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Ex-Marlboro Man Dies From Smoking-Related Disease

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By MINA

Eric Lawson, who portrayed the rugged Marlboro man in cigarette ads during the late 1970s, has died. He was 72.

Lawson died Jan. 10 at his home in San Luis Obispo of respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, his wife, Susan Lawson said Sunday.

Lawson was an actor with bit parts on such TV shows as “Baretta” and “The Streets of San Francisco” when he was hired to appear in print Marlboro ads from 1978 to 1981. His other credits include “Charlie’s Angels,” ”Dynasty” and “Baywatch.” His wife said injuries sustained on the set of a Western film ended his career in 1997.

A smoker since age 14, Lawson later appeared in an anti-smoking commercial that parodied the Marlboro man and an “Entertainment Tonight” segment to discuss the negative effects of smoking. Susan said her husband was proud of the interview, even though he was smoking at the time and continued the habit until he was diagnosed with COPD.

“He knew the cigarettes had a hold on him,” she said. “He knew, yet he still couldn’t stop.”

A few actors and models who pitched Marlboro brand cigarettes have died of smoking-related diseases. They include David Millar, who died of emphysema in 1987, and David McLean, who died of lung cancer in 1995.

The article Ex-Marlboro Man Dies From Smoking-Related Disease appeared first on Eurasia Review.


Egypt Military Leaders Endorse Al-Sissi For President

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By Trend News Agency

Egypt’s military leaders have endorsed army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi for president, hours after he was promoted to the rank of Field Marshall, the highest in the country’s armed forces, dpa reported.

Members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had met for several hours to discuss al-Sissi’s possible bid for presidency.

Their decision comes after tens of thousands gathered in central Cairo, on the third anniversary of the 2011 revolt that ousted Hosny Mubarak, to pressure al-Sissi to run for the post.

Egypt’s interim president Adly Mansour announced earlier Monday that he had promoted al-Sissi to the rank of Field Marshall.

Al-Sissi, who announced the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July, earlier this month gave his clearest indication of where he sees his political future.

“If I nominate myself, this should come after demands from the people and a mandate from the army,” he said at a military ceremony in Cairo.

He is expected to sweep the vote, as he is the country most popular leader since Morsi’s ouster.

Pro-army groups have launched a series of campaigns in recent months, collecting petitions for al-Sissi to run in this year’s expected presidential election.

Egypt will hold presidential elections before parliamentary polls. No specific dates have been announced yet.

The article Egypt Military Leaders Endorse Al-Sissi For President appeared first on Eurasia Review.

US Missile Strike In Somalia Targets Al Qaeda-Linked Militant Leader

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By PanArmenian

The U.S. military carried out a missile strike in Somalia on Sunday, Jan 26 targeting a suspected militant leader with ties to al Qaeda and al Shabaab, a U.S. military official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity, the news agency reported.

The strike took place in southern Somalia, the official said, without offering further information, including the identity of the suspect or whether the strike was believed to have been successful.

Another U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place in a remote area near Barawe, Somalia.

Barawe, a militant stronghold on Somalia’s southern coast, was the site of a failed raid by American commandos in October targeting a militant known as Ikrima.

The U.S. forces pulled out after a gun battle without capturing Ikrima, described as a planner and operator who has relentlessly plotted attacks on neighboring Kenya.

Al Shabaab has been weakened by African Union troops over the past two years, ushering in some stability in many parts of the Horn of Africa country after a campaign of cross-border raids and kidnappings of Westerners and security forces.

But the rebels, who have waged a seven-year insurgency seeking to impose a strict interpretation of sharia law in Somalia, stunned the world in September when they attacked an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, killing at least 67 people.

Late last year, the U.S. military deepened its involvement in Somalia, establishing a unit of fewer than five troops in the capital, Mogadishu, to help advice and support African Union and Somali forces.

The article US Missile Strike In Somalia Targets Al Qaeda-Linked Militant Leader appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Georgia Government Pledges GEL4.5m To Four Religious Minority Groups In 2014

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By Civil.Ge

(Civil.Ge) — The Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Georgia, Roman Catholic Church in Georgia, Muslim and Jewish groups will receive total of GEL 4.5 million (about USD 2.53 million) this year to “partially compensate” for the damage inflicted to them under the Soviet regime, according to the state ministry for reconciliation and civic equality.

According to the state ministry, whose portfolio also includes issues related to ethnic and religious minorities, this amount of money will be allocated from government’s discretionally, reserve fund. It means that it will be, at least for now, a one-time payment. But according to the state ministry discussions will continue how to proceed with allocation of state funds in following years.

The announcement about making state funding available for four religious groups in Georgia on top of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which receives annual funding from the state budget for more than a decade already, was made by PM Irakli Garibashvili at a government session early on January 27. He said without providing details of funding scheme that it would be a compensation for damages suffered by these religious groups during the Soviet times. He also said it would demonstrate that government “respects equally” various religious groups.

Paata Zakareishvili, the state minister for reconciliation and civic equality, said after the government session that total of GEL 4.5 million would be divided “proportionally” between the four religious groups; he stressed that it does not necessarily mean that funds would be divided equally.

But criteria of how exactly these funds should be shared between these four religious groups have yet to be elaborated.

“An inter-agency commission [on religious issues] and then the government took the decision to compensate damage to those religious organizations, which were under systemic pressure by the Soviet regime. Under this formulation, the government has been compensating damage to the Georgian Orthodox Church for a long time already under the constitutional agreement,” Zakareishvili said.

According to the 2002 constitutional agreement between the state and the Georgian Orthodox Church, the state “recognizes material and moral damage” suffered by the Georgian Orthodox Church during the Soviet regime and takes “responsibility to partly compensate” for this damage.

The Georgian Orthodox Church is the only religious group in the country with a line item in the state budget. But the budget does not specify that the fund is allocated for the purpose of compensation. 2014 state budget envisages GEL 25 million for the Georgian Orthodox Church. According to estimations by the Transparency International Georgia, the Orthodox Church received up to GEL 200 million from the state in a period between 2002 and 2013.

The Georgian Orthodox Church welcomed the government’s decision to allocate funds to four other religious groups as a “positive development”.

Patriarchate said in a brief written statement on January 27: “Along with the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Soviet regime inflicted damage to other religions too and this step by the government is an expression of restoration of justice.”

Public Defender’s Office said in its most recent annual human rights report that practice of allocating funds from the state budget to only the Georgian Orthodox Church is “discriminatory”.

Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili said on January 27: “We have been recommending launching broad discussions with the involvement of religious groups to elaborate a model [for the funding]. It should be welcomed that the government took this recommendation into account, but it should be a subject of further discussions which religious groups should become eligible to state funding and our position is that no one should be discriminated.”

Multinational Georgia, an umbrella organization for dozens of groups working on ethnic and religious minority issues, welcomed the government’s decision as “unprecedented move in Georgia’s recent history in terms of restoration of historic justice.”

It, however, called on the government to also provide funding as a compensation for suffering repressions under the Soviet regime to three more religious groups – Evangelical Lutheran Church of Georgia; Evangelical Baptists and Yezidis.

State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Paata Zakareishvili, said that discussions would continue about adding other religious groups too.

The article Georgia Government Pledges GEL4.5m To Four Religious Minority Groups In 2014 appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Georgian PM Visits Israel

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By Civil.Ge

(Civil.Ge) — Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvili, started a two-day visit to Israel on January 27.

According to the Georgian PM’s office, during the visit he will meet his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu; President Shimon Peres; Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

The Georgian PM is accompanied by Foreign Minister; Economy Minister; Agriculture Minister and chief executives of the Georgian Co-Investment Fund and the Georgian National Investment Agency.

This is a second visit of a high-level Georgian delegation to Israel in last seven months. In June, 2013 then PM Bidzina Ivanishvili visited Israel. In November, 2013 Georgia and Israel signed visa-free agreement, which has yet to go into force.

The article Georgian PM Visits Israel appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Patrick Buchanan: Is Kerry In Denial? – OpEd

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By Patrick J Buchanan

Does John Kerry understand the world he inherited? Is he in denial?

Consider. At Davos, Switzerland, Kerry called it a “myth” that America is withdrawing, and “the most bewildering version of this disengagement myth is about a supposed U.S. retreat from the Middle East.”

Is he serious? How else does Kerry describe Obama’s pullout of all U.S. troops from Iraq, and from Afghanistan by year’s end?

Syria is “someone else’s civil war,” says President Obama. If we do any strikes there, promised Kerry, they will be “unbelievably small,” and rest assured there will be “no [U.S.] boots on the ground.”

When al-Qaida and its allies seized Ramadi and Fallujah in Anbar province, Kerry rushed to the microphones: “We’re not … contemplating returning. We’re not contemplating putting boots on the ground. This is their fight. … this is a fight that belongs to the Iraqis.”

Yes it is. But does this sound like the defiant “This will not stand!” of George H. W. Bush, after Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait?

Moreover, a Pew poll last fall found that 52 percent of the nation approves of U.S. disengagement, saying America should “mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own.”

