Afghanistan War News Updates -- February 1, 2010

STRYKER SIGHT - U.S. Army Spc. Tim Andrews, right, and Pfc. Laremy Lee conduct a patrol in a Stryker armored vehicle in Luy Kariz, Afghanistan, Jan. 25, 2010. Andrews and Lee are assigned to the 8th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Francisco V. Govea II

Afghan Official Says Talks with Taliban Are Ongoing -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan official in charge of reconciliation said Monday that talks are continuing with Taliban leaders to bring them into the government and end the war, dismissing Taliban denials of contacts with the Kabul authorities.

Mohammed Masoom Stanekzai, a top security adviser to President Hamid Karzai, made the statement at a news conference to discuss last week’s international Afghanistan conference in London.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Afghan President Calls for Reconciliation with Taliban -- Voice of America
Karzai urges Taliban talks before U.S. pullout -- Reuters
President Karzai invites Taleban to join peace talks with Government -- Times Online
Karzai rejects Taliban conditions -- Al Jazeera
Taliban denies meeting UN Afghanistan envoy -- Christian Science Monitor
Afghan Taliban leader ready to end al-Qaida ties, says former trainer -- The Guardian

Hearts, minds and bullets on the eve of an offensive in Helmand -- Times Online
Afghan officials say joint force kills 7 militants in gunbattle in south -- TodayOnline/AP
US serviceman killed in Afghanistan -- Press Association
US casualties in Afghanistan sow seeds of anger, frustration -- Times of India/AFP

Obama seeks $33 billion for Afghanistan troop rise -- Reuters
NATO Commander Sees Pivotal 2010 for Afghanistan -- US Department of Defense
Marines pressing Afghan army to take larger security role -- Stars And Stripes
U.S. makes small strides in getting Afghan army fighting fit, but hurdles remain -- Washington Post
Buying off Afghanistan’s “$10 fighters” -- Reuters
Kazakh official warns against quitting Afghanistan -- Washington Times
Foreign fighters alienate Afghans: Ménard -- CBC
Petraeus on Afghanistan, Taliban -- Public Radio International
Afghanistan conference: Will the new strategy work? -- BBC

World News Briefs -- February 1, 2010

Obama Unveils $3.83T Budget With Massive Deficits -- ABC News

Obama's spending plan features record $1.56 trillion deficit and new effort to boost jobs

President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.83 trillion budget on Monday that would pour more money into the fight against high unemployment, boost taxes on the wealthy and freeze spending for a wide swath of government programs.

The deficit for this year would surge to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion, topping last year's then unprecedented $1.41 trillion gap. The deficit would remain above $1 trillion in 2011 although the president proposed to institute a three-year budget freeze on a variety of programs outside of the military and homeland security as well as increasing taxes on energy producers and families making more than $250,000.

Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

Iraqi police: Female suicide bomber kills 41.

Hamas threatens to strike at Israeli targets abroad to avenge Mabhouh.

Israelis disciplined in Gaza artillery fire.

Yemen seems to reject cease-fire with rebels.

Iran's defiance spurs rise in U.S. military defenses.

ASIA

Pakistan investigates reports of Taliban leader's death.

China says US arms sales to Taiwan could threaten wider relations.

Koreas to resume talks after border artillery fire.

AFRICA

Nigeria's oil pipeline sabotaged - Royal Dutch Shell.

Nigerians wonder: Could a military coup actually save us?

After losing a post, Qaddafi rebukes the African Union.

Mogadishu shelling kills 12 civilians.

EUROPE

UKs Brown goes into battle with billions for defence.

Thousands rally to urge Russia's Putin to resign.

UN chief visits Cyprus to boost peace talks.

AMERICAS

In quake’s wake, Haiti faces leadership void.

Mexico gunmen kill 14 teens, young adults.

Analysis: Chavez's socialist project badly hobbled.

Chocolate vs the Drug Lords: Peru's move from Coca to Cacao.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

Obama administration: Undecided on terror trial venue.

Obama admnistration takes several wrong paths in dealing with terrorism (Commentary)

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

Obama's $3.8 trillion budget heading to Congress.

Swiss warn UBS bank could collapse.

Global shares slide on Greece and China.

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- February 1, 2010

Assault Breacher Vehicle. Courtesy of Gunnery Sgt. Bradley Gill / Marine Corp

Marine Assault Vehicles Key To Afghan Strategy -- L.A. Times

As U.S. and Afghan troops prepare for an offensive in Helmand province, the Assault Breacher Vehicle - a cross between a tank and a bulldozer - is intended to conquer the terrain and roadside bombs.

Reporting from Camp Pendleton - Weighing 70 tons, traveling up to 45 mph and possessed of a smash-mouth name, the Assault Breacher Vehicle is the Marine Corps' latest answer to a perennial problem of offensive warfare: how to push through the barriers and booby traps of an enemy's outer defenses.

Read more ....

MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE NEWS BRIEFS

Missed: Ground-Based Interceptor Fails To Intercept Due To SBX Glitch -- Closing Velocity

Combat Aircraft: The “New” Close Air Support -- War Is Boring

Libya strikes billion-dollar Russian arms deal -- AFP

China to establish mily bases overseas -- Pakistan Observer

Germany says collapse of Indian Airbus deal 'nasty surprise' -- AFP

Paying More, Buying Less -- DoD Buzz

Pearl Harbor merging with Hickam Air Force Base -- Washington Post

Flag moves include 1st woman CSG commander -- Navy Times

General David Petraeus: full transcript of interview with The Times -- Times Online

US Air Force Academy chapel to add outdoor circle to worship areas -- US Air Force Academy

The Quadrennial Defense Review -- News Roundup

Quadrennial Defense Review Report

Gates Submits 'Wartime' Defense Blueprint -- National Journal

Defense Secretary Gates has submitted a "wartime" Quadrennial Defense Review of military capabilities and requirements, balancing near-term priorities with the future needs of the force, according to a copy of the document obtained by CongressDaily.

