Gun Owners Alliance ALERTS!

Dear freedom lovers everywhere,

All those who believe that new terrorist acts similar to 9/11 won't touch them should delete this e-mail. That which I have to say does not apply to you, and I don't want to waste your time.

Those of you still reading this know that most recently we have seen how militant radical Islamists swayed the elections in Spain using terror attacks on civilian train commuters. It worked. Spain elected a socialist president that promised to distance himself from America in our fight against terrorism. Never mind 9/11!

Earlier in the week I read from a CNN e-mail alert, "Explosives found in jet crash debris, Russia says". Now I just read from an e-mail alert from foxnews.com, "MUSLIM SITE POSTS CLAIM OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR DOWNING OF RUSSIAN JETS".

Militant radical Islamists want to sway our November 2004 elections like they did in Spain just a few months ago. Intelligence estimates are that additional mass casualty terror attacks like 9/11 are very likely on American soil, likely before our November 2004 presidential election. Homeland Security is focused on protecting hard targets and critical infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, bridges & tunnels, and the transportation, electrical and communications grids. There are literally hundreds of thousands of unprotected, high-value soft targets in the US - places like churches, synagogues and schools just to name a few.

If anyone understands how to deal with militant radical Islamists, it is the country of Israel.

Israeli experience with militant radical Islamists shows there is so much more that civilians can do beside wait for the next attack to occur. It doesn't take a lot of time or money; it does require a sense of patriotism and civic responsibility. This is where the rubber hits the road, where all the Internet rhetoric about Patriotism and the War on Terror becomes fact on the street.

Rabbi R. Mermelstein of the ever popular pro-gun Internet column known as "Ask the Rabbi" found at http://www.gunownersalliance.com/AskTheRabbi.htm has this to say about Operation Shiloh (OpShiloh):

      I have reviewed the course curriculum of Operation Shiloh under the expert directorship of Yehoshua
      Mizrachi and have found it worthy of my heartiest approbation. Go to http://www.opshiloh.com

      Operation Shiloh is not another training academy for the defensive or tactical use of firearms. It
      teaches much more - training, awareness and prevention.

      According to ancient Jewish tradition the fate of all living creatures for the coming year is
      determined in Heaven on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Our sages, of blessed
      memory, taught "It is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but neither are you
      free to exempt yourself from it" (Ethics of the Fathers, 2:21). While this injunction was
      intended to address the continual study of Torah law by Jews, the concept is universal in
      all matters essential to the continuation of Mankind. Both Christians and Jews learn,
      "Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger" (Leviticus 19:16). Go
      to http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Rabbi_0112.htm

      We are required by G-d's law to not stand by idly when another's life is in danger, but the
      actions to take to prevent the loss of life are vague to most people. Training and awareness
      are not instinctive. It requires instruction from experts.

      Operation Shiloh, I believe, can teach you to save lives. It has my unequivocal endorsement."

Read the original endorsement by Rabbi R. Mermelstein on the "Ask the Rabbi" website found at http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Rabbi_0282.htm

OpShiloh course material has been reviewed by members of the House Intelligence Committee and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Shiloh has been profiled by Fox News Channel, ABC, CBS, NBC, and dozens of other international broadcast and print news media. Operation Shiloh has also been endorsed by such prominent scholars as Daniel Pipes, who observes: "Operation Shiloh impresses me as a way, drawing on Israel's unique counterterrorism strengths, for concerned citizens to equip themselves against terrorist threats. I recommend it highly."

The three day OpShiloh counter-terrorism training course will be held September 6th through the 8th, 2004 in Miami, Florida. Please contact the Program Director immediately at info@opshiloh.com if you are planning to attend. Course specifics can be found at http://www.opshiloh.com Additional courses will be offered in the near future! Time is of the essence!

There is a time for talk and there is time for action; NOW is the time for action. Put your patriotism to work and help stop the next terror attack.

Here's how:

Starting a Volunteer Security Committee (VSC)

You can help fill this security gap by forming a much needed Volunteer Security Committee (VSC) at your school, synagogue, church, or in your neighborhood. Operation Shiloh at http://www.opshiloh.com provides Israeli training counter-terrorism training for American civilians. Operation Shiloh also offer free consulting for setting up your VSC.

What follows is a guide to establish your VSC.

Since the disparate terror groups all work from the same playbook, the terror attacks to come in America will likely be patterned after the attacks and attempted attacks that have occurred in Israel. (In fact, American ground troops in Iraq have benefited significantly from Israel's experience with terrorist insurgency.) Therefore, Israel's experience in terror suppression is instructive. This is the underlying premise of the OpShiloh course.

