Hi there, !
Today Sun 08/24/2008 Sat 08/23/2008 Fri 08/22/2008 Thu 08/21/2008 Wed 08/20/2008 Tue 08/19/2008 Mon 08/18/2008 Archives
Rantburg
531698 articles and 1855972 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 98 articles and 402 comments as of 13:38.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion    Local News       
TTP suicide bombers hit Pak ordnance plant; dozens dead
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
9 00:00 3dc [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
3 00:00 SteveS [] 
38 00:00 OldSpook [] 
4 00:00 Anonymoose [] 
3 00:00 Frank G [1] 
0 [] 
8 00:00 Bright Pebbles [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 00:00 tu3031 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [] 
0 [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
8 00:00 Anonymoose []
6 00:00 borgboy []
16 00:00 remoteman []
5 00:00 Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields []
2 00:00 Slats Hupeaper4197 []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [1]
1 00:00 tu3031 []
3 00:00 Bob Sheresing4650 []
0 []
3 00:00 tu3031 []
0 []
0 []
4 00:00 trailing wife []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
5 00:00 Besoeker []
19 00:00 Nimble Spemble []
4 00:00 badanov []
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
8 00:00 Steve White []
4 00:00 Nimble Spemble []
1 00:00 Procopius2k []
2 00:00 Pappy []
0 []
2 00:00 DarthVader []
0 []
15 00:00 Nimble Spemble []
9 00:00 newc [1]
9 00:00 JosephMendiola []
0 []
9 00:00 Woozle Choter9151 []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [1]
9 00:00 ArmyLife []
0 []
1 00:00 Red Dawg []
0 []
4 00:00 mrp []
0 []
0 []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola []
1 00:00 3dc []
25 00:00 DarthVader []
5 00:00 tipper []
0 []
0 []
2 00:00 flash91 []
2 00:00 gorb []
1 00:00 liberalhawk []
7 00:00 Mike N. []
2 00:00 ryuge []
0 []
6 00:00 trailing wife []
Page 4: Opinion
2 00:00 DarthVader []
13 00:00 Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields []
0 []
0 []
8 00:00 Besoeker []
16 00:00 Waldemar Uneack9263 []
7 00:00 Frank G []
4 00:00 Glenmore []
4 00:00 DarthVader [1]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
1 00:00 Woodrow Phaviper9249 [1]
2 00:00 Besoeker []
4 00:00 Besoeker []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola []
1 00:00 bigjim-ky []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola []
2 00:00 trailing wife []
2 00:00 liberalhawk []
11 00:00 Red Dawg []
6 00:00 Anonymoose []
1 00:00 Jack is Back! []
19 00:00 trailing wife []
11 00:00 JosephMendiola []
10 00:00 GDLotA9226 [1]
0 []
5 00:00 BigEd []
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Her face is so beautiful I'll forgive the Squidward shoulder patch.
Posted by: Scott R || 08/21/2008 0:29 Comments || Top||

#2  My chair must be level because I'm drooling out of both sides of my mouth this time!
Posted by: gorb || 08/21/2008 3:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Now I know where my Christmas tree decorations are.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 08/21/2008 10:59 Comments || Top||

#4  Her face is so beautiful I'll forgive the Squidward shoulder patch.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/21/2008 12:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Shouldn't have your tongue hanging out when you try to talk, Darth - it could be painful!
Posted by: Old Patriot || 08/21/2008 13:22 Comments || Top||

#6  He's speaking 'Lovecraft', OP. :)
Posted by: Pappy || 08/21/2008 13:51 Comments || Top||

#7  That's what it sounds like when I try to talk with my tongue hanging out, too, but I didn't know it was called speaking Lovecraft. I always called it Lustcraft.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 08/21/2008 15:54 Comments || Top||

#8  SFW. Why they lost in 2004

http://www.viceland.com/int/dos_donts/752/main.jpg?19872
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/21/2008 19:08 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
30 militants die in Afghan battle near ambush site
KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S.-led coalition said Thursday it had killed more than 30 insurgents in a battle in eastern Afghanistan, fighters an Afghan governor said were responsible for an attack that killed 10 French troops this week.

Lutfullah Mashal, the governor of Laghman province, said coalition bombs targeted fighters on the border of Laghman and Kabul provinces. He said the insurgents were fleeing the valley where Monday's attack on the French took place. Mashal said Wednesday night's airstrike was not directly in retaliation for the French ambush because the targeted militants also had been involved in "repeated attacks" in the area.

Lt. Col. Rumi Nielson-Green, the top spokeswoman for the U.S.-led coalition, said the coalition was not "completely certain" that the militants were directly involved in the attack on the French. "They were certainly at a minimum complicit," she said. "It doesn't matter if they were or weren't involved in an attack today, yesterday or on Sept. 11, 2001. We seek out terrorists and we will give them the option to be captured or killed or possibly flee."

