Let's go down the list of things said here and compare them to the possibility of them being found out by someone planning some action against the folks.
Start Point and stop points....now that is a hard one for them.
Route selection....again how many different ways are there to go?
Timing....predictable? Yes...very.
Identifying the vehicles used....one day outside each start and end point takes care of that.
Security personnel (armed personnel)....again...standing on a street corner for a day will take care of that.
Security procedures at the start point....stop point....how many local staff are employed by the operators? That takes care of that.
Communications.....harder but not as important.
Reaction forces....pre-planned ambush sites takes care of that.
Target selection.....pretty easy to figure out who the "White Boys" are.
All generic issues UM....what can be said here that provides the bad guys information that they do not already know....or can find out with as little as 12 hours of recce done in one day?
I would suggest the truth of the matter is....the Insurgents can strike at the time of their choosing as they have already done on many occasions.
UM....the fat is in the fire already....they may be Nigerian but as very many of the Nigerians we work with are, the Insurgents are very capable individuals.
The real question that needs answering should be along the lines of "What has the operators done to counter these issues?". Just as important is what can be done using the existing infrastructure and physical plant locations?
At some point does the security situation dictate major changes in the way business is done, such as building secure facilities so that no travel is required to be done by ground, put them behind lots of barbed wire and earthen berms with over head protection against mortars and RPG's. (Sounds like some places in Afghanistan or Iraq or Northern Ireland somehow!)
The bottom line on Security is cost.....and one must always remember that any physical security system can be penetrated. One must chose between two methods.....preventing a breach or containment of a breach the difference in them being "no attacker gets in" and the other is "no attacker gets out".
As in any security situation....travel is the most dangerous part of the equation. Invariably, the Insurgent has the advantage over the target. The attacker plans.....the target can only react.
Last edited by SASless; 19th Feb 2007 at 15:56.