Paco
RealPoor Jedi
Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 12940
Location: Jacksonville, FL
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 Posted: 05/25/05 - 08:41 Post subject: The List for 5/24
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This Day In Naval History - May 24
1917 - First U.S. convoy to cross North Atlantic during World War I leaves Hampton Roads, VA
1918 - USS Olympia anchors at Kola Inlet, Murmansk, Russia, to protect refugees during Russian Revolution
1939 - First and only use of VADM Allan McCann's Rescue Chamber to rescue 33 men from sunken USS Squalus (SS-192)
1941 - Authorization of construction or acquisition of 550,000 tons of auxiliary shipping for Navy
1945 - Fast carrier task force aircraft attack airfields in southern Kyushu, Japan
1945 - 9 US ships damaged by concentrated kamikaze attack off Okinawa
1961 - USS Gurke notices signals from 12 men from Truk who were caught in a storm, drifted at sea for 2 months before being stranded on a island for 1 month. USS Southerland investigated, notified Truk, and provided provisions and supplies to repair their outrigger canoe. The men would be picked up on 7 June by the motor launch Kaselehlia.
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Military-haters in the press
May 20th, 2005
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=4511
The last few years have seen a heightened awareness of the mainstream
media's anti-military bias. Plenty of people are noticing it, and even
some media brand name correspondents are admitting it. There is plenty of
evidence.
The New York Times has run front-page articles regarding the defense
forces' putative reliance on unemployable people opting to become cannon
fodder by "volunteering" for the military, to get a paycheck because
other employers would not hire them. CBS News has run similar pieces.
Neither considered anything so mundane as serving one's nation or
fulfilling family tradition as a possible motivation for enlistment.
The overblown Abu Ghraib coverage, which enflamed the Muslim world, was
the product of an editorial inclination to believe the very worst about
our military, and to force responsibility up the chain of command, to the
very top -a principle the press never applies to its own top management.
Few in the press noted that the military justice system was already
pursuing the miscreants at the very time the press obtained photos.
The alleged ransacking of an Iraqi weapons cache by insurgents while it
was under Army guard did not happen, and the reports were refuted by the
blogosphere, not by the vaunted fact-checking editorial function of the
mainstream media, supposedly its key advantage over internet bloggers.
The looting of "thousands of priceless artifacts" from Baghdad's museum
was lamented as one of the great tragedies of historical preservation,
until it was revealed that relatively few pieces were taken, many of them
reproductions.
Eason Jordan falsely claimed that the soldiers were deliberately
targeting journalists in Iraq. After his evasions failed to get him out
of his self-inflicted scandal he was forced to resign his senior
management position at CNN. Nevertheless, this urban legend of military
targeting journalists seems to live on: the President of the Newspaper
Guild just last week repeated this egregious allegation. . Apparently,
the efforts to help journalist by embedding them with troops has resulted
in few foxhole conversions into Ernie Pyles. Much more aptly, too many
journalists may have become Dan Rathers.
The recently allegation of the flushing the Koran down the toilet made by
Newsweek was also a false report. It may be a tipping point in terms of
media credibility and public perception. Hugh Hewitt interviewed Terry
Moran of ABC News who was brave and honest enough to admit that the media
did have an anti-military bias born of the Vietnam War. Moran stated,
"There is, Hugh, I agree with you, a deep anti-military bias in the
media. One that begins from the premise that the military must be lying,
and that American projection of power around the world must be wrong. I
think that that is a hangover from Vietnam, and I think it's very
dangerous."
Moran has it right. This anti-military attitude dates to the Vietnam era.
Robert Kaplan has pointed out that the media's bias against the military
might originate in an elitist class-based prejudice held by reporters .
No less so than in academia, the mainstream media have been colonized by
Vietnam-era alumni of the left.
Soldiers have become so bewildered and disheartened by the dishonesty and
inaccuracy of the journalists stationed in Iraq (many of whom never leave
the safety of the security zones guarded by US troops) that they have
utilized the internet to try to get their perspectives out to their
families and to the public at home. Milblogs (military blogs) have also
become a source of honesty and expertise regarding the military.
The pervasiveness and Vietnam era-origins of the lamentable press
hostility toward the media are confirmed in the current issue of the New
Yorker An article appears there by Thomas Bass, 'The Spy Who Loved Us,"
about Pham Xuan An, a South Vietnamese correspondent for Time magazine
during the Vietnam War.
Pham was able to use his position at Time to spy for the North
Vietnamese. Among his "accomplishments" was playing a key role in
identifying targets for the Viet Cong preparatory to their savage Tet
offensive, which killed thousands of people (and during which the US
Embassy was attacked) and chauffeuring one of the key planners around
Saigon before the launch of the attack.
