Terrorism – Go Lean…Caribbean

Tag: Terrorism

August 6 – A Day which will ‘Live in Infamy’ – ENCORE

Posted on August 6, 2018 in Government, Tactical

“A Day which will ‘Live in Infamy'” – US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941, Declaration of War at the Joint Session of Congress lamenting the December 7, 1941 Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor.

While the US President was referring to December 7, August 6 has become an even BIGGER ‘Day of Infamy’. This is the date in 1945 that the Atomic Bomb was detonated on Hiroshima, Japan. At that point only the USA had any Atomic/Hydrogen/Nuclear bombs. Today that number is 10, with fears that more “Rogue Nations” can get their hands on one.

This is the “Sum of All Our Fears”!

This fear was communicated in a previous blog-commentary from August 6, 2015. This is still a current fear, especially on the heels of Iran and North Korea Nuclear ambitions that are prominent in the news today.

Today, August 6, is a perfect time to Encore that previous blog-commentary as it is the 73rd Anniversary of the Hiroshima blast. See that Encore here-now:

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Go Lean Commentary – Sum of All Fears – ‘On Guard’ Against Deadly Threats

It’s time for some serious talk:

There are people out there that would like to kill us, and destroy our way of life.

Doubtful? Consider ISIS, Al Qaeda or Boko Haram!

These groups are Terrorist organizations, and they are committed, even at the risk of their own lives to carry out what they consider “a sacred service to their God”. (This aligns with the Bible at John 16:2 – “the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service” – KJV).

From the Caribbean perspective, this is a scary proposition. This also considers that the people, institutions of the Caribbean may not be the Terrorists’ target; they are really at enmity with the United States, not the Caribbean.

The US has a massive security apparatus, with huge budgets, systems, hardware (ships, submarines, fighter jets, satellites, etc.) and military personnel; the largest in the world. These enemies may not be able to get to their ideal target, the American homeland, but will settle with successful attacks against its bordering neighbors, allies and defenseless island territories (Puerto Rico, and/or the US Virgin Islands).

God forbid, they may get their hands on nuclear materials and detonate a “dirty bomb” on our Caribbean homeland.

This is the sum of all our fears!

This title, “Sum of All Fears”, comes from a quote by the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, quoted as follows:

Why, you may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together – what do you get? The sum of their fears.

In the modern lexicon however, the title draws reference to the movie based on the novel of the same name. These works of fiction portray a scenario where a nuclear bomb is exploded on US soil at a celebrated American football game. The movie truly depicted an ominous scenario. See the movie trailer here:

VIDEO – Sum of All Fears (2002) – Movie Trailer – https://youtu.be/p4Y-0Pun2Eg

Published on Feb 22, 2013 – CIA analyst Jack Ryan must thwart the plans of a terrorist faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia’s newly elected president by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore.
Alternate Synopsis: When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.

Life imitating art; art imitating life.

Atomic bombs have been detonated before … twice, in World War II against Japan on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Today, August 6, is the exact 70th Anniversary of the Hiroshima detonation).

No one can therefore claim that this fear of an atomic, hydrogen or nuclear bomb is far-fetched.

This consideration is presented in conjunction to mitigations and remediation for protecting the Caribbean homeland. The assertion in the book Go Lean … Caribbean (Page 23) is that with the emergence of new economic engines, “bad actors” will also emerge thereafter to exploit the opportunities, with good, bad and evil intent. The book warns that this “bad actor” emergence is a historical fact; it is not inconceivable that it can be repeated, even on the Caribbean homeland.

This is the sum of our fears!

This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) that claims:

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.

xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The branding Trade connotes economics, but the roadmap also addresses Homeland Security. Thusly, ascending the CU treaty would also enact a Defense Pact for the region’s security interest. Therefore the Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy and create new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines and the Caribbean homeland.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

This structure heeds the pleas of the foregoing Declaration of Interdependence. The Caribbean appointing “new guards”, or a security pact to ensure public safety includes many strategies, tactics and implementations considered “best-practices”. We must be on a constant vigil against the eventual emergence of a “bad actor” that would be the “sum of our fears”. This indicates being pro-active in monitoring, mitigating and managing risks. The Go Lean book describes an organization structure with Intelligence Gathering and Analysis, a robust Emergency Management functionality, plus the Unified Command and Control for Caribbean Disaster Response, anti-crime and military preparedness.

This type of initiative was attempted before. Some Caribbean region member-states came together, starting in 1982, to establish the Regional Security System (RSS); it is an international accord for the defense and security of the eastern Caribbean region. The CU/Go Lean roadmap “stands on the shoulders” of that nascent beginning and extends the vision further with a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) embedded in the treaty to create the CU Trade Federation. It is past time now for some real assurances. The world has become a scarier place. The threat of an unknown, non-state-sponsored enemy, terrorism is real. The World Trade Center/Pentagon attack on September 11, 2001 was an undeniable game-changer. But in a recent blog/commentary, it was reported that 17 recent terrorist attacks against the American homeland was cited for this decade alone, since 2010.

The CU Homeland Security Pact would roll the charters of the RSS and other regional efforts, such as:

… into one consolidated apparatus, the SOFA, thusly creating one entity, under a Commander-in-Chief would be “on guard” 24-7-365 for real or perceived threats.

The CU‘s requirement for the SOFA is “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap. The Go Lean book details the series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide the proactive and reactive public safety/security in the Caribbean region:

Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Community Ethos – Consequences of Choices Lie in Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering	Page 23
Community Ethos – Whistleblower Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens	Page 23
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Manage Reconciliations	Page 34
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness	Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederating a non-sovereign permanent union	Page 45
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Coast Guard & Naval Authorities	Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Ground Militia Forces	Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Emergency Management Agency	Page 76
Tactical – Separation of Powers – CariPol: Marshals & Investigations	Page 75
Implementation – Assemble Regional Organs into the CU	Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives	Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives	Page 103
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid – Military Aid	Page 115
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – #3: Consolidated Homeland Security Pact	Page 130
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better – Improved Public Safety	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices – Escalation Role	Page 134
Planning – Lessons from the American West – Needed Law & Order	Page 142
Planning – Lessons from Egypt – Law & Order to not undermine Tourism	Page 143
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy – Quick Disaster Recovery	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice – Policing the Security Forces	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce Crime – Regional Security Intelligence	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Gun Control	Page 179
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering & Analysis	Page 182
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Emergency Management	Page 196
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220

Other subjects related to security and governing empowerments for the region’s defense have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentaries, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5840	Computer Glitches – Cyber Attacks Maybe – Disrupt Business As Usual
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5183	A Lesson in History – Cinco De Mayo and Mexico’s Security Lapses
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5002	Managing a ‘Clear and Present Danger’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4809	Americans arrest 2 would-be terrorists – Mitigating threats
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4360	Dreading the ‘Caribbean Basin Security Initiative’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3881	Intelligence Agencies to Up Cyber Security Cooperation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement = Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1531	A Lesson in History: 100 Years Ago – Root Causes of World War I
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076	Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for Jihadist training
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960	Lessons from NSA recording all phone calls in Bahamas
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=809	Muslim officials condemn abductions of Nigerian girls
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=535	Remembering and learning from Boston
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We Want from the US – #4: Pax Americana

The Caribbean is arguably the best address of the planet. The people are kind, and hospitable. History shows that kindness is often disregarded as weakness. So we must project strength, underlying the regional smiles and touristic “welcome mat”.

Unfortunately, there are those out in the “mad-mad” world that will kill … with no qualms. What’s worst, they will overkill.

Overkill? See this Photo here:

Nuclear/Hydrogen/Atomic weapons are overkill.

This is the formation of human society; any opening for exploitation will be explored. Someone must be “on guard” for these risks, threats and abuses.

Help is on the way; here comes the Caribbean Union Trade Federation, to help make the region a better, safer homeland to live, work and play.

Everyone in the Caribbean – citizens, institutions and governments – are hereby urged to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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History, Model, Security, Terrorism

Remembering Manchester and learning ‘How to Get Better Security’ – ENCORE

Posted on May 22, 2018 in Government, Implementation

There was another school shooting in the US, this time in Santa Fe, Texas near Houston. This was on Friday May 18, 2018. Then on Saturday (May 19), there was a shooting in the Greater Atlanta, Georgia area, at a High School graduation. So this too counted as a school shooting since it was a school extra-curricular activity.

In the meanwhile, today is May 22 and we are remembering that on this day a year ago, there was a mass shooting “across the pond” in Manchester, England …

They are having memorials in England today; see the full story here.

… that one incident, just like the American events this past week, are all expressions of modern day terrorism. To satisfy any Social Contract, where “citizens surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the State in exchange for protection of remaining natural and legal rights”, community leaders must be “on guard” for domestic and foreign threats like these.

Our lives … and livelihoods depend on it.

This is a good time to remember Manchester and Encore the lessons learned from that experience on how we can better protect the societal engines in the Caribbean. See the previous blog-commentary here:

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Go Lean Commentary – Want Better Security – Must Love Dogs

So you want to secure your homeland against terror and other threats? Here’s a key requirement:

‘Must Love Dogs’

This is so true; man’s best friend can also be our best partner for mitigating threats of terroristic acts in public places. This is common sense … now that we have seen how devious the terrorists can be, exploiting soft targets right outside any hard target zones.

This is a fresh concern as there was a terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England last night (May 22, 2017). The attacker was an ISIS-backed suicide bomber who positioned himself among the exiting concert-goers for a show at the Arena. (The artist is American teen pop-sensation Ariana Grande, a fan-favorite among teenage girls and boys). He detonated his “Improvised Explosive Device” (IED) right outside the security zone while people were exiting to leave. So far, the death toll is 22, with 59 injuries. See full details on the story, aftermath and investigation here:

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Manchester Concert Attack; 22 Dead

Manchester Arena – Situation Normal

Manchester Arena – Monday Night May 22, 2017

Expect more revelations of the motives and bitter consequences of this attack against “innocence”.

This is a matter of serious concern for planners of a new Caribbean. This is Terrorism 101; this is affecting the whole world and our world. Though this attack was far away from the Caribbean islands, it was not far away from Caribbean people, as related in a previous blog-commentary from the promoters of the book Go Lean…Caribbean, there is a large Caribbean Diaspora in Manchester.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. The book asserts that the needed security apparatus to better defend against the modern threats of terrorism is too much for any one Caribbean member-state alone. There must be a regional integrated and confederated solution. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy and create new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices of criminology and penology to assuage continuous threats against public safety. …

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

Is there anything more that could have been done to prevent this Manchester Terrorist Attack? Let the post-trauma analysis begin! For one, the planners of the new Caribbean security apparatus have always presented this ingredient to the recipe for security success:

Must love dogs!

