Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Rosoboronexport – A New Format Of Strategic Cooperation With India

Rosoboronexport – A New Format Of Strategic Cooperation With India
(NSI News Source Info) February 12, 2009: The 7th Biennial International Aerospace Exhibition, Aero India 2009, will be held at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bangalore, India, from 11 to 15 February 2009. Its organizer is India’s Ministry of Defense (Department of Defense Production). The present exhibition will be a significant event not only for the Asia Pacific region, but also for the world’s major manufacturers of combat and civilian aerospace equipment and air defense facilities. The air show is expected to be dominated by India’s tender to supply the national Air Force with 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). In January 2004, the Indian Navy signed a contract for the delivery of 12 MiG-29K and 4 MiG-29KUB which will be operated from INS Vikramaditya. The first MiG-29KUB manufactured for the Navy took to the skies in May 2008. Delivery of the aircraft to India started in September 2008. In September 2008, the Indian Navy confirmed the purchase of an additional 30 MiG-29Ks and -KUBs for the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier. Nearly 600 foreign and domestic companies will be showcasing their products at Aero India 2009. This stems from a desire amongst major aircraft manufacturers to enter competition for large arms procurement orders under the Indian Air Force Modernization Program. In turn, many countries in the region show interest in modern combat planes and helicopters, weapons and avionics as well as in upgrading their national military arsenals. Certainly, the global financial crisis has somewhat affected the arms market. However, its impact on military-technical cooperation turned out not to be as severe as on the other sectors of the world economy. This primarily pertains to the countries not dependent on petrodollars. The specialists and guests will be able to see tens of various combat and civilian planes. Helicopters will be widely exhibited which is caused by the Indian Army’s plans to procure 500 light helicopters in the coming ten years to meet the needs of its airmobile units. The exhibitors will showcase a diverse lineup of training facilities, engines, avionics, missile and bombing armament. According to RF Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation’s decision, the Rostekhnologii State Corporation is the organizer of the Russian exposition. The federal state unitary enterprise Rosoboronexport, the sole state intermediary agency in the field of military-technical cooperation with foreign countries, will participate in Aero India 2009 under the aegis of the State Corporation. The unified Russian delegation is headed by Alexander Fomin, first deputy chairman of the RF Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation. Viktor Komardin, deputy director general of Rosoboronexport, will head the enterprise’s delegation. A 1000 sq. m exhibition area will accommodate stands of 20 Russian exhibitors displaying armaments, military equipment, and aerospace products as full-scale hardware, models, advertising leaflets and posters. The content and dimensions of the Russian stands, planned meetings and negotiations will be focused on further strengthening Russia’s military-technical cooperation with its long and reliable partners in MTC as well as on looking for new would-be purchasers of aircraft and armaments made by Russia independently or jointly with foreign partners in production.India, hosting this traditional air show, has been our most important strategic partner for over several decades. Moscow and Delhi currently implement the 2001-2010 Military-Technical Cooperation Program valued at US$ 18 billion. Most defense deliveries under the Program have been completed or are in the final phase. In December 2008, the Intergovernmental Commission for MTC defined a strategy for the bilateral relations in the period through 2020. Among the ongoing major projects are the delivery of Mi-17V-5 transport helicopters to the Indian AF, license production of Su-30MKI aircraft and T-90S tanks, and Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft modernization. In addition, the Russian defense industry fulfills Indian delivery orders for MiG-29K, MiG-29KUB fighters and Ka-31 helicopters. The trend seen in recent years is a growing Indian industry’s involvement in the development and production of Russian aircraft for the Indian Air Force. The bilateral cooperation is advancing to a qualitatively new level: from arms deliveries to in-depth joint R&D efforts, purchase of Russian technologies and licensed production of armaments and military equipment in India. Our MTC features a high level of cooperation and trust in carrying out joint R&Ds and production of armaments and military equipment. This meets Moscow and Delhi’s strategic and mutually beneficial interests. Much attention is paid now to the joint Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MTA) program. The MTA is initially planned as a double-use transport. It has to meet the demanding requirements of the military and yet be commercially attractive. The technical and financial risks involved are shared between Russia and India. Once launched into production, the new aircraft will replace military transports operational with the two countries. Another contract