Al Qaeda actively seeking dirty bombs: documents: "Al-Qaeda is attempting to procure nuclear material and recruit rogue scientists in order to build a radioactive 'dirty bomb,' leaked documents published in Wednesday's Telegraph newspaper revealed.
The cables, released by the WikiLeaks website, showed that security chiefs told a Nato meeting in January 2009 that Al-Qaeda was planning a programme of 'dirty radioactive improvised explosive devices (IEDs).'
The makeshift nuclear bombs, which could be used against soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, would contaminate the surrounding area for years to come.
The leaked documents also revealed that Al-Qaeda papers found in 2007 convinced security officials that 'greater advances' had been made in bio-terrorism than was previously feared."
*********
Where is NATO going after adopting the new Strategic Concept based on “Active Engagement and Modern Defense” at the Nov. 2010 Lisbon Summit?
How will NATO implement comprehensive joint Missile Defense for the civilian populace of Europe? What is the European Phased Adaptive Approach to Missile Defense?
How can the alliance reset relations with Russia?
Is NATO in Afghanistan for the long haul? What commitments did the United States and the other partner/donor nations incur in signing the NATO-Afghanistan Partnership Declaration?
NATO 3.0 addresses these questions. Contributors include NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, US Assistant Secretary of State (European and Eurasian Affairs) Philip Gordon, and US Army Lieutenant General Patrick J. O'Reilly (Director, Missile Defense Agency).
We also include eight full-text keynote documents from the NATO Lisbon Summit held 19-20 November 2010, as well as from associated summits including the NATO-Russia Council Summit and the United States - European Union Summit, also held in Lisbon. Of course we include the full text of the new NATO Strategic Concept itself, as well as the text of the NATO-Afghanistan Partnership Declaration.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
MEADS Radar Completes Rotation Tests
MEADS Radar Completes Rotation Tests: "The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) program has successfully completed milestone tests as the first Multifunction Fire Control Radar (MFCR) advances toward system tests this year at Pratica di Mare air force base in Italy.
The advanced MEADS X-band MFCR employs active phased array technology using transmit/receive modules developed in Germany. The radar provides precision tracking and wideband discrimination and classification. It also incorporates advanced identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) sensors with improved capabilities to identify and type threats.
MEADS radars are designed to protect troops and assets on today's 360-degree battlefield, where threats can attack from any direction. Sectored, piecemeal systems cannot defend assets completely because the direction of a missile attack is no longer certain in today's asymmetrical battlefield. Even small slivers of unprotected airspace put warfighters in danger.
The MFCR subteam at LFK in Germany completed integration of the antenna array last year, clearing the way for assembly-level testing of the Transceiver Group.
Coolant pressure testing was completed, and cooling distribution was demonstrated at the slip ring and antenna rotary joint. Final rotation tests at both 15 and 30 rpm were successfully completed."
**************
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
The advanced MEADS X-band MFCR employs active phased array technology using transmit/receive modules developed in Germany. The radar provides precision tracking and wideband discrimination and classification. It also incorporates advanced identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) sensors with improved capabilities to identify and type threats.
MEADS radars are designed to protect troops and assets on today's 360-degree battlefield, where threats can attack from any direction. Sectored, piecemeal systems cannot defend assets completely because the direction of a missile attack is no longer certain in today's asymmetrical battlefield. Even small slivers of unprotected airspace put warfighters in danger.
The MFCR subteam at LFK in Germany completed integration of the antenna array last year, clearing the way for assembly-level testing of the Transceiver Group.
Coolant pressure testing was completed, and cooling distribution was demonstrated at the slip ring and antenna rotary joint. Final rotation tests at both 15 and 30 rpm were successfully completed."
**************
NATO Missile Defense for Europe
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Robert G. Bradley Jump Starts Africa Partnership Station 2011
Robert G. Bradley Jump Starts Africa Partnership Station 2011: "The US Navy frigate USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49) made a port visit to Lome, Togo, Feb. 1, as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS) 2011.
