Peace Intelligence – Page 22 – Public Intelligence Blog

Full Interview Online

ADM Allen is arguably the most credible and capable individual in the U.S. Government with respect to disaster relief.

Haiti response effort brings lessons from Katrina

When the after-action reviews of the recent catastrophic earthquake in Haiti are finally written, the tragedy will likely prove another major milestone in gauging U.S. disaster response. For an early preview, National Journal spoke with the man tasked with salvaging the Katrina operation and an insider during the Haiti crisis, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen. Edited excerpts from that interview follow.

Phi Beta Iota: It is clear from this interview that the emphasis was on extracting Americans rather than orchestrating aid to the Haitians. That is very helpful. Lessons learned from Haiti remain to be documented at a multinational and regional level.

2010/02/082010/02/08

Journal: Human Terrain Team (HTT)–Drama Part III

02 Diplomacy, 05 Civil War, 08 Wild Cards, 10 Security, 11 Society, Cultural Intelligence, Ethics, Methods & Process, Military, Peace Intelligence

New Details Emerge in Salomi Hostage Case: High Drama in HTS

by John Stanton

Observers indicate that two individuals in HTS leadership positions on the ground in Iraq—Lieutenant Colonel Byrd (Program Management Office – FWD) and Michael Goains, GG-15 (Theater Coordination Element) had direct knowledge of Issa Salomi's prior forays outside Camp Liberty/Victory Base Complex in Iraq unaccompanied by his teammates (team designation IZ-02,) or US military personnel. Salomi was apparently taken by an Iraqi insurgent group in January 2010 and a video of him recently appeared in global media outlets in February 2010.

Observers have also pointed out that Salomi is not, in fact, a contractor but is instead a temporary US Army Civilian employee. In 2009, HTS reverted to a government program and contractors were forced to choose between leaving or converting to US government civilian status.

“There is so much drama within the HTS program right now that it is unbelievable. Many, many people are being fired, rearranged and moved around due to management incompetence and personality problems,” said observers. “The amount of money being squandered is ridiculous.”

Continue reading “Journal: Human Terrain Team (HTT)–Drama Part III”

2010/02/082010/02/08

Journal: Collective Counter-Crime Counter-Intelligence

Collective Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence

The Countertraffickers

Rescuing the victims of the global sex trade

by William Finnegan

May 5, 2008

Her allies and colleagues in this work are widely scattered. An ebullient Dubai prison officer named Omer, who calls Rotaru “sister,” has been a help. So have Russian policemen, an Israeli lawyer, a Ukrainian psychologist, an Irish social worker, a Turkish women’s shelter, Interpol, and various consulates and embassies, as well as travel agents, priests, and partner organizations, including an anti-trafficking group called La Strada, which has offices downstairs from Rotaru’s and a dedicated victims’ hot line.

Phi Beta Iota: Although written a year ago, more or less, this jumped out during research being done by one of us. The above paragraph is in our view the new paradigm for law enforcement–collectives that form spontaneously, as needed, to focus on specific crimes against humanity that are of mutual interest. J. F. Rischard, at the time Vice President for Europe of the World Bank, speaks to global issue networks in his book HIGH NOON: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Fix Them.

2010/02/072010/02/07

Journal: Iraqi Insurgents Capture Human Terrain Team (HTT) Member Issa T. Salomi

Academia, Military, Peace Intelligence

Full Story Online

Steve Fondacaro and Montgomery Clough, senior program management of the US Army's Human Terrain System (HTS), were warned as early as 2007 that Human Terrain Team members in Iraq and Afghanistan would become prey for insurgent groups. They were advised repeatedly that training must emphasize the dangerous environment HTS employees would be operating in. That training needed to focus on practices and procedures for handling life threatening situations to include kidnapping.

Issa Salomi, a 60 year old HTT member operating in a combat zone, was taken in January 2010 by an Iraqi insurgent group and a video of him was released on the Net in February 2010 by the same group. This tragic event drives home, once again, the core failings of the Human Terrain Team System: the inability to find qualified personnel, to train them properly and to, quite simply, take care of them. Some allege that many team leaders and HTS management itself have no clue where many of their teams are. “Some HTT members disappear for days and then return.”

Continue reading “Journal: Iraqi Insurgents Capture Human Terrain Team (HTT) Member Issa T. Salomi”

2010/02/072010/02/07

Journal: Haiti Update 7 February 2010

Non-Governmental, Peace Intelligence

Haiti: Building Back Better – and Beyond

We already know that some 150,000 people were killed, 200,000 were injured and one million more lost their homes. After all the collapsed buildings are finally removed, this earthquake may be among the three or four worst disasters ever recorded anywhere on earth in terms of loss of life and injury.

Lessons Learned from Past:
Continue reading “Journal: Haiti Update 7 February 2010”

2010/02/022010/09/03

Handbook: Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Operations–A Handbook of Good Practices

Gift Intelligence, Law Enforcement, Peace Intelligence, Stabilization

aa cover preventing corruption — Full Document Online

Based on five years of investigation in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. The bottom line from our point of view is three-fold:

1. All money collected for an ostensible campaign must be “tagged” and audited and pooled so that the US military among others can draw down on the common fund and cover all costs associated with US military mobilization and continuing Stabilization & Reconstruction Operations.

2. We need a Stabilization & Reconstruction Intelligence Support Plan that includes Peace Jumpers and immediate air breathing wide area surveillance upon which to build a bottom-up needs assessment and Reverse TIPFID. Push the information perimeter all the way out to pre-loading approval contingent on having a big air docking space and small air or land or sea intermediate delivery channels.

3. We finally need to get serious about “preaceful preventive measures” as called for by General Al Gray, USMC, then Commandant of the Marine Corps, in his seminal article “Global Intelligence Challenges for the 1990's,” American Intelligence Journal (Winter 1989-1990). His staff assistant for that piece was Robert Steele. We need a Whole of Government and Multinational Engagement information sharing and sense-making hub and spoke network built around the US defense open source intelligence program. IOHO.

Explicatory Online Information:

Continue reading “Handbook: Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Operations–A Handbook of Good Practices”

2010/02/022010/02/02

Journal: Politics of Fear–Spending on National Insecurity

10 Security, Analysis, Budgets & Funding, Collective Intelligence, Military, Peace Intelligence, Reform, Threats

Answer: It all depends on what you think should be included, but once this is clear — this spending will be be exempt from any cutbacks needed to reduce the deficit.

The Table prepared by Winslow Wheeler, Director, Straus Military Reform Project within the Center for Defense Information.

Chuck

Category: Peace Intelligence

Journal: Commandant of US Coast Guard on Haiti