HEADS UP: A little scoop for you

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I just saw that the 4 * general fired was Kevin P. Byrnes.

That rung a bell. Kevin Byrnes was in charge of the "Warrior Ethos" training program. This is where we trained our troops to be fighters instead of just specialists... I believe it was an import of how to fight urban warfare from the pool of Israel's military knowledge in this subject...

I did a lot of digging on this some time ago if anyone has search capability and can find my post(s). There may be something interesting to discover...

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1. here ya go

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1520508

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2. Thanks - here's more

here is a real direct statement I missed back then:
http://www.tradoc.army.mil/pao/TNSarchives/November03/113503.htm

Barrett echoed that sentiment during his discussion of the LNO mission. He said the lessons learned from the various liaison countries has “contributed greatly” to the successful training of U.S. forces ramping up for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“We are very proud that we have been able to contribute to that effort,” said Col. Shalom Levy, Israeli liaison officer. “One of the most important things I think we bring to the table is our extensive experience in dealing with terrorism.

“Unfortunately, many of our lessons-learned were paid for with blood,” Levy added. “But we want to share those with our best friends in the world so you don’t have to pay the same price.”

Referring to an earlier phone call during which he was able to provide some helpful insights about anti-tank mines, Levy said it’s the largest part of his LNO mission. He also held up a military manual used in one of the leadership development courses at Fort Leavenworth, Kans., and made note of some of the content that was contributed by the Israeli army.

“We, in return, are benefiting from your experience with digitization and Land Warrior,” Levy said. “It is a very productive environment, and I am very proud to represent Israel in such a positive manner.”

Looking to the future, Levy said he has little doubt that future conflicts will resemble the situations in Afghanistan and Iraq rather than large force-on-force skirmishes. “We are all dealing with the same threats of terrorism,” he said. “We must stress new technology to protect our troops and the importance of flexibility and agility. For that reason, I would say the U.S. Army’s Transformation effort is very much on the right track.”

Reshaping leader-development training and placing extra emphasis on Warrior Ethos are also among the aspects of Transformation the LNOs said they admire most. In the Netherlands, the “all-conscript” Army came to an end roughly six years ago, and, according to Wolters, his forces are using part of the U.S. model to develop “professional soldiers” who are fully prepared for the Joint warfighting environment.

Silk highlighted TRADOC commander Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes' recent emphasis of Warrior Ethos and called the move absolutely “spot on.”

“It’s something we’ve recognized among our forces as well … large numbers of lads who can’t disassemble a weapon or read a map in the dark,” Silk said. “When your Marines are asked, ‘What are you?’ they respond, ‘I’m a Marine.’ But we ask that question among other services and they say, ‘I’m an engineer or a medic.’

“I think all of us need to develop a similar approach that we’re Soldiers first,” Silk said. “We never again should see a situation like Iraq where Soldiers said they couldn’t defend themselves because they were only mechanics or truck drivers.”

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4. GENERAL KEVIN P. BYRNES' SPEECHES

get 'em before they evaporate

http://www.tradoc.army.mil/Speeches.htm

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3. Israeli interrogators in Iraq - An exclusive report

"At least one aspect of the occupation of Iraq was well planned by Washington. The USA needed help conducting mass interrogations of Arabic-speaking detainees. Foreign Report can now reveal that, to make up for this shortfall, the USA employed Israeli security service (Shin Bet) experts to help their US counterparts 'break' their captives.

The USA could have approached other friendly regimes in the Middle East, such as Egypt or Jordan, which have vast experience interrogating Muslim fundamentalists. The Israelis may be brilliant linguists, but they cannot match Arabs speaking their own language. But there is a significant difference between the Egyptian and Jordanian interrogation techniques and those of the Israelis. For the Egyptian and Jordanian secret services, physical torture is an essential part of interrogation and a key element in breaking the prisoner's will and making them co-operative.

In the past, Shin Bet would use torture when it interrogated prisoners. But 20 years ago, an Israeli government committee investigated the security service's practices and the use of torture was subsequently banned, forcing Shin Bet to adopt a variety of techniques that did not cause physical damage. These new methods are much more palatable to US sensibilities. They also brought faster and more convincing results.

Foreign Report has learnt that top Shin Bet interrogation experts were sent to Iraq to help with the most difficult interrogations, such as the captured heads of the Iraqi intelligence - and perhaps with former president Saddam Hussein. US sources say that in spite of the incidences of abuse in Abu Ghraib prison, such events are not representative of the sophisticated methods that Shin Bet used in Iraq.

Most of the Shin Bet interrogators are of Ashkenazim (European) origin who study the Arabic language only when they are in their twenties after joining the security service. Before each interrogation a psychologist who has studied in depth the mental profile of the prisoner is consulted. The interrogator will also read intelligence reports about their charge. "

http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/fr/fr040707_1_n.shtml