GLOBAL POLITICAL AWAKENING: American military

Showing posts with label American military. Show all posts

Friday, June 24, 2011

US ready to arm Philippines amid China tension

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Philippines
Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario (L) meet in Washington
© AFP/File Paul J. Richards

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said Thursday it was ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of the Philippines, which vowed to "stand up to any aggressive action" amid rising tension at sea with China.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, on a visit to Washington, said the Philippines hoped to lease equipment to upgrade its aged fleet and called for the allies to revamp their relationship in light of the friction with China.

"We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a joint news conference when asked about the hardware wish-list from the Philippines.

Helicopter lost over Libya is new US drone: officials

An unmanned MQ-8B Fire Scout
© AFP/File Jim Watson

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A drone helicopter that lost radar contact with NATO over Libya is a Fire Scout, an unmanned US chopper, defense officials said Tuesday, revealing the use of the new robotic aircraft in the war.

"We don't know yet" why NATO's command center in Naples, Italy lost contact with the MQ-8B Fire Scout, a US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

© AFP -- Published at Activist Post with license

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Bigger than Blackwater: Arming the UAE

IDEX 2011 - Photo credit, GulfNews

Hannah Gurman
Foreign Policy in Focus

The International Defense Exhibition, otherwise known as IDEX, has been held bi-annually in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 1993. It is the largest defense expo in the Middle East and North Africa and one of the biggest in the world. But far from being a one-off, it highlights the UAE’s growing stature as a global arms buyer.

This year’s IDEX took place in the glistening Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Its high ceilings and massive rooms displayed a diverse array of high-tech weaponry against the backdrop of heavily illuminated signboards like the ones you see in the showrooms of luxury car dealerships. All the big Western defense corporations were there — Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Dyncorp, Northrup Grumman, European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. — as well as Chinese companies, including China North. There were also a host of local companies including Arabian Aerospace, Abu Dhabi Ship Building Company, and the state-owned Mubadala. Like all of these events, it was a heavily male enterprise. The exhibitors wore suits. The visitors wore either the military uniform of the UAE or traditional Arab dress.

Muslim Americans in the U.S. Military Considered as Possible Terrorists Discuss Betrayal (Video)

US foresees $46 billion in 2011 military sales

Yemen turmoil makes Qaeda 'more dangerous': US Mullen

Yemeni anti-government protesters
© AFP Ahmad Gharabli

AFP

CAIRO (AFP) - The turmoil in Yemen which has seen its veteran president seek treatment in Saudi Arabia after a bomb attack makes the local Al-Qaeda franchise "more dangerous", the top US uniformed commander Admiral Michael Mullen said on Wednesday.

Al-Qaeda in Yemen "has grown into a very virulent deadly federated point in the Al-Qaeda organisation," the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff told a news conference on a visit to Cairo.

"It is incredibly dangerous and made more dangerous in the ongoing chaos."

Yemeni President Ali Abullah Saleh, who was flown to Saudi Arabia for treatment on Saturday after an attack on his palace following five months of protests against his 33-year rule, has been a key ally in the US "war on terror".

'No confirmation' Al-Qaeda's Kashmiri is dead: US official

Army judges weigh military trials for civilians

Guantanamo Tribunal AFP image

Mark Sherman
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three Army judges are weighing a question that hasn't cropped up in decades: whether a civilian contractor working for the U.S. military can be tried in a military court. The issue eventually could end up at the Supreme Court.

The case of Alaa "Alex" Mohammad Ali, a former Army translator in Iraq, challenges the notion that courts-martial only have authority over members of the armed forces. But it also runs up against complaints that using U.S. civilian courts to prosecute contractors working with U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq has been largely ineffective, and trying them in local courts often has not been possible.

Ali, an Iraqi-Canadian, was prosecuted by the military after an altercation in Iraq during which he allegedly stole a U.S. soldier's knife and used it to stab another translator. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Ali's appeal is before the Army Court of Criminal Appeals. He was convicted under rules issued after Congress amended the Uniform Code of Military Justice in 2006 to allow courts-martial of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Thursday, June 2, 2011

US Troops discuss "Drop-Weapons"

Editor's Note: Is US law enforcement also using drop weapons here at home to cover up disastrous home invasions such as the murder of Jose Guerena in his home in Pima County, Arizona?

