Security Training Services International (STSI) is dedicated to raising the bar on professionalism within the private security industry and enhancing American national security in the process. To accomplish this important goal we offer a variety of training services including security training books and manuals to assist your company in meeting or exceeding company and state training requirements and goals. Those training books and manuals can be found on the Country Cop Books home page along with other books authored by Michael Jaquish on a variety of topics. Michael Jaquish also offers comments on current affairs and global security issues on the GLOBAL TERRORISM page, THE VIGILANT AMERICAN page and the STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND blog page. Information about specific training services and STSI trainers can be found by following the tabs for those topics.
Thank you for visiting the STSI/Country Cop Books web site. Please feel free to contact STSI if you have any comments or requests for support or training books on topics not listed here. STSI is capable of producing training materials on a wide variety of topics on an individual need basis.
Short training booklets (10-30 pages) on any security topic you can imagine are available upon request. These booklets come in handy for conducting follow-up or in-service training to keep your people sharp and comply with pre and post-assignment training requirements. If STSI doesn't already have what you want, we will create it in short order. Some of the current topics that are available include:
-Executive Protection
-Bank Security
-Construction Site Security
-Access Control & Weapons Screening
-Defensive Driving
-Handcuffing
-Civil Disturbances
-Apartment Complex Security
-Mall Security
-Introduction to Terrorism
-Disaster Preparation for Home and Work
-Bicycle Security Patrol
-Use of Force
-Firearms Safety
-Street Survival
-Marksmanship
-Workplace Violence
-Emergency Response (OSHA Material)
-Armored Truck Security
-Diplomatic Security
-Patrol Procedures
-Security Guards & The Legal System
-Communications & Report Writing
-Loss Prevention & Shoplifting Security
-The Science of Lock Picking Simplified
These booklets may be customized with your own company logo and information if desired. They are available in 8 & 1/2" X 11" format in spiral bindings. PRICE: $25.00 each plus sales tax (if applicable) and $5 shipping and handling. Shipping costs are reduced when ordering multiple booklets. International shipping rates are calculated individually.
TOPICS COVERED IN THE ROLE OF THE SECURITY OFFICER INSTRUCTOR MANUAL/TEXTBOOK:
The "one God for all" philosophy of unity of the Baha'i faith presented by Dr. Chris Gilbert recently (see below) is appealing but unfortunately the Baha’i faith is rejected by Islam, Judaism and most denominations of Christianity. This is sad because the Baha'i have a very valuable message of peace for the world to ponder. One cannot help but observe how divisive and destructive mono-theism has been for many cultures over the centuries and it seems obvious that any religion that clings to the idea that ‘they are the only true religion and everyone else is going to hell’represents a genuine danger to peace and the stability of civilized society. This applies pretty evenly to all three mono-theistic faiths with only a few isolated exceptions.
Albert Einstein commented on occasion that he believed that Buddhism would become the religion of the future, presumably because it does not contain the seeds of strife and dissension that drive man to go to war and kill one another in the name of God. As humanity moves toward a slippery and uncertain future we find ourselves battling the mono-theistic religion of radical Islam that seeks to remove our American freedom of and from religion from our list of human rights. It is becoming more and more apparent that Albert Einstein may have been right that mono-theism divides instead unites. Peace will never come until we stop killing each other in the name of God.
Dr. Chris Gilbert: Guest Columnist (Published: 11:13AM May 13th, 2009)
The Peninsula Gateway Newspaper, Gig Harbor, WA, USA
Having just returned as one of 170 delegates charged with electing the nine members of our National Spiritual Assembly, I am renewed with the spiritual challenge to help in the great effort now assailing our daily lives — uniting the peoples in this world into one world community. No small task, this. But I have a faith that empowers this purpose with new guidance from the one God who sparked all of the Great Faiths in our world.
