Surprise Military Homecomings

Enough with blogging about idiots.  Here's something that matters.

Fighting Al Qaeda

US efforts to stop al Qaeda in Afghanistan are working but there's still more to be done. CNN's Barbara Starr reports.

Nexi - The Military's New Kick Ass Robot

They need to see if they can find a Border Patrol uniform to fit this fella.

General Warns Obama Not to Cave to Russia

The fact that Gen. Obering would warn Obama via a public method tells me there is already talk of Obama abandoning Bush's stance on Russia. More accurately, when asked about continuing to support the missile system in Poland, Obama had no comment. Obering, no doubt, see this as a problem and is doing what he can to put pressure on Obama to do the right thing.

Despite objections by Russia, the outgoing head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency urged President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday to stick to the Bush administration's plans to place missile defenses in Eastern Europe.

Dropping the planned installation of missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic "would severely hurt" U.S. ability to protect against Iran's growing missile force, said Lt. Gen. Henry Obering of the Air Force.

It would also undermine U.S. leadership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which fears "an emerging threat from Iran that must be addressed," he told reporters in a teleconference.

It is important to continue work on the planned European installations or risk "falling behind the power curve" as Iran develops its capabilities, Obering said. "That's why we have to kind of stay ahead of this threat, not try to catch up after the fact."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev greeted Obama's election victory last week with a warning that Moscow would station short-range missiles near Poland's border to "neutralize" U.S. plans for interceptors in Poland and a related radar in the Czech Republic.

U.S. Navy to Zap Pirates with Beams...and AC/DC

Hell's Bells. No really, Hell's Bells.

US vessels patrolling the Gulf of Aden and other waterways plagued by resurgent pirate gangs are to be fitted with "non-lethal people zappers," according to the DefenseNews publication.

Vice Admiral Bill Gortney has requested delivery of a range of systems for the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet. The Active Denial system delivers a six foot wide ray over a range of 800 yards.

Anyone caught within the beam experiences an overwhelming sensation of burning skin, forcing a potentially hostile pirate to seek shelter "or even jump overboard."

A second system, the Long Range Acoustic Device targets a suspect with a 500 yard beam of excruciating noise. Sailors can attach the device to an Ipod or MP3 player to repel pirate boats with renditons such as Hells Bells by the heavy metal group AC:DC.

WHITE MARINE AND HIS BLACK WIFE TORTURED AND MURDERED BY 4 BLACK MARINES

Shameful racism from the demographic that split 95% to 5% for the Messiah. Where's the mainstream media outrage" How long did we have to hear about the Jena 6? And all anyone got during that fiasco was a fat lip.

A Brooklyn-raised Marine sergeant and his new bride were tortured and killed execution-style in their California home - allegedly by four other Marines under his command.

Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak, who was raised in Bensonhurst, and his wife, Quiana, were found bound and gagged in the ransacked house, each shot in the head.

Pietrzak was the suspects' sergeant at Camp Pendleton, Quiana's mother said Wednesday.

"They're monsters," Faye Jenkins told the Daily News. "They're monsters."

Pietrzak's mother, Henryka Pietrzak-Varga, said she had prepared herself "for the possibility that my son could die in Iraq."

"But to die like this, in their own home?" she told The News. "They were good kids. They didn't deserve to die like this."

Investigators said the motive for murder was "financial gain." Neither mother believes that.

"When I found out what they did to them, it was like they killed me, too," Pietrzak-Varga said.

Born in Poland, Pietrzak was 10 when he moved to the U.S. and enlisted after the 9/11 attacks. He was named Jan Pawel, which means John Paul, after the Polish pontiff.

A mechanic who worked on helicopters, Pietrzak, 24, met his wife three years ago at a party for Marines being deployed to Iraq.

Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26, who worked for the county's Black Infant Care Center, was reluctant to date a Marine. But Pietrzak wooed her, and they were married in August.

"They were in love," her mother-in-law said. "It didn't matter to them that they had different skin colors."

God bless the fallen.

BARACK OBAMA STARS IN "VEGGIE BURGER HILL"

Brilliant video!

OBAMA ONCE CONSIDERED JOINING THE MILITARY: BUT DECIDED NOT TO BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ONE TO KILL

This from an upcoming interview on ABC by George Stephanopoulos. Funny how this contemplation was never mentioned in either of this two autobiographies.

