Rethinking Security

Chuck Norris Tactics

I have a new post at RTJ on a little-recognized past counterterrorism success: the growth in tactical and operational professionalism of military and police CT units.

Expanding Cartel Firepower

Yesterday, La Linea (a sub-gang of the Juarez cartel) used a remotely detonated car bomb against Mexican law enforcement in Ciudad Juarez. This is, as the many news accounts note, the first use of this weapon in the drug war so far. While this might be old hat for a number of bad guys in the Middle East and Central Asia (or, for that matter, Pablo Escobar in the 90s), cartels have not previously used this weapon. Cartel weaponry, both observed and captured, has pretty much been limited to standard infantry weapons.

Beyond Active Response

John P. Sullivan and I continue to explore police doctrine and past and present challenges in our essay "Beyond Active Response." You can read it in the New Criminologist.