Above the Tearline: Attack Recognition and Evasive Action
Video Transcript:
Vice President of Intelligence Fred Burton discusses attack recognition and evasive action in light of the recent attack on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Mexico.
Editor’s Note: Transcripts are generated using speech-recognition technology. Therefore, STRATFOR cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
In this week's "Above the Tearline," we thought we would discuss evasive action in a car in light of the horrific events surrounding the narco-attacks on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Mexico on Feb. 15.
Let's examine what we think went wrong. The first thing that occurred, it appears, is that the agents stopped for lunch along the highway, and this is where the cartels are able to pick up on the agents' high-end SUV with diplomatic plates. After the lunch stop, the agents continued along the route, and it appears from our investigation of what has taken place, the cartels utilized two SUVs with at least eight men with long-rifles that started in pursuit of the agents' car. They utilized a tactic called a "rolling road block" to bring the agents' vehicle to a standstill.
In a rolling roadblock, it appears in this case, both of the cartel vehicles were behind the agents' SUV. One then speeds up and goes around the agents' car and proceeds to slow, so that the agents are, in essence, behind the lead cartel car and, in their rearview mirror, they have another chase car that proceeds to box them in.
One of the most important things that unfolds when this happens is the concept of attack recognition. That's when you know you are under attack. You're ability to rapidly recognize that is critical to take evasive action. In this case, the agents were in an armored vehicle; that in itself affords them a high level of protection that most of us never have.
The second thing you can do in that kind of circumstance is to utilize your vehicle as a weapon -- and you can actually practice this -- meaning you use the front bumper of the car to clip the rear bumper of the vehicle that's in front of you. That can push the car out of the way, which creates an escape tunnel for you to flee the scene. It takes practice and you have to know the operational capability of your vehicle, but it works.
The "Above the Tearline" aspect of this case is critical importance of not stopping that vehicle and to keep moving. You do not want to stop the vehicle on the "X," or the attack site. You want to keep moving and think about the vehicle as your safe haven and use it as a means of escape. One thing to bear in mind in this type of tragic case is that the reason you investigate these types of events is not to lay blame, but to take away from the set of circumstances certain decisions that were made that can be corrected and help save other people placed in a similar circumstance going forward.