Staying out of other countries’ quarrels and other nations’ wars is what Americans want, and Obama is delivering.

Why does John Kerry deny the obvious?

To his credit, the secretary has undertaken three diplomatic initiatives, the success of any one of which could earn him a Nobel.

The Geneva II Conference on Syria, the U.S.-U.N. negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, and the Palestinian-Israeli peace initiative.

Yet Kerry’s own undiplomatic conduct may be imperiling two of his initiatives, and naivete and hubris may be blinding him to the coming collapse of the third.

On arrival at Geneva II, Kerry demanded that Iran be disinvited, then launched into a tirade insisting that Assad get out of Damascus:

“There is no way … that the man who led the brutal response to his own people could regain the legitimacy to govern.”

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem was right back in his face: “No one, Mr. Kerry, has the right to provide legitimacy … except for the Syrian people.”

Dismissing Kerry’s call for a transitional government without Assad, Moallem implied that not only was Kerry’s position irrelevant — Assad currently holds the whip hand in Syria and is going nowhere — but irrational from the standpoint of U.S. national interests.

“Those doing suicide attacks in New York,” Moallem instructed Kerry, “are the same as those doing it in Syria.”

The Washington Post backed Moallem with a report that Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on all jihadists in Syria to line up in “one rowlike, solid structure in confronting your sectarian, secularist enemy,” the Assad regime, that is backed by “Iran, Russia and China.”

“What makes our hearts bleed,” said Zawahiri, “is the hostile sedition, which has intensified among the ranks of the mujahideen of Islam.”

Can Kerry explain why America’s goal remains the ouster of Assad, when the offensive coordinator for the rebels who would take power is the successor to Osama bin Laden?

Asked what would happen should Iran backslide on the new interim nuclear agreement, Kerry rattled America’s rockets:

“If they do that, then the military option that is available to the United States is ready and prepared to do what it would have to do.”

Who is Kerry to threaten a war Congress has never authorized?

How does it advance diplomacy to threaten publicly to bomb your negotiating partners? Kerry talks as though he were back in the Senate.

The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard dismissed Kerry’s threat as “ridiculous,” called his negotiating strategy “bankrupt” and warned that “the revolutionary people” of Iran are anxious for battle with the Americans.

If Kerry’s wants a deal, how does this bellicose bluster help?

Kerry now says that Iran will have to “dismantle” centrifuges. But is not America’s objective here proof positive Iran has no nuclear weapon or weapons program, and that its nuclear program is peaceful?

When did the destruction of Iranian centrifuges become the U.S. demand? Tehran has now planted its feet in concrete that there will be no dismantling of centrifuges, and “Bibi” Netanyahu is crowing that this means the failure of the talks.

As for an Israeli-Palestinian deal in which Kerry has invested 10 trips, Israeli economics minister Naftali Bennett calls it “a joke.”

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon says that Kerry “is acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor,” that his peace plan “is not worth the paper it is written on,” that he wishes Kerry would get his Nobel prize now, and leave Israel alone.

As for Bibi, who resigned from Ariel Sharon’s cabinet rather than accept a withdrawal from Gaza, he now says that not one settler on the West Bank will be uprooted, and not one settlement shut down.

Kerry is heading into a minefield. And so are we.

The article Patrick Buchanan: Is Kerry In Denial? – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Colombia Presidential Elections: Conservatives Dump Santos, Choose Woman Candidate

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By MISNA

Following a heated meeting, the Colombian Conservative Party decided not to back exiting President Juan Manuel Santos, instead choosing former minister Martha Lucía Ramírez as their candidate in the May 25 presidential election. Ramírez, who in 2010 was discarded in the primaries, this time beat her rivals with 1,047 votes against 138 of the former senator Pablo Victoria and 84 of the constituent Alvaro Leyva.

She is the only woman in Colombia’s history to have headed the key Defence Ministry, considering the nation is at war and a post also held by Santos. Ramirez pledged victory, adding “the soul of Colombians is conservative, with values and feels pain over the loss of these values”.

The former minister claimed she knows “what hurts the Colombian people”, it is “the uncertainty that they are not told the facts on Havana”, she said referring to the venue of the historic peace talks underway for over a year between the government and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrilla group. She voiced the criticism that is recently emerging on the talks, especially within the party, and largely backed by the Democratic Center of former president Alvaro Uribe.

The presidential campaign officially opened after the deadline for the presentation of candidates. Colombian voters will first go to the polls on March 9 to elect a new Congress.

The article Colombia Presidential Elections: Conservatives Dump Santos, Choose Woman Candidate appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Climate Change Requires Consciousness Change – OpEd

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By Eurasia Review

By William T. Hathaway

To paraphrase Mark Twain, everyone talks about climate change but no one does anything about it. No one, particularly those in power, wants to make the necessary sacrifices. The latest round of international negotiations served mainly to postpone decisions and action. The Japanese government announced that their CO2 emissions would be increasing rather than decreasing as promised. The US government still refuses to comply with international environmental agreements.

Clearly we need a global reordering of priorities, away from short-term economic gain and towards long-term sustainability. But we’ve known this for decades, and the problem continues to worsen although scientists insist we could solve it if we had the will. Generating the will to make these changes, both in our personal lives and in the economic structures we are caught in, is going to require a change of consciousness.

A new book, Wellsprings: A Fable of Consciousness, approaches ecology from that dimension. The novel is set in 2026 as the earth’s ecosystem has broken down under human abuse. Water supplies are shrinking. Rain is rare, and North America is gripped in the Great Drought with crops withering and forests dying. In the midst of environmental and social collapse, an old woman and a young man set out to heal nature and reactivate the cycle of flow by using techniques of higher consciousness. But the corporations that control the remaining water lash out to stop them.

In the story water is analogous to consciousness. People are out of contact with their own inner wellsprings of consciousness, so their lives are withering. And their ignorant actions have driven the earth’s water deep underground, so nature is withering. Human life and the earth’s life are trapped in suffering. The book shows the two main characters evolving their consciousness to a level where they can sense the water and restore its natural flow for humanity and the earth. A blend of adventure, ecology, and mystic wisdom, Wellsprings: A Fable of Consciousness is a frightening but hopeful look into a future that is looming closer every day.

It’s also a love story, which is of course also good for our consciousness.

The book begins with the narrator, Bob, leaving his hometown in California after graduating from high school. He meets Jane, a meditation teacher who is convinced North America’s water has retreated into a deep subterranean aquifer. She is searching for the place where it comes close enough to the surface to access it, and Bob agrees to help her with her quest.

Yosemite

As Jane drives over the Tioga Pass, the east entrance to Yosemite, the sun is setting over the Sierras, shooting rays of golden light through the haze, shining the clouds pink and violet. With a last gleam it drops behind the mountains and lights them from behind into miles of blue craggy peaks.

We have plenty of time to enjoy the view because her motor home is weak on hills; we’re lugging at thirty m.p.h. It’s dark by the time we get to the campground. I like it much better here than the desert — the air is cool and fresh, and I can pitch my tent under a tree.

I wake up several times in the night to the sound of little things falling onto the taut nylon of the tent. Raindrops! I go back to sleep with a smile.

In the morning everything is still dry. Instead of rain, the tent and ground are strewn with pine needles. The tree above me is shedding needles and small branches as it withers. Its bark is gray and flaky, limbs limp.

After breakfast we take a walk to the nearby Tuolumne River, which turns out to be a meandering creek about six inches deep. The meadows on both sides are brown.

We stroll in the Sequoia grove among trees soaring over two hundred feet towards the sky with massive trunks as wide as a house. Some are over a thousand years old. But they won’t get any older — an army of dead soldiers left standing at attention.

We drive into Yosemite Valley, the main part of the park. I remember the pictures I’ve seen of it, taken before the drought: Bridal Veil and Yosemite Falls with tons of white water cascading over granite cliffs, crashing down into deep pools on the canyon floor that’s covered with verdant grass and ferns.

But now the glaciers have melted and snow and rain are rare, so the falls are thin ribbons of water spilling over the cliffs then trickling through brown grass into what used to be the Merced River. We hear an occasional bird, but we don’t see them or any other animals. Jane finds a blue jay feather, which she sticks in her hair — but the jay is probably dead. We’re very quiet as we drive away from the park — as if we’ve been to Mother Nature’s funeral.

Mt. Shasta

(Jane teaches Bob Transcendental Meditation, and their visions help them find the cavern that connects to the water.)

Jane and I drive around to the north side of Mt. Shasta, hoping to be able to sense the subterranean springs from there. In the moonlight the mountain looks like a silver pyramid soaring up from the horizon into the starry purple night. The ancient volcano is lord of all it surveys. Veils of clouds are blowing around its peak.

We find a grassy glade in the forest, but the grass is dry and brittle and the tree branches droop from the drought. As we are spreading our blankets out to meditate, motion on the other side of the clearing catches our eyes. Out of the trees steps a black-tailed doe. She sees us and pauses, one foot raised, sniffing, listening, looking. Jane and I stare enthralled. As the doe gazes at us, our eyes join across the space, across the species. Communication flows between us: cautious curiosity about a fellow creature. She breaks contact, begins nibbling, then looks back at us as if saying, As long as you stay on your side, it’s OK.

