend that you suffer from myopia and limit the focus of your attention on the bigger picture.

(*) The simplistic view of the world and about terrorism will not lead to meaningful solutions of a very abstract concept. Terrorism is morphing…watch it change before your eyes. Because it is changing.

(*) Islamic fundamentalist jihad is spreading like an out of control amoeba (or is it a protozoa?)…like a global viral pandemic. I think that time remains on "our" side…and it will remain so as long as "we" focus on Global Terrorism and not on anyone’s individual hatred of Muslims in general. Muslims are not the problem. It is the hatred embodied in fundamentalist Islam that is the problem…as illustrated by al Qaeda and Hamas and Hezbollah and al Aksa and Iran. Woe unto us, if "we" haven’t gotten a grip on the issue that this is a social one and not a religious one.

Over and out for now.

Current Affairs, Opinions

3 Comments »

Their arrival was heralded as the innovation to protect air travelers from hidden contraband and bombs (or components) in checked luggage.  But now, we’re learning that the cost of maintaining these behemoth machines is out of control, and far beyond what the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) estimated.

Maintenance costs for airport scanners spike
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-10-30-airport-scanner-costs_x.htm

Taxpayers will spend about $200 million in the current fiscal year fixing and maintaining about 1,200 luggage scanners, roughly double the repair costs that the Department of Homeland Security says were needed two years ago…

…Part of the problem is the huge load of baggage the machines scan each day in the USA, where about 28,000 flights take off daily. Airport security consultant Richard Roth says the luggage scanners are "very delicate, sensitive equipment" not used to running 16 hours a day.

"There’s a lot of wear and tear," says Roth, who has inspected security systems at airports such as Chicago’s O’Hare and Logan in Boston.

The Homeland Security Department said in letters to Sabo that it didn’t grasp the cost of maintaining luggage scanners until 2004, when warranties began expiring…

Just like a washing machine I guess.  Made to obselete itself right after the warranty expires.  My opinion is that the companies that received all of these huge contracts for this new equipment should eat the cost of repairs in the interest of National Security.

…Two companies make the van-sized luggage-scanners, which were deployed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks for about $1 million each.

One company, InVision Technologies, said in documents filed last year with federal regulators that the heavy use of its luggage scanners "places a burden on them not previously experienced. This has resulted in an increase in the amount of maintenance." General Electric bought InVision last year.

A report in 2002 by the National Research Council, a research arm of the federal government, said the luggage- scanner made by L-3 Communications is "too unreliable to deploy in airports, where downtime for unplanned maintenance can wreak havoc with flight schedules."

The Transportation Security Administration has bought about 530 of the L-3 luggage scanners since 2002…

For many reasons, including self-interest, I am all for adding new technologies to protect the public from terrorist attacks.  However, there also seems to be a double standard at play here.  I know that in the case of my own technologies, we have been challenged, not only to prove that it works (no kidding!), but that the device(s) will be rigorous enough to withstand heavy (normal) use in the field.  Invision and L-3 are big and PUBLIC companies.  I don’t quite agree with the public paying for maintenance of machines that cost $1 million each.

Opinions, Technology

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Last week, it was the Iranian hostage terrorist, now President of Iran, Ahmadinejad, who called for the total destruction of Israel.

Iran Leader Calls for Israel’s Destruction (link to Yahoo! article)
http://tinyurl.com/c3q3t
Iran’s hard-line president called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and said a new wave of Palestinian attacks will destroy the Jewish state, state-run media reported Wednesday. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also denounced attempts to recognize Israel or normalize relations with it…

* Tehran conference called "The World without Zionism."
* Ahmadinejad referred to Israel’s recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a "trick…"

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3159691,00.html

“…The establishment of the State of Israel was an offensive move. The Islamic nation will not let its historic enemy live in its midst,” he said…[more]

http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=91789 … in Germany, Iran promoted Western-style anti-Semitism at its pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair last week…

Sadly, I am coming to the conclusion that some of the more radical, anti-Islam voices on this board and elsewhere are more right than they are wrong. With people like Ahmadinejad spouting their hatred, the World and the Middle East cannot see peace.

But today, it got worse. Aksa Brigades endorse Iran’s call to eliminate Israel http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1131043735699&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull The armed wing of the ruling Fatah party, Aksa Martyrs Brigades, on Sunday became the first Palestinian group to publicly endorse Iran’s call to eliminate Israel.

In a leaflet distributed in the Gaza Strip, the group voiced full support for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s statements in which he said that Israel "must be wiped off the map."

Ahmadinejad also warned Arab countries against developing economic ties with Israel in response to its withdrawal form the Gaza Strip, which he dubbed as a "trick."

"Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury," he was quoted as saying. "Any [Islamic leader] who recognizes the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world."