Pham's cover was never blown during the war, and he was rewarded with a
promotion to general in the North Vietnamese army. What is telling are
Bass's interviews with American correspondents regarding Pham. Despite
thousands of Americans and South Vietnamese killed or wounded with the
help of this traitor, the American journalists uniformly praise and
admire Pham.
Fellow Time correspondent Robert Sam Anson was captured by the North
Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge in Cambodia where at least 25 other
journalists were already dead or unaccounted for (left unsaid by Bass
were the thousands of soldiers enjoying the same status). Through the
intercession of Anson's wife, Pham was able to secure his release.
In 1987 Anson asked him why he was saved. Pham responded that he liked
Anson. Of course, Anson does not consider the fact that many American
soldiers were harmed through his "friend's" efforts. An admiring Anson,
to this day, keeps a photo of Pham on his desk.
Bass notes that almost all the journalists who worked with Pham are
united in their support of him. Peter Arnett praises him as a "bold guy".
Frank McCulloch, who was the head of Time's Asia bureau when he hired
Pham said he was "absolutely not" angry when he learned of Pham's spying
and said, "It's his land, I thought. If the situation were reversed, I
would have done the same thing."
McCulloch, says Bass, remembers Pham with "tremendous fondness and
respect" and says it was a great pleasure to raise thirty-two thousand
dollars to send Pham's son to journalism (!) school in America.
Richard Pyle, the former A.P. Saigon bureau chief, praises Pham for
saving Time from embarrassing itself by publishing stories that weren't
true (because Pham had sources on the other side). Legendary reporter
David Halberstam says he has "no grudges" against Pham and "I still think
fondly of An. I never felt betrayed by An." Halberstam and the other
reporters did not feel betrayed by An because he helped them in their
careers by having the inside scoop about our enemies (and in the case of
Anson, springing him from captivity). While their status soared, American
soldiers were sinking into the swamps of Vietnam.
Not one journalist interviewed for the article had a negative word to say
about a traitor and a spy whose devious efforts helped to cause the death
and the maiming of thousands. Not one.
Ed Lasky
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The Supreme Court ruled today that it is unconstitutional to force capital murder defendants to appear before juries in chains and shackles. "Justices threw out the sentence of Carman Deck, who was shackled in leg irons and handcuffed to a chain around his belly when he faced a Missouri jury that put him on death row," reports the Associated Press.
Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority, said that shackling indicates to juries "that court authorities consider the offender a danger to the community." Well...duh.
According to the AP, "Deck was convicted of killing James Long, 69, and his wife, Zelma, 67, near De Soto, Mo., in 1996. He went to the elderly couple's door asking for directions, but once inside shot them both twice in the head and stole about $400." Gee, I wonder why authorities might consider this low-life "a danger to the community"?
DC Confidential, 5/23/05
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Monday May 23, 2005
The National Restaurant Association
Chicago, Illinois
Let's see if we can get a consensus here. All those who agree with me, raise hands:I am getting just the teensiest, tiniest, merest, hint of the scent of a whiff of being really, completely, and thoroughly SICK AND TIRED of the Western press pouncing on the Outrage! in the Arab world about something the United States has done; hasn't done, is accused of doing, or is accused of not doing.
The latest - protesting photos of Saddam Hussein in his tighty whities on the front page of two Rupert Murdock newspapers - is just about enough, shukrun very much.
Saddam Hussein is a butcher. He is in the same - thankfully very small - club with Stalin, Hitler, and Pol Pot.
Saddam in his underwear is no different than Saddam in a bathing suit. Given how fit he looks, he doesn't seem to be suffering very much from his incarceration.
If anything, the "Arab street" should be incensed because Saddam's treatment has not been harsh enough. How tender should the prison stay of a man be who ordered the deaths of some 300,000 of his countrymen? Maybe we should throw him back into his spider hole.
Saddam Hussein in his drawers? Who cares?
This has little to do with Saddam but much to do with the world-wide effort to discredit anything and everything American, not a little of which comes from within the United States.
We don't need to recount the good things we have done over the past 90-or-so years to protect our pals in Europe and Asia from domination by Germany and later Japan and later, still, the Soviet Union.
We've torn up the IOUs because (a) we didn't do those things to keep score in the first place, and (b) we know we'd never be re-paid even if we did.
Saddam in his U-trou? Give me a break.
What about the continued hostage-taking of unarmed reporters and aid workers? Some of them have been ransomed. Some of them have been killed. None of them has been the object of Outrage!
You want to be Outraged! about something? How about the billions - BILLIONS - of dollars that Saddam and his band of thugs stole from the people of Iraq. The Oil-for-Palaces program was the most successful swindle since Carlo Ponzi invented the genre.
