Pakistan: Taliban buying children for suicide attacks - CNN.com

Pakistan: Taliban buying children for suicide attacks - CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/07/07/pakistan.child.bombers/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

You Might Find This "Of Interest"

Hi Aaron:

Thought that you might find this to be "of interest" to you and your students.

This was filmed in the Bekka Valley, Syria which is the seat of a lot of terrorist training for attacks against Israel and other countries.

The musical score is a bit trying.

Great working for you. Hope we can do it again.

Stay safe,
Jack

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict.

http://www.iiss.org/

(Free) Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Planning course Garden Grove CA

California Emergency Management Agency in cooperation with the California Health and Human Services Agency

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Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Planning (24 hour) course

Delivered by the Center for Domestic Preparedness Noble Training Center

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POSITION VACANCY

TITLE OF POSITION:
Communications Specialist

STATUS:
Full-time

DEPARTMENT:
Safety and Security

QUALIFICATIONS:
Comprehensive knowledge of communications equipment and technology resources.
Proven understanding of Philadelphia police and fire rescue communication protocols
Effective written and verbal communication skills
Valid drivers license and clean driving record

EDUCATION REQUIRED:
Bachelors degree in related field or the equivalent experience in a security technology field

RESPONSIBILITIES:
Ensure state and federal compliance with crime reporting regulations utilizing a comprehensive records managemnt system as well as interacting with Philadelphia Police Records and all state and federal resources. Manage system to collect scheduling/event information to facilitate access control, departmental operations and customer service to callers. Maintain all appropriatesafety and regulatory information for communications center operation.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:
Philadelphia University provides a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package. Please submit a cover-letter, resume and contact information for three professional references to: Assistant Director of Safety and Security, Philadelphia University, School House Lane and Henry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144 or email humanresources@philau.edu.

STARTING DATE:
Immediately

POSTING DATE:
June 2009

Philadelphia University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Mumbai transcripts

'Prestige of Islam'
The transcripts, translated into English by Indian authorities, were obtained by the newspaper The Hindu. They showed that the terrorists were in constant contact with their leaders back home and received ongoing encouragement, guidance and support throughout the three-day siege. The attackers were told their actions, and their deaths, would uphold the "prestige of Islam."

The two terrorists who manned the siege at the Nariman Chabad House were coached through the process by telephone while their handlers watched the events unfold on television, according to the first folder of the dossier:

"Throughout the operations, the terrorists received instructions over telephone from their controllers. The controllers warned the terrorists about the use of helicopters and about the landing of commandos on the terrace…. The police recovered two Kalashnikov rifles, four magazines, three pistols, about 250 live rounds of ammunition, four mobile phones and one GPS instrument."

The transcripts of the phone conversations picked up by Indian authorities during the terror attack, as published in The Hindu, follow. All were recorded on November 27, 2008.

Taj Mahal Hotel
0108 hours
Pakistan caller: How many hostages do you have?
Mumbai terrorist: We have one from Belgium. We have killed him. There was one chap from Bangalore. He could be controlled only with a lot of effort.
Pakistan caller: I hope there is no Muslim amongst them?
Mumbai terrorist: No, none.

0126 hours
Pakistan caller: Are you setting the fire or not?
Mumbai terrorist: Not yet. I am getting a mattress ready for burning.
Pakistan caller: What did you do with the dead body [on the boat]?
Mumbai terrorist: Left it behind.
Pakistan caller: Did you not open the locks for the water below? [Thought to be a pre-arranged plan to sink the vessel.]
Mumbai terrorist: No, they did not open the locks. We left it like that because of being in a hurry. We made a big mistake.
Pakistan caller: What big mistake?
Mumbai terrorist: When we were getting into the boat, the waves were quite high. Another boat came. Everyone raised an alarm that the Navy had come. Everyone jumped quickly. In this confusion, the satellite phone of Ismail got left behind.

0137 hours
Pakistan caller: The ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad) chief has been killed. Your work is very important. Allah is helping you. The Vazir (Minister) should not escape. Try to set the place on fire.
Mumbai terrorist: We have set fire in four rooms.
Pakistan caller: People shall run helter skelter when they see the flames. Keep throwing a grenade every 15 minutes or so. It will terrorize.

0310 hours
Mumbai terrorist: Greetings!
Pakistan caller: Greetings! There are three ministers and one secretary of the cabinet in your hotel. We don't know in which room.
Mumbai terrorist: Oh! That is good news! It is the icing on the cake.
Pakistan caller: Find those three, four persons and then get whatever you want from India.
Mumbai terrorist: Pray that we find them.
Pakistan caller: Do one thing. Throw one or two grenades on the Navy and police teams, which are outside.
Mumbai terrorist: Sorry. I simply can't make out where they are.

Oberoi Trident Hotel
0353 hours
Pakistan caller 1: Brother Abdul. The media is comparing your action to 9/11. One senior police official has been killed.
Mumbai terrorist 1: We are on the 10th/11th floor. We have five hostages.
Pakistan caller 2: Everything is being recorded by the media. Inflict the maximum damage. Keep fighting. Don't be taken alive.
Pakistan caller 1: Kill all hostages, except the two Muslims. Keep your phone switched on so that we can hear the gunfire.
Mumbai terrorist 2: We have three foreigners, including women. From Singapore and China.
Pakistan caller 1: Kill them.
(Voices of gunmen can be heard directing hostages to stand in a line, and telling two Muslims to stand aside. Sound of gunfire. Sound of cheering voices.)