signed by Rosoboronexport late last year calls for active joint development efforts on a fifth-generation fighter. It is planned that the future aircraft will use a new platform with up-to-date technical components, including stealth technologies. The fighter will combine super maneuverability and supersonic speed, long range and high counter-air defense capability. It will be fitted with a new-architecture multifunction avionics suite. In the engine area, Russia has transferred to India production documentation for such a high-tech product as the RD-33 Series 3 aircraft engine. Our country is developing the AL-55I turbojet intended to power the Indian HJT-36 trainer. Over the past 40-plus years the volume of Russian and Indian military-technical cooperation has exceeded US$ 35 billion. India accounts for around one third of Russia’s total arms exports. Moreover, aircraft products make up the bulk of the deliveries. Such a large-scale and growing pattern of the partnership relations helps further strengthen the traditional friendly ties between our nations and armed forces. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to India held early last December confirmed this once again. India has always strived to buy the newest weapons from Russia. That is why it now possesses the most up-to-date weapons and military equipment. The Russian defense industry and Rosoboronexport’s exhibit at Aero India 2009 will contribute to the expansion and strengthening of the cooperation. Russia’s MiG-35 fighter will surely draw strong interest among the guests and exhibitors. It was on display at the previous exhibition in Bangalore, but now the visitors and specialists will be able to see and assess the flight performance of the machine that has embodied the Indian AF’s best operating experience with previous MiG aircraft. It is this aircraft that will compete in the tender to supply 126 MMRCA fighters to the Indian AF. The Russian aircraft has perfect aerodynamic lines and has acquired incredible super maneuverability, owing to an exclusive thrust vector control technology. None of MiG-35’s rivals can boast such capability which gives it an undeniable edge in real air combat. Furthermore, heavy use of composites in the frame has made the aircraft less observable to enemy radars. The fighter’s double weapons load and 1.5-fold higher fuel capacity compared to its predecessor are also its irresistible benefits. The Zhuk-AE active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar is a unique component of the MiG-35, which was proposed for the tender by Rosoboronexport and Russian Aircraft Corporation (RSK) MiG. The radar can track up to 30 targets and attack simultaneously up to six most dangerous of them. Its target detection range of 140-160 km also wins admiration and can be further extended to 250-280 km when more receive/transmit modules are used. Along with its powerful precision-guided weapons, high-performance active self-defense system and superb performance characteristics, the lightweight MiG-35 has turned into a medium-sized aircraft – a superfighter of the 21st century. The participants and guests of the show will be able to be convinced once again of the advantages of the Su-30MK2 multi-role super maneuverable fighter intended to win air superiority and engage surface and ground targets with precision weapons. The fighter can effectively perform missions both independently and as part of a group in any weather. Visitors will also be able to get acquainted with the performance characteristics and capabilities of the Yakovlev Yak-130 combat trainer. Its aerodynamic layout and powerplant and system parameters allow flying in almost all flight conditions typical of current and future combat aircraft. The Russian delegation will also demonstrate the Mi-35M transport/attack helicopter. Its combat capabilities and flight performance have been markedly improved through installation of a day/night surveillance and targeting system, new engines and a new rotor system. It can operate 24 hours a day in hot climate and mountain conditions. The Mi-35M is the sole attack helicopter in the world capable of handling assault, airlift and medevac missions. The lineup of Russian helicopters includes also the Mi-26 heavy-lift military transport helicopter, the world’s biggest freighter. It can carry equipment and large-sized cargos weighing up to 20 tons inside the cabin and externally. In terms of load-carrying capacity, the Mi-26 is comparable to the US C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft. Rosoboronexport’s stand displays air defense weapons as well. The Tor-M1 and Buk-M2E SAM systems, able to effectively destroy enemy tactical and strategic planes, helicopters, cruise missiles and other targets, offer a great export potential. “India and Russia are the countries possessing high-tech capabilities and having a long history of mutually beneficial military-technical cooperation,” said Viktor Komardin, head of Rosoboronexport’s delegation. “We’ve taken part in all the seven air shows in Bangalore. We hope that during meetings and talks with our partners in MTC at the exhibition we’ll implement the accords reached during the recent visit by President Dmitry Medvedev to India as well as prepare new mutually beneficial agreements and establish promising contacts.
Rosoboronexport State Corporation
Tel.: (+7 495) 637-99-15
Fax: (+7 495) 202-45-94
E-mail: media @ post.rusarm.ru
Web-site : www.rusarm.ru

