Pakistan: President Asif Ali Zardari To Nawaz Sharif ‘Let’s Be Friends Once Again’

Pakistan: President Asif Ali Zardari To Nawaz Sharif ‘Let’s Be Friends Once Again’

*President Asif Ali Zardari has out-smarted even former Gen. Pervez Musharraf to maintain his status as Pakistan's president by offering an olive branch to his rival Nawaz Sharif. Of course, the main pressure for this aspect came from none other than the WHITE HOUSE in Washington, USA. (DTN Defense-Technology News)

*Pakistan 'Democracy' Vs 'Army', 'Allah' & America?....DTN Defense-Technology News March 22, 2009

(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD - March 29, 2009: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday all but lifted governor’s rule in Punjab in an apparent peace deal with an estranged Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) whom he offered to be ‘friends again’ after a month of bruising confrontation and conceded its right to rule the province. In an address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the Senate marking the start of a new parliamentary year amid a blooming spring, he called for ‘no further delay’ in finalising constitutional amendments to empower parliament by curtailing powers he inherited from former president Gen Pervez Musharaf. ‘We will support PML-N’s candidate for the position of Punjab CM,’ President Zardari told the parliament. The announcement of the decision to lift governor’s rule imposed on Feb 25 came in the president’s extempore remarks at the fag-end of a 30-minute speech whose beginning was marked by a protest walkout by PML-N’s rival Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) against alleged horse-trading in Punjab by the other to buy loyalties of provincial assembly members. ‘As we move towards a better future, I wish to announce that we shall recommend the lifting of governor’s rule in Punjab,’ the president said as he struggled to find the right words for his unwritten remarks, which actually seemed to mean that he was asking Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to recommend to him to end the 32-day-old direct federal rule in Punjab through Governor Salman Taseer. The Feb 25 presidential order, which meant the dissolution of a year-old provincial coalition government of the PML-N and PPP, came after a Supreme Court ruling the same day disqualified PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother and provincial chief minister Shahbaz Sharif from holding any elective public office. While both the Sharif bothers have gone to the Supreme Court for a review – one seeking restoration of his Punjab administration and the other his right to seek election to a National Assembly seat – President Zardari said the PPP, which he leads as its co-chairman, would support a PML-N candidate for chief minister ‘whoever he might be’ though it will no longer be part of a ruling coalition. But PML-N chairman Raja Zafar Haq told Dawn his party, which emerged as the largest single party in the Punjab assembly and second largest in the National Assembly in last year’s general election, would prefer a restoration of its provincial government rather than form a new one. That is a course that could protect Mr Shahbaz Sharif from the mischief of a controversial Musharraf-era decree that bars two-time prime ministers and chief ministers from seeking a third term. But President Zadari made it clear the PPP would not join even a restored provincial government in a tit-for-tat to the PML-N’s departure from the PPP-led federal government after a brief association last year. ‘We shall sit in the opposition, but we shall participate on all bills and will not let down the government of Punjab and will close the door to horse-trading forever,’ he said, practically giving up PPP’s efforts to lead a new coalition in the province with the possible support of the PML-Q rather than play second fiddle to the PML-N. ’There will be no need for a forward bloc,’ he said, apparently referring to a strong ‘forward bloc’ of PML-Q members in the Punjab assembly who are supporting PML-N without joining the cabinet, sparking charges of horse-trading from PML-Q leadership. The PPP leadership could have been happy with the PML-N embarrassment caused by the walkout by slogan-chanting PML-Q law-makers that was led by party president and newly elected senator Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and ended soon when some members of the treasury benches brought the protesters back to the house. Mr Zardari’s off-the-cuff remarks also seemed to be scratching old wounds when he said ‘there will be no need to have another Changa Manga’, in a reference to a forest resort in Punjab where PML-N had allegedly lodged parliamentarians in a confrontation with the PPP in the 1990s to prevent the other side approaching them. DON'T CHALLENGE DEMOCRACY

The president said the two sides could ‘still meet as friends and fellow democrats’ to take Pakistan to ‘new heights’ after the PML-N has a chief minister to its satisfaction and after all irritants between them were settled in parliament and courts of law. ‘Pakistan has many challenges. What it does not need is a challenge from within to its democracy.’ In a reference to the PML-N agitation and its crucial role in a lawyer-led ‘long march’ that led to the restoration of the remaining 11 superior court judges out of about 60 sacked by General Musharraf under a controversial Nov 3, 2007, emergency proclamation, he said: ‘Let not democracy challenge itself on the ground of one reason or the other, whether on the streets of Lahore or on the streets of Islamabad. Let’s put an end to challenging each other. We have challenges enough from around the world and from our enemies within. Let’s be friends again and forever.’ PML-N cold-shoulder But despite earning concessions as a reward for its public agitation for about a month, the PML-N did not join desk-thumping by the treasury benches to greet Mr Zardari’s second address to a joint sitting of parliament in a little more than six months after he was elected president by a parliamentary electoral college. As if it was still nursing its grievance about the imposition of governor’s rule and the Supreme Court ruling disqualifying the Sharif brothers, a source in parliament said the PML-N law-makers also did not turn up at a tea party hosted by National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza after the presidential address. The president spoke only briefly in the beginning of his speech about what is going to be next focus of the political forces: empowerment of parliament as envisaged by the famous Charter of Democracy signed in 2006 by assassinated PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif. Mr Zardari had only vaguely offered to have his authority curtailed by proposing in his Sept 20, 2008, speech to a joint sitting that a parliamentary committee ‘revisit’ the constitution’s Musharraf-era controversial 17th Amendment and article 58 (2) (b) that gave the presidency powers that should be exercised by the prime minister in a genuine parliamentary system of government, but no move made even to form that body. After a lot of criticism for allegedly having second thoughts about clipping his powers as he did about his promise to restore the deposed judges before their reinstatement order on March 16, the president urged the National Assembly speaker to constitute this ‘committee of all political parties’ to propose amendments to the constitution ‘in light of the Charter of Democracy’ and said: ‘The amendments should be finalised without any further delay.’ PROGRESS CLAIMED

