U.S. rushes production of 30,000 lbs bombs to use on Iran

Bunker buster carries goal of deterring Iran
By SCOTT CANON, The Kansas City Star, Oct. 22, 2009

Even as Washington emphasizes walking softly to pry Iran away from its nuclear ambitions, the Pentagon is speeding the manufacture of its own big stick.

This month, the Defense Department awarded $51.9 million to McDonnell Douglas to more quickly adapt a 30,000-pound bunker buster to the B-2 stealth bomber.

The GBU-57 bomb and the fleet of B-2s — stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base with occasional deployments to Guam and an outpost in the Indian Ocean — are widely seen as the likeliest U.S. military option for setting back Tehran’s hopes for building nuclear weapons.

“There is a certain amount of wise military planning in all this,” said Robert Hewson, editor of Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons, “and a certain amount of saber-rattling.”

The weapon is behind schedule. In 2007, officials at the bomber base east of Kansas City estimated the bomb would be B-2-ready in 2008.

Budgetary hiccups pushed the delivery date to mid-2011.

Now the testing of the bomb and the delicate job of outfitting it for any of the $2.2 billion planes is, as one Pentagon spokesman said, “back on track.” It should now be ready, said Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell, “in the coming months.”

About 20 of the bombs are being made.

“This has been a capability that we have long believed was missing from our — our quiver, our arsenal, and we wanted to make sure we filled in that gap,” Morrell said at a press briefing this month. “I don’t think anybody should read anything into it beyond what it is. And I don’t think anybody can divine potential targets or anything of that nature.”

The Iranians have many uranium-enriching centrifuges at an underground location at Natanz. But on a visit to the United Nations last month, President Barack Obama announced the Iranians were building another secret nuclear facility near the holy city of Qum, this one deep in a mountain. Some speculate that the mountain facility is in response to a possible bunker buster.

The disclosure of the new facility may have put the Tehran leadership on defensive. A tentative deal cut this week calls for Iran to ship about three-fourths of its known nuclear fuel stockpile to Russia. Once there, it would be converted into metal fuel rods practical for a nuclear power plant, but not for an atomic warhead.

But the pact is shaky, and like less-successful efforts to stymie North Korea’s nuclear program, short-term advances often see reverses.

That’s where the biggest-yet bunker buster comes in. By the reckoning of military analysts, the bomb is conventional — by which they mean it does not carry a nuclear warhead. But it is unconventionally large.

The GBU-57 has the weight of about two elephants, stretches 20 feet and carries more than 5,300 pounds of explosive. Two will fit in the belly of a B-2.

Previously, the biggest non-nuke in the U.S. arsenal was the MOAB, massive ordnance air blast, or “Mother of All Bombs.” It explodes above its target.

Four tons heavier, the GBU-57 is called a MOP, massive ordnance penetrator.

Dropping such a behemoth is complicated.

“When you let go, all of a sudden the plane is 10 percent lighter than it was a second ago,” said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org. “Planes have a tendency to pitch up when that happens.”

Some published reports suggest the new bomb can burrow through 200 feet of reinforced concrete before detonating, but many analysts are skeptical. The physics of bunker busting are tricky, and even nuclear bombs can’t punch into the world’s most hardened targets.

Still, the bomb might be enough, if its shock can disturb the spinning centrifuges and make the sensitive devices wobble into self-destruction.

“Once you shake it up, it becomes like the inside of an engine that has thrown a rod. It tears itself apart,” said Owen Cote, a security analyst at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “But that’s not your only issue.”

First, he said, Obama would have to consider if U.S. intelligence is good enough to find the right targets and whether a strike would do enough damage to the Iranian program.

Then the White House would have to calculate the backlash. Iran would have the options of punishing U.S. troops in countries on either side of it, send missiles toward Tel Aviv, Israel, or sink tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

“If you can delay their nuclear program, that’s good. Time is your friend,” Cote said. “But you have to think about what (the Iranians) will do the day after you bomb them.”


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Is the U.S. Preparing to Bomb Iran?
Is the U.S. Stepping Up Preparations for a Possible Attack on Iran's Nuclear Facilities?

By JONATHAN KARL, ABC News, Oct. 6, 2009

Is the U.S. stepping up preparations for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities?

The Pentagon is always making plans, but based on a little-noticed funding request recently sent to Congress, the answer to that question appears to be yes.

First, some background: Back in October 2007, ABC News reported that the Pentagon had asked Congress for $88 million in the emergency Iraq/Afghanistan war funding request to develop a gargantuan bunker-busting bomb called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). It's a 30,000-pound bomb designed to hit targets buried 200 feet below ground. Back then, the Pentagon cited an "urgent operational need" for the new weapon.

Now the Pentagon is shifting spending from other programs to fast forward the development and procurement of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The Pentagon comptroller sent a request to shift the funds to the House and Senate Appropriations and Armed Services Committees over the summer.

Click here to see a copy of the Pentagon's request, provided to ABC News.

The comptroller said the Pentagon planned to spend $19.1 million to procure four of the bombs, $28.3 million to accelerate the bomb's "development and testing", and $21 million to accelerate the integration of the bomb onto B-2 stealth bombers.

'Urgent Operational Need'

The notification was tucked inside a 93-page "reprogramming" request that included a couple hundred other more mundane items.

Why now? The notification says simply, "The Department has an Urgent Operational Need (UON) for the capability to strike hard and deeply buried targets in high threat environments. The MOP is the weapon of choice to meet the requirements of the UON." It further states that the request is endorsed by Pacific Command (which has responsibility over North Korea) and Central Command (which has responsibility over Iran).

Is the U.S. Preparing to Bomb Iran?

The request was quietly approved. On Friday, McDonnell Douglas was awarded a $51.9 million contract to provide "Massive Penetrator Ordnance Integration" on B-2 aircraft.

This is not the kind of weapon that would be particularly useful in Iraq or Afghanistan, but it is ideally suited to hit deeply buried nuclear facilities such as Natanz or Qom in Iran.

Israel, US Conduct Joint X-Band Radar Exercise

Xinhua, Bridging The Straits, July 24, 2009

The Israeli forces and U.S. military conducted a joint exercise this week of the X-Band radar deployed in southern Israel to check its interoperability with Israeli early-warning systems, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Friday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the U.S. Military's European Command (EUCOM) carried out the drill to test the radar deployed in the Negev near the Nevatim Air Force Base, which is reportedly capable of tracking small targets from thousands of kilometers away.

The drill was conducted at EUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, said the report, adding that a similar drill took place last week, also in Germany.

The drill was held in Germany since the X-Band radar in southern Israel is under EUCOM's command and is controlled by U.S. soldiers, according to the report.

Israel received the advanced X-Band radar last October as a farewell gift from the Bush administration to beef up its defenses in face of Iran's nuclear program and enhance ballistic missile capability.

According to a defense official involved in the drill, when operated in coordination with additional Israeli warning systems, the X-Band radar enables the IDF Home Front Command to issue an alert about an incoming missile between five and seven minutes before impact.

The total flight time of a missile from Iran to Israel would be approximately 10 minutes. In comparison, the residents of Sderot in southern Israel usually have up to 15 seconds to seek shelter from when they hear a siren and before a Qassam rocket strikes the city.

Meanwhile, the IDF and the United States are scheduled to hold a joint missile defense exercise in October.

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U.S. Deploys Radar, Troops To Israel
By Gayle S. Putrich, Defense News, Sept. 26, 2008

U.S. European Command (EUCOM) has deployed to Israel a high-powered X-band radar and the supporting people and equipment needed for coordinated defense against Iranian missile attack, marking the first permanent U.S. military presence on Israeli soil.

More than a dozen aircraft, including C-5s and C-17s, helped with the Sept. 21 delivery of the AN/TPY-2 Transportable Radar Surveillance/Forward Based X-band Transportable (FBX-T), its ancillary components and some 120 EUCOM personnel to Israel's Nevatim Air Base southeast of Beersheba, said sources here and in Stuttgart, Germany.

