World News Briefs -- June 1, 2010 (Evening Edition)

Condemnation Across Europe After Israel Raid On Freedom Flotilla -- Christian Science Monitor

European governments and their citizens appeared united in their criticism of an Israel raid that killed at least nine activists on the so-called Freedom Flotilla seeking to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.

European official and public reaction to an Israeli raid that killed at least 9 members of the self-styled "Freedom Flotilla" bound for Gaza on Monday has been uniformly condemnatory.

Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

Israeli raid of Freedom Flotilla complicates US efforts against Iran.

Gaza militants cross border into Israel, exchange fire with troops.

Egypt opens Gaza border after Israel ship clash.

IAEA: Iran has over 2 tons enriched uranium -2 bombs' worth.

Iraq's Supreme Court ratifies election results.

Iran moves to thwart protests ahead of election anniversary.

ASIA

Kandahar offensive to target 1,000 Taliban.

Death toll reaches 140 in India train wreck blamed on Maoists.

Japan PM Hatoyama faces pressure to resign.

Taliban scorn Afghan national peace conference.

China and Japan 'back North Korea financial sanctions'.

Pakistani official promises to protect Ahmadi sect.

Pakistani court orders access to Facebook restored.

AFRICA

Hunting for Liberia’s missing millions.

France vows to help Africa fight piracy, terrorism.

Kenya and Sudan in the spotlight as ICC conference opens in Uganda.

EUROPE

Angry Russians protest crackdown on protests.

New German president to be elected June 30.

EU urges Russia to modernize economy.

EU chief raps Russia on human rights, media freedom.

Russia gives Kaczynski plane crash info to Poland.

AMERICAS

Jamaica strains to fill void left by gang bosses.

American troops leave Haiti. Haiti is unprepared as hurricane season starts.

Central America floods, mudslides kill scores.

Gulf oil spill threat widens.

Cuba trains Venezuela in military, communications.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

Al-Qaida: No. 3 official killed with family.

Al-Qaida leader in Algeria surrenders.

Court to Guantánamo Uighurs: Accept resettlement or stay in prison.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

President Obama: BP could face criminal charges over Gulf oil spill.

European Central Bank’s report issues warning.

Euro hits new 4-year low against dollar.

World debt crisis: eight reasons you should care.

A New GPS System For The U.S. Military

GPS 2F-1 being completed at Boeing (Source: Boeing)

First Block 2F GPS Satellite Launched, Needed to Prevent System Failure -- Daily Tech

The Global Positioning System (GPS) has become an important part of global commerce, a far cry from its roots as a purely military system designed to aid in guiding Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles. Everything from oil tankers to running shoes now incorporate GPS technology, thanks to shrinking designs and mass production.

Although the first Block I satellite was launched in 1978, the GPS network didn't achieve initial operational capability until December 1993. The GPS network requires a minimum of 21 satellites in medium Earth orbit to ensure global coverage, and a full network of 32 satellites is preferred for optimal performance and reliability.

Read more ....

A Delta 4 rocket blasts off with the GPS 2F-1 navigation satellite aboard for the U.S. military and civilian services. United Launch Alliance

More News On A New GPS System Being Established

Glitch shows how much US military relies on GPS -- AP
GPS glitch hit some military systems in January -- AP
Air Force Launches First Next-Gen GPS Satellite -- FOX News
New GPS satellite successfully launched -- Tech Connect
First-of-its-kind satellite for GPS launched into space -- Space Flight Now
GPS is getting an $8 billion upgrade -- San Francisco Chronicle
GPS upgrade aims to see more, do more -- Seattle Times

Parts Of Iran's Nuclear Program Is Now Disappearing

Nuclear Equipment Missing From Iranian Lab, IAEA Report Says -- The L.A. Times

An apparatus that could be used to extract plutonium for an atomic bomb is gone, the United Nations watchdog agency says.

Reporting from New York and Vienna — International arms control inspectors say sensitive equipment that could be used to extract plutonium for an atomic bomb has gone missing from a Tehran laboratory months after the apparatus was disclosed to a United Nations watchdog agency, according to an official report released Monday.

The report is expected to feed suspicions in the West that Iran is attempting to hide the nature and scope of its nuclear program.

Read more ....

My Comment: I guess Iran is now hiding the equipment that it feels is vital for it's nuclear weapons program .... and are not caring if the IAEA reports on them.

Can Our Intelligence Agencies Be Perfect?

Setting Impossible Standards On Intelligence -- Washington Post

A Senate analysis of the intelligence community's handling of the would-be Christmas bomber bears a closer reading in the wake of the replacement of Dennis C. Blair as director of national intelligence.

