DTN News: U.S. Air Force, Northrop Grumman Celebrate 20th Anniversary Of B-2 Stealth Bomber's First Flight

DTN News: U.S. Air Force, Northrop Grumman Celebrate 20th Anniversary Of B-2 Stealth Bomber's First Flight

*Revolutionary Aircraft Remains World's Most Powerful, Most Survivable Airborne Weapon System

*Source: DTN News / Northrop Grumman Corporation

(NSI News Source Info) PALMDALE, Calif., - July 19, 2009: Twenty years ago on July 17, the first Air Force/Northrop Grumman Corporation-developed B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, a tailless, bat-like flying wing named The Spirit of America, lifted off for its maiden flight from Air Force Plant 42 here. That historic flight from Palmdale to Edwards Air Force Base lasted just over two hours, but it would alter forever the face and nature of modern air warfare. A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, "The Spirit of New York" flies over Northrop Grumman's 20th anniversary celebration of the first flight of the B-2. The event was held Friday, July 17 2009 at the company's B-2 program headquarters in Palmdale, Calif. First flight of the first B-2, a tailless, bat-like flying wing named the Spirit of America, occurred July 17, 1989 from the same facility. Photo/Northrop Grumman Corp./Susan Goldman Photography More than a thousand Northrop Grumman employees and Air Force officials gathered today at the company's B-2 program headquarters in Palmdale to celebrate the significance and lasting effects of that first flight. Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor for the B-2, the flagship of the nation's long range strike arsenal. "The B-2 is the product of an innovative and enduring partnership between Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force, a partnership that began even before we signed our first B-2 contract in 1981," said Ronald D. Sugar, Northrop Grumman's chairman and chief executive officer. "Over the years, this team's unmatched engineering skills, imagination and determination to succeed have produced, and today maintain, the most powerful airborne weapon system the world has ever known. We're looking forward to continuing that strong partnership as we work to modernize and keep the B-2 fleet vibrant for many decades to come." The anniversary event included remarks by Col. James Dawkins, USAF, Commander, 509th Operations Group; Bruce Hinds, Northrop Grumman's former chief test pilot who piloted the Spirit of America on its first flight; and Gary W. Ervin, president of Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. Dave Mazur, vice president and Northrop Grumman's B-2 program manager, also made a surprise entrance to the ceremony on the B-2 Stealth Bike, the B-2 themed motorcycle that was featured on the 2009 season premiere of the reality cable TV series "American Chopper." Attendees to the ceremony also had a rare opportunity to see a B-2 in flight when the "Spirit of New York" based at nearby Edwards AFB passed over Palmdale as part of a training flight. "The B-2 remains one of the most iconic symbols of freedom for our nation," said Brig Gen Robert E. Wheeler, USAF, Commander, 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. "Its readiness to protect America's interests anywhere in the world is a testament to the talents, courage and the daily sacrifices of the airmen who fly and maintain the fleet today." The B-2 is the only aircraft that combines stealth, long range, large payload and precision weapons delivery in a single platform. Its unique capabilities allow it to penetrate an enemy's most sophisticated defenses and put at risk the most heavily defended targets. The B-2 fleet today consists of 20 aircraft: 19 operational aircraft and one flight test aircraft. The 509th Bomb Wing, a part of Air Force's Air Combat Command, flies and maintains the fleet from its home at Whiteman AFB, Mo. The 702nd Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright Patterson AFB serves as the acquisition arm and overall lead for the B-2 program. The Air Force's Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center manages the sustainment of the fleet and ensures the availability of spare parts. Northrop Grumman performs periodic programmed depot maintenance on the fleet at its B-2 program headquarters in Palmdale, in the same facilities used to assemble and test the B-2s in the 1980s. The company also leads a variety of B-2 modernization programs designed to improve the aircraft's radar, communications, and weapons delivery capabilities. These programs provide the technological foundation for enhancing the aircraft's capabilities in the future, and help ensure that it remains as capable against evolving threats in the future as the day it first entered the Air Force inventory. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

