TROJAN HORSE REFUGEES • AFRAID TO WEAR THE BADGE • IMMIGRATION HYPOCRISY
Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018
VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 5
PRISON BREAK
INTERNATIONAL
EDITION An SSI Publication ®
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 USA/CANADA $5.99
thecounterterroristmag.com
THE EVOLUTION OF ACCURACY CONTINUES
The Barrett MRAD (Multi-Role Adaptive Design) continues to set the long-range accuracy standard worldwide. Surpassing all expectations, it is held to the most stringent testing standards, outperforming the competition. Preferred by competitive shooters and fielded by several allied governments, the MRAD is as hardworking as the one who operates it. HIGH PERFORMANCE MEETS CUSTOMIZATION
Designed with precision and modularity in mind, the MRAD can quickly be converted to various calibers or barrel lengths by simply
loosening two bolts using a standard Torx wrench. With mounting slots at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, the MRAD’s handguard offers a rigid, highly adaptable interface for attachment of rails, electro-optics and other accessories. Additional features include a folding stock, variable length of pull, ambidextrous magazine release, fully adjustable trigger module, and a thumb-operated safety that can be configured for left or right-hand operation. With MRAD’s user-changeable system, the power is truly in your hands.
AVAILABLE CALIBERS
THE BULLET POINTS
338 Lapua Magnum 338 Norma Magnum 300 Norma Magnum 300 Winchester Magnum 308 Winchester 7mm Remington Magnum 6.5 Creedmoor 260 Remington
Mil-Spec Type 2, Class 3 Hardcoat anodized available in Cerakote™, Black, Flat Dark Earth, OD Green & Tungsten Grey Match-grade barrels available in fluted, heavy and carbon fiber in various lengths High-efficiency muzzle brake MIL-STD – 1913 12 o’clock rail, 22” – 10 MIL 10-round, polymer magazine Oversized trigger guard for operation with gloved hands Four fully adjustable trigger modules available in: 2-stage, single stage, curved or flat trigger shoe - and can be removed without tools Accepts most standard M4/M16 pistol grips Recoil absorbent Sorbathane® pad
To learn more about how Barrett has raised the bar, visit barrett.net/MRAD
Circle 121 on Reader Service Card
2 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
UNLABELED LEAKING BARREL
FLIR Griffin G510
The FLIR Griffin G510 GC-MS enables responders to confidently identify unknown chemical threats. It is the ultimate chemical detection toolbox, with guided controls and si mple threat alarms. Completely self-contained and mission-ready, the G510 is built for everyone and everywhere. Download FLIR’s Chem Guidebook to learn more about ID tools like the G510: flir.com/chemguidebook
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018Card 3 Circle 339 on Reader Service
MINI SCABBARD
®
by DeSantis
WE DIDN’T INVENT CONCEALMENT, ™ WE JUST PERFECTED IT! MADE IN THE U.S.A.
LEARN MORE AT WWW.DESANTISHOLSTER.COM 4 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
Circle 241 on Reader Service Card
Counter CONTENTS
The Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals
16
8
26
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 5
COVER STORY: 16
PRISON BREAK by Garret Machine
FEATURES:
8
26
TROJAN HORSE REFUGEES by Friedrich Seiltgen PERCEPTION IS REALITY by Mike Levine
DEPARTMENTS: 06
From the Editor
30
Innovative Products
32
Product Review
34
Book Review
36
Training Review
Armor Wall, The Portable Vehicle Barrier, Phantom Products MantisX Data Analyzer By Karim Manassa Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life By Patrick Van Horne and Jason A. Riley Miami Dade College Training Course on Surviving Armed Confrontation
Cover Photo:
IDF
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 5
Counter The
FROM THE EDITOR: by Garret Machine
Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals
T
he U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, but not absolutely. For example, you cannot yell fire in a crowded theater, nor can you incite violence or threat thereof. What, then, is the standard for free speech? Who enforces protections and prohibitions? And who is actually entitled to free speech? Certainly, U.S. citizens are… but what if someone is here illegally? Is that person afforded civil rights? And what about foreign actors producing content that Americans consume? As you can see, much of what constitutes “free speech” is up to interpretation and is now being debated on many fronts. Russians are accused of buying ads on media platforms and creating websites to alter the U.S. political landscape. Do they have the freedom of speech to do so? “Facecrook” is providing them a service that they legally paid for. Doesn’t our domestic partisan “news” do the exact same thing? You can see the dilemma. Consider how mainstream news outlets force-feed you information overload, much of which is inaccurate by way of framing, omission of facts, or just plain fiction. Are these outlets really any different than the Russians? Remember that anything produced by modern-day media outlets is not necessarily produced for the public good or to provide people with valuable information to make informed decisions; rather, it is for their own (often financial) ends. Both Russian state-sponsored and U.S. commercially sponsored entities are abusing freedom of speech for their own motives. Are American voters too vulnerable to make their own decisions, so much so that media content available for U.S. consumption produced both domestically and abroad should be federally regulated? Can these bad actors sufficiently influence policy? The irony, according to the Pew Research Center, is that only 17% of media consumers are likely to change their views based on what they see, read, or hear, and the majority of those individuals likely to be swayed are under age 24. According to the U.S. census, 18- to 24-year-olds are also the segment of the population least likely to register and vote. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Most people are hypocritical in that they will only seek information that affirms their existing beliefs and discounts opposing points of view. Case in point: Some of the people who look at the Mollie Tibbetts case and argue that the actions of one illegal immigrant do not reflect the lot are the very same people who believe that one bad actor with a firearm (Nikolas Cruz, for example) reflects a complacent mindset among the entire gun-owning public. Similarly, some people want noncitizens to vote yet are simultaneously convinced that foreign actors successfully influenced recent elections. On the flip side, there are people who want more regulation of Americans by way of the ATF yet less regulation of foreign nationals by way of ICE. In the meantime, the recent discovery of a school shooter training camp by U.S. investigators is somehow buried in the information cycle, yet a bakery’s refusal to make a cake for a transgender wedding gets national attention. It is as if freedom of speech is now freedom of stupidity. The First Amendment was designed to protect the will of the people from tyranny, and the Second Amendment was designed to protect the First. Now the First is being infringed upon because of exercising the Second. Adding to the hypocrisy, private entities are now exercising their own form of gun control by limiting our First Amendment rights. YouTube, for example, has officially banned all content depicting firearms training, gunsmithing, or anything else firearms related. Amazon will no longer sell any toys that closely resemble firearms and related accessories. Shopify has disabled the e-commerce websites of sellers offering goods and services related to firearms. PayPal has disabled the accounts of individuals dealing in firearms goods and services. Ditto for eBay and Google Shopping. Even worse, some banks—including Bank of America—will not entertain accounts associated with the firearms industry. In doing so, these companies are effectively punishing law-abiding
Americans who are among the first to stand in harm’s way when duty calls.
