Developing a deeper understanding of terrorism today to aid local law enforcement tomorrow

Analysis by Security Consulting Investigations, LLC
"Your premier private investigative service worldwide."
Dr. Ross L. Riggs, Director

1 October 2014

THE ISLAMIC STATE is terminology that is worthwhile as a non-identifier which aides U.S. media in re-drawing the lines as to what constitutes 1) a Member of the Islamic State 2) a State Action by the Islamic State (as compared to non-State action and classified as a 'private action' even when the subject identifies themselves in allegiance to the Islamic State and declares their actions as designed to further the Islamic State. In other words, IS has become a tool for the politically correct to redefine it however they need to for their purposes.

If one traces the etymology of the term Islamic State, a direct correlation can be found with its predecessors of ISIS including but not limited to: the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria; ISIL, the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant as well as others. The purpose of the recodification of the terminology is to bolster the Obama Administration's claim following the death of Osama bin Laden that al Qaeda is decimated and on the run, that terrorism as such was eliminated from the known threats for the citizens of the US by al Qaeda's demise.

Nothing, of course, is further than the truth - al Qaeda has been growing and morphing into all varieties of terrorist outlets all across the Middle East and northern Africa. One cannot deny the vitality of the terrorist movement, unless, of course, you consider events such as the pathetic attempt by major media outlets in the U.S. kowtowing to pressure from the Obama Administration to label the beheading of Colleen Hufford, age 54 and the brutal stabbing of Traci Johnson, who remains in serious condition, by Jah'keem Yisrael a known Muslim extremist who tried to convert co-workers to Islam and screamed Islamic phrases as "workplace violence". According to reliable sources, Nolen began attending worship services this May at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City. This is the same Mosque that Breitbart News report that Imam Suhaib, who had ties to al-Qaeda mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki used to attend.

Under the category of "NAH...HE DIDN'T REALLY SAY THAT, DID HE?" is the
report on CNN September 30th during the morning expose' on the Oklahoma beheading case, stating that the prosecutor was not going to seek the death penalty, the talking heads of psychobabble were declaring the actions by Jah'keem Yisrael, aka Alton Alexander Nolen, a result of the build-up of family and personal pressures since he was a child and the resulting violence was the proximate result of his environment. The anchor, John Berman, closed the

segment with the statement, "this case is a difficult case (referring to the beheading)...any way you slice it." In fact, the news watch Buzz Feed News counted 3 times in 10 seconds that he used the phrase referring to the beheading.

A SECOND THREATENED BEHEADING IN OKLAHOMA CITY - MAN ARRESTED
After a verbal altercation and on-going difficulty in an Oklahoma base nursing home, one employee threatened to behead a female employee. The man, arrested on charges of TERRORISM, claimed that he represented ISIS. Here are the basic facts from MAILONLINE:

• Jacob Mugambi Muriithi, 30, worked 20 miles away from beheading scene;
• A Muslim, he was fired on Wednesday for the threats at Bellvue Nursing Home;
• Muriithi told the victim he would cut off her head and post the footage on Facebook;
• Police arrested him Friday - the same day  Alton Alexander Nolen was identified as the suspect in the beheading at  Vaughan Foods in Moore, OK; 
• Muriithi is now being held on terrorism charges with his bail set at $1million.  

First - it is critical to reinforce with local police and with the public that other than a very rare "in the right place at the right time" kind of moment, police very seldom have the ability to "prevent crime" or "protect the citizens" to understand the concept, refer to this author's published article "To Protect and Serve". There is only one person who must accept the responsibility to protect and that is the individual who is facing the attacker. Police respond to a call for help which means that the attack has already taken place. If police take it upon themselves to be the ultimate guardian of the population then every time they fail to be at the exact right spot at the exact time, they will count themselves a failure - great for destroying a job satisfaction and increasing stress exponentially. If the public actually believe that the police officer will come springing out of a phone booth, blue tights and a red cape ready to whisk them to safety, they will certainly be eager to vote down the next safety

levy and bad mouth the police every chance they get.

Can crime be prevented by having a police force that is strong, resilient, professional in appearance and highly visible with a great track record of cases solved and convictions received? Yes! Absolutely! The "less stupid" criminals will go hunt their prey in cities where the probability of being apprehended either in the act or following the investigation is much less. The point, however, is that the individual citizen must be ready at a second's notice to not be a victim. (I have another whole diatribe on why we should drop that word from our language all together, by the way!) The local citizens must be willing, equipped and prepared to defend themselves. Local law enforcement can learn from these recent instances however and take action to prevent such acts of terrorism in their communities -

FIRST ACTION POINT: Local Law Enforcement should get behind quality, self-protection training for their citizens; everything from identifying trouble, reporting suspicious persons and events (sometimes to their employers and to local police).

Recently in a small town in NE Ohio a 90 plus year old woman who lives alone was nearly stabbed to death one evening because she partially opened her front door to someone asking for 組asoline・because his car broke down. This assault never had to happen. A peep hole in the door. A front camera with a video screen, or simply knowing that as a 90 year old woman, she does not answer the front door after dark. Yes, it is a sad commentary on our times but, these are the times in which we live and we must be prepared to protect ourselves.

SECOND ACTION POINT: Local Law Enforcement should train employers on their responsibility to take the reports by employees of bullying, extreme behavior of any kind, and threats very seriously and have a course of action laid out based on the type of threat or incident.

THIRD ACTION POINT: Develop connections within neighborhoods. COPS NEED TO GET OUT OF THEIR CARS - talk to people, develop a rapport with young people, elderly people, shop owners, - Cops need to develop their people skills. The earliest signs of someone about to cause serious trouble (even within normally closed communities like a Mosque) there are always people who either know or suspect something is building and about to happen. Usually these people would tell the authorities if they had someone they trusted and that they knew how to reach. It does not happen overnight but it will never happen if the department does not start.

Here come the nay-sayers with "not enough money, short on personnel...we're running from call to call now and have no time to stop and walk the beat, eating the grocer's apples and getting the kitten down from the tree (oops, that's the fire department's job...skip that last one!)

There are always excuses. There are always obstacles. PRO-ACTIVE POLICING requires no longer being satisfied just going from call to call as "responders"...Someone once said, "if you always do what you've always done, you always get what you've always gotten."

If you go all the way back to 9-11, there was information out there about the hijackers. The citizens who were in contact with them - such as at the flight school - were not trained on what to be looking for, and there was no connection for people to know who to call, how to call, or what to report. The car bomb in Times Square - how many times did those guys drive cross-country and go around buying up chemicals in quantities that only the world's largest hair salon would need?・Did you know that those guys did not exactly fit the description of "Che' Robere's House of Hair". Someone, somewhere, had a gut instinct that these guys were up to something, but "who you gonna call?"

Agencies must not forget the lessons of 9-11 and begin to retreat behind their walls of non-cooperation. Organizations, such as the International Counter Terrorism Officer's Association, continue to support inter-agency cooperation, training, and information sharing. We have the tools, the people, the equipment and methodologies to stop these attacks but we have to get back to some good old fashioned police work.

Beheading of French tourist - The Islamic state claims responsibility

A 55 year old professional mountaineering guide from Nice France, Herve Gourdel was kidnapped on September 28, 2014 by a jihadist group called Jund al-Khalifa (caliphate soldiers). She had been hiking in an Algerian national park. The group claims allegiance to the Islamic State. They had threatened to kill Gourdel unless France stopped bombing ISIS targets in Iraq. A search by a large contingent of security forces of Algeria in the Tizi Ouzou region failed to locate Gourdel. Thirty minutes after President Obama urged the world to

unite against ISIS and destroy what he called a "network of death". ISIS released the short video of Gourdel's beheading.