The people of Iraq went without food, clean water, housing and power so Saddam and his boys could build dozens of monuments to ? Saddam. His partner in that deal was none other than Kofi Annan of the Ewe-Nighted Nations.
Hello? Can I interest you in even a modest amount of fury, rage or wrath? No? I'll settle for just a smidgen of polite indignation.
Saddam in his smalls? Pul-eeze.
What about the footage of people having their heads chopped off - beginning with Daniel Pearl a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who had done nothing at all to deserve being held captive, much less butchered. Where was even the most diffident suggestion that it was unpleasant let alone barbaric? Outrage! Yeah, right.
The list goes on and on. Fallujah. Remember the four contractors who, escorting a food convoy, were ambushed, burned, dismembered and then hung from a bridge? No Outrage! then, either.
Saddam in his BVDs. Yuck. You couldn't turn on a television over the weekend without seeing the photo with a studio host staring into the camera sadly reporting the damage it was doing to American credibility overseas. Every 17 seconds.
So, let's just call this what it is: A sham. A fake. A lie. A victory for the "America is Always Wrong" crowd.
My best laugh line at the North Carolina Republican Convention in Asheville on Saturday was: You want photos of a former head of state in his underwear? Two words: Bill Clinton.
At least we'd finally know the answer to the biggest question of the Clinton era: Boxers or briefs?
On the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A brief discussion of a Ponzi scheme, a very amusing Mullfoto and a Catchy Caption of the Day which will make you Outraged!
-- END --
Copyright ?2005 Richard A. Galen
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Minutemen Are People, Too
By LEO W. BANKS
May 19, 2005; Page A15
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Anybody who appreciates a good yuck was sad to see the Minutemen pack up their pickups and go home. After all, it wasn't every day that we got to enjoy the spectacle of sunscreen-lathered ACLU observers chasing volunteer border-watchers through the desert. But in the media bonfire accompanying Arizona's Redneck Revolt, we saw the cultural divide separating media elites from ordinary people -- those with BlackBerries and $150 hairdos versus folks with tobacco bulges in their cheeks.
In the view of most of the reporters who parachuted into Arizona for this story and, disturbingly, local ones as well, you'd get the distinct impression that the Minutemen are the problem along the border. That's right. America needn't worry about the thousands who bust into the country every night. No, the real danger are those yahoos who think calling the cops when they see somebody breaking the law is a good idea.
Never mind that it worked, more or less. In April, the number of illegals coming across along the Naco corridor, where the Minutemen were stationed, fell, even if the balloon effect pushed them to other places along Arizona's 350-mile-long border with Mexico. But that's not the story most editors and producers wanted. They wanted to stand up the angle that went something like -- no, exactly like -- this: Gun-toting vigilantes run amok in the desert, hunting harmless illegals who are only looking for work.
So, you show up in gritty Tombstone, grab somebody wearing a straw hat and a sidearm and work him for the quotes you want. Then you shoot film of the guy wearing his gun, because that's what the producer said in the story meeting, and if you're lucky you get a big grin on the subject's face showing gaps where teeth should be.
I've been a reporter in Arizona for 30 years. As the border story has heated up, I get calls from out-of-town reporters wanting me to hook them up with angry border residents. If I mentioned in a story that a particular rancher carries a gun, that's the rancher the reporters want to see. They're less interested in understanding his problems than getting film of him and his six-shooter.
These border residents are routinely snickered at and called racist vigilantes. But most are decent folks caught up in the daily invasion of illegals who tramp across their land. Ranchers in hard-hit areas spend the first hours of every day repairing damage done the night before. They find fences knocked down and water spigots left on, draining thousands of precious gallons. And then there's the trash: pill bottles, syringes, used needles, and pile after pile of human feces.
Sometimes illegals hammer on residents' windows in the middle of the night, demanding to use the phone. Some even walk right into the ranch house and refuse to leave until the rancher pulls a gun and forces the issue. One rancher told me about illegals who rustled one of her newborn calves. The intruders beat the 12-hour-old animal to death with a fence post, then barbecued it on the spot.
How bad is it? In the Tucson Sector alone in January 2005, the Border Patrol arrested 35,704 people, seized 34,864 pounds of marijuana, and impounded 557 smuggling vehicles. In one month. High-speed chases and accidents on our back-roads are now common. Residents know to stay off certain roads at night because the smugglers -- of people and drugs -- own them, and if you're not careful they'll come around a bend at 100 mph and run you into a ditch or worse.
In some hilltop spots near Douglas, you can unfold a lawn chair, crack open a Schlitz and watch the invasion happen. As dusk falls, they come, hundreds of headlights from Mexican cabs streaming north, each filled to the windows with soon-to-be illegals. Are they good folks? Are they carrying biological agents? We have no idea. They could be the worst terrorists and thugs. If that sounds alarmist, consider that some ranchers have found Muslim prayer rugs and Arabic dictionaries on their property. And the feds confirm that the ultraviolent Mara Salvatrucha street gang is using Arizona as a gateway into this country.