As spring begins this year, I am happy to provide some basic information about this new religion and its perspectives on how to live well through the tumultuous events of our current age. With more than 6 million adherents worldwide, the Baha’i Faith is an independent, world religion founded on the principles of the Oneness of God, the Oneness of Religion and Oneness of mankind. The purpose is to unite all peoples in one common purpose under one common faith. While these are lofty in tone, in practice, Baha’is see all the past great prophets as coming from the same one God and progressively teaching mankind the truths of His faith. This is perhaps the most unique spiritual shift followers of the faith have made. Rather than looking at religion based on one prophet appearing at one time to one people, Baha’is recognize progressive revelation.
In essence, all the great religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, the Jewish faith, Christianity, Islam and Baha’i, spring forth in a cycle of renewal about every 1,000 years. All these prophets bring with them reminders of the Universal Truths common to all the great religions of all ages. They also bring to our evolving society new rules for each age. These rules catalyze great social change. Mankind’s spiritual evolution has been sparked in different ages not by one but by a progression of teachers delivering God’s message.
The last messenger, Baha’u’llah (in Persian, the “Glory of God”), fulfilled the prophecies of all the great faiths that another teacher would return. Baha’u’llah was born in what is now Iran and forsook his nobleman family background to declare his mission to the world in 1863. For this, he was bitterly opposed and imprisoned for 40 years. During this long exile, he committed his revelations and prayers to writing and authored letters to the great rulers of the time around the world. This newest covenant directly calls for the equality of men and women, the elimination of all prejudice, universal education accessible to all peoples, the elimination of the extremes of wealth and poverty, and the protection of unity and cultural diversity. The Baha’i faith encourages an individual’s search for spiritual truth and promotes the harmony of science and religion. These issues, so vital to our world, were prophesied 160 years ago in a time and place where they were considered revolutionary and heretical.
What does this mean to our daily lives? Baha’u’llah said, “Unless and until unity is firmly established upon the Earth, there shall never be peace.” Baha’is see this as primary to the mission of religion in the world today. There are remarkable elements of this faith that daily herald a new view and spiritual purpose for our planet. The Baha’i faith has no clergy and advocates no ritual. Community is built through consultation rather than traditional models of leadership.
Spiritual Assemblies made up of nine community-elected members serve administratively at the local, regional, national and international levels to assist the affairs of the faith. Only members of the faith can contribute economically to it, and only those older than 15 are allowed to formally and individually declare as Baha’is. Divisions and the sense of powerlessness they create are at the heart of social, economic, political and spiritual ills. Baha’is focus their lives on creating and supporting community — locally and globally. They seek unity in message and action inclusive of all faiths, peoples and nations in order to heal division and eliminate unjust disparities.
To that end, there are many spiritual paths to one God, and the Baha’i faith offers new information for this vital journey.
On Faith columnist Dr. Chris Gilbert of Baha’i Faith can be reached by e-mail at ckgilbert9@netscape.net. For more information, visit www.bahai.org.
There is a fascinating article in the May, 2009 issue of Scientific American that provides the latest details on discoveries taking place in genetic research. These discoveries not only show specifically how we are different from chimps, but perhaps more importantly, why we evolved into a different species and precisely WHICH aspects of our human genome are different. The article presents clear evidence of how our species is in the process of evolving still by offering some examples such as lactose intolerance in some humans but not in others. Chimps and all races of human primates were all lactose intolerant until as recently as 9,000 years ago. Our species is in the midst of becoming totally lactose tolerant and when this evolutionary step concludes, all humans will be lactose tolerant. The article also shows how the evolution of the genome is influenced heavily by the struggle to combat disease and how overcoming disease is a primary factor of natural selection. The fact that our medical science is injecting us with antiviral medications to help us survive infections therefore seems to be a double-edged sword because humans incapable of warding off disease they contract prior to child-bearing age would normally die and be eliminated from the gene pool. The fact that our science is allowing these individuals to survive is therefore inhibiting the natural selection process from doing its job in terms of our future evolution. It is easy to see how this could lead us down some complicated and negative paths in generations to come.