DTN News: Military Jet Crashes In China, Killing Both Pilots

DTN News: Military Jet Crashes In China, Killing Both Pilots

*Source: DTN News / RIA Novosti

(NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW, Russia - July 19, 2009: A Chinese military plane crashed on Sunday during preparations for counter-terrorism exercises with Russia, killing both pilots, a source in Russia's Defense Ministry said. China's official Xinhua news agency reported earlier in the day that a fighter-bomber of the Chinese Air Force had crashed while flying over the Taonan tactical training base in the Jilin province. The plane was to be involved in the Peace Mission 2009 exercises, scheduled to begin on July 22. "According to our information, the pilots of the plane that crashed at the scene of joint Russian-Chinese exercises have died. This incident will not affect preparations for the drills," the source said. About 3,000 troops, 300 armored vehicles, and over 40 aircraft and helicopters will be involved in the Russian-Chinese anti-terrorism exercises, which will take place in the two countries on July 22-26. The first stage of the exercises - military and political consultations - will be held in Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East, and the second and third phases will take place at the Taonan proving ground outside Baichen in northeast China. The first Peace Mission exercises were held in Russia and the eastern Chinese province of Shandong in August 2005, involving warships, aircraft and over 10,000 service personnel including naval infantry and paratroopers.

DTN News: Helicopter Crash In Afghanistan Kills 16

DTN News: Helicopter Crash In Afghanistan Kills 16 *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - July 19, 2009: The NATO alliance in Afghanistan says a civilian helicopter crash in the country's south has killed 16 people. NATO officials say a Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter crashed Sunday while taking off from Kandahar's main air base. Reports from the area say 17 people were on board the helicopter. Kandahar Air Field is NATO's largest base in southern Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a U.S. military helicopter in the northeast made an emergency landing in Kunar province. U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Commander Christine Sidenstricker said no enemy fire was reported near either helicopter accident. The two incidents follow last week's downing of a helicopter that killed all six civilian contractors on board and a child on the ground. Afghan officials said the aircraft may have been shot down by insurgents. NATO commanders say the cause of the crash is not clear and under investigation.

DTN News: After Withdrawal, Iraq Moves To Restrict US Forces

DTN News: After Withdrawal, Iraq Moves To Restrict US Forces

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) BAGHDAD, Iraq - July 19, 2009: The Iraqi government has taken a step forward for a more independent handling of the country's affairs, imposing new restrictions on US activities in Iraq.

U.S. soldiers patrol during a joint operation with Iraqi police in Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad July 1, 2009. All U.S. troops are due to withdraw from Iraq by 2012, after invading to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Following a security accord between Baghdad and Washington, which ended the presence of US troops on the streets of Iraq on June 30, the Baghdad Operations Command issued a letter to top US commanders limiting their movements in the city.

Iraq's top commanders called on their US counterparts to "stop all joint patrols" in Baghdad, banning US resupply convoys from traveling in day time.

Iraqi officials have also called on their US counterparts for an immediate notification in the event of "any violations of the agreement."

The new restrictions, which were issued soon after American soldiers withdrew to military bases on July 2, have raised concerns among US commanders who believe the new limits would endanger the safety of their troops.

If insurgents realize "some of the limitations that we have, that's a vulnerability they could use against us," a senior US military intelligence official argued. Another US commander, however, described the new limitation as a result of mistranslation of the security pact.

Commander of the Baghdad division Major General Daniel P. Bolger called the limits "contrary to the spirit and practice of our last several months of operations," adding that US forces will engage in combat operations in urban areas to avert or respond to threats, with or without help from the Iraqis.

"Maybe something was 'lost in translation'. We are not going to hide our support role in the city. I'm sorry the Iraqi politicians lied/dissembled/spun, but we are not invisible nor should we be," Bolger wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Washington Post.

"This is a broad right and it demands that we patrol, raid and secure routes as necessary to keep our forces safe," he wrote. "We'll do that, preferably partnered", he added.

The US commander's insistence on the continuation of combat comes despite an agreement with Iraqi authorities, under which US combat operations across Iraq are due to end by September 2010 and all US troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011.