Three Taliban Attacks Kill 20 In Kabul

Three Taliban Attacks Kill 20 In Kabul
(NSI News Source Info) February 12, 2009: Taliban extremists on Wednesday launched three attacks in Kabul that killed more than 20 people, underscoring the increasingly challenging security environment as the US prepares to send more troops. Barack Obama, US president, is expected to follow through on his campaign promise to increase the US focus on Afghanistan by announcing plans to deploy more US soldiers to the war-torn country. Wearing suicide bomb vests and wielding attack rifles, eight militants stormed three government buildings, including the justice and education ministries. The simultaneous attacks in the heavily fortified capital came on the eve of the visit of Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Afghan policemen secure the area after a suicide attack in Kabul February 11, 2009. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a government building in the Afghan capital on Wednesday while a gunbattle broke out near the presidential palace, police and witnesses said.
“We are reminded today of the brutal tactics that extremists like the Taliban wish to employ ... It hardens our resolve to get the next steps in Afghanistan right,” said Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary. General David McKiernan, the US commander in Afghanistan, has requested about 30,000 more troops. Robert Gates, US defence secretary, has said the Pentagon could deploy an initial three brigades – roughly 12,000 troops – before the end of the summer if Mr Obama approves the move. While Mr Obama is expected to pay more attention to Afghanistan than George W. Bush, senior officials have already played down expectations for what the US can achieve. Mr Gates recently told Congress that the US would “lose” in Afghanistan if the goal was to create “some sort of Central Asian Valhalla”. The White House is also awaiting the results of a three-month assessment being conducted by General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, which overseas military operations in Afghanistan. That report, and another by the joint chiefs of staff, is expected to recommend that the US focus more on al-Qaeda militants, particularly those in safe havens inside Pakistan. Pakistan also saw an attack on Wednesday when the city of Peshawar was hit by a bomb that killed at least one person. That attack came as Mr Holbrooke visited the city as part of a trip to the border regions at the heart of US concerns.
Afghan security forces rushed to secure the Ministry of Justice. Taliban suicide bombers struck government buildings at three sites in Kabul February 11, 2009., killing at least 20 people and wounding 57 in coordinated attacks that demonstrated the ease with which the insurgents can penetrate even Afghanistan's heavily fortified capital. Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, has asked Mr Holbrooke to “co-ordinate across the entire government in an effort to achieve US strategic goals” in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In a move that sparked confusion about the role of Mr Holbrooke, the White House this week said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official, will head an administration review of policy towards the two countries. Mr Holbrooke and Michelle Flournoy, undersecretary of defence for policy, will co-chair the review, which is expected to be concluded before a Nato summit on April 3-4.

Venezuela To Receive 6 Chinese Planes In January

Venezuela To Receive 6 Chinese Planes In January
(NSI News Source Info) CARACAS - February 12, 2009: Venezuela will take delivery in 2010 of the first six of eight K-8 Karakorum trainer or light attack planes it bought from China, to be used in the antidrugs fight, a military official said Feb. 11. In 2008 Venezuela announced the purchase 18 K-8 aircraft "to train fighter pilots." The planes could be part of Venezuela's air force by 2009. The Hongdu JL-8 (or Nanchang JL-8), also known as the K-8 Karakorum, is a two-seat basic trainer and light attack aircraft built in joint-cooperation between the People's Republic of China (China Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation) and Pakistan (Pakistan Aeronautical Complex). The contractor for this plane is the Hongdu Aviation Industry Corporation. Export versions are designated K-8 Karakorum, after the mountain range that separates China and Pakistan. "In January 2010, we will have the first six in Venezuela, and before the middle of 2010 there will be 18 flying in Venezuelan airspace," said Gen. Jesus Gonzalez, who leads the Operational Strategic Command. The two-seater will be test flown by Venezuelan pilots in China before they are taken apart and shipped to Venezuela, he added. Russia, China and Belarus are Venezuela's main military suppliers.

