Russia's Ambassador to Kabul has said that Moscow has received an official "defense wishlist" from Kabul for light and heavy weapons and that his country will assess the list.
Military helicopters and artillery are included in the wish list submitted by Kabul to Moscow.
The Afghan Defense Ministry says Afghanistan is in the first line of war and that all world countries should help this country.
"Afghanistan is in the first line of war against terrorism and this war is not Afghanistan's war; it has been imposed on the country. All the neighboring countries and the world countries should help Afghanistan in this war," the Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told TOLOnews.
Meanwhile, analysts believe that Afghanistan needs military support from world countries in such a situation but they state that Kabul needs to get NATO member countries to agree on military support from other countries.
"I think Russia can rapidly help Afghan army in such a situation and it can make it a strong army in order to combat terrorism," said Jawed Kohistani, a military affairs analyst.
"But it is important that Kabul should get NATO member countries and the U.S to agree if it wants military help for equipment for its forces from any other country," he added.
A number of MPs and officials on Wednesday expressed concerns over recent reports that the Taliban are recruiting children and teenagers to fight on the frontline in Kunduz and Badakhshan.
However, this comes amid reports that the Taliban leader Mullah Mansour has allegedly called on his fighters to stop recruiting teenagers.
Abdul Malik, one teenager who was allegedly fighting for the insurgent group and arrested near Kunduz Airport recently, said Taliban rebels forced him to take up arms and fight security forces.
"I am 17-year-old and I was in grade 6 at a madrassa. Taliban forced me to fight against security forces here," he told TOLOnews.
Security officials meanwhile believe that the Taliban is recruiting teenagers from madrassas.
"They use children and students from madrassas but the security forces are over the legal age and they know who the enemies of Afghanistan are," said Gen. Murad Ali Murad, the deputy chief of staff of the Afghan National Army.
Another concern for the security forces is that the Taliban insurgents are using women and children as human shields in their war against Afghan troops.
"They [the Taliban] have complicated the war. They are using women and children as human shields," said Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, the first Vice President.
Meanwhile, MPs have termed recruiting children and teenagers as a violation of human rights and even a war crime.
"Taliban militants have been weakened; they have turned towards children and locals. They push people to join the war by giving them money and using their force," said Farhad Seddiqi, an MP.
"Sharia Law does not allow such an act - to recruit children in war. The Taliban will not hesitate to do any bad act," said Qazi Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, an MP.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) meanwhile says engaging children and teenagers in war is one of their main concerns.
"Engaging children in war is a matter of concern for us. We urge the warring sides to avoid involving children in their war," said Sayed Maruf Hamdard, UNICEF media officer.
The Afghan government has several times condemned the use of children in suicide attacks or in other acts of war. Video report at the link
[ComingSoon] From executive producer Angelina Jolie Pitt comes the award-winning drama "Difret," based on the inspirational true story of a young Ethiopian girl and a tenacious lawyer embroiled in a life-or-death clash between cultural traditions and their country's advancement of equal rights. When 14-year-old Hirut is abducted in her rural village's tradition of kidnapping women for marriage, she fights back, accidentally killing her captor and intended husband. Local law demands a death sentence for Hirut, but Maeza, a tough and passionate lawyer from a women's legal aide practice, steps in to fight for her. With both Hirut's life and the future of the practice at stake, the two women must make their case for self-defense against one of Ethiopia's oldest and most deeply-rooted traditions. "Difret" paints a portrait of a country in a time of great transformation and the brave individuals ready to help shape it. Although this movie (actually a documentary) is set outside the majority muslim world and it doesn't mention Islam, the movie is about one of the egregious and widespread crimes against humanity that exists in the Islamic world - maybe some reviewers will notice this.
Posted by: lord garth ||
10/29/2015 11:07 ||
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[AlAhram] Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced on Wednesday in the country's official gazette that a state of emergency has been extended for a further three months in parts of North Sinai.
The northern part of the mountainous Sinai Peninsula has been the epicentre of an Islamist insurgency that spiked following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi after mass protests against his one year rule. The violence has killed hundreds of soldiers and coppers in the restive region.
The measure was first introduced in August 2013 when violent unrest gripped the country following Morsi's removal. It has since been continually extended. This year, it was extended in January, April and July.