The leaflet by the Fatah group is the first of its kind since the Iranian president’s speech. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which are believed to be receiving financial aid from Iran, have refrained from reacting to the call to wipe Israel off the map…[more]

None of this can be good.  IMO, this marks still another escalation in what I see as a morphing of the character of the terrorism that now plagues us.  Its gone from a "simple" enemy of al Qaeda.  I believe that emboldened by the "apparent success" of al Qaeda in combatting the infidel, that the conflict in the Middle East will become more complicated.

International Issues

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So many "hopeful" people for some unknown reason have opined that bin Laden died more than once (see Mark Twain - "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated").  Some of these same people have also claimed the deaths of Zawahiri and Zarqawi at various times, and yet, with no body, with no "head on a stick," there is simply no reason to believe those rumors (Internet rumors at that).

What’s become of bin Laden since he gave us all the slip?
Link to www.telegraph.co.uk - http://tinyurl.com/atbda
Some think he is dead (…But this is unlikely - if he had died we would have heard about it…"), others that he is hiding because he is scared of being killed…

…Abu Musab al-Zarqawi…has become the hero of the hour on militant Islamist websites…he now receives most of the donations and recruits for the "jihad" against America and its allies…is already planning to expand his attacks to the Arab world and Europe.

"Zarqawi is the world’s number one terrorist…

An aside: Seems like Zarqawi’s terrorist network may actually be surpassing (or about to surpass) the reach of bin Laden’s al Qaeda (pretty good for a guy who was once reported mortally wounded or even dead). Zarqawi and bin Laden terror networks one and the same? Actually not, at least not to people who study counterterrorism.

U.S.: Zarqawi’s Terror Network Growing
Link to ap.washingtontimes.com
http://tinyurl.com/de7mh
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12971950.htm
U.S. intelligence officials say Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has expanded his terrorism campaign in Iraq to extremists in two dozen terror groups scattered across almost 40 countries, creating a network that rivals Osama bin Laden’s.

In interviews, U.S. government officials said the threat to U.S. interests from al-Zarqawi compared with that from bin Laden, whom al-Zarqawi pledged his loyalty to one year ago.

The director of the National Counterterrorism Center considers bin Laden a strategic plotter who is deep in hiding and out of regular contact with his followers, while al-Zarqawi is involved broadly in planning of scores of brutal attacks in Iraq.

"He is very much a daily, operational threat…"[more]

Comment: I suspect we now know what happens even if bin Laden has died in the Pakistani earthquake. A "man" like Zarqawi could be even more dangerous than bin Laden. He’s smart, keeps a low profile, and has already demonstrated his willingness to be bloodthristy. Perhaps even worse, Zawahiri has shown that he sees Zarqawi as the one to spread Islam in the Middle East…"…Al-Zawahri sees Iraq as the beginning of a campaign to set up an Islamic society in the Middle East and wants al-Zarqawi to think outside of Iraq." Even or whether the letter itself was denounced, the implications are unsettling to those who are concerned about terrorists and counterterrorism.

…"Think of it as a McDonald’s franchise," said the security source. "Bin Laden and Zawahiri own the copyright to the golden arches, but Zarqawi is the one selling the hamburgers - and very successfully…"

…Denied a physical base in Afghanistan, al-Qa’eda now uses the internet as a virtual base from which to proselytise and provide training.

The problem for western counter-terrorist officials is that regardless of what happens to bin Laden, Zawahiri or Zarqawi, it may now be impossible to eradicate their ideology.

"The virus of al-Qa’eda is already out there in the population," said one security source…

Bin Laden publicly quiet for longest stretch since 9/11
Link to www.khaleejtimes.com - http://tinyurl.com/dvzcv
Osama bin Laden has been publicly silent for the longest period since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The question for US intelligence: What, if anything, does it mean?…

"Two US counterterror officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the subject’s sensitivity, say there is no evidence to suggest he is dead."

Federal Policy, International Issues, Opinions

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WARNING: THIS POST MAY NOT BE POLITICALLY CORRECT

Can’t say more than, "its about time" this country wakes up and places limits on who and when people can become citizens.  Of course, just because Congressman Tancredo (R-Colorado) is talking about this topic, doesn’t mean that any legislation will be written or passed.  And it could take an Amendment to the Constitution to accomplish.  But closing the door to this country, even a little bit, in my opinion is a step forward, not backward.

GOP mulls ending birthright citizenship
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20051103-115741-1048r.htm

House Republicans are looking closely at ending birthright citizenship and building a barrier along the entire U.S.-Mexico border as they search for solutions to illegal immigration…

… "There is a general agreement about the fact that citizenship in this country should not be bestowed on people who are the children of folks who come into this country illegally," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican…

…Birthright citizenship, or what critics call "anchor babies," means that any child born on U.S. soil is granted citizenship, with exceptions for foreign diplomats. That attracts illegal aliens, who have children in the United States; those children later can sponsor their parents for legal immigration.