Eurocopter Hopes To Replace Chetak

Eurocopter Hopes To Replace Chetak
(NSI News Source Info) Bangalore - February 12, 2009: Eurocopter, the European helicopter major, is hoping to see its AS550 Fennec replacing the Cheetah and Chetak helicopters that have been the mainstay of the Army and the Air Force for over four decades. Cheetah and Chetak have been helping the armed forces from Siachen to the Thar desert. Eurocopter will showcase its models of its military range which are proposed to the Indian armed forces. For the replacement for the Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, Eurocopter sees itself being among the frontrunners. “For a good product pay the right price,” said Rainer Farid, senior vice president sales and marketing, Eurocopter. In February 2007, India selected the AS550 C3 Fennec over the Bell 407 helicopter in a deal for 197 helicopters worth 500 million USD. This deal was suspended in June 2007 because of concerns of alleged corruption in the bidding process, and cancelled outright on 6 December 2007. The contract is now being re-competed, and the AS550 C3 is among the helicopters competing for the deal. But, he refused to divulge the price at which Eurocopter is offering the craft. India seeks to buy 197 helicopters for its defence forces and there is no dearth of suitors wanting to grab the project. The firm, which promises that there will be no cost escalation, says when you pay the price quality will not suffer. If Eurocopter wins the contract along with its partner, it will set up an assembly line just as it has done in Brazil. The firm also promises to supply same machines as it has done in the European Union. Eurocopter is showcasing its military range of helicopters — Fennec, Tiger and EC725. The AS550 Fennec is in operation with Singapore Armed Forces, the Royal Australian Army, the Brazilian Army and Air Force, the Danish Army, the French Army and the United Arab Emirates Army. Over 3,200 helicopters of the family have been ordered of which 2,500 have been delivered. The Tiger, which is an attack helicopter has seen 206 of them being ordered and 48 of them being delivered, mostly to European countries. The EC725 is also capable of performing medical transport and logistical services. It is said to be suitable for naval missions.

FAAC Incorporated Receives USMC Operator Driving Simulator Contract Modification Valued At $4.0M To Include Additional Key International Installations

FAAC Incorporated Receives USMC Operator Driving Simulator Contract Modification Valued At $4.0M To Include Additional Key International Installations
(NSI News Source Info) Ann Arbor, Michigan – February 12, 2009: FAAC Incorporated, part of Arotech Corporation’s Training and Simulation Division, has received a contract modification valued at $4.0M. The modification adds a dual-simulator mobile system for Marine Corp Air Station Iwakuni, Japan; three full-motion 6DOF simulators for Camp Hansen Okinawa, Japan; and 3 additional dual-simulator mobile systems for U.S. based Marine Force Reserve sites. This modification to FAAC’s contract with the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command, Program Manager for Training Systems (PM TRASYS), increases the total number of USMC ODS systems procured to 26 systems with a total of 51 simulators. The USMC ODS originally employed in operations of M1114 Up-Armored HMMWV and MK-23 with Marine Armor System has been extended to include USMC Mine Resistance Ambush Protected fleet of vehicles: 4 x 4 Cougar Category I, 6 x 6 Cougar Category II, and 6 x 6 Buffalo Category III vehicle. "The advantage of this system is that it is a one-stop shop for commanders who can train their Marines on a range of tactical vehicles," said Capt Garrett Hager, PM TRASYS USMC ODS Project Officer, quoted in the Show Daily during the recent Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando in December 2008. About Arotech’s Training and Simulation Division Arotech’s Training and Simulation Division (ATSD) provides world-class simulation based training solutions. ATSD develops, manufactures, and markets advanced high-tech multimedia and interactive digital solutions for engineering, use-of-force, and driver training simulations for military, law enforcement, security, municipal and private industry personnel.
The division’s fully interactive driver-training systems feature state-of-the-art vehicle simulator technology enabling training in situation awareness, risk analysis and decision-making, emergency reaction and avoidance procedures, and conscientious equipment operation.
The division’s use-of-force training products and services allow organizations to train their personnel in safe, productive, and realistic environments. The division provides consulting and developmental support for engineering simulation solutions.
The division also supplies pilot decision-making support software for the F-15, F-16, F-18, and JSF aircraft, as well as simulation models for the ACMI/TACTS air combat training ranges.

Pakistan Wants More From U.S.

