STSI NEWSLETTER

May 15, 20004   NL# 0515044

The recent beheading of Nicholas Berg by Al-Zarqawi appears to be backfiring on the terrorists. In hindsight, our Intel community should have been able to predict that the enemy would respond with an over-the-edge retaliation to our prisoner abuse scandal. This, after all, is what "terrorism" is all about. Such "inhuman" acts violate the boundaries of normal acceptable human behavior and stun and shock, leaving the target victims shaking in terror and frothing in anger at their own inability to control the basic security of their lives.

But perhaps more importantly, we should have also been able to predict that the predictable over- the-edge response would swing the balance of world opinion back into our favor to a great degree. This does NOT excuse our bad behavior in the prison abuse incidents of course, but it points out an important fact... that at least in the diplomatic arena, every disaster is indeed an opportunity, if we are smart enough to find it and take advantage of it.

The opportunity here may be simply a chance for all Americans to address this issue of human rights abuse head-on once again. And due to the nature of the topic, it is necessary that we re-visit the issue from time to time as a continual reminder to the world of where the priorities of a civilized society should lie. And, of course, it is an opportunity for the United States to publicly clean up our act (and through example, perhaps, those of other nations as well).

Abuse of fellow humans goes on all the time in various parts of the world of course. It seems to be a very basic part of human nature to gain power through demeaning enemies. If one studies history, one can see easily recognize that the pattern has been with us since the time of recorded history and before. The real question seems to be, "when will we, as a species be ready to move on and leave such behavior behind?" And the unsettling answer may be never.

Human nature is difficult to control, let alone, change fundamentally. Particularly when the human race is developing and evolving at so many different rates around the globe.  Despite the enormous efforts of a few  countries such as the United States, Briton and France, there seem to be very few standards for such behavior that are considered commonly shared throughout the many diverse and conflicting cultures.  And at times like this, the only seemingly obvious and predictable common denominator seems to be that the ugly serpent of abuse will always raise its head and strike when conflict between human societies is at its worst. So that leaves us doomed to having to deal with this Issue time and time again.

I have personally refused to go on line and view the video tape showing the graphic beheading of Mr. Berg. Thanks to having led a pretty wild and crazy life of adventure in places like Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, I already have accumulated a long list of ugly images that will not go away. I don't need another one. People who have not experienced such atrocities first-hand tend to be a bit more curious perhaps, but they inevitably end up regretting the exposure unless they happen to be emotionally unbalanced. But the sheer atrocity of the event will undoubtedly serve to re-motivate many to seek out and destroy such radicals.  In that respect at least, perhaps this poor man's horrible death may not have been entirely in vain. But it is a sad commentary on our race that one feels compelled to look for the positive impacts of such negative events.

Michael James Jaquish-STSI
                    

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STSI NEWSLETTER

April 17, 2004  NL#0417043

  The recent slaughter of the four Blackwater security force commandos in Falluja, Iraq has kicked off a serious international debate over the advisability of utilizing civilian personnel for combatant roles in war zones. The fact is these four unfortunate individuals were mercenaries in the truest sense of the word. Armed guns for hire, well-trained, capable and willing to go anywhere and do practically anything for a buck. Big bucks, in fact. Those men were making around $15,000 a month to provide armed escort services for food shipments. I happen to have worked for Blackwater USA myself, so I am quite familiar with the wages, requirements and conditions of employment. The company sprung up after the 09-11-01 attacks on the world trade center and has experienced incredible growth in the short time since the event because of the demand for US Government contractors capable of performing the kind of training and services that Blackwater specializes in. And they are not alone. Similar companies are cropping up all around the globe to respond to similar needs of various governments who find themselves experiencing a shortage of qualified and committed security personnel to deal with the demands of global terrorism. The largest private security company presently providing such mercenary services appears to be British, but American companies like Blackwater and DynCorp are growing so quickly it is only a matter of time until America takes the lead in the private soldier business.

What does all this mean for the average citizen in America? The opportunity to engage in the business for great pay and great adventures is limited to a relatively small segment of society due to the rigid requirements of the positions. And for those who do qualify, the risks are very high, often outweighing the potential rewards, as those four Blackwater commandos discovered first-hand. The real impact is being felt by the military operations themselves. The 15,000 civilian security guards now in Iraq provide considerable relief for the official military personnel as they struggle to deal with the complex challenges of urban combat with vague and often unidentifiable enemies. But the real question, which remains to be answered, is "will these civilians actually end up being of any real benefit, or will they simply become causalities of a war that is proving to be far more serious and significant than anyone in the current administration appears to have anticipated?"  Unlike official military personnel, civilian combatants are not covered under the Geneva Convention, which was never intended to apply to armed civilian guards or mercenaries. This means that they have no protection as "prisoners of war" if they are captured by the enemy. In other words, they are basically on their own.

