BOSSASO, Somalia -- Puntland Government in northern Somalia has expressed interest in the resumption of oil and gas exploration activities in the relatively calm state on Saturday, Garowe Online reports.
Speaking at a press conference in the Gulf of Aden Port City of Bossaso, Puntland Minerals and Petroleum Agency Director-General Isse Mohamud Farah has declared that petroleum companies will resume explorations at the beginning of this year. With one year left the contract awarded to Horn Petroleum that spudded Shabeel-1 well on Dharoor block in 2012, Farah noted that the second phase of explorations will take place in Nugal Valley and for the second time on Dharoor block.
He once again reiterated government’s stance over the arrival of unauthorized oil companies that could stoke tensions.
Puntland Minerals and Petroleum Agency head also warned unidentified networks against making mineral exports at airports and seaports, saying illegal miners will be brought to the justice.
Horn Petroleum plugged Shabeel-North 1, the first exploratory well to be established in Somalia since state collapse in 1991 in August 2012.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Unfortunately, you've picked a rather awkward time to resume wildcatting. Please feel free to continue the senseless tribal butchery. We'll call you when the pricing structure has recovered and exploration is once again feasible.
[IsraelTimes] Eyewitnesses say teen, three others tried scaling border wall to work in Sinai; mother denies her son was involved in terror
Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, on Saturday condemned the fatal shooting by Egyptian border guards of what they said was a Paleostinian minor on the Gazoo border.
?We condemn the killing (Friday) of the child Zaki al-Houbi by Egyptian army gunfire on the borders. We consider what happened as a dangerous development and excessive use of force,? the Islamist organization said in a statement. ?What happened is not appropriate to neighborly relations between brothers.?
An Egyptian security official said that troops opened fire on Gazooks who had illegally crossed into the Egyptian Sinai, where the army has created a buffer zone to prevent the movement of myrmidons.
?Soldiers charged with protecting the frontier fired at six Gazooks, of whom three succeeded in returning to Gazoo while three were tossed in the clink Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! . One was probably hit by the fire,? an official said.
Gazoo emergency services front man Ashraf al-Qidra said that Houbi was 17 years old.
He was killed in the Gazoo frontier town of Rafah by Egyptian soldiers firing from across the border, Qidra said.
The border troops shot the youth ?in the back and the bullet settled in the heart. He was struck down in his prime,? he told AFP.
He was the first Paleostinian ?to have been killed in a long time? along the border between the Gazoo Strip and Egypt, according to Qidra.
An eyewitness told AFP that Houbi and three others scaled a concrete wall on the border hoping to find work on the Egyptian side.
His mother, Sarah al-Houbi, 35, said that he had ?left home to look for work? adding that her husband was unemployed and the family stricken by the poverty rampant in Gazoo.
She said that he was not a member of any terrorist group and had tried several times to get into Egypt but was sent back each time.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/04/2015 10:53 Comments ||
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The innocent "child" was 23
...and had an enthusiastic five o'clock shadow. His 35 year old mother started young in the baby department -- or ages considerably slower than the rest of humanity.
The health of the aged Saudi monarch, who enjoys absolute power in the country, is a matter of great importance not just for the kingdom itself. Saudi Arabia's status as one of the world's largest oil exporters as well as its role in regional power struggles means that Abdullah's condition is also being observed closely around the world.
But for the Saudi royal family, Abdullah's illness raises a controversial issue: the question of a possible generation change. Since the death of the state's founder, Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, in 1953, the eldest son has always been succeeded by his brother - insofar as the latter is able and willing to rule the kingdom. Abdullah's precise age is disputed, but he's believed to be over 90. The two designated crown princes, Salman and Muqrin, are themselves already almost 80 and 70 years old respectively.
For some time now the grandchildren of the state's founder have been hoping the crown might pass to them. Some of these grandchildren are actually older than ibn Saud's younger sons. Until now, though, the crown still hasn't come down to the next generation.
The Saudi royal family is still divided on the question. There have already been numerous conflicts over the succession. Different groups have tried to assert their own interests - the so-called Sudairi Seven, for example. These were seven brothers, including Fahd, Sultan, and Naif, who all have the same mother and were seen as particularly influential until her death.
