Of Mice and Men: Gangs, Narco-Terrorism, and the USA

[MikeF]

As discussed throughout this thread, the issue is more than a LE problem.

To secure Salinas, the mayor wants more boots on the ground, though finding the money to hire 84 officers became more problematic after local voters recently rejected a 1-cent increase in the sales tax, billed as "a penny for peace." More officers would mean less dashing from call to call and more time to demonstrate that police work for residents.

This sales tax was a county vote not just Salinas. It included Carmel, Pebble Beach, and Monterey. Frankly, I'm disappointed that it did not pass.

[slapout9]

Good job Mike. Can you tell us more of what you did?

[MikeF]

Good job Mike. Can you tell us more of what you did?

I didn't participate in the group. It was a bit too close to home at the time, and I was dealing with my own medical issues. Here's what they did.

They conducted FID- teaching, assisting, and advising

- Instructions on MDMP to help the local LE think smarter and learn new ways of problem solving.
- Social Network Analysis to define the problem set. Old school enemy and friendly templates using computers.
- Course of Action Development. Where should police stations be? How should one be patrolling (mounted/dismounted)? How do you flood an area with limited resources?
- Information Operations. How do you make residents feel safe and trust the LE?
- ROE and Fire Control Restrictions. "Dude, it's not okay to shoot up a car with two innocent teenagers in it b/c you were scared."

That's some of the basics to help LE reestablish security. As for the larger problem, it will require inter-agency cooperation, community involvement, and time.

[davidbfpo]

A week ago Bill Moore asked (Post 45) after some reporting on the British Muslim Gangs and the “Chemical Jihad” from: http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts...#comment-89222

Some law enforcement officials believe the British Taliban fighters may have links to criminal gangs in Britain whose members are Muslim and who have been connected to selling heroin on British streets. At least one other captured Taliban fighter was found to have British gang tattoos on his arms, according to a western law enforcement advisor to the U.S. military, and there is evidence that various British Muslim gangs have sent fighters to Afghanistan, or sell Afghan heroin on British streets. Roughly 90 percent of the heroin sold in Britain comes from Afghanistan.

The big bosses have Taliban and al Qaeda connections and we're often told only to deal it to non-Muslims. They call it chemical jihad and hope to ruin lives while getting massive payouts at the same time," said a street dealer quoted in this British tabloid (Added - The Daily Star).

While the word tabloid makes me immediately suspect, there are probably legitimate sources that can validate this.

My limited response.

Heroin importation into the UK has had an Afghan / Pakistani link for over thirty years, sometimes with a strong Turkish community role. With many arrests and convictions - often from the 'Usual Suspects' and inter-generational in one family I knew of. I cannot recall any evidence of an overlap between heroin smuggling and radical / terrorist groups. Nor Muslim gangs sending members to fight in Afghanistan.

Yes the crime-terror overlap is on the "radar" and much of the commentary is alarmist, one reason why I have doubts over some US reporting. There is little to support the overlap in the UK and as my comments show there are good reasons for the radical / terrorist to be wary of such contacts.

Would the Taliban or others accept gang members, whose loyalties pose a number of security issues and what value is there in sending their members to fight.

There have been references by arrested heroin dealers to 'chemical jihad' as a justification, spurious post-event IMHO. Heroin dealers rarely have the scruples of only selling to unbelievers, indeed there is ample evidence that many Pakistani and other South Asian communities are alarmed over heroin and other drug abuse in their own communities - primarily within their young.

In fact there are several UK references to radicals opposing the use of heroin and one of the 7/7 bombers MSK actively oppposed drug dealing in his community in Leeds (covered in My Brother the Bomber thread).

Yes the big bosses may have links to Taliban and AQ leadership. Personally I doubt this, can such people be trusted? Or is there merit "playing both sides" and gaining some protection, even legitimacy, from saying it is for "the cause".

Fifteen years ago a major heroin distributor moved between his homes in the FATA and Afghanistan when external pressure for action was applied. He was a Pakistani Federal Assembly member and when a prosecution finally got to court in Quetta he arrived with thousands of armed followers, needless to say the case didn't start.

Incidentally

At least one other captured Taliban fighter was found to have British gang tattoos on his arms..

This is very different to the original report: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...la-tattoo.html

A Taliban fighter killed in Afghanistan was found with an Aston Villa tattoo on his body, British soldiers claim.

Curiously the story was not confirmed or followed up.

[Bill Moore]

Posted by Davidbfpo,

A Taliban fighter killed in Afghanistan was found with an Aston Villa tattoo on his body, British soldiers claim.

Curiously the story was not confirmed or followed up.

David, your points are well taken, but I would like to encourage the professional community to take a closer look at this "potential" nexus between street gangs and Takiri Terrorist groups/movements.

In the next few posts (later this weekend) I'm going to post some links that shed some additional light on this issue. Some of the sources have some degree of credibility and others are unknown. I very confident that there is a strong and growing nexus between organized crime and takiri terrorist organizations, so extending that relationship to street gangs doesn't seem like an unreasonable stretch.

