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Thursday, June 7, 2012

U.S. strike said to target al-Qaeda’s No. 2




U.S. missiles killed more than a dozen people in northwestern Pakistan early Monday in a strike that apparently was aimed at al-Qaeda’s No. 2 leader, the charismatic and influential jihadist known as Abu Yahya al-Libi, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.
The terrorist commander’s fate remained unclear late in the day, amid a swirl of rumors inside Pakistan that the longtime deputy to Osama bin Laden had been badly wounded or perhaps killed in the strike. Libi’s death, if confirmed, would represent one of the biggest successes against al-Qaeda since bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs 13 months ago.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Russia, China Pledge to Boost Ties on Trade, Foreign Policy, Military




Russia and China have pledged to give priority to development of bilateral ties and to oppose foreign intervention in Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China Tuesday for a three-day visit expected to focus on the Middle East, energy cooperation and regional trade policy.
Mr. Putin, who is making his first trip to Asia since starting his third term as president last month, met with Chinese President Hu Jintao soon after his arrival.
Mr. Hu announced their agreement at a joint press conference.
“China and Russia will strengthen our bilateral support and cooperation, and improve our long-standing relationship. We will strengthen our strategic cooperation on international issues, work together for the revitalization of both our countries, and safeguard the peace, stability and security of the region.”
Mr. Hu also said the two countries will increase military cooperation.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Olympic defence missiles 'don't work in bad weather'


Six sites, including two residential complexes, are being tested as launch pads for missile systems capable of thwarting any airborne terror attack.
Starstreak and Rapier missile systems - which have a range of around 4 miles - would be deployed as a “last resort” to shoot down any low flying aircraft intending a 9/11 style suicide mission at one of the Olympic venues.
Defence sources claim radar would identify rogue aircraft and the missiles would be deployed long before they reached built up areas.
But experts have claimed that the systems are useless in poor weather as they rely on the operator being able to see the target.




Nick Brown, editor in chief of IHS Jane's International Defence Review said: "The system’s weakness is that the missiles are laser-guided, steered onto their target by the soldier keeping his sight on an aircraft. So if the soldier can’t see an aircraft, they can’t hit it.
As a result, the missiles can be badly affected by weather and would also not be able to engage targets ‘masked’ by buildings on their approach to the stadium."
People living close to where the missiles are to be housed have also expressed concern about the dangers of using such weapons in built up areas.
The systems will be tested in the coming days as part of a major military exercise organised to check Olympic security preparations, although no test missiles will be fired.
Today members of the armed forces visited Bow Quarter in preparation for tomorrow's exercise. Photographs taken by residents appear to show soldiers carrying large boxes.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said they would be setting up equipment but would not be installing missiles, which are still at the "proposal stage".

Bow Quarter resident Steven Spencer photographed soldiers unloading boxes today
Bow Quarter resident Steven Spencer photographed soldiers unloading boxes today


Lessons from Vietnam

I went on a recent weeklong visit to what the French colonialists called “the Paris of the East”—Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City—and the southern areas of Vietnam. On April 30, Vietnam celebrated the 37th anniversary of the complete liberation of its southern part from “US aggressors and its puppet government.” It was a victory that led to the reunification of North and South Vietnam and the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
In the Philippines’ current dispute with China over territorial claims, we can look to Vietnam for lessons on how not to surrender our self-respect and sovereignty to any big power.




Vietnam was colonized by the Chinese, the French, and the Americans, all of whom emerged bruised and traumatized after ultimately being defeated in protracted people’s wars waged by the Vietnamese people and their resistance fighters. In the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the best French generals and officers, schooled in St. Cyr, the elite French military academy, were outwitted and defeated by Vo Nguyen Giap, a former school teacher turned guerrilla leader; the battle capped the defeat of France in the hands of the Viet Minh people’s army. During the American War in Vietnam in 1961-1975, the United States was humbled by the Vietnam People’s Army and the black-pajama “Vietcong” guerrillas of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam.

