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."

Anti-Terrorism and The ICTOA 2013 Conference

ICTOA CONFERENCE 2013

Las Vegas

 

 

October 10th, 2013 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

 

Anti Terrorism

Jim Biesterfeld Sovereign Executive Services

951-301-1971 abiest@verizon.net

GOALS of ANTI-TERRORISM OPERATIONS

• Decrease desirability of the target
• Identify terrorist activity
• Decrease the effectiveness of an attack

The key is to make it not financially, politically worth the cost


Title 5 of the USC defines Terrorism (Note: the Fort Hood killings fit the description for a terrorist act very clearly)


LONE WOLF Operations

• Self-Radicalized
• Extremist +
• Many attempts to join regular cause, i.e. Al Qaeda but rejected
• Acts independent of organized groups but may get assistance from such a group for supplies occasionally.
• More difficult to detect – do not ignore the indicators

The Manchester Document – al Qaeda’s Playbook

Target Selection 

                                                      > Blasting and destroying embassies

                                                      > Attack vital economic centers

                                                      > Destroy bridges leading into and out of cities

                                                      > Removal of key personalities  “Those that block Allah’s path”

                                                      Target Recon

                                                           To Identify Potential Targets

                                                     

                                                      > Key function that LE patrol units may discover

                                                      > Gather information about:

                                                                       The enemy

                                                                       The land

                                                                       The installations

                                                                       The neighborhood

‘Collectors’ will:

> Move in two directions

> Often use a rental vehicle paid for in cash

> Have quality ID documents either real or excellent fakes

> Will have a quick answer for why they are in a certain place at a certain time(s)

> May be carrying blueprints or floor plans of buildings

> Will have notes on the physical layout, often these will be laying in plain sight in the vehicle

> Checking access controls

> Monitoring the physical security people

> Interested in types of construction

                  Both technical and non-technical

 Q: What will stand out about them?

A: Maybe nothing but… they will test to see how close can they get?

PROXIMITY

A: Notice how long they stay.

DURATION

A: How often do they show up?

FREQUENCY

“The key is to make it financially, politically not worth the cost.” 

– J. Biesterfeld of Sovereign Executive Services

THE CHANGING NATURE OF TERROR

The following is excerpted from “Counter Terrorism: Cyber-War in Tomorrow’s Mirrors” by Dr. Ross L. Riggs

Jihadists often create extensive on-line personas that enable them to build a following, almost a set of groupies that inflate the ego of the would-be terrorists. These cyberspace braggarts may take the step from the virtual world of cyber based calls for jihad and acts of terror to putting down the keyboard and picking up a weapon. It is WEBehavior's mission to find them before they do.

There are websites and magazines devoted to providing a forum for these virtual jihadists. They will often utilize some of the very same marketing tools that major entrepreneurial success stories in the Western world use to promote their products. 
 

These tools, based on how social media is used and by whom, allow investigators to read and understand the context of information that is prevalent on the social media sites. They are particularly useful when the information is posted by the virtual jihadists themselves. By understanding the nature of the social media posts and appreciating the context of what is said, how it is said, when and by whom, it is possible to deduce if a virtual jihadist is going to engage a target in the real world; where that potential target might be; and when such an attack could take place. 

WEBehavior’s CEO says that radical sites and publications like Inspire offer rewards for loyalty to a site or for an increase in the number of posts on a site by a given individual. The rewards can be extremely trivial inducements for this extended loyalty, a ploy known as gamification. Both the virtual and real-world jihadist then has a claim to fame and it is that inflated sense of importance that opens the door for the jihadists’ writings to be tracked by investigators in the race to stop the next attack. 

Alix Levine and the folks at WEBehavior will quickly admit to you that they are not clairvoyant. They are, however, committed and that commitment has paid off in being able to see today’s cyber war in tomorrow’s mirrors. The information that they are able to glean from exhaustive research has begun to point to where tomorrow’s attacks may come and who their perpetrators will likely be.

Situational Awareness

October 1st, 2011 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

Sometime back I posted a blog on Situational Awareness and the concept of TEDD: Time, Environment, Distance, and Demeanor. In reply to a question for clarification, I submit to you the following:

Mr. Fred Burton from STRATFOR writes,

 “…one common denominator of all the different potential threats — whether from lone wolves, militant groups, common criminals or the mentally disturbed — is that those planning an operation all monitor their target in advance. However, while pickpockets or purse-snatchers case their victims for perhaps only a few seconds or minutes, a militant organization might conduct detailed surveillance of a target for several weeks or even months.”