"This is truly a wartime QDR," Gates wrote in an introductory letter accompanying the review, slated to be released Monday. "For the first time, it places the current conflicts at the top of our budgeting, policy, and program priorities, thus ensuring that those fighting America's wars and their families -- on the battlefield, in the hospital, or on the home front -- receive the support they need and deserve."

Read more ....

More News On The QDR

QDR 2010 Hi-Lights -- Information Dissemination
QDR Kills Two MTW Strategy; Helos, UAVs Are Stars -- DoD Buzz
US military responsibilities to expand -- Financial Times
Defense review urges 'more and better' capabilities -- Government Executive
Pentagon review calls for 'more sophisticated' relationship with industry -- The Hill
Gates orders Air Force and Navy to study joint weapons system -- Washington Post
Pentagon Shifts Its Strategy to Small-Scale Warfare -- Wall Street Journal
China, Iran Prompt U.S. Air-Sea Battle Plan in Strategy Review -- Business Week
Afghan, Iraq wars shape Pentagon budget, US strategy -- AFP
Pentagon review to address climate change for the first time -- The Hill
Draft Defense Department budget avoids weapons cuts, adds aircraft -- Washington Post
Final Version of Four-Year Defense Review Leaked -- War Is Boring
The QDR-USAF-DOD deception -- ELP Defens(c)e Blog
QDR in its present form will not fix the USAF -- ELP Defens(c)e Blog

Is A US Citizen Going To Be Put On A CIA Hit List?

Anwar al Awlaki

U.S. Citizen In CIA's Cross Hairs -- L.A. Times

The agency builds a case for putting Anwar al Awlaki, linked to the Ft. Hood shootings and Christmas bomb attempt, on its hit list. The complications involved are a window into a secretive process.

Reporting from Washington - The CIA sequence for a Predator strike ends with a missile but begins with a memo. Usually no more than two or three pages long, it bears the name of a suspected terrorist, the latest intelligence on his activities, and a case for why he should be added to a list of people the agency is trying to kill.

The list typically contains about two dozen names, a number that expands each time a new memo is signed by CIA executives on the seventh floor at agency headquarters, and contracts as targets thousands of miles away, in places including Pakistan and Yemen, seem to spontaneously explode.

Read more ....

My Comment: I will be very surprised if Anwar al Awlaki is finally put on a CIA hit list. He is a traitor .... and worse .... he has been complicit through association on a number of terror threats and operations .... but is this enough to have him killed? Hmmmm .... I do not have all the intelligence that the professionals have but it appears that for many in the counter terrorism field he does deserve to be put on such a list.

For more on the history of Anwar al Awlaki, ABC News has some good reporting here.

What Terrorists Are Prepared To Do To Foil New Airport Scanners

Photo: New weapon: To avoid detection by airport body scanners (above), Al Qaeda are said to be planning to surgically insert explosives into suicide bombers' bodies

Terrorists 'Plan attack On Britain With Bombs INSIDE Their Bodies' To Foil New Airport Scanners -- The Daily Mail

Britain is facing a new Al Qaeda terror threat from suicide ‘body bombers’ with explosives surgically inserted inside them.

Until now, terrorists have attacked airlines, Underground trains and buses by secreting bombs in bags, shoes or underwear to avoid detection.

But an operation by MI5 has uncovered evidence that Al Qaeda is planning a new stage in its terror campaign by inserting ‘surgical bombs’ inside people for the first time.

Read more ....

My Comment: What caught my eye was the following ....

.... A leading source added that male bombers would have the explosive secreted near their appendix or in their buttocks, while females would have the material placed inside their breasts in the same way as figure-enhancing implants ....

Breast implants with explosives?!?!?!

Sighhh .... what's next.

What Somali Pirates Do To Their Prisoners

Suffering: Rachel Chandler at a location in central Somalia, where she is being held by pirates

Skeletal And Desperate Or Help: Shocking New Pictures Emerge Of British Couple Kidnapped By Somali Pirates -- The Daily Mail

A British couple kidnapped by pirates in the Indian Ocean issued another desperate plea for help today.

Paul and Rachel Chandler are pictured looking skeletal in a video, which was taken at the separate location where they are being held.

The couple, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were captured while sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania in their yacht Lynn Rival on October 23.

Read more ....

More News On the Chandler Couple And Their Captivity

British couple held by Somali pirates for 100 days appeal for help -- The Guardian
British couple held by pirates plea for help -- Reuters
U.K. Couple Kidnapped by Pirates Beg for Urgent Help -- FOX News/SKY News
British Couple Held By Somali Pirates In Bad Shape -- Voice of America
Hostage’s film plea for help -- The Sun
Yacht couple 'need urgent help' -- BBC

My Comment: whenever you read a story on how difficult life is for the Somali pirates, how their fishing grounds have been over fished by international trawlers, and how hunger and deprivation is impacting their lives .... bookmark and read the above stories.

The brutal fact of the matter is that these pirates are brutal thugs, and are symbolic of why Somalia has been a failed state for the past few decades.

As for the West .... shame on our political leaders who believe a catch and release program is the only way to combat this form of piracy .... it is not.