What I find really interesting however, is that the author of the article (Katherine S. Pollard, a biostatistician and Ph. D. researcher at the University of California, SF) seems to almost intentionally stop just short of proclaiming the obvious: that human science may be on the verge of being able to predict the direction human evolution is going and even manipulating the human genome to actually take that next evolutionary step. That may be some time off because there is still a lot to be learned about the large percentage of human DNA that may or may not turn out to be significant in the evolutionary process, but I am led to believe that all these questions will be answered before too much longer.
This may sound like an excellent plot for a great science fiction book but as we have come to realize ,science fiction is often only a few steps ahead of science fact.
The economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 coupled with the threat of global terrorism from fundamentalist radical Islam and the growing problems with the Mexican/USA border situation and the drug wars taking place there have a lot of Americans wondering if America may be traveling down the same road the Roman Empire traveled down before it collapsed.
Is it too late for America? Are we doomed to fade into the pages of history as a noble but failed attempt at democracy and capitalism? Will we be brought down by an unstoppable wave of illegal immigrants flooding across our borders? Who can say for sure? One thing is certain though, immigrant migration to the United States has historically been the one single factor that built America into a super power. Even today, Immigrants come to America and see nothing but opportunities. While Americans born and raised here for generations sit and moan and complain, immigrants go to work at menial jobs (usually 2 or more at a time), share small apartments to save money, then invest in a business and before long, they are thriving and driving fancy cars and living in expensive homes (most of which are paid for in cash, by the way) and sending their children to college.
Case in point: in 1999 I met a young lady (26 YOA) from Romania who had arrived in America after wining an immigrant visa. She had stepped off the plane in Seattle about 6 months before speaking very little English with about $200 in her pocket that she had borrowed from her parents. She had a 4 year degree from a Romanian university but it was no good here so she enrolled in school and began working two jobs, one as a maid in a hotel and another working in a cash vault at BRINK's (the Armored transport company where I met her). Within two years she was speaking great English, had her associate degree as a medical assistant and had saved enough money to purchase a five-bedroom home licensed to provide care as an assisted-living facility. She quit BRINK's and her hotel job and began pulling in $10,000 to $15,000 per month from her own business.
This is the kind of drive many immigrants bring to America. We see them all around us working in convenience shops, motels and doing landscaping and all sorts of other jobs. So when I am asked "is it too late for America?" I have to stop and think about my Romanian friend and I am forced to reply, no. America has always been as successful as the people who live here. As long as America continues to attract people who see opportunity instead of disaster, there will be hope for America. The real question I suppose should be, how much longer are the born and bred Americans going to keep complaining instead of learning from what they see the immigrants doing and start doing the same themselves?
Don't get me wrong here, ILLEGAL immigration is still wrong and it is still a huge problem that we will have to deal with one way or the other. But we all need to keep in mind that in general, legal immigration has always been America's greatest asset.
Our American political system is broken. I have personally worked overseas for many years with the US State Department so I perhaps have a slightly different view of America and the American political system than the average American. What I see is that our government has made some disastrous choices in terms of who we have supported in the past and that some of those choices have generated some of the animosity. More importantly perhaps, we have simply failed to grab opportunities to generate positive relationships with the masses such as in Afghanistan after we helped the people defeat the Russians and then simply backed away without filling that vacuum with American aid and good will. As pointed out in the movie, CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, if we had taken the time to invest in a few schools, roads power plants and hospitals and encourage a democratic government back then we could have prevented this entire radical Islam mess. Is anyone taking notes? Does anyone care??
I seriously wonder if we (as a nation) will ever learn from our past. Like it or not, America will continue to be at the center of global politics for a long time to come but the vast majority of our voting public is simply unaware and unconcerned with global issues and they continue to elect those like themselves to public office. (Remember how ignorant George Bush was of global issues when he was elected by a public that didn't seem to think that was important?) I am personally of the opinion that no one should be able to run for national public office in the future until they have a Master's degree in international relations that would arm them with all the historical and political-diplomatic information they need to make the right choices.
While it may be unrealistic to expect our politicians to support such an amendment, even if a grass-roots movement to produce such change in our system failed, it would raise the awareness of the public about the importance of global issues.
