Emergency.Blog

Analysis: Hybrid Wars

May 1, 2008

Hybrid Wars

By Greg Grant, Government Executive Magazine

What if the battles of the future are neither conventional nor irregular, but a combination of both?

The October 1973 Arab-Israeli War featured some of the largest set-piece battles fought since the end of World War II. For American defense planners, the conflict provided a bounty of information on the performance of the latest military hardware from Western and Soviet arsenals that had been sold to the Israeli and Arab armies, respectively. After the war, U.S. defense officials went to Israel and picked over the battlefields, searching out lessons from the fighting.

The United States was busy extricating itself from the disaster of Vietnam, and many in the U.S. military, particularly in the Army, saw the big battles fought on the Golan Heights and in the Sinai as an opportunity to refocus their intellectual efforts away from fighting shadowy guerrillas in jungles and back to the conventional, big battles they preferred. The 1973 war displayed the lethality of new precision weaponry. It was the first war to feature large numbers of guided missiles, launched from both the air and the ground. Egyptian and Syrian troops, for example, used vast numbers of Soviet-built Sagger portable anti-tank missiles to savage attacking Israeli tanks.

Now, in a touch of deja vu, American defense planners are examining another Arab-Israeli clash - this one from 2006, when Israel's army faced off against fundamentalist Muslim organization Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. In a war that lasted 34 days, Hezbollah fought the vaunted Israeli Defense Forces, considered one of the most technologically advanced militaries, to a standstill. The outcome sent shock waves through the world's military establishments, particularly the Pentagon. Ever since, Defense Department planners have been trying to discover how Hezbollah guerrillas could have defeated a conventional army outfitted with U.S. equipment.

High-Tech Guerrilla Tactics

The Lebanon fighting, said Army Chief Gen. George W. Casey in a January speech in Washington, featured "3,000 or so Hezbollah [fighters] embedding themselves in the population, in the urban areas north of Israel . . . attacked by some 30,000 Israeli troops. That's the type of operation that we all need to be thinking about in the future and be preparing for." The fighting, he added, exemplified a new type of war that would become increasingly common in the future: "a hybrid of irregular warfare and conventional warfare."

Hybrid wars, according to retired Marine officer Frank Hoffman, who has written extensively on the subject, blend the lethality of conventional warfare with the tactics and fanaticism of irregular warfare.

In the 2006 case, Hezbollah, a quasi-state within a state, fought like a guerrilla force. But it was armed with high-tech weaponry, such as precision guided missiles, that nation-states typically use. Hezbollah forces shot down Israeli helicopters, severely damaged a patrol boat with a cruise missile and destroyed heavily armored tanks by firing guided missiles from hidden bunkers. The organization also used aerial drones to gather intelligence, communicated with encrypted cell phones and watched Israeli troop movements with thermal imaging night-vision equipment.

Hezbollah's members fought in small, dispersed cells from concealed bunkers hidden in mountainous and urban terrain. Their decentralized command-and-control system frustrated repeated Israeli attempts to decapitate the organization. Israel followed a war plan suited for a conventional campaign against organizations with hierarchies and nodal structure, says Hoffman. "Hezbollah is hierarchical at the strategic level, it s political and social structure are very hierarchical, but at the tactical level they fight like guerrillas, in small cells."

Hezbollah, Hoffman says, exemplifies an emerging trend. Future opponents of the United States, particularly non-state opponents, will wage a hybrid style of warfare because they've learned they can't take on the U.S. military, with its high-tech targeting sensors and overwhelming firepower, in a stand-up fight.

"Lebanon is going to become the Grozny of this decade in terms of case studies," Hoffman says, referring to the Chechen city where Russian forces took a beating in 1994 at the hands of guerrilla fighters. Chechen rebels fought in a traditional tribal style of small dispersed cells, using widely available, yet fairly advanced, weaponry to take a heavy toll on Russian armored columns that became ensnared in the city's urban canyons. Tomorrow's hybrid wars, Hoffman says, will be fought with a rapidly changing blend of tactics and advanced weapons in the "dense urban jungle" of developing world cities.

Israel's plan to defeat Hezbollah relied too heavily on air power, says retired Army major general Robert H. Scales, who advises the service on new weapons and forces to battle hybrid enemies. Precision air strikes can take out an enemy like a nation-state with a fixed structure built around interconnected nodes. But "what if the enemy builds a method of war that is non-nodal?" Scales asks.

This poses a particular challenge to a U.S. war machine that has focused on targeting and destroying an enemy's key command centers and supply lines, usually through bombing campaigns. In Lebanon, even though the IDF fighters controlled the skies, Hezbollah was able to move men and equipment around the battlefield. "To have relatively free rein on the ground under air dominance, literally with fighter aircraft hanging over you, that to me is the essence of hybrid warfare," Scales says.