In the rest of his speech, the president cited an ailing economy, growing extremism and militancy and the judicial crisis among the many problems he said the present government had inherited on taking office by the end of March last year and said significant progress had been achieved in different areas during the last one year. ‘But much more needs to be done,’ he said, adding that a ‘heavy national agenda awaits you’ to protect democracy, fight militancy, heal the ‘wounds’ of the past, and build infrastructure. While talking of a ‘situation of near economic meltdown due to the inherited problems and a global recession in the face of a massive shortfall in energy, dwindling foreign exchange reserves and rising inflation, he said difficult decisions and a home-grown economic reforms programme had started showing results.’ He said inflation had declined from over 25 per cent in Aug 2008 to 21 per cent and that it would be brought down to a single digit by the next year. Since the second quarter, there had been no net borrowing from the State Bank and the rupee had recovered some of the value it lost in Oct 2008. In the first eight months of the fiscal 2008-09, he said, remittances had grown and foreign exchange reserves stood at $6.4 billion in November last and were over $10 billion a week ago. Citing reconciliation as a vision of the late Ms Bhutto, he said this was ‘the only way forward’ and added: ‘We must not remain hostage to the bitterness of the past. We need to bring together the federating units in a spirit of mutual accommodation.’ BALOCHISTAN AMNESTY POSSIBLE

Referring to the problems of Balochistan, he said ‘ways and means may be explored for the voluntary return of exiles and grant of general amnesty to the political prisoners’. He said these issues needed to be discussed in parliament, to which he urged to frame a ‘Balochistan policy which is sustainable and acceptable to the people of the province. Give them the autonomy they have been demanding for 60 years’. Among the guest to watch the joint sitting, which was prorogued after the president’s speech, were provincial governors and chief ministers, armed forces’ chiefs and foreign diplomats. The president’s son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is the designated PPP chairman while still studying in Britain, was present in the President’s Gallery along with some friends from Oxford.

Pakistan Not Happy With President Barack Obama Strategy

Pakistan Not Happy With President Barack Obama Strategy

*It seems Pakistan is not pleased with US economy aid of $1.5 Billion yearly for coming seven years and considers small reward for their efforts in containing militants at Afghan-Pak border. Also Pakistani army intelligence wing ISI are hesitant to withdraw their support from Taliban. (DTN Defense-Technology News)

(NSI News Source Info) ISLAMABAD - March 29, 2009: Pakistan has decided to convey its concerns through diplomatic channels over certain aspects of the new policy for the region announced by President Barack Obama on Friday. President Obama announces a new comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the White House. ’We will speak to them (the United States) on issues of concern in subsequent diplomatic negotiations,’ the President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Dawn on Saturday. A similar impression was given by senior officials of the foreign office, who said the concerns would not go unnoticed and would be taken up at an ‘appropriate level’. President Obama had announced several incentives, including an increase in aid to Pakistan, passage of a legislation on the reconstruction opportunity zones and commitment to democracy in the country, but at the same time he was quite ominous in his tone when he categorically said that there would be no ‘blank cheques’ for Pakistan. Mr Babar said misgivings about Islamabad always existed in Washington’s approach, but the positive elements were new and it was decided that they needed to be hailed. He denied that the presidency’s position contradicted the thinking in the foreign office, saying the FO was consulted while devising the response. But sources in the foreign office insisted that the FO’s reaction was mixed, guarded and not effusive. ‘There are pretty big problems in the policy about which our leadership is not speaking, a senior FO official said. Another senior official said there were no consultations with the FO.