Robert G. Bradley brings with her a team of maritime professionals to provide training and engage in exercises with our African partners. Small boat maintenance, maritime law, construction training, medical treatment, and search and rescue training, are just a few of the collaborative training courses provided throughout this year's APS.
APS started four years ago and has since grown to involve 34 African, European and South American countries, along with multiple non-governmental organizations (NGO).
"We are excited to be part of the U.S. enduring commitment to APS and its common goal of achieving a secure, stable and prosperous maritime environment in Africa," said Rear Adm. Gerard P. Hueber, deputy chief of staff for strategy, resources and plans for U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa. "The activities we have planned for 2011 with our international partners will continue to aide the capacity of theater security cooperation and reinforce the groundwork of maritime safety and security in the region."
While in port, Robert G. Bradley's crew and international staff will embark 12 embedded partners from Dakar, Senegal, to Freetown, Sierra Leone, for five weeks in conjunction with the ship's first two APS hubs. Additionally, Naval Forces Africa trainers will train more than 130 students from Benin, Ghana, and Togo, in conjunction with Robert G. Bradley's first APS hub in Lome, Togo.
APS 2011 is more than a single ship or event in one region of Africa. APS 2011 will conduct maritime security events in East and West Africa using five U.S. and three European partner ships. Each ship will conduct a variety of training hubs with students from neighboring countries participating in a central location. The APS international staff will work together with African partners to develop solutions to global maritime problems through training and exercises.
"Africa Partnership Station is truly an international effort to enhance maritime security and help build partner capacity in Africa," said Capt. Dan Shaffer, commander, Destroyer Squadron 60 and APS West commander. "Our collective efforts over the coming year, starting with Robert G. Bradley next month, are focused on helping our African partners achieve security interdependence."
Robert G. Bradley is scheduled to visit Cape Verde, Senegal, Togo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Angola and Nigeria during the next four months. During these visits, the ship will embark African students in order to conduct professional exchanges in many areas including seamanship, maritime law enforcement, medical readiness, oil spill management, non-commissioned officer development and navigation. The ship also carries, at the request of several NGOs, a large quantity of relief goods for the African coastal countries to include educational, humanitarian and goodwill material.
"
Robert G. Bradley brings with her a team of maritime professionals to provide training and engage in exercises with our African partners. Small boat maintenance, maritime law, construction training, medical treatment, and search and rescue training, are just a few of the collaborative training courses provided throughout this year's APS.
APS started four years ago and has since grown to involve 34 African, European and South American countries, along with multiple non-governmental organizations (NGO).
"We are excited to be part of the U.S. enduring commitment to APS and its common goal of achieving a secure, stable and prosperous maritime environment in Africa," said Rear Adm. Gerard P. Hueber, deputy chief of staff for strategy, resources and plans for U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa. "The activities we have planned for 2011 with our international partners will continue to aide the capacity of theater security cooperation and reinforce the groundwork of maritime safety and security in the region."
While in port, Robert G. Bradley's crew and international staff will embark 12 embedded partners from Dakar, Senegal, to Freetown, Sierra Leone, for five weeks in conjunction with the ship's first two APS hubs. Additionally, Naval Forces Africa trainers will train more than 130 students from Benin, Ghana, and Togo, in conjunction with Robert G. Bradley's first APS hub in Lome, Togo.
APS 2011 is more than a single ship or event in one region of Africa. APS 2011 will conduct maritime security events in East and West Africa using five U.S. and three European partner ships. Each ship will conduct a variety of training hubs with students from neighboring countries participating in a central location. The APS international staff will work together with African partners to develop solutions to global maritime problems through training and exercises.
"Africa Partnership Station is truly an international effort to enhance maritime security and help build partner capacity in Africa," said Capt. Dan Shaffer, commander, Destroyer Squadron 60 and APS West commander. "Our collective efforts over the coming year, starting with Robert G. Bradley next month, are focused on helping our African partners achieve security interdependence."
