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Security Contractors: Necessary, Evil or Neither?

Stratfor has published an article today entitled Security Contractors; A Necessary Evil. It’s an interesting read particularly the sections regarding the scope of the Diplomatic Security Service (DS) mission worldwide. Read the article yourself but the gist of the article is that, things being the way they are, security contractors are a necessary evil. An interesting way to put, but in my opinion, wrong.

It’s clear that DS is stretched thin around the world. Resources, both personnel and budget are not limitless. There’s no ready supply of DS agents available to fill the role of security contractors even if the financial means existed to replace private security contractors. All of those arguments are very valid but where I take issue is the “better the devil you know” response as justification for keeping private security contractors.

The fact that private security contractors have been used extensively by DS in other places ignores the fact that the other countries where private security contractors support DS are not war zones involving the protection of U.S. diplomats. Success in Liberia with private security contractors does not translate to success everywhere else. The Rules of Engagement, the scope of the protective mission, and the operational oversight by DS, are much different in every other country where private security contractors are performing personal security duties than in Iraq. As we have seen with virtually every aspect of the war in Iraq, the cookie cutter model simply does not apply.

Secondly, the implications as a result of misconduct by private security contractors is much more serious in Iraq than anywhere else. Unfortunately DS agents throughout the world will be left feeling like the guy responsible for cleaning up after the elephant act at the circus as a result of private security contractor misconduct. DS agents will be on the firing line when it comes to responding to violent acts around the world inspired by the perceived targeting of  unarmed Iraqi civilians by U.S. Embassy security forces. Ironically, DS agents work very hard to foster good relationships with their foreign counterparts and in foreign nations. It would be a shame if DS were perceived to be in the same category as those private security contractors who are engaging in misconduct.

I also have to take issue with the characterization that the U.S. military doesn’t have the “specialized training” required to protect diplomats. Excuse me? The U.S. military has the resources, skill, expertise and infrastructure to conduct all aspects of training required to perform such duties. In the U.S. Army for example, the Military Police Corps has trained for more than  20 years in tactical security skills that could easily be adapted to protecting U.S. diplomats. Every function now performed by private security contractors could be performed by members of the Marine Security Guard (MSG) with minimal train up time. Let’s not kid ourselves, where do you think these private security contractors got their skills? I dare say that there are relatively few former DS agents, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals etc… among the private security contractors. It’s only after someone is brought on with a private security contractor that they attend the requisite Personal Security Detail (PSD) training. When you start looking at the background of some of these private security contractors, relatively few of them had PSD backgrounds to begin with.

The stakes are so high in Iraq that the normal status quo is not the way to go. The U.S., and especially U.S. diplomats, deserve a stable protective force, that is trained, accountable, responsible and with an equity in success of the U.S. mission beyond a business contract. We can not expect the Iraqis, nor any other country in the Middle East, to develop any value for human life, when we permit the individuals responsible for protecting our most visible and active symbol of what the U.S. represents, our diplomats, to operate without impunity. We do not tolerate that of our soldiers serving anywhere in the world. Why should we permit that from private security contractors?

Defense Tech: Security Contractors: A Necessary Evil

Technorati Tags: Executive Protection, bodyguard, U.S Foreign Service Corps, U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Marine Security Guard, U.S. Army, diplomatic security, Blackwater, private security contractors

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Executive Protection is moving to Executive Protection News.Com

Executive Protection is moving to Executive-Protection-News.Com. Moving to a hosted site will allow us to better serve our growing readership by allow us to expand our offerings to include free downloads, more Executive Protection specific links such as executive protection training, listings of executive protection training sites, and more links of interest.

The projected move date is October 14th. Notice I said projected. Anything can happen but we’ll keep you posted.

Make sure you bookmark our new site at www.executive-protection-news.com

U.S. Government To Protect FBI Agents Investigating BW Shooting in Iraq

Here’s a very interesting development in the continuing saga of BW. The FBI agents assigned to investigate the BW shooting incident will be protected by unspecified members of the U.S. Government to  “To avoid even the appearance of any conflict, the FBI team deployed
from Washington to assist the State Department in the investigation of
the events of Sept. 16th will have any additional security needs
provided by U.S. government personnel,” said FBI Spokesman John Miller.

