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Israel is once again moving troops in its own defense. An increase in rockets attacks against Israel as prompted the Israeli military to conduct pre-assault air strikes against key Hamas targets softening the underbelly of another terrorist organization. The IDF(Israeli Defense Forces) has activated approximately two brigades and put 6500 reservists on alert.

Hamas and the Palastinian cause has failed to recognize the favorable position that they were in, after the Gaza was turned over to them by the Israeli government. Hamas fails to realize that it is in violation of the laws of common sense. The civilized world militaries follow rules of engagement and laws of war under the various world agreements and only egage enemies when given the authority to do so. Hamas follows no rules and fails to create constructive dialouge that could be the foundation for real peace in their region.

The main philosophy of extremists in the region, including Hamas and Iran are based on a doctrine of the destruction and removal of Israel from the region. Hamas is the key of the Iranian influence in the Gaza, a fact which is widely understood by Israel and the United States. The  doctrine of destruction is nothing short of unreasonable and unrealistic. Israel is a democratic entity in the middle east and a will be supported by the United States in the most tenuous of situations. Hamas must realize this and stop the bloodshed, display the white flag and meet on the field of honor like men to negotiate a true peace. There is no dishonor in peace, there is no dishonor in saving the lives of your children and there is no dishonor in breaking bread with your enemies for a greater good.

The news  from the middle east is once again bleak, as several sources were reporting that Pakistan was in the process of a troop build up on the Indian border. As reported earlier on this blog, Pakistan is also in the process of purchasing newer up-dated military hardware in the way of attack submarines. Considering Pakistans actions and the recent attacks in Mumbai, it seems that the situation in that region is reaching a boiling point.

Relations between both countries have been poor since both countries were founded. Ironically both countries are also armed with nuclear weapons, a fact which makes both countries extremely dangerous to the region. Pakistan has also pulled troops from the border of Afghanistan where it has alledgedly been seeking out pockets of Al Queda and fighting terrorism, but consdering the events of the last few weeks, one must wonder if Pakistan is truely concerned with fighting fellow Muslims who are against Western interests.

In todays news, it was reported that Israel has begun strikes on Hamas positions after suffering multiple large scale rocket attacks.  The strikes have killed over two hundred. Israel has displayed great restraint in these matters. She has turned over lands in Gaza in an effort to apease extremists in that region, and in doing so, put Israel in a dangerous tactical position. The airstrikes are more than likely a precursor to a larger assault.

As anticipated, the top U.S. military officer says that up to 30,000 new American troops could be on the ground in  Afghanistan by this time next year. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said on a visit to Kabul that between 20,000 and 30,000 additional U.S. troops could be sent to Afghanistan by the summer 0f 2009.

U.S. commanders are there requesting an additional 20,000 troops to bolster the 31,000 (as previously reported on this blog) U.S. forces already in the country. But other estimates indicated 30,000 additional forces is the largest number any top U.S. military official has said publicly. Mullen says that after those troops are increased, only improvements in Afghanistan’s governance and economic situation will affect the strength of the insurgency.

President Elect Obama has already signaled his approval for staying the course in Afghanistan, recognizing the need to take the fight to Muslim Extremists in the country. Adding to this is the recent attacks in Mumbai, increased threats against US interests worldwide and direct (and unusual)  threats against Obama by Al Queda leadership.

Several news sources reported that thirty six National Guard and Military reserve facilities recieved suspicious packages. The packages contained anti-war material and an inert powder substance. Approximately fifty one packages were mailed from a Tennessee. Some packages were also mailed to forty governors offices around the nation.These items were mailed from Texas. The FBI was investigating these incidents.

This is a reminder that terrorism is still very real and that threats are not to be taken litely. Americans should be especially watchful when in the work place, particularly if part of their job is handling incoming mail.

Private security needs to increase training and improve working conditions by providing better guidelines and equipment to frontline security personnel. Security personnel should also be trained in emergency response and be trained on how to interface with other emergency services, including local police, fire departments and FEMA.

