(theCC)

S. Korea live fire drill may spark international incident

2012-01-28T14:19:00.001-05:00

27/01/2012 3:57 AM
Seoul (AFP) Jan 26, 2012 -

South Korean Marines Thursday staged a live-fire artillery drill on an island shelled by North Korea in 2010, the first such exercise since the death of Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong-Il last month.

"Our troops staged two-hour firing drills today" on two frontline islands -- Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong, a Marine spokesman told AFP.

A similar drill on Yeonpyeong in November 2010 provoked a North Korean artillery barrage which killed two Marines and two civilians and sparked international alarm.

"This is one of our routine and regular drills," the spokesman said, adding it had been planned well before Kim's death on December 17.

The firing drills near the disputed Yellow Sea border involve K-9 self-propelled guns, Vulcan cannon and other artillery, Yonhap news agency said.

Canadian CC-130J finish delivery...

2012-01-27T22:07:00.001-05:00

The 17th of 17 CC-130Js built for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) completed final painting this week. Following acceptance flights the aircraft is scheduled for delivery in early May. The aircraft is shown being piped from the paint hangar by Major Allan MacKenzie, the RCAF Detachment Commander at Lockheed Martin in Marietta. Canada’s new CC-130Js have already been deployed to support a wide range of missions and the completed fleet will give Canada extensive mission flexibility for decades to come.

US "Outside View", Strategic outlook 2012

2012-01-23T14:35:00.001-05:00

Washington (UPI) Jan 11, 2012 - Last week at the Pentagon, with the Joint Chiefs present, President Barack Obama unveiled the nation's newest defense strategy. To the administration's credit, the strategy was intended to set priorities to drive budgets, not the reverse. Unfortunately, as was the case three years ago with the President's Afghanistan-Pakistan study, the new strategy has several fundamental and potentially fatal flaws.
The new focus of the military strategy is Asia and the Middle East with a strategic pivot to the Pacific. Unfortunately, this construct is akin to building a stool with one or two legs.

A sounder approach is to identify where U.S. forces are and would be needed. Europe and the Southern Mediterranean; the Middle East; Southwest Asia; and the Pacific form those legs. Then, strategy must balance forces across these regions depending on circumstances and most importantly, American interests.

Further, by alluding to China (and Iran) as potential major threats, the strategy is setting potentially unrealistic military requirements. By comparison, Iran is about three times larger than Iraq in area and population (about 80 million), possessing a standing army of almost 600,000 and an irregular force several times that number. China is a dozen times more populous than Iran, and as former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates properly concluded, the United States would be insane to engage in a land war in Asia.

Second, the strategy failed to recognize military force, while necessary to achieving military aims, is not sufficient by itself to achieve many national security objectives. Afghanistan and Iraq are prime examples of the limitations of military force in producing political stability. Missing is the role of the other arms of government necessary to reinforce and complement the most capable military in the world.

As America draws down, diplomacy, intelligence, law enforcement, aid and assistance, and other non-military tools are vital. None were discussed. Hence, the inference is the United States will continue to rely too heavily on the Pentagon for broader national security goals beyond that department's competence or authority.

Third, the impression of a "one war" strategy was created. Obviously, Pentagon and operational commanders need scenarios to plan forces and budgets. But any force sizing structures are inherently susceptible to criticism.

It can be argued World War II was a large one-war scenario. In that war, 12 million Americans (about 10 percent of the population) served in uniform, and an equal number supported the war effort on the civilian side. The Kennedy administration embarked on a "2 1/2" war strategy in which the United States and its NATO allies would defeat the Soviet Union and Red China in separate conflicts while still being capable of fighting a "1/2" war. The half war turned out to be Vietnam. Even half a million troops could not win that half war.

Using numbers of wars or contingencies for planning purposes is understandable and practical. A better approach is to soften this quantitative approach by stating the United States needs to have the capacity to deploy concurrently two joint expeditionary forces of 75,000-100,000 to different parts of the world. Further, given the extraordinary advances in technology in which current and future weapons systems are far more capable than those they are replacing, fewer are needed.

