Messages In This Digest (17 Messages)
- 1.
- Pentagon Plans Hypersonic Plane To Fly 20 Times Speed Of Sound From: Rick Rozoff
- 2.
- Joint Warrior: NATO Integrates Brazilian Navy From: Rick Rozoff
- 3.
- South Korea Takes Over U.S.-Led Horn Of Africa Warship Group From: Rick Rozoff
- 4.
- U.S. Main Threat To Chinese Military: Strategist From: Rick Rozoff
- 5.
- New Moldovan Regime: Wrong Side Won WW II From: Rick Rozoff
- 6.
- Anti-War Graffiti Group Targets Afghan Capital From: Rick Rozoff
- 7.
- NATO Summit: "Not Rational Enough" From: Rick Rozoff
- 8.
- Canada To Resurrect 9-11 "Anti-Terror" Measures From: Rick Rozoff
- 9.
- How To: Risk World War III, and Blow Billions Doing It From: linguisticresearch
- 10.
- Targeted Killing Lite: Inside the CIAís New Drone Arsenal, From: linguisticresearch
- 11.
- Azaleas To Cruise Missiles: NATO Chooses Virginia Festival Envoy From: Rick Rozoff
- 12.
- NATO Warships In Military Operations In The Horn Of Africa From: Rick Rozoff
- 13.
- Australia: Main NATO Partner In Afghan War Effort From: Rick Rozoff
- 14.
- NATO Military Chief Hails Bulgaria For Afghanistan, Iraq, Mediterran From: Rick Rozoff
- 15.
- Georgian Drones Violate Abkhazian Air Space From: Rick Rozoff
- 16.
- U.S., Australia Renew Global Military Logistics Accord From: Rick Rozoff
- 17.
- Canada Concludes Military Exercises In Arctic Circle From: Rick Rozoff
Messages
- 1.
-
Pentagon Plans Hypersonic Plane To Fly 20 Times Speed Of Sound
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:49 pm (PDT)
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/04/26/6939457.html
 
 
 
Voice of Russia
April 26, 2010
 
US military testflies prototype hypersonic plane
 
 
 
 
 
The US Air Force has test-flown a prototype hypersonic plane.
 
Launched last Thursday from California’s Vandenberg Airbase atop a Minotaur Lite booster rocket, the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle travelled 65 hundred kilometres west at speeds of up to 21 thousand kilometres an hour.
 
The experiment lasted 30 minutes, the closing 21 of them without communication with the vehicle. The latter finally splashed down into the Central Pacific Ocean.    
 
The US Air Force hopes to develop a robotic hypersonic plane capable of travelling at over 20 times the speed of sound.  
===========================
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- 2.
-
Joint Warrior: NATO Integrates Brazilian Navy
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:49 pm (PDT)
http://www.eucom.mil/english/fullstory.asp?article=Joint-Warrior-10-1-wraps-highlights-multinational
United States European Command
April 26, 2010
Joint Warrior 10-1 wraps up, highlights multinational relationships
Apr 25, 2010
Destroyer Squadron 24 Public Affairs
USS LABOON, Atlantic Ocean: Exercise Joint Warrior 10-1 concluded April 23, culminating with a visit by Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 24 to the Brazilian navy frigate Independencia (F44).
The exercise, a United Kingdom-led, semi-annual event that encompasses multiwarfare exercises, presents a unique opportunity for the U.S. Navy to train alongside naval personnel from various countries, with this year's participants including Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
"One of the biggest challenges today is our complete integration in a multinational force," said Brazilian navy Cmdr. Eduardo A. Wieland, Independencia's commanding officer.
Wieland hosted U.S. Navy Capt. Aaron C. Jacobs, DESRON 24 commodore, and U.S. Navy Capt. Stephen C. Evans, DESRON 24 deputy commodore, for lunch aboard the ship the final day of the exercise.
The Brazilian navy participates in order to prepare them to work with other navies, as well as to achieve specific training objectives for the crew, such as air defense, anti-submarine warfare and maritime interception operations, said Wieland.
Jacobs and the DESRON 24 staff embarked the guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) to lead a task group of ships in the exercise, which included the Brazilian frigate, two British frigates, HMS Cornwall (F99) and HMS Iron Duke (F234), the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) and the guided-missile frigate USS Kauffman (FFG 59).
During the two-week exercise, DESRON 24 hosted British and Brazilian service members aboard Laboon to improve interoperability and prepare for operations in a joint maritime environment.
"It was our honor to have you with us in our task group and to have your officers on board with us," said Jacobs, of the Brazilian navy's participation. "Our relationship is a strong one, and we look forward to working with your navy again."
DESRON 24 leads the exercise as the independent deployment certification executive agent for Commander, Strike Force Training Atlantic.
....
===========================
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- 3.
-
South Korea Takes Over U.S.-Led Horn Of Africa Warship Group
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:50 pm (PDT)
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=69617
Stars and Stripes
April 27, 2010
South Korea takes Task Force 151 helm
The South Korean navy has assumed command of Combined Task Force 151, the international group of military personnel conducting counterpiracy operations off the eastern coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, officials stated in a news release.
Rear Adm. Boem-rim Lee took command Wednesday. He replaces Rear Adm. Bernard Miranda, of the Singapore navy, who commanded the task force since January, according to a Combined Maritime Forces news release.
The U.S. Navy created the task force in January 2009 to counter piracy of commercial vessels and fishing boats in the regional waters.
The European Union and NATO operate similar maritime patrols in the region, as do nations that deploy ships independent of the task forces, including China, India, Japan and Russia.