In 2007 King Abdullah established a succession commission to decide who takes the throne if the king and the crown prince should fall ill or die. However, as with so many political decisions in the conservative royal house, it is unclear whether or not this commission actually does play a role.
Saudi Arabia may be an absolute monarchy, but this also means that the royal family is involved when the most important decisions are made, and the majority of the princes must be in agreement. This is becoming increasingly difficult in a royal family comprising hundreds of members and numerous branches.
It is still unclear which of ibn Saud's grandsons will be the first to ascend the throne. The political leadership keeps getting older, while Saudi Arabia itself remains a comparatively young country: two-thirds of the population are 25 and under.
Saudi Arabia remained relatively quiet during the so-called Arab Spring. Thanks to the country's immense oil wealth, the monarchy was able to guarantee the people prosperity. But there are tensions within society that cannot be ignored - over religion, women's rights, and political participation, for example. Many of these problems are being discussed on social networks, especially by the younger generation. And which of the royal family will be the one to lead the country in future is still anybody's guess.
#4
...Here's the potential problem: if the 'younger' generation took over, they might turn out to be more liberal than those who came before though it might turn out to be a relative thing. The trouble is that the bad guys will consider ANY liberalization as a bad thing and step up their efforts to destabilize/take over the Magic Kingdom.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/04/2015 13:43 Comments ||
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[Ynet] The leader of Yemen's Shiite rebel Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to Americaâ?¢, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... movement on Saturday rejected a reform agreement made last year to divide the country into six federally organized regions, a major blow to local and international efforts to unite the divided country.
In a message broadcast to thousands of supporters on public screens across the country, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said the rebels, who have taken over a string of Yemeni cities including the capital Sanaa, reject the plan "categorically."
"Beware of any attempts to overthrow the revolution," he said.
"We're the only ones who're allowed to be revolting," he added.
[GatestoneInstitute] The Moslem population of Britannia reached 3.4 million in 2014 to become around 5.3% of the overall population of 64 million,
...that makes Britain an Islamic state to be ruled by a caliph, not a queen. You could look it up...
according to figures extrapolated from a recent study on the growth of the Moslem population in Europe. In real terms, Britannia has the third-largest Moslem population in the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , after La Belle France and Germany.
Islam and Islam-related issues were omnipresent in Britannia during 2014, and can be categorized into four broad themes: 1) Islamic extremism and the security implications of British jihadists in Syria; 2) the continuing spread of Islamic Sharia law in Britannia; 3) the sexual exploitation of British children by Moslem gangs; and 4) Moslem integration into British society.
What follows is a chronological review of some of the main stories involving the rise of Islam in Britannia during 2014.
[POLITICO] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a "victim" of bad publicity, according to Bill Richardson, the former New Mexico governor and U.N. ambassador.
"He has been the victim, Kim Jong Un, of a lot of bad press, a lot of bad international attention, with the Sony hacking, with [being] taken to the International Criminal Court by some U.N. countries, a number of other very destabilizing moves that he has made, shooting the missiles, nuclear testing," Richardson said on Friday on MSNBC's "News Nation with Tamron Hall."
On New Year's Day, Kim made an uncharacteristic move by calling for a summit to be held between North and South Korea with South Korea"s president, Park Geun-hye. The last such summit between the two countries was held in 2000.
"The tragic division of Korea could no longer be tolerable and acceptable," Kim said, according to a translation by MSNBC.
"Perhaps what he's doing is saying 'Look, I'm going to start the new year with a positive step, a potential summit,'" Richardson said of Kim.
Richardson has worked with North Korea a handful of times over the years. When he was in Congress, he helped negotiate several prisoner releases with North Korea. As governor of New Mexico, he occasionally served as an unofficial back channel to Pyongyang. And in 2013, as a private citizen, he returned to the country with Google Chairman Eric Schmidt on what he characterized as a "humanitarian" mission.
On Friday, Richardson acknowledged that the North Korean leader's actions and statements have been "inconsistent."