Fourth, the new strategy assumes budget cuts of just under $500 billion over 10 years. Few believe this is realistic because, absent a crisis or conflict, further reductions are inevitable and likely to be larger. Historically after a drawdown, the nation spends about $400 billion a year (in current dollars) on defense -- about a two-fifths reduction from current levels.

Fifth, as a former naval person, the virtues of maritime power are real. But shifting to a "sea-air" bias in the Pacific is troubling. People do not live in the sea or the air. Wars are won or lost on the ground where people live. This reality must not be central even as ground forces are reduced, which they must be.

Last, details of implementing this strategy have to be determined. The good news is the senior military understands the need for "jointness" and for dampening the negative effects of interservice rivalries. However, after a decade of massive budget growth, no officers at senior levels have served at a time of serious budget reductions.

In this environment, big and bold ideas are crucial. Closer integration and mission specialization with allies and friends need to assume higher priorities. Steps to diffuse potential tensions with China such as greater military-to-military cooperation and even arms-control discussions are essential. And as tensions with Iran increase including possible airstrikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities, we must answer the question we failed to pose in Afghanistan and Iraq of "then what next?"

Key conclusion: One- or two-legged stools do not work!

(Harlan Ullman is chairman of the Killowen Group that advises leaders of government and business and senior adviser at the Atlantic Council in Washington.)

(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)

Su-35S - New Stealth Sukhoi

2012-01-22T20:58:00.001-05:00

Moscow (UPI) Jan 19, 2012 - Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi has flight tested its Serial Three Su-35S Flanker-E multipurpose jet fighter for the first time.
During the test Tuesday, which lasted more than two hours, the aircraft's propulsion and control systems were put through their paces and "proved to be flawless," the company said.

Additional details on the initial flight test have not been disclosed.

The Su-35S is based on the earlier Su-27 but with an improved airframe, two central digital computers, advanced avionics and new radar with phased array antennas.

The closest competitor aircraft to the Su-27, which was introduced into service in 1988, is the U.S. F-15 Eagle.

With increased fuel capacity, the range of the Su-35S is more than 2,200 miles.

The maximum speed at altitude is about 1,400 mph. Its ceiling is 59,000 feet.

Sukhoi said the Su-35S can detect aircraft out to a range of nearly 250 miles, farther than that of other combat aircraft.

The Generation 4++ fighter's radar can reportedly track simultaneously 30 aerial targets and engage eight as well as track four ground targets and engage two.

Weaponry carried by the Su-35 include a 30mm cannon, laser-guided and unguided bombs, anti-radar missiles, anti-aircraft missiles and missiles for use against maritime targets.

With reduced protruding sensors and application to the fuselage of special coatings, the Flanker-E has a reduced radar signature.

The first two Su-35S planes (Serial One and Serial Two) were delivered to a Russian government testing center in August and have already performed more than 400 test flights.

The testing has involved propulsion, aircraft maneuverability, stability and control, as well as functioning of the aircraft navigation system.

Sukhoi projects the service life of the aircraft as 6,000 flight hours and a planned operational life of 30 years.

Potential export customers of the SU-35 aircraft are said to include China, India, Malaysia, Brazil and Indonesia.

Japan and Israel F-35 squadrons, questions remain

2012-01-04T16:11:00.001-05:00

Tel Aviv, Israel (UPI) Dec 12, 2011 -

The Israeli air force is upgrading its Lockheed Martin F-16C/D jets amid growing concerns the delivery of 20 of the U.S. plane maker's problem-plagued F-35 stealth fighters ordered by the Jewish state will be delayed past 2017.
The Jerusalem Post reported Monday that worries about the F-35 are so pervasive that upgrading the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon variants, known as "Barak" in the air force, began in 2010 with the installation of new avionics and other systems.

That program has been expanded in recent weeks as part of a plan to extend the aircraft's operational lifespan.

The air force has around 100 F-16 C and D ground-attack models. It also has 106 F-16 A/B fighters and 101 F-16I Sufa jets, a more advanced model customized for Israel's operation requirements.

The Post reported that the air force is upgrading the F-16's flight control system as well as its central display unit in the cockpit. The aircraft will also be fitted with new high-resolution screens designed to improve the pilot's situational awareness.