===========================
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- 4.
-
U.S. Main Threat To Chinese Military: Strategist
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:51 pm (PDT)
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6962455.html
China Daily
April 26, 2010
US biggest perceived threat to PLA: Strategist
The United States is the greatest perceived threat to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), a top military strategist told China Daily on Sunday, confirming remarks made last week to a group of visiting senior US officials.
Rear Admiral Yang Yi, the former head of strategic studies at the PLA's National Defense University, said last Thursday while addressing delegates at the US-China Government Executive Global Leadership Course.
Yang said that the US was the only country capable of threatening China's national security interests in an all-round way, while answering a question on where the PLA perceived its greatest threat as coming from.
"This is a joke and not a joke," he said.
Yang also said that (frictions over) the cross-Straits relationship was the most likely to provoke a Sino-US nuclear war.
Japan has no such ability, while Russia has no such motivation and India is more worried about China, Yang explained.
Yang said Beijing was hoping to maintain and develop a stable and healthy relationship with Washington but it also needed to make necessary preparations for any possible threats and pressures.
"Fortunately, the risk of a Sino-US confrontation is decreasing due to the relaxation of the Taiwan question," Yang noted.
He said the Taiwan question would be solved politically rather than militarily, adding the cross-Straits relationship would become even more stable and secure if it continued to develop positively (as it is now) over the next five to 10 years.
Talking about US arms sales to Taiwan, Yang said: "Those weapons will be ours sooner or later."
The 17-member US group included office directors of US departments including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
This is the first time that Washington has sent senior government officials to Beijing to engage their Chinese counterparts in a comparative educational dialogue.
Sun Zhe, the director of Tsinghua University's Center for US-China Relations who planned the course two years ago, said Yang had answered the questions in a frank manner.
"A US navy official in charge of intelligence asked the question and he quickly responded that it was the same case for China about the US," Sun said, adding it is very unique for naval officials from the two sides to exchange thoughts so honestly.
According to Sun, the frank communication was not intended as a threat, but that it would help the two powers to avoid strategically misjudging the other.
He said the Chinese naval official's firm attitude would help Washington to better understand Beijing's position on the Taiwan question.
The weeklong course concluded on Friday and the US government officials left the next day.
===========================
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- 5.
-
New Moldovan Regime: Wrong Side Won WW II
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:51 pm (PDT)
http://www.focus-fen.net/?id=n217760
Focus News Agency
April 26, 2010
Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moldova: Only the winners, not the defeated go to parade in Moscow, says Mihai Ghimpu
 
-It is believed that Moldova refuses to take part in the parade out of solidarity with Romania, which was fighting on the side of Nazi Germany in the WWII.
Chisinau. Moldova’s acting president and Moldovan parliament speaker Mihai Ghimpu has announced that he will not attend the Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9, Komsomolskaya Pravda (Moldova) newspaper writes on its website.
Although Ghimpu said last week that he would head an eight-member delegation that would represent Moldova at the victory parade, the acting president announced a new decision.
“I will not be present at the Victory Parade on May 9. Only the winners, not the defeated go there. I do not have anything to do in Moscow in the Red Square, because nothing relates me with the Russian capital,” said Ghimpu.
Moldova will be represented by a military unit at the parade, irrespective of the refusal given in advance.
The Moldovan media have been discussing the pros and cons of Moldova’s participation in the parade for more than a month. It is believed that Moldova refuses to take part in the parade out of solidarity with Romania, which was fighting on the side of Nazi Germany in the WWII.
===========================
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- 6.
-
Anti-War Graffiti Group Targets Afghan Capital
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:52 pm (PDT)
http://www.focus-fen.net/?id=n217896
Focus News Agency
April 27, 2010
Anti-war graffiti group become Afghanistan's 'Talibanksy'
†
Kabul. On walls around Afghanistan's scrappy capital, where million-dollar mansions line rutted roads, anonymous graffiti artists are daubing their disapproving take on the devastating cost of war, AFP reported.
Styled after the anonymous British vandal-artist Banksy, Kabul's streetwise stealth stencillers go by the moniker "Talibanksy", a reference to the Islamist Taliban who have been waging war in Afghanistan for almost nine years.
The street art forms a commentary on the cost in blood and treasure of the war, which has brought 126,000 US and NATO troops to Afghanistan and kills about 2,000 Afghan civilians a year, according to the UN.
Black, spray-painted silhouettes of soldiers and dollar signs, poppies, helicopters and tanks, and children running hand-in-hand began appearing in downtown Kabul a few months ago.
Some show the shadow of a helmeted soldier holding an assault rifle, inside a red circle with a line through it. Others have a silhouetted gun-toting trooper and a dollar sign joined by an equals symbol.
Or simply the words: Cost Of War.
Financially the war is estimated to cost some 100 million dollars a day, according to US media reports.
The human cost to foreign forces so far this year is close to 170, according to the icasualties.org website which keeps tally and says that of the 1,737 who have died since the war began in 2001, 1,051 were Americans.
The people behind the anti-war graffiti call themselves Combat Communications, and claim to be "a small anonymous group of international artists founded last year with the sole aim of advocating/promoting free expression".
According to a statement, they wish to remain anonymous and call their work "social and politically driven graphics".
===========================
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- 7.