According to the Langley Intelligence Group, "an international appeal from ISIS in which it called on its backers everywhere to attack Europeans...jihadists in the Philippines declared that they were holding two Germans hostage and would kill them unless Berlin withdrew support for the U.S. led campaign against ISIS or paid ransom...jihadists in a wide array of other locations, including Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Pakistan and the Caucasus are among those who have pledged allegiance to ISIs, which is gaining supporters around the world...as this terror network grows, so too does the danger to the security of Americans and other westerners who seek to travel the world."

EquineNow
Find horses for sale, used tack, saddles, trailers and more. List your horse or tack for free if you are looking to sell.

SCI REPORT: DR. ROSS L. RIGGS TALKS ABOUT TERROR

April 21th, 2013 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

AMERICA is in a state of war. Al Qaeda, AQIM, AQAP, Iran, Hezbollah, HAMAS and an untold number of agents from foreign countries and our own home grown terrorists seek to bring about their desired changes by terrorizing the citizens of the United States into inaction, wrong reactions and worse, surrender. The key to defeating the would-be terrorists is intelligence. Agencies both official and private sector work ceaselessly to prevent further tragedy. Groups like the Langley Intelligence Group (LIGNET)i, Griffith Colson Intelligence Services (GCIS)ii and the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)iiidevelop methodologies for intercepting chatter from across cyberspace and a host of other areas; but their unequivocally best intel comes from viable and vetted HUMINT or human intelligence. HUMINT can be simply defined as: that which you are told by someone in a position to know the truth. Examples are many about those who have trusted a particular source for reasons other than a solid track record and have come up on the short end of quality information at a critical time.

The contingency manager and those responsible for conducting real-time risk analyses depend on all types of sources for their information. Chatter, of course, is one of those. Most sources come with some degree of fallibility because factors change, variables, by their nature, are often unpredictable and let’s face it, the future is not knowable to any degree of certainty. Human Intel, boots on the ground, is the single most reliable source; depending of course upon whose feet occupies those boots. How can you, as a contingency manager, develop the kind of resources you must have to do your work, the work of saving lives by up front, ahead of the curve information that is actionable and accurate? After a short review of the concept of such a resource, the folks at SCI and GCIS have prepared a systematic approach; a plan, if you will, that contingency managers who may be either novices or old hands should find useful. First, understand the Why you need such resources, because they take time to develop, commitment to keep and patience to protect. If you do not fully comprehend their value, you will not find it worth the effort to pursue. That is a decision that eventually you will regret. Begin now with a commitment to limit the number of regrets you carry with you into retirement. Not having good HUMINT does not need to be one of them.

The threat was real. Opposing armies had gathered on the border and were lying with an ambush set. The story here is true; no names are changed because none are innocent. The opposing enemy was from the ancient region of Philistia. Their opponent was the armies of powerful King Saul; King of Israel. Saul needed to know when and where the Philistines would strike. He needed good Intel and he needed it immediately. The historical text reports that Saul went to a medium, a fortune teller, a witch or simply a person who believes (or causes others to believe), that they can communicate with the dead. In this case, the Witch of Endoriv successfully sees the deceased Samuel, Saul’s former advisor. Saul gets his HUMINT directly from the deceased judge of Israel. In this case the news was particularly negative for Saul but there was no denying its veracity.

Professional intelligence agents usually do not contact spirits, mediums or witches. Not only is it an unwise and unfruitful practice, there is a biblical restriction on it. So how do Intel groups help authorities to avoid another Boston, another Benghazi, Oklahoma City, Beirut, or 9-11? The key for this particular article is to look at what has happened to our intelligence matrix because of the source of the Boston bombings. First, we must recap what exactly the Intel Matrix is and then note the changes that Boston has brought to our understanding of it.
The Matrix done correctly is more than a decision making model that looks good at a briefing. It is an every risk manager’s key for keeping his mind focused on situational awareness, contingency planning and risk abatement. How can it be such a miracle and why does the Boston bombing case make such a direct impact on this model? There are two crucial questions which must be wrestled with in order for the answers to make sense. Those who have used it properly have found it to be an amazing tool.

How can the Risk Matrix be such a miracle? First, understand that any tool is only as good as the hands of the artist or craftsman that holds it. The same is true for the Matrix. By thinking through possible and probable risks for any team under the risk categories of criminal, medical, geographical and political, a team can rate those by their probability and their impact. It is not their placement on the matrix that is important, but the movement of a risk over time across the Matrix from SW to NE or from low impact/low probability to high impact/high probability. It is the movement of risk upon the map. A perfect example of this was Benghazi in 2012 where for months the probability of a terrorist attack was increasing and the negative impact it would have was climbing. Pre-Benghazi Intel made a streak across the Matrix that looked like a chart of rising health care costs! In the months since Benghazi new threats or re-awakened older threats have alerted managers to risks that were not even being considered in 2010.

It is within the confines of this example where already in 2013 the probability of events from China and from Korea was realized and what was not seen as a threat was identified as an expanding risk. When two young brothers, originally from Chechnya, brutally bombed the revelers at the Boston Marathon an entirely new risk came to the fore. The complete lack of regard for human life that it takes to set a large explosive at the feet of an 8 year old boy is the trademark of Chechnyan Muslim extremists. Who can forget the Beslan School Massacre perpetrated against children by these madmen who claim to be freedom fighters but in reality have an ostentatious hunger for the cruelest, most vicious forms of homicidal madness?

It is within this context that Americans must now understand their risk matrix is expanded by the probability of further attacks against the U.S. by members of these Chechnyan groups that may well be underwritten by some faction of Al Qaeda. A likely scenario is that the AQAP (Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula) is the state sponsor of this recent series of events in Massachusetts. An official situation report states that the Boston attacks had “…unmistakable parallels with the smaller scale terrorist attacks that radical Islamist groups based in Yemen and Pakistan have attempted in the United States since 2001.”v The situation report quoted here agrees with the analysis of the GCIS and its Executive Council that groups such as AQAP and others have moved toward smaller attacks that can be perpetrated by small cells operating virtually independent of the team. The sitrep quoted here lists similar bombings in the U.S. since 2001:


    •    NY Subway bombing attempt Sept 2009 – an Afghan citizen arrested after attempting to purchase chemicals for a TATP bomb
    •    Underwear bomber Dec 2009 a Nigerian man brings a bomb sewn into his underwear – credit for the event by AQAP
    •    Times Square bombing attempt, May 2010 a Pakistani attempted to blow up a SUV in Times Square. Pakistani group Tehrik-e-Taliban was behind it.


“The Heritage Foundation listed a total of 50 terrorist plots against the United States in an April 2012 report.”vi

AQAP publishes a magazine titled Inspire designed to encourage the young of Islam to reignite the violence against the west. It is the continuation of the propaganda of Al Qaeda that is designed to bring young men from wherever their homes might be to wage Jihad against the West. Available on the Internet, in a recent edition was an article Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom by the AQ Chef.vii

Are attacks such as the Boston bombings and the Ricin sent to our Washington leaders an end in themselves or a methodology to divert America’s attention in preparation for a major attack? The Director of GCIS and its Executive Council has considered this question and has determined that if nothing else, Boston has set the stage for just such an event. One of the earmarks of groups such as Al Qaeda is to set up a smaller scale attack to observe the responses of emergency personnel and then fine tune the larger attacks to take advantage of those planned responses.