We watch her in delight until she trots off, then we close our eyes to meditate. At first my mantra goes with my heartbeat then slows and goes with my breath. The sound stretches out into a long hum floating through me. I seem to be beyond my skin, filling the whole clearing. I feel like I’m sinking into the earth. I want to hold on, to keep from disappearing, but something tells me to let everything go. I free-fall through space, then realize it’s impossible to fall because there’s no down. I’m hovering … like a dragonfly over water. The sound fades away, leaving me without thoughts. I seem to expand beyond all space and boundaries to unite with everything. For a moment I know I am everything, the whole universe, but as soon as I think, I’m everything, I’m not anymore. I’m just Bob Parks sitting on a blanket over cold ground.

I start the mantra again. Its whisper clears my thoughts away, and my mind becomes quiet. Part of me is watching the quietness of my mind and enjoying it. I never knew I had this watching part before. It doesn’t need to think. It’s just there, aware of everything but separate from it — a wise old part of me.

I realize I’m off the mantra, drifting on thoughts, so I pick up the sound again and follow it as it gets fainter and finer until it becomes more visual, pulsing light behind my closed eyes. It seems to shine into something, a big cavern that’s inside of me but also outside of me. The boundaries between me and everything else disappear — no difference now between inside and outside. I can see dimly into the cavern. The walls and ceiling are crystal, its facets glinting in the mantra light. Below them in all directions stretches a vast dark sea of water, its ripples gleaming. It’s deep, deep as the earth, and I want to plunge in and dive all the way to the bottom. I’m sitting above it. Down there beneath me, beneath these rocks and dirt, rests the water.

I can sense this sea’s immensity, stretching from California under the Great Basin of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, the parched American desert, the last place the corporate drillers would’ve looked. We’re sitting by the tip of it closest to the surface. From here it goes deeper and deeper, soaking through strata of sand and porous rock, a huge aquifer waiting to be freed and flow again.

I want to jump up and yell, “I found it!” but that thought makes it disappear. I take a deep breath and am back sitting cross-legged on my blanket. Too stunned to say anything, I lie back and feel the ground under me, this dry ground with all that good water under it.

Further samples are posted at www.cosmiceggbooks.com/books/wellsprings.
William T. Hathaway’s other books include A World of Hurt (Rinehart Foundation Award), Summer Snow, and Radical Peace. A selection of his writing is available at www.peacewriter.org.

The article Climate Change Requires Consciousness Change – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.


A Vengeful Russia Is Back In The Game – OpEd

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By Arab News

By Linda S. Heard

In spite of the seemingly cozy relationship between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a new “Cold War” may be in the offing. In recent years, Moscow has pulled itself out of an economic and diplomatic wilderness to reemerge as a heavyweight world power determined to make its voice heard. Its newly gained influence not only extends over its traditional spheres of influence but has also penetrated the Middle East at a time when the Obama White House appears to have concluded serious engagement in this complex region brings isn’t beneficial to US interests.

Populations throughout the Arab World no longer view America as a great protector, but rather a great destroyer subsequent to the mess created by US-led military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. And as far as the predominately Sunni nations are concerned, its flirtation with Iran that could result in the normalization of relations, has won it few kudos. Obama’s last minute flip-flop on his decision to attack Syria’s chemical sites was perceived as a betrayal of the Syrian opposition. Likewise, US attempts to undermine Egypt’s transition have spawned conspiracy theories. Most supporters of the interim government believe Obama to be a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer while others are convinced the US, fearing the rise of nationalist sentiments, is using the Brotherhood and April 6th activists to push the most populated Arab nation toward anarchy and chaos.

Amid reports of nefarious US plots (which may or may not be true), America has been cast under a cloud of suspicion, which has opened a window for Russian President Vladimir Putin to exploit. As Al-Watan rightly opined some months ago, “US policy is gradually withdrawing from the region and this is why there is the need to create alternative strategic axes to protect the interests of Arab countries.”

GCC states seek greater self-reliance with hopes of cementing a federation; a joint military command was announced in December. Some member countries are diversifying their weapons purchases and, notably, the United Arab Emirates has recently introduced military conscription for all adult males under 30, a move that will triple its armed forces. Egypt is believed to have penned a $2 billion weapons deal with Russia, which is likely to be signed, sealed and delivered following the upcoming presidential election when Putin is expected to make a state visit to Cairo, where it’s safe to predict he’ll be greeted with roses.

Like the US, Russia works for its own interests. Putin is not in a personal buddy-buddy relationship with Syrian President Bashar Assad, but he does need to keep a grip on his country’s naval facility in the port of Tartus as well as access to Syria’s offshore waters over which Russia holds development and exploration rights. Moreover, he is eager to prove to any prospective regional partner that Moscow won’t abandon its allies.
It appears that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has woken up to the possibilities of cooperation with Russia. The Israeli website Debka.com suggests Abu Mazen has launched a “diplomatic intifada” against Israel and has exited from the US peace initiative. “His meetings with President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev marked his breakaway from the US-led peace process with Israel, four months before it was due to expire — and signaled his bid for Russian backing of a Palestinian state.”

The report adds that Abbas surprised Israeli and American intelligence agencies with a bombshell and “for the Russian leader it was a chance to show the international community and the Obama administration that he was several steps ahead of the game on the three hottest Middle East issues — Iran’s nuclear program, the Syrian conflict and the Palestinian bid for statehood.”

Russian media has revealed that during the Palestinian leader’s recent four-day visit to Moscow he negotiated a $1 billion contract with Prime Minister Medvedev for the Russian development of a natural gas field off Gaza’s shores. Clearly, this will negatively impact the atmosphere surrounding peace talks, but if Abbas is past caring who can blame him! As years of compliance with US diktats and willingness to compromise has delivered nothing but empty promises and expanding Jewish colonies.

Far from the Middle East, tensions between Moscow and Washington/Brussels and ratcheting up over the West’s support of anti-government demonstrators in one of Russia’s main trading partners, Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov has warned the situation there is “getting out of control” and blames the EU for fanning the flames. “Members of several European governments rushed to the Maidan (square) without any invitation and took part in anti-government demonstrations. This is simply indecent,” he said. Lavrov has also warned the US not to interfere in Ukraine and urged Kerry to cease making inflammatory statements. Moscow is not about to let Ukraine slip out of its net and if the West succeeds in pulling Kiev in its direction, Russia could be forced to mull invasion in order to keep the EU (and potentially NATO) away from its borders.

How the power play between Russia and America will pan out over the coming year could either leave the currently cordial relationship between Washington and Moscow in tatters or, in the best case scenario, renew a balance of power bringing both of these essentially hegemonic nations to heel, ultimately for the benefit of all.

Email: Sierra12th@yahoo.co.uk

The article A Vengeful Russia Is Back In The Game – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

10 Guidelines For Young Activists – OpEd

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By Ramzy Baroud

In a recent radio interview with a National Public Radio affiliate in Juneau, Alaska, I was asked if I had advice for a 16-year-old Palestinian student, Haitham. He had just arrived in the US as part of a school exchange program and admirably began reaching out to his peers in his and other schools to teach them about Palestine, its people and its ongoing struggle for freedom and rights.

There was not enough time to convey much to Haitham, whose voice expressed the personality of a gentle, smart and driven young man. And since I have been asked that question on more than one occasion, mostly coming from young people in Palestine, here are a few thoughts that are an outcome of my own experiences and nothing else.

Beat your ego to a pulp: “Ego” is Latin for “I”, but its implications are common to every language. If an activist doesn’t learn to control his ego, he is likely to suffer numerous consequences, and perhaps ultimately fail in his mission. An activist, especially one who represents causes deemed “controversial,” will find himself under repeated attacks and unwarranted accusations targeting his “self” not his ideas. And while there are those who will try to thrash your confidence, there are also those who will hail your perceived success and heroism even. Both are dangerous to the ego, for they could upset the balance necessary to keep us focused and involved as members of a larger community and moral in our behavior and conduct.

Define and internalize your message: It is easy to get pulled into all sorts of directions that may separate you from your original mission. To ensure that you always find your way back, you must be clear on what you stand for and why. Thus it is essential that you define your cause, first and foremost to yourself before you present it to others. Internalize it as an enduring part of your character before you stand in front of a crowd, hold a microphone or carry a banner. If you are not fully convinced of your message, you will not be able to influence others.

Be guided by universal values and human rights: Even if your message pertains to a local cause, find the universal aspect of your drive to bring about change, and embrace it. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” said Martin Luther King Jr. If you adhere to this notion alone, you know that you will remain true, not just to your cause but also to the underlying values that give it meaning. Universal human rights can always serve as a gauge by which you can assess matters within a larger moral framework.

Find a frame of reference — relate to your audience: The onus is not on your audience to relate to you as much as it is on you to relate to their frame of reference: Their history, their political reality and other dynamics that operate within and control their society. Only then, can you tailor your words and expectations — but never the morality of your message — in ways that they may understand, relate to and act upon.

