Pakistan Defence Forum

Pakistan Awards Contract to France�s GDF Suez to Supply LNG

ameer219 — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:21:50 GMT

Pakistan Awards Contract to France�s GDF Suez to Supply LNG

By Khaleeq Ahmed and Khalid Qayum

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan�s government awarded a contract to France�s GDF Suez SA to supply 3.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas a year to help meet the South Asian nation�s growing energy demand.

GDF Suez will start supplying the gas to Pakistan by Oct. 2011 according to the initial six-year contact, G.A Sabri, a spokesman for Pakistan�s petroleum ministry said by telephone from Islamabad today. The company may also supply 1.5 million tons of LNG annually for the following 14 years under the contract, he said.

____________________________________________

My opinion:

Is this to supply pakistan energy needs?If so,why don't we use our large reserves of natural gas we have?:pakistan::pakistan:

NO Basant says Punjab govt

shravan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:01:21 GMT

NO Basant says Punjab govt

Quote:

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Monday categorically stated that the province will not celebrate Basant or any other cultural activity which poses a potential threat to human life. Replying to a point of order during the Punjab Assembly (PA) session, Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Minister Kamran Michael informed the PA that the provincial government could not permit the festival of Basant to take place, as kite flying posed a serious threat to human life. Michael said that despite the ban on the use of �dangerous kite-strings�, the people of Punjab do not refrain from using banned varieties of kite-strings during the annual kite-flying event, which has resulted in the loss of several lives over the years. In light of the numerous reported deaths due to kite flying, the government would continue its ban on kite flying on Basant, he added. Terming the government ban on Basant the �right decision�, Michael said the government lifted the ban for just one night last year, which resulted in a number of deaths in several parts of the city.

Bold decision: Earlier, on a point of order, Pakistan People Party MPA Hassan Murtaza opposed the ban on Basant festivities, saying that the government should take a �bold� decision by lifting the ban in order to ensure that the centuries-old cultural activity remains a part of Punjab�s heritage. Unfortunately, Basant has always been looked down upon as a �Hindu festival�, the MPA said. MPA Sheikh Allauddin voiced support for the government ban, saying that Basant was a �Hindu festival�. According to an opinion poll conducted last year, about 75 percent of Lahoris favoured celebrating the kite flying festival to mark the arrival of spring.

India develops electronic intelligence tech for surveillance

Mr. X — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:51:11 GMT

India develops electronic intelligence tech for surveillance
Press Trust of India / Bangalore February 9, 2010, 15:05 IST

India has developed a new generation satellite-fitted electronic intelligence system for surveillance applications to keep an eye on hostile neighbours, key defence officials said today.

The system has been developed by Hyderabad-based Defence Electronics and Research Laboratory (DLRL) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation, sources told PTI.

A DRDO source termed a satellite fitted with this system as a "spy satellite". The electronic intelligence system on board a satellite takes images of "resources" of hostile countries as it passes over them from the space, they said.

According to sources, select countries such as the US, France and China are already using such type of system. India also has now designed, integrated and tested such a system.

DRDO is already in discussion with Bangalore-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation in this regard, and the payload to be flown in one of the low earth observation satellites is expected to be ready by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Director of Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) U K Revankar said the DRDO lab has developed new electronic warfare system for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and it would be tested shortly.

Defence scientists are also working on technologies to intercept and jam network of satellite phones. "That project is going on. Within a year, it will be ready," an official said.

India has also developed a "penetration aid" that allows its aircraft to penetrate into enemy territory "without being identified by any of the radars," sources said.

As part of counter-measures against hostile missiles, a consortium comprising of Bharat Electronics Limited, DLRL, DARE and Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) has been formed to develop systems to divert missiles from various platforms.

"There are a large number of helicopters which require radar warning receivers and also missile approach warning system for helicopters," a defence official said.
:yahoo::yahoo:

http://www.business-standard.com/ind...lance/85331/on

Madsen: Western complaints about Iran are hyping the situation

Fighter488 — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:39:50 GMT

Madsen: Western complaints about Iran are hyping the situation

Where the British met their match-Battle of Chillianwala

RobbieS — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:25:46 GMT

I recently came across some detailed information on the Battle of Chillianwala, 1849 and wanted to share the same with fellow PDF members interested in military history . Surprisingly this battle has been forgotten by most historians.

It was the first heavy engagement of the Anglo-Sikh war and the East India company was stopped right in their tracks. In fact analysts say that never before has a European army been better prepared to face the enemy but they still couldn't press for victory. While the fact remains that the battle was a stalemate and the British did decisively rout the Sikhs a month later, but at Chillianwala they met their match. The following are excerpts from a neutral source-

"The Battle of Chillianwala fought on 13 January 1849 is, however, one odd exception and stands out as a battle in which the British failed to defeat their opponents despite having the advantages of weight of numbers, ideal weather and terrain, superior logistics etc"

The Sikhs had little if any superiority to the British force of 13,000. The artillery was about equal, 60 guns to each side. British Army despite a high European troop component, sufficient artillery, and two heavy cavalry brigades to ensure that no one could surprise them, little campaign exhaustion having fought no major battle since assumption of hostilities, winter weather negating the possibility of heatstroke and cholera the worst killers of white soldiers in India, failed to defeat the Sikhs.

The final losses to Gough's army were 2,800 men killed, of whom nearly 1000 were Europeans and 89 were British and 43 native officers. HM 24th Foot suffered 590 casualties, over 50 percent. Sikh casualties were harder to estimate, but it is put at around 4,000. An obelisk erected at Chillianwalla by the British government preserves the names of those who fell in the battle.

Both armies held their positions for three days, at the end of which the British withdrew. Sher Singh later withdrew to the north. Both sides could claim a victory. However, the British repulse, together with the loss of several guns and the colours of the 24th and two other regiments, and the rout of the 14th Light Dragoons, dealt a severe blow to British morale and prestige.

