Pictures of The Day: 12/19/10

Saturday, December 25, 2010

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Afghanistan TODAY December 25, 2010 - Leaders Surprise Coalition Troops On Christmas....NSI News Source Info # 1380

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By ISAF Joint Command

(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - December 25, 2010: Italian Air Force Gen. Vincenzo Camporini, Italian chief of defense; U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander, International Security Assistance Force; and Italian Army Brig. Gen. Marcello Bellacicco, commander, Regional Command-West, met with coalition soldiers and delivered holiday messages of thanks and encouragement in Bakwah District, Farah province today.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-afghanistan-today_25.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Top US General Visits Troops In Afghanistan....NSI News Source Info # 1379

**Why are the Taliban on the offensive? The reply is straightforward, President Obama’s Afghan strategy is not working. The Taliban are gaining confidence from increased news coverage and political strength from Iran and other elements, who are supposed to be fighting along side the NATO ISAF coalition forces againist insurgency. On December 25, 2010, the Taliban are on the offensive attacking NATO ISAF troops with rockets from safe distance near Pakistan border.

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources AP

(NSI News Source Info) MARJAH, Afghanistan - December 25, 2010: The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan crisscrossed the country on Saturday, visiting coalition troops on Christmas at some of the main battle fronts in a show of appreciation and support in the tenth year of the war against the Taliban.Gen. David Petraeus started his Christmas visit by traveling by helicopter

from the capital, Kabul, to the northern province of Kunduz, telling troops with the U.S. Army's 1-87, 10th Mountain Division that on this day, there was "no place that (he) would rather be than here" where the "focus of our effort" was.

The northern part of the country has seen increased fighting, with the Taliban increasing their attacks as NATO focuses its sights on the militant movement's southern strongholds. Petraeus was briefed on the situation in the region by German Maj. Gen. Hans-Werner Fritz, the commander of NATO's northern regional command.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-top-us-general.html

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Brits Making Merry Christmas At Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia....NSI News Source Info # 1378

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 25: Hayley Docherty and Jerry Long from Norfolk, England enjoy the warm weather at Bondi Beach on December 25, 2010 in Sydney, Australia.

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Christmas On Potomac River, Maryland, USA....NSI News Source Info # 1377

Santa Claus water skis down the Potomac River onChristmas Eve December 24, 2010 at Maryland's National Harbor, a few miles down the river fromWashington, DC. The Water Skiing Santa, Flying Elves, a Jet-Skiing Grinch, and even Frosty the Snowman, have been appearing on the river for 25 years in freezing temperatures. What started as a small thing has now turned into an annual event with thousands of people watching from the shore.

Friday, December 24, 2010

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Pakistan TODAY December 24, 2010 - Militants Launch Coordinated Attacks In Pakistan....NSI News Source Info # 1376

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Ismail Khan The New York Times

(NSI News Source Info) PESHAWAR, Pakistan - December 24, 2010: Eleven members of Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps were killed and nine were wounded on Friday when about 150 militants launched simultaneous attacks on five security posts in the northwestern Mohmand tribal region close to the Afghan border, a senior security official said.

The official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said that the security forces had received a tip about an impending assault, “but frankly, we didn’t expect an attack of this scale and magnitude.”

He said that 24 militants were killed in the clashes that went on for several hours but displayed the bodies of only eight militants to the local media. “Our assessment is based on militants’ intercepts and chatter,” the official said.

The simultaneous attacks, in the Baizai area close to the Afghan border, were the biggest since Pakistani forces launched operations in the lawless tribal regions along the border.

A government official said that militants in the Mohmand region, a mountainous, heavily forested area with easy escape routes to Afghanistan, have largely been confined to a small area that adjoins Pakistan’s Bajaur tribal area and Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar Province. The strategic location makes it relatively easy for militants to organize.

“All the bad guys are now there,” Amjad Ali Khan, the administrator of the Mohmand region, said. “Kunar’s border region has gone to the dogs due to the absence of international forces there. These guys go there and come back to launch attacks on our forward positions.”