Pilots will also be equipped with a display and sight helmet system, designed by Elbit Systems, Israel's leading military electronics maker. This enables pilots to aim their weapons simply by looking at targets.

The F-16s won't be stealthy like the F-35 Lightning, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, but their capabilities will be sufficiently enhanced that the air force will be able to maintain its long-held qualitative edge over its regional adversaries, particularly Iran.

The F-35 development program at Lockheed Martin has been repeatedly hit by delays and major cost overruns since 2002.

Israel's Defense Ministry signed a $2.75 billion contract with Lockheed Martin in August 2010 for 20 F-35s, enough for one squadron. Delivery of the aircraft was to commence in 2017, with pilots going to the United States for training in 2016.

But that timetable is in jeopardy. After cracks were discovered in some aircraft, the Pentagon is considering slowing development of the JSF.

"I believe it's wise to temper production for a while here, until we get some of these heavy years of learning under our belt and get that managed right," Vice Adm. David Venlet, the Pentagon's director of the F-35 program, said earlier this month.

Jane's Defense Weekly reported last week that a new U.S. Department of Defense technical report recommended slowing acquisition of the single-engine F-35 because of a "lack of confidence" in the stability of the aircraft's design.

Israel's Defense Ministry has budgeted for the purchase of another 20 F-35s for a second squadron under the military's multiyear procurement plan that begins in early 2012.

Ultimately, the Israelis want three squadrons of JSFs -- some 75 aircraft -- to form the spearhead of their airborne strike force.

The Pentagon has already approved the sale of 55 more of F-35s at an unspecified date.

Israel's big problem is that senior U.S. Air Force officers testified before Congress in November that the aircraft's development setbacks mean that it probably won't become operational with U.S. forces, including the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, until 2018.

Israel's air force commander, Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, recently met with his senior officers regarding the reports the Pentagon was considering slowing development of the F-35.

Aviation Week reported recently that the U.S. Air Force plans to upgrade more than 300 F-16s currently in service, as well as some Boeing F-15 Eagles, to fill the operational gap.

The Israeli decision to upgrade its F-16C/D aircraft as a stopgap until the F-35 deliveries start presumably means that the possibility of acquiring new F-15 Eagles and F-16s to carry the air force over until the new jets arrive has now been set aside.

The F-35 squadrons, when they do reach Israel, will be deployed at the sprawling Nevatim Air Base in the Negev Desert. This is currently the home of several F-16 squadrons.

Limiting foreign military bases in Asia

2011-12-27T11:55:00.001-05:00

Moscow (UPI) Dec 22, 2011 -

The seven member nations of a Russia-led military alliance this week agreed to rules limiting the presence of foreign military bases within their borders.

In what was seen as a blunt message to NATO and its efforts to deploy a European anti-ballistic missile defense system, the seven nations comprising the Collective Security Treaty Organization declared Tuesday at a Moscow summit that no members can agree to host a foreign military installation without the consent of the others.

News About Superpowers - China in the Indian Ocean

2011-12-21T18:05:00.001-05:00

Nairobi (AFP) Dec 20, 2011 - Little by little China is forming military links in Africa and in the Indian Ocean in order, experts say, to protect Beijing's economic interests in the region.
In the past three weeks Beijing has committed to supporting Ugandan forces operating in Somalia and to helping the Seychelles fight piracy.

"It is very clear that the Chinese leaders recognize that military force will play a bigger role to safeguard China's overseas interests," Jonathan Holslag, of the Brussels Institute of Chinese Contemporary Studies told AFP.

"There is a willingness, and even a consensus, in China, that this process will take place."

The Indian Ocean is strategic, Holslag said, noting that 85 percent of China's oil imports and 60 percent of its exports are routed via the Gulf of Aden.

Beijing does not so far have any military base in the region: its military presence consists of three vessels in the Gulf of Aden to fight Somali pirates.

But the deployment of those ships in 2009, the first of its kind for the Chinese navy, was already highly symbolic.

