Chickens coming home to roost

Londanstan will continue to see this problem grow until the Britons decide they need to stand up to the "Asians." In the mean time Sharia law continues to creep into British society. Political correctness and the seeming lack of will to defend British culture is a real shame for the mother country. I wonder if a series of attacks inside of England will finally convince them of the snakes in their midst. The U.S. is caught in the same cycle and it will result in a Muslim population that continues to radicalize. I foresee the incidents of lone wolf attacks to continue to increase while at the same time outside trans-national terrorist groups like al-Qaeda continuing to try another spectacular attack to show they are still relevant.

Meanwhile the U.S. continues to grind away at the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I believe that killing them their takes away from their ability to launch attacks oversees. For example al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular are more active than al-Qaeda central in trying to hit the U.S. Al-Qaeda central is too busy trying not to get hit by a Hellfire missile while AQAP who is not being pressured by Yemen is able to plot and train.

Happy New Year

The Queen, Princesses, Princes, and myself wish everyone a safe and happy New Year.

News on the Haqqani's and the border

The drone strikes and special operations raids against the Haqqani Network might be paying off. A large majority of the drone strikes this year and the last several months in particular have been occurring in North Wazirstan around the Miranshah/Mir Ali area that is controlled by the Haqqanis. While these attacks have netted some high value targets it has played havoc on their foot soldiers who are being hit in their vehicles and homes. The New York times has an article about the slow down of the Haqqanis and how they have not launched a major attack in Kabul in over seven months. I wrote this for "The Captain's Journal" a month or so ago:

The Haqqanis are one of if not the most dangerous groups fighting against the Afghan government and NATO this maybe a focused attempt to degrade them in their home territory to try to get them to the negotiating table. The Haqqanis launched several attacks against U.S. bases in Afghanistan during the time period of this study and got the worst of it on every occasion. The group even failed to overrun a small Afghan outpost right on the border due to U.S. firepower. During the time of this study the U.S. launched two hot pursuit attacks inside of the FATA killing over 50 Haqqani fighters. These attacks were strongly condemned by Pakistan who cut off NATO supply routes for several days. The Haqqanis are regarded as “good” Taliban by the Pakistani Inter Service Intelligence (ISI). Overtly hitting one of the ISI’s favored groups is what may have prompted the stoppage of NATO supplies more than the violation of Pakistani airspace.

It seems my analysis might have been right on the money on this one. The Haqqanis might only be able to take so much pressure since they come from a small tribe. Even with the help of foreign fighters a unit can only take so much abuse before its operations become degraded.

Insurgent group cooperation has been happening on a tactical level for some time even if the leadership does not get along. This also happens in the Jihad culture as Shiite Hezbollah has added Sunni groups and vice versa since the rise of Islamic terror after the Iranian revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The New York Times again scores how this seems to be happening more and more along the Af/Pak border and in Afghanistan itself.

To quote a British officer NATO and Afghan troops have been killing Taliban groups in an industrial way over the last few months. The Marines and the 101st Airborne have been in a nasty fight for the last several months with both units suffering many casualties. The information I have has the Marines losing 10 so far this month while killing a confirmed 100 Taliban and I am sure the 101st is doing similar good works. The Taliban however will move to where there is less pressure and if the Afghan government cannot provide services to the cleared areas the fighting will have been for naught.

Wisdom for the day

Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.

Christmas

Taking the advise of my Queen I have not been blogging the last few days. Merry Christmas

Godsmack - Voodoo

Supply Lines

We need to do something about our supply lines going through Pakistan like defend them or make the Pakis do it. Supply traffic has been stopped going through the Khyber area which also saw 50+ Taliban killed in a drone strike last week.

There have been many ideas floated about changing our supply situation for our forces in Afghanistan. My first idea would be to cut off funding for Pakistan's army until they start supplying security for the convoys from the ship to the Afghan border or letting U.S./NATO troops guard them.

No end to the Fighting Season in Afghanistan

ISAF has said that there will be no rest for the Taliban and associated groups over the winter. The fighting in Helmand Province bears this out.
Helmand Province 10 USMC KIA
Logar 1 Army
Patika 1 MC
Ghazni 1 Army
Kandahar 6 Army this happened when an Afghan soldier turned his weapon on the soldiers
Wasit 1 Army
Balkh 2 Army.
This as a report by a British officer recently stated "we are killing them (Taliban) on and industrial level" was released.
This however does no good when there are 2 million plus Afghan refugees in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan that are being radicalized and used as the foot soldiers for the Taliban. What I have said over and over and will continue to say is there will be no peace in Afghanistan as long as the FATA is available to fall back to, recruit, train, and refit. Pakistan has no desire to do this and the U.S. is not effectively able unless we invade Pakistan which will not happen.

That leaves us at a stalemate one I fear no amount of COIN operations can fix.

Major Attack in Kabul

Picture from the AP

Taliban or associated terrorists attacked an army recruitment center and a bus load of officers driving to work. Both attacks included a combination of small arms attacks and suicide bombers which have been hallmarks of attacks on large facilities recently. What these groups do is use small arms cover to get the suicide bombers close to their targets then the bomber detonate then as reinforcements arrive and begin to overwhelm the attacks they detonate their belts or vests.

The Haqqani network has been responsible for a large number of the major attacks in Kabul and it would not be surprising to find out they were behind this one as well. The Haqqanis have been subject to an intense drone campaign the last three months in their strong hold around Miran Shah and Datta Khel in North Waziristan also ISAF forces have been making a push against Haqqani forces inside of Afghanistan. It would stand to reason they would push back hard. This attack may have been planned to coincide Chancellor Merkel's visit to the German troops stationed in Afghanistan.

an oorah posting for the day.

The Warrior Song

Khyber Agency

Three drone strikes in Pakistan's Khyber Agency resulted in 54 terrorists killed. That is some good intelligence. It seems that Predator or Reapers hit a meeting. It is way to early to speculate a new trend in drone targeting. However the Haqqani network leadership has secured it self a way of retreat out of N. Waziristan the attacks maybe following them.

Either way ridding the world of 54 taliban is never a bad thing.

Afghan War Review

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/16/war-review-taliban-al-qaeda-diminished/

ISAF has done a great job in working to secure Afghanistan however Pakistan has a vested interest in keeping the Taliban, Haqqani Network, and Hezb e Islami active and vital. The reason for this Pakistan wants to either have direct control or see a destabilized Afghanistan as that helps gives them strategic depth against India. The three groups I just listed have had and still do harbor and train other Pakistani and international terrorists with Pakistan's tacit approval and in some cases material support. The good Taliban as the Pakistanis see these groups are a strategic asset and will not move against them. Our drone strikes against the the Haqqanis are mere pin pricks and since we cannot hit Quetta where Mullah Omar's Taliban reside we cannot hit their command structure either.

Remember Pakistan's Tribal Area is the key.

Interesting Observation

"For the most part, the resistance (mujahideen) had no strategy to speak of, and their command structure was often so informal as to be nonexistent" from Soldiers of God by Robert Kaplan in 1990.

This is true even today as the ISAF captures Haqqani Network commanders on a regular basis and their attacks do not let up. Keep this in mind when the discussion about Taliban commanders comes up as there is always someone to take charge when a commander is killed or captured.

Here is something you do not hear about everyday because Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have actually gone after al-Qaeda pretty hard in their territories. Apparently a Palestinian al-Qaeda member got himself killed in Afghanistan. I wonder if he counted as one of just a few hundred remaining al-Qaeda members remaining in the Af/Pak theater (Sarc).

