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Israel's Anti-Missile Defense System Is Making Progress

2010-01-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

Iron Dome successfully intercepts a missile.
Photo: Defense Ministry

Iron Dome System Successfully Intercepts Kassams, Katyushas -- Jerusalem Post

Israel inched a step closer to deploying a missile defense system along the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after the Iron Dome successfully intercepted a number of missile barrages in tests held in southern Israel this week.

The tests were overseen by the Defense Ministry, the Israeli Air Force and the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. which has developed and is manufacturing the Iron Dome, slated to become operational and deployed along the Gaza border in the middle of 2010.

Read more ....

My Comment: This is a success story. This is also a story that many of Israel's neighbors are watching very closely.

US Disarms, Russia And China Build Up -- A Commentary

2010-01-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

Negotiations: China and Russia signed a US$1 billion (euro670 million) nuclear cooperation deal Friday and stood together in firm opposition to U.S. missile defense plans. Photo from The Daily Mail

While US Disarms, Russia And China Build Up Their Military -- American Thinker

In this week's issue of Defense News , Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, warns, "Stagnation threatens U.S. arms superiority." After noting recent tests by Russia and China of new nuclear-armed missiles, Berman writes,

Indeed, practically every declared nuclear weapon state is engaged in a serious modernization of its strategic arsenal. The United States, by contrast, has allowed its strategic infrastructure to atrophy since the end of the Cold War.

Read more ....

My Comment: While it is true that both Russia and China are investing heavily into their military programs, they still have a very long way to go to threaten U.S. nuclear forces. But military trends and direction have an impact on policy and the politics of today .... and the trends today are obvious .... the U.S. may decide to forgo modernizing its strategic arsenal.

Women In Uniform

2010-01-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

Women In Uniform: Eight Who Fell, And One Who Steps Forward -- Politics Daily

It started with a picture -- 2nd. Lt. Emily J.T. Perez. In her United States Military Academy photograph, she holds her feathered hat, grips her sword and smiles.

Perez had a lot to smile about. She was the first minority female command sergeant in West Point history.

And she was the first combat death from the class of 2005, also known as the class of 9/11. In 2006, a roadside bomb south of Baghdad killed her.

Read more ....

My Comment: The key phrase is the following ....

Women have to be tough in today's asymmetrical warfare, where the "support" jobs are as risky as the front lines. More women have fought and died since 9/11 than in all the wars of the previous five decades combined.

What was a unique news story a few years ago .... the death of a female soldier .... is now common news and does not even lift an eyebrow. The age of these soldiers also strike me .... most of them were very young when 9/11 happened .... and now they are off to war.

On a personal note, this even impacts me at home. My friends daughter was 9 when 9/11 happened, and now she wants to join the Army .... to serve a calling that is very important to her. For personal reasons I hope that she will change her mind as she gets older .... but something tells me that she will not.

These people .... these soldiers .... they represent the best of us. I can only hope that as these wars grind on, our country does not forget that.

The Attempted Bombing Of Flight NW 253 -- Customs Was Already Waiting For The Plane To Land To Question The Bomber

2010-01-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

The administration has ordered tight new security
measures for US-bound passengers. Photo AFP

U.S. Learned Intelligence On Airline Bomb Suspect While He Was En Route -- L.A. Times

U.S. border enforcement officials came close to stopping the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines jet while the suspect was en route to Detroit on Christmas Day, new data show.

Reporting from Washington - U.S. border security officials learned of intelligence about the alleged extremist links of the suspect in the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt as he was en route to Detroit and had decided to question him when he landed, officials said in new disclosures today.

Read more ....

My Comment: This story is getting better everyday.

The Issues That Will Shape The World In 2010

2010-01-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

From Der Spiegel:

The past year seemed a fitting end to a decade during which the world lurched from crisis to crisis. The list of unfinished business is long and many pressing issues are set to demand attention in 2010. SPIEGEL presents the ones to watch.

The year 2009 seems to have left behind more unfinished business than accomplishments. Topping the list, of course, were climate talks in Copenhagen, which left behind little more than a vague roadmap for a possible way forward as the world searches for a joint strategy to combat global warming.

Read more ....

My Comment: I would also add the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan to this list.

Is The U.S. Fed Up With Israel?

