MILITARY NEWS

American Fighter Jets Encounter Syrian Jets Over Hasakah

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 17:52:00 +0800

Syrian Kurdish civilians board a truck as they flee reported shelling in the northeastern governorate of Hasakah, toward the city of Qameshli, on Aug

Two American fighter jets approached two Syrian attack jets near the northeast part of the war-torn country Friday, and the Syrian aircraft left the area, a U.S. defense official said.

The encounter occurred in airspace near Hasakah when two Syrian Su-24 aircraft "were met" by the two American F-22 fighters, the official said. The jets came within one mile of one another and were in visual contact before the Syrian jets left, the official said.

The northeastern city has seen increasing ground clashes between the Kurdish YPG fighters and Syrian regime forces. There was a small number of U.S. Special Operators acting as advisers to the YPG when the Syrian airstrikes began.The Syrian Air Force dropped bombs on the city of Hasakah Thursday, as U.S. Special Operations forces were in the area, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday. No U.S. troops were hurt, Capt. Jeff Davis said.

It was the closest U.S. forces have come to an attack by Syrian forces, Davis said. Extra U.S. combat air patrols were sent to the area Thursday and were flying Friday when the U.S. jets met the Syrian aircraft.

In Friday's aerial encounter, the U.S. pilots tried to contact the Syrian pilots by radio but there was no response.

The American pilots did not see the Syrians drop any bombs from the Su-24s, the defense official said, but there were reports of more airstrikes in Hasakah Friday.

source: http://www.nbcnews.com/

A Japanese Soldier Who Continued Fighting WWII 29 Years After the Japanese Surrendered, Because He Didn’t Know

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Mon, 4 Jun 2012 09:35:00 +0800

Today I found out about a Japanese soldier who continued fighting World War II a full 29 years after the Japanese surrendered, because he didn’t know the war was over.

Hiroo Onoda is a Japanese citizen that originally worked at a Chinese trading company. When he was 20 years old, he was called to join the Japanese army. He promptly quit his job and headed off to training in Japan. At a certain point in his training, he was chosen to be trained at Nakano School as an Imperial Army Intelligence Officer. In this specialized military intelligence training, he was specifically taught methods of gathering intelligence and how to conduct guerrilla warfare. He was being groomed to go in behind enemy lines and be left with small pockets of soldiers to make life miserable for Japan’s enemies and gather intelligence in the process.

On December 26th, 1944, Onoda was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines. His orders from his commanding officers, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, were simple:

You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, we’ll come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him. You may have to live on coconuts. If that’s the case, live on coconuts! Under no circumstances are you [to] give up your life voluntarily.

Onoda then linked up with Japanese soldiers already on the island and shortly thereafter the island was overrun by enemy troops when other officers that were already on the island refused to help fulfill part of the orders that Onoda was given to destroy the harbor and airfield among other things. This in turn made it easier for the Allied forces to conquer the island, landing on February 28th, 1945. Shortly after the island was conquered the remaining Japanese soldiers split up into small groups of 3 or 4 and headed into the jungle.

Most of these small groups were quickly killed off. Onoda’s group though consisting of himself, Yuichi Akatsu, Siochi Shimada, and Kinshichi Kozuka, were not. They continued to use guerrilla warfare tactics to harry the enemy troops as best they could while strictly rationing supplies including food, ammo, etc. Supplementing their small rice rations with bananas, coconuts, and other food from the jungle as well as doing raids on local farms when they could manage it.

In October 1945, after another cell had killed a cow from a local farm for food, they came across a leaflet from the local islanders to them saying “The war ended August 15th. Come down from the mountains!” The few remaining cells discussed this leaflet extensively, but eventually decided that it was Allied propaganda trying to get them to give themselves up. They felt that there was no way that Japan could have lost so quickly since the time when they were deployed. Indeed, this would seem strange to anyone who had no knowledge of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Also, another one of the cells had been fired upon just a few days before; they felt that this wouldn’t have happened if the war was over.

Eventually, near the end of the same year local islanders, fed up with being shot at and raided, got a Boeing B-17 to drop leaflets all over the jungle. These leaflets had the order to surrender printed on them from General Yamashita. The few remaining cells once again scrutinized these leaflets to try to determine their authenticity. In the end, the wording on the leaflet pertaining to the method with which they would be sent back to Japan seemed fishy to them; largely because the wording made it seem as if Japan had lost, something they couldn’t fathom and which was a big problem in their willingness to accept the war had ended. If Japan had won, they would come and get them. Japan couldn’t lose, so the war must still be going. So they once again believed it was the Allies becoming more tired of their successful guerrilla tactics and trying to get them to surrender.

When this didn’t work, more leaflets were dropped with newspapers from Japan; photographs and letters from the soldiers families; delegates were sent from Japan and went through the jungle speaking over loudspeakers begging the soldiers to give themselves up. In every case the cells encountered, there was always something suspicious in their minds about the way it was done to cause them to believe it was an elaborate hoax by the Allied troops.

Years passed in the jungle with these four soldiers continuing to perform their sworn duty of harrying the enemy at every opportunity and gather intelligence as best they could. At a certain point, when most everybody they saw was dressed in civilian clothing, they began thinking that this too was a ruse from the Allied forces to lull the Japanese guerrilla soldiers into a false sense of confidence. They considered the fact that every time they fired on these “civilians” shortly thereafter search parties would arrive hunting them. Over time they had gradually let their solitude twist their minds into thinking everyone was an enemy, even their own fellow Japanese who would occasionally come and try to find them and get them to come home. These of course in their minds were Japanese prisoners forced to come lure them away from the safety of the jungle.

Eventually, after about 5 years in the jungle, Akatsu decided he would surrender, but didn’t tell the other three soldiers. So, in 1949 he slipped away from the others and after 6 months alone in the jungle was able to successfully surrender to what he thought were Allied troops. Because of this event, Onoda’s cell became even more cautious and went into deeper hiding and took fewer risks as they viewed Akatsu leaving as a security threat. “What if he was captured”, they thought.

About 5 years later, another of the small group, Shimada was killed in a skirmish on the beach at Gontin. Now there were only two, Onoda and Kozuka.

For about 17 more years the two lived in the jungle, gathering intelligence as best they could and attacking the “enemy troops” when they could risk it. They were still convinced that eventually Japan would dispatch more troops and they would then train these troops in guerrilla warfare and use the intelligence they had gathered to re-take the island. After all, their orders were to stay put and do as they had done until their commanding officer came and got them and their commanding officers had promised to do so no matter what.

Now in October 1972, after 27 years of hiding Kozuka was killed during a fight with a Filipino patrol. The Japanese had long thought he had already died, they didn’t think he could have survived so long in the jungle. But now when they had his body, they began thinking perhaps Onoda was also still alive, even though he had also long since been declared dead.

The Japanese then sent a search party to try to find Onoda in the jungle. Unfortunately, he was too good at hiding with 27 years of practice. They could not find him. Onoda continued his mission.

Finally in 1974 a college student, Nario Suzuki, decided to travel the world. Among his list of things to do on his journey was to find “Onoda, a panda, and the Abominable Snowman”. He traveled to the island and trekked through the jungle searching for signs of Onoda. Shockingly, where literally thousands of others through the last 29 years had failed, Suzuki succeeded. He found Onoda’s dwelling place and Onoda himself.

He then proceeded to try to convince Onoda to come home with him. Onoda refused. His commanding officers had said they would return for him no matter what. He would not surrender nor believe the war was over until they returned and ordered him to do so. At this point, he would not have been allowed to simply go home; he would be required to surrender and throw himself on the mercy of the enemy. Over the years he had been too successful at using the guerrilla tactics he had mastered. Killing 30 Filipinos and injuring over 100 others as well as destroying various crops and the like for almost 30 years.

Suzuki then traveled back to Japan with the news he’d found Onoda; Major Taniguchi, now retired and working at a book store, was then brought back to the island and to Onoda to tell him that Japan had lost the war and he was to give up his weapons and surrender to the Filipinos.

As you might expect, after living in the jungle doing what he thought was his duty helping Japan, now only turning out to be wasting 29 years of his life, and worse killing and injuring innocent civilians, this came as a crushing blow to Onoda.

We really lost the war! How could they have been so sloppy?

Suddenly everything went black. A storm raged inside me. I felt like a fool for having been so tense and cautious on the way here. Worse than that, what had I been doing for all these years?

Gradually the storm subsided, and for the first time I really understood: my thirty years as a guerrilla fighter for the Japanese army were abruptly finished. This was the end.

I pulled back the bolt on my rifle and unloaded the bullets. . . .

I eased off the pack that I always carried with me and laid the gun on top of it. Would I really have no more use for this rifle that I had polished and cared for like a baby all these years? Or Kozuka’s rifle, which I had hidden in a crevice in the rocks? Had the war really ended thirty years ago? If it had, what had Shimada and Kozuka died for? If what was happening was true, wouldn’t it have been better if I had died with them?

On March 10th, 1975 at the age of 52, Onoda in full uniform that was somehow still immaculately kept, marched out of the jungle and surrendered his samurai sword to the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos, very unpopularly in the Philippines, but immensely popular in Japan, pardoned Onoda for his crimes, given that Onoda had thought he was still at war the entire time.

Now in the end, we might look at Onoda as a fool and worse, a murder of innocent people. In the end, he was both of those things, there is no denying it. But at the same time, not everyone who lives by strict convictions and puts their all into achieving what they believe to be the right thing, ends up having what they strive towards turn out well or end up being a good thing. This is one of those cases where someone did something remarkable, showing extreme dedication to his country and his duty, as well as fortitude unmatched by many in history.

Had circumstances been different and the war really had waged on so long; soldiers and people from both sides of the fight would have respected him for his courage and dedication. In that respect he was more of a hero. However, the world wasn’t the way he thought and in the end, in retrospect, he was more a fool than anything else. But at the same time, we can’t ignore that this was a man who did something great with respect to doing something that few others could have done; had circumstances been as he thought, what he did was something to be admired. He faced (what he thought) was death around every corner and lived in an extreme situation for 30 years, fighting for his country. That should be respected. It’s a rare person who could do something like that and never quite or surrender; never take the easy way out as most of us do all the time when faced with adversity that is orders of magnitude less than what Onoda faced for almost 30 years in the jungle.

When Onoda returned to Japan, he was seen as a hero. He was also given his pay for the last 30 years. Life was much different in Japan now than he remembered, and not at all to his liking. Many of the traditional Japanese virtues he cherished such as patriotism were nearly non-existent in the culture; indeed in his view Japan now cow-towed to the rest of the world and had lost its pride and sense of itself. So he moved to Brazil and used his pay to buy himself a ranch there and eventually married.
Onoda released an autobiography: No Surrender, My Thirty-Year War in which he details his life as a guerrilla fighter.
After reading about a Japanese teenager who had murdered his own parents in 1980, Onoda became even more distressed at the state of his country and young people in Japan. He then returned to Japan in 1984, establishing a nature school for young people where he could teach them various survival techniques and teach them to be more independent and better Japanese citizens.
In May 1996, he returned to the Philippines to the island he had lived for 30 years donating $10,000 to local schools; as you might imagine, he is not too popular with the locals there, despite the donation.

Bonus Onoda Quotes:
Men should never give up. I never do. I would hate to lose.
Men should never compete with women. If they do, the guys will always lose. That is because women have a lot more endurance. My mother said that, and she was so right.
One must always be civic-minded. Every minute of every day, for 30 years, I served my country. I have never even wondered if that was good or bad for me as an individual.
Parents should raise more independent children. When I was living in Brazil in the 1980s, I read that a 19-year-old Japanese man killed his parents after failing the university entrance exam. I was stunned. Why had he killed his parents instead of moving out? I guess he didn’t have enough confidence. I thought this was a sign that Japanese were getting too weak. I decided to move back to Japan to establish a nature school to give children more power.
Parents should remember that they are supposed to die before their children. Nobody will help them later on, so the greatest gift parents can give their children is independence.
Never complain. When I did, my mother said that if I didn’t like my life, I could just give up and die. She reminded me that when I was inside her, I told her that I wanted to be born, so she delivered me, breastfed me and changed my diapers. She said that I had to be brave.

SOURCE: http://www.todayifoundout.com/

2 dating websites sued for using dead soldier's photo in ads.

