NATO Ignores Afghan Drug Trade

December 24, 2008
United Press International

BRUSSELS -- NATO's top military commander says he's surprised that some member nations aren't following through on promises to battle the Afghanistan drug trade.

U.S. Gen. John Craddock, NATO's supreme allied commander, was disappointed to learn during a recent trip to Afghanistan that despite a recent agreement by NATO country defense ministers to include attacks on narcotics traffickers as part of the mission, some countries weren't carrying out the anti-drug campaign, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

U.S. officials say it is critical to cut off the drug money that funds the Afghan insurgency. But disagreements have surfaced over how aggressively NATO forces should go after drug traffickers and what role NATO soldiers should play in a mission that had been defined as "security assistance," the newspaper said.

Craddock told the Times profit from the narcotics trade "buys the bomb makers and the bombs, the bullets and the trigger-pullers that are killing our soldiers and marines and airmen, and we have to stop them."

Some NATO members including Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, have indicated they regard counternarcotics operations as law enforcement, rather than a military matter, the newspaper said.


© Copyright 2008 United Press International. All rights reserved.

Chinese Crew defend against Pirates with beer bottles

www.timesonline.co.uk

Dec 19,2008
Anne Barrowclough

The crew of a Chinese ship attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia have described how they used beer bottles and water cannon to fend off their attackers before they were rescued.

The ship, Zhenua 4, was one of four vessels seized by pirates on Wednesday, shortly after the UN Security Council authorised countries to pursue the renegades by land as well as by air.

Nine pirates armed with rocket launchers and machine guns boarded the ship, according to Xinhua, China's state news agency.

The vessel's 30 crew members fought for four hours with home-made incendiary bombs and beer bottles, said an official with China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre.

The pirates abandoned their attempt to take the ship when a multilateral force, including a warship and two helicopters, arrived after the crew locked themselves in their cabins and radioed for help.

"Seven of the nine pirates landed on our ship, all with weapons," Peng Weiyuan, the captain of Zhenhua 4, said in a telephone interview with China Central Television.

"Our crew, who had been well trained and prepared, used water cannon, self-made incendiary bombs, beer bottles and anything else that could be used to battle with them. Thirty minutes later, the pirates gestured to us for a ceasefire.

"Then the helicopter from the joint fleet came to help us."

Pirates have carried out more than 100 attacks on the shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean this year, earning themselves as much as $120 million a year and losing the shipping industry millions.

At least 16 ships are being held for ransom close to the pirate lairs of Eyl and Haradheere. Among them are the Sirius Star, a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million (£67 million) of crude oil, and the Faina, a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying 30 Soviet-era tanks bound for southern Sudan.

The revelations of the Chinese crew come as China said that it would send a warship to the Gulf of Aden to join international efforts to curb the pirates.

The country's announcement that it would join the fight against piracy was greeted enthusiastically by the head of Pacific Command.

Admiral Timothy Keating said that it would lead to a revival in military relations between China and the US. "I hope the Chinese do [send ships to the Gulf of Aden] and we'll work closely with them," he said. "I think this could be a springboard for a resumption of dialogue between PLA forces and US Pacific Command forces."

China suspended military contacts with the United States in October in protest over US arms sales to Taiwan valued at $6.5 billion.

The Air Force - A Failed Experiment

Air Force nuclear unit fails inspection

By Barbara Starr
CNN Pentagon Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For the fifth time this year, a U.S. Air Force nuclear weapons unit failed an inspection, this time because of failure to document its handling of nuclear missiles and other critical issues, Air Force officials said.

A "nuclear surety inspection" and "unit compliance inspection" was conducted this month on the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming by an Air Force inspector general.

There was no risk to the unit's Minuteman III nuclear missiles, Air Force officials said.

The unit has 90 days to correct the problems and pass another inspection.

In the wake of recent problems, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and top Air Force officials have indicated a zero tolerance for failing inspections, but no punishments are expected in this case, officials said.

The inspection report found the maintenance unit failed to document tests conducted on missiles correctly, including tests on safety devices. The inspector general told the unit the failures indicated either a "lack of competence" or "disregard for procedures," according to a source who has seen the report.

Additionally, failures included having some personnel on duty without proper medical clearance and failure to inspect radiation detectors.

Other units that failed inspections this year included two bomb wings and two missile units.

Blackwater Banned in Iraq?

Blackwater May Lose Iraq Work License

December 18, 2008
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The State Department faces serious challenges protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq and may no longer be able to rely on Blackwater Worldwide to do the job, according to an internal report.

A report from the department's inspector general says the agency must deal with the prospect that Blackwater - its main private security contractor in Iraq - could lose its license to work in Iraq. Officials say that means preparing alternative arrangements.

