[Dawn] Thai customs officials said Tuesday they had arrested a Pakistani man at Bangkok's main international airport with 98 aluminium foil packages in his stomach containing more than a kilo of heroin.
Chaudhry Ijaz Rasul, 34, was arrested as he attempted to clear customs at Suvarnabhumi Airport early Monday morning on a Thai Airways flight from Lahore in Pakistan.
'He has swallowed 98 small packages of heroin which were wrapped in aluminium foil,' a senior customs official told AFP.
The authorities forced Rasul to go to the toilet to expel the drugs, which weighed 1.3 kilograms with a street value of approximately 3.9 million baht (117,750 dollars), the official said.
'He confessed that he was asked to smuggle the drugs and that a man would come to pick them up from a hotel in Bangkok,' he added.
Rasul was charged with possession and trafficking of class A drugs, which carries a possible death sentence in Thailand.
Saw something like this every once in a while as a resident: 'packers' would swallow latex balloons filled with cocaine and come into the country, then drive up I-95. If the balloons started to leak they'd end up in an emergency room along the way, occasionally ours, with unremitting seizures followed by death. Not a happy way to go.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Another Taliban/Al Quaeda supporter - whether he realizes it or not.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The former US defense chief and his top commander withheld the correct military generalship and reinforcements required for the capture of al-Qaeda's number one, says a high-profile US report.
As al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was "within the grasp" of the US servicemen, former defense secretary, Donald Henry Rumsfeld and former commander of the United States Central Command, General Tommy Franks refused to authorize them to block his escape route and disallowed the extra deployment needed for an effective assault, read a recent Senate report.
Bin Laden, consequently, escaped from his alleged eastern Afghanistan hideout to neighboring Pakistan, the report continued.
The former secretary had reportedly argued that extra logistics on the ground could turn the locals against the forces.
The US invaded neighboring Afghanistan in 2001, alleging bin Laden's capture and associating the ruling Taliban regime with al-Qaeda, which Washington accuses of engineering the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
The failing mission has been invariably used as an excuse for prolonging the war. The US-led counterinsurgency operations have so far left many thousands of Afghan civilians dead while failing to enable the elimination or capture of any key militant leader.
The report reasserted the widely-questioned justification, claiming that the alleged blunder had "altered the course of the conflict in Afghanistan and the future of international terrorism, leaving the American people more vulnerable to terrorism, laying the foundation for today's protracted Afghan insurgency."
Now divested of their authority, many former administration officials have, meanwhile, been depicted in various such reports as the culprits behind the US-led interventionism worldwide and the ensuing bloodshed.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
This is almost verbatim what "Lurch" Kerry said a few days ago. Seems Iran Press has his speech and doctored it a bit.
This is also why I am a vocal proponent of the separation of Lurch and State.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/09/2009 7:15 Comments ||
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#6
With Bin Ladin, we do not want him, we want who he talks to here in these United States. And then find with whom the couriers were working with. Until then, He blabbers on if he lives.
#7
General Tommy Franks isn't afraid to release his DOD records, just saying, Senator Douchebag Horseface. What's it been? 5 years now? And you still haven't rebutted the "lying swiftboaters"?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/09/2009 19:08 Comments ||
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#8
Compare wid PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS > THE REAL MUSLIM UMMAHS' ENEMY - THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA AND THE HOUSE OF SAUD???
[Dawn] Nato forces killed civilians during an overnight strike on militants in eastern Afghanistan, the Afghan government said.
Nato said only militants were killed.
Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said that a number of civilians were killed when Nato forces went after a Taliban operative in Laghman province.
Regional officials said 12 Afghans were killed in Tuesday's pre-dawn strike, including some civilians. No one provided an exact number of how many civilians died.
Nato said in a statement that seven militants were killed and four detained the strike, which targeted a militant leader who had been responsible for several suicide attacks in the region.