Nariman House
1945 hours
Mumbai terrorist: Greetings! What did the Major-General say?
Pakistan caller: Greetings. The Major-General directed us to do what we like. We should not worry. The operation has to be concluded tomorrow morning. Pray to God. Keep two magazines and three grenades aside, and expend the rest of your ammunition.
Pakistan caller: Keep in mind that the hostages are of use only as long as you do not come under fire because of their safety. If you are still threatened, then don't saddle yourself with the burden of the hostages. Immediately kill them.
Mumbai terrorist: Yes, we shall do accordingly, God willing.
Pakistan caller: The army claims to have done the work without any hostage being harmed. Another thing: Israel has made a request through diplomatic channels to save the hostages. If the hostages are killed, it will spoil relations between India and Israel.
Mumbai terrorist: So be it, God willing.
Pakistan caller: Stay alert.

2226 hours
Pakistan caller: Brother, you have to fight. This is a matter of prestige of Islam. Fight so that your fight becomes a shining example. Be strong in the name of Allah. You may feel tired or sleepy but the Commandos of Islam have left everything behind. Their mothers, their fathers, their homes. Brother, you have to fight for the victory of Islam. Be strong.
Mumbai terrorist: Amen!

Dossier Handed to Islamabad
The transcripts are part of the three-part dossier of evidence handed over by New Delhi to the Pakistani government this week as proof that the siege emanated from within its borders, a claim previously denied by Islamabad.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reiterated Tuesday, as officials had said for months, that the terrorists could not have been acting alone.

Pakistani Information Minister Sherry Rehman acknowledged Wednesday in response that Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the single surviving terrorist, was indeed a Pakistani citizen. The admission comes after months of hedging by Islamabad, which claimed it could not locate in its databases the only one of the 10 terrorists not killed by Indian commandos during the siege.

Indian officials recovered a fishing trawler that had been hijacked from its Indian owner by the terrorists, as well as GPS instruments, a satellite phone, an 11-seat dinghy and various other articles, which they documented as evidence in the investigation.

NYPD ENGINEERING SECURITY PLAN

The New York City Police Department today (Wednesday July 1, 2009) released a 100-page book, Engineering Security: Protective Design for High Risk Buildings, to assist the New York City building community in preventing and mitigating the effects of a terrorist attack on a building. The study also creates a three-tier system designed to categorize buildings based on risk.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that the purpose of Engineering Security is to help "those in the business of building make their mark on our City's skyline in a way that is both creative and safe."

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said, "To date, no report has been tailored to meet the specific needs presented by New York City's unique risk environment. The NYPD authored Engineering Security to fill that void."

Buildings in New York City require varying levels of security: the vast majority warrant no special precautions, while a mere handful necessitate heightened security. Engineering Security's recommendations address the specific security challenges facing the highest risk buildings in New York. It also recommends that stairwells in new buildings be wider to accommodate evacuation and rescue.

Engineering Security presents an innovative risk-tiering system that categorizes buildings into three tiers – Low, Medium, and High – based on assessed threat, vulnerability, and impact levels. The study includes a worksheet that allows developers to calculate the level of risk their buildings face. A risk calculator that performs the risk-tier calculations based on a few simple inputs, in addition to an online copy of the study, will be available at www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/crime_prevention/counterterrorism.shtml

"Recognizing that every building faces unique security concerns, Engineering Security presents not a one-size-fits-all prescriptive approach, but a method for tailoring protective security measures to meet particular needs. Its recommendations are intended as best practices for the building community, not legal requirements," Commissioner Kelly added.

The study's recommendations are organized thematically. They cover perimeter security; building design; access control, screening, and monitoring; emergency preparedness; and air handling and air monitoring systems.

Key recommendations for owners of High Tier buildings include: conduct vehicle threat vector analyses to determine vulnerabilities and develop solutions to mitigate associated threats; orient glass facades away from nearby High Tier buildings; set screening thresholds at levels no higher than the design basis threat level for threats from a contact charge on a structural column; establish control mechanisms to ensure that terrorists do not gain access to documents, such as floor plans and blueprints, containing sensitive security information; ensure that secondary structural elements with direct connection to primary structural elements achieve the traditionally higher fire-resistance ratings set for primary structural elements; and prepare protocols to manage chemical-, biological-, and radiological-release events.

Engineering Security draws from the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau's extensive experience conducting security reviews of high-profile buildings in and around New York City. It is the result of a collaborative effort, led by the NYPD, and informed by the suggestions of the New York City Fire Department, the Department of Buildings, and the Department of City Planning, and by the industry insight of professional associations representing New York City's engineers, architects, and developers.

Established by Commissioner Kelly in 2002, the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau has been at the forefront of local law enforcement efforts to detect and deter terrorism. The mission of the Counterterrorism Bureau is to develop innovative policies and procedures and to implement forward-looking programs to guard against the threat of international and domestic terrorism in New York City.