Osprey crashes in Afganistan

UPDATE:

By MATTHEW ROSENBERG

KABUL—A U.S. Air Force aircraft crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing three American soldiers and a civilian employee. The U.S.-led coalition said it's trying to determine what brought down the CV-22 Osprey.

The crash took place late Thursday night in an arid and remote stretch of territory where the Taliban are active west of the city of Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, which borders Pakistan, the coalition said.

The Taliban quickly claimed that insurgent fighters downed the Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft that can take off and land as a helicopter, and that flies as a fixed-wing plane once its engines roll forward.

A Taliban spokesman said that the Osprey was shot down around 1 a.m. Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, the spokesman, claimed that around 30 people were killed in the crash. The U.S.-led coalition said that, in addition to the four fatalities, "numerous" other coalition service members were injured.

Mr. Ahmadi warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should expect to lose more helicopters in Afghanistan, saying the Taliban have mastered the ability to shoot down allied aircraft.

Downing an Osprey would be a victory of sorts for the insurgents. The sophisticated aircraft, which travels at much higher speeds than conventional helicopters, is primarily used to transport troops on long-range infiltration missions and for resupply purposes.

The Taliban usually take credit whenever coalition aircraft experience problems. NATO and Afghan officials say most of these crashes and hard landings have been caused by technical problems rather than insurgent activity.

Three coalition helicopters crashed in Afghanistan last month. Only one of these incidents, involving a civilian chopper contracted by U.S. forces in the northern province of Kunduz, was caused by insurgent fire, say NATO and Afghan officials. No one died in that incident.

NATO said it was investigating what caused Osprey's crash. Afghan officials in Zabul blamed it on mechanical problems.

Original post:

A U.S. Air Force tilt-rotor aircraft crashed in south-eastern Afghanistan, killing three service members and one government contractor, NATO said on Friday.

Other personnel aboard were injured and were taken to a military base for treatment, NATO said.

The CV—22 Osprey went down about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, NATO said. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

The Osprey takes off and lands as a helicopter, but its engines roll forward in flight, allowing it to fly faster than a standard helicopter.

A Zabul government spokesman, Mohhamed Jahn Rasuliyar, confirmed the crash and the number of casualties.

A Taliban spokesman had earlier claimed militants shot down the aircraft, part of a pattern of the insurgents making such claims to promote their cause of driving foreign forces from the country.

Choppers are used extensively by both NATO and the Afghan government forces to transport and supply troops spread across a mountainous country with few roads. Losses have been relatively light, despite insurgent fire and difficult conditions, and most crashes have been accidents caused by maintenance problems or factors such as dust.

Lacking shoulder-fired missiles and other anti-aircraft weapons, the Taliban rely mainly on machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to target helicopters at their most vulnerable during landings and takeoffs.

One of the heaviest single-day losses of life for allied forces occurred on June 28, 2005, when 16 U.S. troops died aboard a Special Forces MH—47 Chinook helicopter that was shot down by insurgents.

The incident was the first known deadly crash of an Osprey since it entered active service in 2006, although numerous lives were lost in accidents while the aircraft was under development.

The Osprey is the U.S. military’s latest generation transport aircraft, able to travel twice as fast and three times farther than its predecessor, the Vietnam War—era CH—46 Sea Knight. With room for up to 24 passengers, it comes equipped with sophisticated guidance and missile defence systems.

The original programme, a $40 billion joint venture of Boeing Co. and Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter unit, was beset by delays and plagued by design flaws and other problems.

It was nearly cancelled several times due to cost overruns - which pushed the bill to over $100 million per aircraft - and a series of fatal crashes and other incidents. In 2000, a crash in Arizona killed all 19 Marines aboard and a separate crash killed four Marines in Florida.

Critics say the aircraft is particularly vulnerable to ground small-arms fire while its engines are shifting from vertical to horizontal flight. They say that, unlike fixed-wing aircraft, the Osprey can’t glide down to an emergency landing in case of a loss of power and its propellers lack the ability to keep rotating on their own even after the engines fail.