YouTube

Monday, May 23, 2011

Gates warns against shrinking US military

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday called for maintaining a powerful US military and warned against slashing its budget as a response to the country's fiscal troubles.

In one of his last scheduled speeches before he steps down at the end of June, Gates told students at the University of Notre Dame that the country could not afford to shirk its global responsibilities or to scale back its armed forces.

"As we make the tough choices needed to put this country's finances in order and to secure our future prosperity -- including the sacrifices that will be required of all Americans -- there will undoubtedly be calls to shrink America's role in the world -- for us to sharply reduce our international commitments and the size and capabilities of our military," Gates said.

US missile test deal offers hope to Marshalls slum

Million Dollar Men -- American Soldiers in Afghanistan

Rick Gedeon

Activist Post

The government spends over a million dollars per annum per soldier in Afghanistan and after almost 10 years of occupation—the longest war in American history—the American public tactically accepts the responsibly of this enormous financial burden without question.

Going back almost a decade it is imperative to understand and to appreciate why America finds herself in Afghanistan. We were told in November, 2001 by the New York Times in an opinion column entitled Liberating the Women of Afghanistan, that “the reclaimed freedom of Afghan women is a collateral benefit that Americans can celebrate.” It was another comical propaganda ploy at convincing us that America’s post-9/11 raison d'être was to help women in “uncovering their faces, looking for jobs, walking happily with female friends on the street and even hosting a news show on Afghan television.” Collateral benefits, yet no mention is made of the reality called collateral damage—the euphemism for killing innocent people—that the Women of Afghanistan would actually endure.

Enver Masud masterfully details the motive, which he contends was due in part because of a gas pipeline being built through the region. From his book, 9/11 Unveiled:

The attacks on 911 led to the U.S. war on Afghanistan—a war planned prior to 9/11, after negotiations with the Taliban had broken down. The Taliban, after initially negotiating with Unocal, had begun showing a preference for Bridas Corporation of Argentina. During the negotiations—which occurred prior to 9/11 (by which the Taliban representatives were actually invited and flown to attend the meetings at Uncocal headquarters in Sugar land, Texas)—U.S. representatives told the Taliban, ‘either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs’.

On October 7, 2001, without the benefit of a UN resolution, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom launched their war on Afghanistan—one of the world’s poorest countries, already devastated by 23 years of war and civil strife resulting from the Russian invasion of 1979.

US lawmakers reach deal to avert govt shutdown

US has infiltrated Ecuador's police: military

A police officer in front of the US embassy in Quito
© AFP/File Rodrigo Buendia

AFP

QUITO (AFP) - President Rafael Correa has charged the United States with infiltrating Ecuador's armed forces and police, shortly after he ordered the US ambassador out of the country over a leaked Wikileaks diplomatic cable.

Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino earlier announced that the US ambassador, Heather Hodges, was sent home over a leaked diplomatic cable that quoted her as saying Correa knowingly appointed a corrupt chief of police.

In Washington, the State Department said it "deeply" regretted the decision by the South American country.

Hodges is "one of our most experienced and talented diplomats," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

In a 2009 cable released by WikiLeaks, the ambassador was quoted as saying Correa had named as police chief general, Jaime Hurtado, a man she said had a reputation for being corrupt. Correa knew of his activities, she alleged.

Hurtado remained in the post from April 2008 to June 2009.

© AFP -- Published at Activist Post with license

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Friday, April 1, 2011

Libya's rag-tag rebels badly need training: US

Editor's Note: Translation: We need to dedicate more money and more time to this third war front.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) and Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen testify
© AFP Saul Loeb

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday Libya's rag-tag rebels needed training more than guns in their battle against Moamer Kadhafi's army but that other nations should do the job.

Facing lawmakers concerned that armed intervention in Libya could end in stalemate, Gates and top military officer Admiral Mike Mullen said a NATO-led air campaign had damaged Kadhafi's forces but not yet brought them to a breaking point.