Garret Machine Editor, The Counter Terrorist
VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 5
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 Editor Garret Machine Director of Operations Carmen Arnaes Director of Advertizing Sol Bradman Administrative Jennifer Junatas Contributing Editors Garret Machine Karim Manassa Mike Levine Friedrich Seiltgen Graphic Design Morrison Creative Company Copy Editor Laura Town Advertising Sales Sol Bradman bradman@homelandsecurityssi.com 305-302-2790 Publisher: Security Solutions International 3479 NE 163 St. • STE 127 N Miami Beach, FL 33160
ISSN 1941-8639 The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals is published by Security Solutions International LLC, as a service to the nation’s First Responders and Homeland Security Professionals with the aim of deepening understanding of issues related to Terrorism. No part of the publication can be reproduced without permission from the publisher. The opinions expressed herein are the opinions of the authors represented and not necessarily the opinions of the publisher. Please direct all Editorial correspondence related to the magazine to: Security Solutions International SSI, 13155 SW 134th Street, Suite 103, Miami, Florida. 33186 or info@thecounterterroristmag.com The subscription price for 6 eZine issues of the magazine is $19.99. (1-866-573-3999) Fax: 1-786-573-2090. For article reprints, e-prints, posters and plaques please contact: Security Solutions International at villegas@homelandsecurityssi.com or call 786-573-3999 Please visit the magazine web site where you can also contact the editorial staff:
www.thecounterterrroristmag.com © 2018 Security Solutions International
6 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
MADE IN THE USA
• • • • • •
NIJ IIIA and NIJ III Dimensions: 21”x38”, Viewport: 3”x10” Available with arm cut outs for quicker target acquisition and aiming Weight: 19-21 lbs for NIJ IIIA Weight: 28-30 lbs for NIJ III Durable protective coating with protective edge strip
BALLISTICS
REVOLUTIONARY DESIGN www.patriot3.com
ELEVATED TACTICS
3479 NE 163 ST #127, N Miami Beach, FL 33160
• • •
Hydraulically Operated, Single Ramp Elevated Tactics System Designed to be lightweight and fit many APC’s, like the Lenco Bearcat (G1-G4) Tactical and rescue capabilities include elevated entry, bus assault, aircraft assault, sniper positioning, hostage rescue, mass evacuation and more all while maintaining existing APC functions
Circle 301 on Reader Service Card
Circle 301 on Reader2018 Service 7 Card The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November
TROJAN HORSE
REFUGEES By Friedrich Seiltgen
8 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
MOHAMMED’S AL-HIJRA
Al-Hijra, or the Islamic New Year, is a commemoration of Mohammed’s journey from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina) in 622 A.D. Mohammed spent 13 years in Mecca with little success, but less than 10 years after traveling to Medina, he was ruler of Arabia and had successfully subjugated local Christians, Pagans, and Jews.
T
he Hijra remains a day of great significance to Muslims. For example, much like the Western calendar uses the abbreviation A.D.—or anno Domini—to measure how many years have passed since Jesus’ birth, the Islamic calendar uses the abbreviation A.H. —or anno Hegirae—to measure how many years
have passed since the Hijra. Still today, to emigrate in the cause of Islam is considered holy. In fact, in his video sermons, al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki told Muslims living in the West it is their duty to either return to Muslim lands or stay in Western lands and engage in jihad.
EUROPE UNDER SIEGE On August 24, 2015, German Chancellor Angela Merkel unilaterally decided that Germany would accept all “Syrian” asylum seekers, regardless of what EU country they first entered. This marked a departure from the Schengen Agreement of 1985, which stated that all refugees must stay in the
A line of Syrian refugees crossing the border of Hungary and Austria on their way to Germany. Hungary, Central Europe, 6 September 2015. Photo by: Mstyslav Chernov The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 9
Angela Merkel who is the Chancellor of Germany. Phtot by: Aleph first EU country they enter. One week later, on August 31, 2015, Merkel was 13 minutes into a press conference when she repeatedly stated “Wir schaffen das,” or “We can do this,” in reference to the refugee influx. Many Germans were extremely angry with this comment, given that Merkel made the decision on her own, yet to this day speaks of “We.” In February 2015, prior to Merkel’s actions described above, ISIL published a document entitled “Libya: The Strategic Gateway for the Islamic State.” At the time, Libya was in turmoil after the U.S. pullout and death of Gaddafi. ISIL used this document to urge fighters to go to Libya, blend in with refugees, and then emigrate to Italy to flood Europe with fighters. In September 2015, just weeks after Merkel made her announcement, my wife and I were witness to history: the beginning of the European Hijra. Standing in the Salzburg, Austria, train station, we saw personnel from the charity group Caritas staging and interpreting for hundreds of “refugees” from the Middle East. They were on a quest to get to Germany, and the governments of Hungary and Austria were doing all they could to help
them get there by shipping them out quickly. A few days after our Salzburg visit, the German government instituted Grenz-Kontrolle (border control), and our 15-minute train ride to Salzburg was replaced by a 1-hour bus ride as all trains ended in the city of Freilassing, just short of the Austrian border. When the GrenzKontrolle ended, virtually every train station in Germany became a refugee registration station. A few weeks later on a trip to Vienna, we saw trains arriving from Sopron, Hungary, and then traveling on to Salzburg via Linz. We saw large numbers of police at every train station from Vienna to Munich. With approximately 1.4 million refugees arriving since the beginning of the Hijra—including 890,000 in the first four months—refugees were being processed at police and train stations all over Germany. At our local police station in Bavaria, Germany, one of our police officer friends told us the “refugees” were primarily “young men with big mouths.” When one complained about the Wi-Fi speed and the wait time for registration, another officer told him to walk to Munich if he didn’t like it. The “refugee” called a cab and paid €225 cash for cab fare.
10 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
The officer told us that all the new arrivals had large amounts of cash on them, and he saw no one with less than €4,000. The majority of the people being processed had no identity papers, as they had disposed of them prior to arrival. In the city of Leipzig, Germany, a fellow law enforcement officer told me a story about refugees who destroyed the bathrooms in their asylum facility. When plumbers came to repair the damage, they had their cell phones taken from them, so they could not document the damage. The Merkel administration did not want the
damage to become public knowledge, as it did not fit the administration’s narrative. The officer also told me that there are weekly knife attacks in the refugee centers and attacks on police substations in the city. There is very little officers can do to protect themselves. Currently, when the refugees get too violent, the officers call in the “Zecken Panzer” (“Tick Tank”)—an armored vehicle with water cannons—to restore order. In Germany, anyone who objects to the Hijra is attacked and labeled a Nazi, Islamophobe, or something similar. The center-right political party
Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) has been maligned since taking 13% of the seats in the Bundestag in 2017. Muslim enclaves have become “no-go” zones for police, and they continue to expand in Germany, where many Muslims are not assimilating. However, even the German police union has been brought into line by Merkel and is using the same semantics as the Chancellor. The union recently issued a public statement that there are “no no-go zones in Germany for the police,” rather just “areas that are only accessible to police using large teams.”
The Merkel administration uses the word “integration” when discussing refugees, but it appears it is actually the German people who must integrate. Due to the large influx of refugees, Germany’s Federal Police have started recruiting native speakers of Arabic into the police force. In Berlin, practices like these have led to an ongoing scandal in which the city’s police headquarters was found to be recruiting officers who were members of local criminal Arab clan families. The problem is that that these clans are recruiting refugees outside the refugee housing areas and convincing them
Alternative for Deutschland information stand. Photo by: Oxfordian Kissuth The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 11
“The officers were surrounded by 150– 200 migrants who attacked the officers and their cars”
to join the police. The police have been forced to adjust in other ways as well. For example, one whistleblower with 30 years of police service wrote, “Female instructors are being ignored and orders disobeyed by Muslim men as they do not take orders from women. Many recruits also refuse to engage in swim training since the pool was used prior by unclean infidels.” German police are virtually helpless when dealing with these refugees. Recently in the small town of Ellwangen, located between Nuremburg and Stuttgart, four police officers arrived at a migrant reception center to deport a Togolese man. The officers were surrounded by 150–200 migrants who attacked the officers and their cars. The officers were forced to retreat and release the migrant. The influx of refugees has shaped other aspects of German life as well.