2010-01-06T17:00:00.000-08:00

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel And President Obama

Emanuel: U.S. Fed Up With Israel, Palestinians -- Haaretz

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently told the Israeli consul in Los Angeles that the Obama administration is fed up with both Israel and the Palestinians, Army Radio reported on Wednesday.

Emanuel met with Jacob Dayan, consul general of Israel in Los Angeles, about two weeks ago, after which Dayan briefed the Foreign Ministry.

Emanuel told Dayan the U.S. is sick of the Israelis, who adopt suitable ideas months too late, when they are no longer effective, according to Army Radio.

The U.S. is also sick of the Palestinians who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, Emanuel reportedly said.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. "Losing Patience" With The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

Israeli report: Rahm threatened disengagement -- Politico
Emanuel is 'Fed Up' with Israel and Palestinians -- Arutz Sheva
Rahm Emanuel to Israeli diplomat: we're tired of your government -- Palestine Note
'Reports on Emmanuel comments inaccurate' -- Jerusalem Post

My Comment: When the President's Chief of State is "alleged" to have said that the U.S. is "fed-up" with Israel, you would think the U.S. main stream media would be covering this story from top to bottom. But of course .... with the exception of the Politico .... no one is reporting this story.

But seriously .... after decades (centuries?) of fighting .... who would not be fed up with this continuous conflict with no end.

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- January 6, 2010

2010-01-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

U.S. President Barack Obama gestures to the crowd to be quiet as he walks onto the 18th green at Mid-Pacific Country Club in Kailua, Hawaii. REUTERS

Out-To-Lunch O Living Out A Disaster Film -- Michael Goodwin, New York Post

Someday, somebody not from Hollywood will make a movie about President Obama's disastrous vacation. About how his aides waited for nearly three hours after the Christmas airliner attack to wake him. About how he waited three more days to appear publicly. About how even then, he didn't grasp the seriousness of the situation, racing through a bloodless speech so he could play golf.

Until that film is made, reality is frightening enough. Even the true believers in the White House now realize they blew the response to a potentially catastrophic attack by an al Qaeda-trained terrorist.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Airline attack shows Obama's listless approach to terrorism -- Michael Gerson, Washington Post

One 'Allegedly' Too Many: In her raw and disastrous way, Janet Napolitano is revealing. -- Dorothy Rabinowitz, Wall Street Journal

The Ramzi Yousef Standard: The Administration has ways of making terrorists not talk. -- Wall Street journal opinion

Two Attacks Highlight Counterterrorism's Bureaucratic Bog -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

How 12/25 Was Like 9/11 -- Thomas H. Kean and John Farmer Jr., New York Times

No One Central Front in the War Against Al Qaeda -- Brian Katulis, Real Clear World/American Progress

Iran's al Qaeda connection in Yemen -- Washington Times Editorial

Yemen's coming disaster -- Richard Fontaine & Andrew Exum, LA Times

Another Iranian Revolution? Not Likely -- Flynt Leverett, Hillary Mann Leverett, New York Times

An Opposition Manifesto in Iran -- Robin Wright, Los Angeles Times

Serbia: In From the Cold -- New York Times editorial

A Case for Presidential Power on Terrorism Detainees -- Ruth Marcus, Washington Post

Judge Made the Right Call in Blackwater Case -- Washington Post editorial

World News Briefs -- January 6, 2010 (Evening Edition)

2010-01-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Suicide Attack On CIA Agents 'Was Planned By Bin Laden Inner Circle' -- Times Online

US intelligence officials believe that the suicide bomb attack that killed seven CIA officers in Afghanistan last month was planned with the help of Osama bin Laden’s close allies, raising fears that the al-Qaeda leader is enjoying a lethal resurgence.

They think that the attack could not have taken place without the prior knowledge and assistance of the Haqqanis, the powerful Taleban group thought to be shielding bin Laden.

Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

Yemen for dummies.

Egyptian guard at Gaza border killed in protest over Galloway's aid convoy.

Iran shielding its nuclear efforts in maze of tunnels. At U.N., China insists it's not 'right' time for sanctions on Iran

Egyptian forces wound 2 Palestinians on Gaza border.

Jordan disputes Khost bomber status.

Dubai's decline gives way to Abu Dhabi's rise.

ASIA

Kan, a weak Yen proponent, named Japan Finance Minister.

Three killed in Pakistani-administered Kashmir bombing.

Officials: Suspected US drones kill 12 in Pakistan.

Blast kills 2 Afghans, 9 NATO troops among wounded.