DTN News: Taliban Releases Missing US Soldier Video

DTN News: Taliban Releases Missing US Soldier Video *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - July 19, 2009: The Taliban has released a 28-minute video of an American soldier who was captured by the group after he went missing in eastern Afghanistan on June 30. The clip shows the soldier saying the date he was captured -- July 14th . The captive soldier adds he went missing after he lagged behind on a patrol. He also calls for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. "Well I'm scared, scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner," the soldier said on the video. He also addresses the American people saying: "You have the power to make our government bring them home". "Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here, wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country". US defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press and Reuters that the man in the video is the missing soldier. But his name has been withheld until his family is notified. The captors, however, hold up the soldier's identity tags in the video. Military spokesman Captain Jon Stock blamed the move, accusing the Taliban of breaching "international law" by "the use of the soldier for propaganda purposes".

DTN News: China Says Police Killed 12 Protestors In Urumqi Riots

DTN News: China Says Police Killed 12 Protestors In Urumqi Riots

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) BEIJING, China - July 19, 2009: After weeks of clashes in China's violence-stricken northwestern region of Xinjiang, Chinese police forces admit to killing 12 rioters in the western city of Urumqi.

Police search drivers and their vehicles leaving the Uighur district in Urumqi on July 17, 2009 in northwest China's Xinjiang province. Security forces armed with semi-automatic weapons and batons were deployed in China's restive Urumqi city as worshippers descended on mosques for the main Muslim day of prayer.

Xinjiang governor Nur Bekri said on Sunday that police had exercised "the greatest restraint" as they sought to disperse protestors in the capital Urumqi. According to Bekri, security forces shot the "mobsters" after first firing several warning shots.

The official, however, stopped short of saying which ethnic group the "mobsters" belonged to. The Chinese governor said three of those killed died on the spot and nine others died after treatment failed.

Another Chinese official surnamed Wu from the Xinjiang regional government information office confirmed the report on Sunday but could not confirm whether those killed by the police were Uighurs or Han Chinese.

"Many police officers were injured and one was killed," Bekri added. Authorities charge Rebiya Kadeer, a prominent exiled Uighur activist, with fomenting the unrest. Kadeer, a US resident, has denied the charge.

A Uighur man walks past a squad of armed Chinese security personnel on patrol in the Uighur district of Urumqi on July 17, 2009 in northwest China's Xinjiang province. Security forces armed with semi-automatic weapons and batons were deployed in China's restive Urumqi city as worshippers descended on mosques for the main Muslim day of prayer.

The Uighurs were once the majority in Xinjiang but now make up only about half of the region's 20 million people due to Han migration.

The eight million Uighurs in Xinjiang accuse the Chinese government of discrimination and repression. The government, however, denies the charges.

The protests, which saw 197 people killed and more than 1,700 others injured, were sparked over the last month deaths of Uighur factory workers during a brawl in southern China.

DTN News: In Afghan War, UK Borrows Russian Helicopters

DTN News: In Afghan War, UK Borrows Russian Helicopters

*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) LONDON, U.K. - July 19, 2009: With Britain's prime minister under attack for under-equipping the armed forces, a report adds fuel to the fire, revealing that a shortage of helicopters has forced British forces in Afghanistan to use Russian choppers to fight the Taliban.

A borrowed Mi-8 helicopter in Afghanistan by British forces. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter ~ 12,000, and is used by over 50 countries. There are numerous variants, including the Mi-8T which is armed with rockets and anti-tank guided missiles, in addition to carrying twenty-four soldiers. The Mil Mi-17 export version is employed by around 20 countries; its equivalent in Russian service in the Mi-8M series. The naval Mil Mi-14 and attack Mil Mi-24 are also derived from the Mi-8.

A report by The Mail on Sunday claimed that the Ministry of Defense is using civilian Russian-built Mi-8 and Mi-26 transport helicopters with freelance Russian and Ukrainian pilots to transport supplies and soldiers in Afghanistan.

The conservative opposition in Britain has accused Prime Minister Gordon Brown of denying vital resources to British troops in Afghanistan.

The shortage of military hardware and equipment and in particular helicopters has been cited as one of the main reasons behind rising UK casualties in the Afghan war. Critics argue that the shortage of helicopters has forced troops to travel by road and left them vulnerable to Taliban roadside bombs.

The Prime Minister, however, has defended himself by saying that "British armed forces are better equipped today than at any time... in the past 40 years."

