(Letter written to Soldiers For The Truth--SFTT organization)
We should steer away from the endless geo-political whining as recently brought up in the nation's new war on terrorism e-mail. What we need is CONCRETE DO-ABLE actions that readers can after reading an email DO SOMETHING. This whining about policies infers that the only people who can act are government officials and this is simply not the case. Most of the U.S. military's problems excepting big-ticket items like Armored Vehicles etc. CAN BE SOLVED AT THE INDIVIDUAL SOLDIER LEVEL.
Rep Ron Wolf (R-Va) is leading an effort to review the nation's terrorism policies etc etc ad nauseum. Here is where SFTT should bring CONCRETE, suggestions to bear to prevent another round of excuse mongering. Let me get to the point:
1. Every American should have a sealed room Israeli-style to protect themselves from Bio-Chem (nuclear fall out attack)
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/2116/nbc.htm
2. Every U.S. military member should have a field pro mask and MOPP suit in his car (pov) to enable him to get to his duty station. How will the DOD's high-profile "reaction teams make it to the scene if they and their families become victims?
3. FEMA is already advocating safe rooms, basements being built in homes near tornado areas etc. America wants to live under an illusion of normalcy, but having a sealed room, 2 week supply of food and water is not asking for too much
4. The enemy's "cruise missile" rolls on 4 wheels and requires a relaxed state of readiness to roll into position to detonate its explosives: its called the car/truck bomb. We need to make Washington D.C. a foot only city and ban all POVs excepting official vehicles or else it will become a target eventually. Its 1998---15 years after Beirut and we STILL HAVEN'T DEFEATED THE CAR BOMB!
5. We need an entirely new approach to our embassies overseas----they should be viewed as a Joint Command--USEMBCOM that has a military General and staff whose careers depend on these pieces of U.S. territory NOT getting obliterated.
See details below.
ALL IT WOULD TAKE WOULD BE ONE STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH
BY THE PRESIDENT ASKING AMERICANS TO MAKE THESE PREPARATIONS.
WHY WAIT>?
Every SFTT email should be so structured.
USEMBCOM no more ad hocery
A security specialist writes about the current ad hoc nature of embassy security:
"There is another program specifically focused on intelligence gathering for the embassy's. Unfortunetly, information gets to the marines, if at all, watered down and screened. Intell dweebies are trying to protect their sources and guards are trying to figure out what the last security directive meant. The frustration experienced by the last line of defense must be unbelievable."
Organizations that will not learn from its mistakes are destined to repeat them, as we are seeing with the car/truck bombs continuing to blow our people up.
Keeping 5-15 meter seperation, combat formations, even snap shooting is of
little use against a car/truck bomb. To defeat these things, you need to study
urban construction, explosives effects, current car/truck bomb technology, go
out into the cities and test these things, learn the area's culture and
language, building up a covert intel net for early warning, etc etc all of
these do not come about by getting up in the morning at o-dark thirty and
shouting OOOHRAH!. Noone's pride can make up for stupidity and ignorance.
The CIA has been known for years as a poor source for military intelligence
product. This is why if you read my posts that we need a new Embassy Security
Organization that is composed of dedicated thinker-counter-terrorists not dumb
grunts regardless of how sentimental we are for them. The "intelligence
failure" is in the security force itself on the scene not having its own
intelligence both as individuals and collectively as in being culturally
agile.
I'm not advocating sending Airborne troops to do embassy security, either.
Medals and other bullshit are irrelevent to the FACT that we could do much
better if we has a dedicated security agency that's entire purpose is ONLY
prptecting embassies. The mc guards embassies as an after thought and using
dumb grunts is not the ideal starting point for the saavy, intelligent
culturally fluent warriors that need to be there in country to prevent
terrorist attacks. If you think a guy at parade, rest with a hand weapon is
security than you deserve to have your embassies blown up. We don't need
training alongside any other agency to create PR illusions of progressivity,
we need an organization that is progressive and dedicated to the singular
mission of embassy security. This force would draw on ALL of the services for the very BEST personnel available.
Its painfully obvious that the MSG policy is a failure. How many more buildings and deaths will it take?
Let the marines focus on the neglected state of amphibious warfare and lets get the absolute best protection possible in our embassies.
Citing the stupidity of the State Department and the Excutive Branch to choose
by sentimentality an unqualified organization to protect our embassies is only
going to continue until the body bags and public outcry, putting 2 + 2
together realizes its time we put a specially trained force in the embassies.
Keep a few marines to stand in drill formation for appearances, but the
actually security work needs to be done by thinking professionals who study
this area of warfare and not react by emotions worn on their sleeves.
The weak links in the Embassy Security question can be solved by a seperate
"USEMBCOM", a unified command solely tasked with protecting our embassies, and having a congressional budget to get what they need and a free hand to take
prudent defensive measures. If you read my prior posts you will see a security
force composed of trained operators not (simplistic rural battlefield oriented
infantry types) who can also be intelligence assets.
If you say embassy security lacks "clout" and budget/political pull, give it.
Think about it. SOF seems to be doing better under USSOCOM than as a step-
child isn't it? How about the following ideas to empower those on the scene to do Embassy Security (ES)?
1. USEMBCOM---make it a unified command like USSOCOM
Some have suggested that if we harden our embassies, the enemy would only change tactics, build bigger bombs and other self-defeating poisons. Humans are not Newtonian bodies in motion. They can choose what they do irrespective of being forced one way or another. If we harden against car bombs and the terrs are forced to use rockets/rpgs, we win and are not broad brushed "vulnerable". Vulnerable is getting the entire building full of people killed, not at best a few from a
RPG. The enemy is now reacting to our initiative instead of us his. This is a
start and worth doing. Noone measure is likely to win the fight all by
themselves, but terrorism has been defeated when we get the terrorists to
choose as humans can--to stop. We stopped Hitler's will in WWII did we not?
War is a conflict of whose will dominates, not just physical violence.
If you do not believe in the human will being changed or stopped effectively,
than you by logic would not believe ANYTHING is worth fighting for since you
will never fully "win" the other side to your view. A 90% solution is better
than no solution, as is 95% and 97% etc etc.
True excellence takes less than perfect solutions and keeps improving them, if
we need to start over, we start afresh. Think Langleys attempts to launch
heavier than air steam powered planes from his houseboat versus the Wright
Brothers having a catapult and track for a gas powered plane.
If there is a will there is a way. If you say there is no way, you don't have the will.
Airborne!
(Just my email sign-off, not an endorsement for the Airborne being tasked to do Security missions)
Mike Sparks
2. Create a joint service ES organization for both white and black operators
3. Get Congressional charter to do security with a free hand
4. Seperate budget for embassy security by law
1st TSG (A)