Hundreds of residents took to the streets to protest the incident. Bashary said an investigation was under way.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
How does one know who are militants and who are civilians, before, during, or even after a battle? And define civilian - the militants are civilians and the civilians provide active support to the militants. Either accept the standard criticism of 'murdering innocent civilians', or don't fight at all, --- or kill them all so there's nobody to say you did it.
#3
That is part of the reason the Geneva Conventions were written - to protect civilians during war.
One of the most important protections is the requirement that combatants be clearly identifiable via a clear badge or uniform and not hide among and behind civilians. Combatants which are not clearly identifiable, hide behind and among the civilians are 'illegal combatants' and are 1) not given protections (can be executed in the field) and 2) are responsible for any civilian deaths they cause.
#4
The afgan govt is playing the old "you fight and die for us, while we criticize you." The only thing new is it's now being played against Obumble rather than Bush.
Posted by: regular joe ||
12/09/2009 15:04 Comments ||
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#5
I would withdraw, with public notice, any protective forces for the Afghan whores politicians accusing us of atrocity. I'm sure they don't want any protection from us barbarians
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/09/2009 19:09 Comments ||
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The UN Human Rights Council has called on North Korea to reveal the realities of life there, pointing out the country's dismal human rights record.
At the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, the majority of the 47-nation council accused the communist state of widespread rights abuses such as forced child labor, public executions and torture and criticized the lack of transparency about human rights conditions.
A North Korean representative defended the state in the three-hour session, blaming natural disasters and international aggression for economic difficulties and saying that public executions are carried out at the request of victims' families.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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[Kyodo: Korea] Chief U.S. policymaker on North Korea Stephen Bosworth arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a three-day visit aimed at persuading North Korea to return to the stalled six-party denuclearization talks, according to North Korean official media.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > CHINA TAKES THE DRAGON'S SHARE IN SRI LANKAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT [contrux projects, other SLankan dev].
versus
WMF > ECON STRUGGLING JAPAN'S COVERT DESIRE TO MINIMIZE CHINA'S INFLUENCE IN EAST-SOUTH ASIAN DEVELOPMENT [North Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia].
* SAME WMF > PAKISTAN DEFENCE MEDIAS-WEBSITE: CHINA'S SECRET WEAPONS ARE A DEADLY THREAT TO US MILITARY ON GUAM ISLAND [CJ/"Sword"-10, new CJ-20 ALCMS mounted on LR PLAAF H-6H, H-6M Strategic Bombers].
China will soon be able to launch LR strategic air attacks agz Guam bases [ + later Hawaii] as projected from CHIN/PLA-defended airspace back in mainland China andor littorals.
Also, SAME > CHINA'S FIRST AIRCRAFT CARRIER BATTLE GROUP/CVBG] WILL LIKELY DEPLOY FIRST TO HAINAN ISLAND BASE TO ENFORCE CHINA'S SOVEREIGNTY CLAIMS OER DISPUTED SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLANDS.
* GLOBAL TIMES.cn > [old]THREE US ARMY MISSLE SYSTEMS ON GUAM TO DEFEND AGZ CHINA'S MISSLE THREAT.
Whatever your origins, nationality or religion might be, whatever qualifications you may or may not have, whatever your social or professional status might be, whether you are married or single, the French Foreign Legion offers you a chance to start a new life...
Join the 7699 legionnaires and non-commissioned officers hailing from 136 different countries, including France. Build yourself an exceptional future in which “honour” and “fidelity” are fundamental values.
Be a part of the news that makes the headlines !
By joining the French Foreign Legion, you are sure to be a part of the news that makes the headlines either in France on manoeuvres, or on external operations in French territories abroad... (French Guyana, New Caledonia, Mayotte, la Reunion, the French West Indies...)
Whether restoring or keeping the peace, or exercising crowd control, the Legion has been able to adapt to all situations in all theatres of conflict (the Gulf War of 1990-1991; Kampuchea, Somalia in 1992-1993; Rwanda in 1994; Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia in 1993 to 2003; Central African Republic in 1996...).
Today, the legionnaires are engaged in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Chad, the Ivory Coast and anywhere else they might be needed by France.
