Saturday, December 31, 2011

"REWARDS FOR JUSTICE" OFFERS BOUNTIES ON TERRORISTS

The U.S. Justice Department just put a $10 million bounty on the head of al Qaeda financier Yasin al Suri, making him the most wanted terrorists on the Justice Department's "Rewards for Justice" program. A $25 million reward is offered for Al Qeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Any information that helps authorities find Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, better known as Yasin al Suri, is being advertised by U.S. authorities.



This Iran-based senior financier of Al Qaeda has been operating under an agreement between Al Qaeda and the Iranian government since 2005. Yasin al Suri moves money and recruits through Iran and on to Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is a fundraiser for the terrorist network and has collected money from donors throughout the Persian Gulf region, according to the U.S. State Department. He has also arranged for the release of Al Qaeda personnel from Iranian prisons. Upon release, the Iranian government transfers them to the custody of al-Suri, who then coordinates their travel to Pakistan.


The "Rewards for Justice" program is a valuable tool in fighting global terrorism. It was created before 9-11, in 1984, under Public Law 98-533. It is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security.The program continues to offer millions of dollars for information leading to the capture of some of America's most wanted terrorists. Currently, the program's top wanted terrorist is Al Qeada leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who's capture comes with the potential for a $25 million reward. Suri is one of three men in the $10 million reward category, the others being Taliban leader Mullah Omar and Abu Dua, leader of Al Qeada in Iraq.

The program authorizes the Secretary of State to distribute "rewards for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of anyone who plans, commits, or attempts international terrorist acts against U.S. persons or property, that prevents such acts from occurring in the first place, that leads to the location of a key terrorist leader, or that disrupts terrorism financing".


The Secretary of State is authorized to pay a reward greater than $25 million if it is determined that a greater amount is necessary to combat terrorism or to defend the United States against terrorist acts.


Thus far, the "Rewards for Justice" program  has paid more than $100 million to over 60 people who provided actionable information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. The program played a significant role in the arrest of international terrorist Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.


While the law governing the "Rewards for Justice" program is aimed at terrorism directed against Americans, the United States shares information with other nations whose citizens are at risk. Every government and every citizen has a stake in bringing terrorists to justice and in preventing acts of terrorism.


The practice of placing bounties on terrorists is practiced by Moscow as well. The Russian authorities placed a $10 million bounty on Chechen warlords and has declared they will hit such terrorists anywhere, anytime.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S. is a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). A portion of this site's ad revenues are donated to the AFIO. The views expressed on this site do not represent those of any  organization he is a member of. We're always looking for different perspectives regarding the Intelligence Community- got a thought or comment? Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.

LIKELIHOOD OF NAVAL WAR BETWEEN IRAN AND U.S.

USS JOHN STENNIS
At this moment, Iranian submarines, warships and C 14 class missile boats are testing their might in the Sea of Oman. The saber-rattling operation is called Velayat-90 and they are laying anti-ship mines, auditioning their aerial drones, and firing missiles and torpedoes to show the world that they have the power to block oil from passing through the Straight of Hormuz. Iranian Navy's C 14 class missile boats will test fire the short range Nasr-1 anti-ship cruise missile to demonstrate their ability to destroy American warships.

But, could a spark ignite? It’s not conspiracy theory that the Yakhont (SSN-26) missile can destroy American warships. The Russian’s delivered these supersonic anti-ship missiles to Syria, despite pleas from the U.S. that they could be obtained by terrorists. The Russian’s ignored the plea. Suppose Syria surreptitiously gave one of these weapons to Hammas or another terrorist group out to destroy the Western world. What if, unbeknownst to Iran, an SSN-26 is launched against an American warship, like the US Aircraft Carrier USS Stennis, which is observing Operation Velyat-90 proceedings at this moment? What an ideal way for the crumbling regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to divert attention away from the Arab League fact-finding mission and his brutal crackdown on protesters.

In addition to the “what if” trepidations, Iran’s bellicose words add further tension to the seemingly innocuous war games. Iran’s navy chief, Admiral Habibollah Sayari, said his forces are monitoring the USS Stennis and recorded its passage form the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman (Iranian TV segment showed the Stennis being followed by an Iranian aircraft).

