Messages In This Digest (24 Messages)

23.: Big War Spending Continues Under Obama From: Rick Rozoff

24.: NATO Plans To Train Pakistani Officers At Academies In Europe From: Rick Rozoff

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1.: White House Requests Record Post-World War II Military Budget

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 9:47 am (PST)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6103C520100201?type=politicsNews

Reuters
February 1, 2010

Obama seeks record $708 billion in defense budget

[1946 budget considered as carry over from World War II.]

-The budget underscored the administration's commitment to a "robust defense against emerging missile threats," saying it would pay for use of increasingly capable sea- and land-based missile interceptors and a range of sensors in Europe.

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Monday asked Congress to approve a record $708 billion in defense spending for fiscal year 2011, including a 3.4 percent increase in the Pentagon's base budget and $159 billion to fund U.S. military missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The White House budget request also included $33 billion in additional funding for fiscal 2010 to pay for increasing military and intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and drawing down U.S. forces in Iraq. That comes on top of $129.6 billion already provided for the current fiscal year, which ends September 30.

The Pentagon's base budget request of $549 billion is up $18 billion from $531 billion in fiscal 2010, and will pay for continued reforms of defense acquisitions, development of a ballistic missile defense system and care of wounded soldiers.
....
....
The budget underscored the administration's commitment to a "robust defense against emerging missile threats," saying it would pay for use of increasingly capable sea- and land-based missile interceptors and a range of sensors in Europe.

The Pentagon's budget continues to fund new weapons already under development, including the F-35 fighter, a new ballistic missile submarine, a new family of ground vehicles and the P-8 surveillance aircraft built by Boeing.

It will also pay for more unmanned planes, helicopters, electronic warfare capabilities and cybersecurity measures.

Overall, the budget includes $112.8 billion for weapons procurement, up from $104.8 billion in fiscal 2010, and $76 billion for research and development, down from $80 billion.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
===========================
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2.: Iraqi Government To Sue U.S., Britain Over Depleted Uranium Weapons

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 9:47 am (PST)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117557§ionid=351020201

Press TV
February 2, 2010

Iraq to sue US, Britain over depleted uranium bombs

-According to Iraqi military experts, the US and Britain bombed the country with nearly 2,000 tons of depleted uranium bombs during the early years of the Iraq war.
Atomic radiation has increased the number of babies born with defects in the southern provinces of Iraq.

Iraq's Ministry for Human Rights will file a lawsuit against Britain and the US over their use of depleted uranium bombs in Iraq, an Iraqi minister says.

Iraq's Minister of Human Rights, Wijdan Mikhail Salim, told the Assabah newspaper that the lawsuit will be launched based on reports from the Iraqi ministries of science and the environment.

According to the reports, during the first year of the US and British invasion of Iraq, both countries had repeatedly used bombs containing depleted uranium.

According to Iraqi military experts, the US and Britain bombed the country with nearly 2,000 tons of depleted uranium bombs during the early years of the Iraq war.

Atomic radiation has increased the number of babies born with defects in the southern provinces of Iraq.

Iraqi doctors say they' have been struggling to cope with the rise in the number of cancer cases —especially in cities subjected to heavy U-S and British bombardment.

The high rate of birth defects and cancer cases will move in the coming years to the central and northern provinces of Iraq since the radiation may penetrate the soil and water by air.

The ministry will seek compensation for the victims of these bombs.
===========================
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3.: Afghanistan: NATO Fatalities Rise To Record High

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 9:48 am (PST)

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/06-afghan-violence-kills-three-us-nato-soldiers-rs-03

Agence France-Presse
February 1, 2010

Afghan violence kills three US, Nato soldiers

KABUL: Bomb attacks and a firefight killed three foreign soldiers, one of them identified as an American, in separate incidents in war-torn Afghanistan on Monday, Nato said.

Two of the soldiers, including the American, were killed by improvised bombs, which have become a major asset in the arsenal of Taliban-led insurgents, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

ISAF did not disclose the nationalities of the two other casualties, who it said were killed in separate incidents in southern and western Afghanistan.

Two brief statements from ISAF announced the soldiers' deaths, but gave no specific details of where the incidents had taken place.

"An ISAF service member from the United States was killed today in an IED strike in southern Afghanistan," the force said earlier Monday.

The deaths mark a grisly start to the month and bring to 47 the total number of foreign soldiers to die in Afghanistan so far this year, according to an AFP tally.

Last month's death toll of 44 was the highest for the month of January since the Taliban regime was overthrown in a US-led invasion in late 2001.

It compared with 25 for January 2009.
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4.: British Warship Joins NATO Naval Force In Gulf Of Aden

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 9:49 am (PST)

http://www.eucom.mil/english/fullstory.asp?art={0EBF0A3B-8DE5-4390-B94E-0C1205524A74}

International Security Assistance Force
Public Affairs
February 1, 2010

Royal Navy warship HMS Chatham arrives in Gulf of Aden for NATO Counter-Piracy Operation

-Whilst officially designated a frigate, her comprehensive weapons fit gives her, in reality, the firepower of a cruiser.
She is capable of engaging targets above, on or below the sea surface.
The Ship carries anti-air and anti-missile SeaWolf missiles, anti-ship Harpoon missiles, anti-submarine Stingray torpedoes and a Lynx helicopter; she is also fitted with a variety of guns of up to 4½" (114mm) bore....