Coalition troops and Afghan commandos were conducting a search operation in Laghman when militants engaged the troops in a battle Wednesday, the coalition said in a statement. A coalition airstrike destroyed an "enemy fighting position" in the area, it said. More than 30 militants were killed and one militant was wounded and taken for treatment after the clash, the coalition said. It said 200 civilians fled the area before the airstrike.

Afghan officials said about 20 civilians were wounded in the fighting. Mashal said it was not clear if the coalition bombs wounded the Afghans or if Taliban fighters had. Abdullah Fahim, spokesman for the provincial Health Ministry, said 21 civilians were wounded, including five children. Laghman deputy police chief Najibullah Hotak said one civilian died in the fighting and 20 were wounded.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy rushed to the country Wednesday to reassure French troops and the world of its commitment to the cause a day after a massive Taliban assault an hour east of Kabul killed 10 of his country's troops and wounded 21 others.

Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner reiterated that France was committed to staying the course in Afghanistan."I remind you that terrorism is winning," he told reporters after a government meeting earlier Thursday. "Everyone knows that terrorism is particularly fed by what is happening in Afghanistan."

French Defense Minister Herve Morin said Thursday there were no signs that French forces were hit by friendly fire in the ensuing fighting, dismissing a report in Le Monde newspaper. The paper, quoting survivors of the ambush, said it took hours for backup to arrive and that French troops were hit by friendly fire from NATO planes. "We have no information allowing us to consider that French soldiers were killed under fire of NATO planes," Morin said on RTL radio.

Three Polish soldiers were killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded in the central province of Ghazni, Polish Defense Ministry spokesman Jacek Poplawski said Thursday. A fourth soldier was wounded. NATO and Afghan officials blame the violence in part on the ease with which militants can cross from safe havens in Pakistan's ungoverned tribal areas.

On Wednesday evening, missiles destroyed a compound in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region that Pakistani intelligence officials said was frequented by foreign militants. Between five and 10 people were believed killed, though their identities were not immediately known, the officials said. It was also unclear who carried out the attack, though similar attacks in the past by U.S. drone aircraft have killed senior al-Qaida and Taliban leaders.
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/21/2008 08:41 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  The U.S.-led coalition said Thursday it had killed more than 30 insurgents in a battle in eastern Afghanistan, fighters an Afghan governor said were responsible for an attack that killed 10 French troops this week.

Bwahaha! Got the ba$+ards! Now make 'em pay more.

Allahu fuc&tard.
Posted by: gorb || 08/21/2008 15:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Let's see if the French are wimpier than the Spainards over this.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 08/21/2008 16:01 Comments || Top||

#3  We seek out terrorists and we will give them the option to be captured or killed...

Insallah.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/21/2008 16:06 Comments || Top||

#4  This is payback, pure and simple. And we will leave it up to the French to determine how much payback is enough.

Go read "The Grave of the Hundred Head", by Kipling:

http://www.wargames.co.uk/Poems/Grave.htm

Payback is a biatch.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/21/2008 16:41 Comments || Top||


Aid worker killed in Afghanistan
An Afghan employee of a French aid group was found murdered in Afghanistan's Kunduz province Tuesday, two days after he was abducted, his organization, the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) said. "The motives behind this murder are still unclear," it said in the statement on its website. "Sheyesta Gul, who worked for ACTED as a community trainer, was abducted while driving an ACTED vehicle two days ago," it said.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  a community organizer, ya say? Here we make em Prez candidates
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2008 8:48 Comments || Top||

#2  "The motives behind this murder are still unclear,"

Oh, I don't think so...
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/21/2008 14:31 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Pirates seize 3 ships off Somalia in 1 day
Armed pirates hijacked three ships off the coast of Somalia in a series of attacks Thursday, an international maritime body said, as it urged the U.N. to restore law and order to the notorious African waters.

Three hijackings in a day "is unheard of," said Noel Choong, the head of the Kuala Lumpur-based piracy center of the International Maritime Bureau.

The attacks came two days after the seizure of a Malaysian palm oil tanker with 39 crew in the same area and raised to seven the number of ships hijacked in the Gulf of Aden since July 20.

In the first incident Thursday, pirates "continuously fired" on an Iranian bulk carrier before boarding and commandeering it, Choong told The Associated Press. Less than an hour later, a Japanese-operated tanker with 19 crew was attacked and seized near the same location, he said.

Later in the day, a German-operated cargo ship, flying the Antigua and Barbuda flag, was hijacked in the vicinity, he said. No details about the crew were available.

He said the piracy center in Kuala Lumpur received a distress call about the German hijacking from a passing ship.

He said "the situation is getting very dangerous" in the waters off Somalia, the world's piracy hotspot where 24 attacks were reported in the first half of this year.

"We strongly urge the U.N. and the international community to take serious action to stop this menace," he said. "If nothing is done more ships may be hijacked and there will be serious consequences on this important shipping route."
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 18:44 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This wouldn't happen if we had the DDG-1000.

The Navy needs a Petraeus bad. The Naqvy needs to get into the war bad.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 08/21/2008 19:18 Comments || Top||

#2  time to kill some pirates and display as a graphic show-n-tell
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2008 19:55 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm a big fan of using Q-ships. The pirates approach the Q-ship, then they just vanish without trace. A single Q-ship can clean the waters off Somalia in short order.

