srijeda, 26.08.2009.
ISRAELI NAVY IN SUEZ CANAL PREPARES FOR POTENTIAL ATTACK ON IRAN
From THE TIMES
TIMESONLINE
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/to/news/world/middle_east/article6715412.ece
July 16, 2009
TWO Israeli missile class warships have sailed through the Suez Canal ten days after a submarine capable of launching a nuclear missile strike, in preparation for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The deployment into the Red Sea, confirmed by Israeli officials, was a clear signal that Israel was able to put its strike force within range of Iran at short notice. It came before long-range exercises by the Israeli air force in America later this month and the test of a missile defence shield at a US missile range in the Pacific Ocean.
Israel has strengthened ties with Arab nations who also fear a nuclear-armed Iran. In particular, relations with Egypt have grown increasingly strong this year over the “shared mutual distrust of Iran”, according to one Israeli diplomat. Israeli naval vessels would likely pass through the Suez Canal for an Iranian strike.
“This is preparation that should be taken seriously. Israel is investing time in preparing itself for the complexity of an attack on Iran. These manoeuvres are a message to Iran that Israel will follow up on its threats,” an Israeli defence official said.
It is believed that Israel’s missile-equipped submarines, and its fleet of advanced aircraft, could be used to strike at in excess of a dozen nuclear-related targets more than 800 miles from Israel.
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, said that his Government explicitly allowed passage of Israeli vessels, and an Israeli admiral said that the drills were “run regularly with the full co-operation of the Egyptians.”
Two Israeli Saar class missile boats (Israeli Navy called ELIAT Class) and a Dolphin class submarine have passed through Suez. Israel has six Dolphin-class submarines, three of which are widely believed to carry nuclear missiles.
Israel will also soon test an Arrow interceptor missile on a US missile range in the Pacific Ocean. The system is designed to defend Israel from ballistic missile attacks by Iran and Syria. Lieutenant-General Patrick O’Reilly, the director of the Pentagon’s Missile Defence Agency, said that Israel would test against a target with a range of more than 630 miles (1,000km) — too long for previous Arrow test sites in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Israeli air force, meanwhile, will send F16C fighter jets to participate in exercises at Nellis Air Force base in Nevada this month. Israeli C130 Hercules transport aircraft will also compete in the Rodeo 2009 competition at McChord Air Force base in Washington.
“It is not by chance that Israel is drilling long-range manoeuvres in a public way. This is not a secret operation. This is something that has been published and which will showcase Israel’s abilities,” said an Israeli defence official.
He added that in the past, Israel had run a number of covert long-range drills. A year ago, Israeli jets flew over Greece in one such drill, while in May, reports surfaced that Israeli air force aircraft were staging exercises over Gibraltar. An Israeli attack on a weapons convoy in Sudan bound for militants in the Gaza Strip earlier this year was also seen as a rehearsal for hitting moving convoys.
The exercises come at a time when Western diplomats are offering support for an Israeli strike on Iran in return for Israeli concessions on the formation of a Palestinian state.
If agreed it would make an Israeli strike on Iran realistic “within the year” said one British official.
Diplomats said that Israel had offered concessions on settlement policy, Palestinian land claims and issues with neighboring Arab states, to facilitate a possible strike on Iran.
“Israel has chosen to place the Iranian threat over its settlements,” said a senior European diplomat.
U.S. Military Says It Force in Afghanistan Is Insufficient
By Helene COOPER
Published: August 23, 2009
AMERICAN military commanders with the NATO mission in Afghanistan told President Obama’s chief envoy to the region this weekend that they did not have enough troops to do their job, pushed past their limit by Taliban rebels who operate across borders.
The commanders emphasized problems in southern Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents continue to bombard towns and villages with rockets despite a new influx of American troops, and in eastern Afghanistan, where the father-and-son-led Haqqani network of militants has become the main source of attacks against American troops and their Afghan allies.
The possibility that more troops will be needed in Afghanistan presents the Obama administration with another problem in dealing with a nearly eight-year war that has lost popularity at home, compounded by new questions over the credibility of the Afghan government, which has just held an as-yet inconclusive presidential election beset by complaints of fraud.
The assessments come as the top American commander in the country, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, has been working to complete a major war strategy review, and as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, described a worsening situation in Afghanistan despite the recent addition of 17,000 American troops ordered by the Obama administration and the extra security efforts surrounding the presidential election.
“I think it is serious and it is deteriorating,” Admiral Mullen said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “The Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated, in their tactics.” He added that General McChrystal was still completing his review and had not yet requested additional troops on top of the those added by Mr. Obama.