Among the U.S. personnel is at least one representative from the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), though officials said the agency had little to no say in the deployment decision. MDA involvement has been confined to providing equipment and advice on technical aspects of its deployment, one official said.

The Raytheon-built FBX-T system is the same phased-array radar that was deployed to northern Japan with the U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) in 2006. The high-powered, high-frequency, transportable X-band radar is designed to detect and track ballistic missiles soon after launch.

Its ancillary gear included cooling systems, generators, perimeter defense weaponry, logistics supplies and dozens of technicians, maintenance specialists and security forces to operate and defend the U.S. installation.

EUCOM has repeatedly deployed troops and Patriot air defense batteries for joint exercises and Iraq-related wartime contingencies, but has never before permanently deployed troops on Israeli soil.

A EUCOM spokesman declined to comment. MDA officials referred to the U.S. State Department, which did not provide comment by press time.

An Israeli military spokesman said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) enjoys longstanding strategic cooperation with all branches of the U.S. military.

"This cooperation is varied and comes in multiple forms, and it is not our practice to discuss details of our bilateral activities," he said.

Nevertheless, in previous interviews, U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed that the X-band deployment plan was approved in July, first by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Israeli counterpart, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi; and then by. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Shaving Minutes From Reaction Time

The radar will be linked to the U.S. Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTAGS), which receives and processes threat data transmitted by U.S. Defense Support System satellites. According to U.S. and Israeli sources, JTAGS will remain in Europe, but its essential cueing data will stream into the forward-deployed X-band radar, where it instantaneously shares information with Israel's Arrow Weapon System.

Once operational, the combined U.S. and Israeli system is expected to double or even triple the range at which Israel can detect, track and ultimately intercept Iranian missiles, according to Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.

During a visit to Israel in early August, Obering said the X-Band radar could add precious minutes to the time in which Israel has to respond to incoming missile attacks.

"The missile threat from Iran is very real, and we must stay ahead of the threat ... that's why we're working so hard with all our allies to put the most optimized, effective, anti-missile capabilities in place," Obering said.

"In the context of Israel, if we can take the radar out here and tie it into the Arrow Weapon System, they'll be able to launch that interceptor way before they could with an autonomous system," he added.

Ilan Biton, a brigadier general in the Israel Air Force (IAF) reserves and former commander of the nation's air defense forces, could not comment on the latest developments associated with the X-band radar. However, he said that an IAF air defense brigade established during his 2003-2006 tenure has continuously demonstrated its ability to interoperate well with American forces.

"We advanced tremendously on multiple levels and have developed very impressive cooperation," Biton said at a Sept. 22 conference in Herzliya. Referring to bilateral Juniper Cobra air defense exercises and the 2003 deployment of Patriot batteries prior to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Biton noted: "At the human level, we've developed a common language and at the technical level, we've put in place the interfaces that allow our systems to speak to one another."

The end result, according to Biton, is a combined ability "to manage battles, execute debriefs and implement corrections, all in real time."

Twin Messages

As U.S. public affairs officers last week mulled whether to publicly disclose the Israel deployment, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York, continued to defend his country's nuclear enrichment and missile development program.

"Iran's [nuclear] activities are peaceful," Ahmadinejad said Sept. 23, adding that in Israel, "the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse."

A U.S. government source said the X-band deployment and other bilateral alliance-bolstering activities send parallel messages: "First, we want to put Iran on notice that we're bolstering our capabilities throughout the region, and especially in Israel. But just as important, we're telling the Israelis, 'Calm down; behave. We're doing all we can to stand by your side and strengthen defenses, because at this time, we don't want you rushing into the military option.'"

But in Israel, frustration is mounting at what is roundly perceived as a lack of international resolve to halt Iran's nuclear weapons drive. At a Sept. 21 meeting of the Israeli Cabinet, an Israeli military intelligence officer reported that Iran is accelerating the pace at which it enriches uranium, and that Tehran already possesses possibly half of the fissionable material needed to produce its first nuclear warhead.

Reflecting Israeli concern about the ineffectiveness of sanctions against Tehran, Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of Military Intelligence's research department, reported: "The international front against Iran is weak and not consolidated, and isn't putting enough pressure on the regime to stop enriching uranium."

According to selected excerpts from the briefing released by the Israeli Prime Minister's office, Baidatz warned that Iran is "galloping toward a nuclear bomb." He added, "The sanctions have very little influence and are far from bringing to bear a critical mass of pressure on Iran."

Vago Muradian contributed to this report from Washington, Barbara Opall-Rome from Tel Aviv.

Joint U.S.-Israeli Military Exercise To Prepare For Possible "Conflict With Iran"

Israel: Joint Exercise With U.S. To Test Arrow Missile
STRATFOR, July 14, 2009

In a joint U.S.-Israeli military exercise on a U.S. missile range in the Pacific Ocean some time soon, Israel will test an Arrow interceptor missile, Reuters reported July 14, citing U.S. Missile Defense Agency director Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly. O’Reilly said three U.S. missile defense systems also will be involved in the exercise, adding that the exercise this summer will provide “the opportunity to have the Patriot system, the THAAD system and the Aegis system all interacting with the Arrow system so that we’re demonstrating full interoperability as we execute this test.”

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'US, Israel joint exercise to test three BMD systems'
indianexpress.com, April 14, 2009

Jerusalem - Israel and its closest ally US will test three different ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems in an unprecedented joint exercise later this year to thwart any danger emanating from Iran's pursuit for nuclear capability, the media in Israel reported.

The exercise named "Juniper Cobra", which is to be held in Israel, is set to include the newly developed indigenous Arrow 2, America's THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) and the ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence systems, the 'Jerusalem Post' said, without mentioning the exact dates for the exercise.

The purpose of the exercise is to create the necessary infrastructure that would enable interoperability between Israeli and American BMD systems in case the US government decides to deploy them in Israel in the event of a conflict with Iran, like it did ahead of the Gulf War in Iraq in 1991, Israeli defence officials told the daily.

The tests are likely to include the launching of interceptors from these missile defence systems.

Israel Air Force's Air Defence Division, the US Missile Defence Agency and the US Military's European Command (EUCOM) have held the 'Juniper Cobra' exercise for the past five years, but the forthcoming exercise will be the "most complex and extensive" till date, the report said.

Plans for the exercise were revealed in a testimony US Missile Defence Agency Director, Lt Gen Patrick J O'Reilly, gave to the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on defence earlier this month, the paper said.

"The Juniper Cobra exercise between EUCOM and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will be the fifth and most complex exercise yet designed," O'Reilly had told the subcommittee.

"US ballistic missile defence elements such as the AN/TPY-2 (the American X-Band radar deployed in the Negev - YK), THAAD and Aegis BMD will participate in these flight tests and exercises to demonstrate the interoperability and develop operational tactics, techniques and procedures associated with this coalition architecture," he said.

The Israel Air Force last week held its 17th test of the Arrow 2 interceptor, shooting down a missile mimicking an Iranian Shihab ballistic missile.

O'Reilly, in his testimony, had also said that in February the David Sling missile defence system underwent a successful "booster fly-out" test.

The exercise involved the successful launching of a missile by the system that Israel and the US are developing jointly to intercept medium-range missiles between 70 and 250 kms. The first intercept test of the system is scheduled to take place in 2010.

The US official also told the subcommittee that the Missile Defence Agency supported the development and US funding of Israel's Arrow 3, the future of which is currently undecided since Secretary of Defence Robert Gates announced extensive cuts to the US defence budget last week.

While the Arrow 3 had a reduced 30-year life cycle cost and was potentially more suitable for Israeli requirements, the development of the system was deemed to have a "high schedule risk," including "technical risks," the report said.

In view of this, O'Reilly had said the Missile Defence Agency was looking into the development of a land-based variant of the Aegis system, which currently fires SM-3 interceptors from naval ships.

