Syrian Rebels Blamed For Execution Video

Syria Conflict: Aleppo Shootings By Rebels Condemned -- BBC

Human rights activists have condemned the public shooting in Syria of four apparent Assad loyalists by rebels in the battleground city of Aleppo.

Video posted online shows the men, who included the alleged head of a feared local militia, being put up against a wall and shot with Kalashnikovs.

Human Rights Watch has told the BBC the act was potentially a war crime.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the nation's fate is being decided by the fight against the rebels.

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More News On Syrian Rebels Being Blamed For Executing Assad Loyalists

Syria: rebels condemned over 'execution' of Assad loyalists -- The Telegraph
Video purports to show Syrian rebels executing government allies -- L.A. Times
Video Said to Show Execution by Syrian Rebels Stirs Debate -- The Lede/New York Times
War crime? Syrian rebels execute POWs -- RT
Video: Syrian rebels execute militiamen -- YNet News
Report: Rebels Are Executing Assad Loyalists in Aleppo -- Atlantic Wire

Are Iran Sanctions Working?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Aug. 1, 2012. (Xinhua/GPO/Moshe Milner)

Benjamin Netanyahu: Sanctions On Iran Are Not Working -- The Telegraph

Benjamin Netanyahu has stepped up pressure on the United States to take military action against Iran by openly declaring that the Obama administration's strategy of sanctions against Tehran was not working.

With America's visiting defence secretary, Leon Panetta, standing next to him, the Israeli prime minister criticised US policy towards Iran in the bluntest terms, demonstrating the growing gulf between the two allies.

"However forceful our statements, they have not convinced Iran that we are serious about stopping them, he said. "Right now the Iranian regime believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear programme."

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More News On U.S. - Israeli Talks On The impact Of Sanctions On Iran

Netanyahu: Threats Not Convincing Iran to Stop Developing Nuclear Weapons -- Voice of America
Israeli PM says time running out to stop Iran's nuclear programme -- The Guardian
Israel tells US time is running out for peaceful end to Iran nuclear dispute -- NBC News
Israel unconvinced as U.S. urges patience on Iran -- CBS/AP
Netanyahu says US warnings not enough to stop Iran -- BBC
Israel tells U.S. time is running out in Iran nuclear dispute -- Reuters
Panetta, in Israel visit, stresses that U.S. military action against Iran remains an option -- Washington Post
Panetta asks for patience as Israel looks to halt Iran's nuclear program -- Christian Science Monitor
Panetta Says All Options Must Be Tried Before Iran Strike -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Panetta's Visit Shows U.S. And Israel Still Don't Speak The Same Language On Iran -- IBTimes

F-22s Oxygen Fix Expected By The End Of This Year

The Air Force will begin testing a new valve on pressurized vests worn by F-22 pilots. Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock / U.S. Air Force

F-22 Oxygen Fix Expected By End Of The Year -- Air Force Times

A faulty valve on the pressurized vests worn by F-22 pilots will be replaced by the end of the year, a move aimed at solving pilots’ complaints of nausea and dizziness while flying the stealth fighter.

The valve connects the plane’s onboard oxygen supply to a tube that inflates the vest, protecting pilots from high-G forces. But a flaw in the valve caused the vests to be constantly inflated, even at lower altitudes when they weren’t needed, said Maj. Gen. Charles Lyon, the director of operations for Air Combat Command. The continuous pressure on the pilots’ chests caused symptoms of oxygen deficiency, or hypoxia.

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More News On The F-22 Oxygen Problem

Air Force Confident F-22 Oxygen Riddle Solved -- Military.com
Air Force assures F-22 readiness following extensive testing -- US Air Force
After four years Air Force “confident” it has found F-22 problem source -- CNN
Air Force Targets Valve to Fix F-22 Jet’s Oxygen Problems -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Improvements to be added over F-22 oxygen problem -- CBS
Why have F-22 pilots passed out at the controls? Pentagon solves mystery. -- Christian Science Monitor
Air Force: There Never Was a 'Smoking Gun' for F-22 Fighter Problems -- ABC News
IN FOCUS: F-22 pilots and engineers not convinced USAF has found root cause of Raptor's oxygen woes -- Flight Global
USAF to Fix F-22 Raptor Onboard Oxygen Generator Issues by Year's End -- Daily Tech
USAF reiterates that Combat Edge vest is the cause of Raptor’s maladies -- Flight Global
Pressure vests were choking F-22 pilots -- Passport/Foreign Policy
The F-22 Is Cured, We Hope -- Strategy Page

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: Only A 'Small Handful' Of Top al-Qaida Targets Left

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Israeli President Shimon Peres meet in Jerusalem, Aug. 1, 2012. Panetta is on a five-day trip to the region to meet with leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Israel and Jordan. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Panetta: Only A 'Small Handful' Of Top al-Qaida Targets Left -- NBC/Reuters

Nearly one year ago, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta predicted the strategic defeat of al-Qaida was within reach if the United States could kill or capture up to 20 leaders of the core group and its affiliates.