The state of emergency will cover Al-Arish and other surrounding areas. It went into effect on Tuesday, 27 October.
A nighttime curfew in place in the same areas from 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) and 6:00 am (0400 GMT) has also been extended. Only Al-Arish will see a four-hour curfew starting from 1:00 am.
The EU naval operation to clamp down on illegal migrant crossings from Libya is not working, according to its deputy commander, Rear Admiral Hervé Bléjean. The only way to stop the flow, he said in Rome yesterday, was by going to Libyan territory, both the country’s inshore waters and on land and hitting the smuggler networks.
Then build a large refugee center for the migrants just outside Tobruk, and another one near Tripoli. The Euros can then practice "nation building". And don't let anyone into the water...
“The operation will only be effective when we can work close to the networks, go after the big fish not the little ones who go out to sea,” he said.
In the three week since it started, the operation, codenamed Sophia and designed to arrest the smugglers and seize their boats them had not done so at all so far, the French rear admiral admitted.
To move in on the smugglers in Libyan waters and in the country itself would need the UN Security Council endorsement.
I don't recall Thomas Jefferson asking for a UNSC endorsement before dealing with the Barbary Coast pirates...
With smugglers earning $74,000 for a small rubber boat with 100 people aboard, to $400,000 for a larger wooden one with 400 people, there would have to be alternative investment in such places to replace the trade, Bléjean said. In some places, he estimated, it now accounted for 50 percent of local revenues.
#1
I am shocked to hear that the EU has difficulties projecting force. Or for that matter, organization.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
10/29/2015 8:02 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It's a problem for people who had their history wiped by the Lefties. Maybe someone will dust off those old books and read that some of that 'evil' Western colonialism was provoked by actions of the locals. The West may not have been perfect, but it's beginning to appear it was a whole lot better than what has replaced it.
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday denied that coalition air strikes hit a hospital in Yemen run by medical charity MSF after the attack was condemned by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The hospital in the northern city of Saada was hit late Monday, but MSF (Doctors Without Borders) said there were no casualties.
The Saudi mission to the United Nations said in a statement that "the Arab coalition aircrafts did not attack the hospital" and were not in Saada at the time.
Coalition forces had been given the exact coordinates of the hospital which were placed "within the forbidden targets," the Saudi statement said.
"Accordingly, this hospital could not have been targeted by the coalition forces," it added.
The Saudi mission said a thorough investigation was under way and expressed its "deep regret" that Ban had blamed the coalition "without waiting for full and accurate information about that regrettable incident."
In a statement issued Tuesday, Ban condemned the air strikes which he said had been carried out by the Saudi-led coalition and called for an investigation.
Several members of the popular resistance in Yemen are undergoing extensive flight training by the UAE Armed Forces, as part of the programmes implemented by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition.
The training programme is aimed at preparing and qualifying the group members to enhance military operations in the province of Taiz.
The training is being conducted at Al Anad Air Base, Yemen's largest air base, which was renovated by the Arab Coalition forces.
The programme also includes providing training to Yemeni pilots on the aircraft used in the operations.
The Yemeni pilots executed sorties in operations areas in Taiz and Al Bayda to support the resistance and legitimacy forces. They also carried out strikes against targets in the two cities, destroying weapon depots and vehicles belonging to the Houthi militias and the deposed president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. All aircraft returned safely to their bases.
#2
Because the whole world has to pay because moslems cannot get their shit together.
BAN THEM. Make them eat their own shit. Make them live in Islamic lands.
Force them to live under shariah law and worship their false god in their own shitholes.
#3
What it tells me is that the muzzies are like a plague of locusts that destroy one area before moving on to another. They want to escape what they have created and yet re-create in a new land.
Put another way, this is the behavior of a virus, if the immune system is not strong enough to resist it, the body dies...we'll see what happens in Europe in the next few months..
[AnNahar] Austria said Wednesday it would build a fence along its border with fellow EU state Slovenia to "control" the migrant influx, in what would be the first barrier between two members of the passport-free Schengen zone.
Both countries have become key transit points for tens of thousands of refugees and migrants seeking to reach northern Europe, as they try desperately to outrun winter and get ahead of more potential EU border closures.
The endless procession has overwhelmed nations along the migrant trail through the Balkans, already prompting Hungary -- also an EU and Schengen member -- to seal its southern borders with razor-wire fence.
