The NATO umbrella that protects the Baltic States

Remarkable what happens in the sky over what we now have learned to call Europe. Air Force Link today tells us of the exploits of the brave Top Guns of the 493rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron who are, says Capt. Andrew Carlson, a 493rd EFS pilot in a , " high standard of readiness and a constant vigil, ready to police the sovereign airspace of the Baltic nations at a moment's notice. "

To perform this NATO air defense mission,(started in 2004) the aircrews expect to be airborne within minutes after lights and sirens indicates an imminent threat; leaving the pilots and maintainers of the 493rd EFS little room for error.

Maintainers and aircrew are on 24-hour standby, awaiting an alert. Once the signal is given, separate crews, consisting of a pilot and three crew chiefs, sprint out to the jets and prepare to launch. The F-15 Eagles are normally in the air within five to 10 minutes. The 493rd deployed F-15s and 130 Airmen on October 2nd 2008.

At the time Lt. Col. Michael King, 493d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander said, "The United States is committed to the air sovereignty of its NATO allies and to ensuring the regional peace and stability for these countries. The 493d EFS is ready to do our part in demonstrating U.S. Air Forces in Europe's continued resolve to provide air defense for the Baltic region."

If weather permits, practice is undertaken daily, allowing them to sharpen their quick response skills.

During these exercises, they practice mock scrambles and one-on-one intercepts. They learn tactics and communication tools to intercept any bogey (sic) , whether a friendly aircraft or a hijacked commercial plane, in the airspace over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Several nations have taken over the duties since 2004.


NATO Air Force Q.R.A. detachments to Šiauliai (Zokniai) aerodrome -Lithuania. Map

30 March 2004 Belgium, Belgian Air Component F-16FA/M Fighting Falcon

1 July 2004 Denmark, Royal Danich Air Force F-16A/M Fighting Falcon

30 October 2004 United Kingdom, Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado F.3

1 January 2005 Norway, Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16A/M Fighting Falcon

30 March 2005 Netherlands, Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16A/M Fighting Falcon

30 June 2005 Germany, Luftwaffe F-4F Phantom 11

12 October 2005 United States Air Force F-16C/J Fighting Falcon

1 January 2006 Poland, Polish Air Force Mig-29A

31 March 2006 Turkey, Turkish Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon

1 August 2006 Spain, Spanish Air Force Mirage F.1M

1 December 2006 Belgium, Belgian Air Component F-16A/M Fighting Falcon

1 April 2007 France, French Air Force Mirage 2000

1 August 2007 Romania, Romanian Air Force Mig-21 Lancer 'C'

1 November 2007 Portugal, Portugese Air Force F-16A/M Fighting Falcon

16 December 2007 Norway, Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16A/M Fighting Falcon

15 March 2008 Poland, Polish Air Force Mig-29A

30 June 2008 Germany, Luftwaffe F-4F Phantom 11

30 September 2008 United States Air Force F-15 Eagle

The German contingent were much embarassed when on September 19th 2005 a Russian Su-27 fighter aircraft that crashed in Lithuania. What began as a curious -- but by all accounts accidental -- air mishap has rapidly spiraled into a heated diplomatic imbroglio between Lithuania and Russia. A Russian Su-27 Flanker pilot en route from Russia proper to the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad reportedly experienced a navigational malfunction and became disoriented. The pilot expended his fuel and ejected safely, leaving the plane's remains smoldering outside the village of Veliouna, 35 miles northwest of the city of Kaunas. Local authorities detained the pilot while Vilnius investigates the incident.

The Su-27 Flanker is a high-performance long-range aircraft equipped with powerful avionics and engines. It has a maximum range of 2,312 miles -- more than enough to get from Russia's Northern Military District to Kaliningrad.

Initial Lithuanian reports suggested that the aircraft's navigational equipment failed, causing the pilot to burn off fuel while trying to get his bearings.

If the plane had full fuel tanks when it left its base in Russia, however, the pilot would have had to have been lost for quite a while to burn off the Flanker's huge fuel reserve. It is possible, if the ferry flight occurred over the Baltic, that the pilot misjudged his left turn, thinking he was flying into Kaliningrad instead of Lithuania. More

Google Video link to Camp Falcon fires evaporates

In the posting Monday, October 23
Network claims Tactical nuke went up in October 11th Falcon Base Camp.

We linked to the following Google video by JUS of the Camp Falcon fire / explosions which claimed the explosion was a tactical nuclear weapon.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7753921336651131261

in the light of comments to this posting (Many thanks Lord Stewart) Lord Patel asked his technical staff to check.
This link now returns ;

We're sorry, but this video may not be available.

Try refreshing the page to see this video.

To see more videos visit our home page

The Google link to Euronews still works

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7500391660672808417&q=camp+falcon+ammunition&hl=en

Some say it was a Mother of All Bombs, (MOAB) - whatever caused the flash was a mutha fucker all right, if it can take out Google Video Links.

Watch this space.

Network claims Tactical nuke went up in October 11th Falcon Base Camp.

From JUS Global Islamic Media Aliance Video (Arabic commentary) - On October 11, 2006, a Tactical Nuclear Device appears to have exploded when fire broke out in an ammunition dump at Camp Falcon (Camp Al-Saqr) 8 miles outside Baghdad. See photos here.

Video from live nightly newscast in Baghdad caught the detonation - miles away - with it's characteristic ENORMOUS blinding white flash, a rising core of fire then a small mushroom cloud!

This video is 5.21 and the explosion is at 4.50 + mins , whatever it is exploding it's a big mutha fucker.If it was a nuke radioactive emissions would be readily detectable.

At the time General Cadwell in a DoD briefing in Baghdad (Oct 12, 2006) made the following statement (there has been a news blackout since).

First of all, I'll take on the Falcon attack. It was caused by indirect fire, a mortar that did in fact hit our ammunitions supply point there, which caused a tremendous amount of secondary and tertiary explosions that occurred throughout the night there. There's that one articular area which fled into another area -- did in fact go off all night.

Very fortunately, no coalition forces or Iraqi security forces were injured, nor civilian casualties that anybody's aware of at this point. We lost some munitions, but took no personnel casualties.

Euronews has another video of the explosion (55 secs) plus shots of damage outside the camp the following day.

TBR News has an excellent report dated Friday 20th which claims 300 dead US soldiers, the loss of US$1 Bn of materiel, including 6 Apache helicopters and a reported 160 Iraqi military amd assorted civilians. Retaliatory strikes killing 120 civlians were made by aerial forces seemingly at random around Baghdad allegedly firing at the source of mortar / rocket attacks.