Fearing a cut in US funding of the system, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak will on Thursday meet New York Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who serves as the Chair of Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, responsible for approving funding for the continued development of Arrow 3.

Lowey will be in Israel as part of a congressional delegation, but officials told the 'Post' that her meeting with Barak is of extreme importance in light of the indecision regarding the continued funding of the Arrow 3.

Israel is hoping to secure USD 150 million to continue with the development of the system by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing.

U.S. & Israeli Air Forces train together in Nevada

Israeli allies fly with U.S. forces at Red Flag
By 2nd Lt. Emily Chilson, Red Flag Public Affairs, Shaw Air Force Base, July 20, 2009

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Flying at home station is necessary for training, but flying with other units, especially an allied unit like the Israeli Air Force, results in valuable experience and preparation for the fight.

A squadron of F-16Is from Ramon Air Base, Israel, is one of the nine units participating in Red Flag 09-4 through July 24 in Las Vegas.

Red Flag exercises present a unique experience for U.S. and allied units to fly together against red air, or 'enemy' aircraft provided by the Aggressor Squadrons at Nellis Air Force Base, in a realistic combat environment.

The Israeli Air Force's "Bats" squadron is made up of the F-16-I Storm, a multi-role, two-seater fighter jet capable of low flying, strike and offensive counter air.

Captain Gilad, a 25-year-old IAF pilot and Tel Aviv, Israel, native, experienced Red Flag for the first time this week.

"So far Red Flag has answered my expectations," he said. "It's very interesting. We can learn a lot from each other. We're learning new tactics and flight techniques, but there are a lot of similarities too."

Red Flag is an optimal venue for pilots from U.S. and allied units around the world to work together in a combat environment. The IAF pilots bring new procedures or methods for U.S. pilots, while the IAF pilots also learn from their U.S. counterparts.

"The reason anyone comes to Red Flag is to learn how to fight together," said Maj. Kate Lowe, Red Flag Air Boss. "So Just like U.S. forces from different squadrons or sister services come together to participate, we bring in allied forces to get to know both their fighting capabilities as well as the people themselves."

Israeli Air Force pilots speak to one another in Hebrew, and while language has the potential to be an obstacle, it's practically a non-issue at Red Flag.

"Language barriers are always a challenge, but their English is way better than my Hebrew," Major Lowe said.

It's not so much the language itself, as it is the technical terminology used in mission planning and briefings in the Red Flag building.

"Most of us know pretty good English," Captain Gilad said, referring to his comrades. "But it's the different acronyms, and aviation talk that is sometimes challenging."
When it comes to skill, Captain Gilad and his fellow IAF pilots came prepared for any challenge Red Flag 09-4 threw at them. The only thing new, he said, is the terrain, the base and training rules - which are a bit different from those in the IAF, but not too much.

For example, IAF F-16I pilots are allowed to coast at 100 feet off the ground, while U.S. F-16s have to stay at 500 feet unless they're strafing, a term related to ground attack.

"We learn a lot from U.S. pilots, like daily routines and how to give organized briefings, but flying here is one of the main goals that we want to experience," he said. "Flying in unknown terrain - it's very different than flying in our homeland where we know every rock and every corner."

Coming from a country that's only about 300 miles in length by 30 miles in width, Captain Gilad isn't kidding when he says he knows every rock and corner. And while the terrain presents the IAF with new challenges, the heat of Las Vegas, he said, isn't so much of a problem.

Another plus Red Flag offers U.S. and Israeli pilots alike, is the scale of the flying missions. Unlike home station flying, Red Flag missions encompass many different types of aircraft flying Large Force Employments, or LFEs.

"We do a lot more basics training in Israel," Captain Gilad said. "Flying here is more mission-oriented."

When he's in Israel, Captain Gilad serves in two squadrons. One squadron is operational, where pilots are on alert, and ready to respond to emergencies or threats. In the other squadron, he's an instructor pilot, teaching other pilots about combat - especially dogfights. Although his military commitment is up, Captain Gilad chooses to remain in the IAF.

"In Israel everyone has to be in the military," he said. "By testing, they choose if you go in the army, navy or air force."

Captain Gilad attended the Israeli Flight Academy for three years, but it took two additional years of training before he became operational, or ready to fight. Although the IAF is not involved in a fight right now, earlier this year, he fought in the Gaza Strip conflict.

"We have to be very cautious because it's so close to home," he said. "We attack very strategically. But right now it's mainly homeland defense and protecting our citizens."

Like the U.S., Israel recognizes the diplomatic and strategic need to maintain allied relationships.

"We have a great relationship with the U.S. Air Force," Capt Gilad said. "A relationship we want to keep and make better."

And the Air Force recognizes that America's strategic partnerships are more important than ever. Red Flag is vital in fostering and maintaining those relationships, capitalizing on the global community of like-minded Airmen while enhancing interoperability between allies and partners like Israel.

"It's not only the mentality and the way the U.S. and Israeli air forces approach planning and executing tactics, but also our systems," Major Lowe said. "Are our radios compatible? Are our weapons compatible? Can we hear each other? Better to know it now than when the bombs are dropping."

This may be Captain Gilad's first Red Flag, but it won't necessarily be his last. The IAF, according to Captain Gilad, tries to send pilots of all ages and experience levels to Red Flag.

"We could find ourselves here again," he said. "We always send someone who's been here before for better guidance. Coming to Red Flag is a big privilege, and everybody wants to come because it's very good experience for us."

Israeli warships make rare Suez crossing

AFP, Google News, July 14, 2009

SUEZ, Egypt (AFP) — Two Israeli navy ships made a rare crossing of Egypt's Suez Canal on Tuesday, headed from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, a port source told AFP.

One of the ships, the Hanit, already crossed the canal both ways in June, in what the source said was the first case of a large Israeli warship using the strategic waterway, although this was not possible to confirm officially.

After fighting several wars since Israel's foundation in 1948, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979.

The other ship to cross on Tuesday, the Eilat, was named after a destroyer sunk by Egypt with the loss of 47 lives shortly after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the source said.

It is thought that Israeli navy vessels did not previously use the canal for intelligence reasons, as they might be equipped with nuclear warheads that could be visible to the Egyptian authorities.

Israel is considered to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power.

Israel's Yediot Aharonot daily reported earlier this month that an Israeli submarine also used the Suez Canal for the first time in June, to reach military exercises in the Red Sea.

It said the Dolphin submarine's crossing, escorted by Egyptian navy vessels, was intended as a message to arch-foe Iran.

Previously, Israeli submarines took weeks to round the whole of Africa to get to the Red Sea, with the paper saying "Egypt and Israel wanted to show their coordination in the face of Iran pursuing its nuclear programme."

Israel suspects Iran of trying to build atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a charge Tehran has vehemently denied.

The Jewish state sees the Islamic republic as its top enemy following repeated assertions by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Israel is doomed to be "wiped off the map."

Letter from an Israeli Jail, by Cynthia McKinney

Free Gaza Movement, July 4, 2009

Original audio message available here:
http://freegaza.org/it/home/56-news/984-a-message-from-cynthia-from-a-cell-block-in-israel

This is Cynthia McKinney and I'm speaking from an Israeli prison cellblock in Ramle. [I am one of] the Free Gaza 21, human rights activists currently imprisoned for trying to take medical supplies to Gaza, building supplies - and even crayons for children, I had a suitcase full of crayons for children. While we were on our way to Gaza the Israelis threatened to fire on our boat, but we did not turn around. The Israelis high-jacked and arrested us because we wanted to give crayons to the children in Gaza. We have been detained, and we want the people of the world to see how we have been treated just because we wanted to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

At the outbreak of Israel's Operation ‘Cast Lead' [in December 2008], I boarded a Free Gaza boat with one day's notice and tried, as the US representative in a multi-national delegation, to deliver 3 tons of medical supplies to an already besieged and ravaged Gaza.