-
NATO Summit: "Not Rational Enough"
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:56 pm (PDT)
http://ericwalberg.com
NATO summit: ‘Not rational enough’
So NATO’s head berates its foes, as the alliance pursues its own version of rationality, oblivious to world pleas for disarmament or its alarming failure in Afghanistan, says Eric Walberg
Just when there seemed to be a glimmer of real change in US-Russian relations -- Russia giving in to the US on START and assuring the continuation of the Kyrgyz US airbase -- the logic of US empire reasserts itself with a slap in the Russian face. Even Poland, Russia’s age-old nemesis, is trying to bury the hatchet, after the shocking aircrash near Katyn, a tragic, if farcical, repeat of the WWII massacre on Stalin’s orders.
In another echo of that war -- Hitler’s siege of Leningrad -- NATO cold-bloodedly chose Tallinn, Estonia, a stone’s throw from St Petersburg, as the venue of its latest deliberations about expanding eastward and how best to convince the world and Russia in particular to comply with its ambitious plans to bring the world to heel.
The two-day NATO foreign ministers meeting on 22-23 April focussed on the military alliance’s 21st century Strategic Concept and on the war in Afghanistan. Top on the agenda was putting paid to any notion that nuclear weapons might be removed from Europe; rather, they would be integrated into the Pentagon’s pan-European interceptor missile programme in line with the US Department of Defence’s new Nuclear Posture Review. Proclaimed NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen: “Missile defence is no replacement for an effective deterrent. But it can complement it. Because there are states, or other actors, who might not be rational enough to be deterred by our nuclear weapons. But they might be deterred by the realisation that their few missiles might not get through our defences.”
Fogh seems to be saying: If, say, Iran launches nuclear war against Europe, we are ready. What he is really saying is: If the US launches a war against Iran, an interceptor system could prevent effective retaliation.
Revealing his personal opinion that NATO must embrace the US missile defence system as its own, Fogh philosophised, “The missile threat to Europe is clear … which means, to my mind, that we need to take on Alliance missile defence as a NATO mission. In Lisbon, NATO nations will decide if missile defence for our European territory and population should become an Alliance mission. I make no secret that I think it should.” These NATO meetings, once every three years, are now annual and even semi-annual events, often hosted by its new members: the Czech Republic in 2002, Romania in 2008, and now Estonia, with another one in Portugal in November to finalise the new Strategic Concept and formally embrace Reagan’s Starwars fantasy as NATO's own.
Just to make sure Russia understands its role in NATO’s plans for Russia’s “near abroad”, Fogh said, “We need a visible presence of NATO across the entire territory of our Alliance. And we see a perfect example here in this region. We have put in place arrangements to police the Baltic airspace. We also need to guard against new risks and threats to the security of our nations, such as energy cut-offs or cyber attacks.” He might as well have come right out and told Russia: Watch out! Any disputes with your neighbours are now NATO’s business.
In a jab at Germany for suggesting last November that US nuclear weapons could be removed at long last from Europe, he said, “A credible Alliance nuclear posture and the demonstration of Alliance solidarity” requires “peacetime basing of nuclear forces … in Europe. The Alliance will therefore maintain adequate nuclear forces in Europe.”
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said any reductions should be tied to a nuclear pullback by Russia. In other words, if Russia meekly joins NATO Estonia-fashion and gives up its nuclear weapons altogether, NATO might reconsider its nuclear presence in Europe, another slap in the Russian face and a violation of the gentleman’s agreement between Reagan and Gorbachev for the withdrawal of all US and Soviet troops and nuclear weapons from Europe in the 1980s.
Currently there are from 200-400 US tactical nuclear weapons stored on air bases in Britain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. All but Britain are non-nuclear states, and the storage of US nuclear weapons on their territories means the US not only broke its promise to Gorbachev, but that it is in violation of the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Clinton’s invitation last month for Russia to join in the proposed NATO missile defence (really just the new public face of the US system) was of course a ruse or a taunt (does humourless Hillary perhaps have a sense of humour after all?). Even if Russia took her up on this, the Pentagon’s new Prompt Global Strike programme “is striving for fast-strike, first-strike conventional weapons military superiority that could render Russia’s nuclear forces easy to neutralise, hence useless,” according to analyst Rick Rozoff. Former head of the Russian Air Force General Anatoly Kornukov described the recent launching of the X-37B “mini shuttle” as further evidence of the US weaponisation of space. “Now the US will be able to deliver a strike in a short time without due resistance. Aggressors from space could turn Russia into something like Iraq or Yugoslavia.”
Having no alternative, Russia reluctantly yielded to the US Starwars project by the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty 8 April. To mollify superhawks in the Senate, US Missile Defence Agency official Patrick O’Reilly immediately told a hearing of the House Armed Services subcommittee on defence appropriations: “The new START treaty actually reduces constraints on the development of the missile defence programme,” unconcerned that he was making the Russians look like fools or even cowards.
But the boasting in Tallinn and Washington is not being met with silence. Russian officials have warned that START may come to a halt if US provocations against Russia continue. As the NATO meeting closed, in Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry official Andrei Nesterenko said with exasperation, “It is not clear to us why Patriot anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems are being deployed near the Russian border. Nor have we an answer to the question about what threats will be tackled in the drill which will be held very close to Russia’s Kaliningrad region.”
The other issue on the NATO agenda that just won’t go away, no matter how many lives and bombs NATO throws at it, is of course Afghanistan. Setting the stage for a gradual withdrawal from Afghanistan, the meeting adopted a plan that sets conditions for removing troops from a lead role by the end of this year, proposing to transfer security to Afghan police if there is reconciliation with the Taliban and a durable civilian government in place. This would allow Obama to meet his deadline for starting to pull out American troops by July 2011.