Murder trial tests Philippine justice.

AFRICA

US urges Guinea to restore civilian rule.

South Sudan army-civilian clash kills 17: official.

Ailing Nigerian president phones officials from hospital bed.

US screening 'risks Nigeria ties'.

Threats lead food agency to curtail aid in Somalia. Somalia’s al-Shabaab rebels deny demanding payments from UN.

Somali pirates free hijacked Pakistani 'mother ship'.

Egypt to host conference on the return of antiquities.

EUROPE

France’s elite colleges rise up in revolt against Nicolas Sarkozy.

Discord, revolt roil Brown's Labor Party before elections in Britain.

Britain falls to 25th best place to live in the world... behind Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Slovakia explosives gaffe 'highlights security failings'.

Dagestan suicide bomb kills six police officers. Suicide bomb in Russia's Dagestan follows strike on Al Qaeda.

Ulster defense association says it has disarmed.

Six more days of snow forecast as cold snap continues in Britain.

AMERICAS

Honduras: De facto president objects to US request he leave.

Evo Morales: Climate power to the people.

Websites post picture of Castro in hospital-style wheeled chair.

Cold grips much of US, Fla. races to save crops.

Missing San Francisco sea lions 'off Oregon'.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

More ex-detainees resort to terror, officials say.

Man who bombed CIA post provided useful intelligence about al-Qaeda.

Angry Barack Obama vows security changes. Obama rebuke over bomb plot prompts intelligence pledge.

Yemen arrests three Qaeda militants, targets leader.

U.S. to suspend Gitmo detainee transfers to Yemen.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

Pump prices on pace to top 2009 high by weekend.

Cramped on land, big oil bets at sea.

Oil hovers below $82 amid US crude inventory drop.

Enemies Yesterday, Allies Today. Cooperation Between American Counter-Terrorism Specialists And Saddam Hussein's Former Intelligence Officers In Yemen

2010-01-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

Baathist officers who fled Iraq in the wake of the fall of Saddam
are working with US intelligence Photo: Reuters

US Forges Alliance With Saddam Hussein Officers To Fight Al-Qaeda -- The Telegraph

American counter-terrorism specialists and Saddam Hussein's former intelligence officers have forged an unlikely alliance in Yemen to tackle al-Qaeda.

The two sides were enemies on the battlefield just seven years ago but have been brought together by the failings of Yemen's security and intelligence apparatus, according to diplomatic and military sources in the country.

Although mutual suspicions linger, the collaboration is said to have achieved some intelligence breakthroughs and helped instill greater efficiency and professionalism within the most elite Yemeni counterterrorism outfit.

Read more ....

My Comment: If the U.S. must form alliances with Saddam Hussein's former intelligence officers .... we are in more trouble than what we think.

White House To Release Report On Botched Attack Amid Calls For Firing

2010-01-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

Initial Report On Failed Plane Attack Coming Out Thursday -- CNN

Washington (CNN) -- The initial report ordered by President Obama on the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack will be released Thursday, Obama's spokesman said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday that the unclassified version of the report by John Brennan, the assistant to the president on homeland security and counterterrorism, would be made public.

Read more ....

More News On The Christmas Attempted Bombing of Flight NW253

Report on Botched Attack to Be Released Thursday -- ABC News
Obama not done with fallout from Christmas bomb plot -- USA Today
Obama to Release Report on Terror Attempt Thursday -- CBS News
Preliminary Report on attempted Christmas Day bombing to be released Thursday -- FOX News
US intelligence chiefs face sack over Detroit bomber -- The Telegraph
Was Obama's rebuke helpful to the US intelligence community? -- BBC
Connecting the Dots on Intelligence Reform -- Council On Foreign Relations

To Witness, Experience, And Survive Two Atomic Bomb Attacks -- The Story Of Tsutomu Yamaguchi

2010-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, survivor of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has died aged 93. Photograph: Jemal Countess/WireImage

'Lucky' Yamaguchi, The Man Who Survived Both The Hiroshima And Nagasaki Atomic Bombs, Dies Aged 93 -- The Daily Mail

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only person officially recognised as a survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings at the end of World War II, has died at the age of 93.

Mr Yamaguchi, known as 'Lucky', was in Hiroshima on a business trip for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on August 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city.

He suffered serious burns to his upper body as well as temporary blindness and spent the night in the city.

Read more ....