GULF OF ADEN: Royal Navy warship HMS Chatham arrived in the Gulf of Aden, Jan. 29 to take part in NATO's Operation Ocean Shield - the code name for NATO's counter piracy mission off the Horn of Africa and into the Somali Basin....

Since leaving the UK at the beginning of January, HMS Chatham's Ship's Company have spent their time carrying out 'mission rehearsal' practicing the tactics and procedures. The full range of the Ship's counter piracy capabilities has been tested, from the Lynx helicopter and fast rigid inflatable boats, though to the embarked Royal Marines boarding team; the sailors and Marines are all now eager to use their training in an operational theatre.

HMS Chatham is currently patrolling a section of the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC), an agreed shipping lane that passes through the Gulf of Aden, where the NATO Task Group and warships from other nations can oversee merchant shipping....

Captain Chris Beesley, the Officer in Charge of the Royal Marines detachment said "During the transit to our area of operations, we have integrated with the Ship's Company and kept a busy training program. This has included practicing our Close Quarter Battle drills, fast rope insertions and, of course, plenty of physical exercise. All the Royal Marines on board are now eager to begin our operational tasking."
....
HMS Chatham, a Type 22 frigate was launched in 1988. Based in Plymouth, she is 150m long, has a crew of 250 and displaces 5,300 tonnes. Whilst officially designated a frigate, her comprehensive weapons fit gives her, in reality, the firepower of a cruiser.

She is capable of engaging targets above, on or below the sea surface.

The Ship carries anti-air and anti-missile SeaWolf missiles, anti-ship Harpoon missiles, anti-submarine Stingray torpedoes and a Lynx helicopter; she is also fitted with a variety of guns of up to 4½" (114mm) bore, advanced radars, sonars, computer systems and communications equipment to carry out her tasking.
....
===========================
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5.: Saakashvili Ready To Transform Georgia Into American Military Bridge

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 9:52 am (PST)

http://en.rian.ru/papers/20100201/157739210.html

Gazeta.ru/Kommersant
February 1. 2010

Saakashvili ready to turn Georgia into an American bridgehead

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has proposed that NATO use the Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi and also Georgia's airfields to deliver military cargo to Afghanistan. Analysts are unsure the United States will be interested in the proposal.

Currently, the United States sends transit military cargo to its troops in Afghanistan from the Baltic Sea across Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. A shorter but much more dangerous route runs across Pakistan.

Since the U.S. plans to double the number of troops in Afghanistan, the Pentagon and its NATO allies need reliable transit routes. They are considering a route across the Caspian Sea, with cargo delivered via Georgia to Azerbaijan, across the Caspian Sea to Aktau in Kazakhstan, and on to Afghanistan across Uzbekistan.

However, this route has a major drawback.

"Safety is crucial for delivering military cargo across a country," military analyst Georgy Tavdgiridze told the business daily Kommersant. "However, Russia and its armed forces have actually controlled Georgia's sea and air space since the August [2008] war."

Saakashvili has long been trying to turn Georgia into a part of the western community. His ultimate goal is to ensure its accession to NATO and the European Union, but it was jeopardized by the outcome of the war with Russia over South Ossetia in August 2008, when Russian troops were only several kilometers from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
....
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6.: Azerbaijan: Pentagon, NATO Buildup On The Caspian Sea

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 9:54 am (PST)

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=115095

Azeri Press Agency
February 1, 2010

Azerbaijani servicemen attend NATO events
Rashad Suleymanov

Baku: Several events are being held within the framework of programs signed with NATO, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry's press service told APA.

The ministry reports that today a 5-day course NATO's Peace-support operations in Oberammaqau city, Germany and a seminar on the National plan of measures on emergencies in Washington(US) (till February 5) kicked off.

Azerbaijani servicemen will also visit military training institutions and attend the Training course for Multinational Peace Support Operations in Kristoni-Kilkis city in Greece from February 1 till February 12 in line with NATO's partnership program; Battle course in winter conditions in Dombas, Norway till February 19, "Joint Operations Center course" in Oberammerqau(Germany) till February 5; Terminology course on air operations in Izmir, Turkey till February 12; Course on controlling weapons in Ankara from February 8 till February 12; Language test seminar in Garmish, Germany from February 8 till February 19; Military terminology course for staff officers in Budapest, Hungary from February 8 till February 19; at NATO's military training conference in Paris on February 9, Military Cooperation course in Mons, Belgian from February 9 till February 12; Military Air Forces information meeting in Hurt and Koln cities, Germany from February 8 till
February 11.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=115086

Azeri Press Agency
February 1, 2010

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry and USEUCOM working group holds meeting
Rashad Suleymanov

Baku: A working group of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry and the United States European Command (USEUCOM) held a meeting in Stuttgart, Germany on Monday, the press service of the Defense Ministry told APA.