India Successfully Test Fires BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

India Successfully Test Fires BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - March 29, 2009: India has successfully tested the latest land attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at a firing range in Pokhran, a spokesman for Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace Limited said Sunday. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two great rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, it is the world's fastest cruise missile and is about three and a half times faster than the U.S.A's subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. A hypersonic version of the missile is also presently under development (Lab Tested with 5.26 Mach Speed). Though India had wanted the BrahMos to be based on a mid range cruise missile, namely P-700 Granit, instead Russia opted for the shorter range sister of the missile, P-800 Oniks, in order to comply with MTCR restrictions, to which Russia is a signatory. Its propulsion is based on the Russian Yakhont missile, and guidance has been developed by BrahMos Corp. The spokesman said that the missile had successfully hit its designated target. The BrahMos missile has a range of 290 km (180 miles) and can carry a conventional warhead of up to 300 kg (660 lbs). It can effectively engage ground targets from an altitude as low as 10 meters (30 feet) and has a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the U.S.-made subsonic Tomahawk cruise missile. Analysts estimate that India could purchase up to 1,000 BrahMos missiles for its armed forces in the next decade, and export 2,000 to other countries during the same period. During a recent visit by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to India, the two sides agreed to develop a hypersonic version of the missile to be known as BrahMos-2.

US Pakistan-Afghanistan Envoy In India Next Week

US Pakistan-Afghanistan Envoy In India Next Week

(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - March 29, 2009: Top US diplomat Richard Holbrooke will visit India next week to discuss Washington's new strategy to defeat a resurgent Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan that puts Pakistan at the heart of the fight. Top US diplomat Richard Holbrooke will visit India next week to discuss Washington's new strategy to defeat a resurgent Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan that puts Pakistan at the heart of the fight. An Indian government official told AFP that Holbrooke, who last visited the three South Asian nations in February, would be in New Delhi on April 7-8. Holbrooke was appointed to implement the new US strategy under President Barack Obama, who on Friday vowed to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat" Osama bin Laden's group. As part of the policy revamp, Obama also promised to press an additional 4,000 US troops into the "increasingly perilous" war in Afghanistan on top of the 17,000 already committed, and triple US aid to Pakistan's government. According to India, Pakistan has become the "epicentre of terrorism" in the region by sheltering Islamist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is widely blamed for November's attacks on Mumbai that killed 165 people. Pakistan has been a vital US ally since former president George W. Bush invaded neighbouring Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Says No Plans To Scrap Trade Embargo On Cuba

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Says No Plans To Scrap Trade Embargo On Cuba

*Analysis: Except for Israel, Vuanatu and the Marshall Islands, the whole World condemns the unilateral US embargo against Cuba, and if President Obama is too blind to understand that this is a major thorn in US-Latin America relations, we'll just have to wait until he sees the light.Just like for a breakthrough in Israel-Palestine relations, don't hold your breath for that to happen soon under an Obama administration. It won't happen. Obama is just an illusion of change....said by A Taxpayer (DTN Defense-Technology News)

(NSI News Source Info) VINA DEL MAR, Chile – March 29, 2009: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday that the United States is not planning to lift its trade embargo on Cuba. Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, right, Chile's President Michelle Bachelet, left, and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden pose for the official photo of the Progressive Governance Leaders Summit in Vina del Mar, Chile, Saturday, March 28, 2009. Biden, who was in the Chilean resort city of Vina del Mar for a summit of center-left leaders from Latin America and Europe, replied "no" when asked by reporters if Washington plans to scrap the decades-old embargo. He and President Barack Obama "think that Cuban people should determine their own fate and they should be able to live in freedom," Biden said after taking part in the Progressive Governance Summit. The vice president said a "transition" is needed in the Washington policy toward the communist-ruled island, but that he was in Chile "to talk about the economy, not Cuba." Several of the leftist governments in Latin America have urged Washington to lift the embargo of Cuba, saying such a step would improve Washington's relations across the region. But without signs of budging on the embargo, Biden still drove home the idea that the White House is committed to region. He called his state visit to Chile "just the beginning of the renewal of a partnership with the Americans." "President Obama and I are absolutely committed to working closely with our neighbors in the hemisphere," he told reporters at Chile's La Moneda presidential palace after meeting with President Michelle Bachelet. Leftist or left-of-center governments have been elected in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Honduras and Uruguay in recent years, and at least five Latin American leaders have visited Cuba this year. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet — who met with Fidel Castro on a trip to Cuba in February — held a dinner for Biden under candlelight, as lights were turned off in coordination with an international action highlighting climate change.

China-Based Network Infiltrates Computers / Canadian Researchers Uncover Vast Cyber Spy Network

China-Based Network Infiltrates Computers / Canadian Researchers Uncover Vast Cyber Spy Network

(NSI News Source Info) OTTAWA - March 29, 2009: An electronic spying operation based primarily in China has infiltrated government and private computers in 103 countries around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama, according to a report released Sunday. According to a report an electronic spying operation based primarily in China has infiltrated government and private computers in 103 countries around the world, including those of the Dalai Lama. The report, compiled by specialists based at the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto, said the spying was being done from computers based almost exclusively in China. "Up to 30 percent of the infected hosts are considered high-value targets and include computers located at ministries of foreign affairs, embassies, international organizations, news media and NGOs (non-governmental organizations)," the report said. However, the researchers said they could not argue conclusively that the Chinese government was involved. They insisted that attributing all these operations to intelligence gathering by the Chinese state "is wrong and misleading." "Numbers can tell a different story," the report said. "China is presently the world's largest Internet population. The sheer number of young digital natives online can more than account for the increase in Chinese malware." The investigation started when the office of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, asked them to examine its computers for signs of malicious software. Their work led them to a broader operation that had infiltrated at least 1,295 computers in in less than two years. Some of these computers belonged to the Dalai Lama?s Tibetan exile centers in India, Brussels, London and New York. "This report serves as a wake up call," the authors pointed out. "At the very least a large percentage of high-value targets compromised by this network demonstrate the relative ease with which a technically unsophisticated approach can quickly be harnessed to to create a very effective spynet." The researchers said they believed that in addition to the spying on the Dalai Lama, the system, which they called GhostNet, was focused on the governments of South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. The newly reported spying operation is by far the largest to come to light in terms of countries affected. The operation continues to invade and monitor more than a dozen new computers a week, according to the report. However, the researchers found no evidence that US government offices had been infiltrated, although a NATO computer was monitored by the spies for half a day and computers of the Indian Embassy in Washington were infiltrated.