During Operation Cast Lead, U.S.-supplied F-16's rained hellfire on a trapped people. Ethnic cleansing became full scale outright genocide. U.S.-supplied white phosphorus, depleted uranium, robotic technology, DIME weapons, and cluster bombs - new weapons creating injuries never treated before by Jordanian and Norwegian doctors. I was later told by doctors who were there in Gaza during Israel's onslaught that Gaza had become Israel's veritable weapons testing laboratory, people used to test and improve the kill ratio of their weapons.

The world saw Israel's despicable violence thanks to al-Jazeera Arabic and Press TV that broadcast in English. I saw those broadcasts live and around the clock, not from the USA but from Lebanon, where my first attempt to get into Gaza had ended because the Israeli military rammed the boat I was on in international water ... It's a miracle that I'm even here to write about my second encounter with the Israeli military, again a humanitarian mission aborted by the Israeli military.

The Israeli authorities have tried to get us to confess that we committed a crime ... I am now known as Israeli prisoner number 88794. How can I be in prison for collecting crayons to kids?

Zionism has surely run out of its last legitimacy if this is what it does to people who believe so deeply in human rights for all that they put their own lives on the line for someone else's children. Israel is the fullest expression of Zionism, but if Israel fears for its security because Gaza's children have crayons then not only has Israel lost its last shred of legitimacy, but Israel must be declared a failed state.

I am facing deportation from the state that brought me here at gunpoint after commandeering our boat. I was brought to Israel against my will. I am being held in this prison because I had a dream that Gaza's children could color & paint, that Gaza's wounded could be healed, and that Gaza's bombed-out houses could be rebuilt.

But I've learned an interesting thing by being inside this prison. First of all, it's incredibly black: populated mostly by Ethiopians who also had a dream ... like my cellmates, one who is pregnant. They are all are in their twenties. They thought they were coming to the Holy Land. They had a dream that their lives would be better ... The once proud, never colonized Ethiopia [has been thrown into] the back pocket of the United States, and become a place of torture, rendition, and occupation. Ethiopians must free their country because superpower politics [have] become more important than human rights and self-determination.

My cellmates came to the Holy Land so they could be free from the exigencies of superpower politics. They committed no crime except to have a dream. They came to Israel because they thought that Israel held promise for them. Their journey to Israel through Sudan and Egypt was arduous. I can only imagine what it must have been like for them. And it wasn't cheap. Many of them represent their family's best collective efforts for self-fulfilment. They made their way to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. They got their yellow paper of identification. They got their certificate for police protection. They are refugees from tragedy, and they made it to Israel only after they arrived Israel told them "there is no UN in Israel."

The police here have license to pick them up & suck them into the black hole of a farce for a justice system. These beautiful, industrious and proud women represent the hopes of entire families. The idea of Israel tricked them and the rest of us. In a widely propagandized slick marketing campaign, Israel represented itself as a place of refuge and safety for the world's first Jews and Christian. I too believed that marketing and failed to look deeper.

The truth is that Israel lied to the world. Israel lied to the families of these young women. Israel lied to the women themselves who are now trapped in Ramle's detention facility. And what are we to do? One of my cellmates cried today. She has been here for 6 months. As an American, crying with them is not enough. The policy of the United States must be better, and while we watch President Obama give 12.8 trillion dollars to the financial elite of the United States it ought now be clear that hope, change, and ‘yes we can' were powerfully presented images of dignity and self-fulfilment, individually and nationally, that besieged people everywhere truly believed in.

It was a slick marketing campaign as slickly put to the world and to the voters of America as was Israel's marketing to the world. It tricked all of us but, more tragically, these young women.

We must cast an informed vote about better candidates seeking to represent us. I have read and re-read Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's letter from a Birmingham jail. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that I too would one day have to do so. It is clear that taxpayers in Europe and the U.S. have a lot to atone for, for what they've done to others around the world.

What an irony! My son begins his law school program without me because I am in prison, in my own way trying to do my best, again, for other people's children. Forgive me, my son. I guess I'm experiencing the harsh reality which is why people need dreams. [But] I'm lucky. I will leave this place. Has Israel become the place where dreams die?

Ask the people of Palestine. Ask the stream of black and Asian men whom I see being processed at Ramle. Ask the women on my cellblock. [Ask yourself:] what are you willing to do?

Let's change the world together & reclaim what we all need as human beings: Dignity. I appeal to the United Nations to get these women of Ramle, who have done nothing wrong other than to believe in Israel as the guardian of the Holy Land, resettled in safe homes. I appeal to the United State's Department of State to include the plight of detained UNHCR-certified refugees in the Israel country report in its annual human rights report. I appeal once again to President Obama to go to Gaza: send your special envoy, George Mitchell there, and to engage Hamas as the elected choice of the Palestinian people.

I dedicate this message to those who struggle to achieve a free Palestine, and to the women I've met at Ramle. This is Cynthia McKinney, July 2nd 2009, also known as Ramle prisoner number 88794.

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Cynthia McKinney is a former U.S. Congresswoman, Green Party presidential candidate, and an outspoken advocate for human rights and social justice. The first African-American woman to represent the state of Georgia, McKinney served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1993-2003, and from 2005-2007. She was arrested and forcibly abducted to Israel while attempting to take humanitarian and reconstruction supplies to Gaza on June 30th. For more information, please see http://www.FreeGaza.org

Senate Investigates Blackwater Subsidiary

Fatal Shooting Incident in Afghanistan
By Faiza Virani, CBS News, July 1, 2009

The Senate Armed Services Committee is investigating the private security firm Paravant LLC which provides contracted services to the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and Iraq. Paravant is a subsidiary of Xe, formerly known as Blackwater, owned by Erik D. Prince, president of The Prince Group.

Steven McClain and Justin Cannon, two former Paravant security personnel stationed in Afghanistan, were involved in a fatal shooting incident that left one Afghan civilian dead and two others wounded in Kabul on May 5, 2009.

In a letter obtained exclusively by CBS News dated June 18, Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, demanded Mr. Prince’s cooperation in investigating the role of private security contractors and sub-contractors employed by his firm in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Senator has also requested specific documents concerning security contracts and weapons policies and practices as part of their inquiry.

The two contractors involved in the shooting were hired to help the U.S. Army train Afghan troops. The incident occurred in Kabul, Afghanistan as they were driving their interpreters back to a base when a car crashed into them. The vehicle that struck them did not turn away, instead made a u-turn and headed towards them again at which point the men, feeling threatened, opened fire at the approaching vehicle, killing one and wounding two others according to their lawyer Daniel J. Callahan.

The committee is conducting a broad investigation into private security contractors whilst specifically investigating the actions of Paravant and the May 5th incident. The committee will also be probing disciplinary action taken by Paravant for noncompliance with corporate policies.

Senator Levin’s committee is demanding the release of documents regarding the company’s screening and hiring process, rules allowing contract personnel to carry and transport weapons and ammunition, as well as their use of deadly force.

McClain and Cannon, the two former Paravant employees, said through their attorney Callahan that the company supplied them with AK-47s instructing them to carry them at all times even though the permit allowing these men to operate in Afghanistan prohibited the possession of arms.

The men further state that their questions about the use of weapons were ignored and told it was "above their pay grade" to be asking such questions. The incident remains under investigation by the US Army’s Criminal Investigation Command.

Callahan told CBS News that Paravant has "intended to make scapegoats out of his clients" by alleging that they were intoxicated during this incident, and that Paravant had not supplied them with weapons for the duration of their operations in Afghanistan. His clients were not off duty or acting out on their own as they were transporting their interpreters, said Callahan.

Last year, a federal grand jury indicted five Blackwater security guards for the shooting death of 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007. The Prince Group that owns the company Blackwater. subsequently lost their contract in Iraq and re-named their company Xe which currently operates in Afghanistan.