SF Indymedia has a lengthy report as well confirming huge numbers of casualties carried to Al Habbaniyah hospital in 9 cargo / Red Cross planes.

Global Research has a report dated 22nd October confirming much of the above reports.

Whatever happened that night, we shall never be told, but it has evidently had a massive impact upon the US resolve / ability to fight.

US Ambassador in Albania Mr Withers implicated in involvement with Albanian gun runners, fraud, and what really happened at Gërdec?

The ever inquisitive Mr Waxman's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has discovered from a zealous military attaché that the United States ambassador to Albania since July 2007, career diplomat John L. Withers II endorsed a plan by the (and now from March EX) Albanian Defence minister Fatmir Mediu, to hide boxes of ammunition with Chinese markings from a visiting reporter hot on the trail of a DOD defence scam by a Miami contractor run by 21 year old . The ammunition was being repackaged (supposedly Evdin Ltd owned and run by by Henry Thomet – aSwiss businessman) to disguise its origins and shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by Miami Beach arms-dealing company AEY Inc.,run by 21 year old Efraim E. Diveroli who has just been indicted with 3 others for arms smuggling, fraud etc etc.,

The attaché, Maj. Larry D. Harrison II of the Army, tells of late night meeting on Nov. 19 last year when Fatmir asked for help from the Ambasador because he was concerned the reporter would discover he had been profiting from selling arms. According to Albanian diplomatic speak AKA Albanian Mafioso speak, the Ambassador "owed him one". Major Harrison was very unhappy with this arrangement he explained to the Committee investigators... unlike the Ambassador.

Fatmir told the top Albanian General (Now EX Top general Luan Hoxha)to get rid of the Chinese ammunition being repackaged at Rinas Airport in Tirana, ahead of the reporter's visit according to transcripts made available by Mr Waxmans committee yesterday of Major Harrison's testimony, obtained by telephone interview.

According to the transcript excerpts released by the committee, Major Harrison told investigators he disagreed with the decision to hide the boxes from the reporter, and said that he felt “very uncomfortable” during the meeting because it was his job to train, equip and modernize Albania’s military. He further explained his suggestion to bar the reporter from visiting the Albanian air base was rejected.

Interfering Mr Waxman has told the Secretary of State, part time pianist, Condoleezza Rice, that he intends to interview Mr Withers to discuss this ..er... cover up. Apparently ahead and after the New York Times blew the story open on March 27th , e mails, available to the Committee, show that the ordure was hitting the air conditioning and there was much relief expressed by the embassy’s regional security officer, Patrick Leonard in an e-mail to an assistant , “No mention of Embassy involvement — thank God!”

The persistent Mr Waxman said yesterday , that the e-mail correspondence among embassy officials, combined with Major Harrison’s statements, “raises questions about both the State Department’s role in the shipment of illegal Chinese ammunition and the candour of the department’s response to the committee.”

None of this of course has anything to do with smoothing over the Albanian entry to NATO or even the declaration since teh President's visit last year to agree on supporting Kosovan independence and a government run by Mafia gangsters.

What is of course causing problems is the massive (and mysterious) explosion at Gerdec (Which is near Tirana) when at least 21 (and rising) people were killed, Mr Mediu's early bath after it, demands for compensation and what a reporter succinctly asked Mr Withers on June 12th ..."It is three months now from the Gërdec explosion. The immunity of the former Defense Minister has finally been lifted; the Prosecutor General is conducting investigations, sometimes under attacks from politicians; former employees are on hunger strike claiming for more compensation from the government. How do you see the whole Gërdec affair developing?"

The same reporter questioned Mr Withers ..."There have been reports in the media that munitions from Albania have been transported to Afghanistan, reports implicating the American company AEY. Can you let us know how are investigations in the U.S. proceeding” Has there been cooperation between the American and Albanian prosecutors on this issue?"

To receive the answer - Ambassador: Let me say at the start that under our laws I cannot comment on the substance of any ongoing investigation. What I can tell you is that a very serious investigation is under way, looking at all aspects of this issue, including the role of the company that you cite, AEY, that all avenues of evidence are being looked into. There is cooperation between our authorities and the Albanian authorities to get to the bottom of that matter as well. For the moment, I really cannot say much more than that. But rest assured that, as we advise the Albanian government to conduct an inquiry based on evidence and evidence alone and to prosecute whomever and wherever that evidence leads, we are doing the same.

This is currently to be found on the US Embassy website for Albania ...

Here is a You Tube video of the Gerdec explosion ..which is awesome ..just like Camp Falcon In Baghdad. see Monday, October 23, 2006Network claims Tactical nuke went up in October 11th Falcon Base Camp. Latest reports talk of 26 killed and 300 injured the new Defence Minister Gazmend Oketa decided on some changes ...


.... and last Monday Albanian President Bamir Topi sacked the country's top General Luan Hoxha as well as General Zija Bahja over the Gërdec affair . Defence Minister Fatmir Mediu and another general, Shpetim Spahiu, had already fallen on their swords. (Gjeneral Spahiu: Mediu urdhëroi ndërtimin e Gërdecit)

The US ambassador in Tirana had condemned Albanian’s Premier and Parliament speaker for stalling a probe into an explosion at an army depot on March 15, which killed 26 and wounded over 300 which might have suggested that the explosions at the bse 10 miles from Tirana were not "accidental". Ambassador John L. Withers met Prosecutor General Ina Rama who has repeatedly asked for former defence Minister Fatmir Mediu,immunity to be lifted although the Prime Minister Berisha's silence sits badly with his former promise that no Government official would hide behind parliamentary immunity. Rama mysteriously talks about a flagrant violation in the process of handling munitions involving the employment of children.

Former defence Minister Fatmir Mediu continues to blame the generals who had had approved the location of the operation to deactivate the stored cold war munitions in a village, which lay in a heavily populated area (see comments below).

None of this has anything to do with upgrading the Albanian Coastal defence force, the purchase from Holland for US45Mn of 4 ships one built in Holland and the next three at Vlora Naval Base of Orikumi, built originally for the protection of Russian submarines under the "Varsavia" agreement. (eventually).

Nor even the use of the base for clandestine transportation of the odd person or three to Italy.