Pakistan Wants More From U.S.
By Karen DeYoung - Washington Post Staff Writer
(NSI News Source Info) February 12, 2009: Inside the warm welcome and promises of a "new beginning" that Pakistan extended U.S. special envoy Richard C. Holbrooke yesterday was a warning that Pakistan expects more from the United States in return for its cooperation against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Statements issued by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani after meeting with the envoy, who is in Islamabad on the first stop of a regional tour, emphasized the need to "expedite" a new, multi-billion dollar U.S. aid package, and "the importance of enhanced cooperation in defense and intelligence sharing."
U.S. Special Representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, right, shakes hands with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi prior to their meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Holbrooke is in Pakistan on a three-day official visit to hold talks with Pakistani leadership to discuss the bilateral, regional and international issues. Holbrooke said only that he was there "to listen and learn the ground realities of this critically important country." The visit is the first step in what the Obama administration sees as a complex and delicate effort to stabilize Pakistan's civilian democracy even as it strengthens the Pakistani military and brings it more in synch with U.S. counterterrorism goals in the region, including the war effort in Afghanistan. Although his writ does not officially extend beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan, Holbrooke will also visit India as the administration tries to improve Pakistan-India relations and allay the tension between the two nuclear powers. The administration is formulating a more regional strategy it hopes will arrest the deterioration in the seven-year Afghan war and allow it to move more aggressively against al-Qaeda. But while administration officials said the strategy will acknowledge Pakistan's crucial role, they said that developing a new relationship with Islamabad is likely to be a years-long process, with intertwined challenges making it time-consuming and costly. "Not having patience makes all the sense in the world in terms of the Afghanistan threat," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen said in a recent interview. But in Pakistan, he said, "there is not a quick answer," and any new U.S. strategy will have to "recognize the tension" between near- and far-term objectives. The next step, U.S. and Pakistani officials said, will be a visit to the United States later this month by Pakistani army Chief of Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani. In late 2007, Kiyani replaced Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who also served as Pakistan's president under the military government that took over in a 1999 coup that led to congressional restrictions on U.S.-Pakistani military contacts. Since last year, senior U.S. military officials have assiduously courted Kiyani as the key to making up lost ground in the relationship and persuading the Pakistani military to turn its attention away from the perceived threat from India and toward extremist sanctuaries on the Afghan border. Pakistan's weak civilian government is doing its own balancing act. The Pakistani public is increasingly anti-American and Zardari's political opponents charge that he is too close to Washington. Increased U.S. military and civil assistance, the government has argued, will improve Pakistan's counterterrorism performance, make it easier to cooperate with U.S. goals, and ensure the survival of the civilian government. Kiyani will press existing requests for increased military aid in several categories, including Cobra attack helicopters, night vision equipment, and equipment to jam extremist radio transmissions, intercept satellite telephone communications, and improve communication among Pakistani military units in the extremist-ridden mountains of the western Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA. Pakistan would also like at least to "be in the room" when targeting decisions for CIA aerial drone attacks in the FATA are made, a senior Pakistani official said. Pakistan also wants more funding stability and recognition of the leading role it plays in U.S. counterterrorism campaigns. "We are a front-ranked state," the official said. "We want government money to come in the same way it is given to Afghanistan and Iraq." Congressional funding for war and development costs in those countries has been approved outside of normal budgetary channels through supplemental appropriations subject to fewer restrictions. Mullen cited a number of positive steps Kiyani has taken, including: replacing the former head of Pakistan's intelligence service, who was widely mistrusted by the CIA, with a close army ally; appointing a new chief for the Frontier Corps, the local force in the FATA; and doubling Frontier Corps salaries. Although more than half of the 10,000 additional troops Pakistan sent to the FATA over the past year were redeployed to the Indian border after Pakistani-based terrorists attacked the Indian city of Mumbai last fall, new Pakistani deployments to the west are planned, another senior U.S. military official said. In a news conference following a meeting with Holbrooke, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan and the United States would have "to sit together to understand the implications" of a planned doubling of U.S. troops in Afghanistan this year, and what he said would have to be an accompanying "civilian surge" in Pakistan. "By civilian surge," he said, "I mean greater focus on socioeconomic development and greater political engagement with the reconcilable elements" among extremists. Qureshi said the United States and Pakistan had agreed to form teams to examine all elements of their bilateral relationship, including "what went wrong in the last seven years." The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is reformulating a massive U.S. development assistance program for Pakistan, including at least $1.5 billion annually for the next five years, most of it focused on development aid for the FATA and surrounding regions. The bill is likely to have strong support from President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who co-sponsored it in the Senate last year before it died after committee passage. Committee chairman Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass) said the amount of aid may be increased in legislation he said was likely to be completed "in a matter of days." The committee, he said, is still trying to determine the relationship between military and non-military aid packages "and how does one leverage the other." The legislation will include benchmarks allowing Congress to judge Pakistani military and civil performance. "We have no problems with greater transparence and accountability," the Pakistani official said. "But the funding cannot stop."