"In the last two years we have increased helicopter numbers by 60 percent and... capacity by 84 percent," Brown told the House of Commons.

While the US reportedly has 120 helicopters in Afghanistan, Britain's armed forces have less than 30.

The Mail also added that the Army has borrowed commercial Russian Antonov aircraft to transfer vehicles and heavy equipment to Afghanistan.

DTN News: Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Youth Under 19 Championships - Two Tops On Track

DTN News: Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Youth Under 19 Championships - Two Tops On Track

*Source: DTN News / Badminton Association of Malaysia

(NSI News Source Info) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - July 19, 2009: Two top seeds at the Yonex Sunrise Asia Youth U19 Badminton Championships stayed on the winning track when they advanced into the finals at Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

Men's singles top seed, Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin and men's double's top seed, Yew Heng Kheng/Ow Yao Han delighted the home crowd with contrasting wins while China has bounced back from disappointment in the team event and looks set to wrap up the other three golds.

Boys’ singles top seed Zainuddin Iskandar Zulkarnain had an easy match, winning 21-7 21-12 over Misbun Sidek's son, Misbun Ramdan. Iskandar said that he will give his best in the final against China's Tian Houwei, whom he already beat in the team final on Wednesday.

"I think tomorrow's match against China will be 50-50," added Iskandar. Malaysia was unable to make it an all-Malaysian final due to the loss of 10th seed, Mohd Ismail Muhammad Syawal (pictured top) to Tian, 13-21, 21-23.

Malaysia's singles coach Sun Chenghua said that Tian Houwei played better especially at the net and took advantage of Syawal's mistakes.In the boys’ doubles, Yew Heng Kheng / Ow Yao Han were stretched to 3 games by Koreans Kang Ji Wook (pictured) and Choi Seung Il. The Malaysians won the 1st game 21-17 but the Koreans played better and faster and won the 2nd 21-8. However, the Malaysian pair was able to forget about the 2nd game and focus fully on the decider, which they won 21-16.

They will face Pratama Angga / Sugiarto Yohanes Rendy in the finals. The Indonesians took care of Thailand’s Phuangphuapet Nipitphon / D.Caballes Tin in the day’s shortest match.Meanwhile, there was an upset in the mixed doubles when top seeds Jongjit Maneepong / Chuthabunditkul Rodjana from Thailand were beaten by China's Liu Peixuan / Xia Huan, 18-21 13-21.

Liu Peixuan/Xia Huan will face compatriots Lu Kai/Bao Yixin in the finals, after Lu/Bao eliminated the last of India’s strong challenge at this tournament, beating Chopra Pranav / Sawant Prajakta 21-12, 21-15.The girls' singles event, which saw some upsets, including the defeat of Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in the early rounds, will have Chinese Taipei's Tai Tsu Ying and China's Chen Xiaojia in the finals.

Tai Tsu Ying played aggresively and impressively to beat 5th seed Febby Angguni. Tai lost the 1st game by a narrow 19-21 but made a strong comeback, racing out to a 8-3 lead and then scoring 8 consecutive points to take a commanding 18-6 lead in the 2nd set.

She even forced Angguni Febby to dive and do the splits a few times to save the shuttles before the Taiwan shuttler eventually won 21-8. In the deciding game, it was a tight competition and a more determined Tai won it 27-25.

China’s Chen, who was troubled several times in the team competition, had her first real test in the individual draw from Indonesia’s Ana Rovita before finally winning 24-22, 21-17.The semi-finals ended with girls’ doubles, where China is assured of the title as they will have 2 representatives in the finals. Xia Huan earned herself a shot at two titles on Sunday as she and Tang Jinhua beat Malaysia's Ng Hui Ern / Lai Pei Jing 23-15, 21-15, 21-15. However, the Malaysian pair can stand tall as they gave a good fight which saw also saw them diving for the shuttles. The Malaysian pair also upset the top seeds, Nguyen Thi Sen / Vu Thi Trang, en route to the semi-finals in addition to playing well to help Malaysia in the team event.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Rodjana Chuthabunditkul (pictured) tasted disappointment twice in one day as she and Sapsiree Taerattanachai fell to China’s Luo/Luo.The finals will start with mix doubles and end with men's singles and surely Malaysia will hope to make it a double victory.

