Af/Pak & Other News (1/20/2012)

[dump...@hotmail.com]

After drone attack on al-Qaida planner, is Zawahiri next? Before the
election?:

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/20/10200145-after-drone-attack-on-al-qaida-planner-is-zawahiri-next-before-the-election



Marine tape reaction sets Taliban fighters against commanders:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/20/us-afghanistan-pakistan-taliban-idUSTRE80J0D320120120



Helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan kills 6:

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/helicopter-crash-in-southern-1307725.html



Germany Begins Gradual Withdrawal From Afghanistan:

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%3a29f23b06-c5cf-4d9c-b349-66bbb13fb9b8&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest



France Mulls Afghan Exit After Unarmed Troops Killed:

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120120/DEFREG01/301200002/France-Mulls-Afghan-Exit-After-Unarmed-Troops-Killed?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE



The Return Of Death From Above:

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20120120.aspx



New U.S. Commando Team Operating Near Iran:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/jsotf-gcc/



Iran says scientist's killer may have used UN info:

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=254433



USS Abraham Lincoln sails into waters off Iran:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/19/world/meast/arabian-sea-us-carrier/index.html



NATO not even thinking of Syria operation: top general:

http://www.defencetalk.com/nato-not-even-thinking-of-syria-operation-top-general-39908/



IDF exposes Syria-funded Islamic Jihad terror cell in West Bank:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-exposes-syria-funded-islamic-jihad-terror-cell-in-west-bank-1.408201



Israeli, Greek air forces to stage more joint exercises:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/israeli-greek-air-forces-to-stage-more-joint-exercises-367146/



Gadhafi Regime Had Undeclared Chemical Weapons, Group Says:

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20120120/DEFREG04/301200004/Gadhafi-Regime-Had-Undeclared-Chemical-Weapons-Group-Says?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE



Stratfor: A Hezbollah Threat in Thailand?:

http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22708:stratfor-a-hezbollah-threat-in-thailand&catid=56:diplomacy-a-peace&Itemid=111



Chinese Sailors Amuse Themselves At Sea:

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmoral/articles/20120120.aspx




Irish terrorist convicted of killing two off-duty British soldiers as
they collected pizza:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46072821/ns/world_news-europe/#.TxnTnPmdHIU



Special Forces Get Social in New Psychological Operation Plan:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/social-network-psyop/



Army’s New Helos Will Be Designed With Spec Ops in Mind:

http://defensetech.org/2012/01/19/armys-new-helos-will-be-designed-with-spec-ops-in-mind/



Battlefield Lasers on the Chopping Block:

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=7c996cd7-cbb4-4018-baf8-8825eada7aa2&ID=645



Robo-Copter Will Keep Tabs on Navy’s Biofuel Plants:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/robot-helicopter-biofuel/



Sukhoi tests new fighter:

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Sukhoi_tests_new_fighter_999.html



Neuron: Europe's UCAV Rolled Out:

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%3ae77768ef-699e-4ddb-bd0f-eb5383b0e84e&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest



Northrop’s Stealthy Cargo Plane:

http://defensetech.org/2012/01/19/northrops-stealthy-cargo-plane/

[Dennis]

This reminds me of the hostage crisis-era cartoon showing Mickey Mouse
giving the finger and the caption, 'Hey Iran!" I'm still waiting for the
Admiral Kuznetsov to show up - but I didn't expect for it to be for joint
exercises! That's just too cool!

dumpster wrote:

> USS Abraham Lincoln sails into waters off Iran:
>
> http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/19/world/meast/arabian-sea-us-carrier/in
> dex.html


USS Abraham Lincoln sails into waters off Iran

By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
January 19, 2012 -- Updated 1800 GMT (0200 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The USS Lincoln and the USS Carl Vinson are now the two carriers in the
area
At some point it is expected a U.S. carrier will sail into the Strait of
Hormuz
Iran has warned the United States not to send another carrier through
there

(CNN) -- The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Arabian
Sea on Thursday, Navy officials said, a likely prelude to testing Iran's
recent warning against sending a U.S. carrier through the Strait of
Hormuz.

The Lincoln joins the USS Carl Vinson, already in the region, returning
the U.S. Navy its standard two-carrier presence there. The carrier USS
John Stennis left in the past few days and is now traveling back through
the western Pacific.

The Lincoln's arrival puts into place all the elements for a U.S. carrier
to travel back into the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz for the
first time since recent tensions with Iran escalated.

U.S. military officials have told CNN the United States will continue its
long-standing military commitment to having an aircraft carrier in the
Gulf, but will not say when the transit will take place in light of
security concerns about Iran.

Several weeks ago, as the Stennis left the Gulf, Iranian officials warned
the United States not to send in another carrier. In recent years, the
United States has kept one carrier in the Gulf and one in the North
Arabian Sea for much of the time.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said that the U.S. naval and military
presence in the region will not change and the current level is
sufficient to deal with any situation that could arise.

"We have always maintained a very strong presence in that region,"
Panetta said Wednesday. "We have a Navy fleet located there. We have a
military presence in that region. And ... we have continually maintained
a strong presence in the region to make very clear that we were going to
do everything possible to help secure the peace in that part of the
world."

A senior U.S. official acknowledged the Pentagon continues to see the
Iranian naval forces controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
inside the Persian Gulf as more aggressive than regular naval forces.

U.S. military intelligence has been tracking the record of Iranian
Revolutionary Guard commanders in the region and remains concerned about
whether they are all firmly under the control of the most senior
commanders in Teheran, the official said.

Out of concern that a confrontation could escalate unnecessarily, the
United States recently suggested that a direct channel of communication
be opened between the two governments.

[SolomonW]

On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:29:34 -0800 (PST), dump...@hotmail.com wrote:

> Iran says scientist's killer may have used UN info:
>
> http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=254433

For a different view

http://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen/2012/01/17/whos-really-killing-those-nuclear-scientists-in-tehran/?singlepage=true