"They're so unpredictable you don't know where this guy is coming from," he said.
Which is why we should negotiate with him?
Richardson's comments on Friday came shortly before President Barack Obama signed an executive order authorizing financial sanctions on North Korean government agencies in response to the cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The president"s order marked the administration"s first official action against North Korea since the FBI determined that the North Korean regime was responsible for the hacks.
Any reason, even a phony reason like 'The Interview', is a good reason for sanctions against Pudgy...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Really, what are we going to do to Pudgy? Have the CIA unplug the chocolate fountain?
Posted by: Steven ||
01/04/2015 3:55 Comments ||
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a "victim" of bad publicity, according to Bill Richardson, the former New Mexico governor, U.N. ambassador and communist fellow traveler.
[Ynet] An Egyptian attorney who pleaded guilty in connection to the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa has told a judge preparing to sentence him that he has always opposed violence and wants to return to his family.
I'm confused.
A letter from Adel Abdul Bary was included in court papers filed Friday. It was the same day a co-defendant died, just before his New York trial was to start.
Bary pleaded guilty in September to making death threats against Americans. His surprising plea deal called for him to face no more than 25 years in prison. He can also receive credit for the 15 years he has been incarcerated and serve the remainder of his term in another country. His sentencing is set for Jan. 12.
[DAWN] The government on Friday challenged the bail of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi -- the alleged criminal mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks -- in the Islamabad High Court today.
Earlier on Dec 18, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had granted bail to Lakhvi.
However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... the federal government had extended his detention in the Adiala Jail under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutors Chaudhry Azhar and Hussain Pirzada petitioned to the court today, saying that the ATC had ignored testimony in the case while granting bail to Lakhvi.
The application said there is solid testimony available against Lakhvi despite of which the ATC had sanctioned his bail, and pleaded that it should be rejected.
The petition also alleged that Lakhvi's counsels had caused a delay in the case's proceedings.
Lakhvi is among the seven persons charged with planning and helping carry out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The six other men facing trial in Adiala Jail for their alleged involvement in Mumbai attacks are Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Younas Anjum, Jamil Ahmed, Mazhar Iqbal and Abdul Majid.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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The government on Saturday tabled two significant bills in the National Assembly to deal with speedy trial of terrorism-related cases in special courts headed by military officers.
Sometimes gridlock is a good thing...
Information Minister Parvez Rashid, who also holds the additional charge of law, presented the two bills, one amending the Army Act of 1952 and the other amending the constitution to provide it cover against any challenge in the Supreme Court. The session that lasted only ten minutes was adjourned by Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq till January 5 when lawmakers will hold a debate over the proposed legislation.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also attended the session and declared that there was no need for lengthy debate after top parliamentary leaders evolved a consensus on it in the multi-party conference on Friday night.
The lower house will take up the bills on Monday for clause by clause approval and pass it on to the upper house, the Senate, for adoption on Tuesday. The president is expected to give his final assent without any delay.
In the multi-party conference, leaders of political parties had decided about the implementation of the National Action Plan to counter terrorism and endorsed the proposed legislative measures, including amendments to the Pakistan Army Act to extend its jurisdiction for speedy trial of cases under specified acts and provide a constitutional cover with a sunset clause of two years from the date of enactment.
“We will not let go waste the decisive moment of hitting the terrorists hard,” the prime minister was quoted as having said at the meeting.
Let no crisis go to waste, indeed...
Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif used the occasion to respond to the critics of military courts who claimed that the idea was a brainchild of the army. “Special courts are not the desire of the army but need of extraordinary times,” he said and hoped that the consensus achieved at the previous APC would remain intact.
Good thing the military has nothing to do with governance in Pakistain...
Allaying politicians’ apprehension about the military courts, the amendment provides that only the prime minister will refer a case to the military court.
The constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in each house which should be no problem in view of consensus among all parliamentary parties.
However, for amendment in the Army Act, a simple majority will be required.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf of Imran Khan has also endorsed it though it is not attending the assembly session pending its return to the house once it’s demand for formation of a judicial commission to probe allegations of rigging in the 2003 polls was met.