The Senate Armed Services Committee would not comment on the pending investigation.

Elite Iraqi troops in forefront after US pullback

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, AP, Google News, June 26, 2009

BAGHDAD (AP) — As Iraqi security services prepare to take back their towns from the Americans on Tuesday, the sharpest arrow in their quiver is an elite, American-trained force with a reputation that leads many Iraqis to call it "the dirty brigade."

Its real name is the Counter Terrorism Bureau, and its commander insists it's professional, nonsectarian and not dirty at all.

Violence is already rising and will likely continue after the handover as different factions test the government's ability to manage without American backup. But Kalib Shegati al-Kenani, the Iraqi Army general who heads the bureau, is confident his force can cope and that his country will not slide into renewed sectarian warfare.

The elite units, armed with high-tech U.S.-made equipment, often pair up with American special forces to go after Iraq's most wanted foes — both al-Qaida extremists and Shiite militants.

They are thought to have been the main force that assisted the Americans during an offensive in Baghdad's Sadr City quarter last year to rout Shiite militias, and on operations targeting Sunni insurgents.

Formed soon after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the force became known as the "Dirty Brigade" because it was secretive and until recently operated outside the Iraqi chain of command, reporting directly to its U.S. handlers.

It was so little known that it even was rumored to be used against the Shiite-dominated government's opponents in the political mainstream_ a charge denied by the Iraqis and the Americans.

Originally numbering about 4,500 members, it is reported to have doubled in size and now reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"We are professional and not sectarian forces, and we bring together people from all sections of the population. Each member of the bureau signs a document vowing not to speak about sectarianism, partisan affairs and nationalities. Their commitment is only to Iraq," al-Kenani told The Associated Press in an interview this week.

Al-Kenani, a 59-year-old veteran of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War and the first Gulf War, is a Shiite, his deputy is a Sunni and one of his top generals is a Kurd.

The force has sought to reinforce its nonpartisan makeup by refusing to accept recruits who previously served in sectarian militias. Also, says Maj. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saedi, a senior commander, it "does not allow any minister or government official to enter its headquarters to prevent any interference in investigations and security operations."

Its ranks are made up of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, al-Saedi said, but it does not publish breakdowns.

A statement in Arabic posted on the U.S. military's Web site acknowledged the public's "misconceptions about this very viable and important unit."

It picks its targets on the basis of rigorous checks, the statement said. "In short," it added, "the CTB's mission is targeting terrorists, not the Iraqi public or political foes."

Al-Kenani said the bureau has a good intelligence-gathering machine and "cooperation with all ministries."

The Americans are already leaving the towns and cities, and once they are gone full responsibility will fall to the Iraqi police and military, which numbered 654,362 members at last count.

Although some troops will remain as trainers and advisers, the remaining 133,000 U.S. military personnel will be confined to base unless called in by the Iraqis. A full withdrawal is envisioned by the end of 2011.

The Iraqi government has declared Tuesday a public holiday.

"June 30 is considered an Iraqi victory day," al-Kenani said, "and we will all celebrate the withdrawal of American forces."

Explosions around the country have claimed more than 160 lives since June 20, when a truck bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed 82. A bombing in Baghdad's Shiite district of Sadr City killed at least 61 people on Wednesday.

But al-Kenani said the days of mass violence and near-civil war were over. "Whoever carries out explosions and security breaches after the withdrawal of forces will have no excuse," he said.

"They were repeatedly bragging about fighting the occupation; now the occupation is out."

Associated Press Writer Patrick Quinn contributed to this story from Baghdad.

Israeli Army amasses troops, military hardware along Lebanese border

Daily Star staff, The Daily Star, June 26, 2009

BEIRUT: The Israeli Army stepped up its presence along the border with Lebanon deploying armored tanks and setting up fortifications as it intensified airspace violations in the area, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Thursday. In "unusual military activity," the Israeli Army deployed Merkava tanks and soldier carriers, among other armored vehicles, along the barb-wired fence separating Shebaa Farms from liberated Lebanese territories, the NNA said.

Israeli tanks were also amassing along a 5-kilometer area, stretching from Tallat Sobaih army post to Jabal al-Sheikh observatory. Sporadic gunfire was also heard throughout the day, the NNA report said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force carried out several flights over the regions of the Shebaa Farms, Al-Arqoub villages, Hasbaya, Marjayoun, Western Bekaa and Iqlim al-Tuffah. Israeli helicopters were also spotted over the Shebaa Farms between 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

On the outskirts of the southern village of Abassiya, the Israeli Army set up fortifications and barricades as part of a military workshop around Al-Dohaira post, off the town of Al-Ghajar. Heavy machinery was being used including bulldozers, drills and large cranes. A similar workshop was taking place at Jabal al-Sheikh's observatory with soldiers setting up military equipment.

In other news, an Israeli Army delegation suggested taking Lebanese-Israeli military talks under the auspices of the UN peacekeepers' command to the next stage, As-Safir newspaper reported on Thursday.

The newspaper said that the proposal came during a meeting held between the two sides on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 in the presence of commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Claudio Graziano in the border town of Naqoura on Wednesday.

Lebanese government sources told As-Safir that the Israeli side proposed to Lebanese Army representatives to move the talks which solely focus on the implementation of the resolution, which put an end to the summer 2006 war, "to the bilateral political level between the governments of Lebanon and Israel."

"If you accept our invitation, all [problems] would be subject to a solution at one time," the head of the Israeli delegation had reportedly told the Lebanese side.

But the Lebanese Army representatives bluntly replied that government instructions limit the tripartite meeting's agenda to issues related to the implementation of Resolution 1701, according to As-Safir.

The delegation "categorically" rejected the Israeli proposal, the daily reported.

The army delegation later informed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora about the results of the tripartite meeting that lasted three hours.

Meanwhile, As-Safir said the UNIFIL command informed Lebanon that the Israeli violation of the Blue Line was removed after the Israeli Army had taken down its flag at an observation post that it erected last week in a restricted area on the outskirts of Kfar Shouba Hills.

However, An-Nahar daily said that the outpost was intact and all that Israel did was to take down the flag.

Kfar Shouba's Mayor Izzat al-Qadri, who inspected the area on Wednesday, told the newspaper that the Israeli violation was ongoing.

"I urge the Lebanese premier, the army command and the UNIFIL leadership to make every effort to end this violation," he said.

US says weapons sent to Somalia

BBC News, June 25, 2009

The US has confirmed that it has sent weapons to Somalia's UN-backed transitional government.

The state department said the move followed an urgent call for help from the government, which has been fighting hardline Islamist militias.

The insurgents control swathes of Somalia and US officials have been alarmed at their gains, analysts say.

The US would also provide logistical support for training Somali troops, officials said.

"At the request of that government, the state department has helped to provide weapons and ammunition on an urgent basis," spokesman Ian Kelly said.

The arms would help the government "repel the onslaught of extremist forces which are intent on... spoiling efforts to bring peace and stability to Somalia", he added.

The US would also provide support for training Somali troops but would not conduct the training themselves, officials said.

Somalia has been without an effective government since 1991.

President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, took office in January but even his introduction of Sharia law to the strongly Muslim country has not appeased the guerrillas.

Since 7 May, an alliance of militant Islamist hardliners has been locked in ferocious battles with pro-government forces in the capital, Mogadishu.

The alliance already controls parts of the capital and much of southern Somalia.

Last week the Somali government called for urgent foreign military assistance to help prop up the government.