But you haven't heard much about these problems nationally, because the media soft-pedal them. Why? It's politically incorrect. We've built a new third rail in American life. Leave the harmless illegals alone and go after their victims instead.
I've interviewed a fellow named Bud Strom, a retired Marine and a pretty fair cowboy poet who has a ranch south of Sierra Vista. He tells about a reporter for the New York Times coming out to his place and doing a story on what it's like to live on the border. "The story made it sound like I was out there helping them, giving them water and such," says Bud laughing. In fact, when he sees a group, he wheels his horse and gets out of there fast, then calls the Border Patrol.
Bud knows what he's dealing with. He has had a truck stolen, found bales of drugs on his land, and routinely has illegals approach him demanding beer. It used to be that one or two would ask a local resident for water and a sandwich, and, once fed, be on their way with a polite "Gracias, Señorita." The new breed now comes in groups of 50. They demand to be driven to their pickup spot, and if you refuse they flip you off. Sometimes they poison barking ranch dogs or cut their throats to quiet them. How long do you suppose such outrages would go on in Fairfield, Conn.? Or Greenwich? It'd be a day and a half before some kumbaya-liberal flipped sides and founded the Merritt Parkway Minutemen. Or the BlackBerry Brigade.
The best part of this story is that while the elite media's agenda on the Minutemen played well on the coasts, Arizonans weren't buying it. A poll found that 57% of the state's residents supported the border-watch project, which sent the editorial page of Tucson's Arizona Daily Star into a stammering fit, calling the number alarming. Of course, this is a paper so politically correct it can't even bring itself to call illegals illegals. Its writers refer to them as migrants or, my favorite, border crossers. But as the Minutemen plan to expand operations to five more states -- and a new citizen group, the Yuma Patriots, begins patrolling -- that 57% heartens me. It looks to me like the rednecks won.
Mr. Banks is a writer in Tucson.
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Sunday, May 22, 2005 9:58 p.m. EDT
Tim Russert Rips Howard Dean Apart
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean insisted on Sunday's "Meet the Press" that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay should be treated more harshly than Osama bin Laden.
In a pointedly embarrassing interview with NBC's Tim Russert, the DNC chairman spent almost the entire program under withering attack as Russert demonstrated Dean's hypocrisy on past comments he made about abortion, his criticisms of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and the way he has tried to explain away his party's fundraising woes since he took the DNC helm in February.
The Republican National Committee was quick to seize on Dean's debacle Sunday.
"Howard Dean's unfocused performance today is emblematic of the larger problems facing the party he leads," RNC press secretary Tracey Schmitt said Sunday. "Sadly, Chairman Dean and the Democrats on Capitol Hill have become singularly focused on obstructionism and negativity, which is why they have become the country's minority party."
But Dean's performance on the top-rated Sunday talk show suggests that he may not have overcome initial concerns about his ability to handle the national leadership post.
Dean had been strongly backed for the DNC post by the party's hysterically anti-GOP left – notably Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Al Gore. The liberal troika had seen Dean as a counterweight to Hillary Clinton's growing power and her and her husband's desire to move the party to the center.
Rather than using the national program as a platform to launch broadsides against the Bush administration and aggressively tout the Democrats' agenda, Dean appeared mired in his own past.
During the show, Dean claimed, "Hypocrisy is a value that I think has been embraced by the Republican Party," and he vowed to Russert that "I will use whatever position I have in order to root out hypocrisy."
Ironically, Russert played the hypocrisy-exposing role as he repeatedly unmasked Dean's integrity on key issues, including:
Tom DeLay
Dean defended his declaration last week that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay should begin serving a jail sentence.
"I think Tom DeLay ought to go back to Houston, where he can serve his jail sentence down there courtesy of the Texas taxpayers," Dean said on May 14.
Dean stuck to his guns, telling host Tim Russert: "He hasn't been convicted yet, but ... I think there's a reasonable chance that this may end up in jail."
Asked if his harsh rhetoric toward DeLay wasn't hypocritical given his comments during the 2004 presidential campaign, when Dean said he didn't want to prejudge even Osama bin Laden, the top Democrat told Russert:
"To be honest with you, Tim, I don't think I'm prejudging [DeLay]."
Dean then ticked off several unproven allegations against the House majority leader.
When Russert noted that the top Republican had yet to be charged with even a single crime, Dean countered, "Three of the things I've mentioned he has already done and been admonished for by the House Ethics Committee."