After the amendment to the Army Act, the Pakistan Army can take any action against attackers of civil, military institutions in the country, media reports said. According to a bill presented in National Assembly on Saturday, an amendment to Article 175 was also presented, along with amendments to the Army Act 1952. Under the applicable law, any attackers using weapons in the name of religion would also be liable to punishment.
Any individual or group suspected to be carrying, hiding, or transporting any explosive material would also be liable to punishment. Anyone accused of kidnapping would also be punished. Any financing of illegal activities would also be liable to punishment.
Under the Army Act, the final decision for any terrorist acts being tried in special courts would be taken by the federal government.
All applicable laws under the Army Act would be in effect for a total of two years, after which the special courts would cease to exist, the legislation proposed.
Or until the time is extended -- for emergency purposes, of course...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Islamic State (ISIS) incinerated the corpses of five militants who were suspected of contracting Ebola, an Iraqi health official indicated. Faisal Ghazi, member of the Health Committee in Iraq’s council of ministries, said the five were incinerated in Mosul, the ISIS stronghold in Iraq.
“The Islamic State organization incinerated five militants infected with Ebola to prevent further spread of the disease in Mosul,” he said.
“ISIS had proof that these militants were infected with Ebola,” he added, without giving details of whether the fighters died of the disease or were killed and incinerated by the group.
The UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) had been investigating cases of Ebola in Mosul, following reports that some militants with Ebola symptoms had reported to a hospital in the city.
ISIS volunteers have poured into Iraq and Syria from around the world, including countries in Africa. I still doubt it's ebola. Malaria or perhaps diarrheal infection more likely.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/04/2015 16:28 Comments ||
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#2
Considering the past behavior of ISIS, I'm wondering if these guys were actually corpses before they were incinerated. (I'd bet not.)
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/04/2015 17:47 Comments ||
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#3
Trying to figure out the optimal point where a sploody dope could spread the maximum amount of blood gore etc before actually becoming too incapacitated to walk the bomb vest into a group?
[Iraq News] A security source denied the injury of Salah il-Din Operations Commander General Abdul-Wahab al-Saidi, in Beiji district of northern Tikrit.
The source added to IraqiNews.com "A Colonel and a soldier were killed when an Improvised Explosive Device targeted their convoy of southern Biehi district."
Earlier, some reports reported that Saidi was injured due to an IED explosion of southern Beiji.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iraq News] On Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced it foiled attempts of the ISIS organization and other armed groups to hijack Iranian aircraft, pointing out to the failure of Israeli attempts to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientist.
Command Operations for Security Assistant in the Revolutionary Guard, Col. Jacob Bagheri said in an interview with the news agency Fars followed by IraqiNews.com "Ever since the Revolutionary Guards took over the task of maintaining aviation security, there have been 130 attempts to hijack planes in the country," pointing out that, "There have been 13 clashes, during which the attackers and cadres of aviation security were wounded, but the attackers did not succeed in any of these operations."
"The last attempt to hijack an aircraft took place during a flight between Tehran and Damascus, where someone tried to hijack the plane for political reasons, but the vigilance of the security members foiled that attempt. The hijacker was brought under control and arrested."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iraq News] On Saturday, President of Sunni Endowment , Mahmoud Sumaidaie asked religious authorities and scholars to issue a clear fatwa to ban insulting the companions and the family of Prophet Muhammed, while called the Parliament for a legislation to criminalize it.
Sumaidaie said, in his speech during the celebration of the Sunni Endowment week on the occasion of the Prophet?s birthday followed by IraqiNews.com, "I ask esteemed scholars to issue a clear fatwa about the sanctity of insulting the companions and the family the Prophet Muhammed."
On December 26, 2014, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb called religious leaders in Iraq and Iran to issue an explicit fatwa to ban insulting companions and mothers of believers and Sunnis icons.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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A Saudi delegation will travel to Baghdad in the coming week to start preparations to reopen an embassy in the Iraqi capital for the first time in 25 years, official Saudi media said on Saturday.
A thaw in the once chilly relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq could help strengthen a regional alliance against ISIS militants who have seized territory in Iraq and Syria.