Humanize — but don’t sanctify your subject: It doesn’t matter how worthy a cause is, if it is too distant or disconnected from people. It is essential that you allow your audience the chance to relate to your cause as that of people, with names and stories, beautiful, inspiring, but also disheartening and complex. But it is important that you don’t provide a sanctified, thus unrealistic narrative either, for your audience will disown you and question your credibility. Humanize your subject, but remain truthful in your presentation.

Be educated and strive for intellect: Education will give you access to otherwise inaccessible platforms. It will empower you and your message with the articulation you need to widen your circle of support. But you are also an intellectual. The right education could further develop your intellect. And when it is done with sincerity, both education and intellect will feed on one another. While there is no harm in adhering to an ideology that you may perceive to hold the answers to the dilemmas with which you contend, be wary of becoming an ideologue, a slave to stubborn dogmas. That will stifle your intellect and will make your education a mere platform to serve unworthy, elitist causes.

Keep an open mind: No matter how powerful your argument may seem, how high your education and how insurmountable your intellect is, remain humble and open-minded. If you close your mind, it will cease to grow. Your ideas will eventually become outdated, and your ability to imagine a world beyond your own will wither and die under the weight of your own sense of self-importance.

Have an action plan: It is not enough that you want to change the world. Sure, do that, but you must have a clear notion of what that actually means, and how you wish to bring it about. Such a roadmap can always help you reexamine your work and reassess your actions, and, if ever necessary, alter or entirely change your direction.

Don’t get swayed by success: The fight for justice is unending, as is the struggle against racism, and inequality. So “success” in this context, by definition is relative. While you must acknowledge, even celebrate achievements along the way, let “success” be a milestone toward another goal, and not an end in itself. This way you can always keep moving forward, with a vision that passes the immediate goal, on to a greater one, where the “rendezvous of victory” is an idea, so coveted, yet unattainable.

Live a balanced life: Only by living life you contribute to it. Don’t estrange yourself from your surroundings. Learn from the mistakes others make, and from your own. Don’t be afraid or feel guilty if you try to find balance in your life. Enjoy a sustainable life, but without excess. The fight is long, at times arduous, but you are here, along with millions of others, for the long haul.

They say people who live for a higher cause are happier than those who don’t. May you always find your happiness in alleviating the pain of others by standing up for what is right and honorable.

The article 10 Guidelines For Young Activists – OpEd appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Pete Seeger, US Folk Singer, Songwriter And Political Activist, Dies At 94

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By VOA

Legendary American folk singer and political activist Pete Seeger has died at the age of 94.

His family said Seeger passed away Monday of natural causes at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Seeger was the son of a musicologist who introduced him to rural American folk music while he was a student at a Connecticut boarding school. He later met and befriended two other legendary American folk singers: the black blues musician Lead Belly, and Woody Guthrie, with whom he toured across the country performing at benefits for labor activists in 1940.

After serving in World War II, he founded the Weavers, a quartet that achieved wide popularity in the early 1950s with such songs as Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, If I Had a Hammer, and Goodnight, Irene, sparking a revival in American folk music.

However, the group’s success ended after Seeger was cited for his earlier ties to the Communist Party. He was barred from performing on television and eventually called before the House Un-American Activities Committee, where he refused to answer questions about his political activities. He was tried and convicted for contempt of Congress and sentenced to jail, but the sentenced was eventually overturned.

Seeger continued to draw huge audiences at college campuses and small nightclubs, and he took part in such causes as civil rights and environmentalism. His arrangement of We Shall Overcome, which had its roots as a gospel song, became the anthem of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Seeger also wrote such popular songs as Turn, Turn, Turn and Where Have All the Flowers Gone? He earned numerous awards and accolades late in his career, including a Grammy Award in 1993 for lifetime achievement. He was also named a Kennedy Center honoree in 1994, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 as an early influence.

In 2009, he performed at a concert staged at the Lincoln Memorial in celebration of President Barack Obama’s first inauguration.

The article Pete Seeger, US Folk Singer, Songwriter And Political Activist, Dies At 94 appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Ukraine Prime Minister Azarov Resigns

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By RT

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has accepted the resignation of PM Nikolay Azarov and his cabinet, according to a decree on the presidential website. The cabinet will continue to work until a new government is formed.

The prime minister submitted his resignation earlier Tuesday, explaining that his move was motivated by efforts to peacefully resolve the current crisis in the country.

“For the purpose of creating additional possibilities of social and political compromise, for the peaceful solution of the conflict, I’ve made a personal decision to ask the Ukrainian president to accept my resignation from the post of prime minister,” Azarov’s statement reads.

Azarov described the current crisis in Ukraine as a threat to the economic and social development of the country, as well as a threat to each and every Ukrainian citizen.

“During the standoff, the government has done everything for a peaceful solution of the conflict,” Azarov said. “We’ve been doing everything not to let bloodshed occur, to prevent the violence escalating, not to have human rights infringed upon. The government has made sure the economy and social security have functioned in extreme conditions.”

Azarov, one of the longest-serving politicians in Ukraine, said he can “honestly look into the eyes of each of his compatriots” and that he has always acted in the best interests of the country.

“Throughout all of these years I have been doing everything for Ukraine to be able to normally develop as a democratic European country. I have made decisions and taken upon myself responsibility in the interest of Ukraine.”

Azarov said he was grateful to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the country’s MPs for their cooperation. He also thanked all of the Ukrainian citizens who have supported him and approved of the decisions made by his Cabinet.

“The most important today is to preserve the unity and integrity of Ukraine. That’s much more important than anybody’s personal plans and ambitions,” the PM said.

Azarov has been prime minister since March 2010. He retained the post in December 2012, when the new parliament was elected.

He’s been among Ukrainian political elite since the early 2000s, having served as first deputy prime minister and finance minister.

Azarov’s Cabinet survived a vote of no confidence in December 2013. The no-confidence motion was submitted by three opposition parties – Homeland (Batkivshchina), Strike (Udar), and Liberty (Svoboda). The text of the document accused the Cabinet of the “betrayal of the Ukrainian people” through the government’s suspension of talks on EU integration, the opposition said.

‘Face-saving gesture’ or ‘responsible step’?

The opposition reacted to the resignation with enthusiasm, but said that they expect it to be a trick.

The leader of the opposition Strike (Udar) party, Vitaly Klitchko, said that the PM’s resignation was a “face-saving” gesture.

“Today the issue of the government’s resignation and its responsibility is on the agenda,” Klitchko said, Interfax-Ukraine reported. “I’m sure [Azarov’s] resignation has something behind it. He knows he’s done everything to save face.”

Klitchko also described Azarov’s move as “a step toward victory” for the opposition.

An MP from the opposition Strike (Udar) party, Pavel Rozenko, said that Azarov’s resignation is not enough to resolve the political crisis in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the leader of the nationalist Liberty (Svoboda) opposition party, Oleg Tyagnibok, said that Azarov’s decision showed that the authorities were afraid of the people.

A senior Russian parliamentary official called Azarov’s resignation a “courageous step.”

“Nikolay Azarov’s resignation from the post of prime minister of Ukraine is a courageous civic act. Azarov worked for many years on the growth of the national economy of Ukraine, worked successfully for the welfare of the Ukrainian people. And the fact that now he made such a move for the sake of a peaceful settlement of the situation in Ukraine, in order to calm the riots, the terrible fire on the Independence Square – it is certainly a deed we must treat with respect,” said Leonid Slutskiy, chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Committee for the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Anna German, an MP for the ruling Party of Regions, described Azarov’s decision as a “responsible step.”

“I believe this is a responsible step of a mature politician, who has been able to restrain his own ambition and to put the interests of the state, of the mutual understanding between the authorities and society, before his own high post,” RIA Novosti reported her as saying.

The article Ukraine Prime Minister Azarov Resigns appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Kosovo Serb Leader Held Over War Crimes

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By Balkan Insight

Oliver Ivanovic, a prominent Kosovo Serb leader, is in custody on suspicion of involvement in war crimes against ethnic Albanians and murders committed after the late 1990s conflict.

Ivanovic is being held “as an alleged suspect in an ongoing war crimes investigation, together with allegations of aggravated murder after the conflict”, the EU rule-of-law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, said in a statement.

Nebojsa Vlajic, Ivanovic’s lawyer, said his client was arrested in the northern town of Mitrovica and taken to Pristina on Tuesday where he was remanded in custody for 30 days.

As well as the war crimes allegations, Ivanovic is suspected of involvement in violence in 2000 in which ten Kosovo Albanians were killed and many more wounded and driven from their homes.

Ivanovic at the time was a leading “Bridge Watcher”, one of the hardline Serbs who patrolled the main bridge in Mitrovica dividing the town into Serbian and Albanian sectors.

But his lawyer described the allegations as “ridiculous, invented, and nonsensical”.

“Ivanovic could not have done and did not do what he is being charged with… there is no evidence there,” Vlajic said.

After being part of the Bridge Watchers, Ivanovic later took a more moderate line, and in 2001, he headed the Serbian government’s Coordination Body for southern Serbia, entrusted with overseeing the integration of the Albanian minority there into the political and economic mainstream.