StateMaster - Encyclopedia: Battle of Chillianwala

Agni III doesn't pose threat, we share friendly relations with India: China

Shambu — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:25:12 GMT

Agni III doesn't pose threat, we share friendly relations with India: China

BEIJING: Describing its ties with India as "friendly and cooperative," China today said both countries did not pose mutual threat.

Dismissing reports that India's nuclear-capable Agni-III missile, which has a range of 3,500 km posed a threat to China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said China and India shared friendly and cooperative relations.

"I don't want to interpret or comment on the reports," Ma said when asked to comment on the February seven launch of Agni-III which put China's major cities within its strike range.

"The China-India relation is friendly and cooperative. China will not be a threat to India, and nor will India pose a threat to China," Ma was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu refused to comment on the reports at a regular news briefing, only saying that China-India relations maintain their good momentum.

"Bilateral ties will move forward with the joint effort of both countries," he said.

Agni III doesn't pose threat, we share friendly relations with India: China - India - The Times of India

Why was the Pakistani Hindus on PDF thread deleted?

RobbieS — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:10:42 GMT

Hi, I was just curious as to why the thread was deleted?

Was it threatening to someone or violated PDF rules in any way? From the discussion that we were having none of the religions were being insulted or heckled. Can Mods please elaborate?

Thanks.

China�s Secret Fleet of Stealth Fighters

Sri Lankan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:54:55 GMT

China�s Secret Fleet of Stealth Fighters

The signs have been there for some time. In 1997, the US Office of Naval Intelligence stated their conviction that a 4th generation stealth fighter was under development in China. Then in December, 2008, the highly respected �Jane�s All the World�s Aircraft� went on record saying that China has been developing a �heavyweight� stealth fighter for many years.

In 2005, a former Northrup B2 design engineer was arrested for selling highly classified data about the B-2 and its stealth design to China. Noshir Gowadia has admitted to the charges and so there is no question that the propulsion system and stealth design features of the B-2 have been studied intensively by those designing fighters and bombers for China�s People�s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

In April 2009, China cyberwar experts attacked the US Department of Defense computers that hold classified data about the F-35 program. Apparently a great deal of data was downloaded, although theft of information in the highest security classification was not acknowledged.

At least two Chinese stealth fighters are farther along in development than anyone would have imagined six months ago. The most recent of these stealth fighter photographs was published on November 25, 2009 on a website that has high level expertise in all matters relating to Chinese military aviation.

Unveiled in 2002, the Shenyang J-11B is a very advanced, multi-role attack fighter with Chinese-made avionics and some degree of reduced radar cross section (stealth) � ideal for trying out new ideas about increased stealth. Since 2006, it has been a testbed for the Chinese FWS-10A �TaiHang� turbofan engine. The FWS-10A is similar to the Russian AL-31F, and is a candidate for next generation stealth aircraft propulsion.

The J-15 is expected to be stationed on the Varyag aircraft carrier, now in the last stages of fitting out in Dalian. The Russian AL-31F, an advanced and proven turbofan engine, is the first choice for a power plant. The American fighter that most closely resembles what little we know about the J-15 is the F/A-18C �Super Hornet�. Latest news from China states that the J-15 made its maiden flight on August 31, 2009.

A second �new� stealth fighter � the J-20 � seems to be in development and we know even less about it than the J-15. Russia remains essential for important features: reduction of radar cross section and the best of the advanced turbofan engines. The J-10B fighter is used as a testbed for many J-20 systems. A full scale model of the J-20 may have been completed in 2009. The maiden flight for the J-20 is scheduled for sometime in 2012 with production and combat readiness set for 2015.

The Chinese scrutinize many foreign aircraft for best design features beyond those in the USA and Russia.

A prototype of the advanced Su-33 was acquired by China from the Ukraine in 2001. It likely contributed many design features to current Chinese stealth fighter designs.

This concept is often described as an Xian-H6i which is an odd identification. All versions of the Xian H6 bomber series are designed with an earlier generation, �classic� long narrow fuselage that has no flying wing characteristics.

China�s Quest for Superpower Status

Think about it! There is No Reason why the Chinese should not be aggressively developing stealth military aircraft. Flush with 2 trillion+ USD as they ride out the global recession in much better shape than the United States, research and development can easily be financed. If China can approach parity with the USA in numbers and quality of stealth aircraft, nuclear carrier battle groups and nuclear attack submarines, they have become a �superpower� via projection of their foreign policy and military strength.

A trillion dollars + will be spent on the F-35 program before it concludes many years hence. Monies spent on stealth aircraft in the United States further weaken the overall economy of the crumbling super power. In that alone, China�s �stealth aircraft program� will have accomplished a great deal.

This planet does not want to see a continuation of America as the world�s sole superpower, nor would it be a �good thing� for China to assume first position by itself. When neither country can achieve dominance, there is a bipolar world in which cooperation, rather than confrontation, should be the foreign policy of choice. Ideally, trillion dollar weapons system programs should not be the route to peace, but history often takes a less than direct path to conflict resolution and friendly competition.

China’s Secret Fleet of Stealth Fighters|Environmental Graffiti

Song about US war in iraq(lies)

pakomar — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:30:44 GMT

YouTube - I'm So Military Song

Russia to Start Oil & Gas Exploration in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:27:42 GMT

Russia to Start Oil & Gas Exploration in Sri Lanka

Russia has agreed to start oil and gas exploration in the seas off Mannar after President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited the Russian Gas and Oil company Gazprom, Moscow yesterday. The President held talks with the Chief Executive of the company Alexei B. Miller at their head office in Moscow. The Russian company also agreed to give Sri Lanka concessions in the purchase of refined and crude oil.

President Rajapaksa invited Gazprom to explore oil and gas in the other blocks at his talks with Miller, a press release of the President�s Media Division said.

Gazprom is the largest gas company in the world and supplies gas to a number of countries including 30 European nations with an annual supply of 500 million cubic metres.