Austria's announcement is bound to intensify concerns about the EU's cherished Schengen system, a crucial part of European integration efforts designed to encourage the free movement of people and goods.
But Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner insisted the planned barrier was "not about shutting down the border".
"This is about ensuring an orderly, controlled entry into our country. Also, a fence has a door," she told Austrian media Wednesday.
The move comes just days after EU leaders at an emergency Balkans summit warned that "unilateral actions could trigger a chain reaction".
Refuting claims that Austria risked creating human bottlenecks, Mikl-Leitner pointed the finger at Germany, saying border police there processed "too few migrants". She also implicitly criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... 's open-door policy.
"The fact is that the majority want to go to Germany, because they feel they have been invited," Mikl-Leitner said.
Germany, the EU's economic powerhouse, is expecting up to one million asylum-seekers this year.
Its interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, said Wednesday the rising number of Afghan asylum seekers was "unacceptable", urging young Afghans to stay at home and rebuild their homeland.
More than 700,000 migrants and refugees have already landed on Mediterranean shores so far this year, the majority escaping violence in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Big rifts have opened up between EU member states over how to handle Europe's worst migration crisis since World War II.
The situation had the potential to create "tectonic changes" in Europe's political landscape, EU President Donald Tusk warned Tuesday.
Few details have been released so far about Austria's planned fence, which is set to run several kilometers either side of the Spielfeld border crossing, where thousands of migrants have arrived in recent weeks.
Mikl-Leitner -- who last week said it was time to build "fortress Europe" -- stressed Wednesday the situation risked escalating as people were forced to wait in cold weather for hours before being allowed to cross from one nation into another.
"We know that individual groups of migrants have become more impatient, aggressive and emotional. If groups push from behind, with children and women stuck in between, you need stable, massive precautions," said the conservative minister whose OeVP party is in a ruling national coalition with the Social Democrats.
Most migrants land first in Greece but, desperate to get to Germany and wealthier northern European countries, thousands have pushed on rather than staying there to have their asylum applications processed as is required under EU rules.
Hotspots like Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania warned last week they could follow Hungary's example to avoid becoming "buffer zones".
Slovenia has also threatened to erect a barrier at its Croatian frontier if an EU action plan announced at Sunday's Balkans summit failed to produce quick results in tackling the crisis.
The tiny nation of two million has seen nearly 90,000 people pass through since mid-October when Budapest sealed its frontier with Croatia.
"As a European I do not desire it but the state will be forced into it if the commitments (from Brussels) are not fulfilled," he said.
As part of its 17-point action plan, the EU has pledged to send 400 coppers from other bloc members to Slovenia. It has also vowed to set up 100,000 places in reception centres in Greece and the Balkans.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker slammed EU member states for providing less than half of the guards pledged to the bloc's Frontex border agency in migrant hotspots Greece and Italia.
"Member states have been moving slowly at a time when they should be running," he said.
#1
In EX-CA GOVERNATOR "DA ARNUUULD"S NATIVE AUSTRIA at least, looks like the Natives don't trust tyheir own Austrian or Euro-Lefties/Socialists to contain or control the Migrants???
IFF THEY CAN'T CONTAIN OR CONTROL MIGRANTS, WHAT CHANCE DO THEY HAVE AGZ ARMED, JIHAD-HAPPY JIHADIS???
#5
Amass of protesting citizens with shotguns could really get the attention of their gov't. All of these poor saps should have banded together at home, armed up and gone to call on the tyrant du jour.
[Hurriyet] An Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) sleeper cell based in the southeastern province of Gaziantep was behind the twin suicide kabooms that killed 100 peace activists in Ankara on Oct. 10, the Ankara Prosecutor's Office said in a written statement.
"It is understood that a terrorist organization in [the southeastern] Gaziantep province planned attacks inside Turkey after taking direct orders from Daesh [Islamic State] in Syria," the prosecutor's office said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIL.
"The cell received permission from the terrorist group in Syria to attack all PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party] and anti-Daesh [Islamic State] targets inside Turkey," the office said.
The postponement of the Nov. 1 snap elections was one of motives behind the attack, it said.
The attack aimed to have "the Nov. 1 general elections postponed by having terrorist activities extended," the prosecutor's office said in a written statement.