The legionnaire's code of honor guides him wherever he may be asked to serve, in France or on operations abroad.
#2
I would think even diplomatic passport holders and their pouches should be subject to the chem. bio, and explosive scanners and dogs trained to detect $$$$, etc. in this day and age. Immunity from scrutiny for a few is not profiling, it is favoritism in the land where we should have equality before the law.
Very interesting article. First mention made of U.S. Joint Terrorism Task Force, which proves, unless ratholed by the FBI, US Intelligence was all over this guy. My guess is Webster's investigation will be a blame sharing exercise designed to take the heat off of the bureau. Don't expect the results to be published or leaked for many months or possible a couple of years.
Interesting note. The Hasan attack took place on 5 November. President Obama toured the Joint Terrorism Task Force Headquarters less than two weeks prior. I would caution however, we should not...jump to conclusions.
#1
I still suspect a strong flavor of the FBI wanting to nose into the Pentagon's inquiry. These "inter-tribal" deals between agencies are often done for their own sake, strictly as a pecking order deal.
#2
You are undoubtedly correct Moose. Classic gov't agency incremental damage control, assisted by our old friends 'father time' and paralysis of analysis. Internal investigation 30 days (+/-). A bit of smoke in the teepee? Contact the Attorney General, AG contacts POTUS, wait 2 weeks, announce an "independent" investigation is launched, 6 months (+/-). Hopefully by then then the media will be on to something else.
The Council on American Islamic Relations says it has received a total of 2,728 civil rights complaints in 2008, marking an eleven percent rise since 2006.
The annual US Muslim Civil Rights report, titled 'Seeking Full Inclusion', is a chronicle of complaints the organization has received in 2008 from Muslims across the US about discrimination, anti-Muslim violence and harassment.
Altogether 80 percent of the incidents were reported in the states of California, Illinois, New York, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
The council, a Muslim civil rights organization, said the complaints increased by 3 percent compared to 2007 and by 11 percent compared to 2006.
A film titled 'Obsession, Radical Islam's War Against the West' was made in the US in 2008. More than 28 million DVDs of this film have been distributed in 14 US states.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
What do you expects from sons of monkeys and pigs?
#4
Maybe they should start tracking "honor" killings, Muslim against infidel violence, refusal to pay taxes which is rampant in that community, etc., but those are APPROPRIATE forms of the Sharia way of life...
Posted by: Boss Snomotle8280 ||
12/09/2009 18:30 Comments ||
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#5
To a Muslim, looking at him cross-eyed is a civil rights violation.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/09/2009 19:09 Comments ||
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[Geo News] The preliminary investigation report on the Moon Market suicide blasts occurred in Allama Iqbal Town locality of provincial capital Lahore has been presented to IG Punjab on Tuesday, Geo news quoted Lahore police sources as reporting.
The report revealed as many as 49 innocent people lost their lives including 18 women, 7 children, 22 men and the suicide bomber himself.
According to police sources the preliminary investigation stated the first blast occurred at 08:40am and the second took place after 10 seconds meanwhile, following the blasts, response time of concerned SHO was estimated at 5 minutes and of the SP at 7 to 8 minutes.
But nonetheless, the fire tenders were 20 to 25 minutes late to arrive on blasts site, it said adding, two suicide bombers entered market from backside and blew themselves up while, due to plastic articles, shoes and clothes, the fire blazes took no time to engulf the entire market.
At least 40 shops and 19 counters were blown up while the samples of seven dead bodies have been sent for DNA tests, report disclosed.
It is also informed through report; the in-charge investigation of the concerned police station will investigate Moon Market blasts to submit daily progress report to DIG investigation Lahore.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Geo News] Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Secretary General Liaquat Baloch on Tuesday said that India and United States were hatching conspiracies to weaken Pakistan. He expressed these views while condoling with the family of a Lahore blast's victim here, he said the recent attacks in Lahore looked like part of Indian and American plan to expand this terror war throughout the country. Baloch visited Sheikh Zayed Hospital where he enquired the health of injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
ION BHARAT RAKSHAK > PHILIPPINE EXPERT, LTTE CADRES TRAINED INDIAN MAOISTS.