Libyan Leader Moamer Kadhafi Slams ICC As 'New Form Of World Terrorism'

Libyan Leader Moamer Kadhafi Slams ICC As 'New Form Of World Terrorism'

(NSI News Source Info) ADDIS ABABA - March 29, 2009: Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi lambasted the International Criminal Court on Sunday as representing a "new form of world terrorism" that wanted to recolonise developing countries. Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, seen here on March 11, recently elected chairman of the 53-nation African Union, said Sunday that the International Criminal Court represented a "new form of world terrorism". "It is a known fact that all Third World countries are opposing the so-called ICC," the recently elected chairman of the 53-nation African Union told a press conference at the AU headquarters here. "This is the case right now. This court is against the countries colonised in the past and they want to recolonise now. It is a practice of a new world terrorism that is not below the standard of the other terrorism." Kadhafi's condemnation followed a call by Arab foreign ministers on Saturday on the Hague-based ICC to annul its arrest warrant against Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir. "It is not fair that a head of state should be arrested," he said. "If we allow such a thing... we should also try those who killed hundreds and millions of children in Iraq and in Gaza." The ICC issued a warrant for Beshir arrest earlier this month, accusing him of crimes against humanity and war crimes in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. Many African and Arab states along with key ally China have condemned the ICC move and called for the warrant to be suspended. Beshir faces five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes. He is the first sitting president to be issued with a warrant by the ICC. The AU has argued that the prosecution jeopardised peace efforts in Sudan and on March 18 chided the UN Security Council for ignoring its requests to defer the warrant. The bloc's Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said they were awaiting a decision on the issue by Arab leaders due to their start their annual summit Sunday to make a united move. "We are about to set up a high-level delegation to go to New York to lobby the UN Security Council," Lamamra said. Beshir himself has made foreign trips to Eritrea, Egypt and Libya since the March 4 ICC arrest warrant. The ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, does not have a police force and calls on signatory states to implement warrants. None of the three countries Beshir visited are parties to the court's statute. Kadhafi is to leave Addis Ababa later Sunday for the Arab summit in Doha. It is still unclear whether Beshir will attend the two-day meeting. Beshir is the first sitting president to be issued with a warrant by the ICC. The United Nations says 300,000 people have died in the six-year-long conflict between Darfur's ethnic minority rebels and the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, which puts the figure at only 10,000. An estimated 2.7 million people more have fled their homes.

Iranian Missile Experts In North Korea

Iranian Missile Experts In North Korea

(NSI News Source Info) TOKYO - March 29, 2009: A group of Iranian missile experts is in North Korea to help Pyongyang prepare for a rocket launch, Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on Sunday. Kim Il-Sung square in central Pyongyang. A group of Iranian missile experts is in North Korea to help Pyongyang prepare for a rocket launch, Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on Sunday. North Korea has said it will launch a communications satellite over northern Japan between April 4 and 8, and the report said the 15-strong Iranian delegation had been in the country since the beginning of this month. It includes senior officials with Iranian rocket and satellite producer Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, the daily said, quoting unnamed sources. The Iranians brought a letter from their President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il stressing the importance of cooperating on space technology, it added. The United States and its Asian allies suspect North Korea is using the launch as a cover for a long-range missile test. North Korea and Iran have both come under international pressure over their nuclear activities and are reported to maintain close ties on missile technology.