An example of how disabling it can be for our country to have politicians who are unaware of the facts is stated well in the following excellent article by Charles Krauthammer. Mr. Krauthammer reminds us about the actual historical events that led up to our current war with terrorism and we all need to keep these facts in mind as we struggle to deal with the conflict on several levels; learning from the mistakes of our past and applying the appropriate pressures and techniques that reflect that awareness as we move forward. I believe it is very reasonable to expect that our leaders know this kind of stuff.
-Michael James Jaquish
Obama got U.S.-Muslim history wrong
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER; THE WASHINGTON POST
Published: 01/30/09
WASHINGTON - Every new president flatters himself that he, kinder and gentler, is beginning the world anew. Yet, when Barack Obama in his inaugural address reached out to Muslims with "to the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect," his formulation was needlessly defensive and apologetic.
Is it "new" to acknowledge Muslim interests and show respect to the Muslim world? Obama doesn't just think so, he said so again to millions in his al-Arabiya interview, insisting on the need to "restore" the "same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago."
Astonishing. In these most recent 20 years - the alleged winter of our disrespect of the Islamic world - America did not just respect Muslims, it bled for them. It engaged in five military campaigns, every one of which involved - and resulted in - the liberation of a Muslim people: Bosnia , Kosovo , Kuwait , Afghanistan and Iraq .
The two Balkan interventions - as well as the failed 1992-93 Somali intervention to feed starving African Muslims (43 Americans were killed) - were humanitarian exerc ises of the highest order, there being no significant U.S. strategic interest at stake. In these 20 years, this nation has done more for suffering and oppressed Muslims than any nation, Muslim or non-Muslim, anywhere on earth. Why are we apologizing?
And what of that happy U.S.-Muslim relationship that Obama imagines existed "as recently as 20 or 30 years ago" that he has now come to restore? Thirty years ago, 1979, saw the greatest U.S.-Muslim rupture in our 233-year history: Iran's radical Islamic revolution, the seizure of the U.S. embassy, the 14 months of America held hostage.
Which came just a few years after the Arab oil embargo that sent the United States into a long and punishing recession. Which, in turn, was preceded by the kidnapping and cold-blooded execution by Arab terrorists of the U.S. ambassador in Sudan and his charge d'affaires.
This is to say nothing of the Marine barracks massacre of 1983, and the innumerable attacks on U.S. embassies and installations around the world during what Obama now characterizes as the halcyon days of U.S.-Islamic relations.
< div>
Look. If Barack Obama wants to say, as he said to al-Arabiya, I have Muslim roots, Muslim family members, have lived in a Muslim country - implying a special affinity that uniquely positions him to establish good relations - that's fine. But it is both false and deeply injurious to this country to draw a historical line dividing America under Obama from a benighted past when Islam was supposedly disrespected and demonized.
As in Obama's grand admonition: "We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith's name."
Have "we" been doing that, smearing Islam because of a small minority? George Bush went to the Islamic Center in Washington six days after 9/11, when the fires of Ground Zero were still smoldering, to declare "Islam is peace," to extend fellowship and friendship to Muslims, to insist that Americans treat them with respect and generosity of spirit.
And America listened. In these seven years since 9/11 - seven years during which thousands of Muslims rioted all over the world (resulting in the death of more than 100) to avenge a bunch of cartoons - there's not been a single anti-Muslim riot in the United States to avenge the greatest massacre in U.S. history. On the contrar y. In its aftermath, we elected our first Muslim member of Congress and our first president of Muslim parentage.
"My job," says Obama, "is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives."
That's his job? Do the American people think otherwise? Does he think he is bravely breaking new ground? George Bush, Condoleezza Rice and countless other leaders offered myriad expressions of that same universalist sentiment.
Every president has the right to portray himself as ushering in a new era of this or that. Obama wants to pursue new ties with Muslim nations, drawing on his own identity and associations. Good. But when his self-inflation as redeemer of U.S.-Muslim relations leads him to suggest that pre-Obama America was disrespectful or insensitive or uncaring of Muslims, he is engaging not just in fiction but in gratuitous disparagement of the country he is now privileged to lead.
