Daily Summary - Wednesday, December 21, 2005

[Airbornelawyer]

I am waiting to get on a conference call, so this will be short.

Middle East / South & Central Asia:
Iraq: Security incidents in Iraq, Dec. 21 (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KAM122462.htm) - (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Middle East / South & Central Asia: Ongoing operations (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/releases.htm) – Miscellaneous releases from U.S. Central Command (http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/release_list.asp).
Iraq: Ongoing operations (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/releases.htm) – Miscellaneous releases from Multi-National Force Iraq (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/).
Israel: Israeli troops kill West Bank militant (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21659461.htm) - Israeli troops killed a militant from the Hamas Islamic group during a raid in the West Bank on Wednesday, a Palestinian security source said. An Israeli military source said troops had raided the city of Jenin and had shot dead a Palestinian gunman in an exchange of gunfire. One Israeli border policeman was wounded. The Palestinian source said that the Hamas militant had been killed by an Israeli undercover unit inside a building.… (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
South Asia: South Asia Terrorism Update (http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=12/21/2005) (South Asia Terrorism Portal (http://www.satp.org))
Sri Lanka: Security Situation Report (http://www.army.lk/news/index.html). (Sri Lanka Army (http://www.army.lk))
Sri Lanka: S.Lankan soldiers killed as peace prospects recede (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL102412.htm) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels killed two Sri Lankan soldiers and wounded nine others in a series of attacks in the government-held north, the army said on Wednesday, as prospects for peace talks looked ever poorer. Protesters from the Tamil minority have clashed repeatedly with troops this week on the Jaffna peninsula, a heavily defended army enclave hemmed in by Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lines. Each side accuses the other of trying to escalate the situation.… (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Iran/Ukraine: Ukrainian Cruise Missiles Transported Via Russia to Iran — Israel (http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/12/21/israeliran.shtml) - Ukrainian cruise missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers and capable of carrying nuclear warheads have ended up in Iranian hands after being transported via Russia, Israel’s Director of Military Intelligence Major General Aharon Ze’evi (Farkash) said on Tuesday. Ze’evi said that Iran had recently received 12 of the cruise missiles. 18 such missiles were transported from Ukraine to Russia, of which 12 had somehow managed to end up in Iranian hands. The other six were received by China, Haaretz.com quoted Ze’evi.… (Moscow News (http://www.mosnews.com))

The Americas
The Americas: USSOUTHCOM Headline News (http://www.southcom.mil/pa/News/AOR%20News/Today's%20News.doc) (Microsoft Word format)
The Americas: NOTIMIL: Prensa al Día (http://www.portal.fuerzasarmadasecuador.org/espanol/mostrarweb.php?id=151), defense and military news related to Ecuador and the Americas, provided by the Fuerzas Armadas Ecuatoriana (http://www.fuerzasarmadasecuador.org/). In Spanish.
The Americas: Destaques da Imprensa (https://www.defesa.gov.br/enternet/sitios/internet/clipping/index.php), defense and military news related to Brazil and the Americas, provided by the Brazilian Ministério da Defesa (http://www.defesa.gov.br/). In Portuguese.
Haiti/Canada: Ottawa demands answers in death of Canadian peacekeeper in Haiti (http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/12/21/bourque-haiti-051221.html) - Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said Wednesday that Canada is demanding answers into the killing of a Canadian peacekeeper in Haiti. "The United Nations are working closely with the Haitians to shed light on the events of yesterday," he told CBC News while emphasizing the importance of the dangerous mission that took the life of a retired RCMP officer from Quebec. Mark Bourque, who was part of a Canadian police contingent helping provide security for the upcoming elections in the country, was killed by gunmen on Tuesday in Port-au-Prince.… (CBC (http://www.cbc.ca))
Peru: Peru guerrillas kill eight police (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4547836.stm) - Shining Path guerrillas have ambushed and killed eight Peruvian policeman in a coca growing region of the Andes mountains, officials say. The ambush is the latest incident in an upsurge of violence linked to recent efforts to destroy coca crops. The police died in a remote jungle area known to be patrolled by rebels. Renegade Shining Path units are thought to be behind a series of attacks against security forces, despite the group's general defeat in the 1990s. Police spokesman Luis Vicarra said the Shining Path left a trademark red rag in the ambushed car, identifying themselves as the attackers. Peruvian authorities have launched an ongoing security operation in the remote Huanuco province to try to regain control.… (BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/))