It is not even technically a violation of the law of the sea, as pirates have no legal protections.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/21/2008 20:02 Comments || Top||

#4  "If nothing is done more ships may be hijacked and there will be serious consequences on this important shipping route."

Now imagine what would happen to all international trade if the US Navy disappeared off the face of the Earth tomorrow.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/21/2008 20:04 Comments || Top||

#5  It is not even technically a violation of the law of the sea, as pirates have no legal protections.

Seem to missed that lunchtime discussion with Justice Kennedy? I'm sure he could find something in his rectal orifice robes that would indicate otherwise. :)
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/21/2008 20:06 Comments || Top||

#6  Who said the Q-ships would be US flagged?
I can see more and more merchant ships arming themselves. Of course, the pirates have the money to buy heavier weapons too.
In order to be effective, the naval escorts would have to be able to run down the pirate boats, as well as the mother ship. That's why they would need helicopter support - something like an Apache gunship should do just fine.
Posted by: Rambler in California || 08/21/2008 20:38 Comments || Top||

#7  ...as it urged the U.N. to restore law and order to the notorious African waters.

You're a funny guy!
Posted by: Raj || 08/21/2008 21:25 Comments || Top||

#8  Who said the Q-ships would be US flagged?

Maritime law?

I can see more and more merchant ships arming themselves.

Not likely if they're sailing under a 'flag of convenience'.

That's why they would need helicopter support - something like an Apache gunship should do just fine.

Done twenty years ago. Look for "Operation Prime Chance".
Posted by: Pappy || 08/21/2008 21:53 Comments || Top||

#9  Just blow up the whole Somali port they venture to return to and all the people in it.
Launder and repeat until Somalis learn or they run out of ports.
Posted by: 3dc || 08/21/2008 22:16 Comments || Top||


Clashes claim dozens in south Somalia
(SomaliNet) Clashes between al-Shabaab fighters and Marehan clan-members have left dozens dead or injured in Kismayu in Somalia's Jubbada Hoose region.
They might have been upset over all the piracy off their shores ...
A Press TV correspondent reported that there was no immediate report of casualties on al-Shabaab fighters' side. At least nine Marehan militants were killed and 23 others were injured during Wednesday's fighting.

Hundreds of civilians fled the area in Kismayu, some 500 km (300 miles) south Mogadishu, once the clashes erupted.

The Marehan are a clan who mostly reside in Jubbada Hoose, Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions in southwest Somalia. In July, former Defense Minister Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale's militia joined in Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabelle) the clan. The clan captured Kismayu after defeating the government forces in January 2006. Al-Shabaab fighters, affiliated to the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), took control of the port city of Kismayu following 12 hours of fight in September 2006.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 18:41 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


5 killed in fighting in Mogadishu
(SomaliNet) Islamic insurgents attacked Ugandan forces in Mogadishu leaving at least four civilians dead, witnesses in Somalia said.

Wednesday's attack took place in the city's K-four area, where Ugandan troops from the African Union peacekeeping force are based. Witnesses say most of the civilians were killed when mortars landed on their homes.

A spokesman for the AU peacekeeping force says no troops were killed during the assault.

The fighting took place less than a day after the country's interim government signed a peace deal in Djibouti with some opposition figures. The government and the moderate faction of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia agreed to halt the fighting and to refrain from inflammatory statements.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 18:39 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


Somali gov't, opposition sign peace deal in Djibouti
(SomaliNet) UN officials said on Tuesday that Somalia's government has formally signed a peace deal with some opposition figures, but the pact initialled in June has been rejected by hardliners and done little to quell violence.

Since early last year, more than 8,000 Somali civilians have been killed and 1 million uprooted in fighting pitting Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim administration and allied Ethiopian forces against Islamist rebels.

His government and a faction of the opposition initialled a tentative peace agreement on June 9 at UN-led talks in Djibouti, and then formally signed it late on Monday.

"The parties agreed to continue the political dialogue between themselves and refrain from making inflammatory statements," the United Nations said in a statement. "They strongly condemn the perpetrators as well as those who mastermind and fund violence which targets innocent people, including killings, indiscriminate shelling, looting, raping and acts of piracy."

The Djibouti Agreement calls for Ethiopian troops supporting the transitional government to be replaced with UN peacekeepers, who would also take over the duties of a small, ill-funded African Union force. But disagreement over the discussions split the Eritrea-based opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) in two, with hardline exiles in Asmara joining the insurgents in denouncing the ARS officials who took part.

Like previous rounds of talks - including a six-week peace conference in bombed-out Mogadishu last year - the negotiations have done little to stem the bloodshed on the ground.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 18:38 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


Sudan sentences 12 to death in Khartoum attack
A Sudanese anti-terror court condemned 12 men to death on Wednesday for their role in a shock Darfur rebel attack on Khartoum. The men chanted "God is great" and "We welcome death" as the judge passed sentence in the heavily guarded court, bringing the number of men facing death by hanging over the assault to 50.