Sweden

Suicide bomber in Stockholm last night. Thankfully only the bomber was killed and two others wounded. This is what happens when you turn a blind eye to the radicalism growing in your midst. Europe is unable and/or unwilling to attempt to assimulate their growing Muslim populations but at the same time too politically correct to do anything about them. This will not be the last of these attacks and the terrorists only have to get lucky once to cause a great deal of harm.

Either Europe is going to have to make radical changes or be changed by the radicals.

Black Diamonds

The Taliban started calling 1st recon Bn "Black Diamonds"
“We first heard it over the radio in Trek Nawa,” said Cpl. Micah Fulmer, a reconnaissance Marine with 1st Recon Bn. “It followed us to Sangin and they said, ‘Don’t mess with the ‘Black Diamonds.’”

Another new Army Toy

The army has a new sniper rifle and I bet the Marines will field a weapon of similar caliber soon enough. I have grown up around the .300 win mag round my whole life as my dad and brother both hunt with them.

There is a reason the British are using a .338 round in their rifle. The .30 caliber magnum rounds have a superior ballisitic performance over the 7.62x51(,308) round. Put it this way at 500 meters a 7.62x51 168 grain match bullet which is close to what snipers shoot has a velocity of 1823 fps and has dropped 49.9" and delivers 1239 foot pounds of energy. The .300 win mag 168 grain at 500 meters is traveling at 2005 fps and has dropped 39" and has 1500 foot pounds of energy.

My dad tells a story about when he was in Vietnam about their firebase getting shelled every morning and they could see the spotter but no one could hit him with mortars, rifles, or machine guns even though they were shooting .50 cals at him. Anyway two guys show up at his position a sniper and spotter they hang out and get a feel for his habits and the sniper pulls out what looks like a commercial deer hunting rifle. They spot the guy the next day and bang the Vietnamese spotter ends up shot. Dad talks to the guys and they are using a Winchester Model 70 .300 win mag. Well when dad gets back from Vietnam he buys one. He has had this rifle for 40 years and it handles close in and range work he killed a big horn sheep with it at around 500 yards one shot.

I think the Army has a winner here and I hope the Corps adapts something along the same lines

Marines

A very good story by CBS no less on Marines in Helmand. In good news U.S. and British forces have killed 3200 Taliban in the last 90 days. To add to this it has been calculated that we would have to kill 10,000+ a year for 20 years just to break into their men coming of military age cycle. That is a bunch of killing on a scale that we probably have not done in the past nine years and as a country we probably do not have the attention span to do for ten more years.

If COIN is to work there has to be a bubble of non-fighting so the government can move in behind it even in the ink spot theory where we go and work in different areas. The Taliban and other forces have to be pushed back violently from the civilian population. This is something we have failed to do because we are undermanned not just because of a lack of U.S. troops but most of our NATO allies will not fight. We need "to kill them on an industrial scale" to give the Afghan government such as it is any chance at all.

Corporal Chad Wade

Tomorrow we are burying another Marine Corporal Chad Wade. I did not know Cpl Wade but he is a Marine and therefore my brother. Rest in Peace and may God bless him and his family.

This will be all of my writing tonight.

Hezbollah

I know I keep coming back to these clowns even though we have a full on shooting war going on if Afghanistan and it has been over 25 years since Hezbollah has challenged the U.S. directly.

For those that may not know it I had a paper on Hezbollah published a couple of months ago. The paper was criticized as such things are with a lot of passion for and against my theory that Hezbollah was as dangerous as al-Qaeda if not more so.

Today it is read that Hezbollah has been supplied with 50,000 missiles including Scud - D and Fatah-110. If anyone thinks that Hezbollah is anything but a terrorist organization study the 2006 war with Israel. Yes I will concede that there was conventional ground combat and the Israelis got more than they bargained for attacking the strength of Hezbollah's defenses. However lobbing unguided missiles at population centers is just as much an act of terrorism as a suicide bomber. I could even understand if Hezbollah aimed these unguided missiles at military formations or bases they did not do this either. Therefore by all defenitions of terrorism Hezbollah was guilty.

It is going to come down to a matter of Hezbollah having to be dealt with one way or another.

Reading for the weekend

I just got done reading the final report on the Battle of Wanat in Afghanistan's Korengal valley. The first thing I took away from this report was a great deal of pride in the 101st, Marine, and ANA troopers and Marines defended their position in the face of an overwhelming amount of firepower. To have as one 101st member describe "RPG's landing like machine gunfire" in addition to a huge amount of small arms that were being used and to be able to fight back for an how before air support arrived is a credit to all of these men.

The Army Has a new toy

The XM-25 a weapon system that is supposed to change the rules of warfare. The Army is sending this to Afghanistan as we speak. This weapon is supposed to make the use of trenches, foxhole, etc useless. Every squad and Spec Ops team in the army is supposed to get one of these weapons. Here is the video from the manufacturer ATK. I would imagine this replacing one M203 per squad but it is also taking away one M4 unless the Army plans on either increasing the size of their squads or wants some poor grunt to carry the XM-25 and a rifle. I pity that poor guy. Currently this weapon is useless in house clearing and while it can take care of guy hiding in buildings what about when you have to go in?

I am sure the army has thought about all this but I am just saying. Also this weapon still does not outrange the RPG-7. Which the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan seem to use like a rifle.

Will have to wait and see on this one.

Something Interesting I missed

Way back on February of of this year Mohammed Haqqani brother of Siraj Haqqani was killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan.

The Rifle v Carbine Argument is back

This also includes the Marine Corps statement by Gen Conway “We are never going to be a carbine Marine Corps, OK. We’re never going to go completely to the M4. We’re a rifle Marine Corps. We believe in long-range shooting skills, and those skills are just not as resident in a carbine as they are in a service rifle.” Meanwhile the Army is going full tilt with the smaller M4 and are investing a lot of money in upgrading it.

While a new 5.56 round the Special Operations Science and Technology (SOST) that is more lethal is beginning to see use in the Army's M4s and the Marines M16A4 it still comes down to a matter of ballistics. The 5.56 round in its current form is its most lethal when used from a 20" barrel rifle. While the M4 is handier in urban fighting and when having to get in and out of vehicles accuracy begins to suffer much beyond 200 meters. While not an issue in a highly urbanized country like Iraq in Afghanistan long distance shooting is a norm. The Army predicts that most modern combat will be against urban insurgents however we are in one shooting war where long range shooting capabilities is a plus.

While on the topic reliability needs to be discussed while the M16A4 seems to work well enough however the M4 has had issues. During the Battle of Wanat One staff sergeant described how his M4 failed him early in the battle. “My M4 quit firing and would no longer charge when I tried to correct the malfunction,” said the soldier, identified as Staff Sgt. Phillips in a draft analysis paper on the battle written by the Army Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth.

If I were the Sec Def I would gather my Joint Chiefs and tell them that all the services were adapting the AK model in 5.56. The 18" barrel and side folding stock will make the Army happy for compactness and the Marines still are using rifle. The Galil would work but is rather heavy AKs are being produced here in the states and production is not hard which is why the Soviets/Russians still use them. Are they a precision weapon, no, but they will run all day YES.
I personally would have a weapon that is practically accurate and not a precision tack driver.

Thoughts?

Next couple of days

Captain's Journal has done me the honor of posting a paper I wrote. I did not put it here because I really have few readers. I will link when it is up.

Mongols

Maybe the Mongols had it right in their treatment of the Middle East and Southwest Asia...