Gates said the military mission did not call for deposing Kadhafi but he said economic and political pressure and Libya's people -- not air strikes -- would eventually drive Kadhafi from power.

China's army chief of staff to visit US in May

AFP

BEIJING (AFP) - China said Thursday its army chief of staff would visit the United States in May, as the two countries try to bolster military relations amid their growing rivalry.

"The two armies are now faced with new opportunities for development of their relations," defence ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng told reporters as China released a white paper outlining its defence policy.

He said Chen Bingde, chief of staff at the People's Liberation Army, would visit the United States in May as part of efforts to strengthen military ties -- a major point of friction in wider Sino-US relations.

Tensions soared early last year when China suspended high-level defence contacts with the United States over Washington's sale of more than $6 billion in arms to Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its own territory.

WikiLeaks: U.S. Punished Costa Rica For Not Signing Covert Immunity Agreement

Anthony Freda Illustration

Michael Edwards
Activist Post

Like a mafia strongman who kneecaps you, then threatens you not to tell anyone or it will only get worse next time, the United States slashed support to Costa Rica after the Kentucky-sized country failed to grant immunity to U.S. soldiers and American citizens in the International Criminal Court.

WikiLeaks is once again at center stage in bringing to light government intrigue that has remained undercover for years. Apparently, even the smallest countries are not immune. According to the cables, between the years of 2004-2006, the U.S. imposed undeclared sanctions on Costa Rica totaling upwards of $400,000 annually, according to Costa Rica's largest newspaperThe Nation (La Nación).

Although these cables are a bit dated, the news of U.S. coercion remains relevant as 46 U.S. Coast Guard ships and 27 US Navy vessels are parked in Costa Rican waters as part of ongoing operations against drug trafficking. The 10-year agreement involving 7,000 U.S. Marines was signed by former Costa Rica President, Oscar Arias, where the U.S. reportedly pays Costa Rica $300,000 per month to occupy its waters.

US under pressure to arm Libya rebels

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States came under mounting pressure Sunday to help arm rebels facing Moamer Kadhafi's emboldened and regrouping military, amid charges Washington missed recent chances to oust Libya's strongman.

President Barack Obama has insisted that all options including military action remain on the table with respect to Libya, where Kadhafi forces have unleashed deadly airstrikes on rebels and civilians in efforts to crush an uprising in which thousands are believed to have been killed.

But with the administration cautioning that a decision on a no-fly zone was still far off, US lawmakers and former officials appearing on Sunday talk shows coalesced around the likelihood that supplying weapons to the outgunned rebels was a way forward.

"I assume that a lot of weapons are going to find their way there (to rebels in Libya) from one means or another over the course of the next weeks," Democrat John Kerry, who helms the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CBS's "Face the Nation."

Ex-governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, also said Sunday it was time to "covertly arm the rebels" and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.

And Stephen Hadley, national security advisor for Obama predecessor George W. Bush, said Washington should look at the potential for funneling arms to Kadhafi's opponents.

"Obviously, if there is a way to get weapons into the hands of the rebels, if we can get anti-aircraft systems so that they can enforce a no-fly zone over their own territory, that would be helpful," Hadley told CNN.

When asked if sending weapons to opposition forces was a possibility, Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan told AFP: "As the president said, all options are being considered, but we're not discussing details of the various options."

Kerry said a no-fly zone -- which would necessitate air strikes to take out Libya's defenses -- should be set up in conjunction with allies, but warned that direct military action would be "trickier."

"The last thing we want to think about is any kind of military intervention, and I don't consider the fly zone stepping over that line," he said.

"We don't want troops on the ground. They don't want troops on the ground."

But there were other ways of displaying US might to Tripoli, including the use of military transport planes to fly Egyptian refugees out of Tunisia, and the recent arrival in the Mediterranean of two US warships with marines on board.

"We have made the presence of American military felt for that purpose," Kerry said.

Washington recently missed a key opportunity to end Kadhafi's four-decade grip on power, according to a former regime member.

"We asked for help when he was on the ropes," Libya's ex-minister of immigration Ali Errishi, who resigned shortly after the uprising began nearly three weeks ago, told CNN's "State of the Union."