Robert G. Bradley is scheduled to visit Cape Verde, Senegal, Togo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Angola and Nigeria during the next four months. During these visits, the ship will embark African students in order to conduct professional exchanges in many areas including seamanship, maritime law enforcement, medical readiness, oil spill management, non-commissioned officer development and navigation. The ship also carries, at the request of several NGOs, a large quantity of relief goods for the African coastal countries to include educational, humanitarian and goodwill material.
"
Report Lists Perils for Envoys After U.S. Leaves Iraq
Report Lists Perils for Envoys After U.S. Leaves Iraq: "The United States will not be able to protect its diplomats in Iraq adequately if it sticks to the plan to withdraw its last 50,000 troops by December, potentially hindering American efforts to reach out to the Iraqi people, according to a new report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The report, to be released Tuesday, contends that if the Obama administration leaves only a token contingent of troops behind in an advisory role, as currently planned, 'security and political gains could be jeopardized.'
Without thousands of additional soldiers -- a prospect that seems untenable, given political pressures in both countries -- the report recommends rethinking the American civilian presence, which is projected to number 17,000 diplomats, contractors and others in 15 sites in Iraq.
'The administration may be forced to choose between scaling back the diplomatic mission or accepting a degree of physical risk familiar to military personnel but normally unacceptable for diplomats,' said the report by two committee investigators, a copy of which was provided to The New York Times.
On Tuesday, the two top American officials in Iraq, Ambassador James F. Jeffrey and Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the senior American military commander in the country, are scheduled to testify before the Senate about the handover to civilians from soldiers.
In remarks prepared for the hearing, Mr. Jeffrey said that 'gutting our civilian presence' in Iraq would embolden Iran to interfere with its neighbor and destabilize the region. 'The U.S. military has performed admirably,' he said in the statement, 'but they cannot stay forever.'"
*******************
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
The report, to be released Tuesday, contends that if the Obama administration leaves only a token contingent of troops behind in an advisory role, as currently planned, 'security and political gains could be jeopardized.'
Without thousands of additional soldiers -- a prospect that seems untenable, given political pressures in both countries -- the report recommends rethinking the American civilian presence, which is projected to number 17,000 diplomats, contractors and others in 15 sites in Iraq.
'The administration may be forced to choose between scaling back the diplomatic mission or accepting a degree of physical risk familiar to military personnel but normally unacceptable for diplomats,' said the report by two committee investigators, a copy of which was provided to The New York Times.
On Tuesday, the two top American officials in Iraq, Ambassador James F. Jeffrey and Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the senior American military commander in the country, are scheduled to testify before the Senate about the handover to civilians from soldiers.
In remarks prepared for the hearing, Mr. Jeffrey said that 'gutting our civilian presence' in Iraq would embolden Iran to interfere with its neighbor and destabilize the region. 'The U.S. military has performed admirably,' he said in the statement, 'but they cannot stay forever.'"
*******************
NATO Missile Defense for Europe
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
Liam Fox: Iran could have nuclear weapons next year - Telegraph
Liam Fox: Iran could have nuclear weapons next year - Telegraph: "The West should assume the Islamic Republic will be nuclear-armed by 2012 and “act in accordance” with that timetable, the Defence Secretary has said.
In the House of Commons, Dr Fox was asked about the assessment of Meir Dagan, the former Israeli intelligence chief, that Iran will be unable to develop a working nuclear weapon until 2015.
Dr Fox, a hawk who has repeatedly raised public concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme, told MPs that he thought Mr Dagan’s assessment could be too optimistic.
Instead, the West should plan on the basis that Tehran is much closer to developing a working nuclear weapon, he said.
“We know from previous experience, not least from what happened in North Korea, that the international community can be caught out, assuming that things are more rosy than they are,” Dr Fox said.
“We should therefore be entirely clear that it is entirely possible that Iran may be on the 2012 end of that spectrum, and act in accordance with that warning."
********
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
In the House of Commons, Dr Fox was asked about the assessment of Meir Dagan, the former Israeli intelligence chief, that Iran will be unable to develop a working nuclear weapon until 2015.