Philippines plays down Chinese military threat



President Benigno Aquino dismissed as pure rhetoric recent warnings by Chinese officials of decisive action against the Philippines to reinforce Beijing's claim over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
"We don't think that at this stage they (China) will engage in any military activities," Aquino told reporters.
"And we... have been geared towards de-escalating the situation."
He said both countries stand to lose if armed confrontation erupted over the disputed shoal, a potential Asian flashpoint where vessels from both sides were locked in a two-week stand-off that began on April 8.
China claims all of the South China Sea as a historic part of its territory, even waters close to the coasts of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.
Aquino said he had issued "overriding instructions" to his military "not to escalate the issue" and dismissed Chinese warnings as "not indicative" of Beijing's "real intentions".
The Scarborough Shoal is only about 230 kilometres (140 miles) from the Philippines' main island of Luzon, while the the nearest Chinese land mass is Hainan province 1,200 kilometres to the northwest, according to naval maps.
Tensions began when Chinese maritime vessels blocked the Philippine navy from arresting the crews of eight fishing vessels which had entered the area.
Both sides accused each other of violating maritime laws, and on Saturday the Philippines alleged that a Chinese vessel veered dangerously close to its vessels in the area.
Amid the stalemate, the Philippines said it would seek more military assistance from its ally, the United States, to help it build a "credible defence posture" in securing its sovereignty.
China had earlier warned the Philippines against "internationalising" the issue, and its state media had quoted defence and military officials as saying they were prepared to fight for their territory.

US, China engaging in cyber war games


LONDON: US and Chinese officials have been "discreetly engaging" in cyber war games in a bid to prevent military escalation between the two countries if either felt they were being targeted, a media report said Monday.
Officials from the State Department and Pentagon, along with their Chinese counterparts, were involved in two war games in 2011 that were designed to help prevent a sudden military escalation. Another session is being planned for May, the Guardian reported.
Known as "Track 1.5" diplomacy, the war games have been organised through Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a Beijing think-tank, the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.
This has allowed government officials, and those from US intelligence agencies, to have contact in a "less formal environment", the daily said.
"China has come to the conclusion that the power relationship has changed, and it has changed in a way that favours them," said CSIS director Jim Lewis.
"The PLA (China's People's Liberation Army) is very hostile. They see the US as a target. They feel they have justification for their actions. They think the US is in decline," he said.
"We co-ordinate the war games with the state department and department of defence," said Lewis, who brokered the meetings that took place in Beijing in June, and in Washington in December 2011.
During the first exercise, both countries had to describe what they would do if they were attacked by a sophisticated computer virus like Stuxnet, which had disabled centrifuges in Iran's nuclear programme.
In the second, they had to describe their reaction if the attack was known to have been launched from the other side.
"The Chinese are very astute. They send knowledgeable people. We want to find ways to change their behaviour... they can justify what they are doing. Their attitude is, they have experienced imperialism and they had a century of humiliation," Lewis said.
"The Chinese have a deep distrust of the US. They are concerned about US military capabilities. They tend to think we have a grand strategy to preserve US hegemony and they see a direct challenge," he said.
"Of the countries actively involved in cyber espionage, China is the only one likely to be a military competitor to the US," said the think-tank official.
Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the FBI's cyber unit, said the threats posed from cyber attacks were alarming.
"We know that the capabilities of foreign states are substantial and we know the type of information that they are targeting," he said.
The State Department has refused to speak about the war games.
"The US is committed to engaging countries to build a global environment in which all states recognise and adhere to norms of acceptable behaviour in cyberspace. We are engaging broadly with the Chinese government on cyber issues so that we can find common ground on these issues which have increasing importance in our bilateral relationship," a State Department spokesman was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
The Pentagon also declined to comment.
China has also denied being responsible for cyber attacks on the US and other western countries. It maintains it was also a victim of espionage.
Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie said Beijing "stands firmly against all kinds of cyber crimes".


An Asian century maybe, but a lot can happen in 100 years

DINNER last Thursday evening made for one of those rare gilded moments Julia Gillard must wish were more common in judgments of her prime ministership.
In the towering atrium of the National Gallery of Victoria, the soft glow of stained-glass shards illuminating some 200 guests from above, Gillard was praised by a senior businessman for having the courage to introduce the carbon tax. International Monetary Fund chief France's Christine Lagarde beamed down from a large video screen to tell ''dear Julia'' the world was envious of an Australian economy with ''real leadership'', while Imron Cotan, Indonesia's ambassador to China, held a mobile phone aloft to snap souvenir photos as Gillard addressed the crowd.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Thailand, China to develop multiple rocket launchers



BANGKOK: Thailand and China have agreed to jointly develop multiple rocket launchers with a guidance system as part of a move to strengthen military ties.

The two sides reached the agreement during a visit to China by the top Thai military brass.

Under the new agreement, the Thai Defence Technology Institute will work with China to develop new multiple rocket launchers called "DTI-1G [Guided]" which will have a greater range than existing systems, Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat said. 