Defeating Islamic Terrorism

The UK's new CINC of the Army has stated you cannot defeat Islamic militancy. In this he is correct even if he used the wrong name which is terrorism. A point that I wish people would get right. There is no way to defeat an idea this one being that these terrorist believe that Islam must rule the world as Allah commanded. There are ways however to mitigate this ideas effects. Firstly pound the active cells to dirt if possible by killing, capturing, or turning them. Second Western media and liberals must stop acting to mitigate counter-terrorism activities and stop their support or protection of groups and or individuals that support Islamic supremecy. Political correctness run amok and the hatred of all the good things that the West represents is a huge problem for the left and media little do they realize that if the Muslims get their way all their free speach will come to an end and the Gay pride parades in San Fransisco will turn into hangings. Lastly a concerted campaign of counter propaganda on all fronts must take place which includes pressuring groups like Google to take down all jihadist propaganda from their websites and using cyberwarfare to go after other websites.

This is a very simplistic way to state some very complex issues but you get the picture.

Drone War

Well since I cannot get my post up like I want to I will have to do it the hard way. More to come.

Something you may not know

The whole Taliban insurgency just is not a bunch of Islamic hardliners bent on Sharia law world wide. There is also another group that has a huge stake in an unstable Afghanistan and that is the drug dealers. Afghanistan is the worlds largest supplier of heroin and opium beating out Asia's Golden Triangle are. I was reminded of this today reading the ISAF's website like I do on a daily basis and came across this article. The drug dealers are just as deadly as the regular insurgents and often times they cooperate as the same routes that can take the drugs out of the country are used to bring weapons and fighters in.

Busy Week

Six Drone Attacks this week including two today for a reported 38 Taliban and associated group deaths. Most of these attacks have occured in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan an area controlled by the Haqqanis. There were however two attacks in S. Waziristan that hit a commander for Mullah Wazir's group around Azam Warsak. He was important enough to try to hit in his car then when that did not work we hit his offices and killed him there.

An important one I missed was the killing of a German national on Bekkay Harrach on 9/21. This is important because he had made several videos to recruit German muslims and also calling for the usual... overthrow of the German government, implemention of Sharia etc...

It is also interesting to note that the Haqqanis have been getting hit hard as they try to attack U.S. and Afghan combat outposts and that we are also hitting their rear areas in Pakistan. The tribe that the Haqqanis belong to is not a big one and the constant drain of manpower may soon tell on their operations. This week alone over 50 Haqqani network fighters have been killed in attacks on combat outposts in addition to the over 20 in their base areas. However they keep coming.

The pounding continues

Another drone strike this time in S. Waziristan in Mullah Nazir's territory. Nazir is a good Taliban and has actually fought against the Uzbeks in his area. However Nazir wages the jihad in Afghanistan and is close with Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden.

This makes 15 strikes this month and 9 in the last nine days. Today's strike killed 6 and wounded 5 with an expenditure of 3 missiles.

I do not know if the strikes are being launched on actionable intelligence or are just cruising looking for targets of interest. Killing four guys on a motorcycle seem somewhat pointless except it is taking 4 trigger pullers out of the game. I have to believe now that the Taliban and AQ leadership is getting a little leary of moving openly much. This is not such a bad thing if we can keep their leadership pinned down. This is exactly what is happening to our troops in Afghanistan. In out effort to defend population centers we have surrendered the high ground to the Taliban and their allies. In Pakistan currently we hold the high ground.

Drone Strike 9/20/2010

Dirazindi villiage, N. Waziristan Predator or Reaper drones attacked and killed four Taliban. We fired 4 missiles at a cost of $232,000 to kill four guys unless this was Osama bin Laden and not four foot soldiers it hardly seems worth the effort on this one.

As we continue to pound the Haqqani network in both Afghanistan and its home in Pakistan it seems to me we think we can either pound them into negotiating or hope to degrade them a great deal before we pull out.

Man of Unknown Religion

I just got home to catch this but Sami Samir Hassoun a Lebanese citizen living in Chicago. Decided he did not like things in Chicago or how things were going in other parts of the world decided to try to set off an explosive device by Wrigley field and to also poison the cities water supply.

Let me get this straight a Muslim not liking the way he perceives other Muslims being treated around the world attempts an act of terrorism and the AP blows it off like it is nothing. While it appears the FBI was all over this guy it is high time out media starts calling these things what they really are attempted acts of terrorism by MUSLIMS. This was not some skin head or environmental attack but yet another lone wolf. It is also time that the FBI consider people not in organized groups as terrorists. The FBI is catching up but is still behind in how Islamic terrorism works firstly they are afraid to call a spade a spade and man up and call it is, secondly they have to get in their heads that one does not need to be a member of a terrorist group to commit acts of terrorism. Al Qaeda leadership and Awaliki have called for lone Muslims to attack the infidel wherever and however they can. WAKE UP to what is really going on.

This week in the Drone War

Today marks the seventh drone attack inside of North Waziristan this week. These attacks have killed 44 Taliban and or foreign fighters. The attacks have been centered around Miranshah and Datta Khel North Waziristan an area controlled by the Haqqani network. The Pakistan military is hesistant to go into N. Waziristan because every time it does they lose a lot of troops and the Haqqanis are what they consider the good Taliban because they do not launch attacks in Pakistan. They are free to wage jihad in Afghanistan or India as long as they do not attack Pakistani targets they are not seen as a threat and are considered if you will strategic reserve.

This weeks Drone Strikes

This is North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Pakistan. As you can tell over the last week U.S. Drone strikes have concentrated on two areas around Miranshah and Datta Khel. This area is control by the Haqqani network. Earlier this week we killed on of the Haqqani cousins. If you are wondering why the Pakistan military does not do something about this group it is for two reasons. Everytime they go into N. Waziristan they lose a bunch of troops and secondly the Haqqanis are considered good Taliban because they do not launch attacks inside of Pakistan. They harbor groups that do but they themselves do not.

Predator/Reaper Strike in N. Waziristan

Datta Khel, N. Waziristan a house and a vehicle were struck by 4 hellfire missles. Reports are for terrorists killed no reports of HVT or foreigners at this time. That would be seven attacks since I began tracking them on 9/12 but is a total of 19 this month. Datta Khel has seen several of these attacks. This is a know area of Taliban transit and is controlled by the Haqqanis

Drone Strikes in N. Waziristan

The Long War Journal has as always a great piece about the what seems like daily strikes in the region this month. I would like to take it a step further and say that it is a concentrated effort to go after the Haqqani network. The HIG is active on both sides of the border but is considered part of the "good" Taliban because the do not launch attacks in Pakistan. There is evidence of a concerted effort in Pakistan to go after the HIG that is being supported by strikes in the Haqqani strong hold. The special ops, conventional arms, and drone strikes are not just going after high value targets but I think are trying to make it uncomfortable for any member if the HIG and any group working with them. It is more than just going after high level leaders but an effort to degrade them overall working to cut the head off of the snake while also chopping up the body.

What are the basics? India is the enemy. Afghanistan is your playground. And the American superpower must be milked, bilked, just the right amount, ta

A great editorial piece over at Dawn. This has been Pakistan's strategy since the War on Terror began, I had begun to hope their were taking a turn for the better but it appears not. From the Pakistani Daily Times Richard Holbrook who at times cannot even get a meeting with members of the Pakistan and Afghan government is trying to get Pakistan to continue to combat the "bad" Taliban. Here is the thing Mr. Ambassador there is no way that the Pak Army is going into N. Waziristan the last time they did they got their butts kicked.