The meeting is held within the framework of the Azerbaijan-US action plan for military cooperation and will last until February 5.

According to the Action Plan, the working group holds annual meetings at the level of colonels to elaborate directions of defense cooperation and measures for the next period.

The measures will be planned at the bilateral planning conference in Aril-May.

The conference will also draw up plans for defense relations.
===========================
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7.: NATO Appoints New Head Of Theater Interceptor Missile Program

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 12:45 pm (PST)

http://www.defpro.com/news/details/12832/

Defense Professionals
February 1, 2010

New head of NATO theatre missile defence programme

-Previously he was Commander of the 446th Technical Support Wing of the 46th Air Brigade from Pisa. Here he supported NATO operations in Kosovo and Operation Enduring Freedom. During his career, he received several awards including the NATO Medal for Military Operation in former Yugoslavia and in Kosovo.

Brussels and The Hague: On the 1st of February, Brigadier General Alessandro Pera takes up the position of new head of the Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence Programme Office. He succeeds retired Brigadier General Michel Billard, in developing a NATO defence against theatre ballistic missile attacks on its forces. He will have quite a challenging agenda, which includes fielding a first capability this year.

Prior to joining ALTBMD, Brig. Gen. Pera was Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff of the Air Force in Italy, where he was in charge of C4I and Transformation. From 2003 to 2007, he was Director of Support Directorate in CAOC 8 Torrejon (Spain). Amongst other assignments, this graduate in Aeronautical Sciences has served in SFOR Sarajevo.

Previously he was Commander of the 446th Technical Support Wing of the 46th Air Brigade from Pisa. Here he supported NATO operations in Kosovo and Operation Enduring Freedom. During his career, he received several awards including the NATO Medal for Military Operation in former Yugoslavia and in Kosovo.

On 29 January, at the farewell ceremony organized by the Agency's Programme Office, Brigadier General Billard, who is going to retire, said he was "confident in the future of NATO collective defence, and more specifically, in the area of missile defence."

New operational capability

As a first step, General Pera will handle the delivery of the interim ALTBMD capability. The ALTBMD will be built in increments, with the progressive addition of new missile defence capabilities in NATO command and control systems, as new national weapon systems, such as radars and interceptors are made available to NATO. The system will be one of the more sophisticated of its type, and will be the only system which can integrate all Alliance TBM defences. The ALTBMD capability will make NATO forces safer from the threat of short and medium-range ballistic missile attacks.
....
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8.: Pentagon To Spend Nearly Third Of Trillion Dollars On Joint Strike F

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:04 pm (PST)

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4475646&c=SEA&s=TOP

Defense News
February 1, 2010

JSF To Get Extra $314B Over 5 Years
By JOHN REED

How much will it actually cost to build and buy each F-35 fighter jet?

DoD acquisition chief Ashton Carter wants to know, and is set to order a bottom-up review of the program and its costs, according to the program's manager, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Heinz.

In the meantime, the Pentagon's 2011 budget request will add $314 billion to the F-35 Lightning II program over five years, as was recommended by DoD's Joint Estimating Team (JET) late last year.
....
In the meantime, "this next year between FY-10 and 11, we know we've got 30 airplanes," said Heinz.

Heinz says that none of the services are considering cutting their F-35 purchases.

In January, a leaked Navy briefing compared the cost of flying F/A-18s and AV-8Bs in 2008 to operating the F-35 in 2029. That prompted speculation that the Navy was gunning to trim its order. Navy officials later said the analysis was done to better estimate the plane's total ownership costs.
===========================
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9.: Poland To Buy Israeli Drones For Afghan War

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:05 pm (PST)

http://en.rian.ru/world/20100201/157744967.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
February 1, 2010

Poland set to buy aerial drones for its troops in Afghanistan

Poland is set to buy eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from an Israeli defense firm to strengthen its contingent in Afghanistan, the country's defense minister said on Monday.

"Four drones will be delivered to Afghanistan [for the Polish contingent there] and the four others will be used for training in Poland," Bogdan Klich told a news conference in Warsaw.

The contract with the Aeronautics firm is worth about $32 million, he added.

Klich said Poland was also planning to buy five Mi-17 helicopters to be deployed in Afghanistan.

Poland maintains a 2,000-troop contingent in the war-torn Central Asian country as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and plans to send 600 more troops this year.
===========================
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10.: U.S. Developing Unmanned Black Hawk Attack Helicopters

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:14 pm (PST)

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/02/ap_army_sikorsky_blackhawks_020110w/

Associated Press
February 1, 2010

Sikorsky venture to develop unmanned Black Hawk
By Stephen Singer

HARTFORD, Connecticut: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. is launching a $1 billion venture featuring a pilot-less Black Hawk helicopter as military demand rises for technology to fight two wars.

The Stratford-based helicopter maker and military contractor announced Monday the creation of Sikorsky Innovations, intended to speed the transformation of the mechanical helicopter into a computerized aircraft.