The term conspicuous by its absence applies to the lack of attacks on the western half of the United States. Could it be that these recent attacks are precursors to attacks which are not only bigger but geographically distant? Certainly, Oklahoma City was in the west, but it was a true homegrown terrorist without Al Qaeda ties. When discussing threats to the western parts of the U.S., groups such as Abu Sayyaf are of interest with their reach from SE Asia to America’s islands and west coast which can be accomplished with very little difficulty.

Still, American authorities in the western states will continue to look toward Asia as well as the Middle East and everywhere in between. Deputy Chief Michael Downing, Commander of the LAPD Counter Terrorism Group recently told GCIS’s Director that “In this region we have active terrorist plots…government of Iran operatives, Hezbollah, sovereign citizen, homegrown violent extremists, animal rights groups” and others.viii

 GCIS invoked a concern that even as the west coast braces for what could be a missile attack from Korea; there remains a paramount concern over the vulnerability of schools, particularly their central charges: the children. Whether it is during the school sessions or as they are in transit to and from the school, engaged in outdoor activities or at school events such as sports competitions the variables multiply which cause the risk factors to continue to grow. It is impossible for any person other than the individual’s themself to protect themselves because we have chosen to live in a free society. That sentence bears repeating. Because we have chosen, as Americans to live in an open and free society where the restrictions on personal movement, choice of locations to live, shop, worship or just ‘be’, are fairly few; we cannot depend on anyone other than ourselves to protect us when someone tries to hurt us. We might be blessed that when a crime starts to happen to us six police officers just happen to be standing next to us, but that is usually not the case. Our safety services do their absolute best to fulfill the commitment that has been unfairly slapped upon them: to protect and serve. It is not logical to expect that anyone will be there when you need help. Police respond to calls for help. The dictionary defines respond as: “Do something in reaction to something else.”ix

Police or guardians throughout history have normally protected the citizens in their care by alerting them of coming danger. The role of the citizen on the watchtower goes back to ancient biblical times. In both the Wisdom writings of Judaism and the Old Testament of the Christian faith, the watchman was required to sound the alarm. He is warned that should he fail to sound the alarm as danger approaches, the blood of the citizens would be on his hands. However, if he did sound the alarm and the citizens ignored it; they would bear their own guilt.x The fine line between sounding the alarm and playing into the terrorists’ hands by escalating the tension and concern in a community is part of the art and wisdom of intelligence reporting. The key point must remain however that the official’s duty was to alert the citizen of the impending danger. It was up to that citizen to act, to be prepared to respond to the threat. Director Griffith articulated the precept well: “I urge the American people to be ever vigilant and cautious, shedding the threat of fear for the spirit of due diligence and American citizenship.”xi


With the role of the watchman understood, contingency managers demonstrate that the Matrix is created to be flexible to bring to bear new threats and new information. One recent example is that the BBC reported that North Korea has placed warheads on rockets in threatening an escalation of their rhetoric.xii Additional terror related attacks and events continue to take place even as, in the U.S., the Boston Bombing story consumes most of the air time. In the Peshawar Province of Pakistan, a suicide bomber got within the secure zone and within 500 yards of the U.S. Consulate, killing 12 and injuring 31 (29 Mar 2013). Sources on the ground report that the target of the attack was the Frontier Constabulary (FC) Commander’s convoy. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack in retribution for the Constabulary’s on-going actions against the Taliban. The Commander escaped with only minor injuries.xiii

In each of the cases reported here, the primary ingredient that will define the difference between a deadly attack and one that has not only warned the citizens but provided the information necessary for apprehending those responsible is human intelligence (HUMINT). Very simply, this refers to boots on the ground. Individual people, most living their normal everyday lives within a region where trouble is threatened who know what to report, when to report and to whom to report. That is HUMINT. Of course, there are agents of the U.S. living and working overseas with the primary purpose of providing HUMINT back to their agencies. The examination of the need for HUMINT, the development of appropriate sources and their maintenance are critical subject matter for intelligence services. Without HUMINT resources, intelligence groups can only function to re-evaluate the information disseminated by others or take a best guess approach to forecasting. Attempting to create the Matrix without the advantage of people on the ground is to lose the eyes, ears and critical opinion that the Matrix is designed to offer. Each organizational leader must proactively develop new resources for HUMINT.

An incredible example of the need for boots on the ground type of intelligence resulted in the bombings in Boston this month. According to a Security Consulting Investigations Situation Report dated 19 April 2013, “News that two brothers from the Russian break-away province of Chechnya who have lived in the United States for several years were behind the April 16 bombings makes it likely that they were at least (pseudo) “homegrown terrorists,” possibly radicalized by al-Qaeda propaganda on the Internet. There also is a strong possibility that the two men were somehow recruited and trained by al-Qaeda operatives to stage the Boston attack.” A further report indicates that sometime in 2011 or before an ‘unnamed’ foreign government (Russia) contacted the FBI to request that they research the two young men for the possibility of them being involved in extremist and radical behavior as regards to Chechnya. Initial reports stated that the FBI returned an inconclusive report and that was apparently the end of any investigation into either of them. However, more recent reports indicate that the FBI has known of the two brothers as far back as 2009. The mother of the slain bomber stated that, “My son would never do this,” Tsarnaeva said. “He was controlled by the FBI for three to five years, they knew what my son was doing, they knew what actions, on what sites on the Internet he was going,” she said. “So how could this happen? They were controlling every step of his.”xiv According to Tamerlan’s (the slain bomber) father Anzor, he was present when the FBI interviewed Tamerlan in his rooms at Cambridge. NEWSMAX reports also that at one point the Tamerlan who was the older of the brothers, had been involved in a domestic violence altercation and was eligible to be deported but was not.xv

The SCI Situation Report reveals also that: “The possible involvement of Chechen nationals in the Boston bombing would be consistent with efforts by al-Qaeda — especially Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) — to recruit non-Arabs to conduct terrorist activities. This appeared to be the strategy AQAP employed when it recruited Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called ‘underwear bomber’ who tried to destroy a civilian airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. Nidal Hassan, the Fort Hood shooter who shot 13 and injured 32 in 2009, had been influenced by and was in email contact with AQAP radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who lived in Yemen at the time.  Al-Awlaki also played a role in influencing other terrorist plots in the United States and the UK.  Al-Awlaki was killed by a U.S. drone strike in September 2011.”xvi Security Consulting Investigations’ continuing analysis indicates that since the strict border requirements along the majority of the U. S. CONUS have made it difficult for Americans to travel overseas for training by Al Qaeda as well as for Al Qaeda operatives to get into the United States. Therefore, the use of electronic media, social websites and training through local mosques has become the standard fare for radicalization of those who seek affiliation with the terrorist organizations. Intelligence operatives within the United States would have very little ability to intercept those here in the CONUS who are taking part in such training unless their international communications tripped a particular set of identifiable words, phrases or locations that alerted super-computers and the analysts working them to review that communication. However, trained boots on the ground in the places where the training is believed to originate could lead operational resources to be able to either capture or destroy the source of the training. Often, it is the only reliable way to apprehend the truth.