Al Qaeda Deploys Paramilitary 'Shadow Army'

Al Qaeda Deploys Paramilitary 'Shadow Army'
Long War Journalby Bill Roggio
(NSI News Source Info) February 12, 2009: Al Qaeda has reorganized its notorious paramilitary formations that were devastated during the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002. Al Qaeda has reestablished the predominantly Arab and Asian paramilitary formation that was formerly known as Brigade 055 into a larger, more effective fighting unit known as the Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army, a senior US intelligence official told The Long War Journal. The Shadow Army is active primarily in Pakistan's tribal areas, the Northwest Frontier Province, and in eastern and southern Afghanistan, several US military and intelligence officials told The Long War Journal on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject. The paramilitary force is well trained and equipped, and has successfully defeated the Pakistani Army in multiple engagements. Inside Pakistan, the Shadow Army has been active in successful Taliban campaigns in North and South Waziristan, Bajaur, Peshawar, Khyber, and Swat. In Afghanistan, the Shadow Army has conducted operations against Coalition and Afghan forces in Kunar, Nuristan, Nangahar, Kabul, Logar, Wardak, Khost, Paktika, Paktia, Zabul, Ghazni, and Kandahar provinces.
"The Shadow Army has been instrumental in the Taliban's consolidation of power in Pakistan's tribal areas and in the Northwest Frontier Province," a senior intelligence official said. "They are also behind the Taliban's successes in eastern and southern Afghanistan. They are helping to pinch Kabul." Afghan and Pakistan-based Taliban forces have integrated elements of their forces into the Shadow Army, "especially the Tehrik-e-Taliban and Haqqani Network," a senior US military intelligence official said. "It is considered a status symbol" for groups to be a part of the Shadow Army. The Tehrik-e-Taliban is the Pakistani Taliban movement led by Baitullah Mehsud, the South Waziristan leader who has defeated Pakistani Army forces in conventional battles. The Haqqani Network straddles the Afghan-Pakistani border and has been behind some of the most high-profile attacks in Afghanistan. The Shadow Army's effectiveness has placed the group in the crosshairs of the covert US air campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas. In October 2008, the US killed Khalid Habib al Shami, the leader of the Shadow Army, in a strike on a compound in North Waziristan. The presence of the Shadow Army has been evident for some time, as there have been numerous reports of joint operations between the Taliban, al Qaeda and other terror groups. In January 2008, The Long War Journal noted that the various terror groups were cycling through the numerous camps in the tribal areas and have organized under a military structure. While the Shadow Army has been active, there has been little visual evidence of its existence until now. The Long War Journal has obtained a photograph of a unit from the Shadow Army operating in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled district of Swat. The photograph was taken some time in January of this year. It shows what appears to be either a reinforced squad or two squads of foot soldiers. Fourteen fighters are in view, and others appear to be in the far background. All of the fighters are wearing masks, new clothes, sneakers, and web gear. One fighters is wearing a Camelbak. The weapons are uniform; six AK-47s and one RPG are in view. The type of masks worn and the tennis shoes are also strong indicators that these fighters "are non-Afghan fighters," an expert on the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan said. "Those types of masks I have seen, and they are always on the Pakistani side of the border," the expert said. "The tennis shoes and socks are a big indicator that they are non-Afghan fighters, probably Pakistanis or Arab/Central Asian fighters." The Shadow Army is organized under a military structure, a US military intelligence officer familiar with the situation in northwestern Pakistan informed The Long War Journal. There are units analogous to battalion, brigade, and division formations found in Western armies. The re-formed Brigade 055 is but one of an estimated three to four brigades in the Shadow Army. Several other Arab brigades have been formed, some consisting of former members of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guards as well as Saudis, Yemenis, Egyptians, North Africans and others. During the reign of the Taliban in Afghanistan prior to the US invasion in 2001, the 055 Brigade served as "the shock troops of the Taliban and functioned as an integral part of the latter's military apparatus," al Qaeda expert Rohan Gunaratna wrote in "Inside al Qaeda." At its peak in 2001, the 055 Brigade had an estimated 2,000 soldiers and officers in the ranks. The 055 Brigade has "completely reformed and is surpassing pre-2001 standards," an official said. The other brigades are also considered well trained. One official said the mixing of the various Taliban and al Qaeda units has made distinctions between the groups somewhat meaningless. "The line between the Taliban and al Qaeda is increasingly blurred, especially from a command and control perspective," the official said. "Are Faqir Mohammed, Baitullah Mehsud, Hakeemullah Mehsud, Ilyas Kashmiri, Siraj Haqqani, and all the rest 'al Qaeda'?" the official asked, listing senior Taliban commanders in Pakistan that operate closely with al Qaeda. "Probably not in the sense that they maintain their own independent organizations, but the alliance is essentially indistinguishable at this point except at a very abstract level." The Shadow Army has distinguished itself during multiple battles over the past several years, particularly in Pakistan's tribal areas and in the Northwest Frontier Province. Taliban forces under the command of Baitullah Mehsud defeated the Pakistani Army in South Waziristan during fighting in 2005-2006, and again fended off the Pakistani Army in 2008 after fighting pitched battles and overrunning a series of forts. "Even the sniper rifles they use are better than some of ours," the Pakistani official told Dawn "Their tactics are mind-boggling and they have defenses that would take us days to build. It does not look as though we are fighting a rag-tag militia; they are fighting like an organized force." Taliban forces have also conducted battalion-sized operations in Hangu. In July 2008, a Taliban unit laid siege to a police station and a fort in Hangu. The fort was abandoned by the Frontier Corps and the Taliban destroyed it. The effectiveness of the Shadow Army can be seen in a video taken by an Al Jazeera reporter during an operation in Loisam in the Bajaur tribal agency in the fall of 2008. The Taliban forces drive off a battalion-sized assault from regular Pakistani Army troops that are supported by at least a platoon of tanks. The Pakistani tanks are seen racing away from the fighting, and the Pakistani infantry moving in behind them does the same after taking fire. The reporter describes the Pakistani tank commander as "quite shaken." The tank commander calls for airstrikes to take out the Taliban positions, but the infantry and tanks go into full retreat and return to base after the Taliban counterattacks. The Pakistani retreat sent a chill up the spine of a US Army officer who was shown the video. "Clearly the Pakistani forces lack discipline and morale, but even with these problems the combined armor and infantry attack, backed by air support, should have gone better," the officer said. "Those troops have obviously met stiff resistance," the Army officer continued. "You just watched a full battalion, supported by tanks, break contact after an attack by a supposedly undisciplined, 'rag-tag' force of Taliban fighters. For the Taliban to drive off that unit, it has to be organized, disciplined, well-armed, and competent."

