Monday, October 18, 2010
Pentagon plumbers bracing for new Wikileaks
The US military has assembled a 120-member team to prepare for the expected publication of some 400,000 Iraq war documents on the Wikileaks website.
The documents are thought to concern battle activity, Iraqi security forces and civilian casualties.
The Pentagon said it wants the documents back to avoid potentially damaging information being released.
The timing is unclear but it would dwarf Wikileaks' July publication of more than 70,000 Afghan war files.
Pentagon spokesman Col Dave Lapan said the team was reviewing the files on the Iraq war to discover what the possible impact of the Wikileaks release could be.
Col Lapan said the files were from an Iraq-based database that contained "significant acts, unit-level reporting, tactical reports, things of that nature".
He said the Pentagon did not know the timing of the leak but they were preparing for it to be as early as Monday or Tuesday.
Other sources said it may come later in the month.
'Smear campaign'
Col Lapan said the files should be returned to the Pentagon because "we don't believe Wikileaks or others have the expertise needed. It's not as simple as just taking out names. There are other things and documents that aren't names that are also potentially damaging."
Wikileaks' release in July of thousands of documents on the war in Afghanistan prompted US military officials to warn that the whistleblower website might cause the deaths of US soldiers and Afghan civilians because some of the documents contained the names of locals who had helped coalition forces.
But US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said in a letter to the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the leak had not revealed any "sensitive intelligence sources or methods".
There have been fears that such leaks could damage US intelligence sharing with other nations as well as intelligence sharing between US agencies.
The investigation into the Afghan leak has focused on Bradley Manning, a US army intelligence analyst who is in custody and has been charged with leaking a classified video of a US helicopter attack in Iraq in 2007 in which a dozen people were killed.
The Wikileaks website is currently offline "undergoing scheduled maintenance". Founder Julian Assange is being investigated in Sweden over an alleged sex crime.
He denies the charge and says the the allegations are part of a smear campaign by opponents of his whistle-blowing website.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Smoking gun- NK parade reveals Iranian missile ties.
Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine:
The North Korean military parade last weekend does more than give world exposure to the heir apparent to Pyongyang’s leadership. It also revealed a new road-mobile ballistic missile – a variant of the BM-25 Musudan with a projected range of 3,000-4,000 km.
More intriguing, North Korea’s weaponry is showing design characteristics associated with the Shahab 3, Iran’s most advanced missile. Such evidence is leading some international analysts to the conclusion that the ballistic missile development ties between the two countries is active and producing improvements in the arsenals of both countries.
While it would seem doubtful that complete missiles or missile sections are being shipped – given the close scrutiny by the West of North Korea shipping – components and engineering data could move relatively easily by air and diplomatic pouch.
For years, Iran has been the junior partner in the relationship and used the conduit to acquire No-dong and other missile technologies to build its own systems. Now, Israeli officials have noted the first public emergence in North Korea of the BM-25 Musudan, a weapon they believe has already been supplied to Iran.
It is believed to the first time the road-mobile, liquid-fueled intermediate range ballistic missile has been shown to anyone outside the North Korean military. The public unveiling took place Oct. 10 during a military parade attended by the country’s leader, Kim Jung-il, and his son and apparent leader-designate, Kim Jung-un.
The BM-25 is a derivative of the Russian-designed, SS-N-6 submarine-launched ballistic missile, although it has been increased in length to add range. North Korea showed several of the missile and wheeled launchers during the parade, although the operational status remains uncertain owing to a lack of flight trials detected by outside observers. The range is estimated between 3,000 km to 4000 km depending on warhead mass.
The parade also showcased a No-dong ballistic missile with a tri-conic nosecone. That configuration is typically associated with Iran’s Shahab-3, causing some analysts to suggest technical information gleaned by Tehran in flight trials is being fed to Pyongyang. Such a move would suggest Iran has made considerable progress in developing its indigenous missile engineering expertise.
The latest Iranian ballistic missile developments indicate the missiles “are much more sophisticated and reliable than the [early] Scud designs,” says Arieh Herzog, director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization. “The inertial navigation systems are better and improved guidance in the final phase makes some of them accurate to without about 100 meters.”
The migration of the BM-25 to Iran has major security implications for Europe, since it would give Tehran the ability to strike targets in southern Europe. For Israel, the introduction of the BM-25 would have relatively modest impact on its strategic calculation, since Iran already has the ability to strike Israeli cities with ballistic missiles, but it would allow Iran to disperse its launchers over a much larger area in the eastern part of the country
The North Korean military parade last weekend does more than give world exposure to the heir apparent to Pyongyang’s leadership. It also revealed a new road-mobile ballistic missile – a variant of the BM-25 Musudan with a projected range of 3,000-4,000 km.