HUMINT in places such as North Korea, the Cartels of Mexico, any of Al Qaeda’s branch offices, (including Abu Sayyaf on Mindanao in the Philippines), across the Balkans and the Mediterranean, and particularly in North Africa is more valuable than gold in today’s market! Quality HUMINT, for example, was responsible for redirecting the investigation into who was responsible for the half-hearted attack on the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo in October of 2011.
xvii xviii

The brand new embassy building, set far back from the street was the focus of one lone gunman who strolled across the street with a rifle in hand as if to make a one man charge against the heavily fortified structure. Bosnian security on the exterior of the building moved haplessly to cut off the path of the intruder, still a good 200 yards away from the exterior walls. Those who sent this misguided, if not brave, zealot on his mission planned to heap the blame for the supposed attack against the U.S. upon the Wahhabi Muslims, a violent sect who live in the mountains surrounding the city of Sarajevo. Their aim was to undercut U.S. and U.N. support for the Muslim population of the Bosnian Federation thus improving the chances for those in the Republik of Serbska (in the Bosnia Herzegovina pseudo-coalition) who desire to break free from the Dayton Accord treaty that keeps the divided country loosely together and are bargaining for Serbska to rejoin Serbia. Boots on the ground were able to clarify that the man was not clearly cognizant of the ramifications of his actions. Also, that he had been led to take such action by evil men who manipulated him. These men knew they were ostensibly sending this man to his death, expecting that when he was shot and killed he could never tell the story of those who played mind games with him to get him to attack the Americans. (A sharpshooter shot him in the kneecap and ended his siege which lasted almost 20 minutes as he shot off 105 bullets, never using his two hand grenades. Although he was, by religion, of the Wahhabis, he was not articulate enough to understand the full ramifications other than he wanted to die a martyr and go to heaven. Neither did he care about the political games in which he had become a disposable pawn. The purpose of recounting this short tale is that no act or artifact is small when it is being parlayed into an international incident driven by evil purposes. HUMINT may be the single strand of truth within the story. HUMINT allows investigators to pull on those loose threads to unravel the sources of these threats and attacks.

Often reports that come from within areas such as Hebron within the West Bank area of Israel show complete unrest and the probability of increased violence against the Jewish quarter of the city and are often vitriolic in their speech and seldom indicate any sense of hope for the communities to survive. Having put my own boots on the ground in Hebron just one week after a reported chaotic and violent episode, it is possible to report on the exact tenor of the Jewish Quarter irrespective of what the conventional wisdom (CW) might be from those who have not been in the Quarter. In contingency management it is crucial to understand the normal disparity that is prevalent between the CW and reality. Even when one cannot get a first-hand reading on the situation, a contingency manager may appropriately factor in a degree of +/- with the CW when preparing analyses. How much of a plus or minus depends a great deal on the experience and artistry of the analyst. There is, as mentioned, a certain amount of art work to developing a strong indication of movement along the Matrix one way or another. Not every person with a computer and an imagination is cut-out to be an analyst.

Selection of the proper personnel for international risk analysis is critical to long-term success of both the analyst and the agency. As with most assignments in cross-cultural settings, the primary qualification for a good boots on the ground type of analyst is language. It is impossible to underestimate the value of strong language skills. Naturally (no pun intended) the best analyst for a given culture is a natural born citizen of that culture. When that is not possible then a good selection is an expatriate who knows the language fluently and is well versed in the geographical area within which he or she is to be operating. Most bog sources are not analysts at all but, just that, sources. They need not be as highly trained or skilled as the analyst but operate under the care and guidance of one. There are particular types of information that are most helpful in any given situation. A bog source that is not intensely trained as an analyst can be taught which type of information is the most helpful in just such a situation. For example, in a criminal or political matter the names of the head of the snake are invaluable but not always available. What can be found is where the movers and shakers of a particular scam or operation, even terrorist cells, are principally operating. In the event of a terrorist cell, the comings and goings of specific individuals is very crucial. Are they leaving the country and if so, at what kind of schedule does there seem to be. When people leave, how many and for how long?

The excellent HUMINT will be able to access that information for the agent without becoming noticed. The operative should look for possible candidates for grooming as a source that come across this type of information in their normal course of business. You do not want someone who lives in one part of town completely opposite where the activity is, nor do you want someone who is obviously western or requiring an excuse to be in the neighborhood and while there is seen as always asking questions. A solid source can gain the information needed without ever asking questions.

The source must not be prone to gambling, girls and gratuities of any kind. To follow the cliché lines of a James Bond movie, those types of folks are just dying to get caught and turned against the handler (people who work on behalf of the analyst or their company to maintain the connection to the source, including dropping payments all planned to keep the actual analyst or the company for which he works unidentifiable by the source if at all possible. This is the way one hopes it will work but it is not often reality. Often time and circumstances do not allow for such an elaborate set up. The source may be someone directly connected to the analyst and is doing what his lot in life has thrown for him to do. The two speak when needed and the analyst will usually come away with some piece of the puzzle. In fact, on the field, he may never see the entire picture, that will be up to the FUSION Centers to keep all the pieces coming together.

We have addressed specifically some of the sources that are used and the methodologies for selecting sources when it comes to counterterrorism. Those are highly prized pieces of information because the fall-out from a missed opportunity there is always in the 5 by 5 or the extreme NE section of the Matrix which is never good. Timeliness of reporting capabilities is a critical factor for a BOG unit. Mentioned earlier were scenarios involving the health outlook for a region or perhaps the housing market if the economy is about to take a nose-drive. In these days, economic collapse of one country, such as the debacle on Crete right now, can cause a domino effect and a myriad of difficulties worldwide. Stock markets are particularly vulnerable to the economic fissures that occur when dictators are thrown out or indictments handed down. The vacuum that can be created in a power structure can also set the stage for major and rapid change. HUMINT on the rapidly changing nature of such series of events are vital for the analysts to know in as close to as real time as necessary. It is unwise to have a source that cannot be in nearly immediate contact. When events occur so rapidly, the delay in information can be a deal breaker. Weather related events can be critical and yet the information on them cab be completely useless if they are not real-time events. The speed at which a tsunami hits will not allow for second guessing because it is not known which way the wind has shifted. Lives will literally hang in the balance when time becomes critical. The nature of the information can be as deadly as the lack of it when it comes to something as dangerous as an international health issue. The avian or bird flu as well as the swine flu that swept across parts of Western and Central Europe sent analysts running to books on the subject for they were attempting to read-up on the risks that they had never accounted for in their mock-ups.xix

Analysts, nor their sources, are expected to be well-versed on every possible threat. They should know, however where to find the accurate information as well as the Best and the Brightest who deal with these risks all the time or have studied them. The world will not (and need not be) impressed with either the source’s or the analyst’s IQ. What will matter is if they are well enough versed in the nature of the event that they can discuss it rationally and without a concern that what they are about to say will be contradicted not out of academic concern for accuracy but from them simply not understanding the facts well enough to speak on the issue.

When the health and safety of one’s fellow countrymen is in the balance, little can be said that is noteworthy if it is not also minute by minute immediately at hand.