The sentence came a day after defense lawyers failed in their bid to challenge the legality of three controversial special anti-terrorism courts set up to convict people linked to the attack.

More than 200 people were killed and hundreds injured when Darfur rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) launched an unprecedented attack on the Khartoum suburb of Omdurman in May. The attackers drove across hundreds of miles of desert and scrubland to reach the capital and were only repelled at a bridge just a few kilometers away from the presidential palace.

Khartoum set up three anti-terror courts to try people suspected of taking part in the assault or of supporting it. Twenty people appeared in front of Judge Hafiz Ahmed Abdalaha in Omdurman special court on Wednesday. Four were acquitted, another four were referred to child courts and the remaining 12 were sentenced to death by hanging.

The sentence came just three days after another eight men, including JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim's half brother Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr, were also condemned to death.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Africa North
Algeria: Bomb attack kills at least 11 and injures others
(AKI) - At least 11 people are believed to have been killed and several others were injured in two explosions in Algeria on Wednesday. Two bombs reportedly exploded at a hotel and a military barracks in the town of Bouira, south-east of the Algerian capital, Algiers.

The attacks came a day after a devastating suicide bomb attack killed 43 people and injured a further 38 at a police training college near Boumerdes, east of Algiers.

Citing the state-owned press agency, APS, media reports said that 31 people were wounded in the blasts in the town of Bouira on Wednesday morning. The explosions could be heard several hundred metres away.

No-one has taken responsibility for the attack but Algeria has been the target of a number of violent bomb explosions. Many recent terrorist attacks have been linked to the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

#1  WAFF.com > MOROCCO AND ALGERIA [Inter-Muslim mutual antagonists] ENGAGE IN NORTH AFRICAN ARMS RACE; + TOPIX > ALGERIA VOWS CRACKDOWN ON SEPERATIST TERROR AFTER BOMB BLASTS.

Also, RUMORMILLNEWS > alleged NUCLEAR WAR/TERROR-EMER RESPONSE SIMULATION DRILLS to take place in Tucson + Davis-Monthan AFB + several major US west Coast Cities.

*REDDIT > MCCAIN AGREES - IFF NECESSARY, BRING BACK THE DRAFT!?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 08/21/2008 1:47 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria militants kill three in battle over oil turf
At least three people were killed in a turf dispute between rival armed gangs in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta, a resident and a security source said Tuesday. The gun battle over control of stolen oil in Sama, a village near the main industrial city of Port Harcourt, prompted hundreds of residents to flee early Tuesday morning, a resident said. A security source said at least 12 militants were killed in the clashes, which did not involve any Nigerian security forces.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
U.S. Navy Ships Head to Georgia
Two U.S. Navy ships, including a guided missile destroyer USS McFaul, and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter are getting underway to transport humanitarian assistance supplies to Georgia, U.S. European Command (EUCOM) said on August 21. It said USS McFaul (DDG 74) departed from Souda Bay, Crete, on Wednesday and the cutter Dallas (WHEC 716) will depart later this week. McFaul and Dallas are scheduled to transit into the Black Sea and arrive in Georgia within a week, according to the U.S. European Command.

The announcement comes after it was reported that Turkey gave its go-ahead to sail through its straits into the Black Sea.

"The ships will transport thousands of blankets, hygiene items, baby food and infant supplies to save lives and alleviate human suffering," U.S. European Command said.

Meanwhile, a team of U.S. European Command, led by Army Brig. Gen. John Miller, is already in Tbilisi "to assess the current humanitarian situation and make recommendations on continued humanitarian support to senior military leadership."

"The EUCOM team will conduct a deliberate and focused assessment, encompassing variables such as transportation, infrastructure, manpower and many other life support considerations," the U.S. European Command said.
Posted by: Spike Uniter || 08/21/2008 10:23 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The announcement comes after it was reported that Turkey gave its go-ahead to sail through its straits into the Black Sea.

;)
Posted by: liberalhawk || 08/21/2008 10:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Sweeeet...
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/21/2008 11:03 Comments || Top||

#3  Hmmm ... a US Army flag officer in Tblisi.

Heh.
Posted by: mrp || 08/21/2008 11:39 Comments || Top||

#4 
From Haaretz Flash:

18:35 Hamas voices support for Russian military operation in Georgia (DPA)

GMT+1

Nor really relevant to the article but interesting nonetheless.
Posted by: Col B. Guano (ret.) || 08/21/2008 12:07 Comments || Top||

#5  In a "theoritical" fight how much of a chance would these two ships have against the aging Russian Black Sea Fleet? I don't think there will be any kind of fight, but I'm curious of our chances if the Russians decide our ships need to be "inspected".
Posted by: Charles || 08/21/2008 12:20 Comments || Top||

#6  That's a whole lot of SM-2s off the beach. I think coming in with the Battle Ensigns waving in the breeze would be a nice touch :)
Posted by: mrp || 08/21/2008 12:23 Comments || Top||

#7  In a "theoritical" fight how much of a chance would these two ships have against the aging Russian Black Sea Fleet?