The longer that a person or group of persons does surveillance prior to committing any type of criminal attack or other illegal operation, the more susceptible to being discovered and even neutralized. The key, as mentioned, is TEDD.  

T (time) - are these people or is this person with you, or near you for too long a period of time, or at several apparently disconnected times? Do they continue to appear, the same person(s) over and over? To know this you must be paying attention to people, their appearance and dress as well as demeanor. Anything that you can spot quickly that will tell you this is the same person you have seen previously. 

E (environment) – do they not fit in the place you are seeing them? If you want to test this, say for example you are a female being followed by a male. If the person does not seem to have an accomplice who is female, or if you want to see if they might, if you can drop into a place that is usually only for women. A ladies store such as a Victoria’s Secret, even though some men do shop there, if this person follows you in and looks totally out of place; you may have identified a threat. Or, if suddenly a female enters the store and pays too much attention to you or follows you as you leave without buying anything; again you may have found our threat (or at least part of it). 

D (distance) - This can be either too close or strangely too far away at odd times or just a sense you get as you notice someone at that distance. 

D (demeanor) – how do they act, particularly when you turn and face them or purposely put yourself in their way. (This is a tactic that must be used only most cautiously when you have ample witnesses like in a very public area.)

Mr. Barton writes,

“An effective CS program depends on knowing two “secrets”: first, hostile surveillance is vulnerable to detection because those performing it are not always as sophisticated in their tradecraft as commonly perceived; and second, hostile surveillance can be manipulated and the operatives forced into making errors that will reveal their presence.”

There is a great deal more to be said on this particular issue but for now, keep these basic thoughts in mind and if there is a marked interest I will follow up with a series of blogs on this topic.

SEC-CON 1

 

September 29th, 2011 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs
 

For those with any military background or those who grew up during the ‘Cold War’ you are probably familiar with the term DEFCON – It has since been taken on for the names of video games and computer hackers conferences, but throughout the Cold War the DEFCON - or Defense Conditions - were 5:

DEFCON 5 - Normal peacetime readiness
DEFCON 4 - Normal, increased intelligence and strengthened security measures
DEFCON 3 - Increase in force readiness above normal readiness
DEFCON 2 - Further Increase in force readiness, but less than maximum readiness
DEFCON 1 - Maximum force readiness.

I introduce to you through this new blog, (which will remain linked with our Homeland Security News Network HSN Police Blotter blog) a new acronym which stands, in part, for Security Consulting, but it also brings with it a mental image of Maximum Security Readiness, and that is what we should be all of the time without going into overload. (We’ll discuss that soon about how to maintain that needed balance.) 

So… here is SECCON 1, a ‘nickname’, if you will, for this site and its HSN link. You will find an RSS link on this site, so, please, follow us, tweet us, LIKE us on Facebook, use our search engine to find blog topics we have addressed since moving to this new site, AND check out SCI’s NEW website at www.security-consulting.us.

Gunfire and IEDs in Assault Against Smalltown USA Fire Department

September 29th, 2011 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

Toledo Fire Dept Under Assault

All of the First Responders who read this, I want you to remember something very clearly, the next time some brilliant citizen, councilman or even co-worker says to you… “It will never happen here in this small town” I implore you to take the necessary affirmative action to help him or her understand the folly...no, rather, the almost criminal negligence of that statement!

This week the Homeland Security Network reported in their Actionable Intelligence Report that not one, but three times in as many days three different fire stations in the City of Toledo Ohio were either fired upon by an unknown gunman or, in one case, an IED was left in front of the building and was made safe by the local bomb squad before anyone was killed or injured. Please allow that to sink in.

Unless you are from Ohio you probably have never heard of Toledo unless through some comedians disparaging remarks about Ohio overall, or Toledo specifically, or unless you are a fan of MASH, the hit TV series of the 1970′s. Corporal Klinger, the cross-dressing draft dodger, hailed from Toledo, loved his “Mudhens", and even got Col. Potter to wear a Toledo Mudhen baseball hat in certain episodes. One would think it doubtful that buried in the back hills of Pakistan, Osama bin Laden had a master plan for taking out Toledo Ohio. Toledo is not far from Detroit Michigan that had, at one time, the largest single population of Muslims in the U.S. - but does that make this terrorist attack one by Islāmic extremists?