The sole “rational” voice at the Tallinn talkfest, NATO chief civilian representative Mark Sedwill, did not give much succour to attendees: “To many Afghans, this is essentially us fighting our war for our reasons on their soil.” He was no doubt thinking of the recent poll -- conducted by the US in US-occupied areas of Kandahar -- where 85 per cent said they viewed the Taliban as their brothers and want the occupation troops out immediately. The recent surges have brought only increased deaths on all sides -- soldiers, insurgents, civilians alike. Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded they be called off and threatened to join the Taliban himself.
Fogh pondered as to how to engage Russia on this issue “to the benefit of Europe’s security and its political unity”, even as Russia bends over backwards to accommodate the NATO war effort with its open skies policy and acceptance of the US base in Kyrgyzstan with nary a murmur of protest.
As NATO trumpeted its military prowess in the Baltic minnow, Russia undertook some quiet, “rational” diplomacy with a far more important neighbour, signing a deal on gas supplies and the future of the Russian naval base in Sevastopol. In exchange for a 30 per cent discount on Russian gas deliveries, Ukraine will allow the Russian Black Sea Fleet to remain in Crimea and will not join NATO until at least 2042, a “political-strategic” victory, said Volodymyr Fesenko, the head of the Penta Centre for Applied Political Studies in Kiev. “Russia not only preserves a military presence in the Black Sea basin and on Ukrainian territory, but also has a factor of influence on external security policy and internal affairs in Ukraine.” Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said that Ukraine would receive from Russia “a real investment of resources, specifically gas, of around $40 billion dollars” over the next ten years.
Russia heals wounds while NATO is signing its own death warrant with its current hubris. The people of Europe, as opposed to their compliant politicians, want to be nuclear-free, just as they want their troops out of Afghanistan or wherever, and at some point will have their say. The Dutch government already collapsed on the issue. Estonians, still in their honeymoon stage with NATO, fete their Euro-warriors and willingly send their handful of troops to kill Afghans, but their more blase cousins the Finns have recently joined the Euro-majority in wanting their troops out either immediately or within the year. Their mutual WWII foe, Germany, is even less enthusiastic, with 62 per cent wanting out. Their mutual WWII ally, Britain, is even less so, with 77 per cent wanting out.
A recent memo from the CIA -- which has nothing to do with NATO, of course -- targets France and Germany to shore up public support using propaganda about drugs, terrorism and women's rights. But the best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry.
***
Eric Walberg writes for Al-Ahram Weekly http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/ You can reach him at http://ericwalberg.com/
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==============================
- 8.
-
Canada To Resurrect 9-11 "Anti-Terror" Measures
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:58 pm (PDT)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=18861
Global Research
April 26, 2010
Canada to Resurrect 9-11 "Anti-Terror" Measures
Despite Criticism by Former Security Intelligence Director
by Lindsay Kellock
Ottawa: Prime Minister Stephen Harper government's proposal to resurrect two controversional anti-terror measures - preventive arrests and investigative hearings - has again drawn fire from from former CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) director, Reid Morden.
Morden describes the measures as unnecessary, potentially dangerous, crossings the line between state security and individual rights, Canada's former spy master charged Saturday. "We should think very carefully before we take that step." (Canada.com)
"The imposition of these two (powers) crosses that line and what's more, it offends the basic premise of the way we have interpreted the law, which is that you're innocent until proven guilty." (Edmonton Journal and Ottawa Citizen)
Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service have, "perfectly sufficient powers to do their jobs," said the former director of CSIS. "If they're properly resourced ... they don't need more powers." Canada.com
Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced the proposed legislation, the Combating Terrorism Act, Friday, April 19. Canada.com
On February 27, 2007. a government bid to extend these two controversial measures was defeated 159 to 124 in the House of Commons. Canada.com
The initial anti-terror laws were introduced within three months of the 2001 9/11 attacks by the Liberal government of Jean Chretien. Morden expressed his concerns about the legislation in a September 2007 article, The Right Balance, for Policy Options (Options politiques). See irpp.org/po/archive/sep02/morden.pdf)
In the article, he discussed, among other concerns, preventive arrest (arrest and detention without warrant) and investigative judicial hearings (court hearings before a judge, which may be held in secret).
In The Right Balance, Morden wrote "Much has been made about the provisions (in Bill-36, the initial bill) for preventive arrest and investigative hearings ...these two provisions, in an unprecedented way, override fundamental relgious, expressive and associational freedoms that are at the core of the Charter (Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/).
Lindsay Kellock is an Ottawa-based writer and can be reached at kellock67@rogers.com.
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- 9.
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How To: Risk World War III, and Blow Billions Doing It
Posted by: "linguisticresearch" LinguisticResearch@gmx.de
Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:00 pm (PDT)
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/how-to-risk-world-war-iii-and-blow-billions-doing-it/#more-23973
How To: Risk World War III, and Blow Billions Doing It
* By Noah Shachtman
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/author/noah_shachtman/> Email
Author <mailto:noah.shachtman@gmail.com>
* April 26, 2010 |
* 12:50 pm |
* Categories: Tactics, Strategy and Logistics
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/category/tactics-strategy-and-logistics/>
*
DF-ST-91-05767
<http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/2010/04/minuteman_iii_in_silo_1989.jpg>The
Pentagonís plan to fire ballistic missiles at terrorists isnít just a
nuclear Armageddon risk
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/obama-revives-rumsfeld-era-missile-scheme/>.