"The department faces the real possibility that one of its primary worldwide personal protective services contractors in Iraq - Blackwater (Worldwide) - will not receive a license to continue operating in Iraq," the recently completely report says.

A copy of the 42-page report, labeled "sensitive but unclassified," was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Officials said the report is a prelude to a decision on whether to renew Blackwater's Iraq contract, which expires next year. A recommendation on that is expected after an investigation is completed into last September's incident in Baghdad's Nisoor Square in which Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqis, they said, requesting anonymity because the report is not public.

Five Blackwater guards have been indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury on manslaughter and other charges stemming from that incident. The company was not charged.

The State Department had no immediate comment on the report itself, but deputy spokesman Robert Wood said that after the Nisoor Square probe is finished, officials would look at "whether the continued use of Blackwater in Iraq is consistent with the U.S. government's goals and objectives."

A decision on how U.S. diplomats in Iraq are to be protected will be left to the Obama administration, which will be in place when Blackwater's contract comes up for renewal in spring.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a longtime critic of Blackwater and the use of private security companies, welcomed the report and said, "The era of Blackwater must finally end."

"It will benefit the incoming administration to have reassurance from the State Department that Blackwater's contract should be seriously questioned, but it's disheartening that it took 15 months from a tragedy in Baghdad for the Bush administration to reach an overdue conclusion," Kerry said.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Foreign Relations committee, said that without preparing for the possibility of Blackwater losing its license, "our overreliance on this one company for protective services in Iraq will place our diplomats in a difficult position."

It is not clear how the State Department would replace Blackwater. The department relies heavily on contractors to protect its diplomats in Iraq, as it does not have the manpower or equipment to do so. No other private security contractor has the North Carolina-based firm's range of resources, particularly its fleet of helicopters and planes.

The report suggests that one way to fill the void would be for the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service to beef up its presence in Iraq.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ordered a review of the department's use of private security firms after the Nisoor Square incident. The inspector general's report is an analysis of how recommendations in that review have been implemented.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell declined to comment, saying the company has not yet seen the report. The company has said in the past, though, that it plans to largely get out of the security contracting business to concentrate on training and other projects.

Blackwater has won more than $1 billion in government contracts under the Bush administration, a large portion of which has been for work in Iraq, where its duties include guarding diplomats based at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Separately, the State Department on Wednesday issued new regulations to boost its monitoring of how Blackwater exports sensitive equipment, such as guns and ammunition. The new rules force Blackwater and its affiliates to file extra paperwork and progress reports.

The department said the oversight, which took effect earlier this month, is necessary to ensure that Blackwater "is both capable and willing" to comply with U.S. export laws. Blackwater has acknowledged that it made numerous mistakes with exports over the years and has established a panel of experts to ensure it follows the law.

Federal prosecutors have probed how Blackwater handled its arms shipments to Iraq. The company has denied accusations it is smuggling guns and argues that most of its violations have been failures of paperwork and timeliness.

© Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Sink or Swim for Marines New Amphib Program

Corps' $27b EFV at Crossroads
December 15, 2008
Associated Press

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - The Pentagon spent more than $1 billion and 12 years developing a high-speed vehicle made to carry Marines from sea to shore only to have it fail miserably in 2006. It was overweight, sprung leaks and constantly broke down.

The Marine Corps and contractor General Dynamics Corp. now face another critical test. A failure this week for the vehicles designed to replace a Vietnam-era fleet could doom the $27 billion program.

Any "show stopper" problems discovered during the review will be weighed to determine if the service's so-called Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program moves forward to the next phase, Marine Corps spokesman Dave Branham said last week.

Lawmakers estimate the do-over will cost U.S. taxpayers an additional $1 billion, and the program already is deemed irrelevant by critics given the latest threats in countries like Afghanistan that have no access to water, and require more agile vehicles to navigate rocky terrain.

"Are we going to fight World War II again? Show me on the map where they are going to make an amphibious landing," said Col. G.I. Wilson, a retired Marine and contributing author to the new book, "America's Defense Meltdown," from the Center for Defense Information.

The Marines have not performed large amphibious maneuvers since the Korean War. But the service remains undeterred, contending that with most foreign nations owning shoulder-fired, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-ship missiles, it's critical to have a vehicle that can deploy Marines farther offshore, keeping them undetected and out of harm's way.

The EFV can be deployed 25 nautical miles offshore, allowing Marines to land anywhere along an 800-mile coastline and then start traveling at up to 45 mph.

"You try to never fight the last war when developing weapon systems ... (and you) can't afford to be surprised by the next," said Col. Keith Moore, EFV program manager.

