I like the claim on the 7th slide that says the decoys appear to be real even to thermal or IR sensors.

The report said that at least one gunman walked into a coffee shop and started shooting. A sheriff’s spokesman said the attack was "like an execution".  The four officers were working on their laptops, minding their own business, probably just doing paperwork, when the attack occurred.  Only the officers were shot by the assailant, nobody else was targeted or injured. It is clear that this was an open attack on local law-enforcement officers.

It seems to this correspondent that the United States already has enough troubles with threats abroad, and doesn’t need this type of behavior from its own citizens. Of course, such an assertion would fall upon deaf ears: the assailant clearly didn’t even care about those people working to protect him and his town on just a local level; how could such a one care about his country or the larger problems that threaten us all? 

This type of apathetic, sociopathic behavior feeds right in to the terrorists’ mindsets and goals.  By striking out without warning, without provocation, in a place where there was an expectation of safety, this person has lowered himself to the level of terrorist, and has struck a blow against the people of Washington and the people of the United States, on behalf of the radical terrorist organizations worldwide who seek to destroy the United States completely.

We were fighting enemies from without, how tragic that we must also look for enemies within.

Our hearts and condolences go out to the people of Parkland, Washington, their police department, and the families of the four officers who were senselessly killed today.

afghanistan,iraq,taleban,al qaeda

As one ThreatAxis member makes last minute preparations tonight before departing to Afghanistan tomorrow, this correspondent has been given to wonder about the apparent attempts of the United States to focus more on Afghanistan… and less on Iraq.

Media and other groups around the world are just beginning to notice this trend.  Ever a leader, the BBC reported on this very issue, outlining several of the problems faced by the United States and its allies during the coming months.

The issue is twofold. First, Iraq. There can be no doubt that the war in Iraq was grim. Former President George W. Bush sacrificed his own political career and reputation being what he was supposed to be: a leader listening to his people. Americans have quickly and conveniently forgotten that they are all complicit in the Iraq war to some degree: On September 12th, 2001, everyone was calling for retribution, and crying out in favor of war.  Regardless of any political niggling that may have come later, regardless of perceptions about weapons of mass destruction, President Bush did not push America into war.  America pushed the President into war.

And into war they went.  Iraq is now ostensibly “free” – free of its tyrranical and genocidial dictator, at least – but the official analysis of the security situation there remains “fragile, reversible, and uneven” throughout Iraq.  This key phrase says it all. Right or wrong, the United States went in to Iraq, and this brings with it responsibility to do what is possible to rebuild the nation for its innocent civilians.  The dictator was evil, the terrorists were obviously there… but the civilians were still innocent.  The people who are yammering for their “troops to come home” are the same irresponsible yet ultimately responsible people who were screaming for war and retribution seven years ago.

But this war was fought nowhere if not in the media.  Cameras focused upon, and bureaus replayed repeatedly the terrifying damage to the twin towers, as the world looked on helplessly, with horror.  America’s response was well-documented.   Cameras focused upon, and bureaus replayed repeatedly the terrifying bruality of the war in Iraq, as the world looked on helplessly, with horror.  America’s response was, again, well-documented.  And now there is a new effort, to draw media attention away from Iraq.  America’s response can be easily predicted.

This is especially true when the sheep-like public is given something new to look at: namely, Afghanistan, the second piece of the issue. Here, the entire field is different.  There is not a single leader, bringing unspeakable horrors down with the single pull of a switch.  There is not a single aggressor nation, seeking retribution.  Instead, we have a country overrun by a group of tribal leaders, the Taliban, who themselves are being used by Al Qaeda as a shield for continued operations, all the while placing the Afghanistan populace in peril and pain.  The details are, of course, numerous – Dr. Sean M. Maloney sums the situation up brilliantly in one of his writings which explains why the world is involved with Afghanistan, and should remain involved – however, the short of it is that, in Afghanistan, the allies are clearly the “good guys”, and are loved by the population, and can see themselves as rescuing the oppressed nation from its evil terrorist oppressors – a statement which, although it sounds cliche, turns out to be quite correct.