It also will promote projects that are now designing helicopters to fly faster, simulate vision and monitor their own performance.

The Black Hawk is a military workhorse, used in Afghanistan, Iraq, Grenada in 1983, Panama in 1989 and the Persian Gulf War in 1991....

The Black Hawk helicopter, used for air assault and medical evacuation, was featured in the book and movie, "Black Hawk Down," chronicling a battle in Somalia in 1993 when two helicopters were shot down, killing 18 soldiers.

Some of the deadliest crashes involving five Black Hawk helicopters in Iraq killed 51 soldiers between 2003 and 2007. The helicopter is relied upon in Afghanistan, a mountainous nation with long stretches of desert and few decent roads.

Unmanned vehicles

Unmanned war planes are not recent, but are drawing interest from commanders trying to reduce casualties while not relenting in combat.

"The new thing here is to apply technologies in small airplanes and rotorcraft to the 20,000 pound Black Hawk," said Chris Van Buiten, director of Sikorsky Innovations. "It ups the stakes."

Mark Miller, vice president of research and engineering at the subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., said officials want to harness Sikorsky's rapid growth — revenue and profit have more than doubled over the past five years — with technological advances that are remaking helicopters.

Sikorsky Innovations can now "change the game" in the manufacturer's next generation of helicopters, he said.

Sikorsky will design and build an "optionally piloted helicopter" to resupply troops or engage in battle. It will give commanders a choice between operating a Black Hawk with one pilot or two or none.

"We'll let it adapt to the mission," Van Buiten said.

Sikorsky is jumping into a lucrative and growing market. Steven Zaloga, a senior analyst at Teal Group Corp. in Fairfax, Virginia, said unmanned aerial vehicles represent "one of the few dynamic markets" in the aerospace industry hit hard in the recession.

The Teal Group estimates the global market for unmanned aerial vehicle hardware will rise from $2.9 billion this year to $5.5 billion in 2019, Zaloga said.

Helo demonstration

Mark Tattershall, director of marketing and business development at Kaman Corp., a Bloomfield, Connecticut-based aerospace manufacturer, said Kaman and Lockheed Martin Corp. demonstrated an unmanned cargo helicopter in Utah last week.

"To control something that's within sight is one challenge," he said. "To control something on the other side of a mountain and have it safely put down a load successfully and safely is a big challenge."

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has developed the A160, which is now being tested by the Army and its network of researchers.
....
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11.: Red Flag: US, UK Stage World's Largest "Real-World Combat" Air Exerc

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:18 pm (PST)

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123187970

American Forces News Service
Janaury 29, 2010

1,200 military members take part in Red Flag 10-2

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan: Nearly 1,300 servicemembers, more than 80 aircraft and 19 units from the U.S. and England converged for the start of Red Flag 10-2 Jan. 25, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

The exercise is the largest, full-scale integration exercise in the world and prepares warfighters for real-world combat by pitting them against the fictional country of Coyote.

"Our Kadena (Air Base) Airmen will experience the most realistic combat scenarios in the world with joint forces engaging in essential training required prior to employing in a contingency," said Lt. Col. Matthew Molineux, the 18th Operations Group deputy commander. "Red Flag pits our (Airmen) against the best opposing forces in the world."

Large-scale integration involves more than aircraft flying, fighting and winning. It involves all aspects of combat, on the ground and in the air.
....
The exercise doesn't just include a team forming an air expeditionary wing and going through the motions. Those here as a part of Red Flag deal with an aggressor force.

Known as the red force, aggressors are trained to challenge Red Flag participants on all aspects of war and serve as enemy pilots, space jammers, cyberspace infiltrators, and even dig through trash on occasion to challenge their counterparts.

Practicing smart operations security prepares Red Flag warriors for a different aspect of warfighting.
....
At Red Flag, Kadena AB Airmen will hone their combat flying skills required to provide for the common defense of Okinawa: a primary mission for the 18th Wing, the deputy commander said.

(Tech. Sgt. Chris Stagner contributed to this story)===========================
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12.: Afghan War: Global NATO Recruits More Troops From 40 Nations

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:32 pm (PST)

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/opinions_61136.htm?selectedLocale=en

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
February 1, 2010

Monthly press conference by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

...You are all familiar with the conclusions of last week's conference in London. I don't want go over them again. But I do want to make one initial point on Afghanistan.

I saw a lot of reports last year that the international community was losing the will to carry out his mission. Or that unity in NATO was fracturing. Or that there was no clear strategy.

After important decisions taken these last couple of months we see a new momentum:

In London, almost 70 countries made clear commitments not only to maintain their support for Afghanistan, but in many cases to step it up.