For the moment, cooperation between China and the islands of the Indian Ocean is still limited to "low profile military-to-military exchanges, but it is getting broader and more structured," Holslag told AFP.

"The mere fact that China has a multi-year naval presence in the Gulf of Aden has great symbolic and diplomatic significance," said Frans-Paul van der Putten, senior research fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael.

"Symbolic because it shows other countries that China is an emerging naval power in the region, and diplomatic because China uses its navy ships for occasional visits to ports along the Indian Ocean rim, which helps it strengthen its diplomatic ties with countries in the region," he added.

During an unprecedented visit by Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie earlier this month, the Seychelles asked China to set up a military presence on the archipelago to help fight piracy in the Indian Ocean.

Victoria is ruling out a military base but is looking rather at having "reconnaissance planes or patrol ships stationed" there, along the lines of what the US and Europe do, Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam said.

"China needs port infrastructure to supply its ships in the Indian Ocean, and covering a wider zone could make sense," said Mathieu Duchatel of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

With trade exchanges between China and Africa totalling 126.9 billion dollars last year, the stakes are sizeable.

Beijing's efforts to keep its trade safe are not confined to the high seas. On the African continent China has set up a raft of cooperation ventures in an attempt to secure its investment zones.

Somalia, which has been at war for the past two decades, is "of crucial importance for China," Holslag said.

Beijing has promised Uganda 2.3 million dollars towards covering the cost of its troops in the African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM).

"Not only is Beijing well aware that the failed state is a sanctuary for pirates that threaten its merchant and fishery fleet in the Indian Ocean; it also considers it to be an important source of instability and terrorism in other African countries where it has large economic interests," Holslag said.

He noted China "is making eyes at the oil reserves in Ethiopia" and private Chinese firms have started linking up the Ethiopian hinterland to the port of Berbera in the breakaway region of Somaliland.

"China has ... almost permanent exchanges with officials from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somaliland on security in the Horn," he said.

Both Washington and New Delhi, already concerned about China's activities in the Pacific, take a dim view of its ambitions in the Indian Ocean.

"It appears that, for now, the US and India are not very much alarmed by the relatively modest Chinese military activities in the Indian Ocean region," van der Putten said.

However "the US seems to welcome a greater Chinese involvement in addressing non-traditional security issues such as piracy, but is at the same time worried that China's growing international influence undermines US interests."

"In India there are concerns about a possible build-up of Chinese military power in the Indian Ocean," he added.

"This could ultimately affect the geopolitical balance between India and China, in particular with regard to the disputed parts of the Sino-Indian border and with regard to the relationship between India and Pakistan, a country with close ties to China."

-AFP

Tanks can cloak their infra-red visibility

2011-09-05T10:47:00.000-05:00

Tanks could soon get night time invisibility thanks to a cloaking device that masks their infra-red signature.

Developed by BAE Systems, the Adaptiv technology allows vehicles to mimic the temperature of their surroundings.

It can also make a tank look like other objects, such as a cow or car, when seen through heat-sensitive 'scopes.

Researchers are looking at ways to make it work with other wavelengths of light to confer true invisibility.

Hiding out

The hi-tech camouflage uses hexagonal panels or pixels made of a material that can change temperature very quickly. About 1,000 pixel panels, each of which is 14cm across, are needed to cover a small tank.

The panels are driven by on-board thermal cameras that constantly image the ambient temperature of the tank's surroundings. This is projected on to the panels to make it harder to spot. The cameras can also work when the tank is moving.

Its developers would not discuss exactly how the panels are heated and cooled.

Field trials of the thermal cloaking system showed that it made a tank resemble background scenery best from a distance of 300-400m.

BAE Systems has also produced a library containing the heat images of other objects, such as trucks, cars and large rocks, that can be projected on to the panels.

"Earlier attempts at similar cloaking devices have hit problems because of cost, excessive power requirements or because they were insufficiently robust," said Adaptiv project manager Pader Sjolund at BAE Systems in a statement.

By contrast, he explained, Adaptiv panels add to the armour on a fighting vehicle and consume relatively little power.

"We can resize the pixels to achieve stealth for different ranges," he added. "A warship or building, for instance, might not need close-up stealth, so could be fitted with larger panels."