U.S. President Barack Obama To Seek NATO Support For Afghan Plan

U.S. President Barack Obama To Seek NATO Support For Afghan Plan

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - March 29, 2009: U.S. President Barack Obama will urge European allies to support his new strategy for Afghanistan, telling NATO partners this week their security could be at risk if the country falls into chaos. Making his first major foreign trip since taking office on January 20, Obama will discuss the economic crisis at the London Group of 20 summit of major economic powers on Thursday. He will then attend the NATO summit in Strasbourg, France, on Friday and Saturday, marking the alliance's 60th anniversary. Just ahead of the NATO summit, Obama has unveiled a plan for Afghanistan, where violence is at its highest level since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in 2001 and where the NATO mission has been criticized for disorganization. Obama's strategy broadens the U.S. focus to include Pakistan and puts as the highest priority the defeat of al Qaeda militants who he said were plotting new attacks on the United States. He will send 4,000 more U.S. troops to help train the Afghan army and will add more civilian personnel to help tackle problems such as a booming narcotics trade and government corruption. But Obama emphasized that international cooperation was crucial to the plan's success and promised to take that message to Europe, where the public has grown increasingly impatient with the Afghanistan effort. "The world cannot afford the price that will come due if Afghanistan slides back into chaos or al Qaeda operates unchecked," Obama said in a speech in Washington on Friday. "What's at stake now is not just our own security -- it is the very idea that free nations can come together on behalf of our common security. That was the founding cause of NATO six decades ago. That must be our common purpose today," he added. In a shift that has been welcomed in Europe, Obama, a Democrat, has promised a more consultative foreign policy than that of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush. His administration hopes Obama's popularity abroad will raise the profile of his push for greater support for Afghanistan. In preparing the new Afghanistan strategy, Obama launched a 60-day review that included input from European allies as well as other countries with a stake in the region. A TOUGH SELL? Obama said that from NATO allies, he hoped for "not simply troops, but rather clearly defined capabilities," including support for the Afghan elections, training of security forces and increased civilian support. Analysts said that might be a tough sell. "It's going to be challenging but I think this is where the administration and President Obama need to take full advantage of the goodwill that they have created with their new approach and emphasis on diplomacy," said Juan Zarate, a former counterterrorism adviser to Bush. "The real challenge is national interests have not changed," said Zarate, who praised the Obama plan as comprehensive and well thought out. But he added, "There is not a lot of popularity in Europe and Brussels for sending more troops and certainly not a lot of appetite for sending civilians into what is a security-challenged environment."

White House deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough said that while Obama had secured some new commitments of resources for Afghanistan before the NATO summit, it would be an "ongoing process" to solicit support. Obama's schedule at the Strasbourg summit will include bilateral meetings with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He will have a lengthy bilateral session in London with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. On the sidelines of the NATO summit, he will also set aside time to interact with the public during a speech and question-and-answer session with students from various parts of Europe. After the NATO summit, Obama will attend a gathering of 27 European Union heads of state in Prague, where he also plans to deliver what his aides are billing as a major speech on nuclear proliferation. Looming over the Prague meeting will be the issue of missile defense. A U.S. plan to place a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic has angered Moscow. Obama has suggested the United States would have no need to deploy proposed missile defenses in Eastern Europe if Moscow could help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons.

Israeli D9 Armored Caterpillar Bulldozers Have Matured

Israeli D9 Armored Caterpillar Bulldozers Have Matured

(NSI News Source Info) March 29, 2009: Israel has been using the D9 bulldozer for combat operations since the 1960s. But there has always been a problem with getting repairs made close to the fighting itself. There were never enough D9s in service to justify training soldiers to do complex repairs. Instead, civilian technicians, sometimes employees of the manufacturer (Caterpillar) were brought in. Israel recently solved the problem, by making those D9 tech who are Israeli civilians, members of the army reserve. This solved a lot of legal and administrative matters (like who pays if the technicians are hurt while making battlefield repairs), and got the techs some extra money for the additional risk of getting shot at while patching up the D9s. The 62 ton D-9 armored (via an Israeli armor kit) bulldozer has been an important tool for urban warfare. The Israelis, like the Americans, pioneered the use of special explosives to blast entry holes through walls, so troops can quickly get to their objectives. But the D-9 lets you bash through buildings, or even shake the enemy out of some buildings. Thus the D9 proved very effective in urban combat. The Israelis often mount a machine-gun on the D9s, to provide additional protection. The D9s often survive large (several hundred pound) roadside bombs and RPG hits. In early 2003, the U.S. bought nine 62 ton D9 armored Caterpillar bulldozers into Kuwait for the Iraq campaign. The D9s, and their Israeli made armor kit, were purchased because of the Israeli success with the dozer in urban warfare against Palestinian terrorists. America had used the D9 during the 1960s in Vietnam, but after that only used the smaller (35 ton, with armor kit) D7. The D9 was not needed for urban fighting in Iraq during 2003, but was found very useful (much more so than the smaller D7) for combat engineering tasks. The D9 quickly cleared highways of debris and built temporary roads for combat vehicles. D9s was eventually used in Iraq for combat operations in places like Fallujah.

Russia Feeling A Pinch To Upgrade Military Arsenal

Russia Feeling A Pinch To Upgrade Military Arsenal

(NSI News Source Info) March 29, 2009: There is a debate going on within the Russian military over how to proceed with reforming the military. Many generals believe that the military industries that produced a wide range of weapons for the Soviet Union are now either gone or no longer capable of producing competitive weapons or equipment.

An example is the Mi-8 helicopter. This was Russia's answer to the radical American UH-1 ("Huey"). While the UH-1 was replaced by the much improved UH-60 in the 1980s, the Mi-8 has gone through lots of upgrades (to the current Mi-171), but never a new design. Russian industry has a new design, the Mi-38, but no customers. Even the Russian military cannot afford to buy the more expensive, which is competitive with the UH-60.

The Euromil Mi-38 is a cargo helicopter designed by Mil but being developed and marketed by the Euromil international consortium. Originally intended as a replacement for the Mil Mi-8 and the Mi-17, it is being marketed in both military and civil versions. It flew for the first time on 22 December 2003.