Clearly, President Obama has a mandate from his people:  End the war in Iraq. But as the military leaders have been telling Congress all along: a responsible withdrawl from Iraq is something that will take time, and, likely, be messy. How convenient it will be to give the world something else to watch, especially something so noble as Afghanistan, during this time.  Americans appear to have had enough of “mess”, and Iraq.  This distraction might just be what the new administration needs to successfully “change course” – while still “staying the course.” Savvy political leaders have long known that a little distraction goes a long way – as does a little media manipulation.  Afghanistan has sadly been forgotten by America, and Iraq is pretty much dead.  Long live Afghaniraq!!!

Against all odds, this correspondent hopes the public can continue to tell the difference.  Afghanistan needs their support.  As, for that matter, does Iraq.

Northrup Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk

Originally uploaded by rob-the-org

Earlier this summer – Military.com/DefenseTech.org published a story saying the Air Force was not ready to retire the U-2 in favor of the Global Hawk.

The key argument – was that the U-2 could collect more info during a single flight – due to a larger payload and more electrical power (more sensors) – than the Global Hawk.

The Pentagon has said it will not retire the U-2 at least until the Global Hawk Block 30, which will carry the Advanced Signals Intelligence Payload, is flying.

According to a Northrup-Grumman press release back in January 2008 – the first Block 40 fuselage was supposed to come off the assembly line back in September.

The fact that the Air Force transferred two early model Global Hawk’s to NASA earlier this year – seems to indicate that that some serious fuselage changes are needed for the later modifications (and that these changes cannot be retrofitted to the earlier models).

Additionally – the on again off again potential sale of the Global Hawk to Korea – maybe back on again. I bet it will only be a Block 20…..

history

The BBC has posted an excellent article here about the last soliders to die in World War 1.  These individuals died within moments of the ceasefire and armistice declared that would bring an end to the war, in innocent, non-combat, yet still all-too-fatal situations.  This amazing article is well worth the read and the time to review.

There is much we can learn from history, which is why the work of our historians is so valuable.  In this case, I am struck by the tragic lack of safety experienced by these men who thought that now, certainly, finally, they were safe.  I am also struck by the magnitude of loss that can occur as a result of the decisions made by individuals, whether out of aggression, fear, communications delays or failure, or just plain fatigue.

As we approach the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I, let us remember all those who gave their lives, in combat or perceived safety, for the freedom we enjoy now, and the peace we may yet experience in our lifetimes.  And let us remember those who still fight, with the hope that they may achieve that peace we all seek.  Our hearts and gratitude go with you all.

Found on Flickr via the Military Vehicles group.

Would have liked to see more of the SU-34.  Looks like a variant of the Su-27, but if it is replacing the Su-24, it is for mid-long range Air to Ground.

From Wikipedia;

Canister shot (or case-shot) was a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. It was similar to grapeshot in which the canister round’s effect is similar to that of a giant shotgun shell. Canister shot has been used since the advent of gunpowder-firing artillery in Western armies; however, canister (or case) shot saw particularly frequent use on land and at sea in the various wars of the 18th and 19th century.

….

The canister round is also known as a case (hence the alternative name of case shot sometimes used for canister shot) and is still used today in modern artillery, particularly in the main armament of tanks. The effect is to turn a large-calibre gun on an armoured fighting vehicle into a giant shotgun. This can be used against enemy infantry even when in proximity to friendly armoured vehicles. The most recent use has been in the 120mm main gun on the American M1 Abrams tank.

Cannister/Case shot

More information is available on the current Cannister round the US Military uses – in this GlobalSecurity.org article.

Millions of Dollars Wasted, Two Lives Sacrificed*

by John Stanton

John Stanton is a Virginia-based writer specializing in national security and political matters. His latest book is Talking Politics with God & the Devil in Washington, DC. Reach him at cioran123[at] yahoo.com. * Part II of this subject to follow at a later date.
According to sources, United States Army brigade commanders privately believe that the US Army’s TRADOC Human Terrain System (HTS) program is a “joke” and completely unnecessary. The HTS program is publicly supported by brigade military commanders, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, only because it is a “pet project” of the currently
politically popular US Army General David Petraeus.