Russert noted how little support Dean's position has, even among top Democrats, quoting Congressman Barney Frank, a liberal Democrat, who said: "That's just wrong. I think Howard Dean was out of line talking about DeLay. The man has not been indicted. I don't like him, I disagree with some of what he does, but I don't think you, in a political speech, talk about a man as a criminal or his jail sentence."
Russert asked if it was appropriate that Dean has Ok'd the posting of a bogus mug shot of DeLay on the DNC Web site, suggesting that the Republican has already been charged with a crime.
Dean sidestepped the issue, saying that DeLay should not be serving in Congress. In his answer, Dean then claimed, incredibly, that the Democrats are "not going to stoop to the kind of divisiveness that the Republicans are doing."
Abortion Claims
On the hot-button issue of abortion, Dean said he was against the procedure in one breath, but in the next he defended the far more gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion.
Noting that "there are significant numbers of pro-life Democrats in the South," the DNC chief said he wanted "to strike the words 'abortion' and 'choice'" from the Democrat lexicon.
Instead, Dean advised, "The way it ought to be framed ... is 'Do you want Tom DeLay and the boys to make up your mind about this, or does a woman have a right to make up her own mind about what kind of health care she gets.'"
Moments later, however, the top Democrat was defending partial-birth abortion, insisting, "I don't think that there is an ethical doctor in America who will do a third-term abortion without there being a reason like the health and life of the mother."
Russert countered by noting that "several heads of the American Medical Association endorsed banning third-term abortions because they said life of the mother is one thing but the health is a much different issue. It can be defined in so many different ways, it was a major loophole."
A deflated Dean responded: "It is an incredibly difficult area. It is an area which is conflicted."
Dean also insisted that both pro-choicers and pro-lifers could work together on "common ground” – that both sides wanted to greatly reduce the number of abortions in America.
Despite Dean's claims, Russert noted that at almost every turn the Democrats oppose efforts to restrict abortion.
"But, Governor, the problem for Democrats has been that many request abortion on demand, "Russert said, adding, "When there are attempts to say that there should be parental notification for children under 18 – to be notified with a judicial bypass, if there's a spouse, a parental abuse situation – many Democrats oppose it. Third-trimester abortion, 'partial-birth' abortion, Democrats opposed it. ... President Clinton vetoed it. Every time there's a vote to restrict abortion, the majority of the Democrats seem to vote against it."
Mocking Limbaugh and O'Reilly
Dean claims the Democrats are taking the political high road.
But Russert asked the DNC chief about his questionable rhetoric.
"January, [you] mentioned that 'I hate the Republicans, what they stand for, good and evil, we are the good.' In March, you said, 'Republicans are brain dead.' You mentioned you're a physician – and this is April – "[Dean] did draw howls of laughter by mimicking a drug-snorting Rush Limbaugh. 'I'm not very dignified,' Dean said."
Confronted, Dean quickly admitted: "Well, that's true. A lot of people have accused me of not being dignified."
Russert pressed him on suggesting that Rush Limbaugh had snorted cocaine. "But is it appropriate for a physician to mock somebody who has gone into therapy and the abuse for drug addiction?" Russert asked.
But Dr. Dean seemed unrepentant about his comments, instead placing the blame on the top conservative talk hosts.
"Rush Limbaugh has made a career of belittling other people and making jokes about President Clinton, about Mrs. Clinton and others. I don't think he's in any position to do that," Dean complained. "Nor do I think Bill O'Reilly is in a position to abuse families of survivors of 9/11, given his own ethical shortcomings."
Dean concluded: "Frankly, my moral values are offended by some of the things I hear on programs like 'Rush Limbaugh,' and we don't have to put up with that. Our problem in this party is we didn't stand up early enough and fight back against folks like that who thought they were going to push us around and bully us, and we're not going to do it anymore."
Socialist Bernie Sanders' Endorsement
Russert caught the one-time presidential candidate off guard when he asked about his recent endorsement of self-professed socialist Rep. Bernie Sanders to replace retiring Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords. "Well, first of all, he's not a socialist, really," Dean protested. When Russert noted that Sanders had acknowledged in writing: "Outside or in the House, I am a Democratic socialist," Dean offered meekly, "Well, a Democratic socialist – all right, we're talking about words here."
Russert also revealed that until recently Dean had fiercely opposed Sanders.
"In 1996 you said you would never have voted for Bernie Sanders," Russert said. "Instead, you opted in recent years to leave the ballot blank."
Dean, once again cornered, flip-flopped.
"Bernie and I have had our difficulties over the years," Dean said. "We've had our strong disagreements."
"We're fighting for the future of America, and a Bernie Sanders in the United States Senate is going to be a whole lot better than somebody who will vote to confirm right-wing judges, somebody who will vote to undo minority rights, somebody who will vote to kill Social Security. This is a battle where personalities and differences have to be put aside, and we have to do what's right for America."