After 9/11 occurred, when asked what Americans should do, he replied “Go shopping” This was a profoundly ignorant statement to make. Americans need to stop being complacent and start preparing as if disaster was at their doorstep now. This includes having an action plan, storing extra food, buying emergency equipment and being mentally prepared for the worst.  At the very least, every US home should have on hand, two weeks of non perisahble food, flashlights, extra batteries, an emergency radio, a first aid kit, a heating source and some means of personal defense (A Firearm).

In the event of a real disaster, public safety services will be strapped and unable to provide basic services to those who will need it. The walking wounded and the able bodied will need to fend for themselves. Minor medical attention will need to be delivered as it did on the American frontier in the 1800s.

During world war two nearly every home in the United States had a “Victory Garden” as logistics, food and medical supplies were being sent to troops in the field. The reinstatement of the Victory Garden should be on everyones agenda for this spring, and encouraged by the government. Too much land is wasted as yard space when it could be producing food for hard times. Harvested crops from these gardens can be canned and stored for long periods and make each family a self sustaining unit. Each home should also consider storing its own water or considering a well, (depending upon their location).

As India mourned from an attack by militant extremists  on 27 November, Indian officials and their special forces personnel were being criticised for aggravating the crisis through their slow and unorganized response to the attacks. The attacks, which left over one hundred and forty people dead and some three hundred others injured, was among the worst terrorist attacks ever experienced in India and probably the world, while the death toll was lower than that suffered during the Mumbai bombings of 2006, the latest attack was unprecedented in terms of planning, execution and ruthlessness. The attack was perpetrated by approximately fifteen and twenty fedayeen, or suicide operatives, who seized two of India’s best-known hotels along with sixty to eighty hostages, as well as the nearby house of a Jewish rabbi.

Security sources indicated that this particular mission was executed with military precision. Arriving in well-equipped dinghies launched by a ‘mother ship’ some eight km from Mumbai’s coastline. The operatives then split up into teams, moving swiftly through crowded streets and giving the security forces no opportunity to effectively engage them.

According to Jane’s Defense Weekly, “one of the dinghies used, equipped with satellite communications, mobile telephones and GPS, has been recovered at Mumbai’s Sasson dock. “The terrorists were well orientated and determined to succeed in their goal of targeting Mumbai’s most visible symbols patronised by the rich and famous and by Westerners,” a senior security official said.

On Sunday, Militants torched 160 vehicles, including many Humvees destined for U.S. and allied forces deployed in Afghanistan, in the boldest attack so far on the critical military supply line through Pakistan.

The U.S. military said Sunday’s raid on two transport terminals near the Pakistani city of Peshawar would have “minimal” impact on anti-Taliban operations set to be increased with the arrival of thousands more troops next year.

However, the attack feeds concern that insurgents are trying to cut off the route through the famed Khyber Pass, which carries up to 70 percent of the supplies for Western forces in landlocked Afghanistan, and complicate the tactical situation on the ground

It has also hurt faith in Pakistani authorities, who are under pressure from India and the U.S. to act on suspicion that the deadly terror attacks in Mumbai were orchestrated by Islamic extremists based in Pakistan. 

FBI agents investigating the September 16 incident  in which Blackwater security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians,  have revealed that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified. The FBI investigation into the shootings in Baghdad is still ongoing, but the findings, which indicate that the company’s employees misused deadly force rules in effect for security contractors in Iraq, are already under review by the Justice Department.

The use of civilian contractors in military affairs is a recent phenomena that has yet to be understood by the American people. Since the 9/11 attacks, cvilian contractors have permeated government functions, including training, intelligence, maintenance, IT and security protection. Though the security function in practice, as seen from the Blackwater incident can have a profound impact on international relations.

An overt example of this, is the security profession in the United States itself, in which each state has legal juristicton over how security personnel are hired, trained, disciplined and what type of powers that they possess. Also creating risk is how each private company whether a contract security service, or an employer who maintains a propriety security force, dictates how security personnel will be utilized.

Bu two of the most looming questions concern hiring and training. In the state of Illinois. Security personnel are only required to complete twenty hours of training and submit finger prints for criminal background checks. Lack of training equals lack of experience. This is a sobering fact considering that private security personnel out number police by three to one in the United States, and their police counterpart usually has a minimum of four hundred of training, plus time with a field training officer, before being allowed to begin street duty.