It all does make you wonder why the US Ambassador was so anxious to help in concealing the re-packaging of Chinese ammunition that was moving onwards to Afghanistan on a multi million DOD contract with a very lightly capitalised outfit run by a 21 year old entrepreneur ...whose contacts in Albania involve a Mr Kosta Trebicka, and Mr Ylli Pinari Director of Meico, the official arms export agency of Albanian Ministry of Defense and Efraim Diveroli's "alleged telephone conversations" which can hear here along with the complete transcripts.

These were allegedly made by Mr Kosta Trebicka on his Nokia cellphone June 11, 2007 when Diveroli was in Florida and relate to the fact that you "can't play monkey business with the mafia ... and all those fucking guys in Albania"...""Call him up, beg him, kiss him, whatever..." and in another Diveroli tells his Albanian contact. "Send one of your girls to fuck him... Let's get him happy. Maybe he gives you one more chance to do the job. No?" Give him a little money, give him something in his pocket… And he’s not going to get much… If he gets $20,000 from you…

Mind you Efraim does also say in another "overheard conversation" with Kosta Trebicka" "Probably I will be invited in Washington DC from the CIA guys and from my friends over there" also mentioned are Mihal Delijorgji – Albanian “businessman” (contractor for AEY and Southern Ammunition, now under arrest - in Albania )Sali Berisha – Albanian Prime Minister and his son Shkelzen Berisha .

Maybe that's what they teach them at Diplomatic School as well as charm offensives over the canapès.

Stay Tuned.

German combat forces get ready to invade Afghanistan

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has, very sensibly not visited Afghanistan recently, but she was in Kabul in November shortly after the Bundestag renewed the mandate for 3,500 German troops in Afghanistan, combining two previous mandates.

Some 3,000 Bundeswehr troops are currently deployed in a strictly non-combat , training, reconstruction and security role in the relatively peaceful north under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) . There are also 6 German Tornado reconnaissance jets and their back-up units based in the country although it doesn't appear they get to bomb anything or anybody...yet.

But German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, swept through Kabul yesterday meeting President Hamid Karzai and Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak He also stopped for a chat with ISAF commander Dan McNeill.

NATO has formally asked for up to 250 German soldiers to take over from the Norwegian Quick Reaction Force, in N. Afghanistan and is due to end its mission at the beginning of the summer and all the signs are that a decision to ready German troops for combat (the first time since WWII) had already been made.

In an interview with Der Spiegel in September McNeill had politely danced around Germany's contribution to NATO forces..

"Some governments, and I'm not talking about Germany specifically, find it easier to accommodate their constituency if they impose certain caveats, certain restrictions, on the forces they contribute to this effort, such as that they can only be deployed in certain areas. These restrictions make things difficult for me as ISAF commander. "

Ahead of the decision to beef up the Bundeswehr presence Mc Neill takes a hard headed approach to the international view of the Taliban and dscribes them in robust and bloodcurdling terms ..." These people kill more civilians than any force amongst the Alliance or the Afghan army. They are hard core extremists. They behead people that don't agree with their positions."

Which overlooks the massive aerial bombardment , and long distance shelling, by coalition / ISAF air forces which produces a long litany of missed targets, friendly fire, and disputed deaths, women, children, burnt out compounds, smashed mosques.

It is an impression that is very much at odds with the one presented by the President in his State of the Union message .." Afghanistan" , he described "a nation that was once a safe haven for al Qaeda" as "a young democracy where boys and girls are going to school, new roads and hospitals are being built, and people are looking to the future with new hope." (See also "he didn't mention the violence that has killed 147 students and teachers, and closed 590 schools in the last year." )

Having said that , he went of to sign a bill (H.R. 1585) prohibiting the Pentagon from selling leftover F-14 Tomcat fighter jet parts - the only country flying and buying F -14's - Iran. They ( and canny Chiese buyers) had been exploiting a loophole in military sales .. parts for Chinooks as well as Tomcats also found their way to Teheran, equipment bought in the heady days in the 70's when the Shah was the US's stooge.

This might of course add fuel to the argument that as Bush winds down the Presidency he has taken his eye off the ball... for example USAF ISAF air forces burn 575,000 gallons of fuel per day in Afghanistan (an F-16 Fighting Falcon, takes roughly 1,000 gallons of fuel per service) of which 80% comes from Pakistan refineries. Without this they have to rely on a a lengthy and precarious logistics line that extends more than 1,000 miles from northern Baku, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. e.g. From the 25th January 2008 Airpower Summary On Jan. 24, U.S. Air Force and RAF aerial refueling crews flew 42 sorties and off-loaded approximately 2.9 million pounds of fuel ( 1 US gallon = 6 lbs = 480,000 gals ) to 231 receiving aircraft.... and without the "close air support" the troops, be they German, British or US are fucked.

Sidestep Google censor

Here is a useful site if you wish to, say archive for Fair Use a You Tube / Google video - Video Downloader . This utility (also available with Mozilla download for one button operation) operates with over sixty sites and is growing daily.,,, and it's easy peasy.

Enables downloads of daily episodes - eg Simpsons and something called Pornotube - it says here.

This would have been useful for the Camp Falcon firestorm video which mysteriously disappeared from Google Video.

This utility is FREE but anyone who isn't a Grinch would use Pay Pal and bung them a few sovs.

Ginger Wanker and the Fish Slice Mystery

The Air War goes on , and on, and on , and on .....

March 10-16: The week in airpower - USAF

289 close air support missions were flown in support of the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan troops. Coalition aircraft flew 325 close air support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom..... how 2,000 lb. precision guided bombs win hearts and minds, improve girl's education, reconstruction (?)....

That's 600 a week (ish) about average for the last 2 years - slowed down a bit after Fort Falcon went up, ... there was shortage of bombs.

According to the U.S. Air Force, 14,910 precision-guided weapons were dropped in the first month of the war in 2003. Of these, 2982 were expected to land off-target. But what really happened? The Pentagon calculates civilian casualties, but refuses to disclose that number....a small reminder USAF ran out of key precision guided cruise missiles--the CALCM--during the Kosovo campaign.

A Bomb ( well six to be accurate) in the Tale of the Torture House in Zambraniyah Iraq

Reuters You Witness news is for members of the public to send in their pics /news to Reuters e.g today there are shots of Lhasa from a traveller etc., . (Note Lord Patel caption wrong. Again. 6 x 500lb bombs = 3,000lbs not 2,000 lbs)

Airpower summary for March 10th

This picture could well be the event reported laconically as ... "In Iraq, an Air Force B-1B Lancer dropped GBU-38s onto an enemy building and conducted a show of force in the vicinity of Baghdad. "........"Furthermore, an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon performed a show of force in the same area. The missions were reported as successful by the JTAC.