The development of quality analyst/source teams is of paramount importance in today’s world. Never before have so many world-class issues on the burner all at the same time. SCI’s careful consideration of the recent events in Boston and Washington D.C. has led us to feel confident that the event in Boston had a two-part Al Qaeda linked plot that was disrupted in part by the quick apprehension of one and the death of the other suspect. They had much more explosive devices upon their persons and in their possession. Those tools are only distributed with a purpose. Theirs’ was not completely fulfilled. Therefore:
   
    •    The brothers, now of notorious reputation, were assigned further roles but failed to fulfill them.
    •    Whether it was the brothers’ assignment or another, SCI believes that a second front was to have been opened by them but it did not materialize.
    •    SCI believes the second front will be somewhere either on the west coast of United States or near there. A primary target is expected to be Las Vegas.
    •    SCI also believes the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska’s oil fields remain a probable, though less so, target.

Developing qualified, vetted and available sources of human boots on the ground intelligence requires first dedicated agents and analysts that will work hand in glove with the resource. The source should preferably be a national partner. If it must be an expat then their language skills must be as close to a natural citizen’s speech. This is not only for the accuracy of the translation but also the subtle nuances of the culture (some are not so subtle). There must be an ability in the source to detect when he is being fed information for purposes other than those which are helpful to our nation. The source must be free from addictions and avenues of entrapment that are so common to men, so well used by women (which argues for female resources over males – an argument I feel free to push forward). The source must be capable of both timely communications with handlers and to step into a hyper-connectivity when things turn critical. Depending upon the nation or culture within which the source is working, he or she must be resilient to the crush of working within shrouds of secrecy that can be more choking than intriguing. When all is said and done, even with the best possible intelligence sources - if the machine into which it is all fed fails to perceive the nuances, track the changes and deliver the warning in a timely manner; all is for naught.




Allow us at Security Consulting Investigations on behalf of our team at Griffith Colson Intelligence Services and a myriad of partners across the globe echo Sir Winston Churchill from the days after the British were pushed back to the sea and it seemed the war all but lost.
From the Home Office he issued the following communique: (Strictly Confidential) 28 V 40 (May 28, 1940)

“In these dark days the Prime Minister would be grateful if all his colleagues in the Government, as well as important officials, would maintain a high morale in their circles; not minimizing the gravity of events, but showing confidence in our ability and inflexible resolve to continue the war till we have broken the will of the enemy…”xx
xxi



i www.lignet.com
ii http://griffithcolsonintelcenter.tumblr.com
iii www.investigativeproject.org
iv Note play on words, 1960 television sitcom with Bewitched – the part played by Agnes Moorehead: Endora)
v www.lignet.com Security: the Americas: “Could Al Qaeda Be Behind the Boston Marathon Bombings?”
vi Ibid.
vii Ibid.
viii GCIS Communication 19 April 2013
ix Encarta Dictionary: English North America, accessed 4-21-2013 2312
x Ezekiel 33:1-9
xi GCIS Communication 19 April 2013
xii http://bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21974381
xiii http://dawn.com/2013/03/29/explosion-in-Peshawar-casualties-feared/
xiv http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/fbi-interviewed-bombing-suspect/2013/04/19/id/500471?s=al&promo_code=13381-1
xv IBID.
xvi Security Consulting Investigations, LLC Situational Analysis Report 19 April 2013 Dr. R. L. Riggs
xvii http://www.newsytype.com/13222-terrorist-attacks-us-embassy/
xviii http://www.flarenetwork.org/report/syntheses/article/holy_war_state_terrorism_and_organised_crime_in_bosnia.htm
xix atiburrillo.redliberal.com/011080.html
xx atiburrillo.redliberal.com/011080.htmlChurchill, Winston Their Finest Hour The March to the Sea The Riverside Press: Cambridge 1949 p 91
xxi http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1207763/Privately-Churchill-called-bloody-Yankees—lovers-ardour-fawned-flattered-flirted-woo-U-S.html



ABOUT DR. ROSS L. RIGGS:

Dr. Ross Riggs is a former Louisville Ohio Chief of Police, and trained with the United States Air Force where he was an honor graduate of the Air Force Security Police Training School at Lackland AFB.

After 30 plus years in public safety, law enforcement and military weapons systems security, he now enjoys consulting both on security issues and by conducting private investigations. His company, Security Consulting Investigations, LLC, is licensed by the Ohio Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security as a Class A company. SCI assists private persons, organizations, businesses, schools and religious institutions in developing and maintaining a high degree of security consciousness.

Dr. Riggs also works overseas with both ministries and other organizations to help prepare for crisis intervention in some of the most difficult regions of the world.

He is one of America’s foremost security entrepreneurs.

CYBER-WARFARE: A Military Response Capability

  April 5th, 2013 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

A short time ago, I presented a lecture series on Cyber-Warfare on ICTOA Radio as part of a Lecture Series: Counter Terrorism in the United States 2013

The following is an update to that lecture:

Cyber-Warfare has become the tool of our enemies; particularly, the Chinese have used this capability to go beyond nuisance hacking to espionage and the deliberate shutting down of resources necessary for the daily functioning of services with a goal of adversely effecting the United State’s economy and its dollar’s showing on world markets. In the recent lecture, SCI took the position that certain of these acts are acts of war against the United States and companies continuing to do business with avowed enemies of the U.S. were committing nothing less than treason. SCI has also held that until recently, the strongest response from those in the ‘IT world’ was to provide counter-measures for attacks after they happen and do very little to track down the perpetrators of the attacks to force them to cease any further attacks by eliminating their capability to do so.

A report released by the Pentagon today has changed the playing field quite a bit. Although much of the report is classified so not all parts can be shared in this venue, SCI can report what has been released on the expanded capabilities of the U.S. military to seek out and destroy those who are engaged in acts of war against the U.S.

The first step was to delineate what, in cyber-technology, constitutes an act of war. There must be a way to articulate what that line is and how it has been crossed to permit a military response in retaliation for the attack. There is a distinction made between cyber attacks that are espionage and/or theft and cyber acts of war. General Keith Alexander, head of the Cyber-Command was quoted as saying, “If the intent is to disrupt or destroy our infrastructure, I think you’ve crossed a line.”^[1] Lt. Col. Damien Pickart a Pentagon spokesman confirmed that there have been developed rules of engagement that “provide a defined framework for how best to respond to the plethora off cyber-threats we face.”^[2] `

Perhaps the primary effectiveness of the new development in cyber-warfare from the military standpoint is the wisdom the Pentagon has shown in implementing a solid strategy. First, they defined for their commanders what constitutes an act of war in the cyber-world. Secondly, and most encouraging is that they have given military commanders both the clear guidance they need in such instances but also the authority to take retaliatory action without seeking a presidential clearance to act. The military response can be swift, sure and definitive. That is a combination that creates a solid deterrence to those who seek to harm the interests of the United States. 

One CSO of a major security company was quoted as saying, “This is putting the world on notice, particularly the Chinese, that we’re tired of them breaking into private companies.”^[3]

In a time when the world has been receiving mixed messages from the Administration about our willingness to protect our own, the Pentagon should be applauded for stepping up to the task of sending a clear message that the line has been drawn and to cross it will bring a definitive response.

_________________________________

 

[1] Pentagon Develops Rules of Engagement for Cyberwar USA Today 5 April 2013 5A

[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.

Off Your Rocker News?

January 27th, 2013 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

Suffice it to say, I never thought I would ever write the following proposal unless I was writing concerning one of the foreign countries in which I work in affiliation with our network of professionals. However, recent information requires that SCI report it to you for you to determine your take on its validity. We at SCI will examine the reporting sources and report to you our findings. For now, we are encouraging citizens (regardless of the validity of this initial piece of information) to think in terms of Defense Condition (DEF CON) levels as was part of our Cold War mentality. As citizens, we should now expand our potential threat analysis to include threats coming from within our own borders. In this case, a threat against U.S. citizens from factions within our government is the supposed threat.