Caught in one change of opinion after another, Dean's greatest vulnerability among top Democrats is that he has not won over the party's leadership – and that may be hurting the party's bottom line: raising money.
"The Political Hotline published by National Journal [said] of the 17 states that you went to, a Democratic governor or Democratic senator has not appeared with you in those states," Russert said, asking, "Are people running from you?"
Apparently, Democratic donors are. The Republicans National Committee reports that during the first quarter of 2005 it raised $32 million. Dean and the DNC have raised just half of that amount.
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Item Number:1 Date: 05/24/2005 AUSTRALIA - HMAS NEWCASTLE HEADS TO MIDDLE EAST (MAY 24/AMOD) AUSTRALIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE -- The HMAS Newcastle is headed to the Middle East to conduct maritime operations in support of Iraq's reconstruction, reports Australia's Dept. of Defense. The Newcastle, an ADELAIDE-class ship, will replace the Darwin of the same class. HMAS Newcastle previously deployed to the Gulf in 2002 and 2003. HMAS Darwin departed Australia in December 2004 and has operated in the Gulf since January of this year.
Item Number:2 Date: 05/24/2005 AUSTRALIA - U.S. PLANS SALE OF AEGIS SYSTEMS (MAY 24/AUSBC) AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION -- The Defense Dept. may sell three AEGIS naval warfare systems to Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reports. The anti-air combat system would be installed on Australia's SEA 4000 air warfare destroyers if the sale is approved. "The procurement also aids in maintaining the U.S. Navy production base and will improve interoperability" between Australian and U.S. naval forces, said a statement by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The sale could be worth as much as US$350 million (Aus$460 million).
Item Number:3 Date: 05/24/2005 AZERBAIJAN - PROTESTERS BEATEN IN BAKU (MAY 24/EURASIANET) EURASIANET -- Riot police with shields and batons beat back protesters demanding free elections in the capital of Azerbaijan, reports EurasiaNet. Officials had prohibited the demonstrations in Baku, and scores were reportedly detained. Several heads of state were in Baku for the inauguration of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
Item Number:4 Date: 05/24/2005 EUROPEAN UNION - 2 MORE BATTLE GROUPS LAUNCHED (MAY 24/AFP) AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE -- Seven members of the European Union agreed on Monday to launch two new "battle group" rapid response units, Agence France-Presse reports. The 1,500-man units are designed to deploy quickly to crisis zones worldwide. France, Germany and Spain agreed to form one unit, while Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Germany took responsibility for another. The E.U. plans to have 13 such rapid-response "battle groups" in operation by 2007.
Item Number:5 Date: 05/24/2005 INDIA - KASHMIRI LEADERS TO MEET MUSHARRAF (MAY 24/REU) REUTERS -- India will allow Kashmiri separatist leaders to travel to Pakistan for meetings with Pakistani President Pervaiz Musharraf, Reuters reports. Musharraf will host the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an alliance of about two dozen political groups, on June 2. India has previously been reluctant to allow the separatists to travel to Pakistan. "Now we have a breakthrough," said Musharraf. "So once they talk to us and they also talk to the Indian government, which we will try to facilitate, we shall have a trilateral arrangement going."
Item Number:6 Date: 05/24/2005 INDIA - PRESIDENT DISCUSSES SUKHOI FIGHTER COLLABORATION (MAY 24/INT-AVN) INTERFAX-MILITARY NEWS AGENCY -- President Abdul Kalam said India is interested in developing Sukhoi's next-generation fighter, reports Interfax-AVN. A prototype fifth-generation aircraft is expected to make its first flight in 2007 and enter production in 2010. The president, in the midst of a visit to Russia, pointed to previous Russia-India cooperation on the BrahMos anti-ship missile project as a model for a joint venture program.
Item Number:7 Date: 05/24/2005 INDONESIA - U.S. EMBASSY BECOMES FOCUS OF PROTEST (MAY 24/IHT) INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE -- Thousands of Indonesians protested outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta on Sunday, spurred by a reported Koran desecration by U.S. military interrogators in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, even though Newsweek retracted the story, the International Herald Tribune reports. One protest leader said, "We unite here to warn the U.S. that the bad behavior of its soldiers has humiliated all Islamic followers around the world." Others called for the destruction of the United States, and the killing of all who desecrated Islam. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world; more than 90 percent of its 210 million people are Muslims.
Item Number:8 Date: 05/24/2005 IRAQ - CAR BOMB, OTHER ATTACKS, KILL SCORES (MAY 24/BBC) BRITISH BROADCASTING CORP. -- A car bomb exploded in central Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least five people, the BBC reports. The blast occurred in the Alwiya area as a bomb disposal team was approaching the suspicious car. The explosion followed several other throughout Iraq on Monday in which more than 100 people died.