Just ready to post this and then up pops this report with the above photograph ... and two more

US Department of Defense news
U.S. Bomber Destroys Al Qaeda in Iraq Jail, Torture Facility

By Tech. Sgt. Joel Langton, USAFSpecial to American Forces Press Service March 11th

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2008 – Three buildings that had served as an al Qaeda detention and torture facility were destroyed yesterday by a U.S. military bomber.

An al Qaeda in Iraq torture compound and prison in northern Zambraniyah, Iraq, is destroyed after being hit with six 500-pound precision-guided bombs dropped from a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber March 10, 2008. Photo by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway, USAF

A B-1B Lancer bomber used six 500-pound, global positioning system-guided bombs to level the compound located in Zambraniyah, a village south of Baghdad, according to officials. “The precise targeting, synchronized employment and focused effects that eliminated these facilities demonstrate the outstanding capability our integrated ground and air team brings to this fight every day,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Gass, commander of 379th Expeditionary Operations Group.

The targeted compound consisted of three main buildings along with several smaller shelters. It was apparent that terrorists had used the facility as a place to hold and torture captives, officials noted, citing a post-attack discovery of handcuffs attached to walls -- several of which were blood-splattered -- and bare wires plugged into nearby electrical outlets.
...

“This (air strike) removes the last remnants of al Qaeda from this area,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Solomon, 6th Squadron, 8th U.S. Cavalry, commander.

Aubid Abdalla was kidnapped and held for 15 days in the now-destroyed al Qaeda prison, but later escaped. He said he witnessed the deaths of a young boy and an old man during his captivity and that it was a new day for the village as he looked into the bomb’s craters. “We all feel good,” Abdalla, a former Iraqi Army intelligence officer, said. “It’s a dark past that is gone.”

JTAC Air Force Senior Airman Joseph Aton said he was glad he played a role in the destruction of the al Qaeda jail and torture facility. “It was great to be part of this,” Aton, a controller who assisted in coordinating the path of the B-1’s precision-guided munitions, said. “You can tell the people were happy to have this place gone, and it was awesome to make a difference for them.”

The mission’s objective was twofold, explained Air Force Lt. Col. John Nichols, 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron director of operations and coordinator of the sortie.

First, to destroy facilities used to illegally detain, falsely convict, and torture innocent Iraqi civilians; second, to bring closure to friends and families of the victims. There is more....

PS : How the house survived with the shiny photgenic handcuff shot hanging is not explained ... not much left standing round Daniel String 1st Class Airman.

Maybe ,we thought ,this picture might also deter folks from torturing.

.... or make these folks think exactly what they are doing after 5 years in Iraq.

“Words can never replace the loss many Iraqi families suffered, but we’re honored to have been part of a mission to help rid Iraq of al Qaeda operatives,” Nichols said.

The successful mission also “strengthens and reminds the local leadership and Iraqi people that we are dedicated to the elimination of al Qaeda in Iraq,” the colonel added. ...

JTAC Air Force Senior Airman Joseph Aton said he was glad he played a role in the destruction of the al Qaeda jail and torture facility. “It was great to be part of this,” Aton, a controller who assisted in coordinating the path of the B-1’s precision-guided munitions, said. “You can tell the people were happy to have this place gone, and it was awesome to make a difference for them.”

Several questions arise ...

1. No dead bodies ?
2. Handcuff pics ? They look really real.
3. How come the Daily Airpower Summary never mentioned this great feat of military derring do ?

Then a little more digging by our archival retrieval staff ;

On the Operation Iraqi Freedom Multin National Force March 7th - 3 days previously we find ;

Soldiers Find, Raid AQI Torture House in Northern Zambraniyah Friday, 07 March 2008 - By Multi-National Division - Center

With some interesting pictures - which bear a striking resemblance to one's taken AFTER the March 10th bombing.

The attached news story is very revealing ..

Members of a ‘Sons of Iraq’ (SoI) group led Coalition forces to an al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) torture house and prison in northern Zambraniyah, March 5.

The patrol was conducted based on intelligence provided by an SoI leader in the area, said Capt. Chris O’Brian, troop commander of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, currently attached to 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div.

“The guy wants to clean up the area,” said O’Brian, a native of Herndon, Va. “AQI killed half his family.” The SoI leader, who heads a group of 300 SoI, worked with his men in support of Troop C Soldiers on the patrol.

The patrol began early in the morning as Soldiers cleared houses in an area suspected of harboring insurgents, said O’Brian. There's more ....

O’Brian said they discovered hand cuffs, an electrocution system consisting of bare wires linked to an on / off switch running to handcuffs on a window bar, and hanging hooks used for humans.

Twelve interrogation books written in Arabic were found along with several sets of female clothing. A bloody handprint was also present.

But they didn't take photographs of those.

Now you tell us - why did the bomb the fucking place with 3,000 lbs of HE ? Was that part of the reconstruction effort ? No-one captured, building destroyed and it seems the military forces were led to it by Members of a ‘Sons of Iraq’ (SoI) group.

Doin' a great job.

As ...JTAC Air Force Senior Airman Joseph Aton said, .... he was glad he played a role in the destruction of the al Qaeda jail and torture facility. “It was great to be part of this,” Aton, a controller who assisted in coordinating the path of the B-1’s precision-guided munitions, said. “You can tell the people were happy to have this place gone, and it was awesome to make a difference for them.”

If you really really wanted to destroy the place maybe a few well placed explosive charges would be cheaper, more effective ...but hell, it wouldn't be as much fun to comb and bomb the shit out of the place 3 days later, get the pictures through to Reuters and circulate 2 bogus news stories telling everyone what a great jobs our lads are doing.

UPDATE : 7.00 pm GMT 18-3-08 : Someone points out it is like blowing up the German eagle at the MUnich Olympic stadium - as a result the perps get away and this results (ABC Australia)

Five beheaded in Al Qaeda attack on Iraq village: police Posted Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:22am AEDT

Suspected Al Qaeda militants have attacked a village in Diyala province north of Baghdad and beheaded five members of a local group fighting the jihadist network, police have said.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Najim al-Sumaidaie said the militants raided the village of Benizad, south of the provincial capital Baquba, and attacked a newly created outpost of a local anti-Al Qaeda 'Awakening' group.

Basra - US reports of bombing civilians

The March 30th Air Force Link March 30th Air Power summary gives a small clue to the use of air power over Basra...