The Gaza Bombshell

After failing to anticipate Hamas’s victory over Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian election, the White House cooked up yet another scandalously covert and self-defeating Middle East debacle: part Iran-contra, part Bay of Pigs. With confidential documents, corroborated by outraged former and current U.S. officials, the author reveals how President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Deputy National-Security Adviser Elliott Abrams backed an armed force under Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan, touching off a bloody civil war in Gaza and leaving Hamas stronger than ever.

by David Rose, Vanity Fair, April 2008

The Al Deira Hotel, in Gaza City, is a haven of calm in a land beset by poverty, fear, and violence. In the middle of December 2007, I sit in the hotel’s airy restaurant, its windows open to the Mediterranean, and listen to a slight, bearded man named Mazen Asad abu Dan describe the suffering he endured 11 months before at the hands of his fellow Palestinians. Abu Dan, 28, is a member of Hamas, the Iranian-backed Islamist organization that has been designated a terrorist group by the United States, but I have a good reason for taking him at his word: I’ve seen the video.

It shows abu Dan kneeling, his hands bound behind his back, and screaming as his captors pummel him with a black iron rod. “I lost all the skin on my back from the beatings,” he says. “Instead of medicine, they poured perfume on my wounds. It felt as if they had taken a sword to my injuries.”

click here to read the full article

Gen. Dayton admits US is helping Fatah

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, Jerusalem Post, May 27, 2009

As violence raged this week in the Gaza Strip between Hamas and Fatah, US officials stressed the importance of American efforts to bolster forces loyal to the latter and said further help was necessary.

"This chaotic situation is why the USSC [United States security coordinator] is focused on the legal, legitimate security forces in our attempts to reestablish law and order," said Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton, the USCC working with the Palestinians, in testimony Wednesday before the House Subcommittee on the Middle East. But he added, "The legal security forces of the Palestinian president still lack what they need to achieve … law and order."

The State Department has in the past denied that America's non-lethal training of the presidential guard of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah - largely aimed at securing the Karni border crossing and protecting Abbas and other VIPs - amounted to the US taking sides in Fatah's fight with Hamas.

But at the hearing Dayton highlighted the US role in helping Fatah as it faces attacks from the Islamic radicals in Hamas.

"We are leading, through the acts of this Congress, the international effort to possibly affect this worrisome situation," he said. "The security assistance plan that you have authorized me to just begin to implement is pointing the way forward for all international and regional allies."

Congress recently allowed $59 million to be used to further Dayton's efforts at training the presidential guard of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

The money, however, didn't go through the normal appropriation process, as the White House took previously approved funds and simply reallocated them.

Dayton pushed the case for further US assistance to the Palestinian guard, despite months of efforts on the ground that have seemed to have little effect against the well-disciplined and well-supplied Hamas.

"We are entering a rough patch," Dayton acknowledged, "but all is not lost and our regional partners share that sentiment. However, it is critical that those who support the legitimate authority and forces represented by President Abbas receive the critical assistance they need."

Dayton is visiting the US from Israel, where he is based, and testified before the Middle East subcommittee at the behest of its chairman, Gary Ackerman (D-New York).

In response to a question about Israel's security raised by subcommittee ranking member Mike Pence (R-Indiana), Dayton assured the members, "Nothing we do to strengthen the Palestinian's security capability will be targeted against Israel … The presidential guard will not become a threat to Israel."

Indian warship on goodwill visit to Israel

Harinder Mishra, Press Trust Of India, Hindustan Times, June 1, 2009

India's front line warship of the Sword Arm Western Fleet, INS Brahmaputra, is on a four-day goodwill visit to this northern coastal city to re-affirm old ties with Israel.

"The visit shows the importance India attaches to its relationship with Israel. Not only that, it is also fitted with the 'state of the art' Barak defence missile system as the first line of defence supplied by it", commander of the warship, Captain Philipose G Pynumootil, said while addressing a gathering on the ship.

"The enthusiasm clearly shows that the Indian ship is in friendly waters. It is not only in Israel but a part of it is also Israeli", India's Ambassador to Israel, Navtej Sarna, said referring to the Barak defence missile system on the warship.

Navy officials on board the ship told PTI that Indian warships have regularly paid visits to ports in the West Asia and East Africa reaffirming their peaceful presence and solidarity with countries in the region. Among those gathered to see the Indian ship was a former commander of the old INS Brahmaputra, Jack Japheth, who is now an Israeli citizen settled in Tel Aviv after retirement.

Dressed in Indian Navy uniform, the 93-year-old former naval officer drew huge applause from the audience when he sang a hit patriotic number from a Raj Kapoor film. INS Brahmaputra, one of Indian Navy's finest guided missile frigates, arrived here from Eritrea and will leave for Naples on June 2.

The warship boasts versatile suite of long range sensors, incorporating radars, sonars and electronic warfare equipment that enable her to simultaneously address threats in all three dimensions--surface, sub-surface and air. When called upon, she can bring to bear awesome offensive or defensive firepower, with her wide-ranging 'top of the line' ordnance.

It has been deployed on humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions on several occasions, including the tsunami relief operations in December 2004 and the Operation Sukoon during the Lebanon crisis in July 2006.

Soon after the tsunami wreaked havoc, INS Brahmaputra made a dash to Campbell Bay in the Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands dropping 18 tonnes of relief material, bringing succour to the unfortunate personnel who had lost their home and hearth to the fury of nature.

During the Lebanon crisis, the ship as part of the Indian Naval Flotilla played a stellar role in evacuating over 2280 Indian and SAARC nationals.

Fueling Conflict: Foreign Arms Supplies To Israel/Gaza

Amnesty International, Feb. 23, 2009

With fragile ceasefires now in place in Gaza and southern Israel, the full extent of the devastation caused in recent weeks is becoming increasingly clear. Amnesty International researchers visiting Gaza and southern Israel during and after the fighting found evidence of war crimes and other serious violations of international law by all parties to the conflict.

In the three weeks following the start of the Israeli military offensive on 27 December, Israeli forces killed more than 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 300 children and many other civilians, and injured over 5,000 other Palestinians, again including many civilians. Israeli forces also destroyed thousands of homes and other property and caused significant damage to the infrastructure of Gaza, causing a worsening of the humanitarian crisis arising from the 18-month blockade maintained by Israel. Some of the Israeli bombardments and other attacks were directed at civilians or civilian buildings in the Gaza Strip; others were disproportionate or indiscriminate. Amnesty International has found indisputable evidence that Israeli forces used white phosphorus, which has a highly incendiary effect, in densely populated residential areas in Gaza, putting the Palestinian civilian population at high risk. Israeli forces’ use of artillery and other non-precision weapons in densely-populated residential areas increased the risk, and the harm done, to the civilian population.

click here to read the full report

France is ignoring EU rules on arms sales to Israel, new study reports

by Katherine Orwell, IMEMC, May 30, 2009

The French arms trade with Israel breaks the rules that the European Union has set out for the defense industry, according to a new study brought out this week. Between 2003 and 2007 France licensed for more than 446 million euros for arms exports to Israel, making France the largest EU supplier of weapons to Israel.

The EU code for the defense industry forbids arms sales in cases where they may exacerbate regional tensions or are used in violations of human rights.

Patrice Bouveret from the French Center for Research on Peace and Conflicts in Lyon dismissed the claims from the French government that the "weapons" in question are generally only components of military goods instead of complete weapons systems. "Even if they are only components, they are used directly by the Israeli army," he added.

Amnesty International reported in February that after the Gaza war ceased electrical components were found in the ruins of buildings Israel destroyed, that had "Made in France" written on them.

MoD admits use of controversial 'enhanced blast' weapons in Afghanistan

Richard Norton-Taylor, guardian.co.uk, May 28, 2009

British pilots in Afghanistan are firing an increasing number of "enhanced blast" thermobaric weapons, designed to kill everyone in buildings they strike, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.

Since the start of this year more than 20 of the US-designed missiles, which have what is officially described as a "blast fragmentation warhead", have been fired by pilots of British Apache attack helicopters. A total of 20 were also fired last year after they were bought by the MoD from the Americans last May.

The missiles are a variant of the AGM-114N Hellfire missile, described by the Pentagon as "designed to produce higher sustained blast pressure in multi-room structures.