BAE estimates that the technology could be ready to put into production in two years.

BBC : Israel's new missile defence in action

2011-04-08T15:31:00.000-05:00

Compared with the technology used by the Palestinians, it is like tossing an expensive BMW car into the air to knock down a basic Ford - Read

This describes the basic Problem with the entire western military complex... Hey let's buy stealth planes flying at 50,000 feet to kill mice when we could just feed some cats yogurt to catch them instead... Besides we'd have a house left standing too.

** Israeli new missile defence in action **
At first sight, Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system appears to be a game-changer in the struggle between the Israelis and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza, says the BBC's Jonathan Marcus.
< http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13013322 >

Russia ratified New START

2011-02-26T13:04:00.000-05:00

As expected, the Russian parliament ratified the New START treaty earlier this week - the Duma passed the resolution that approved the Federal Law on Ratification of the Treaty on January 25, 2011. The Federation Council, the upper chamber of the parliament, passed its approval resolution on January 26, 2011.

The final text of the ratification law is not much different from the draft that was submitted for the second reading two weeks ago. Most changes are editorial (like changing "realization of the treaty" to "implementation of the treaty"). Almost all of them would be lost in translation, so for most purposes the old translation (the one that I posted here orthe State Department's version posted at armscontrolwonk.com) should work fine.

Topol launch from Kapustin Yar

2011-02-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

Topol launch from Kapustin Yar

by Pavel Podvig on Dec 9, 2010 11:15 PM

On December 5, 2010 the Strategic Rocket Forcessuccessfully launched a Topol (SS-25) missile from the Kapustin Yar test site toward the Sary-Shagan test site in Kazakhstan. The launch took place at 22:11 MSK (19:11 UTC). According the Rocket Forces report, the launch was used to extend the lifetime of the missile, to test various military instrumentation equipment, and to test new "combat payload" for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The Sary-Shagan test site in Kazakhstan hosts a number of radars that were developed for missile defense and early-warning programs. Russia apparently uses launches to Sary-Shagan to test various missile defense countermeasures and maybe new types of reentry vehicles. The report on this launch suggests that Russia may have upgraded some radars or deployed new missile tracking equipment.
A similar launch was conducted in December 2009. At the time, the Rocket Forces announced that two "experimental launches of RS-12M [Topol]" from Kapustin Yar will be conducted in 2009. The December 2009 launch became the first and the current launch is apparently the second one in the series - the only other Topol launch in 2010 was conducted in October 2010 from Plesetsk.

China's J-20 stealth, bridging relations, or souring milk? - by Abinyah Walker

2011-02-26T12:59:00.000-05:00

It's official, stealth is the new "star wars". Since it's basically illegal to "weaponize space", why not find other ways to keep military spending growing at 10% a year?

Submarines, stealthly deadly but terrible in photoshoots, stealth planes however are elegant like the best supermodels of the nineties.

China, receving Gates on a three day visit to smooth relations, was shown one of China's closest guarded secrets, the J-20 Stealth Fighter.

A break through since the US, despite objections from China, sold weapons to Taiwan froze military relations for the past two years in protest.

"This kind of long-term tension is really bad for both sides and for mutual trust. The US aircraft carrier group "was designed to scare North Korea" after its forces shelled a South Korean island, "but it also showed that if China violates US or its allies' interests, America can deploy its military power without hesitation. If America cares about its relations with China it should avoid holding drills in such sensitive places," the paper quoted Xu Guangyu, a former People's Liberation Army general, as saying.

'US seeks to bridge military relations with China despite 'J-20

Iran 'shoots down Western spy drones', US spies on Iran

2011-01-02T12:41:00.001-05:00

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have shot down two "Western spy drones" in the Gulf, a senior Iranian commander has been quoted as saying.

There is no independent corroboration of the latest Iranian claims.

The Revolutionary Guard commander said that after shooting down the planes Iran had copied them and produced them in mass numbers through "reverse engineering."

In January 2007, Iranian MP Seyed Nezam Mola Hoveizeh told FARS that Iran had shot down a spy drone of the US army that was trying to cross the borders.