This is typical of the fundamental situation throughout the Russian military. They cannot afford modern equipment, and as a result, Russian military industries are not getting the orders required to keep them in business. The government has, in the last decade, announced that it was going to buy new equipment for the military. But the new stuff never shows up. Oh, some does, in fits and starts. But, as many of the generals and admirals have noted, the money isn't there. And with the low price of oil, and other raw materials Russia exports, the money won't be there for a while. Many generals oppose the current reforms, which includes dismissing thousands of generals and disbanding the mass reserve army. For over a century, this reserve army was organized to raise millions of troops, armed with low-tech weapons and poorly trained, to defend Russia from invasion. Further investigation has revealed that the Cyber War attacks on Estonia and Georgia (which temporarily shut down Internet access in those countries), while carried out by nationalistic Russian hackers, was done at the instigation of Russian government officials (who got in touch with leaders of Russian hacker groups and requested the attacks). The government has reduced the list of weapons subject to export control (you need permission to sell abroad). The weapons still on the list are; shoulder fired surface-to-air missile systems, portable antitank guided missile launchers (ATGMs), portable anti-tank rocket grenade launchers (RPGs), and portable flamethrowers. Several weapon types, which used to be controlled, are no longer. These include revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles, sub-machineguns, automatic rifles, light machineguns, antiaircraft machineguns, antitank guns, and light and medium mortars (caliber less than100 mm). In another attempt to clean up the corrupt and inefficient national police, a code of conduct has been issued for the force. Bribery, drinking on the job and adultery (among many other forms of misbehavior) are now forbidden. The government has ordered army and police authorities in Chechnya to set up a timetable to officially end their operations there. Chechen police have been taking over more of the security work in the province for the last few years. While corrupt and brutal, the local police are capable of dealing with local gangsters and trouble makers (Islamic radicals and anti-Russian nationalists.) The official end to the war would make it easier for Chechen companies to import and export goods. The Russian Navy announced its intention to resume the use of nuclear warheads for some of its anti-ship missiles (those launched via torpedo tubes by submarines). This would enable these missiles to destroy a group of warships, and to avoid defensive weapons (like Phalanx and SeaRAM). The U.S. and Russia withdrew their tactical nuclear weapons from their navies at the end of the Cold War. Canada and Russia are engaged in a growing dispute over who controls certain Arctic waters, and natural resources that may be present on the seabed beneath. Russia says it is going to set up a special military force to patrol Arctic waters it believes it "owns". Precisely who controls Arctic waters has never been spelled out by international treaty, and the Russians have expressed a determination to define what they own, by themselves, and see who will do what to oppose these claims. March 21, 2009: In Dagestan, three days of fighting in a wooded area, left five policemen and at least a dozen rebels (a combination of gangsters, Islamic radicals and people just angry at the corrupt local government) dead. March 20, 2009: The government admitted that permanent military bases were being established in the former Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These two areas have joined Russia, becoming the first Russian territorial annexation since the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 (and broke up an empire that took four centuries to put together.) March 16, 2009: Two IL-38 maritime reconnaissance aircraft flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier off the South Korean coast. The Russia aircraft were escorted by U.S. Navy carrier fighters, as the IL-38s came in at 500 feet. All this had no military significance, and was mainly a publicity stunt. This is about all the elderly IL-38s are good for these days. The Russian Navy only has about 30 IL-38s, which are roughly equivalent to the American P-3s, but have not had their sensors and communications equipment updated since the Cold War. There is new equipment for the IL-38s, but only export customers, like India, can afford it. March 15, 2009: A Russian Air Force general casually mentioned that Russia might base long range maritime recon aircraft (Tu-142) and bombers (Tu-160) in Cuba and Venezuela. This caused an uproar in the Western hemisphere, with Cuba and Venezuela expressing interest, while there was a less friendly reaction in the United States. But the Russian government soon announced that there was never any intention to build bases in South America, simply to land there and refuel before flying back to northern Russia. Cuba was such a base during the Cold War, but the maritime recon missions were of limited use, because space satellites did the job more efficiently. Making those flights today are PR exercises. March 13, 2009: A third of Russia's 290 Mig-29 jet fighters have passed inspection and allowed to fly again. But 90 of them are grounded because corrosion was discovered. What was most disturbing was that some of the grounded aircraft had only spent a few hundred hours in the air. But these aircraft had also spent years on the ground, because there was no money to buy fuel or spare parts so they could fly. India is not grounding its 70 MiG-29s, mainly because they are better maintained and flown more frequently.

India Predicts China War By 2017

India Predicts China War By 2017

Press TV - Reports

(NSI News Source Info) March 29, 2009: The Indian army has predicted a war with its nuclear-armed neighbor China by 2017 as Beijing continues to strengthen its military muscle.

A secret military exercise, called 'Divine Matrix', by the Indian troops visualized a war scenario with China, the Hindustan Times reported Saturday.

"A misadventure by China is very much within the realm of possibility with Beijing trying to position itself as the only power in the region," a senior army officer told the daily following the maneuver.