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:27:00 +0800

A photo of Lt. Peter Burks that appears on his family's website, the Unsung Hero Fund, was misleadingly used on two dating websites without the family's permission, a lawsuit alleges. UNSUNGHEROFUND.COM

The picture of a handsome, uniformed soldier accompanying online ads that proclaim "Military Man Searching for Love" is an Army lieutenant who was killed in Iraq in 2007, according to a lawsuit filed by his parents Monday against two dating websites.

The parents of Army Lt. Peter Burks have sued PlentyofFish.com and True.com, alleging the companies used their son's photo in ads without their permission, benefitted financially and misled the public, The Associated Press reported.

Alan Burks, his father, told AP the ads "disgusted" him and that his son was engaged at the time of his death, so the idea that he was trying to meet women online as the ad portrays "couldn't be more wrong."

"I felt horrified, disgusted. It upset me," Alan Burks, who lives in Dallas, told The Associated Press on Monday.

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Plentyof Fish Media spokesman Paul Bloudoff said the company didn't advertise online in the U.S. in December. He said hundreds of thousands of third parties advertise via his company's site every month, and that it cannot control nor know about the content of those ads.

Even so, the ad has been blocked from the company's network, he said.

"We dealt with this matter a month ago," Bloudoff said in an email. "In our opinion, this case should not have been filed."

True.com President Ruben Buell said Monday that he hasn't seen the lawsuit but "will be researching this diligently." He said the Dallas-based company, whose official business name is True Beginnings LLC, buys ads that run on other dating websites but does not know what happened in this situation.

"I certainly feel for his family," Buell said Monday.

PlentyofFish Media did not say how long the ads - including one with Peter Burks' photo that said "Soldiers Want You!" - ran or how his photo was obtained, said Rogge Dunn, the attorney who filed the suit. In addition to emotional suffering, his parents have also suffered financial damages because, since his death, they have legal control over his image and never authorized any photos to be used to endorse these sites, Dunn said.

Alan Burks said he plans to donate any money awarded in the suit to military charities.

"For me, this is making sure that the honor and legacy of Peter is protected," he said. "But also it concerns me that they would use the likeness of a live soldier or someone else."

SOURCE: http://www.stripes.com/

Israel blames Iran after attacks on embassy staff

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:57:00 +0800

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel accused arch-enemies Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of being behind twin bomb attacks that targeted Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia on Monday, wounding four people.

Tehran denied involvement in the attacks, which amplified tensions between two countries already at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear program, and accused Israel of carrying out the attacks itself. Hezbollah made no comment.

In the Indian capital New Delhi, a bomb wrecked a car taking an Israeli embassy official to pick up her children from school, police said. The woman needed surgery to remove shrapnel but her life was not in danger.

Her driver and two passers-by suffered lesser injuries.

Israeli officials said an attempt to bomb an embassy car in the Georgian capital Tbilisi failed, and the device was defused.

Israel had put its foreign missions on high alert ahead of the fourth anniversary this past Sunday of the assassination in Syria of the military mastermind of Hezbollah, Imad Moughniyeh - an attack widely assumed to be the work of Israeli agents.

Israel is believed to be locked in a wider covert war with Iran, whose nuclear program has been beset by apparent sabotage, including the unclaimed killings of several Iranian nuclear scientists, most recently in January.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed both Iran and Hezbollah, accusing them of responsibility for a string of recent attempted attacks on Israeli interests in countries as far apart as Thailand and Azerbaijan.

"Iran and its proxy Hezbollah are behind each of these attacks," said Netanyahu, who dismisses Iran denials that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. "We will continue to take strong and systematic, yet patient, action against the international terrorism that originates in Iran."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast rejected Netanyahu's accusation, saying it was Israel that had carried out the attacks as part of its psychological warfare against Iran.

"It seems that these suspicious incidents are designed by the Zionist regime and carried out with the aim of harming Iran's reputation," the official news agency IRNA quoted Mehmanparast as saying.

Israeli officials have long made veiled threats to retaliate against Lebanon for any Hezbollah attackon their interests abroad, arguing that as the Islamist group sits in government in Beirut, its actions reflect national policy.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington that the United States had no information yet on who was responsible, adding: "These incidents underscore our ongoing concerns of the targeting of Israeli interests overseas."

MOTORCYCLE ATTACK

The New Delhi blast took place some 500 meters (yards) from the official residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

B.K. Gupta, the New Delhi police commissioner, said a witness had seen a motorcyclist stick a device to the back of the car, which had diplomatic registration plates.

"The eyewitness ... says it (was) some kind of magnetic device. As soon as the motorcycle moved away a good distance from the car, the car blew up and it caught fire," said Gupta.

The Iranian scientist killed in Tehran last month died in a similar such attack by a motorcyclist who attached a device to his car. No one has claimed responsibility for that, although Iran was quick to accuse agents of Israel and its U.S. ally.

Israel named the injured woman as Talya Yehoshua Koren, who worked at the embassy and was married to the defense attache.

"She was able to drag herself from the car and is now at the American hospital, where two Israeli doctors are treating her," an Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Thailand said last month its police had arrested a Lebanese man linked to Hezbollah, and that he later led them to a warehouse stocked with bomb-making materials. Also last month, authorities in Azerbaijan arrested two people suspected of plotting to attack Israel's ambassador and a local rabbi.

In a speech on January 24, Israel's military chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, accused Hezbollah of trying to carry out proxy attacks while avoiding direct confrontation.

"During this period of time, when our enemies in the north avoid carrying out attacks, fearing a harsh response, we are witnesses to the ongoing attempts by Hezbollah and other hostile entities to execute vicious terror attacks at locations far away from the state of Israel," Gantz said.

"I suggest that no one test our resolve."

Israel and Hezbollah fought an inconclusive and costly war across the Lebanese border in 2006.

source: REUTERS

So How Long Before Openly Gay Troops Can Serve?

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:27:00 +0800

In the wake of the Senate’s vote to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on Saturday — and President Obama’s plan to sign the bill into law Wednesday morning — just how long is it going to be before gay men and women can serve openly? Some Pentagon officials have suggested it could be a lengthy process, perhaps more than a year, while a new report from an independent think tank says it can — and should — be done in a matter of weeks.

Marine Col. Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said Monday that the Defense Department will “move out carefully, deliberately and purposefully” to implement the new policy, which suggests speed is not of the essence. But at the same time, ending the ban should not be “overly burdensome,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs emphasized. The Pentagon’s formal 87-page implementation blueprint says that “leaders must be given clear, equitable, and enforceable standards of conduct and the tools required to enforce standards and maintain good order and discipline in a sexual orientation-neutral way.”

But in a soon-to-be published study, the Palm Center of the University of California at Santa Barbara says Pentagon talk of the need for a year before gays can serve openly “is not based on a reasonable assessment of what it takes to educate the troops.” Air Force veteran Aaron Freed says “the Pentagon can quickly train all personnel regardless of status or location” — including in war zones — and that “training is not prerequisite to a policy going into force.” Implementing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” required less than two months in 1993, he notes.

But that’s not likely to be the prevailing view. Some inside the Pentagon take pride in how the military has handled repeal so far, and don’t want to do anything to jeopardize its implementation. Bottom line: the policy won’t change until Pentagon leaders can assert the action won’t harm U.S. military readiness, and they maintain they don’t know how long that will take. There’s talk of up to 18 months for the Army and Marines, less for the Air Force and Navy. But such a lengthy time frame is not likely to win approval from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who championed repeal.

But it will take months. The services have to draft training and communications plans to educate the force, rig personnel policies to accommodate the change, and figure out how benefits will be adjusted. Once they have everything in line, the Pentagon will declare it is ready to allow gays to serve — and then there will be a final 60-day period before they do.

Counseling will be a key element of dealing with conflict under the new rules. Maintaining good order and discipline will trump personal feelings, as it always has. Gay couples will be treated for the most part as unmarried heterosexuals, suggesting they won’t be eligible for most military benefits. A sailor upset with a gay roommate is likely to be able to move to new quarters. Chaplains — many of whom view homosexuality as a sin — will not be muzzled.

Army leaders told their troops the change simply represented another order to carry out. “We will implement this change in the same disciplined manner that has characterized the Army’s service for the past 235 years,” they said in a weekend message. Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, told his people that “the standards of conduct we expect of all Airmen will not change. Moreover, we will continue to treat each other, as members of the Air Force family, with dignity and respect.”

Despite the controversy surrounding the issue, the basic approach seems to be — hold on to your hat — common sense. Harassment of gays won’t be tolerated. There will be no public displays of affection — but PDA has always been banned. Separate barracks and bathrooms? Didn’t we vainly try “separate but equal” during our struggle to integrate American public schools? Many military personnel, speaking privately, have been preparing for this change to come for years. They don’t see it as a big deal, and many wonder what all the fuss is about.

Source: http://battleland.blogs.time.com/

SU-30 Redefines the Laws of Gravity.

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Wed, 8 Feb 2012 08:56:00 +0800

Watch This Video of SU-30..fantastic! manuver. U-30 pilot demos some amazing skills.

U.S. brigadier general dies in Afghanistan

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Sun, 5 Feb 2012 16:13:00 +0800

(CNN) -- U.S. Brig. Gen. Terence Hildner died in Kabul of apparent natural causes, officials said, making him one of the highest ranking officers to die in Afghanistan.

He was 49.

Hildner, who was commander of the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Fort Hood, Texas, was in Afghanistan to support the NATO training mission.

"The unfortunate and untimely death of Brigadier General Hildner was a shock to our unit and Families," Col. Knowles Atchison, 13th ESC rear commander, said in a statement posted on the Foot Hood website. "Both forward deployed elements and we at home station are deeply saddened by this loss. We will all pull together through this difficult period and care for one another."

The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation, the statement said.

Hildner graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 and attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1997. A Connecticut native, he listed his home in Fairfax, Virginia.

In 2003, Hildner assumed command of the 13th Corps Support Command's Special Troops Battalion at Fort Hood. That battalion conducted two operational deployments during his years in command -- the first in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the second in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Previously, Hildner served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and participated in the last U.S. patrol along the East-West German border before its reunification.

source: CNN NEWS

Carbon 15 Pistol – Bushmaster

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:45:00 +0800

The Carbon 15 pistol is a firearm similar in design to an ArmaLite AR-15 or the Colt M4 Carbine. The main differences between the Carbon 15 “pistol” and actual M4 is the absence of the shoulder stock and the fully automatic option. You don’t really want or need full auto though, because the Carbon 15 is not designed for suppressive fire, likewise, the red dot sight fitted on the accessory rail optimizes this weapon for close quarter personal defense-ideal for confined spaces.

We got the chance to let off some rounds with one of these bad boys not too long ago, and let me tell you, fire literally shreds it way out of the barrel. The accuracy was limited to short ranges, but the proprietary carbon 15 construction material makes it so light, coupled with the red dot sight, that one can hit successive targets accurately with little trouble.

Carbon 15 Pistol

Manufacturer: Bushmaster

Small Diameter Bomb – GBU-39

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:39:00 +0800

The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb – the future of ultra-surgical air strikes.

Since the days of the first Gulf War, when it became clear to the world that precision air strikes would be the “go to” option for the opening rounds of nearly any theater scale military operations, the technology of precision guided munitions has increased rapidly. We have witnessed bombs being guided into their targets by lasers, GPS, and even a human watching through a camera on the nose of the weapon. Once the concept of precision guidance was no longer a novelty, the virtuous auspices of limiting collateral damage and economic efficiency have led military planners and weapons designers to push the envelope of precision weapon technology even further.

During the Desert Storm era, the smallest precision bombs available packed 500 lb high-explosive warheads, and the 500 pounder was typically used on only the smallest of targets. They certainly were precise enough on surgical targeting, but the massive explosion and pressure wave still causes widespread devastation to buildings and well, people, that are in the vicinity of the blast. Now I’m not saying that it’s ever goign to be possible to truly eliminate collateral damage, but I believe technology has reached a stopping point concerning precision-guided air-launched munitions. It’s not as if limiting collateral damage is such a bad thing after all; so I guess we can go ahead and bestow the honorable hallmark characteristic of the next wave of precision munitions: Efficiency…because accuracy is a given.