A hybrid enemy is extremely adaptable. But the U.S. military's weapons buying process is highly bureaucratic. The military lays out requirements that are approved by various oversight bodies. Then manufacturers provide specialized weapons. Hybrid enemies use what's available, most often on the open market, and adapt the weapons to their enemy and the terrain. Suicide bombings confound Western minds, but they are acceptable among hybrid enemies who adhere to what are considered primitive tribal notions of revenge or the heroic warrior. "A diabolical enemy will take you on in an irregular war in order to leverage the best pieces of your technology, but use it the best way he can," Scales says.

An unpublished Defense Science Board report completed last year notes that hybrid enemies are better armed today because lethal conventional weapons can be bought at bargain prices. Staying at a transaction level below that of major weapons' sales, armed groups can rapidly share weaponry and easily exchange knowledge. The availability of commercial technologies means that weapons development costs are virtually nonexistent. Cell phones and digital networks provide advanced command and control. Hybrid adversaries require few of the costly reconnaissance and surveillance systems that travel with U.S. forces to foreign battlefields, such as aerial drones and radar aircraft, because they're fighting in their own territory - often in their own neighborhoods. The report also notes that these potential adversaries use "human guidance" - that is, suicide car bombers - rather than more expensive technical guidance.

One lesson from Lebanon that worries some U.S. military thinkers is that in the many years Israeli Defense Forces spent policing the occupied territories, they lost important skills for conducting major combat operations. IDF units did not train for combat above the small unit level, and key elements such as armor and artillery lost much of their major combat capacity. Army Lt. Col. Gian Gentile has warned that the same thing could be happening to the U.S. military, particularly the Army. At the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., the focus is on counterinsurgency, and large unit maneuver operations are a thing of the past.

Gentile notes that neighborhood policing is different from large-scale maneuver warfare with mechanized units supported by artillery and air power. He says the demands of operations in Iraq mean Army units don't have time to do anything but prepare for counterinsurgency. "If we can ever get through Iraq, then the Army could try to restore some kind of balance and go back to at least partly focusing on conventional war," he says. The lesson of the Iraq war has been not that the U.S. military is weak, rather that it is optimized for a specific task: fighting large conventional armies. And during the past five years it has acquired a new competency - counterinsurgency. The idea of hybrid warfare is to fight in the seam between the two...

-- Source/story continues at: http://www.govexec.com/features/0508-01/0508-01s1.htm

MILITARY CRISIS: Colombia/Venezuela/Ecuador borders

Posted 05 Mar 2008

MILITARY CRISIS: Colombia/Venezuela/Ecuador borders;
March, 2008 -- Recent Developments and Precipitating Factors

Includes: Background information and Counter-Terrorism Assessment of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

Can now be found at: http://www.emergency.com/2008/farc_bkgrnd.htm

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel

Thursday, 14 February 2008, 15:41 GMT

Hezbollah chief threatens Israel
Nasrallah blamed Israel for Imad Mughniyeh's assassination

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has warned that the militant group is ready for "open war" with Israel, after the killing of one of its leaders in Syria. Nasrallah made the declaration during a fiery speech at the funeral of Imad Mughniyeh in Lebanon's capital, Beirut.

There is huge tension in the city, where thousands are attending Mughniyeh's funeral and rivals have held a memorial for ex-PM Rafik Hariri. It is three years since Hariri was killed, plunging Lebanon into crisis.

Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday.

Correspondents say the events come at a tense time, with no president and no working parliament in Lebanon. A huge security operation is under way amid fears of clashes between the pro-Syrian Hezbollah supporters and the anti-Syrian Hariri supporters...

-- Source/story continues at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7245042.stm

Embattled Muslim aide to leave Pentagon job (Coughlin follow-up)

Embattled Muslim aide to leave Pentagon job

Hesham Islam's 'resume didn't add up,' official says

February 11, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC: In a stunning turn of events, a high-level Muslim military aide blamed for costing an intelligence contractor his job will step down from his own Pentagon post, WND has learned.

Meanwhile, his rival, Maj. Stephen Coughlin, (click for previous Emergency.Blog story on this topic) a leading authority on Islamic war doctrine, may stay in the Pentagon, moving from the office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the office of the secretary of defense. However, sources say a former U.S.ambassador to Turkey is trying to block his new contract.

The top Pentagon aide, Egyptian-born Hesham H. Islam, came under a cloud of suspicion after reports raised doubt about his resume and contacts he had made with radical Muslims. He is expected to leave the government next month, officials say.

Islam and Coughlin recently quarreled over intelligence briefings Coughlin presented showing a close connection between the religion of Islam and terrorism. Coughlin's contract with the Joint Chiefs, which ends in March, was not renewed.

But as a result of the ensuing firestorm that played out in the conservative press -- led by Washington Times Pentagon reporter Bill Gertz -- Islam was put under a microscope, and questions were raised regarding his background.

For example, Claudia Rosett of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies wrote a column challenging key claims in Islam's official biography. Within days, a Defense Department profile of Islam was removed from the department's website.