In a previous blog-commentary, it was related how specially-trained canines can help to better secure the Caribbean homeland. Consider this quotation:

The subject of animals and animal companionship is also pivotal in the roadmap for elevating Caribbean society, especially for the security engines. The Go Lean book posits (Page 185) that better command of Animal Husbandry can facilitate better security around the region’s economic engines. Dogs feel a lot less intrusive and less intimidating than formal security screening, or personnel patrolling with AK47 automatic rifles. Imagine a beautiful Caribbean beach scene with a plain clothes “officer” walking along with specialty dogs, or more exactly:

Drug Sniffing Dogs

Bomb Sniffing Dogs

Service/Therapy Dogs

This is one implementation that could have been deployed to mitigate the terrorism threat in Manchester … and everyday here in the Caribbean. Yes, this is in hindsight; this is “Monday Morning Quarterbacking“. This is not fair to the 22 lives lost in Manchester, but this is most importantly a pledge, not to let those lives die in vain. Let’s apply the lessons-learned.

This implementation with service dogs is just one “how”. The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to better ensure homeland security in the Caribbean region.

Consider this one chapter (and Case Study) … where the Go Lean book fully detailed the advocacy of Animal Husbandry; see these headlines from Page 185:

Case Study: Trikos K9 Warriors
When the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon [in April 2013], highly trained dogs were rushed to the scene to search for more explosives. Boston Police have said dogs swept the streets in the morning and a second time just an hour before the first marathoners crossed the finish line. It’s considered likely that the bombers planted their devices well after the dogs finished sweeping the area. Since 9/11, dogs have been used more than ever because nothing has proven more effective against hidden bombs than the nose of a working dog. The best of them serve with U.S. Special Operations, so much of what they do is classified, but by looking at the trainers, Trikos K9 Warriors (www.trikos.com) – on a 20-acre ranch in rural Cooper, Texas – one gets a rare glimpse inside the secretive world of these elite dogs. Most of them are from one breed, Belgian Malinois.
Dogs and their handlers work as a team, train as a team, and they go through so much together their bond is as strong as a band of brothers. In Afghanistan, they led their units and protected them in battlefields littered with hidden bombs. Per former Navy SEAL and Trikos Founder Mike Ritland: “same thing that they do for [the troops] overseas, detect explosives, they can do on American streets; plus they can run faster than 30 miles an hour so they can help take down suspects”.
See Appendix below for VIDEO from CBS News Magazine “60 Minutes”.

10 Ways to Improve Animal Husbandry

1	Lean-in for Caribbean Integration The CU treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, thereby impaneling a federal layer for oversight of the economy and security of the 30 member-states and 42 million people. One CU mission is to facilitate better security around the region’s economic engines. Another mission is to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. In considering the needs of the 42-million population, there must be some consideration for their animals. Beyond the CU overseeing food-supply regulations and spearheading the security benefits of employing specially trained service animals, the CU will spur philanthropy for more animal husbandry efforts, such as foundations advocating Spay/Neuter goals for dogs/cats. Lastly, the CU will coalesce with local authorities to ensure “dog parks” in urban/suburban areas.
2	Plantations for Bomb Sniffing Dogs The CU assumes the responsibility to assuage systemic risks and economic crimes. This includes marshaling defensive support for events/festivals, against terrorism and cross border gangs. The US model of Trikos K9 Warriors will be adopted with Belgian Malinois dogs, to breed them on plantations and train them to detect and interdict explosives.
3	Cadaver Dogs / Drug Sniffing Dogs / Drug Sniffing Pigs The CU will install plantations for dogs and pigs (Vietnamese Potbellies are especially acute) to train them to detect drugs/contraband and cadavers. The CU will maintain animals on-the-ready for acquisition by local and federal police.
4	Police K9 Units Each member-state may currently have a platoon of K9 police dogs, but their average service life is less than 10 years. So there is always a constant need for service animals. These needs will henceforth be fulfilled locally within the region.
5	Horses for Mounted Police Many polices forces have a Mounted Police Squad. These are especially critical for patrols at events and crowded locales. The CU will facilitate the acquisition and training of horses for the region’s Mounted Police units. These breeding and training plantations are ideal for rural area development, thus spurning an economic benefit.
6	Water Focus – Seals and Dolphins Service animals are not only the land variety. There are aquatic mammals as well: seals and dolphins. These species are excellent for securing maritime and naval operations – the CU are all islands and coastal states. The best practice is to mount mobile cameras on these mammals and have them patrol a specified grid. The economies of scale of the CU will allow for the deployment of these creative solutions while any one member-state alone cannot justify the investment. These deployments should not be secretive, but rather exposed to local/foreign media for image promotion.
7	Service Dogs for the Blind / Disabled – Domestic and Tourists
8	Comfort Animals for Therapies and Treatment
9	Bio-Medical Farms (Pigs, Baboons)
10	Agricultural Considerations – Animals for Foods

The Go Lean movement (book and preceding blog-commentaries) relate that security is not automatic, innate nor natural – Freedom is not Free. There is heavy-lifting involved in protecting the homeland for Caribbean stakeholders: residents and visitors. This point was detailed in these previous blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11332	Boston Bombing Anniversary – Learning Lessons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10959	See Something, Say Something … Do Something
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10566	Funding the Caribbean Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10222	Waging a Successful War on Terrorism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9072	Securing the Homeland – On the Ground
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6103	Sum of All Fears – ‘On Guard’ Against Deadly Threats
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5307	8th Violent Crime Warning to Bahamas Tourists
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5002	Managing a ‘Clear and Present Danger’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean Regional Security
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1832	American Drug-arrested inmates to be deported – Look-out Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement for Regional Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487	Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica received World Bank funds to help in crime fight

The quest of the Go Lean roadmap is to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play. This means measurable reduction (mitigating and remediation) of crime, interpersonal violence and systemic threats in the region. The Go Lean book presents a regional solution to remediate and mitigate crime and terrorism in the Caribbean, featuring details of strategies, tactics and implementations designed based on best-practices from around the world. The book’s vision is quite simple:

If we fail to plan, then we plan to fail.

The premise in the Go Lean book is that “bad actors” will always emerge, from internal and external origins. We must be prepared and on-guard to defend our homeland against all threats, foreign and domestic, including terrorism and interpersonal violence. Plus, we must accomplish this goal with maximum transparency, accountability, and commitment to due-process and the rule-of-law. Thusly, there is a place for many tools and techniques, think: closed-circuit TV (CCTV), dashboard and body cameras.

The title on this commentary – ‘Must Love Dogs’ – puns the title of the 2005 Movie of the same name. That movie was not about Terrorism nor about dogs. (It was about a couple who met through an internet dating site that matched their dog-loving profiles).

See a review of the movie here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/must-love-dogs-2005.

Yes, we can – with our “love for dogs” – make our homeland a better-safer place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Appendix VIDEO – Sniffing Out Bombs: America’s most elite dogs – https://youtu.be/FsnPAQ137fY

Published on Apr 21, 2013 – Lara Logan gets a rare look into the secretive world of working dogs — some of whose capabilities are military secrets — and their handlers.

Category: News & Politics
License: Standard YouTube License

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Events, Model, Security, Terrorism, UK

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International Women’s Day – Protecting Rural Women – ENCORE

Posted on March 8, 2018 in Ethos, Government, Planning, Social, Tactical

Can’t we all just get along?

The answer is “No”! Don’t be naïve!

The book Go Lean…Caribbean sought to reform and transform the societal engines of the 30 member-states that caucus as the political Caribbean. This region is in dire straits, with some countries flirting with Failed-State status. But all the problems here are not just economic. No, there are security deficiencies as well. Therefore the book declares (Page 23):

… “bad actors” will also emerge thereafter to exploit the opportunities, with good, bad and evil intent.

This movement behind the Go Lean book has therefore monitored security dynamics for the Caribbean homeland. The hope is to apply lessons-learn from other regions and ensure that we mitigate all threats and risks.

One such lesson is the security needs for our female population: Caribbean women and girls. There are many threats for women and girls that we need to be “on guard” for. Not all of our populations live in cities; no, many reside in rural areas or remote islands here in the tropics. According to the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women, there is the need to draw attention to the dilemma and challenges of rural women, who make up over a quarter of the world population, and are being left behind in every measure of development.

Today – March 8, 2018 – is International Women’s Day; the theme this year is “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”. The UN says:

This year, International Women’s Day comes on the heels of unprecedented global movement for women’s rights, equality and justice. This has taken the form of global marches and campaigns, including #MeToo and #TimesUp in the United States of America and their counterparts in other countries, on issues ranging from sexual harassment and femicide to equal pay and women’s political representation.
…
Join us to transform the momentum into action, to empower women in all settings, rural and urban, and to celebrate the activists who are working relentlessly to claim women’s rights and realize their full potential.

The #TimeisNow.

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VIDEO – Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives – https://youtu.be/XgwlEWzXUrE

In her message for International Women’s Day on March 8 [2018], UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka draws attention to the work of rural and urban activists who have fought for women’s rights and gender equality. Read the full message here.

Our Caribbean women require protections and public safety measures ideally suited for their exact needs. They need the fulfillment of the Social Contract on their behalf. This Social Contract is defined as:

… citizens surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the State in exchange for protection of remaining natural and legal rights.

Poor Nigeria; or better stated: poor rural Nigerian girls.

4 years ago, we reported on an abduction of 270 girls by terrorist group Boko Haram from a government school in the Nigerian State (Province) of Chibok; see the ENCORE of that blog-commentary below. Now we learn that it has happened again, 110 schoolgirls have been abducted in northern city of Dapchi (in the same province as Chibok). See news link here:

The recent Boko Haram abduction of 110 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Nigeria, drew immediate comparisons to the 2014 abduction of more than 270 girls from a school in Chibok. Beyond the media spotlight, what do we know about Boko Haram’s efforts to abduct — and recruit — women and girls?

The full Washington Post story-analysis can be found here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/03/08/boko-haram-has-kidnapped-more-girls-heres-what-we-know/?utm_term=.a9801d06cec0

Where are the military-security forces, police, world enforcement agencies in this repeated drama?

Where is the outrage? Where is the New World Order? Where is the #MeToo movement and #TimesUp movement?

Is their absence tied to the fact that this is Africa – a Shit-hole country? Or the fact that these girls are all Black girls and Less Than – do Black Lives Matter?

The Caribbean societal elevation effort – Go Lean roadmap – is for the Caribbean only. Can we ensure that we have the necessary protections in place for our women and girls? Not just for those in the urban areas, but the rural communities as well. This seems to be the defect in Nigeria.

This is also the theme of this UN Special Commemoration, the International Women’s Day and the need to better protect, secure and empower women and girls in rural communities.

The truth is: We cannot all “just get along”. There must be the protections in Caribbean society to ensure that the Strong Do Not Abuse the Weak. This is the vision for a new Caribbean stewardship. See this point about abducted Nigerian girls developed in the previous blog-commentary below here:

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Go Lean Commentary – Muslim officials condemn abductions of Nigerian girls

Abducting little girls from a boarding school in the middle of the night is just criminal! There is nothing religious or political about this action.