My bet is on one of three agencies for the FBI’s protection: The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) who have extensive PSD training (although I don’t know if they have been active in Iraq), the Diplomatic Security Service (DS), or the U.S. military.

No doubt the results of the joint FBI and State Department investigation will be both an interesting read and a key to the future of BW and private security contractors protecting U.S. diplomats.

Read more on today’s FBI developments here.

Technorati Tags: Executive Protection, bodyguard, personal security detail, PSD, Blackwater, Diplomatic Security Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Blackwater shooting incident, Iraq, private security contractors in Iraq, Hostage Rescue Team, HRT

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U. S. Diplomats in Iraq Stalled Without Blackwater Personal Security Details

State Department personnel in Iraq are now restricted to the International Zone (IZ) while  U.S.officials grapple with how to protect them in light of recent events involving Blackwater (BW). BW holds the Personal Security Detail (PSD) contract for protecting U.S. State Department personnel as they travel outside the IZ. However the government of Iraq has “banned” BW from operating in Iraq leaving embassy personnel restricted to the IZ until further notice.

All of this is a result of a recent clash that occurred when a BW PSD opened fire during a reported attack on a U.S. Embassy motorcade that BW was protecting, During the exchange of gunfire, 11 Iraqi civilians were killed. As in most incidents of this type, the fog of war has made it difficult to assign blame or justify the actions of the BW PSD however the incident is under investigation by various agencies of the U.S. Government. The situation has been compounded by the fact that the Iraqi government has pulled BW’s license to operate in Iraq, although BW’s license had expired in 2006. BW has reported it was in the process of obtaining a new license when this incident happened.

Needless to say, this  situation has  enormous  short term and long term implications. In the short term, the business of the U.S. Embassy has been significantly  curtailed since the embassy relies on BW to protect embassy personnel when they travel outside the IZ. It’s also not clear what BW’s current status really is. BW’s license expired in 2006 however obviously that doesn’t seem to have been any impediment since they have continued to operate while the new license application was being processed. The government of Iraq has “banned” BW from working in Iraq but from a practical perspective, what does that mean? Simply put, the government of Iraq is incapable of preventing BW from operating in Iraq. The Iraqi government lacks the means to enforce any ban on BW. However it’s doubtful the State Department would allow BW to operate openly but does the State Department really have any choice? What would the State Department do until BW could be replaced should the U.S. decide to support the Iraqi ban? There’s no good short term answers here as far as I can see.

In the long term, this incident will force the U.S. to develop a policy for greater oversight and accountability of private security contractors in war zones. This is a situation larger than BW. There has been a steady increase in the use of private security contractors  on the part of the U.S. Government for years. However the laws surrounding private security contractors in hostile zones has been murky from the onset.

Technorati Tags: Executive protection, bodyguard, personal security detail, military security detail, Iraq, Blackwater, Triple Canopy, DynCorp, State Department, motorcade, ambush

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New Mexico Motor Officer Dies While Escorting Bush Motorcade

Tragedy struck today when a Rio Rancho New Mexico Police Officer was killed when he crashed his motorcycle while performing traffic duties for President Bush’s motorcade. The accident occurred in at the Albuquerque airport. The President was in New Mexico for a fund raising event.

Motorcycle officers are routinely used to perform traffic control duties for presidential motorcades. The motorcycles are used to control and screen traffic for the President’s motorcade. The motorcycles speed and flexibility of use make them ideal to move with the motorcade. However the motorcade’s high rate of speed and the unpredictability of other drivers in reaction to the president’s motorcade brings an element of danger to riding with the president’s motorcade.

Bush motorcade crash kills N.M. officer – USATODAY.com

Technorati Tags: Executive Protection, motorcycle accidents, Police motorcycle, Rio Rancho Police Department, presidential motorcade

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Governor George Wallace’s Shooter to be Paroled in December 2007.