At present Russian refined oil is supplied to Sri Lanka through Singapore and after President Rajapaksa�s talks with the Russian authorities it has been decided to supply refined oil direct from Russian without an intermediary party.

Gazprom will also be supplying oil through pipelines to India and China and Chairman Alexei Miller informed the President that Sri Lanka will also be benefited by this new project of the company.

There was a positive response to President Mahinda Rajapaksa�s request for assistance to develop power needed for rapid expansion of the national economy, the release said.

�It is a good omen for the future of our country. This visit will further strengthen the friendship between our two countries that is more than a century old. We are also achieving rapid economic development after peace was achieved.

Sri Lanka News | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers

China poised to fly AC313 helicopter

Sri Lankan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:10:40 GMT

China poised to fly AC313 helicopter

China is preparing to fly its AC313 medium-lift helicopter for the first time in March, leading to certification in 2011, says an official at the manufacturer Avicopter, a division of China's state-owned aerospace conglomerate AVIC.

The AC313 is a 13t helicopter that "can be extended to 15t" and the external load capacity "can be 5t", says the official. China developed the AC313 on its own rather than collaborating with foreign partners.

"The avionics system [for example] was independently developed by China," says the official, who says the helicopter is designed for "passenger and cargo transport, firefighting, search and rescue, emergency medical services, oil offshore services and VIP flights". Potential customers include government, police and general aviation firms, the official adds, who says the AC313 can carry 27 passengers or 4t of cargo.

Avicopter also manufactures the H425, a 4.25t helicopter that made its first flight in December 2004. This smaller helicopter is pitched at the same type of customers as the AC313. China is putting more emphasis on helicopter development following the May 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Avicopter is also carrying out a feasibility study with Russian Helicopters, the consortium that includes Mil, to develop a 20t-plus heavylift helicopter.

China Defense Blog: China poised to fly AC313 helicopter

Our secret war: What the government did not want you to know

Fundamentalist — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:02:17 GMT

Our secret war: What the government
did not want you to know

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16 February 2003

PM Helen Clark insisted New Zealand's role in the war in Afghanistan would stay secret. Now, for the first time, the story can be told. Nicky Hager investigates.

The war in Afghanistan was fought by intelligence analysts sitting at computers and special force commandos roving in mountains and lowlands. New Zealanders played important roles in both parts.

New Zealand military intelligence officers worked in the very heart of the American operational command, at the US military coalition headquarters at Bagram air base, 65km north of Kabul. They were involved in tracking enemy forces and identifying combat targets.

The Americans thought highly of their efforts. New Zealand's second highest defence intelligence officer, lieutenant colonel Mike Hickman, was nominated for the US bronze star medal for "meritorious achievement in connection with combat operations".

New Zealand's roles - revealed for the first time - show Wellington still enjoys very close intelligence links with Washington, despite the Anzus rift. Only the closest friends of the US are invited to intelligence headquarters during a shooting war.

The work of the New Zealand intelligence officers - code-named Operation Kiwi Cracker - was part of a wider military strategy. The war consisted of high-tech intelligence operations identifying targets - buildings, roads, bridges, people - and then jets being sent screaming across the skies from distant aircraft carriers and bases to destroy them with precision-guided missiles.

The main job of the special forces, including our Special Air Service (SAS), was to help direct this bombing, usually from a safe position well away from the targets.

During Operation Anaconda in eastern Afghanistan in March 2002, SAS soldiers directed air attacks by "illuminating" targets with pulsing infrared marker beams - invisible to the naked eye, but clear to the incoming aircrafts' sensors.

The objective of Anaconda was basically extermination rather than taking prisoners. Other special forces, including the Australian SAS, were deployed to cut off escape routes from the area.

Bombing began on March 2. In the next few days "wave after wave of B-52s and other aircraft unleashed bombs" in order, as a foreign report in one newspaper euphemistically described it, to "soften enemy positions in the snow-capped peaks".

At the start of the attack there were an estimated 1000 Afghan fighters. By March 13, the number still "active" had been "revised downward" to 100. US special forces and their local allies then combed the area attacking groups that had survived the bombing in positions such as rock overhangs. Intense bombing isn't about trying to take prisoners.

According to a US military report, one such group was found surrounded by five large bomb craters. It had "survived until overrun by US infantry". This is the new face of war in the 21st century, where one superpower has overwhelming military might.

Media management of New Zealand's part in Anaconda and the rest of the war was simple and effective. From the beginning, Prime Minister Helen Clark declared that everything about New Zealand's role was secret. All details of the military activities would be, and have remained, a debate-free zone.

While John Howard ostentatiously farewelled Australian troops and boasted about specific attacks they conducted, our prime minister insisted that the deployment - our military's most serious involvement in a war since Vietnam - was basically none of the public's business.

Thanks to military officers who did not agree with the secrecy, some leaked internal papers and the efforts of the ombudsman's office, the story can now be told.

The Afghanistan war wasn't really "war" as we commonly conceive it. War suggests two vaguely equal sides fighting. But very little of what happened in Afghanistan fits that picture. Instead of armies or tanks, it was a war conducted mostly by special forces operatives and intelligence staff - backed up by the overwhelming weaponry of the US air force and navy. New Zealand contributed an SAS squadron - our army's commando-style soldiers - with the code-name Operation Concord. They joined Operation Kiwi Cracker intelligence staff.

Before describing them in detail, it helps to understand better the kind of war of which they were part.

A US military study analysing the Afghanistan war in late 2002 summed up the style of fighting. It noted, in US military speak, that "precision-guided missile lethality can kill any targets found". So the central war-fighting concept was "precision-guided missiles as driver, other elements as support".

The study described how US commanders in Afghanistan combined special operations forces - used as "target acquirers for precision-guided missiles" - and an "indigenous ally" (the Northern Alliance) that "screens the US special operations forces from hostile patrols", "occupies abandoned ground" and "mops up surviving remnants".