Obama disclosed that he had once considered serving in the military.

“You know, I actually did,” Obama said. “I had to sign up for Selective Service when I graduated from high school. And I was growing up in Hawaii. And I have friends whose parents were in the military. There are a lot of Army, military bases there.

“And I actually always thought of the military as an ennobling and, you know, honorable option. But keep in mind that I graduated in 1979. The Vietnam War had come to an end. We weren't engaged in an active military conflict at that point. And so, it's not an option that I ever decided to pursue.”

Looks like had we been involved in a conflict, he would have jumped right in. Not much on deterrence is he?

IRANIAN MILITARY CONVOY ROCKED BY MYSTERY EXPLOSION

It has begun...

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have launched an urgent inquiry after a mysterious explosion wrecked a military convoy in Tehran, killing at least fifteen people and injuring scores more.

The explosion took place in the Tehran suburb of Khavarshahar as the military convoy left a munitions' warehouse controlled by the Revolutionary Guards. According to reports received by Western officials, the convoy was taking a consignment of military equipment to Hizbollah, the Shia Muslim militia Iran supports in southern Lebanon, when the explosion occurred.

Senior Revolutionary Guard commanders immediately imposed a news black-out following the explosion, even though it could be heard throughout the capital Tehran, and no details of the incident have so far appeared in the Iranian media.

"This was a massive explosion that was heard throughout Tehran," one official told the Daily Telegraph. "Even though lots of people were killed the Revolutionary Guards are trying to conceal what really happened."

Iran is believed to have recently stepped up arms shipments to Hizbollah in preparation for any future armed confrontation with the West over its controversial nuclear enrichment programme.

BUSTED: IRAN USING TOY MODELS OF PLANES ON THEIR OFFICIAL WEBSITE AND CLAIMING THEY'RE PART OF THEIR ARSENAL

It's coming...the mother of all toy plane battles.

EARTHQUAKE DESTROYED CHINA'S LARGEST MILITARY ARMORY

Yes!

A high-level Chinese military source secretly disclosed last week that the recent earthquake in Sichuan Province caused a chain-reaction of explosions in the Sichuan mountain areas. The explosions destroyed Chinese army's largest armory, new weapon test bases and part of nuclear facilities including several nuclear warheads. This information is considered China's top military secret.

After the earthquake, Chinese authorities had ignored the disaster victim's initial calls for help. Only after the first critical 72 hours had passed did the authorities allow international aid to be delivered to the disaster region. Military analysts believe that this delay occurred because Mianyang City of Sichuan Province is one of important areas for the Chinese military nuclear industries and also its largest armory. The Chinese regime did not want potential spies from the outside world in this very sensitive military area during a time when there may have been a nuclear accident.

According to sources, a nuclear accident did happen. On June 27, the Chinese military disclosed that 2,700 chemical cleanup workers had been sent to earthquake disaster areas for nuclear chemical emergency rescue
After carefully analyzing seismic data, military experts in southeast Asia confirmed a non-geological shock had occurred at the earthquake epicenter. The energy released was equivalent to that of an underground nuclear explosion.

THE REAL STORY ON IRAQI WITHDRAWAL

H/t This Ain't Hell:

This is the information the dirty liberal media is leaving out from their giddy excitement. Apparently this "withdrawal", as it's being discussed now, is limited to withdrawal from cities, and not the country entirely. It sounds consistent with the options that have been discussed in the past.

The Iraqi proposal stipulates that, once Iraqi forces have resumed security responsibility in all 18 of Iraq's provinces, U.S.-led forces would then withdraw from all cities in the country.

After that, the country's security situation would be reviewed every six months, for three to five years, to decide when U.S.-led troops would pull out entirely, al-Adeeb said.

So far, the United States has handed control of nine of 18 provinces to Iraqi officials.

"This is what the Iraqi people want, the parliament and other Iraqi leaders," said al-Adeeb.

The proposal, as outlined by al-Adeeb, is phrased in a way that would allow Iraqi officials to tell the Iraqi public that it includes a specific timetable and dates for a U.S. withdrawal.

However, it also would provide the United States some flexibility on timing because the dates of the provincial handovers are not set.

I'm not sure that any reasonable person can expect the Iraqi government to take any other public position.