The issues which have been reported are:

1. Reports which claim the U.S. government is stockpiling ammunition, including rounds that are hollow-point which is a type of high powered shell that is not used by any of our military. According to “Off the Grid News” – as much as 1.6 billion rounds (five rounds per every U.S. citizen) is the amount currently stockpiled by the U.S. government. Of that number, 450 million are the hollow-point rounds described here. The agencies primarily involved in stockpiling are first and foremost, the Department of Homeland Security, then the Social Security Administration, the National Weather Service, and FEMA.
2. The executive branch of government is reported to be asking U.S. military officers if they would be willing to fire on U.S. citizens if ordered. The information was made public by 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner Jim Garrow who claimed he was told this by one of America’s foremost military heroes. Is there a link between that requirement and Maj. Gen. Jim Mattis, head of Central Command being told to vacate his office by the weekend immediately on the heels of the announcement by Garrow?

Note that SCI recommends caution when following any news story and the more exceptional the story, the more caution that should be applied. SCI is aware that some have read the ‘Off the Grid News’ as about three inches away from being over the edge itself, or as is intimated in the title: “Off Your Rocker News.” I have not found them as such. They are more ‘survivalist’ in their thinking than I but their information has always been fairly solid.

45 ACP Hollow-point

Perhaps the biggest ‘tell’ that this could be nothing more than internet lore is the large number of posts, many of them identical in their wording. The catch is that most of these posts are dated one year ago. Yes sir, spring 2012. Last year it could have been a pre-election scare tactic. This year, it a) could be true because of the civil unrest that could come because of the economy or b) it is just a hoax that refuses to die.

An important point to remember is that vigilance is never unrewarded. It might be that his incident is another hoax or something that has found its virtual life on the internet and there it remains. However, vigilance is its own reward. It may never happen as outlined in this particular scenario but by remaining vigilant, the government will not be able usurp the authority of the Constitution nor exercise illegal acts upon the backs of its citizens. The unconstitutional use of executive powers of the office of the president can be stopped through the vigilance of the people.

“I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” – Thomas Jefferson

“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” Ronald Reagan

SECURITY UPDATE: MALI – ALGERIA

January 30th, 2013 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

FOLLOWING the  LINK to the TERRORIST ATTACK on ALGERIAN OIL PRODUCTION PLANT  by AQIM, the HOSTAGES and MALI INSURRECTION

A series of events indicate that the unrest that brought French troops alongside Mali forces outside of Timbuktu may be related to further Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Now, British Prime Minister has promised a ‘sizable amount’ of British forces to have boots on the ground within the month (though not in a “combat role”).  Escalation of international action against the Islamic rebels in Mali comes even as French President Hollande praises the French and African units’ success. Prime Minister Cameron may not have sufficient support of the British legislature to do more than a show of force and solidarity.

Algerian gas lines were severely damaged from the explosion at a gas production facility, an apparent terrorist attack on January 16, 2013. Experts believe that the attack on the production facility was planned several weeks in advance in anticipation of France’s intervention in the Islamic rebel actions.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb

The taking of hostages appears to have been part of the planned attack and not just an unintended consequence of the AQIM attack. What remains unclear is the outcome of the Algerian attempt to rescue the hostages. The number of dead hostages, hostage takers and rescuers is still not known. 

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb: In northwest Africa, AQIM has entrenched itself in the sub-Saharan Sahel region of southern Algeria and in Mali and Mauritania, in addition to the mountainous Kabylie region which borders the Mediterranean Sea in northern Algeria. The group, estimated to be anywhere from several hundred to around 1,000 members strong, is now a trans-national terrorist franchise.

"UNDERSTANDING AQIM" –
            SCI and GSCI21 to focus on AQIM in upcoming updates

And Then There Were None

December 18th, 2012 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

The lines extended down the aisle and near the door in the first store. Came the second, the story the same, doubled lines, clerks on the phones working computer searches as quickly as the computer system would allow. The price was not an object. The seller could command whatever he would choose, the seller held no compunction at meeting the demand. In part, it was the season; a time for gifts and giving for a splurge on items not normally bought in such quantity. But that was not the driving force behind the exchanges. The purpose was to be found upon the morning news programs and from the bellicose discourses of those in places of power in Washington. In anticipation of a knee-jerk reaction from Washington over the Connecticut school shooting, citizens were buying up firearms as fast as the stores could sell them.

Tragedy had swept down upon the nation once again and the faces of the victims would strike at the soul of every person with a heart. The innocence of children had been decimated in a few short minutes by a single deranged lunatic who had somehow put his hands upon a .223 rifle and a Glock semi-automatic pistol. It would take only a couple of hours after the shootings before those full of anti-gun rhetoric would fill the halls of Washington. The forces behind the U.N. Small Arms Treaty, so touted by Secretary of State Clinton, and lackeys of both anti-gun groups and the rogue nations of the United Nations will be quick to be heralded by the current president. Their desire is to move this country backward to a state of restrictive laws infringing upon the rights of the law abiding citizens. They would take aim at the Constitution of the United States, specifically the 2^nd Amendment, namely the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms.

Already a Huffington Post column by an attorney titled, “Supreme Interference: The Justices’ Improper and Dangerous Reading of the Second Amendment” decries the stance that the 2^nd Amendment allows citizens to own guns for hunting and self-defense and is not what the Founders declared when arguing for a ‘well-regulated militia’ obfuscating the point that militias by their nature are citizen responders to an emergency who are armed, not by the state, but with their personal firearms. Yet, he invokes the appearance of a weeping president calling for something to be done for these horrific killings. Whether it was a tear that the president touched from his eye with a light sweep of the finger or pathetic melodrama; apparently it was enough for this attorney, who places himself above the Supreme Court, to declare the president to be “tearfully confessing” a need for action.  Such will be the diatribes of those who battle against the 2^nd Amendment.

It is upon the backs of the gun holders, sportsman, law abiding citizens, officers of the public peace and those who would secure the blessings of liberty to citizens today and their progeny to stand strong against the public pressure that is bound to come. Often it is said in a whimsical tone that ‘when guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns’ yet it is not beyond the realm of possibility that there are those who seek to permanently withdraw the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms regardless of the criminal elements of society. The enemies of America, of the American way of life, would not hesitate to fully back the cacophony of voices of those who seek to remove citizens’ firearms and their right to self-defense.

In a free society it is almost impossible to completely prevent such tragedies, as this most recent mass shooting, from happening. Had there been a police officer or a legally armed civilian in the school that day, the tragedy may have been diverted.  The country will never know. Americans who value their freedom must take a stand for the law. It is not true that proposed severe restrictions on individual rights for gun ownership will eliminate such catastrophes as these horrific shootings. Sadly, no matter the legal ownership rights of citizens, such events may well continue to be part of the American landscape. Such restrictions would not stop the deranged killer from having a weapon with which to attack the unarmed populace. It would only severely limit the number of persons who may be able to intervene and stop such tragedies from happening.

That does not mean that Americans are hopeless or helpless. As the argument was made in part 1 of this series The U.S. Citizen, the Second Amendment, and the U.N. Small Arms Treaty, for preventing crime, “Suffice it to say, the responsibility does not lie with the local gendarme, a father, a brother, or even the generous soul performing Neighborhood Watch down the street. It can, and must, only reside with the individual.”