Officials said that the authorities had planned an operation to flush out militants from the remaining pockets of Mohmand but lack of resources caused a delay.

“Action will get under way shortly,” Mr. Khan said.

On Dec. 6, suicide bombers struck the administrative headquarters of Mohmand, killing 43 people and wounding more than 60.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-pakistan-today_24.html

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: Ethiopian Christ Icon Found 500 Years On....NSI News Source Info # 1375

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources The Telegraph UK

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 24, 2010: An 15th century Ethiopian icon of the infant Christ child sitting on his mother's knee was discovered after it was cleaned by a British charity.

The central panel of the triptych had over the centuries become blackened with the sprinkling of perfume that the monks use as they worship.

The hugely important and stunning painted wood panel is now visible in its original coloured glory, showing a pale-faced Jesus with black curly hair and rosy cheeks.

His hand has three digits raised and two down as if blessing the person looking at him.

He has a halo and is wearing a gown and is perched on his mother's knee and she too has a halo.

The monks at the Monastery of St Stephen on an island in Lake Hayq in the north of the African country believe the icon, known as The One Who Listens, to be miraculous.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-special-report-ethiopian.html

DTN News - WIKILEAKS BREAKING NEWS: WikiLeaks ~ Israel Bombed Syrian Nuclear Facility....NSI News Source Info # 1374

DTN News - WIKILEAKS BREAKING NEWS: WikiLeaks ~ Israel Bombed Syrian Nuclear

Facility....NSI News Source Info # 1374

**Condoleezza Rice confirms Israeli strike in 2007, says intel collected by US, Israel shows that reactor was built with N. Korean help

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By JPost.com Staff

(NSI News Source Info) - December 24, 2010: Israel destroyed a nuclear reactor in Syria, apparently built with North Korea's help, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said to State Department officials in April 2008, according to Yedioth Ahronothquoting a recently released cable by Wikileaks.

The cable is the first official confirmation of the incident, and details the intelligence gathered before the attack, the collaboration between the US and Israel, the Israeli government's move to bomb the Syrian reactor and concern that Syrian President Bashar Assad would retaliate with war, Yedioth Ahronoth reported quoting the cable.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-wikileaks-breaking-news.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Iranian Officer Captured In Afghanistan: NATO....NSI News Source Info # 1373

**'Iran arms smuggler' held by Nato BBC News

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Katherine Haddon (AFP)

(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - December 24, 2010: A member of the elite al-Quds force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been captured in southern Afghanistan accused of cross-border weapons smuggling, international forces said Friday.

The man, described as a "key Taliban weapons facilitator", was captured Saturday in Zhari district, Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, a volatile district targeted in recent coalition offensives.

He was targeted "for facilitating the movement of weapons between Iran and Kandahar through Nimroz province," a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

It is thought he was connected to smuggling small arms between the countries.

"The now-detained man was considered a Kandahar-based weapons facilitator with direct ties to other Taliban leaders in the province," the ISAF spokesman added in a statement.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-iranian-officer.html

Thursday, December 23, 2010

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Russia Hails US Nuclear Pact Approval....NSI News Source Info # 1372

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources

(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - December 23, 2010: President Dmitry Medvedev has welcomed the US Senate's decision to ratify a landmark US-Russian nuclear arms control treaty, but Russian legislators said they need to study a resolution accompanying the document before following suit.

Medvedev's spokeswoman Natalya Timakova said on Thursday that when he signed the New START treaty with President Barack Obama, they agreed that the ratification process should be conducted simultaneously.

She said that Medvedev voiced hope that both houses of Russian parliament would ratify the pact, but added that they would need some time to analyse the Senate's conditions for its ratification before making their decision.