In Serbia’s Democrat-led government from 2008 to 2012, he was State Secretary in the Serbian Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija.

Ivanovic voluntarily presented himself to police in northern Mitrovica on Monday when a EULEX prosecutor told him he was a suspect in a war crimes investigation.

Following the interview, the prosecutor issued an order for his arrest.

Late on Monday, several dozen supporters and councillors from Ivanovic’s Srbija, Demokratija, Pravda (Serbia, Justice, Democracy) party, held a protest in front of the police station.

In the November local elections in Kosovo, Ivanovic stood for mayor in Mitrovica but was beaten by Krstimir Pantic, from the Serbian government-backed Srpska list.

The article Kosovo Serb Leader Held Over War Crimes appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Macedonia Secures New Investments And Infrastructure Projects

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By SETimes

By Miki Trajkovski

Macedonia declared 2014 is a year of new investments and infrastructure projects that will ensure sustainable growth and reduce unemployment.

“At least 20 new foreign companies unofficially confirmed they will begin constructing facilities in Macedonia, and more are thinking on taking the same decision. They will create thousands of new jobs in information technology, agriculture, textile, metallurgy and the automobile industry,” said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

Among the new arrivals is the German electronic switches producer Marquardt Group that will build a factory in Veles creating 600 jobs.

Grueski said equally important is the fact that foreign companies already present in Macedonia have had positive experiences and are expanding their production facilities.

Last year, electronics companies Johnson Controls and Johnson Matthey opened their second factories. This year, the Russian pharmaceuticals giant Protekt Group announced it will build a second production facility in April as will Tehnohoze, the Italian producer of reinforced rubber hoses.

Officials said Macedonia’s economic strategy allows municipalities to become strong economic players and ensure equitable development throughout the country.

The government is establishing technology and industrial zones in many municipalities, which offer investors low or no taxes, significantly low land prices, and other production-related benefits.

“Johnson Controls plans to open 700 jobs in 2014 [in the existing facility] and more than 1,500 jobs in the new factory. A Croatian firm has announced it will open a new factory to produce construction materials. We are currently negotiating with a Turkish factory [to invest in Shtip],” Dragan Ristov, spokesperson for Shtip municipality told SETimes.

At a time of crisis and austerity in the Balkans, Macedonia is reducing taxes while increasing salaries and pensions by 5 percent this year, MP Aleksandar Nikolovski said.

“These are measures that will have a positive impact on the economic well-being of citizens, and, in turn, on Macedonia’s readiness for integration in the EU. If we start EU negotiations tomorrow, we can complete them in four years,” Nikolovski told SETimes.

Officials said another part of the country’s economic strategy is to implement infrastructure projects.

The government announced the construction of two hydro-power plants in Lukovo Pole and Boshkov Most, a railroad to Bulgaria, a highway connecting Skopje with Shtip and another connecting Ohrid and Kicevo.

In all, more than 100 local and regional roads will be built, engaging the entire Macedonian construction and related sectors.

Implementing the infrastructure projects will allow sustainable economic development and economic growth, Mile Janakieski, transport and communications minister, said.

“Especially upgrading roads to the level of highways will bring a higher level of social and economic benefits,” Janakieski told SETimes.

Transportation infrastructure is one of the key elements investors ask for, and securing modern infrastructure increases Macedonia’s worth in the EU integration process, said Vladimir Bozinovski, analyst at the Institute for Political Research in Skopje.

“It is much easier to integrate a state with a solid infrastructure. By upgrading infrastructure, Macedonia will attract more investment and at the same time will get closer to [the EU],” Bozinovski told SETimes.

Analysts said the announced economic activities show economic development and EU-related reforms continue to be a priority for Macedonia.

“The economic policy has so far produced good results and should continue not the least because it will positively influence Macedonia’s aspiration for EU and NATO membership,” Samoil Malceski, former economics professor at the St. Paul the Apostle University in Ohrid, told SETimes.

The article Macedonia Secures New Investments And Infrastructure Projects appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Countering The Self-Radicalised Lone Wolf: A New Paradigm? – Analysis

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By RSIS

Internet-driven self-radicalisation of the lone wolf is an increasing cause of concern for governments and societies everywhere. A new paradigm for countering self-radicalisation is suggested, comprising the five dimensions of Sender, Message, Recipient, Mechanism and Context.

By Kumar Ramakrishna

FOLLOWING THE Boston marathon terrorist bombing of April 2013, US President Barack Obama acknowledged that one of the dangers we now face are ‘self-radicalised individuals’ who might “not be part of any network” – in short lone wolves.

Obama offered one reason why the threat of lone-wolf terrorism has emerged in recent years: “The pressure we put on Al Qaeda and other networks that are well financed and more sophisticated has pushed potential terrorists to the margins, where they are forced to plot smaller-level attacks that are tougher to track.”

Only part of the story

Intensified security force pressure is only part of the story, though. Ideological trends in violent Islamist circles globally since the mid-2000s have stressed operational decentralisation to small autonomous cells and lone wolves. Thus while the late Anwar al-Awlaki of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) promoted lone wolf action the Al Qaeda Syrian propagandist Abu Musab al-Suri likewise argued for more autonomous small scale terrorist attacks that are harder to detect and prevent.

Moreover, technological trends such as easy Internet access expedite direct action by lone wolves. For instance the online English-language AQAP magazine Inspire even had an article called “Make a Bomb in Your Mom’s Kitchen” translated into Bahasa by Indonesian jihadists.

While lone wolves would not be able to cause massive 9/11 style destruction, it is all too clear what they can accomplish. For example, Timothy McVeigh was responsible for 168 deaths in the Oklahoma City bombing of April 1995, while Anders Breivik killed 77 people in Norway in 2011.

Some military strategists moreover warn of so-called Fifth Generation Warfare in which ‘super-empowered’ lone wolves may in the coming decade exploit digital technology to mount crippling cyber-attacks on national infrastructure or even deploy small radiological devices (dirty bombs) against cities.

Lone wolves in Singapore

Singapore has not been immune from the threat of self-radicalised lone wolves. Since 2007, six such individuals were detained, but three were subsequently released. Another group of six was placed on restriction orders that sharply circumscribed their activities and movement.

At a June 2013 retreat of Singapore’s Religious Rehabilitation Group that counsels Jemaah Islamiyah detainees and their families, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean emphasised the significant concern posed by lone wolves who are “radicalised by what they see and read on the Internet in the privacy of their homes or through their smartphones” and that “do not leave physical traces for the security services to follow”.

Five dimensions in countering the lone wolf

What can be done to counter the self-radicalised lone wolf threat? It is widely accepted that it is futile to attempt to monitor or censor the Internet by technical means to prevent extremist ideologies from proliferating. There are more than 6000 extremist websites now online, and the number is steadily increasing. More creative solutions are needed.

It is suggested that, adapting and building upon ideas by leading Indonesian counter-terror expert Tito Karnavian, five dimensions need to be considered in any comprehensive, systematic strategy for countering the threat of self-radicalisation producing lone wolves: these dimensions comprise Sender, Message, Recipient, Mechanism, Context.

1 Sender: The credibility of the purveyor of the extremist ideology must be studied and potential weaknesses discovered and exploited. Many violent extremist clerics project an outward image of piety, which makes their call authoritative. Furthermore they are frequently eloquent and come across as very charismatic, like the late Anwar al-Awlaki. ‘Counter-ideologues’ must therefore be found who are equally eloquent and able to couch messages in terms that would resonate with local audiences. Moreover they must also be seen by the target community to possess unimpeachable integrity.

Conversely any potential character flaws on the part of the violent extremist ideologues must be discovered through targeted intelligence gathering and amplified via social media to question his credibility – and hence his ability to influence the broad masses.

2. Message: The violent extremist message that self-radicalises people is usually simple and easy to recall: “The West is at war with our religion, so we must fight back.” Counter-messaging must likewise move from highly abstract theological formulations to equally easy to recollect themes that are culturally authentic and of practical relevance to a target community. These are what Malcolm Gladwell calls ‘sticky’ messages.

3. Recipient: The vulnerable individuals in front of computer screens are usually young males whose emotional development is proceeding faster than their mental maturation. Hence they tend to think in relatively unsophisticated black-and-white terms and seek the certainty and clear answers usually provided by skillful extremist ideologues.

This is why critical thinking skills and what the think tank DEMOS in the United Kingdom calls digital literacy – the ability to evaluate what is read or seen online – must be inculcated in young people throughout their education. This ability is arguably more important than the actual content of their religious or mainstream syllabi.

4. Mechanism: Liberal circles argue that a free-wheeling marketplace of ideas would ensure the demolition of extremist ideologies. Others argue for imposing a ‘chilling effect’ through legal means that restrict the circulation of certain anti-social ideas. What would be particularly useful is a moderated debate between non-violent extremists and moderates either online or in the real world, so that the theological weaknesses and contradictions within extremist ideologies can be exposed and debunked.