This is not just terrorism – in the classic sense – this is simply felonious behavior. This is evidenced further by the fact that the perpetrators have promised to sell the girls into slavery. The word “sell” has the connotation of obtaining money for this action. This is criminal and should therefore be condemned by every civilized society in the world.

Failure to marshal against these crimes is just failure – indicative of a Failed-State. Nigeria has a bad image of deceitful practices. So it is only appropriate to ask: is this truly a case of abduction, or could it all be one big Nigerian scam? Despite the obvious “cry wolf” reference, we must side with the innocent victims here. But, as is cited to in the foregoing news article, there are many people who feel that Nigeria hasn’t done enough for these girls. Only now that other countries have stepped up to assist/oversee has the government become more accountable.

Another group of victims in this drama are the peace-loving Islamic adherents. The actions of Boko Haram are casting dispersions on the whole religion. This terrorist group is not practicing the true teachings of Islam; in fact these actions are condemned as criminal even in the Muslim world.

AP*; Photo by: Manuel Balce Ceneta

The abduction three weeks ago of hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria by the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram is now generating worldwide attention and condemnation. Muslim leaders in various countries have criticized Boko Haram’s leader for using Islamic teachings as his justification for threatening to sell the girls into slavery. Others have focused on what they view as a slow response by Nigeria’s government to the crisis. The British and French governments announced Wednesday that they would send teams of experts to complement the U.S. team heading to Nigeria to help with the search for the girls, and Nigeria’s president said China has also offered assistance.

Some of the reactions to the crisis:

— EGYPT: Muslim religious officials strongly condemned Boko Haram. Religious Endowments Minister Mohammed Mohktar Gomaa said “the actions by Boko Haram are pure terrorism, with no relation to Islam, especially the kidnapping of the girls. These are criminal, terrorist acts.” According to the state news agency MENA, he said “these disasters come from cloaking political issues in the robes of religion and from peddling religion for secular interests, something we warn incessantly against.”

The sheik of the Cairo-based Al-Azhar, one of Sunni Islam’s most prestigious institutions, demanded the group release the girls, saying it “bears responsibility for any harm suffered by these girls.” The group’s actions “completely contradict Islam and its principles of tolerance,” Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb said.

— PAKISTAN: Dawn, an English language newspaper in Pakistan, published an opinion piece that takes Nigeria to task for not moving against Boko Haram. “The popular upsurge in Nigeria in the wake of the latest unspeakable atrocity provides some scope for hoping that the state will finally act decisively to obliterate the growing menace,” wrote columnist Mahir Ali. “Naturally, the lives and welfare of the abducted girls must be an absolute priority. Looking back a few years hence, it would also provide a degree of satisfaction to be able to pinpoint the moment when Boko Haram sealed its own fate by going much too far.”

— INDONESIA: In the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, the Jakarta Post published an editorial Wednesday condemning the Boko Haram leader for “wrongly” citing Islamic teaching as his excuse for selling the abducted girls into slavery. Recalling the Taliban’s shooting of 15-year-old Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai in 2012 because of her outspokenness in defense of girls’ right to an education, the editorial said: “Malala’s message needs to be conveyed to all people who use their power to block children’s access to education. It is saddening that religion is misused to terrorize people and to kill the future leaders of the world.”

The newspaper also criticized Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, noting that “only after international condemnation and street demonstrations poured in did President Jonathan tell his nation that he would take all necessary actions to return the young women to their parents and schools, while also acknowledging that the whereabouts of the abductees remained unknown.”

— SWEDEN: In an editorial posted on the left-wing news website politism.se, blogger Nikita Feiz criticized the international community for its slow response and asked why the situation hadn’t triggered as loud a reaction as when Malala was shot in Pakistan. “Looking at the situation in Nigeria, Malala appears like a false promise from the West that it would stand up for girls’ rights to attend school without fear of being subjected to sexual exploitation and abuse,” she said. “It is difficult not to draw the conclusion that the West’s assurance to act for girls’ rights suddenly isn’t as natural when it comes to girls’ rights in a country in Africa.”

A Swedish women’s network called StreetGaris is planning a demonstration outside the Foreign Ministry on Friday to demand more action from the international community. Participants are encouraged to wear a head wrap or red clothes in solidarity with the girls and their relatives.

— UNITED STATES: The U.S. government is sending to Nigeria a team of technical experts, including American military and law enforcement personnel skilled in intelligence, investigations, hostage negotiating, information sharing and victim assistance, as well as officials with expertise in other areas — but not U.S. armed forces.

“In the short term our goal is obviously is to help the international community, and the Nigerian government, as a team to do everything we can to recover these young ladies,” President Barack Obama told NBC on Tuesday. “But we’re also going to have to deal with the broader problem of organizations like this that … can cause such havoc in people’s day-to-day lives.”

In an editorial, The New York Times faulted the Nigerian government for not aggressively responding to the abductions. “Mr. Jonathan, who leads a corrupt government that has little credibility, initially played down the group’s threat and claimed security forces were in control,” the newspaper said. “It wasn’t until Sunday, more than two weeks after the kidnappings, that he called a meeting of government officials, including the leader of the girls’ school, to discuss the incident.”

— BRITAIN: Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said Britain will send a small team of experts to complement the U.S. team being sent by Obama. The announcement was made Wednesday after Cameron spoke to the Nigerian president. The team will be sent as soon as possible and will include specialists from several departments. Experts have said special forces may be sent to the region. The issue has heated up in recent days with protests over the weekend outside the Nigerian Embassy in London and an increasing number of newspaper editorials calling for action to rescue the girls.

— FRANCE: Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told lawmakers on Wednesday that France is ready to send a “specialized team … to help with the search and rescue” of the kidnapped girls. “In the face of such an appalling act, France, like other democratic nations, must react,” Fabius said. “This crime will not go unpunished.” Fabius gave no details of the team, except to say it’s among those already in the region. France has soldiers in Niger, Cameroon and Mali, where it is fighting Islamic insurgents, as well as in Central African Republic.

— CHINA: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, arriving Wednesday in Nigeria for a state visit, did not specifically mention the abductions in a transcript of a joint press conference with Nigeria’s president, instead making only a general reference to the “need to work together to oppose and fight terrorism.” In his remarks, Jonathan said China “promised to assist Nigeria in our fight against terror especially in our commitment and effort to rescue the girls that were taken away from a secondary school.” He did not offer specifics.

— BRAZIL: The foreign ministry issued a statement Tuesday condemning the abductions. “In conveying the feelings of solidarity to the families of the victims and to the people and the Government of Nigeria, the Brazilian Government reiterates its strong condemnation of all acts of terrorism,” the statement said.

—-

* Associated Press correspondents Lee Keath in Cairo, Michelle Faul in Lagos, Nigeria, Gregory Katz in London, Malin Rising in Stockholm, Masha Macpherson in Paris and Stan Lehman in Sao Paulo, Brazil contributed to this report.

Associated Press – Online News – May 7, 2014 http://news.yahoo.com/muslim-officials-condemn-abductions-girls-160020053.html

This book Go Lean … Caribbean is a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), so as to elevate the delivery of economic and security solutions in the Caribbean. One specific mission is to manage against encroachments of the Failed-State index.

At the outset, the roadmap identified an urgent need to mitigate against organized crime & terrorism, and to ensure human rights protection. This is pronounced in this clause in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12)

xxi. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

The Go Lean roadmap projects that the CU will facilitate monitoring and accountability of regional law enforcement and homeland security institutions. This type of behavior will not be tolerated in the Caribbean. This CU effort will be coordinated in conjunction with and on behalf of the Caribbean member-states.

On that note, the Caribbean Union Trade Federation, if it was already in existence, would vociferously condemn the abduction of the Nigerian girls. Hence the CU would be added to the long list of condemnations in the foregoing article. But these would not be hollow words, but would be accompanied by the required actions to ensure that such a disposition could not thrive in the CU region. This commitment is detailed as these community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocates:

Community Ethos – Public Protection over Privacy	Page 23
Community Ethos – Anti-Bullying and Mitigation	Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering	Page 23
Community Ethos – Minority Equalization	Page 24
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Strategy – Placate & Pacify International Monitors	Page 48
Separation of Powers – Homeland Security	Page 75
Separation of Powers – Justice Department	Page 77
Implementation – Security Initiatives at Start-up	Page 103
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices	Page 134
Advocacy – Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce Crime	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220
Advocacy – Ways to Empower Women	Page 226
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Youth	Page 227

In contrast with the events in Nigeria, local crimes against women, young or old will not be tolerated in the CU. Everyone, regardless of gender, will be guaranteed the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (and education for that matter). This will be standard, whether the world is watching or not.

However, we want the world to watch. We want to show how we feverishly protect our people, with assurance that the Caribbean is the world’s best address to live, work, learn and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Gender, Security, Terrorism, Youth

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ENCORE: The Requirement for Better Security – ‘Must Love Dogs’

Posted on October 2, 2017 in Ethos, Government, Implementation

One Minute Las Vegas Was Rocking; the Next It Was ‘World War III’ – Report of October 1, 2017 attack at a Country Music Festival

It is obvious that tourism and terrorism do not “make good dance partners”. Las Vegas enjoys 47 million tourists year, but with last night’s terrorist attack, there may be the need for some security enhancements at tourist and festival venues.

This is the similar awareness after the May 2017 attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England …

… and the June 2016 Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando, Florida.

The advocacy from the lessons-learned from all of these events is “Want Better Security? Must Love Dogs“. There are opportunities for bomb-sniffing and gun-sniffing dogs at venues and surrounding areas. This is the exact theme of a previous blog-commentary. Here is an ENCORE of that commentary:

———————

Go Lean Commentary – Want Better Security? Must Love Dogs

So you want to secure your homeland against terror and other threats? Here’s a key requirement:

‘Must Love Dogs’

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Manchester Concert Attack; 22 Dead

Manchester Arena – Situation Normal

Manchester Arena – Monday Night May 22, 2017

Expect more revelations of the motives and bitter consequences of this attack against “innocence”.

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy and create new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices of criminology and penology to assuage continuous threats against public safety. …

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

Must love dogs!