"Disrupting political stability by sabotaging the upcoming elections and complicating the formation of a government ... that would emerge after the elections" were some of the other hypothesized reasons for the massacre, it said, adding that it arrived at these conclusions from "data found on digital material."
The Kurdish problem-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was among the organizers of the peace rally in Ankara and, according to the prosecutor's office, previous attacks against the party were also probably committed by ISIL.
"According to recordings that have been investigated, there is strong evidence that the said terrorist organization committed the attacks against the HDP in Adana and Mersin, the kaboom at the HDP rally in Diyarbakir and the kaboom in Suruc," said the statement.
On May 18, bombs went kaboom! at two local HDP headquarters in Adana and Mersin. Hidden in a cargo parcel and a gift-wrapped flower pot, the two bombs injured four people and caused damage to the building. Four people were killed in a bombing at an HDP rally in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir on June 5, only two days before the June 7 parliamentary elections. On July 20, a suicide kaboom in the border town of Suruc in the southeastern Sanliurfa province killed 34 people. On Oct. 19, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced that one of the two jacket wallahs in the Oct.10 Ankara massacre was Yunus Emre Alagöz, the brother of Seyh Abdurrahman Alagöz, who was the perpetrator of the Suruc attack.
The attack aimed at creating turmoil by prompting "marginal segments" of the "mass targeted" in Ankara to take to streets, having "the state held responsible" for the Ankara Massacre and thus "legitimatize the PKK attacks against Turkey," the prosecutor's office said.
"It is confirmed that they planned to launch a suicide kaboom against a military base inside the country," it said.
Underlining that they have so far decoded only five percent of the digital material, the office said the evidence showed that the terrorist organization had been regularly financed by headquarters in Syria.
"The terrorist organization exerted efforts to get permission from the same country [Syria] to attack Christians and Jews living in our country," the office said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/29/2015 00:00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
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More than 10,000 fighters from the Sunni province of Anbar are “ready” to fight Islamist militants who continue to occupy Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul but are disadvantaged due to Baghdad’s weak support to their plight, a prominent sheikh told Al Arabiya News on Thursday.
Sheikh Abdulwahab Sarhan al-Dulaimi, head of the Anbar Tribes Council Against Terrorism, said “if we include other Sunni provinces, there more than 30,000 fighters in total ready to fight [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] ISIS but what is missing is them being armed and being prepped” especially after these radical elements “killed and displaced” and “destroyed infrastructure” of Sunni areas.
Reports suggest that Sunnis and Sunni tribes in Anbar are not fully unified. An August conference on liberating the western province held in Baghdad ended in a brawl and chair-throwing fight. But the council, which started on February last, year, has finally emerged with all of Anbar’s tribes under one “umbrella” from Sep. 30, according to Dulaimi. More at the link
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – US newspaper revealed on Wednesday, that Washington is considering the deployment of a squadron of “Apache” helicopters in Iraq to support the Iraqi security forces against ISIS.
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying, “The White House is considering the deployment of a squadron of Apache helicopters in Iraq in the framework of a package of new aid to confront ISIS.”
According to the newspaper, the officials added that “this step requires the deployment of hundreds of additional US troops in Iraq,” indicating also that “US military officials recommended the deployment of a number of US troops in Syria for the first time.”
#1
No war here. Oh no, war's over. Gave out a prize and everything.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
10/29/2015 8:03 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Appache at FOB Speicher near Tekrit. Troops on detail picking up Foreign Objects and Debri (FOD) from one of the runways. Mountains on the Iranian border nearly visible in the distance.
Very old photo by the way.
When the U.S. pulled out of Speicher, I figured all the regime's bravado and threats against Iranian WMD production were little more than meaningless bullshit. Why would anyone relinquish such a strategic facility.
[Ynet] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... addressed on Wednesday the spate of attacks in Israel in recent weeks.
"Whoever wants to know what a binational state would look like should look at what's been happening in the last few weeks," Kerry said. "Israel must take steps that will allow Paleostinians to develop their economy. The Paleostinians must stop the incitement to violence," Kerry added.
The gentleman's profundity astounds. He forgot to add, though, that the two state solution looks like the border of Gaza. Perhaps the Ottoman solution is the only one possible: once a generation or so decimate the most obnoxious town, pour encourager les autres.
