Marines Emphasize Character Building in Afghan Police Mission

By Kristen Noel
Special to American Forces Press Service

May 19, 2008 - The 1st Marine Division's 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines' is focusing on Afghan people, not on fighting terrorists, the battalion commander said May 16. "What's unique about our mission is that we're doing a police training and mentoring mission, as opposed to coming in here kinetically like a lot of our past exploits have been, especially in Iraq," Marine Corps Lt. Col. Richard Hall told online journalists and "bloggers" in a teleconference.

The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, deployed at the end of March for this mission to assist Afghanistan's Regional Security Command South with their focused district development program for Afghan police. The program rotates local police forces through eight weeks of uniformed-officer training at a central location, while highly trained Afghan national civil police work in their districts.

Hall explained that the battalion also will facilitate "in-district reform" police training for districts the Afghan national civil police are unable to backfill due to personnel shortages. "That is kind of the way that we can fast-track getting more of these districts [to] get their police trained," he said.

The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, had success in Iraq executing the police mission in Anbar province, Hall said, and he added that before this deployment, the battalion completed a month-long training exercise called "Mojave Viper," designed specifically to prepare them for the police situation in Afghanistan.

"We spent quite a bit of time focusing on escalation-of-force vignettes," he said. That training, he explained, focuses on the civil portion of police work.

Though the battalion will do the quantifiable work of improving the Afghans' policing skills, Hall said, the enduring piece of the training will need to be the mentoring and character development -- "in other words, doing the right thing when no one is looking," he said.

"The reason for that is, whether or not we get replaced, ... we need to teach a man to fish so that they could be self-sufficient with or without our presence," he explained. "They need to have the credibility and the respectability of their people in order to maintain that law and order presence, even if we're absent."

Hall said he believes that since the Marines and the Afghans are both "of a warrior culture," the battalion will be able to earn the credibility needed to influence and affect the character of the district police officers.

"I think [the Afghans are] ... going to catch the sense that we're really sincere about our mission and what we're trying to do, and they're going to make no distinction between us and them," Hall said. "I think that's really going to add to the character piece, because they absolutely do respect that of other men -- you know, sharing the danger and so forth."

But although that factor works in his favor, he acknowledged, it won't be easy.

"We don't pretend that it's not going to be a huge challenge," he said. "The truth will be in action, when we actually get out there, and we give it a try. We can only hope that everything I've said comes true."

(Kristen Noel works for the New Media branch of the American Forces Information Service.)

Counterterrorism Technologies

The previous article determined that terrorists around the globe target police officers. Indeed, preliminary figures from 2005 may indicate a continuing and perhaps growing trend in the violence against law enforcement. According to the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT), Terrorism Knowledge Base (TKB), as of August 14, 2005, world-wide, there have been 554 terrorist attacks targeting police officers. These attacks resulted in 2,546 injuries and 1,327 fatalities.

Preliminary information should be viewed with caution because the data includes all persons wounded or killed as a result of the incident. It is very likely that when just police officer casualties are considered the number significantly decrease. Also, most of the increase in attacks is taking place in Iraqi. While the violence in Iraqi is instructive it may be causing an anomaly in the overall trend in incidents against police officers. The most definitive deduction from the latest data simply reinforces the idea that terrorists target law enforcement officials and that this trend may be increasing.

READ ON
http://www.hitechcj.com/homelandsecurity/police_technology.html

Guide to Understanding and Surviving Terrorism

On September 18, 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the United States Marine Corps published “The Individual’s Guide for Understanding and Surviving Terrorism.” This 138 page document outlines terrorism and terrorist incidents. It provides the reader with information on detecting terrorists, including practical tactics for detecting surveillance and general information on protection through awareness.

The guide also provides information on what to expect if taken hostage and offers advice on how a hostage should conduct themselves during hostage taking, imprisonment and rescue
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Colombia Touts Counternarcotics Success, Urges Continued U.S. Aid

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

July 24, 2007 - Colombia's defense minister arrived here yesterday to meet with U.S. officials and outline progress Colombia has made in stemming narcoterrorism and other security boosts made possible in part by U.S. funding. At the Pentagon, Juan Manuel Santos and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates discussed issues of mutual interest concerning regional and global security. During his three-day visit, the minister also is slated to hold separate talks with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and congressional members to request continued financial backing.

Currently, U.S. aid supports Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's Plan Consolidation -- formerly known as Plan Colombia -- which is making progress in combating narcoterrrorists, ensuring stability, and providing a safe and prosperous climate for the country's citizens, a Defense Department official said.

"Colombia is in many ways -- although many challenges remain -- a huge success story," Richard J. Douglas, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics, counterproliferation and global threats, told Pentagon reporters in April.

"The Colombians have done some incredible things in their relationship with the United States in the last five or six years," he said. "But the fact remains, we still have challenges there, and we have to deal with them."