Janes Defense reported that Pakistan seems to be close to purchasing a Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft’s (HDW’s) Type 214 submarine for its fleet. According to media reports in Karachi Pakistan, HDW Chief Executive Officer Walter Freitag said the company had drawn up technical specifications to build the three subs in Pakistan and that a contract was almost complete.

Spokesmen for the Pakistan Navy (PN) and the Pakistan Ministry of Defence told Jane’s on 27 November that they were not prepared to comment on the reports. However, an HDW spokeswoman said she would not deny Freitag’s statement that “the commercial contract has been finalised up to 95 per cent”.

The Type 214 is a state of the art attack submarine, which is fast and literally the most silent sub in the Asia region. Janes did not mention if the submarine was Nuke capable, but it considering the advanced technology involved, it is probable that the sub would have the ability to deliver such weapons.

A captured surviving terrorist has made statements indicating that the Mumbi attacks were connected to Pakistani Intelligence. In a shocking revelation, the only surving terrorist identified the group that he was affiliated with, and by prior knowledge the group is connected to both Al Queda and Pakistans intelligence services. It was also discovered that the gunmen had entered India by way of the sea bith hijacking a fishing trawler. The mission, apparently meant to be a suicide mission is alldeged to have been motivated by the doctrine of complete Islamization of India and Pakistan. Ten operatives were involved with the mission which was carried out with what appears to be rapid deployment tactics. Multiple targets were attacked, including hotels, a train station and other very public places and carried all the marks of militant jihad. Six Americans died in the attacks, which killed at least 172 people and wounded 239. The same group that carried out last week’s attack is believed to be behind the 2006 Mumbai trains bombings that killed more than 200. India is also demanding that militant leaders involved be extradited to India for prosection, but it is very early in the game to tell whether or not India has enough evidence to prove their point, and even more difficult would be Pakistans willingness to cooperate with any type of legal process.

As well as being a part time Writer, I am also an avid reader and love to participate in various forum discussions. One of my favorites is the Arm Chair General forum, which is affiliated with Arm Chair General Magazine, a publication that deals with military history in a very interactive way.

I posted a thread on the Arm Chair General Forum asking the question;”What Should the Response be to The Attacks in Mumbai India?” What the response amounted to was (as I expected) a mixed reaction to an ever perplexing and evolving situation that the war on Terror has become.  The board response amplified what we already know. That the response to terrorism is (and always will be) unclear at best and is potentially disasterous when put into practice.What is clear now, is that the violence of terrorism is not going away, and the potential of new attacks inside the U.S. are still a very real possibility.

So how should the U.S. respond to such attacks. One thing is for sure, the situation in Iraq has proven that going to war without a consenses of the world community and assistance of other nations militaries, is not the best of choices. Going it alone in a war in modern times is always a very bad idea. Two examples that come to mind, is the Confederate Army during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The Confederacy fought a war with no true consenus from all southern states and only an outside chance of having the British come to their aid, which never occurred because of their insistence of holding onto the institution of slavery. A choice which would have fatal consequences. The tide of the Civil War would take only two days to turn in favor of the north at Gettysburg Pennsylvania on a hot summer day in July of 1863, it was on those days that they stood alone. Another shining example is the German Army during world war two, one nation with very few if any, interested in assisting a nation out of control, with the entire world against them. A failure just waiting for the right day to happen. June 06th, 1944 was the beginning of the end for the German Army, on that day they also stood alone.

The lesson to be learned here, is that the U.S. can no longer stand alone against terrorism. It is the responsibility of the world community to either increase force against the terrorist or find out what they want and try to get them to the negotiating table. But the later part of this may indeed be very difficult, as the various Islamic radicals do not seem to be on the same page politically and in a more dangerous sense, religiously. Considering this, it may take many years for this situation to cool down militarily. The next President has already assured the American people, that a timeline for withdrawl from Iraq is coming very quickly. This should be good news to those who consider the U.S. an enemy, and yet the attacks go on.