#3
Israel should say 5 years with no attacks and then we'll talk. I figure either the Palestinian government is at war with Israel and which case giving them what they want is foolish; or the Palestinian government has no control over its people and is therefore not worth talking to.
#6
Israel by its very existence dominates the Paleo's thoughts 24/7 which prevents them from thinking about all the wonderful technology they would otherwise invent. /sarc
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — It's official — the M4 carbine has replaced the M16A4 as the universal rifle of Marine Corps infantry.
Commandant Gen. Robert Neller has signed off on the switch making the M4 the primary weapon for all infantry battalions, security forces and supporting schools no later than the end of September 2016, according to an internal memo released by Lt. Gen. Ronald Bailey, deputy commandant for Plans, Policies and Operations via the Automated Message Handling System.
The recommendation was first made over the summer to then-commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford, and its final approval was one of Neller's first orders of business after succeeding Dunford Sep. 24, according to Marine Corps officials.
#6
Shorter (840 mm vs. 1003 mm) and lighter (3.4 kg vs. 3.99 kg loaded).
Based on first-person review by a USMC family member, better for 'close quarters' (house to house; room to room) combat, but not as accurate at longer ranges due to the shorter barrel.
#7
Barrel length mostly. The M-4 has a shorter barrel than the M-16 and is much easier to get out of vehicles with and move around in buildings with. The downside is that the round has a lower fps and thus energy transfer to a target and shorter range than an M-16. The M-4 is also lighter.
There are more technical details with gear and things you can hang off it, but that is the basic difference.
The author is a travelogue writer by trade, and has zero education or experience in economics or in the AK-47.
By Chris Solomon for Global Risk Insights
The Avtomat Kalashnikova year model 1947, better known as the AK-47 or the Kalashnikov, is one of the most widely used weapons in the world. A Russian assault rifle developed in the wake of the Second World War, the lingering myth that is was designed after the capture of Nazi Germany’s Sturmgewehr 44 is still up for debate. The venerable SKS is part of that myth, essentially Russia's first semiautomatic rifle
Despite its age, the AK-47’s durability and ease of use makes it one of the world’s most popular and recognized weapons. Though not particularly accurate and limited in range compared to similar caliber weapons, the AK-47’s dominance is largely owed to the mass production and relative freedom from copyright restrictions during the days of the Soviet Union. The bullet drop of the AK-47 is too severe for many ranges beyond 200 meters, so it gets the rap for being inaccurate. I would submit the windage of the AK-47 is as good as any modern rifle now produced. That said, Russia still produces AK-47 variants for its forces.
The weapon is produced at the Izhmash plant in Izhevsk, Russia. Izhmash and the Izhevsk Mechanical Plant formed a merger after Izhmash went bankrupt in 2012. As of 2013, the corporation is now reinstituted as Kalashnikov Concern (also called Kalashnikov Group). Despite Western-imposed sanctions, Kalashnikov Concern’s signature product is still highly profitable. Production in 2014 and earnings increased by 28% to $45 million. After buying shares from ZALA Aero and Euroyachting Rybinskaya Shipyard, Kalashnikov Concern is now expanding into drones and boats.
Kalashnikov Group is also in the process of rebranding the famous weapon as an instrument of security and counter-terrorism. The effort has largely been criticized by humanitarian groups as the arms company embarked on a marketing blitz. As a close quarters battle weapon, the AK-47 would suffice, but better weapons are produced, such as the MP-5.
Oxford professor Paul Collier’s book, Wars, Guns, and Votes, describes the cycle of arms stockpiling by African governments to safeguard against or fight off rebellions only to have poorly paid conscripts siphon Kalashnikovs from local armaments for illegal resale elsewhere. Small arms cannot be easily shipped off the continent, so they tend to stay local. This is one reason why countries with neighboring civil wars are also vulnerable to civil war themselves. Troubled countries make for a troubled region.
Poor governance is also considered in assessing the AK-47’s destructiveness. However, in Phillip Killicoat’s 2007 World Bank study, “Weaponomics: The Global Market for Assault Rifles,” he found that purchasing power parity (PPP) income measure was not so much an indicator of government efficiency but rather a sign of demand in the local market.