More News On This Double Atomic Bomb Survivor

Tsutomu Yamaguchi -- The Telegraph
Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivor dies aged 93 -- The Guardian
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, survivor of two atomic bombs, dies at 93 -- Times Online
Japan's Only Known Survivor Of Both Atomic Blasts Has Died -- NPR
Man Who Survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombs Dies -- ABC News
Japanese survivor of both U.S. atomic bomb attacks dies at 93 -- USA Today

My Comment: Words cannot express or do justice to how I feel for this survivor .... what a thing to carry for your entire life.

Yemen In Turmoil -- News Updates January 6, 2010

2010-01-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

In Yemen's Capital, Fearful Talk Of War With al-Qaeda -- Time Magazine

Shopkeepers are whispering in the medieval, walled Old City in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, about a war they cannot yet imagine. Workers, students and the old men who sit outside the ancient mosques are wondering what fighting between al-Qaeda and the government would look like. Would it be like the conflict in the north, where extremist insurgents occupy villages with gunfire and government bombs rain down from the sky? Is al-Qaeda an army or just a bunch of ill-equipped gangs? "All citizens are scared," says Jamal al-Najjar, an English-language translator, while waiting for a group of foreign journalists at the airport. The visible influx of overseas media, hungry for stories, adds to the sense of crisis.

Read more ....

More News on Yemen

Yemen probes overstay of alleged airliner attacker -- AFP
Troops sent into al-Qaeda strongholds -- Sydney Morning Herald
Yemen Claims 3 Al-Qaida Militants Captured in Connection with Embassy Threat -- Voice of America
Yemen arrests 3 al Qaeda suspects -- CNN
Yemen rejects direct intervention by foreign troops -- CBC News
Yemen Vows to Tackle al Qaeda, With Help -- CBS News
Former bin Laden bodyguard is among ex-guerrillas in Yemen -- Washington Post
Ex-Bin Laden Bodyguard Calls Yemen Home -- CBS News
Britain's long relationship with Yemen -- BBC
Warning on Yemen aid backlash -- Financial Times

Who Was The CIA Bomber? (Photo Of Bomber Included)

2010-01-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

An exclusive photo obtained by ABC News shows Humam Khalil Muhammed al Balawi, identified as suicide bomber who killed seven C.I.A. agents and his handler at Forward Operating Base Chapman near Khost city, Afghanistan, on Dec. 30, 2009. (ABC News)

EXCLUSIVE: CIA Suicide Bomber Photo -- ABC News

First photo of Humam al-Balawi, Double Agent Who Killed Seven CIA Operatives in Afghanistan

ABC News has obtained an exclusive photo of suicide bomber Humam Muhammed al-Balawi, the Jordanian double agent who killed seven CIA operatives and his Jordanian handler in Afghanistan on December 30.

Al-Balawi, a 32-year-old Jordanian doctor, had convinced the Americans that his jihadist postings on the web were only part of his cover identity. He lured 13 CIA operatives and his handler to a meeting at Camp Chapman, an American forward operating base in Afghanistan, by saying he had just met with al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri and had information to share.

Read more ....

More News And Information On The CIA Bomber

Mother of 'Jordan bomber' says he was no extremist -- AFP
Suicide bomber's actions 'out of character' says brother -- CNN
Wife says CIA bomber saw US as adversary -- Seattle PI/AP
CIA bomber 'was Jordanian double agent' -- Times Online
Jordan embarrassed as bombing reveals CIA link -- The Guardian
Afghanistan CIA killings a major blow to US and Jordan -- BBC
CIA Bomber Was Best Al-Qaida Informant In Years -- Voice of America
Al-Qaeda’s Counterintelligence: Kill People & Blow Stuff Up -- Washington Independent

Homeland Security's NOC Unable To Do Job: Inspector General

2010-01-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

Homeland Security’s National Operations Center ‘Unable’ to Do Its Job, Inspector General Finds -- CNS News

(CNSNews.com) – The Homeland Security Department’s National Operations Center (NOC) is “unable” to do its job of ensuring coordination among the 22 federal agencies that make up the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and focuses too much on disaster management rather than terrorism prevention, according to its own inspector general.

The National Operations Center, in fact, functions largely in name only, and current operations apparently have diminished its ability to respond to terrorist threats.

These assessments are presented in a redacted report from the DHS Office of Inspector General released in November and entitled “Information Sharing at the National Operations Center.”