Charles Krauthammer is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist. He can be reached at letters@charleskrauthammer.com.
This recent election was very difficult for many Republicans and I am no exception. I decided to take a few minutes to share my thoughts with you because I believe the Party needs some input to decide where to go after this disastrous election.
I am (or was) a registered Republican and have tried hard to support the party in the past but the fact is, like many Americans, politics is a bit complicated. I do not agree with any party totally and I vote on issues and candidates rather than on party, which I suppose makes me an Independent voter. In spite of that, I have voted conservative most of the time (especially since 9-11-01) because I love my country and believe in a strong military and because like our founding fathers, I believe in smaller government with lower taxes and less regulation for the most part (although we obviously need more regulation of the banking and home loan industry to correct the wild-west attitudes that carried us into the current economic disaster). I also believe that capitalism works better than socialism (the fundamental Democratic principal), which attempts to redistribute wealth by taxing (penalizing) wealthy business owners to finance social programs.
I disagree with Republicans on abortion and believe they should let that subject fade away as quickly as possible. Rowe VS Wade has been challenged and it is firmly engrained in our constitution and there is little anyone can do about that. Furthermore, President George W Bush lost my support when he took a stand against Stem Cell Research to develop life-saving medical advances. Where did that come from? I thought Republicans valued human life. Isn't medical research a valuable component of extending human life?
I also take issue with the Republican tendency to remain in a state of denial over the reality of global warming and the fact that it is directly related to unchecked industrial pollution. That is a fact that has been well established by scientists all over the planet and every country but America has admitted it is happening. Our dependence on oil for energy is a huge national security risk and the quickest way to end our reliance on foreign (and domestic) oilis by building hundreds of wind generating plants and Nuclear Power Plants across the nation (something the Democrats hate) to replace coal and oil fired generating plants and provide electricity for electric vehicles to replace gasoline powered vehicles (something the Republicans seem to always back away from supporting).
I feel very uncomfortable with the fact that the Radical Christian Right has been adopted by the Republicans to gain votes. Our founding fathers recognized the importance of freedom from religion as much as freedom of religion and that is why the concept of separation of church and state is so important. Republicans seem to want to insert their recognition of a Christian God into every aspect of government at every opportunity and I do not believe that is appropriate or necessary, even in a country that is predominately Christian. Our country is more complicated than that and more diverse than that and it is very dangerous to allow our government to be arrogant about religion. The Republican Party needs to step away from religion and get on with the business of promoting smaller government and less taxes and a balanced budget.
WashingtonState recently approved an Initiative (I-1000. Death with Dignity) to allow terminally ill patients to end their suffering by receiving a prescription for a lethal dose of medication that they can take themselves when they are ready to die with dignity. I fought hard to gather signatures for the Initiative and get it passed and until recently I did not realize it was being opposed by Republicans on moral and religious grounds. Please be advised that there is no admonition against taking one's own life in the Bible and even if there were, this is not an issue that a Political Party should take a position on because of the separation of church and state issue. No one will ever be required to participate in the Death with Dignity law if they are opposed to it. Only those who do not have a problem with it will take advantage of this law when the time comes. As far as I am concerned, conservative opposition to this law is one more nail in the coffin for the Republican Party.
I believe that the Republican Party has abandoned the principals that defined conservatives for generations and the evidence is in their pick of John McCain to lead the party in the latest presidential race. McCain nearly switched parties to become a Democrat in 2004 because he was already voting with them on so many issues. That is only one reason why he was not considered conservative enough by most Republicans. Another was his proposal to grant US citizenship to Illegal aliens when our country is experiencing a major invasion of illegal aliens.
Ten percent of Republicans voted for Obama this time around and I am one of them. We did so largely because we did not think there was enough difference between McCain and Obama and because McCain was allowed to select a controversial, wild-card VP candidate instead of a strong conservative like Huckabee or Romney.
If the Republican Party desires to continue to represent conservatives in the future, they will simply have to redefine themselves by pulling their act together to return to the basics.