Sayari’s words were backed up by Brigadier General Hossein Salmi, the deputy commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards. He stated to the Fars news agency, “Our response to threats is threats. We have no doubt about our being able to carry out defensive strategies to protect our vital interests- we will act more decisively than ever. The Americans are not qualified to give us permission to carry out military strategy”.

The wording of Iran’s leaders is the most disturbing, for it shows their belief system at work. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned, “Not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz”, if the West follows through with additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. Commodore Mahmoud Mousave of the Iranian navy stated the USS Stennis was “inside the maneuver zone” where his ships were conducting their exercises and added, that his navy “was prepared, in accordance with international law, to confront offenders who do not respect our security perimeters during the maneuvers”.

The US Defense Department replied, “Interference with the transit of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will not be tolerated and the US will act decisively to protect our interests”.

So, here we are, with the US Stennis battle group and the Iranian navy in close proximity to one another. What happens if any number of direct or circuitous happenings spark an exchange between the Iranian navy and the USS John C. Stennis, one of the world’s largest warships, and her carrier strike group in the Strait of Hormuz?

If an Iranian Nasr-1 anti-ship missile went astray, the Stennis strike group would counter with RIM-7 Sea Sparrow anti-missiles, which defend against anti-ship missiles and have been vastly upgraded over the years. They’re larger, faster, more accurate and will zero in on sea-skimming missiles with 90 lbs. of blast fragmentation explosives in each warhead.

Meanwhile, the Stennis’ 90 fighter planes and helicopter gunships would be launched and commence strafing the Iranian warships and destroy the fleet. If the Stennis was hit, the entire Iranian fleet would be sunk immediately. The Iranian C 14 missile boats would attack, prompting the US fleet’s Phalanx CIWS, close-in weapon system, to light up the skyline firing its 20mm Gatling guns and filling up the sky with armor-piercing tungsten penetrator rounds traveling at 3,600 feet per second to the tune of 4,500 rounds per minute. Iran’s missile boats would surely fire away and the incoming Iranian Nasr-1 missiles would, hopefully, be destroyed before reaching their target. No matter. At that point, the US fleet would be ordered to use the full force of their weaponry and all of Iran’s fleet would be destroyed.

Pure chaos would reign after the spark began and America’s RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) would be launched to further protect the Stennis flotilla. Scores of RAM’s screaming at Mach 2+ would maintain the retaliation and quickly find their marks.

The US would leap from defensive to offensive weapons in a heartbeat, for the stakes are too high, the earlier Iranian threats too warlike, the straight’s battle ground too cramped, with the foes a stone’s throw apart while armed with supersonic weapons. It would all be over at the speed of Mach 2+ and the Iranian fleet would descend into the depths of the Straight of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. Unfortunately, the military hotline that Washington proposed between the White House and Tehran to defuse any “miscalculations” was rejected by Iran. So, this short, concentrated, but deadly mêlée would only be the beginning.

Such military havoc in this narrow straight where tanker-filled oil passes would trigger economic mayhem. The world oil market and fragile global economies would sink faster and deeper than Iran’s navy.

Robert Morton, M.Ed., Ed.S. is a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). A portion of this site's ad revenues are donated to the AFIO. The views expressed on this site do not represent those of any  organization he is a member of. We're always looking for different perspectives regarding the Intelligence Community- got a thought or comment? Contact us on the secure Bpath Mail Form.  

Sunday, December 25, 2011

INTELLIGENCE ANALYST POSITION AVAILABLE

OSINT News read Spies for Hire, where investigative reporter Tim Shorrock discusses the outsourcing of top secret intelligence activities to private-sector contractors. Ever since 9-11, the CIA searched for analysts and linguists via corporations "outside" the intelligence community to perform sensitive tasks. It is now, according to sources, a $50 billion-a-year business that consumes up to 70 percent of the US intelligence budget.


Spies for Hire takes an extremely negative position regarding this practice.  Shorrock  mentions corporations such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, SAIC, CACI International, and IBM and describes how they have partnered up  with the CIA, the National Security Agency, and the Pentagon in their most sensitive foreign and domestic operations. Shorrock's negativity shines through when he exaggerates the downfalls of IC outsourcing, including wasteful spending, the erosion of privacy protections and congressional oversight, etc. 