#4
US, India conspiring to weaken Pakistan: Baloch
Wrong word, try "Destroy".
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/09/2009 11:50 Comments ||
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#5
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > PEOPLE IN TELANGUANA REGION [Andhra-Pradesh] DEMANDING SEPARATE HOMELAND.
* SAME/WMF > "BACKDOOR IMPERIALISM": US ARMY CHIEF DISCUSSES BALOCHISTAN SEPARATIST ISSUE WITH INDIA. OBAMA MAY SUCCEED IN SOUTH, SOUTHEAST ASIA WHERE KENNEDY, JOHNSTON, AND NIXON FAILED DUE TO THE VIETNAM WAR AND REGIONAL ANTI-US COMMUNIST STRUGGLES.
#6
TOPIX > JI LEADER: INDIA IS TRYING TO DISINTEGRATE PAKISTAN.
* SAME > [Russia]US FAILURE IN AGHANISTAN WILL DAMAGE/ENDANGER RUSSIA. Any Islamist-Milit threat to former SSRS in CENTASIA + CHINA, etc., includ parts of Russia proper, directly threatens = endangers Russia thru them.
ALso, RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT TO BE ALLOWED TO USE MILITARY FORCES OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA WITHOUT FORMALITIES.
US President Barack Obama's views on the issue of West Bank settlements are more challenging for Israel than those of former president Jimmy Carter, Minister-without-Portfolio Bennie Begin said in a meeting with Likud activists from Judea and Samaria at the Knesset Tuesday. Usually Benny is very polite---kinda like his father, only without fire
[Al Arabiya Latest] European Union foreign ministers agreed on Tuesday that Jerusalem should be the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state, as part of a negotiated settlement, E.U. diplomats said.
The foreign ministers, meeting for a second day of talks in Brussels, adopted a text agreeing that Jerusalem should provide "the future capital of the two states," one diplomat said.
"If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states," the ministers said in a statement.
So are they in agreement with some of President Obama's advisers that if necessary troops must be sent to protect the Palestinian capital in Old Jerusalem from Israeli objections? Who will go: the overextended French troops, the German troops who only work Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, the Greek oh-so-unenthusiastic conscript troops (like a certain former Rantburg poster)?
I'm sure Chavez would love to send some Venezuelans. I'd expect him to do regular photo ops with the Palestinians, triumphantly proclaiming their soldiarity against the Jews and the Americans.
I'd prefer they send the Poles. The Poles have some history and a score to settle ...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
Personally, I think that the Israelis should approach this with wit, substituting "Brussels" for "Jerusalem", etc.
For example:
The Israeli foreign minister agreed on Tuesday that Brussels should be the capital of both the EU and a future Palestinian state, as part of a negotiated settlement, Israeli diplomats said.
The foreign minister, meeting for a second day of talks in Jerusalem, adopted a text agreeing that Brussels should provide "the future capital of the two states," another diplomat said.
"If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Brussels as the future capital of two states," the ministers said in a statement...
[Ma'an] The first and second Palestinian intifadas proved that resistance is the Palestinian peoples' strategic choice to confront Israeli occupation, said Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif Al-Qanou on Tuesday in a statement marking the 22nd anniversary of the first Palestinian Intifada.
"On the anniversary of the intifada which coincides with the anniversary of Hamas, we assure that we will carry on the jihad and the resistance," he said.
Al-Qanou added that the Hamas movement considered the first Palestinian Intifada, which started in 1987 in Jabaliya, northern Gaza as thwarting the "breaking the bones" strategy of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The Hamas spokesman further praised the resolve of the Palestinian people and their resistance to the Israeli occupation, as well as their patience with the siege on Gaza that Israel initiated three years ago against the 1.5 million Palestinians of the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] President Mahmoud Abbas spoke of the necessity for a return to negotiations with Israel where they last stalled, based on 1967 borders and in accordance with US President Barak Obama's administration, he said during a press conference in Lebanon on Tuesday.
