Af/Pak & Other News (4/11/2012)

[dump...@hotmail.com]

U.S., Afghan Forces Sign Special Operations Agreement:

http://www.defencetalk.com/u-s-afghan-forces-sign-special-operations-agreement-41501/



Pakistan rapidly developing its nuclear arsenal: Report:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3302640.ece



It's In The Genes:

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htintel/articles/20120411.aspx



Clinton Says Those Watching Bin Laden Death 'Couldn't Breathe for 35
Minutes':

http://news.yahoo.com/hillary-clinton-bin-laden-death-no-one-watching-040219969--abc-news-politics.html



32 killed as Yemen battles Qaida for key town:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/32-killed-as-Yemen-battles-Qaida-for-key-town/articleshow/12625444.cms



Iranian Sailors Take Pirate ‘King’ Captive: Report:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/04/iranian-sailors-pirate-king/



Fearless: Oman’s New Patrol Boats from Singapore:

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Fearless-Omans-New-Patrol-Boats-from-Singapore-07357/



McCain, Lieberman demand Syrian rebels be armed:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47011429/ns/world_news-christian_science_monitor/



Syria Rebels 'Rebound;' Will Arming Them Spark Civil Slaughter?:

http://defense.aol.com/2012/04/11/syria-rebels-rebound-but-will-arming-them-spark-civil-slaugh/



‘Lebanese targets fair game in war with Hezbollah’:

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=265618



Israeli navy seeks ship-launched UAS:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/israeli-navy-seeks-ship-launched-uas-370445/



Israeli forces gear up for pro-Palestinian 'flytilla':

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iQxUrP7eN5oTOPa2zMfmtaGrU2Hw?docId=CNG.cb4770974eab911d9a2c05f1ffc24871.641



IAF looks to buy precision rockets for helicopters:

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=265622



Libya snubs ICC, unveils courtroom ahead of Gaddafi son trial:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/10/uk-libya-court-idUKBRE8390W620120410



Russia waiting for S-500 air defense system:

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_waiting_for_S_500_air_defense_system_999.html



Georgia Showcases UAV:

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3ac99a70b5-5718-4707-9ea9-c18edd9db9c7&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest



Philippine Navy in standoff with Chinese ships:

http://www.defencetalk.com/philippine-navy-in-standoff-with-chinese-ships-41503/



USAF F-15s intercept Korean Air 777 near Vancouver:

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2012/04/usaf-f-15-intercept-korean-air.html



‘Operation Chimichanga’ Tests Pentagon’s Stealth Strike Force:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/04/air-force-stealth-strike/



Northrop Grumman Awarded Contract to Deliver Unattended Ground
Systems:

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Northrop_Grumman_Awarded_Contract_to_Deliver_Unattended_Ground_Systems_999.html




Get Ready for a New Air Force One:

http://defensetech.org/2012/04/11/get-ready-for-a-new-air-force-one/



Race to find Amelia Earhart heats up at the 75-year mark:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47011937



Shuttle astronauts taken aback by odd sighting in space:

http://now.msn.com/now/0410-nasa-ufo-sighting.aspx

[Dennis]

wrote:

> Iranian Sailors Take Pirate ‘King’ Captive: Report:
>
> http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/04/iranian-sailors-pirate-king/

An absolutely wild showdown in the northern Indian Ocean between Somali
pirates and the Iranian navy appears to have ended with with the Iranians
taking one of the world’s most infamous pirates captive.

Over the weekend, Mohamed Garad made an ill-fated attempt at hijacking
the Xianghuamen, a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship belonging to a Chinese
shipping company. Garad may have thought it was his next big haul; some
of his earlier ones earned him million-dollar paydays. Instead, Iranian
sailors — believe it or not, the good guys of this story — overpowered
his crew and clapped him in irons.

Who is Garad? “He was like Carlos the Jackal in the crime world,” Andrew
Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Association told Africa Review,
which reported Garad’s capture. We’re unable to independently corroborate
that report, though.

According to David F. Marley’s Modern Piracy: A Handbook, the “secretive”
Garad — it’s not his real name; it means “clan leader” — worked his way
up from hijacking small vessels near the Somali fishing port of Eyl to
seizing a Japanese bulk carrier, the Stella Maris, for 11 weeks in 2008
before its owners paid him $2 million. Not many people have interviewed
Garad. During one of his rare interviews, Marley recounts, Garad appeared
“ragged” and his eyes were “scratched raw by constant rubbing — a
textbook case of khat withdrawal,” according to interviewer Jay Bahadur.


Garad may have been on drugs if he underestimated the Iranian navy. Even
the chief naval officer of the United States, Iran’s number-one enemy,
has respect for it. “Professional, courteous [and] good mariners,” was
how Adm. Jonathan Greenert summed up his Iranian opposites in March. That
wasn’t evidently on Garad’s mind this weekend.

On Friday morning, a crew of nine Somali pirates near the Iranian port of
Chabahar took over the Xianghuamen and its crew of 28. One of its
terrified mates hid “in the incinerator,” state-owned Xinhua reported.

Big mistake. The Xianghuamen is owned by the Nanjing Ocean Shipping
Company in eastern China. China is Iran’s last remaining great-power
ally. The Iranian navy got busy.

Chaos emerged when an as-yet-identified Iranian ship approached and
hailed later that day. The Chinese captain, at gunpoint, was forced to
announce that there were 22 pirates aboard, not nine, and that unless the
Iranians stayed 20 miles away, the crew would be “punished.” What the
pirates didn’t count on was the presence of a second Chinese ship
alongside the Iranians — allowing the captain to relay accurate
information in Chinese, which the pirates didn’t speak.

The Iranians let off shots to signal their seriousness. With that,
Xianghuamen crew members killed the engines on their own ship and jumped
into the ocean.. The captain actually followed them after panicked
pirates beat him. (Yes, the captain abandoned ship while his crew was
still held hostage. Where’s the Italian coast guard when you need it?)

That was the beginning of the end of the daylong showdown. As the Iranian
vessel kept firing and approached the dead-in-the-water Xianghuamen, the
pirates had a change of heart. They threw their weapons overboard and
surrendered.

This isn’t the first time Iranian mariners have concerned themselves with
pirates. As the pirates have moved aggressively into the northern Indian
Ocean, Iran’s navy has stepped up patrols and maritime surveillance, even
joining in international counter-piracy patrols.

In case you’re feeling uncomfortable about rooting for the Iranians here,
don’t. Piracy may be unique in international affairs for its ability to
bring enemies together. Pakistan has saved Indian sailors from Somali
pirates. China and Taiwan, same thing. The U.S. Navy saved Iranian
sailors practically every weekend in January. Cats and dogs living
together, mass hysteria, etc.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear if the Iranians really have Garad. So far, only
Africa Review is reporting it. But if Garad is in Iranian hands, he might
not like the kind of justice they dispense to thieves.

http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/10/amputations-floggings-rising/

[dott.Piergiorgio]

Il 12/04/2012 06:15, Dennis ha scritto:

> Meanwhile, it s unclear if the Iranians really have Garad. So far, only
> Africa Review is reporting it. But if Garad is in Iranian hands, he might
> not like the kind of justice they dispense to thieves.
>
> http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/10/amputations-floggings-rising/

Andreotti will surmise that USN has agreed to tolerate some more of
Iranian braggadocio in excange of getting rid of hat pirate ;)

Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.

p.s. nice jab :D