The flow of cocaine from the Andean Ridge is the "primary threat" to attempts at thwarting narcotics trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, Douglas said. Colombia produces almost 90 percent of the cocaine and almost half of the heroin consumed in the United States.

Meanwhile, profits from the narcotics industry provide funding for terrorists, left-wing guerillas, paramilitary self-defense forces and drug cartels. Incidents of kidnapping and terrorism there are down. But since 1992, Colombia's narcoterrorists have kidnapped more than 50 Americans and killed at least 10, State Department officials report.

Gates expressed pride in Colombia's progress and reaffirmed the U.S.'s commitment to support security strategy in his closed meeting with the minister yesterday, said Juan Cardenas, a Defense Department spokesman.

"Gates and Santos discussed the need for steady assistance to Colombia's armed forces while Colombia's government prepares to assume increased responsibility for counternarcotics and security programs," Cardenas said.

In January, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent two days in Bogota, Colombia, to meet with the country's military and defense leaders to discuss how the United States and Colombia can step up their cooperation to better confront drug trafficking and terrorism.

"This is a two-way street," Pace said at the time at a joint news conference with Santos and Gen. Freddy Padilla, commander of the Colombian armed forces. "The fact that the United States is able to help Colombia inside Colombia is a good thing for Colombia, but it is also a good thing for my country.

"And the fact that your country is fighting against drugs -- a great deal of which come to the streets of the United States -- is your country helping out to help my country," Pace said. "So these are friends helping friends."

Colombia's armed forces have cleared specific areas of terrorists, and the government has followed in those areas with projects that have brought electricity, water and jobs to the people, Pace said.

U.S. officials have looked to Colombia as a role model for countering narcotics elsewhere, Pace said. For instance, Colombians have sent national police officers to train Afghan army and police forces in both counterdrug and counterinsurgency operations.
Inspired in part by Colombia's success, the U.S. is engaged in a "five-pillar" plan to counter the Afghan narcotics industry, which supplies about 93 percent of the world's opium, a Defense Department official said. The pillars are public information, alternative livelihoods, eradication, interdiction and justice reform.

During the joint news conference in Bogota, Pace praised Colombia's resistance to narcotics traffickers and endorsed the country's social reforms.

"I think those kinds of outreach programs by the Colombian government are a good model for (Afghan) President (Hamid) Karzai to consider as he looks at how to reduce the amount of drug trafficking in his country and to provide stability and jobs for his citizens," Pace said.

Terrorism, Poetry and Memoirs

Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three police officers who have written books: Richard L. Allen; Michael Aman; and, Anthony J. Carbo.

Richard L. Allen was born in Gary, Indiana and raised in Newark, New Jersey. He served four years as an aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Air Force, including six months in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. After 24 years in the Air Force Reserves, Allen joined the Newark Police Department where he served until his retirement in 2001. Richard Allen is the author of Lock and Key; Poetic Police Food for Thought; and, A New Ark Police Officer's View of Poetic Just Ice/Justice.

According to the book description of Lock and Key, “with enough episodes to fill a season of televised police dramas, author and former police officer Richard Allen provides readers with a candid look into the nature of police work and the daily challenges an officer must face. In his memoir, "Lock and Key," Allen recalls some of the most unforgettable incidents and individuals of his experience. He depicts the humanity, compassion, and courage of those who serve their community as officers of the peace while revealing his deepest gratitude and appreciation for his fellow police officers. "Lock & Key" will definitely leave readers a greater appreciation of police work and a deeper respect for those who work to keep us safe.”

Michael Aman was a commissioned officer in the German Air Force from 1984 to 1993. Upon immigrating to the United States he joined the El Paso Police Department and has risen to the rank of detective. Michael Aman has served in the Gang Unit, Cold Case Squad, Criminal Investigations Division, Dignitary Protection Unit, and the Patrol Division.

Michael Aman has an MBA from the German Armed Forces University. During his law enforcement career, Michael Aman Developed a course for law enforcement officials called “Defense Against Terrorist Suicide Attacks.” Eventually, that course let to the book Preventing Suicide Terrorist Attacks.

He described the book as a self-study training manual for law officers or for civilians who want to be informed about the topic. According to an interview in the El Paso Times Michael Aman said, “It's really written for police officers, specifically patrol officers who might come in contact with these guys. That's the main target audience.”

According to the book description of Preventing Suicide Terrorist Attacks, “It won't happen here, is a common belief when it comes to suicide attacks by terrorists, but unfortunately-it can. This text provides essential information for law enforcement officers on techniques for recognizing potential terrorists and preventing suicide attacks. Information discussed is applicable to preventing attacks that are domestic and international in origin. This resource is ideal for self-study or as a four-hour training course.”