Saudi Arabia closed its Baghdad embassy in 1990 after the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. It has long accused Iraq of being too close to Iran, its main regional rival, and of encouraging sectarian discrimination against Sunnis, a charge Baghdad denies.
The Saudi move would help return Iraq to the Arab nation “after an absence since the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime and the penetration of the Iranian regime into the joints of the Iraqi state,” said Abdullah Al Askar, head of the foreign affairs committee on Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council, which advises the government on policy.
Saudi Arabia began cautious moves towards rapprochement after the appointment in August of Haider Al Abadi as Iraq’s new prime minister. Senior members of the kingdom’s ruling dynasty had branded his predecessor, Nouri Al Maliki, a puppet of Iran, according to US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks, and accused him of ruling Iraq only on behalf of the Shias.
Citing an official foreign ministry source, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said that besides reopening its embassy, the kingdom also planned to set up a general consulate in Irbil, capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
A team from the ministry would head to Baghdad this week to liaise with Iraq on choosing and preparing buildings for both missions, so they could start work “at the earliest opportunity”, SPA said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Senior Paleostinian official Saeb Erekat ...negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. He has been chief Paleostinian negotiator since 1995. He is currently negotiating with Israel to establish a de jure Paleostinian state... slammed Israel for its decision to withhold the transfer of some $125 million in tax funds to the Paleostinian Authority in response to their decision to join the International Crime Court in The Hague, telling local media it was a "war crime."
Erekat lashed out Israel, calling the move an act of "piracy" and a "collective punishment" against the Paleostinian people.
"If Israel thinks that through economic pressure it will succeed in diverting our approach from freedom and independence, then it is wrong," Erekat said.
"This money is not Israeli charity to the Paleostinian people? This is the money of the Paleostinian people and Israel is not a donor country."
Israel has stopped tax transfers before but such freezes have been short-lived.
#6
It's not their money---it's the VAT part of the purchases Palestinians make in Israel. And they receive these sums, contrary to normal practice, due to Oslo accords---the ones that they consistently violate.
[Ynet] Arab politician draws cheers as he joins East Jerusalemites marching towards al-Aqsa Mosque to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed
No fatwas against celebrating the Prophet's birthday here.
Hundreds of East Jerusalem residents participated on Saturday in a march towards the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Temple Mount compound. The march was organized to mark Mawlid an-Nabī - the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.
Among the participants were Knesset member Dr. Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta?al) and other Arab leaders, who called for an "end the occupation". MK Tibi waved the Paleostinian flag near the flashpoint site, which has been scene to violent festivities in recent months.
He said "the procession sends a message of liberty and peace and a desire to shake free the burden of the occupation in order to gain a normal and free life. The procession ended at al-Aqsa Mosque, the crown jewel of Jerusalem, which will be the capital of Paleostine."
The marchers chanted Tibi's name and some ran to kiss him and be photographed together. "Tibi, you are the hero of Paleostine," many shouted. "You are the strongest man who can protect our rights."
MK Tibi could lead a united Arab party in the upcoming elections, and polls have named him the most popular Arab Israeli leader in the country.
Sameer Mahmoud, a resident of east Jerusalem, added: "We marched today for the Prophet Mohammed. This is an important day for all Moslems in the world. Unfortunately, there are different organizations in the world who try to damage the Prophet's character.
Andrei Pshenichnikov was released from an Egyptian jail on Saturday and returned to Israel.
In 2013, An Egyptian court sentenced Pshenichnikov to two years in prison after he infiltrated the Sinai Peninsula. Pshenichnikov, 26, from Bat Yam, was originally ordered to be deported to Israel, but an Egyptian judge overturned that ruling.
Pshenichnikov’s mother told Army Radio in 2013 that her son got a visa to enter Egypt, and was scheduled to meet friends from France in Cairo.
The man was reportedly a left-wing activist, who lived in the Palestinian territories and was previously denied a request for Palestinian citizenship. He was not carrying a passport when he entered Sinai and his name was not on tourist arrival lists, according to the official Egyptian MENA news agency.
