The Beheading of Colleen Hufford – Workplace Violence or Terrorism?

Alton Nolen is the man accused of beheading 54-year-old Colleen Hufford at Vaughn Foods. By accused we mean shot by the CEO (who is also a reserve Oklahoma County Deputy) as he was in the process of stabbing a second victim. He had recently been fired from a separate Vaughn foods store in the local area. The initial classification of the crime is as a workplace violence incident, which it is. The local police have requested the assistance of the FBI due his relatively recent conversion to Islam, but officially we have yet to call this a terrorist act.

Alton Nolan is exactly the type of person ISIS and Muslim terrorist recruiting efforts are focused on. He is grossly uneducated. This lack of education makes him incapable of discerning a logical argument from a fanciful one. He is on the outskirts of mainstream society (due to his extensive criminal past) and therefore desperate for acceptance. He is exploitable, as he has little alternatives in society. He certainly became more convinced that he understood the tenants on Islam over the past year. That said, this does not appear to be an attack conducted in accordance with the campaign of terror ISIS or Al-Qaeda or their affiliates are pursuing.

What we see here the combination of a semi-radicalized Muslim and an angry black man lashing out at anything and everything on which he can blame his problems. Were he acting in support of terrorist objectives we would see a string of justifications for his actions based on the treatment of Muslims blaming the American government. Instead what we see is a man acting largely in response to his termination from his employment. While his method certainly goes beyond what we typically see in workplace violence incidents, this probably falls well short of what we should consider a terrorist attack.

Who is Alton Nolan

 

Mr. Nolan served time in the Oklahoma Prison system for drug and assault charges. While in prison in 2011 (convicted after roughly ten arrests over the previous five years), he converted to Islam and began referring to himself as Jah’Keem Yisrael. His Facebook page claims he graduated from high school in 2003, and Langford University (an all Black College in Oklahoma) in 2007 with a degree in Business Management. There is no evidence he attended, let alone graduated from Langston or any other university. He posted a photo “Tooken by Shariece Pettiss at LU – 2009” (SIC) as his opening photo to his Facebook page, which is now listed under the name of Jah’Keem Yisrael.

There are a few gaps, however he is “JST GETN OFF WRK..FINST 2 HEAD 2 DA BEL TO SEE DIS PRETTY LIL GURL SHAWTY SAY IZ MINE…1 DWN 1 TO GO LOL” which means, in my best translation from Idiot to English – he is going to meet a woman and her child whom she claims is his daughter. Throughout 2010 we see a number of religious posts referring to the lord blessing him. Of note he indicates his mother attends church weekly. There is another gap during which he was incarcerated and on August 23, 2011, he claims (in the same grammar and spelling consistent with the complete lack of education he has displayed in nearly all of his posts) that he has been released from prison and is going to the halfway house. Throughout 2012 and part of 2013, his posts consist of relatively innocuous and irrelevant commentary on work and football.

His last post without reference to Allah was made on April 16, 2013. “Feel Like Lil Wayne Wish I Kld Fuk EveryGurl N DA World If Thinkin Bout Her Beautiness And Is A Sin Then Lrd Why Mke So Pretty Of Gurlz lol Yung Kuntry Niccccca!!!!” (SIC). The approximate translation is “I want to sleep with pretty girls because god made them pretty and I don’t understand why that is a sin”. He follows that up later with acknowledgement that the referenced behavior may in fact be considered a sin.

Alton Nolan was simply a grossly uneducated product of the prison system who found Islam as means of coping with his incarceration. Religion is quite frequently the last refuge of a scoundrel. He has no apparent goals in life save self gratification and displays no real concern in any of his posts for anything other than his plight or his personal opinions. He is simply an ignorant, somewhat arrogant narcissist.

Was he a radicalized Muslim?

 

From April 28, 2013, his post frequently reference Allah, the appropriate or inappropriate behavior standards for women and some significant historical revisionism about the Moor’s, the presidency, and plight of the black man in America. On October 31, he made his first post denigrating Christians and other religions, and from this point forward, his posts start to take a much more pro-Muslim tone, and begin to focus on racism referencing out of context historical references to neo-Nazi’s, Jews and Whites. He consistently attempts to make a historical connection to blacks as the “True Jews” and indicates their suffering was due to their abandonment of Islam.