"There is no alternative for peace but peace itself," Abbas said, and further called for a settlement freeze as the first initiative to resuming the negotiations. He considered every stone on Palestinian land to be illegal, he added.
Before Abbas ended his visit to Lebanon, he spoke of the history of negotiations since Oslo noting that "the negotiations are long,"
"But the Palestinians are determined on peace and pursuing with Palestinian elections is necessary to resolve the controversy and unify the Palestinian position so that there won't be exploitation or extortion."
Moreover, Palestinian elections should be held in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, Abbas said, reasserting that his decision not to run in the elections was "not a maneuver, but a stance which has its own reasons."
The president further discussed the reconciliation document, placing great importance on bringing an end to Hamas-Fatah rivalry.
With regard to the Goldstone report, Abbas denied that the PA initially rejected it, stating that Israel had done so before the Palestinian side.
Concerning the Arab Initiative, Abbas expressed that it is "binding for all the Arab and Muslim countries, as it exist after failed attempts to overthrow it. This initiative is now a part of the UN decisions, particularly 1515."
Additionally, Abbas lunched with Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri and discussed Arab and Palestinian issues.
The Palestinian President is expected in Egypt later on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
Even got a nifty acronym......
A year ago, U.S. Marines operating in the Arabian Desert only viewed the sun as the source of the region's relentless heat. Recently, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Advanced Power Generation Future Naval Capabilities program introduced technology that allows the Marines to harness some of that sunshine to help power their field equipment.
Fueled by the sun, the Ground Renewable Expeditionary ENergy System (GREENS) is a 300-watt, photovoltaic/battery system that provides continuous power to Marines in the field. ONR began exploring the GREENS idea in fall 2008 in response to a Marine Corps requirement from Iraq for an expeditionary renewable power system.
"It's vitally important to have power in the battlefield especially these days in an irregular warfare environment," said Marine Col. Thomas Williams, a senior officer at ONR.
"There's a high demand for computing devices, targeting systems and communications devices in the field. Small tactical Marine units are widely dispersed, and they require power and resupply."
By reducing the logistical supply chain for fuel, GREENS, and other projects like it, will help cut fuel use, cost and the associated threats to vehicle resupply convoys in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"There are two pieces to the program," said Dr. Michele Anderson, ONR's program officer responsible for the effort. "One is a hardware demonstrator that is a hybrid photovoltaic battery system to enable the Marine Corps to use solar energy."
"The other piece is a tool kit," Anderson continued. "In other words, a Marine can enter into the GREENS computer what their expected mission profile is, and it will tell them which components of the GREENS system to pull out and take with them in order to provide their renewable power needs."
Approval for the GREENS project was expedited through the ONR Future Naval Capability process and technical execution took less than six months, resulting in test of the first unit in July 2009.
The entire project, from concept to transition, took just over a year, culminating in a contract solicitation announcement to industry to produce and field GREENS for the Marine Corps.
Justin Govar, a chemical engineer for the Expeditionary Power Systems Office at Marine Corps Systems Command, agreed. "Within the Marine Corps, we are fighting in areas that are remote, and require very difficult logistical convoys to get to," Govar said. "And there is a lot of fuel and other types of batteries and power systems that have a heavy logistical burden."
The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD), developed and tested the GREENS prototype. "Providing reliable AC and DC power to remote outposts is what GREENS is all about," said Eric Shields, a mechanical engineer for the Battery Technology Group at NSWCCD.
"Marines will not have to rely on fuel resupplies as much for generators to ensure their radio equipment and batteries have power."
The GREENS system has undergone continuous power testing at Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, Calif., where ambient temperatures exceeded 116 degrees Fahrenheit. Even under the extreme temperatures, the system provided 85 percent of the rated energy. This performance exceeded expectations, prompting rapid development and accelerating procurement of the final design.