The American commanders in Afghanistan spoke this weekend with Richard C. Holbrooke, Mr. Obama’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Over the past two days, Mr. Holbrooke visited all four regional command centers in Afghanistan, and the message from all four followed similar lines: while the additional American troops, along with smaller increases from other NATO members, have had some benefit in the south, the numbers remain below what commanders need. The total number of American soldiers and Marines in Afghanistan is now about 57,000. It was unclear whether the commanders told Mr. Holbrooke exactly how many additional troops might be required.
Eastern Afghanistan, in particular, has been a trouble spot. On Sunday, during Mr. Holbrooke’s stop at the Bagram military base, Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the United States and NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, told him and visiting reporters that the Haqqani network was expanding its reach. “We’ve seen that expansion, and that’s part of what we’re fighting,” he said. American commanders believe that the network, whose leaders Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin have been linked to Al Qaeda, are using sanctuaries in Pakistan to launch attacks against American and Afghan forces.
The problems in Afghanistan have been aggravated by what the American commanders call the Pakistani military’s limited response to the threat of militants based there. Although General Scaparrotti said that cooperation by Pakistan and the United States against the militants had improved recently, he stressed that it was important for the Pakistanis to keep up the pressure, particularly after the reported killing of the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud.
That echoed concerns from Obama administration officials who worry that with the absence of Mr. Mehsud, who was the Pakistani government’s enemy No. 1, the military would shift its emphasis away from the tribal areas where the Taliban and Al Qaeda operate. “They think it’s ‘game over,’ ” one senior administration official said. “It’s more like, ‘game over, next level.’ ”
The White House has been concerned about declining support for the war among the American public. After recent polls illustrating the decline, Admiral Mullen and Karl W. Eikenberry, a retired general who is the ambassador to Afghanistan, went on Sunday talk shows to discuss the direction of the mission.
“I’m certainly aware of the criticality of support of the American people for this war and in fact, any war,” Admiral Mullen said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And so certainly the numbers are of concern. That said, the president’s given me and the American military a mission, and that focuses on a new strategy, new leadership, and we’re moving very much in that direction.”He said, “I believe we’ve got to start to turn this thing around from a security standpoint in the next 12 to 18 months.”
Mr. Holbrooke visited regional command centers in Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Bagram on Saturday and Sunday. Speaking to Afghan reporters at the NATO base in Mazar-i-Sharif, Mr. Holbrooke said that part of the new strategy would include reaching out to members of the Taliban who show a willingness to lay down their arms. Many Taliban fighters, Mr. Holbrooke said, “fight because they’re misguided, or because they want a job.”
“Anyone who renounces Al Qaeda and comes back to work peacefully in the Afghan system,” he continued, “will be welcome.”
American lawmakers intensified their criticism of President Hamid Karzai, saying his government had not done enough to crack down on corruption and the drug trade that fuels the insurgency. Senator Robert P. Casey Jr., Democrat of Pennsylvania, told reporters at a dinner on Sunday at the American Embassy in Kabul that he had told Mr. Karzai, “There’s going to come a time when the patience of Americans will run out.” Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, who was also at the dinner, said: “Time is not running out next week, but they have to show results. It’s the last chance.”
Concerns about fraud in the election have brought more complaints to Afghan officials. Mr. Karzai’s main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, told a news conference in Kabul on Sunday that the number of suspected irregularities had been “alarming.”
Afghanistan’s Election Complaints Commission said Sunday that it had made a priority of investigating 35 complaints, including allegations of ballot stuffing, voter intimidation and violence. The commission, jointly led by Western and Afghan officials, said it had received 225 complaints of irregularities.
Carlotta Gall contributed reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Eric Schmitt and Brian Knowlton from Washington.
JE LI AMERIČKA C.I.A. NARUČIVALA USLUGE BLACKWATER-a?
Američka Središnja obavještajna agencija (C.I.A.) angažirala je 2004. godine privatne plaćenike iz po mnogima slavne, ali i kontroverzne tvrtke BLACKWATER za tajni program uhićenja i ubojstva čelnih ljudi al-Qa'ide, objavio je 18. kolovoza ove godine The New York Times.
Pozivajući se na neidentificirane izvore iz krugova bliskih Vladi, novinari The New York Timesa otkrivaju da su zaposlenici Blackwatera pomogli s planiranjem, obukom i nadzorom u programu koji je rezultirao eliminiranjem terorista, ali u nedooljnom omjeru i prekinut je na neko vrijeme.
Činjenica je da su čelnici C.I.A. -e angažirali vanjske plaćene snage, a to potiče cijeli niz pitanja o nadzoru Vladinih struktura nad programima u kojima postoji "dozvola za ubijanje". Američka Središnja obavještajna agencija je redovito koristila Blackwaterovce za neke od svojih programa, uključujući i ispitivanje zatvorenika. (T.Lj.K.)
ponedjeljak, 03.12.2007.