Twitter

I can be follow on Twitter now look up and follow Cowboy Jihad

North Waziristan

U.S. forces have launched 6 drone attacks this week alone including two more last night. Targeting "foreign fighters" and Punjabi Taliban. I hope the Haqqinis are getting the message.

Waiting for after prayers Friday to see what happens.

This week to date

We have launched 4 drone attacks into the FATA of Pakistan killing 23 Taliban and "foreign fighters" including the first cousin of Siraj Haqqini. So far there has not been any retalitory strikes inside of Pakistan. It maybe due to the flooding and the TeT having trouble getting around. More than likely there will be attacks at the end of the week probably Friday after morning Prayers.

Pakistan again

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) today launched a suicide attack against a police station in Kohat today killing 16 including 6 women and four children. Oh the lions of Islam must be proud after this attack. So later in the day they issue a press release admiting to the bombing all well and good this time they even acknowledged they killed civilians which is rare for them. This press release then goes on to say that the group will continue to attack police and military targets and if civilians do not want to be harmed to stay away from them. I just finished "The Most Dangerous Place" by Imtiaz Gul this book covers the Tribal Area of Pakistan a lot more clearly than what you get from Western press. The author goes into detail about the drone attacks and how they are generally accepted by Pakistanis now who have seen they have done some good ie Betulla Meshud.

However this tactic of seperating the populace from the police and military by promising more civilian deaths is very alarming. What governance there is in the FATA and the NWFP could dissipate if people are afraid to interact with security agencies.

Hike

Had a good gear check this weekend.
Packs held up well
Tent was easy to put up the waterproofing I did on the bottow did a fantastic job. I went ahead and did the hole tent including the rain guard.
Cooker was good a little tricky but got it figured out. Mess gear cheap but adequate. The Queen's boots did well.
Sleeping bags were good but we need lighter ones and better sleeping pads.

We think we are going to do another trial run then hit either DD or White Rock.

accessories

Ok I have almost my ideal rifle it is an M16A2 with a scope however I would prefer an A3 or A4 model with a flattop but that is another $350-500 to spend that is a future purpose because then it would mean a different scope as well. What I can do in the mean time is get the accessories I need.
Cleaning kit check
I need a good assault vest I saw some today used for $10.00 with the MOLLE mag pouches for $2.00 a piece.
I need about 15 more magazines not that I can carry 16 but would like to be able to load out at least 8 at a whack.
Also there is the option of a chest rig not the kind I can put a trauma plate in but there are some nice ones out there.
I got good knives, there is however a field M16/A15 repair tool that would be nice to have.

No I am not looking at an M4 because the shorter barrel length degrades the performance of the already whimpy 5.56 round.

Am I missing anything?

Sometimes I see hope

My four readers know that I tend to concentrate on Pakistan in most of my writings in doing this I tend to read a lot of South West Asian news. Doing so often times leads me to articles and editorials that give me hope that there maybe a way to turn around the terrorism that is the primary product of these areas.

Today an editorial appears in Dawn.com a Pakistani news site. In it the author calls for the Pakistani government and with it the ISI to get its act together in regards to domestic terrorism. It also calls on the government to stop playing regional power broker when the fabric of Pakistani society is being destroyed from within.

Then again I read something like this which is a propaganda attempt by the
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or in the states (TeT). That says the group will give $20 million in aid to the Pakistani flood victims but it has to be distributed by the group and not through the gov't of Pakistan oh and the jihad against the United States will continue. Let us not forget that 10 in foreign aid workers were just killed in Afghanistan by the HIG which is a "good" Taliban group. The aid workers belong to an organization that has been helping the Afghan people since the 1960s.

After awhile depression sets in. This is from the Asia Times. Part of counter insurgency is to get those that will lay down their weapons to do so and frankly to kill the rest. In this case however Taliban had laid down their arms and were going to try and become peaceful citizens. This goes with the poor governance coming from Kabul as these guys should have been held up as shining examples of what happens when you lay down your guns. Now they are back to fighting against the government. Admittedly though they probably made more money helping to run opium and heroin and being bandits than they could as private citizens. Here is the money quote Siawash, a political analyst in Herat province, said he "believed that most of those who joined the peace process were simply armed criminals, rather than part of the opposition. Once they realized they were no longer able to make a living out of crime, he said, they came to the government and claimed to be militants willing to surrender. Then they would turn back to crime again." What most people realize is that a good portion of the "Taliban" are nothing but criminals and drug smugglers albeit heavily armed ones hiding behind religion.

I think I need to go read something on Onion as I am disgusted.

Ambush

You probably have not heard much about the Lebanese Army attacking an Israeli unit this week. What you have heard from the media is probably wrong leave it to UN to actually defend Israel for once. UNIFIL the unit that is sort of overseeing the cease fire between the IDF and Hezbollah acknowledged that the Israelis were on their side of the border. Also a sniper shot that takes out the CO then followed by a volley of RPG fire. This was a perfect set up. There are lots of links to the incident I suggest that you follow them.

Brennen

Mr. Brennen is the administrations top anti-terrorism guy however smart he thinks he is about jihad he is just not getting it. I have mentioned in the past that yes I do understand that trying to seperate mainstream Muslims from the terrorists view of Islam is a good thing. However with the revival of Islam there seems to be disagrement in the Muslim world of the role of jihad. What CAIR and other Muslim groups want us to believe is that jihad is just an internal struggle however there is too much other information out there saying that jihad is to expand Islam. The latest from MEMRI says something very different. Hafiz Saeed, a scholar of Islam, has said that the purpose of Jihad is to carry out a sustained struggle for the dominance of Islam in the entire world and to eliminate the evil forces and the ignorant. He considers India, Israel and US to be his prime enemies and has threatened to launch Fidayeen (suicide squad) attacks on American interests too. More on Saeed who is the leader of the LeT his favorite verse of the Koran is
Wajahidu Fee Sabilallah: Wage a holy war in the name of God Almighty. His worldview is straight and simple: ’God has ordained every Muslim to fight until His rule is established.

Itjihad - which is a reinterpretation of the Koran has not been done in hundreds of years unlike Christian faith. For those that do not know the violent verses of the Koran abrogate the earlier more tolerant ones.

Conflicting Stories Coming from Afghanistan

Say it is not so.

Also a tale of two articles on from the Asia Times concerning civilian fears in Marjah which to some extent can be attributed to Taliban propaganda and some to legitimate security concerns. Please note the quote from the Taliban spokesman as it says that the locals are helping them. This ties in very well to a report from the Long War Journal about the closing of a local bazaar in the same area in Now Zad. Bazaars in Afghanistan while used to sell goods and services are also a large revenue source for the government as they are taxed. It also seems that the Taliban get their "help from the barrel of the AKs" I would not exactly call this winning the hearts and minds but when it is either your whole family being killed or giving up food and a son what choice do these people really have. It seems the Taliban were also running a bazaar to generate income and to move their opium. It would not be a far stretch to say that the same group of Taliban are stirring up trouble in both areas.

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60068

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60068

Really?