That makes this week's test all the more important for the troubled program.

"They (are going to) have to show us all ... Here's exactly what it does. Here's exactly how much it weighs. (And) that they can meet the advertised cost of the vehicle," Moore said in a recent interview at his office in Woodbridge, Va.

Industry observers say even if the vehicle misses the mark, it's unlikely the Bush administration will terminate the program. Rather, such a decision, like many other multibillion-dollar defense programs left uncompleted this year, would be punted to President-elect Barack Obama.

Analysts believe another failure, coupled with cost overruns and the vehicle's damaged history, would leave the program even more vulnerable to the ax under Obama, who has promised to cut the fat from defense spending.

Still, Marines are anxious to show what the vehicle can do.

"This vehicle is a leap into what we need to stay on top," said Sgt. Christian Button, 23, of Camp Pendleton, Calif., who has been working on the vehicle for the past six months.

Coming around the bend at the military's testing site in Aberdeen, it's clear why the Marines are so enamored with the $14 million vehicles.

Clouds of dust circle around the vehicle's faux "hula skirt" - used to prevent the enemy from detecting its size - as Sgt. Robert Baxter of Camp Pendleton, Calif., 24, turns on the ignition with a push of a button.

With its custom designed 12-cylinder, 2,800 horsepower diesel engine made by Germany's MTU, it begins to roar like a jumbo-jet at takeoff. One cylinder is enough to power the Camaro's Super Sport 454 engine.

The EFV is more than 10 feet high, but inside it feels like a cramped U-Haul with a low ceiling, and seats for 17 infantry Marines.

Deployed from the sea at nearly 30 miles per hour, it can transform into an armored infantry vehicle as it moves ashore. Unlike its older version, it can travel as fast as its military cousin, the Abrams tank.

But even with all its added features and capabilities, the program has been repeatedly criticized for its failures and cost.

"While the project has been a fiasco for the taxpayer, there has been at least one beneficiary: General Dynamics," Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight Committee said in April. "The company got paid even though the vehicle flunked its tests."

General Dynamics referred all questions to the Marine Corps.

The Marines have defended the program's past failures by explaining that the technological feat of getting a 76,000-pound vehicle moving at such a high-speed above the water was unprecedented.

"It was a little bit of a misnomer when it was reported that the vehicle couldn't move in water, couldn't move on land, couldn't shoot, couldn't do any of that," said Branham. "The vehicle works. It just didn't work well enough, long enough."

The vehicle can now go 51 hours before breaking down, up 7.5 hours from its prior threshold, which had been one source of criticism.

Even so, Moore concedes it's been "pretty disappointing" not to have successfully executed the program yet, and said a review last year led the service to slash the number of vehicles it planned to buy nearly in half to 573 because it needed a more diverse fleet to manage new threats.

Moore has taken several steps to help get the program back on track, including authorizing incentive fees under the $776.8 million contract that are paid only if General Dynamics meets goals like controlling costs or performance.

"It doesn't bother me to pay them for work that we can measure," he said, declining to specify how much the Falls Church, Va.-based company has received under the plan.

"The goal is to get the vehicle out there to the Marines," said Moore. "This is a vital capability for U.S."


© Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved

ISAF - ANA Kill 40+ in Helmand

Report: Dozens killed in Afghan operation
Government official: Violence flares in dangerous Helmand province
The Associated Press
updated 7:31 a.m. ET, Mon., Dec. 15, 2008

KABUL, Afghanistan - A joint Afghan-NATO operation in a volatile region in the country's dangerous south has killed 40 militants, including the Taliban's leader in that region, a government official said Monday.

The operation in the Nad Ali and Murja districts of Helmand province began on Thursday and continued through Monday, said Dawood Ahmadi, spokesman for Helmand's governor.

Ahmadi said that 40 militants have died in the operation, though he said that government officials had recovered only seven bodies, which were given to tribal elders for burial. Ahmadi said the government knows another 33 fighters were killed through intelligence sources.

The figures couldn't be independently verified. Lt. Cmdr. James Gater, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, confirmed that a joint operation in Helmand is under way. He said he had no casualty figures he could release.

Leading Taliban figure reportedly among dead
Among the dead was a Mullah Salim, a Taliban leader who was the head of the militant's council in the two districts, Ahmadi said. The councils, also called shuras, are sometimes referred to as a shadow government structure that operates separately from the Afghan government.

Afghan officials admit they have little control in many areas of northern Helmand, a poppy-growing region that is heavily infiltrated by Taliban fighters.

Violence has spiked across Afghanistan the last two years. More than 6,000 people have died in insurgency-related violence in 2008, according to an Associated Press count of figures based on Afghan and Western officials.


© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.