A News Aggregator That Covers The World's Major Wars And Conflicts. Military, Political, And Intelligence News Are Also Covered. Occasionally We Will Have Our Own Opinions Or Observations To Make.
Why Is Egypt's Draft Constitution So Controversial? -- Kristen Chick, Christian Science Monitor
Protesters took to the streets in Cairo and other Egyptian cities today over a draft constitution written by Islamists. Here are the points many in Egypt are talking about.
Egypt's constituent assembly worked through the night to finish voting on Egypt's new constitution, finalizing its work early this morning and sent the contentious document to the president, who will call a national referendum on the constitution within two weeks.
President Mohamed Morsi's allies made the surprise move to finish the document this week after he issued a decree sidelining the judiciary and removing nearly all checks on his power.
Read more ....
Syrian Rebel Films Himself Shooting 10 Prisoners -- Reuters
Nov 30 (Reuters) - New footage posted on the Internet appears to have been filmed by a Syrian rebel who points the camera along the barrel of his gun as he shoots 10 unarmed prisoners.
The video, posted on YouTube on Thursday, shows 10 men wearing t-shirts and camouflage trousers lying face down next to a building and a lookout tower. Even before the shooting, two of the men are not moving and one has blood coming from his torso.
"I swear to God that we are peaceful," begs one of the men to the camera, which is being held by the gunman. Cowering, the man gets up to plead with rebels. As he approaches a rebel off-screen, a shot is heard and he returns holding his bloodied arm.
Read more .... My Comment: Once in a while these videos come out of Syria, but I suspect that such incidences are now happening everyday.
Is Syria's Assad Running Short Of Helicopters And Cash? -- Christian Science Monitor
ProPublica reports that Syria asked Iraq to allow helicopter shipment overflights from Russia, just days after other documents revealed Russia sent Syrian currency to Damascus.
According to a new report, Syria sought permission from Iraq last month to ship attack helicopters being refurbished by Russia through Iraqi airspace. But while it is unclear whether the shipments ever occurred – unlike eight shipments of Syrian currency sent from Russia that was revealed earlier this week – the reports, taken together, indicate an increasing level of desperation on the part of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Cairo's Tahrir Square Fills With Anti-Morsi Protesters -- BBC
Tens of thousands of protesters opposed to Egypt's president and the sweeping new powers he assumed last week are in Cairo's Tahrir Square, hours after a new constitution was hastily approved.
The Islamist-dominated constituent assembly finished voting on the draft in the early hours on Friday.
The draft will now be sent to Mr Morsi, who is expected to call a referendum.
The Supreme Constitutional Court is due to rule on Sunday on whether the assembly should be dissolved.
Senior judges have been in a stand-off with the president since he granted himself sweeping new powers.
Read more ....
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Battling Bone Metastasis, Report Says -- FOX News
Venezuela President Hugo Chávez is now battling bone metastasis from his pelvic cancer, according to a report by Spanish newspaper ABC. Citing an unnamed intelligence source, ABC's Washington correspondent Emil J. Blasco says there has been a recurrence and spread of the tumor, which was detected in a test performed on a trip to Havana just after the elections on October 7.
Blasco said the metastasis is causing Chavez “severe pain in the left femur and serious walking difficulties." He also says that Chavez passed out twice in August, losing consciousness briefly, and that doctors determined that his situation was deteriorating slowly but steadily.
My Comment: The culture of corruption is so interwoven in Afghanistan that I have zero expectation that it can be tackled in my lifetime. As for the billions that have been sent to Afghanistan .... we in the West must come to the realization that with the exception of educating millions of children (boys and girls) on how to read and write as well as some health/medical programs .... the rest of the money has been spent (on God knows what) or embezzled.
Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni and Afghan national police walk up a hill after their vehicles became stuck in the mud in the Nawur District, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, Nov. 18, 2012. Members of the team visited the Nawur District to perform quality assurance quality control on a collapsed building and two comprehenisve health clinics. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Rebecca F. Corey
US Senate Votes For Faster Afghan Withdrawal -- Al Jazeera
Overwhelming majority of Senate in favour of accelerated withdrawal, while Pentagon stresses need for post-2014 mission.
The United States Senate has voted overwhelmingly for an accelerated withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting, reflecting the wishes of a war-weary nation.
Thursday's bipartisan vote of 62-33 sends a clear message to President Barack Obama and the military as they engage in high-stakes talks about the pace of drawing down the 66,000 US troops there.
While the senators talk about the withdrawal, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said the US needs to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 because al-Qaeda is still present in the country.
Egyptians Protest After Panel Backs Constitution -- Voice of America
CAIRO — Egyptians protested in Cairo's Tahrir Square Friday for an eighth straight day of demonstrations against President Mohamed Morsi, as an Islamist-dominated panel approved Egypt's new draft constitution that must now be voted on in a nationwide referendum.