5. Context: In societies where governance is poor and security, welfare and justice are seen to be in deficit, the chances for self-radicalisation or even more organised group radicalisation is very great. In particular, the perception by local communities of heavy-handed police and military action – such as civilian casualties caused by drone strikes in Afghanistan and Yemen and perceived over-use of force in police counter-terrorist operations in Indonesia – all strengthen the extremist narrative of a war on the entire religion. In short, context facilitates the ‘ease of transmission’ of extremist ideas, and self-radicalisation of lone wolves.

In sum, given that Internet-driven self-radicalisation into lone wolves appears to be a growing and dangerous trend, it behooves governments and communities to work together – perhaps along the five dimensions described – to deal effectively with the problem.

Kumar Ramakrishna is Associate Professor and Head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.

The article Countering The Self-Radicalised Lone Wolf: A New Paradigm? – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.


Israeli Forces Detain 22 Palestinians In East Jerusalem And Nablus

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By Maan

Israeli forces launched multiple raids across the West Bank early Tuesday morning, detaining at least 22 young Palestinian men.

Spokesman for the youth movement in East Jerusalem Hani Halabiyya told Ma’an that Israeli troops stormed al-Eizariya and Abu Dis villages shortly after midnight and detained 15 young men after ransacking their homes.

Halabiyya highlighted that fierce clashes broke out between the Israeli troops and young men from the villages during the raid. The soldiers fired tear gas haphazardly at Palestinian houses, he said.

More than 35 military vehicles, a bulldozer and four military buses were seen in the two villages, added Halabiyya.

He identified the detainees as Muhammad Mujahid Abu Rumi, Ahmad Muhammad Jamous, Muhammad Hasan Bassah, Karim Shujaiyya, Muhammad Basim Abu al-Reesh, Abdul-Salam Yousuf Sinnawi, Samir Sanduqa, Amjad al-Khateeb, Musab Salah, Ziad Khalil al-Sabe, his brother Tariq, Muhammad Ali Faroun, Muntasir Gheith, his brother Hani, and Muhammad Iyad Udwan.

Israeli troops also ransacked the homes of Jamal Bassah and Ammar Bassah in al-Eizariya, firing tear gas inside the houses during the raids and damaging the interiors of their homes.

The invading soldiers put up posters in the two villages urging parents to watch out for their children, who the posters claimed are “involved in terrorist activities.”

The posters included photos of parents who Israeli forces claim are the parents of those involved in attacks against Israel.

“We hereby notify you that your children are involved in terrorist attacks against citizens of the state of Israel. Practices by those young men endanger innocent citizens, and if they do not stop what they do, the IDF will have to take action to stop these practices,” the posters read.

The leaflets added, “If you don’t stop them, tough restrictions will be imposed and will negatively affect your lives. Residents of Abu Dis! If you want to avoid having your photos on a post like this, stop the terrorist attacks your kids are practicing. … Stop them before it’s too late. He who warns is excused!”

Overnight raids by Israeli troops were also reported in Nablus in the northern West Bank. Locals told Ma’an that Israeli soldiers stormed Askar refugee camp east of Nablus and detained 24-year-old Nasooh Abu Saadah.

Separately, an Israeli force raided the village of Beita south of Nablus and detained 19-year-old Baraa Bilal Hamayil, 22-year-old Ghassan Marwan Hamayil.

Moreover, 22-year-old Abdul-Hafeeth Shehadah was detained from his house in Urif village near Nablus.

Israeli forces also stormed al-Tur village in East Jerusalem and detained three teenagers.

A Ma’an reporter identified them as 18-year-old Bahaa Addin Abu al-Hawa, 18-year-old Tariq Abu al-Hawa and 18-year-old Walid Abu al-Hawa.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the raids in Urif, Nablus, and Beita, but had no information on the other raids.

She did, however, add that 10 Palestinians were detained in other overnight raids across the West Bank.

She confirmed two detentions in Qabatiya near Jenin, four in Beit Lid near Nablus, two in Deir Abu Mishal near Ramallah, one in Harmala near Bethlehem, and one in Bethlehem itself.

The raids follow the detention of 15 Palestinians across the West Bank in overnight raids on Monday.

The internationally recognized Palestinian territories of which the West Bank and East Jerusalem form a part have been occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

The article Israeli Forces Detain 22 Palestinians In East Jerusalem And Nablus appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Kazakhstan Intends To Invite International Companies To Assess Oil-Bearing Sites

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By Trend News Agency

By Daniar Mukhtarov

Kazakhstan’s Oil and Gas Ministry plans to invite leading international consulting companies to accurately assess oil-bearing sites put up for tender, Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister, Uzakbai Karabalin said at an extended meeting on Jan. 27.

“On January 21, the head of state was presented with the atlas of oil-bearing and prospective sedimentary basins of Kazakhstan, which demonstrates that the parameters of the country’s oil and gas potential can be increased several times,” Karabalin said.

He said the work on the atlas – conducted on KazMunaiGas’ request and with support from the Geology and Subsoil Use Committee – has taken place over the last few years. The atlas includes the results of exploration work at all fifteen sedimentary basins of Kazakhstan and analyzes them.

“We propose to introduce a specialized preliminary assessment of the sites put up for tender, on the basis of the best world experience. We consider it reasonable to invite one of the leading international consulting companies, such as, Miller & Lents, Ryder Scott, DeGolyer & MacNaughton or Netherland Sewell,” Karabalin said.

The article Kazakhstan Intends To Invite International Companies To Assess Oil-Bearing Sites appeared first on Eurasia Review.

India: Resurgent Menace In J&K – Analysis

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By SATP

By Ajit Kumar Singh

The tentative, hard-won and imperfect peace of J&K remains vulnerable to the disruptive machinations of inimical powers and extremist formations. — J&K: A Deepening Peace

The measured stride towards lasting peace in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was disturbed in 2013 by Pakistan’s Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI, Pakistan’s external intelligence agency) both directly, through an escalating campaign of ceasefire violations, and through their various proxies – both terrorist and separatist. The trend of a sustained decline in terrorism-related fatalities since the year 2001, was reversed in 2013, with J&K recording 181 fatalities, as compared to 117 in 2012, a steep rise of 54.70 per cent.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) database, 2013 witnessed the death of a total of 20 civilians, as against 16 in 2012, and 61 Security Force (SF) personnel, as against 17 in the preceding year. Civilian fatalities thus increased by 25 percent, and SF fatalities recorded a whopping rise of 258.82 per cent. According to State Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Prasad, the “militants have started targeting SFs as part of their changed strategy to increase the violence graph” without jeopardizing the people’s support. The number of militants killed stood at 100 in 2013, as against 84 in 2012, an increase of 19.04 per cent.

Incidents involving killing increased from 70 in 2012 to 87 in 2013. Further, out of the 87 killing incidents in 2013, 22 were major incidents (each involving three or more fatalities) as against 10 in 2012. A day ahead of Prime Minister (PM) Manmohan Singh’s visit to the State, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) terrorists ambushed an Army convoy in the Hyderpora area of Srinagar, J&K’s summer capital, killing eight Army personnel and injuring 11, on June 24, 2013. The attack was the deadliest in the State in the last almost five years; on July 19, 2008, 10 soldiers were killed and another 18 were injured when HM terrorists destroyed an SF bus in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack at Narbal Crossing on the outskirts of Srinagar.

Worryingly, after a long hiatus suicide attacks haunted the State in 2013. As many as three such incidents, resulting in 20 fatalities, were executed through the year, as against none in 2012. In fact, the last suicide attack in J&K occurred on January 6, 2010, when terrorists had hit a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp at Lal Chowk in Srinagar, killing a Policeman and injuring nine persons, including one CRPF trooper.

Terrorist attacks occurred across a widening arc of the State through 2013, with fatalities reported from 14 of the State’s 22 Districts, as against 13 Districts in 2012. While civilian fatalities were reported from eight of these 14 Districts (seven Districts recorded civilian fatalities in 2012), 11 Districts recorded SF fatalities (eight Districts recorded SF fatalities in 2012). Kupwara accounted for the maximum number of fatalities, 67; followed by Srinagar, 24; Pulwama, 20; Baramulla, 17; Poonch, 12; Samba, 8; Rajouri and Shopian, 7 each, and Kathua, 6. In 2012, Kupwara had recorded highest number of fatalities, 34; followed by Baramulla, 32 and Srinagar, 8. Notably, by end of 2011, the State Home Ministry had declared at least seven Districts in the J&K completely free of terrorism, including five of ten Districts in the Jammu Division – Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi and Doda – apart from Leh and Kargil, which had never seen significant militancy. However, in 2013, two of the three suicide attacks took place in Jammu Division which had witnessed the last major attack by the militants on May 8, 2009, when the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) militants had shot dead three persons at Bandara village in the Gulabgarh area of Reasi District.