A Pentagon spokesman said it was "taken down in an attempt to reduce the rhetoric and the emotion surrounding this issue while we try to determine the facts."

A senior U.S. official says the life story Islam presented now appears sketchy. "His resume didn't add up, and he knows it," the official said. "He's voluntarily leaving the government in March."

At the same time, a report by terror expert Steven Emerson revealed that Islam, as special assistant to the deputy secretary of defense, has scheduled at least two meetings in the Pentagon with Syrian-tied radicals ? including a leading member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood ? in direct violation of U.S. policy.

As WND previously reported, FBI officials believe Islam is involved with the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and is helping its front groups run "influence operations" against the U.S. government.

"He's a Muslim brother," an FBI official told WND. "He's a bad actor, and he's made other unreported nefarious contacts."

Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., who co-chairs the House Anti-Terrorism Caucus, has been fighting to keep Coughlin in the Pentagon, where she says his blunt analysis of the Islamic enemy is sorely needed.

Citing federal court documents introduced as evidence in a recent major terror case, she also warns that U.S. front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood are conspiring to destroy America from within.

"Our enemies have clearly stated their intention to infiltrate us, much like the Russians did during the Cold war," Myrick said. "We had no problem analyzing and acting on that information then."

"I know that some people will refuse to admit there is a subversive movement going on here, but let me remind you that we have underestimated the will and capability of our enemy for more than 30 years," she added. "They are patient and determined to achieve their radical agenda."

-- Source/continues at:WorldNetDaily

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=56110

Mentally disabled women used to Detonate Suicide/Homicide Bombs

2:30 p.m. EST, Fri. February 1, 2008

U.S.: 'Demonic' militants sent women to bomb markets in Iraq

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (CNN): Two mentally disabled women were strapped with explosives Friday and sent into busy Baghdad markets, where they were blown up by remote control, a top Iraqi government official said. The bombs killed at least 98 people and wounded more than 200 at two popular pet markets on the holiest day of the week for Muslims, authorities said.

In both bombings, the attackers were mentally disabled women whose explosive belts were remotely detonated, Gen. Qasim Atta, spokesman for Baghdad's security plan, told state television. Atta said the women were strapped with dynamite and ball bearings, citing members of the bomb squad. The explosives were detonated via cell phone, he said.

An Atta aide said that people referred to the bomber at central Baghdad's al-Ghazl market as the "crazy woman" and that the bomber at a second market had an unspecified birth disability. The aide said authorities believe the women were unaware of plans to detonate the explosives.

The nationalities and identities of the women have not been released. U..S. military officials referred to the two attacks as suicide bombings, saying both women detonated the explosive devices.

The U.S. officials also gave a much lower casualty toll, with 27 civilians dead and 53 others wounded. The Pentagon attributed the attacks to al Qaeda in Iraq and made no reference to the mental conditions of the women.

"By targeting innocent Iraqis, they show their true demonic character," said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, spokesman for the Multi-National Division-Baghdad.

"They care nothing for the Iraqi people; they want to subjugate them and forcefully create a greater Islamic sharia state," he said, referring to Islamic law.

-- Source/continues: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/01/iraq.main/index.html

Rice slams 'brutal' Baghdad attacks

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says bloody bomb attacks on Baghdad pet markets overnight prove that Al Qaeda is the most "brutal and bankrupt of movements".

An Iraqi official said explosives strapped to two mentally handicapped women were triggered by remote control in coordinated blasts that killed at least 64 people.

"Both women were mentally impaired. They were wearing belts containing 15 kilograms of explosives," said Major General Qasim Ata, spokesman for the Baghdad security plan.

But the US military, which gave a lower death toll, said both attacks were caused by female suicide bombers and blamed Al Qaeda.

"By targeting innocent Iraqis they show their true demonic character," Lieutenant-Colonel Steve Stover, a spokesman for US troops in Baghdad, said in a statement referring to Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The blasts occurred within 20 minutes of each other, killing 64 people and wounding more than 100, defence and interior ministry officials said.

Other reports said the death toll was 70 or more. President Jalal Talabani reported as many as 70 dead in "brutal attacks carried out by terrorists."

-- Source/continues: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/02/2152875.htm?

Blast at Kabul Hotel Kills Six

14:00 EST - 14 Jan 2007

Blast at Kabul Hotel Kills Six

Published: January 15, 2008, NYT

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: A thunderous explosion struck a 2-year-old Kabul luxury hotel frequented by foreigners on Monday, and the Taliban took responsibility, calling it a coordinated assault by four men armed with guns and suicide belts.

The Interior Ministry said at least six people were killed and at least six were wounded in the explosion at the Serena Hotel, including two foreign officials it did not identify. It was not immediately clear if any of the dead included foreigners.

If the Taliban claim is confirmed it would be the first attack on the hotel and one of the most brazen assaults by the Taliban in the heavily protected heart of the Afghan capital.