Yonex-Sunrise sponsore of BWF World Championships Super Series

For complete semi-final results from the 2009 Yonex Sunrise Asia Youth U19 Badminton Championships, please CLICK HERE

DTN News: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Denies Pressuring India On Pakistan

DTN News: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Denies Pressuring India On Pakistan *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) MUMBAI, India - July 19, 2009: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday the United States is not pressing India to improve relations with Pakistan in the absence of accountability by Pakistan for anti-Indian acts of terrorism.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures during a press conference at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, Saturday, July 18, 2009. Clinton opened a three-day visit to India on Saturday by attending a ceremony commemorating the terrorist attack in this coastal city last November that killed 166 people and raised Indian tensions with Pakistan. Clinton, in Mumbai on her first India visit as secretary, paid tribute Saturday to victims of terrorist attacks in the Indian financial capital last November attributed to Pakistan-based extremists. The Obama administration has strongly supported recent efforts at India-Pakistan reconciliation underscored by the meeting of the two countries' prime ministers this week in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. But at a news conference on her first full day in India, Clinton sought to allay Indian concerns that the United States is pressuring India into peace moves toward its neighbor without Pakistani accountability for the Mumbai attacks. Pressed by Indian reporters on the issue, Clinton said she believes there has been a much greater effort and commitment by Pakistan in the last six months to deal with home-grown terrorism, and suggested there may be action in the next few days to bring Pakistani extremists wanted in the Mumbai attacks to justice. But she said Indian efforts at better relations with its neighbor and long-time rival Pakistan are solely an Indian government decision and not the result of American political pressure. Clinton said, "Clearly any decision made between the governments of India and Pakistan to begin talking together, to explore the very difficult issues between them, is up to those governments. And I think that the United States, as you know, is very supportive of steps that the governments take. But we are not in any way involved in or promoting any particular position. We respect the sovereignty of these decisions that lie in the hands of the Indian government." A fireman gestures outside Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, 29 Nov 2008Clinton began her day in Mumbai by attending a commemorative event for victims of the November 2008 attacks at the Taj Palace hotel, one of the targets of the terrorist operation and where the secretary and her entourage are staying while in the coastal city. The secretary met with 13 staff members of two hotels hit by the Pakistan-based extremists including the manager of the Oberoi hotel, whose wife and two children were killed. Clinton signed a memorial book kept at the Taj Palace, which was heavily damaged in the attack but is now fully restored, saying Americans affected by the September 2001 terror strikes in the United States share a solidarity with the city of Mumbai and the Indian nation. She said it is up to all nations and people who seek peace and progress to work together and rid the world of the hatred and extremism that produces such nihilistic violence. At the ensuing press event, the secretary said Friday's suicide bomb attacks on two hotels in Jakarta are a painful reminder that the threat is still very real and said the United States will work with India, and Indonesia and other countries to defeat violent extremists.