World-Wide Turmoil Sets the Stage

December 7th, 2012 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

A MESSAGE FOR NGO’s – MISSIONARIES and their SENDING CHURCHES- WORLDWIDE 
from Security Consulting Investigations, LLC (SCI) your first choice in protection, planning, and training…     

Obama Policies in Middle East Face Uphill Battle

Military progress, according to senior US military commanders, is measurable but fragile.  Financial assistance has done little to develop a sustained commitment on the part of Pakistan’s security forces to confronting extremist elements at home.

Former commercial center of Aleppo Syria Dec 2^nd  (Courtesy LIGNET)

Confronted with these realities, the administration is pinning its hopes for a peaceful outcome on those most resistant to US objectives, the ISI and extremist elements.  Pressing various regional powers to set aside their own and often competing strategic interests to assist in developing a more stable Afghanistan adds another layer of unreality to the strategy.  That approach appears doomed from the start although the administration seems locked into this path at least through the Chicago meeting.
 

Reports of Weaponized Chemical Warheads in Syria May be Ruse to Get Asylum for Assad

According to the Langley Intelligence Gathering Network New reports yesterday that the Syrian military has weaponized chemical weapons could indicate an effort by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to increase his leverage for the terms of his departure from power, possibly to convince Western states to facilitate an asylum deal.

The movement of chemical weapons has prepared them for either aerosol dispersal from aircraft or in bombs. Sources however are skeptical that Syria is actually weaponizing chemical weapons these same sources believe Washington may be fabricating the reports in order to move international opinion toward allowing asylum by Assad to Venezuela, Cuba or Ecuador.

Exiled-Palestinian leader Meshaal Returns to Gaza as Hero

The former target of Mossad’s assassination attempt in the late 1990’s has returned to a hero’s welcome. After gaining international attention with Egypt’s President (of the Muslim Brotherhood) and having brokered a cease fire to the Israeli – Pillars of Defense I November, his return sets the stage for the Palestinian statehood as being pushed by the U.N. This also sets the stage for further trouble with Israel.

Muslim Brotherhood’s  Power Grab Angers Egyptian Crowds

Egyptian protesters demonstrate outside of the presidential palace in Cairo on December 4, 2012 against President Mohammed Morsi’s decree widening his powers and a draft constitution approved by his Islamist supporters. About 100,000 encircled the presidential palace after riot police failed to keep them at bay with tear gas.

China Aims to Dominate Asia with New Aircraft Carrier

December 4, 2012
Many Western analysts have been quick to dismiss China’s new aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, saying it will never match U.S. naval capabilities. Many of those same analysts, however, were taken by surprise last week when the Chinese Navy landed and launched an indigenously produced J-15 fighter jet on the ship’s flight deck. It was a major breakthrough for the Chinese, and a big step forward in China’s drive to become a naval power. For the rest of Asia, it was a chilling sign of China’s growing aggression.

Iran: Military Experts Stationed in North Korea

Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported yesterday that four experts from Iran’s Ministry of Defense have been in North Korea since late October . . . the Iranians are working with North Korean counterparts at a military base near the Chinese border . . . the nature of that collaboration is unknown but North Korea has been the source of most Iranian missile technology...there have been such reports in the past... the Iranian missile experts may be in the country in connection with North Korea’s plan to test a long-range missile this month.

N. Korea Ignores Warnings, Prepares Rocket Launch                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

North Korea appears to be moving ahead with preparations to launch a long-range rocket, despite international condemnation.

South Korean media quoted government officials saying Tuesday that North Korea is preparing the second and third stages of its launch vehicle at the Tongchang-ri facility.

Pyongyang says it plans to launch the three-stage rocket between December 10 and 22. It says the launch is aimed at placing a satellite into orbit.

Its neighbors and much of the rest of the world have warned against the launch, saying it is really a disguised missile test banned under U.N. sanctions.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday he is “seriously concerned” about the launch, saying it would raise tension in the region. Ban called on Pyongyang to reconsider its decision and halt all activities related to its ballistic missile program.

North Korea’s main ally China also added increasing diplomatic pressure, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei warning Pyongyang to “act prudently” and not take steps to escalate the situation.
Seoul’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Cho Tai-young said he hopes China will keep the pressure on North Korea.

“Especially with regard to the Korean peninsula issue, China is a nation that is very closely involved,” he noted. “In that matter we look forward to China playing an active role in maintaining and improving the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula.”

Diplomats from South Korea, Japan and the United States are preparing to meet in Washington this week to discuss the launch, which is scheduled to take place roughly around the one-year anniversary of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Ramifications for world-wide NGO’s, mission and faith ministries

The worlds that have faced missionaries from the first century to now have never been ones waiting with open arms to receive Christ’s emissaries. Paul and the other Apostles faced great hardship and all but one faced execution. John, the only one to die of old-age lived for many years in exile on the Isle of Patmos. British missionaries endured deadly encounters with African tribes and tribal groups across India and Pakistan; Spanish missionaries sought to bring the message to South American tribes and faced death even as hundreds of years later the same was true for, North American missionaries venturing south of the Equator. In our own United States’ wilderness areas missionaries faced death in areas which were home to groups we called ‘Red Men” and even the hardened civilizations of America’s  ‘old West’ of the United States were often extremely harsh on westward moving missionaries seeking to build churches. Missionaries in Asia, even before Lottie Moon’s trek into China, fought disease and hardship as well as severe treatment by locals.

The news accounts described here seek to express the idea of the vast difficulties modern day NGO workers and missionaries face even when not having to deal with issues of widespread violence and hatred. Today’s NGOs and  missionaries face issues not unlike those from centuries before. They go into areas that can be relatively calm and modern or face some of the same dangers as those from before that are relatively unchanged. SCI has continued to develop training for security consciousness and developed methods for contingency planning and risk assessment to help team members be as prepared as possible for all events. For those ‘nay-sayers’ out there that believe that everything is in God’s providence; we point to Nehemiah who took stock of the threats around him then took steps to keep the security level high so as not to impede his God-given mission.

Conclusion: The world has begun its spiral toward Christ bringing time to His own conclusion. These are exciting times to be serving in ministry. We stand at the doorstep of the Rapture, the Tribulation and Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. Is there a better time to be sharing God’s Word and when a people are so and we have so many tools with which to share it! 

If your mission group, agency, or NGO is working in a high risk area, talk to the specialists at SCI. Let us help you help. 

Call and ask for Dr. Ross L. Riggs, Director

SECURITY CONSULTING INVESTIGATIONS, LLC / GLOBAL SECURITY CONSULTING INVESTIGATIONS
WWW.SECURITY-CONSULTING.US   WWW.GLOBALSECURITYCONSULTING.US
director@security-consulting.us  330-956-9561

 

25 x 4.5 or 333(1689.64) x?

