Showing posts with label UNITED NATIONS NEWS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNITED NATIONS NEWS. Show all posts

Friday, December 09, 2011

DTN News - IRAN DEFENSE NEWS: RQ-170 ~ A Primer On The ‘Beast of Kandahar

DTN News - IRAN DEFENSE NEWS: RQ-170 ~ A Primer On The ‘Beast of Kandahar
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Jason Ukman - The Washington Post - Press TV
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 9, 2011: The RQ-170 drone — the secret surveillance craft that Iran purports to have displayed on Thursday — has been seen before, but just barely.

Even before the Iranians claimed to have taken possession of the drone, the RQ-170 was the subject of fascination in military and intelligence circles.

Although it was believed to have been first spotted in 2007, flying out of Afghanistan, it wasn’t until December 2009 — after a model was photographed at the main U.S. airfield in Kandahar province — that the military confirmed the existence of the craft.

The Air Force now maintains a fact sheet on the drone, made by Lockheed Martin, but little is known about its capabilities or specifications, other than that it has special coatings and a batwing shape designed to evade enemy air radar.

The RQ-170 has always been seen at a distance, and images have always been of poor quality. (You can see one such image here.)

The result is that it’s exceedingly difficult to verify Iranians’ claims about the drone, including that it’s authentic and that it was barely damaged when it went down in the country’s east. U.S. officials have already dismissed claims that the RQ-170 was shot down.

The drone shown by the Iranians Thursday is mustard or beige in color, and it appears broken and mended in parts.

According to an Iranian brigadier general quoted by the semiofficial Fars News Agency, the drone has a wing span of about 85 feet.

The model seen in 2009 was estimated to have a wingspan of as much as 80 feet, according to GlobalSecurity.org.

The Pentagon on Thursday declined comment on the Iranian images.

*DTN News ~ Press TV
Iran has strongly censured the violation of its airspace by a US spy drone, urging the United Nations to condemn such contravention and adopt necessary measures to end these “dangerous and illegal” acts.
Iran's Ambassador to the UN Mohammad Khazaei lodged the appeal in an official letter, also communicated to the Security Council and the General Assembly, to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, IRNA reported on Friday.
“Recently, an unmanned US spy aircraft of RQ-170 type and with a specified serial number violated the Islamic Republic's airspace,” Khazaei said, pointing to “increasing covert and provocative” operations by the US government against Iran during recent months.
He added that the aircraft flied 250 kilometers deep into the Iranian territory up to the northern region of the city of Tabas, where it faced “prompt and forceful” action by Iran's Armed Forces.
The Iranian government insists that the "blatant and provocative” violation of Iran's airspace is tantamount to an act of hostility against the country, which is a flagrant breach of the international law, particularly the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, the diplomat pointed out.
Khazaei further said that the Iranian government strongly objects to such “hostile and aggressive” acts and warns against the repercussions of repeating such misdeeds.
The Islamic Republic asserts its legitimate right to adopt all necessary measures to protect its national sovereignty, he added.
Iran's UN ambassador reiterated that the Iranian government “calls for the condemnation of such aggressive acts and implementation of effective and clear measures in line with the UN responsibilities to end these dangerous and illegal moves and to maintain regional and international peace and security in accordance with the UN Charter.”
On December 4, the Iranian Army's electronic warfare unit downed an RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone after it crossed into Iran's airspace over the border with neighboring Afghanistan.
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed on Tuesday that the aircraft had been part of a CIA reconnaissance mission involving the United State's intelligence community stationed in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Commander of the Aerospace Division of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said after the US spy aircraft's entry into Iran's eastern airspace, it fell in the electronic ambush of the Iranian Armed Forces and was brought to the ground with minimum damage caused to it.
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Swiss Ambassador to Iran Livia Leu Agosti to strongly protest the recent violation of the Islamic Republic's airspace by the US spy drone.
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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Jason Ukman - The Washington Post -
*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

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Saturday, September 24, 2011

DTN News - UNITED NATIONS NEWS: Palestinians Seek Statehood At U.N

DTN News - UNITED NATIONS NEWS: Palestinians Seek Statehood At U.N
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / UNITED NATIONS - September 24, 2011: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formally applied to the U.N. Security Council for Palestinian statehood, defying U.S. pressure to return to direct negotiations with Israel.