The bulk of his posts are at this point typical of a Malcolm X interpretation of Islam, where the white man is evil and is the root of all oppression of the black man. In 2014, his posts become more frequent and, anti any religion save Islam, and he seems fixed on converting Christians. Interestingly enough his spelling and grammar have improved significantly between 2013 and his final posts. That would indicate to me that someone, somewhere was working with him. His posts start to take on a more international flavor and his historical misinterpretations start to appear to be a combination of southern prison system Islam with a sprinkling of Middle Eastern extremism.

In February 2014, he begins to end all his post with a signature “****InfoFromAMuslim****”. His photos all contain the skullcap and beard commonly associated with conservative Islam at this point. Despite his frequent racial posts, it would appear he claims to have guided a white youth to the Islamic faith on May 30. In addition, his lifestyle and posts begin to take a more eastern theological approach to Islam. Throughout Ramadan (a Muslim holy period), he appears to be proud of his adherence to Islamic principles of fasting and has posted photos of himself at social outing and at a mosque with Moroccan Muslims.

Why Behead Colleen Hufford

 

Undoubtedly, his exposure to international Muslims would have peaked his interest in the events in Syria, Iraq and around the world. His inability to intellectually make sound judgments, and desperation to be a part of something make him highly susceptible to suggestion. Beginning in July and August he begins to post quite frequently about the misdeeds (as he see’s it) of women. Early in September he begins to reference Muslims requirements to do their work to avoid hell. His final public post is on September 23 warns about masturbation and it being a sin.

Once terminated from his job, Mr. Nolan was likely to act out. He chose to act out against two women, as that was the focus of his recent fixation as part of his pursuit support of the Islamic faith as he understood it. He chose to behead Colleen quite likely because of the attention given the recent actions of ISIS and his interpretation that is how Muslims punish the guilty. What we have here appears to be a criminal act influenced by a grossly ignorant interpretation of Islam.

As indicated earlier, Alton Nolan is exactly the type of person ISIS and Muslim terrorist organizations are trying to recruit for their lone wolf attacks. He is uneducated and therefore incapable of discerning a logical argument from a fanciful one. He is on the outskirts of mainstream society, desperate for acceptance and susceptible to suggestion. He has limited social options, and can easily be sucked into a cell like structure and segregated from the rest of society. In this case however, they probably got to him too late to make him an effective tool in their strategy.

Alton Nolan was not a terrorist yet, in my opinion he was simply a murderer. Certainly the culture of violence that surrounds segments of Islam played a significant role in his behavior. That is what we need to focus on eradicating. There are simply elements of Islam that are incompatible with basic humanity, and although those same references exist in many religions, it is Islamists that frequently act on them. You can find more on the extremist culture of Islam in the article Is ISIS the future of Islam?

Stay Safe.

About Author

 

Patrick Henry - President and Firearm Trainer

Patrick Henry received his operational training and experience from the U. S. Government, 22 years of which were spent in the Marine Corps where he served in the Reconnaissance, Infantry and Intelligence fields. During his active service, he spent more then seven years deployed overseas in combat, operational and training assignments. After the military, Pat worked as a contractor and as the Director of Operations at a private paramilitary company, specializing in training special operations forces and providing protective services to select private clients. His education consists of an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC), and a BS from San Diego State University with an emphasis in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. He holds an extensive list of security and training related certifications from a variety of government and nationally recognized entities. He currently sits on the advisory committee at USC’s Master of Veterans Business Program, and is an active member of Infraguard and the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). He has been a guest speaker at ASIS, the San Diego Industrial Security Awareness Council and other private organizations on physical security, travel security, and competitive intelligence collection counter-measures.

First Published at Aegis Academy

The History of Electronic Red Dot Optics

Red Dot Optics

To understand how Red Dot Optics became the must have, high speed-low drag accessory for your weapon, we first must understand the shortcomings of traditional iron sights. Iron sights have been around since the very beginning of firearms, but the biggest drawback is the shooters ability to quickly find the target and align both sights with his eye, manipulate a mechanical safety/trigger system and engage, this is usually done with your non-shooting eye closed. Works great at longer ranges with time, but add a much closer or moving target and low light into the mix and it gets very hard without years of proper training. As the modern battlefield became much more urbanized and Close Quarter Combat (CQC) became the norm, it was obvious that old school iron sights would not lend themselves to the new tactics being developed for this type of combat. The optics would have to advance with the tactics and the Special Mission Units drove most of this in the ‘70s and ‘80s, plus competition shooters saw how much faster and accurate they could be with these types of optics. Some of the earlier versions were a bit large and heavy, but by the mid-eighties technology started to catch up with the operators and just putting a flashlight on a weapon did not meet muster. I know, I had a MP-5 sub-gun with a Maglite on it in 1985 and thought I really was high-speed, low-drag. How things have changed since then is quite fascinating for anyone who has a passion for modern weapons and the training need to survive in today’s sometimes hostile environment.