Itís a ludicrously expensive way to accidentally start World War III:
each weapon could cost anywhere from a few hundred million to $1 billion.
The Defense Department wants to spend about $240 million next year on
the controversial ìprompt global strikeî project. Eventually, it could
lead to weapons that could strike virtually anywhere in the planet
within an hour or two. (Hereís an interview I did with Rachel Maddow on
Friday about the plan <http://bit.ly/937hGo>.) But that quarter-billion
would be the tiniest of down payments.
ìThere are no accurate cost estimates for the program, largely because
the technology is unproven,î writes Joe Cirincione at ForeignPolicy.com.
His back-of-the-envelope calculation: $10 billion for 10
conventionally-armed Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
<http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/23/global_strikeout?page=0,1>,
meant to strike at terrorists on the move. ìEach missile with its tiny
payload could easily go over $1 billion each.î
Official price tags are a little lower. The Air Force figures a single
demonstration of such a missile might eat up $500 million
<http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100315_8655.php>.
Follow-on weapons missiles might only cost $300 million apiece, Air
Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz guessed at a recent House
subcommittee hearing. But Schwartz isnít at all sure such how much use
thereíd be for a budget-buster like that.
ìThere is a place, I think, for that kind of capability. I donít think
that thatís the sort of thing you would use broadly, because you know,
fundamentally what you donít want to have is a 300 ó letís just say, a
$300 million weapon applied against a $30,000 target,î Schwartz recently
told a House subcommittee.
Critics like Cirincione (and me) are worried such conventional ICBMs
would look to Russia and China like nuclear launches ó risking an atomic
response every time one of the weapons was sent into the sky. Defenders
of the prompt global strike effort note that the missiles would be based
far from Americaís nuclear arsenal, and would follow different flight
paths. So the risk of one of these missiles touching off an atomic
showdown are very small. ìNuclear in one place. Conventional in
another. This isnít a Reeseís Peanut Butter Cup,
<http://nationalspacestudiescenter.wordpress.com/>î notes the National
Space Studies Centerís blog.
Maybe the U.S. can put enough safeguards in place to persuade Moscow and
Beijing that Americaís conventional ICBMs arenít nukes. (And maybe, as
commenter ìAlmanacî notes
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/how-to-risk-world-war-iii-and-blow-billions-doing-it/#comments>,
the Russian and Chinese radars are functioning well enough to tell the
difference.) Maybe. But what happens other countries follow our lead,
and start assembling their own conventional ballistic missile
stockpiles? Will Pakistan and India be able to assure eachother that
their intentions are pure? How and Israel and Iran? Perhaps a unipolar
planet can survive an American global strike arsenal. A multipolar
planet ó thatís less likely.
Prompt global strike first came to prominence during Donald Rumsfeldís
tenure at the Pentagon. Back then, the Defense Department had a knack
for spending outlandishly on far-fetched programs: laser-equipped 747s,
lightning guns, quarter-weight tanks that could stop bombs with data.
Under Bob Gates, the culture has shifted a bit. Common sense, wartime
relevancy, and fiscal restraint now figure more prominently in
weaponeering. And thatís what makes the embrace of prompt global strike
such a mystery. Itís a Rumsfeld throwback - risky, willfully ignorant of
how the world works, and ridiculously expensive.
[Photo: Wikimedia]
*See Also:*
* Obama Revives Rumsfeldís Missile Scheme, Risks Nuke War
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/obama-revives-rumsfeld-era-missile-scheme/>
* Mach 6 Cruise Missile, Ready for Prime Time?
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/03/mach-6-cruise-missile-ready-for-prime-time/>
* Air Forceís Zombie Bomber, Back from the Grave
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/air-forces-zombie-bomber-back-from-the-grave/>
* Ballistic Missiles vs. Al-Qaeda?
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/07/by-now-youll-al/>
* Hit Anywhere on Earth with ICBMs, ìCans of Whup-Assî
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/06/global_strike_p/>
* $100 Million for Worldwide, Instant Strike Weapon
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/11/100-million-for/>
* Congress Shoots Down Hypersonic Plane
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/09/the-pentagons-8/>
* Itís Not a Nuke, Vlad. We Promise!
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2007/04/its_not_a_nuke_/>
- 10.
-
Targeted Killing Lite: Inside the CIAís New Drone Arsenal,
Posted by: "linguisticresearch" LinguisticResearch@gmx.de
Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:04 pm (PDT)
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/in-drone-war-cia-opts-for-smaller-less-deadly-weapons/#more-23986
Targeted Killing Lite: Inside the CIAís New Drone Arsenal
* By Nathan Hodge
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/author/nathanhodge/> Email Author
<mailto:nohodge@gmail.com>
* April 26, 2010 |
* 9:26 am |
* Categories: Af/Pak <http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/category/afpak/>
[Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI14Xkvj5rY&feature=player_embedded ]
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military has long been wise to a
problem: Weapons designed for Cold War combat are often too powerful ó
and too lethal ó for low-intensity conflict and counterinsurgency. Now
it seems the CIA is catching on to the concept as well.
In todayís /Washington Post/, Joby Warrick and Peter Finn report
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/25/AR2010042503114_pf.html>
that the CIA may be using ìnew, smaller missilesî to take out suspected
insurgents in Pakistanís tribal areas, in combination with better
surveillance and other technological upgrades.