In 1964, Anthony J. Carbo joined the Newark Police Department. During his career he worked patrol, traffic and the Patrol Division Crimes Prevention Unit. He retired in 1979. He is the author of Memoirs of a Newark, New Jersey Police Officer. According to the book description, his book is “a story from a police officer telling of his personal thoughts. These are fast moving episodes that go from one incident to another at a quick and moving pace telling of life, death, unrest and riots during some of the most turbulent years from 1964 to 1979 in the City of Newark.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 648 police officers (representing 284 police departments) and their 1382 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Terrorists Using Chlorine Car Bombs to Intimidate Iraqis

Editor's Note: The information is relevant to domestic law enforcment.
American Forces Press Service

June 6, 2007 – Anyone who doubts that al Qaeda would use chemical, nuclear or biological weapons need only look at the terror group's attacks in Iraq, Defense officials said. Al Qaeda and affiliated groups have used chlorine gas in attacks against civilians, Iraqi forces and coalition forces at least 15 times since October, according to U.S. officials in Baghdad.

"Chlorine is used by terrorists with the intent to harm or kill large numbers of civilians," an official said. "The attacks show that the terrorists are adaptable, but it reflects more on their maliciousness than their sophistication."

The first documented chlorine attack was Oct. 21, 2006, in Ramadi, a Multinational Force Iraq spokeswoman said. In that attack, terrorists drove a car bomb with 12 120 mm mortar shells and two 100-pound chlorine tanks. The attack wounded three Iraqi police officers and a civilian.

The first attack that received media attention was at Taji, where terrorists remotely detonated a 5-ton truck packed with 100 pounds of high explosives and two 1-ton chlorine tanks. The attack killed one civilian and wounded 114 others.

Other chlorine attacks occurred in Fallujah, Balad and Ramadi. The most recent attack was June 3 against Forward Operating Base Warhorse, in Diyala province. Again, a suicide car bomber launched the attack, and officials estimate it included two tanks of chlorine and 1,000 pounds of explosive. The cloud from the attack blew over Warhorse and sickened 65 servicemembers, Multinational Force Iraq officials said. All were examined and returned to duty.

Officials in Baghdad cannot tell from their records if anyone has died from chlorine inhalation. A Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said there are anecdotal reports that while the blasts from the attacks have killed, few have died solely from the gas. "We hear that an old man and some babies may have been killed, but we can't pin that down," the spokesman said.

"We have seen attempts made by insurgent forces - al Qaeda in particular - to use debilitating agents like chlorine in their (improvised explosive devices and car bombs) to cause casualties beyond just concussion and blast," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.

Whitman said the attacks have been of limited effectiveness, but that does not lessen concerns. "We continue to look at ways to prevent those materials from making their way to those who plant explosive devices," he said.

This is a difficult proposition because many chemicals, like chlorine, have legitimate civilian uses. Chlorine is used to purify water and in other industrial processes.

Without getting into details that could jeopardize operational security, U.S. servicemembers have gear to protect them from such weapons, a Pentagon official said. So the terrorists aim the weapon at civilians in an effort to intimidate populations.

"The car bombs themselves are designed to target innocent civilians," Whitman said. "It reflects the brutality of the enemy we are facing and the total disregard of life to use such an indiscriminate nature."

Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.

Biological Attack Investigator’s Handbook

“Criminal and Epidemiological Investigation Handbook, Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the USDepartment of Justice, and the US Army Soldier Biological ChemicalCommand. 2006.”

Available At:
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Book Excerpt:
“Current information indicates that, regardless of location, American assets and citizens will continue to be targets of terrorist activities. Terrorists have demonstrated their willingness to employ non-traditional weapons to achieve their ends. One such class of non-traditional weapons is biological agents. Biological agents pose new challenges to both law enforcement and public health officials in their efforts to minimize the effects of a biological attack and apprehend those responsible for the attack. In the past, it was not uncommon for law enforcement and public health officials to conduct separate and independent investigations. However, a biological attack requires a high level of cooperation between these two disciplines to achieve their respective objectives of identifying the biological agent, preventing the spread of the disease, preventing public panic, and apprehending those responsible. The lack of mutual awareness and understanding, as well as the absence of established communication procedures, could hinder the effectiveness of law enforcement’s and public health's separate, but often overlapping, investigations. Due to the continued likelihood of biological attacks, the effective use of all resources during a biological incident will be critical to ensure an efficient and appropriate response.

The purpose of this handbook is as follows:

To provide an introduction to epidemiological and criminal terrorist investigations so public health and law enforcement personnel have a better understanding of each other's information requirements and investigative procedures.

To identify potential conflicts law enforcement and public health personnel will encounter during their respective biological incident investigations and to provide potential solutions that can be adapted to meet the needs of the various jurisdictions and agencies throughout the United States.

To enhance the appreciation and understanding of each discipline's expertise by all parties.”

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.