In many Israeli towns, kibbutzim and moshavim, you will see four layers of terror prevention (going from least to most intense):

1.) The generally high alertness level of all residents. (In Efrat last year, an alert mother dropping her son off at school noticed an Arab man approaching the school with an ill-concealed butcher's knife. Once spotted, the man fled on foot. The woman was able to alert the RVSH"Tz [see below], who reacted immediately and thus prevented an atrocity.) (There's more to this story - e-mail the OpShiloh Program Director at info@opshiloh.com and he will tell you the rest of the story.)

2.) Shomrim: Able-bodied citizens, mostly army reservists, do take turns patrolling the community, watching the perimeter and approaches, guarding the entrance gates, etc. The shomrim are armed, and trained in communications rules of engagement, and the like. The community is patrolled by such shomrim 24/7, even on the Sabbath and holidays.

3.) Kitat Konenut: A small cadre of citizens (all in the active reserve) are organized and trained as a first response unit in the event the community is infiltrated or comes under any other kind of attack. Their main mission: flush out and neutralize the terrorist(s). These brave people are Israel's "minutemen."

The shomrim and Kitat Konenut are trained and organized by a RVSh"Tz (pronounced rav-SHATZ) which is Hebrew acronym for "Public Security Coordinator" who is in charge of overall security for the community.

4.) IDF: The regional Army base supports the security network described above and monitors the regional security comms net, ready to respond as needed.

Instead of protecting an entire community, your VSC will probably be working to protect a church, synagogue, private school or organization, or perhaps a neighborhood. For the purposes of clarity, general guidelines will be used and future reference will be made to protecting a church. Please feel free to adapt these recommendations to suit your unique situation.

For the VSCs, OpShiloh is recommending a hierarchy loosely patterned after the foregoing. Again, from least to most intense:

1.) The alertness level of all residents. Your VSC will be responsible for running education programs to heighten the general alertness level of the congregation.

2.) VSC: Your VSC will be a small cadre like the Kitat Konenut, but will
function in a more defensive posture, like the shomrim.

Your VSC will be tasked with continually reviewing the security arrangements at the church with the objective of making the facility harder to attack, and if attacked, easier to defend. You will be trained with an emphasis on terror prevention and close coordination with local law enforcement in the event of an attack.

3.) Local law enforcement: instead of the IDF, your VSC will establish close working liaison with local law enforcement. Developing these good working relationships in advance will be critical to your terror prevention program. Again, these details will be covered during training.

You will likely find that the local police will be eager to work with you for two reasons: first, there is a general sense of frustration that the general public is not taking the terror threat seriously; secondly, they understand all too well that more trained eyeballs means the better the chances of preventing an attack.

Where to Begin:

1. Speak with the Pastor and church leadership to get their approval for setting up the VSC. Have them announce it from the pulpit, publicly support it, and have them ask for volunteers.

2. Post flyers requesting volunteers for the VSC. The ideal size of your VSC depends on the size of the facility that you wish to protect, the amount of activity in the building, and other factors. In general, though, the more the merrier as there will be plenty to do. Again, specific tasking will be covered during training. Encourage both men and women to participate.

3. Start reading. Here are a few suggestions:

Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America, by Yossef Bodansky
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0761535810/gunownersalli-20

Militant Islam Reaches America, by Daniel Pipes
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393325318/gunownersalli-20

American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us, by Steve Emerson
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743234359/gunownersalli-20

The Third Terrorist: The Middle East Connection to the Oklahoma City Bombing, by Jayna Davis
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785261036/gunownersalli-20

We know there are thousands of terror cells in the US; we know that they are collecting intelligence for future attacks; and we know that attacks have already been attempted. Once alerted to these facts, the question most people ask is, "Yeah, but what can I do about it?"

Gun Owners Alliance believes that the VSC (taught by OpShiloh as found at http://www.opshiloh.com ) is an answer to that question. During WWII, America had effective Civil Defense Committees. In Israel, alert citizens have prevented or preempted terror attacks too many times to count.

Thank you for standing up and for being willing to be counted.

Contact information for Operation Shiloh:

Yehoshua Mizrachi - Director
Operation Shiloh
Israeli Counter-Terrorism Training for Civilians
http://www.opshiloh.com
info@opshiloh.com


Sincerely,

Gun Owners Alliance
Chris W. Stark - Director
http://www.GunOwnersAlliance.com
Director@GunOwnersAlliance.com

WebMaster for "Ask the Rabbi"
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/AskTheRabbi.htm