None.
Posted by: JFM || 08/21/2008 12:31 Comments || Top||

#8  So is it 2 or 3 ships? only two are named, one USN and one USCG. maybe the third is dreamed of SSN (dreamed about here a coule days ago). And the Cutter doesn't have nearly the firepower the DDG does; seems like a half baked response. but better than no response. i guess.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 08/21/2008 12:56 Comments || Top||

#9  I don't think these ships are any kind of "Battle Group". Their announced purpose is to deliver humanitarian supplies, although an auxiliary cargo ship would have a lot more capacity.
Posted by: Rambler in California || 08/21/2008 13:01 Comments || Top||

#10  This is a measured response dictated by the situation on the ground. We don't want to get into a shooting war with the Russians. They are all atwitter right now and so undo provocation, however satisfying, is not needed. But the presence of two US warships sends a signal nevertheless. Russia certainly doesn't want a shooting war either. These guys are a trip wire/line in the sand that the Russians know they can't cross. They will gnash teeth, they will take out their frustrations on the Georgians, unfortunately, but they won't do anything to our ships.
Posted by: remoteman || 08/21/2008 13:07 Comments || Top||

#11  The AP is reporting that the third US ship to transit the Turkish Straits is the USS Mount Whitney . In addition, according to the AP:

Turkey's foreign ministry said Germany, Poland and Spain also have notified the Turkish government that they are sending humanitarian aid aboard navy ships to Georgia via the Turkish Straits. LINK

Posted by: mrp || 08/21/2008 13:45 Comments || Top||

#12  Hmmmm...

Here's the unclass info on the Whitney
Posted by: Pappy || 08/21/2008 13:54 Comments || Top||

#13  Very interesting, Pappy.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 08/21/2008 14:21 Comments || Top||

#14  Turkey's foreign ministry said Germany

Finally.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 08/21/2008 14:24 Comments || Top||

#15  Looks like a humanitarian mission to me. The ships are non-threatening, and the Whitney is going to be there just to carry supplies. The Russians might board the ships, but I don't think they'd attack them.
Posted by: gorb || 08/21/2008 15:21 Comments || Top||

#16  USS Mt Whitney is a command and control ship. Ie it has reduced armmant and enhanced communication gear and sensors compared to a normal ship. In other words she is ideal to learn about Russian forces movements and capabilities.
Posted by: JFM || 08/21/2008 15:55 Comments || Top||

#17  Not only will the Russians board the ships but they will end up stealing the humanitarian supplies being delivered. I don't agree with this at all - would rather see an airlift type response. This may end up being a mockery and nothing we can do about it.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 08/21/2008 16:05 Comments || Top||

#18  Why should the Russians board US Navy ships? They will be in international or Georgian waters. I would think that boarding a warship like that would be considered an act of war.
And stealing humanitarian supplies is at best an act of piracy and at worst an act of war.
Posted by: Rambler in California || 08/21/2008 16:28 Comments || Top||

#19  There is not going to be any ship boarding for lots of reasons. To start with, the Russians have zero, nil, no authority in that no war has been declared. No Russian captain in his right mind, or even roaring drunk, is going to try that one on.

Second, US ships are US territory. Stepping on a US ship without authorization is an act of war at worst, and piracy at best. If a Russian ships captain and his staff are invited over, it will be for a dinner in the boardroom, and they will wear their dress uniforms.

And forced boarding, I might add, would also be suicidal. Do you think we are just sending in surface ships? Each LA class attack sub packs about 26 Mark-48 torpedoes and Harpoons in some combination.

"Here be monsters" should be their motto.

Once they land in port, it will be a different situation altogether, but at sea, they are safe as houses.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/21/2008 16:35 Comments || Top||

#20  Seems to me that:


1) the ships serve as a "don't go there" line for Vlad



2) the ships do indeed bring some humanitarian supplies so that we're not lying through out teeth



3) The Whitney turns her ears onto all the Rooskies are doing, passing all the info back to the Pentagon, and passing some to the Georgians



4) The McFaul protects the Whitney



5) The Dallas is there for odd jobs and burnishes the humanitarian angle
Posted by: Steve White || 08/21/2008 16:55 Comments || Top||

#21  ...but at sea, they are safe as houses.

Safe as houses in a F5?
Sorry had to be a smart ass...

Anyway, the Russians would only board the US ships to show they are willing to go to the hilt and war over Georgia. I expect the ships to be harassed, shadowed, overflown, buzzed, etc. the entire time they are in the Black Sea. If they do try to board them, I expect to see 3 Russian armored columns punch into Georgia proper for conquest.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/21/2008 16:58 Comments || Top||

#22  1) No Rusia&n captain will ever take the initiative of borading the US ships. No unless he wants to end in Gulag: this would mean war and captains are not allowed to start wars.