Fresh on the block is the new GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb. The GBU-39 is the first 250 lb class precision guided munition, and is not only intended to allow the pilot to strike more targets per sortie, but also to -you guessed it- limit collateral damage. A full rack of GBU-39s, 4 bombs total, can easily take the place of one 2000 lb GBU 109 “bunker buster” guided bomb on typical strike platforms such as the F-15C or F-22 Raptor aircraft. While the 2000 lb GBU-109 penetrator definitely retains its place as a select weapon of choice for large and hardended targets, the GBU-39 SDB surpasses the GBU-109 in many different realms of performance. For starters, the GBU-39 also has significant stand-off capabilities. With it’s guidance wings, the bomb can coast into targets from far greater ranges than the GBU-109, from more than 40 nautical miles out. Likewise, the design of the warhead also allows the Small Diameter Bomb to achieve the same penetration capabilities of it’s much larger 2000 lb counterpart. All in all, the SMB GBU-39 allows for a great amount of flexibility for whomever is designing strike missions for an urban environment.

source: http://www.futurefirepower.com

US Army Burns off Final Chem Weapons in Utah

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:41:00 +0800

STOCKTON, Utah -- The U.S. Army has destroyed about 90 percent of its aging chemical weapons after it wraps up work this week in Utah, where it has kept its largest stockpile - a witches' brew of toxins, blister and blood agents that accumulated through the Cold War.

The Army's Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah's west desert burned its last hard weapons in a 1,500-degree furnace on Wednesday - projectiles that contained mustard agent, which can produce painful skin blisters. The last tray of 23 projectiles came out of a furnace at 2:11 p.m. after baking for two hours, a process that rendered the mustard agent harmless.

The depot - which at its peak held some 13,600 tons of chemical agents, making it the world's largest - expects to complete the job by the weekend when it incinerates bulk supplies of Lewisite, a powerful skin, eye and lung irritant.

source: Military.com

Why Iranian student had radioactive metal in his bag

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:30:00 +0800

Ears prick up around the world at any news involving radioactivity and Iran. The most recent story broke on Friday, when Russia's customs service announced that it had stopped an Iranian man bound for the Iranian capital, Tehran, with 18 pieces of radioactive metal packed in steel pencil cases in his luggage. The material had triggered radiation detectors at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

What was the radioactive material in the man's luggage and what is it normally used for?

It was sodium-22, an isotope used to make internal organs and tumours show up in medical PET scanners, and also to determine the thickness of metals and calibrate radiation measurements.

Was it part of a plot to make a bomb?

Unlikely. Mark Hibbs, a non-proliferation expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank based in California, says he discussed the incident on Saturday with "extremely senior" security staff at the White House. "The talks convinced me the sodium had no weapons use whatsoever", he says. "If it had been for weapons, we wouldn't have found out about it."

The material would be little use for a dirty bomb aimed at scattering radioactive contamination, as its emissions die fairly quickly, with a half-life of 2.6 years.

But is Iran trying to make a bomb all the same?

The Iranian government denies it – but it probably could it if wanted to. Both inreports last month and in unpublished assessments, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran has the know-how and enough fuel-grade uranium to make four nuclear bombs, if it enriches the uranium further. It has already enriched 80 kilograms of it to one step short of weapons grade.

Why would Iran need sodium-22, then?

Probably for medical use. The Tehran Research Reactor, where Iran makes its own medical isotopes, is out of fuel, and although Iran says it will soon make its own, "the production line isn't working yet", says David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security, a think tank in Washington DC that watches Iran.

Why was the man taking it out of Russia in his luggage?

"Iran is a magnet for isotopes dealers, and Russia is a major supplier," says Hibbs.

Sodium-22 can be imported into Iran legally because of its medical uses, he says. The man might simply have been dodging the costly export permit.

The incident happened a month ago, and the Iranian, a dental student, was released after what the Iranian ambassador to Moscow called "a misunderstanding" – although apparently without his radioactive stuff.

How did it get through?

The real question raised by the incident is how much radioactive material like this breezes unimpeded through airports less vigilant, or well-equipped, than Moscow's. There's enough of it about: in September the IAEA reported 172 incidents of radioactive material going astray just in the past year, including 46 attempts to steal, smuggle or sell it, and 10 where it wasn't recovered.

Sixteen incidents involved the plutonium or highly enriched uranium that can be used to make bombs. Last year in Washington DC governments agreed to take better care of their stocks – but the agreement lacked teeth.

How was it detected?

Moscow would have spotted the sodium-22, which emits gamma rays, with a detector similar to a Geiger counter, says Hibbs. These were installed in several Russian airports by a US-Russian programme in the 1990s to lock down nuclear material after the fall of the Soviet Union. But they aren't routine everywhere, says Jason Woods of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, because "if you stopped everything with gamma rays, you'd hold up a lot of shipments".

For example, US airports scanned flights from Japan after the Fukushima nuclear accident this year and found gamma rays coming from cargo onflights to Chicago and Dallas. The source turned out to be ordinary medical equipment.

Moreover, "there are big holes in export controls worldwide", says Hibbs, especially outside the Nuclear Suppliers Group of 46 mostly rich countries.

What is being done to stop other forms of radioactive material being smuggled?

The IAEA is developing better handheld detectors to spot different kinds of radiation. Neutron detectors, meanwhile, can spot plutonium without being distracted by legitimate gamma emitters. The US wants to install them at land transport hubs, seaports and airports worldwide.

The problem, says Woods, is that current detectors use helium-3. "It's shy a neutron, so it's hungry for them and good at picking them up," he says. But US production of helium-3 is 8000 litres per year, and the detector programme needs 60,000. Last year Russia stopped exporting it.

Moreover, says Woods, helium-3 is irreplaceable for work in ultra-low-temperature physics and medical uses such as lung imaging. "It should be kept for that," he says, and told the US Congress so earlier this year. Congress agreed: the detector programme is on hold while equipment manufacturers develop alternatives based on boron-10.

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/

2 Navy Pilots Among Dead in Murder, Suicide

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:39:00 +0800

Two Navy pilots and the sister of one of them were among four people killed in an apparent New Years Day murder-suicide on the wealthy island of Coronado off the coast of San Diego, officials say.

The two F/A-18 pilots were in training at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, the base said. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office initially posted on its website that the pilots were both 25-year-old males and that a third male among the dead was a 31-year-old resident of nearby Chula Vista.

The county office later took the information off the website, according to the Reuters news service.

Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday when responding to a call about shots being fired at the residence.

Though officials have yet to identify all the dead, the Navy confirmed for The Associated Press that David Reis, 25, of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and his sister Karen Reis, 24,were among the four.Their father, Tom Reis of Bakersfield, told AP that he didn’t know who else was living in the condo of the wealthy seaside community where his son was staying.

"He just had his first F/A-18 flight," Tom Reis said. "Oh man, he loved it."

David Reis held a mechanical engineering degree from the University of New Mexico. Karen Reis graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2009 and stayed in the area, coaching volleyball and working at a grocery store.

"It's still a shocker," said Rebecca Bailey, 26, who played college volleyball with Karen Reis and later coached with her at a high school and club program. Karen Reis graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2009 and stayed in the area, coaching volleyball and working at a grocery store.

"This kind of thing doesn't happen to people like her and David. Their family is the family everybody wants to be a part of. They're just so loving, and there's so much love in their family."

"She has a really great spirit and knows how to make things fun," Bailey said.

The remaining victims were another 25-year-old Navy man and a 31-year-old man from Chula Vista, authorities said. Their names were not immediately released.

Officials found a dead man in the doorway to the three-story condo and the bodies of two men and a woman inside in different parts of the structure.

It was not immediately clear how the four people died. However, authorities previously said they did not believe there were any outstanding suspects.

Messages left Monday with Navy Region Southwest and the San Diego County sheriff's homicide detail were not immediately returned.

Neighbor Don Hubbard said he was awakened by the shots that he thought were fired by New Year's revelers. He went back to sleep, but two hours later got a phone call and heard SWAT teams swarming the area.

Hubbard, a retired Navy commander, said he saw the body of one man in the condo doorway and recognized him as his neighbor - a Navy pilot receiving training at Miramar.

"I knew these guys were pilots because I was one and we'd talk about airplanes," Hubbard said. "Even now, you say, how could this have happened? What the hell is going on here?"

The condo is located a few blocks from the famed Hotel del Coronado and a block from the main street lined with boutiques and restaurants.

Coronado is home to Naval Air Station North Island and is a haven for Navy retirees. Homicides are extremely rare in Coronado - just one was recorded in 2010.

Source: Military.Com

Iranian Nuclear Scientist Killed in Car bombing in Tehran, Iran

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 21:44:00 +0800

(CNN) -- It's a question many people inside Iran -- and those who watch the country closely around the world -- were asking Wednesday: Who is killing nuclear scientists in Iran?

An explosion on Wednesday killed Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a top official at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant, Iranian officials said.

He is the third man identified as a nuclear scientist to be killed in Iran in a mysterious explosion in the past two years. A fourth survived an assassination attempt.

In each case, someone placed a bomb under the scientist's car.

Iranian officials, on state-run media, blame Israel and the United States.

"I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday.

"We believe there has to be an understanding between Iran, its neighbors and the international community that finds a way forward for it to end its provocative behavior, end its search for nuclear weapons and rejoin the international community and be a productive member of it," she said.

While Israel generally refuses to comment on accusations and speculation , Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, said on his Facebook page Wednesday, "I have no idea who targeted the Iranian scientist but I certainly don't shed a tear."

Mickey Segal, a former director of the Iranian department in the Israel Defense Forces' Intelligence Branch, told Israel Army Radio that Wednesday's attack was part of broader pressure being brought to bear on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime. "Many bad things have been happening to Iran in the recent period. Iran is in a situation where pressure on it is mounting, and the latest assassination joins the pressure that the Iranian regime is facing," Segal said.

With no one claiming responsibility, the killings remain shrouded in mystery. Iran experts contacted by CNN could only speculate.

"The most likely contender among people who are following this is that the Israelis are doing it, possibly in cooperation with the Iranian mujahedin," said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian-American Council and author of the book "A Single Roll of the Dice: Obama's Diplomacy with Iran."

"There's almost no downside for Israel," he said. The killings "take out nuclear assets and embarrass Iran" by showing that the regime can't prevent such attacks, Parsi said. And "if Iran retaliates with a violent act, then Israel can point to it as a reason to take military action against the regime."

Michael Rubin, resident scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, agrees that Israeli involvement is the most "plausible" scenario. And Mark Hibbs, senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also said the way the attacks took place "would be consistent" with the possibility of Israel acting with cooperation inside Iran.

Parsi told CNN he does not believe the killings are the work of the United States, and said they do not match the kind of activity U.S. intelligence would carry out in a country with which there is no declared state of war.

Rubin agreed, and gave a different reason. "Frankly, I don't think the United States has the human intelligence knowledge," he said.

The United States and Israel have been the most vocal opponents of Iran's nuclear program, although numerous countries have expressed serious concern as well. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian energy purposes.

If Israel is cooperating with the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) to carry out attacks on Iranian nuclear officials, it faces a significant risk, Parsi argues. The United States lists the MEK as a terrorist group. "Israel is a victim of terrorism and pressing other states to take measures against terrorism," Parsi noted. If it turns out to be collaborating with a group on the U.S. list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Israel's efforts to get other countries to crack down on terrorist groups could be damaged.

MEK, an Iranian opposition group, has support from some members of Congress who say it should be removed from the terrorist list.

Several analysts said they are certain that, whoever is organizing the killings, Iranians are involved.

If Iranian leaders had a "clue" who is behind the killings, "they'd have stopped this by now," said Daniel Serwer, Middle East Scholar with Johns Hopkins University. "The incredible thing is that it continues. That suggests it is Iranians doing the deeds, no matter who is the sponsor. Foreigners are under pretty tight scrutiny in Iran these days."

But Hibbs, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said he believes Israeli agents could be inside Iran.

Whoever's behind the attacks knows who the nuclear officials are, and the specifics of their travel plans. That could be foreign governments with intelligence assets in Iran, Hibbs said.

But it's also "conceivable this could be carried out by Iranians who oppose the government even without the support of outside governments," Hibbs said.

The nuclear program "is a centerpiece for Iran, a very, very important aspect for this regime," he said. Groups inside Iran dedicated to overthrowing the regime would have reason to target the program, he said. "This is a program which is right at the heart of the legitimacy of this government."

Rubin, of the American Enterprise Institute, said there is another "plausible" explanation: that "Arab intelligence services" are involved.

"The assumption that many Americans have that the Mossad," Israel's foreign intelligence unit, "is the most skilled intelligence service" in the Middle East is "a couple of decades out of date," he said.

Some intelligence services in the Arab world "could have recruited Shiites" in the region, potentially in Iraq, to take action against the nuclear program, he said.

There is also some speculation that the Iranian regime itself could have been involved in at least one of the killings.