Remember news stories about Northern Alliance forces pushing rapidly across the country? That was the "occupying abandoned ground" phase. If any "surviving remnants" fired a shot at the advancing forces, the US special forces or CIA operatives accompanying the advance simply called in the bombers again to "mop up".

It was easy for the public to have little sympathy for the people dying in Afghanistan as they were presented as being colleagues of the September 11 terrorists or at least budding terrorists training in Osama bin Laden's camps.

But according to news reports in The Washington Post and New York Times in late 2001, about 75% of the estimated 2000-3000 al Qaeda soldiers in Afghanistan were not pledged members. Instead, they were volunteers who had come to Afghanistan to help fight the civil war between the Taliban and Northern Alliance warlords. These people had no connection to the mostly Saudi-born, Germany-trained cells involved in September 11. Some were using the civil war as training to return to fight wars of liberation in their own countries, like those fighting the Russian troops violently occupying Chechnya.

Many thousands of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters (precise figures have not been disclosed) were killed. More died in prison. Thousands of civilians died as well. The US and its allies had hardly one casualty.

On one side was the most technologically advanced military on Earth, dropping bombs with impunity and on the other were mostly poor, low-tech soldiers who died, surrendered or fled.

New Zealand's role in such a bloody operation may help explain why Clark preferred the public simply not to know.

By early March 2002, a large group of surviving Muslim fighters had retreated to an area of caves and mountains called Shah-I-Kot in eastern Afghanistan. Many hundreds of the escaped fighters and their families gathered there, joined by Pakistani sympathisers.

US intelligence, including intercepted radio communications, had revealed their location and a massive military attack was arranged.

Our SAS soldiers and other special forces were flown into the region on large US Chinook helicopters a few days before the offensive. Travelling by foot at night, they set up observation positions in the mountains, using the climbing and survival skills they practice regularly with British SAS troops around Mt Cook.

Their key role was "special reconnaissance", defined as "the collection and reporting of critical information about the movement of enemy forces" and "target acquisition".

They used sophisticated night-sight equipment and other optical sensors, and transmitted pictures and information over special links to the US commanders.

The SAS specifically practises for these targeting operations, training and exercising in what is called "close air support" and studying for the Nato-accredited qualification of "forward air controller".

This person's job is to control the incoming strike aircraft, instructing it how to avoid friendly forces and identify the target. When the aircraft is in position, the controller says the words "cleared hot" over the radio to the pilot, who then releases the missiles and bombs.

SAS major John McNutt, killed by a stray bomb during a night exercise in northern Kuwait on March 12, 2001, was serving as training officer for US and Kuwaiti forces and practising precisely these techniques when the accident happened.

The Pentagon reported after Operation Anaconda that "despite few enemy bodies being recovered", it believed very few "fugitives" had escaped. US army generals privately praised the SAS troops for their part in the operation.

The structures of the New Zealand SAS are kept secret. The SAS is made up of two identical "sabre" fighting squadrons, A and B, the SAS combat school, a support squadron and the headquarters staff.

The A and B squadrons have alternating functions each year. One will be assigned to overseas "special operations", divided into specialists in parachuting, mountain climbing and amphibious skills. The other team will be training and available for counter-terrorist activities in New Zealand (divided into four-person assault and sniper teams). The first contingent of SAS troops flew from New Zealand early on Wednesday, December 12, 2001. They had been waiting on standby for the US military to establish a secure base inside Afghanistan, which was achieved after US marines occupied Kandahar airport on November 26.

They flew first to the British-US military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. They flew into Afghanistan on December 17, immediately transferring under the control of the US commanders who were running the war.

Kandahar airport lies outside the city of Kandahar on the main road to the nearby Pakistan border, on a desert-like plain surrounded by stark mountains.

The airport was base for the SAS troops for the next 12 months. They arrived into a quickly growing "city" of tents, air-lifted barracks and offices, military vehicles and aircraft.

The Australian SAS arrived at the same time, becoming their neighbours, amid a sea of US Navy SEAL special force troops. The entire New Zealand SAS mission to Afghanistan was called Operation Concord. The first contingent of SAS troops was from A squadron. In early May 2002, B squadron replaced it and it was in turn replaced by a third group that arrived in September 2002.

Operation Concord ended two months ago, in December, when that third group returned to New Zealand. The Australian SAS and many other special force troops left Afghanistan at the same time.

Each Operation Concord "squadron" consisted of about 40 SAS soldiers - mostly Maori - plus support staff such as communications, stores and cooks.

Nearly all SAS members were given turns in the war, including SAS commanding officer Jon Knight who posted himself to Afghanistan.

The overall head of Operation Concord was SAS major Jim Blackwell, later major Peter Kelly. Unlike the rest of the SAS, they were based at the US military headquarters at Bagram with a second officer, called the New Zealand special forces liaison officer.

A foreign aid worker says he was soon aware of the SAS presence around Kandahar city. "It was evident that they were the New Zealanders," he says.

"I could tell because they were the guys who looked human - as opposed to US zombie-types - and often Polynesian. They looked like they were having a good time ... only ever in quasi military gear. A bunch of genuine good-time Rambos from what I could see."

The SAS soldiers soon learned the war was very much a US show. All orders came from US commanders and throughout Afghanistan (except in Kabul) the US special forces personnel regarded themselves as top dogs.

One day an SAS cook, out collecting supplies at the Kandahar base, did not show suitable deference to a US officer who stopped him. When the officer found he didn't have the correct papers on him - they were sitting on a table in the base area - he had the cook put in jail for 24 hours.

Besides Anaconda, the SAS troops took part in dozens of smaller operations, usually observing and/or raiding suspected al Qaeda and Taliban sites.

They travelled in Chinook helicopters or 10 "desert mobility vehicles" (DMVs) on loan from the US forces. These vehicles are similar to four-wheel-drives but are designed to carry four special forces soldiers.