Arthur Bremer, the man who shot then Governor George Wallace is scheduled to be released in December 2007 if he continues to demonstrate his pattern of good behavior. Bremer was sentenced to 53 years in prison in 1972 for shooting Wallace and three bystanders while Wallace was campaigning for President. Bremer’s original target was Richard Nixon but Bremer abandoned his attack plan against Nixon when he decided security was too tight for him to get close to Nixon.

Look for Bremer to write a book.

Technorati Tags: Executive Protection, George Wallace, Arthur Bremer, Secret Service, Richard Nixon, presidential assassinations, assassinations

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Governor George Wallace’s Shooter to be Paroled in December 2007.

Arthur Bremer, the man who shot then Governor George Wallace is scheduled to be released in December 2007 if he continues to demonstrate his pattern of good behavior. Bremer was sentenced to 53 years in prison in 1972 for shooting Wallace and three bystanders while Wallace was campaigning for President. Bremer’s original target was Richard Nixon but Bremer abandoned his attack plan against Nixon when he decided security was too tight for him to get close to Nixon.

Look for Bremer to write a book.

Technorati Tags: Executive Protection, George Wallace, Arthur Bremer, Secret Service, Richard Nixon, presidential assassinations, assassinations

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Surviving An Edged Weapon Attack

Rich Nance’s latest article at Officer.com, Don’t Get Stabbed! made me think about edged weapons attacks and Executive Protection. A quick (very quick) review of major assassinations in the past 20 years revealed that pistols are the favorite weapon of choice for assassins. However, does that mean we shouldn’t train to counter a knife or other edged weapon attack during an AOP drill? Of course not. Knife attacks happen and frequency of attack should never be the gauge on whether we train on a particular defense or not. In 1972, Imelda Marcos, wife of the late President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, was attacked by a sword wielding assailant who was shot dead by security forces in the attempt.

Knife attacks on a principal might be rare but when you consider all of the other stabbing , slashing and cutting implements typically found in proximity of a protectee, we should probably train far more than we typically do in edged weapons defense. The best example I can think of for practicing edged weapons defense is the 21 foot principle that is used in defensive tactics training to illustrate the futility of relying on firearms alone to counter an assailant armed with a knife. That entire scenario approximates the situation facing Executive Protection specialists. The attack comes without an obvious escalation of violence, the assailant is already inside the reactionary gap before  the attack, and firearms, unless already drawn (such as in an Iraq/Afghanistan PSD) are usually not a viable option at that point.

Anyway, Rich Nance’s article is yet another reminder that defensive tactics shouldn’t be neglected by the Executive Protection community. Read the rest of Rich’s article by clicking on the link below.

Don’t Get Stabbed!: On the Street at Officer.com

Technorati Tags: Executive Protection, defensive tactics, edged weapons defense, assassinations, Imelda Marcos, police training, law enforcement, bodyguard

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“The Excellent Summary of the Rules of the Art of Kidnapping Americans.”

“The Excellent Summary of the Rules of the Art of Kidnapping Americans.” is a 60 page guide circulating on jihadist websites explaining each stage of a kidnapping from the snatch to the execution. It’s difficult to find a copy of this manual without some work but its out there.

Guides like this are not new but serve to reinforce the point that the internet is the virtual training camp for terrorist. Secondly, key persons remain attractive targets to terrorists even though recent terrorist attacks outside of Iraq have focused on attacking public spaces such as transportation or hotels. In Iraq, taking Westerners hostage is still a very much a desired goal and favored tactic.

A few things about this manual are worth mentioning from the Executive Protection perspective. The manual includes businessmen as desirable kidnap targets. Additionally the manual refers to using foot surveillance against the target as part of the planning process, placing emphasis on the ability to “blend” into the environment.
For the EP types out there, make sure that your surveillance detection program includes identifying foot surveillance. Third, the title says it all; It reemphasizes Americans as desirable targets.

Read more about this at MEMRI’s site (a most excellent web site) by clicking:

http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD168007

Technorati Tags: Executive Protection, kidnapping, hostage taking, MEMRI, terrorist kidnapping, “The Excellent Summary of the Rules of the Art of Kidnapping Americans.”

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