The first, in January 2010, left university professor and nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi dead in a car bomb. That attack came shortly after major riots against the regime, and many people thought the regime was behind that killing, Parsi said.

Mohammadi "did not seem to be a particularly valuable nuclear target," he said. Some reports suggested Mohammadi was an outspoken supporter of the "green movement," and had helped organize protests, Parsi said.

But the man killed in November 2010, Majid Shahriari, and the one who survived an assassination attempt at the time, Fereydoon Abbasi Davani, were a different story. It "would make no sense for the Iranians to assassinate them," Parsi said. "They were critical nuclear assets."

No matter who is behind them, the attacks do not seem to be reversing Iran's efforts, said Parsi. "Arguably, the incentive for the Iranians to go forward with what they have has grown, because now they're under such critical threat," he said.

But there are suggestions that the overall pressure being applied against Iran, including international sanctions, for its failure to cooperate on nuclear issues is making some scientists wary of adding their efforts. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency earlier this week quoted Davani, now the head of Iran's nuclear program, describing as "deserters" in a "scientific war" the "scientists who, for the sake of preserving their international connections, refuse to cooperate in (our) nuclear projects."

The killings of Iranian scientists have come up on the campaign trail in the United States among contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. Newt Gingrich, at a debate in November, expressed support for the idea of "taking out their scientists." Rick Santorum, at an event in October, referred to the scientists turning up dead as "a wonderful thing."

Roshan's killing comes amid growing tensions between Iran and the West. U.S. officials say the international sanctions on Iran have taken a toll. Iran earlier this week sentenced a U.S. ex-Marine to death on charges of espionage, despite statements by him, his family, and the U.S. government that he is not a spy.

Source: CNN NEWS

SEAL Team 6 Members Perish When Taliban Shot Down NATO Helicopter

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Mon, 8 Aug 2011 03:26:00 +0800

U.S. Chinook helicopters leave after a security handover ceremony in Panjshir province July 24, 2011. NATO troops handed over security responsibility to Afghan forces in the northeastern province of Panjshir on Sunday, capping an initial transition phase early after it was deemed a ceremony was not needed to mark Afghan control of districts around Kabul.

More than 20 SEAL Team 6 members perished in a helicopter crash when Taliban insurgents shot down a NATO Chinook troop transport, possibly with a rocket-propelled grenade over eastern

The Associated Press reported that the Taliban claimed they downed the helicopter with rocket fire while it was taking part in a raid on a house where insurgents gathered in the province of Wardak late Friday.

A senior U.S. administration official in Washington told the news agency the helicopter was seemingly shot down by insurgents.

In all, 38 people were killed: 31 U.S. special operation troops - including the SEALs ‑ and seven Afghans, according to reports.

It is said that the U.S. special forces were on a mission to rescue another team of military personnel pinned down by insurgents, a U.S. military official told CNN.

The elite and secretive Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden in May in a raid in Pakistan. The recent death of some of the SEALs and other service members is the most deadly single incident for U.S. forces fighting the decade-long war.

NATO confirmed the overnight crash happened and that there "was enemy activity in the area," according to AP, which reported that the agency is investigating the cause and conducting a recovery operation at the site.

"We are in the process of accessing the facts," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman to The AP. The news agency added that none of the deceased participated in the SEALs mission that killed Bin Laden, but they were from the same unit as the team that carried out the raid.

President Barack Obama has said the crash is a reminder of the "extraordinary sacrifices" being made by the U.S. military and its families. He also offered condolences to the Afghans who died alongside the troops.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai also offered his condolences to the victims' families.

SOURCE: http://uk.ibtimes.com/

Helo Shot Down, Killing 30 US Troops, 8 Afghans

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Mon, 8 Aug 2011 02:47:00 +0800

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite Navy SEALs unit that killed Osama bin Laden, as well as seven Afghan commandos, U.S. officials said. It was the deadliest single loss for American forces in the decade-old war.

The downing Saturday was a stinging blow to the lauded, tight-knit SEAL Team 6, months after its crowning achievement, and was also a heavy setback for the U.S.-led coalition as it begins to draw down thousands of combat troops fighting what has become an increasingly costly and unpopular war.

None of the 22 SEAL personnel killed in the crash were part of the team that killed bin Laden in a May raid in Pakistan, but they belonged to the same unit. Their deployment in the raid in which the helicopter crashed would suggest that the target was a high-ranking insurgent figure.

Special operations forces, including the SEALs and others, have been at the forefront in the stepped up strategy of taking out key insurgent leaders in targeted raids, and they will be relied on even more as regular troops pull out.

The strike is also likely to boost the morale of the Taliban in a key province that controls a strategic approach to the capital Kabul. The overnight raid took place in the Tangi Joy Zarin area of Wardak province's Sayd Abad district, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Kabul. Forested peaks in the region give the insurgency good cover and the Taliban have continued to use it as a base despite repeated NATO assaults.

The Taliban claimed they downed the helicopter with a rocket while it was taking part in a raid on a house where insurgents were gathered in Wardak overnight. Wreckage of the craft was strewn across the crash site, a Taliban spokesman said.

A senior U.S. administration official in Washington said it appeared the craft had been shot down. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the crash is still being investigated.

"Their deaths are a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the men and women of our military and their families, including all who have served in Afghanistan," President Barack Obama said in a statement, adding that his thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who perished.

The U.S.-led coalition said 30 American service members, a civilian Afghan interpreter and seven Afghan commandos were killed when their CH-47 Chinook crashed in the early hours Saturday. A current U.S. official and a former U.S. official said the Americans included 22 SEALs, three Air Force combat controllers and a dog handler and his dog. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because military officials were still notifying the families of the dead.

Geneva Vaughn of Union City, Tennessee, told The Associated Press on Saturday that her grandson Aaron Carson Vaughn, a Tennessee native, was one of the SEALs who was killed.

Jon Tumilson of Rockford, Iowa, was also among the SEALs killed in the attack, his father George Tumilson told The Des Moines Register.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the number of people killed in the crash and the presence of special operations troops before any other public figure. He also offered his condolences to the American and Afghan troops killed in the crash.

The deaths bring to 365 the number of coalition troops killed this year in Afghanistan and 42 this month.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that the helicopter was involved in an assault on a house where insurgent fighters were gathering. During the battle, the fighters shot down the helicopter with a rocket, he said.

The casualties are believed to be largest loss of life in the history of SEAL Team Six, officially called the Navy Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU. The team is considered the best of the best among the already elite SEALs, which numbers 3,000 personnel.

The death toll surpasses the previous worst single day loss of life for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001 - the June 28, 2005 downing of a military helicopter in eastern Kunar province.

In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed when their craft was shot down while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban. Three of the SEALs being rescued were also killed and the fourth wounded.

Afghanistan has more U.S. special operations troops, about 10,000, than any other theater of war. The forces, often joined by Afghan troops, carry out as many as a dozen raids a night and have become one of the most effective weapons in the coalition's arsenal, also conducting surveillance and infiltration.

From April to July this year, special operations raids captured 2,941 insurgents and killed 834, twice as many as those killed or captured in the same three-month period of 2010, according to NATO.

The coalition plans to increase its reliance on special operations missions as it reduces the overall number of combat troops.

Night raids have drawn criticism from human rights activists and infuriated Karzai, who says they anger and alienate the Afghan population. But NATO commanders have said the raids are safer for civilians than relatively imprecise airstrikes.

The loss of so many SEALs at once will have a temporary impact on the tempo of missions they can carry out, but with an ongoing drawdown of special operations forces from Iraq, there will be more in reserve for Afghan missions.

The site of the crash, Tangi, is a particularly dangerous area, the site where many of the attacks that take place in the province are planned, said Wardak's Deputy Gov. Ali Ahmad Khashai. "Even with all of the operations conducted there, the opposition is still active."

The U.S. army had intended to hand over its Combat Outpost Tangi to Afghan National Security Forces in April, but the Afghans never established a permanent base there. "We deemed it not to be stategic and closed it," said coalition spokesman U.S. Army Maj. Jason Waggoner. "The Taliban went in and occupied it because it was vacant."

Western military commanders have been debating moving forces from other areas in Afghanistan to reinforce troops around the capital and in the east, where the Taliban is often aided by al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Earlier this year, the U.S. military closed smaller outposts in at least two eastern provinces and consolidated its troops onto larger bases because of increased insurgent attacks and infiltration from the Pakistan border.There have been at least 17 coalition and Afghan aircraft crashes in Afghanistan this year.

Most of the crashes were attributed to pilot errors, weather conditions or mechanical failures. However, the coalition has confirmed that at least one CH-47F Chinook helicopter was hit by a rocket propelled grenade on July 25. Two coalition crew members were injured in that attack.

source: Military News

Syrian government resigns

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 23:21:00 +0800

(CNN) -- The Syrian government resigned Tuesday amid an unusual wave of unrest that has roiled the nation, state TV reported.

President Bashar al-Assad accepted the resignations Tuesday, the same day that tens of thousands of Syrians poured onto the streets of Damascus to demonstrate in favor of the government.

A new government should be named in a few hours, said Reem Haddad, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Information Ministry.

Meanwhile, the president plans to make "a very important speech" on Wednesday, she said. The speech will "reassure the Syrian people," the state-run SANA news agency has reported.

The pro-government rally on Tuesday followed violent clashes between protesters and security forces in the cities of Daraa and Latakia in recent days. At least 37 people have been killed since last week, according to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Syria is the latest in a string of Arabic-speaking nations beset with discontent over economic and human rights issues. Syria's discontent is centered Daraa, a southern city in the impoverished country's agricultural region, where security forces and anti-government protesters have sporadically clashed for nearly two weeks.

Many demonstrators at the pro-government rally held posters of the president. Others waved Syrian flags, while some painted their faces and chests in national colors.

Crowds filled the square in front of the Central Bank and jammed all roads leading to it, aerial pictures on state TV showed.

There were also pro-government rallies in the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Hasaka, the broadcaster said.

source: CNN news

Gadhafi's son was on U.S. internship until crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:39:00 +0800

Washington (CNN) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's youngest son, who runs the country's elite special forces for his father's regime, was on an internship program in the United States when public unrest exploded in Libya last month.

Khamis Gadhafi abruptly cut off his visit and returned to Libya, where he has led the 32nd Reinforced Brigade, known at the Khamis Brigade, in its brutal suppression of rebel forces.

The brigade's headquarters was the target of six Tomahawk missiles overnight, according to Vice Adm. William Gortney of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gortney described the brigade as "one of the most active in terms of attacking innocent people."

Libya's state TV on Monday night broadcast live footage from Gadhafi's Tripoli compound of Khamis Gadhafi dressed in uniform and greeting people. Prior to the broadcast there had been unconfirmed reports that the younger Gadhafi had died from injuries he suffered when a plane flown by a disgruntled Libyan pilot crashed into a military compound while he was there.

ABC News was the first to report Khamis Gadhafi's recent stay in the United States.

The month-long internship was sponsored by AECOM, a global engineering and design company based in Los Angeles, and with the assistance of the State Department.

AECOM has business dealings with Libya.

The younger Gadhafi traveled from coast to coast meeting with high-tech companies, universities and defense contractors. His itinerary included stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Colorado, Chicago, Houston, Washington and New York City.

Khamis Gadhafi left the United States for Libya on February 17.

Paul Gennaro, the senior vice president and chief communications officer for AECOM, issued a statement saying, "The educational internship, which consisted of publicly available information, was aligned with our efforts to improve quality of life, specifically in Libya, where we were advancing public infrastructure such as access to clean water; quality housing; safe and efficient roads and bridges; reliable and affordable energy; and related projects that create jobs and opportunity."

Gennaro said the company was "shocked and outraged" to learn of Khamis Gadhafi's role in the Libyan crisis. "We were aware of the student's family relationship, but we were not informed of any military connection whatsoever," Gennaro said. It was the company's understanding that Khamis Gadhafi was an MBA student from an accredited university in Spain. "The student was positioned to help oversee improvements in Libya's quality of life and infrastructure initiatives, which the country had been advancing since 2007," he said. The U.S. State Department was aware of and approved all the meetings, Gennaro said.

According to Gennaro, AECOM did not provide any funding for either Khamis Gadhafi or the internship program.