The DMV convoys were like a war-on-wheels: in addition to the troops' personal weapons, they had a machine gun on the bonnet and a turret with a 40mm automatic grenade launcher on the roof, plus man-portable missiles. Insiders report that the SAS troops used large quantities of ammunition for these weapons during operations. In one publicised case, in October 2002, an SAS vehicle hit a landmine. On another occasion - not reported before - one rolled down a steep bank into a river, seriously injuring New Zealanders.

Prior to the government approving Operation Concord, defence chiefs had estimated the likelihood of SAS casualties as "medium to high". Fortunately, no SAS soldiers died during the 12-month deployment.

However, there is no doubt that many people were killed through the actions of the SAS soldiers and intelligence officers, blown apart and injured by the bombs and missiles they targeted. The Australian SAS commander, brigadier Duncan Lewis, openly boasted after Anaconda that his troops had been "responsible for a large number of deaths by calling in US air strikes".

Following media speculation about whether New Zealand was involved in Anaconda, Helen Clark was asked on March 11, 2002, whether the SAS had killed anyone in Afghanistan. She said she would "not get into a hypothetical debate" and that such facts would not normally come to her attention.

Presumably her government had been persuaded it was genuinely helping fight terrorism, but other political benefits of sending New Zealand's SAS to Afghanistan became clear soon after.

On March 26, 2002, two weeks after Anaconda, Helen Clark arrived in the US for her historic visit to meet President George W Bush. On the day of her arrival, Radio New Zealand reported her government had approved deliberate leaking in Washington of information about the SAS in Afghanistan just before the visit to help ensure she got a warm reception.

If this is correct, it worked. This was the visit where Colin Powell declared the US and New Zealand were "very, very, very good friends". A senior Labour MP confided that the SAS deployment was simply sensible politics, being the price of trade access to the US. When asked if he meant "bombs for butter", he said "No, it's bombs for meat".

The military also had its own agenda in going to Afghanistan. Although it is 18 years since the official end of the Anzus alliance, most intelligence and military activities have remained closely integrated with the US. Yet many senior officers regularly push for even closer ties. Inside sources say that defence officials have privately used their activities in Afghanistan to lobby our government and US military authorities for new training opportunities in the US, joint US-NZ exercises and new US military equipment.

The argument is that these will make them more capable of integrating into a US military coalition next time. The SAS has also sought to leverage greater US links from helping in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, a secret special operations capability review was submitted to the government late last year by defence officials that recommends expanding the SAS, enhancing its equipment and reorienting other parts of the military to support special missions.

The goal: that New Zealand has greater special forces capabilities for overseas deployments and that the SAS is trained and equipped to fight within the forces of the country they assume would be leading those operations, the US.

This planning, like the war, is supposed to be secret. It deserves serious public debate. Planning to join George W Bush in more Afghanistan-type wars, the so-called "war on terror", is likely to be a strategy for more instability and terrorism.

US special forces soldiers returning home from Afghanistan had their photos and stories in newspapers. Australian SAS also returned home in a blaze of publicity, two appearing on front pages wearing medals awarded for bravery.

But when our boys came home in December, Clark and her government stuck to its policy of absolute secrecy - purely for the sake of the troops and their families, of course.

Since every detail of the Afghan-istan deployment could have been explained without identifying individual soldiers and their families, this excuse is pretty thin. New Zealanders pay for those soldiers.

Everything they do and everyone they kill is done in New Zealand's name. The public clearly has a right to be part of those decisions.

A more convincing explanation for the secrecy is politics. If it had been as well publicised as, for instance, the Vietnam War, many New Zealanders, including lots of Labour voters, might have been repelled by the carnage and doubted the wisdom of taking part. They might not agree with moving into even closer military alliance with Bush. They might not expect these things from a Labour government. How much simpler if they just don't know.

Mike White assisted with research inside Afghanistan.

Published in the Sunday Star Times � Independent Newspapers Limited 2003.

Is this war ethics of US and New Zealanders?

Indian Intervention in Balochistan Proved

MarkTheTruth — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:39:12 GMT

Although Pakistan�s civil and military leadership has repeatedly stated that Indian secret agency, RAW supports separatism in the province of Balochistan, and its evidence will be shown to the western countries at the right occasion, yet Indian intervention in Balochistan is not confined to verbal statements, it has in fact proved in light of the following developments.

In the recent past, the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), New Delhi organised a seminar titled: South Asia 2020 in connection with Balochistan. In their speeches, various scholars and thinktanks maligned Pakistan in one or the other way.

Besides the seminar, on November 5, 2009 a secret conference titled: �Pakistan is Problem in Balochistan� was organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi. It was headed by the former secretary of RAW and Indian former chief of army staff. In that conference, high ranking selective officials, journalists and three Baloch leaders, namely, Dr Wahid Baloch, Khan of Kalat and Munir Mengal participated.

The speech of Dr. Wahid Baloch, General Secretary of the American Friends Balohistan (AFOB) is of special attention. He distorted the history by pointing out that in 1948, Balochistan was forcibly occupied by Pakistani armed forces because Nawab of Kalat had refused to abide by the demands of Muhammad Ali Jinah.

It is well-known fact that the partition of India was made on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of Pakistan. The people of Balochistan, overwhelmingly voted to join Pakistan in a referendum that was held on June 30, 1947. The Indian Independence Act, 1947 allowed the independent states to join either India or Pakistan. The Khan of Kalat acceded to Pakistan on March 27, 1948 as a result of the free will of the Muslims of the province.