Today is Election Day... the day that defines America. Regardless of who wins this presidential election, the whole world is watching in amazement as the continuing miracle of American Democracy unfolds before our eyes once again. The idea of a Democratic Representative Republic of American States began as a dream that most had trouble believing would ever materialize, let alone last for over 200 years. During that time, the rest of the world has battled to maintain some kind of order amidst the chaos of governance, drifting between experiments with religious and secular autocracies, dictatorships, socialism, communism, kingdoms and principalities to various forms of representative democracies that strive to approach the American election process.
On this day it is important to remember that despite all our cultural and political turmoil, we are indeed the envy of the world. Every time the reins of power are handed over to another American President without blood-letting, it is a genuinemiracle. I know this because I have personally witnessed the normal alternative, dodging bullets and running for cover, jumping over decapitated corpses to survive in third world countries as they conducted their version of transfer of power. Most Americans have never had the privilege to participate in such an event, even as an observer, so they are pretty much clueless. I know this because I see it in their eyes and hear it in their words as they gaze past the miracle to focus instead on brainless sports or entertainment programs and voice exasperation at having to tolerate the endless political signs and campaign commercials for candidates. They are clueless. They never had to dodge a bullet to survive an "election" so they are spoiled, soft and out of touch with how special our system is, even though the rest of the world knows and watches in rapt attention and envy.
So... regardless of who our American people elect, I will honor the will of the people and respect that person as our commander in chief because in the United States of America that is what we do and that is what makes us such a valuable resource to the developing world and human culture.
There is a time and place for disagreement and that time and place is the campaign. Once that is over, we make our decisions and move forward with that great experiment called The United States of America. For better or worse, hopefully learning from our mistakes as we move along, creating history as we go. we move forward together.
Who determines the will of the people? The people do when they vote. They are us. If one chooses not to vote, it is unfortunate but even in choosing not to vote one is exercising choice. In choosing not to vote one chooses to accept the will of those who do vote and even that is superior to those who live in dictatorships and have no choice at all.
If the time ever comes when Americans allow their disagreements to separate them from the reality of what America means to the rest of the world, our country will cease to be the hope of the world, and that will be very unfortunate indeed because the world desperately needs hope.
RE: Reaction to two recent Seattle Times articles.
On July 01, 2008, members and supporters of the "Death With Dignity I-1000" initiative committee traveled to Olympia to turn in over 320,000 signatures of those in WashingtonState who have signaled their support of a law that will allow Doctors to write lethal prescriptions to terminally ill patients. Unfortunately, The Seattle Times followed up the event with two articles that projected subtly inaccurate perspectives of the Death With Dignity initiative.
The first article, by Times writer, Carol Ostrom contained the headline: "Death initiative petitions filed." As one of many thousands of supporters of this initiative, I am personally offended that MS. Ostrom decided it was appropriate to shorten Death With Dignity initiative to "Death initiative" in the title of her article. I can only conclude that her decision was motivated by a personal bias against this initiative.
This initiative is admittedly a hot-button topic and there is a lot of misinformation out there masquerading as fact. Newspaper writers are allowed to have their personal opinions about such topics but when it comes to reporting the facts, I believe there should be a concerted effort to avoid projecting bias. The term "Death Initiative" obviously contains a more negative connotation than the proper title (Death With Dignity) and someone of MS Ostrom's experience and expertise is expected to understand the power of words. I hope that in the future, staff writers at The Seattle Times will make a stronger effort to stick to reporting the news rather than manipulating it to support their own personal agendas.
The second article; written by Former Governor Booth Gardner (Properly titled: "Death With Dignity" initiative deserves dignified consideration) was well-written, factual and informative. However, someone on the staff of The Seattle Times apparently decided it would be appropriate to insert a sketch showing an elderly lady about to receive a lethal injection, presumably from a Doctor. Anyone scanning the paper would notice this sketch and if they didn't bother to actually read the article, would immediately assume that this proposed new law would allow Doctors to inject patients with lethal doses of some material to cause death. This is NOT the case. The proposed law would authorize Doctors to issue prescriptions for lethal medication to patients who are of sound mind and terminally ill but THEY will be required to administer the medication themselves. This subtle inaccuracy is yet one more example of biased, manipulation in reporting on this sensitive issue on the part of the staff of The Seattle Times.