Many years ago I led a serial arson investigation, one fire after another in a different small town in Ohio. Those were the work of wanna-be firefighters who didn’t have what it takes to be a real hero. Maybe that is what is going on in Toledo, we won’t know until the facts are all in. But, First Responders, you have to understand situational awareness. apparently these firefighters are either lucky or someone has their head on straight. When gunfire sounded and bullets ripped through the apparatus bay windows, no one was hurt. Someone knew enough when they saw this suspicious item in front of the station to not touch it and instead call the bomb squad to check it. So, was it luck or awareness? I don’t know. I know this… luck cannot be counted on. It is never there when you need it. If your department doesn’t talk about things like risk assessments, analysis, contingency planning, or training for tactical emergency medical care then, as an informed reader, you must get them to listen. That is my biggest obstacle in doing the work that I do. Fighting the ‘it won’t happen here’ mentality and finding ways to get people to listen.

On October 29th, a Saturday, SCI is hosting an 8am to 4pm seminar on Tactical Emergency Medical Response for all First Responders, police, fire, EMS (private and public) through the Stark State College in North Canton, Ohio, just off IS77. I hope the room is filled to overflowing. Be safe, be aware, stay alive…  As Colonel Potter said once in MASH, “Someback home loves you, don’t ask me why.”

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY REPORT

 

 September 25th, 2011 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

(Originally posted 4 April 2011)

US Dept of Homeland Security Announces New “National Terrorism Alert System” to replace the color coded system in place previously. For information, go to: http://blog.dhs.gov/2011/04/new-national-terrorism-advisory-system.html    Effective April 26, 2011  

“Analysis: US still lacks border strategy ~ The  U.S. government has spent nearly $4 billion on various approaches, including a $2.4 billion border fence effort, two deployments of National Guard troops to temporarily bolster the Border Patrol, and now-defunct $1 billion virtual fence.  ( Alicia A. Caldwell, Associated Press)" 

In a recent report by the AP, “The federal government hasn't come up with a comprehensive strategy to secure the United States -Mexico border, even as an all-out war between Mexico and its violent drug gangs has claimed 5,000 lives and pushed hundreds of thousands of immigrants into the United States.”  

One of the key issues that has become apparent since the Obama administration has instituted the Southwest Border Initiative (SBI) where billions of dollars have been poured into a ten foot high fence that has been catapulted over, tunneled under, and driven down; a massive plan for putting video and audio surveillance systems all across the border, most of which will not be installed until 2021, or even 2026, and the hiring of thousands of newly hired Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agents, is the lack of a clear goal. But why is there not a goal in place? 

There has been no accurate threat assessment made by which to construct a goal. If we do not know the number of persons infiltrating the border nor the actual size the drug trafficking problem, then we cannot know the efficacy of the efforts that have been put in place nor what additional measures might more effectively impact the problem. According to the report, over 35,000 persons have been killed including dozens of Americans. What is not clear is how the ongoing war against the cartels by Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s will continue to inflame the already extreme difficulties of maintaining a secure southern border for the U.S. particularly in view of a lack of a solid threat assessment.

 

SECURITY ALERT

 September 25th, 2011 | Author: Dr. Ross Riggs

The following alert was issued by the United States 30 June 2011:

Terror threat — U.S. churches in danger 
Becky Yeh – OneNewsNow California correspondent - 3:55:00 AM

With the recent airing of an al-Qaeda video that encourages Muslims to attack religious institutions, Christian churches are being warned. In a video released by al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn, the American-born Muslim asks jihadists to quickly obtain guns and carry out terrorist attacks against the West.

He states that Muslims are placed in the region to “do major damage to the enemies of Islam, waging war on their religion, sacred places, and things and brethren.”  “That’s very troubling,” admits Steve Amundson of the Florida Security Council. “Adam Gadhan lived here in Southern California for a number of years. He studied under Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi at the Islamic Center of Orange County, which is in Garden Grove.”  Gadahn’s statements to U.S. Muslims follow the death of Osama bin Laden.

In response, the Christian Emergency Network has issued a warning for churches in the United States, and Amundson advises Christians to stay alert.  ”Churches, just like everybody, I tell them to be vigilant; be aware of your surroundings,” he urges. “Don’t walk around like everything’s okay, because we’re in different times now, and it’s time for Americans to be vigilant, be aware, [and] be alert because something could happen.” 

Churches are also advised to have an emergency team ready and to regularly conduct emergency drills.