Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- December 28, 2010

Photo: Admiral Eric Olson is the head of the Special Operations Command. He is the first Navy SEAL to earn 4 stars and the first Naval Officer to command SOCOM. Photo from Flickr

Special Forces Wary Of 'Don't Ask' Repeal -- Washington Times

Special-operations troops think the elite force is facing difficulties by accepting open gays into one of the military's more politically conservative communities.

Interviews with current and former commandos reveal that to maintain unit cohesion of Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs or other elite covert warriors, the military services and U.S. Special Operations Command need to make a special effort to ensure both homosexuals and heterosexuals know the rules of conduct.

Read more ....

MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE NEWS BRIEFS

Secret files from 70s reveal Trident strike needed 'to kill 10m Russians' -- The Guardian

France's spy service bulks up amid terror threats -- AP

Baltic States Fault French Ship Deal With Russia -- Defense News/AFP

New Taiwan Anti-Sub Aircraft Next Year: Report -- Defense News/AFP

USN Believes The DF-21D Is Live -- Strategy Page

North Korea aiming nukes at aircraft carriers? -- WND

N.Korean troops' new uniform alarms S.Korea -- AFP

Iran deploys submarines in high seas -- International News

Cyber Diplomacy -- Defense Tech

START has passed, but tactical arms remain an issue -- Washington Post

Tactical Nukes Are Next -- Armchair Generalist

Congress extends Stop Loss application deadline -- Defence Talk

Army officials work to treat invisible wounds of war -- U.S. Department of Defense

Docs Detail CIA’s Cold War Hypnosis Push -- The Danger Room

Napolitano: Clapper's ignorance of U.K. arrests a PR failure -- Politico

Year Later, Some Details Emerge About CIA Officer Killed In Afghanistan -- NPR

Will U.S. Forces Be Entirely Out Of Iraq By The End Of 2011?

Nouri al-Maliki seated in his office. In an interview, he said Iraq would assume responsibility for all its own security by the end of 2011, and would not fall into alignment with Iran. Max Becherer for The Wall Street Journal

Iraq Wants the U.S. Out -- Wall Street Journal

Prime Minister, in Interview, Says Troops Must Leave Next Year as Planned.

BAGHDAD—Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ruled out the presence of any U.S. troops in Iraq after the end of 2011, saying his new government and the country's security forces were capable of confronting any remaining threats to Iraq's security, sovereignty and unity.

Mr. Maliki spoke with The Wall Street Journal in a two-hour interview, his first since Iraq ended nine months of stalemate and seated a new government after an inconclusive election, allowing Mr. Maliki to begin a second term as premier.

Read more ....

My Comment: I still think it is too early to say when U.S. forces will be entirely out of Iraq. The security situation is still unstable. Iraq's military will need U.S. training and participation for years to come. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is just one man .... other members of his government may have a different opinion on when U.S. soldires should leave.

Israel Will Not Apologize To Turkey Over Flotilla Incident

Israel Says It Will Not Apologize To Turkey Over Flotilla Incident -- The CNN

(CNN) -- Despite overtures from Turkey, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Sunday that his country will not apologize to Turkey over the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard an aid flotilla headed for Gaza in May.

"The ones who need to apologize is the Turkish government for supporting terror regarding the IHH (a Turkish charity tied to the flotilla), Hamas and Hezbollah," he told a gathering of Israeli ambassadors from around the world.

Read more ....

More News On The Unrest Between Israel And Its Neighbors

No Israel apology on Turkish ship raid: Netanyahu -- Reuters
Israel: Fences Unmended With Turkey -- New York Times
PM: Israel won't apologize to Turkey for Gaza flotilla raid -- Haaretz
Israel Again Refuses to Apologize for Attack on Turkish Ship -- Voice of America

Israeli PM: Interim Mideast peace deal is option -- Washington Post
PM: Coalition considerations won't stop peace agreement -- Jerusalem Post

'Egypt seizes Gaza-bound anti-aircraft missiles in Sinai' -- Jerusalem Post
Report: Egypt seizes anti-aircraft missiles destined for Gaza -- Haaretz