In a previous blog-commentary, it was related how specially-trained canines can help to better secure the Caribbean homeland. Consider this quotation:

The subject of animals and animal companionship is also pivotal in the roadmap for elevating Caribbean society, especially for the security engines. The Go Lean book posits (Page 185) that better command of Animal Husbandry can facilitate better security around the region’s economic engines. Dogs feel a lot less intrusive and less intimidating than formal security screening, or personnel patrolling with AK47 automatic rifles. Imagine a beautiful Caribbean beach scene with a plain clothes “officer” walking along with specialty dogs, or more exactly:

Drug Sniffing Dogs

Bomb [and Gun] Sniffing Dogs

Service/Therapy Dogs

Consider this one chapter (and Case Study) … where the Go Lean book fully detailed the advocacy of Animal Husbandry; see these headlines from Page 185:

10 Ways to Improve Animal Husbandry

1	Lean-in for Caribbean Integration The CU treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, thereby impaneling a federal layer for oversight of the economy and security of the 30 member-states and 42 million people. One CU mission is to facilitate better security around the region’s economic engines. Another mission is to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. In considering the needs of the 42-million population, there must be some consideration for their animals. Beyond the CU overseeing food-supply regulations and spearheading the security benefits of employing specially trained service animals, the CU will spur philanthropy for more animal husbandry efforts, such as foundations advocating Spay/Neuter goals for dogs/cats. Lastly, the CU will coalesce with local authorities to ensure “dog parks” in urban/suburban areas.
2	Plantations for Bomb Sniffing Dogs The CU assumes the responsibility to assuage systemic risks and economic crimes. This includes marshaling defensive support for events/festivals, against terrorism and cross border gangs. The US model of Trikos K9 Warriors will be adopted with Belgian Malinois dogs, to breed them on plantations and train them to detect and interdict explosives.
3	Cadaver Dogs / Drug Sniffing Dogs / Drug Sniffing Pigs The CU will install plantations for dogs and pigs (Vietnamese Potbellies are especially acute) to train them to detect drugs/contraband and cadavers. The CU will maintain animals on-the-ready for acquisition by local and federal police.
4	Police K9 Units Each member-state may currently have a platoon of K9 police dogs, but their average service life is less than 10 years. So there is always a constant need for service animals. These needs will henceforth be fulfilled locally within the region.
5	Horses for Mounted Police Many polices forces have a Mounted Police Squad. These are especially critical for patrols at events and crowded locales. The CU will facilitate the acquisition and training of horses for the region’s Mounted Police units. These breeding and training plantations are ideal for rural area development, thus spurning an economic benefit.
6	Water Focus – Seals and Dolphins Service animals are not only the land variety. There are aquatic mammals as well: seals and dolphins. These species are excellent for securing maritime and naval operations – the CU are all islands and coastal states. The best practice is to mount mobile cameras on these mammals and have them patrol a specified grid. The economies of scale of the CU will allow for the deployment of these creative solutions while any one member-state alone cannot justify the investment. These deployments should not be secretive, but rather exposed to local/foreign media for image promotion.
7	Service Dogs for the Blind / Disabled – Domestic and Tourists
8	Comfort Animals for Therapies and Treatment
9	Bio-Medical Farms (Pigs, Baboons)
10	Agricultural Considerations – Animals for Foods

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11332	Boston Bombing Anniversary – Learning Lessons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10959	See Something, Say Something … Do Something
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10566	Funding the Caribbean Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10222	Waging a Successful War on Terrorism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9072	Securing the Homeland – On the Ground
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6103	Sum of All Fears – ‘On Guard’ Against Deadly Threats
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5307	8th Violent Crime Warning to Bahamas Tourists
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5002	Managing a ‘Clear and Present Danger’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean Regional Security
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1832	American Drug-arrested inmates to be deported – Look-out Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement for Regional Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487	Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica received World Bank funds to help in crime fight

If we fail to plan, then we plan to fail.

See a review of the movie here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/must-love-dogs-2005.

Yes, we can – with our “love for dogs” – make our homeland a better-safer place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

—————

Appendix VIDEO – Sniffing Out Bombs: America’s most elite dogs – https://youtu.be/FsnPAQ137fY

Published on Apr 21, 2013 – Lara Logan gets a rare look into the secretive world of working dogs — some of whose capabilities are military secrets — and their handlers.

Category: News & Politics
License: Standard YouTube License

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Events, Model, Security, Terrorism, Tourism

[Top]

Want Better Security? ’Must Love Dogs’

Posted on May 23, 2017 in Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

So you want to secure your homeland against terror and other threats? Here’s a key requirement:

‘Must Love Dogs’

ISIS Claims Responsibility for Manchester Concert Attack; 22 Dead

Manchester Arena – Situation Normal

Manchester Arena – Monday Night May 22, 2017

Expect more revelations of the motives and bitter consequences of this attack against “innocence”.

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy and create new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices of criminology and penology to assuage continuous threats against public safety. …

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

Must love dogs!

In a previous blog-commentary, it was related how specially-trained canines can help to better secure the Caribbean homeland. Consider this quotation:

The subject of animals and animal companionship is also pivotal in the roadmap for elevating Caribbean society, especially for the security engines. The Go Lean book posits (Page 185) that better command of Animal Husbandry can facilitate better security around the region’s economic engines. Dogs feel a lot less intrusive and less intimidating than formal security screening, or personnel patrolling with AK47 automatic rifles. Imagine a beautiful Caribbean beach scene with a plain clothes “officer” walking along with specialty dogs, or more exactly:

Drug Sniffing Dogs

Bomb Sniffing Dogs

Service/Therapy Dogs

Consider this one chapter (and Case Study) … where the Go Lean book fully detailed the advocacy of Animal Husbandry; see these headlines from Page 185:

10 Ways to Improve Animal Husbandry

1	Lean-in for Caribbean Integration The CU treaty allows for the unification of the region into one market, thereby impaneling a federal layer for oversight of the economy and security of the 30 member-states and 42 million people. One CU mission is to facilitate better security around the region’s economic engines. Another mission is to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. In considering the needs of the 42-million population, there must be some consideration for their animals. Beyond the CU overseeing food-supply regulations and spearheading the security benefits of employing specially trained service animals, the CU will spur philanthropy for more animal husbandry efforts, such as foundations advocating Spay/Neuter goals for dogs/cats. Lastly, the CU will coalesce with local authorities to ensure “dog parks” in urban/suburban areas.
2	Plantations for Bomb Sniffing Dogs The CU assumes the responsibility to assuage systemic risks and economic crimes. This includes marshaling defensive support for events/festivals, against terrorism and cross border gangs. The US model of Trikos K9 Warriors will be adopted with Belgian Malinois dogs, to breed them on plantations and train them to detect and interdict explosives.
3	Cadaver Dogs / Drug Sniffing Dogs / Drug Sniffing Pigs The CU will install plantations for dogs and pigs (Vietnamese Potbellies are especially acute) to train them to detect drugs/contraband and cadavers. The CU will maintain animals on-the-ready for acquisition by local and federal police.
4	Police K9 Units Each member-state may currently have a platoon of K9 police dogs, but their average service life is less than 10 years. So there is always a constant need for service animals. These needs will henceforth be fulfilled locally within the region.
5	Horses for Mounted Police Many polices forces have a Mounted Police Squad. These are especially critical for patrols at events and crowded locales. The CU will facilitate the acquisition and training of horses for the region’s Mounted Police units. These breeding and training plantations are ideal for rural area development, thus spurning an economic benefit.
6	Water Focus – Seals and Dolphins Service animals are not only the land variety. There are aquatic mammals as well: seals and dolphins. These species are excellent for securing maritime and naval operations – the CU are all islands and coastal states. The best practice is to mount mobile cameras on these mammals and have them patrol a specified grid. The economies of scale of the CU will allow for the deployment of these creative solutions while any one member-state alone cannot justify the investment. These deployments should not be secretive, but rather exposed to local/foreign media for image promotion.
7	Service Dogs for the Blind / Disabled – Domestic and Tourists
8	Comfort Animals for Therapies and Treatment
9	Bio-Medical Farms (Pigs, Baboons)
10	Agricultural Considerations – Animals for Foods

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11332	Boston Bombing Anniversary – Learning Lessons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10959	See Something, Say Something … Do Something
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10566	Funding the Caribbean Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10222	Waging a Successful War on Terrorism
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9072	Securing the Homeland – On the Ground
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6103	Sum of All Fears – ‘On Guard’ Against Deadly Threats
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5307	8th Violent Crime Warning to Bahamas Tourists
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5002	Managing a ‘Clear and Present Danger’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean Regional Security
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1832	American Drug-arrested inmates to be deported – Look-out Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement for Regional Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487	Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica received World Bank funds to help in crime fight

If we fail to plan, then we plan to fail.

See a review of the movie here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/must-love-dogs-2005.

Yes, we can – with our “love for dogs” – make our homeland a better-safer place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

—————

Appendix VIDEO – Sniffing Out Bombs: America’s most elite dogs – https://youtu.be/FsnPAQ137fY

Published on Apr 21, 2013 – Lara Logan gets a rare look into the secretive world of working dogs — some of whose capabilities are military secrets — and their handlers.

Category: News & Politics
License: Standard YouTube License

Share this post:

Events, Model, Security, Terrorism, UK

[Top]

ENCORE: Boston Bombing Anniversary – Learning Lessons

Posted on April 17, 2017 in Ethos, Government, Social, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

It has been 4 years already! The hope now is for an incident-free Boston Marathon today, April 17, 2017.

But hope is not the only emotion at work in Boston. There is also fear, concern, anticipation and preparation. The City of Boston has learned important lessons from that terrible attack at the Patriots Day Marathon in 2013. See highlights from this VIDEO here:

VIDEO – New security plans in place for the Boston Marathon
– http://wwlp.com/2017/04/14/new-security-plans-in-place-for-the-boston-marathon/

How about the Caribbean? Have we learned lessons? Are we engaging the needed remediation and mitigation?

We have events – think Carnival in the Caribbean member-states or in the Diaspora – on our calendar that could also be victimized by attacks, assaults and incidents (terrorism or just plain street-crime). It is very important that we do better to present our participants, spectators, guests and tourists a more secure environment.

More than economic interests are at stake. It could be life-or-death.

Notice some of the headlines here describing the security dynamics of some Caribbean events (around the Caribbean and the world):

Trinidad Express Daily Newspaper March 2, 2017 – Trinidad Carnival: Reduction in Crime; but Carnival attacks nonetheless:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20170302/news/seven-killings-dillon-congratulates-lawmen-for-crime-free-carnival-2017
New York Post Daily Newspaper September 5, 2016 – 2 killed in J’Ouvert festival shootings in Brooklyn
BBC News August 30, 2016 – Notting Hill Carnival: Police officers ‘dread’ the event:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-37212493
The Standard, UK Daily Newspaper August 30, 2016 – Notting Hill Carnival Zombie Knife Incident:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/boy-15-slashed-in-stomach-with-zombie-killer-knife-at-notting-hill-carnival-a3331921.html

Also, see the Encore of the previous blog-commentary that considered lessons learned from the Boston Marathon terrorist attack; this review was published on the 1-year anniversary in 2014. See it again here-now:

—————–

ENCORE – Original Commentary: Remembering and learning from Boston

April 15 [2014] is the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. 3 people died directly, and countless others were maimed and injured. From any perspective this was a tragedy! To the families that lost loved ones on that date, our deepest condolences.

There are many lessons for the Caribbean to learn from this experience.