Roads around the hotel were sealed off by the police, and it was impossible to see precisely where the explosion took place or view any damage.

The Serena Hotel, which was opened in 2006, is the only five-star hotel in Afghanistan and one that is popular among diplomats and is often used for conferences. The explosion, at around 6.15 p.m. local time, could be heard for up to two miles away across the city...

-- Source: NY Times, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/world/asia/15afghan.html

Explosion Reported at Kabul's Diplomat Hotel

EmergencyNet News *FLASH* Report

09:30CST - 14 Jan 2008

Explosion Reported at Kabul's Diplomat Hotel

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: An explosion and several rounds of gunfire reportedly occured on Monday at a new hotel often inhabited by foreigners. The audacity and brutal nature of the attack quickly reverberating throughout the Afghan capital. An American citizen inside the hotel said she saw a body and pools of blood in the lobby. The incident reportedly occurred at approximately 18:12 p.m., Afghan time.

Largely unconfirmed reports suggest that "multiple attackers" threw hand grenades killing two guards to get past the outer security cordon and into the hotel compound where one or more detonated their explosive vests, an unidentified official said. Other accounts coming from the region speak about multiple gunshots coming from the hotel.

An Afghan official said he had no further information on casualties. However, other witnesses say at least two (2) people may have died...but that has not been verified by the Afghan government or U.S. troops who responded to the explosion. It is also thought that a number of people were wounded in the attack.

It is still not clear if the explosion was inside the Serena Hotel or in its large courtyard where the parking lot is located. Police kept journalists and onlookers far from the building and troops cordoned-off the area from on-lookers.

A Taliban spokesman almost immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and reportedly said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber and three militants with grenades and guns.

The hotel is located in the diplomatic and business sector of Kabul. It is often the site of official meetings and receptions for foreign officials. Watch EmergencyNet News for more on this still emerging story...

Additional Reference:

Frontline: Return of the Taliban

-- Source: WGBH educational foundation, can be found at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/taliban/

The Implications of the Dismissal of Stephen Coughlin

January 12, 2008

The Implications of the Dismissal of Stephen Coughlin, Joint Staff, Pentagon

Stephen Coughlin Update. Here is an excellent summary piece on Coughlin's firing, its implications, and what must be done next.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to clarify the incidents surrounding the firing of Mr. Coughlin, and enumerate the implications of this event to U.S. National Security and the GWOT (Global War on Terror).

Background: Mr. Stephen Coughlin works as a contractor on the Joint Staff, J-2 (Intelligence) for the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. The Joint Staff specifically requested him because of his knowledge of Islamic Doctrine as it applies to "Jihad" and the Strategic objectives of our enemy. He is, by many accounts, the leading expert on Islamic Doctrinal drivers of Jihad within the U.S. Government, and likely, in the United States. His thesis, "To Our Great Detriment: Ignoring What Extremists Say About Jihad," was recently accepted by the National Defense Intelligence College, and deals specifically with Islamic Doctrine dealing with doctrinal drivers of jihad, and the failure of the United States leadership to learn and understand this doctrine. He has a background in Law and international business. Mr. Coughlin is also a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves, and was activated after 9/11 to serve as a Strategic Targeting Officer for the U.S. forces. He has taught, lectured, and briefed senior members of DoD, members of Congress, senior U.S. Government officials, and many law enforcement and intelligence officers in the United States. He is a regular briefer at the Information/Operations course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Joint Forces Staff College. He has briefed at the Navy War College and the Marine Corps War College, and recently briefed the General Officers of I MEF, United States Marine Corps.

Event: Via a campaign undertaken by Hesham Islam, the senior advisor for International Affairs to Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, on Thursday, January 3, 2008 Mr. Coughlin was told by his employers that his contract would not be renewed due to the fact his message, and therefore he himself, had become too "politically hot." In a meeting between Mr. Coughlin and a member of Mr. England's staff, at which Hesham Islam unexpectedly attended, Mr. Islam asked Mr. Coughlin to "soften his message" regarding Islamic Doctrine. Mr. Coughlin refused. Islam was heard referring to Coughlin as a "Christian zealot with a poison pen." Despite the fact that no one in his chain of command has disputed the veracity, accuracy, and balance for his thesis, lectures, or briefings, Coughlin's employment is being terminated for speaking the truth to the Department of Defense.

Analysis: This event on its own reveals that a senior U.S. advisor is being removed from his direct and critical role in the current war in which we are engaged solely because his message was defined as "extreme" by an advisor who caters to Islamist organizations in the U.S., not because it was factually incorrect. This alone seems significantly problematic given the current war in which we are engaged. Additionally, some of the details suggest Mr. Coughlin?s civil rights, to include his First and Forth Amendment rights, as well as federal law, may have been violated, which suggests an inquiry is required. The effort to silence Mr. Coughlin came from a senior advisor to a senior U.S. official under official cover -- a violation of law. Most disturbing is that Mr. Islam is [allegedly] associated with groups and organizations which have been designated as Muslim Brotherhood organizations within the United States. If this is in fact true, the implications are devastating.