Last month, they write, a CIA missile ìprobably no bigger than a violin
case and weighing about 35 poundsî targeted a house in Miram Shah, in
Pakistanís South Waziristan province. The strike killed a top al-Qaeda
organizer
<http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/archive/2010/3/17.aspx>,
along with several others. Such precise, low-collateral-damage attacks,
they add, ìhave provoked relatively little public outrage.î
Leaving aside the question of whether the CIAís campaign of targeted
killing is any less controversial ó our pal Peter Singer argues that is
isnít
<http://www.brookings.edu/testimony/2010/0323_unmanned_systems_singer.aspx>
ó the agencyís acquisition of less-lethal weapons is intriguing. While
the agency refused to comment on the specifics, itís pretty easy to
guess whatís going on here.
Take the AGM-114 Hellfire missile
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-114_Hellfire>, once the primary weapon
in the drone arsenal. The hundred-pound missile packs a warhead that was
originally designed to destroy a main battle tank. Use it against a more
lightly armored target ó say, a civilian car
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002-11-04-yemen-explosion_x.htm> ó
and itís overkill. At the militaryís behest, contractors have long been
developing a number of alternatives for arming drones.
The video here shows a test launch of Scorpion
<http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/mfc/PC/MFC_scorpion_pc.pdf>,
a thirty-five pound precision glide bomb developed by Lockheed Martin.
As our own David Hambling reported in December
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/12/video-tiny-deadly-glide-bombs-unpack-for-assault/>,
Scorpion uses a vicious warhead known as Battleaxe which ìcombines
shaped-charge, fragmentation and enhanced blast in one compact package,
and adds an extra bonus: it throws out fragments of reactive material
which explode on impact
<http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2008/05/reactive-revo-1/>, making it
especially effective against unarmored vehicles and other soft targets.
This type of explosive technology can make smaller munitions as
effective as their bigger predecessors.î
Scorpion was conceived as a competitor to the GBU-44 Viper Strike
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-44/B_Viper_Strike>, a small glide bomb
that has already been tested in combat (the Army integrated Viper
Strike, a derivative of the Brilliant Anti-Tank Munition, on the RQ-5
Hunter drone <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MQ-5_Hunter>).
As Hambling noted
<http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/jsp_includes/articlePrint.jsp?storyID=news/DTI-UAVs.xml&headLine=Efforts%20Are%20Underway%20to%20Arm%20Small%20UAVs>,
weapons designers have been rushing to develop a number of off-the-shelf
air-to-surface weapons for drones, using parts from existing missiles.
The Thales Lightweight Multirole Missile
<http://www.thalesgroup.com/Portfolio/Defence/Air_Systems_Product_-_Lightweight_Multi-role_Missile__%28LMM%29/?pid=1568>,
he notes, was developed using elements from Thalesís
Starstreak/Starburst anti-aircraft missiles, and weighs 28 pounds.
Raytheonís Griffin <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin_%28missile%29>
missile is a similar effort: It combines parts of the companyís Javelin
man-portable anti-tank missile and AIM-9X Sparrow air-to-air missile. It
weighs in at 45 pounds.
The Army even put money toward the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Precision_Kill_Weapon_System>
(APKWS), an effort to design a ìsmartî 2.75-inch rocket (the Hydra 70
rockets <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_70> currently fired from
helicopters are unguided, area-effect weapons). The Navy, which took
over the development effort, recently declared
<http://www.baesystems.com/Newsroom/NewsReleases/autoGen_11039154649.html>
that the APKWS was ready to enter production.
- 11.
-
Azaleas To Cruise Missiles: NATO Chooses Virginia Festival Envoy
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:36 pm (PDT)
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/04/nato-festival-takes-event-back-roots
The Virginian-Pilot
April 26, 2010
NATO festival takes event back to roots
By Corinne Reilly
-Festival queens from NATO nations were chosen each year - among them were the daughters of four presidents and of hockey star Wayne Gretzky - along with a court of princesses. Until last year, the week long event, funded by the city and corporate sponsors, included a high-priced evening ball.
NORFOLK: The queen in the fancy dress is out. So are the princesses. And the exclusive, high-priced ball? Forget about it.
Even the old name - the International Azalea Festival - has changed. This year it's the Norfolk NATO Festival, and its organizers are refocusing the 58-year-old tradition on its original mandate: to celebrate the city's NATO command - the only one in North America - and welcome the military families it draws to Hampton Roads from around the globe.
But not everything will be different. The festival, which takes place this week, will still culminate downtown with a Saturday parade and an outdoor festival of international food, beer and entertainment. And it will still honor one of NATO's 28 member countries. This year it's France, in recognition of the command's current leader and the first non-American officer to hold the position, French Gen. Stephane Abrial.
"A lot has changed in the 50-plus years since the festival started," said its executive director, Tristan Carter Warren. "It was just time for an update."
The International Azalea Festival, for decades an event run entirely by volunteers, began in 1951 to promote the city's botanical gardens to tourists. Two years later, when NATO established its first U.S. command here, organizers included the alliance. Festival queens from NATO nations were chosen each year - among them were the daughters of four presidents and of hockey star Wayne Gretzky - along with a court of princesses. Until last year, the week long event, funded by the city and corporate sponsors, included a high-priced evening ball.
"We understand that people feel nostalgic for the way we've traditionally done things, but given the state of the economy, it just didn't make sense anymore," Carter Warren said.
This year, instead of a queen, the event will recognize a "festival ambassador" - an active-duty service member from the honored nation. The 2010 ambassador, French Air Force Capt. Gealdine Ribereau, is scheduled to spend a week in Norfolk.
Thursday, the French ambassador to the United States, Pierre Vimont, will speak at a dinner organized by the Hampton Roads chapter of the World Affairs Council.