"In Iraq, an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon and a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet dropped guided bomb unit-38s in order to destroy an enemy mortar team in a school court yard, a machine gun emplacement and an enemy structure engaging friendly forces in Basra. A JTAC reported the success of the missions. "

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123092498

The March 31st report showed that the tempo of air activity increased with ..."In total, coalition aircraft flew 55 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom" and report

"In Iraq, an Air Force MQ-1 Predator dropped a hellfire missile in order to destroy an enemy road block in Basra. The success of the mission was declared by a JTAC.

A British GR-4 Tornado performed a show of force in order to deter enemy activities in Baqubah. A JTAC reported the success of the mission. "

(CBS/AP) reported on 29th March (with video) - "Anti-American Shiite militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers Saturday to defy government orders to surrender their weapons, as U.S. jets struck Shiite extremists near Basra to bolster a faltering Iraqi offensive against gunmen in the city. "

"The U.S. military says 16 enemy fighters have been killed in airstrikes supporting Iraqi troops during clashes with Shiite militiamen in Basra. Military spokesman Maj. Brad Leighton says an AC-130 gunship strafed heavily armed militants attacking Iraqi forces from three rooftops in the southern city.

Iraqi police earlier claimed eight civilians, including two women and a child, had been killed when a U.S. warplane destroyed a house early Saturday. But Leighton says U.S. special operations forces helped identify the militants before the airstrike.

British military spokesman Maj. Tom Holloway also says U.S. jets later dropped two precision-guided bombs on a suspected militia stronghold north of the city, but no casualties were reported. "

Sky News on Friday March 28th reported

"RAF jets have, been involved in aerial surveillance over insurgent positions and Iraqi helicopters have been able to refuel at Britain's Basra airport base.

Major Tom Holloway, British military spokesman in Basra said two bombing missions were carried out overnight at the request of the Iraqis.

He said rocket teams and militia troops were bombed."

Above photograph of results of Apache air attack in Bagdhad is from an Al Jazeera video available here.

Curious

U.S. officials say rumor of Iran strike not true MSNBC

Updated: 10:05 a.m. ET Jan. 18, 2007
WASHINGTON - U.S. defense officials on Thursday said a rumored Iranian missile strike on a U.S. naval vessel in the Gulf was not true.

"No such event took place," said one of the officials on condition of anonymity.

...and of course no-one was killed at Camp Falcon .....

Investors.com reported

"Before open-outcry trading (on NYMEX) began at 10 a.m. EST, prices popped up as high as $52.69 on a rumored Iranian strike on a U.S.But the market calmed as soon as the Pentagon denied the rumor."

Iranian web traffic now at zero.

UDATE 3/2/08 - It now appears that the test for Iran is a single server at Yerevan University which is down and so provides a wholly inaccurate view of the situation - apologies but we did say - " Accuracy ? Who knows".

Internet Traffic Report provides a real time view of traffic with current response times and packet losses - well every 5 minutes the reports are updated. Accuracy ? Who knows. FAQ's here


No traffic in or out of Iran. Maybe there is more to the 2 cables down , offshore Alexandria. (Still the same at 2/2/08 4.20 EST)

UPDATE : See Prison Planet : Middle East Internet Blackouts Spur Geopolitical Suspicions

BBC report that a 3rd cable the Falcon cable has been damaged . The first two reports of cable damage related to The first cable - the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) - was cut at 0800 on 30 January, the firm said.

A second cable thought to lie alongside it - SEA-ME-WE 4, or the South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 cable - was also split.

Omar Sultan, chief executive of Dubai's ISP DU, told The Associated Press, following the most recent break. "The situation is critical for us in terms of congestion," .

They say that the only connection working Europe - India is the older Sea-M-We 3 system, according to Washington based research firm TeleGeography whose Daily Comms Update has no informtion about the breaks.

UPDATE Saturday 2/2/08 EST 7.15 Market watch - reports that "We had another cut today between Dubai and Muscat three hours back. The cable was about 80G capacity, it had telephone, Internet data, everything," one Flag official, who declined to be named, told Zawya Dow Jones. Internet traffic shows Iran is still showing zero traffic.

See also Inquiry Labs

See previous post about these disruptions. All very mysterious. No press / TV comment at all.

Iraq & Afghanistan - Winning Hearts and Minds by Aerial bombing / strafing / rockets - more boring statistics

At least 44 people were killed in violence across Iraq today, including 16 in a bomb attack on a bus. 13 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq so far this month.

1. Monday - A roadside bomb killed three U.S. soldiers and an interpreter in Diyala province.(CNN)

2. Monday - 4 U.S. soldiers died in a suicide bomb balst and one more died later of wounds. An Iraqi interpreter also was wounded in the explosion.(CNN)

3. Wednesday - A U.S. military spokesman said 3 American soldiers were killed in a rocket attack on their Combat Outpost Adder near Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. 2 other American soldiers were injured .(MSNBC)

The Hidden Air War

Norman Solomon searched the LexisNexis media database, for the phrase “air war” with reference to the current U.S. military effort in Iraq?

The New York Times - Zero
Washington Post - Zero
The the nation’s largest-circulation news magazine, Time - Zero

US - CENTAF - Airpower Summary for March 10

In total, 51 close air support missions were flown as part of the ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols.

e.g : Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs fired cannon rounds onto enemy locations in the vicinity of Kabul. French Air Force Mirage-2000s conducted shows of force in the vicinity of Gereshk. In Bagram, an Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle dropped Guided Bomb Unit-12s onto enemy combatant positions. A Royal Air Force GR.7 Harrier dropped an enhanced paveway II munition onto enemy combatants in the vicinity of Garmser. Shows of force were performed by RAF GR.7s in the areas of Kajaki Dam and Musa Qala.

In total, Coalition aircraft flew 52 close air support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

e.g : In Iraq, an Air Force B-1B Lancer dropped GBU-38s onto an enemy building and conducted a show of force in the vicinity of Baghdad. Furthermore, an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon performed a show of force in the same area.

U.S. Air Force, French, and Royal Air Force aerial refueling crews flew 42 sorties and off-loaded approximately 2.8 million pounds of fuel to 248 receiving aircraft March 9.

..and Finally before we go over to the weather ...

4 Afghan civilians have been killed ( 2 women and 2 children) and one injured in an air strike called in by British forces in Helmand , the Ministry of Defence said today.