November 23rd, 2012 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

TRUE NORTH MINISTRY & SECURITY CONSULTING INVESTIGATIONS, LLC combine to bring you this fresh insight into the background of Operation Pillar of Defense and Casting Lead; the continuing efforts of Israel to stop the firestorm of rocket attacks against their civilian population by HAMAS:

Courtesy CIA Factbook www.cia.gov

Much has been made about the physical size of the Gaza Strip. Sometimes it is in comparison to the size of the Nation of Israel, more often it is not. It is pictured as the tiny aggrieved strip of nothing land attacked by the big bad neighbor that surrounds the majority of her land border. A comparison then in distinguishable terms is appropriate. The facts are that the Gaza Strip is approximately 25 miles long (north to south) and averages about 4.5 miles wide (east to west) and is 137 square miles, (about equal to the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). The Gaza Strip has 1.7 million people (Philadelphia County in 2011 had approximately 1.5 million). (www.cia.gov)(www.netstate.com)

The Nation of Israel, on the other hand, is the land of giant Nephilim and other evil doers – according to the litany of anti-Semitic; anti-Zionist blog posts that show up constantly with hundreds, sometimes thousands of hits. However, the Security Consulting Investigations, LLC and the Riggs Ministry Minute (a ministry of True North Ministry), blogs on this issue will not only not go viral; it will be considered fortunate if two more young people even read it than read the last one. Still, it is here for those who want to learn.

Israel has a population in 2012 of 7,933,200 whereas the State of Pennsylvania in the United States has a population of 12,742,886. Israel is 8,000 square miles, or 263 miles north to south and between 9 and 71 miles wide at the narrowest and widest points. (Courtesy www.lookIsrael.com) Pennsylvania, for  comparing and contrasting purposes is 46,058 square miles or nearly six times as large as Israel. New Hampshire and New Jersey are close to the 8,000 square miles of Israel. (Courtesy www.netstate.com)

Perhaps one of the most interesting facts that the western media, or the world media for that matter, never seem to broach is that only 75.4% of Israel’s population is Jewish. 20.6% of Israel’s population is Arab (Muslim/Druze). That equals 1,636,600 Arabs living and working peacefully in Israel as citizens of Israel. Remember that the Gaza Strip has just 1,657,155 million Arabs. Israel has as many Arab citizens as the Gaza Strip does. Although 100 percent of Gaza Strip’s population is Arab (mostly Sunni Muslim) and according to Wikipedia, nearly all are born in Gaza, still many claim to be Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war. The Gaza Strip has the 7^th highest birth rate in the world according to the CIA World Factbook. A side-note here regarding the inequality in population demographics; one of the primary targets in past years for HAMAS rockets out of the Gaza Strip is the Ashkelon power plant in Southern Israel, just a few miles North of Gaza. The Gaza Strip receives 100% of their electrical power from the Ashkelon site, which employs both Jews and Arabs.

That fairly well debunks the continual outcry of the Gaza Strip’s frailty of being just 25 x 4.5 miles in size against its overwhelming nemesis. Consider the second half of the question posed in the title. What is {333(1689.64) x ?} ? As Operation Pillar of Defense began, reports circulated that one of the key issues that brought the Israeli response was the firing toward Tel Aviv of at least two Fajr-5 rockets that had the range capability and that range includes Jerusalem. The following illustration better explains the issue involving the Fajr -5 rockets, products of Iran and China, also found in Russia’s arsenal.

         Q1      Q2    Q3  GRAD WS-1E  FADJR-5

The details outlined in the illustration are in metric figures. To provide a few simple points to drive home the critical issues: the 333 mm shells are four times larger than the 88mm guns made famous in WWII. “The Fajr-5 rocket is manufactured by Shahid Bagheri Industries of Tehran and marketed by Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization, the 6.5-meter-long (21-foot) Fajr-5 rockets are used by the Iranian army” and can be fired from the back of a 6x6 truck. The warhead alone weights 198 lbs. Its range is 46.5 miles.

Jerusalem is 48 miles from Gaza City which is approximately 6 miles south of the Northern border of the Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv is 44 miles from Gaza City, definitely within range of the Fajr-5.  One more basic mathematical question to consider: the Fajr-5 rocket travels at a velocity of 1689.64 feet per second. That means that the Fajr-5 rocket carrying a 198lb warhead can go from being fired inside the Gaza Strip to exploding on its target at full range of 46.5 miles in 2.42 minutes. The almost 200 pounds of explosive detonate on impact and the rocket has no guidance system on it, so where it falls, it falls. How long, if you were walking in the bazaar of Old Jerusalem, along the crowded, chaotic streets of the marketplace, would it take you to find shelter if you knew a rocket was incoming? (Remember the noise of the market place.) Probably longer than 2.42 minutes. What if everyone started to panic? How long for school bus, or city bus, to pull over and off-load everyone and get to safety? How long for school children to get the alarm and exit to shelters outside on the playground? What if every Fajr-5 rocket can fire four rounds in 4 to 8 seconds each? They can, according to their specifications. Some reports extend their range to 50 miles, as well. (www.http://factualworld.com/article/Fajr-5)

Shiraz Maher of The Spectator, a UK blog claims that Israel has been weakened and HAMAS emboldened, the Muslim Brotherhood given credence and the IDF and Israeli citizens suffering psychological defeat by the encroachment on Tel Aviv by rocket-fire. He claimed: “Israel secured none of its strategic objectives. In fact, in many cases it actually strengthened Hamas and diminished Israel’s security.” (http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/shiraz-maher/2012/11/operation-pillar-of-defence-leads-israel-to-strategic-failure/) However, what Maher sees as more than failure, Haaretz News points out that the actual points made by Maher indicate strategic success. “Operation Pillar of Defense had two strategic goals - one, to reinstate the Gaza cease-fire with Hamas, which had unraveled in recent months amid increasing hostilities, and two, to stabilize the peace with Egypt after the Muslim Brotherhood came to power.”
(www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-pillar-of-defense-achieved-its-goals.premium-1.479674)

 It is also important to recall that not only did the IDF (or other state sponsored groups) see to the directed killing of the HAMAS leader, Ahmed al-Jabarim, the IAF also took out a weapons facility in Sudan where the Fajr-5 rockets were at least housed after being smuggled through Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula; (a point the Brotherhood would prefer not to have to explain on the world stage.)

Another issue that may count as a strategic success for the IDF is the weakening of the Palestinian Authority’s hold on governance in the settlements. “The Palestinian security services are having a difficult time handling the wave of disturbances that broke out over the last week during Operation Pillar of Defense, said a senior officer in the Israel Defense Forces' Central Command Wednesday.” That does not come as a surprise to many on-lookers. It is believed that Iran and their puppet army, Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood kept a distance from HAMAS during Operation Pillar of Defense for several reasons. First is the perceived declining capability of HAMAS to control the security and population of the Gaza Strip. Iran failing to authorize Hezbollah to open a second front against the IDF in the north in case HAMAS did fall to the IDF. The Brotherhood initially stated they would keep the Philadelphia Road open from the south and not block it, as was done by Egypt in Operation Casting Lead. Within 24 hours, however, the regime in Cairo changed course and did block it for fear of the number of refugees streaming into the south from Gaza if hostilities erupted into a full ground war. Rather than strengthening the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, it also became clear that in part due to the large economic aid that Egypt receives from the United States, the Brotherhood was quick to come alongside the U.S. Secretary of State to broker a cease-fire.
 
Opinions will come and go as the cease-fire either holds for some time or collapses within the weeks ahead. The main point will remain, however, that as long as Israeli civilians are within 2.42 minutes of a direct hit from a 333mm warhead, the IDF and the people of Israel stand ready to defend their homeland. Freedom loving people across the world should stand in full support of them. The folks at Security Consulting Investigations, LLC and True North Ministry certainly do. (Genesis 12:3; Psalm 122:6)

Dr. Ross L. Riggs   www.docriggs.com www.security-consulting.us