Again, some background on what electronic sights do and how they work will enable the shooter to choose the best Red-Dot system for his or her application. An Electronic sight is not a scope…it does not magnify the image at all; it simply projects a Red Dot on a single lens that can be superimposed on the target. This eliminates all the alignment issues with iron sights and it has virtually no parallax, meaning the dot is in constant alignment with the barrel of your weapon. With this new type of optic, operators could engage moving targets in low light conditions, at close to medium ranges with both eyes open giving the shooter a full field of view and allowing for much more situational awareness (SA) on the battlefield. Having the target and the Red Dot in the same focal plane is huge, you simply have to put the dot on your target and manipulate the trigger correctly. These types of optics became the norm for all Special Mission Units by the early ‘90’s and have been adopted by most specialized law enforcement units as well.

The two main types of electronic sights are the reflex sight and holographic sight. Both use different technology to accomplish the same task. A reflex sight system simply reflects the aiming reticle forward from a point behind the objective lens; this can be done with battery power or a fiber optic system that gathers ambient light. With a holographic sight system a sighting reticle is superimposed by way of a laser transmission hologram and this reticle is projected back towards the shooter onto an objective lens. Same result done quite differently and with modern LED diodes and lithium batteries, these optics can run for 10,000 hours on a single battery. However, in a Maritime environment I still prefer the fiber optic solution simply because anything and everything can get compromised with moisture.

The reticle you will see on many of the objective lenses on either system is a simple red dot (Aimpoint) of any size that works for your eyes, usually 5-20 MOA depending on your use, or a red dot in a circle (EO Tech). Most of the 3-gun competitors have gone to a fully independent electronic Red Dot systems on a cantilever mount to the outboard side of their Carbine and a scope system on a rail right above the upper receiver. Giving them the ability to use the magnification of the scope at longer ranges, then cant the weapon inboard to expose the Red Dot sight for close to medium ranges 7-75yards. This system keeps the mechanical offset reasonable and is extremely quick in transition from near, to far distances and is very simple to use. Some competitors are now putting a Ruggedized Miniature Reflex (RMR) sight on the rear of their pistol slide and getting great results in IPSC events. I’m going to mount a RMR system on the top rail of my Benelli shotgun just to see how much faster than iron sights it really is, should be great for close ranges and very accurate for longer slug targets, this type system sells for approximately $500 so it is not cheap, but has proven to be very durable and reliable, stay tuned for a full report very soon.

This brings me to the next topic which is the co-witnessing of both your Red-Dot sight and your iron sights. Done properly your iron sights will have almost the same Battle Sight Zero (BZO) as your electronic sight and can be used as an emergency back-up sighting system if your battery doesn’t function when needed. A hasty co-witness can be done in minutes by simply using the same cheek-weld for your iron sights and adjust the red dot so it sits right on top of your front sight post. Start with your iron sights and shoot your irons, confirm and/or adjust your zero, then repeat the process with your Red-Dot and adjust as necessary. Always confirm using your near and far zero to ensure you have the best co-witness possible if you have the time and range space. Be careful to remember that the amount of adjustment will be different going from one sighting system to the other. If done properly you will have an almost exact point of aim (POA) and point of impact (POI) with both systems on your weapon. Depending on the size of your dot and type of ammunition used. Always try to shoot with the same or similar ammo that you used for your co-witness BZO to eliminate any possible changes in your near/far zero, it’s usually the shooter, not the ammo. In a future article we will discuss the newer Tactical Rifle Scopes and their development in the modern era.