In the case of the four Blackwater commandos, the US Marines decided to respond by placing Falluja under siege in an attempt to locate the individuals responsible for the incident. But such reprisals are likely to be the exception, rather than the rule in the future. New international case laws, rules and regulations governing mercenary activities and roles are in the process of being written each day the war continues. This is new, uncharted territory and as US President George W. Bush said following 9-11-01, the world has changed forever. The upsurge of private armed security companies is only one indicator of those changes. Security has now become a number one priority. It is one of the biggest businesses across the globe and it shall remain so for many decades to come because the enemy is determined and supported by countless cells of fanatics throughout the world. Whether we like it or not, war has become an integral part of our lives, whether you live in Omak, or Omaha. Survival is now closely connected to paranoia and those with the greatest skills and awareness will be the ones who remain standing when the dust settles.

Will you be one of those? The choice is yours.
Michael James Jaquish- STSI                                            

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STSI NEWSLETTER

 March 30, 2004: NL #0330042

The battle raging in Pakistan between Pakistani forces and members of al Qaeda is encouraging, because it shows a determination on the part of nations other than the USA to subdue and destroy the harbingers of global terrorism. But as the battle rages, one cannot help but ponder the ferocity of the resistance of the al Qaeda combatants, many of whom have undoubtedly committed great atrocities against humanity in the name of their god. One such event was the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl many months ago. Those in the loop will recall that he was video taped while bound to a chair and ordered to say the words "my mother was a Jew" just before someone stepped on screen and slit his throat and followed it up with a total decapitation. As an international freelance journalist myself, this incident strikes very close to home. I have witnessed many atrocities in my life, but this ranks right up there with some of the most inhumanly vicious acts.

Sadly, "inhuman" is probably not the proper choice of words here. Of all creatures on earth, only humans seem capable of performing such acts against each other on a regular basis. It is sickening and makes me ashamed to be a member of the human race.

I am sure a lot of us are feeling the same way now as we view similar acts of daily terrorism on the news and ask ourselves how it is that human beings are capable of such acts? Well, in my opinion, such actions are tied to an ancient, deeply rooted biological imperative for the species to compete internally for survival by preserving individual gene pools. In a very real sense, we are still all still involved in tribalism. What we are seeing now (and have seen throughout the history of warfare) are merely surface manifestations of various "tribes" competing to establish their supremacy by fighting for turf and attempting to totally eliminate all perceived threats or competition. Weaker tribes (such as various Muslim sects) have no choice but to compensate for what they lack in numbers or weapons by appearing to be more vicious than their opponents. That is their only recourse and it is the predictable behavior of any creature being cornered. And as Western societies develop and grow in power and numbers, these less developed pockets of global society will continue to feel more and more pressured to fight for the survival of their own social and philosophical structures which are outward expressions of their own individuality.

So what you have here is actually a shining example of Darwin's theory of natural selection in action. The strongest survive and go on to create even stronger, more capable, more effective killers. The tribes of the West are engaged in a genetic battle with the Middle East now and it is a battle that WILL be carried out to the end eventually, one way or the other. So the more quickly and surgically we complete the process of neutralizing this threat to our own supremacy, the sooner we will be able to get back to raising our own tribe's next generation of humans.

      But where does it all end? Will reason and compassion be allowed to surface and rule in the end, or will human compassion- that most prized of all human traits, ultimately be buried beneath the growing mound of rotting corpses of opposing tribes, creating in the end, a race of the most vicious of the vicious?

The question is not easily addressed because the swinging pendulum of opinion of modern society has developed an environment that fosters human tolerance and compassion for alternate philosophies to the degree that it threatens to stunt our ability to preserve our own society. Compassion and concern for human rights are admirable, but the irony is that such concepts may have weakened us to the point where we could be in danger of loosing the battle. Like those desperate al Qaeda resistance fighters in the wilderness, it is likely that we too may eventually recover our innate lust for survival if pushed far enough into the corner. But when the face-off between the tribes of the East and the tribes of the West finally comes, our entire society must be unified in our resolve if we expect to win.

      The real question though, is "how much will we have lost by the time we decide to get vicious enough to actually WIN the battle"? Only time can provide the answer to that question and unfortunately, "time" may ultimately turn out to be our greatest enemy if we allow too much of it to pass before we react.             

Michael James Jaquish- STSI