Almost 40 out of 44 countries in the ISAF mission have now made offers to send fresh forces to the operation, getting us close to the 40,000 that General McChrystal assesses he needs.
....
Of course, Afghanistan will be front and centre on the agenda later this week in Istanbul, at the meeting of Defence Ministers, where we will discuss how to take forward our strategy.
....
Of course, there are other issues on the agenda at our meeting in Istanbul. One of those is transformation, and I see the discussion in Istanbul on transformation as part of the process of developing the new Strategic Concept, of which transformation will be a very important part.
....
I'm going to focus Ministers attention on three areas where I think we could do more multinationally:

Counter IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) – and SACT, General Abrial, will present some proposals
Medical facilities
Helicopters

These are all areas where we can make progress, and where we should make progress by pulling resources and pursuing multi-national solutions.
===========================
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13.: Reaper, JSF: U.S. Air Force To Boost New Aircraft Over 50% In 2011

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:35 pm (PST)

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=67714

Stars and Stripes
February 1, 2010

Air Force ramping up aircraft purchases, manned or not
By Jeff Schogol

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Air Force wants to buy 149 planes in fiscal 2011, up sharply from the 93 planes it plans on buying this fiscal year.

Atop the Air Force's shopping list in the fiscal 2011 budget released Monday is the MQ-9A Reaper, an unmanned aerial vehicle that can carry a payload of 3,000 pounds, compared with the Predator's 500-pound payload.

The service plans on buying 48 Reapers next fiscal year, twice as many as in fiscal 2010, Air Force budget documents show.

Twelve of those aircraft would replace Predators that have been lost in action, said Air Force Maj. Gen. Al Flowers, deputy assistant secretary for budget.

The Air Force also plans on buying 23 F-35A Lightning II aircraft, better known as the Joint Strike Fighter, one of which would replace an F-15 that the Air Force lost, Flowers said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates called the F-35 program "critically important," on Monday, but he said the aircraft's performance over the past years "has not been what it should."

Not elaborating, Gates announced he was firing the head of the Joint Strike Fighter program and making a three-star general officer the new program manager.

Also for next fiscal year, the Air Force wants to buy 15 "Light Mobility Aircraft," budget documents show.
....
The budget also calls for improved housing at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Aviano Air Base in Italy and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
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14.: 2011: U.S. Army Seeks $100 Billion More For Afghan, Iraqi Wars

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:38 pm (PST)

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=67713

Stars and Stripes
February 1, 2010

Army seeks more than $100 billion for Afghanistan, Iraq
By Jeff Schogol

-For fiscal 2011, the Army calls for buying 72 Blackhawk helicopters, 16 Apache helicopters, and buying or upgrading a total of 40 Chinook helicopters....

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Army is asking for more money to train Afghan and Iraqi security forces and to fight the roadside bombs that continue to kill and wound U.S. troops.

For fiscal 2011, the Army is asking for $102.2 billion for its warfighting missions, in addition to its $143.4 billion base budget request. About 70 percent of the Army's war funding will go to operations in Afghanistan and 30 percent to Iraq, said Lt. Gen. Edgar Stanton III, military deputy for budget.

The Army wants $11.6 billion to train Afghan security forces, compared with $9.17 billion allocated for this fiscal year, budget documents show.

In Iraq, the Army is asking for $2 billion to train troops and police, twice what was allocated for 2010....

Meanwhile, $3.25 billion would go to the Joint IED Defeat Organization, compared with the $1.8 billion granted by Congress so far this fiscal year, according to Army budget documents.
....
The Army's $143.4 billion base budget continues to call for more spending on helicopters, which have proven to be invaluable in Afghanistan, where rugged terrain and a lack of infrastructure make moving around much more difficult than in Iraq.

For fiscal 2011, the Army calls for buying 72 Blackhawk helicopters, 16 Apache helicopters, and buying or upgrading a total of 40 Chinook helicopters, budget documents show.
....
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15.: Yemeni Opposition Leader Gunned Down In The South

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:48 pm (PST)

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=3.0.4259491241

ADN Kronos International (Italy)
February 1, 2010

Yemen: Opposition politician 'slain in south'

Zanjibar: Gunmen have shot dead a provincial opposition politician believed to have been active in a separatist movement in south Yemen, his party and local residents said on Monday. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killing.

Saeed Ahmed Abdullah bin Daoud's Yemeni Socialist Party said on its website he was gunned down on Friday in Zanjibar in southern Abyan province.

Zanjibar residents were quoted as saying bin Daoud was a member of his party's leadership committee in the town.
....
Yemen's embattled president Ali Abdullah Saleh has said secessionists in the south represent a potent threat to the government, which is already dealing with a revolt in the north and a resurgent Al-Qaeda network.
....
Meanwhile some 20 rebels were killed in northwest Yemen amid renewed fighting between the sides, according to government sources.

The UN refugee agency says 250,000 Yemenis have been displaced by fighting in the region over the past five years.
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16.: Saudi Warplanes Resume Bombing Of Northern Yemen Villages

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 3:56 pm (PST)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117601&sectionid=351020206

Press TV
February 1, 2010

Saudi jets raid Yemen despite ceasefire

Houthi fighters in Yemen said on Monday that Saudi warplanes have continued raids on northern villages after they accepted a ceasefire last week.