About Author

 

Chris White ~ Range Master 

Chris White is 20-year veteran of the United States Navy (SEAL Teams) where he retired as a Chief (SO7). He has multiple combat tours and was assigned to three different SEAL teams as well as Naval Special Warfare Development Group during his active duty service. His key billets include: Assault Team leader, Platoon Chief and Platoon LPO at Development Group. He spent 6 years in instructor and training assignments during his career. Since his retirement, he has worked as an instructor and contracted operator at numerous high threat security providers in the Middle East and Africa. He continues to deploy in support of contingency operations and high threat protective details spending approximately 120 days a year overseas. He holds an extensive list of Department of Defense and Special Operations Command certifications and qualifications.

First published at Aegis Academy

Obama’s ISIS Strategy

An ISIS Strategy – From “Don’t Do Stupid Stuff” to American Leadership

 

Barak Obama laid out his strategy for dealing with ISIS on Wednesday, and it was a massive improvement from what we have seen in the past. Aside from the irrelevant political spins, what he made was the clearest statement on foreign policy we have heard from this administration to date. He appeared confident and energetic. He did not waste time blaming the past administration, or lamenting the situation. Most importantly it was not about what he and America would not do. What he said that struck me as effective is that ISIS is unacceptable to America and the rest of the world – in that order.

Our Strategy – Destroy ISIS! 

 

He said that America would lead a coalition to destroy ISIS. He threw in a fair amount of Syrian, Iraqi and Muslim support rhetoric to appear that a coalition of Muslim states was being established. The reality is that the coalition will consist of Western military force with enough locals to put a Muslim face on it. We can call ISIS a Muslim problem all we want, but the fact is that this is a largely American created Muslim problem, and they are incapable of solving it without American leadership and direct military intervention.

Despite my joy over having a strategy, there are some significant shortfalls with the approach. The president explicitly stated that ISIS is not Islamic. As we saw in the article ISIS – The future of Islam, extremist groups are the fastest growing segment of Islam. ISIS is but a symptom of the real problem. To recap, extremist groups are not opposed by nearly half of all Muslims and actively supported by more than 25%. Al-Qaeda, ISIS and extremist factions represent somewhere between a quarter and half of what all Muslims claim to be Islam. So whether it is ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiya or the next extremist faction on the NCTC’s list, the support for Sunni Extremism is what must be addressed to be effective. The key shortfall in this strategy is that any strategy that separates ISIS from the culture of Islam that creates Jihadists, is ultimately fruitless and will result in a Whack-a-Mole approach to the problem.

Is the strategy achievable despite of the constraints?

 

There are also some technical shortfalls with the presidents’ approach to Whack-a-Mole. Delivering on the promise to destroy ISIS is potentially a logical first step in attacking the real problem. In support of the destruction of ISIS, we are expanding our footprint in Iraq by another 475 advisors. The president was very careful to claim the advisors would not have a combat role, but the reality is that they will be on the frontlines with marginally trained Iraqi and Free Syrian Army soldiers directing airstrikes. I won’t bother to mince words, but the last time I called in an air strike, it felt pretty much indistinguishable from the other combat operations in which we engaged.

The 475 advisors are grossly insufficient numbers, but once committed, those numbers will expand as necessary to give the Iraqi Army the spine to fight in the short term, and to give the Syrian Free Army the equipment and backing to do the same. Perhaps with sufficient SOF support these forces can regain control of the oil facilities that are funding ISIS’s existence. Cutting the revenue stream will be a major step forward in achieving the president’s operational goal of destroying ISIS.

And then what? Do we depart again creating yet another power vacuum? When a power vacuum exists in the middle east, it will be filled by the most violent thugs in the immediate vicinity. Toppling Hussein’s Army in Iraq and routing Al-Qaeda was child’s play for the U. S. military and once committed, destroying ISIS will be no different. Military prowess was never a problem. The problem has always been what to do with it once we conquer it. Destroying ISIS is not a strategy, it is an operation.

Does this operation Sunni Extremist Strategy?

 

Another problem with this “strategy” that will not play into our favor is the reliance on air power. The concept of a surgical airstrike is a media driven fantasy. Air strikes and indirect fire are anything but surgical and both create substantial collateral damage. Collateral damage is a nice way of saying dead women and children. No matter how much the average Muslim detests the action of ISIS, it is nothing compared to their hatred of what they see as the wholesale slaughter of Muslims at the hands of indiscriminate American airpower. Dead women and kids splashed across Al-Jazeera will not assist our PR problem in the Middle East.