"I said, you give us little help now. It was just a little nudge," when what was needed was greater US military support at the height of the chaos when several key Kadhafi loyalists and military figures abandoned the regime, Errishi said.

"They were dragging their feet, I don't know why," said Errishi.

He also stressed he had "no doubt" that Kadhafi would refuse to negotiate terms for his own departure.

"This is a man who has shown that there's only one choice for Libyan people: either I rule you or I kill you."

Rebels have taken control of much of Libya's eastern half, but Kadhafi's well-armed forces have gone on the counter-attack against rag-tag groups of rebels who are often armed only with AK-47 assault rifles.

Obama's 2008 rival for the presidency, Republican US Senator John McCain, reiterated his call for a no-fly zone Sunday, saying it would "send a signal to Kadhafi" that Obama was serious in his call for the Libyan leader to step down.

"We can't risk allowing Kadhafi to massacre people from the air," he told ABC's "This Week."

Like Kerry, McCain backed off from direct military engagement but said "there's a lot we could do, including intelligence capability and giving them technical assistance."

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Thursday, February 3, 2011

No plans to halt US military aid to Egypt: Pentagon

AFP/Activist Post

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Thursday said it had no plans to halt weapons deliveries to Egypt in coming months despite a popular revolt against President Hosni Mubarak's rule.

While the US administration was examining its economic and military aid to Egypt in light of political upheaval there, military assistance had not been suspended, a spokesman said.

"There's a difference between halting the aid and reviewing it," said Colonel Dave Lapan.

As senior US officers closely monitored fast-moving events in Cairo, Lapan said Egypt's military continued to display "restraint" in the crisis so far.

"To date we have seen them act professionally and with restraint. Again it's a very fluid situation so we're watching every single day," Lapan told reporters.

The White House has suggested that US assistance for Egypt is under review in the face of a wave of street demonstrations demanding Mubarak step down.

Spare parts for F-16 warplanes, coastal patrol ships and fuses for munitions are among items due to be delivered to Egypt in the early part of this year, Lapan said.

The United States has provided tens of billions worth of arms and training to Egypt over more than three decades, with annual defense assistance at $1.3 billion.

Lapan also said the US military had no immediate plans to redeploy its forces in or near Egypt in response to the crisis, but as always the armed forces were carrying out "prudent planning" for all scenarios.

The majority of the more than 600 US troops stationed in Egypt are part of the multinational observer mission in the Sinai, with the remainder providing security at the embassy or working in a defense cooperation office, he said.

A US aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, a guided-missile destroyer and other warships are currently in the Mediterranean with tentative plans to sail through the Suez Canal on the way to the Arabian Sea possibly later this month.

US ships in the Arabian Sea back up the war effort in Afghanistan, with fighter jets based on carriers running combat missions for troops on the ground.

Mubarak's government has long provided the US military with access to its air space and safe passage for naval ships through the Suez Canal, which Washington has used to supply troops in the Iraq war.

The US military's top officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, on Wednesday spoke to his counterpart by phone and said in a statement that he had "confidence" in the Egyptian army's ability to provide security for the country and the Suez Canal.

US officials and analysts view the role of Egypt's army as crucial in eventually resolving the crisis, and the administration is hoping that longstanding defense ties with Cairo will provide some leverage.

The White House said Wednesday that US contacts with various levels of the Egyptian armed forces had helped rein in possible violence earlier in the week.
© AFP

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Friday, December 3, 2010

Dozens Of Major Military Contractors Granted Legal Immunity

Marcus Baram
Huffington Post

NEW YORK -- Taxpayers may be on the hook if U.S. military contractors in Iraq incur liability while carrying out their work.

More than 120 military contracts include indemnification clauses -- essentially, promises that the Pentagon will pick up the tab if contractors are sued. The information was disclosed on Thursday in response to an inquiry by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who was concerned that contractor Kellogg Brown Root was granted indemnity amid a lawsuit claiming that the Halliburton subsidiary knowingly exposed soldiers to cancer-causing chemicals in Iraq, as previously reported by The Huffington Post.

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