CHINA MAY EXPORT FIGHTER JETS TO IRAN

This is all shaping up nicely. Let others chase the ghost of jihadists. We'll keep our eye on those sneaky Chinamen.

THE WAR IS WON!

Despite what the Democrat politicians want you to believe, the Iraq war is won.

The latest proof came last month, as the Iraqi army - just a few months ago the target of scorn and abuse from Democratic politicians and journalists - forcefully reoccupied three cities that had served as key insurgency bases (Basra, Sadr City and Mosul).

Sunnis and Shias alike applauded as their nation's army compelled insurgent militias to lay down their arms. The country's leading opposition newspaper, Azzaman, led the applause for the move into Mosul - a sign that national reconciliation in Iraq is under way and probably irreversible.

US combat deaths in May also were down to 20, the lowest monthly total since February 2004. The toll for May 2007 was 121.

In a Washington Post interview, CIA Director Michael Hayden said we're witnessing the "near strategic defeat of al Qaeda in Iraq."

The Bush administration has taken heaps of abuse for its Iraq policy, including its decision to launch the "surge" last December. Now the strategy, which our nation's "best and brightest" regularly dismissed as a failure, has cleared the way for the establishment of a secure democracy in Iraq and a lasting peace.

My personal opinion is that the war is as won as it will ever be. Iraq will never be completely free of violence and terrorism. Al Qaeda and others will always stage attacks of some sort. Just as they do in every other Islamic nation. But for purposes of establishing a new Iraqi government, and a military force capable of defending itself, that mission is accomplished. Of course, in the minds and hearts of those American politicians who have invested in defeat, they will never admit victory. They will point to any and all acts of violence in Iraq and claim it as defeat for America. That much I will guarantee. In observing the landscape of Iraq, however, as it exists today, there is nothing more the American military can accomplish that isn't done, or very close to being done. That is victory. Rejoice! And God bless America.

US MARINES ARE KICKING THE CRAP OUT OF THE TALIBAN

What did you think would happen when these wife beaters squared off with the world's greatest fighting force? This ain't no sippin' tea.

Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan are fleeing to the Pakistani border after being routed in recent operations by the United States Marines, the American commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan said on Monday.

Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been clearing Taliban and foreign fighters from the district of Garmser, in southern Helmand Province, an important infiltration and drug trafficking route used by the Taliban to supply insurgents farther north.

“The insurgents, after experiencing these several weeks of pressure below Garmser, are trying to flee to the south, perhaps to go back to the sanctuaries in another country,” said the NATO commander, Gen. Dan K. McNeill.

Governor Mangal said hundreds of foreign fighters had joined the Taliban in their fight against marines in Garmser in recent weeks. But he said they had suffered heavy losses.

And that passage was from the New York Times. Which means the ass kicking is like 10 times greater than they report.

CAN THE EU DEFEND ITSELF?

An interesting read from Economist.com:

A bit of paranoia is a healthy thing

AS WESTERN countries scramble to deal with Russia's increasingly energetic espionage efforts, their security services are hurriedly rehiring some of the seasoned spycatchers they let go in the past years.

But at the European Union attitudes are still worryingly dozy. Russian spying in Brussels and Strasbourg, say those who try to keep an eye it, is far better financed, better aimed and better co-ordinated than ever before. The efforts of the elite foreign-intelligence service, the SVR, and the GRU (military intelligence), are now supplemented by the FSB, a much more thuggish outfit that used to deal solely with internal issues.

Some of the intelligence officers are under traditional diplomatic cover; others are journalists, lobbyists, consultants and even students. It would be an unusually stony-hearted eurocrat who did not try to help a charming young enthusiast who wants material for a doctoral thesis.

Who's listening?

A combination of vanity and naivety makes it remarkably easy for Russians (and those working on their behalf) to snoop, nudge and make mischief. It is sad but true that many people working in European institutions (the parliament is a particular culprit) are immensely self-important but largely insignificant to the outside world. That makes them vulnerable to deft flattery on the lines of: “It is only people like you, Mr Mepnik, who really understand the importance of this issue. I greatly appreciate your insights, and I wonder if you could help me with one rather specific question…”

Darker arts may be at play too. Lobbying in the European system is still scandalously murky and underregulated. If the reward for a full and frank discussion, or for a copy of an interesting document, is a bottle of €300 wine, or a discreet evening spent in particularly pleasant company, it passes almost without notice.