For instance, “Mohammed” was the most popular baby name in the city of Bremen in 2017, and across the entire country, it rose from 41st place to 26th place. Note, however, that these statistics don’t include other spelling permutations, so the name’s popularity is actually somewhat higher. Also, throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, refugees and their enablers are using their growing power to change political systems. Recently in Belgium, for example, the Muslim political party ISLAM (which stands for Integrity, Solidarity, Liberty, Authenticity, and Morality) proposed replacing the Belgian penal and civil code with sharia law. The party has also stated publicly that they wish to Overview of downtown Ellwangen. Phtot by: Moggosaurier 12 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
make Belgium an Islamic state by the year 2030.
COMING TO AMERICA President Teddy Roosevelt once stated: [W]e should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We
have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is a loyalty to the American people. Decades later, President Jimmy Carter signed the Refugee Act of 1980. This piece of legislation, which was introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy, changed the face of immigration forever. It raised the limit to 50,000 refugees per year while allowing the president “flexibility” to exceed that limit. The Refugee Act gave the United Nations—not American policymakers—the power to choose which countries these refugees would come from. Later, during the George H. W. Bush administration, the “diversity
lottery” first sponsored by thenRepresentative (now Senator) Chuck Schumer was put into place. This program requires that “fully one-third of the annual diversity lottery winners come from Muslim countries,” which means that the lottery “has become a disproportionally important immigration vehicle for Muslims.” Fast forward to 2018, when the Trump administration limited the number of Syrian refugees for the year to just 11. Even with recent policy changes, the U.S. Muslim population continues to grow. The Pew Research Center estimates that there were 3.45 million Muslims in the U.S. in 2017, accounting for 1.1% of the population. Pew further estimates that by 2040, Muslims will replace Jews as Photo by: Pixabay
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 13
the second largest religious group in the U.S. (after Christianity), and by 2050, Muslims will make up 2.1 % of the nation’s total population. After the Second Gulf War, I responded to a few calls involving Iraqi refugees living in Orlando. These refugees were and still are being resettled in America by Christian church groups. Most of these people spoke little to no English, and we had no Arabic speakers to help assist
patrol units. Before the Obama administration, when I arrested illegals, I would simply ask for an immigration hold at booking, but during the eight years of the Obama presidency, policies continuously changed, and illegals were freed. Unfortunately, many refugees who emigrate to America will use the same fraudulent tactics used by welfare cheats all over the world. I’ve dealt with persons using multiple and/or
14 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
false names, or even the same name spelled several ways. These individuals claim dependents that don’t exist and commit food stamp fraud, tax fraud, marriage fraud, and so on. Some of the people committing these frauds don’t believe there is anything wrong with what they are doing and consider the payment received as simply the “Jizyah,” or a tax levied on nonMuslims. Muslims who come to America generally will not assimilate, as Islam rejects assimilation and requires dominance over all other religions. Chapter 9 verse 33 of the Qur’an states, “It is Allah who has sent his messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, in order for it to be dominant over all other religions, even though Mushrikoon hate it.” Muslims who are willing to assimilate may be convinced otherwise by local hardline “community organizers” using fear tactics, the Qur’an, and the tactic of “Taqiya,” which requires Muslims to protect themselves through concealment and dissimulation. These organizers help create Muslim enclaves within the U.S. that will not assimilate. Dearborn, Michigan, is one example. Dearborn—Michigan’s eighth-largest city—boasts a Muslim population of around 30,000 of its 90,000 residents. While claims of sharia law in Dearborn have proven false, just as we’ve seen in the U.K. with its sharia “councils,” it is only a matter of time before the rumors become reality. As seen by the increase in Islamist attacks in the U.S., many of the “migrants” entering America are more accurately described as invaders.
The immigration “crisis” is jihad by another name, and America is heading down the same suicidal path as Europe. Americans seem to think that they are the exception to history. Many ignore the negative advances made by Islam and scoff at the notion that a religion can supersede the government and replace a constitution with sharia law. For evidence otherwise, one need only look at Iran, Lebanon, or Syria. These countries are now Muslim dominated, and Iran is a leading sponsor of terrorism throughout the world. If the issue was truly about refugees being persecuted, then only Jews and Christians from Muslim-majority countries would be granted asylum in the West, as they are the ones being targeted. Islam
needs to be considered as a partial vetting mechanism to separate Muslim supremacists from pro-America Muslims who just want a better life.•
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with the Orlando Police Department. He currently conducts training on lone-wolf terrorism, firearms, and L.E. vehicle operations in Florida.
REFERENCE Thomas Reisener, „Es gibt Bereiche in die Polizisten nicht alleine gehen,“ RP Online, April 24, 2018. 2 Alexander-Georg Rackow, „Skandal an der berliner Polizeiakademie,“ Focus Magazine, November 11, 2017. 1
Patrick Seeger, „150 Migranten vehindern Abschiebung eines Afrikaners,“ Focus Magazine, May 2, 2018 4 Max Seidenfaden, “Mohamed 2017 Der Beliebste Vorname in Bremen,“ Weser Kurier, May 3, 2018. 5 Andrew McCarthy, “After the West Side Highway Jihad: What Does Extreme Vetting Mean?,” National Review, November 1, 2017. 6 Mohamed Besheer, “New Estimates Show us Muslim Population Continues to Grow,” Pew Research Center, January 3, 2018. 7 Priscilla Alvarez, The Atlantic, September 11, 2016. 3
3 ESSENTIAL
TRAINING TYPES
EVERY DAY CARRY TRAINING TO
SAFELY & EFFECTIVELY SAVE LIVES - SERVING SOUTH FLORIDA -
EDCPISTOLTRAINING.COM Circle 119 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 15
PRISON
BREAK by Garret Machine
16 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
“Winning is overrated. The only time it is really important is in surgery and war.” — Al McGuire
A
s a soldier in the Israeli army, I worked in many Palestinian towns, villages, and cities. To begin this piece, however, I’ll provide a brief overview of each major city in the West Bank, as well as some of the cities that feature in my unit’s recent history. Looking at a map of the area across the Green Line of Israel, one can see that just below the highest point lies Jenin (population 47,000) in the north. Jenin is the only governorate in
the West Bank in which the majority of the land is under control of the Palestinian National Authority. When you look at Jenin on the map, you can see how deeply surrounded by Arab territory it is. There is no order in this city. It was once known as a central site for the dispatching of suicide bombers to the north and center of Israel, although its reputation as such has declined in recent years as a result of the IDF’s terror suppression program. A quarter of all suicide bombings
Jenin. Photo by: Mujaddara The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 17
An IDF soldier stands guard during an operational activity in Nablus during Operation Defensive Shield. Photo: IDF carried out in Israel during the second Intifada originated in Jenin, where there is also a 92-acre UN refugee camp that holds about 12,000 people. In 2006, our unit came under heavy fire in this refugee camp during an operation just south of Jenin. A violent mob attacked our small commando team with firebombs, rocks, and gunfire. The team was held in battle for 45 minutes without rescue. The vehicle that we used to get in to the camp was torched by the citizens, and our rescue vehicle was unable to enter. It took two choppers to disperse the mob. In the end, our Okez (Attack Dog) dog died and one man suffered a light injury from a rock, but we still managed to extract our targets while killing only