While vocally raising false allegations in line of the Indian conspiracy against the federation Pakistan, Dr. Wahid Baloch explained, �Balochistan still remains under the occupation of Pakistan and the international community should interfere in preventing atrocities on the Baloch people, being committed by Pak Army and ISI. Dr. Wahid also indicated his misperceptions that several Baloch leaders, engineers and doctors were kidnapped, torture and killed ruthlessly through Pakistan�s state terrorism.�

In fact, the secret conference organised by the Indian officials itself and participation of the Baloch leaders including anti-Pakistan elements proves that Indian RAW is behind all the events like hostage-takings, sectarian violence, targeted killings of the high profile leaders and other subversive acts being committed in Balochistan. Besides, people of Balochistan enjoy equal rights and opportunities like the people of other provinces of Pakistan. Meanwhile, on Dec 12, 2009, the signing ceremony of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award was held in the port city of Gawadar. In this regard, Punjab province has shown much flexibility as a good gesture of sacrifice especially for Balochistan. So it is wrong to say that Balochistan is under occupation.

While favouring the Sardari system (Fedual lords), Dr. Wahid maintained that Balochistan is a tribal society which follows the directions of their tribal chiefs. In this way, he not only justified support for the Baloch Sardars but also for Khan of Kalat as they have been leading separatism in the province. As a matter of fact, the unrest actually started in Balochistan when various projects were undertaken by the previous government to develop the backward regions of the province. The sole aim was to eliminate frustration among the people by providing infrastructure and employment opportunities. The Baloch Sardars who had been backed by India and other external powers started opposing all the developmental projects. These Sardars who were running their own private jails and �farrari camps� resisted the government plans as they did not want to give up the old system of feudal lords. It was Pak Army which occupied private jails and farrari camps and thus set free several innocent people.

Dr. Wahid accused in the sense of foreign propaganda campaign against Islamabad that Quetta Shura and Taliban leaders have taken shelter in the capital of Balochistan with the help of Pakistan.

In reality, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) which has been fighting for secession of the province get logistic support from India, while another CIA and Indian-supported separatist group, Jundollah (God�s soldiers) is also working against the cordial relationship of Pakistan with China and Iran. In the past few years, their militants with the cooperation of foreign agents kidnapped and killed many Chinese and Iranian nationals in Pakistan, while committing other subversive acts in the province.

While impressing New Delhi, Wahid Baloch said, �We are a secular nation and not Islamist or extremist�our secular culture is under attack by Pakistan and Iran for which we needs your help. He requested, �We also need your help for newly established council of Balochistan so that we can established its offices all over the world.�

Dr. Wahid read out a message of Balochs to the audience, appealing the Indian government �to take a bold step in order to stand up against the tyranny and state terrorism of Pakistan inside Balochistan.� He also appealed to the Indian high officials to raise the question of Balochistan on all international forums and the UN bodies. Concluding his anti-Pakistan speech, Wahid Baloch pointed out that the ultimate goal of Baloch struggle was to seek a greater Balochistan comprising territory on either side of the Goldsmith line in Pakistan as well as Iran.

Indian officials and RAW ex-officers in connivance with the participating Baloch leaders and friends also decided to continue the process and to establish some new organization which they decided before conducting the next meeting. Besides, Khan of Kalat expressed similar thoughts like Dr Wahid, indicating that the meeting has been a source of good interaction with the Indians, and they will use every source so as to get support for their struggle of independence.

Indian involvement in Balochistan plot could also be judged from the fact the Munir Mengal who repeated the thoughts of Dr. Wahid in the meeting held with the faculty of IDSA which assured him that India fully backs Baloch struggle and will definitely undertake necessary steps for making the same a success. It also pledged that all future activities of Baloch movement like guidance and help will be coordinated by a US team under the sponsorship of IDSA. Besides Munir Mengal also gave a presentation at ORF in which he also misinterpreted the economic aspects of Gawader Port as a threat to international community, opposing proposed China�s naval base at Gawader.

America which signed a nuclear deal with India in 2008, intends to make India a mini-super power of Asia by containing China and destablising Pakistan as well as Iran. Balochistan where China has invested billion of dollars to develop Gawadar seaport irritates both Washington and New Delhi.

Nevertheless, finally, Dr Wahid, Munir Mengal and Khalat remarked that their visit was very successful. They also met Indian deputy minister and other officials who told them that this is ever first meeting of its kind and things will further improve by the next such meeting. They also assured to the Baloch leaders that Baloch movement has not gain the momentum so far as expected, therefore, they could not support them openly�however, covert support will continue. While encouraging Baloch ledears to continue their struggle with full zeal and enthusiasm, the Indian officials paid 25000 dollars to each Baloch leader, assuring them more positive response by the next secret meeting to be held in February 2010.

Meanwhile on November 21, 2009, with the consent of the Baloch national leader Mir Hyrbyair Marri, Laurie Deamer who is active member of the Independence American Friends of Balochistan read out the resolution in the first international conference at the Nation Press Club in Washington DC. The resolution also raised same allegations in connection with Pak Army and state terrorism by implicating Islamabad and Tehran, emphasizing the necessity of an independent Balochistan.

Nonetheless, while taking the breaking of Pakistan as inevitable and in the interests of the international community, especially the Baloch people and the United States, the conference called upon the US government and its affiliated departments to talk directly with Baloch independence, sending American leaders in Balochistan and abroad.

No doubt that after these conferences and secret meetings among the Indian officials, foreign agents and Baloch leaders, particularly Indian intervention in Balochistan has been proved.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations.

Indian Intervention in Balochistan Proved

Boeing�s - Beyond the jetliners

sudhir007 — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:45:21 GMT

http://www.business-standard.com/ind...liners/384999/

Boeing’s first Indian ad campaign stresses that the company is doing a lot more in India than just selling airplanes.

Think Boeing, and the humongous jetliners the world flies in come to mind, the 737, 747 and 777 being the most familiar. But Boeing’s not just about commercial jetliners. It is also one of the largest makers of military aircraft and a leader in the aerospace business. Not everyone knows it has capabilities in defence systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles, communication systems and so on.

In the past few years, the Chicago-based company has been more active in India than ever. The skies have opened and business is on the rise. Boeing is no longer just selling airplanes to various airlines, but also buying products and services from Indian companies, doing research and development work, partnering with universities and institutes, and investing in education. As Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar puts it: “The company in India is now a microcosm of what it is in the US. Everything Boeing is doing there is being replicated here and that is the big message that most people don’t know.”