I first walked across some of this region in 1991, and then again in 2003, and here we are in 2014 paying for the same ground a third time. My question is to what end? A Strategy must define an end state, which the destruction of ISIS is a relatively simple, politically feasible end state with no real value to long term U. S. interests in the region. Without a strategy to definitively stabilize the region, we are wasting time, money, resources and lives. The concept that ISIS controlled territory will somehow coalesce into anything acceptable to the rest of the world is delusional thinking on par with U.S. forces being welcomed as liberators after the 2003 invasion.

That is the problem with the American “strategy” in the Middle East and more specifically the ISIS strategy laid out by the president. First it is numerically inadequate to achieve the stated goal – the destruction of ISIS. Further, the destruction of ISIS gains us nothing in the long term. As advisors become casualties, this war-weary country will demand progress and progress will require the deployment of more troops. The cycle will continue until we reach another breaking point. Perhaps in seven to ten years, we will choose to commit to the region and stabilize it – which is quite likely a 25 year prospect. Perhaps we will shortsightedly and prematurely pull out again, and by default choose for out children to fight this war a fourth time.

What if we just walked away?

 

As we look to the stated goal of the strategy, it is massively shortsighted, and far too limited in scope to be effective. It is yet another recipe for ineffective intervention in the Muslim world. We have two strategic options in dealing with ISIS and the problem of Islamic extremists. The first is to stand aside and let them work it out amongst themselves. At the extreme, standing aside would undoubtedly result in the destruction of Israel who cannot exist without our support. Further it will result in significant growth in the preeminence of Iran as the dominant power structure in the region. That is unlikely to be something we can live with, in even the short term. Over the long haul, the growth of extremism will force us intervene at some point for self preservation.

The second option is to commit the military force and political reconstruction effort to the region for a generation if not longer, which is what it will take to achieve an internationally acceptable stabilized region. We did not allow a conquered Japan anything but unconditional surrender. We established the conditions under which they could regain independence, and those conditions were in line with our national interests. The same can be said of Germany after World War II. In this case, we are not fighting a government; we are fighting a religious structure that is masquerading as a government, and our politically correct penchant for religious freedom is hamstringing our efforts at crafting a strategy that meets American and western interests in the region.

To end this war, we will have to mandate the religious, educational and cultural components that lead to a moderate Muslim society. That will require draconian measures initially and the willingness to force theological changes onto the second largest religion in the world. We, the American people and the international community, are probably several terrorist attacks on Western nations, and millions of Muslims murdered in the name of extremism, from committing the considerable resources, time and effort required to eradicate the culture of extremism from the Islamic faith. Ultimately, until we are ready to name the disease we are facing we are stuck playing Whack-a-Mole with the symptoms.

This strategy is worthy of the most improved award – and little else…

 

While the strategy laid out by the president was a massive improvement from the child-like approach to the past six years of “Don’t Do Stupid Stuff”, it is still grossly insufficient. That insufficiency will prove counter-productive in the relatively short term. The teenage approach of relying on brute force has been tried and failed, and yet here we are – trying it again. As American air power causes collateral damage, we are stoking the fires of extremism in the Muslim world and ultimately empowering the recruiting efforts of our adversaries. Perhaps the next administration will take the adult approach to the issue and make the significantly difficult choices to avoid paying for this ground a fourth time.

About Author

 

Patrick Henry - President at Aegis Academy
 

Patrick Henry received his operational training and experience from the U. S. Government, 22 years of which were spent in the Marine Corps where he served in the Reconnaissance, Infantry and Intelligence fields. During his active service, he spent more then seven years deployed overseas in combat, operational and training assignments. After the military, Pat worked as a contractor and as the Director of Operations at a private paramilitary company, specializing in training special operations forces and providing protective services to select private clients. His education consists of an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC), and a BS from San Diego State University with an emphasis in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. He holds an extensive list of security and training related certifications from a variety of government and nationally recognized entities. He currently sits on the advisory committee at USC’s Master of Veterans Business Program, and is an active member of Infraguard and the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). He has been a guest speaker at ASIS, the San Diego Industrial Security Awareness Council and other private organizations on physical security, travel security, and competitive intelligence collection counter-measures.