It adds: "The enhanced blast from the … warhead is more effective against non-traditional targets; multi-room structures expected in military operations in urban terrain operations, caves, and fortified bunkers."

The missile's warhead is made with a mixture of chemicals rather than a simple blast mechanism.

"The thermobaric Hellfire missile can take out the first floor of a building without damaging the floors above, and is capable of reaching around corners," according to Global-Security.org, a US thinktank.

It describes the effects of the missile as "formidable". Unlike conventional warheads, it produces a sustained pressure wave. US forces have deployed the missiles in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.

Its wider use was disclosed by John Hutton, the defence secretary, in answer to a parliamentary answer from Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman. "Given the MoD's reluctance to admit they were even going to use these weapons, they now seem to be getting rather more trigger-happy," Harvey said yesterday. "If these controversial weapons are being fired on a weekly basis in Afghanistan, we need to know that they are being used according to strict rules of engagement.

"Human rights groups have serious concerns about the effect of these weapons in populated areas, and their legality seems to be a grey area. The last thing we need in this counter-insurgency campaign is the allegation that civilians are dying at the hands of some kind of terror weapon. Parliament must be reassured these are a weapon of last resort."

A UK defence official told the Guardian that the Hellfire missiles that British Apaches had been initially equipped with were lighter anti-tank weapons. They would simply make a "small hole" in a building and the enemy would run away unscathed, the official said.

The new US-designed weapon was "particularly designed to take down structures and kill everyone in the buildings".

The official said British pilots' rules of engagement were strict and everything a pilot sees from the cockpit is recorded.

Network Attack Weapons Emerge from Pentagon

David A. Fulghum, Aviation Week, May 21, 2009

Devices to launch and control cyber, electronic and information attacks are being tested and refined by the U.S. military and industry in preparation for moving out of the laboratory and into the warfighter's backback.

It's a part of a technology race that is already well underway. The Russian attack on Georgia last year showed weaknesses in some combat areas, but not in cyberwarfare, say U.S. analysts.

"The Russians conducted a cyberattack that was well coordinated with what Russian troops were doing on the ground," says a longtime specialist in military information operations. "It was obvious that someone conducting the cyber[war] was talking to those controlling the ground forces. They knew where the [cyber]talent was [in Russia], how to use it, and how to coordinate it.

"That sophisticated planning at different levels of cyberwarfare surprised a lot of people in the Defense Dept.," he says. "It looked like a seamless, combined operation that coordinated the use of a range of cyberweapons from the sophisticated to the high school kids that thought it was cool to deface official web sites. The techniques they used everybody knows about. The issue was how effective they were as part of a combined operation."

The U.S. is looking for a tool to duplicate that kind of attack. Moreover, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded several contracts to information technology (IT) companies to design a cyberattack range. Candidate sites include Naval Air Warfare Center's China Lake, Calif., radar cross-section facility and the U.S. Air Force radar cross-section range at Holloman AFB, N.M.

Several future attack devices are being built in a U.S. cyberwarfare attack laboratory. The one shown to Aviation Week & Space Technology is a software framework for locating digital weaknesses. It combines cybersleuthing, technology analysis and tracking of information flow. It then offers suggestions to the operator on how best to mount an attack and, finally, reports on success of the effort.

Right now, electronic and cyberattacks are conducted and understood by a very few. To make the capability part of the warfighter's arsenal it has to be configured and packaged so that a non-expert could use it on the battlefield.

The heart of this attack device is its ability to tap into satellite communications, voice over Internet, proprietary Scada networks--virtually any wireless network. Scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) is of particular interest since it is used to automatically control processes at high-value targets for terrorists such as nuclear facilities, power grids, waterworks, chemical plants and pipelines. The cyberattack device would test these supposedly inviolate networks for vulnerabilities to wireless penetration.

"If you think about the explosion of capability in the commercial electronics sector, it's obvious that for not too much money, anybody can set up a fairly robust WiFi capability and just ride the backbone of the Internet," says a U.S.-based, network attack researcher. "We're tying together the protection and the reaction side with this device which will serve for planning, execution and penetration testing."

A by-product of the project is that it offers a start to weaponizing cyberattack for the non-cyberspecialist, military user.

There are four broad objectives in designing the attack device: Capture expert knowledge but keep humans in the loop.

*Quantify results so that the operator can put a number against a choice.

*Enhance execution by creating a tool for the nonexpert that puts material together and keeps track of it.

*Create great visuals so missions can be executed more intuitively.

This particular network attack prototype has a display at the operator's position that shows a schematic of the network of interest and identifies its nodes.

"You could be talking about thousands and thousands of nodes being involved in a single mission," says a second network attack researcher. "Being able to visualize that without a tool is practically impossible."

A touch-screen dashboard beneath the network schematic display looks like the sound mixing console at a recording studio. The left side lists cyberattack mission attributes such as speed, covertness, attribution and collateral damage. Next to each attribute is the image of a sliding lever on a long scale. These can be moved, for example, to increase the speed of attack or decrease collateral damage.

Each change to the scales produces a different list of software algorithm tools that the operator needs. "Right now, all that information is in the head of a few guys that do computer network operations and there is no training system," says the first specialist.

Experts are combining digital tools that even an inexperienced operator can bring into play. In the unclassified arena there are algorithms dubbed Mad WiFi, Air Crack and Beach. For classified work, industry developers also have a toolbox of proprietary cyberexploitation algorithms.

Air Crack, for example, uses open source tools to crack the encryption key for a wireless network. Some cracks are quick, but require injecting a lot of data into the network, which makes the attack noisy and easy to trace. Others are very passive and slow--taking a couple of days or even months. But no one is aware of the intrusion. A passive dictionary attack can find passwords such as common English words, names or birthdays, but it is considered a brute force attack.

Cryptoattacks use more sophisticated techniques to cut through the password hash. "It runs faster and you usually get a better result," says an IT specialist. "But you have to take a more active role, capture different types of data and send the right information to get a proper response."

A de-authorization capability can kick all the nodes off a network temporarily so that the attack system can watch them reconnect. This provides information needed to quickly penetrate the network.

In one prototype attack device, a colored bar is at the right of each scale. Green means the effect is better than specified; blue, that it is equal; and red signifies it does not meet the user's criteria.

The three major elements of a cyberattack system are its toolbox, planning and execution capabilities. The toolbox is put together by the hardware and software experts in any organization to address specific missions. They maintain the database of available capabilities.

The planning capability takes input from other planning systems--for example, network situational awareness--and incorporates it. The planner weighs the attack device's capabilities, the target to be attacked along with the style of execution and then ranks the solutions. But the final decision is left to the operator.

The output of planning is a course of action--the sequence of steps that must happen. This blueprint can be reviewed, modified and approved by a supervisor. It is then taken to the field and executed or exported to some other cyberattack system.

China lodges protest against US incursion

By Li Xiaokun, China Daily, Updated: 2009-03-11 07:50

A US navy vessel violated international and Chinese laws as it conducted unauthorized activities in China's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

"China has lodged a protest to the United States as the USNS Impeccable conducted the activities ... without China's permission," ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular news briefing.

"We demand that the United States immediately stop such activities and take effective measures to prevent similar acts from recurring," he said.

The Pentagon said on Monday that five Chinese ships, including a naval vessel, "harassed" the US ship in international waters 120 km south of the southernmost province of Hainan.

The Chinese vessels "shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in dangerously close proximity" to the Impeccable, with one ship coming within 25 feet (7.6 m), a US Defense Department statement said.

Ma said "the US claims are gravely in contravention of the facts and confuse black and white. They are totally unacceptable to China."

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Law on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf of the People's Republic of China, and China's Regulations on the Management of Foreign-related Marine Scientific Research, have clear regulations on foreign vessels' activities in China's EEZs, Ma said.

The Chinese government always handles such activities strictly in accordance with these laws and regulations, he added.

The US has not ratified UNCLOS, objecting to a clause on seabed mineral exploration.