Most lawmakers had avoided the issue, fearing that change would require a constitutional amendment — the 14th Amendment reads in part: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

But several Republicans said recent studies suggest otherwise…

… Border barriers received a big boost yesterday when Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, announced a broad enforcement bill with a fence as its centerpiece…

Comment: Of course, it will be argued that circumventing the intent of the 14th Amendment will be a tough task…Albaby from TMF wrote: "How on earth do they intend to get around the 14th Amendment, and the relatively clear intent of the Amendment not to allow government to decide who was and was not a citizen?" Good question.  Further, his point of view includes this statement: I’ve been looking for an example of a legal issue where a conservative viewpoint was different from both a strict constructionist and an originalist interpretation of the Constitution.

http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=23256272 
http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=23256200

MORE ON BORDER SECURITY

Border plan  would add  agents and technology
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA110305.01A.Chertoff_Border.21ad4b8e.html

…"Gaining control of our borders requires focusing on all aspects of the problem — deterrence, detection, apprehension, detention and removal," Chertoff said…

…In San Diego, Calif., a "Border Infrastructure System," with a fence,       stadium-style lighting, roadways and sensors is under construction…

…"I’m not impressed in the least. It’s a rehashing of the same failed       policies of the past," said T.J. Bonner, president of the National       Border Patrol Council.  It’s wishful thinking that employers would self-enforce immigration violations, he said.Michael W. Cutler, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and former senior immigration enforcement agent, said a plan that does not tighten controls of who gets visas into the U.S. would not provide security.   

Both Bonner and Cutler oppose a temporary guest-worker program and saw Chertoff’s announcement as an additional push toward that…

Chertoff’s "taking baby steps when we need to be taking strides," he said.

Of course, this relates to a previous post regarding border security and Visas.

The Homeland Security Department is "failing to recognize what drives most people across the border, and that’s the proposal of jobs on this side of the border," Bonner said.   

http://moonagewebdream.blogs.com/storms_counter_terrorism/2005/10/hold_dont_post_.html

Because of some of my thoughts on world events, some people actually consider me a "liberal" (with all of the negative innuendos associated with that word)…I seriously doubt that my point of view on immigration and border reform can be characterized as such.

Federal Policy

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U.S. Special Operations Command.  MacDill AFB, Florida.

I first heard about this a few weeks ago when talking to one of my guys who had presented a couple of programs to SOCom a few months ago that seemed to get bogged down in bureaucracy. We discussed it again last night when I was told that "everything was being held up" because of this investigation, and that the whole process might have to re-start after the dust settled. When it is considered that SOCom "leads military operations against terrorist networks," you can understand how this broad reaching investigation should concern more than just people attempting to secure contracts.

Procurement fraud investigation at Florida base expands
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1005/102805k1.htm
http://www.governmentexecutive.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=32684&dcn=todaysnews
A widening fraud investigation at the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., is raising new questions about contractors’ role in federal procurement.

William Burke, a private contractor advising on acquisitions, pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges earlier this month. He admitted to favoring certain companies by recommending their products to SOCOM…

…The St. Petersburg Times reported earlier this month that the investigation is expanding to cover other individuals related to SOCOM, and reported Friday that Brown [commanding General] also is under investigation. The paper reported that it received an anonymous letter in the mail on Tuesday which said Brown showed illegal preference to friends and former colleagues when awarding contracts…[more]

SOCOM Bribery Scandal
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2005/10/socom-bribery-scandal/index.php
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2005/10/socom_bribery_s.html
…Although the amounts of improperly negotiated contracts at SOCom will not likely run into the billions as in the Darleen Druyun-Boeing scandal, the effects can be just as negative for soldiers. Our elite troops may not have the best equipment in life or death situations due to the personal greed of an inside player and private contractors…

Inquiry targets retired colonel
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/19/Tampabay/Inquiry_targets_retir.shtml
…SOCom oversees the nation’s secret commandos, such as the Green Berets and the Navy SEALS. At the direction of President Bush, it has been directed to "synchronize" the war on terror…

… Burke arrived at SOCom in 1999, working on behalf of Virginia-based Sentel Corp. As a federal contracts gatekeeper, he oversaw the evaluation and testing of foreign and domestic weapons systems that would eventually equip special operations forces.

His recommendations for weapons contracts went directly to the Office of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld…[more]

Comment: This may not seem like a "big deal" to many/some, but it is when you consider the role of SOCom and the importance of bringing new tools and technologies to use for our troops in the War on Terror. Not only does this mean that small companies are/were put at a disadvantage, but also, and importantly, that the transparency of government/military procurement has been obliterated and compromised.

Federal Policy, Opinions

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