Item Number:9 Date: 05/24/2005 IRAQ - OPERATIONAL AREA OF IRAQI UNIT EXPANDS (MAY 24/MENL) MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- An Iraqi army division took on a larger area of responsibility in Baghdad last week, the Middle East Newsline reports. The 1st Battalion of the 2nd Brigade, part of the Sixth Army Division, expanded its operational area to include parts of northwest and central Baghdad. "This was a transfer of authority of two large districts in the capital city of Baghdad from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, to the Iraqi army," said a U.S. Army spokesman. The transfer showed how successful Iraqi military and police forces have been in operations in those areas of Baghdad, officials said.
Item Number:10 Date: 05/24/2005 ISRAEL - STRYKERS PUT ON BACK BURNER (MAY 24/DN) DEFENSE NEWS -- Citing budget constraints, the Israeli government has decided to hold off purchasing hundreds of Stryker vehicles that could cost up to $1 million each, reports Defense News. While continuing to evaluate its three prototype Strykers, Israel will begin upgrading its M113 armored vehicles, said military officials. Israel Military Industries is starting the effort with an $18 million U.S. grant to improve 50 M113s.
Item Number:11 Date: 05/24/2005 LEBANON - U.N. CERTIFIES SYRIAN MILITARY WITHDRAWAL (MAY 24/WP) WASHINGTON POST -- The United Nations says that Syria has completely removed its military forces from Lebanon, the Washington Post reports. A U.N. inspection team found that Syrian military personnel have been "fully and completely withdrawn," but it was "unable to conclude with certainty" that all of the Syrian intelligence apparatus had departed. Syria still has a battalion in a disputed territory along the border, the team said. The U.S. continues to assert that Syria has not withdrawn all of its intelligence personnel. "Syria must also remove its intelligence forces and allow the Lebanese people to be free," said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Item Number:12 Date: 05/24/2005 PHILIPPINES - BEIJING, MANILA SIGN SECURITY AGREEMENTS (MAY 24/MB) MANILA BULLETIN -- Chinese and Philippine defense officials have signed several mutual security agreements, reports the Manila Bulletin. Gen. Xiong Guangkai, defense vice minister of China, and Defense Undersecretary Antonio Santos of the Philippines agreed to China's delivery of US$1.46 million (R80 million) worth of military engineering equipment. Another agreement called for Manila to send military observers to maritime exercises planned by China.
Item Number:13 Date: 05/24/2005 RUSSIA - GROUND TROOPS KICK OFF JOINT EXERCISE NEAR MOSCOW (MAY 24/AFP) AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE -- Russian and U.S. troops began military exercises on Monday focusing on peacekeeping and anti-terrorism joint operations, Agence France-Presse reports. The drills emphasize joint action with motorized infantry units. A total of 275 troops are participating in the first phase of the exercises near Moscow. The U.S. contingent includes a motorized infantry company from the 1st Armored Division.
Item Number:14 Date: 05/24/2005 SENEGAL - MINISTER DEMANDS SECURITY COUNCIL SEAT FOR AFRICA (MAY 24/ALLAFRICA) ALL AFRICA -- Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, Senegal's minister of foreign affairs, said the continent of Africa is entitled to at least one permanent seat, with veto power, on the United Nations Security Council, reports All Africa. Gadio is in Washington promoting Senegal's bid to represent Africa on the Security Council. Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria and South Africa have also indicated interest in being the African representative on the Security Council.
Item Number:15 Date: 05/24/2005 SOUTH KOREA - SAMSING TECHWIN WINS KUDOS IN SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY FIELD (MAY 24/DEFTALK) DEFENSE TALK -- South Korea's Samsung Techwin was touted as the star of the future market for self-propelled artillery by the market analysis firm Forecast International, as cited by Defense Talk. Samsung Techwin accounts for over 25 percent of all new production, worth over 33 percent of the total market value, of the self-propelled artillery market, said a report by the Connecticut-based firm. The company has licensed production of the M109A2 and production of the K9 Thunder, a 155-mm self-propelled howitzer.
Item Number:16 Date: 05/24/2005 SPAIN - MILITARY MODERNIZATION PROGRAMS PASS MUSTER (MAY 24/DEFAERO) DEFENSE-AEROSPACE -- The Spanish Cabinet has approved spending totaling US$3.1 billion (2.5 billion euros) to modernize Spain's armed forces, reports Defense-Aerospace. Funding has been approved for the F-100 frigate, naval operations vessels, NH90 medium helicopters and short-range missiles for the ground forces and marines. The programs will generate significant work for the naval and aeronautical and electronic sectors, directly and indirectly creating some 3,000 jobs, say officials.