The panel, boycotted by several Christian and liberal members, retained the principles of Islamic law as the main source of legislation. The group rushed through the approval of the 234 articles in a meeting that lasted from Thursday afternoon until early Friday.
Okinawa Move, Key To Pacific Pivot, Will Cost More Than $10.6B: GAO -- Aol Defense
WASHINGTON: Sloppy number-crunching at the Department of Defense means that the official price tag to move 9,000 Marines off Okinawa to Guam, Hawaii, and Australia – already estimated at a whopping $10.6 billion – is probably short of the real cost, according to a draft Government Accountability Office (GAO) report obtained by AOL Defense.
The U.S. plans to move 4,700 of 8,000 Marines to Guam and send the others elsewhere: 1,800 would go to Hawaii – far from the action in the Western Pacific – and the rest to Australia – where the US is building up a "rotational" presence of 2,500 Marines (not all of them relocated from Okinawa) rather than permanent bases. The Pentagon's cost estimate is $10.6 billion.
Read more ....
Three major forces will loom behind the headlines in 2013, driving events in the new year: the crisis of the Western political order, rising sectarian strife in the Middle East, and worries about American withdrawal from the world.
The most immediate challenge is the crisis of the Western democratic model, caused by the inability of the United States and Europe to deal with their respective fiscal and financial issues. The problems are economic, but the weaknesses are fundamentally political. A continued failure to act will result in the weakening of the West's global stature in every dimension of national strength -- its ability to prosper, to summon and guide international action, and to advance core national interests.
My Comment: No arguments from me on any of these predictions. If I would add one, it would be Africa and the growing unrest from Islamic extremists in many of the Sahara nations.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has replaced his defence chief Kim Jong-Gak (AFP/File, North Korean TV)
South Korea Suspects North Korea Dumped Another Military Chief -- Wall Street Journal
In what may be the second major shake-up at the top of North Korea’s military this year, dictator Kim Jong Eun is believed by South Korean officials to have replaced another defense chief.
Reports circulated in Seoul on Thursday that Vice Marshal Kim Jong Gak, who just in February was promoted to that highest-level post below the dictator himself, is now out. A spokeswoman at the South Korea presidential office said the report was “highly possible though not confirmed.”
Update:N. Korea's defence chief replaced by hawk: report -- AFP
My Comment: After only 9 months on the job .... North Korea's military chief is replaced by another. This was either a falling out, or only a temporary/caretaker appointment before someone else was chosen.
Japan's missile defense assets deployed to Intercept the North Korean missile on its ascent trajectory (April 2012). Illustration: Daily Yomiuri
North Korean Missile Launch Set -- Washington Times
The Pentagon is preparing to activate global missile defenses for an expected test launch of another long-range missile by North Korea, U.S. defense officials said.
Intelligence agencies are closely watching a North Korean missile launch site amid signs a test-firing will take place in the next two months, U.S. officials said, echoing reports from South Korea and Japan.
One official said the indicators from the launch site appear to be “a replay of the April launch, hopefully with the same success.”
North Korea’s last Taeopodong-2 missile was test-fired April 13 in what defense officials said was a failure shortly after the first stage lifted off.
Post-US World Born In Phnom Penh -- Spengler, Asia Times
It is symptomatic of the national condition of the United States that the worst humiliation ever suffered by it as a nation, and by a US president personally, passed almost without comment last week. I refer to the November 20 announcement at a summit meeting in Phnom Penh that 15 Asian nations, comprising half the world's population, would form a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership excluding the United States.
President Barack Obama attended the summit to sell a US-based Trans-Pacific Partnership excluding China. He didn't. The American led-partnership became a party to which no-one came.
Read more ....
My Comment: I concur .... there was no U.S. coverage on this news story, instead .... the U.S. media's focus instead was on Asia's territorial disputes and America's "Asia-pivot".
A Fine Mess At Foggy Bottom -- Seth Mandel, Commentary
Lost in all the speculation about the next secretary of state is the degree to which Foggy Bottom will need someone who can put the pieces back together. While Hillary Clinton coasted for much of her term on the good press that comes with being a Clinton, until the last couple of months she was having a decidedly average run as secretary of state. But the Benghazi debacle–which was in large part the result of Clinton’s incompetence and lack of attention–followed by the expected defection of most of our European allies at the UN vote on the Palestinians today, reveals a State Department marked by ineptitude and surprising irrelevance.
My Comment: It's true .... I am old enough to remember when U.S. diplomacy and the power of the Oval Office were always successful in garnering international support on important international issues. But this decline in U.S. diplomacy has been going on for a long time ..... and in the past four years it has definitely accelerated. Will there be a change of direction in the next four years .... I doubt it .... but on a positive note .... all the past (and meaningless) rhetoric of "smart power" will cease to be a talking point for this administration and their media supporters.