An MoD spokeswoman said British troops called in air support after being caught in a Taliban ambush at an undisclosed location in the south of the province.(Guradian)

Lieutenant General Graeme Lamb CMG, DSO, OBE Stockholm Security Conference Monday

"There will of course be circumstances where we can earn the trust of local people, where we can prevail amongst the national leadership, establish a constructive dialogue with religious authorities, but I doubt we will (be) or maybe ever have been in a position to win their hearts and minds,"

"To suggest that good intentions will cross fundamental cultural, social and religious differences and win over a damaged population is at best dangerous and wishful thinking. The image of winning a heart or a mind is almost ridiculous,"

Elephant in the Womb - Amazing Pictures

Here it is, Newspeak for the really BIG problem nobody wants to talk about," The Elepant in the Fridge" .. or Gorilla in the Room. Whatever .. you understand. Global Warming, can Grimsby stay up ? Has the Dear Leader copped a deal? Exactly why did that Hercules have to be destroyed in Baghdad ? Why is Hazel Blears wearing such loose frocks recently and looking (and sounding) so cheerful ? Is Hilary Benn REALLY crazy, or does he just look CRAZY or is it venereal strabismus ? What DID blow at Camp Falcon ? Is it TRUE that the Karaoke King is holed up in Tel Aviv with Lady Porter ? Why is Hazel Blears so concerned about the Ob & Gyni at Salford ? What keeps the Blessed Margaret and Tessa in the Cabinet ? Does Peter Hain really run Death Squads in Northern Ireland ? Why did Manchester get awarded the Casino ? Why does Graham Stringer look so prosperous these days? Will Alex Salmon leap into the Throne and become the real (White) King of Scotland ? Why is Peter Mandelson so quiet ? Mr Vaz gracefully stumbling backwards into the limelight - has he found some major new donors to the New Labour vision? What is John Ternan, and why .. and where is he ?Are there any fish left in the North Sea after Ben Bradshaw ? Milliband - do youo know a sick TURKEY when you see one ?Whys is Lady "Babs"Amos always hanging around Downing Street, What DOES Carole Caplin know, that she isn't telling ...well not for a lot of money. Has Prince Charles got Lung cancer from PASSIVE SMOKING ? What have Lady Symons, Baroness Morgan, Anji Hunter, Baroness Scotland, (T)Ruth Turner, Cheri Blair got in common with our Dear Leader ? Who really got the money when the DTI shored up the Longbridge payroll ? Can John Prescott get into his wife's underwear ? Can anyone else ? Why are there so many Latvian doctors in the NHS ? Why so few Indian doctors. Are there any left in Latvia / India ? What is MDRTB and why should we worry ? Bird Flu, aren't tcha sick of it yet ?

You get the idea.

George Galloway goes to police after "Fake Sheikh" con trick

Mohamed Ali, the chief executive of the Islam Channel was approached covertly by " fake sheik" Mazer Mahmood of Rupes Rag NOW to introduce George Galloway to him claiming several times that "somebody" wanted to meet him who was "keen to help "Respect" and the ...er .... “community”.

GG claims he was naturally suspicious, Mazer tells me GG kept putting off the "offer" for several weeks. Finally, after much prompting from Mr Ali, He agreed to meet this "someone" after his radio show on Saturday 25 March, at 10.30pm at the Dorchester Hotel, ( asort of pub on Park Lane) a venue which made him deeply suspicious.(Although Finjan Ltd., may well have paid for the odd meal or two on the premises, as GG's Jordanian businessman friend , Fawaz Zureikat may well have done - but probably hasn't)

GG explains he arrived and met Mr Ali sitting with someone who didn't introduce himself - but who later identified himself with a visiting card claiming he was Sam Fernando of Falcon Group International of 64 Knightsbridge.

They were joined by a man who embraced him in the South Asian custom but didn't identify himself. Neither GG claimed looked Islamist ! (Mazer is quite upset about this!)

Neither had a beard!!! Sam was a cool trendy looking man, and "Pervaiz" (though he never did say his name) had shoulder length jet black hair - not the usual style of an Islamist. (GG has evidently never been to Rochdale!).

After some small talk they began to ask some ludicrous leading questions. Such as, “How can we help, can we sponsor members of parliament?... fund political parties?”

I told them, "Absolutely not, it's completely illegal."

"But through English people ?" said Pervaiz, gesturing towards Mr Ali. I replied, "No. It’s completely illegal and so it should be Britain is sinking in campaign funding sleaze involving foreign funding." I told them that if they wanted to help the "community" they should invest in the Islam Channel, or start a radio station like the one I work for.

They then made offensive statements about Jewish peoplewhich GG says hey invited him to agree with. For example, when GG said the Daily Express was the worst pro-war, anti-Muslim paper in the land they asked, "Because it's owned by a Jew?"

"No," GG claims he said, "Because it’s owned by a pro-war anti-Muslim pornographer."

More seriously, they then moved on to doubt the Holocaust relates GG. "You're not allowed even to quibble about the numbers," said Fernando, "Not even to say it might have been 5 million"

" I weighed in, “People should never go down that road . David Irving isn't quibbling about the numbers in his heart he supports the Holocaust." said Gorgeous George.

I’m always telling Muslims never to get involved in that debate. The Holocaust is the greatest crime in human history and it should be accepted as such." At midnight I said GG made his excuses and left as many readers of the NOW would be familiar with.

"My driver wants a picture with you," said "Pervaiz", "He's seen you on television." His driver was built like a bodyguard, had a mouthful of gold teeth and when GG asked where he was from he answered, enigmatically, "From up north.”

After pictures, GG left. Outside GG rang Mr Ali and warned him. GG thought these people were deceivers. It turned out they have been also wanting an introductiom to my parliamentary colleague, Jeremy Corbyn, Hon. Member for Islington North.

GG explains that in In Andrew Marr's book, he interviews the “fake Sheikh” Mazer Mahmood. He describes the Sheikh's "minder". Marr says has a mouthful of gold teeth.

GG has written to the Speakers Office and Sir Ian Blair of that Ilk claiming all sorts of malpractice, torts, rights, wrongs.... anyway he got a slap up dinner at the Dorchester. When Mazer "exposed the 5th 7/7 bomber he got six months inside for wasting Police time.

Pic George Galloway and the owner of the Sahara Nights club Mr Haleem Kherallah.

PS Fawaz Zuriekat, is an individual named on 12 May 2005 by the US Senate Sub-Committee as allegedly connected with payments in relation to allocations of oil under the Iraq Oil for Food Programme.