The Tehreek-e-Taliban of Pakistan or TTP the umbrella group for the Taliban fighting against the Pakistan and Afghan government has declared jihad against the Awami National Party (ANP). This Pashtun (remember the Talib are primarily Pashtun) political party who ask for "the promotion of democracy and freedom, the eradication of poverty, the protection of human rights, the combating of extremism in all its forms and the creation of equal opportunities for all citizens. It firmly believes in peace and non-violence as the best way to resolve all issues. It is committed to securing for all the federating units of Pakistan their full political, social and economic rights as equal partners in the federation and their fair share in national progress and prosperity (from the ANP Manifesto)." One of the leaders of the group son was killed last week and this week a suicide bomber struck outside of the grieving families home. Pakistan Daily News reports the TTP released this statement regarding the ANP The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said on Tuesday that it was the duty of the mujahideen to annihilate the Awami National Party (ANP), as it was “not only the enemy of the Taliban, but Islam as well”. Talking to reporters over telephone from an undisclosed location about the recent attacks on the ANP, TTP spokesman Azam Tariq said Pakhtuns could not tolerate the existence of the ANP in the region, as the party was an enemy of Islam. The spokesman added that it was the need of the hour to exterminate the ANP and the Taliban would continue jihad against the party. Do no get me wrong the ANP are no saints as several members were recently arrested for an attack on a rival political party.

This is where it gets really interesting the ANP is a Pashtun (Pakhtun) political party that is also Muslim. Also remember the TTP swears it does not attack civilians and has actually blamed Blackwater for these attacks in the past. This is a blatent attack on civilians, fellow Pashtuns, and co-religionists. The only reason I can think of for these attacks is that the TTP feels threatened by a Pashtun group that actually wants to join in the state of Pakistan instead of being administered as part of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The TTP has learned well Clauswitz's axiom of "war is a continuation of Politics by another means." By keeping opponents off balance, weak, and more worried about their personal security than getting out and promoting their message the TTP can keep the status quo in the NWFP and FATA. The status quo being virtually no governance in these areas which plays into the TTP and other Taliban and al-Qaeda related groups hands. No governance makes it easier to attack into Afghanistan, Pakistan and also train terrorists for regional and possible global attacks. Also the promotion of peace and tolerance is not one that these cowards want to hear. Bringing the NWFP and the Tribal areas under more central government control will eat into the Talib's opium profits and they really do not want to lose their source of income derived from that.

So far from being the lions of Islam the TTP are showing their true colors as they kill more and more Pakistani civilians. The problem is that the offensives carried out by the Pakistani military chased the TTP into the parts of the NWFP and the FATA that are controlled by the "good" Taliban and the military is very reluctant to take actions against these groups or the land they control.

Something the sits wrong with me

I losing the resolve to not speak out very vocally about the state sponsorship of terrorism as it involves two supposed allies of the United States in combating religiously inspired terrorism. I know that I do not have a degree in international relations and that bilateral communication between nations is always a good thing. In saying this however two of our closest allies are also state sponsors of terrorism in not in deed then word and monetarily. The Koran commands that if someone cannot bears arms in the jihad then one must support it with their money and for caring for the families of the soldiers.

While one country may support the jihad for nationalistic reasons that does not stop the groups they are supporting from biting the hand that feeds it and by also striking out against U.S. targets as well as our allies. The other country is all about spreading the salafist ideology through their wallet. Look at who sponsors most of the mosque building, sponsors Muslim schools, and contributes to the Middle Eastern Studies colleges at a great many Universities in the U.S.

Terrorist vs Insurgent/militant

The media has a problem with telling us the difference between an insurgent and a terrorist hence the adage one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. So we can get this straight a terrorism and insurgency can occur at the same time and be conducted by the same group. Terrorism is loosely defined as attacks against civilians used to intimidate or coerce (civilians is the key). Insurgency is attacks against a government and it military forces in over to force a government to change policies or even over throw it.

So for example when the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Communists in the Philippines attack and military patrol that is insurgency. When these groups send someone to blow up a bus full of civilians that is terrorism. What the media fails to recognize is it is the target that matters not the group and the same group(s) can be conducting both type of activities at the same time.

Very interesting article out of Pakistan the money quote being "Jihad is a means, not an end. It does not permit self-destruction and it does not legitimise killing civilians." Read the rest I hope this guy lives somewhere secure and people do not know what he looks like because he is going to make a lot of people very angry.

In case anyone was wonder

I am working on a series of posts about terrorist groups you might have heard of but do not get the full story on or may have never heard about and need to.

LeT

This is a teaser post for a larger one I am working on about this group.


Wajahidu Fee Sabilallah: Wage a holy war in the name of God Almighty. This is Hafiz Saeed favorite verse from the Koran (Mir, 2008).

Overview:
Laskar –e-Taiba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Party of the Pure (LeT) is a Sunni Muslim group that is waging jihad in central Asia. This group is fighting against India for Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and also to return to Muslim rule all parts of India that once fell under Islamic rule (SATP Staff, 2010). LeT, members have been encountered globally Iraq, Chechnya, Afghanistan, U.S., and other parts of central Asia. The LeT was added to the list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) on December, 26 2001 and has also been banned in Great Britain, is on the U.N. Terrorist lists, and has been banned in Pakistan. LeT is an ally of al-Qaeda, the Taliban and is part of the global jihadist network. The LeT has proved itself as a ruthless and prolific attacker of not only Indian by international targets. During the 2008 Mumbai, Indian attacks the terrorists killed 28 non Indian civilians.

Headquarters and Leadership:
The leadership of the LeT and their main headquarters are well known both to the public and intelligence services world wide. The LeT and its parent organization Jumat-ud-Dawa are led by Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. The JUD was founded in 1990 and acts as a humanitarian organization offering social services and religious instruction in Wahabi (Saudi Arabian) Sunni Islam (SATP Staff, 2010). This is the same type of umbrella organization that groups like Hezbollah and Hamas use to ensure a base of recruits and support for their militant arms. The groups current headquarter is near Lahore, Pakistan.
The current leaders of the LeT and JUD is the, afore mentioned Hafiz Mohammad Saeed who acts as the Emir for both groups. Saeed is an Islamic scholar who preaches that war against the unbelievers is the ultimate duty of all Muslims. Zakir-ur- Rehman Lakhvi who serves as the groups chief or military operations, Haji Muhammed Ashraf LeT’s chief of finance, and Mahmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq who is a LeT financer and is credited with being the main financier behind the establishment of the LeT and its activities in the 1980s and 90. Bahaziq is a Saudi national and conducts his activities from there. All of these men have been designated on the U.S. Department of Treasury’s designated terrorist list and have had any assets in the U.S. or it jurisdiction frozen (Treasury Targets LET Leadership, 2008).



Support:
Pakistan’s Inter-Services-Intelligence agency (ISI) is a known supporter of the LeT during its creation and even after the banning of the group by Pakistan. The jihad waged and supported by the ISI serves a strategic purpose in tying down Indian military and security assets that could be facing Pakistan across the line of control that separates the two countries. The ISI also helped create and is still supporting the Taliban now fighting U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Pakistani control or influence in Afghanistan gives Pakistan the strategic depth it thinks it needs against India (Coll, 2004). After the 2008 Mumbai, India attack Pakistan arrested LeT’s leader Hafiz Saeed but he was released in June of 2009. This shows further that Pakistan has no intention of trying to stop LeT or JUD activities. Funding for the group comes from a variety of sources donations from Pakistani, and Muslim Kashmiries, the Persian Gulf, and it is reported from the ISI as well (SATP Staff, 2010).


Attacks:
This is just a partial list of the attacks carried that the LeT has claimed or has been accused of.