Though the illegal trade of Kalashnikovs has long been thought to have been unleashed into the developing world by the collapse of the Soviet Union, recent studies have shown otherwise. Conflict Armament Research, an organization founded by former UN monitors, has noted that the proliferation of small arms in Africa comes not from the former Soviet Union but from China, Iran, and Sudan. The barrel is easy to make, and the only assemblies necessary to produce the rifle are easily obtained or made as well. In the US, machined barrels, heat treated and chrome lined, are in use, but they are not as good as the drop hammer forged barrels specified for the AK-47.
All too often, supplying weapons to bolster local governments results in the very instability the suppliers are trying to prevent. South Sudan, currently embroiled in a civil war, was the recipient of a sizable arms sale in the summer of 2014. Prior to the outbreak, China North Industries Corp. (Norinco) transferred 9,574 automatic rifles to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) for some $20 million. $2,088.99 per new gun with shipping: helluva deal
China’s economic investments in South Sudan paid a price for the arms deal but, in the long run, cemented China’s role as a power broker in the country. As investment in resource-rich, impoverished African countries continues, the unchecked flow of small arms will hamper development. Or could be effective in protecting it.
The AK-47 has also appeared in the Central African Republic (CAR), though France is not a main supplier of the weapon. Military spending in the CAR was the highest in ten years (2.5% of GDP) before the start of the ongoing conflict there. CAR’s riches in diamond and gold resources also contributes to the violence. As France enhances security cooperation in Francophone Africa, the specter of the Kalashnikov’s role in lone wolf attacks at home as become elevated in recent years. Observe the logic. That the CAR has mineral wealth is a cause for violence. How about: a buncha greedy bastards tryung to steal or control CAR's mineral wealth is the actual proximate cause for violence. AN AK-47 could go a long way in deterring that violence, or at least protecting the local populace. AKs in the Middle East
With the overlapping conflict in Syria and Iraq, the weapon has been a key component in the black market trade for the various armed groups. Following the collapse of Russia’s patron in Libya and a burgeoning partnership with Yemen, Russia facilitates the flow of small arms to Syria to back its only remaining ally in the region. With AK-47s, not the AK-74, standard issue with Russian Federation military and security forces.
The Syrian government is not short on weapons, but rather on people to serve in its ever shrinking Syrian Arab Army (SAA). Syria continues to procure the weapons to strengthen the bilateral relationship. A variant of the Kalashnikov family, the AK-74M, has become exceedingly popular with the SAA and the opposing rebel forces. Following a high level military delegation’s visit to Russia in 2012, the AK-104 was soon allocated to the Syrian government’s security forces, as well. One of the latest Russian iterations of the AK-47, 7.62x39mm.
Iraq, another resource-rich country, faces its own legacy regarding the Kalashnikov. During the US liberation, AK-47s were purchased by the US for Iraqi security forces from Jordan at $60 per unit. At the start of the conflict, 350,000 AK-47s were sourced in Serbia and Bosnia by private security contractors in Iraq. Later in the war, 110,000 AK-47s allocated for the Iraqi government were unaccounted for.
The AK-47 alone isn’t to blame. Cuba, for example, utilizes the weapon for its military, but does not suffer from internal instability. The correlation appears to exist between poor governance, the availability of cheap weapons, the resource trap, and proximity to neighboring conflicts.
Regardless, the assault rifle’s longevity and abundance is all too apparent. The AK-47 and its variants continue to wreak havoc and have a long term negative impact on the security and economic failings of resource-rich states. This makes the Kalashnikov a key ingredient for disaster in the developing world. I would say constant nipping at a bottle of Old Karl Marx is a relevant key ingredient for disaster in the developing world.
#1
The main advantage of AK-47 is it's robustness. M16 (in Israel M4 called M16 short) is delicate. You give a Third World peasant M16 and it's broke in a week. Give him AK-47 and he'll pass it to his son. But, you can't open beer bottles with Ak-47.
#3
Actually the SVT predates the SKS. If WWII had waited another year or 2 the Red army would have had a lot of SVTs and might not have abandoned them for the 'We need a $hitload of rifles NOW so only make Mosins" panic after Barbarossa.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
10/29/2015 11:44 Comments ||
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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.
[Ynet] Secretary of State 