a few armed gunmen from the mob. Needless to say, Jenin is a very violent and scary place. Moving onward, just a bit south and to the west, you find Tulkarm (population 75,000), which is 268 square kilometers in area and has two refugee camps. One thing I like about working in this city is that it does not get too cold in the winter, like some of the other areas do. Nablus (population 135,000) is centered directly below Jenin and a little to the south of Tulkarm. It is a major Arab city containing an older area of stone and brick. Just outside the city lie several camps that were built by the British for the Palestinian refugees of 1948. These camps, with 34,000 combined residents, have a
18 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
history of violence. In March 2002, after a suicide bombing at Kibbutz Metzer originated from the Nablus area, the IDF launched a military operation focused on the casbah in the city center. The operation also focused on the nearby Balata refugee camp, where many residents are members of Hamas and Fattah’s military wing. This was a repeat of a similar operation carried out in 2001. The IDF took control of the city and imposed a month-long curfew, arresting at least 10 Palestinians suspected of involvement in militant activities. Then in April 2002, following the Passover massacre—an attack by Palestinian terrorists that killed 30 innocent Israeli civilians who were in the middle of celebrating
the Passover meal and injured an additional 140—Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield, in which Nablus was one of the cities targeted in a massive military action, including the largest reserve call-up since 1982. At least 25 Palestinians, both militants and armed civilians, were killed in the Nablus area during that month. Nablus continues to be one of the main infrastructures of Palestinian terrorism and the location of the main headquarters of various terrorist organizations’ leadership in the West Bank. Hundreds of gunmen in the city belong to militant organizations such as Hamas, PFLP, DFLP, PLO, the PFLP-GC, and the "People's HQ" (former Communists). Slightly further down and back to the west edge of the controversial
fenced-off zone, you have Qalqilya (population 40,000), a city that is usually not as violent, possibly due to its location so close to Israel proper. To give you a point of reference, there are not even three miles between Netanya and Qalqilya. Another interesting fact is that the (then) elected mayor of Qalqilya belongs to Hamas, and he was recently released from an Israeli prison on charges of terrorism. In 2006, we laid siege to the home of a senior Hamas member in Qalqilya. In the process we killed three gunmen and wounded more than 30 people who attacked our small team. Approximately 200 rioters set upon us with rocks and firebombs shortly after we surrounded the wanted man’s home. We first
responded with warning shots, then eventually with live fire. A firefight with gunmen ensued after that. The rest of the West Bank is littered with both Jewish settlements and Arab villages, and the whole area is landlocked. The next major city is Ramallah (population 23,000), just six miles north of Jerusalem. It is considered “well off” economically as compared to other cities in the Palestinian-controlled territories, which is because it is the Palestinian authority headquarters. Also in the summer of 2006, while involved in many counterterrorism operations throughout Judea and Samaria, we apprehended nine suspects in Ramallah one night, including the terrorists suspected in the kidnapping and murder of 18-year-old Eliyahu
Photo by: IDF Circle 277 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 19
AREA
CONTROL
ADMINISTRATION
% OF WEST BANK LAND
% OF PALESTINIANS
A........... PALESTINIAN........... PALESTINIAN................................ 17%..................................... 55% B.................ISRAELI................ PALESTINIAN................................ 24%..................................... 41% C................ISRAELI.....................ISRAELI.................................... 59%...................................... 4%
We had 15 seconds to get to safety. We ran at a sprint after the manager into a bombproof room only a few tracks over from us. As soon as we got into the room, the missile hit the spot where we once stood. Asheri. In the end, the terrorists decided to turn themselves in after negotiations. Jericho (population 25,000) is the easternmost city in the West Bank. On March 14, 2006, Duvdevan took six inmates from a Jericho prison captive following a 10-hour siege. The purpose of the siege was to capture PFLP General Secretary Ahmad Sa'adat, along with five other inmates, for the alleged assassination of Israeli tourist minister Rehavam Zeevi, because of announcements of their upcoming release. Both sides of the siege were obviously armed. At least
two armed men were killed and 35 others in the prison were wounded in the fighting that ensued. Working your way down the map you next come to Jerusalem, the now recognized capital of Israel. Six miles south is Bethlehem (population 30,000), the place where Jesus was born. The city of Bethlehem is in a seven-square-mile box, surrounded by a barrier on three sides. More than 10,000 people live in the city's halfsquare-mile refugee camp block. At least two suicide bombers have come from the Deheisha refugee camp, and one of them was a young woman. No Israeli can enter Bethlehem by military law, and it would not be safe there anyway—nor would it be safe for them in any Arab-controlled West Bank city, for that matter. One must understand the different designations created by the defense establishment with regard to the territory over the Green Line. The primary area our unit operates in is known as “Area A,” and Israelis are forbidden to enter. Examples of locations in Area A include Jenin, Ramallah, Gaza, Shechem, Beit Lechem, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, and all surrounding refugee camps. Areas designated as Area A are under the control of the Palestinian Authority, and they are governed and policed by the Palestinian Civil Authority.
20 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
Despite giving up to day-to-day control of Area A, the state of Israel reserves the right to engage in counterterror operations performed by designated Israel Defense Forces units. This issue is controversial due to the fact that it creates a sovereign nation within a political gray area, which itself is under the control of the state of Israel. Area B, which encompasses all areas over the Green Line west of the Jordan River and often surrounds Area A, is administered by the Palestinians but controlled by the Israeli military and border police. Finally, Area C is Israel proper and includes all settlements, access roads, buffer zones, and major cities like Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, and Eilat. I will never forget what happened when we drove from Tel Aviv to Haifa on the morning of July 16, 2006. I had the day off from the army. My friend (who was my roommate at that time and a video journalist) and I decided to go to the frontlines of the war in Lebanon. Since I had the day off, I was looking for something to do. My friend wanted to go to see the war firsthand, and I agreed to join him. That morning, we drove from Tel Aviv to Haifa to inspect the damage as rockets fell from the sky. Once we arrived in Haifa, we traveled to the train station where
eight people had been killed earlier by a Katyusha rocket. We arrived innocently at the train depot and asked to speak to the manager of the facility. It was mostly deserted; only the manager and a few other men remained. We saw where the rocket hit, we saw blood on the floor, and we saw holes from the shrapnel. As my good friend interviewed the manager of the facility, a siren went off indicating that a rocket was about
to fall, and other rockets started landing nearby. We had 15 seconds to get to safety. We ran at a sprint after the manager into a bombproof room only a few tracks over from us. As soon as we got into the room, the missile hit the spot where we once stood. It landed with a thunderous blast that shook the whole building like an earthquake. We returned to find a hole in the floor and shrapnel everywhere. This was the first time I
had ever witnessed a terrorist attack as a civilan. To think that I was spending my army service protecting people from terrorism, yet there I was running scared, a victim of terrorist activity. After capturing, fighting, and killing wanted, known, armed terrorists, I was finally experiencing what it was like to be an innocent civilian in a terrorist attack. It shook us up good. It is horrible to not have any control of your environment.
These exclusive photos show the efforts of the IDF soldiers in Judea and Samaria. Photo by: Israel Defense Forces Circle 313 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 21
IDF soldiers in the Hebron area. Photo by: Israel Defense Forces
We know our man will take a ride between 14:00 and 15:00 in the afternoon today. He is 44 years old and armed with a rifle, and possibly a hand grenade.