East Asia and the Pacific

Indonesia: Indonesia completes Aceh pull-out (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4545116.stm) - Indonesia's military has begun the last of its troop withdrawals from Aceh, in keeping with a landmark peace deal.
Officials said more than 1,600 troops would leave in coming days, meaning that troop numbers will have been cut by more than half since August. The latest move came after Free Aceh Movement (Gam) rebels handed in all the weapons stipulated in the deal. The peace deal, signed between rebels and the government, is designed to end 26 years of bitter conflict. A military spokesman said the security services were set to meet a 31 December deadline for withdrawals.… (BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/))

[Airbornelawyer]

From the RFE/RL Newsline (http://www.rferl.org/newsline/):

Russia
PRESIDENT SAYS FIGHTING TERRORISM KEY TASK FOR INTELLIGENCE SERVICES...
President Vladimir Putin told a 20 December Moscow meeting to mark Security Service Officers' Day that the intelligence services are working with Russia's "allies and partners" against terrorism, Interfax reported. He said that the services "are capable of efficiently neutralizing the attacks of bandits, neutralizing bandits, and liquidating them no matter where they hide." Putin stressed that "antiterror action requires today the competent use of the entire available arsenal of operative, technical, and analytical resources. The search for new, more effective methods is needed in this field more than ever before." He called for "more efficient coordination of actions, as well as the exchange of information between the appropriate structures of member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, between states and international associations." Putin argued that the October attack on Nalchik showed that "our security structures possess sufficient resources and means to give a tough response to criminals."
...AS IS COMBATING CRIME AND 'MILITANT NATIONALISM'
President Putin said in Moscow on 20 December that Russia's security services must work hard to "to eradicate organized crime, drug trafficking, and corruption," Interfax reported. "This is not merely a condition for the economic and social welfare of Russia," he said. "A lower crime rate will serve to increase the international influence of our country and raise its attractiveness to business and investors." He also stressed that "it should be clearly understood that militant nationalism, xenophobia, and calls for violence and interethnic discord threaten the very stability of our multiethnic state." He called for "the resolute prevention of such crimes and for the unmasking of their organizers."
SECURITY STEPPED UP FOR MISSIONS ABROAD
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin told Interfax in Moscow on 20 December that "against the background of the increasing activity of international terrorist groups, we had to significantly expand personnel in services responsible for the security of Russian establishments and places where Russian citizens live abroad." He noted that "during the financial difficulties of 1998, the ministry's staff abroad underwent significant cuts. However, we recently reached the previous level [of spending] and...even topped it." The reason for the change is that Russia has increased its international profile in recent years, he said. He pointed to "the gradual restoration of [Russia's] position as one of the leading world powers, the improvement of the authority of both the state on the whole and its leadership in the international arena, and the stabilization of the economic situation in the country." Kamynin said that improving security is no easy task because "Russia has 140 embassies, nine permanent representation offices under the aegises of international organizations, and 85 consulates general and consulates, which [altogether] employ about 8,000 diplomats and administrative and technical workers."
FSB DIRECTOR SAYS CORPORATE RAIDERS TARGET DEFENSE INDUSTRIES
Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Nikolai Patrushev told the government daily "Rossiiskaya gazeta" of 20 December that unnamed foreign companies are seeking to engineer the bankruptcy of key industries, including some in the defense sector, "The Moscow Times" reported. "A number of commercial structures are working actively to establish control over the activities of large enterprises and organizations, including those of strategic importance for the state's defense and security, with the aim of receiving super profits by selling their most liquid assets, unique equipment, and large property complexes," he said. Patrushev noted that the Omsk Plant of Transport Machine Building, which builds and repairs the T-80 tank, was the target of a bankruptcy, but the FSB intervened in time. He did not elaborate.
DEFENSE MINISTRY REPORTS SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF STRATEGIC MISSILE
The Defense Ministry announced on 21 December that a R-30 Bulava (Mace) solid-fuel strategic ballistic missile was launched from the Typhoon-class submarine "Dmitrii Donskoi" in the White Sea and hit its target at the Kura test site on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian news agencies reported. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii that "the flight testing of...the Bulava will begin next year." This is the first test launch of a Bulava from a submerged position and the second test launch in the Bulava program, the first having been made from the same submarine on 27 September. At that time, President Putin said that Russia "will put into service new strategic complexes that nobody has at present and that are unlikely to be adopted by any country earlier than Russia." He argued that the new systems will be "virtually invulnerable, even to the antiballistic missile systems" of other countries.