First Published at Aegis Academy

DOS vs. ISIS – The war of Ideas

The U.S. Department of State vs. ISIS - The war of Ideas

 

While I was still on active duty, I witnessed some of the severely incompetent planning, policies and execution by the Department of State (DOS). De-Baathification, disbanding the Iraqi Army, rebuilding Fallujah and the use of contractor vice uniformed military details for standard security operations are but the tip of the iceberg. Their inability to adapt over the course of a decade at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their arrogant adherence to bad policy was, and continues to be staggering. Their latest foray into anti-ISIS propaganda was a video titled, Welcome to Islamic State Land. Like much of the entire Think Again, Turn Away program, it waivered between sarcasm, attempts and humor and grisly depictions of inhumane activity. It is indicative of the colossal gap between how the DOS views ISIS and what ISIS is actually trying to achieve. Here is their anti-recruiting video, and below are some samples of ISIS recruiting videos.

Warning Graphic Content:



Most young males in their early life, rightly or wrongly, grow up judged to a large extent based on their physical prowess. Those who are not physically skilled have to find others means of competing. Humor, intelligence, emotional IQ, etc.. become more important as we age especially into the teenage years and on to adulthood. Over time, raw physical ability becomes less and less important. Some successfully make the transition, some spend their lives competing in the physical area, and some do a bit of both. In the gap between those who create their identity via physical prowess and those who create their identity based on other skills is subset of the population who simply does not fit. Some of them will find their path later in life and be truly impactful; others will simply accept their place with resigned frustration.

A small subset of that population will come to resent what they see as a society that does not value them as individuals. This particular subset of young adult males is likely to feel powerless against what they view as an oppressive society. Some will independently lash out at home and commit petty crimes or worse (Elliot Rodger, Adam Lanza, etc…). Others drift to the fringes of society and live out a comparatively isolated existence. These fringes are the population of society that ISIS is targeting with its western recruiting efforts.

The Department of State’s Message to would be Jihadists:

 

The video starts with people being shot, tossed from a cliff and beheaded while the leader of ISIS proclaims “Syria is no longer for Syrians, Iraq no longer for Iraqis”. What the Majority of Americans see is brutality at the hands of a terrorist organization, and human beings who need to be defended from oppression and abuse. That video may be an effective means of raising awareness of the brutality to ISIS, but to those who are considering ISIS as a means of lashing out at the society who has shunned them, it is exactly the opposite. What they see is a minority of righteous followers who have seized power from an oppressive society and are exacting their revenge under the banner of a higher cause. ISIS is largely depicted in the video as acting at will and as all powerful in their area of control.

The scenes of abuse continue, and cements in their minds that ISIS can do whatever it wants to not just people, but religious institutions, organizations and governments. Worse yet, they take an almost sarcastic approach to closing in saying “Travel is cheap because you won’t need a return ticket”. I am not sure if that is intended as a threat – but all the would be recruit hears is sarcasm… Just like the sarcasm and the bullying that that they feel has marginalized them in society. “Think again, Turn Away” is the final message which will be perceived as a society, which has rejected them, attempting to keep them in their current condition – marginal and irrelevant. This video practically does ISIS’s job for them.

The ISIS message to would be Jihadists:

 

When we contrast that with the videos produced by ISIS, they communicate a very different message. First, there are no messages of what not to do, but messages of joining a cause that is larger than yourself. It is an inclusive message of acceptance. The choice of western recruits is also well made. This is not the captain of the football team, these are smiling young men, who could be anyone. Every day people who may even be exactly the the type of people who might not fit in at home. Below are some short samples from There is no life with Jihad, one of the ISIS recruiting videos targeting westerners to which you can compare the messages.



When we view the clip of western males talking about their experience, these are not the popular kids in school. The speakers do not appear exceptional in any way. The subtle message is – Any of you, can be one of us. They visually display the symbol of power they possess with the constant images of a gun in the frame. They are positive in their choice of words and message. Join us, come to us, fight for something that matters. The message is: join our team; we will accept you, everyone is capable. They are not communicating a message of what not to do, they are communicating a vision of what you can be a part of.

Through most American’s eyes, we see ISIS behavior as twisted. ISIS is not recruiting most of America. We have recently taken a look at the execution videos of James Foley and Steven Sotloff. There we see an even starker image portrayed to the Muslim world and both speak volumes to potential recruits. To review the highlights: both theses videos convey that ISIS is the victim of western aggression, ISIS is firmly in control of its lands, even American ISIS victims agree with their “punishment”, and that ISIS is energetically moving forward, while American leadership is portrayed as defeated.

