Updated News » Sharpshooters

An On The Ground Action Report From Afghanistan

Bookyards — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:00:00 +0000

INSURGENT SAFEHOUSE – U.S. and Afghan forces demolish the so-called Taliban Hotel, a safehouse insurgents used to infiltrate Khost, Afghanistan, Dec. 18, 2009. An explosive ordnance disposal team assigned to the 707th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, and Afghan forces partnered to level the safehouse. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stephen J. Otero

Perilous Patrol Through Heart Of Taliban Territory — Washington Times

Troops try for rapport with locals.

HUTAL, Afghanistan | Villagers stared at the Americans as they made their way into a small bazaar where goat meat hung from hooks amid stands of used clothing, pots, pans and various trinkets.

For the Afghans, the big Americans in full battle gear looked like beings from another planet. At each turn of the road, soldiers on the point knelt on the ground, automatic weapons ready. The men and women on the security walk were staggered in zigzag formation to keep casualties low in case Taliban sharpshooters were in the area and taking aim. Capt. Casey Thoreen, 30, the commander of the unit, monitored his radio for intelligence.

CIA Given Green Light To Expand Operations In Pakistan

Bookyards — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Baitullah Mehsud, right, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, in 2005. He was killed by a remotely piloted drone aircraft. Dawn Newspaper, via Reuters

C.I.A. to Expand Use of Drones in Pakistan — Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Two weeks ago in Pakistan, Central Intelligence Agency sharpshooters killed eight people suspected of being militants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and wounded two others in a compound that was said to be used for terrorist training.

Then, the job in North Waziristan done, the C.I.A. officers could head home from the agency’s Langley, Va., headquarters, facing only the hazards of the area’s famously snarled suburban traffic.

Secret service steps up inauguration security

UpdatedFrequently — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:08:00 +0000

By GottaLaff

As many as 4 million people are expected to attend Obama's inauguration at the Mall.

What a gigantic, enormous, gargantuan, staggeringly mammoth job this will be:

Law enforcement officials bracing for the largest crowds in inaugural history are preparing far-reaching security — thousands of video cameras, sharpshooters, air patrols — to safeguard President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in.
People attending the ceremony and parade on Jan. 20 can expect to be searched by machines, security personnel or both. Precautions will range from the routine — magnetometers like those used at airports — to countersnipers trained to hit a target the size of a teacup saucer from 1,000 yards away. Plus undercover officers, bomb sniffing dogs and air patrols.

The Secret Service — the agency coordinating the security – also has assigned trained officials to identify and prevent cyber security risks. And, as it does at every inauguration, the service has mapped out escape routes for the 44th president.

In addition Washington's 5,265 surveillance cameras, spread around the city, are expected to be fed into a multi-agency command center. [...]
Trotta acknowledged the reemergence of hate groups through the presidential campaign and since Obama's election. Threats against Obama have been higher than any other president-elect in history. From Maine to Idaho, law enforcement officials have seen potentially threatening writings, racist Internet postings and other activity. [...]

He would not say whether Obama would get out of his car during the parade or if Obama would be surrounded by bulletproof glass at the speaking podiums, as he was in Chicago on election night.
There has never been an assassination attempt at a presidential inauguration.

Trotta said motorcades always present line-of-sight issues, and the inaugural parade is no exception.

Gulp.

Glad to see they're well-prepared for so many horrific possibilities. What a shame these possibilities have to exist.

Secret service steps up inauguration security is a post from: Updated News