The dumbass will likely do something equally schtoopid in the near future...
Another Israeli citizen, Uda Tarabin, still languishes in an Egyptian jail. He was arrested in 2000 after infiltrating Sinai to visit relatives. He was indicted on espionage charges.
Pshenichnikov arrived from Tajikistan 11 years ago, served in the IDF, and enlisted for permanent service. His mother said he had previously lived near a refugee camp in the Bethlehem area and wanted to prove that Israelis and Arabs could live together. "He fights for peace – an activist for peace between Israelis and Palestinians."
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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If the summer war with Hamas in Gaza proved anything, it was the role the Iron Dome anti-missile system played in minimizing civilian deaths in Israel and keeping the war from escalating in response to greater casualties. But while Israel enjoyed the tactical advantage afforded by this technological marvel, Hamas, for its part, wasn’t just sitting idly by. It was learning how to beat it.
The qualitative edge that Israel has developed in the sky – offensively, with advanced jets and well-trained fighters and now UA Vs, and defensively with the Iron Dome and other layers of missile defense – is crucial to its survival, especially given its 20-milewide waist at the center of the country.
But as drone platforms begin to saturate foreign militaries and terror militias (just last week, Hamas once again launched its own drone from Gaza), Israel will have to sharpen that edge if it’s going to maintain an effective defensive shield.
One important part of this process is the development of something called “swarmware.” Marrying UA V technology with advanced software, swarmware allows dozens or even hundreds of drones to work together (much like the name suggests) as a swarm of individual units that coalesce or break away from the main body as needed.
In this, the swarm acts strategically in real time, operating as an effective mass.
No doubt, it will be noted that combining software to not just take the pilot out of the cockpit but out of the control process altogether represents a shift toward algorithmic decision-making and even toward a robotized military strategy. Though this may cause anxiety (not without reason), in truth swarmware offers too many significant benefits to ignore, some of which may prove critical to Israel’s survival.
Just don't connect it to Skynet. Nothing good comes from that...
Foremost among them is the defensive capability offered by swarmware to essentially “black out” a limited airspace like Israel’s. Mapping and intercepting a nearly unlimited number of intruders in real time without time constraints offers the IDF the ability to contain an impending conflict, particularly when the strategic objectives of enemies like Hamas is to escalate. Like with the Iron Dome, which was able to prevent the loss of lives on both sides – on the Israeli side directly, by intercepting rockets, and on the Palestinian side, by facilitating the containment of the war – a matrixed drone network can similarly provide a defensive edge that overwhelms the offensive strategy of the other side.
But another part of this is economic.
Israel is currently looking to buy F-35 fighters from the US at the astronomical per-plane cost of $147 million – a price tag that has already caused Israel to reduce it initial order of 75 plane to a still-barely-affordable 36. With the cost per UA V a fraction of that of a next-generation fighter (modern military UA Vs range from $1 million to $20 million) compounded by the drastically lower maintenance cost, what we see is not that the UA V is emerging as a fighter replacement, but stands to play an even greater role in Israel’s strategic air defense mix.
Israel doesn't need the F-35 today (neither do we but that's a different argument). Israel with F-15s and Kfirs, and a first class complement of pilots, ground crews and air controllers, can and/or has defeated every other air force in the region. That will be the case for at least the next decade. Israel has plenty of time to see if the drone air wing will work out or whether it needs to upgrade its manned air wings.
When you observe a swarm, you immediately look for its hive. Observing Israel, limited in space just like a hive, is perfectly suited for a swarmlike defense. Creating a drone swarm would effectively free up the IDF’s manpower and high-end platforms for missions requiring greater skill and more planning and sophisticated decision- making. And looking at potential Israeli conflicts, from Hamas to Hezbollah to Iran, Israel’s ability to construct a swarm of drones buffered by layers of anti-missile systems on the ground and supporting attack fighters in the air would provide the capability to deliver a sting that can deter.
The path from here to a functioning, massive UA V swarm is long and complex, involving the development of industrial-scale production. But already Israel is ahead of the curve as the world’s largest exporter of drones (by number of units), according to a 2013 study by business consulting firm Frost and Sullivan. Swarmware would also require overly prudent (almost neurotic) safeguards and failsafes against any cyber threats – but here too Israel has an advantage as it has one of the most advance cyber forces in the world today.