So Boeing has rolled out its first ever India-centred advertisement campaign — a series of five print ads, with a common tagline “One Partnership, Endless Possibilities” — to convey the message. “Our idea for this campaign is to let people in India and the key stakeholders know that Boeing is more than just a company that sells airplanes. In recent times, we have been involved in five distinct areas in India. Each of the five ads conveys our involvement and partnership in these areas,” says Keskar.

Flying high

To start with, the first ad in the series, created by DraftFCB Ulka Advertising, focuses on the commercial aviation business. The creative shows children playing at the India Gate lawns in Delhi with a 787 civil jetliner flying above in the blue sky. “It’s a joyous imagery and Delhi’s been used as the backdrop as it’s both a tourist and commercial centre,” explains a Boeing official.

Boeing’s partnership with airlines in India runs deep, says Keskar. The company has been selling commercial planes here for over 60 years. The big breakthrough was when JRD Tata bought the first 707 for Air-India in the 1950s, followed by the order of the Boeing Jumbo in 1971. Since then, Air-India has continued to enlarge its fleet with the 747, 777 and 737. The entry of private airlines in 1991 opened the market with Boeing selling planes to key players like Jet Airways and SpiceJet. In the last five years, Boeing has done about $25 billion of business in India in the commercial airplane arena. “The first ad is clearly about our commitment to airlines in this space,” says Keskar.

The second ad shows children playing cricket in a border area, somewhere in Jammu & Kashmir, with a Boeing Chinook helicopter guarding the territory. Boeing says the ad conveys that while your children are playing, its planes are there to protect them, highlighting partnerships in the defence arena. With the improvement in Indo-US relationship, Boeing has had a door opened in the defence business. Last year, the largest Indo-US defence order went to Boeing with the sale of eight P-81 maritime reconnaissance strike airplane worth about $2.1 billion. And last month, the Indian government sent a request to the US government to buy ten C-17 large cargo military transport airplanes. Boeing is also in competition for fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force where its F-18 multi-role combat aircraft contests with five others, including Lockheed Martin’s F-16. Boeing has also submitted bids for its Apache attack helicopters and Chinook transport helicopters. “We think Boeing has products which can potentially be worth about $31 billion for India in the next 10 years,” says Keskar, adding, “Not many people know that we sell some of the finest military aircraft here in India. The ad brings forth our defence capabilities and talks about a trusted partnership in this sector.”

Synergy effect

The partnership in the next ad is about suppliers. During the Kerala boat races, the team that has the best chance of winning is one which rows in unison. It shows the synergy effect, says Keskar, that is, if Boeing works with its suppliers, it will reach levels it has not seen before. Boeing’s suppliers in India, says Keskar, are marquee companies like state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electricals on the defence side. The company is also working with Tata Consultancy Services and other Tata companies, besides HCL, Infosys and Wipro.

Keskar admits one of the key reasons for Boeing getting a lot of work done in India is because the Indian government is buying products from it — both on the civil and defence sides. The government requires that any contract awarded to a foreign defence company have a 30 per cent offset clause. “Our current obligation is to buy goods and services from India worth $2.3 billion. That’s a lot of money which can help build the aerospace industry in the country,” says he. “Of course, India has the aspiration to build its own 50-seater, and someday 100-seater, airplanes. Boeing is helping it achieve that.”

The fourth ad is about research and technology, particularly goals that are not easy to attain. This is a Mumbai theme, says Keskar. During Gokul Ashtami, young men stand on top of each other to reach the dahi handi. The point the company is emphasising is the effort that goes into it, but once you get there, you get a big reward. Similarly, reveals Keskar, Boeing is taking hard steps in research whose reward, once it materialises, will be worth it. Boeing has a research and technology centre in Bangalore where it collaborates with the Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in areas like Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and materials technology. The 787 which will come out next year will have all composite material, discloses Keskar. According to him, the biggest challenge in aviation is to find a material that is strong yet light. NAL and others work with the company to turn out alloys such as composite material that are stronger and lighter. The research centre in Bangalore is only the third outside the US after Australia and Madrid.

The final ad is an educational ad. Again it is about teamwork, helping someone fly a kite. Broadly, the full concept is of helping one another, growing together, having fun. Boeing works with all the Indian Institutes of Technology and has a strategic partnership with Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The company provides scholarships and conducts design competitions. The aim, says Keskar, is to get students interested in aerospace at an early stage when they are in college. For instance, students from IIT Kanpur demonstrated a robot that can be sent to an earthquake-ravaged site that humans cannot access. The robot, equipped with a camera and a GSM card, can take pictures through a remote control.

The brief to the creative agency was to ensure that there is a clear Indian flavour and relevance to the ads. “There was not much divergence. We had pretty much defined the box on what we wanted. It was not like a typical shoe ad where the agency came up with 20 different ideas and we picked one,” signs off Keskar.

The ads will run in most mainstream English dailies and news magazines as well as financial dailies for the next few months.

Through Helmand desert with the Dragoons

Fundamentalist — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:01:18 GMT

Through Helmand desert with the Dragoons

By Tom Coghlan
Published: 12:01AM BST 16 Apr 2007

The Light Dragoons in Helmand Province, Afghanistan
Tom Coghlan, our reporter in Afghanistan, spent two weeks with the Light Dragoons in Helmand province, in the volatile south of the country. Here he gives an account of their experiences, their fears, the multitude of enemies they face and the conditions they must master to tackle the resurgent Taliban.

In six months in Afghanistan the Light Dragoons have learned not to underestimate the Taliban.

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Three British soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan"They draw us in brilliantly, 'til they are at their strongest and we are at our weakest," said Major Ben Warrack, 35. "They are fully ballsy. They don't mind taking on tanks when they have a good position."