GREENS was a featured program at the ONR-sponsored Naval Energy Forum and is just one of the many innovative ways the future battlefield will be powered. The deployment of this technology will equip the Marine Corps with new capability and knowledge of how renewable energy can make a difference. It would be interesting to see for a given mission defined, how much convoy resupply is saved from a traditional generator-type operation. This looks like a step in the right direction if it makes scientific and engineering sense. And we sure need some common sense solutions in this age of CO2 and Carbon Credits Bruhaha. We will not get solutions from Al Gorilioni and cronies.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/09/2009 12:46 ||
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Russia is seeking to acquire more Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles under a $100 million deal that has more to do with bribing Moscow not to supply Iran with state-of-the-art air-defense missiles that could skewer any Israeli air assault than it has with dollars and cents. Having to deal with the Russian Bear is a painful experience.
Russia has not been able to produce an effective UAV, a weakness exposed during its brief 2008 conflict with Georgia, and it has made no secret of the fact that it wants to reverse-engineer the Israeli craft to fast-track production.
Moscow bought 12 Israeli UAVs under a $53 million deal signed in April with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, but not disclosed until June. These comprise IAI's second-tier craft, the Bird-Eye 400 mini-UAV, the I-View MK 150 tactical UAV and the Searcher Mark 2 medium-range UAV.
That was Israel's first sale of military platforms to Russia. It was also Russia's first purchase of a foreign weapons system.
Israeli defense sources say that the new deal under negotiation with IAI involved improved surveillance equipment. IAI declined comment, but one Israeli sources noted: "The Russians are going for a triple upgrade of their fleet and its capabilities."
According to other sources, Russia wants 50 Israeli UAVs, particularly long-endurance craft.
That likely includes IAI's Heron, the largest Israeli surveillance drone with a 54-foot wingspan. It has the ability to stay aloft for 50 hours at a time at an altitude of 30,000 feet. It can also carry missiles and can be refueled in flight from tanker aircraft. Quite the little bird, it is.
It was Georgia's use of long-endurance Hermes 450 tactical spy drones, built by Israel's Elbit Systems, to provide battlefield reconnaissance in the 2008 fighting that caught Moscow's interest. "We want some of those!"
The Russians, who had to rely on the less effective Tu-22 strategic bombers for battlefield intelligence, decided to acquire Israeli craft for the purpose of studying them and reproducing them in Russia. "Let's get some and take them apart, like we did with the US B-29s that landed on our soil in WW2. We will make our own version of them."
The Russians have been building unmanned aircraft for several decades, but never achieved the degree of success of U.S. and Israeli companies. Their craft have only a fraction of the flight duration of the Israeli UAVs and have long had reliability problems.
Following the Georgia conflict, the Russian air force launched several UAV projects, with the objective of having operational systems by 2011. But Russian defense contractors, including the state-owned Ikut aircraft manufacturer and the Vega Radio Engineering Corp., were unable to come up with systems that met the air force's requirements.
According to various estimates, the Russians need at least 100 UAVs and at least 10 guidance systems to provide the battlefield surveillance the military needs.
In the first UAV sale to Russia in June, the Israelis withheld the most advanced UAV variants after several Russian officials publicly stated that the main reason they wanted the UAVs was to purloin their technology. At least they were being honest about it.
But the Israelis understood that it was vital to be able to influence Moscow, Iran's main arms supplier, to block the delivery of S-300PMU air-defense missiles to the Islamic Republic. And therein lies the place between the rock and the hard spot.
It wants the advanced system to protect its nuclear facilities from threatened Israeli airstrikes.
Indeed, in 2008 Gen. Amos Gilad, head of the Israeli Defense Ministry's Diplomatic Security Bureau, visited Moscow and received assurances that Russia would not provide S-300s to Iran or MiG-31 interceptor jets to Syria. How reliable are those assurances? A high stakes game, especially if Russia screws Israel on the deal.