In an earlier joint deal, Thailand and China developed the DTI-1 system, which had a range of between 60
and 180 km, but reportedly lacked accuracy.

Thai and Chinese defence ministries have also agreed to hold a joint military exercise involving their air forces for the first time.

"We will need to discuss more details of this because Thailand and China have different military doctrines in the aviation area," Sukumpol added.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Phl to seek military equipment from US

New military options and expanding trade and investment opportunities are likely the main issues to be discussed when the foreign and defense secretaries of the Philippines and the United States hold their first ever meeting here on April 30.
The Filipinos are expected to submit a list of military hardware they need for a credible maritime defense while the US, to counter China’s military, will seek bilateral arrangements including rotating more troops in the Philippines to help it remain engaged and forward deployed in Southeast Asia.
The meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin comes in the wake of rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) sparked by the standoff at Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) off Palawan, where Philippine and Chinese vessels are locked in a battle of nerves.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

J-15 Air Frames







Pakistan tests new ballistic missile

Handout photo from the Inter Services Public Relations shows a Hatf IV Shaheen 1 medium-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile is launched from an undisclosed location in Pakistan in 2010. Pakistan successfully test fired a nuclear-capable intermediate range ballistic missile on Wednesday, the military said.
Handout photo from the Inter Services Public Relations shows a Hatf IV Shaheen 1 medium-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile is launched from an undisclosed location in Pakistan in 2010. Pakistan successfully test fired a nuclear-capable intermediate range ballistic missile on Wednesday, the military said.
Pakistan successfully test fired a nuclear-capable intermediate range ballistic missile on Wednesday, the military said, less than a week after India test launched a long range missile.

The exact range of the missile was not revealed, but retired General Talat Masood, a defence analyst, told AFP it would be able to hit targets up to 2,500 to 3,000 kilometres (1,550 to 1,850 miles) away -- putting arch-rival India well within reach.
On Thursday India test fired its long range Agni V missile, which can deliver a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in China.
"Pakistan today successfully conducted the launch of the intermediate range ballistic missile Hatf IV Shaheen-1A weapon system," the military said in a statement.
India and Pakistan -- which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 -- have routinely carried out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.
Pakistan's last missile test came last month with the launch of the short-range nuclear-capable Abdali.
Wednesday's missile, which landed in the sea, was a version of the Shaheen-1 with improvements in range and technical parameters, the military said, and can carry nuclear and conventional warheads.
Director General Strategic Plans Division Lieutenant General Khalid Ahmed Kidwai congratulated scientists and engineers on the successful launch, and the accuracy of the missile in reaching the target.
He said the improved version of Shaheen 1A will further consolidate and strengthen Pakistan's deterrence abilities.
Pakistan's arsenal includes short, medium and long range missiles named after Muslim conquerors.
The neighbours were on the brink of nuclear conflict in 2002 over the disputed territory of Kashmir, but a slow-moving peace dialogue resumed last March after a three-year suspension following the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.
India and the United States blamed the attacks on Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and Islamabad later admitted that the assault was at least partly planned in Pakistan.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Give me a gun and I'll do you Oslo-style

Kenny Holden (pictured) is alleged to have threatened to launched an 'Oslo-style' bomb attack
Kenny Holden (pictured) is alleged to have threatened to launched an 'Oslo-style' bomb attack


A man who allegedly threatened to bomb Asian restaurants and carry out an 'Oslo-style' attack has been arrested, according to a group which monitors the English Defence League.
Northumbria Police said a 29-year-old man from South Shields, South Tyneside, named locally as Kenny Holden, was held for questioning on Saturday on suspicion of assault and possessing racially inflammatory material.
He has been bailed pending further inquiries, a force spokesman said.
According to the EDLNews website, which claims to 'reveal the truth about the English Defence League', a man posted on Facebook that he had 'got a pipe bomb just 4 Ocean Road' - an area of South Shields known for its curry houses.
The writer abused Muslims and then added: 'GIVE ME A GUN AN AL DO YOU ALL OSLO STYLE'.
The website claimed the man held by police was a member of the EDL.