Moreover, the orchestrated disorders that had been contained to a large extent over the preceding two years, after they had assumed disturbing proportions in 2010, when at least 112 protesters were killed in SF action against violent demonstrators, returned to troubling levels again. As against two incidents resulting in two fatalities in 2012, year 2013 recorded seven such incidents resulting in 12 deaths. Significantly, as many as 198 persons were injured in 20 incidents of stone pelting in 2013, as against 25 persons injured in 12 such incidents in 2012. Indeed, the separatists led by various factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), who seemed to have lost the ground over the last many years as their diktats failed to deter people from participating in elections and, more importantly, failed to provoke people to participate in campaigns of violent protest, discovered a window of opportunity in the aftermath of Omar Abdullah’s Government failure to aptly handle the situation after the execution of 2001 Parliament Attack case convict Afzal Guru in Tihar Jail in New Delhi, on February 9, 2013. However, emerging internal conflicts between separatist leaders, despite the ISI’s constant efforts to secure their unity, neutralized the threat to a large extent. Indeed in January 2014, the Mirwaiz Maulvi Umar Farooq faction of the APHC split down the middle, when Democratic Freedom Party President Shabir Ahmad Shah, National Front Chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan and Mahaz-e-Azadi chief Azam Inqalibi announced the formation of a third faction of the Hurriyat Conference, calling it the “Real Hurriyat”. The split reportedly came after Mirwaiz had addressed a letter to the Convener of APHC in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Yousuf Naseem, asking him not to entertain these leaders as part of the Hurriyat. This was the second split in APHC, following the first division in September 2003. The APHC was formed in March 1993.

The State also saw some communal and sectarian clashes in 2013. On August 9, 2013, two persons were killed and several others were injured in clashes between two communities that erupted soon after Eid prayers in Kishtwar Town (Kishtwar District). It took almost a fortnight to bring the situation to normalcy after the tension spread to other adjoining areas as well. Further, incidents of arson were recorded during sectarian violence in Budgam District July 2013. Indeed, in November 2012, DGP Ashok Prasad, while disclosing that “not more than 250-300 militants are active in the State”, observed that the biggest concern was that “all of them [militants] have to show their performance. If some are fighting against the security forces, others try to prove their mettle in creating disturbance by using fault lines like religion, caste…”

Meanwhile, in addition to active terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), HM, and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), long dormant outfits including Al Umar Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Ansar (HuA), showed some indications of reviving their activities. Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, ‘chief’ of Al Umar Mujahideen announced the decision to revive “armed struggle” in J&K while using PoK as the base for his organization. Similarly, HuA declared it was ‘resuming’ operations under a new name, Jabbar-ul-Mujahideen (JuM), drawing its cadres from LeT, JeM and HM. JuM is said to have close links with the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network of extremists operating in Afghanistan. It is pertinent that, through 2013, al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) reiterated their intentions to target Kashmir in particular and India at large.

It is Islamabad’s renewed misadventures in J&K that has provided the impetus for these adverse developments. This was demonstrated by an escalating campaign of ceasefire violations by Pakistan’s Army, with at least 195 violations recorded through 2013, with 10 SF personnel killed, as against 93 in 2012, resulting in three SF deaths. At least 43 attempts at infiltration were made from across the border in 2013, as against 34 in 2012. At least 51 terrorists were killed during these attempts, as against 22 in 2012.

Clearly, buoyed by the prospects of the US drawdown from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Pakistan has once again revived its objectives to provoke instability in J&K. The ‘intrusion’ into the Shala Bhata village along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Keran Sector of Kupwara District in September 2013, was a glaring example of Pakistan’s intentions, with “division sized forces” intruding across “hundreds of kilometres”. Further, according to an August 9, 2013, Government report, there was evidence that Pakistan was still running 22 terrorist training camps for India-centric operations. Most of these terror camps were located in and around Manshera in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province of Pakistan, while a few were situated near Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK. An unnamed security official stated, “In the last review, it was found that Pakistan security establishment was running around 40 terror camps but they were not organised. Whenever Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and its terror progenies like LeT or HM found 15 to 20 recruits, they would house them in a room anywhere in the PoK and start training them. But now, the camps are more organised and run in a systematic manner with more resources at their disposal.” According to media reports, nearly 2,500 terrorists are being held in readiness for operations in J&K, in camps in PoK and Pakistan.

These are ominous signs for Kashmir. It is not mere coincidence that this escalation of terror overlaps with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s assumption of office in Pakistan in June 2013. Significantly, after June 5, 2013, the day Sharif assumed power, J&K recorded 144 fatalities, including 10 civilians, 43 SF personnel and 91 terrorists (data till January 26, 2014). Seven of these fatalities, six terrorists and one SF trooper, have taken place in 2014.

Conspicuously, Sharif has sought to project himself as a messiah of peace, but his rhetoric on improving relations with India clearly failed to match up with developments on the ground. In this context, it is useful to re-examine his past misadventures as well as present overtures towards terrorist formations. Indian intelligence officials have reportedly submitted an assessment to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs stating that, pressurized by the ISI to ‘act’ on Kashmir, the Nawaz Sharif Government cleared a new ‘Kashmir strategy’ and set up a ‘Kashmir Cell’ in his office. The purpose of the cell is to keep track of ‘developments’ in J&K.

It is clearly imperative that New Delhi reorient its Kashmir policy. Instead of misdirected efforts to buy peace, extreme costs – diplomatic, political, economic or military – need to be inflicted on Pakistan for its continuing misadventures in India. On the home front, the biggest challenge will be to hold peaceful Parliamentary and Assembly Elections scheduled this year, in a safe and secure environment.

Ajit Kumar Singh
Research Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management

The article India: Resurgent Menace In J&K – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

India: No Place To Hide In West Bengal – Analysis

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By SATP

By Mrinal Kanta Das

The body blow that the Security Forces (SFs) inflicted on the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in West Bengal with the killing of its politburo member Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishanji, on November 24, 2011, has been followed through with a number of other successes, including key arrests and surrenders, resulting in a near complete halt to Maoist violence in 2012. And in 2013, the story is no different for the Maoists. According to Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) data, no fatality in Maoists violence was recorded in West Bengal in 2013, as in 2012. Further, there was just one incident of Maoist violence recorded in West Bengal in 2013 against six incidents in 2012.

Partial data collected by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) confirms this trend and records no fatality in the civilian and SF categories, though one Maoist fatality in a Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-related incident was recorded in 2013: Hemanta Mahato, a leader of the CPI-Maoist-backed People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), was beaten to death by angry villagers of Nedabahara in Jhargram Police District of West Bengal on August 17, 2013.

The only incident of violence by Maoists in West Bengal through 2013 was recorded on December 19, when former Civic Police [a local force that receives 10 days of training and is hired on a no-work no-pay basis @ INR 141 per day] constable, Dilip Pramanik, an active member of the Jungalmahal Unnayan Birodhi Protirodh Committee (Committee against Anti-Jungalmahal Development Forces) which is backed by the ruling Trinalmool Congress (TMC), was injured when CPI-Maoist cadres tried to abduct him from Tilai village under Balampur Police Station area in Purulia District.

In another sign of decline of the Maoist threat, the State Government granted the Railways permission to run trains at ‘whatever speed it feels appropriate’ between Kharagpur and Tatanagar and Midnapore and Adra, nearly three years after the Jnaneswari Express disaster. Further, during the first phase of the five-phase panchayat (local self government institution) polls conducted in July, voter turnout was at 65 percent in Bankura, 60 percent in Purulia and 65 percent in the West Midnapore District, the areas earlier worst affected by Maoist disruption and violence.

There are, however, indications that the Maoists have not entirely given up hope, and there is evidence of their desire to regroup in the State. On December 14, 2013, Maoist overground ideologue Varavara Rao, during the Second Conference of the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPC)] declared, “Certainly there will be resurgence of people’s movement in West Bengal led by Maoist groups. They will regroup themselves. I am already seeing signs of that.” There was, however, more optimism than conviction in the pronouncement.

In mid-June 2013, intelligence agencies had alerted the State that about 40 to 45 Maoists under the leadership of Tara, wife of Maoist leader Bikash, were regrouping at an undisclosed location in Odisha-side of the Saranda Forest (Jharkhand), to renew their attack in West Bengal. Earlier, on February 1, 2013, West Bengal State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) Additional Director General (ADG) Banibrata Basu had disclosed, “We have specific inputs that Maoists are trying to regroup in the region. The squads of Maoist leaders Bikash in the Lalgarh area (West Midnapore), Ranjit in Ayodhya Hills (Purulia), Madan Mahato in Jambani, Akash and Jayanto are trying to regroup and recruit new people.”

Media reports also suggest that the Maoists had opened up a new route through the Nayagram Block along the Odisha border to revive their organisation in West Bengal. A Policeman at the Nayagram Police Station claimed, “The Maoists are trying to reactivate their network in these villages lining the border that spans not more than 14 to 20 kilometres. So, if you want to feel the real pulse of the Maoists, go to villages like Baliaghati, Bordanga, Deolghati, Baghgheria, Narda and Ramchadrapur.” Local residents also attested to the fact that the Maoists were visiting the area in small groups of two to four.

Despite these feeble attempts, there is no denying that state Forces have consolidated their position and kept Maoist’s violence at bay. Six Companies of Central Para-military Forces (CPMFs) have been added to the existing 39 companies already deployed in the State, to intensify the vigil in the Jangalmahal region, following the intelligence alert on the regrouping of the Maoists.