The Parade of Nations, which kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday, will look a lot like previous years: costumes, marching bands, floats honoring each NATO country. The festival, at 11 a.m. at Town Point Park, will feature European food, wine and beer, plus 30 French street performers.
===========================
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==============================
- 12.
-
NATO Warships In Military Operations In The Horn Of Africa
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:44 pm (PDT)
http://www.afloat.ie/afloat-news-update/item/12735-pirate-attack-group-destroyed-by-nato-warships/
Afloat
April 26, 2010
Pirate Attack Group Destroyed by NATO Warships
The NATO warships, HMS CHATHAM and USS COLE destroyed a group of 3 pirate vessels over the weekend in the Somali Basin. Two of the boats were destroyed and a third confiscated.
A Swedish Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), part of the EU NAVFOR and operating out of the Seychelles located 3 skiffs on Friday 23 April; one large whaler type and 2 smaller “attack” skiffs.
HMS CHATHAM was quickly dispatched to the scene and after 5 hours spotted boats which were approximately 500 miles from the Somali coast.
On the warship’s arrival, the 2 smaller skiffs approached, as if they intended to attack.
However, once closer, they started manoeuvring at high speed in an attempt to evade HMS CHATHAM, before fleeing in different directions.
The larger boat was pursued until it was brought to a stop and the pirates surrendered. The ship’s Royal Marines (RM) detachment boarded this craft to find 4 pirates on board and a large amount of fuel.
Whilst this was happening, one of the smaller skiffs, with a further 5 pirates on board, returned to the area and surrendered to the RM team. A search of these boats revealed that the pirates had disposed of their weapons and other equipment during the pursuit. As darkness fell the third skiff remained un-located.
The following day the pirates and the “attack” skiff were brought on board HMS CHATHAM and the whaler was destroyed by gunfire from the Ship’s 20mm guns. On Sunday 25 Apr, the MPA spotted the third skiff now dead in the water and USS Cole, which was in the area, quickly found and boarded the craft. This skiff was destroyed by the US warship and the 4 pirates transferred to HMS CHATHAM.
With the pirate gang well and truly out of action, the pirates were landed to the Somali coast with all 3 of their pirate vessels and equipment confiscated, destroyed or abandoned.
The Commanding Officer of HMS CHATHAM, Commander Simon Huntington said:
“This has been a truly international effort in the fight against piracy in the region. Working closely together, HMS CHATHAM, USS COLE and the EU NAVFOR Swedish coastguard aircraft ‘Bluebird’ have successfully located and destroyed this pirate attack group. Once again NATO warships and our international partners have taken direct action which has prevented another pirate group from attacking merchant shipping in the area.”
At sea NATO is working closely with other partners including EU Naval Force, Combined Maritime Force as well as other navies, including China, Japan, India and Russia.
===========================
Stop NATO
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==============================
- 13.
-
Australia: Main NATO Partner In Afghan War Effort
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:48 pm (PDT)
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/14767/
Defence Professionals (Germany)
April 26, 2010
Australian Minister for Defence visits Afghanistan
During a three-day visit to Afghanistan the Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, has met Afghan Minister for Defence, Minister Wardak, and Afghan Minister for the Interior, Minister Atmar, in Kabul to discuss Australia’s training mission in Oruzgan province.
The meetings were part of a series of visits to Kabul, Australia’s base at Tarin Kowt and Kandahar. He discussed the progress of the stabilisation of Afghanistan with General Rodriguez, Commander ISAF Joint Command.
Senator Faulkner also discussed NATO efforts to resolve command arrangements in Oruzgan after the scheduled departure of the Dutch from August 2010.
In Tarin Kowt the Minister met with Australian Commanders and members of Mentoring Task Force 1 and visited the Police Training Centre.
....
Senator Faulkner also met with International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partners to discuss the progress of ongoing operations in the south of Afghanistan, and members of the International Committee of the Red Cross based in Afghanistan.
Before departing Afghanistan, Senator Faulkner visited Australia’s Rotary Wing Group and Heron UAV reconnaissance detachment in Kandahar.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato
Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/
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==============================
- 14.
-
NATO Military Chief Hails Bulgaria For Afghanistan, Iraq, Mediterran
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Tue Apr 27, 2010 5:43 am (PDT)
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=115669
Sofia News Agency
April 27, 2010
NATO Supreme Europe Commander Lauds Bulgarian Contribution
Admiral James Stavridis, USN, is the current Commander, US European Command (USEUCOM) and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). He arrived to Bulgaria on Tuesday as part of a tour to the member states of the Alliance.
“Bulgaria is a worthy member of NATO. The most important goal of my visit is to thank Bulgaria for its contribution such as the NATO missions,” stated Admiral Stavridis with respect to the participation of Bulgarian troops in Iraq, the Mediterranean and Black Sea basin. He expressed his hopes that the cooperation between Bulgaria and NATO is going to deepen.
Admiral Stavridis was welcomed by the Bulgarian Head of Defense (formerly known as Head of the General Staff of the Army), Gen. Simeon Simeonov, to whom he thanked for the information about the modernization of the Bulgarian Army, which, in his words, is proceeding at a good rate.
The Supreme Allied Commander in Europe described his meetings in Sofia as both very important and extremely warm.
“I would like to express my gratitude for the honor to lay a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Warrior,” Stavridis said.
The Bulgarian Head of Defense stressed the transformation of the Bulgarian armed forces and Bulgaria’s role in Afghanistan as the most important topics his conversation with the US admiral.