Since 2008, AECOM has been involved in a multibillion-dollar initiative with Libya to modernize the country's infrastructure. The company withdrew all its expatriate employees and their families from Libya earlier this month. The joint project to train Libyan engineers to build and maintain homes, roads and water systems is on hold.

source: CNN NEWS

Why Libya 2011 is not Iraq 2003

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:18:00 +0800

Editor's note: Peter Bergen is the director of the national security studies program at the New America Foundation in Washington; a fellow at New York University's Center on Law and Security; and CNN's national security analyst. He is the author of the new book, "The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda."

(CNN) -- A critique of the U.S. involvement in the military intervention in Libya that will no doubt be common in coming days is that the Obama administration is making a large error by embarking on a war with a third Muslim country, as if reversing Moammar Gadhafi's momentum against the rebels will be a rerun of the debacle of the war against Saddam Hussein.

A further element of this view is that -- whatever the outcome of the Libyan intervention -- the United States' standing in the Islamic world will once again be severely damaged by an attack on a Muslim nation.

There are, of course, some real similarities between Hussein and Gadhafi -- both ruthless and erratic dictators of oil-rich regimes who fought bloody wars with their neighbors, brutalized their own populations, sought weapons of mass destruction, and sired some equally unattractive sons and heirs.

The déjà vu quality of the Libyan situation may help account for recent polls taken before the intervention which found that while Americans were either split or slightly in favor of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, most were opposed to stronger U.S. military action.

But the military intervention that President Obama authorized against Libya on Saturday-- eight years to the day after President George W. Bush announced the commencement of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" -- is a quite different operation than the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Beyond the obvious difference that Obama has not authorized the use of U.S. ground forces in Libya, there are several other differences to consider:

First, the Obama administration was handed a gift by the Arab League, which in its more than six-decade history has garnered a well-earned reputation as a feckless talking shop, but unusually took a stand one week ago by endorsing a no-fly zone over Libya.

That endorsement put the Arab League way out in front of the Obama administration, which was then dithering about whether to do anything of substance to help the rebels fighting Gadhafi.

The unexpected action by the Arab League gave the administration the impetus and diplomatic cover to then go to the United Nations Security Council to secure a broad resolution endorsing not only a no-fly zone, but also allowing member states to "take all necessary measures" to protect civilians in Libya.

This U.N. resolution is reminiscent of the one that President George H.W. Bush secured in November 1990, which gave Iraq six weeks to withdraw from Kuwait following Hussein's invasion of that country. The U.N. resolution in 1990 similarly empowered states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait if Hussein ignored the deadline.

The similarities do not end there. The coalition that massed to drive Hussein out of Kuwait involved significant forces from major Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. So too the Libyan no-fly zone will be enforced by Qatar, along with western powers such as France and the U.K.

This is all quite in contrast to George W. Bush's ineffectual attempts to gather international support for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. There was no U.N. resolution explicitly authorizing the use of military force against Hussein, and no Muslim countries participated in the American invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Indeed, before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Turkish parliament voted against allowing American troops passage across Turkey to invade northern Iraq, which put a wrench in U.S. military planning.

Underlining the fact that the Iraq War was widely viewed as illegitimate by Muslim countries, the same year that Turkey voted against allowing American soldiers to use its soil to attack Iraq, Turkish soldiers were also leading the International Security Assistance Force helping to keep the peace in post-Taliban Afghanistan, a military operation that was also authorized by the United Nations and was not seen as illegitimate by much of the Muslim world.

The Bush administration's largely unilateral decision to go to war in Iraq (the U.K. and a few other nations provided troops) undermined America's standing in Islamic countries. A poll taken a few months after the 2003 invasion found that Indonesians, Jordanians, Turks, and Moroccans all expressed more "confidence" that Osama bin Laden would "do the right thing" than that Bush would.

According to a poll four years later, America's favorability ratingstood at 9% in Turkey (down from 52% before September 11, 2001) and 29% in Indonesia (down from 75% before September 11).

Finally, another key difference between the Iraq war and the Libyan operation is that the casus belli for Iraq was based on highly classified intelligence accessible to few people -- later proved to be wrong -- that Saddam Hussein continued to maintain a weapons of mass destruction program. By contrast, the Libyan intervention was caused by the real time evidence provided by the world's leading media organizations -- including, of course, Al Jazeera -- that Gadhafi is massacring his own people.

The high level of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world that was generated by the Iraq War is unlikely to be replicated by U.S. military action against Libya, because Gadhafi is widely reviled in the Arab world. His antics on the world stage have earned him the enmity of even his fellow autocrats -- who will not be welcoming him if he chooses to "retire" to Saudi Arabia as other murderous dictators of his ilk have in the past (think Idi Amin).

And the fact that both the Arab League and the United Nations have endorsed a military action against Gadhafi strongly suggests that the Libyan intervention will not generate a renewed wave of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world.

Instead, it underlines a striking feature of the protests that have roiled the Middle East in the past several weeks: Strikingly absent from those protests has been the ritualized burning of American flags, something that hitherto was largely pro forma in that part of the world. That's because Arabs have finally been able to express publicly that their biggest enemy is not the United States, but their own rulers.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peter Bergen.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/

Libya attack photos -RAF strikes against Gaddafi's forces branded 'a success' as bombed out tanks and cars litter the roads near Benghazi

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 01:08:00 +0800

Burnt out tanks and cars belonging to forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi today littered the road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah.

The RAF proclaimed the start of hostilities a success just hours after British and American warships unleashed cruise missiles against Libya as the world finally lost patience with the dictator.

Tornado jets, submarines and stealth bombers fired 112 Tomahawk missiles and dropped explosives on 20 coastal locations as Gaddafi's men tried to take control of rebel-held Benghazi.

Stormshadow missiles were launched from GR4 fast jets which had flown 3,000 miles from RAF Marham in Norfolk and back - the longest range bombing since the Falklands.

David Cameron today pronounced the action was 'legal and right'.

RAF Tornado jets launch 3,000-mile missile assault from Norfolk
Arab league criticises strikes for going beyond the international agreement and killing civilians
94 people reported to have died in Gaddafi's strike on Benghazi
Italy says it will do whatever it can to free crew of tugboat captured off the coast in Tripoli
Cameron says 'what we are doing is necessary, legal and right'
Chancellor George Osborne says no ground troop invasion on the cards 'at the moment'
Three US B-2 stealth bombers dropped 40 bombs on Libyan airfields
112 Tomahawk missiles fired at Libyan air-defence by coalition troops

Full force: A huge explosion engulfs several cars with Gaddafi forces today as the full allied assault gets underway

Aftemath: A bus burns on the outskirts of Benghazi while the road to Alwayfiyah is littered with burnt out tanks

A tank belonging to Gaddafi forces explodes in a ball of flames after an air strike by allied forces

The head of the Arab League has criticized international strikes on Libya, saying they caused civilian deaths. The Arab League's support for a no-fly zone last week helped overcome reluctance in the West for action in Libya. The U.N. authorized not only a no-fly zone but also "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.

Amr Moussa says the military operations have gone beyond what the Arab League backed. He said: 'What we want is civilians' protection not shelling more civilians.'

Russia called for a stop to the 'indiscriminate' use of force that it said had killed civilians and that the air strikes went beyond the mandate of the UN Security Council resolution.

Alexander Lukashevich foreign ministry spokesman for the Kremlin said that U.S. and European air raids had killed 48 civilians and a medical centre was partially destroyed. Russia also announced this afternoon that it was evacuating some of its diplomatic staff and citizens from Tripoli through Tunisia in the coming days.

Italian officials said on Sunday that they would do whatever it takes to free the crew of an Italian tugboat apparently seized by Libyan officials at Tripoli's port as U.S. and European airstrikes enforced a no-fly zone over Libya

A bombed out tank hit in what is believed to have been a French airstrike

A huge explosion follows an air strike this morning hitting vehicles along the road from Benghazi to Ajdabiyah

Rebel fighters soon arrived at the scene of the bombings

A man celebrates while shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest!) as a huge explosion follows a direct hit. Meanwhile a rebel fighter shows official government documents found at the scene of an attack

The "Asso 22" tug of the Naples-based shipping company Augusta Offshore SrL has eight Italian, two Indian and one Ukrainian crew members aboard, state-run RAI television said. Armed men, including one believed to be the Tripoli port commander, detained the crew as Libyan workers aboard were disembarking Saturday and prevented the vessel from leaving port, the report said.

Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said Sunday that Italy was prepared to evacuate the crew "with every possible means".

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the situation was fluid and confusing, but that he couldn't exclude that it amounted to a seizure. He said Eni, Italy's oil and gas giant which has significant interests in Libya, had rented the tug for use at oil platforms off the coast.

'Now they're taking it to the base of an Eni refinery,' Frattini said. 'We don't know what their intentions are, but we obviously can't exclude that we're dealing with a seizure, given that it's still a confused situation.'

Colonel Gaddafi today branded the allied attacks 'terrorism' and Libyan officials said that 64 people had been killed as a result of the aerial bombardment.

He also said that Libyan forces on the ground would be victorious, adding he would never leave the country and claimed to be arming a million people to defend him and the capital, Tripoli.

A Royal Navy Trafalgar-class submarine stationed in the Mediterranean took part in the co-ordinated assault, which also involved forces from the U.S., France, Italy and Canada under the operational control of US Africa Command.

A British nuclear-powered submarine was among the vessels in the Mediterranean that targeted Gaddafis defences near Tripoli and the town of Misurata.

Outside Tripoli it is believed that an Italian tugboat has been seized earlier today with several people on board. Italian officials have said they will do whatever it takes to free the crew

Rejoicing: Rebels today show they are happy that coalition forces have enforced the no-fly zone

The assault was led by the United States, which also has Tomahawk-equipped submarines in the region. Chancellor George Osborne said this morning: 'We are not considering ground forces at the moment.

'We are undertaking operations from our Navy, through the submarine-launched cruise missiles and the RAF and the Tornado planes the flew missions last night.'

He added: 'We are there to enforce a cease fire and protect the civilian population,' he said. 'We are not there to put an occupying force into the country.

'This is all about creating the space for the Libyan people to take their own decisions for the future and not be under vicious military assault from their own government.

Four tanks destroyed by the allied aerial assault continue to smoulder in al-Wyfiyah 35 km West of Benghazi

Vehicles belonging to forces loyal to Gaddafi burn after the air strike by coalition forces on a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah

'I don't think the Libyan government and Colonel Gaddafi should be in any doubt that we will enforce the will of the United Nations.'

Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: 'The fast jets flew 3,000 miles from RAF Marham and back, making this the longest range bombing mission conducted by the RAF since the Falklands conflict.

'This operation was supported by VC10 and Tristar air-to-air refuelling aircraft as well as E3D Sentry and Sentinel surveillance aircraft.'

Dr Fox said HMS Westminster was off the coast of Libya, and HMS Cumberland was in the region ready to support operations. Typhoon aircraft were also standing by to provide

· If your country doesn't stop Gaddafi today he will kill all of us - and he will kill you too...

· MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Sending in the warplanes is the easy part

· Ronald Reagan was famously known as The Great Communicator but paralysis over Libya has landed Barack Obama with the title The Great Vacillator

· PETER HITCHENS: Why can't we just let the Libyans fight it out (...and then make friends with the winners)

· The Battle of Benghazi: City seemed lost to Gaddafi forces but was retaken by rebels

· British cameraman among four journalists captured by Gaddafi fighters in Tripoli

A rebel fighter makes a victory as he walks amid the aftermath of an allied attack on pro-government forces

A Libyan man holds ammunition gathered from the bodies of Gaddafi loyalists

Last night, the US Pentagon reported that 112 Tomahawk missiles had been fired from both US and British ships and submarines in Operation Odyssey Dawn while three B-2 stealth bombers from the U.S. have dropped 40 bombs on Libyan airfields. He added: 'Our capable and adaptable armed forces are once again displaying their courage and professionalism. This action has provided a strong signal - the international community will not stand by while the Libyan people suffer under the Gaddafi regime.'

A spokesman said: ˜The missiles struck more than 20 integrated air-defence systems and other defence facilities ashore. These strikes were carefully co-ordinated with our coalition partners.

The targets themselves were selected based on a collective assessment that the sites either pose a direct threat to the coalition pilots or, through use by the regime, pose a direct threat to the people of Libya.

I want to stress that this is just the first phase of what will likely be a multi-phased military operation designed to enforce the United Nations resolution and deny the Libyan regime the ability to use force against its own people.

He added that most of the locations targeted were on or near the coast. The British submarine involved in the operation, codenamed Operation Ellamy by the UK military, was the 130-crew HMS Triumph. It can carry up to 30 weapons, including Tomahawk missiles and heavy torpedoes.