The one good thing that came of this incident is that my friend caught it all on film as it happened. It won “Documentary of the Year” for Al Gore’s network Current TV. Finally, the second largest Palestinian city is Hebron (population 12,0000). It contains two refugee camps: Al Arrob and Al Fawwar. Recently, Hebron became famous because the UN established an international unarmed observer force there—the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH)— to maintain a buffer between the Palestinian Arab population of the city and the Jews residing in their enclave in the old city. I like to believe that the Israeli army saw this as an effort for the Arabs’ own good, an effort to try and help them. But on February 8, 2006, TIPH temporarily left Hebron after attacks
22 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
on their headquarters by some Palestinians who were angered by the Muhammad cartoon controversy, in which a Danish news outlet characterized principal Islamic figures unflatteringly. There is a Palestinian prison outside of Jenin that doubles as a safe house for the IDF’s most wanted terrorists. The prison secretly holds wanted terrorists behind its walls, in the safety of its gates and guards. From that safe haven they may conduct all their leadership responsibility with peace of mind. They use the facility (although no longer) as their personal office to make calls, send faxes, use the Internet, eat, shower, sleep, and recruit men, all under the guise of the corrupt Palestinian judicial system. There, behind those walls, lies one man that we must have—and it has
come to our attention that he has become sloppy as of late. We know that each day he exits the prison for a few hours. The prison looks like any prison that you have seen or passed by, with
its tall, ominous walls and barbedwire mechanical gates. This prison is located on the outskirts of Jenin, off a major roadway with two lanes of traffic going in each direction. Taxicabs go to and from the prison all throughout the day on most days of the week. We know our man will take a ride between 14:00 and 15:00 in the afternoon today. He is 44 years old and armed with a rifle, and possibly a hand grenade. He is in a leadership position, and we prefer to take him alive. This is the information we have on him and some of his daily habits. Now it is our responsibility to build a mission based around this data in order to apprehend him and turn him over to security forces for debriefing. At 13:30 I find myself inside a large truck, the type of truck you would find on any highway. There is high seating in the cab up front, a massive diesel motor cranking below, and a separate storage area in the back. Our team rumbles down
a major thoroughfare, anxiously awaiting the verbal signal to move in and take action. We have trained extensively for this particular mission, each man knowing his part to the detail. Although our training is unquestionably vast, comprehensive, and thorough, each mission must be specifically trained for and executed with total precision. We have already been driving for about 22 minutes and something just doesn’t feel right. We slow down almost to a halt on a route that should be without interruption. The feeling under my feet is that we have pulled to the side of the road, that we are not at a stoplight, and that the truck sits off to a slight angle. The truck soon makes a complete stop, and I can hear the release of pressure from the air brakes. We are spread out on the inside of the truck, holding onto various handles on the walls as not to make noise while trying to catch our balance when the truck
Circle 343 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 23
effortlessly shifts our weight around. It’s summer, so it’s hot—and we have no air conditioning or fans inside the truck. But this is only temporary, I tell myself, and a good sweat isn’t so bad. I actually love to sweat and now, in the tightly packed container, perspiration is literally dripping off my nose. I am wearing yellow-tinted ESS glasses that will protect me from the glare of the sunlight when I get out of the rig and from anything that might hurt my eyes, such as shrapnel. They feature high-impact polycarbonate lenses, which can stop a shotgun blast from 35 feet. They also protect from UV rays. I don’t always wear them but I should. What kind of soldier can I be without the gift of sight? The vehicle is positioned on the side of the road on the way to the ambush, and we are all quietly listening to what's happening outside. A Palestinian authority police cruiser, driven by two uniformed cops, has stopped us. The cruiser, an older model Mazda, is positioned behind us. The Palestinian police are midconversation with the truck driver. The four worst jobs in the IDF are cook, base maintenance, front gate guard, and driver—but this is no ordinary driver who chauffeurs officers, transfers cargo, or drives patrol in a Hummer. This driver is one of us, with additional training in the use of civilian vehicles. Drivers like this know how to move evasively, such as by pulling reverse 180s in a Subaru B4 Turbo sedan to get us out quickly, or by using heavy commercial vehicles. For every mission, we blindly trust our lives to these men. Suddenly my earpiece crackles and
we hear two sets of two “squelches” (the sound made by the talk button when it is depressed and released). This is our signal to exit the vehicle due to an unexpected situation. We even have a plan for this scenario— and now “Plan B” goes into full effect. We silently open the back door of our box, away from the four-door cab, and the two men closest to the door get out of the truck to the passenger side. The first ones to creep out are the team commander, who is a first lieutenant, and his radioman. I emerge simultaneously with another warrior to the driver side that is exposed to the road. I then put my weapon on the Palestinian cop who is about 30 feet in front of me and tell him not to move. Both of my eyes are open monitoring the periphery as I look over the front of the rifle. If he tries to run, I must shoot him in the leg, our rifles are quiet, but still noisy. I quickly walk toward him as he turns to me with his hands raised, standardissue PA-cop AK-47 slung over his shoulder. I get within three meters in about two seconds from when I first saw him. It has been about 15 seconds since I started to open the rear doors of the truck. At least that’s what it feels like. I tell the cop to be quiet in Arabic as I stop and aim at his low center mass. He looks shocked and scared as he should be, but he does as I say. My battle buddy then comes around my left side and quickly disarms the cop, shouldering the cop’s rifle along with his own. He moves the Palestinian Authority policeman against the side of the truck just behind the driver’s cab and does a quick search of his
24 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
body. The cop does not say a word as the soldier finds exactly what he is looking for: a cell phone. The same thing—confiscation of phone and weapon—is happening on the other side of the truck to the other cop. I hear some of their quick, short dialogue, but I don’t really pay attention to what is said. He is now incommunicado and disarmed. Of what threat is he without his weapon or communication? How can he sabotage our mission without those two things? All he could do is follow us (to no avail), but he does not. We creep back onto the truck, and the big diesel tractor motor pulls back off the shoulder and onto the road. We leave virtually unnoticed and undisturbed. The next time we stop is 10 minutes later, and this time I know where we are. We have finally reached the last stop. We are right on the side of the road, perpendicular to the road passing by the prison that I mentioned earlier. In the meantime, another truck parks on the side of the prison. It is a little smaller in size and contains our backup force (QRF), which will be waiting just in case the shit hits the fan. It will position itself to create a cell between us that is free of unwanted traffic. For now, our rig waits on a side street still positioned perpendicular to the main road that runs in front of the prison. The taxi left the prison about one minute ago and is headed our way. Our smaller truck has identified it, so we knew it is en route. Just then our rig starts to crawl into first gear and then second gear, moving across the first two lanes of traffic, making an almost 90-degree angle with the street and median it