According to the Shia fighters, Saudi warplanes carried out several attacks on border areas including the Al-Malaheet district. Saudi forces poured rockets and artillery shells on the areas on Monday, Houthis said.

Riyadh claimed victory last week after the fighters' leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi offered a truce to avoid more civilian casualties in northern Yemen.

The fighters withdrew from at least 46 positions along the Saudi-Yemeni border as a gesture of goodwill to end the three months of clashes in the region.

The kingdom, however, claimed that the fighters had been forced out of the positions.

Riyadh joined Yemen's offensive against the Houthis after accusing them of killing a Saudi border guard and occupying two border villages on November 3. Saudi jets began bombing Yemen's northern villages the following day.
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17.: Washington's Arms Deal With Taiwan Threatens US-China Relations

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 4:02 pm (PST)

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5198760,00.html

Deutsche Welle
February 1, 2010

Washington's arms deal with Taiwan threatens US-China relations

-"Washington reaches out one hand to beg for Beijing's support in Afghanistan, Korea and for chasing pirates in the Indian Ocean. But with the other, the US continues to provide military aid to Taiwan and key allies in the Pacific. As long as the American stick to their military presence in China's periphery, they should not expect China to behave as a partner."
-"America also continues to see the Taiwan Strait as its first line of defence. In many ways, support for Taiwan is a matter of demonstrating that the US is still a resident military power in Asia...."

A $6.4-billion (4.6-billion euros) arms deal between the United States and Taiwan has enraged China and threatens to endanger cooperation between Washington and Beijing on key international and regional issues.

The Pentagon's approval last week of the sale of Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, mine-hunting ships and other weaponry to Taiwan prompted China's state-run media to accuse the US of "arrogance" and "double standards."

The China Daily newspaper, run by the People's Daily, the Communist Party's propaganda mouthpiece, said that the US move "exposes the Americans' usage of double standards and hypocrisy on major issues related to China's core interests."

"It's time the US was made to feel the heat for the continuing arms sales to Taiwan," said the newspaper.

Beijing's response has been just as furious, with the Chinese government issuing threats that US companies involved in the deal, including aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing, would be hit with sanctions and that military and security contacts with Washington would be suspended.

Sino-US relations under pressure

China warned the United States that the arms deal could do "serious harm" to relations between the two powers.

"In the short term this deal is going to have a larger impact on the Sino-US ties than on the Cross-Straits relations," Jonathan Holslag, an expert on China's foreign policy and regional security in Asia at the Brussels Institute for Contemporary China Studies (BICCS), told Deutsche Welle. "Beijing does not want to sever the current rapprochement with Taipei."

Dr. Gudrun Wacker from the Asia Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs believes that the arms deal with Taiwan is only one of the problems currently dogging Sino-US ties.

"US arms sales to Taiwan are not the only issue straining US-China relations," she told Deutsche Welle. "To mention only two points: the conflict with Google and over censorship of the Internet and a possible meeting of President Obama with the Dalai Lama in the near future. President Obama's offer of broad-based cooperation with China on bilateral and global issues has so far not brought about the response from China which the US has hoped for. With its growing economic and political weight, there might be more assertive behavior from the Chinese side."

Obama's hopes of Chinese help begin to fade

The fiery rhetoric from China over the weekend could dash Washington's hopes of securing Beijing's help in curbing the nuclear programs of Iran and China's ally North Korea while further destabilizing efforts to develop peaceful ties between Beijing and Taiwan.

While the United States has been pushing for stronger sanctions against Iran, China has repeatedly rejected this approach in favor of diplomacy as the only way to resolve the long-running dispute.

"China obviously blames Washington's ambivalence," Holslag added. "Washington reaches out one hand to beg for Beijing's support in Afghanistan, Korea and for chasing pirates in the Indian Ocean. But with the other, the US continues to provide military aid to Taiwan and key allies in the Pacific. As long as the American stick to their military presence in China's periphery, they should not expect China to behave as a partner."

"It is too early to tell whether this will have an effect of China's cooperation on the issues of North Korea and Iran," Gudrun Wacker said. "China maintains good relations with both countries - North Korea is a traditional ally and Iran is an important partner for energy supply. With respect to North Korea, China is interested in a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and in preventing the collapse of North Korea."

"On Iran, China has always argued in favor of a diplomatic solution and has been reluctant to support stronger sanctions against Tehran."

But what could be more damaging is the potential deterioration in China's will to find a peaceful solution to the Taiwan situation.

China's relations with Taiwan under review

Beijing has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since Mao Zedong's forces won the Chinese civil war in 1949. China has threatened to attack if Taiwan - regarded as a renegade province by Beijing - tries to formalize its de facto independence. Despite recognizing Taiwan as part of China since 1979, the United States remains Taiwan's biggest ally and is obliged by the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to sell the island weapons it needs to defend itself.

"The baseline is still that China will use force in case Taiwan claims independence," said Holslag. "Beijing sees the current pro-China administration in Taipei as a unique opportunity to draw the island into its orbit. But if both sides fail to reach consensus on the terms of closer economic cooperation or the political status of Taiwan, a next election might entirely alter the atmosphere and bring China and Taiwan back to the trenches."