The book Go Lean … Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This CU is proffered to provide economic, security and governing solutions for the 30 member Caribbean states. This book posits that the Caribbean is not immune to similar experiences like Boston; that terrorism requires mitigation beyond the member-states; there needs to be a regional solution. The CU will furnish such a focus. There will be proactive and reactive measures to monitor, interdict, and marshal terroristic threats in the Caribbean. Most of the Caribbean has legacy affiliation with European/US countries that have been victims of terrorism. Though we have not had the tragedies of backpacks exploding at marathons, or chemical weapons used in subways, or airplanes crashing into our buildings, we must still hold a constant vigilance. The roadmap posits that “bad actors” always emerge where there is economic successes. See a related news article here:

Title: Year after Boston bombing, it’s clear that threat of homegrown terrorism overhyped
By: David Schanzer and Charles Kurzman

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing one year ago Tuesday, many commentators and public officials called this tragedy a harbinger of more homegrown terrorist attacks to come.

“We’re going to see an explosion in this radicalization and recruitment,” predicted Congressman Frank Wolf. “We are less secure than we were 12 years ago,” claimed think-tank terrorism expert Michael Swetnam. Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey told Americans to “worry – a lot.

”To many, the Boston attack demonstrated the potency of the Islamist extremist ideology, the difficulty of detecting individuals radicalized through social media and the Internet, and the ease with which amateurs could cause massive harm in our open society. The Tsarnaev brothers, they claimed, had paved the way for more terrorism.

While only one year has passed, much of this concern appears to have been hyperbole.

No one has been killed by homegrown terrorists in the past year, and there have been no copycat attacks. To put this in context, over the same period there have been 14,000 murders in the United States, including 46 murders in Boston.

There also has been no epidemic of al-Qaida-inspired extremist behavior directed at American civilians. Our research shows that in the year since the marathon bombing, there have been 15 arrests of Muslim-Americans for terrorism-related offenses, below the average of 20 arrests per year since 9/11. Almost all of these arrests were for attempting to join a foreign terrorist organization abroad, not for planning attacks in the homeland, and were motivated by sympathies with rebels in Syria and elsewhere rather than by al-Qaida’s call for Muslims to attack the West.

Our law enforcement agencies have a far more balanced understanding of the nature of the extremist threat than many of those providing public commentary after the Boston attacks. A nationwide survey of law enforcement agencies we are conducting in collaboration with the Police Executive Research Forum shows that more than half of the agencies report little or no threat from al-Qaida-inspired extremism. Only 2 percent report the threat as “severe.” Agencies from large metropolitan areas reported somewhat higher levels of concern (27 percent reporting a low threat and 7 percent reporting a severe threat). Overall, law enforcement agencies are treating this as a serious, but manageable, issue rather than the existential crisis that many have feared.

Law enforcement agencies have embraced community outreach as an effective strategy to counter violent extremism. Almost every large metropolitan police force surveyed collaborates with Muslim-American communities that are targeted for recruitment by al-Qaida and related extremists. Most of these agencies report they have established a high level of trust with the community, and two-thirds say these relationships have helped develop actionable information. This track record contradicts claims by Congressman Peter King, a New York Republican, and others that Muslim-Americans have failed to cooperate with law enforcement.

One year after two individuals inflicted pain and suffering on the streets of Boston, we should not be overly fearful or cavalier about the threat of violent extremism. The low levels of violent conduct both before and after the Boston Marathon show that no matter how many extremist videos are posted on the Internet, the baseless ideas these videos propagate appeal to only a tiny fraction of our populace. Yet, since small numbers of people can do so much harm, law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve must be constantly vigilant and continue to work together to prevent the next atrocity.

David Schanzer is a Professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and Director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.

Charles Kurzman is a Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Source: News Observer Newspaper – a Raleigh, North Carolina Daily – Retrieved 04/15/2014 from: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/04/14/3784842/year-after-boston-bombing-its.html

How can we apply lessons from this foregoing article in the stewardship of the Caribbean Homeland Security?

First, we have the direct lessons of the scourge of piracy in the Caribbean for centuries. The “after-effects” of this legacy still remain, even today. As Caribbean society traversed over the centuries, the attitudes that tolerated piracy, described in the book as “community ethos”, evolved to tolerate, incubate and even promote other lawless activities; (shipwrecking, bootlegging, drug smuggling). So with this history in mind, and the prime directive to elevate Caribbean society, the Go Lean economic empowerment mission is coupled with appropriate security provisions. This mandate is detailed early on in the book’s Declaration of Interdependence, with the following pronouncements (Page 12):

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices of criminology and penology to assuage continuous threats against public safety. The Federation must allow for facilitations of detention for convicted felons of federal crimes, and should over-build prisons to house trustees from other jurisdictions.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

There are many other lessons for us to learn from Boston. But there are other tragedies that appear to have gotten less attention in the past year since the marathon bombings. In Boston alone, there have been 46 murders since April 15, 2013. In total, there have been 14,000+ murders in the entire Unites States in that time. See the foregoing news article/commentary.

These have not gone unnoticed! Especially terrorism’s junior partner-in-crime, bullying; such incidents also call for mitigations.

The Go Lean roadmap therefore comes BIG, in its offering to effectuate change in the Caribbean. Notice these strategies, tactics, implementations, and advocacies detailed in the book related to Caribbean security:

10 Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
10 Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up	Page 102
10 Security Initiatives at Start-up	Page 103
10 Ways to Impact Justice	Page 177
10 Ways to Reduce Crime	Page 178
10 Ways to Improve for Gun Control	Page 179
10 Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
10 Ways to Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
10 Ways to Improve Intelligence [Gathering]	Page 182
10 Ways to Improve Animal Husbandry	Page 185
10 Ways to Impact the Prison-Industrial Complex	Page 211
10 Ways to Impact Youth	Page 227

Further, the Go Lean roadmap portrays the need for public messaging to encourage adoption of better community ethos for the Greater Good (Page 37). We must not allow those innocent lives in Boston to pass without positive lessons for our society.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for the roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Events, Security, Terrorism

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Americans arrested for aiding ISIS

Posted on April 2, 2015 in Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

It’s only been 14 years, but how easily we can forget: the events of 9/11 – September 11, 2001 – and the economic/security implications on North America … and the rest of the world, the Caribbean included. The economic effects arising from the September 11 attacks were an initial shock causing global recessions and dropping the world’s stock markets sharply; (see photo here).

Unfortunately, the entire Caribbean eco-system functions as a parasite to the American host. In Biology, when the host ails, the parasite “dies”; this poetically describes the Caribbean socio-economic dispositions, post-9/11. All in all, the consequences to the Caribbean were dire!

What have we learned? Can we do better going forward?

There is now a new plan to impact the Caribbean economy, in a positive way! We are now counting on this success. The assertion in the book Go Lean … Caribbean (Page 23) is that with the emergence of new economic engines, “bad actors” will also emerge thereafter to exploit the opportunities, with good, bad and evil intent. The book relates that this is a historical fact, that is bound to be repeated again and again.

When one group prospers, especially if some perceive that there is some exploitation of others in the process, the resultant animosity creates threats to homeland security. This is the reality in the United States and is expected to materialize in the Caribbean, as a direct product of elevation of this region’s societal engines.

This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) that claims:

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

The US has experienced a long list of terrorist attacks from both foreign and domestic sources. As a result, the country’s homeland security forces have to always be “on guard”, on alert for real or perceived threats.

Being “on guard” to protect the American homeland means proactively seeking out those with bad intent, by “hook or by crook”:

VIDEO: FBI: U.S. National Guard soldier tried to join ISIS – http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/fbi-u-s-national-guard-soldier-tried-to-join-isis/

March 26, 2015 – Hasan Edmonds, a member of the Illinois National Guard, and his cousin, Jonas, are charged with supporting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The two were arrested after their alleged plot for a massacre was uncovered. David Martin reports. (VIDEO plays best in Internet Explorer).

It is important to reflect that the US has been consistently under attack.

We all know of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, but terrorist attacks are actually more common in the US than one might think, or remember. Consider here, these recorded terrorist attacks in the US for this decade alone, since 2010:

Date	City/State	Enemy Category	Encyclopedic Details
December 4, 2014	Kansas City, Missouri	Anti-Muslim	Killing of Abdisamad Sheikh Hussein
October 30, 2014	Pike County, PA	Anti-government	Pennsylvania’s Eric Frein Attack & Flight
October 23, 2014	Queens, New York	Muslim Extremist	2014 Queens Hatchet Attack
June 8, 2014	Las Vegas, Nevada	Anti-government	2014 Las Vegas Shootings
April 13, 2014	Overland Park, Kansas	Neo-Nazi	Overland Park Jewish Community Center Shooting
December 13, 2013	Wichita, Kansas	Muslim Extremist	2013 Wichita Bomb Plot
November 1, 2013	Los Angeles, CA	Anti-government	2013 Los Angeles International Airport Shooting
April 16, 2013	Washington, DC	Bio-Terrorism	April 2013 Ricin-laced Letters
April 15, 2013	Boston, Massachusetts	Muslim Extremist	Boston Marathon Bombings
November 29, 2012	Casa Grande, Arizona	Muslim Extremist	Casa Grande Bombing
August 5, 2012	Oak Creek, Wisconsin	Neo-Nazi	Wisconsin Sikh Temple Shooting
May 11, 2011	Manhattan, New York, NY	Muslim Extremist	2011 Manhattan Terrorism Plot
January 24, 2011	Dearborn, Michigan	Anti-Muslim	2011 Dearborn Mosque Bombing Plot
November 26, 2010	Portland, Oregon	Muslim Extremist	2010 Portland Car Bomb Plot
October 27, 2010	Washington, DC	Muslim Extremist	Farooque Ahmed Pentagon-Area Plot
May 1, 2010	Manhattan, New York, NY	Muslim Extremist	2010 Times Square Car Bombing Attempt
February 18, 2010	Austin, Texas	Anti-government	2010 Austin Suicide Attack

The United States Homeland Security Forces have their hands full. They obviously have real threats to mitigate and remediate. For most of the Caribbean, we are allied with the US. So their enemies might very well become our enemies. Therefore the book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that the region must prepare its own security apparatus for its own security needs. So the request is that all Caribbean member-states form and empower a security force to execute a limited scope on their sovereign territories.

The Go Lean…Caribbean vision is to confederate under a unified entity made up of the Caribbean to provide homeland security to the Caribbean. But Homeland Security for the Caribbean has a different meaning than for our American counterparts. Yes, we must be on defense against military intrusions like terrorism and piracy, we mostly have to contend with threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines, and crime remediation and mitigation. The CU security goal is for public safety! This goal is detailed in the book as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, and also the security dynamics of the region, since these are inextricably linked to this same endeavor. Therefore the Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The Caribbean appointing “new guards”, or a security pact to ensure public safety includes many of the same strategies, tactics and implementations employed by US forces in the foregoing VIDEO. We too must use “hook and crook”, plus advanced Intelligence Gathering & Analysis, to draw out and interdict “bad actors” that emerge in the Caribbean region. The Go Lean roadmap calls for the designated Intelligence Agency to provide Unified Command and Control for the Caribbean anti-crime and defense efforts. This will include a permanent professional military force with naval and ground (Marine) forces.

This security pact would be sanctioned by all 30 CU member-states as a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The CU Trade Federation will lead, fund and facilitate the security forces, encapsulating all the existing armed forces (full-time or part-time/reserves) in the region. This CU Homeland Security Force would get its legal authorization from a SOFA embedded at the CU treaty initiation.