Legislators in the Kremlin-controlled parliament had said before the Senate landmark ruling on Wednesday that they would approve the treaty quickly after it was ratified in the US

Lower house speaker Boris Gryzlov, however, told reporters on Thursday that the Senate's ratification resolution contained some conditions and the legislators need to study the text carefully before making their decision.

He added that the State Duma may ratify the pact on Friday if the text of the treaty itself remained unchanged.

"If these conditions don't change the text of the treaty, we may pass a ratification bill even tomorrow," Gryzlov said.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-russia-hails-us.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Pakistan TODAY December 23, 2010 - ISI Chief Won't Appear In US Court Over 26/11: Pakistan PM....NSI News Source Info # 1371

*No force can make ISI chief to appear before US court: Gilani

* Govt to take no dictation on North Waziristan: PM

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Indo-Asian News Service

(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - December 23, 2010: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday declared that the country's spy master will not appear in any US court in connection with the Mumbai terror attack. Addressing the National Assembly, he said the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) "is a sensitive agency of the Pakistani military and it is unimaginable that we will force their officers to appear in the US court on foreign dictation".

Gilani was responding to a fiery speech by opposition leader Nisar Ali Khan who took the government to task over what he described as a failed foreign policy.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-pakistan-today_23.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: South Korea Conducts Fresh Military Exercise North Of Seoul....NSI News Source Info # 1370

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Seonjin Cha and Shinhye KangBloomberg

(NSI News Source Info) SEOUL, South Korea - December 23, 2010: South Korea began a one-day military exercise involving jet fighters and mobile artillery in an area between Seoul and the Demilitarized Zone that separates the nation from its communist neighbor.

About 800 troops joined the drill near Pocheon, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with North Korea, said an official at the Defense Ministry who declined to be named, citing government policy. The exercise began at around 2:42 p.m., according to a pooled report from journalists.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-south-korea.html

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

DTN News - SPECIAL REPORT: *Afghan National Army (ANA) ~ Afghanistan In Pictures Of The Day - December 22, 2010....NSI News Source Info # 1369

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 22, 2010: The Afghan National Army (ANA) is divided into five combat Corps. The Corps function as regional commands and are deployed throughout the country. In addition to the 201st Corps in Kabul, the 203rd in based in Gardez, the 205th Corps is based in Kandahar, the 207th Corps is based in Herat, the 209th Corps is based in Mazar-e-Sharif. The kandak, or battalion, of 600 troops is the basic unit of the ANA. Most kandaks are infantry units. As of April 2009, there were roughly 80,000 soldiers in the ANA.

The U.S. with the help of international partners including the U.K, France, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Romania, Bulgaria and Mongolia are tasked with creating a functional Afghan National Army. The Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A) has the primary responsibility for training and mentoring of the ANA while formal training courses are administered at the Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC), National Military Academy of Afghanistan (NMAA), or Command and General Staff College (CGSC).

While CSTC-A has primary responsibility for managing the training and mentoring of all ANA forces, CJTF-Phoenix, under the CSTC-A command, has the specific responsibility to “mentor the ANA in leadership, staff , and support functions; planning, assessing, supporting, and execution of operations; and training doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures.”

Currently, Task Force Phoenix has one brigade-sized element and resources from the Air Force, Navy, Marines and various contractors. The increase in forces over the course of 2009 will nearly double the troops in TF-Phoenix.

After 5 years of training, mentoring and capacity building, the ANA has begun to show substantive, measurable results. In 2007, the ANA led 45 percent of all operations, participating and assisting in many more. This grew to 62 percent in the spring and summer of 2008, as the ANA is increasingly capable of leading operations.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-special-report-afghan-national.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing Receives US Air Force Contract For C-17 Training Devices....NSI News Source Info # 1368