An Indian military's assessment has outlined that Beijing would rely on information warfare (IW) to bring New Delhi down on its knees.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Pentagon released a report warning that China was busily trying to arm its forces with weapons that can be used to nullify the superiority of any naval and air power that could disrupt the balance of region.

China is concerned about growing ties between Washington and New Delhi. A controversial deal allowing India access to civilian nuclear technology has not been well-received among Chinese officials.

New Delhi, meanwhile, is suspicious of Chinese relations with India's long-time rival Pakistan. India and China fought a brief but bloody war over border dispute in 1962 with a decisive victory for the Chinese.

Russia Proposes Increasing IMF Pool By $0.5-1 Trillion

Russia Proposes Increasing IMF Pool By $0.5-1 Trillion

(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - March 29, 2009: Russia is in favor of increasing the International Monetary Fund's kitty by $0.5-1 trillion and committing the organization to reform within 2-3 years, a Russian presidential aide said Saturday. "The granting of funds should be linked to reforms," Arkady Dvorkovich told journalists. He also suggested that the basket of the IMF payment unit SDR (Special Drawing Rights) be expanded by using the ruble, yuan and gold. The statement comes ahead of a G20 summit, involving developed and emerging economies and international financial institutions, due to take place on April 2 to try to find ways to overcome the ongoing crisis and reform international financial structures. Russia has submitted a proposal to the summit for the IMF to consider creating a supra-national reserve currency, a move that was supported by China, but dismissed by U.S. President Barack Obama as unnecessary. Russia has also put forward suggestions on how international financial organizations should be reformed in the wake of the crisis, including steps to ensure the diversification of countries' foreign currency reserves to reduce the emphasis on the dollar. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will attend the summit of G20 leaders in London.

Iran, NATO Officials Meet, First Time In 30 Years

Iran, NATO Officials Meet, First Time In 30 Years

(NSI News Source Info) March 29, 2009: NATO said an Iranian diplomat has met with a NATO representative for the first direct talks between Tehran and the alliance in 30 years.

Few details of the meeting were immediately available, but a NATO spokesperson Thursday told media it happened in Brussels last week.

The French news agency (AFP) reported that an Iranian diplomat met with NATO Assistant Secretary General Martin Erdmann for "an informal contact" about Afghanistan.

Earlier Thursday, Iran confirmed it will attend a U.N.-sponsored conference on neighboring Afghanistan next week. Iran's foreign ministry said it has not yet decided who Tehran's representative will be.

The United States will be represented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who proposed to the conference hosts earlier this month that Iran be invited.

A State Department spokesman, Gordon Duguid, said Thursday that Clinton has no plans for a "substantive" one-on-one meeting with Iranian officials at the conference.

Delegates from about 80 countries have been invited to The Hague to discuss security and reconstruction in Afghanistan. Iran skipped a similar international meeting in Paris last year.

The March 31 conference is being hosted by the governments of Afghanistan and the Netherlands, as well as the United Nations.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that U.S. military planners are considering routing some NATO supply lines through Iran to Afghanistan.

The Times said possible supply lines in Iran are not being considered for transferring U.S. materiel, but rather that of NATO allies which have relations with Tehran. Afghan forces and international troops led by the U.S. and NATO have been battling a resurgent Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, and regional officials say the insecurity threatens to destabilize neighboring countries. Iran and the United States severed diplomatic relations nearly 30 years ago, during the hostage crisis that followed the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

U.S. President Barack Obama said recently he is committed to diplomacy to address what he called "serious differences" between the United States and Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded that he sees no real change in U.S. policy toward Iran. But he said if the United States changes, Iran also will change its behavior.

African Veterans Help Demobilize Liberian Fighters

African Veterans Help Demobilize Liberian Fighters (NSI News Source Info) March 29, 2009: African military veterans are in Liberia for a program to help the government meet the needs of former fighters from the country's long civil war. Liberia's government hopes to benefit from the experience of other African nations that have successfully reintegrated former combatants into society. Former interim president Amos Sawyer chairs Liberia's Governance Commission. He says the trauma of 14 years of civil war changed the way people look at the military. "This war also brought people into the military who, in fact, were not disciplined. So there is a big job out there to even help us change the mentality of our people as to how we look at the military," he said. Sawyer says Liberia's new army is modeling itself not on often ill-disciplined former combatants but on more professional soldiers. He says it is part of a process to help the public see that not everyone with a gun is a soldier and not all soldiers have a rebel mentality. "We all have to do this thing together because if we don't the relationship between the public and the military will not be a congenial one," Sawyer said. Former combatants demonstrated last year over delays in retirement benefits.William Stephens was a captain in the Armed Forces of Liberia. He says President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's government unconstitutionally disbanded the former government army without consideration for the welfare of veterans. "Our civil liberties have all been frozen in terms of the manner in which the government did disband the army," Stephens said. One of the ways the government in Monrovia responded to former combatant complaints was to create a Veterans Bureau to better care for those who served. But even there, Stephens complains members of the former government army were not consulted. "The government of Liberia had decided to form this Veterans Bureau when we were agitating with them without our awareness. We were not a partner accompanied during the passage of such bill." he said. Dealing with such a large demobilization of fighters was a challenge faced by Nelson Mandela in post-apartheid South Africa. Lieutenant Colonel Evariston Tom Seeta works with South Africa's veterans bureau and is in Liberia to help reintegrate former fighters. "You know a person, an idle hand which doesn't do anything becomes dangerous," he said. Seeta says the Mandela government looked after demobilized fighters by helping them buy land to farm or get a loan to start a small business or learn a trade. "Giving a person money today, that money gets finished. But we had to give them certain skills, and we introduced certain institutions whereby they could go for training in these institutions because most of them they didn't have any skills. What they knew is just to hold a gun," Seeta said. Some 90,000 former fighters have been retrained. Former rebel Teah Jomah learned masonry."I am a professional builder. I build houses for people, and I get my money. And I am so happy I went through the process because now I am a useful citizen of this country. And I don't have to wait for a government job before getting my money. I do my own work and get my money, so I am so happy," Jomah said. Seeta says Liberia can learn from South Africa's experience. "These are people who have been out of society. By providing them with skills, that means they will go back to their societies and serve their own communities," Seeta said. The World Bank, the United Nations, and the Liberian government have offered short-term employment for 60,000 former combatants. But most of the more than 100,000 former fighters disarmed since the end of the war in 2003 remain unemployed in a country where the United Nations estimates 85% of people are out of work.