approaches. It is already blocking traffic in the direction toward the prison. By this time, truck number two is closely following the taxi, but not too closely. As far as we know, the taxi driver is clean, and we don’t think or have reason to believe that he is of any value or threat. The truck stops traffic with its massive size as it breaks the plane of the median. The median is a concrete wall about three feet high and eight inches thick with an opening for U-turns, which we are now penetrating. Just then our navigator and vehicle commander, who are up front in the cab, get out to guide the truck across the narrow lanes of traffic and help the driver to turn in the direction he needs to go. At this point, the prison from which the taxi originated is approximately three kilometers away. The navigator has the taxi stopped, as well as our smaller truck that is stopped behind, now immobile between two narrow parallel lanes. Now our rig is blocking both lanes of traffic and the front and rear edges of the truck are slightly protruding from the emergency lane and across the other side of the median, creating a wall. The driver looks like a typical Israeli truck driver at this point: inconsiderate, rude, and careless. The taxicab has come to a complete stop. At that moment, we hear the passenger guiding the rig yell to the driver, “You're good, you're good.” That’s our signal. We jump out of the heavy double doors of the back of the truck. The daylight is bright and momentarily hurts my eyes, even with the glasses. The jump out is a bit of a drop,
at least a few feet; I do it carefully because I am loaded with gear. As soon as my feet hit the tarmac, I run as fast as I can, M4 rifle pointed at the driver of the cab. My battle buddy points at the passenger seat but it is empty. Another two-man team zeros in on the back seats. The rest of the men secure the perimeter. The other truck is also stopped with the rest of the traffic behind, innocently waiting and observing. In just a few seconds we have the whole perimeter secure, including the area beyond our truck and in the direction of the prison, which is covered by two men. Another two-man team from a different car joins and protects our right and left flank. The four of us on the taxi make it clear to the driver that if he moves even one centimeter, we will not hesitate. I command him to shut it down and put the keys on the roof. He does just that and keeps his hands up. The mission commander gives the signal, and I open the driver door and simultaneously the officer’s communicator opens the back door of the taxi. We, each at the same time, pull our occupants—the driver and the wanted terrorist—out of the car and aggressively throw them onto the ground. As the team holds weapons on the suspects, the communicator and I search them and put flex cuffs on both of them. The driver is clean, as we thought. Our subject has a grenade in his front jeans pocket and a pistol in his belt. He knows better than to draw on us. My adrenaline is high, I am intense and focused, my pupils are dilated, my hands dry, my muscles tight, and my movements
fast and forceful. We all feel this way. Another 60 seconds and we may have invited fire from the various buildings in the area, as well as stones, bricks, and bottles. As we have him cuffed, the mission commander and his radioman search the taxi and I keep an eye and barrel on the men in custody. The weapon will follow the eyes. They retrieve a long M-16 and two full magazines from the back seat. Luckily, our speed, shock, aggressiveness and overwhelming surprise proves to be sufficient to subdue any resistance. We rush the captured man back to our extraction truck and lift him inside the five-foot-high platform of the cargo area. We get in and make off without a shot fired or a rock thrown. We leave the cabbie in the street to go about his innocent life. He is cuffed with plastic flex cuffs, but he is free. The other truck doesn’t start to move for about a minute or so, to create distance between any menacing cars that might try to follow us. Within 20 minutes we are at a checkpoint, moving our prisoner discretely across the border, cuffed, blindfolded, and unarmed. In the custody of King David’s army, he is no longer a threat to our Western existence in the Middle East. •
Photo by: IDF The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 25
PERCEPTION
IS REALITY: ARE PEOPLE WHOSE TOLERANCE OF FEAR SET TOO LOW TO EVER BE HIRED AS COPS IN THE FIRST PLACE? The rules governing the use of deadly force by law enforcement are as easy to understand as the rules for three-card monte, but applying them is about as difficult as brain surgery. Photo by: Pixabay 26 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
By Mike Levine
I
n fact, brain surgery is a perfect metaphor for the job of those of us who review police shootings as court-qualified experts, because to determine whether the action was justified, we've got to get inside the head of the shooter. National standards generally demand that two conditions exist before an officer can lawfully resort to the use of deadly force: First, the officer must fear for his life and/or the life of some other person; and second, the use of less-than-deadly
force or evasive action must not be adequate to end the threat. I was recently retained by the district attorney's office of a major city on the East Coast to review a police shooting that had some striking parallels to the Margaret Mitchell case, in which a Los Angeles police officer killed a mentally ill homeless woman armed with a screwdriver. According to the only living witness in the East Coast case—the shooter himself—the situation went down this way:
It really is a dark and rainy night. The officer stops a car moving erratically. The driver—in his late 20s, 5’2”, 115 pounds, and "fallingdown drunk"—attempts to flee into the woods. An expert would later testify that the driver’s ability to run with a 0.388 blood alcohol level is something that ought to interest the Guinness Book of Records. With a level this high, the man was close to comatose—and too drunk to have been a deadly threat to anyone but himself. As in the Mitchell case, the
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 27
"The officer then draws his gun and shoots a single bullet, killing the man instantly."
"deadly threat" in this situation was quite small and very, very impaired. The officer—in his mid-40s, about 5’6’, and 160 pounds—easily catches the perp and wrestles him to the ground. The officer then places his knee in the suspect's back and begins to cuff him. Yet the suspect somehow—perhaps due to an "adrenaline dump," according to one expert—is able to strike the officer with his fist, grab his flashlight (which is about 14 inches long and weighs over 1 pound), and get to his feet. Officer and drunk now square off in the dark.
28 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
Other cops rushing to the scene are in radio contact and only moments away. The officer has pepper spray and an Asp baton— both implements of nonlethal force—on his belt, but he chooses not to use them. Instead, he warns the suspect twice that he will shoot him if doesn't put the flashlight down. The suspect swings the flashlight. The officer then draws his gun and shoots a single bullet, killing the man instantly. Before testifying, I reviewed more than 2,000 pages of statements, interviews, autopsy reports, photos,
Photo by: Jocelyn Augustino
and reports of investigation. I reviewed and timed the actual recordings of the police calls surrounding the incident. I visited the crime scene. I conducted tests with police officer associates, attempting to reenact the shooter's version of events. I considered all the data through the lens of my 35 years’ experience in the making, supervising, and reviewing of more than 5,000 felony arrests. I processed the information through my own mental file of hundreds of chases through dark nights, when I had the gun in my own trembling hand and my finger on the trigger; when I feared terribly for my own life; when things happened so quickly that my body would react two beats before my brain registered the threat, and I could only pray that my actions would not put an end to my career or my life. I also thought of my son, Keith Richard Levine, a New York City police officer who was killed on December 28, 1991, when he chased an armed robber through dark Manhattan streets, unwilling to shoot him in the back. Perhaps he was thinking of the rules when he should have been thinking of his life. But the thief had no hesitation in turning and killing my son. A police officer's choice to shoot is critical and irrevocable, and he doesn't have much time to make it. But he can't pull that trigger every time he fears for his life or we'd have a body count that would rival the Battle of Gettysburg. In the East Coast case, I found