This Security Apparatus is “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap, covering the approach for adequate funding, accountability and control. The Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide increased public safety & security in the Caribbean region:

Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices	Page 21
Community Ethos – Consequences of Choices Lie in Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering	Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens	Page 23
Community Ethos – Minority Equalization	Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Manage Reconciliations	Page 34
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Tactical – Confederating a non-sovereign union	Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security	Page 75
Tactical – Separation of Powers – CariPol: Marshals & Investigations	Page 75
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives	Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives	Page 103
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid	Page 115
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate	Page 118
Planning – Ways to Model the EU	Page 130
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices	Page 134
Planning – Lessons Learned from the West Indies Federation	Page 135
Planning – Lessons from East Germany – Border Issues	Page 139
Planning – Lessons from the American West – Law & Order	Page 142
Planning – Lessons from Egypt	Page 143
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Leadership	Page 171
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice – Military Police Role	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce Crime	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Gun Control	Page 179
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering/Analysis	Page 182
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Prison Industrial Complex	Page 211
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220
Appendix – Prison Industrial Complex: Nauru Detention Center	Page 290

Other subjects related to security and governing empowerments for the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentary, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4360	Dreading the ‘CaribbeanBasin Security Initiative’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3881	Intelligence Agencies to Up Cyber Security Cooperation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2684	Role Model for Justice: The Pinkertons
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1965	America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487	Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1143	White Collar crime in America; criminals take $272 billion a year in healthcare fraud
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076	Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for jihadist training
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960	NSA records all phone calls in Bahamas, according to Snowden
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=809	Muslim officials condemn abductions of Nigerian girls
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=535	Remembering and learning from Boston
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica to receive World Bank funds to help in crime fight
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=341	US slams Caribbean human rights practices
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We Want from the US – #4: Pax Americana

The foregoing VIDEO relates to a Military Reservist; this population is especially troublesome for community peace assurances as these ones are trained killers. Plus with disorders like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the afflicted may be dealing with mental and emotional crises.

Underlying to the prime directive of elevating the economic, security and governing engines of the Caribbean, is the desire to make the Caribbean homeland safer, a better place to live, work and play. We must be prepared for the “bad actors”, to dissuade their disrupting the peace of all Caribbean residents (42 million people) or the 80 million tourists that visit the region annually.

All of the Caribbean people and institutions are hereby urged to lean-in to this roadmap. Yes, we can – we must – do better! 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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ICT, Power, Security, Terrorism

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America’s Navy – 100 Percent – Model for Caribbean

Posted on August 12, 2014 in Government, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

“Can’t we all just get along”. – Rodney King 1993

If only life could be that simple. Unfortunately, we do not “just all get along”. There is often conflict in the world and if we do not do something positive to aid in this process, then chaos results.

This subsequent VIDEO harmonizes with the book Go Lean…Caribbean which posits that “bad actors” will always emerge in times of economic prosperity to exploit opportunities, with bad or evil intent (Page 23).

It is what it is!

VIDEO – Always defending, always on watch, protecting our freedoms whenever and wherever they are needed. America’s Navy – A Global Force For Good – https://youtu.be/TiQODFm3IFg

This commercial/VIDEO speaks of the “call to serve”; this is extremely important that someone “answers that call”; and be On Guard to protect the homeland and home seas. In an alternate commercial/VIDEO, it magnified how the US Navy also boasted these 4 percentage numbers:

70% – of the Earth covered by water
80% – of all people that live near the water
90% – of trade that travels by water
100% – percentage of time to be On The Watch and On Guard

(For the Caribbean, all of these above metrics are near 100%).

The US Navy does ensure the Greater Good in a lot of situations. For example, the Navy ensures secure passage of oil tankers through such threatening places as the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz. The threat? For one, Iran has mined the Strait of Hormus (through which a majority of the world’s oil passes) and has threatened to blockade it, but its the US Navy preventing such action.

This US Navy consideration is relevant for the Caribbean to consider; not only for the fact that two Caribbean member-states, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, commits human capital to the American Armed Forces, but also because there is a parallel need for a powerful naval “force for good” in the region. The overriding theme of the foregoing VIDEO is that “freedom is not free” and that security forces must be put in place to ensure security. The security forces for the Caribbean must therefore be from … the Caribbean. We do not want to be parasites, but rather protégés of the US Navy, and those of other territorial powers: British, Dutch, France.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that the region must prepare its own security apparatus for its own security needs. So the request is that all Caribbean member-states authorize a regional naval force to execute the security scope on the sovereign waters and territories in the region and for the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Caribbean Sea. This would be part and parcel of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed with the 30 Caribbean member-states. The security goal is for public safety! This goal is detailed in the Go Lean book as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). So the CU would be set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, and the aligning security dynamics. In fact, the Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

Security/Defense policy for the Caribbean must be vastly different than that of the US Navy. There is no quest for world peace, or domination. Though we must be on guard against military intrusions like terrorism and piracy, we mostly have to contend with threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines, like tourism and fisheries. This includes man-made and natural concerns like narco-terrorism, enterprise corruption (human trafficking), oil/chemical spills, hurricanes, and earthquakes/tsunamis. For this purpose, the Go Lean roadmap calls for the establishment of the Caribbean Navy. While the US Coast Guard has a scope and agenda for all the US waterscapes/waterways, the CU Navy focus will only be the Caribbean, so the US Coast Guard will be able to shift its attention and resources else where.

So if there is the US Navy and the US Coast Guard already, why is their also a need for the Caribbean Navy? Simple! The US Navy and US Coast Guard report to American authorities. The CU Navy, on the other hand, will report to a Caribbean Commander-in-Chief and be held accountable to the Caribbean people. This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) that claims:

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

The Caribbean appointing “new guards”, or a security pact to ensure public safety is not so new an endeavor, as there are prior instances of this type of engagement in the region. There is an existing security pact, Regional Security System (RSS), for 5 Eastern Caribbean countries; but they have no ships – or any other naval/aviation resources for that matter. In effect, this RSS security pact would “bring a knife to a gun figh'”. The Go Lean roadmap however calls for a permanent professional Navy with the necessary Air Force, ground/Marine troops, intelligence gathering & analysis agency, and unified command-and-control for efficient coordination – even for all visiting allies. This CU Homeland Security Force would get its legal authorization from the Status of Forces Agreement instituted within the CU treaty enhancements.

This Status of Forces Agreement would be “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap. The Go Lean book also details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide increased public safety & security in the Caribbean region:

Economic Principle – Consequences of Choices Lie in Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering	Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens	Page 23
Community Ethos – Minority Equalization	Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Manage Reconciliations	Page 34
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Tactical – Confederating a non-sovereign union	Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy	Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security	Page 75
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives	Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives	Page 103
Implementation – Start-up Benefits from the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)	Page 104
Implementation – Ways to Foster International Aid	Page 115
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices	Page 134
Planning – Lessons Learned from the West Indies (WI) Federation – WI Regiment	Page 135
Planning – Lessons from East Germany	Page 139
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Leadership	Page 171
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce Crime	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Gun Control	Page 179
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering/Analysis	Page 182
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters	Page 184
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Extractions	Page 196
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Fisheries	Page 210
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220
Appendix – Analysis/Chapters of the Book The Art of War	Page 327

Other subjects related to security empowerments for the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentary, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1554	Status of Forces Agreement = Security Pact
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1531	A Lesson in History: 100 Years Ago – World War I
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487	Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076	Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for jihadist training
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960	NSA records all phone calls in Bahamas, according to Snowden
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=809	Muslim officials condemn abductions of Nigerian girls
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=789	America’s War on the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica to receive World Bank funds to help in crime fight
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=341	US slams Caribbean human rights practices
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273	10 Things We Want from the US and 10 Things We Don’t Want …

Bad actors will always emerge…

Accepting this premise means preparing the necessary counter-measures. The model of the American Navy gives the Caribbean a template of how, what, when and why. We must stand-up and be counted in the defense and security of our own homeland.

Protégés, not parasites!

This security is necessary to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play. The stakeholders of the region need these assurances. The stakeholders? 42 million residents, 10 million itinerant Diaspora, and 80 million tourists, (with 10 million on cruise ships). All of these stakeholders deserve someone, some force, watching and dedicated to the Caribbean … 100 percent.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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History, Model, Power, Security, Ships, Terrorism, Transform

[Top]

Status of Forces Agreement = Security Pact

Posted on June 30, 2014 in Government, Planning

Go Lean Commentary

The following is typical of the kind of news headlines in the last few weeks:

Crisis In Iraq Escalates As Militants Seize Major Cities

Iraq again! Didn’t we just go through this in the last decade? Did we not settle this a few years ago, and now we’re here again? Deja Vu all over again. Not a repeat of the Iraqi drama, but rather a repeat of modern history in total. In a recent blog submission, the commentary (https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1531) cited the lessons learned from World War I; or better stated, the lack of learned-lessons, as the result was World War II. An actual news article on Iraq that parallels this lesson, is excerpted as follows:

By: Olivia Marshall

Media [outlets] have claimed that the current violence in Iraq is the result of the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq and President Obama’s willful failure to secure a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. In reality, Iraq refused the terms of a SOFA with the U.S. despite Obama’s efforts to maintain a military presence there.

Time Magazine: Iraq’s Second Largest City Falls To Militants – Time reported on June 10 that Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, fell to the Sunni militant group Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS):

The fall of Iraq’s second largest city to Islamist extremists Tuesday sends an alarming message about the deterioration of a country where the U.S. spent eight years, 4,500 lives and $1.7 trillion. Mosul, a city of 1.8 million located in the far north of the country, long cultivated a reputation as a military town. But Iraqi soldiers threw down their guns and stripped off their uniforms as the insurgents approached on Tuesday, according to officials stunned by the collapse of its defenses.
Media Matters (Posted June 16, 2014; retrieved 06/29/2014) –
http://mediamatters.org/research/2014/06/16/right-wing-media-ignore-iraqi-resistance-to-sta/199742

The overriding theme of the foregoing news article is the Status of Forces Agreement^[a]. Under international law, in order for a military presence to not be viewed as an occupation or ‘act of war”, there must be a SOFA of mutual consent between both the host and occupying powers. This lack of a SOFA is why the US is drawn back into Iraq.

This American experience is relevant for the Caribbean to consider; not only for the fact that two Caribbean member-states, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, had committed human capital to that Iraq War effort, and have thusly sacrificed “blood, sweat and tears” there, but also because there is a parallel need for a SOFA in the Caribbean region.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that the region must prepare its own security apparatus for its own security needs. So the request is that all Caribbean member-states welcome a visiting security force to execute a limited scope on their sovereign territories. That visiting force: themselves!