August, 2000 Rajwas, India armed militants (terrorists) killed 30 persons at a community kitchen.
January, 2001 Srinagar Airport, India terrorist killed five civilians another attack killed eight security officers
December, 2001 New Delhi the attacks kill 12, India blames Let and Jaish-e-Mohammed
May, 2002 and Indian army bases is bombed killed 36.
August, 2003 Mumbai, India two bombings killing 40 (Global Security Staff, 2008)
August, 2008 the LeT is suspected in the suicide bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul Afghanistan. The Afghan, Indian, and U.S. Governments also blame the Pakistani government in having a hand in the attack based on intercepted communication between the ISI and the attackers (Mazzetti & Schmitt, 2008). The attack killed 54 people.
November, 2008 Mumbai, India the Indian Government blames the LeT for the well coordinated attacks against a train station, hotels, security officers, and a Jewish center that resulted in over 160 deaths. Pictures of the attackers show welled armed terrorists carrying out coordinated attacks throughout the city. It has been learned that the terrorists were giving nearly real time intelligence from their handlers in Pakistan via cell phone. Hamid Gul the former head of the ISI is suspected as being one of the handlers of the Mumbai attackers (Roggio, 2009). While not a direct link the former head of Pakistan’s main intelligence agency participating in terrorist attacks would at least indicate tacit support from the Pakistani State.

While this review of the LeT is not about Pakistan’s role in terrorism it should be noted that when groups like the LeT or the Taliban are mentioned the ISI is not far behind. Also Pakistan’s refusal to take substantial action against the LeT or JuD following the evidence obtained after and during the 2008 Mumbai attacks would indicate further State of support or at least acceptance of such attacks made against Pakistan’s main enemy, India.


New Articles:
http://www.middleeasttransparent.com/spip.php?article4957&lang=en&id_forum=11759
In this interview with the Emir of the LeT Hafiz Saeed makes his world view and what he thinks the obligations of all Muslims is to fight jihad (jehad) in the name of Allah. However throughout the interview Saeed denies any allegation to ties of terrorism and tries to refute any Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai attacks. Meanwhile he and his organization preach the jihad in the name of Allah is a Muslim’s sacred duty.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8664179.stm
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab the only Mumbai attacker that was captured is sentenced to death in an Indian court. This article also points out that only after a great deal of evidence was accumulated did Pakistan acknowledge that Qasab was a Pakistani citizen that the attacks were in part planned in Pakistan.

http://www.hindu.com/nic/dossier.htm
This is the dossier of evidence showing LeT’s involvement in the Mumbai attacks.


Bibliography
Coll, S. (2004). Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 . New York: Penguin Books.
Global Security Staff. (2008). Lashkar-e-Tayyiba / Lashkar-e-Toiba / Lashkar-i-taiba (LeT). Retrieved May 19, 2010, from Global Security.org: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/lt.htm
Mazzetti, M., & Schmitt, E. (2008, August 1st). Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials Say . Retrieved May 19, 2010, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/world/asia/01pstan.html?_r=1
Mir, A. (2008, December 6). Interview with Prof Hafiz Mohammad Saeed. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from Middle East Transparen: http://www.middleeasttransparent.com/spip.php?article4957&lang=en&id_forum=11759
Roggio, B. (2009, January 7). Mumbai Attackers Cheer After Ordering Murders Over the Phon. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from The Long War Journal: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/01/mumbai_handlers_in_p.php
SATP Staff. (2010, May). Laskar-e-Toiba: Army of the Pure. Retrieved May 19, 2010, from South Asian Terrorism Portal: http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba.htm
Treasury Targets LET Leadership. (2008, May 27). Retrieved May 19, 2010, from US Department of Treasury: http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp996.htm

Lone Wolves, single attackers, and sponsored attackers

During the course of the last four months got two very different opinions on these matters. It is my view that our government including the FBI has been reluctant to classify lone wolf attackers such as the Ft. Hood shooter and the Arkansas recruitment center attacker as terrorists. Also our counter-terror experts are saying that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism....Well I had a professor who works for the FBI say that he thinks his department does a good job of identifying terrorism as such even though it might come later than people would like. Secondly another professor agrees that current Islamic terrorism is all about the jihad. This professor is just as frustrated as I am about our government since the 19802 has not recognized the driving force is in fact jihad.

That being said how do we stop the recruitment of young Muslim men and women to the jihad. It is not a military mission even though eventually they will have to be fought. Since we can agree it is a religious issue the next question would be why will Islam not renounce terrorism in its name? Could it be as Daniel Pipes and Robert Spencer and many other continue to say and that is that Islam is fueled and expanded by jihad.

Fuel for thought.

Hezbollah

I have wanted to post this paper for awhile but waited until I was done with school to do so.

Hezbollah: The Party of God

Viewed as both hero and villain, Hezbollah is possibly the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world today. Hezbollah’s worldview is fueled by the perception that the Muslim world is experiencing a period of deep crisis and as a result, members of the organization are encouraged to strike at the forces of evil in the world in order to accelerate the final battle between Muslims and the West (Hezbollah Dossier, 2009).
In 1982-83 Hezbollah literally exploded onto the international scene with attacks on U.S. Marine and French army peacekeepers in Beirut, Lebanon resulting in nearly 300 deaths. This was followed by attacks on the U.S. embassy in Beirut which killed the top six Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives in the Middle East (White, 2006). Hezbollah then began a campaign of kidnapping westerners, primarily Americans. Two of these kidnappings resulted in the torture and murder of the CIA station chief in Beirut, as well as a Marine Colonel working for the United Nations. What made these attacks even more effective is that there was no evidence directly linking Hezbollah to these actions (White, 2006). This ability to deny any culpability protected Hezbollah and its sponsors, Iran and Syria, from retaliation. Hezbollah’s ability to deny any involvement is part of its strength. It is a well known fact that Hezbollah was behind theses attacks but without any ability to draw a straight line to them as the perpetrators the United States was unable to take any significant action against the organization.

U.S. Embassy Lebanon 1983

Hezbollah’s next phase of development is what makes the organization potentially even more dangerous because it can cover its attacks in a cloak of legitimacy. In 1992, Hezbollah entered the world of Lebanese politics as a legitimate political party. The Hezbollah candidates, supported by a massive Iranian-sponsored electoral machine, scored a victory and won eight parliamentary seats. At the same time, Sheikh Nasserallah, the leader of Hezbollah voiced his staunch commitment to the continued armed strategy of Islamic resistance to Israel (Ranstorp, 1995). The political growth of Hezbollah and their continued control of the southern part of Lebanon made the organization a force to be reckoned with in Lebanese politics. Hezbollah’s new legitimacy enabled them to turn their terrorist tactics against Israel into a national resistance movement. Even while working to consolidate Hezbollah’s gains in Lebanon, the international wing had grown in strength and capability. In 1992 and again in 1994, Hezbollah struck Israeli and Jewish targets in Argentina killing 113 people. Imad Mughiyah the supposed leader of Hezbollah international is suspected of being behind these attacks. Even though, as in the past, there is no direct proof of Hezbollah’s involvement (White, 2006).
In 2000, Israel pulled the last of its forces from southern Lebanon, a move that further increased Hezbollah’s standing in the Middle East and Muslims world wide. No Arab army had been able to stand and fight, let alone defeat Israel or any other Western army. Hezbollah was now credited with not only driving the U.S. and France from Lebanon but now the Israelis as well (White, 2006). While Hezbollah was growing its military and political strength it was also reaching out to its Lebanese brothers and sisters. This outreach included the building of schools which served to perpetuate its message to new generations. As well as schools Hezbollah supplies healthcare, builds roads and even water routes not only for its Shiite brothers, but also for a wide array of the Lebanese population (Hezbollah Dossier, 2009). These social programs are services that the Lebanese government had not been able to provide it citizens and serves to further increase Hezbollah’s standing.
The rise and success of Hezbollah would not have been possible without outside support. To this end, Iran as the largest and most powerful Shiite entity in the Middle East is credited with forming, supporting, and to some great degree leading Hezbollah. It was Iran’s desire for more control over Hezbollah that Sheikh Nasserallah was put into the Secretary General position in Hezbollah (Ranstorp, 1995). The support from Iran plus Hezbollah’s popularity along with its armed military might have fixed them to the Middle Eastern landscape. With Hezbollah, Iran has a way to wage jihad directly against Israel the United States.
The years 2000-2006 were spent well by Hezbollah and Iran. During these six years, Iran and Syria increased their assistance and support of Hezbollah. Both countries regard Lebanon as their front line against Israel and Hezbollah as their strategic proxy. Iran, along with Syria has upgraded Hezbollah’s military capabilities, primarily by providing the organization with rockets and constructing an arsenal of between 12,000 to 13,000 surface to surface rockets of various ranges. In addition, Iran also provides Hezbollah financing (more than $100 million annually), training in Iran and Lebanon, supplying state-of-the-art weaponry, and intelligence about Israel (Hezbollah as a strategic arm of Iran, 2006 ).
These weapons and training were put to use in 2006. When in retaliation for a Hezbollah raid that killed and captured several Israeli soldiers, Israel attacked Hezbollah and other Lebanese targets. Not only was Hezbollah able to survive this attack, but were in some areas, were able to stop and force back Israeli advances. During this war Hezbollah was able to keep up a steady bombardment of northern Israeli towns. Once hostilities ended, Hezbollah had not only survived, but also with Iranian assistance, helped rebuild areas of Lebanon destroyed by Israeli attacks. Again Hezbollah proved to the Arab world that the Israeli’s could be fought to a stand still furthering the legitimacy of Hezbollah’s military wing as defenders of Lebanon.