Much like the communists infiltrated our unions, D.C. lobby groups, youth groups, universities (they're still there) and some cases different churches to facilitate spreading their propaganda, agitating these groups to take action, and in some cases to facilitate recruiting, the takiri terrorists in the West are infiltrating (or building) Islamic learning centers, youth groups, prisons, and most likely criminal gangs to include street gangs (most likely the connections were made in prison). If Kilkullen is right and the Takfiri violence is more about political Islam than extremist religion, it would only make sense to attempt to infiltrate and radicalize groups. I think the risk is low to their security, because many of the radicalizers are known to law enforcement, but they're not breaking any of our laws, so they can operate in the open. They're overt trouble makers recruiting or motivating a semi-overt guerrilla force (street gangs), and the most talented ones may be recruited into the elite underground for terrorist operations. The others are overtly selling drugs and conducting other illegal acts to raise money. The question is, are any of these groups giving money acquired by illegal means to Takfiri groups/charities? If not, then the activity is probably just encouraged to be corrosive or subversive in nature to Western society as a whole.

These are just thoughts or a hypothesis at best, I don't have evidence to support it, but I'm looking for it. As these thoughts evolve I'll continue to post them. More soon.....

[Bill Moore]

http://www.corrections.com/news/article/18629

Ideological Connections between Gangs and Terrorists

Gangs, like a wide variety of criminals, feel a sense of disconnection with mainstream American society. This disconnection manifests itself in anti-social behavior and rationalization of criminal acts against non-gang members and rival gang members. As with members of terrorist groups, these gangs see outsiders as a steady supply of victims, or as collateral damage. Islamic radical terrorists view non-believers as infidels and justify their killing as a way of getting their views across and getting through to their enemies.

Terrorists and terrorist organizations, domestic and foreign, utilize the services of criminals to carry out operations and obtain logistical support. In fact, it is standard operating procedure for many terrorist organizations to employ the skills of street gangs and other criminals in reaching their goals.

http://www.corrections.com/news/article/18674

The gang terrorist connection, part II

Prisons as recruiting grounds If there ever was a breeding ground for discontented Americans, feeling hatred for the U.S. government, it is our prisons and jails. Many American inmates are ripe for the picking by an intelligent terrorist bent on recruiting for his/her terrorist organization.

Terrorist groups such as Al Fuqra, found in several states across the U.S., have successfully recruited members among America’s inmate population. Even Richard Reid, a British citizen, also known as the ‘Shoe Bomber’ was recruited in a British prison and converted to radical Islam.

http://publicintelligence.net/u-us-b...rorist-groups/

(FBI Report) Several domestically based extremist organizations have demonstrated an interest in recruiting current and former gang members. No specific, credible intelligence indicates members of US-based street gangs are currently engaged in operational planning on behalf of terrorist organizations targeting the United States; however, former gang members have been arrested for terrorist plotting as recently as 2005. Terrorist recruitment patterns could potentially increase gang member involvement with terrorist groups.

More at each site.

[Bill Moore]

http://www.islam-watch.org/Europe/Cu...-in-Europe.htm

While the phenomenon affects only a minority of European Muslims, its dimensions and repercussions are more than noteworthy. In London, city officials are worried about the growth of an extremely violent gang commonly known as the Muslim Boys. Operating in the southern areas of the British capital, the gang is composed of several hundreds of members and is active in criminal activities ranging from robberies to drug trafficking. The members of the gang are mostly British-born black youth originally from the Caribbean or Africa who converted to Islam in British penitentiaries and bond over their newfound faith (Evening Standard, February 3, 2005). Yet, their interpretation of Islam is perverted. The gang members do not respect the most basic tenets of Islam, and their appearance and slang more closely resemble that of American ghetto culture than that of practicing Muslims. Tellingly, a gang member admitted to a reporter from the Evening Standard: "I pray twice a day: before I do crime and after. I ask Allah for a blessing when I'm out on the streets. Afterwards, I apologize to Allah for what I done [sic]." The gang is also involved in "forced conversions," compelling black youth at gunpoint to convert to Islam and join them; two years ago, they executed a 24-year-old for refusing to convert.

Jihadism is a global movement whose characteristics mutate rapidly. While today some of the abovementioned trends are still in a developing phase or can be noticed only in some European countries, it is likely that they will be replicated with greater intensity and in more countries in the near future.

Numerous other sites point to indicators, but "hard" facts/evidence is hard to find.

[Jedburgh]

As discussed throughout this thread, the issue is more than a LE problem.

This sales tax was a county vote not just Salinas. It included Carmel, Pebble Beach, and Monterey. Frankly, I'm disappointed that it did not pass.

The Carmel and PB populations (Carmel includes Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Valley Village and Carmel Highlands, while Pebble Beach is part of the larger Del Monte Forest) especially tend to have a disproportionate influence on such county votes. They always turn out to vote against taxes for the local public schools as well as the policing improvements mentioned, whereas many of those who would most benefit from the measures don't bother voting.

The manning issue for LE in the county goes well beyond simply getting the money to hire additional officers. What also cripples staffing is county, city and town ability (or lack thereof) to pay salaries that will retain current officers and attract new recruits. Last I heard, many jurisdictions were understrength and more concerned with meeting existing organizational staffing levels than with increasing the number of approved positions. More rural areas like Gonzalez and Castroville have difficulty in maintaining a LE presence - and the gangs are well aware of this.

Then you have non-profit programs linking in the county justice system with the population that work - like the Monterey County Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, which targets juvenile offenders - that struggle to attain anything more than minimal effectiveness across the county due to lack of funding, support and participation.