Photo by: Jocelyn Augustino numerous inconsistencies and indications of deception in the officer's statements, which I cited in a 200-page report. I read my findings to a grand jury of average citizens, carefully explaining why it was my opinion that the drunk little perp couldn't possibly have presented a deadly threat, and why I believed the shooting was unjustified. When I finished, a woman raised her hand and asked, "Do you believe the officer might have genuinely feared for his life?" "I cannot answer that," I said. "That's what you are here for." I could tell from the rest of the jury’s questions that they were deeply concerned about secondguessing a cop in danger; that they could not accept the notion that a cop would kill drunk or mentally impaired people armed with
flashlights or screwdrivers unless it was absolutely necessary. Maybe there are people whose tolerance of fear is set too low to ever be hired as cops in the first place, but that was not the question before the jurors. Nor was it the question before those judging the shooting of Margaret Mitchell. But perhaps it should have been. I was told after I left that East Coast hearing there was a heated debate. But, in the end, the grand jury ruled the killing justified. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mike Levine, a decorated ex-Drug Enforcement Administration undercover agent and best-selling author of the truelife expose "Deep Cover”
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 29
Innovative Products ARMORWALL
Patriot3 is proud to introduce the Ballistic ArmorWall. The ArmorWall is the first complete mobile ballistic barrier system that provides the tactical specialist with resistance to Ballistic and Fragmentation threats. A truly transportable perimeter wall that provides ballistic protection where ever and when ever needed with complete versatility as each section can be assembled in varying heights and assembles and disassembles in only a few minutes for use over and over, from place to place. Each section has the ability to stand alone or can be connected with other sections. Each section stores in its own protective transport case and can be customized with additional cosmetic and functional option. The ArmorWall is available in NIJ threat levels 3 and 4. Contact us at info@patriot3.com for more information & pricing. •
PHANTOM
Phantom Products is proud to introduce the newest addition to its hand held lighting line: The Phantom Warrior MT™ Multitask Flashlight. This AA battery unit employs all solid state bulbs and has two intensity levels on the primary forward flashlight mode--this saves both your night eyes and your power consumption as you only use the light you need. The high intensity shoots 100 lumens out in a powerful blast to let you see EVERYTHING. But what is truly unique about this light is the side light feature. We make the only flashlight with an integrated side strobe/steady--this keeps you and your team safe in crowds as you will easily locate each other by sight instead of providing locations verbally--just hold up your light and announce your presence. The side lights are available in Amber/White, Red/Blue, or Red/White. The light can mount on your belt for easy access. This is the light that will be on every department’s “required equipment” list. phantomlights.com •
30 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
SSI PVB
SSI PVB The Portable Vehicle Barrier transfers the momentum of a moving vehicle upwards and stops it in its tracks. Two adults can deploy the barrier in minutes without any need for electricity. It can be equipped with wheels to act as a swing barrier. You can add anchoring cables and place the PVBs in a single row or more. The PVB can be folded quickly for moving and storage; it is reusable and durable. www.ssipvb.com. •
Circle 241 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 31 Circle 279 on Reader Service Card
PRODUCT REVIEW
Perfect and Permanent Practice: MantisX Data Analyzer Review
T
Allow me to start with a bold statement: EVERY serious shooter and instructor needs the MantisX Data Analyzer TODAY. Indeed, in my 28 years in this space, I have never been so passionate about a product. We all know routine dry- and livefire practice is critical to sustaining and improving marksmanship and gunhandling fundamentals. While some folks advocate "practice makes perfect," a more accurate description is that "practice makes permanent." As such, the real question is, How can we ensure our practice is done correctly and building good habits, rather than done incorrectly and causing more harm than good? Indeed, as an instructor, I have had to “unravel” bad habits unwittingly ingrained in more than one student through improper dryor live-fire practice. This is where the MantisX (www.mantisx.com) comes in beautifully—because it helps the shooter conduct correct dry-fire, live-fire, and NLTA (non-lethal training ammunition)
by Karim Manassa
practice, thereby maximizing the benefits of such practice. The MantisX product consists of two components: a Bluetooth-enabled, mUSBchargeable motion data collector that affixes to a pistol or rifle accessory rail, and an intuitive and user-friendly smartphone app that is updated every month or two. The app presents various user-selectable drills, records and analyzes data, provides corrective feedback, and tracks a shooter's progress. There is a good variety of drills available on the app, ranging from slow dry fire, to compressed trigger break, to split times and trigger control between live-fire shots, to various reloading method measurements. Drills aside, the true benefit of this product is in the metrics it gathers and the feedback it provides. The MantisX is a validation tool that empowers users to truth-test their technique. If knowledge is power, then this product delivers big time: The MantisX app displays granular data points on the entire trigger press cycle,
identifying areas of improvement to help achieve a perfect 100 score (indicating there was no movement of the front sight during the trigger press). Once errors have been identified, the MantisX app provides pictures, explanations, and even videos on what the user did wrong and how to fix it. What is significant about this product is not only the on-demand convenience to the end user, but the fact that very nuanced measurements are being identified and recorded. Often, this is the type of critical information that even a seasoned instructor cannot physically observe in a student. Moreover, the MantisX app retains the user’s history to allow for progress tracking—and if enabled, it will even send daily push notifications reminding users to practice. If you want practice that’s both perfect and permanent, the MantisX is your solution. To ensure an agnostic review process, we received ZERO remuneration or consideration from the vendor of this product. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Karim Manassa owns EDC Pistol Training, a South Florida–based training company specializing in solo self-responder training for civilians and off-duty law enforcement personnel. Consisting of five instructors from different lanes, EDC provides a comprehensive program of live-fire, force-on-force, and care-under-fire training. Please visit our site at www. edcpistoltraining.com. 32 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
www.homelandsecurityssi.com Find out more at:
TAKE YOUR TRAINING TO A HIGHER LEVEL...
SSI ELEVATED TACTICS TRAINING Enhance the tactical flexibility of your SWAT or SOP team with elevated training using specialized equipment and tools such as those manufactured by Patriot3. Improve your tactical surprise and force protection with additional operational options provided through elevated, special-use vehicles. In this two-day introduction and awareness training, you’ll learn: • Vehicle driving and operating techniques in a variety of situations • Global case studies of real-world operations using the specific equipment • Using vehicle platforms for observation, structure multiple entry techniques, and linear assaults • Elevated obstacle negotiation and firing platforms • Emergency evacuations, climbing and descending options • Distraction and deception techniques ® SECURITY • and much more...
SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL
Protecting the Homeland Together ®
Elevated Tactics Training provided in partnership with Patriot3.