Obama to announce new nuclear defence strategy

Barack Obama is set to announce a new defence strategy that would reduce the circumstances in which the US would be prepared to use nuclear weapons.
It would rule out a nuclear response to attacks on the US involving biological, chemical or conventional weapons.
Nor would the US use nuclear arms on non-nuclear states that comply with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Mr Obama said he would make exceptions for states deemed in violation of the treaty, naming Iran and North Korea.

Ahead of the report's release, Mr Obama told the New York Times he was convinced Iran was on a course that "would provide them with nuclear weapons capabilities".

Last week, Mr Obama said he wanted to see new UN sanctions on Tehran "within weeks".
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful, but its refusal to adhere to international demands has raised fears of a possible strike on its nuclear facilities by the US or Israel.

Reduction pact
The New York Times said Mr Obama described his new policy as "part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions".
The details of his plan - the Nuclear Posture Review - are to be published later on Tuesday.

FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE


Its release comes ahead of a planned signing by Mr Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, of a new nuclear arms reduction pact in Prague on Thursday.

The pact, agreed last month, commits Russia and the US to big cuts in nuclear warheads.
The pact would replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which expired last December.
The new treaty restricts both Russia and the US to 1,550 warheads, about 30% less than currently allowed, the US says.

Mr Obama hailed the treaty as the most comprehensive weapons control agreement in nearly two decades.

Mr Obama is hosting a nuclear non-proliferation summit in Washington next week, which is set to be attended by dozens of world leaders.

The US president has said his goal is to have a nuclear-free world, and has promised to cut the number of nuclear weapons in the US arsenal.

A White House statement on Monday said the new nuclear policy offered "an alternative to developing new nuclear weapons, which we reject".

All numbers are estimates because exact numbers are top secret.
Strategic nuclear warheads are designed to target cities, missile locations and military headquarters as part of a strategic plan.

Israel
Israeli authorities have never confirmed or denied the country has nuclear weapons.

North Korea
The highly secretive state claims it has nuclear weapons, but there is no information in the public domain that proves this.

Iran
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in 2003 there had been covert nuclear activity to make fissile material and continues to monitor Tehran's nuclear programme.

Syria
US officials have claimed it is covertly seeking nuclear weapons.

Robot Spaceplane launch set for April 19

LOS ANGELES -- After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway.

The ultimate purpose of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and details about the craft, which has been passed between several government agencies, however, remain a mystery as it is prepared for launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

"As long as you're confused, you're in good shape," said defense analyst John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org. "I looked into this a couple of years ago -- the entire sort of hypersonic, suborbital, scramjet nest of programs -- of which there are upwards of a dozen. The more I studied it the less I understood it."

The quietly scheduled launch culminates the project's long and expensive journey from NASA to the Pentagon's research and development arm and then to a secretive Air Force unit.

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on the X-37 program, but the current total has not been released.

The launch date, landing sites and a fact sheet were released by Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Angie I. Blair. She said more information would be released soon, but questions on cost and other matters submitted by e-mail weren't answered by Friday.

While the massive space shuttles have been likened to cargo-hauling trucks, the X-37B is more like a sports car, with the equivalent trunk capacity.

Built by Boeing Co.'s Phantom Works, the 11,000-pound craft is 9 1/2 feet tall and just over 29 feet long, with a wingspan of less than 15 feet. It has two angled tail fins rather than a single vertical stabilizer.

Unlike the shuttle, it will be launched like a satellite, housed in a fairing atop an expendable Atlas V rocket, and deploy solar panels to provide electrical power in orbit.

The Air Force released only a general description of the mission objectives: testing of guidance, navigation, control, thermal protection and autonomous operation in orbit, re-entry and landing.