The Royal Navy bought 65 Tomahawks in 1995 at a cost of $1 million (Â£650,000) each from US defence firm Raytheon Systems. Two American destroyers, the USS Barry and Stout, have been deployed. According to a Pentagon source, each carries up to 96 Tomahawk missiles.

The charred remains of cars belonging to dozens of Gaddafi loyalists litter the sides of roads on the outskirts of Benghazi

A rebel fighter looks at burning vehicles belonging to Gaddafi forces

Two amphibious assault ships, the USS Ponce and Kearsarge, carrying 1,600 Marines, anti-missile defence systems and helicopter fleets, were also off the Libyan coast, as was the command support vessel USS Mount Whitney. An aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, equipped with dozens of fighter planes, was reported to be heading for the area.The total number of Tomahawks in our inventory is classified but I dont think theres any danger of running out, the spokesman said. ˜The bigger danger is we know virtually nothing about whos going to control Libya after we wipe out Gaddafi.

As the attacks began yesterday, Libyan state TV claimed that˜civilianâ targets in Tripoli were being bombarded by planes of crusader enemies. It later added that the international coalition had also 'targeted fuel storesâ for Misurata, which Gaddafis forces attacked with tanks and heavy artillery on Friday, killing more than 40 people.

Gaddafi appeared on TV to say he was opening up munition stores to the people. He said: It is now necessary to open the stores and arm all the masses with all types of weapons to defend the independence, unity and honour of Libya.

Last night there were reports of loud explosions east of Tripoli amid unconfirmed reports that the Tomahawks had successfully hit Gaddafis air traffic control installations and aircraft hangars.

It followed a day of high drama in which tanks and armoured vehicles were also destroyed in air strikes by French warplanes after pro-Gaddafi forces attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in violation of the UN resolution.

About 20 French Rafale and Mirage warplanes were involved in the first phase of the operation. France last night denied that one of its aircraft had been shot down. The French were quick to acknowledge the success of their own role.Yes, we have destroyed a number of tanks and armoured vehicles, said a French official.

It was later reported that four Libyan tanks had been hit to the south-west of Benghazi. The final decision to launch military action was taken at an emergency summit in Paris attended by world leaders, including David Cameron, who declared that the time for action has come.

Along with European and North American allies, a number of Arab nations signed up to a communique pledging all necessary action to bring an end to the grave and massive violations of humanitarian law being committed by Gaddafi.

Countries including Canada, Denmark, Spain and Norway were sending planes while Italy said it would permit the use of air bases such as Sigonella in Sicily and Aviano in the north to launch sorties

An elderly rebel fighter gestures in front of a destroyed tank while the turret of a tank belonging to Gaddafi forces lies on the ground after an air assault

At war: The U.S. navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer launches a Tomahawk missile at Libyan air defences in Operation Odyssey Dawn

A Tomahawk missile launches from USS Stout as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn

British jets are performing a range of tasks, with RAF Tornados aiming at targets on the ground, Typhoon fighters performing air combat sorties, and AWACS planes and Sentinel R1s helping with mapping the ground and reconnaissance. It is understood they will be based in southern Italy under the overall command of the United States naval base in Naples.

Three US submarines carrying Tomahawk missiles were in the Mediterranean poised to bombard Libyas air defences and runways to enforce the no-fly zone, according to a defence official.

Signalling the start of the international offensive, French warplanes took off in the afternoon from their base at Saint-Dizier in eastern France. The French aircraft fired the first shots at 4.45pm.

At RAF Marham in Norfolk, Tornado GR4 bombers were prepared by ground crews from early morning. Lorries carrying missiles were taken to the shelters where the Tornados are housed. Shortly after 8pm, a pair of GR4s were seen preparing to take off.

Similar preparations were made at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, where Typhoons were spotted yesterday.

Two 1,500mph Tornado jets from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland were flown to Marham just before 11.30am to join the massive build-up. Later, two warplanes, F-15 Strike Eagle ground-attack jets, took off from nearby Lakenheath, from where US planes left in 1986 to bomb Libya.

Meanwhile, Canada has committed six F-18 fighter jets. Spain is deploying a submarine, a frigate and a surveillance plane.

Night vision: Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from USS Barry in the Mediterranean Sea

Lockerbie bomber flees Tripoli

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi was among thousands evacuated in Libya yesterday.

The 58-year-old was moved from his family home in Tripoli to a secure unit.We know targets are already being worked out by the West, and Brother Al Megrahi is certain to be high on the list, said an impeccably placed source within Gaddafis regime, which views the bomber as a national hero.

The source, who helped negotiate the convicted murderers 2009 release from a Scottish prison, added: It would make life very easy for the West if Al Megrahi was no longer a problem we will do everything we can to protect him.

Plain-clothes police and armed soldiers were still visible around Al Megrahis home in the New Damascus district of Tripoli, but neighbours confirmed he had been moved.The government does not want him here it is too dangerous, said one.

Military strike is 'necessary, legal and right,' says Cameron

A sombre David Cameron stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street last night and praised the bravery of British forces who have gone into action to crush Colonel Gaddafi.

The U.S. military said 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from American and British ships in the first phase of Operation Odyssey Dawn.

Britain, the U.S., France, Canada and Italy were all launching strikes in the biggest international military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 Iraq war.

Strike force: Tornado GR4 bombers at RAF Marham yesterday

Speaking on his return from a Paris war summit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, David Cameron vowed to stop this dictator who murders his own people.

He hailed British airmen and sailors involved in the first waves of attacks last night as the bravest of the brave.

Tonight British forces are in action over Libya, he said. They are part of an international coalition that has come together to enforce the will of the United Nations and to protect the Libyan people.

We have all seen the appalling brutality that Colonel Gaddafi has meted out against his own people. And far from introducing the ceasefire he spoke about, he has actually stepped up the attacks and the brutality that we can all see.

So what we are doing is necessary, it is legal and it is right. It is necessary because with others we should be trying to prevent him using his military against his own people.

It is legal because we have the backing of the UN Security Council and also of the Arab League and many others. And it is right because I believe that we should not stand aside while this dictator murders his own people.

Longtime Libyan leader Gaddafi vowed to defend his country from what he called 'crusader aggression' and warned the involvement of international forces will subject the Mediterranean and North African region to danger and put civilians at risk

Scrambled: A Rafale jet fighter leaves Saint-Dizier, eastern France

Thousands of regime supporters, meanwhile, packed into the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp in Tripoli where Gaddafi lives to protect against attacks.

He said the international action against his forces was unjustified, calling it 'simply a colonial crusader aggression that may ignite another large-scale crusader war.'

A UK submarine is understood to have been stationed in the Mediterranean for some time without being detected.

Earlier in the day, speaking at the Paris war summit heralding the start of military action, the Prime Minister pledged to stop the slaughter of Libyan civilians by the Gaddafi regime. He sent an uncompromising message to the Tripoli government as he joined Mr Sarkozy and Ms Clinton at the Elysee Palace.

Mr Cameron said: What is absolutely clear is that Gaddafi has broken his word, broken the ceasefire and continues to slaughter his own civilians.

This has to stop, we have to make it stop. We have to make him face the consequences. So I think it is vitally important that action takes place and takes place urgently.

There will always be unforeseen consequences of taking action but it is better to take this action than to risk the consequences of inaction which is the further slaughter of civilians by this dictator.' flouting the United Nations and its will.

With the United Nations behind us, with the clear legality of this action and with local countries supporting us as well, it is right to act.

Cameronâs diplomatic triumph over Libya was secured by deliberately rejecting Tony Blair s tactics over the Iraq War.

Throughout the bargaining of the past three weeks, the Prime Minister has been acutely aware of the controversies that have dogged his predecessor since the 2003 invasion.

Tellingly, at a specially convened Cabinet meeting on Friday morning, Mr Cameron circulated the advice of Attorney General Dominic Grieve showing that the UK had aclear and unequivocal legal basis for taking action.

It all formed a striking contrast to the rows that raged between Mr Blair and his Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, in the run-up to the Iraq War. Mr Goldsmith advised

Mr Blair that a single UN resolution was not sufficient to authorise force, but he was overruled, and Mr Blair fought for years to keep his advice secret.

President Sarkozy said the international community was acting to protect the people of Libya from the murderous madness of a regime which by killing its own people has forfeited legitimacy.

The official communique released after the summit warned the Libyan dictator that the countries were determined to take all necessary action, including military to enforce the UN no-fly zone resolution.

The statement was signed by a number of Arab nations, as well as countries including Canada, Denmark, Spain and Norway. Italy said it would permit the use of air bases such as Sigonella in Sicily.

Mrs Clinton, in the spotlight while President Obama is in Brazil, said that the US would use its unique capabilities to support the air missions, which US officials indicated would involve missile attacks on Libyas air defences by US warships stationed in the Mediterranean.

Speaking from Brazil, President Obama said: The use of force is never our first choice. But we cannot stand idly by while a tyrant says that there will be no mercy.

Actions have consequences.

GHADAFI'S GIRLS CLICK LINK : WORLD OF STORY

U.S. aviators rescued; Gadhafi remains defiant

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 14:57:00 +0800

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- As Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi crowed, "I do not scare," the United States Tuesday got back two crew members whose F-15E fighter jet malfunctioned and said it will be able to hand over command of the coalition that has hammered loyalist military positions over four days.

Meanwhile, fighting raged in Misrata, east of the capital, where a witness claimed Gadhafi has placed snipers on the tops of buildings.

Also Tuesday, the commander of U.S. Naval forces in Europe and Africa said multinational air strikes would continue until Gadhafi complies with a United Nations mandate to stop attacking civilians.

Americans "are going to be satisfied that lives were saved" by the U.S. military action, President Barack Obama said during a visit to El Salvador. He said the timetable for a transition of military leadership will be coming in days, rather than weeks.

Gadhafi vowed Tuesday to emerge victorious in his battle with international forces seeking to impose a no-fly zone in his country and to halt his forces from attacking civilians

"We will not give up," he said to a crowd of supporters, many of them waving green flags in a speech broadcast on state television. "They will not terrorize us. We are making fun of their rockets. The Libyans are laughing at these rockets. We will defeat them by any method."

He said Libyans "are leading the international war against imperialism, against despots and I tell you, I do not scare."

Gadhafi is violating the U.N. Security Council resolution by "continued aggressive actions his forces have taken against the civilian population," U.S. Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear III said.

Locklear also spoke about the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle that had flown from Aviano air base in Italy to Libya, where the fighter experienced mechanical problems. Both the pilot and the weapons officer ejected and were rescued within hours -- one retrieved by the U.S. military, the other by anti-Gadhafi Libyans.

The aviators, who suffered minor injuries when they landed, were both out of Libya and in U.S. hands, Locklear said.

The U.S. military dispatched a pair of Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft from the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, about 100 miles off the coast of Libya, to rescue the downed aviators, said Capt. Richard Ulsh, spokesman for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

But the two men landed in different places when they parachuted, and the U.S. rescue crew was able to pick up only the pilot. He was flown to the Kearsarge, which has extensive medical facilities.

Libyan rebels recovered the second crew member and treated him with "respect and dignity" until coalition forces were able to reach him, Locklear said.

Residents in the area, some of whom witnessed the crash, told CNN they combed farmlands to search for the two Americans. They also expressed their gratitude to coalition members for the United Nations-authorized coalition attack on Libyan air defense targets meant to protect civilians.

Locklear said he would investigate reports villagers were injured when allied forces opened fire during rescue operations.

"The recovery mission from my perspective was executed as I would have expected it to be given the circumstances," he said.

Criticism and questions persist about the Libyan campaign, with no clear answer on who will take over command of the military operation and what the endgame or exit strategy will be. But U.S. officials said the international mission has succeeded in halting Gadhafi's momentum.

Locklear told reporters that initial military strikes by the French, followed by attacks by Britain and the United States, have rendered Gadhafi's long-range air defenses and his air force largely ineffective. And the Libyan opposition's newly formed administration urged the international community to continue enforcing the U.N. charter.

"The interim national council has called on the international community to take all forceful deterrent measures, based on the U.N. charter and international covenants, to help the Libyan people put an end to further crimes against the humanity," the statement from the Transitional National Council said.

Missiles rained down Tuesday and anti-aircraft fire pierced the night sky in Tripoli hours before dawn.

The Libyan government took international journalists to a port area that appeared to have been damaged by missile strikes that left craters 15 feet deep. A destroyed mobile rocket launcher system lay smoldering. Several warehouses were hit.