Taliban, Pakistan’s Military-Jihadi Complex And The United States

Taliban, Pakistan’s Military-Jihadi Complex And The United States
(NSI News Source Info) February 12, 2009: Some Taliban are allied with Pakistan, against America. Other Taliban are against Pakistan because of America. None of them are ‘moderate’. Choose your pick: aspirin or scotch. You’ll need help to cope with this week’s news from Pakistan. First, there is Mullah Omar and his shura, all but openly operating out of Quetta in Balochistan, reliably with the connivance of Pakistan’s military-jihadi complex. Mullah Omar’s group is primarily interested in fighting Western troops in Afghanistan.
Pakistani police watch a destroyed car after an explosion in Peshawar, in northwest Pakistan, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009. A bomb wounded a secular lawmaker and six other people Wednesday in a Pakistani city close to the Afghan border increasingly under attack by Islamist militants. The bombing in Peshawar took place as U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke toured the region, local TV reports said. Second, there is the Pakistan Taliban, operating out of Bajaur and Swat, in Pakistan’s FATA region. Baitullah Mehsud and Maulana Fazlullah are primarily interested in fighting Pakistani troops in Pakistan (although the converse is not entirely true). Even so, Messrs Mehsud and Fazlullah are patriotic Pakistanis, as the Pakistan’s military spokesman informed us after the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, going to the extent of threatening to attack India in case of the latter declared war on Pakistan. Then again, they just threatened to kill the leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen, for not taking up arms against the Pakistani government. Third, out of the blue, or rather out of the grave the Pakistani army presumably dug for him, comes Mustafa Abu-al Yazid, one of al-Qaeda’s ‘top leaders’, with a video threatening India with all sorts of dire consequences were it to go to war with Pakistan. The video is out of pattern with those released by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri and could well have been the handiwork of the ISI’s psy-ops unit. Confusing? Well, yes. But even so, it should be clear that other than Messrs Mehsud and Fazlullah (who form the core of the Pashtun militant groups that form the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) the Pakistani military establishment is comfortable with the other jihadi groups—whether it is Mullah Omar’s Taliban, al-Qaeda, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and groups fighting in Afghanistan, like the Haqqani militia. And if there is a problem between Mehsud & Fazlullah and the Pakistani government, it is largely due to the deployment of the Pakistani army in FATA. But to the extent that Pakistan’s military establishment complex finds it unacceptable for the Pashtun tribesmen to extend a Taliban-style regime over FATA and NWFP—which will happen if the army backs out completely—this creates trouble for both Pakistan’s civilian government and the military establishment. This is the big problem: and as K Subrahmanyam and M D Nalapat envisage in this month’s Pragati—the war to Talibanise or DeTalibanise Pakistan is inevitable. If we take Hamid Mir’s word for it, the fact that the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen have come under the Pashtun Pakistan Taliban’s crosshairs validates the use of the term "military-jihadi complex", as the military and the jihadi establishments are joined at the hip. But if the Pakistan Taliban carry out their threat, can we expect the Lashkar-e-Taiba to direct its energies against the Mehsuds and the Falzullahs? Actually, it’s not a question of possibility—it ispossible. The more important question is what will it take? Further, the alliance between Mullah Omar and the Pakistani military establishment may well have survived the Bush administration. But there are signs that under Barack Obama, the United States might attempt to crush the Quetta shura, despite Pakistan’s best attempts to convince it otherwise. In the event that the United States manages to sever this alliance then Mullah Omar might well make common cause with Messrs Mehsud and Fazlullah, thereby driving the Pakistan military establishment to side with the United States. Indeed, this is the outcome that Richard Holbrooke and General David Petraeus should be working towards. What about al-Qaeda then? Whatever might happen to its relationships with the Taliban groups, the Pakistani military establishment has an enduring interest—beans, cats and skeletons being involved—in keeping Messrs bin Laden and Zawahiri out of US hands. Besides, it is al-Qaeda that helps Pakistan by providing ’senior leaders’ who can be killed by UAV-fired missiles, and yes, occasionally by appearing in threatening videos.