Southeastern Europe
NATO RAIDS BOSNIAN SERB COMPANIES IN HUNT FOR MLADIC
NATO said on 20 December that its troops have raided two Bosnian Serb companies suspected of aiding war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic, dpa reported the same day. The raids took place in the eastern Bosnian town of Vlasenica. "The search is being conducted in an effort to find additional information about the support network, and in an effort to determine Ratko Mladic's location," NATO said a statement. NATO alleged that the companies, Sipad 10 August and Lorist, and one of their owners, Milje Kljestan, were associated with a network believed to be helping Mladic evade capture.
RUSSIAN OFFICIALS TURN UP HEAT ON MOLDOVA OVER TRANSDNIESTER
Russia Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov accused Moldova on 20 December of impeding a settlement on the breakaway Transdniester region and insisted the conflict can only be resolved through direct talks, Russian and international news agencies reported the same day. "As long as the Moldovan government insists on resolving the problem on its own terms and on the basis of its legislation, passed at the expense of abandoning all its previous initiatives, I don't see any chance to get the matter off the ground," Lavrov was quoted by ITAR-TASS as saying. "It is only after persuading both sides to get down to the negotiating table that we can hope for success." Lavrov also said that Chisinau's insistence that Russian troops leave the region is holding up a settlement, Reuters reported. Also on 20 December, Russian Ambassador at Large Valerii Nesterushkin said Transdniester should have "a special status within the framework of one Moldova," ITAR-TASS reported.

Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
IRAN ARRESTS ATTACKERS OF PRESIDENTIAL MOTORCADE
Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, chief of Iran's national police force, said on 20 December that an attack on the presidential motorcade in Sistan va Baluchistan Province the previous week was not an assassination attempt, dpa reported, citing ISNA. President Ahmadinejad was not in the motorcade at the time of the 14 December attack. A bodyguard and a driver, as well as one of the attackers, were killed in the incident. Government spokesman Gholam-Hussein Elham on 19 December described the attackers as bandits who contribute to local insecurity while pursuing materialistic goals. Elham said the bandits were identified and arrested.
U.S. ARMY FINDS OVER 1,000 ROCKETS AND MISSILES AFTER IRAQI TIP
The 101st Airborne Division uncovered more than 1,000 old rockets and missiles wrapped in plastic and buried in the desert 240 kilometers north of Baghdad on 20 December following a tip from an informant , AP reported the same day. Some of the rockets appeared to have been buried as recently as two weeks ago. Soldiers were using metal detectors to locate more mines, mortars, and machine-gun rounds at the site; some of the rockets were of Soviet, German, and French origin and appeared to have been wrapped in fresh plastic, which had not deteriorated as it had on other weapons. Second Lieutenant Patrick Vardaro declined to say whether there were indications that the caches had been used to make recent bombs, but he did tell AP, "In our eyes, every one of these rockets represents one less" improvised explosive device.
JORDANIAN EMBASSY DRIVER ABDUCTED IN IRAQ
A Jordanian national who worked as a driver for his embassy in Baghdad was abducted outside his home in the capital on 20 December, international media reported the same day. Jordan's Petra news agency said gunmen in three cars abducted Mahmud Sa'idat, who was described as an embassy driver; Iraqi police said Sa'idat was the ambassador's personal driver. Prime Minister Ma'ruf al-Bakhit said on 20 December that the government was considering moving the embassy staff to safer ground in Iraq, either inside the U.S.-controlled Green Zone or to the Jordanian base in Al-Fallujah, Petra reported the same day.

[aricbcool]

From the RFE/RL Newsline (http://www.rferl.org/newsline/):
U.S. ARMY FINDS OVER 1,000 ROCKETS AND MISSILES AFTER IRAQI TIP
The 101st Airborne Division uncovered more than 1,000 old rockets and missiles wrapped in plastic and buried in the desert 240 kilometers north of Baghdad on 20 December following a tip from an informant , AP reported the same day. Some of the rockets appeared to have been buried as recently as two weeks ago. Soldiers were using metal detectors to locate more mines, mortars, and machine-gun rounds at the site; some of the rockets were of Soviet, German, and French origin and appeared to have been wrapped in fresh plastic, which had not deteriorated as it had on other weapons. Second Lieutenant Patrick Vardaro declined to say whether there were indications that the caches had been used to make recent bombs, but he did tell AP, "In our eyes, every one of these rockets represents one less" improvised explosive device.


That's one helluva find! :eek:

Outstanding!

--Aric