Fire Watch

February 2, 2010

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:51:35 -0500

What on Earth can Usama bin Laden, the mystical calculus of climate change and US Homeland Security have in common? Does bin Laden really agree with the President of the United States on matters weather? How is it that the FBI can immediately declare no terror relation when New Jersey law enforcement apprehends a man with Islamic head dress, a grenade launcher and .50 caliber weapon, a map of a New Jersey military base and effects in his possession linking him to radical Islamists? Do we have a case of another prison convert joining the jihad while our federal law enforcement assures us there is nothing to see here? It's not the Twilight Zone and there is no Rod Serling. Join host Steve Schippert and guest Senior Washington Times Editorial Writer James Robbins as they consider: Inanity or Insanity? The discussion was intended to be very serious. But there's almost no way to hold these related subjects together without a healthy dose of laughter.

April 24, 2009

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:40:00 -0500

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has received much more attention since the attack on the US-flagged _Maersk Alabama_, with it's captain held hostage for days until Navy SEAL teams took out his Somali captors and freed him. The most effective deterrent to acts of piracy is armed security aboard ship or in close escort, where it is demonstrated that the risk of an attempted boarding is far greater than the perceived potential reward. In this episode of FireWatch, Jay Fraser speaks with Jim Jorrie, president of Espada Logistics and Security Group, whose company has been providing precisely that type of private security service to maritime shipping companies navigating the dangerous Horn of Africa. He explains in detail the threat, the pirates' tactics, and the tactics and procedures that have left his teams and clients with a spectacular record of successful deterrence: Multiple pirate engagements with neither a single boarding attempted nor a single casualty on either side. # Espada Services # Espada extends security operations into the Gulf of Aden - San Antonio Business Journal: # Espada to consult on countering pirates - UPI Download this _FireWatch_ Podcast in MP3 format here.

September 21, 2008

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:01:31 -0500

The Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance inside Pakistan has bombed the five-star Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, completely destroying the structure in the massive blast and the fires that ensued after. It is an al-Qaeda strike back at the United States and the CIA for the operations undertaken inside Pakistan that target key Taliban-al-Qaeda leaders and facilities. The Marriott is regularly used by the CIA, FBI and US military intelligence officers when in Islamabad, and CIA officers and other officials were at the Marriott at the time of the bombing. How does Pakistan react? Will it be regarded as "Pakistan's 9-11" as one Pakistani paper described it? Or will it net more of the same, with a schizophrenic Pakistan neither fully participating with nor fully fighting against the Taliban-al-Qaeda insurgency that targets it? In this edition of _FireWatch_, recorded in the hours after the bombing, Steve Schippert takes an initial look at what it means, who was targeted, and what to look for in the days ahead in order to discern if and how this attack has changed Pakistan. Download this _FireWatch_ Podcast in MP3 format here.

February 18, 2008

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:00:33 -0500

Imad Mugniyah is dead, killed by a bomb in Damascus. He was considered by many one of the top three terrorists of all time. Tom Joscelyn, who has written this week's cover story for The Weekly Standard on the matter, discusses who Imad Mugniyah was and his Iranian-led history of collaborating with al-Qaeda. Mugniyah taught bin Laden's al-Qaeda the art of simultaneous massive truck bombings, a trademark operational practice that Joscelyn tells Fire Watch “al-Qaeda really inherited from Hizballah and Mugniyah.” In the second segment, terrorism and Middle East expert Nir Boms joins us from Israel to discuss the potential Iranian-Hizballah response going forward. Boms details why the Iranian-Hizballah retaliation “will most probably be geared toward an Israeli target overseas.” As he notes, Mugniyah's are big shoes to fill for his two successors – but Hizballah is certainly not going to stop orchestrating terrorist attacks. *Related Links of Interest by Guests and Host:* *Tom Joscelyn:* Death by Car Bomb in Damascus (02/25/2008) - Weekly Standard Complete 9/11 Commission Report (PDF) - [Note: Joscelyn refers readers to ppg. 240-241.] The Pope of Terrorism, Part I (07/25/2005) - Weekly Standard The Pope of Terrorism, Part II (07/26/2005) - Weekly Standard *Nir Boms:* Defiance in Damascus - Washington Times A Syrian's Struggle: There is no Democracy - National Review The Occupation of the Palestinian Mind - Middle East Forum Jihadist indoctrination in the schools - Washington Times *Steve Schippert:* PrincipalAnalysis: Terror: Iran's Chief Export - ThreatsWatch PrincipalAnalysis: Dangerous Liaisons - ThreatsWatch Download the Podcast in MP3 format here.