"Many" other drones have been shot down over an unspecified period of time, the Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

The head of the Revolutionary Guards' air force wing, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, produced no evidence to support the report.

"Americans send such spy drones to the region every now and then," the lawmaker further pointed out.

He said this was the first time news of the incidents had been reported.

The drones were mainly being used in Iraq and Afghanistan but "some violations against our soil" had also occurred, the commander said.

This video shows the potential collateral damage from drone attacks in an urban environment like Iraq and Pakistan.

A new early-warning radar is built near Irkutsk

2010-12-28T11:49:00.000-05:00

from Russian strategic nuclear forces by Pavel Podvig

Russia is building a new early-warning radar in Irkutsk region, the head of the Spetsstroy was reported as saying. Details are scarce, but the the radar is probably being built at the Mishelevka site. It is not clear yet what kind of the radar it is - Voronezh-DM as the two radars at Armavir or Voronezh-M as in Lekhtusi.

Roscosmos turned on 2 reserve Glonass-M satellites

2010-12-23T02:29:00.000-05:00

Congratulations on the Glonas and Glonas-k deployment.

Roscosmos turned on 2 reserve Glonass-M satellites

Russia has switched on two reserve Glonass-M satellites to replace the ones that were lost when a rocket deviated off course on Sunday, the head of Russia's state run space corporation Anatoly Perminov said on Tuesday.

Japan's Remilitarisation

2010-12-03T15:39:00.000-05:00

Christopher W. Hughes.

Is Japan on a path towards assuming a greater military role internationally, or has the recent military normalisation ground to a halt since the premiership of Junichiro Koizumi? In this book, Christopher W. Hughes assesses developments in defence expenditure, civilmilitary relations, domestic and international militaryindustrial complexes, Japans procurement of regional and global power-projection capabilities, the expansion of USJapan cooperation, and attitudes towards nuclear weapons.

Taliban Imposter Fools NATO - Russia Today

2010-12-03T14:55:00.000-05:00

This is a classic case of faulty intelligence, if intelligence can be qualified.

Russia to be guided by actions, not leaked secrets - Russian FM

2010-12-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

Russia to be guided by actions, not leaked secrets - Russian FM

Russia will base its policies on the concrete actions of its partners rather than the documents leaked on Sunday by the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Iran Blames Israel, US in Death of Nuclear Scientist

2010-11-30T20:58:00.002-05:00

Iran Blames Israel, US in Death of Nuclear Scientist

Iranian officials are blaming Israeli and U.S. spy agencies for two separate bomb attacks in Tehran Monday that killed a prominent nuclear scientist and wounded another.

Date for next Bulava test is set

2010-11-29T17:13:00.000-05:00

Date for next Bulava test is set

Russian press quotes a source in the Russian Navy as saying that the next test launch of the Bulava missile is scheduled for December 17, 2010. The source said that the missile will be launched from the Yuri Dolgorukiy submarine of the Project 955 class. Other reports suggest that the final decision on whether the missile will be launched from Yuri Dolgorukiy or Dmitri Donskoy will be taken in early December.

WikiLeaks unleashes flood of confidential US cables

2010-11-29T12:18:00.002-05:00

Washington (AFP) Nov 28, 2010 - WikiLeaks on Sunday unleashed a torrent of US cables detailing a wide array of potentially explosive diplomatic episodes, from a tense nuclear standoff with Pakistan to Saudi Arabia's king repeatedly suggesting bombing Iran, the New York Times reported.

The cables describe the bazaar-like bargaining over the repatriation of Guantanamo Bay detainees, a Chinese government bid to hack into Google, and quote Saudi King Abdullah as saying the United States should strike Iran to halt its nuclear program, telling it to "cut off the head of the snake."

They also detail plans to reunite the Korean peninsula after the North's eventual collapse, according to The New York Times, one of a handful of international media outlets that gained early access to the documents.

The cables also detail fresh suspicions about Afghan corruption, Saudi donors financing Al-Qaeda, and the US failure to prevent Syria from providing a massive stockpile of weapons to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia since 2006.