The Daily Telegraph spent two weeks in the Afghan desert embedded with C Squadron of the Light Dragoons, a reconnaissance unit equipped with Spartan and Scimitar armoured vehicles, watching them fight not just the Taliban, but also the boredom, the elements and the ambiguities of the war in southern Afghanistan.

The shock of combat is often followed by days of tedium on long desert patrols; something the soldiers counter with fitness competitions and a flourishing poker school run by the unit poker shark, Corporal Rix.

The last enemy is the environment, a desert that can be freezing cold and swept with rain and sleet in the winter months but which rises to 50 degree heat and towering dust storms during the summer.

In combat in the heat of the summer the cramped inside of a Scimitar, designed in the 1950s, becomes a furnace. In Afghanistan the antiquated chassis carries two tons more armour and equipment than it was designed for. But with powerful 30mm cannons and night vision equipment, and their fast speed, they serve their purpose.

"We own the desert," said Major Warrack, a veteran of Iraq and three tours of the Balkans. "But the Taliban own the green areas."

A strip of heavily irrigated farmland runs the length of Helmand along the banks of the Helmand River. The Taliban use it to run supplies, communications and fighters north from their bases beyond the Pakistan border.

While the Dragoons can appear without warning in the desert, the green areas negate many of their advantages. The vegetation provides cover for the Taliban while narrow tracks and concentrations of walled houses slow the Scimitars and funnel them into potential ambush sites.

On numerous occasions they have had to fight their way clear of such ambushes. Their first taste of combat in Afghanistan came last November when eight Scimitars were surrounded for two hours at close range by around 50 Taliban fighters armed with heavy machineguns and rocket propelled grenades.

"My engine was on fire, the fan belt had gone," said Lieutenant James Townsend-Rose, 25, who had to force a passage across a river to escape.

"There were a lot of high fives when we got clear."

The hardest day of their tour came on the 5th December when the Dragoons took part in one of five separate full-scale attacks so far mounted against Taliban bases south of the town of Garmser. Despite the operations, the insurgents have clung to well dug in systems of trenches and deep tunnels which have proved impervious even to airstrikes by American B1 heavy bombers.

The Dragoons had to fight their way into the town to aid a dozen Royal Marines fighting around 200 Taliban fighters. That day a Royal Marine was killed and another injured when an American close support aircraft accidentally hit Nato forces on a strafing run.

"It makes you angry, but these things happen. They have happened in every war there has ever been. You just have to accept it," said Sergeant Lee Simpson, a Royal Engineer attached to the Dragoons who was with the unit that was cut off.

The British troops blasted through compound walls using explosive charges while under Taliban fire. Sergeant Simpson used 40 charges and was twice concussed by the blast from his own explosives. Another Dragoon, Sergeant Mick Wilkinson, was trapped outside his vehicle by heavy fire and reduced to shooting back at the Taliban fighters around him with his pistol.

A Scimitar that reached the trapped Marines reversed back again a mile and a half firing back at the Taliban with the Marines running alongside.

"When we got back there was huge adrenaline," said Captain Will Jelf, 28, the Dragoon squadron second in command. "We were exhausted. Some people were physically sick."

Several of the younger men in the unit have suffered the after-effects of such extreme situations.

"You can't measure courage until you are facing danger," said Warrant Officer 2nd Class Dale McKenzie, the Squadron sergeant major. "Some of the younger men have struggled. But there is no shame in being afraid. If you aren't then there is something wrong with you."

The Dragoons have been generally positive about an Army initiative which sees stress counselling offered to soldiers immediately after large battles.

"Nobody wanted to do the meetings," said Corporal Steven Sodeau, 33, the unit medic. "But once we were in there nobody would shut up."

It is a war that men have found easier to justify to themselves than the Iraq war, but they find it hard to know who the enemy are; particularly since irregular militia units roam the country in garb indistinguishable from the Taliban.

"Just because you see some hoods with AKs and RPGs it doesn't mean that they are enemy," Major Warrack warned his men as they planned an operation in a district west of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. "Within minutes of you firing I am answering bloody complicated questions on why you used weapons. I am not saying you can't use them but I need a bloody good explanation if you do."

On several occasions Taliban fighters have taken refuge behind civilians to escape Nato fire. The Dragoons have been kept under observation by Taliban fighters who have put women in their cars to prevent the British soldiers engaging them. Nor can the British arrest suspected Taliban who sometimes bury their weapons and walk through British lines as civilians.

"In Iraq people were constantly asking for more, but here they just want to be left alone," said Captain Jake Rugge-Price, 26. Local people tell the British that they have little liking for the Taliban, but their loyalties are hard to guage.

"80% of these people support the Taliban. None of them like Nato forces," claimed one of the Dragoon's local interpreters.

The issue of drugs remains a stumbling block. British commanders want nothing to do with the issue, fearing that association with counter-narcotics operations will make it impossible to win popular support.

But simultaneously Britain leads the international effort on counter-narcotics in Afghanistan.

"We are to help bring development to your area," the Dragoons told locals at checkpoints. "We are nothing to do with poppy eradication."

But many of the local security forces are involved in the drugs trade and other forms of criminality. Local militias have played a major role in recent operations in Helmand, but are loyal to anti-Taliban commanders who are notorious for their involvement in drugs, as are many of the provincial officials the British army must work alongside.

Most of the Dragoons believe that they will ultimately win the fight against the Taliban.

"I feel we have got the upper hand, though at this pace it will be long and drawn out" said WO2 McKenzie, "but we need more fighting troops. There are two support soldiers for every fighting soldier here. But it is entirely winnable."

With the arrival of the 12 Mechanised Brigade this month, an extra 2,000 British soldiers will become available.

Most say they have found serving in Afghanistan deeply professionally satisfying, but they are universally cynical when asked whether the British public cares what they are doing.

"It has been an awesome tour, three years worth of experience in six months, but to the public this is just another war," said Corporal Sodean, his view echoed by other soldiers around him. "People at home have no idea."

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