PRETORIJANSKA GARDA BIJELE KUĆE I STATE DEPARTMENT-a
Priredio: OGNJEN MRAK
BLACKWATER Company raspolaže s preko 20.000 plaćenih djelatnika spremnih na trenutni odaziv i pokret. Raspolažu zrakoplovima, helikopterima, terenskim oklopnim vozilima, te plovilima različitih vrsta i namjene, od amfibijskih do podmorskih i to najmodernije opremljenim, kako vojnom, tako i sofisticiranom obavještajnom tehnologijom.
Tvrtka BLACKWATER zapošljava i bivše vojnike mngih zemalja svijeta, a među njima i Hrvatske, o čemu je pisala već splitska "Slobodna Dalmacija". Mnogi naši bivši pripadnici Hrvatske vojske koji su imali vatrena krštenja u Domovinskome ratu, danas su punopravni pripadnici BLACKWATER-a. Jedan od naših sunarodnjaka, inače američki gradjanin, Jerko Zovko skončao je kao jedan od četiri pripadnika organizacije koji su od strane Iračana mučeni, ubijeni, obješeni i zapaljeni na mostu iznad rijeke Eufrat 31. ožujka 2004. godine, što je, jasno, rezultiralo teškom odmazdom od strane U.S. Army protiv organiziranog terorizma u državi Iraq.
Djelatnici kompanije BLACKWATER osnovane 1996. godine djeluju, kako unutar Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, tako i u mnogim drugim državama diljem planeta Zemlja, posebice u Iraku. BLACKWATER vode izuzetno moćne osobe, uglavnom bivši pripadnici elitnih američkih postrojbi, kao što je i osnivač kompanije Erick Prince, nekadašnji djelatnih američkih "tuljana" poznatih kao U.S. NAVY SEALS (američke mornaričke specijalne jedinice). Erick Prince je, kao i drugi čelni ljudi Blackwatera, te brojni njihovi simpatizeri u strukturama američke Vlade i pripadaju radikalnoj kršćanskoj desnici, pa ih mnogi analitičari drže za križare 21. stoljeća koje nerijetko uspoređuju s modernim Templarima i Vitezovima Kristova groba. Blackwater-ovci se ponose nazivom "plaćenik" kao opisom svoje temeljne aktivnosti, što je vidljivo i na njihovoj Web stranici http://www.blackwaterusa.com/ , ali i iz mnogobrojne literature koja ih u poslijednje vrijeme spominje.
Odjeveni su u crne uniforme ili kombinezone, (dakako, posjeduju i kamuflažne, te druge uniforme sukladno području svijeta u kojem djeluju) naoružani su najčešće automatskim puškama M-4 koje mogu ispucati i do 900 metaka u minuti. Poznati su i po tome što su bili angažirani u uspostavljanju reda u New Orleansu nakon stravičnog udara uragana Katrina, obzirom da su tada New Orleansom harale bande koje su provaljivale i krale u markete, banke, ....; no, kao što je i poznato, BLACKWATER-ovci su vrlo brzo i učinkovito uveli reda.
Često obavljaju i tjelohraniteljske poslove pri čuvanju važnih ljudi sistema, kao primjerice Paula Bremera - bivšeg predstavnika američke vlade u Baghdadu.
Kompanija BLACKWATER ima golemu godišnju zaradu od 100.000.000,oo US$ i više.
Američki predsjednik Georg Walken Bush ih je poslao na tajne operacije u Afghanistanu nakon terorističkih napada na New York i Washington 11. rujna 2001. godine, gdje su uz bok Britancima iz kompanije AEGIS radili na uništavanju talibanskog režima u Kabulu, u čemu su, naravno - uspjeli.
Američka administracija je BLACKWATER koristila i u zajedničko američko-britanskim pohodima na Falluju u Iraqu, te ih je predsjednik Bush primio u Bijelu kuću kao heoje rata protiv terorizma. Predsjednik G.W. Bush, njegov zamjenik Dick Chaney, bivši ministar obrane Donald Rumsfeld i jedna izuzetno moćna osoba, Coffer Black, nekadašnji šef tajnih službi i "tajnih operacija" CIA-e omogućili su BLACKWATER-u da se bez ometanja posluži bazama i oružjem, uglavnom logistikom U.S. Navy, zračnih snaga, kopnene vojske i čuvenih američkih marinaca (od kojih su i mnogi prešli u kompaniju), tako da je kompanija BLACKWATER prozvana i petim stubom američke vojne obrane, odnosno PRETORIJANSKOM GARDOM BIJELE KUĆE I STATE DEPARTMENTA!