"But indeed, America also continues to see the Taiwan Strait as its first line of defence. In many ways, support for Taiwan is a matter of demonstrating that the US is still a resident military power in Asia," Holslag added.
....
Author: Nick Amies

Editor: Rob Mudge
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18.: "Historic Day": U.S. Global Strike Command Ready

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Mon Feb 1, 2010 7:42 pm (PST)

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=37468

KFFR TV
February 1, 2010

Global Strike Command Ready
Jennifer Schwan

-This is the first time in nearly 30 years, a new major command has been created in the U.S. Air Force.

Monday was a historic day at Minot Air Force Base as the B-52 Bombers stationed here are now under a new command.

The bombers who were under the Air Combat Command, are now being led by the Global Strike Command. They join the base`s missile wing who switched over in December.

The mission of the Global Strike Command is to develop and provide combat ready forces for nuclear deterrance and to make the global strike mission safe, secure and credible. This is the first time in nearly 30 years, a new major command has been created in the U.S. Air Force.

"We are building this command from the ground up. We have a great opportunity to make sure that we can get everything right," says Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, Air Force Global Strike Commander.

Lt. Gen. Klotz also visited Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and Whiteman Air Force Base in Missiouri Monday as their bombers also switched to global strike. Minot Air Force Base is the only base in the Air Force with both bomber and missile wings.
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19.: Four NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghan Attacks

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Tue Feb 2, 2010 6:04 am (PST)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338504575040633710100368.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Wall Street Journal
February 2, 2010

NATO Troops Killed in Afghan Attacks
By HABIB ZAHORI

KABUL: Four NATO soldiers, including one American, were killed in separate attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan Monday, three of them the victims of improvised bombs that have been taking a heavy toll on coalition troops.

The deaths made Monday the deadliest day for the NATO forces in the last two and half weeks.

Two British soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack near Malgir, in the southern province of Helmand, the British ministry of Defense said. Another bomb in the western provincial city of Qala-e-naw killed a Spanish soldier whose vehicle was escorting a United Nations World Food Program relief convoy.

The U.S. soldier, killed in a southern province, died in a firefight, said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization command. NATO doesn't release the identity of casualties until next of kin have been notified.

At least 51 NATO service personnel, including 31 Americans, have been killed so far this year, according to Icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks the casualties of the coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Most of these solders have been killed by improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs, which have become the insurgents' weapon of choice in their fight against the NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Fighting is expected to intensify in the coming months, as the U.S. and its allies rush 37,000 fresh troops into Afghanistan. Most will be deployed in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.
....
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20.: Iraqi MP: U.S.-Iran Tensions May Stoke Regional War

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Tue Feb 2, 2010 6:16 am (PST)

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/iraq/1631430.html

Trend News Agency
February 2, 2010

Iraqi MP fears US-Iran tensions may stoke "regional war"

An Iraqi lawmaker called Tuesday for "serious dialogue" between the United States and Iran to prevent a "regional war."

"There are fears regarding the situation escalating into a regional war. Serious dialogue is the solution to these problems," parliamentary deputy Adil Badrawi told Baghdad's al-Sabah newspaper.

His remarks followed a US announcement earlier this week that it would speed up the deployment of a missile-defence shield in the Gulf and that it would conduct military exercises in the strategically important waterway, DPA reported.

"Under normal circumstances, the exercises would be understandable," Badrawi said.

"But given the tension between the US and the region's major powers on one hand, and the US and Iran due to Iran's nuclear file on the other, the activities raise a genuine fear on behalf of countries in the region, including Iraq, that the situation has almost reached a dead-end," he said.

"Any armed conflict in the region would threaten Iraq's security. We hope that the US exercises are routine and not a means of threatening any other country," Abbas al-Bayati, a member of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition, said.

"Iraq will not allow its territory to be used to launch attacks on any neighbouring country," the lawmaker, a leading member of the parliament's defence committee, told the government-affiliated daily.

The US missile defence plans have also raised alarms in some quarters of the region's press.

"The Gulf states are playing with fire, whether they are doing so willingly or by force," the London-based regional daily al-Quds al-Arabi said in an editorial Monday.

"They would emerge as the biggest losers in any confrontation between Iran and Israel and the United States. If Gulf countries were unscathed by the US-Iraq conflict, save for a few minor scratches ... the situation might be different this time around," the paper warned.
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21.: Georgia: NATO Afghan War Transit "Strengthen's Region's Security"

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Tue Feb 2, 2010 6:19 am (PST)

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/foreign/1630354.html

Trend News Agency
February 2, 2010

Foreign Ministry: Military cargo transportation through Georgia to strengthen region's security
N. Kirtskhalia

Georgia, Tbilisi" Georgia's offer to the NATO to use the country's territory for transportation of military cargo to Afghanistan, will play an important role in strengthening Georgia and the region's security, Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Nino Kalandadze said at a weekly briefing Feb.1.