Gazans Hold Protests on 2nd Anniversary of Israeli Offensive -- Voice of America
Hundreds march in Gaza marking second anniversary of Cast Lead -- Haaretz

Sabotage In North Korea?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, fourth from left in front row, and his youngest son and heir Kim Jong-un, second from the left, pose with military officials during a banquet Friday, to celebrate the 19th anniversary of leader Kim’s inauguration as the military’s supreme commander, in this image taken from a North Korean television broadcast. Their attendance at the event was seen as a bid to uphold military unity amid high tensions on the Korean Peninsula. / Yonhap

Sabotage? Train With Gifts For Kim's Heir Derails -- MSNBC/Reuters

Report: Televisions, watches were bound for N. Korea's leader-in-waiting.

SEOUL, South Korea — A train packed with birthday gifts for North Korea's leader-in-waiting Kim Jong Un derailed this month in a possible act of sabotage, a Seoul-based radio station which broadcasts across the border reported on Monday.

Open Radio for North Korea, a non-profit station which often cites sources in the reclusive, impoverished North, said the train laden with gifts including televisions and watches came off the rails on Dec. 11 near North Korea's border with China.

Read more ....

More News On North Korea's Train Derailment

Birthday ruined? Train packed with gifts for North Korean ruler-in-waiting Kim Jung Un derailed -- New York Daily News
Jong-un’s birthday gift train derailed: Report -- Joong Ang Daily
Train carrying gifts for N.Korea's heir derails -- AFP
Sabotage suspected in derailing of NKorean birthday train -- Toronto Star

My Comment: There is a fascinating new video on North Korea's "leader in waiting". The link to it is here.

Is Al Qaeda Losing? -- A Commentary

'Self-Inflicted Wounds' Points To Al Qaeda's Defeat -- James Jay Carafano, Washington Examiner

Brooklyn native Vinny Viola seldom strayed from the Big Apple until he left for West Point. After soldiering with the 101st Airborne, he returned home, graduated law school and went to work at the New York Merchantile Exchange.

In 2001, he became Nymex chairman. His resolute leadership following the 9/11 attacks helped the exchange recover from the turmoil.

Read more ....

My Comment: Eventually .... radical Islam and Al Qaeda's intolerant message will be swept away by most Muslims who have no interest in following the strict adherents of the Muslim faith. Ipods and computers, the internet, international travel, making money and providing for a better life .... this is the future of Al Qaeda's possible recruits, and with time .... drip by drip .... these recruits for Al Qaeda will be less and less.

Unfortunately .... in the interim .... expect a continuation in the war against terror, serious and deadly terrorist strikes, carnage and death, followed by more conflict and war.

Remembering Benazir Bhutto

Thousands Of Pakistanis Mourn Bhutto 3 Years After Assassination -- Voice of America

Thousands of Pakistanis have gathered at the grave of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in southern Pakistan to mourn her on the third anniversary of her assassination.

On Monday, loyalists paid tribute to Bhutto at a mausoleum containing her remains in the village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, reciting prayers and chanting slogans.

Read more ....

Update: Thousands mourn Pakistan's Bhutto, three years on -- AFP

My Comment: Three years after her assassination, the individuals responsible for this crime have still not been brought to justice. Will anyone ever be made accountable .... hmmmm .... after three years I doubt it.

China Can Now Sink Our Aircraft Carriers

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan travels through the Pacific Ocean with other ships assigned to the Rim of the Pacific 2010 exercise, north of Hawaii, July 24, 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Dylan McCord

China Has Carrier-Killer Missile, U.S. Admiral Says -- Washington Times

China's military is deploying a new anti-ship ballistic missile that can sink U.S. aircraft carriers, a weapon that specialists say gives Beijing new power-projection capabilities that will affect U.S. support for its Pacific allies.

Adm. Robert F. Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, disclosed to a Japanese newspaper on Sunday that the new anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) is now in the early stages of deployment after having undergone extensive testing.

Read more ....

Update #1: China’s Military Surprises -- Jason Miks, The Diplomat
Update #2: U.S. commander says China aims to be a 'global military' power -- Asahi.com

My Comment: This was inevitable .... now or later. Since it is now, we might as well get use to it.