Despite the move, American and European diplomats frantically worked throughout Friday to try and lay out clearer terms for peace negotiations as a means to ultimately lure the Palestinian side away from the U.N. track.

European Pressphoto Agency
UNPALjp

Palestinians in Ramallah listened Friday to their leader, Mahmoud Abbas, argue for statehood at the U.N.

The so-called Quartet of powers brokering Middle East peace, which comprises the U.S., European Union, U.N. and Russia, outlined a one-year timeline by which to conclude negotiations on a creating an independent Palestinian state. This would include a requirement for the Israelis and Palestinians to provide comprehensive proposals on borders and security within three months and economic incentives from the international community to the Palestinian Authority.

"This is a concrete proposal to be negotiated without delay or preconditions," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

The Palestinians didn't formally respond to the Quartet's offer, but said privately that it didn't address their two most pressing requirements for returning to negotiations. These include a complete freeze on Jewish construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Israel's willingness to use its borders prior to the 1967 Six Day war as the baseline for talks, while recognizing the need for some territorial swaps.

"I don't think this is going to fly," said a senior Palestinian official in response to the Quartet's statement. "They ignored our most important requirements."

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
0923UNPAL

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hands over a formal letter for Palestine to be admitted as a state to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

Tens of thousands of jubilant Palestinians gathered in the West Bank in anticipation of Mr. Abbas's speech to the U.N., while in New York, the prospect of the first serious peace talks in nearly three years seemed to suggest the possibility—even if faint—of a way forward.

Mr. Abbas drew standing ovations earlier on Friday when he addressed the U.N. General Assembly, calling for a "Palestinian spring." He spoke only moments after submitting a formal request for Palestinian statehood to U.N. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon.

Mr. Abbas said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the principal issue standing in the way of stability in the Mideast and charged the international community with denying his people a homeland for over six decades.

"It is a moment of truth and my people are waiting to hear the answer of the world. Will it allow Israel to continue its occupation, the only occupation in the world?" Mr. Abbas said in his 45-minute address.

Young men throw stones at an Israeli checkpoint as President Mahmoud Abbas's application for U.N. recognition provokes mixed reactions. (Video and image : Reuters)

He proudly raised the letter he had presented Mr. Ban, smiled, and waved it to the room.

The 76-year-old Arab leader said he had been forced to go to the U.N. Security Council because the negotiating process under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had broken down. He charged that continued Jewish construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was rapidly making a two-state solution to end the Arab-Israeli conflict unviable.

"The occupation is racing against time to redraws the borders on our land according to what it wants and to impose a fait accompli on the ground," Mr. Abbas said.

Mr. Netanyahu followed Mr. Abbas in addressing the General Assembly and directly challenged his narrative on the nature of the Mideast conflict. He said that the Palestinians' refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, rather than any settlement activity, was the primary motivator for the conflict.

The U.N. General Assembly

View Slideshow

[SB10001424053111904194604576583224238993748]
Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

Members of the Israeli delegation, left, left the General Assembly as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived to speak Friday.

"The core of the conflict is not the settlements. The settlements are a result of the conflict," Mr. Netanyahu said.

Mr. Netanyahu stressed that any efforts to forge a two-state solution without extensive negotiations on Israel's security could be disastrous for the Jewish state's security.

He reminded the General Assembly that Israel pulled out all of its security forces and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but that the militant group Hamas filled the power vacuum in the Palestinian territory.

Responding to Mr. Abbas's statement that the Palestinians were armed "only with their hopes and dreams," Mr. Netanyahu said, "Hopes, dreams—and 10,000 missiles and Grad rockets supplied by Iran."

Still, Mr. Netanyahu challenged Mr. Abbas in front of the U.N. to immediately engage in direct negotiations with his government. He said that an independent Palestinian state could never be created through the offices of the U.N., which he said worked at times like the "theater of the absurd."

"I continue to hope that President Abbas will be my partner for peace…Why don't you join me? Mr. Netanyahu said to the General Assembly. "We've both flown thousands of miles to New York. So let's meet here today in the United Nations…What is there to stop us?"