Georgia's offer was announced by President Michael Saakashvili several days ago.

According to Kalandadze, the Georgian Foreign Ministry has been involved in negotiations of this issue. Georgian FM Grigol Vashadze touched upon this issue at a conference in London last week.

Kalandadze said that such initiatives are always a factor for Russia's irritation.

"But because of the wolf's fear, no one kills the sheep," she said and expressed hope that Russia will be sensitive to such issues.
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22.: Pentagon Chief Defends U.S. Arms Sales To Taiwan

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Tue Feb 2, 2010 6:22 am (PST)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117633&sectionid=3510203

Press TV
February 2, 2010

Gates defends US arms sales to Taiwan

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates justifies Washington's plan to sell arms to Taiwan expressing hope that Beijing's 'reactionary measures' will be short-lived.

Gates argues that according to a bill the US Congress passed in 1979, Washington is committed to provide certain levels of weapons to Taiwan for defense purposes.

Earlier, the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Review Report said that the US is concerned about the growing imbalance of power across the Taiwan Strait in favor of China.

Beijing has threatened to suspend military exchanges with Washington and impose sanctions on American companies that sell arms to Taiwan.

China has not revealed any details about such possible sanctions.

Beijing considers Taiwan as part of the Chinese territory and insists that it should be unified with the mainland China.
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23.: Big War Spending Continues Under Obama

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Tue Feb 2, 2010 6:23 am (PST)

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=115185

Azeri Press Agency
Febeuary 2, 2010

Big war spending continues under Obama

Baku:President Barack Obama on Monday proposed another two years of hefty spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, seeking Congress' approval for about $160 billion this year and again in fiscal 2011 to pay war costs, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The war spending proposed by Obama is only slightly less than in each of the last two years of the administration of President George Bush and carries considerable political peril for the Democratic president who took office last year.

Obama campaigned for the White House vowing to end the Iraq war. His party has a large anti-war contingent that is wary of spending more money on the battlefield, and some of its leaders said they would carefully review the military budget.

U.S. troops are to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, but Obama is seeking to escalate the U.S. presence in Afghanistan....

Obama announced in December he was adding 30,000 more U.S. troops to the Afghan war effort to join the 68,000 already fighting a resurgent Taliban....

To pay for the surge in Afghanistan, Obama on Monday asked for an additional $33 billion in the current 2010 fiscal year, on top of about $130 billion that Congress has already approved for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars through September 30, 2010.

Pentagon chief Robert Gates said he would be asking Congress to approve this additional money soon to finance the new troop deployment in Afghanistan.

"I will be asking the Congress to enact the supplemental by spring," Gates told reporters.

Obama's proposed budget will also include a request for $159.3 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for the 2011 fiscal year that begins on October 1.

The peak for war funding in recent years was fiscal year 2008, Bush's last year in office, when spending on war operations reached $185 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service. This was slightly more than the appropriations in fiscal 2007, which were $171 billion.

The Iraq war has been more costly that the Afghan war that began after the September 11 attacks on the United States. In the 2010 budget, for the first time more money has been allocated to Afghanistan than Iraq, according to the National Priorities Project, a nonpartisan budget research group.

The budget also includes a "placeholder" estimate of $50 billion for the year 2012 and beyond. But the administration's budget documents noted that these estimates do not reflect any policy decisions about specific military or intelligence operations. Those decisions are yet to come.
....
The budget includes a proposal for sharply more funding to help Afghanistan's neighbor Pakistan arm, train and equip its military in the fight against extremists. Obama asks for an increase in the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund from $700 million in fiscal 2009 to $1.2 billion next year.
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24.: NATO Plans To Train Pakistani Officers At Academies In Europe

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Tue Feb 2, 2010 6:26 am (PST)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117642&sectionid=351020401

Press TV
February 2, 2010

NATO offers to train Pakistani forces

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has offered to help the Islamabad government train and equip Pakistani security forces to fight pro-Taliban militants.

"I can confirm that we had a good discussion on how we could further develop practical cooperation, including training activities," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels on Monday.
....
The training would involve mid-level Pakistani officers and be carried out in the alliance's schools in Europe.

The report comes as militants on Monday attacked and destroyed a fuel tanker in northwest Pakistan carrying supplies for US-led troops across the border into conflict-plagued Afghanistan.

Two people, a driver and his assistant, were wounded after approximately 10 unidentified assailants fired at the tanker and later lobbed a rocket at it, igniting some 78,000 liters of fuel.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the pro-Taliban groups and other local militants have regularly attacked NATO supply vehicles on the main route through northwest Pakistan.

About 80 percent of supplies destined for the more than 113,000 US and NATO troops in landlocked Afghanistan pass through the Khyber town of Landi Kotal. The tribal district is just outside Peshawar on the main land supply route to Afghanistan.

American officials say northwest Pakistan is a haven for militants who fled the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan to regroup and launch attacks on foreign troops across the border.

Supplies heading to forces fighting in southern Afghanistan also pass through Pakistan's Balochistan province, which is plagued by separatist unrest.
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