The coming months leading up to the election in November will contain many more opportunities for The Seattle Times to make an unbiased effort to report the facts to the public. For the sake of that public, who depends upon newspapers to provide facts that will enable them to make well-informed decisions; I sincerely hope The Seattle Times is up to the challenge.
"Bin Laden", I murmured as I stood in my living room in GigHarbor watching another airliner slice into the second tower of the WorldTradeCenter on September 11, 2001. The cold sensation of an ice dagger being driven into my heart spread throughout my body as I realized that my detached, secure and happy society had just evolved into the same fear and paranoia shared by so many other countries who had been engaged in the insane battle with terrorists for years. Radical Islam had been struggling to drag American into its war on modern society for some time and had finally succeeded.
I knew instantly who had orchestrated the events because my background in international security had acquainted me with Bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist group when I was running local security guard operations for US Embassies in West and North Africa. His Al Qaeda group had been responsible for a number of bombings on US and Western facilities in the region while I was there and all Intel people knew he was gearing-up for something big. Since returning to the United States in 1997 I had stayed abreast of the terror threat as I conducted training for the private security industry on how to survive deadly force encounters. I would frequently use the scenario of terror attacks to illustrate one reason why, even in America, security professionals needed to be prepared to respond to anything. Such warnings generally fell upon deaf ears though. My students nodded and were interested in my stories, but I could see they believed that being attacked by a radical Moslem terrorist in America was a big stretch for their perspective. And why shouldn't it be? Prior to September 11, 2001, complacency ruled the roost for the private security industry in America. Detecting and deterring burglars and thieves occupied the bulk of the responsibilities of the average security guard and simply being visible in uniform, regardless of your age or capability, seemed to do the trick most of the time. Anyone could be a security guard as long as they didn't have a criminal record. Even a few with criminal or unsavory backgrounds managed to secure jobs in the industry from time to time and no one much noticed or cared.
After those 9/11 attacks though, the private security profession struggled to adapt drastically overnight. The sudden resulting clamor and need to seek out and consult with security professionals severely strained available resources and generated a new and fervent interest in security on all levels as everyone realized that it would likely be private security guards, NOT Police and Fire who would be first on the scene of terror attacks. Until 9/11, security was often relegated to the back burner by much of corporate America and many government agencies. My own experience in providing security services for US Embassy operations was ripe with examples of this complacency. Much of my time was spent attempting to convince US State Department officials to perform simple upgrades to their perimeter security such as building hard barriers and extending vehicle approach perimeters to make it more problematic for terrorists to set off truck or car bombs directly in front of American facilities.
For the most part, my warnings and suggestions fell on deaf ears. Some nodded in agreement but most responses were variations of the same theme; "we agree with your observations, but unfortunately there will be no funds allocated for such upgrades until something bad happens."
Well, something bad'did happen. Shortly after I left Africa, two US Embassy Chancery buildings in Africa were destroyed by car bombs that were set off directly in front of the buildings. Many human lives were lost needlessly because these vehicles had been placed in a strategically vulnerable position open to attack.
Terror attacks such as the KhobarTowers truck bombing in Saudi Arabia, the USS Cole boat bombing and those two US Embassy bombings in Africa forced our government to lift their heads out of the sand and begin the struggle to find the right balance between paranoia and preparation. But it wasn't until details about the 9/11 hijackers emerged that the US Government and private security companies actually began the process of revamping their stateside internal security operations. US security contractors startedconducting internal evaluations, raising minimum standards and performing more thorough background checks on existing personnel and new hires. Many private security companies staffing airport security operations were found to have illegal aliens and people with criminal backgrounds in their employ so the Federal government stepped in to replace them with the newly created Transportation Security Administration (TSA). They raised salaries and standards and increased training in an effort to minimize the likelihood that the airline hijackings of 9/11 would be repeated.