Item Number:17 Date: 05/24/2005 SUDAN - FORCES ASSERT CONTROL OVER REFUGEE CAMP (MAY 24/BBC) BRITISH BROADCASTING CORP. -- Sudanese security forces surrounded a refugee camp following an outbreak of violence in the shantytown last week, the BBC reports. Dozens of residents were arrested from the Soba Aradi camp south of Khartoum. "They have cordoned off all areas and have taken tough measures to stop people leaving," said a spokesman for residents of the camp. At least 17 people died last week after an attempt by police to resettle some residents. Crowds surrounded the local police station and burned it, killing 14 policemen, according to officials.
Item Number:18 Date: 05/24/2005 SUDAN - NATO TO OFFER HELP TO A.U. (MAY 24/REU) REUTERS -- NATO will offer airlift, training and logistics support for African Union forces in Sudan, Reuters reports. The package of assistance will be officially offered on Thursday at meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. "The aim is to assist the African Union to prevent more people dying," said de Hoop Scheffer. On Monday, the European Union also pledged to provide air transport for African troops to Darfur, as well as for military trainers and observation units.
Item Number:19 Date: 05/24/2005 SYRIA - DAMASCUS CUTS COOPERATION (MAY 24/NYT) NEW YORK TIMES -- The Syrian government says it has halted its intelligence and military cooperation with Washington, the New York Times reports. Syria has "severed all links" over the last 10 days with the U.S. military and CIA because of unjust allegations, said Syrian Ambassador to the U.S. Imad Moustapha. Moustapha believes the Bush administration decided "to escalate the situation with Syria" despite actions that the Syrians have made against the insurgents in Iraq and their withdrawal from Lebanon. The Defense Dept. has received no official notification of such a change, nor has the status of American military attachйs in Syria changed, said a Pentagon spokesman.
Item Number:20 Date: 05/24/2005 THAILAND - SECURITY MEASURES STEPPED UP IN BANGKOK (MAY 24/CT) CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- Seven weeks after a series of bombings killed two people and injured 75 in Bangkok, security measures are still tight in the Thai capital, reports the Chicago Tribune. The attacks that led to heightened security were the first such bombings outside the country's three far-southern provinces. When violence was confined to the majority-Muslim provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat and Hat Ya, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra employed an "all sticks and no carrots" approach, noted one Western ambassador. More recently, however, negotiations have been taking place with the separatists.
Item Number:21 Date: 05/24/2005 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - IRANIAN BOAT SEIZURES RAISE TENSIONS (MAY 24/MENL) MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE -- The United Arab Emirates seized three Iranian boats in mid-May after they entered the waters around three islets claimed by the U.A.E., the Middle East Newsline reports. Iranian authorities had previously seized a U.A.E. fishing vessel near the islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, south of Dubai. The islands have been the source of heightened military tensions between Iran and the U.A.E.
Item Number:22 Date: 05/24/2005 USA - TROOPS ENDORSE STRYKER VEHICLES (MAY 24/S&S) STARS AND STRIPES -- Many U.S. soldiers in Iraq say they prefer the Stryker vehicle for its agility and safety over tanks and Humvees, reports Stars and Stripes. Not long ago, a study by the Center for Army Lessons Learned at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., published a list of the vehicle's shortcomings, but some soldiers said those flaws were overdramatized. "It's [the Stryker] a lot safer than a Humvee, and we have more mobility than a tank that is so cumbersome," summarized one soldier, "I wouldn't want to be in anything else."
Item Number:23 Date: 05/24/2005 USA - WASHINGTON, KABUL SIGN TROOP AGREEMENT (MAY 24/AFX) AFX NEWS -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a cooperation pact with the U.S. on Monday after meeting with President Bush, AFX News reports. The "strategic partnership" agreement authorizes U.S. military forces to play a long-term role in Afghanistan's security as well as reconstruction. The pact also gives U.S. forces continued access to Bagram Air Base and other military facilities as "may be mutually determined." Access to such facilities is necessary for U.S. forces to "help organize, train, equip, and sustain Afghan security forces," according to the agreement. Bush promised that U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan would "cooperate and consult" with Kabul, but would not cede their control over American troops, the Press Trust of India reports.
Item Number:24 Date: 05/24/2005 ZIMBABWE - PARAMILITARY CRACKDOWN MADE ON STREET VENDORS (MAY 24/IREONLINE) IRELAND ONLINE -- Paramilitary units armed with crowd control equipment arrested almost 10,000 merchants and vendors in the capital of Zimbabwe over the past week, reports Ireland Online. The crackdown on Harare's street commerce led to several clashes between angry demonstrators and police. Last week,Zimbabwe's government devalued its currency by 45 percent, and then cracked down on informal street businesses.
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