Yes, the goal is to confederate under a unified entity made up of the Caribbean to provide homeland security to the Caribbean. But Homeland Security for the Caribbean has a different meaning than for our American counterparts. Though we must be on defense against military intrusions like terrorism & piracy, we mostly have to contend with threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines, like tourism. This includes natural and man-made concerns like hurricanes, earthquakes, oil/chemical spills, pandemic, enterprise corruption and narco-terrorism. The CU security goal is for public safety! This goal is detailed in the book as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). So while the CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, the truth of the matter is that the security dynamics of the region are inextricably linked to this same endeavor. Therefore the Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The book contends that bad actors will emerge just as a result of economic successes in the region. This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) that claims:

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

The Caribbean appointing “new guards”, or a security pact to ensure public safety is not so new an endeavor. There are prior instances of this type of engagement in the region. There is currently a security pact; shared by 5 Eastern Caribbean member-states that was first consummated in 1982 – this was discussed in full depth in a previous commentary regarding the Regional Security System (https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076). The Go Lean roadmap however calls for a permanent professional force with naval and ground (Marine) forces, plus an Intelligence agency. This security pact would be sanctioned by all 30 CU member-states, not just the current 5; (there is even a plan for the eventual inclusion of Cuba). The CU Trade Federation will lead, fund and facilitate the security force, encapsulating (full-time or part-time) all the existing armed forces in the region. This CU Homeland Security Force would get its legal authorization from a Status of Forces Agreement signed with the CU treaty enhancements.

This SOFA is “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap, covering the approach for adequate funding, accountability and control. In step with the foregoing news article, there is the absolute need for the CU SOFA to be ratified as soon as possible.

The Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide increased public safety & security in the Caribbean region:

Economic Principle – Consequences of Choices Lie in Future	Page 21
Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens	Page 23
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good	Page 37
Tactical – Confederating a non-sovereign union	Page 63
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security	Page 75
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives	Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives	Page 103
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better	Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices	Page 134
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract	Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Justice	Page 177
Advocacy – Ways to Reduce Crime	Page 178
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Ways to Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering/Analysis	Page 182
Advocacy – Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters	Page 184
Advocacy – Ways to Protect Human Rights	Page 220
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Cuba	Page 236

Other subjects related to security and governing empowerments for the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentary, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1531	A Lesson in History: 100 Years Ago – World War I
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076	Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for jihadist training
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960	NSA records all phone calls in Bahamas, according to Snowden
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=789	America’s War on the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=546	Book Review: ‘The Divide’ – … Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=535	Remembering and learning from Boston
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=392	Jamaica to receive World Bank funds to help in crime fight
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=341	US slams Caribbean human rights practices
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=87	6.5M Earthquake Shakes Eastern Caribbean

Underlying to the prime directive of elevating the economics, security and governing engines of the Caribbean, is the desire to make the Caribbean homeland, a better place to live, work and play. We do not want a few “bad actors” disrupting the peace of all Caribbean residents (42 million people), or the 10 million Diaspora as they frequent their tropical homeland or even the 80 million tourists that visit the region annually. The Go Lean roadmap states it most succinctly with the quotation: “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” (Page 37).

All of the Caribbean are hereby urged to lean-in to this roadmap.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

——

Appendix: a – Status of Forces Agreement

A Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing military forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security arrangement. A SOFA does not constitute a security arrangement; it establishes the rights and privileges of foreign personnel present in a host country in support of the larger security arrangement. ^[1] Under international law a status of forces agreement differs from military occupation.

Agreements

While the United States military has the largest foreign presence and therefore accounts for most SOFAs, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Korea, and many other nations also station military forces abroad and negotiate SOFAs with their host countries. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a SOFA. In the past, the Soviet Union had SOFAs with most of its satellite states (See Go Lean…Caribbean Page 139). While most of the United States’ SOFAs are public, some remain classified.^[2]

Terms of operation – The SOFA is intended to clarify the terms under which the foreign military is allowed to operate. Typically, purely military operational issues such as the locations of bases and access to facilities are covered by separate agreements. The SOFA is more concerned with the legal issues associated with military individuals and property. This may include issues like entry and exit into the country, tax liabilities, postal services, or employment terms for host-country nationals, but the most contentious issues are civil and criminal jurisdiction over bases and personnel. For civil matters, SOFAs provide for how civil damages caused by the forces will be determined and paid. Criminal issues vary, but the typical provision in U.S. SOFAs is that U.S. courts will have jurisdiction over crimes committed either by a service-member against another service-member or by a service-member as part of his or her military duty, but the host nation retains jurisdiction over other crimes.^[3]

Host nation concerns – In many host nations, especially those with a large foreign presence such as South Korea and Japan, the SOFA can become a major political issue following crimes allegedly committed by service-members. This is especially true when the incidents involve crimes such as robbery, murder, manslaughter or sex crimes, especially when the charge is defined differently in the two nations. For example, in 2002 in South Korea, a U.S. military AVLB bridge-laying vehicle on the way to the base camp after a training exercise accidentally killed two girls. Under the SOFA, A U.S. military court martial panel tried the soldiers involved, The panel found the act to be an accident and acquitted the service members of negligent homicide, citing no criminal intent or negligence. The U.S. military accepted responsibility for the incident and paid civil damages. This resulted in widespread outrage in South Korea, demands that the soldiers be retried in a South Korean court, the airing of a wide variety of conspiracy theories, and a backlash against the local expatriate community.^[4] As of 2011 American military authorities are allowing South Korea to charge and prosecute American soldiers in South Korean courts.^[5][6]

(Retrieved 06/29/2014 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_forces_agreement)

Sources References:

1. R. Chuck Mason (March 15, 2012). “Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Might One Be Utilized In Iraq?” Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34531.pdf

2. Bruno, Greg (October 2, 2008), U.S. Security Agreements and Iraq, Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved from: http://www.cfr.org/publication/16448/us_security_agreements_and_iraq.html

3. Pike, John (2005). “Status of Forces Agreement”. GlobalSecurity.org, 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/sofa.htm

4. Ibiblio.org (2002). News articles on South Korean teenagers run over US military vehicle. Posted 22 August 2008; retrieved from http://www.ibiblio.org/ahkitj/wscfap/arms1974/HRS/2002/Stop%20US%20Military%20dossier/4.htm

5. Stars and Stripes Newspaper (2011). “US soldier confesses during trial to rape of South Korean girl”. Retrieved http://www.stripes.com/u-s-soldier-confesses-during-trial-to-rape-of-south-korean-girl-1.161419

6. Stars and Stripes Newspaper (2012). “Korea-based US soldier get 3 years in prison for rape conviction”. Posted 12 February 2012; retrieved from: http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/korea/korea-based-u-s-soldier-gets-3-years-in-prison-for-rape-conviction-1.168182

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Civil Rights, History, Power, Security, Terrorism, Transform

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Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for jihadist training

Posted on May 29, 2014 in Government, Locations, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

The American War on Terror has come to the Caribbean. This is obvious with the news in the subsequenr news article. It is also obvious that with two member-states (Guyana & Trinidad) with large Islamic populations, their Muslim adherents may invariably side with some of their Middle Eastern brothers.

The United States of America is the Caribbean’s biggest trading partner and benefactor. But, the US has enemies. What’s more, many American activities enrage their enemies. Consider these known facts:

Unmanned Drone attacks in Pakistan/Afghanistan, with collateral damage of innocent women/children.
NSA spying on its own citizens, and those of foreign lands in their home country, including the Caribbean; (this was disclosed last week by NSA Leaker Edward Snowden – see https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=960).
American “Vulture” Capitalism – painfully exploiting natural resources at the expense of indigenous people

American foreign policy is determined by the US government (White House & Congress). The needs of our small Caribbean states may not factor in US policy determinations. Even the US territories (Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands) have little voice and no vote in the formation of policy. The Caribbean finds itself in the same role as the words (sang by Michael Jackson) of the Scarecrow in the 1977 movie The Wiz:

We can’t win,
We can’t break-even, and …
We can’t get out of the game.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that we must maintain our own security apparatus against systemic threats, like terrorism, that can imperil our way of life. This goal is detailed in the book, serving as a roadmap for the introduction of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives:

Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The book contends that bad actors will emerge just as a result of economic successes in the region. Combine further, the alignments with the US, and we have to be prepared for even more “enemies at the gate”. The other European nations with Caribbean territories (Britain, France, and The Netherlands) also have to contend with terrorism activities. This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13), and these claims:

x. Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes, including piracy and other forms of terrorism, can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

Appointing “new guards” to ensure our public safety is not so new of an endeavor. This effort has commenced already. There is currently a security pact of 7 Eastern Caribbean member-states that was first consummated in 1982 – see the Regional Security System below. The roadmap calls for the expansion and professionalization of this security pact for all 30 member-states. It will be the responsibility of the CU to lead, fund and facilitate this pact.

Creating the CU security apparatus is “Step One, Day One” in the Go Lean roadmap. This implementation, with the appropriate funding mechanisms, is essential for success. In line with the foregoing news article, there is the absolute need for a Unified Command-and-Control (UCC), including intelligence gathering and analysis, to monitor and mitigate threats against the region.

By Caribbean News Now contributor

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — Cellphone images seized by SEBIN, Venezuela’s intelligence service, allegedly show Trinidadian Muslims arrested in Venezuela engaging in what SEBIN described as “pre-jihad training” on a firing range using high-powered weapons, the Trinidad Express reported.

The images were reportedly extracted from the cellphones seized from some of the Muslims in a group that travelled to Venezuela from Trinidad and were later arrested in a raid at the Plaza Hotel in Caracas on March 19, together with women and children, who were later released.

The training resembled what takes place in the Middle East as Muslims prepare for what they term jihad, or holy war, an important religious duty for Muslims that includes armed struggle against persecution and oppression.

Intense military, arms and ammunition training is part and parcel of their routine and some of this kind of training, SEBIN alleged, was taking place in Venezuela by some of the Trinidadian Muslims.

In a top secret document prepared by SEBIN and sent to the Trinidad and Tobago government, the pictures in question were taken by three Venezuelan police officers who were later arrested. There are at least six photographs showing the men.

Eight Trinidadian Muslims are currently detained by Venezuelan authorities on suspicion of terrorist activities. The 14 women and children who were held with them at the Plaza Hotel in Caracas on March 19 were released some ten days later and sent back to Trinidad.

This followed a visit of a Trinidad and Tobago delegation headed by Rear Admiral Richard Kelshall who met with Venezuelan authorities two days prior to their release.

Out of that meeting emanated the top secret document given to the Trinidad and Tobago government, which the Trinidad Express reported exposes some alarming security concerns that the country’s security forces need to monitor closely.

The document outlines in detail the day the Trinidadian Muslims were held at the Plaza Hotel in Caracas and revelations about possible terrorist activities that can have far reaching consequences for Trinidad and Tobago.

Minister of National Security Gary Griffith spoke about the document in late April.

“A secret document has been given to me through the delegation from the Venezuelan authorities and this is obviously a sensitive document and I would not be able to actually state what is in the document, it is sensitive correspondence,” Griffith said.