Soldiers leave Lebanon (Photo: AP)


Hezbollah’s rise to prominence in Lebanon and its influence on regional matters is two fold: (1) Hezbollah’s political leverage over the Lebanese government and (2) choices by Hezbollah’s leaders to moderate their objectives to achieve domestic political goals (Wiegard, 2009) . Hezbollah’s message has changed to match the environment it finds itself. The audience will dictate the message Hezbollah’s leadership delivers.
1. Jihadists: The use of militant language and holy war.
2. Nationalists: Avoid jihad analogy and calls on Sunni, Shiites, Christians, and secularists to fight for Lebanon.
3. Pan-Arabic: Point to Israel as a colony of the west and denounce Europe’s imperial past.
4. International: Cite United Nations resolutions and claim Israel violates international law (White, 2006).
The ability of Hezbollah to change it political tactics has resulted in a terrorist organization that has achieved political legitimacy. This makes directly taking on Hezbollah a challenge to Israel and the West, as it is hard to single out a legitimate political party for attack. Directly attacking Hezbollah would only increase this organizations stature as a defender of Lebanon. While the United States views Hezbollah as a terrorist group, Lebanese Shiites, some European countries and much of the Arab/Muslim world do not (Hezbollah Dossier, 2009). It must be said that Hezbollah’s support of Palestinian terrorist groups is a major reason why Hezbollah officially remains a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State and several U.S. allies including Israel, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom (Wiegard, 2009) .
The growth and maturation of Hezbollah since its inception in the 1980s have brought the organization political clout and conventional military capability. This however does not diminish Hezbollah International ability to strike international targets. Hezbollah has cells operating all over the world, especially in the United States (Hezbollah Dossier, 2009). There has also been documented Hezbollah cell activity in the Isla de Margarita and the town of Ciudad del Este in the tri-border area of Paraguay (Kinsell, 2001). There has also been an Iraq arm of Hezbollah formed that has gone into combat against U.S. and coalition forces.
The question now that Hezbollah has become a major Middle Eastern force is what threat does the group pose to the United States? Hezbollah has been active with Iran in attempting to disrupt U.S. measures to bring peace and security to Iraq (Hezbollah Dossier, 2009). With both Iranian Qods force and Lebanese Hezbollah members captured in Iraq, Iran is waging yet another proxy war against its sworn enemy the United States. U.S. Air Force Colonel David Bacon stated on May 5, 2008 that coalition forces are holding detainees who indicated that Hezbollah, is training Iraqi exremists at Iranian Qods force training camps outside of Tehran, Iran. These cases first appeared in early 2007, after the capture of Ali Mussa Daqduq a Lebanese Hezbollah commander in Iraq. While Iraqi Shiite may look upon Iran as an enemy of Iraq, they view Iran as an ally against the U.S. (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs U.S. Department of State, 2008).
While Hezbollah maintains cells in the United States, using these cells would be a cause for retaliation directly against Hezbollah and perhaps even Iran or Syria. With its usual pragmatism this may be the reason no U.S. mainland targets have been attacked by Hezbollah. This could change if the U.S. continues to expand the war on terror by specifically targeting Hezhollah, or its sponsors Syria or Iran, then the threat level would rise immensely (Hezbollah Dossier, 2009). Hezbollah does not have to carry out any attack on the U.S. or the West directly or alone. Director Imad Mugniyah (On February 13, 2008, Mugniyah was killed in a car bombing in Damascus) of Hezbollah International is believed to have interactions with jihad groups and narcotics traffickers worldwide. This network blends Hezhollah and al-Qaeda. The existence of the international aspect of Hezbollah, accoriding to research, proves that the organization is part of an internal jihadist struggle that uses crime and state support to wage a campaign of terrorism (White, 2006). This blending of jihadist groups Shiite and Sunnis with the same agenda is a hard target for intelligence agencies and law enforement to track and interdict due to the fluid and sometimes short lived nature of such alliances.
Before Hezbollah is given the international legitimacy that it craves and is close to receiving. It should be remembered that Hezbollah, before 9/11 had killed more U.S. citizens than any other terrorist organization. It should be noted however that apart from Iraq Hezbollah has not launched any attacks against the U.S. partially to avoid the war on terror and partially to keep its forces intact to use against Israel. Daniel Byman, a professor in security studies at Georgetown University, says there is no question about the terrorist ageenda of Hezbollah. It might have credibility in the Islamic world, but its record of blooshed and hostility speaks for itself. It is not a question of whether the Unites States should stop Hezbollah, Byman writes but how (White, 2006).
While Hezbollah’s intentions maybe hidden by its charities and some political legitimacy. It should be remembered that Hezbollah was founded on the idea of jihad. This jihad has included terrorist attacks targeting American and European military and civilian targets in Lebanon during the 1980s, suicide and rocket attacks against Israeli civilians and is suspected in the hijacking of TWA flight 847 in 1985 (Wiegard, 2009) . With Hezbollah being supported and guided by Iran with its constant rhetoric of “Death to America” and calls for the destruction of the “Jewish Entitiy” there is no question that Hezbollah has been and always will remain a terrorist oganization. It is only be a matter of time before the world has to confront them.

Bibliography
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs U.S. Department of State. Iraq Weekly Status Report. Status Report. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of State, 2008.
"Hezbollah as a strategic arm of Iran ." 8 September 2006. Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies. 17 August 2009 .
"Hezbollah Dossier." Center for Policing Terrorism. 16 August 2009 .
Kinsell, Jeremy. "Hezbollah Cells in Paraguay Upset the Neighbors." 21 August 2001. Jane's Terrorism & Security Monitor. 16 August 2009 .
Ranstorp, Magnus Dr. "MIDDLE EAST, HEZBOLLAH'S FUTURE? - PART 2 ." 1 February 1995. Janes's Intelligence Review. 16 August 2009 .
White, Jonathan R. Terrorism and Homeland Security. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009,2006.
Wiegard, Krista E. "Reformation of a Terrorist Group: Hezbollah as a Lebanese Political Party." Studies in Conflict and Terrorism (2009): 669-680.