2) Ditto for Russian admirals

3) Only Puttin can give the order and he knows the risks.
Posted by: JFM || 08/21/2008 17:09 Comments || Top||

#23  Besides theses ships there is this

'Spain's SPS Adm. Juan de Bourbon, Germany's FGS Luebeck and the Polish ship ORP General K Pulaski. Romanian and Bulgarian ships will join them for exercises during a three-week deployment'

from this crosslink
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=247834&D=2008-08-21&SO=&HC=3

Posted by: linker || 08/21/2008 18:11 Comments || Top||

#24  sorry for double post missed #11
Posted by: linker || 08/21/2008 18:12 Comments || Top||

#25  The Mount Whitney is quite a sniffer to have in the area. Plus it has huge amount of helicopters it can run off the decks for bypassing Russian roadblocks of ground-based supply deliveries.

The cutter Dallas is there clearly for port operations. Coasties excel at that sort of thing, and given that Poti has been utterly trashed by the Soviets Russians, they will need all kinds of expertise rehabbing the port facilities there.

I wonder if the Ukrainians want to semi-permanently host a rotating NATO flotilla in Odessa... hmm.
Posted by: OldSpook || 08/21/2008 18:38 Comments || Top||

#26  The senior faculty at Rantburg University are earning their suede elbow patches today for sure.

Thanks for the ejamacashun! Very informative.
Posted by: Seafarious || 08/21/2008 18:49 Comments || Top||

#27  Been on a WHEC. They have no ASW, and limited Anti-Air and Anti-missile capability. The Arleigh Burke class destroyers are very capable, but not outside of the Strike Group.
Posted by: anymouse || 08/21/2008 18:53 Comments || Top||

#28  Agree with OS on the Mt Whitney. But it is a command and control ship with limited firepower.
Posted by: anymouse || 08/21/2008 18:56 Comments || Top||

#29  I wonder if the Ukrainians want to semi-permanently host a rotating NATO flotilla in Odessa

Another outcome due to the application of the rule of unintended consequences.
Posted by: gorb || 08/21/2008 19:30 Comments || Top||

#30  Remember what they did to Savannah in '64!
Posted by: borgboy || 08/21/2008 19:31 Comments || Top||

#31  The LCC's "threat" is simply providing a politically unattackble airfield, C4I center, and logistics point.

Plus the large flat deck, refueling, etc provide massive amounts of tactical mobility, and combined with strategic sealift and airlift, its enought to force the Russians into a corner where they either must roll back, or deliberately attack a lightly armed ship (or its auxilliaries like helicopters) on a mission of mercy.

Being able to bypass Russian roadblocks, deliver food, water, medical supplies, etc, any place we want to is a huge thumb in the eye of the occupiers.

This is one time when "beans" could carry a lot larger impact than bullets.
Posted by: OldSpook || 08/21/2008 19:57 Comments || Top||

#32  Poor Russia was so keen on demonstrating U.S. powerlessness to support WOT allies. Unintended consequences indeed. In the meantime, both Israeli and American Jewish refugee aid societies are working to help those driven out by the Russians, in addition to the American Air Force. Perhaps America flew them in, I don't know.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/21/2008 20:10 Comments || Top||

#33  If the Russians try to board a US Ship, I am sure we will see the first use of a Laser Guided 1000 pound JDAM hit a Russian boarding ship aimed from a Stealth fighter over head.

2000 pound JDAM hitting the boarding party's boat would, yeah, be asking a bit too much, I reckon.
Posted by: Jorong Barnsmell6594 || 08/21/2008 20:24 Comments || Top||

#34  The Mt Whitney can also embark Marines, I believe. I don't know if they have any aboard right now. (Other than staff elements.)
Posted by: Rambler in California || 08/21/2008 20:40 Comments || Top||

#35  LCC 20 Mount Whitney nfo

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/navy/lcc-20.htm
Posted by: linkere Nebraskans2237 || 08/21/2008 20:51 Comments || Top||

#36  Hey OS...I have been on the Blue Ridge and Coronado. The JOC on the Blue Ridge is so cold you need arctic gear to survive.

Agree that Mount Whitney is making a statement as the 6th Fleet command ship.

Jorong Barnsmell6594...No Gyrenes to my knowledge. Only on LPH and LHDs
Posted by: anymouse || 08/21/2008 21:43 Comments || Top||

#37  Sorry...I meant Rambler not Jorong Barnsmell6594.
Posted by: anymouse || 08/21/2008 21:44 Comments || Top||

#38  It can carry the Marines, but they are not on board. Not to say they couldn't fly in a couple of light Marine rifle companies for "port security" and base them out of that ship.

Heard the "Mercy" is on the way as well, hospital ship.
Posted by: OldSpook || 08/21/2008 22:00 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
12 killed in US missile attack on South Wazooville
Twelve people, most of them alleged foreign fighters, were killed and five others sustained serious injuries when a US Predator fired two Hellfire missiles on a house in Zari Noor village of the South Waziristan Agency (SWA) on Wednesday.