US Launches Spy Operation Over North Korea

US Launches Spy Operation Over North Korea
(NSI News Source Info) February 12, 2009: The United States military has launched an intensive spying operation over North Korea, amid reports that the isolated totalitarian state may be about to test fire short range missiles close to its disputed sea border with South Korea. A US military spokesman confirmed that unspecified monitoring “assets” – probably including spy satellites and high altitude spy planes – have been moved into position amid reports of imminent missile launches, after unusual movements by shipping in the area. South Korean officials confirmed the sudden disappearance of Chinese fishing boats from an area off the north-west coast of the Korean peninsula, possibly because of a shipping warning in advance of missile firing exercises. North Korea regularly test fires such short range ship-to-ship missiles which do not, in themselves, pose an immediate threat to its neighbours. But the timing of such a test this week would be provocative, coming as it does after Pyongyang renounced military agreements with the South, and just before Hillary Clinton’s first visit to Asia as US secretary of state. “We're watching those things closely with all the assets we have,” Marine Major Bradley Gordon, a spokesman for the US Pacific Command, said. “We've got all sorts of sensors all around the area. But I won't say what or where they are.” Mrs Clinton told the government of North Korea that its recent threats and military posturing are “unacceptable”, and promised to discuss the problem with the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and China when she visits them next week on her inaugural overseas trip. “I know of the continuing concern on the part of the other members of the six-party talks [on North Korean nuclear disarmament] with respect to North Korea's attitude in the last weeks,” she said in Washington. “North Korea has to understand that all of the countries in East Asia have made it clear that its behaviour is viewed as unacceptable”. Last week South Korean officials revealed signs of North Korean preparation for a far more significant missile test –of a North Korean Taepodong 2 missile, a long range weapon with the potential to cross the Pacific and strike the western reaches of the US. A large cylindrical object was photographed by satellites on a train travelling in the direction of North Korean test firing sites. The North Koreans fired an earlier version of the Taepodong in 1998. In 2002, a Taepodong 2 broke up soon after being launched, and even a successful launch now would not represent an immediate threat to the US and its allies. “Since the first time that they launched the missile – it flew for a few minutes before crashing – the range of the Taepodong 2 remains to be seen,” the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, said yesterday in Washington. “So far, it's very short.” The firing of such a large missile would require several more weeks of preparation. The North Korean government many therefore decide to put pressure on Mrs Clinton by firing its smaller missiles close to its sea border with the South, a disputed line which has seen deadly naval skirmishes in 199 and 2002.