Source/continues at: http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019534.php

Tape Shows Iranian Boats Surrounding U.S. War Ships

Jan. 8, 2008

US Releases Dramatic Video of Iran Boat Incident
Tape Shows Iranian Boats Surrounding U.S. War Ships, Ignoring Order to Leave

STRAIT OF HORTMUZ: The U.S. Navy released dramatic video and audio of this weekend's stand-off with Iran. The video shows Iranian speedboats swarming around three American warships going through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

On the tape, the crew of the destroyer USS Hopper can be heard repeatedly warning the Iranian boats to identify themselves and move away. "I am engaged in transit passage in accordance with international law," a sailor on the bridge of the USS Hopper says. "I intend no harm."

As the Iranian boats get closer, the USS Hopper sounds its horns. "You are approaching coalition warships," the USS Hopper's crew warns. "You are straying into danger and may be subject to defensive measures. ... Request you alter course immediately to remain clear."

It is at that point that a heavily accented voice can be heard over the radio, apparently coming from the Iranians. "I am coming to you," the voice says. "You will explode after a few minutes..."

-- Source/continues: http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4105110&page=1

Iranian "Serious Provocation" of U.S. Navy

07 Jan 2008 - 12:00 noon CST

Pentagon says ships harassed by Iran

WASHINGTON, DC/STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In what U.S. officials called a serious provocation, Iranian boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to explode the American vessels.

U.S. forces were on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats in the early Sunday incident, when the boats -- believed to be from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's navy -- turned and moved away, a Pentagon official said. "It is the most serious provocation of this sort that we've seen yet," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman called it a "serious incident. This is something that deserves an explanation."

Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the weekend incident was "something normal" and was resolved.

National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the United States urges the Iranians "to refrain from such provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future..."

-- Source/continues at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080107/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_navy_iran_19

Veteran's Day 2007

Veterans' Day (formerly Armistice Day) 2007

"Freedom Isn't Free--Thank a Veteran for His/Her Service"

All veterans gave some...some gave all

November 11, is the anniversary of the Armistice which was signed in the Forest of Compiegne by the Allies and the Germans in 1918, ending World War I, after four years of conflict.

At 5 A.M. on Monday, November 11, 1918 the Germans signed the Armistice, an order was issued for all firing to cease; so the hostilities of the First World War ended. This day began with the laying down of arms, blowing of whistles, impromptu parades, closing of places of business. All over the globe there were many demonstrations; no doubt the world has never before witnessed such rejoicing.

In 1927 Congress issued a resolution requesting President Calvin Coolidge to issue a proclamation calling upon officials to display the Flag of the United States on all government buildings on November 11, and inviting the people to observe the day in schools and churches...But it was not until 1938 that Congress passed a bill that each November 11 "shall be dedicated to the cause of world peace and ...hereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day."

That same year President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill making the day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. For sixteen years the United States formally observed Armistice Day, with impressive ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the Chief Executive or his representative placed a wreath. In many other communities, the American Legion was in charge of the observance, which included parades and religious services. At 11 A.M. all traffic stopped, in tribute to the dead, then volleys were fired and taps sounded.

After World War II, there were many new veterans who had little or no association with World War I. The word, "armistice," means simply a truce; therefore as years passed, the significance of the name of this holiday changed. Leaders of Veterans' groups decided to try to correct this and make November 11 the time to honor all who had fought in various American wars, not just in World War I.

In Emporia, Kansas, on November 11, 1953, instead of an Armistice Day program, there was a Veterans' Day observance. Ed Rees, of Emporia, was so impressed that he introduced a bill into the House to change the name to Veterans' Day. After this passed, Mr. Rees wrote to all state governors and asked for their approval and cooperation in observing the changed holiday. The name was changed to Veterans' Day by Act of Congress on May 24, 1954. In October of that year, President Eisenhower called on all citizens to observe the day by remembering the sacrifices of all those who fought so gallantly, and through rededication to the task of promoting an enduring peace. The President referred to the change of name to Veterans' Day in honor of the servicemen of all America's wars.

Excerpts from All About American Holidays by Mayme R. Krythe

http://www.patriotism.org/veterans_day/

Additional Resources for Air Attack on Southern California Wildfires

10/23/2007 GAAS:844:07 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Additional Resources for Air Attack on Southern California Wildfires

In coordination with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the Governor?s Office of Emergency Services (OES) and California National Guard (CNG), Governor Schwarzenegger has announced additional aircraft resources available to fight the devastating Southern California wildfires.

?These fires are causing terrible and tragic devastation in our state, but we are responding and we will not stop until everyone is safe,? said Governor Schwarzenegger. ?I will continue to be relentless in getting additional resources and everything our firefighters need to fight these wildfires. We are working around the clock and deploying every possible resource in cooperation with federal, state and local governments.?