“We have discussed all issues related to the Bulgarian Army, our responsibilities in different parts of the world, and the commitments that our government made to NATO,” said Simeonov after his talks with his high-ranking guest.
Admiral Stavridis also met with Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov for about an hour; the meeting was also attended by General Simeonov and the Bulgarian Defense Minister, Gen. Anyu Angelov.
“Mr. Borisov, your works are well known in the USA. You have done a great job in this part of the world. Our cooperation with Bulgaria within NATO and in the relations with the United States is very good, and we will be happy to see it continue to develop,” said NATO’s Supreme Commander in Europe.
He has expressed gratitude on behalf of the US Ambassador in Sofia James Warlick for Borisov’s personal commitment to fighting organized and corruption, and bolstering rule of law in Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian PM in turn has promised that his country will remain a reliable ally of the NATO member states.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato
Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/
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==============================
- 15.
-
Georgian Drones Violate Abkhazian Air Space
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Tue Apr 27, 2010 5:48 am (PDT)
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/04/27/6971278.html
Voice of Russia
April 27, 2010
Georgian drones violate Abkhazia’s air space
Georgian drones have violated Abkhazia’s air space more than 40 times since May last year, says an official of the Russian Security Service’s Border-Guard Department in Abkhazia Vassily Malayev.
He has also said that more than 25 caches with arms, ammunition and explosives have been found in Abkhazia.
Russian and Abkhaz frontier guards jointly guard the Abkhaz-Georgian border in keeping with an agreement to that effect that the two republics signed in April 2009.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato
Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/
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==============================
- 16.
-
U.S., Australia Renew Global Military Logistics Accord
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:05 am (PDT)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-04/27/c_13269649.htm
Xinhua News Agency
April 27, 2010
Australia, U.S. renew logistics agreement
-Since its inception, the agreement had ensured supply support and services to Australian and U.S. forces deployed to all parts of the world wherever they were operating together....That included mutual support during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
CANBERRA: Australia and the United States on Tuesday renewed an agreement allowing deployed Australian forces to exploit the vast logistics capability of the American military.
The agreement also allowed U.S. forces on operations to make use of Australian logistics.
Air Chief Marshal Houston said the Australia-United States Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) was a treaty level arrangement and the principal means for cooperative logistics support between the U.S. and Australia.
Since its inception, the agreement had ensured supply support and services to Australian and U.S. forces deployed to all parts of the world wherever they were operating together, Houston said.
That included mutual support during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Houston said the agreement had also played a significant role in major exercises such as the Talisman Sabre series conducted biennially between Australia and the U.S.
Renewing today the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement demonstrates the continuing strength and practical application of our long-standing alliance," Houston said in a statement.
"I am pleased that General Cartwright and I have been able to renew an agreement that provides the foundation for the important work of our military logisticians."
The longstanding deal was renewed at a short ceremony in Canberra, attended by Defense head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston and U.S. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General James Cartwright.
The agreement will come into effect once approved by the U.S. congress and Australian parliament.
===========================
Stop NATO
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Blog site:
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==============================
- 17.
-
Canada Concludes Military Exercises In Arctic Circle
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:10 am (PDT)
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-04/27/c_13269527.htm
Xinhua News Agency
April 27, 2010
Canadian forces close Operation NUNALIVUT 10 in high Arctic
-Some of the...accomplishments of the operation included the first landing of a CC-177 Globemaster III at CFS Alert on a gravel-and-ice covered airfield.
-"The Arctic presents a challenging environment. It is as essential to develop the expertise required to effectively operate this far north as it is to operate in international theatres such as Afghanistan."
OTTAWA: Operation NUNALIVUT 10, the Canadian Forces' annual exercise in the high Arctic, closed on Monday, featuring the first ever landing of a CC-177 Globemaster at Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert.
The Operation also featured concurrent training between the Arctic Response Company Group and the Canadian Rangers, who conducted their patrols further north than ever before.
Attending the closing ceremonies, Canada's Minister of National Defense Peter MacKay said that the Canadian Forces successfully achieved their aim of demonstrating and improving upon their capabilities to respond to safety and security challenges in Canadian Arctic areas.
....
During Operation NUNALIVUT 10, conducted in Canada's high Arctic, along the most northern tip of Ellesmere Island, in the vicinity of CFS Alert, Ward Hunt Island, Alert Point, and out onto the Arctic Ocean, the Canadian Forces demonstrated the ability to operate in the most challenging and austere conditions.
This major joint operation also saw a Canadian Ranger Patrol Group establish an ice camp 90 km north of CFS Alert on the sea ice, allowing the Canadian Rangers the opportunity to extend their patrol range.
Some of the other accomplishments of the operation included the first landing of a CC-177 Globemaster III at CFS Alert on a gravel-and-ice covered airfield. The Combined Dive Team conducted its first underwater dive in the high Arctic and its longest sustained ice dive operation in Canadian Forces history.
In addition, a portion of the Arctic Response Company Group conducted concurrent training with the Canadian Rangers for the first time in the Arctic, while a team of nine regular and reserve signalers tested a new series of Iridium high frequency and satellite communication systems.
"The Canadian Forces are constantly developing, training and perfecting their capabilities," said General Walt Natynczyk, Chief of the Defense Staff, who also attended the closing ceremony.
"The Arctic presents a challenging environment. It is as essential to develop the expertise required to effectively operate this far north as it is to operate in international theatres such as Afghanistan," the general added.
===========================
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==============================
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