Military Spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas, when reached by telephone, confirmed the incident but said he would not confirm whether it was a missile or rocket attack. "Yes, I heard about the explosions in Wana, but right now we are investigating the incident. I will say something definite about the cause of the explosions once the investigation process is completed," remarked Maj-Gen Athar Abbas. He said he had heard that 8-12 people had been killed in the explosions.

The military spokesman did not agree with reports that a US Predator had fired Hellfire missiles on the Pakistani territory. Tribal sources informed this correspondent from Wana, the headquarters of the SWA, that two spy planes were seen flying over the town during the attack on the village.

They said a house and Hujra (male guesthouse) owned by a local tribal elder, Mohammad Yaqub Mughalkhel Wazir, were hit by the missiles. "Before the attack at around 4 pm, a black colour plane was flying at a low altitude over the village and almost half-an-hour later another white colour plane fired two missiles that razed the buildings," a local tribesman Mohammad Siyar Wazir told The News from Wana by telephone. He said the explosions were heard at far-off villages.

The tribesman said militants affiliated with commander Maulvi NazIr cordoned off the village and the damaged buildings soon after the attack and barred the tribesmen from going to the spot.

Tribal sources based in Wana said the majority of those killed in the air strikes were reported to be Arab fighters staying as guests with the Wazir tribal elder. "They might be Arabs as the Taliban immediately cordoned off the village and took the damaged buildings into control," tribal sources said, adding the militants did not allow even local pro-militant villagers to help them retrieve the bodies of the slain and injured people from the rubble.

Sources close to the militants said Yaqub, his cousin, and nephew were among the five injured and the rest were reportedly foreigners. They said Yaqub was widely known for his good contacts with Arab fighters and was often seen playing host to non-locals at his Hujra. "He himself has never been a Jihadi but always kept good contacts with Mujahideen and invited them to his house," militant sources said.

They, however, expressed ignorance when asked about the presence of any high-value target in the house during the attack. "It is possible that important people left the house as the drones had been flying over the village since Wednesday morning," the sources said.

It merits a mention here that senior al-Qaeda commander Abu Khubab al-Masri, his wife, son Mudassir Ahmad Khubab and eight-year-old grandson were killed in similar air strikes, reportedly carried out by a US Predator on the Zyara Leeta village near Wana a few weeks ago. AP adds: A spokesman for the US Embassy in Islamabad said he had no information on the incident.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 18:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Yaqub, his cousin, and nephew were among the five injured and the rest were reportedly foreigners. They said Yaqub was widely known for his good contacts with Arab fighters and was often seen playing host to non-locals at his Hujra.

they used to have canasta and bunco parties. It was innocent, believe me
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2008 19:57 Comments || Top||

#2  I remember Yaqub well. We used to study together in college. Sometimes we'd go out after finals to toss a few back and chase some strays. Ya know, typical college stuff. He was a typical guy, except that he had a big heart. I remember he flipped out this one time when I tied two cats tails together.

Last I saw him, he was headed of to pre-med. I'm sure he was there as some kind of humanitarian effort.

Mike N. (I'm leaving the nym, cuz I hates the Huskers.)
Posted by: Glereling Dark Lord of the Nebraskans4646 || 08/21/2008 20:06 Comments || Top||

#3  "Before the attack at around 4 pm, a black colour plane ...almost half-an-hour later another white colour plane fired two missiles

Sounds like an episode of Spy VS Spy from Mad magazine.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/21/2008 23:23 Comments || Top||


Taliban suicide bombers hit Pak ordnance plant; dozens dead
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside Pakistan's main defence industry complex on Thursday as workers were leaving at the end of their shift, killing nearly 50 people, police said. Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.
But the Paks won't send the regular troops after them, nope, can't be done, sorry ...
Couldn't possibly do it. Everybody knows Muslims don't kill Muslims.
"There were bodies lying everywhere and wounded people soaked in blood were screaming for help," said Shah, the manager of a petrol station near the industrial complex in Wah, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Islamabad. "Many of the wounded were either without legs or hands. I could see body parts hanging on trees," he said.

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman said the blasts were retaliation for military operations against militants in the northwestern region of Bajaur, on the Afghan border. "If it doesn't stop we will continue such attacks," Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar said by telephone.

Police said nearly 50 people were killed and about 70 wounded in the blasts near the heavily guarded complex, the hub of Pakistan's defence industry where about 25,000 workers produce explosives, ordnance and weapons in about 15 factories. Hundreds of workers were milling about outside the complex at the end of their shift when the bombers struck.
25,000 workers cranking out explosives, ordnance and weapons, and they can't keep up with the demand. That's kinda Pakistain in a nutshell.
One of the bombers blew himself up outside the complex's main gate while the second detonated his explosives at almost the same time near another gate, said police officer Sardar Shahbaz. Soldiers cordoned off the area and kept reporters back as ambulances arrived to take away casualties, a witness said.
This article starring:
MAULVI OMARTTP
Posted by: lotp || 08/21/2008 09:08 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  But, but, but, they're supposed to be annoying India and robbing and murdering Hindu pilgrims!
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/21/2008 9:34 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder who they're selling to? Or is this all for domestic consumption?
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 08/21/2008 18:59 Comments || Top||

#3  ISI distribution to their Taliban bots and the LOC
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2008 20:11 Comments || Top||


Pakistan: Tribal festivities flare in Kurram Agency
(AKI) - Twenty-one people were killed and 35 others were injured in fresh clashes between rival tribes in the Kurram Agency in Pakistan's border region. Sources told the Pakistani television channel, GeoTV, fighting continued between rival tribes for the 14th consecutive day.
Both sides used artillery, missiles and automatic weapons against each other.
Both sides used artillery, missiles and automatic weapons against each other in the conflict in the region which is on the border of Afghanistan.