Iranian leaders have been complaining vociferously about Moscow's refusal to honor an $800 million contract for five S-300 batteries signed in 2007 as tension between the United States and Iran swelled once more over Tehran's nuclear program, raising the prospect of unilateral Israeli military
action.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu secretly flew to Moscow several weeks ago to press President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin not to send S-300s to Iran and was reportedly given renewed assurances they would not.
"The UAV sale/technology theft was basically a bribe to ensure that the Russians did not equip Iran with better anti-aircraft missiles," according to one Western analyst.
"Letting Russia steal UAV technology has suddenly become more important than keeping Iran or Syria down."
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/09/2009 19:11 ||
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#1
ION RUSSIA WMF > POOR ECONOMY, RESURGENT MILITANT THREAT, NATO EXPANSION CAUSES RUSSIA TO STREAMLINE ITS MILITARY ["Best Bang for the Borsch Buck-Dollar" given Russ present National Affairs or Conditions].
Read, RUSS MAY ASK FOR INTENSIVE UNO + US-NATO ASSISTANCE, INTERVENTION? IFF THINGYS GET WORSEY???
* WMF > US-NATO VS. OSCE-CSTO: FORGET EUROPE, EAST-WEST "BALANCE OF POWER" ISSUES, GEOPOLX WILL NOW BE DECIDED IN CENTRAL-EAST ASIA.
#4
According to various estimates, the Russians need at least 100 UAVs and at least 10 guidance systems to provide the battlefield surveillance the military needs.
#6
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > GEORGIAN DAILY -ISLAMIZATION IS TRANSFORMING THE NORTH CAUCASUS INTO RUSSIA'S "INTERNAL ABROAD": MALESHENKO SAYS; + EXPERTS SAY CLIMATE CHANGE HITTING RUSSIA'S NORTHERN PEOPLES FIRST AND HARDEST.
#7
TOPIX > [Armenia-Azerbaijan War over Nagorno-Karabakh]] ANALYSTS: THAT SIDE WHICH RUSSIA SUPPORTS WILL WIN. Post-Cold War Russ interests remains mostly the same as in antiquity = Tsarist-SOviet-Russ history, i.e. RUSSIA IS ALWAYS ONLY/SOLELY FOR RUSSIA, NOT "PEACE" PER SE ANDOR LOCAL ALLIES ETC., + WILL SUPPORT FOR, WORK AGZ ALL SIDES TO PROMOTE ITSELF.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Shiite group Hezbollah has denied rumors that Ali Salem al-Beidh, the former president of South Yemen, made a secret visit to Beirut to gather support for Yemen's Houthi rebels in an effort to weaken Yemen's central government.
"These rumors are misleading, fake and baseless," Ibrahim Moussawi, head of Hezbollah's press unit said in a phone call to Al Arabiya.net.
"Hezbollah has nothing whatsoever to do with Houthis" Moussawi said, adding that the issue with the Houthis in Yemen "can only be solved though dialogue and not war."
Lebanese sources however told Al Arabiya.net, that al-Beidh last October made a secret visit to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and attempted to make contact with key players in Hezbollah in order to obtain support for the Houthis.
Reportedly al-Beidh was told that senior figures in the Shiite group did now wish to meet with him or in any way be associated with the current situation in Yemen.
But according to the same sources, Hezbollah is against the Yemeni government's handling of the Houthi rebels despite rejecting to be connected to the situation or the secession movement in any way.
Yemeni government forces launched an all-out offensive against Shiite Houthi rebels in the north of the Arabian Peninsula country on Aug. 11 in an attempt to end a five-year rebellion.
But the conflict took a new twist in early November when neighboring Saudi Arabia joined the fight against the rebels after accusing them of infiltrating its southern borders.
The Houthis complain of being marginalized and oppressed by the government, which accuses them of seeking to reinstate a form of clerical rule that ended in a republican coup in 1962. The rebels deny the claim.