Read more ....

My Comment: This is a big story .... especially in the wake of the failed Christmas bombing on flight 253. So why am I only reading it in CNS?

Terrorist Recidivism -- A Commentary

2010-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

From Commentary Magazine:

I recall visiting Saudi Arabia a couple of years ago and being briefed by Saudi officials on their program to reeducate and rehabilitate Islamist extremists in their prisons. The program had long been seen as a model effort; it influenced a similar program created in the U.S. detention system in Iraq that is now being replicated in Afghanistan. But recent events suggest the Saudi program was not all it was cracked up to be.

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My Comment: Suspending the transfer of Guantanamo detainees will probably only last a short time .... the Obama administration have made their intentions very clear. Guantanamo is going to be closed .... and its prisoners sent to "who knows where".

The Growing Emergence Of China

2010-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

China Moves To The Center Of The World. America Moves To The Edge -- Fabius Maximus

American tend to see ourselves as white knights. Selflessly defending nations like the EU and Japan that will not defend themselves. A force for morality — banning bribery, pushing feminism and other western values (which we call “human rights). Meanwhile we beg for lower oil prices and borrow like an tramp on a street corner.

Much of the world finds this a pain in the ass, but until now has had no alternative leader. Someone to provide leadership — political and economic coordination, loans and aid, military protection — without America’s moralizing, without America’s erratic behavior. Just business.

Read more ....

My Comment: Every once in a while FM looks at China and provides some useful insights .... his above post is no exception.

On a side note, I had an interesting discussion about the decline of America with a friend yesterday. We both came to the same understanding .... for years America had its "act" together, and the rest of the world was "basically screwed up". This is all now changing, with good portions of the world .... particularly in Europe and Asia .... now adopting the same strategies and policies that had originally made America great. India and China are the two countries that stick out in Asia, but the EU and other European countries (Russia being one of them) are also groping towards stable and free markets accompanied with stable and free governments.

I know that the world has a long way to go before it can even reach a fraction of what it is capable of, but as the world stabilizes this stability will be accompanied by a decline in the influence and power of the United States. Is this a bad thing .... yes and no. The U.S. is a beacon of freedom and the rule of law for many people in the world, but its recent economic and financial behavior now makes it an international pariah .... especially to those countries who now own much of its growing debt.

Afghanistan War News Updates -- January 6, 2009

2010-01-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Clueless In Afghanistan: General Speaks Out -- Sydney Morning Herald

THE most senior US military intelligence officer in Afghanistan has launched a scathing attack on American information gathering.

Major-General Michael Flynn said that after eight years, the US was still unable to answer ''fundamental questions about the environment in which we operate and the people we are trying to protect and persuade''.

He said that little was being done to fully understand support for insurgents, declaring that US intelligence efforts were ''ignorant of local economics and landowners, hazy about who the power brokers are and how they might be influenced, incurious about the correlations between various development projects … and disengaged from people in the best position to find answers''.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Commander: U.S. Intel Community 'Only Marginally Relevant' In Afghanistan -- NPR
U.S. Intel in Afghanistan like "Fortune Telling" -- CBS News
U.S. Retools Military Intelligence -- Wall Street Journal
Coalition Urged to Revamp Intelligence Gathering, Distribution in Afghanistan -- Washington Post
Confusion grows over how bomber infiltrated CIA base in Afghanistan -- L.A. Times
CIA attack in Afghanistan: Officials probe how militant got onto base -- Chicago Tribune
Bomber Lured CIA to Meet With Intel on Bin Laden's Deputy -- ABC News
Man Who Bombed CIA Post Provided Useful Intelligence About al-Qaeda -- Washington Post
Triple agent was 'CIA's best hope for years' -- Times Online
U.S. Saw a Path to Qaeda Chiefs Before Bombing -- New York Times
How CIA was fatally duped by Jordanian double agent -- The Independent
Loss of seven CIA agents in Afghanistan: any lessons learned? -- Christian Science Monitor

Canadian commander announces U.S. deaths in Afghanistan -- Canada.com
3 Taliban militants including commander killed in N Afghanistan -- China View
Afghanistan Roadside Blast Hits Civilians, Foreign Troops -- Voice of America
Botched minibus bomb kills 14 Taliban -- ABC News (Australia)
Afghanistan: Blast Kills Four Children -- Time Magazine
FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan, Jan 6 -- Reuters