(NSI News Source Info) ST. LOUIS, - December 22, 2010: The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced it has received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to deliver C-17 training devices to three sites. The contract value is $44 million initially and up to $72 million if two options are exercised.The first set of devices is an Integrated Training Center (ITC) to be delivered to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in the first quarter of 2012. The ITC will consist of a weapon systems trainer, pilot and co-pilot station, loadmaster station and related courseware and support equipment. A second weapon systems trainer will be installed at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., in the third quarter of 2012 and a third ITC will go to a new C-17 training site in early 2013.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-boeing-receives.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Lockheed Martin Receives Order From U.S. Customs And Border Protection For Additional P-3 Orion MLU Kits....NSI News # 1367

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Lockheed Martin Receives Order From U.S. Customs And Border Protection For Additional P-3 Orion MLU Kits....NSI News Source Info # 1367

(NSI News Source Info) MARIETTA, Ga., - December 22, 2010: Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] recently received an order for two additional P-3 Orion Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) kits from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The order brings the total number of CBP P-3s on contract to receive the MLU to 11 with an option for five additional kits in 2011.

“This award reinforces CBP’s support of our proven, cost-effective solution for providing the P-3 fleet with 20-plus years of added operational capability,” said Ray Burick, Lockheed Martin P-3 Programs and Greenville Operations vice president. “CBP has been a forward thinking partner in our MLU program, and we look forward to strengthening this relationship.”

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-lockheed-martin_22.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Israel Moving Tank Defense System Near Gaza....NSI News Source Info # 1366

(NSI News Source Info) JERUSALEM, Israel - December 22, 2010: Israeli defense officials say the army will deploy tanks equipped with a miniature missile defense system near the Gaza border now that Palestinians are using a tank-piercing missile.

The officials allege the Kornet missiles the militants possess came from Iran. They provided no proof.

The officials spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss such matters.

At a time of rising violence along the Gaza border, Israel's military chief disclosed Tuesday that militants fired a Kornet for the first time earlier this month, puncturing an Israeli tank.

As a result, the defense officials say Israel has decided to move dozens of tanks equipped with the new Israeli-developed system, which detects incoming projectiles and shoots them down before they reach the armored vehicles.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-israel-moving.html

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: India, Russia Sign Deal For Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft....NSI News Source Info # 1365

(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - December 21, 2010: New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) Taking defence cooperation to a new level, India and Russia today signed a deal for design and development of advanced fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) estimated to cost USD 295 million, the first such venture between them.

The contract envisages joint development of preliminary design contract (PDC) for the advanced fighter jet and will involve Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) from India and the Sukhoi Design Bureau and Rosoboronexport on the Russian side.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-india-russia-sign.html

Asian Defense News: Strong quake hits northern Indonesia....NSI News Source Info # 1364

JAKARTA — A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Indonesia's Sumatra island Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, placing its epicentre near the site of the devastating December 2004 quake.

There was no immediate tsunami warning.

The moderate quake struck Simeulue island at a depth of 18 kilometres (11 miles miles) at 9.07 pm local time (1407 GMT), with its epicentre 312 kilometres west of Medan on the Sumatra mainland and 315 kilometres southeast of Bandah Aceh, the USGS said.

The 9.1-magnitude earthquake of December 26, 2004, one of the most powerful ever measured, struck in the strait between Simeulue and Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity.

http://asiandefensenews.blogspot.com/2010/12/asian-defense-news-strong-quake-hits.html

Asian Defense News: Major 7.4-magnitude quake hits near Japanese islands: USGS....NSI News Source Info # 1363

TOKYO — A major 7.4-magnitude quake struck southern Japan Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, with people in nearby coastal regions told to evacuate ahead of a possible two-metre-high tsunami.

The quake was followed just over 20 minutes later by two aftershocks, a minute apart, of 5.6-magnitude.

The quake hit at 3:19 am local time (1719 GMT Tuesday), 153 kilometres (95 miles) east of Chichi-shima in Japan's remote Bonin island region and at a shallow depth of just 14 kilometres.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a destructive widespread tsunami.

http://asiandefensenews.blogspot.com/2010/12/asian-defense-news-major-74-magnitude.html

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Pakistan TODAY December 21, 2010 - U.S. Military Seeks To Expand Raids In Pakistan....NSI News Source Info # 1362

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - December 21, 2010: Senior American military commanders in Afghanistan are pushing for an expanded campaign of Special Operations ground raids across the border into Pakistan’s tribal areas, a risky strategy reflecting the growing frustration with Pakistan’s efforts to root out militants there.