Norwegian gunman Anders Behring Breivik is currently on trial for mass murder after killing 77 people last July. 
His Oslo car bomb killed eight before he went on to massacre 69 more people on Utoya Island.
Holden - who is believed to be a member of the EDL’s South Shields division - was arrested on suspicion of assault and possessing racially inflammatory material on Saturday before he was bailed pending further inquiries.
A police spokesman said the arrest for assault relates to a domestic incident and is unrelated to the alleged racial offence.
Chief Inspector Michael Barton, of South Tyneside Area Command, said: 'Extensive inquiries are being carried out.
'There is no place for any sort of racial incitement or use of social networking to place inappropriate comments and we take incidents such as this extremely seriously.
'I'd like to reassure the public that a full investigation is taking place into this allegation.'
The spokesman added: 'Extensive inquiries have been carried out and there is no apparent threat to the general public.'
The arrest comes just days after an anti-terror operation was carried out over the posting of alleged racist postings online.
Officers from the North East Counter Terrorism Unit carried out synchronised raids at 7.45am on Thursday at houses in North Tyneside and County Durham.
Holden is alleged to have threatened to take part in an 'Oslo-style' bombing in South Shields
Holden is alleged to have threatened to take part in an 'Oslo-style' bombing in South Shields

They took 43-year-old Darren Yateley, of Backworth, North Tyneside, and
46-year-old Paul Duffy, from Elgin Avenue, Seaham, County Durham, to local police stations for questioning.

Yateley - along with all the others - has been released on police bail pending further inquires.
The suspects are being linked with a splinter group of the English Defence
League known as the North West Infidels.

Police searched each house and recovered a range of items including computers, laptops and mobile phones.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133928/Give-gun-Ill-Oslo-style-What-English-Defence-League-supporter-allegedly-wrote-Asians-Facebook.html#ixzz1swqItVRH

Monday, April 23, 2012

Lessons From Sri Lankan War

Sri Lanka recently emerged victorious from one of the world’s longest-running conflicts, once termed an “unwinnable” war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers.
The LTTE is considered one of the deadliest terrorist groups, having invented the concept of the modern-day suicide bomber and carried out the murder of two sitting heads of state. In addition, the Tamil Tigers pioneered use of female suicide bombers, homemade minisubmarines, ultralight aircraft and “warehouse ships” pre-positioned on the high seas to resupply terrorist operations on shore.
These homegrown terrorists held Sri Lanka hostage through brutal acts of terror for almost three decades, demanding a separate state for ethnic Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka while building a vast global terror network.
Many more than 70,000 people were killed and at least 300,000 wounded. In U.S. terms, that would be the equivalent of 1.25 million dead Americans with 4.3 million wounded. The human suffering and economic dislocation is staggering yet is somehow ignored consistently by those abroad who profess to cherish democracy and the dignity of man.
As the self-appointed global leader in the war on terrorism, the United States could learn some significant lessons from Sri Lanka’s victory. Here are our top nine:
• Perhaps the most important lesson is the debunking of the widely held belief that terrorism cannot be quelled militarily. The Sri Lankan military demonstrated that professionalism, strategy, discipline and unswerving commitment can beat terrorism.
All too often, the greatest obstacle to military success is the starry-eyed interference by third parties insisting that only diplomacy and negotiation can bring a true end to terror-based conflicts. History has demonstrated repeatedly, and Sri Lanka has just underscored, that negotiation is doomed in the face of an implacable enemy with an absolutist agenda seeking to create change by ruthless use of force.
• Terrorist outfits are highly opportunistic. They excel in politically manipulating third countries as they engage in hollow cease-fire arrangements to buy time, regroup, rearm and initiate surprise offensives. Even in defeat, terrorist operations may continue by initiating violence inside nations that house their exiles and their remaining power base.
• The terrorist support structure dies hard. Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger terrorists were, and still are, backed by an extraordinarily sophisticated, wealthy and highly educated business and professional class. Actively preventing ex-patriot supporters of defeated terrorist organizations from funding, supplying or otherwise supporting the creation of follow-on entities that will resume the violence — albeit under different names, with different faces — must cap victory on the battlefield.
This means, in the Sri Lankan case, that the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth are the front-line states in ensuring that their territories will not be used to reignite LTTE’s failed but extraordinarily bloody terrorism.
• Terrorist movements rely upon the apathy of third countries toward the suffering that groups operating on their soil cause in distant nations. The hypocritical and self-serving attitude apparent in the commonly expressed “they are engaged only in fundraising here, not violence” not only rationalizes inaction, but also cripples international support for counterterrorism moves deemed vital to host nation interests.
• Even the most sophisticated and creative terror organizations make bad decisions and demonstrate self-defeating behavior. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by LTTE operatives in India brought a profound backlash that saw India effectively bar its soil from being used as a staging area for operations inside Sri Lanka. Once denied physical sanctuary in neighboring countries for combatants, logistics and training activities, terror/insurgent movements are severely crippled.
• Historical animosities do not yield to the wide-eyed “split the difference” mentality that is the hallmark of Western diplomatic and political naivete. Such an approach alienates all parties to a conflict and results in self-deception while exposing the incompetent middleman’s own population to attack. Conflicts rooted in history are complex and should not be reduced to simplistic equations.
• If elected Western leaders actually believe their own rhetoric that all civilized nations must cooperate in this global war on terror, they must actively support the anti-terrorist initiatives of fellow democracies around the world. Ideological movements, religious cults, political insurgencies and cults of personality that employ terror to push their agenda should be eradicated as quickly, as universally and as completely as possible.
Even leaders who hold fast to “pragmatism” as a political creed need to be reminded that the incubation and development of terrorist activity in far-off lands will come back to haunt their own citizens sooner rather than later. The Tamil Tigers’ terrorist activities went largely ignored by the West for decades. But the techniques they developed have killed thousands in unrelated terror attacks around the world.
For instance, use of “boat bombs” was copied by terrorists in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Aden Harbor. Western ambivalence toward this long-running tragedy has been costly.
• Sri Lanka’s war was complex and challenging, spawning several dimensions of terrorist activity. The war was fought on the ground in Sri Lanka, while propaganda and funds for weapons were handled by LTTE supporters living in the West, and weapons were acquired from Southeast Asia and Central Europe. Although the United States designated the LTTE as a foreign terrorist organization in October 1997, it was not until November 2007 that it banned the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization as an LTTE front organization. Until then, in the guise of charity, LTTE activists were collecting funds and transferring them to the Tiger war chest. Canada proscribed the LTTE in April 2006 and banned the World Tamil Movement (WTM) in June 2008. The banning of these front organizations was a major blow to LTTE terrorist operations.
• Even after the unequivocal military defeat of the LTTE, its overseas supporters defiantly keep the separatist dream alive despite annihilation of most of LTTE’s leadership and the death of founder Velupillai Prabhakaran. If unchecked, they may well transform that dream once again into virulent terrorism, and this time, the Eelam War may well be fought locally - by the diaspora in the West.