Disclosure that the White House was seeking an alternative to Blair, one day after the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released an unclassified executive summary of its report, appeared to associate the two. Somehow, it was concluded that Blair, whose responsibilities included directly overseeing the National Counterterroism Center (NCTC), should take the blame for the NCTC's failure to prevent the 23-year-old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, from boarding a Detroit-bound plane in the Netherlands with a bomb in his underpants.

Read more ....

My Comment: As a person who is always skeptical on what government can (and cannot) do, I do know that our intelligence agencies are fallible and that most terrorist incidents will not be stopped by them. For those who feel supremely confident that government can solve our problems and maintain our security .... they will always be disappointed, and as a result they will always be looking for scapegoats to justify their position on why this (or that) failed, and why individuals (and not) government is to blame.

Of all the members in President Obama's government that should have been fired .... Dennis Blair should have been one of the last. But he does not have the political connections to the President that someone like Attorney General Holder has .... hence this is why he was fired and others were not.

Fallout From The Israeli Raid On The Gaza Aid Flotilla Continues

Pressure Grows On Israel After Fatal Raid On Gaza Aid Flotilla -- Voice Of America

Pressure is growing on Israel after its commandos raided a flotilla of aid ships that were trying to break the blockade on Gaza. The raid early Monday, in which nine activists died, has set off a wave of international criticism. But very little of that criticism is coming from people at home.

Israel began sending home some of the nearly 700 pro-Palestinian activists who were aboard the six vessels.

Read more ....

More News On The Israeli Raid On Gaza Aid Flotilla

Activists send new boat to challenge Gaza blockade -- Yahoo News/AP
Activists send new boat to challenge Gaza blockade -- Yahoo News/AP
Israel navy braced to intercept next Gaza aid ship -- Reuters
Activists defiant as Israel vows to block new aid convoy -- Yahoo News/AFP

U.N. Security Council Condemns ‘Acts’ in Israeli Raid -- New York Times
World leaders demand probe into Israel raid -- Yahoo News/AFP

Turkish PM Calls Israel's Reaction to Aid Ships 'Bloody Massacre' -- Voice of America
Turkey calls for punishment of Israel for killings -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Turkey wants US condemnation of Israeli raid -- AP

'Next time we'll use more force' -- Jerusalem Post
Israel Navy commandos: Gaza flotilla activists tried to lynch us -- Haaretz
Gaza aid flotilla: Israeli sabotage suspected -- The Guardian

Gaza flotilla - Eye witness accounts of Israeli raid -- BBC News
Eyewitnesses recount Israel flotilla raid -- CNN
Bullets, tear gas and tazers: witnesses tell of raid -- AFP

Egypt Opens Border With Gaza Strip to Allow Humanitarian Aid -- Voice of America
Thousands of Gazans rush for Egyptian border -- My Way News/AP

After Israeli raid, Freedom Flotilla aid starts to flow to Gaza -- Christian Science Monitor
The Real Issue: The Embargo -- The Daily Dish/The Atlantic
The Conversation: What's Next After Flotilla Attack? -- ABC News
The Terror Finance Flotilla -- Jonathan Schanzer, Weekly Standard
Analysis: When US and Israeli interests diverge -- Michael Goldfarb, GlobalPost

Do Protestors Have A Right To Protest At Military Funerals?

States Line Up Against Funeral Hecklers in Supreme Court Brief -- ABC News

Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church Picketed Marine's Funeral; Court to Decide if Protest Was Free Speech.

Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia are backing the family of fallen Marine Matthew Snyder in a pending U.S. Supreme Court case that could decide the constitutionality of laws restricting protests at private family funerals.

Lance Cpl. Snyder, who was deployed to Iraq in 2006, was killed just a month later in an accident. His funeral in Maryland was disrupted by demonstrators led by Kansas pastor Fred W. Phelps, yelling, among other things, that America's military is evil because it defends a country that tolerates homosexuality.

Read more ....

My Comment: From my perspective .... this case is a slam-dunk. But what bothers me is that the Federal Courts of Appeal have a different point of view .... hence the (now) involvement of the Supreme Court.

Wounded Vet Billed For $3K By The U.S. Military For Equipment He Lost When He Was Shot In Iraq

Shot By Sniper In Iraq, Billed For $3K By Military In U.S. -- KVAL.com

LEBANON, Ore. -- A former Oregon National Guard soldier and Purple Heart recipient is being billed for military-issued equipment he believes was lost in Iraq after he was shot and evacuated from the country.