The United States fired 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya during a 12-hour period, said military spokeswoman Cmdr. Monica Rousselow. A total of 162 Tomahawks have been fired by the United States and Britain since the start Saturday of Operation Odyssey Dawn, which includes enforcement of a no-fly zone. The operation has included 212 U.S. and 124 sorties.

The international operation has targeted air defense sites and command centers, but Gadhafi himself has not been targeted, and there are no plans to kill the leader, said Gen. Carter Ham, the head of U.S. forces in Africa.

"I could see accomplishing the military mission, which has been assigned to me, and the current leader would remain the current leader," he said. "We think we have been very effective in degrading his ability to control his regime forces."

Ham said no Libyan aircraft have been observed flying since the military operations began Saturday. And air attacks have stopped Libyan ground forces from approaching the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

But fighting raged in Misrata, a city under siege two hours east of Tripoli.

Four children in the same family were among 13 civilians killed in Misrata fighting Tuesday, said Dr. Khaled Mansouri of Misrata Central Hospital. About 30 people were injured, he told CNN.

The death toll from the clashes between Gadhafi forces and rebels in the city stands at 90 over the last five days.

An opposition spokesman who would give only his first name, Mohamed, told CNN the situation in the city is dire and worsening by the hour as Gadhafi forces have taken control of the main street that leads from the city center to a highway that connects Misrata to Tripoli.

Loyalist snipers are on the top of buildings, he said.

The hospital is running out of medical supplies and are turning patients away, he said. "I have seen a man whose broken arm is hanging being discharged because of lack of space," said Mohamed, who said he would not divulge his full name because of concern for his safety. He said the city has been without water and electricity for nine days.

Violence has raged in Libya following protests calling for democracy and demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year rule. Protesters have been met by force from the Gadhafi regime, and numerous world leaders -- including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- have denounced the killings of civilians by Gadhafi's troops.

The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution Thursday that allows member states "to take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country ... while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory." It also imposed a no-fly zone.

Barak Barfi, a research fellow with the New America Foundation, said "it's certainly clear" that the allied coalition has stymied the onslaught of Gadhafi troops against rebels in eastern Libya.

"Before the decision in the U.N. was taken Thursday, it seemed like Gadhafi was going to overrun the opposition in a matter of days," he said.

But "it's unclear if the rebels can form under any type of organized command and move forward now that the airstrikes have taken away Gadhafi's offensive capabilities," Barfi said Tuesday. "It's unclear at this point in time who would take control after Gadhafi leaves. We know that there are really no state institutions in Libya."

A former Gadhafi aide told CNN Tuesday that the Libyan strongman would not go down easily.

Abubaker Saad said Gadhafi has several bunkers deep underground and is likely hiding in one of them.

"As you probably all have noticed that now he is giving all of his statements by phone to the Libyan television," Saad said.

Obama said that once leadership of the military mission in Libya shifts from the United States to the coalition, "it is not going to be our planes maintaining the no-fly zone" and "it is not going to be our ships that are necessarily enforcing the arms embargo."

There has been intense debate among the allies over NATO's role going forward.

The natural choice to coordinate "Operation Odyssey Dawn" would seem to be NATO with its experience leading and coordinating international coalitions, but U.S. and European officials tell CNN that some allies, especially French President Nicolas Sarkozy, are concerned the action in Libya could be perceived negatively as another NATO operation in another Arab country.

Another complication is how to consolidate Arab support. The United States expects additional Arab support for the coalition enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday.

So far, Qatar is the only Arab country that has contributed planes to mission.

The official said that several Arab states are in the process of finalizing their plans, adding the Obama administration was "confident we will have further concrete contributions of different kinds" for enforcement of the resolution in the next two to three days.

Source: CNN's Nic Robertson, Arwa Damon, Amir Ahmed, Jilly Doughtery, Elisa Labott, Diana Magnay and Chris Lawrence contributed to this report

Army Apologizes for Afghan Abuse Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:56:00 +0800

German magazine Der Spiegel yesterday released an article and several troubling photos of an alleged U.S. army "kill team" posing with corpses of dead Afghanis. The U.S. Army quickly apologized "for the distress these photos cause."

On Sunday, Der Spiegel published photos and a feature story relating to an alleged drug-addled "kill team" in Afghanistan. The indicted U.S. soldiers allegedly murdered innocent Afghanistan civilians in 2010. One particularly shocking photo shows Specialist Jeremy Morlock and Private Andrew Holmes holding the head of an unarmed Afghan man the newspaper identifies as Gul Mudin.

(Warning: the photos linked to in this article contain graphic and horrific content, viewer discretion is advised).

Another photo depicts two dead Afghan civilians, chained to a pillar with handcuffed hands.

Der Spiegel claims to have more than 4,000 photos and videos relating to these incidents. As Al Jazeera explains, these photos "were covered by a judicial order from a military court prohibiting their dissemination, and it was unclear how the newspaper obtained them."

The U.S. Army apologized for the photos, saying in a statement: "Today Der Spiegel published photographs depicting actions repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States Army. We apologize for the distress these photos cause."

Morlock, on trial for murdering Afghani civilians, signed a plea deal, agreeing to testify against other indicted members of his squad in exchange for no more than 24 years in prison. As the New York Daily News reports, "He agreed to plead guilty to three counts of murder, as well as charges of conspiring to commit murder, conspiring to assault a fellow soldier, trying to impede an investigation and using hashish."

How did the soldiers plan these incidents? As Der Spiegel explains about one incident, which has been reconstructed based on documents from the investigation, "the soldiers themselves detonated a hand grenade in order to make it look like they were the subjects of an attack before killing a man. One of those who allegedly participated, Adam Winfield, 21, described the incident to his father in a chat on the social networking site Facebook. 'They made it look like the guy threw a grenade at them and mowed him down,' SPIEGEL quotes Winfield as having written in the chat."

The Der Spiegel article states 12 men are also facing further charges of desecration of corpses, illegal possession of photos of corpses, drug abuse and acts of bodily injury against comrades.

Time Running Out to Find Vietnam MIAs

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0800

With increasingly few of their families left alive and acidic soil eating into their buried remains, time is running out to find the last Americans listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War.

But for the head of a relatives' group, giving up is not an option.

"We need to act now," said Ann Mills-Griffiths, executive director of the National League of POW/MIA Families, whose brother has been missing since September 1966 when his Navy aircraft disappeared over North Vietnam.

Almost four decades after the end of U.S. combat involvement in the Southeast Asian nation, few parents of about 1,700 missing Soldiers and Airmen are still alive and siblings are often in their 60s.

Witnesses are also aging, their fading physical and mental abilities limiting their ability to assist in investigations.

Mills-Griffiths, 69, was in Hanoi for talks that ended at the weekend with Vietnamese officials about a "renewed effort" to open up archival records which could provide vital clues as to what happened in some of the cases.

She was optimistic that the records would be made available, with "very good commitment" from the Vietnamese during the talks.

"But we're running out of time," warned Mills-Griffiths, who has made about 30 trips to Vietnam as head of the families' group.

The U.S. and Vietnam have cooperated on investigations into missing American servicemen since 1985 -- "the bridge," she says, which led to a normalization of diplomatic relations 10 years later.

While Vietnamese authorities have been very helpful on individual cases, Mills-Griffiths said the U.S. would like broader access to archives related to areas along the Laotian border "where we have many, many losses."

"We know their record-keeping was almost of a scientific nature," said Richard Childress, a Vietnam veteran who is senior policy adviser to Mills-Griffiths.

Investigations are handled by the Hawaii-based Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), which conducts research, witness interviews and field analysis at sites in Vietnam where remains of missing servicemen are suspected to be.

The Americans work alongside a Vietnamese liaison team and when they have enough evidence, separate JPAC crews are called in to dig and try to find the remains -- which is where time is also against them.

"There's a lot of acidic soil in this area. In fact, it has eaten away at the remains and there are smaller and smaller pieces to recover," said Mills-Griffiths.

At the same time, scientific advances mean that, particularly with dental remains, there is a very high chance of individual identification, she told AFP.

Hanoi says about 300,000 of its own soldiers are still listed as missing from the war.

Of the American MIAs, about 1,300 cases are in Vietnam. Most of the rest, in Cambodia and Laos, were in areas under Vietnamese control, Mills-Griffiths said.

Two years ago, Hanoi proposed stepping up the pace and scope of searches but budget delays in Congress have limited the U.S. ability to respond, Mills-Griffiths said.

If eventually approved, the fiscal 2012 budget includes "a significant increase" for JPAC that would allow it to deploy more teams, she said.

This year, JPAC plans four month-long missions for investigation and excavation, with one under way now.

The remains of some servicemen will never be found but Mills-Griffiths said her league seeks the "fullest possible" accounting, so family members know all efforts have been made to clarify the fate of loved ones.

Mills-Griffiths estimates the U.S. has spent "countless millions" of dollars on the effort.

"I'm sure some people might think that it's like an exercise in looking at the past," she said, but "if I become captive or missing, I want to know somebody is there to return me to my family and to the country that I served."

Mills-Griffiths said that because of her position, she has never discussed the case of her brother, Lt. Cmdr. James Mills, with the Vietnamese.

"What has kept me involved all this time is not the fact that I have a brother who's missing. What's kept me involved is the principles of it, and knowing it's the right thing to do, for a nation to do."

U.S. fighter jet crashes in Libya

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:46:00 +0800

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- A U.S. Air Force fighter jet crashed in Libya after experiencing an equipment malfunction, but both crew members ejected safely and are now out of Libya and in U.S. hands, the U.S. military and a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday.

A pilot and weapons officer aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle had flown from Aviano Air Base in Italy to Libya when the fighter experienced problems, the U.S. military command for Africa said in a statement. Both pilots ejected, the statement said.

The pilot and weapons officer suffered minor injuries but landed safely in Libya, the military said.

A U.S. military plane picked up the pilot, a senior defense official said. Libyan rebels recovered the second crew member and "took good care of him" until coalition forces "could come get him," the official said.

Both crew members are out of Libya, the official said.

The jet was based out of the Royal Air Force base at Lakenheath, England. It flew to Libya as part of a coalition attack on Libyan air defense targets meant to protect civilians in that country. The action was authorized by the United Nations Security Council.

The crash was "not due to enemy or hostile actions," said Kenneth Fidler, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command.

It came after a U.S. official said an international mission to weaken the force of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has stopped the ruler's momentum. But criticism and questions about the operation persist, with no clear answer on who will take over command of the military operation and what the end game or exit strategy will be.

Missiles and anti-aircraft fire pierced the night sky in Tripoli hours before dawn broke Tuesday, the fourth day of the multinational effort to protect civilians from attacks by pro-Gadhafi forces.

The United States fired 20 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya in the past 12 hours, a military spokeswoman said early Tuesday morning. A total of 159 Tomahawks have been fired by the United States and the United Kingdom since Operation Odyssey Dawn started Saturday. The mission includes enforcement of a no-fly zone.

Cmdr. Monica Rousselow also said one of the three U.S. submarines that participated at the beginning of the operation has since departed the area. She declined to say which submarine.

The international operation has targeted air defense sites and command centers. But Gadhafi himself has not been targeted, and there are no plans to kill the leader, said Gen. Carter Ham, the head of U.S. forces in Africa.

"I could see accomplishing the military mission, which has been assigned to me, and the current leader would remain the current leader," he said.

"We think we have been very effective in degrading his ability to control his regime forces."

Ham said no Libyan aircraft have been observed flying since the military operations began Saturday. And air attacks have stopped Libyan ground forces from approaching the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Violence has raged in Libya following protests calling for democracy and demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year-long rule. Protesters have been met by force from the Gadhafi regime, and numerous world leaders -- including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- have denounced the killings of civilians by Gadhafi's troops.

The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution Thursday that allows member states "to take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country ... while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory." It also imposed a no-fly zone.

Barak Barfi, a research fellow with the New America Foundation, said "it's certainly clear" that the allied coalition has stymied the onslaught of Gadhafi troops against rebels in eastern Libya.

"Before the decision in the U.N. was taken Thursday, it seemed like Gadhafi was going to overrun the opposition in a matter of days," he said.

But "it's unclear if the rebels can form under any type of organized command and move forward now that the airstrikes have taken away Gadhafi's offensive capabilities," Barfi said Tuesday. "It's unclear at this point in time who would take control after Gadhafi leaves. We know that there are really no state institutions in Libya."