Russia Considers Major Troop Withdrawal In Chechnya

Russia Considers Major Troop Withdrawal In Chechnya

(NSI News Source Info) Moscow - March 29, 2009: Russia is reported considering the withdrawal of more than 20,000 Interior Ministry troops from Chechnya and an effective end to a state of war in the Caucasus republic. The move may be linked to financial problems caused by the global economic crisis.

Russian news media are quoting anonymous Interior Ministry sources as saying Moscow could end what it refers to as an "anti-terrorist" operation in Chechnya by the end of March. A statement broadcast on Russian state television by Chechnya's Kremlin-backed president, Ramzan Kadyrov, has added to the speculation. Kadyrov says there is information that all restrictions imposed on Chechnya will be lifted by the end of this month. He says the struggle against rebels is effectively over, and only remains on paper. He says when restrictions end, the airport and customs service in Grozny will function properly, and Chechnya will operate like a normal subject of the Russian Federation.

The anti-terrorism operation in Chechnya was launched in 1999 under Russia's late president Boris Yeltsin. As many as 100,000 people may have died in the two wars between Russia and Chechnya since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but exact figures are not known.

An Interior Ministry spokesman told the media his superiors did not tell him anything about à possible troop withdrawal. But the Interfax news agency quotes unnamed law enforcement officials as saying more than 20,000 out of the current 50,000 troops currently in Chechnya could be withdrawn. And the speaker of Russia's lower house of Parliament, Boris Gryzlov, says conditions in the republic are much improved and allow for an end to the anti-terrorist operation. But he also notes the expense of maintaining so many troops. Gryzlov says lawmakers understand that enforcing the anti-terrorist regime requires rather significant forces and resources; forces in terms of Interior Ministry troops, and resources in terms of the federal budget. He adds that in a time of global economic crisis, Russia needs to consider the need to keep such a large force in Chechnya.

Alexey Malashenko, military analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center, told media he agrees the situation in Chechnya is much better than it was five-six years ago. But he disputes Ramzan Kadyrov's estimate that no more than 50 to 100 insurgents remain.

Malashenko notes the situation in the republic is complicated. There are, he says successes as well as problems; and just as before, there are those who live in the mountains and cities who continue to launch attacks on federal forces and those of Ramzan Kadyrov.

Malashenko adds that shooting in Chechnya will not stop with the wave of a wand, or with a signature on a piece of paper, but Kadyrov will, nonetheless, try to show Moscow he can keep control of the republic with his own forces.

The latest fatality in Chechnya occurred Wednesday, when masked gunmen abducted and shot a police officer in the southern Vedeno region.

Philippine Troops Withdraw From Rebel Base

Philippine Troops Withdraw From Rebel Base

(NSI News Source Info) March 29, 2009: The Philippine government withdrew about 800 security personnel around Abu Sayyaf rebels Saturday in hopes of saving the lives of three kidnapped Red Cross workers.

The rebels had threatened to behead one of their hostages if security forces did not withdraw from the southern Philippine island of Jolo by Monday. Rebels had suggested they would free a hostage if the forces withdrew.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger, had asked the Philippine government to consider the kidnappers' demands.

Philippine Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said troops will not completely withdraw from the island. But he says he hopes the partial withdrawal will bring the rebels back to negotiations to release the three.

The Swiss, Italian and Filipino Red Cross workers have been held since January 15, and the situation appears to be getting increasingly desperate.

The Red Cross workers are the latest kidnap victims of Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group that claims to be fighting for a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines but has earned notoriety for its kidnap-for-ransom activities and beheadings.

In 2001, the group kidnapped three Americans, including a missionary couple. One was beheaded. One of the missionaries was rescued by U.S military-trained Filipino soldiers, but her husband was killed during the rescue operation.