Gary Pfleider II feels disrespected by the charges. He said he lost sight of the gear when he left Iraq and believes he should not be responsible for it now.

Read more ....

Hat Tip: Theo Spark

My Comment: Unbelievable .... completely unbelievable. And my friends wonder why I am always skeptical when it comes to U.S. treatment for our wounded.

Afghanistan Will Soon Be America's Longest War

U.S. Army 1st. Lt. Harold Castweda, center, talks with an Afghan village elder about any improvements that can be made to a mosque in the village of Dubazai at Logar province, Afghanistan, May 9, 2010. Castweda is assigned to 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, which conducted a security check of the village. U.S. Army photo by Spc. De'Yonte Mosley

Afghanistan: America's Longest War -- ABC News

Father of First American Casualty in Afghanistan: 'You Can't Remember All Their Names, There Are So Many'

Three months after 9/11, every major Taliban city in Afghanistan had fallen -- first Mazar-i-Sharif, then Kabul, finally Kandahar. Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar were on the run. It looked as if the war was over, and the Americans and their Afghan allies had won.

Butch Ivie, then a school administrator in Winfield, Ala., remembers, "We thought we'd soon have it tied up in a neat little bag."

Read more ....

My Comment: After 9/11 I wrote that this war was going to be a long one .... using the Soviet experience in Afghanistan as my template for why I believed this was going to be the case. The fact that this conflict is still ongoing does not surprise me .... this is going to be a long war, and it will change only when Islam decides to confront the more radical elements within their religion.

Unfortunately .... from where I am standing .... this is not going to happen in the short, medium, or long term.

Will The Turkish Navy Accompany The Next Flotilla Of Aid Ships To Gaza?

IDF: Global Jihad on flotilla -- Jerusalem Post

Fifty 'Mavi Marmara' passengers tied to global jihad network.

Dozens of passengers who were aboard the Mavi Marmara Turkish passenger ship are suspected of having connections with global jihad-affiliated terrorist organizations, defense officials said on Tuesday, amid growing concerns that Turkish warships would accompany a future flotilla to the Gaza Strip.

According to the defense officials, the IDF has identified about 50 passengers on the ship who could have terrorist connections with global jihad-affiliated groups.

Read more ....

My Comment: Buried in this JP news article is the following eye-opening remark ....

Meanwhile Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel not to test Ankara’s patience.

“Turkey’s hostility is as strong as its friendship is valuable,” he said. “Israel in no way can legitimize this murder, it cannot wash its hand of this blood.”

This comment, officials said, could signify a change in Turkish military posture in the event that another flotilla is dispatched to the Gaza Strip. One official said that the chances that Turkey would send navy ships were slim – due to its membership in NATO – but that the issue was of great concern.

“This is a definite possibility that we need to prepare for,” a senior defense official said.

Will Turkey follow through by sending navy ships into the region and thereby getting directly involved in the Israel - Hamas/Gaza conflict .... I personally have my doubts. But Turkey under its Islamic Government has been following a very pro-Islamic/Hamas/Palestinian policy .... if the situation heats up even more I would suspect that anything would then be possible.

More News On Turkey's Involvement In the Gaza Aid Flotilla

Turkish Funds Helped Group Test Blockade of Gaza -- New York Times
Turkey maintains push for Israel sanctions -- USA Today
Turkey recalls envoy over Gaza flotilla deaths, accuses Israel of 'state terrorism' -- Haaretz
In Turkey, rage at Israeli raid puts an ally to the test -- Boston.com
A turning point for Turkey -- Jerusalem Post editorial

U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq On Schedule

US Military 'On Track' To Reduce Troops In Iraq To 50,000 -- The Telegraph

The United States is "on track" to almost halve the number of its troops in Iraq in the next three months to achieve President Barack Obama's target of just 50,000 by August 31st.

There are currently some 92,000 American troops in Iraq. Last month, the number dipped below that of those in Afghanistan, now 94,000, for the first time since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

There will soon be 100,000 American troops in Afghanistan, fighting alongside 47,000 from allies, including 10,000 British.

Read more ....

More News On The U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq

Iraq takes control of Green Zone checkpoints -- ABC News (Australia)
U.S. on track in Iraq, Casey says -- CNN
Biden: U.S. Troops Will Leave Iraq on Deadline -- CBS News
Powell: Iraq ready for departure of US combat forces -- ABC News
CNN poll: Instability in Iraq could hurt support for U.S. withdrawal -- CNN
Americans split on Iraq withdrawal if conditions for pullout aren't right -- The Hill
As the US plans its exit, the Iraqis find reason to worry -- The National