Compounding the pressure on the Maoists, the state arrested 21 cadres in 2013, adding to the 76 arrested in 2012, according to UMHA data. The most prominent among these included Sabyasachi Goswami aka Kishore, and Zakir Hussain, who were arrested from the Jadavpur area in Kolkata. Police claim that they were important members of the Maoists’ Bengal State Committee and were trying to reorganize the outfit after the death of top Maoist leader Kishanji. Joyeeta Das – a member of Matangini Mahila Samity (Matangini Women Organisation) and one of the key organizers of the Nandigram (West Bengal) land agitation – was also arrested on August 2, 2013. Police claim that she was a Maoist city committee member and they had recovered some letters that confirmed her links with the rebel organisation. On December 12, 2013, a retired doctor of a Public Sector Undertaking identified as Dr. Samir Biswas (65), was arrested by the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate in Bardhaman District on charges of sedition. He had reportedly treated Kishanji. Dr. Biswas had been absconding for the preceding three years, after a case of sedition was lodged against him in April 2010.

Security forces also recovered 45 firearms from the Maoists in the State. On January 28, 2013, in a joint operation led by West Bengal’s Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) and Police, about eight kilograms of explosives and landmine-making equipment were recovered from a forest in Bagmundi Police Station area in Purulia District. A joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Police also recovered a five-kilogram landmine under the Bolkunda Bridge in the Lalgarh area of West Midnapore District.

Meanwhile, the State Government has taken a number of initiatives for the development of Maoist-affected areas to further consolidate its position. On January 8, 2014, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated, “Our focus is creating employment opportunities in Jungalmahal and on improving basic services, such as health, education and infrastructure.” Claiming that the success story of restoring peace in Jungalmahal was a model before the world, she recalled that 15,000 boys and girls were recruited to the Police and another 21,000 as ‘Civic Police’. The Indian Army also recruited 549 persons in 2011-12 and 901 in 2012-13, from the LWE-affected Districts of West Bengal. Further, the State Government is also coming up with a tourist circuit in the West Midnapore District.

Not surprisingly, identifying Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as “one of the chief conspirators” in the encounter killing of Kishanji, Maoists have vowed to take revenge for the death of their politburo member. According to media reports, the Maoist ‘central committee’ has approved “retaliation” against her and declared that she would not be spared: “She will be punished when the time comes.” A CPI-Maoist ‘internal inquiry commission’ also blamed surrendered Maoist Suchitra Mahato for Kishanji’s death.

In another significant development, in March 2013, the Supreme Court stayed a Calcutta High Court (HC) order directing West Bengal to treat arrested members of CPI-Maoist as “political prisoners”. Meanwhile, the West Bengal State Assembly passed a Bill on August 27, 2013, to exclude persons who are members of any banned or terrorist organisations from being granted the status of political prisoners.

The Maoists have been crippled in West Bengal, and have little prospect of any early recovery. Their efforts, nevertheless, continue, and their persistent activities and presence in neighbouring States will remain an abiding threat to West Bengal as well.

Mrinal Kanta Das
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

The article India: No Place To Hide In West Bengal – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

Speed Is The New Stealth: The Role Of Hypersonic Systems – Analysis

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By SAAG

By Muhammad Nawaz Khan

A new debate has been started in the strategic thinking and discourse, on publishing the story that appeared in the Washington Free Beacon dated on January 13, 2014, specifying that on January 9, 2014.

China held the first of what could be a series of tests to check on the speed of its new experimental hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) which would approach its target at a velocity of up to 10 times the speed of sound. Basically dubbed as WU-14 by Pentagon, this development interpreted to be designed for mounting on intercontinental ballistic missiles, as when the hypersonic vehicle is detached from the missile, it could travel as fast as Mach 10 from near space on the way to striking its target. Beauty of the HGV is that it can perform hypersonic precision strikes while maintaining a relatively low altitude and flat trajectory, making it far less vulnerable to missile defences.

The hypersonic vehicle represents a major step forward in China’s strategic nuclear and conventional military and missile programmes. It represents a significant military advance for Beijing. With the integration of strategic analysis and planning into technical research, China’s pursuit of hypersonic and high-precision weaponry promises to be faster and more focused than that associated with its previous anti-satellite and ballistic missile defence related research and programmes. China’s military affairs specialists believe that the hypersonic vehicle test is a significant milestone and appears to be a part of China’s development of warfare weaponry that would assist China’s overall weaker military forces to defeat the more technologically advanced militaries.

Whereas, Washington claimed that this artillery is aimed to distribute warheads through United States (US) missile defences. Rather, this hypersonic missile delivery vehicle has the capability of penetrating US missile defence system and delivering nuclear warheads with record breaking speeds. American defence strategists are responding to the China’s test in a way that this hypersonic glide vehicle will travel from the edge of space at speeds ranging between Mach 8 and Mach 12, or between 6,084 miles per hour and 9,127 miles per hour. Such speeds would challenge the current system of US missile defences, including a combination of long-range interceptors, medium-range Sea and land-based interceptors, and interceptors designed to hit incoming missiles closer to targets.

Basically on the one hand, the testing of the ICBM hypersonic warhead is the first practical achievement of a large-scale programme to create hypersonic weapons, a programme that China is translating into life. China has been engaged in developing hypersonic cruise vehicles for several years. In July 2012, the Chinese media reported the commissioning in China of a unique high-speed wind tunnel capable of testing model aircraft at speeds of up to Mach 9. Now China has reported the flight test of a hypersonic cruise vehicle. But China’s recent test shows that Beijing may deploy its ICBMs with hypersonic warheads in the foreseeable future. None of the existing missile defence systems can bring down a hypersonic glide vehicle, so once China starts deploying such warheads, it will boost the reliability of its nuclear forces and add to stability of its strategic nuclear forces in the face of existing missile defence system. It is safe to assume that the People’s Republic of China is following Russia’s and US and will not limit itself to the development of hypersonic technologies in the interests of its strategic nuclear triad.

On the other hand, once China gets its non-nuclear hypersonic weapons, it will be in a position to much more effectively counter any carrier strike forces. China is making progress in manufacturing very powerful high-speed missiles to kill enemy aircraft-carriers, one such missile being the DF-21D anti-ship missile, which China has already made. The moment China obtains a more manoeuvrable hypersonic cruise missile to attack carrier forces, the aircraft-carrier defence system is dead, and the concept of world fleet development should be revised.

In fact, hypersonic vehicles, which are also being designed by the US, India and Russia, are developed for precise targeting, rapid delivery of weapons, and are being tested to out manoeuvre hostile missiles and space defences. The US and Russia have their own conventional hypersonic weapon programmes. Washington is known to consider the use of its non-nuclear hypersonic weapons in the future “Prompt Global Strike” systems. Russia is also engaged in manufacturing non-nuclear hypersonic weapons. The US military in 2011 briefly tested a hypersonic vehicle at 20 times the speed of sound before it crashed into the ocean, though flight trials of other technologies at lesser hypersonic speeds have proceeded successfully.

Currently, US hypersonic research is being carried out by the Pentagon and Air Force through the Force Application and Launch from Continental United States, known as the FALCON programme. Several vehicles are being studied, including the Lockheed HTV-2 or Hypersonic Technology Vehicle, an unmanned, missile-launched manoeuvrable aircraft that glides to earth at speeds up to Mach 20, or 13,000 miles per hour. The US Air Force is also testing the X-37B Space Plane, which has been orbiting earth since December 2012. At the same time Boeing is working on the X-51 WaveRider, a jet-fuelled, air-breathing hypersonic rocket developed for the Air Force to be used for hypersonic attack and reconnaissance missions.

Russia too has confirmed the development of similar ultrasonic technology. Russia had successfully tested a hypersonic warhead in 2005. Moscow has said it expects to begin fielding hypersonic weapons that could travel at Mach 5 speeds or faster between 2018 and 2025. The Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center said in its annual report that Russia is building “a new class of hypersonic vehicle” that would “allow Russian strategic missiles to penetrate missile defence systems.” Likewise, Moscow is also developing the S-500 air and space defence system, with interceptors capable of shooting down hypersonic missiles. Moreover, India is also working on a hypersonic version of its Brahmos missile that could be capable of traveling between five and seven times the speed of sound.

In short, future weapons will include powered and unpowered hypersonic vehicles fired from the last stages of ICBMs and submarine missiles, and from the bomb-bays of strategic bombers. Hypersonic cruise missiles and surveillance drones are also expected in this regard. Military advantages of hypersonic craft include precise targeting, very rapid delivery of weapons, and greater survivability against missile and space defences. Therefore, in the 21st century, hypersonic weapons will prove to be an indispensable asset of a military superpower that China is turning into before every one’s eyes. Still, there is quite a way to go from the first tests to the actual deployment of new weapon systems.

(Writer is associated with Islamabad Policy Research Institute; he can be reached at nawazverdag915@hotmail.com)

The article Speed Is The New Stealth: The Role Of Hypersonic Systems – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review.

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