Aid agencies estimate that the violence has caused 150,000 people in northern Yemen to flee their homes in the five years since the fighting first broke out.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
So if it isn't Hezbollah, and (by extension) it's not Iran, and the Saudis aren't supporting them themselves... are they managing this rebellion with no visible means of support? And doing such a good job that the Saudis are having to dismiss military units and bring in special forces from elsewhere to staunch the leaking?
[Iran Press TV Latest] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to support calls for new sanctions against Iran, saying they would be ineffective. After a meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday, Erdogan said Turkey will not support any proposal to impose new sanctions on Iran at the United Nations Security Council.
The comments showed that Obama failed to persuade the Turkish prime minister of the need for sanctions against Iran.
Erdogan said Turkey wants to see a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West. Erdogan also offered to mediate in negotiations between Tehran and the West.
These developments come ten days after the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors approved a resolution against Iran.
Erdogan criticized the resolution against Iran, calling it very rushed. "I believe that was a very rushed process because certain steps could be taken in a more consultative fashion," Erdogan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[2 views]
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#1
See also BHARAT RAKSHAK > WORLD TRIBUNE > WESTERN STRATEGIC LOSSES: IRAN AND TURKEY.
#2
So how are you and your new pal Iran getting on, Erdogan? I guess the bid for the EU didn't work out, eh? Played like a cheap trick did they? Good luck t'ye.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/09/2009 9:56 Comments ||
Top||
#3
See also WAFF > TURKEY TO ISRAEL: CROSS OUR AIRSPACE TO ATTACK IRAN, AND WE WILL RESPOND LIKE AN EARTHQUAKE!
* SAME > TURKEY: ISRAEL CANNOT BOMB GAZA AND THEN HOLD MIL DRILLS IN TURKEY [ Turkic-Israeli MilEx] + "NEO-OTTOMAN" IN TURKEY; + ISRAEL FEARS TURKEY'S CHANGING STANCE| IFF ANKARA DROPS TEL AVIV IN FAVOR OF SYRIA AND IRAN, ISREAL'S WORST NIGHTMARE WOULD HAVE COME TRUE!
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran's prosecutor general has called for an investigation into corruption charges against the son of a high-ranking Iranian official.
Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran's Expediency Council, has been accused of money laundering and fact fabrication.
"If there are any charges against Mehdi Hashemi, he should be summoned and his case investigated," Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i said in a Tuesday press conference.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a TV debate during his presidential campaign, accused the Rafsanjani family of corruption.
During the fourth round of the trial of the post-election detainees in August, one of the defendants accused Mehdi Hashemi of embezzling $2 million of the assets of the Iranian Fuel Conservation Organization -- which was previously headed by him.
Hashemi, who is now in Britain, has categorically denied the accusations.
"If he [Hashemi] is found guilty, he should be punished without any mercy," Eje'i said.
Meanwhile, Iran's prosecutor general dismissed as "fake" defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi's alleged "evidence" about the rape and murder of a young man and a teenage girl during the post-election unrest.
Contrary to the claims Saeideh Pouraqaei had been killed and buried in a Tehran cemetery, our investigations showed that she was alive, Eje'i said.
He said that a team of experts at Iran's judiciary investigated video footage provided by Karroubi in which a young man claimed he had been raped while in custody.
The experts and I had serious doubts about the man's remarks, but once we tried to have direct talks with him, Karroubi's website said the man had disappeared, he added.
"We later found somebody who had connections with the man and it was found out that he had neither taken part in protests nor had he been arrested," Eje'i said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/09/2009 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
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#1
Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran's Expediency Council, has been accused of money laundering and fact fabrication.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The UN Human Rights Council has called on North Korea to reveal the realities of life there, pointing out the country's dismal human rights record. 
[Geo News] Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Secretary General Liaquat Baloch on Tuesday said that India and United States were hatching conspiracies to weaken Pakistan. He expressed these views while condoling with the family of a Lahore blast's victim here, he said the recent attacks in Lahore looked like part of Indian and American plan to expand this terror war throughout the country. Baloch visited Sheikh Zayed Hospital where he enquired the health of injured.