The proposal, described by American officials in Washington and Afghanistan, would escalate military activities inside Pakistan, where the movement of American forces has been largely prohibited because of fears of provoking a backlash.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-pakistan-today.html

Monday, December 20, 2010

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Boeing-Built C-17 Fleet Surpasses 2 Million Flight Hours....NSI News Source Info # 1361

(NSI News Source Info) LONG BEACH, Calif.,- December 20, 2010: The worldwide fleet of C-17 Globemaster III airlifters built by The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] surpassed 2 million flying hours during an airdrop mission over Afghanistan on Dec. 10. Reaching 2 million flight hours equates to 1.13 billion nautical miles – the equivalent of a C-17 flying to the moon and back 2,360 times.

The representative mission, flown by a U.S. Air Force C-17, airdropped 74,000 pounds of jet fuel in support of U.S. and coalition troops just south of Kabul.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2010/12/dtn-news-defense-news-boeing-built-c-17.html

Asian Defense News: Five killed in restive Thai south: police....NSI News Source Info # 1360

YALA, Thailand (AFP) - – Five people, including at least two soldiers, were killed in the latest wave of violence in Thailand's insurgency-plagued far south, police said.
Unknown gunmen travelling in a pick-up truck on Saturday shot dead two government troops providing security for Buddhist monks receiving alms in Yala, one of three Muslim-majority southern provinces under a state of emergency.
http://asiandefensenews.blogspot.com/2010/12/asian-defense-news-five-killed-in.html

Asian Defense News: Philippines to adopt US strategy in counter-insurgency starting....NSI News Source Info # 1359

Left-leaning Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano said Oplan Bayanihan was patterned after the US Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Guide in January 2009, which shifts the strategy of combating insurgency toward a "whole of nation and people-centered" approach.

http://asiandefensenews.blogspot.com/2010/12/asian-defense-news-philippines-to-adopt.html

Asian Defense News: Indonesia police say aged cleric was terror chief....NSI News Source Info # 1358

SOLO, Indonesia (AFP) - – Indonesian police on Tuesday revealed fresh details of the terrorism allegations against radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, saying he was the figurehead of a new Al-Qaeda-style terror network.

National Anti-Terror Agency (BNPT) director Petrus Golose said the grizzled 72-year-old preacher was assembling a new network featuring some of the region's most wanted militants when their plans were discovered in February.

http://asiandefensenews.blogspot.com/2010/12/asian-defense-news-indonesia-police-say.html

Asian Defense News: China PM vows to boost ties with Pakistan....NSI News Source Info # 1357

ISLAMABAD (AFP) AFP - Monday, December 20 - – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed Sunday to boost strategic cooperation with Pakistan as he wrapped up a three-day visit to Islamabad that concluded deals worth around 35 billion dollars.

"It is our collective objective to strengthen strategic ties between our two countries," he told a joint session of Pakistan's parliament before returning to China Sunday afternoon.

http://asiandefensenews.blogspot.com/2010/12/asian-defense-news-china-pm-vows-to.html

Asian Defense News: NKorea says won't hit back over SKorean drills....NSI News Source Info # 1356

YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea – South Korea's military staged live-fire drills from an island just miles (kilometers) from rival NorthKorea's shores Monday, despite Pyongyang's threats of catastrophic retaliation for the maneuvers.Seoul launched fighter jets, evacuated hundreds of residents near its tense land border with the North and sent residents of islands near disputed waters into underground bunkers in case of attack, but the North finally said it would hold its own fire.

http://asiandefensenews.blogspot.com/2010/12/asian-defense-news-nkorea-says-wont-hit.html