They include closed-door remarks that could stoke scandal, including Yemen's president telling a top US general: "We'll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours" when discussing secretive US strikes on Al-Qaeda in his country, and a description of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi as always being attended by a "voluptuous blonde" Ukrainian nurse.

Most of the 251,287 cables -- many of which are marked "classified" but none "top secret" -- date back to 2007, but the release also includes cables going back as far as 1966, The New York Times said.

The whistle-blower website's chief Julian Assange had earlier described the release as a "diplomatic history of the United States" that would cover "every major issue" as governments braced for damaging revelations.

"We can see already in the past week or so that the United States has made movements to try to disarm the effect that this could have," he said.

The White House slammed the release as a "reckless and dangerous action" that puts lives at risk around the world.

"To be clear -- such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world who come to the United States for assistance in promoting democracy and open government," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

The Pentagon, which was infuriated by the website's publication of secret Afghanistan and Iraq war logs earlier this year, also condemned the latest release and unveiled new steps designed to prevent future disclosures.

US officials in recent days have raced to contain the fall-out by warning more than a dozen countries, including key allies Australia, Britain, Canada, Israel and Turkey.

Late on Saturday Washington ruled out negotiating with WikiLeaks, saying it possessed the cables in violation of US law.

US officials said this was in response to a letter Assange had sent to the State Department on Friday in which he had tried to address concerns that the planned release placed individuals at risk.

"As far as we are aware, and as far as anyone has ever alleged in any credible manner whatsoever, no single individual has ever come to harm as a result of anything that we have ever published," Assange said.

The New York Times explained its decision to publish the cables by saying they "serve an important public interest, illuminating the goals, successes, compromises and frustrations of American diplomacy in a way that other accounts cannot match."

The newspaper said it had "taken care to exclude... information that would endanger confidential informants or compromise national security."

It said it had notified White House officials of the cables and asked if further redactions were necessary, adding that it "agreed to some, but not all" of their suggestions.

British officials have said some information might be subject to voluntary agreements between the government and the media to withhold sensitive data governing military operations and the intelligence services.

US officials have not confirmed the source of the leaks, but suspicion has fallen on Bradley Manning, a former army intelligence agent arrested after the release of a video showing air strikes that killed civilian reporters in Iraq.

WikiLeaks argues that the first two document dumps -- nearly 500,000 US military incident reports from 2004 to 2009 -- shed light on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sweden recently issued an international warrant for Assange's arrest, saying he is wanted for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual molestation.

NATO launches into new era with fresh 'strategic concept'

2010-11-24T11:38:00.002-05:00

NATO launches into new era with fresh 'strategic concept'
Lisbon (AFP) Nov 19, 2010 - NATO adopted Friday a once-in-a-decade mission statement that will guide the alliance through a sea of new and emerging threats.

The 11-page "strategic concept" replaces a version written in 1999, two years before the 9/11 attacks on the United States forced the 28-nation alliance into an intractable war in Afghanistan.

In it, NATO leaders reaffirm the 61-year-old alliance's core principles, foresee a transformation to be better equipped against modern dangers and call for deepening partnerships in a globalised world.

Following are the main points:

ONE FOR ALL AND ALL FOR ONE
The document "reconfirms the bond between our nations to defend one another against attack, including against new threats to the safety of our citizens."

MISSILE DEFENCE
NATO will "develop the capability to defend our populations and territories against ballistic missile attack as a core element of our collective defence, which contributes to the indivisible security of the alliance."
It will also "actively seek cooperation on missile defence with Russia and other Euro-Atlantic partners."

NUCLEAR WEAPONS
The concept "commits NATO to the goal of creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons -- but confirms that, as long as there are nuclear weapons in the world, NATO will remain a nuclear Alliance."
"The circumstances in which any use of nuclear weeapons might have to be contemplated are extremely remote," it said.

TERRORISM
Terrorism is identified as a "direct threat to the security of the citizens of NATO countries, and to international stability and prosperity more broadly." Extremist groups "continue to spread to, and in, areas of strategic importance to the Alliance."