Perhaps, the news coverage of Blackwater permeated his thinking. The outside contractors OSINT News investigated are superior companies in terms of staff expertise and training. For example, for more than three decades, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)—the largest employee-owned research and technology company in the United States—has achieved unparalleled success in the areas of science, engineering, and technology, all while flying well below the radar of most casual business observers. The SAIC evolved as an ongoing experiment and it continues to grow exponentially—with $8 billion in annual revenues—by applying counter intuitive operating principles that cut against the grain of contemporary business practice. SAIC is a major outsourcing resource which the CIA depends upon to protect America.


OSINT News disagrees with the draconian predictions of Shorrock's book, Spies for Hire. CACI International was mentioned as well, with a negative overtone. To ignore and shun CACI's expertise would be a national security threat.  In fact, Charlie Allen, a man we admire and met in person at an AFIO seminar in Tyson Corners, Va., is a renown and widely respected CIA veteran who now works for the Chertoff Group.

OSINT News supports the Intelligence Community (IC) in their efforts to outsource intelligence-gathering and the conducting of sensitive operations. After all, al Qaeda is expanding operations by befriending heretofore enemies in order to harm America. These new al Qaeda outsourcing cells are popping up around the globe quicker than Chicken Delight and McDonald's!


OSINT News read through the prospectus' of these private contractors, which Shorrock wrote so negatively about and, quite frankly, found the human and technical skill sets they possess to be superior! So, why train someone in the military or IC when the knowledge can be obtained right away? Many of these highly-skilled people are in the private sector for a number of reasons: downsizing during the 90s, not re-upping their time in the military, etc. Let the supply and demand market unfold! The IC needs their brain power and they've got the grey matter skills to supply...so, hire them!

Repositioning and retraining existing staff or hiring completely new people off the street and training them makes little sense. The best solution seems to be to strike a balanced approach, with appropriate  regulations of the contractor/government employee ratio. A balanced ration can be reached.




Of course, there has been negative news regarding contractors working for the military, but contractors are also working for the IC to gather and analyze intelligence information, and to carry out sensitive operations. Sadly, two of the victims of the suicide bomber who infiltrated the secret CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan, in December 2009 were contractors. I hope their names are posted on the memorial plaque in the CIA's foyer.

OSINT News found out that CACI International is searching for an Intelligence Analyst. Below are the details; we're glad to help them out!


CACI Internaltional desires to hire an Intelligence Analyst. Here's what they're looking for:


Experience in targeting, assessing, and recruiting foreign human intelligence (HUMINT) assets and experience in technical operations highly desirable. Provides guidance, case management, and support to field HUMINT collection operations. Coordinates with field, other offices, and other agencies. Reviews and evaluates the overall reporting from assets to help determine asset validity. Understands all-source collection. Good writing and briefing skills, foreign language Skills, foreign area expertise, and/or overseas experience in HUMINT operations highly desired. Provides intelligence support for contingency operations, battle staff and operational-level planning, joint and multi-lateral training exercises, and strategic engagement policy throughout the Areas of Operational Responsibility (AOR) and Areas of Interest (AOI).


Responsibilities:
• Researches unclassified and classified databases for use in written products.
• Provides research support for analysts who produce Intelligence Community reports and briefings.
• Researches, writes and monitors cable traffic.
• Supports field efforts to target, assess, and recruit foreign intelligence assets.
• Provides guidance, case management, and support to field collection operations.
• Reviews and evaluates the overall reporting from assets to help determine asset validity.
• May serve as a client liaison and coordinates with sub-contractors, government personnel, and technical experts.
• Researches, authors, and coordinates threat assessments to support the Commander and/or leaders in the U.S. civilian intelligence community.
• Present assessments to intelligence community.


Required Qualifications: Typically requires bachelor's degree or equivalent and five to seven years of related experience. Must hold an active TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph.


Desired Qualifications: Normal demands associated with an office environment. Ability to work on computer for long periods, and communicate with individuals by telephone, email and face to face. Some travel may be required. May spend a lot of time standing due to laboratory conditions.


To apply or explore further information: John Bentley, Sr. Technical Recruiter, CACI International, Inc., at jbentley@caci.com , 4114 Legato Rd, Fairfax, VA 22033; (703) 679.6839 or visit CACI Careers