US invokes Human Rights for thief, money launderer, arms dealer

The US Embassy in Moldova website posted an item on Friday that is, at first sight puzzling, tantalising, and ultimately outrageously funny... you may have missed the blazing hypocrisy of it.

Statement by U.S. Embassy regarding the trial of former Moldovan Defense Minister Valeriu Pasat

The U.S. expresses its disappointment with the recent trial of former Moldovan Minister of Defense Valeriu Pasat. Whereas the verdict in the case appears to have been based on the assumption that the 1997 sale of 21 MiG-29 jets to the U.S. was disadvantageous for Moldova, we believe the Moldovan Government made the right decision to sell the MiGs to the U.S. Had Moldova chosen to sell the airplanes to a country associated with international terrorism, that decision would have drawn strong criticism from the international community and would have negatively affected our relationship. Additionally, we regret that Pasat's trial was held behind closed doors and note that the presiding judge refused to admit sworn statements offered by former U.S. officials involved with the sale.

In light of new, unrelated charges issued against Pasat, we call on the Government of Moldova to ensure that any future judicial proceedings, in this as in all cases, are carried out in full conformity with international human rights standards.

That the US Administration should appeal to the international standards of Human Rights, the administration that not only employs Spanish speaking 23 year Foreign Service veteran but also the Spanish speaking Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez … the man who put the unconventional in his reading of the Geneva Conventions has a delightful edge of irony about it.

What on earth is going on here ?

In the aftermath of glasnost and the Global Warming started the thaw in the Cold War The US Department of Defense of the United States of America and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Moldova reached an agreement to implement the Cooperative Threat Reduction accord signed on June 23, 1997, in Moldova. This involved the purchase of Moldova’s complete stock of Mig – 29’s bits and pieces, missiles etc., by the US. This was for an undisclosed sum but now said to be in the region of USD$80Mn. Thus preventing that these dual-use military weapons did not fall into the hands of rogue states

The Pentagon pounced on the planes after learning Iran had inspected the jets and expressed an interest in adding them to their inventory. (Hmmmmm…)

Iran (who operate the Russian Sunburst supersonic cruise missiles to guard the Persian Gulf) already flies the less-capable Fulcrum A, it doesn't own any of the more advanced C-models.

Of the 21 Fulcrums the United States bought, 14 are the frontline Fulcrum C's, which contain an active radar jammer in its spine, six older A's and one B-model two-seat trainer.

From Oct. 20 to Nov. 2, 1997, loadmasters and aerial port experts squeezed two MiGs apiece, less wings and tails, into the cargo holds of C-17 Globemaster III transports from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. The Charleston airlifters delivered the MiGs to the National Air Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio.

A team of 40 airmen, including engineers, aerial port personnel and security forces, spent 24 days last October and November at Markuleshti Air Base in Moldova, packing up and shipping the jets, missiles and equipment. Enlisted members composed a majority of the team, representing several commands and agencies like the Air Intelligence Agency, Air Mobility Command, and U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Many pundits including the Federation of American Scientists recognize that in an individual match-up, the MiG-29 is potentially equal to, or better than the F-15 Eagle or F-16 Falcon.

Valeriu Pasat was Moldova’s ambassador to Russia, and after that took up the post of Moldovan Defense Minister in 1997 and was responsible for negotiating the sale of the Mig –29’s. The picture shows Secretary of Defense William Cohen (left), Col. Gregory Gardner, U.S. Army (center), and Minister of Defense Valeriu Pasat (right), of the Republic of Moldova, inspect the joint services honor guard during an armed forces full honor arrival ceremony at Conmy Hall, Fort Myer, Va., on Jan. 29, 1998.

Later Pasat moved to head up Moldova’s spy agency from 2000 to 2002, when he was dismissed by president Vladimir Voronin one of the old Cold War Communist apparatchiks.

It might be worth mentioning here a detail from an interview the new US Ambassador Ms. Heather Hodges gave to Welcome Moldova magazine.

Q. What have you encountered to be the biggest problem Moldova faces today as a newly independent state?
A. I believe that corruption is the biggest problem that Moldova faces.

The poorest country in Europe and a former communist Russian state, Moldova sits between the Ukraine and Romania and is comparable in size to Indiana. Ms. Hodges was in no doubt about about the nature of POlitics in the land of her service.

Meanwhile Valeriu Pasat headed for Moscow to work with the State Energy group UES. There his boss was, UES Chief Executive Officer Anatoly Chubais, who has called on Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin to free his employee. The arrest of his aide “cannot be separated from what has been happening in Russian-Moldovan relations in recent weeks,” he is quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

Returning to Moldova he was arrested and he is suspected of laundering money obtained from the sale of 21 MiG-29 fighter jets to the United States in 1997. The deal was worth more than $80 million, but the republic’s budget received only half of this sum, prosecutors estimate. He was charged with “usurpation of state power and premeditation of murder for clearing the way for another offense”. Apparently he had been overheard threatening to murder a politcian.

The trial ended this week, and was held in secret, behind closed doors, a procedure the US apparently finds breaches human rights, but which they regularly use in Kabul, Bagram, Diego Garcia, and Guantanamo Bay … and probably in many other places.

Pasat was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment being found guilty of defrauding the state budget of 50 million dollars as a result of a transaction with 21 war planes MIG-29 and of defrauding the public budget of 1.8 million dollars as a result of selling war systems “Uragan” and rockets for them to “JOI Slovakia” at lower prices.

US invokes Human Rights for thief, money launderer, arms dealer ? Yes. But he's OUR thief, money launderer, arms dealer.

Some fascinating background information is available here


The Velvet Revolution
Fascinating insight into US diplomacy in Ukraine and some light on Anatoly Chubai’s career under both Yeltsin and Putin.

Mig impresses in Dubai
Information about the new deflected multi-vectored (DFV) thrust which will feature in the MiG – 35 ( was MiG –29 OVT) which India wants to replace the ageing MiG 21’s. … Dubya is due in India next month.

Simply enter your e-mail in the Bloglet form at the top of this site to receive a regular e-mail notifying you of recent posts .

Zimbabwe - the population is shrinking, emigration, disease ,AIDS,removals ...

The excellent and indominatable Peta Thorneycraft miraculously keeps reporting in the Torygraph the plight of Zimbabweans. El Presidente (in excellent health apparently) is apparently currently enjoying the delights of Malaysia ..... and bread is so costly it goes stale on the shop shelves. The price of bread was increased last month from Z$295 to Z$850 ($3.30-ish)a loaf because of escalating costs of flour and production.(Herald report)

Maize (corn) is unavailable and stocks (like Saddam's WMD's) are now a State secret. Zimbabwe is in the 7th year of an economic recession which culminated in a more than 1 000% inflation rate in 2006, unemployment of more than 70% and shortages of all basic goods like fuel and cooking oil and staples.