Call now for more information. Phone: 866-573-3999 Fax: 866-573-2090 contact@securitysolutionsint.com Circle 313 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 33
BOOK REVIEW
Left of Bang:
Reviewed by Garret Machine
How the Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life
By Patrick Van Horne and Jason A. Riley
L
Left of Bang is an excellent book that outlines some concepts worth studying that you may take for granted in your fast-paced life. According to authors Patrick Van Horne and Jason Riley, we all have natural instincts that keep us safe. Some of us listen to these instincts more than others. To help all of us better tune in to our instincts, this book describes signs and symptoms to be aware of in the environment. Watching for these cues helps an individual be active rather than reactive. Van Horne and Riley place potential cues to danger in several categories. Kinesis involves body language; biometrics involves the biological response to a stimulus; proxemics refers to how close people get to you; geographic cues involve the behavior patterns of a crowd; iconography involves visual symbols or cues; and atmospherics involves attitudes or moods. The Left of Bang method involves analyzing the environment in stepwise fashion. First, you must define your operational environment— meaning what is normal given your circumstances. If you imagine a theater, parking lot, or mall, then you can define what normal for these environments looks like. Once you have this picture in your head, the second step is to define any
anomalies in the environment in terms of appearance, actions, and belongings. For example, you might notice a person retrieving something from the trunk of his or her car at a stoplight. This action isn’t normal, but it isn’t necessarily dangerous. Or you might spot an adult male dropping off a child’s Hello Kitty backpack at a school. Again, this action seems fine, although a Hello Kitty backpack is not a normal possession for an adult male. The third step is to be able to instantly determine whether what you are seeing is just plain strange, suspicious, or outright threatening. Here, “suspicious” refers to anything in line with a criminal or terrorist mode of operation, whereas “threatening” refers to an overt act of violence. All three steps in this method are time sensitive—meaning you must act quickly not only to identify anomalies,
34 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
but also to categorize them and respond appropriately. Indeed, the importance of rapid action is reflected in the book’s title, with “left” referring to the period before some unwanted “bang” or point of no return. Decision making under stress is exactly what our first responders and military do on a daily basis. So, it’s not surprising that the methods described in Left of Bang were pioneered in Israel for use in situations involving air travel, then later adapted as doctrine by the U.S. Marine Corps in the late 2000s. The beauty of the Left of Bang method is that it works—even if the average Joe Public is overwhelmed by the nuance and depth of observation necessary to be proficient in this method. Still, many organizations and individuals who stand in harm’s way could benefit from some version of this process. For example, schools could implement a class that teaches children basic safety and survival skills. Colleges could offer similar programs, especially for young women who often find themselves vulnerable. In today’s society, our tendencies toward multitasking and focusing on technology leave us distracted—and therefore perfect targets. By implementing the skill sets described in Left of Bang, all of us can become harder targets.•
A U.S. Marine participates in Hunter Combat training. Photo: Holly Williams
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 35
TRAINING REVIEW
Miami Dade College Training Course on Surviving Armed Confrontation by Garret Machine
T
I recently had the opportunity to complete the “Surviving Armed Confrontation” training course at Miami Dade College. This was a two-day course held from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on both days, which allowed for practice of low-light/no-light shooting. There were about 30 students and 5 instructors. The course covered three big-picture topics: shooting after combat stress; team tactics for room entries; and finally, vehicle ballistics and felony stops. The first phase of the course began with some refresher material on boxing, striking, knees, elbows, and takedowns. We then went into some warm-up pistol drills that incorporated precision shooting, rapid fire, reloads, and other fundamentals. Next, we all lined up in two lines of 15 in front of 15 targets, such that there were two shooters to each target. Students in one line held punching bags while students in the other line punched, kicked, and struck the bags in a variety of combinations. At the sound of a whistle, students in the second line moved from striking the punching bags to defending themselves from headshots delivered by their partners, who were wearing boxing gloves. After about a minute of fighting, the students who were defending themselves had to turn and shoot their target to a specific standard; in some cases, the standard
was time, while in other cases, it was accuracy or a combination of shots on low-percentage targets. The student pairs rotated through this activity about three times. It was a great experience, and the instructors made sure we gave it our all. Phase two of the course focused on
two-man room entries and clearing threats inside a room. Students paired up and entered two cornerfed rooms—meaning rooms with the entry door placed on one end of a wall. We practiced entering from the hallway from both directions and then switching places. We were able to work all angles and practice engaging targets from the hallway, doorframe, and interior of the room. We also practiced
36 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
covering for other officers as they went in to handcuff subjects. The third and final phase of training involved working on a car brought in from a salvage yard. We placed targets outside the car and first got to shoot through the windshield to test ballistics. After we cycled through several drills of windshield shooting, we moved on to practicing felony traffic stops. Here, we worked in four-person teams to exit a patrol car and approach a subject vehicle in an L-shaped ambush. Targets placed in the salvage vehicle were then engaged in all four seats. Vehicle ballistics were tested. Each maneuver, vehicle takedown, or shootout was done using live fire after 60 seconds of all-out punching work on a punching bag. This made for an excellent experience. I would highly recommend that all officers experience some sort of training for shooting under stress. After all, there is no such thing as combat without stress of some kind. While real-life stress, moving targets, and innocent bystanders are hard to mimic in training, courses like this one are a fantastic way to develop that ever-elusive stress inoculation training we all need so badly. For more information on this and other training courses offered by Miami Dade College, visit http://www.mdc.edu/ justice/in-service-training.aspx. •
The Advanced Global Security Workshop in
Israel ®
The experts on training in:
the Homeland Security professionals best resource
Since 2005, SSI has taken nearly 500 First Responders to Israel and shown them the basics of the Israel security concept. Thanks in part to that program, we are better able to defend ourselves in the United States. In response to demand, we are now offering a once-in-a-lifetime experience covering the following advanced subjects: Nov. 9-17
Hezbollah - a threat as deadly as al-Qaeda - Learn about them in their own territory, along Israel’s northern border. Hostage Rescue - Discover how they go wrong. Hospital Response - Find out how Israel’s critical response hospitals handle surge and multi-casualty incidents. Israel Counter Terrorism units - Learn how they operate. Israel National Police - National Academy; See how they train? Sensitive Installations - Participate in a day-long exercise and training program in how to set up a complete security system. Secret Israel Homeland Security Simulator - See how this works at a base south of Tel Aviv.
Stay in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and visit some of the most amazing sites! Register now if you are US Military, a Homeland Security Professional, a Security Professional, an EMS, or an EMT.
2018
LEARN MORE at: Call now for more information.
www.homelandsecurityssi.com
Circle 215 on Reader Service Card
Phone: 866-573-3999 Fax: 866-573-2090 contact@securitysolutionsint.com Circle 50 on Reader Service Card Circle 215 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 37
ADVERTISER INDEX
Counter The
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 5
Journal for Law Enforcement, Intelligence & Special Operations Professionals To request detailed product information, visit our website http://thecounterterroristmag.com/readerservicecard.php or scan this code. Select the appropriate Reader Service Number (RSN) on the web-form and submit your contact information. Individual advertiser’s websites are also provided below for your convenience.”
Page
Ad/Company • website and/or email............................................................................................... RSN Number
31 8th Annual International K9 Cop Magazine Conference• www.k9copmagazine.com............................................................................................... 279
37 Advanced Homeland Security Training in Israel • www.homelandsecurityssi.com..... 215 2 Barrett Firearms Manufacturing • www.barrett.net/firearms/mrad................................ 121 4 DeSantis Holster & Leathergoods • www.desantisholster.com.................................... 241 15 EDC Training • www.edcpistoltraining.com.................................................................... 119 33 Elevated tactics by SSI • www.homelandsecurityssi.com............................................... 313 3 FLIR • www. flir.com/explosivesguidebook www.flir.eu/explosivesguidebook............................ 339
FLIR
7 Patriot3 • www.patriot3.com....................................................................................... 301 40 Phantom Products Inc. • www.phantomlights.com....................................................... 209 19 Police K9 Magazine • www.k9copmagazine.com......................................................... 277 23 Southern Police Equipment • www.southernpoliceequipment.com................................. 343 39 SSI PVB • www.SSIPVB.com....................................................................................... 229
38 The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018
New and improved
( portable vehicle barrier ) When Law Enforcement in Dallas wanted a product to protect the greatest sporting event in the US they chose SSI’s PVB. The reason the PVB is used by agencies and militaries across the globe is that it transfers the momentum of the threatening vehicle upwards and stops it in its tracks. Two adults can deploy the barrier in minutes, and there is no need for electricity whatsoever. The Portable Vehicle Barrier comes with several customized configurations: • You can put wheels on it so that it acts as a swing barrier and easily opens a road • You can toughen the line by adding anchoring cables or place the PVB’s in one single row or even three rows to stop anything • Additional safety features can be added PVBs can be folded down quickly –moved and stored with ease – the PVB is reusable and durable. Best of all NO maintenance is required. Made in the USA means jobs in the USA and supporting our national economy. Ordering is quick and easy allowing us to make the PVB available to your agencies immediately. Besides being the most cost effective barrier in the business today, the PVB is a VBIED killer. CALL NOW.
Call now for more information. Pricing dependent on quantity and delivery location. Call: (305) 401-6906 or email info@homelandsecurityssi.com
Or visit our website: www.SSIPVB.com
Circle 308 on Reader Service Circle 317 onCard Reader Service Card
Circle 229 on Reader Service Card
The Counter Terrorist ~ October/November 2018 39
Circle 209 on Reader Service Card