In an interview with Reuters, Panetta disclosed that only a "small handful" of the individuals on that original list remained on the battlefield and that Saudi Arabia -- the birthplace of late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden -- was reporting a drop-off in recruitment.

"We've not only impacted on their leadership, we've impacted on their capability to provide any kind of command and control in terms of operations," Panetta said Thursday.

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My Comment: When they get this Al Qaeda leader is when I will say that the war against Al Qaeda as we have known it since 9/11 is now over. Our conflict and energies should then be directed against Al Qaeda wannabes and affiliated groups.

Is Al Qaeda In Decline?

Osama bin Laden's Death Put al-Qaeda In Irreversible Decline -- The Telegraph

The killing of Osama bin Laden has plunged al-Qaeda’s core leadership into a decline it will be hard to reverse, according to an American intelligence report.

In its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, the State Department described 2011 as a “landmark year”, with the deaths of Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, the group’s deputy leader and Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior figure of its affiliate in Yemen, among other high-profile casualties.

It warned however that affiliates in Yemen and West Africa pose a growing threat to the West.

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More News On The Decline Of Al Qaeda And The Rise Of It's 'Affiliates'

Al Qaeda gaining 'operational capability' despite core losses, report shows -- FOX News
State Dept: As core weakens, al Qaeda affiliates are top terror threat -- CNN
Al Qaeda decline hard to reverse after Bin Laden killing: U.S. -- Reuters
The end of al-Qaeda? US claims it has broken the back of the terrorist group as attacks fall to 2005 levels -- Daily Mail
Sharp Decline in Terror Attacks After Bin Laden Death -- ABC News
Report: Al-Qaeda core weakened as affiliates gained strength in 2011 -- The Cable/Foreign Policy
State Dept.: Al Qaeda on 'decline' -- Politico
U.S. Report Says 2011 A 'Landmark Year' In Battle Against Terrorism -- Radio Free Europe

My Comment: What's my take .... Zawahiri's brother is probably right.

Pakistan's New Spy Chief Visits Washington

ISI chief Zaheer-ul-Islam has traveled to the US for talks with CIA Director Gen David Petraeus. PHOTO: FILE

Pakistan's ISI Chief Visits The US For Talks -- Deutsche Welle

The chief of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence has begun his first official US tour today, but does he have an offer for the US vis-à-vis the militant Haqqani network? Pakistan experts don't expect much on this.

It is the first time in about a year that the head of Pakistan's powerful spy agency, the ISI, is visiting the US.

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More News On The Heads Of The CIA And Pakistan's ISI Meeting In Washington For Talks

Pakistan’s New Spy Chief Visits Washington at a Time of Frayed Relations -- New York Times
Pakistan ISI chief Zaheerul Islam makes US visit -- BBC
ISI chief arrives in US to hold talks with Petraeus -- Hindustan Times
ISI chief lands in Washington, talks on drone attacks expected -- Express Tribune
Pakistan, U.S. intelligence chiefs to hold crucial talks in Washington -- Xinhuanet
Washington rendezvous: ISI chief to push for end to drone strike, says Malik -- Express Tribune/Reuters

British Soldier's Death By An Afghan IED Could Have Been Avoided

Lance Corporal James Hill of 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards died in an improvised explosive device detonation on the Camp Bastion ranges on October 8, 2009 Photo: MoD

British Soldier Died In Afghanistan After Army Failed To Properly Sweep Training Area For Insurgent Bombs -- Daily Mail

* Lance Corporal James Hill was killed by an improvised explosive device in October 2009 in an 'unsecured' training area
* Army policy demanded four hours to sweep the firing range but only spent 45 minutes
* Officers ignored warnings that locals were able to wander onto the area after each session to gather scrap metal, and potentially lay IEDs
* Nine days after his death the training zone was shut and moved inside nearby 'secure' Camp Bastion
* 'James' life was irreplaceable and he meant the world to us,' his family said after the verdict of unlawful killing today

A soldier who was about to be married was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan after the army failed to properly sweep a training area for insurgent bombs, an inquest heard today.

Lance Corporal James Hill, of the 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, died on an 'unsecured' firing range 2.5 miles outside Camp Bastion in central Helmand on October 8 2009.

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More News On The Death Of Lance Corporal James Hill

Soldier's death part of 'culture of complacency' -- The Telegraph
Army criticised over James Hill death by Surrey coroner -- BBC
"Utterly failed": Coroner and family slam Army after soldier died in bomb attack -- Mirror

My Comment: The Taliban thought this one through .... relying on British complacency and naivety, they succeeded in killing a British soldier.