The mission's length was not released but the Air Force said the X-37B can stay in orbit for 270 days. The primary landing site will be northwest of Los Angeles at coastal Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The significance of the X-37B is unclear because the program has been around for so long, said Peter A. Wilson, a senior defense research analyst for the RAND Corp. who several years ago served as executive director of a congressional panel that evaluated national security space launch requirements.

Karzai threatens to join Taliban?

(AP) Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened over the weekend to quit the political process and join the Taliban if he continued to come under outside pressure to reform, several members of parliament said Monday.

Karzai made the unusual statement at a closed-door meeting Saturday with selected lawmakers - just days after kicking up a diplomatic controversy with remarks alleging foreigners were behind fraud in last year's disputed elections.

Lawmakers dismissed the latest comment as hyperbole, but it will add to the impression the president - who relies on tens of thousands of U.S. and NATO forces to fight the insurgency and prop up his government - is growing increasingly erratic and unable to exert authority without attacking his foreign backers.

Special Report: Afghanistan

"He said that 'if I come under foreign pressure, I might join the Taliban'," said Farooq Marenai, who represents the eastern province of Nangarhar.

"He said rebelling would change to resistance," Marenai said - apparently suggesting that the militant movement would then be redefined as one of resistance against a foreign occupation rather than a rebellion against an elected government.

Marenai said Karzai appeared nervous and repeatedly demanded to know why parliament last week had rejected legal reforms that would have strengthened the president's authority over the country's electoral institutions.

Two other lawmakers said Karzai twice raised the threat to join the insurgency.

The lawmakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of political repercussions, said Karzai also dismissed concerns over possible damage his comments had caused to relations with the United States. He told them he had already explained himself in a telephone conversation Saturday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Nicholas takes on pirates and is no saint!

CNN) -- A group of suspected pirates was captured Thursday after attacking a U.S. Navy frigate in the Indian Ocean, according to a statement released by the U.S. Sixth Fleet.

The USS Nicholas reported taking fire from a suspected pirate skiff shortly after midnight local time west of the Seychelles, the statement said. The Nicholas quickly returned fire and began pursuing the skiff, which was eventually disabled. A boarding team from the Nicholas subsequently captured and detained three people, the statement said.
The team discovered ammunition and several cans of fuel aboard the skiff, which was later sunk by the Nicholas.

Two more suspected pirates were captured on a confiscated "mother ship," the statement said. The detainees will "remain in U.S. custody on board Nicholas until a determination is made regarding their disposition," it said.
The Pentagon is determining its next steps, and the suspects may be sent to Kenya to be tried in a piracy court there, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Thursday

The Nicholas, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is part of the U.S. military's Africa Command.
The waters off the coast of Somalia -- the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean -- have been plagued by Somali pirates over the last couple of years. To crack down on piracy, the international community has adopted measures including naval escorts and expanded monitoring.

Last week, one pirate was killed and several others were detained after a private security team thwarted an attack against a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, the MV Almezaan. A European Union naval force was called in to assist the vessel.

UPDATE:

New photos released Friday show what the U.S. Navy says is the aftermath of suspected pirates attacking a Sierra Leone-flagged tanker this week in the Somali Basin.



The confrontation between the MV Evita and two suspected pirate skiffs was disrupted by the U.S. Navy destroyer, USS Farragut, according to the U.S Navy. The suspected bandits’ “mother skiff” was destroyed and sunk.

“The pirates have become bolder and are attacking ships further away from the Somali shores,” said Rear Adm. Bernard Miranda of the Singapore navy.

The Evita fired flares and sped up to ward off the attackers, who were armed with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Coalition forces were summoned by the International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur and the UK Maritime Trade Operations office in Dubai, who received a call of aid from the Evita.

The Evita was also assisted by a Swedish vessel, which located the suspected pirates’ skiffs and witnessed them throwing equipment overboard.

Farragut coalition forces found 11 suspected pirates aboard the skiffs, along with fuel drums and grappling hooks.

Coalition forces released the suspected pirates after making sure they couldn’t attack again.