One more assignment and I am free

Four year degree in 2.5 years not bad for an old man.

Hope

Read today that some of the richest mineral deposits in the world have been found in Afghanistan. What a boon for the people there problem is as corrupt as the government is they will probably squander it. I do know that the war will intensify to gain control of the resources. I do hope the best for the Afghan people and maybe inshallah they will benefit from this find. Maybe now Karzi will let his military and NATO push the Taliban back into Pakistan and give his government some breathing room instead of the ticky tack stuff we have been doing. For those who think COIN operations are just hand holding they are wrong. So far we have not done one of the most important phases that is give the government breathing space. This is done by killing the terrorists that cannot be bought. However it will also depend on the Afghan government, military, and police to stop or at least minimize the corruption to levels that do not directly harm the population.

This was very cool

Over the last few days of school I have received some very nice compliments from fellow students about how interesting, insightful, and educational my discussion board postings have been. That is always very good to hear from peers. When this semester is over and I am done with my degree course work I will be posting some of my better stuff.

Be Safe Brother

My brother is now in the Stan. Be safe, get you and your gang back home. See you in a few months. Oh by the way blow the hell out of some bad guys for me.

Need some help with a little counter-cyber jihad

This is a Facebook page for the Voice of Jihad. In the left hand corner is the report function. We need to knock this page and its over 1000 friends off of Facebook for other reason to piss them off.

I normally do not stray in to domestic politics

However today the will of the people to govern has been taken over by a group of people that think that they in fact know what is best for us. 55 percent of the U.S. population declared their opposition to the current health care reform being voted for today. Our new sovereign masters have decided it is what is best for us and to top it off it is the IRS that is going to enforce it. Great.

Maybe Just Maybe they are trying to help

Dawn News reported that an American born al-Qaeda commander was captured Sunday. Let me emphasize that this guy was born in the U.S. just in case anyone misses the point. The United States is not protected by its oceans in this war. Also California born Adam Gadan and convert to Islam and long time mouth piece if AQ released a new video today praising the Major Nidal the Fort Hood killer. Al-Qaeda central is a shell of itself however it is supporting the leaderless jihad in ways such as this. AQ is happy as long as there is Islamic resistance it does not have to be flying planes into buildings it can be any type of attack that shows that Muslims are still fighting the Great Satan.

On happier news it looks like the Taliban and their foreign allies are having a little dust up of their own. This type of think makes me giggle. Thanks to the Long War Journal for this piece. A Fox news report puts the number of killed at over 50 this morning. Remember the Hekmatyar has been fighting since the Soviet invasion in 1979. His group ranks right up there with the TTP in launching attacks against NATO and Afghan forces.

Cyber Warfare

I maybe a little out of my depth in this class but what I have learned even in the first week is fascinating. Tell you how ignorant I am on the topic you can actually go out on the web and hire sites to do DOS (denial of service) attacks on others. Also script kiddies are people that do not have a lot of computer experience themselves but use available tools on the internet to go out and mess with people. This is just in the first week.

Some Interesting Thoughts

With COIN warfare being the chic today people thinking there is no fighting and killing that needs to be done. This however is incorrect in the take and hold phases an area or city must be taken from opposing forces. Taking these areas involves kinetic operations which kills the other team. The next phase is security which looks to defend the people against further insurgent or terrorist attacks. Victor Davis Hansen brings an interesting perspective to this argument. There is no telling how many jihadis were killed in Iraq in the years leading up to the success of the surge.

Counter terrorism and counter insurgency involve fighting and killing as well as taking the jihadists that are captured off of the streets forever which will involve incarceration at a facility such as Gitmo for a very long time. The reason for this incarceration is that the released jihadis are going back to their fighting ways.

Problem with Pakistan

As I have stated in the past the hub of jihad terrorism is Pakistan, with the arrests made over the last few weeks one would assume that the Pakis would be happy to turn over some of the Taliban leaders to the Afghanis or U.S. authorities. Well in a decision made this week Pakistan's courts have ruled that there will be no hand over of the Quetta Shura members

Arrests

Over the last couple of weeks Pakistan has arrested some very senior Afghan Taliban leaders including the second in command to Mullah Omar. However Pakistan as usual is not doing this out of a sudden need to crack down on its own child. Pakistan is still seeking its all important strategic depth and needs the needs to play a role in any negotiation between the Taliban and Afghanistan for political reconciliation. Without an Afghanistan that is not partially influenced by Pakistan there is the feeling in Islamabad that they are again surrounded. This is the situation that resulted in the initial Taliban onslaught. The problem with the Pakistanis is of course now they have their own terrorist problem from the Pakistani Taliban. This group of Taliban however are not seperate from the Talibs that operate primarly in Afghanistan nor is it seperate from the remains of al-Qaeda and there is the rub. Pakistan needs the Talib to continue the jihad in Kasmir so a complete crackdown on any of these groups is out of the question. There is an interesting article in Dawn that explains this a little more.

Saw a great quote today

"21 century technology combined with 12th century fantacism has turned the whole world into a tender box"

Kicking a PAO to the curb

I know we like to keep the media informed about current operations. However yesterday a story came out about Marine Force Recon being deployed behind Taliban lines in Marhja, Afghanistan...This is not something that should be talked about until the guys get back not during current operations. I hope everyone realizes that our enemies actually do watch the news and telling them hey look out for the helicopters coming your way may not be smart. Just my humbe opinion.

It is time to call a spade a spade

If this story out today about U.S. Muslim soldiers attempting to poison their fellow soldiers the then there should be no doubt in anyones mind that in fact Houston we have a problem greater than anyone wants to admit. CBN news has broken the story stay tuned for this one.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's confession

Worth the watch warning graphic at places.

I have been quiet about current operation in Astan

So far Operation Together has gone off fairly well. The Taliban are again using human shield becuase they know our ROE which all but prohibits to the point of costing US lives the use of force that would endanger civilians. Our grand father would be find this extemely amusing as they destroyed Europes cities. Keep in mind however this is a different time and and different war.

The main threat of the Taliban to combat troops is of course the IED, the biggest challange is to find them, and clear them before they go off. Well this Marine Col. is having a hard time doing this seems the Talib keep placing mines as fast as their guys can clear them. Here is a suggestion put a platoon to guard the intersection....

Also big happenings in Pakistan with the capture of the Talilban's number two and military commander in Pakistan. I wonder how much that cost us. For those that need a reminder, Pakistan's ISI encouraged the creation of al-Qaeda, the LeT who brought us the Mumbai attacks, and of course the Taliban. All in the name of keeping India off balance and creating strategic depth.

Pakistan's problem

This article from Dawn sums up Pakistan problems. They are actively encouraging Jihad in Kashmir. Guess where these jihadis train, the Federal Administered Tribal Areas. Where do they go for combat experience? Afghanistan....So we have an ally if not actively encouraging jihad then tacitly supporting it.

Took some time off

I got finished with school and took a month off to read, rest, and just gather my thoughts. I know no one reads this anyhow so it is ok.

Haqani

You have to see this if you don't want to watch the movie I understand it angered me. Anyway these are the people we are fighting the Haqani network is responsible for a great number of US military and Afghan and Pakistani military and civilian deaths. They need to go away any sympathies about the lions of Islam should dissapate after you watch this