The additional aerial resources that have been made available to support the firefighting efforts are:

6 CNG helicopters

2 additional air tankers for a total of 27

2 U.S. Navy helicopters from San Diego on standby

2 Nevada National Guard helicopters

2 DC-7s from Oregon

1 Martin Mars 7,000 gallon water dropping aircraft from Canada

The following aerial resources are currently being used to fight the wildfires:

24 air attack aircrafts

25 air tankers

40 helicopters

1 DC-10

-- Source: http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/7823/

Military Assistance and Aircraft Movements Due to SoCal Wildfires

Pendleton warns some to be prepared to leave

Fires prompt Corps to send Miramar aircraft elsewhere as 'precaution'

By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 22, 2007 21:36:54 EDT

OCEANSIDE, CA: As wildfires raged in an adjacent town, Camp Pendleton officials on Monday afternoon warned some base residents to prepare for an emergency evacuation.

No mandatory evacuation was ordered as of 5:15 p.m. California time, but base officials wanted residents of several neighborhoods in the east part of the base -- De Luz, Serra Mesa, San Luis Rey and O'Neill housing areas -- to prepare their families just in case.

"The Provost Marshal and military police will announce an evacuation plan, routes and billeting via a loud speaker when evacuation is imminent,"Camp Pendleton officials said in a statement.

A brown, smoky haze hung over Camp Pendleton late afternoon as firefighters battled a growing blaze in Fallbrook, a town just east of Camp Pendleton and Fallbrook Naval Weapons Station. The Rice fire flared up near Rainbow and jumped across Interstate 15 by midday as strong, dry westerly Santa Ana winds pushed the fires to the west. The fire was one of a half-dozen burning in San Diego County.

"Erring on the side of caution, Camp Pendleton officials are recommending military members and their families begin to pack personal belongings and plenty of water,"base officials said.

"Military members are encouraged to pack their personal belongings and stay tuned for additional information of available billeting. Military members who have already packed and have developed a safe route to local relatives and friends, on and off base, are authorized to do so at this time.?

"Safety is paramount: I urge all residents to take prudent precautions ahead of time. Do not wait to begin to prepare,"said Col. James B. Seaton III, base commander.

An expansive wildfire in San Diego threatened communities near Miramar Marine Corps Air Station and prompted officials to evacuate aircraft.

Marine Corps air crews began flying helicopters, fighter jets and aircraft to other military bases in California and Arizona, said 1st Lt. Jill Leyden, an air station spokeswoman. "This is a precautionary measure to prevent damage to aircraft and associated equipment,"Leyden said in a statement.

Camp Pendleton established an information hotline: 1-866-430-2764. Base officials said displaced military families, as well as retirees and Defense Department civilian workers, can turn to base services at the base for temporary lodging, information and other assistance:

* Billeting: 760-430-4702.

* Main Gate Commissary: 760-430-1701.

* Naval Hospital: 760-25-4357.

* San Luis Rey Day Care Centers: 760-725-5608.

* Base Chaplain Services: 760725-4700.

* Abbey Reinke Community Center: 760-763-0649.

Article continues at the Marine Corp Times: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/10/navy_californiawildfires_071022w/

Six Navy copter crews helping fight wildfires

SAN DIEGO, CA: Six crews from the Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 are helping to fight the wildfires in San Diego County, a Naval Air Forces spokeswoman said.

The teams, based at North Island Naval Air Station, are the only local Navy personnel trained to fight fires from the air. They typically handle blazes on local military bases, said Lt. Cmdr. Liz Meydenbauer.

The California Department of Forestry has assigned them to battle the Witch Creek fire.

The crews fly in MH-60 Seahawk helicopters, which carry a 420-gallon water bucket and can fly 60 to 90 minutes without refueling, Meydenbauer said. They are operating out of the Imperial Beach Outlying Naval Base.

Meanwhile, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station has contributed several aircraft and crews to firefighting operations based in Ramona, said 1st Lt. Jill Leyden, a Marine Corps spokeswoman. Several ground firefighting units and two fire trucks also are assisting San Diego firefighters.

-- Source: Steve Liewer, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20071022-1752-bn22helos.html

Israelis seized nuclear material in Syrian raid

September 23, 2007

Israelis seized nuclear material in Syrian raid

Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem.

The attack was launched with American approval on September 6 after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related, the well-placed sources say.

They confirmed that samples taken from Syria for testing had been identified as North Korean. This raised fears that Syria might have joined North Korea and Iran in seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Israeli special forces had been gathering intelligence for several months in Syria, according to Israeli sources. They located the nuclear material at a compound near Dayr az-Zwar in the north... This Article and several other references can be found at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article2512380.ece

Three Islamist Terror Suspects Arrested in Germany

ATTACKS ON FRANKFURT AIRPORT, RAMSTEIN PLANNED

Three Islamist Terror Suspects Arrested in Germany in GSG-9 RAID

SPIEGEL ONLINE - September 5, 2007, 11:03 AM

The suspects were observed moving (peroxide-based) chemicals that could be used to make bombs from one storage location to another...

URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,503959,00.html

Fuel Tanker Suicide Bombers Kill 175

22:56 BST, Tuesday August 14, 2007

Suicide Bombings Kill 175 In Iraq

More than 175 people have been killed and 200 injured in suicide tanker bombings in northern Iraq.

The massacre was caused by three suicide bombers driving fuel tankers in one of the worst single incidents in the four year war.

Iraq hit by more suicide bombingsIraqi army Captain Mohammad al-Jaad said at least 175 people were killed in the attacked on residential compounds which are home to the minority Yazidi sect.

He confirmed at least another 200 people were injured in the bombings in the Kahtaniya, al-Jazeera and Tal Uzair areas close to the Syrian border.

The mayor of Sinjar, Dakheel Qassim Hasoun said US aircraft were helping to ferry the wounded to hospitals....

Story continues at: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1279899,00.html

Red Mosque Cleric Killed As Assault Ends Stand-Off

Siege Cleric Killed as Rebel Red Mosque falls

Last Updated: 16:37pm BST 10/07/2007

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: The chief cleric of the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad has been killed after Pakistani special forces launched a bloody assault on his compound.

The body of Abdul Rashid Ghazi (left), who earlier had predicted that his "martyrdom was certain", was discovered in a basement this afternoon.

Around fifty of his Islamist followers have also been killed in the offensive to reclaim the mosque, which the Pakistani authorities say is now 90 per cent complete.

Pakistani commandos stormed the mosque compound before dawn today in an attempt to end an eight-day stand-off between militants and the government...

Story continues at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/10/wpak410.xml

Palestinian Govt. To Dissolve; Fatah/Hamas War Breaking Out

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Abbas to Dissolve Palestinian Authority Government

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip ? President Mahmoud Abbas will dissolve the Palestinian Authority's government Thursday after fighting between rival parties Hamas and Fatah consumed the Gaza Strip and was expected to call for a state of emergency, sources close to Abbas confirmed to FOX News.

Other aides had said Abbas was also planning to call for the deployment of a multi-national force. However, Abdel Rahim made no mention of that in the news conference.

Abbas considers the Hamas fighters who have seized control of most of the Fatah-allied security headquarters in Gaza to be an "outlaw militia," Abdel Rahim said.

Hamas fighters took control from three of the rival Fatah movement's most important security command centers in the Gaza Strip, and witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen into the street and shot them to death execution-style... Story continues at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,282195,00.html

Taliban Leader Says: "We will be executing attacks in Britain and the U.S."

May 14, 2007 5:03 PM

Dead Taliban Leader Was Training U.S./U.K. Recruits
Dadullah Makes Terror Threats Against U.S. and U.K. Before Death

AFGHANISTAN: Thirty-six hours before he was killed by U.S. forces, Taliban Commander Mullah Dadullah said he was training American and British citizens to carry out suicide missions in their home countries, according to a videotape interview to be broadcast on ABC News' "World News" Monday.

"We will be executing attacks in Britain and the U.S. to demonstrate our sincerity," he told an Afghan interviewer, "to destroy their cities as they have destroyed our cities."

A senior U.S. official told the Blotter on ABCNews.com that recent intelligence reports confirmed Dadullah's claim that U.S. citizens were being trained in Taliban and al Qaeda camps. "The number is small, not large, but even one is dangerous," the official said.

-- Source: ABCNews Blotter, Brian Ross and Christopher Isham, "Dead Taliban Leader Was Training U.S. Recruits," can be found at: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/dead_taliban_le.html

Listen/Watch the Taliban Leader's Final Words: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3173751

Two Alleged Al-Qaeda Operatives Detained in Germany

May 12, 2007

Authorities in Germany Detained 2 With Alleged al Qaeda Ties
Men Were Conducting Surveillance on U.S. Base, Security Sources Tell ABC News

BERLIN, GERMANY: Authorities detained two suspects believed to be part of a cell of the Islamic Jihad Union, an al Qaeda-affiliated Uzbek group, intelligence sources have told ABC News.

The pair has been released and now German authorities are concerned that the two men know they are being watched and may have devised a new plan of attack to time with the G-8 Summit, which is scheduled for June 6 to June 8 in Heiligendamm, Germany.

The global summit will draw leaders from around the world, including President George Bush. Britain was hosting the same event two years ago when the London transportation system was bombed -- a fact not lost on the summit's planners and a terrorist tactic that has become familiar....

More on this story: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3168533&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

The U.S. Embassy in Berlin previously issued a "Warden Message" urging additional caution concerning U.S. facilities in Germany.

