Monday, January 3, 2011
Bin Laden Top Aid Killed In Predator Strike
Islamabad: Nasir al-Wahishi, a top al-Qaeda commander, who reportedly served as an aide of Osama bin Laden, was killed in a US drone attack in northwestern Pakistan on December 28.
Al-Wahishi, 32, a Yemeni national, who presided over the January 2009 merger of Saudi Arabian and Yemeni splinters of al-Qaeda, was killed in the year end.
Wahishi was killed when two missiles were fired on a militant camp at the Ghulam Khan sub-district of North Waziristan, Kyodo reported quoting Pakistani officials.
Al-Wahishi is among four top al-Qaeda commanders killed in American drone strikes which assumed unprecedented proportions in 2010.
Those killed by US missiles include al-Qaeda number 3 Abu Mustafa al-Yazid, Sheikh Fateh al-Misri, al-Qaeda's operations head for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who replaced Yazid.
The two other commanders killed were Abdallah Umar al-Qurayshi, who co-ordinated Osama bin Laden's Arabs in Afghanistan, and explosives expert Abu Atta al-Kuwaiti.
The drones have also felled top Taliban commanders including its chief Baitullah Mehsud and the trainer of suicide bombers Qari Hussain Mehsud.
The officials claimed Wahishi had served as secretary of bin Laden until 2003. He was arrested in Iran and extradited to Yemen in 2003. The al-Qaeda commander was among 23 Yemeni captives who made a dramatic escape from maximum security prison in Sana'a, in 2006 and was at large since then.
The Yemeni figures in the Interpol's Orange Notice as well as US State Departments and UN Sanctions List.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year!
The old give way to the young. New thoughts sprout from fertile ground.
While the New Year beckons us with many promises, don't forget to give the old year its due.
Learn from past mistakes and carry the lessons of time with you.
This year resolve to laugh more, love more, forgive more, friend more and learn more.
May 2011 be your best year yet!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
New Chengdu J-20 photos.
More photos of the Chinese J-20 stealth fighter are popping up on the internet.
It remains to be seen if the West will view it as a threat. Althiough there are indications it hasn't flown yet, the J-20 is already being compared to the F-22.
The design looks like it incorporates styling cues from the F-22 /F-23 and the Russian Mig 1.42 project. Big airplane - much bigger than the USAF Raptor - but that might not be a good thing when it comes to being stealthy.
F-22 comparison photo:
Although Chinese propaganda and anti-U.S.commentators are already calling the J-20 the "Raptor Killer" - that's like naming a newborn as the next heavyweight champ before he can even walk.
They also said the MiG 1.42 was also a "Raptor Killer" but it never led to an operational aircraft.
MiG 1.42 MFI:
The F-22 is much more than a stealthy fighter aircraft and incorporates an advanced tracking,targeting and communication system that is at the present unrivaled and is still evolving. It may be years before the J-20 becomes operational.
Is the J-20 a paper tiger or a hidden dragon? Is it a Walmart Raptor or the real thing?
Stay tuned- I'll keep you posted.
-Steve Douglass
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