More intriguing, North Korea’s weaponry is showing design characteristics associated with the Shahab 3, Iran’s most advanced missile. Such evidence is leading some international analysts to the conclusion that the ballistic missile development ties between the two countries is active and producing improvements in the arsenals of both countries.
While it would seem doubtful that complete missiles or missile sections are being shipped – given the close scrutiny by the West of North Korea shipping – components and engineering data could move relatively easily by air and diplomatic pouch.
For years, Iran has been the junior partner in the relationship and used the conduit to acquire No-dong and other missile technologies to build its own systems. Now, Israeli officials have noted the first public emergence in North Korea of the BM-25 Musudan, a weapon they believe has already been supplied to Iran.
It is believed to the first time the road-mobile, liquid-fueled intermediate range ballistic missile has been shown to anyone outside the North Korean military. The public unveiling took place Oct. 10 during a military parade attended by the country’s leader, Kim Jung-il, and his son and apparent leader-designate, Kim Jung-un.
The BM-25 is a derivative of the Russian-designed, SS-N-6 submarine-launched ballistic missile, although it has been increased in length to add range. North Korea showed several of the missile and wheeled launchers during the parade, although the operational status remains uncertain owing to a lack of flight trials detected by outside observers. The range is estimated between 3,000 km to 4000 km depending on warhead mass.
The parade also showcased a No-dong ballistic missile with a tri-conic nosecone. That configuration is typically associated with Iran’s Shahab-3, causing some analysts to suggest technical information gleaned by Tehran in flight trials is being fed to Pyongyang. Such a move would suggest Iran has made considerable progress in developing its indigenous missile engineering expertise.
The latest Iranian ballistic missile developments indicate the missiles “are much more sophisticated and reliable than the [early] Scud designs,” says Arieh Herzog, director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization. “The inertial navigation systems are better and improved guidance in the final phase makes some of them accurate to without about 100 meters.”
The migration of the BM-25 to Iran has major security implications for Europe, since it would give Tehran the ability to strike targets in southern Europe. For Israel, the introduction of the BM-25 would have relatively modest impact on its strategic calculation, since Iran already has the ability to strike Israeli cities with ballistic missiles, but it would allow Iran to disperse its launchers over a much larger area in the eastern part of the country
Pantex dismantling B53 nukes.
A U.S. Department of Energy agency has authorized Pantex, the country’s only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly plant, to begin work dismantling B53 bombs.
A National Nuclear Security Administration statement Wednesday said once the bombs arrive at the plant near Amarillo the high explosives inside will be physically separated from the nuclear material before the material and components will be processed, which includes sanitizing, recycling, and disposal.
The bomb, each about the size of a minivan and weighing about 10,000 pounds, joined the nation’s stockpile in 1962 and was retired in 1997, the statement reads.
The B53 is among the longest-lived weapons ever used, the statement reads.
Other than Pantex - several classified weapons storage sites are rumored to have B53s in stockpile including the Manzano Nuclear Weapons Storage Base (Site Able) near Albuquerque and "Area II" on the Nellis AFB range.
UFOs over NYC - probably a publicity stunt.
New York Police and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) were fairly busy with incoming calls claiming of a UFO hovering over Manhattan, near Chelsea on Wednesday. Sources say around 1pm (local time), calls begin to pour alleging that there were a group of silver objects floating high over the city.
According to the NY Daily News, a spokesperson for the FAA stated, “We re-ran radar to see if there was anything there that we can’t account for, but there is nothing in the area”.
Meanwhile, many people crowed the streets to have a look at the mysterious flying object. Many on the scene gave their take on the mystery. One man jokingly said, “Maybe its superman”, while others believe it could be balloons.
Authorities are also aiming towards balloons as the explanation for this bizarre incident, but as of late Wednesday had not been confirmed. Many are linking this to a book publication made by a former N.O.R.A.D (North American Aerospace Defense Command) officer, who predicted that UFOs would appear in major cities around the country on October 13.
According to the NY Daily News, a spokesperson for the FAA stated, “We re-ran radar to see if there was anything there that we can’t account for, but there is nothing in the area”.
Meanwhile, many people crowed the streets to have a look at the mysterious flying object. Many on the scene gave their take on the mystery. One man jokingly said, “Maybe its superman”, while others believe it could be balloons.
Authorities are also aiming towards balloons as the explanation for this bizarre incident, but as of late Wednesday had not been confirmed. Many are linking this to a book publication made by a former N.O.R.A.D (North American Aerospace Defense Command) officer, who predicted that UFOs would appear in major cities around the country on October 13.
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