'The Last Refuge': Yemen, Al-Qaida And The U.S. -- NPR
In December 2009, a would-be terrorist boarded a plane for Detroit with a bomb in his underwear. While the explosive failed to properly ignite and the man was arrested upon landing, the ensuing investigation revealed the bomb in question had been made by al-Qaida leaders in Yemen.
This attempted act of terrorism heralded both the small Arabian country's re-emergence into the international consciousness as a refuge for al-Qaida and the ascendance of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), developments that have grown only more pronounced since.
According to Gregory Johnsen, a journalist who has covered Yemen and Islamic insurgency in the Middle East extensively, al-Qaida's presence has tripled in size within Yemen over the past three years. Johnsen charts this growing influence on the country in his new book, The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia.
Investigators Said To Question How Detainee Died Of Overdose -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — A Yemeni detainee who was found dead in September at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, died from an overdose of psychiatric medication, according to several people briefed on a Naval Criminal Investigative Service inquiry.
But while a military medical examiner labeled the man’s death a suicide, how the prisoner obtained excess drugs remains under investigation, according to American and Yemeni officials. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
The White House’s Benghazi Bungling Is Proving A Disaster -- Nile Gardiner, The Telegraph
President Obama hasn’t even begun his second term yet, but his administration is already struggling with a huge credibility problem on the Benghazi front. Watch this video posted today at The Weekly Standard, which shows White House Press Secretary Jay Carney telling National Journal correspondent Major Garrett that Obama “is not particularly concerned” whether Susan Rice misled the American people in a series of talk show interviews following the killing of US Ambassador Christopher Stephens and three other US personnel in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11. Carney told the assembled White House press corps:
What the president is worried about, Major, is what happened and why in Benghazi. He is not particularly concerned about whether the ambassador or I went out and talked about the fact that we believed extremists might have been responsible. And whether we named them as al Qaeda or not does not–no, it certainly doesn't have any bearing on what happened and who was responsible as that investigation was continuing on Benghazi.
Read more ....
My Comment: Nile Gardiner is right that the administration should come clean on how they handled the Benghazi affair before, during and after the attack .... especially on role that State, the intelligence community, and (most important of them all) President Obama played. To not only give closure to the families, but to also make sure that this does not happen again. But .... I cannot help but feel that they do not care, and with a compliant media .... will probably succeed in burying this in the new year as other crisis start to come along as they inevitably do.
Susan Rice’s Enrichment Program -- Washington Free Beacon
U.N. ambassador has investments in companies doing business with Iran, disclosure forms show.
The portfolio of embattled United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice includes investments of hundreds of thousands of dollars in several energy companies known for doing business with Iran, according to financial disclosure forms.
Rice, a possible nominee to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she steps down, has come under criticism for promulgating erroneous information about the September 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans.
My Comment: From her personal wealth to her investments .... to her role on how the U.S. should handle the Rwandan genocide, to a 1986 book in which she called for White students to be forced to read Black history .... a very unflattering portrayal of Susan Rice is starting to become available. Throw in even harsher commentary .... and one cannot help but believe that there is now a concerted effort to derail Susan Rice's prospects of being the next U.S. Secretary of State.
David Petraeus Says He 'Screwed Up Royally' In Letter To Old Army Buddy -- New York Post
Ex-CIA chief David Petraeus took the blame for the extramarital affair that torpedoed his career, but his forgiving wife, Holly, is sticking by him, according to a newly revealed private letter.
“I screwed up royally,” Petraeus told his longtime Army pal, retired Brig. Gen. James Shelton in the hand-written missive.
“I paid the price (appropriately) and I sought to do the right thing at the end of the day,” he wrote in the Nov. 20 message.
Petraeus stepped down on Nov. 9 as news of his affair with biographer Paula Broadwell went public.
Read more .... My Comment: Ignoring the fact that his "Army buddy" should not have publicized this personal letter .... but yeah .... the former General and CIA Director screwed up royally.
A chart prepared by CloudFlare documenting the huge spike in DDOS attacks on Israeli and Palestinian websites after last week’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Despite Ceasefire, Israel-Gaza War Continues Online -- Danger Room
It’s been a week since Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire pausing their war in Gaza. But on the internet, a different kind of fighting never stopped — and has actually intensified since the rockets stopped falling and the warplanes returned to their bases.
About two hours before last week’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, supporters of both sides intensified their barrage of distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks against each other, according to CloudFlare, a U.S. company that provides DDOS protection services to websites that come under attack. The volume of attacks continuing after the ceasefire has outpaced those occurring during the offline hostilities.
Read more .... My Comment: I expect these denial of service attacks will diminish with time .... and instead be replaced by a media and information campaign promoting one's side against the other. Some already believe that Hamas has won this type of information warfare.
