The caption from iJET's website: "iJET's Intelligence Operations and Response Center provides clients with 24x7 threat assessments and intelligence for more than 180 countries and 280 cities worldwide."
Most people don't know that three Americans have been held hostage in Colombia for over four years. Here's how the AP reminded us of the contract workers' existence prior to Bush's trip south. The article quotes Bush:
"I'm deeply concerned about their fate," President Bush said in an interview with RCN TV of Colombia on Wednesday, before leaving on a five-nation trip to Latin America.You may understand then, perhaps, the existence of such firms as iJET: Intelligent Risk Systems.
Addressing FARC, Bush said: "Give up these hostages. You're making it clear to the world the kind of people you are when you take innocent life and hold them hostage. And it's very sad for the families here in America."
iJET is the intelligence wing of the modern mercenary industry. Got big-wigs (or even just "assets" like employees) to send overseas to places like Colombia? iJET will help you keep track of them, warn them about when and where to go, tell them what to do when they get stuck. iJET markets this as MONITOR, PROTECT and RESPOND. (Another "security firm," Osen-Hunter, prefers ACCOUNTABILITY, INTEGRITY, DISCRETION.)
We are truly a commercial intelligence agency supporting you and your employees – "Watching the World, Anticipating the Future".Sign up for the WPM (right), a Daily Intelligence Briefing, and a Monthly Intelligence Forecast. Save money by consolidating your security. As the website puts it:
The escalation of terrorism, infectious diseases, and unforeseen natural disasters has forced multinational organizations and their employees to re-evaluate their perception of risk.Want to work for them? Some "Desired Attributes:"
- International travel and expatriate living experience with an understanding of how world events affect international organizations and businesses
- Knowledge of business continuity, emergency management, incident support or corporate security programs
- Familiarity with transportation systems
It's hardly a new idea. One of my favorite used-book finds in Colombia was a little white handbook, one of several in a series called "Executive Crisis Management," written by former British Police from Northern Ireland. This one was called, "Kidnap!" and it had several no-nonsense bullet point lists of things to do and not to do when, as the executive that you are, you are being taken hostage. Suggestion: keep track of your time by making marks on anything you have handy, but not on the wall -- you might be moved at any time.
Together with Osen-Hunter, iJET runs something they call the Alert Traveler Program:
The Alert Traveler Program (ATP) educates individuals through comprehensive and experiential exercises regarding the risks associated with foreign and domestic travel, and provide the knowledge, skills and abilities to reduce these risks.One of their suggested targets is "Individuals traveling on vacation that seek to increase their travel confidence" -- and I truly wonder: What does the world look like to a person like that?