When we contrast the ISIS message of “You can join a successful cause, greater than yourself, that will give you the power to exact revenge on the society that does not value you” with “Think again, Turn away” it does not take rocket science to understand who is winning the war of perception – in the eyes of the target population.

As long as we view ISIS through an American lens, we will fail to check their pursuit of their goals. The intelligence community has experts who could produce videos that could both insulate the target population from infection, and deter potential recruits. Clearly the DOS in its arrogance did not bother to seek them out. They continue to steadfastly view the world and ISIS through an American lens. That view is as ineffective at checking ISIS goals as is the video they produced. In the U.S. Department of State Vs. ISIS – the war of ideas is what fills their armies, and the DOS is grossly unprepared to fight it.
We are not at any more significant risk from ISIS in America than we were six months ago, however, if this ineffective bumbling approach to dealing with ISIS does not change, we one day will be.

About Author

 

Patrick Henry - President at Aegis Academy

Patrick Henry received his operational training and experience from the U. S. Government, 22 years of which were spent in the Marine Corps where he served in the Reconnaissance, Infantry and Intelligence fields. During his active service, he spent more then seven years deployed overseas in combat, operational and training assignments. After the military, Pat worked as a contractor and as the Director of Operations at a private paramilitary company, specializing in training special operations forces and providing protective services to select private clients. His education consists of an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC), and a BS from San Diego State University with an emphasis in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. He holds an extensive list of security and training related certifications from a variety of government and nationally recognized entities. He currently sits on the advisory committee at USC’s Master of Veterans Business Program, and is an active member of Infraguard and the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). He has been a guest speaker at ASIS, the San Diego Industrial Security Awareness Council and other private organizations on physical security, travel security, and competitive intelligence collection counter-measures.

First Published at Aegis Academy

The Beheading of Steven Sotloff

As with the murder of James Foley, the video production is smartly produced, well scripted and designed and is intended to the tell Muslim world that the “Islamic State” is in control. If you have not read the analysis of the James Foley beheading, I would encourage you to do so first, as it was the precursor that set the stage for this second production. Once again, I do not recommend that you watch the video as you will merely witness the brutal murder of a helpless human being. There is, unfortunately, an underlying sophisticated message that is well communicated.

This video also starts out with a clip of President Obama responding to the James Foley beheading stating “America will continue to do what we must.” Not what we should, not what is right, not what he wants to do, but what “we must.” Despite his typically clear and engaged speaking style, ISIS has again chosen a clip in which Obama looks tired and emotionally disconnected from the message. They could not have chosen a clip in which he looks more reluctant or hesitant. This is not a critique of Obama, as that speaking style is not his norm, and certainly there are clips in which he does not appear defeated and or exhausted. From their perspective, this was again an intelligent choice visually portraying the leader of the free world as weak, unsure of him-self and/or reluctant.

At the end of his remarks Obama states that America is “standing alongside others.” ISIS directly addresses this statement in their closing remarks. This message is titled a Second Message to America, and opens with Mr. Sotloff introducing himself with his full name and states “you probably know who I am by now.” This reference is explained when we look at U.S. and western news reporting of Mr. Sotloff as the “forgotten journalist” shortly after the James Foley beheading. He would be highly unlikely to make a general assessment that people did not know of his plight on his own.

Mr. Sotloff calmly and succinctly makes the case that Obama’s foreign policy is not meeting its endstate and asks why he is having to pay with his life stating “Am I not an American citizen?”. This is intentionally designed to draw a distinction between America and Obama to the Muslim world. They saw what happened when Bin Laden attacked America, and what a united America is militarily capable of. ISIS has been diligent in tying its actions to Obama and his policy and in attempting to claim that those actions do not represent the will of the American people. His last sentence is an emotional appeal to the audience that America’s foreign policy is failing as evidenced by its inability to protect him.

He addresses the broader failure of American foreign policy in the region citing thousands of lives and billions of dollars lost “fighting the Islamic State.” This statement is intended for the Muslim audience who largely see Iraq as an American defeat. ISIS is telling Muslims that they were responsible for America’s defeat. He closes this paragraph ending in “So where is the American people’s interest in re-igniting this war?”. This again emphasizes to the Muslim world that America is not united with the actions of it leadership.
Mr. Sotloff then goes on to reference the campaign promises of Obama during his first and second presidential campaigns (Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo). He states “nearing the end of your term having achieved none of the above” starkly pointing out the lack of stated campaign achievements in a further attempt to distance American air strikes from American support to their Muslim audience.