BAE Systems, the prime contractor on the project, has repeatedly been pressured by the HTS program manager and his staff to hire individuals who are not field-experienced ethnographers/anthropologists, but rather Google-fed political and social scientists. In two cases, pre-security clearance award investigations revealed that one candidate recommended for hire by senior staff was a felon. The other candidate had health problems that would have compromised the functions of a deployed Human Terrain Team (HTT). BAE Systems has been the punching bag for the poor decision-making of HTS program managers and advisors.

The tragic deaths of two HTS members — HTT IZ3 Nicole Suveges and HTT AF1 Michael Bhatia — came amidst program management’s confusion over roles and missions, ignorance of threat situations, even dress code problems. Key questions remain open. What’s the role of a civilian ethnographer/anthropologist working with the military in a combat zone? Is a civilian trained to respond to a threat without threatening the life of the team? Should they carry weapons and wear military gear? Are they there to enhance the kill chain, organize and facilitate sporting events, or examine trash dumps for behavioral patterns? What kind of data do warfighters and negotiators really want? What happens when the HTT leaves the site of success? What’s the historical experience of the US military with human geographers? (see David Price, Anthropolgical Intelligence: The Deployment and
Neglect of American Anthropology in the Second World War: Duke University Press, 2008).

Whether all this mattered in the deaths of Suveges and Bhatia is utterly debatable. But according to sources, Suveges was a no-show at many training sessions at Fort Leavenworth and not properly trained for work in a combat zone. She was sent initially to the United Kingdom to recruit there for the HTS program and then afterwards was
ultimately deployed to the volatile Sadr City in Iraq where three weeks later she met her end. One insider had predicted prior to her death that “someone was going to get killed.”

One of the HTS prime movers, TRADOC HTS Senior Social Scientist, Mrs. Montgomery McFate (Phd, JD), took a seven month sabbatical on the eve of the first deployment of the HTT’s to Iraq in 2007. Whatever guidance she had to offer the fledgling HTT’s would have to wait months until her sabbatical ended. Not bad for a $200,000 base salary and $200,000 in overtime, according to reports.

Allegations of HTS members plagiarizing Defense Intelligence Agency reports and articles from anthropology-specific blogs have been made. Remotely using search engines/databases and attending conferences to troll for HTS-related data, and passing that off as legitimate field data, are also alleged. HTS program funds may also have been used to
allow participants to gain advanced degrees.

At the helm of it all is program manager Steve Fondacaro who has been described as a “great used car salesman” but not interested in programmatic details. One of his current goals is to market the HTS program to the controversial AFRICOM project and keep the funding alive. But his task will be difficult. On his watch the Pentagon/taxpayers lost $15 million on the MAP HT software/hardware effort.  The MAP HT software/hardware apparently sits unusable with the blue wiring connections still hanging from shelves where the system was to have been housed and operated.

Sources indicate that sexual dalliances, falsified leave forms, crony no-bid contracts to Fondacaro colleagues (one in which deliverables were not fully provided), and verbal harassment of civilian staff have compromised the US Army’s TRADOC program. The hiring of a former Lincoln Group strategic communications specialist to handle public relations is a sure sign of trouble.

Worse still, the reach-back center at Fort Leavenworth remains understaffed. According to a source, the staff is “in a pinch” because Fondacaro is alleged to have used billets meant for reach-back operations to hire non-essential staff. Reach-back staff at Fort Leavenworth and HTT members in the field “do not communicate,” according to reports.

It is not clear whether Secretary Gates or General Petraeus are aware of these problems but they should be. Warfighters in the battlespace should not have to spend their time babysitting those who have an itch to play Army or engage in a proof-of-concept program that has, in one form or another, been behind every US attempt to colonize and/or subdue an intransigent population since the nation’s founding.

While the funding for the HTS program is not large, mere millions, that money could be used to enhance training for Special Operations fighters or even buy better equipment for them. America’s uniformed soldiers have been experimented with and on — whether via faulty national security policy and tactics or recycled physical and social science — for the last eight years. That’s enough!