The strategic opportunity, considering Israel’s brain power versus its scarcity in resource, for Israel in possession of a perpetually unmanned air-defense shield will return its qualitative edge on the digital battlefield and entirely transform the way IDF will be able to wage war. Not only is Israel one of the best-equipped nations in the world to develop swarmware, but the technology can be a strategic game-changer for the Jewish state, one of those rare opportunities that converts perceived weakness into defined strength.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Revolutionary Guards source says Israeli attempt failed; Iran blames Mossad for five dead scientists since 2010.
A senior source in the Revolutionary Guards' security apparatus on Saturday accused Israel of twice attempting to assassinate a nuclear scientist in the last two years. He made the comments in an interview with Iran's Fars news agency, and claimed his agents managed to foil the attempts.
The Revolutionary Guards are legally entrusted with protecting senior Iranians and state assets, he said, including those involved with the country's nuclear program. He added that other security agencies were also responsible for this protection as part of their authority.
At least five Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed since 2010, including the deputy director of uranium enrichment at the Natanz nuclear facility, he claimed. Tehran has consistently claimed that Israel's Mossad, American CIA, and British MI6 were behind the liquidations.
While the US and UK denied their involvement, Israel refrained from responding. In March of last year, 18 indictments were filed against the alleged assassins.
Iran tossed in the calaboose Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! two suspects in 2012 relating to the deaths of nuclear engineer Majid Shahriari and Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, the deputy director of uranium enrichment at Natanz.
Shariari was killed on November 29, 2010 when two motorcyclists attached bombs to his vehicle. Roshan was killed with the same method a year and a half later.
Iran has accused Israel of assassinating at least two other scientists besides Roshan and Shariari: Masould Alimohammadi in January 2010 and Darioush Rezaeinajad in July 2011.
Meanwhile, ...back at the comedy club, Boogie was cracking himself up, but nobody else seemed to be getting the non-stop jokes... the senior source from the Revolutionary Guards told Fars that no less than 130 attempted airplane hijackings around Iran had been foiled by the security apparatus.
In the most recent attempt, someone on a flight from Tehran to Damascus tried to hijack the plane for political reasons, but security personnel stopped and arrested him. The man was an Iranian citizen who had boarded the plane legally before confronting passengers.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
I believe things like this are known as "Learning Opportunities."
Islamic State militants holed up in the Qalamoun mountains on the Syrian-Lebanese border are seeking to gain control of nearby Lebanese villages to support their fighting positions, the head of Lebanon's main security apparatus told Reuters.
Major General Abbas Ibrahim said Lebanese forces were on high alert to prevent the hardline militants from seizing any Lebanese territory near the Qalamoun mountains, which demarcate Lebanon's eastern border with Syria.
Such crossborder incursions would add to concern that Lebanon, which suffered its own civil war in 1975-90, could be drawn further into the conflict in neighboring Syria.
That's what you get for being a pliant client...
Fighting from Syria has regularly spilled into Lebanon since the war erupted nearly four years ago. In 2014, Islamic State and Syria's al-Qaida wing attacked the border town of Arsal and took Lebanese soldiers captive. Gunmen including militants linked to Islamic State also clashed with the army in the coastal city of Tripoli.
Ibrahim, who is the head of Lebanon's General Security office, said Islamic State had recently boosted its numbers in the Qalamoun area with the aim of securing crossborder territory to support its Syrian operations.
"Islamic State does not want to dominate Qalamoun ... but they want to use it to secure their backs in the region through controlling (Lebanese) villages in contact with the Qalamoun area," he said.
"The (Lebanese) military and security forces are on full alert," he told Reuters at his village home in southern Lebanon.
Ibrahim said Islamic State had become the dominant armed group in Qalamoun. "In the recent period about 700 new fighters pledged allegiance, and so they are now more than 1,000 fighters," he said.