As with Mr. Foley, Mr. Sotloff is far too calm for a person who believes his execution is at hand. He speaks with a measured tone; he sounds tired and speaks with the pace of one who is almost bored with his rehearsal. This is probably due to excessive repetition, as I did not see any similar indicators of fatigue in Mr. Foley’s speech prior to his murder.

The camera cuts to another energetic, engaged speech by what appears to be the same murderer from Mr. Foley’s video. He states “I am back Obama… because of your arrogant foreign policy” again opening with a statement attempting to emphasize that the actions of the administration do not align with the American peoples interests. He references specific airstrikes, many of which occurred prior to the beheading of James Foley which could indicate this video may have been produced shortly after the Foley beheading.

If Mr. Foley and Mr. Sotloff were held in proximity to each other, he would have noticed his absence in the past two weeks. It is unlikely that he would have been able to make the assumption that he was not dead. It is quite possible that they were not held together, but alternatively, based on the Mosul Dam reference, this and the next few executions may have been filmed in the past.

The physical contact between the murderer and Mr. Sotloff does not evoke the response of a person who thinks they are about to be decapitated. In fact, when his murderer grabs his chin, he appears to relax, which is indicative of someone not expecting to experience pain. This would only occur with repeated practice and extensive conditioning. At the point Mr. Sotloff’s murderer begins to cut he attempts to stand, which is the only indication of resistance that we see before the screen cuts to black.

Again, there are no screams of Allah-u-Akbar, references to god or religion, no arterial bleeding, or other gore to disconnect the viewer from the message. The entire video is presented in an almost transactional manner. The next scene is Mr. Sotloff’s head laid out on his stomach. Similar to Mr. Foley’s who’s head was placed in the center of his back. The blood is dark and has started to congeal indicating there has been a considerable amount of time between the murder and the final pan across the decapitated body.

The last scene is of a British citizen, David Cawthorne Haines, in an orange jumpsuit at the feet of the Islamic State’s Murderer. He addressed Obama’s “Standing along side others” comment with “We take this opportunity to warn those governments that have entered this evil alliance of America against the Islamic State to back off and leave our people alone.”

The key emotional components that ISIS wants to communicate to the Muslim world is Obama’s weariness juxtaposed with the enthusiasm of the Murderer who, to the intended audience represents the Islamic State. They are attempting to demonstrate that Americans have a resigned acceptance of their fate – even at the moment of their death. They continually attempt to separate American actions from the will of the American people so as to avoid what is largely viewed in the Muslim world as Al Qaeda’s primary mistake.

The message is designed to communicate three themes. First , there is a deep wedge of dissatisfaction between America and the administration giving hope that we may again abandon our chosen course. Second, to demonstrate to the Muslim world that America is powerless to stop the Islamic State from pursuing its goals. Third, the Islamic State is still in control and will continue to pursue its objectives regardless of American air-power. This video is designed to instill confidence in the longevity of ISIS.

The beheading of Steven Sotloff was not a message to America, it was a second message to would be jihadists who have yet to join the cause.
Our prayers to the family of the most recent victim of ISIS.

About Author

 

Patrick Henry - President at Aegis Academy

Patrick Henry received his operational training and experience from the U. S. Government, 22 years of which were spent in the Marine Corps where he served in the Reconnaissance, Infantry and Intelligence fields. During his active service, he spent more then seven years deployed overseas in combat, operational and training assignments. After the military, Pat worked as a contractor and as the Director of Operations at a private paramilitary company, specializing in training special operations forces and providing protective services to select private clients. His education consists of an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC), and a BS from San Diego State University with an emphasis in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology and a minor in Psychology. He holds an extensive list of security and training related certifications from a variety of government and nationally recognized entities. He currently sits on the advisory committee at USC’s Master of Veterans Business Program, and is an active member of Infraguard and the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). He has been a guest speaker at ASIS, the San Diego Industrial Security Awareness Council and other private organizations on physical security, travel security, and competitive intelligence collection counter-measures.

First Published at Aegis Academy