The Pentagon said the Impeccable had been conducting "routine operations in the South China Sea in accordance with customary international law".

Wang Hanling, an expert on marine law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China has reiterated that any intelligence data gathering by foreign vessels within its EEZ is illegal.

Pang Zhongying, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said the US ship's activities may be a step by the Pentagon to "test the waters". He did not elaborate.

However, the dispute is unlikely to do lasting damage to ties between the two countries as they combat the global economic slump, a Chinese analyst in Beijing said.

"Overall, this won't have a major impact, because the United States and China need each other," said Shi Yinhong of Renmin University of China.

Pang agreed that the incident is unlikely to hamper Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's current US trip and the newly resumed military exchanges between the two sides, suspended in October due to Washington's massive arms deal with Taiwan.

"But that (Sunday's incident) is a dangerous move. I hope the US side calms down, thinks over it and not let it destroy mutual trust which is key to both sides, especially during the financial crisis," he said.

Yang left for Washington on Monday to work on plans for a meeting between President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama in London next month.

Yang is scheduled to meet his US counterpart Hillary Clinton and US Secretary of Finance Timothy Geithner today. Sources with the Foreign Ministry said he might meet with Obama tomorrow.

Ma did not indicate if Yang's itinerary or agenda had changed because of the latest maritime dispute.

Xinhua, agencies and Yu Meng contributed to the story

Related readings:

Top military officers lash out at US espionage
FM: US naval ship violates int'l, Chinese law

AP: U.S. Sold Phosphorus Shells Used in Gaza to Israel

AP, Editor & Publisher, Feb. 02, 2009

LITTLE ROCK The United States sold phosphorus artillery shells made at the Pine Bluff Arsenal to Israel — the same kind of rounds allegedly used against civilians during the recent fighting in Gaza.

A State Department official told The Associated Press that the rounds — typically used to light up darkened battlefields or provide smoke cover for combat troops — were most recently shipped to Israel in 2007. International human rights groups accuse the Israeli military of firing the chemical rounds into civilian homes, causing severe burns to those inside and killing at least one woman.

International law allows for the use of the phosphorus shells, but not in areas where civilians could be harmed by the burning rounds.

The Pine Bluff Arsenal, a 13,000-acre base near Little Rock that once housed some of the Army's deadliest chemical and biological weapons, advertises itself as the only plant in North America capable of manufacturing the white phosphorus rounds. A photograph published by the British newspaper The Times taken during the recent fighting showed rounds waiting to be fired with Pine Bluff Arsenal serial numbers.

The arsenal referred calls about the phosphorus rounds to the Pentagon. Lt. Col. Almarah Belk, a military spokeswoman, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday. Previously, the military has said it supports "Israel's right to defend itself" and declined to comment about specific arms sales.

The State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity over the sensitivity of the issue, stressed that the white phosphorus rounds should only be used to "obscure, and thereby protect, troops and their movements." The official said the United States would take any unauthorized use of the rounds seriously and "would take appropriate, corrective action."

White phosphorus, a caustic chemical, ignites when it comes in contact with oxygen. During the Vietnam War, white phosphorus served as the ignitor in napalm bombs. Though the U.S. later eliminated its napalm stockpiles, white phosphorus illumination and smoke rounds remain a mainstay in the military's arsenal.

The 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons prohibits use of the substance as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas. However, neither Israel nor the U.S. signed onto that part of the international agreement.

In 2004, U.S. troops in Iraq used white phosphorous as a weapon against insurgent strongholds during the battle of Fallujah, Pentagon officials have said. The Pentagon denied troops used the rounds against civilians.

Amnesty International has issued a report about a shelling in a residential area of Gaza City, concluding that Israel used white phosphorus rounds improperly. Amnesty also said Israel used white phosphorus shells in an attack on U.N. warehouses in Gaza City on Jan. 15, an incident that infuriated U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Amnesty has accused Israel of committing a war crime by firing the munitions into densely populated areas.

Initially, Israel categorically denied that its use of phosphorous weapons was illegal. Later, the Israeli military said it will investigate the accusations made by the U.N. and human rights groups.

Statement on Obama Actions Thus Far re: Gaza

Cynthia McKinney, 2008 Green Party Presidential Candidate & former U.S. Congressperson, Jan. 26, 2009

"Mr. President: Give Us a Clean Break from War"

In a message to President Obama today, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney wrote:

"It is time that the United States negotiate in good faith with Hamas, the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It is also time that the U.S. government tell Israel to release the Hamas Parliamentarians it illegally arrested. President Obama, please say something about Gaza. You have been roundly condemned for your continued silence in the face of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel in Gaza. Silence is complicity. Not one more bomb for Israel."

Israeli action in Gaza has outraged the world. Starting with Israel's inhumane blockade of Gaza when it didn't like the 2006 election results that put Hamas officially into power. In September 2007, Israel declared Gaza an "enemy entity." Of course, Israeli efforts to isolate the Gaza Strip can be traced back to Ariel Sharon as early as 2005. In carrying out its military Operation Cast Lead, Israel not only committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, it also carried out a long-standing goal of Gaza isolation. The President's continued silence on Gaza and the Palestinian right of self-determination is unacceptable.

I would like to commend President Obama for recognizing that peace is the imperative and that the United States can play a constructive role in its attainment. However, placing a phone call to an irrelevant "leader" in an attempt to revive his political standing is not a route to peace: it is a journey down the same road that we're already on, that is massacres, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture--all with U.S. weapons, paid for by U.S. taxpayers.

The President must call the elected representatives of the Palestinian people and that means dealing with Hamas.

President Obama has already spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. George Mitchell, the President's Middle East Envoy, is reportedly scheduled to visit the region, but is expected to meet only with Egyptian, Israeli, Saudi, and Jordanian leaders, and the West Bank's Abbas. Unfortunately, despite worldwide revulsion and United Nations outrage at Israeli actions in Gaza, Gaza has not been reported to be one of the Presidential Envoy's destinations.

Even worse, one of the first officials that Obama called on his first day in office was Palestinian Mahmood Abbas. Abbas, however, is no longer President, heading a government that has no opportunity to govern, from a state that exists only as a construct not made by the Palestinian people. For the United States to embark upon the path of peace, it must recognize and act on the fact that Mahmood Abbas is now irrelevant.

I believe that the call to Abbas occurred because of pressure on President Obama from outraged activists around the country and around the world calling for him to do something. But Abbas is irrelevant if the goal is peace.

If the goal, however, is to appear to be doing something while all the time doing nothing but allowing the violence of U.S.-sponsored military action to spread including saber rattling against Syria and Iran, then the President is on the right path.

The American people voted for change and peace. President Obama's current path will produce neither.

I have implored President Obama to say something about Gaza. He has been roundly condemned for his continued silence in the face of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel in Gaza. Silence in the face of such criminal behavior is complicity.

President Obama must urgently place a call to the elected government of the Palestinian people.

President Obama can send a strong message to the warmongers inside his own party and present them "a clean break" from war. I encourage him to do so. We will not be fooled by actions that have the appearance of putting us on a path for peace, but that are public relations projects that buy time for more war.

To activists and human rights lawyers around the world I say: Now is not the time to let up. We must be unrelenting in our pressure for justice and recognition of the rights of all peoples embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Those rights include the right not to be occupied. And the right to resist occupation. This is the embodiment of self-determination. And the Palestinian people are holders of these rights.

It is time that the United States negotiate in good faith with Hamas, because it is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. It is also time that the U.S. government tell Israel to release the Hamas Parliamentarians it illegally arrested.

While the United States Government spends precious resources to imprison Palestinians in the United States who attempted to ameliorate the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, I will attempt another trip to Gaza to assess the depth of the worsened humanitarian catastrophe now there.

I have repeatedly called on the President to ask for and the Congress to vote not one more bomb, not one more dime for the Israeli war machine.