J-20 vs. F-35, One Analyst’s Perspective

With all the hoopla about China’s new fifth-gen fighter this week, we asked Teal Group aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia for his take on how serious a threat the J-20/J-XX  is to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in air-to-air combat and as a competitor on the global fast jet market.
Rumor has it the J-20 is designed to take on the air superiority-focused F-22 Raptor. But remember, now that the F-22 is ending production and is banned for export sales, the F-35 will be the fifth-gen mainstay of the United States and numerous allies.
Here’s what Richard has to say on the matter:
I would gauge a modern combat aircraft’s capabilities by looking at the following features:
1.      Access to offboard space, ground, and air-based sensors, particularly a capable AEW/AWACS system with a well-trained crew and robust data links.
2.      Effective sensor fusion to allow the pilot to make use of all this information, as well as information from onboard sensors.
3.      An integrated EW system.
4.      An AESA radar with a high level of reliability.
5.      Training and doctrine necessary to make effective use of all this data and equipment.  Plenty of flight hours for pilot flight training, too.
6.      Powerful engines (ideally capable of supercruise), with a high mean time between overhaul and failures.
7.      An airframe with low-observable characteristics.
8.      A robust air-to-air refueling capability (equipment, readiness, training).
9.      Sophisticated and reliable precision guided weaponry.
10.  A robust software and hardware upgrade roadmap, to keep this plane effective in 5, 10, and 30 years.
11.  Maintenance procedures in place to keep the plane operating with a high mission-capable rate.  And of course equipment that has been designed with easy access for maintenance and easy access for electronic diagnostic tools, and ideally a sophisticated health-usage monitoring system (HUMS).
This list is not in any particular order of magnitude.  And I’m sure I’ve missed quite a few other key items.
The J-20 offers one item from this list (#7).  I’m not convinced that the PLAAF has any other items from this list, although China seems to be making some progress with #9.
It’s kind of fun to watch the world fixate on this one item (#7).  Then again, I still enjoy air shows, too.  Pugachev’s Cobra maneuver, for example.  Drives the crowd wild.  Relevance to modern combat?  Zero.
As for the F-35, it certainly has its problems, especially regarding the price tag.  But most, if not all, of the customers and partners are sophisticated enough to have a list that’s a lot more comprehensive than the one above.  And I’m sure the appearance of item #7  as a prototype in PLAAF markings affects exactly none of their thinking.