Iako BLACKWATER nije regularna vojska, ponašaju se upravo tako, a i oficijelna U.S. Army im mnogostruko pomaže, tako da BLACKWATER-ovcima nerijetko koordiniraju pojedine snage iz američkog Pentagona i Ministarstva obrane različitih zemalja koji zajednički s U.S.A. djeluju u svijetu. Ujedinjeni narodi ne skrivaju zabrinutost pojavom BLACKWATER-a na sceni, obzirom da Blackwater-ovci nerijetko sudjeluju i u uvježbavanju policijskih snaga diljem svijeta, a i špijuniraju za potrebe tajnih službi Sjedinjenih Američkih Država. Nije ni čudo kad su snage UN-a do sad pokazale svoj neuspjeh 
u većini svjetskih misija koje su imale.
Vodstvo BLACKWATER-a kompaniju predstavlja kao specijaliziranu za promociju demokracije diljem svijeta, ali ne odbija naziv plaćenici. Članovi američkog Kongresa (Parlamenta) Dana Rohrabacher i Duncan Hunter beskompromisno brane BLACKWATER protiv svih optužbi koje im neki pripisuju.
Po stanovitim istraživanjima navodno je Republika Hrvatska dala kompaniji BLACKWATER popriličan broj visokoprocijenjenih kadrova proizašlih iz Domovinskog rata.
nedjelja, 02.12.2007.
ANALYSIS: Iran's Secret Syrian plan
By OLIVIER GUITTA Published: November 19, 2007
Israel has been providing intelligence and satelite images to the U.S. about a secret Syrian nuclear program for sveral months, according to media reports. Discussions between Israel and the United States took place last summer regarding a possible strike. But when Israel found the matter so pressing that when they realized the U.S. was not ready to act, on September 6 they attacked a Syrian nuclear site. Hence the question: what is Syria really up to or more to the point what is iran up to?
First, let's start with an underreported explosion that occurred in a Syrian military base outside Aleppo on July 26. Jane's Defense Weekly reported, citing Syrian defense sources, as saying the explosion took place during a test to fit a "Scud C" missile with a mustard-gas warhead. It quoted the sources as saying the explosion occured when fuel caught fire in the missile production laboratory.
But there might be another explanation. Kuwait's Al Seyassah newspaper recently reported that a Shiite Lebanese religious cleric claimed the Iranians were allegedly supervising a chemical weapons manufacturing program and that tens of Iranian experts and engineers died as a result of that explosion. He also said Israelis attacked the base. He added that Western officials told him they received proof from Israel on the Syrian chemical weapons program. Even if Israel's involvement is not proven, what remains sure is that it must be very happy that a chemical weapons facility in Syria has been partly destroyed.
Now regarding the September 6 strike; while we may never know what really occured, what remains sure is that the situation is direr than one could imagine and that most likely, Israel did not just bomb a nuclear site in the early stages. Indeed, the silence of the international community and especially the Arab world after the attack is a first, and it shows the gravity of what happened. Even though Syria an its Iranian sponsor are detested, and in the case of Iran feared, in the Muslim world, the fact that there was no condemnation of Israel at the U.N. could be interpreted as a tacit relief that Israel acted.
Another proof of what transpired came from ranking Republicans on the House Intelligence and Foreign Relations committees, Ileana Ross-Lehtinen and Peter Hoekstra, who were briefed on the israeli strike and sworn to secrecy. They wrote an op-ed in the October 20 Wall Street Journal clearly underlining the seriousness of the situation regarding both the North Korean an iranian involvement in the Syrian arms program.
Finally, the fact that the Bush administration (including president Georg Walken Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and most notably Defense Secretary Robert Gates) has been ramping the rhetoric and taking action against Iran (including the latest sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards) in the past week, might also be linked to what really happened in Syria.
The Syrian story is far from over: in fact on October 23, Al Seyassah ran a story about potential new secret nuclear sites in Syria. According to Western sources cited by the paper, it is possible that Syria is developing other nuclear sites with the help of North Korea, Iran and Iraqi experts, the latter who fled their country at the start of the Iraq war in 2003. In fact, observation satellites have allegedly located in Syria at least two other sites similar to the one destroyed by Israel last month.
Iran's handwriting is all over the wall from the chemical to the nuclear arms program in Syria. Indeed, in research conducted last year as part of an article published in Washington's The Examiner, this reporter delved into Syrian's secret nuclear programs, making the point that Syria might actually be "Plan B" for Iran. By helping develop nuclear sites in Syria, strikes on Iran might turn out to be useless. This was a smart strategy until Israel bombed the Syrian nuclear site on September 6 and made the world notice.
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Olivier Guitta is a foreign affairs and counterterorrism consultant in Washington DC and the founder of the newsletter The Croissant. (www.thecroissant.com)