Dr Fox, a hawk who has repeatedly raised public concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme, told MPs that he thought Mr Dagan’s assessment could be too optimistic.
Instead, the West should plan on the basis that Tehran is much closer to developing a working nuclear weapon, he said.
“We know from previous experience, not least from what happened in North Korea, that the international community can be caught out, assuming that things are more rosy than they are,” Dr Fox said.
“We should therefore be entirely clear that it is entirely possible that Iran may be on the 2012 end of that spectrum, and act in accordance with that warning."
********
NATO Missile Defense for Europe
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
BBC News - North Korea has more secret nuclear sites - UN report
BBC News - North Korea has more secret nuclear sites - UN report: "UN experts believe North Korea has at least one hidden nuclear site, according to leaks of a UN report.
The report relies on evidence from US scientist Siegfried Hecker who visited a secret site in November last year.
He told the UN's panel of experts that the centrifuges he saw probably came from other hidden facilities, say reports quoting unnamed diplomats.
The panel's report, which has not yet been published, was handed to the Security Council last week."
*****
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
The report relies on evidence from US scientist Siegfried Hecker who visited a secret site in November last year.
He told the UN's panel of experts that the centrifuges he saw probably came from other hidden facilities, say reports quoting unnamed diplomats.
The panel's report, which has not yet been published, was handed to the Security Council last week."
*****
NATO Missile Defense for Europe
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
Pakistan on Path to Be the 5th Largest Nuclear Power - NYTimes.com
Pakistan on Path to Be the 5th Largest Nuclear Power - NYTimes.com: "New American intelligence assessments have concluded that Pakistan has steadily expanded its nuclear arsenal since President Obama came to office, and that it is building the capability to surge ahead in the production of nuclear-weapons material, putting it on a path to overtake Britain as the world’s fifth largest nuclear weapons power.
For the Obama administration, the assessment poses a direct challenge to a central element of the president’s national security strategy, the reduction of nuclear stockpiles around the world. Pakistan’s determination to add considerably to its arsenal — mostly to deter India — has also become yet another irritant in its often testy relationship with Washington, particularly as Pakistan seeks to block Mr. Obama’s renewed efforts to negotiate a global treaty that would ban the production of new nuclear material.
The United States keeps its estimates of foreign nuclear weapons stockpiles secret, and Pakistan goes to great lengths to hide both the number and location of its weapons. It is particularly wary of the United States, which Pakistan’s military fears has plans to seize the arsenal if it was judged to be at risk of falling into the hands of extremists. Such secrecy makes accurate estimates difficult.
But the most recent estimates, according to officials and outsiders familiar with the American assessments, suggest that the number of deployed weapons now ranges from the mid-90s to more than 110. When Mr. Obama came to office, his aides were told that the arsenal “was in the mid-to-high 70s,” according to one official who had been briefed at the time, though estimates ranged from 60 to 90. "
*************
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
For the Obama administration, the assessment poses a direct challenge to a central element of the president’s national security strategy, the reduction of nuclear stockpiles around the world. Pakistan’s determination to add considerably to its arsenal — mostly to deter India — has also become yet another irritant in its often testy relationship with Washington, particularly as Pakistan seeks to block Mr. Obama’s renewed efforts to negotiate a global treaty that would ban the production of new nuclear material.
The United States keeps its estimates of foreign nuclear weapons stockpiles secret, and Pakistan goes to great lengths to hide both the number and location of its weapons. It is particularly wary of the United States, which Pakistan’s military fears has plans to seize the arsenal if it was judged to be at risk of falling into the hands of extremists. Such secrecy makes accurate estimates difficult.
But the most recent estimates, according to officials and outsiders familiar with the American assessments, suggest that the number of deployed weapons now ranges from the mid-90s to more than 110. When Mr. Obama came to office, his aides were told that the arsenal “was in the mid-to-high 70s,” according to one official who had been briefed at the time, though estimates ranged from 60 to 90. "
*************
NATO Missile Defense for Europe
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
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