Karzai to Try Again on Jan. 9 for Afghanistan Cabinet Approval -- Bloomberg
Slow Start for Military Corps in Afghanistan -- New York Times
US Military Boosts Efforts to Help Afghan Farmers -- ABC News
AFGHANISTAN: 2009 worst year for children - rights watchdog -- IRIN
Afghanistan Cemetery Holds Memories of Foreigners -- L.A. Times

World News Briefs -- January 6, 2010

2010-01-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Yemen Captures Key Qaeda Chief As Embassies Reopen -- AFP

SANAA — Yemeni security forces, under US pressure to rein in extremists, Wednesday captured a key Al-Qaeda leader believed to be behind threats that saw foreign embassies in Sanaa closing their doors, police said.

Mohammed al-Hanq had evaded arrest on Monday during a security force raid in Arhab, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Sanaa, in which two of his relatives were killed and three other people wounded.

Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

Iran shielding its nuclear efforts in maze of tunnels. At U.N., China insists it's not 'right' time for sanctions on Iran

Egyptian forces wound 2 Palestinians on Gaza border.

Jordan disputes Khost bomber status.

Dubai's decline gives way to Abu Dhabi's rise.

ASIA

AFRICA

Threats lead food agency to curtail aid in Somalia. Somalia’s al-Shabaab rebels deny demanding payments from UN.

Somali pirates free hijacked Pakistani 'mother ship'.

Egypt to host conference on the return of antiquities.

EUROPE

Dagestan suicide bomb kills six police officers. Suicide bomb in Russia's Dagestan follows strike on Al Qaeda.

Ulster defense association says it has disarmed.

Six more days of snow forecast as cold snap continues in Britain.

AMERICAS

Websites post picture of Castro in hospital-style wheeled chair.

Cold grips much of US, Fla. races to save crops.

Missing San Francisco sea lions 'off Oregon'.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

Man who bombed CIA post provided useful intelligence about al-Qaeda.

Angry Barack Obama vows security changes. Obama rebuke over bomb plot prompts intelligence pledge.

Yemen arrests three Qaeda militants, targets leader.

U.S. to suspend Gitmo detainee transfers to Yemen.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

Pump prices on pace to top 2009 high by weekend.

Cramped on land, big oil bets at sea.

Oil hovers below $82 amid US crude inventory drop.

International Law And The Israeli Army

2010-01-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

There was widespread criticism of the military's conduct during its devastating 22-day Gaza offensive one year ago. Photo AFP

Israel Army to Seek Legal Advice During Operations -- New York Times/AP

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's military will consult more closely with its legal advisers on future offensives, security officials said Wednesday -- a move motivated by war crimes accusations that followed last year's war in the Gaza Strip.

Officers are also receiving more intensive training in the rules of war and international law, the officials said.

Officials said military chief Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi has ordered the military to consult with its legal advisers in the course of operations, and not just in the planning stage, as was the case with the Gaza war. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the policy revision with the media.

The Israeli military spokesman's office had no immediate comment.

Read more ....

More News On The Israel And International Law

Israel army 'to get legal advice during operations' -- AFP
UK A-G: Britain must prevent abuse of law -- Jerusalem Post
British government will fight legal attempts to indict Israeli leaders in UK -- The Guardian
Israeli military cancels UK visit over arrest fears -- The Guardian
Israeli military cancels trip to Britain over arrest fears -- The Telegraph
Deputy FM: Arrest warrants harming Britain-Israel ties -- Haaretz
Israeli veterans cancel UK trip on arrest fear -- Financial Times

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- January 6, 2010

2010-01-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

Air Force Completes Killer Micro-Drone Project -- The Danger Room

The Air Force Research Laboratory set out in 2008 to build the ultimate assassination robot: a tiny, armed drone for U.S. special forces to employ in terminating “high-value targets.” The military won’t say exactly what happened to this Project Anubis, named after a jackal-headed god of the dead in Egyptian mythology. But military budget documents note that Air Force engineers were successful in “develop[ing] a Micro-Air Vehicle (MAV) with innovative seeker/tracking sensor algorithms that can engage maneuvering high-value targets.”

Read more ....

MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE NEWS BRIEFS

British Royal Navy feels the lash -- The Australian

Brazil Air Force prefers Swedish jets-report -- Reuters

Airbus considers cancelling A400M military plane -- Washington Examiner

'Jetski' warship set to tackle pirates -- Sydney Morning Herald

Interstate Rivalry in Carrier Battle Revived -- Military.com

UK probes Sea Viper missile test failures -- Janes Defense

The Potential of Sea Viper -- New Wars

A Decade Of Trends And The Unexpected -- Strategy Page

The Evolving War In Cyberspace

2010-01-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

The Time For Preemptive Cyber Strikes Has Come -- Defense Tech

More and more terrorists and extremist groups are using the Internet to fund their activities, recruit, covertly communicate and coordinate activities with their followers around the world. The use of the Internet now plays a key role in terrorist activities throughout the world. This fact has given rise to a number of questions coming amidst the three recent events. The most controversial question being that of preemptive cyber strikes. In the past few weeks three significant events took place that has raised the concern about the way terrorists leverage the Internet to further their cause.

Read more ....

My Comment: As far as I am concern .... the war has been ongoing for a very long time now. Cyberspace should be viewed as just one more battlefield.

The Travels Of Michael Yon

2010-01-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

TSA Facepalm Of The Day -- CDR Salamander

Boxers or briefs? Michael Yon on twitter and facebook,

Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not "arrested", but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eventually came -- they were professionals -- and rescued me from the border bullies

Read more ....

My Comment: Michael Yon is probably the best reporter in the field. His coverage of the war in Iraq .... and now Afghanistan .... has always been riveting and a must read. As for his experience with customs .... I also agree with his comments about U.S. border security. I have traveled through 50 countries in the past 25 years .... take it from me .... U.S. Customs is in a league by itself.

Update: More here.

What Future Direction For America's Nuclear Forces?

2010-01-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

Obama's Nuclear Posture Review - More News -- Armchair Generalist

Bryan Bender reveals some possible indications of how the 2009 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is shaping up. It's interesting stuff, and slightly encouraging.

The review is shaping up to be a major showdown for Obama this year. It is taking on some of the most sacred cows of the nuclear program. For the first time, influential voices, including a former top nuclear commander and senior Obama advisers, are proposing that one leg of the nuclear arms “triad’’ - a $30 billion-a-year enterprise made up of land-, air-, and sea-based weapons - be eliminated.

Read more ....

My Comment: For the past few months I have been blogging on the direction that America's nuclear forces may be going. In this case .... American Generalist has put together a good summary and review.

So Much For That Special U.S. - U.K. Relationship

2010-01-05T22:00:00.000-08:00

Gordon Brown and Barack Obama exchange a joke during a recent White House visit Photo: EPA

Analysis: Political Discord At The Highest Level Plays Havoc With The 'Special Relationship' -- The Telegraph

THE admission by Gordon Brown that he had not spoken to President Barack Obama since the attempted Christmas Day bombing spoke volumes about the fracture between Downing Street and the White House.

So too did an extraordinary 24 hours in which the Prime Minister’s spokesman indicated that MI5 had passed on the name of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Detroit bomber, to American intelligence in 2008 – a claim that at first mystified the White House.

Read more ....

My Comment: This relationship started to go south this summer ..... as to the reason why .... I am sure both sides have legitimate reasons.

U.S. Intellgience Failure In Afghanistan

2010-01-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

Photo: Taliban fighters pose with weapons in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan in this October 30, 2009 file photo. (ABC News Photo Illustration)

Spies Like Us: Top U.S. Intel Officer Says Spooks Could Learn From Journos -- The Danger Room

American intelligence in Afghanistan is broken, says the top U.S. intelligence officer there. That’s because it focuses too much on whacking Taliban, and not enough on figuring out Afghanistan’s social and cultural landscapes. But the report from Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn, the top intelligence aide to International Security Assistance Force Commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, raises lots of other issues, too. Like, what happened to the military’s “human terrain” programs to map those landscapes? Can spies really perform better if they think and work like journalists? And why is this report being publicly distributed through a think tank?

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More News On Intelligence Failures In Afghanistan

Coalition urged to revamp intelligence gathering, distribution in Afghanistan -- Washington Post
U.S. Retools Military Intelligence -- Wall Street Journal
Pentagon calls spy critique "irregular" -- Reuters
Military Intelligence Chief Orders Reorganization -- U.S. News And World Report
Ignorant CIA should copy Raj agents to avoid failure says spy chief -- Times Online
Our Afghan intelligence failure -- Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian

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