CYBER SECURITY
NATO vows to boost its capability to defend against cyber attacks, which are "becoming more frequent, more organised and more costly in the damage they inflict" and can "reach a threshold that threatens national and Euro-Atlantic prosperity, security and stability."

LESSONS FROM AFGHANISTAN
"The lessons learned from NATO operations, in particular in Afghanistan and the Western Balkans, make it clear that a comprehensive political, civilian and military approach is necessary for effective crisis management."

PARTNERSHIPS
The alliance will seek to "enhance" its partnerships with countries and organisations around the world, including with the United Nations, the European Union and former Cold War foe Russia.

RUSSIAN RELATIONS
"NATO-Russia cooperation is of strategic importance as it contributes to creating a common space of peace, stability and security. NATO poses no threat to Russia."

N.Korea ready to provide torpedo sample over warship sinking

2010-11-22T14:41:00.000-05:00

Seoul (AFP) Nov 2, 2010 - North Korea said Tuesday it was ready to provide torpedo samples to back up its denial of responsibility for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship.

It said aluminium alloy fragments salvaged by South Korea from the site of the sinking in March "prove, themselves, that the torpedo was not from the North".

North Korean torpedoes are "made of steel alloy material" not the aluminium alloy used in other countries, said the country's top ruling body, the National Defence Commission.

"(North Korea) is still willing to directly hand the steel alloy sample of Juche (self-reliance)-based torpedo" to the United States and South Korea, it said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The 1,200-tonne Cheonan was split into two on March 26 near the tense disputed border off the west coast, in one of the divided peninsula's deadliest incidents in decades.

The incident plunged cross-border relations to their lowest point in years and sharply raised regional tensions.

The North, in a statement several thousand words long, rejected as the "most hideous conspiratorial farce in history" the findings of a Seoul-led multinational probe.

That inquiry in May concluded that a submarine-launched North Korean torpedo sank the corvette with the loss of 46 lives.

Investigators cited "overwhelming" evidence, including a partial torpedo motor and propeller said to have been dredged from the seabed. They said this matched a type which the North had previously offered for export.

The South announced reprisals including a partial trade cut-off and staged several naval exercises as a warning to the North, some of them in conjunction with the United States.

In September the South reaffirmed the findings in a final report.

Russia sent its own experts to Seoul for an independent investigation but has not made the results public.

The North has demanded the right to send a high-level team to the South to inspect the evidence, including the torpedo part.

The South has rejected the demand, saying the UN Command should handle the case as a serious breach of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 war.

The North, as it has done earlier, disputed the scientific findings of the multinational investigation.

It also cast doubt on the discovery of the torpedo motor and propeller.

"It is nonsensical for them to claim that a civilian fishing boat appeared all of a sudden and netted the propelling body which dozens of warships equipped with sophisticated detecting devices failed to find out in at least 50 days," the statement said.

Citing what it called assertions by some experts, the North also claimed the warship could have broken into two after running aground on rocks.

If the hull had been split by a torpedo, it said, the edges would not have been jagged and the hull would have had fragments embedded in it.

Some South Koreans have also been sceptical about the assertion that a North Korean torpedo sank the ship. Alternative theories have included a grounding and a stray mine.

The South's defence ministry made no immediate comment on the North's fresh claims. The ministry, when releasing its final report, had said it was acting to dispel "groundless suspicions".

Cyber Command Achieves Full Operational Capability

2010-11-04T20:04:00.000-05:00

Cyber Command Achieves Full Operational Capability

Department of Defense announced today that U.S. Cyber Command has achieved full operational capability (FOC).

Successful launch of an old Topol

2010-10-31T10:30:00.000-05:00

Successful launch of an old Topol

On October 28, 2010, the Strategic Rocket Forces performed a successful test launch of a Topol/SS-25 missile from the Plesetsk test site. The missile launch took place at 13:59 MSK (09:59UTC).
A representative of the Rocket Forces was quoted as saying that the missile was manufactured in 1987 and had remained in service until August 2007. The launch allowed the Rocket Forces to extend service life of the remaining Topol missiles to 23 years from the current 21 years. Missiles of this type were deployed in 1985-1992, so they will be withdrawn from service around 2015.