Gadhafi -- who has not spoken publicly since he promised a "long-drawn war" with "the new Nazis" on Sunday -- has announced a cease-fire. But bloodshed Monday in Misrata indicated a very different reality, according to an opposition spokesman.

The spokesman, Mohamed -- who would not divulge his last name due to concern for his safety -- said Monday the destruction in the key city was "unimaginable" and that Misrata was bombarded heavily over the past four days by forces loyal to Gadhafi.

"He keeps talking about a cease-fire, but he hasn't observed that for one minute here," Mohamed said.

Based on what he saw at a hospital, Mohamed said Monday's death toll among civilians at the hands of pro-Gadhafi forces was 15. Another 51 civilians died in weekend attacks by pro-Gadhafi forces, Mohamed said.

Gadhafi opponents have expressed gratitude for the foreign intervention. Anti-Gadhafi residents in Benghazi said loyalist forces would have massacred them if they had been able to enter the city.

The international military coalition focused Monday on extending the no-fly zone to al-Brega, Misrata and then to Tripoli, a distance of about 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles).

Air forces from France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Britain flew missions to maintain a no-fly zone over Benghazi, Ham said.

Canadian and Belgian forces joined coalition forces Monday, he said, and aircraft carriers from Italy and France have added "significant capability" in the region.

The United Arab Emirates had been prepared to send two squadrons to participate in the international effort, said Maj. Gen. (Staff) Pilot Khaled Abdullah Al-Buainnain -- the former commander of the Emirates' air force and air defense. However, he said, those plans have changed due to criticism by the United States and the European Union of the Gulf Cooperation Council's deployment of troops to help the monarchy stabilize Bahrain.

The UAE has chosen not to take a military role in Libya until Washington and the European Union clarify their position on the use of troops in Bahrain, but it will contribute to the humanitarian effort in Libya, Al-Buainnain said.

About 80 sorties were flown Monday -- more than half of them by air forces representing countries other than the United States, Ham said.

But support for the attacks was not universal. The Russian government said the mission has killed innocent civilians and urged more caution. India, China and Venezuela have also spoken out against the airstrikes.

The Libyan government said over the weekend that 48 people -- mostly women, children and clerics -- have died in allied attacks.

U.S. Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, however, has said there is no indication of any civilian casualties. And France -- which conducted the first strike in Libya on Saturday when fighter jets fired at a military vehicle -- also disputed claims of civilian deaths.

The United States has said it wants to hand over leadership of the military operation in the coming days. But it's unclear to whom the reins will go.

NATO could command the coalition's no-fly mission in Libya, but some Arab nations are hesitant to fly under a NATO banner -- and that has held up the move, said one official who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of negotiations.

"NATO has the capability to do a rapid switchover," the official said. "The problem is, they have to do everything by consensus."

If Arab nations don't sign on to a NATO mission, another option would be to create an ad-hoc command-and-control structure piece by piece, the defense official said. But that, the official said, would take time.

source:

CNN's Nic Robertson, Arwa Damon, Ivan Watson, Virginia Nicolaidis, Pam Benson, Yousif Basil, Charley Keyes, Chris Lawrence, Jill Dougherty, Elise Labott, Paula Newton, Richard Roth, Jenifer Fenton, Niki Cook and journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report

Libyan military calls for cease-fire amid allied successes

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:54:00 +0800

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The Libyan military on Sunday called for an immediate cease-fire after allied forces pounded a convoy near Benghazi and, according to U.S. officials, were "very effective in significantly degrading the regime's air defense capability."

The second day of Operation Odyssey Dawn, meant to enforce a United Nations-mandated no-fly zone, also showed success at an Misrata area airport that has both civilian and military uses, said U.S. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney.

Three B-2 bombers struck only military positions at the airfield, he said.

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told CNN the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi have shown little ability to counter coalition firepower.

The alliance of U.S., European and Arab countries likely won't rely on the word of the Libyan military, which according to its spokesman Milad al Fuqhi, "issued command to all military units to safeguard immediate cease-fire everywhere."

"As with previous cease-fire announcements, we have to wait and see if it's genuine," U.S. Africa Command spokesman Vince Crawley told CNN. "We urge the Libyan government to do everything it can to demonstrate its sincerity."

There was violence across the country Sunday, with Gadhafi apparently shelling rebels in the west while allied airstrikes destroyed one of Gadhafi's convoys in the east, according to rebels.

As of Sunday night local time, the United States and British military had fired a total of 124 Tomahawk missiles at Libya's air defense sites, Crawley told CNN.

Gadhafi had said the strikes were a confrontation between the Libyan people and "the new Nazis," and promised "a long-drawn war."

"You have proven to the world that you are not civilized, that you are terrorists -- animals attacking a safe nation that did nothing against you," Gadhafi had said in an earlier televised speech.

Gadhafi did not appear on screen during his address, leading CNN's Nic Robertson in Tripoli to speculate that the Libyan leader did not want to give the allies clues about his location.

Throughout the address, an image of a golden fist crushing a model plane that said "USA" filled the screen -- a monument in Tripoli to the 1986 American bombing of Libya, in which one U.S. plane was downed.

At the same time Gadhafi spoke, his regime was shelling Misrata using tanks, artillery and cannons, a witness said.

"They are destroying the city," said the witness, who is not being identified for safety reasons. He said rebels were fighting back.

Sounds of heavy gunfire could be heard during a telephone conversation with the man. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Meanwhile, a senior doctor at the medical center in Benghazi confirmed Sunday that 95 people were killed and an unknown number injured in Saturday's assault on the city by pro-Gadhafi forces.

Doctors there also reported a shortage of supplies, especially emergency supplies.

On Sunday, more rebel checkpoints were noticeable throughout Benghazi, and searches there were much more diligent. The opposition fear attacks from Gadhafi supporters among their population.

French Defense Minister Thierry Burkhard said the coalition's aim continues to be support for the civilians.

On Sunday, the French forces did not open fire at all because it was not necessary, he said. The previous day, French planes fired and hit four tanks.

CNN's Arwa Damon saw the remains of a convoy of at least 70 military vehicles destroyed by multiple airstrikes Sunday, leaving at least five charred bodies, plus twisted tanks and smashed trucks as far as she could see.

Rebels with Damon told her it was a convoy of Libyan troops loyal to Gadhafi coming to attack Benghazi.

Mullen said there would be continuous allied air cover of Benghazi.

The no-fly zone is effectively already in place, he said on CNN's "State of the Union," adding that air attacks by coalition forces have taken out most of Libya's air defense systems and some airfields.

The international military coalition targeted air defense positions near the capital, Tripoli, for a second day Sunday.

Also on Sunday, the Arab League -- whose call for a no-fly zone was an essential piece of the diplomacy leading to the United Nations resolution -- held an emergency meeting about the bombardment.

Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa told reporters before the meeting that what is happening in Libya is different from what was intended by imposing a no-fly zone, according to Egypt's state-run Ahram newspaper.

"What we want is the protection of civilians and not the shelling of more civilians," Moussa said, adding that "military operations may not be needed in order to protect the civilians."

But Arab League chief of staff Hisham Youssef said Moussa's comments did not signify a shift by the organization.

"The Arab League position has not changed. We fully support the implementation of a no-fly zone," Youssef said. "Our ultimate aim is to end the bloodshed and achieve the aspirations of the Libyan people."

A spokesperson for the U.K. Foreign Office said that for the no-fly zone to be enforced, it was necessary to target Libyan air defenses.

"Unlike Gadhafi, the coalition is not attacking civilians," the spokesperson said. "All missions are meticulously planned to ensure every care is taken to avoid civilian casualties. We will continue to work with our Arab partners to enforce the resolution for the good of the Libyan people."

At least one Arab nation, Qatar, is making direct contributions to the allied airstrikes. The country made available four fighter planes, the French foreign minister said.

Some Libyans welcomed the American, French and British military forces.

Others remained fearful of Gadhafi.

Libyans are "afraid to come out because when they do, he attacked them very, very severely," a woman in Tripoli said Sunday. "This is putting terror in all neighborhoods."

Nineteen U.S. warplanes, including stealth bombers and fighter jets, conducted strike operations in Libya on Sunday morning, officials said.

A senior U.S. military official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the cruise missiles landed near Misrata and Tripoli.

Scores of missiles were fired in the predawn darkness Sunday, and the exact results of the mission were not immediately clear. The United States is expected to conduct a damage assessment of the sites.

In a statement broadcast on state TV Saturday, Gadhafi's military said the strikes killed 48 people --"mostly women, children and religious clerics." CNN could not immediately verify the claim.

But Russia said Sunday that innocent civilians were being killed, and urged more caution.

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow cited reports that "nonmilitary" targets were being bombed, including a cardiac center.

China's foreign ministry said Sunday that it did not agree with the use of force in international relations. And Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also denounced the military intervention.

"They (the United States) want to appropriate the oil in Libya; they don't care about anyone's life in that region," Chavez said.

Some residents said they could receive weapons to fight back.

"We received a phone call around 3 a.m. that everyone should head out in the streets," a woman in Tripoli said. "Normal civilians are being able to have machine guns and take anti-aircraft machine guns ... to fire back at the airplanes."

Violence has raged in Libya following protests calling for democracy and demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year-long rule. The protests have been met by force from the Gadhafi regime, and some members of his military defected to the opposition.

Another witness in Tripoli said she's terrified about how Gadhafi might respond to the airstrikes.

"We're scared. We're not sure what will happen next," she said. "To be honest, I'm scared for my life."

Source: CNN' NEWS

‘Punisher’ Gives Enemy No Place to Hide

noreply@blogger.com (Captain) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:00:00 +0800

A new Army weapon designed to target the enemy hiding behind barriers is being affectionately called "The Punisher" by Soldiers fighting in Afghanistan.

And by all accounts, the futuristic XM-25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System has been quite a rude surprise for the bad guys.

"I don't know what we're eventually going to call this product, but it seems to be game changing," said the commander of the Army's Program Executive Office Soldier, Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller, during a Feb. 2 briefing with reporters at the Pentagon. "You no longer can shoot at American forces and hide behind something. We're going to reach out and touch you."

After years of XM-25 development, last fall the 101st Airborne submitted an urgent request to field the weapon for troops on patrol in Afghanistan. In response the Army took the five weapons it had been testing at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., added 1,000 hand-made explosive rounds and shipped them to the war zone in October of 2010.

On arrival the XM-25 gave infantry squads the capability to precisely target bad guys hiding behind walls, in irrigation ditches, or among rocky escarpments. The Heckler & Koch-made XM-25 pairs a barrel-mounted targeting computer and a 25mm programmable air-bursting round that's fed precise range information just before being fired. A Soldier can simply push a button to range an enemy firing position, dial in one more meter, and the round will explode precisely where the bad guy is sitting.

"I had one lieutenant tell me that normally these engagements take us 15 or 20 minutes to get through, [but it's] several minutes when the XM-25 is involved. It's that quick," said the Army's top weapons buyer, Col. Doug Tamilio. "One major told me every time the XM-25 was involved in engaging enemy positions, firing stopped immediately."

So far the still-experimental XM-25 has stood up to the harsh combat environment of Afghanistan with "no maintenance issues," Tamilio said.

"To me that means we've got the ruggedness part of it right," he said.

Tamilio admitted that they need to make some tweaks to the weapon, including finding a new power source for the targeting computer that currently uses rechargeable batteries.

"We are learning some features that we do have to enhance," he added.

The five hand-made weapons have been field tested by two Army units so far and a third unit will get "The Punisher" next if the Army can find the money to buy more ammo, officials added, declining to be specific about which units will get the weapon.

"The kids are naming it ‘the punisher' because … a person can't hide anymore," PEO Soldier Fuller added. "Now I can go punish them for trying to engage me."

Officials say Soldiers aren't complaining about the nearly 13 pound weight of the XM-25 since it's been so effective. Gunners wielding "The Punisher" often opt for an M4 or a pistol for personal defense, but some carry no other weapon at all.

The Army wants to buy 36 more XM-25s -- which run about $35,000 each -- but the buy isn't fully funded. And the air bursting ammunition costs about $1,000 per round, but Tamilio claims that full rate production will drop the price to $35 per round.

Even in a tight fiscal environment with many high-dollar programs competing for scarce resources, many top Army officials say "The Punisher" is worth the investment.

"We're giving Soldiers a capability down range that's making a difference in terms of lethality," Tamilio said. "There are many times that weapon has disrupted attacks."

source: Military.com