Though the Russian efforts are increasingly brazen, keeping track of them is proving tricky. Belgium's counter-intelligence service is notoriously understaffed and toothless. The European Commission has hugely improved its internal security in the past five years, but it is only as strong as its weakest links. Its in-house encrypted e-mail system is secure—until some lazy official forgets to use it and sends an extra copy in plain text. MEPs and their staff have the right to see sensitive materials, but are slack about taking care of them.

Member states' attitudes to Russia differ (to put it mildly). An approach that would set alarm bells ringing in officials from, say, Finland or Britain may seem nothing to worry about (or positively welcome) from countries with little or different historical experiences of Russia.

The problem is most urgent in the EU's external relations. What is the point of negotiating if the bottom line is leaked to the other side in advance? How will the proposed new diplomatic service handle classified information?

It is hard to imagine any part of the EU administering a security-clearance regime of the kind common in countries serious about their security, complete with exhaustive background checks and intrusive questions about the subject’s personal life. Yet without a high common standard for handling information, the new EU foreign service will be at best useless, and at worst a danger to all member states' own security.

To see how strikingly asymmetrical the position is, try imagining it the other way round: a world where bright-eyed interns from EU countries wander the corridors of the Kremlin at will, snaffling documents and bamboozling bureaucrats. The EU's ideals of openness and trust are admirable. But as long as the rest of the world does things differently, a healthy dose of paranoid secrecy is long overdue.

TOP IRANIAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER ON THE WEST

I would like to "rassle" this guy...

CHINESE SPACE AND CYBER THREAT IS GROWING

And on top of all this, they pour pee pee in your Coke.

The U.S. military painted China on Tuesday as posing a growing threat to the United States and others in space and cyberspace.

China is "aggressively" honing its ability to shoot down satellites along with other space and counter-space capabilities, said Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Horne of the U.S. Strategic Command.

Such know-how has big implications for Beijing's potential to curb access in the Taiwan Straits "and well beyond," he told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a congressionally created advisory group.

Horne, deputy head of the Strategic Command's joint component for space, said recent Chinese People's Liberation Army writings suggested China might target an enemy's spy satellites along with navigation and early-warning spacecraft "to blind and deafen."

Beijing deems the self-ruled island of 23 million people a breakaway province to be brought back to the fold, by force if necessary.

Horne said United States must "proactively protect our space capabilities."

CHAVEZ THREATENS WAR OVER U.S. BASE IN COLUMBIA

I really, REALLY hate this fat head...

President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday warned Colombia not to allow a U.S. military base on its border with Venezuela, saying he would consider such an act an "aggression."

Chavez said he would not permit Colombia's U.S.-backed government to establish an American military base in La Guajira, a region spanning northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.

The Venezuelan leader said if Colombia allows the base, his government will revive a decades-old territorial conflict and stake a claim to the entire region.

‘Whatever it takes’
Chavez urged his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe, to "think it over well" before making such a decision because Venezuela will do "whatever it takes" to ensure that a U.S. military base is not built on the peninsula in the Caribbean Sea.

Something tells me Chavez will be dead by the time this base takes place. Just a hunch.

BIG CRACKDOWN IS COMING TO SADR CITY

The Iraqi government is telling residents of Sadr city to get out. This is a clear sign that a smackdown is coming.

Iraqi security forces, after more than of 40 days of intense fighting, on Thursday told residents to evacuate their homes in the northeast Shiite slum of Sadr City and to move to temporary shelters on two soccer fields.

The military's call, indicating the possibility of stepped-up military operations, came as Iraqi security forces raided the radio station run by backers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr and militants launched rockets at a coalition force operating base in the southern port city of Basra, killing two contractors and injuring four civilians and four coalition soldiers.

Two soccer fields in east and northeast Baghdad are expected to receive some 16,000 evacuees from the southeast portion of the city where the fighting has been most intense.

Frankly, I would evacuate the entire city in this fashion with the understanding that anyone left will be considered an enemy combatant. Then I would establish checkpoints for return to ensure that arms were not re-entering the city. Not full proof by any means, but certainly a better alternative to sporadic engagements that accomplish nothing.