UN General Assembly Approves Palestinian Status Upgrade -- Voice of America
The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to recognize a Palestinian state with non-member observer status.
There was jubilation on the floor of the assembly after the resolution was approved Thursday by a vote of 138 to 9, with 41 nations abstaining. Palestinians in Ramallah, on the West Bank, erupted in wild cheers, hugging each other and honking horns after the vote.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the vote underscores the urgency for a resumption of meaningful negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. He urged both sides to renew their commitment to a negotiated peace.
U.S. Ready to Step into Syria Conflict? -- Max Boot, Commentary
Better late than never. With President Obama having run and won reelection in part on a boast of having ended the war in Iraq and being in the process of ending the one in Afghanistan, his administration is now sending out signals that it might contemplate greater intervention in the war that has been raging in Syria. A front-page New York Times article reports that various steps are under consideration, from providing Patriot-3 batteries to Turkey to providing arms directly to the rebels and even sending intelligence officers into Syria to coordinate with the opposition. Such steps are long overdue, but now that they are on the table, the administration deserves Republican support for a bipartisan effort to try to bring the killing to an end and to hasten Bashar Assad’s downfall.
Read more ....
Deadly Bomb Attacks Rock Iraq For A Third Day -- CNN
Baghdad (CNN) -- At least 43 people were killed and more than 120 injured Thursday in Iraq as a series of bomb attacks ripped through the country for a third day running.
Eight people were killed and 21 others wounded when a car bomb exploded in the southern town of Twareej as a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims passed by, police officials said.
Sixteen more people were killed and another 75 wounded when two car bombs exploded outside popular restaurants in a commercial area of Hilla, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano attends a board of governors meeting at the UN headquarters in Vienna, November 29, 2012. Voice of America
U.S. Gives Iran Until March To Cooperate With IAEA -- Reuters
(Reuters) - The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council.
The comments by U.S. diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington's growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA's inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran's nuclear program.
Iran - which was first reported to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program by the IAEA's 35-nation board in 2006 and then was hit by U.N. sanctions - rejects suspicions it is on a covert quest for atomic bomb capability.
Egyptian President Now Rambling about “Planet Of The Apes” In Foreign-Policy Interviews -- Hot Air
On the one hand, he’s nuts. On the other hand, using a tortured pop-culture metaphor for geopolitics suggests he’d make a fine blogger. Is “The Walking Dead” actually an elaborate metaphor for America’s looming fiscal collapse? Your answer to that question will tell you if you’re prepared for the logic bomb that’s about to be dropped on you. (Answer: Yes.)
He does seem to think that the remake of “Planet of the Apes” was terrible, which means he hasn’t lost touch with reality entirely:
My Comment: When I was reading the Time's transcript of their interview with Egyptian President Mursi .... I was scratching my head and wondering if the translation got screwed up (apparently not). Sighhh .... if this is the type of man who is leading Egypt, Egypt is in trouble .... and if Egypt is in trouble, so is everyone else.
My Comment: I have seen many videos from Syria on the conflict .... and while this is not the worse one .... it clearly illustrates how destructive and desperate the Syrian civil war has become.
Without Iran’s Support, Assad Regime Will Collapse: Report -- Al Arabiya
Iran is increasingly worried about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regime’s fate and is distraught that the regime is not taking recommendations from the Islamic republic to keep its power, an Iranian report obtained by a Western diplomatic source said.
Iranian forces in Syria are increasingly burdened due to the Syrian regime leaders not following their advices as the situation in the conflict-torn country becomes more chaotic, the report, which was obtained by an embassy of a Western country in Tehran, said.
The report, however, did not mention details explaining the Iranian recommendations given to the Syrian regime.
Fighting Rages Along Damascus Airport Road -- Al Jazeera
Activists say road closed following heavy clashes, as the internet is shut off across the country.
Battles between Syrian rebels and government troops have reportedly forced the closure of the main road leading to Damascus International Airport.
The news came as the Dubai-based Emirates airline suspended flights to the Syrian capital on Thursday.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said there was heavy fighting "along all the areas along the road" to the airport, southeast of the city.
The activist group said clashes were particularly intense in Babbila, a suburb bordering the rebel stronghold of Tadamoun.
U.S. Weighs Bolder Effort To Intervene In Syria’s Conflict -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, hoping that the conflict in Syria has reached a turning point, is considering deeper intervention to help push President Bashar al-Assad from power, according to government officials involved in the discussions.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, hoping that the conflict in Syria has reached a turning point, is considering deeper intervention to help push President Bashar al-Assad from power, according to government officials involved in the discussions.
My Comment:Republican and Democrat senators are unifying around the idea that the U.S. should get more directly involved. What's my opinion .... stay away from Middle East conflicts.
I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.