6 Suspects Arrested in Plot to Attack Fort Dix

Posted by The Star-Ledger May 08, 2007 8:12AM

6 arrested in plot to kill soldiers at Fort Dix

NEW JERSEY: Federal investigators last night arrested six men who were planning a heavily-armed armed attack against soldiers at Fort Dix as part of a jihad against America, according to two law enforcement sources.

The men had conducted surveillance of the Army base and were caught allegedly attempting to purchase AK-47s to carry out their plan, one of the sources said.

The bust came after several of them were lured to a meeting with an arms-seller who turned out to be a secret FBI informant, said both sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the arrests.

The would-be attackers, ethnic Albanians who had been under surveillance by the FBI for months, practiced by shooting paintball guns and real weapons in a rural area of the Poconos, one source said. They also allegedly watched jihadist videos in which Osama bin Laden urged them toward martyrdom.

"They were prepared to die," said the law enforcement source. "We became increasingly convinced this was for real and these guys were ready to roll."

The FBI had the group under surveillance for more than a year, the source said. The men had scouted out Dover Air Force Base and Fort Monmouth before settling on Fort Dix, a base that is used to mobilize troops to Iraq, said the source... Continues at: http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates/2007/05/6_arrested_in_plot_to_kill_sol.html

New Zawahiri Tape; Wants to Kill Hundreds of Thousands of Americans

May 5, 2007

Ayman al-Zawahiri Says Al Qaeda Wants to Spill More U.S. Blood Before America Withdraws
Al Qaeda no. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri wished for hundreds of thousands of U.S. dead in a new video.

In a new video posted today on the Internet, al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al Zawahiri, mocks the bill passed by Congress setting a timetable for the pullout of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Compromise emerging in D.C. on Iraq war-funding billDemocrats Nearing Deal on Spending GoalsBush Vows to Veto Abortion-Rights Bills"This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap," Zawahiri says in answer to a question posed to him an interviewer.

Continuing in the same tone, Zawahiri says, "We ask Allah that they only get out of it after losing 200,000 to 300,000 killed, in order that we give the spillers of blood in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson."

-- Source: ABC News, BRIAN ROSS, article continues at: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=3143623&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Iraq Could Become Terror Hub After Untimely Withdrawal

POSTED: 20:25 p.m. EDT, May 2, 2007

No safe way for U.S. to leave Iraq, experts warn

Pulling U.S. forces from Iraq could trigger catastrophe, CNN analysts and other observers warn, affecting not just Iraq but its neighbors in the Middle East, with far-reaching global implications.

Sectarian violence could erupt on a scale never seen before in Iraq if coalition troops leave before Iraq's security forces are ready. Supporters of al Qaeda could develop an international hub of terror from which to threaten the West. And the likely civil war could draw countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran into a broader conflict.

President Bush vetoed a war spending bill Tuesday precisely because the Democrat-led Congress required the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn by October 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.

Bush said such a deadline would be irresponsible and both sides are now working on new proposals -- which may have no pullout dates.

A rapid withdrawal of all U.S. troops would hurt America's image and hand al Qaeda and other terror groups a propaganda victory that the United States is only a "paper tiger,"(1) CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen said.

"It would also play into their strategy, which is to create a mini-state somewhere in the Middle East where they can reorganize along the lines of what they did in Afghanistan in the late '90s," Bergen told CNN.com.

It was in Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda allied with the Taliban, and were allowed to run terror bases and plan the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.

Bergen says it is imperative that the United States not let that happen in Iraq... Article continues at: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/02/iraq.scenarios/index.html

ERRI Reference:

1. 08/31/98 - 08:00CDT, Opinion/Editorial/Analysis, "International Terrorism; Where Do We Go From Here?" 'There Can Be No More Somalias,' By Staten, C. L., ERRI, which can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/bin-oped.htm

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President Bush Vetos Iraq Withdrawal Bill

May 1, 2007 - 18:47 PM EDT

Bush Vetoes Troop Withdrawal Bill

WASHINGTON, DC: President George Bush vetoed legislation to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq Tuesday night in a historic showdown with Congress over whether the unpopular and costly war should end or escalate.

In only the second veto of his presidency, Bush rejected legislation pushed by Democratic leaders that would require the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.

"This is a prescription for chaos and confusion and we must not impose it on our troops," Bush said in a nationally broadcast statement from the White House. He said the bill would "mandate a rigid and artificial deadline" for troop pullouts, and "it makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing."

Democrats accused Bush of ignoring American's desire to stop the war, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,350 members of the military.

"The president wants a blank check," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., moments after Bush's appearance. "The Congress is not going to give it to him." She said Congress would work with him to find common ground but added that there was "great distance" between them on Iraq.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Bush has an obligation to explain his plan for responsibly ending the war. "If the president thinks by vetoing this bill, he'll stop us from working to change the direction of the war in Iraq, he is mistaken," Reid said.

-- Source: Associated Press, Anne Flaherty and Jennifer Loven, May 1 06:47 PM US/Eastern. Article Continues at: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8ORS7LO0&show_article=1&catnum=-1