DTN News: Pakistan's Fifth Column

DTN News: Pakistan's Fifth Column

*Source: DTN News / National Post By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - July 19, 2009: For eight years, NATO forces and their local allies have been battling Taliban militia and terrorists. But who are the Taliban, exactly? Many Canadians still do not know. In the third instalment of "Know Thine Enemy," a four-part series presented in partnership with the Washington based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross explains how Taliban sympathizers infiltrated Pakistan's intelligence services. Pakistani new army chief General Ashfaq Kiyani watches President General Pervez Musharraf deliver his speech during a change of command ceremony in Rawalpindi, Nov. 28, 2007. Pakistan has engaged in a two-month offensive against Islamic militants in the country's Swat region, a campaign that began when the Taliban captured a district just 60 miles from Islamabad, the nation's capital. As the campaign winds down, and local residents begin to return, significant questions remain about future counterinsurgency operations. For example, while Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has asked Washington for his own armed Predator drones for use against the Taliban, regional newspaper Dawn reports that U. S. intelligence officers oppose this move -- in part because several years ago "American officials gave Pakistan advance word of planned Predator attacks, but stopped the practice after the information was leaked to militants." This relatively minor disagreement highlights an issue that cuts to the heart of many of the challenges Pakistan faces: support for religious militancy within the country's military and Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). At its founding, Pakistan's military was shaped by the country's colonial experience. Scholar Shuja Nawaz, whose instalment in this op-ed series appeared earlier this week, notes that Pakistan's army began with an elitist orientation, filled at the upper echelons with British officers who "were in turn succeeded by their native clones, men who saw the army as a unique institution, separate and apart from the rest of civil society and authority." In the 1970s, two major changes had a lasting impact. First, prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto broadened the ISI by creating an internal wing. He wanted to bolster his own power, and had the ISI spy on friend and foe alike. Ironically, the wing Bhutto created would play a role in the coup that toppled him in 1977. The second change was brought by the man who came to power in that coup, General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq. Zia's religious zeal translated into overtly Muslim public policy positions and imposition of Islamic norms. Zia devoted particular attention to the military, where officers were required to read S. K. Malik's The Quranic Concept of War, and a Directorate of Religious Instruction oversaw their Islamic education. Religious criteria were incorporated into promotion requirements, and Zia mandated formal obedience to Islamic rules within the military. At the same time, the demographics of the officer corps shifted. The rank-and-file of the new junior officers came from Pakistan's poorer northern districts. Journalist Zahid Hussain notes that "the spirit of liberalism, common in the 'old' army, was practically unknown to them. They were products of a social class that, by its very nature, was conservative and easily influenced by Islamic fundamentalism."

This new direction was bolstered by the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan soon after Zia came to power. The ISI funnelled money to the anti-Soviet mujahideen, and trained them. As funding for the mujahidin grew, so did the ISI. Though it had a staff of around 2,000 before the Soviet invasion, the ISI retained about 40,000 employees by the time American funding for the war ended in 1989. Afghanistan fell into civil war after the Soviet-backed regime of Mohammad Najibullah fell in 1992. The ISI remained involved, eventually becoming a major sponsor of the Taliban. Within two years of the fundamentalist group's founding, it captured both Kandahar and Kabul, aided by the ISI. The Taliban brought a harsh version of Islamic law, and ultimately offered Osama bin Laden safe haven. During this period, ISI agents not only formed relationships with the Taliban, but also sponsored religious militants in India's Kashmir region, and even co-operated with al-Qaeda. The New York Times has noted that the ISI's use of al-Qaeda camps to train fighters may have been revealed in August 1998 when the U. S. killed "several members of a Kashmiri militant group supported by Pakistan" in retaliatory strikes following the bombing of American embassies in East Africa. After then-Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf threw in his lot with the U. S. following the 9/11 attacks, he sacked pro-Taliban commanders at the top levels of the ISI and military. But this was too little, too late. Many officers remained tied to the Taliban militants and mujahideen with whom they had built relations over the course of two decades. Moreover, the Frankenstein monster of Pakistan-created jihadist groups was now out of control: Pakistan supported such groups for over a decade, and couldn't simply cut them all off at once. Today, support for jihadist groups occurs at three levels within Pakistan's ISI and military. First, the ISI has had an institutional policy of support for actors such as Mullah Omar's Taliban, and perhaps other jihadist groups with ties to al-Qaeda at top levels. Second, elements of Pakistan's ISI and military that are regarded as "rogues" by the U. S. have supported jihadist groups. These elements have been implicated in such recent terrorist incidents as the November 2008 Mumbai "urban warfare" attacks, the July 2008 bombing of India's embassy in Kabul, and a September 2008 bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. There is also an open question as to whether these "rogue" elements are acting individually, or if they constitute factions within the ISI and the military. Third, retired ISI and military officers with connections to Islamic militancy often remain influential following their retirement. One example is former ISI head Hamid Gul. In late 2008, the U. S. linked Gul to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and India has demanded his arrest in connection with the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. There is frequently overlap between these three levels, and it is clear that all three levels of support create problems for Western interests in the region while strengthening jihadist groups. Understanding this dynamic, and formulating sound policies to address it, will be critical to stabilizing South Asia. - Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is the director of the Center for Terrorism Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and coeditor of a forthcoming book on Pakistan that will be published by FDD Press. An expanded version of this article appears in the spring 2009 issue of the Journal of International Security Affairs.