In the top secret document, there are dates of the arrivals for all the Trinidadians who touched down at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Venezuela between January and March this year.

The raid on the Trinidadian Muslims at the Plaza Hotel, authorities said, was brought to the attention of SEBIN “after a prolonged stay at the hotel” and the use of “cash to cover their bills”.

Further suspicion arose, SEBIN stated, when members of the group were reclusive, as more persons continued to arrive and bills continued “to be paid exclusively in cash”.

Cleaning staff at the hotel were even barred from entering the rooms, the report revealed.

SEBIN’s suspicion was compounded further as they “implemented surveillance on the group and observed that Dominic Pitilal [one of the group] was routinely changing large sums of US” currency.

It was then SEBIN decided to make their move, executing a search warrant in the rooms occupied by “Pitilal and associates” and reportedly discovered: two satellite phones, 20 mobile phones, two laptops, six tablets, army type uniforms, combat paraphernalia, firearm training paraphernalia, telephone video of several of the detained persons in firearms training in Caracas.

According to the Trinidad Express, the accusation of jihad is only the beginning of something more profoundly troubling.

Sources within the Muslim community in Trinidad told the Express they have received information about Trinidadian Muslims fighting in the Syrian civil war as part of the anti-Assad movement.

Sources said every individual is paid US$150,000 to come to Syria and fight.

The subject is rarely discussed in certain Muslim circles in Trinidad, some fearing if they say anything, their lives might be in jeopardy. It is also a case that Muslim women know about, but are not willing to inform on friends or family members.

Well-placed Muslim sources who met and spoke with the Express in the last few weeks on the condition of anonymity say some of the women and children who were detained in Venezuela were in transit to Syria.

Three well-placed sources say people had confided in them about how the operation would go down.

One said, “What they do is buy plane tickets showing travel from Venezuela to China in transit through Turkey. When the plane stops there they get off and cross the border into Syria, but many would be thinking they have gone on to China as the ticket states.”

Another indicated that a named Trinidadian Muslim now in Syria has been in contact with family members in Trinidad and is also in constant contact with another local Muslim man.

Intelligence sources said they have been monitoring the movements of certain people, but would not commit to a solid answer.

When asked about Trinidadians using Venezuela as a stepping stone to head to Syria to fight in the jihad, Griffith said, “We most definitely have intelligence of all matters of national security but pertaining to that quite obviously, I would not be able to actually state what intelligence that we have for obvious reasons.”

In the last three weeks, the UK Guardian has carried stories about Muslim men leaving the United Kingdom to fight the war in Syria with young women also trying to follow. When they return to their countries they could be a serious security risk and the Anti-Terrorism Unit in Britain is closely monitoring the situation.

CNN in a recent report online entitled “West’s biggest threat: Battle hardened homegrown terrorists”, warned about American Muslims leaving to fight in Syria and returning as a potential threat to the US.

Intelligence sources in Trinidad also said they are fearful that some of those fighting in Syria will return to Trinidad with the radical ability to carry out violent acts there.

In fact, SEBIN in its secret report made specific recommendations to Trinidad’s national security ministry indicating it should pay closer attention to particular mosques.

Concerns outlined in the report also included:

• The increase of illegal diesel trafficking.

• Increase of the volume and flow of narco-trafficking and arms and ammunition trafficking.

• Increase of persons from the Middle East entering and transiting Venezuela onward to Trinidad.

SEBIN also revealed to the Trinidad and Tobago government that “British and US sources have expressed through official channels that there is an uneasiness relative to chatter emanating from Trinidad and Tobago at this time.”

Griffith said, “When we get types of intelligence that can be perceived as individuals being enemies of the state or trying to have any plan to overthrow the government, or any democracy as we know it, we would have that pre-emptive strike. We would be aware of what is happening and we would ensure that we do it to them before they do it to us.”

Attempts to assess the level of US concern in relation to the security of the Caribbean generally – a region that is variously described as America’s “third border” and America’s “backyard” – by means of official comment have largely proven to be fruitless.

There has been the so-called Third Border Initiative (now apparently moribund) and the more recent Caribbean Basin Security Initiative but the latter has largely focused on maritime interdiction of drug traffickers while seemingly ignoring the fact that the vacuum left by US financial and political inattention has been quickly filled by the Chinese (economically), Venezuela (politically and economically) also acting as a proxy for Iran, and more recently by the Russians for their own reasons.

Apart from the fact that questionable individuals from these and other countries are using the economic citizenship programs of many of the small Caribbean countries to obscure their real nationality and background, there is the concern expressed by intelligence sources in Trinidad that some of their nationals fighting in Syria will return with the radical ability to carry out violent acts in that country – i.e. part of America’s “third border”.

The so far unanswered questions posed to various US House and Senate committees that ought to have an interest in this area have tried to address the apparent inattention to the situation in the region itself, thus allowing hostile elements virtual freedom of movement in an area up to the actual border when, with a fairly modest effort in the overall scheme of things, the situation could be dealt with much more effectively.

With all the ex post facto hand-wringing over events in Benghazi, an increased level of congressional interest and concern in working to prevent other potential problems closer to home might have been expected but is apparently thus far non-existent.

Caribbean News Now (Posted May 13, 2014; retrieved 05/29/2014) –http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Trinidad-Muslims-travel-to-Venezuela-for-jihadist-training-21089.html

The Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to provide increased public safety & security in the Caribbean region:

Community Ethos – Privacy –vs- Public Protection	Page 23
Community Ethos – Intelligence Gathering	Page 23
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens	Page 23
Community Ethos – Cooperatives	Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing	Page 35
Strategy – Security Pact to defend the homeland	Page 45
Tactical – Confederating a non-sovereign union	Page 63
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Homeland Security	Page 75
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change	Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Foreign Policy Initiatives	Page 102
Implementation – Start-up Security Initiatives	Page 103
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy	Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance	Page 168
Advocacy – Improve Homeland Security	Page 180
Advocacy – Mitigate Terrorism	Page 181
Advocacy – Improve Intelligence Gathering/Analysis	Page 182
Advocacy – Improve for Natural Disasters	Page 184

Paramount to the prime directive of elevating the economics, security and governing engines of the region is the desire to make the Caribbean, a better place to live, work and play. This has been the hope for generations. Finally now, the CU is here to traverse this journey. All of the Caribbean institutions are hereby urged to lean-in to this roadmap, or better stated, to Go Lean.

Download the Book – Go Lean…Caribbean – Now!!!

Appendix – Regional Security System

(Retrieved 05/29/2014 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Security_System)

The Regional Security System (RSS) is an international agreement for the defence and security of the eastern Caribbean region. The Regional Security System was created out of a need for collective response to security threats, which were impacting on the stability of the region in the late 1970s and early 1980s. On 29 October 1982 four members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States—namely, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines—signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Barbados to provide for “mutual assistance on request”. The signatories agreed to prepare contingency plans and assist one another, on request, in national emergencies, prevention of smuggling, search and rescue, immigration control, fishery protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, protection of off-shore installations, pollution control, national and other disasters and threats to national security.^[1] Saint Kitts and Nevis joined following independence in 1983, and Grenada followed two years later after Operation Urgent Fury, a combined U.S. and RSS invasion of the country. The MOU was updated in 1992 and the system acquired juridical status on 5 March 1996 under the Treaty which was signed at St. Georges, Grenada.

The RSS initially started as a U.S. instrument to combat the spread of Communism in the Caribbean region.^[2][3] As of 2001, the RSS further cooperates with the CARICOM Regional Task Force on Crime and Security (CRTFCS).^[4]

In June 2010, United States and Caribbean regional officials resumed a plan for close cooperation established under the former Partnership for Prosperity and Security in the Caribbean (PPS) from the Clinton era.^[5] As part of the joint agreement the United States pledged assistance with the creation of an Eastern Caribbean Coast Guard unit among RSS countries.^[6] The Coast Guard unit will underpin the wider US-Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) which has deemed the RSS as “central to the CBSI’s success, given its reach across the Eastern Caribbean.”^[6]

Subsequently, Canada also pledged collaboration with the RSS bloc.^[7][8] to combat a threat of Central American criminal gangs from expanding into the English-speaking Caribbean region.^[9]

The current member nations are:

Antigua and Barbuda (since 1982)
Barbados (since 1982)
Dominica (since 1982)
Grenada (since 1985)
Saint Kitts and Nevis (since 1983)
Saint Lucia (since 1982)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (since 1982)

Date	Operation name	Country	Reason
1983	Grenada Intervention	Grenada	Restore a government in Grenada
1989	Hugo	Antigua, Montserrat and Saint Kitts and Nevis	Assistance in aftermath of Hurricane Hugo
1990	Coup	Trinidad and Tobago	Aftermath of an attempted Coup d’état in Trinidad and Tobago
1994	Internal Security	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Prison riot
1995	Luis, Marilyn	Antigua and Saint Kitts and Nevis	Assistance in aftermath of Hurricane Luis and Hurricane Marilyn
1998	Georges	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Assistance in aftermath of Hurricane Georges
1998	Weedeater	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Eradication of cannabis
2003	Bordelais	Saint Lucia	Transfer prisoners to new prison facility
2004	Ivan Relief Efforts	Grenada	Assistance in aftermath of Hurricane Ivan
2006	Glendairy	Barbados	Prison uprising
2009	Operation VINCYPAC	St Vincent and the Grenadines	Eradication of Cannabis
2010	Haiti	Haiti	Assistance in aftermath of the Haiti 2010 Earthquake

Sources References:

“APPROACHES ON SECURITY IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION: Statement by Ambassador Odeen Ishmael of Guyana at the Meeting of the Committee on Hemispheric Security of the OAS Washington DC, 29 October 2002”. Retrieved 17 December 2012 from: http://www.guyana.org/Speeches/ishmael_102902.html.
http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-3378.html
Lewis, Patsy (2002). Surviving Small Size: Regional Integration in Caribbean Mini-states. Kingston, Jamaica: University of West Indies Press. ISBN 976-640-116-0.
Regional Task Force, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS). Retrieved from: http://www.caricomimpacs.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=29
Singh, Rickey (13 June 2010). “A USA-CARIBBEAN ‘RENEWAL’?”. Guyana Chronicle. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
“CARIBBEAN SECURITY: United States to help upgrade Regional Security System”. Caribbean News Agency (CANA). Retrieved 17 September 2010 from: http://www.cananews.net/news/131/ARTICLE/48413/2010-04-17.html.
“Security important to Canada”. The Barbados Today. Retrieved 17 September 2010 from: http://news.barbadostoday.bb/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4431:Security-important-to-Canada&catid=1:latest-news.
“Canada to boost help to region”. Nation Newspaper. Retrieved 5 July 2010 from: http://www.nationnews.com/index.php/articles/view/canada-to-boost-help-to-region/.
H., J. (17 September 2010). “Region warned of displaced criminal elements”. The Barbados Advocate. Retrieved 17 September 2010 from: http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=local&NewsID=12798.

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Foreign Policy, Security, Terrorism, Trinidad, Venezuela

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