Chief of the Turi tribe, Ali Akbar Turi , said that fighting erupted when militants attacked various areas of Lower Kurram. He said 15 militants were killed in a counter attack. Akbar Turi has urged the government to take action against the extremists.

Meanwhile, the rival Bangash tribe denied reports that militants were taking part in the fighting. Members of a Jirga have failed to persuade both sides to stop fighting and suggested the security forces launch an operation against them.
This article starring:
Ali Akbar Turi
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Ten militants killed in Pakistain border area
Ten Taliban militants were killed after Pakistani troops fired artillery shells at suspected militant hideouts in a troubled tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. The casualties in the Bajaur tribal region were the latest in a major military operation launched earlier this month that has claimed nearly 500 lives and displaced nearly 150,000 people. "Security forces fired at militant positions and we have received reports that 10 militants have been killed," a security official told AFP, adding that the deaths happened in the villages of Salarzae and Mamoond.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Iraq
Turkish troops shell Kurd rebels in N.Iraq
BAGHDAD - Turkish troops fired a salvo of shells at Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq early on Wednesday, but it was unclear if there were any casualties, an Iraqi border guard said. Major-General Omar Sharif, head of operations for the border guards of Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdistan region, said the shelling started at 4.30 a.m. (0130 GMT). It targeted three areas on Iraq's mountainous border with Turkey, lasting about half an hour. There was no immediate comment from the Turkish military.

Turkey has intensified operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels, who are fighting for an ethnic homeland in eastern Turkey, in recent weeks.

Turkish fighter planes hit a PKK guerrilla base in northern Iraq over the weekend, the army said on its website on Sunday.
Posted by: Steve White || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Two killed in Baghdad bombing
A roadside bomb killed at least two people in a Baghdad's Al-Salekh neighbourhood Wednesday, police said. Four people were also wounded in the bombing on a major thoroughfare in the crowded district.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency


15 bodies found in Iraqi village
Iraq's security forces found Tuesday the bodies of 15 Iraqis in a village that was until three-weeks ago controlled by Al Qaeda, a defence ministry spokesman told AFP. The bodies were discovered in the village of Bauzel, 25 kilometres east of Baquba in Diyala province, General Mohammed al-Askari said, adding that they had been killed by Al-Qaeda gangs. Soldiers also found more than a thousand bombs and booby traps in 33 houses in the village.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


Sri Lanka
29 killed in Sri Lanka fighting
Fierce fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka killed 25 rebels and four soldiers, the military said Wednesday. The worst of the fighting Tuesday erupted in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts, on the edge of the rebels' dwindling de facto state, where 15 rebels and three soldiers were killed in scattered battles, the military said. Fighting in the nearby Vavuniya and Welioya regions killed another nine rebels and one soldier, the military said.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
72[untagged]
4TTP
4Iraqi Insurgency
3Govt of Pakistan
3Islamic Courts
3Taliban
2al-Qaeda
2Hezbollah
1al-Qaeda in Iraq
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Sudan
1HUJI
1al-Qaeda in North Africa

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2008-08-21
  TTP suicide bombers hit Pak ordnance plant; dozens dead
Wed 2008-08-20
  MILF warns Manila against ''declaring war''
Tue 2008-08-19
  10 French soldiers die in Afghan battle
Mon 2008-08-18
  Pakistan's Musharraf steps down
Sun 2008-08-17
  Baitullah launches parallel justice system for Mehsuds
Sat 2008-08-16
  36 militants killed in Afghanistan
Fri 2008-08-15
  Gunships Blast Pakistani Madrassa; Faqir Mohammad rumored titzup
Thu 2008-08-14
  Feds: Siddique wanted to poison Worst President Ever
Wed 2008-08-13
   Russian troops roll into strategic Georgian city
Tue 2008-08-12
  Israel 'proposes West Bank deal'
Mon 2008-08-11
  Taliban take control of Khar suburbs as Zardari, Nawaz, Fazl jockey for presidency
Sun 2008-08-10
  Iraq car bomb kills 21
Sat 2008-08-09
  US tourist dies in Beijing attack
Fri 2008-08-08
  Russia invades Georgia
Thu 2008-08-07
  Paleo hard boy Jihad Jaraa survives ''assassination attempt'' in Ireland

Better than the average link...



Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
44.213.65.97
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (21)    Non-WoT (33)    Opinion (9)    Local News (16)    (0)