Fighting has escalated in Qalamoun and other areas along the border since the summer, pitting Islamic State and other insurgents against forces fighting on behalf the Syrian government.
Sunni Islamist militants attacked strongholds of Shi'ite group Hezbollah in Lebanon several times in 2014. Hezbollah has sent thousands of its fighters to battle on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
A nice civil war between the Hezbies and ISIS would be such a shame, wouldn't it...
Referring to Islamic State and other militant groups like Nusra Front, the Lebanese army chief warned in November that Lebanon was facing "the most dangerous terrorist plot in the whole region". Lebanese residents near the border have said they are ready to take up arms to defend their homes.
Ibrahim, who narrowly escaped a suicide bombing in June, said the security services had arrested many militants in broad security sweeps across the country and dismantled networks of fighters in operations that it did not always publicize.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
IIRC see also WORLD NEWS > [Inquisitr] ISRAELI GAZA COMMANDER: ISIS WILL REPLACE HAMAS [in Gaza] IFF [Hamas is] TOPPLED.
and
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Iraqi] BORDER GUARDS REPEL ISIS ATTACK ON BORDER BETWEEN IRAQ + SAUDI ARABIA - SPUTNIK INTERNATIONAL.
Getting closer to Riyadh???
You have to wonder how it will be iff GCC El Supremo Sunni KSA has to demand or ask for Iranian military intervention iff the ISIS/ISIL does come over the border.
* SAME > CHINA TARGETED BY ISIS | DEFENCE UPDATE.
Artic brings back map from July 2014 of Regions-Countries under ISIS' desired "Caliphate".
Two months before Mosul and other cities in northern Iraq fell to the Islamic State last June, representatives of a Syrian rebel group called on the new U.S. special envoy for Syria with an outline of a plan to stop the extremists. The group urged the U.S. to shift its focus to eastern Syria, where the Islamic State had emerged from Raqqa and other towns under its control and begun military operations to capture Deir el Zour province. If Islamic State fighters seized the region’s oil and gas resources, they’d gain enough power to destroy the U.S.-backed rebel forces across northern Syria and link the swath of territory they held in Syria to that under their control in Iraq’s restive Anbar province.
The Islamic State didn’t follow quite the path that Syrian rebel officials had predicted, conquering Mosul before Deir el Zour. But the rebels were right that the extremists’ takeover of eastern Syria would speed the demise of the moderates by radicalizing the battlefield, opening the border with Iraq to free movement of arms and manpower, and providing the Islamic State with income from the sale of oil and gas.
But the presentation April 17 to special State Department envoy Daniel Rubinstein was stillborn. The plea for immediate financial support for moderate forces in the east, backing for a rebel offensive in Aleppo that would divert Islamic State forces, and relief and medical supplies in the east went unanswered.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Pappy ||
01/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
White House spokesman Alistair Baskey said Nagata and his team were “free to meet with members of the moderate Syrian opposition as they deem fit in order to advance their train and equip program.”
Which shifts the blame to General Nagata, who dutifully says nothing.
#2
The administration also has tried to choke off complaints from rebel officials and commanders, threatening a total aid cutoff if they’re quoted in the news media, rebel officials said. For this reason McClatchy isn’t naming its rebel sources.
That and keeping a lid on sources makes it more difficult for AG Holder to haul McClatchy before a judge threatening to prosecute under the Espionage Act.
#3
By most accounts, whether pre-June 2014 or post-June 2014, pre-Congressional Inaugural 2015 or post same, the Bammer's FP is still putting the US + mainstream America at serious risk.
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.
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.
The health of the aged Saudi monarch, who enjoys absolute power in the country, is a matter of great importance not just for the kingdom itself. Saudi Arabia's status as one of the world's largest oil exporters as well as its role in regional power struggles means that Abdullah's condition is also being observed closely around the world.
If the summer war with Hamas in Gaza proved anything, it was the role the Iron Dome anti-missile system played in minimizing civilian deaths in Israel and keeping the war from escalating in response to greater casualties. But while Israel enjoyed the tactical advantage afforded by this technological marvel, Hamas, for its part, wasn’t just sitting idly by. It was learning how to beat it.