The Palestinian Authority is pressing hard for the votes it needs to pass an application recognizing its statehood in the U.N. Security Council, despite the likelihood of a U.S. veto, Foreign Minister Riad Malki says in an interview. If the effort fails, he says, both the Palestinians and the U.S. will be worse off.

Mr. Abbas's submission to the U.N. Security Council was a direct rebuke of the Obama administration's foreign policy. And it called into question Washington's future role as the ultimate arbiter on diplomacy in the Mideast, a position it has held for the past 25 years.

U.S. officials have lobbied Mr. Abbas for months to return to direct negotiations with the Israelis, arguing it was the only path to peace. The U.S. Congress, meanwhile, has threatened to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in annual financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority if Mr. Abbas goes forward.

U.S. and European officials said their primary focus in the coming days will be to convince Messrs. Abbas and Netanyahu to return to the negotiating table under the Quartet's plan. But they also said a push was already beginning inside the 15-nation U.N. Security Council to convince the majority of its members not to back the Palestinian bid.

Lebanon, the current president of the Security Council, said it would introduce the Palestinian application for statehood for discussion at the 15-nation council on Monday.

The U.S., as one of five permanent members of the Security Council, has a veto. But U.S. officials privately acknowledge that they worry about the impact of Washington's standing in the Middle East if it is forced to utilize it.

Journal Community

Mr. Abbas needs nine of 15 Security Council members to gain a recommendation for membership to the General Assembly, where a two-thirds majority would then be required. But U.S. officials believe France and the U.K. are likely to abstain, while developing countries like Colombia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are undecided.

Palestinian officials acknowledge that a Security Council vote against their measure could have disastrous political consequences for Mr. Abbas.

Alternately, the Palestinians are also considering presenting a resolution to the U.N. General Assembly that would give the Palestinian Authority advanced standing at the U.N. and allow it to join such bodies as the International Criminal Court and the U.N. Human Rights Committee. Israeli officials worry the Palestinians could use these forms to charge Israeli military officials with war crimes.

Getting Out the Vote

Where members of the U.N. Security Council are believed to stand on the U.N. recognizing a Palestine state; nine votes are needed with no veto

YES

• Russia*, China*, Brazil*, India*, South Africa*, Lebanon*

ON THE FENCE

• Colombia*, Portugal, Gabon*, Bosnia-Herzegovina

LIKELY TO ABSTAIN

• Germany, Nigeria*, France, Britain

READY TO VETO

• U.S.

*Formally recognized a Palestinian state.

U.N. diplomats said such a resolution at the 193-nation General Assembly would pass by a large margin.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered in cities across the West Bank to celebrate the move and watch Mr. Abbas's speech on large television screens set up in central squares for the occasion. They were the largest public gatherings since the funeral of Mr. Abbas's predecessor, Yasser Arafat, in 2004. There were no rallies in Gaza, where the militant group Hamas is in control and opposed Mr. Abbas's UN initiative.

In the West Bank, the mood was jubilant as crowds made up of whole families gathered hours before the speech to sing, dance, chant slogans and wave Palestinian flags. Among the many posters and banners, a few criticized U.S. President Barack Obama, whose opposition to the statehood bid deeply disappointed Palestinians and Arabs across the Middle East.

Defying U.S. and Israeli opposition, Palestinian President Abbas asked the United Nations Friday to accept the Palestinians as a member state. Eduardo Kaplan has details and Eurasia Group's Ian Bremmer provides analysis on The News Hub.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of Mr. Abbas's Palestinian Authority, the crowd filled Arafat square and lined the rooftops surrounding it. It erupted in cheers and flag-waving when Mr. Abbas asked the U.N. to accept his application for statehood.

"It was an emotional moment for me," said Ghadir Aydieh, a 23-year old said, a Palestinian flag wrapped around her head. "He carried the message of the Palestinian people. It has given us some hope."

The gatherings were overwhelming peaceful, but the Palestinian security and police forces mobilized all 29,000 of its officers to prevent violence and clashes with the Israeli military.

Israel itself mobilized more than 20,000 riot police and security officials. Major checkpoints were manned with thousands of soldiers in riot gear, and there were between youths throwing rocks and Israeli soldiers at some checkpoints.

—Joe Lauria contributed to this article.

Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com

*Speaking Image - Creation of DTN News ~ Defense Technology News
*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News

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