It wasn't long before the government concern for enhanced security began to trickle down to the private industry. A small company named Blackwater USA sprung into being to fill the gap created by the sudden need for specialized counter-terrorism training and grew quickly to the largest security services contractor employed by the US Government. All across the nation, states began reevaluating their private security guard training and licensing standards discovering that unlike law enforcement there was a definite lack of training materials available for the private security industry. As a WashingtonState certified guard trainer, I became involved with Blackwater conducting firearms and counter terrorism training at the local US Navy bases and wrote a book on basic security guard training (The Role of the Security Officer) to assist private security guards and trainers in complying with new standards.
One thing that makes America special is that its citizens have short memories and most struggle to forgive and forget and move forward with dialogue and compassion when confronting threats to our society. This desire to forgive and move on is an attribute that has been much admired by the civilized world in the past but it may in fact be used against us by the current enemy we are facing. Radical Islam is totally focused on converting or killing every non-Muslim on the planet and they view compassion from "infidels" as mere opportunities to overwhelm and defeat their adversaries. The brief initial heightened national consciousness of Islamic terrorism following the 9/11 attacks seemed to recognize this, but such attitudes began to fade within months of the events. Initially, there was little objection to the Patriot Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Patriot Act, which granted our government extraordinary powers to govern and maintain internal security in light of the threat from radical Islam is now however, under attack from large portions of American society and POWs from this global war on terror incarcerated inthe Guantanamo Bay detention center are being released and some are serving as suicide bombers against Americans overseas.
The fact is, America's infrastructure and borders remain nearly as vulnerable as they were before 9/11. The United States covers a vast area that may well be impossible to totally secure. Since America invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, Terrorists have been content to meet Americans on the battlefield but many suspect it is only a matter of time until terrorist cells in America activate and begin targeting soft targets in America again, especially if America pulls out of Iraq before stabilizing the region.
What can America and Americans do to meet this difficult challenge? For one thing, Americans need to maintain their awareness and focus in terms of the reality of the threat to American society presented by radical Islam as they go about the daily business of evaluating and improving their safety and security. This is a conflict that will go on for a long time and if we expect to win, we must commit ourselves to finding constructive ways to fight it successfully on several levels, culturally as well as militarily. In addition, the private security industry needs to take itself very seriously. The industry has traditionally attracted owners and employees who viewed the "profession" as an easy way to make a few bucks. Individuals with little expertise in the field were able to obtain security guard company licenses and hire people with marginal skills for minimum wages to wear a uniform and stand guard on a post with little expectation that anything would happen. The most important thing that 9/11 did to the industry was to raise the expectation that "something" would or could actually happen. Anticipation and preparation is the best defense.
Hope for the best but plan for the worst. After 9/11, our worst-case scenario got a whole lot worse.If the private security industry evolves to the point where they are convincingly concerned about raising the bar on their ability to deliver the level of protection society needs, the government will likely react with support for training and new regulations. Right now, such support is viewed as problematic by the federal government because overall the private security industry appears scattered and disorganized in terms of internal direction and standards. To alter this perception, the private security industry needs to communicate, organize and coordinate their efforts on a national level.
Personally, I try to balance my awareness and paranoia with a degree of optimism. Although pay for guards in the private sector remains low because of the competitive bid process involved in obtaining guard contracts, the private security industry recognizes that evolution and change is necessary and inevitable. Most in the industry have come to accept that standards and training need to increase in order to provide the level of protection society demands. Companies that survive will likely be those that step up to the plate and make the necessary changes. The days of the complacent, ill-trained, poorly prepared security guard may not be totally behind us, but as the pool of aware and dedicated Americans and experienced US Military personnel returning from the battlefield entering the private security profession increases, the level of professionalism should increase as well.
As a result of 9/11, even the average citizen now understands that the key to the survival of a free society is tied closely to our ability to remain vigilant and adaptable. Preserving a free society involves and requires participation by all. Extending this vigilance into every aspect of our lives is not only important, it is crucial, because nothing is more important to the survival of our species than the issue of security.