Power cuts from Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, ZESA are regular and last weeks shut down of power to half of Harare last week by workers to protest their poor wages was hardly noticed. (Doctors and some nurses are also on strike)

However the whole of Southern Africa are facing huge electricity supply problems. The SA Power Pool - a body that co-ordinates the planning and operation of electricity power systems among South African Development Community member states — total annual demand will clock 44 689 megawatts by the end of 2007 against combined net generation capacity of 45 000MW.

At the current growth rate, total regional demand for electricity is projected to hit 45 827MW by the end of 2008; 47 920MW in 2009; 48 795MW in 2010; and 50 291MW in 2011. Capital projects totalling US$5.2 Bn are required simply to meet the projected shortfall in the region.

The Sunday Times has a report yesterday , "Zimbabwe, the land of dying children"

They claim that 42,000 women died in childbirth last year, compared with fewer than 1000 a decade ago. and point to a cull ammounting to geneocide that is " perhaps 10 times greater than Darfur's and more than twice as large as Rwanda's"

Of course many haven't died but fled, South to SA, and many others worldwide. Many are simply "missing". AIDS is prevalent - a 2004 UN report stated that 55% of the armed forces were AIDS positive and the UK Health Protection Agency said in 2002 that over 50% of new AIDS cases in the UK came from Zimbabwean immigrants, principally women. There are some 30,000 native born Zimbabweans in the UK.

The crackdown started with Operation Murambatsvina (Shona for "drive out the filth") in which the police and army destroyed shanty towns and cracked down on unlicensed traders after Mugabe decreed that they needed to be forcibly "re-ruralised" to regain their peasant roots. An idea proposed by Mengistu who obtained refuge in this stricken land with the help of the US and who now works as a power behind Mugabe.

Now we have , Operation Maguta ( which in the double speak of the double ungood means "live well", prompted by a shortfall in maize production since the white owned and run commercial farms were destroyed. Maguta means villagers on communal land are compelled by Army thugs them to grow maize and sorghum, which they must then sell to the army-run Grain Marketing Board(GMB). Receipts of wheat so far are 135,000 tons against a target of 200,000 tons.

In Matabeleland, where maize does not grow well, the army has gone in hard, beating peasants who resist, raping women chopping down orchards and tearing up vegetable patches.

Didymus Mutasa, the brutal, uneducated Security Minister is reported saying in 2002, that "we would be better off with only 6million people, with our own people who support the liberation struggle. We don't want all these extra people".

Pius Ncube, the Catholic Archbishop of Matabeleland, says "What is going on is truly evil but I do not think they set out to kill people, it is just that they do not care."

"Their only concern is to stay in power and enrich themselves and to turn people into terrified, compliant subjects ... Mugabe is a murderer and also a traitor - he is selling the country to the Chinese. It is lonely to be the only one to say that."

Still the West turns a blind eye. Zimbabwe is simply not on the UN agenda: South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, has for a long time used his influence to stifle debate and comment. Nor do the Chinese wish to stir trouble as they ship off the copper ore, beyond supplying radar and anti-aircraft missiles for Mugabe's palace. Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary Trust Maphosa also revealed recently the purchase of 12 K8 Chinese/Pakistani jet fighter trainers at a cost of some US$20Mn each. This is no doubt part of El Presidente's "Look East" policy to forge closer links with Asia - all part of of the national economic development priority programme (NEDPP).

Chinese Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) offered $3bn for a 60% stake in Zimbabwe's struggling state-owned steel firm, Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Ziscosteel) which is running at 30% capacity at the end of November - nothing has been heard since. This came 2 months after the government announced the collapse of a $400m investment by India's Global Steel Holdings to rehabilitate Ziscosteel - the fate of many grandiose projects.

Where does Mugabe's money come from? - well Bindura Nickel (previously 53% owned by Anglo American who sold out 2 years ago) secured a Paribas Bank loan to cover Kuwaiti owned road fuel shipped in from Mozambique. Who owns what, no-one knows but the product ships to China and the income presumably gets divvied up between ZANU PF henchmen.Their Trojan mine is undergoing a US$10 MN refit to replace 30 year old kit which will be operating from May 2007. Falcon Gold and Huwange Colliery are other successful mining enterprises.

Mugabe - and, to a considerable extent, Mbeki( This is Rupe's Rag saying this remember) -"have already been responsible for far more deaths than Rwanda suffered, and the number is fast heading into realms previously explored only by Stalin, Mao and Adolf Eichmann. "

There were 4,500 white commercial farmers in 2000, and now there are possibly 500 left. On December 20th Mugabe signed the Gazetted Land Act , the tool of Didymus Mutasa, who is also in charge of land reform, which means farmers or occupiers would be allowed to stay in farm houses for up to 90 days, and then must leave.

Mutasa is quoted last week by Reuters.."My ministry will issue notices to vacate these and expect compliance in terms of the law, failure of which will result in prosecution", he said, adding that those found guilty would pay a fine or face a two-year jail term or both.See Gubment website

The United States unveiled the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act 2001 imposing sanctions on President Mugabe and his closest lieutenants. Yet the New Zimbabwean reports ""Gifts and donations with a total value of $88 332 609 in 2003 being computer equipment and accessories were received by the Air Force of Zimbabwe from the government of the United States of America," major general Ruwondo said in a report dated October 26th 2006.

Bright spot ? (Zimbabwe won the 1.50 pm race @ Exeter on New Year’s Day !).

In July, villagers in impoverished Marange district in Eastern Zimbabwe discovered diamonds sparking a massive diamond rush, so in November police launched Operation Chikorokoza Chapera (No Illegal Panning). So far more than 19 000 people have been arrested for illegal mining and smuggling. The official Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) is supposed to have a monopoly on purchasing all diamonds in Zimbabwe. Smuggling to SA and Mozambique is rife at present.

Now suspected emerald fields have been found at three sites in Buhera district Chishanyi, Svongwa and Jori and about 3 000 people have joined the latest rush, reports the state-controlled Manica Post newspaper.

Local chiefs say the minerals are a gift to them from their ancestors, meant to cushion them from Zimbabwe's deepening economic crisis.(Press 24 (SA) report)

Meanwhile an IMF team spent 11 days in Harare pre-Christmas looking at defaults on over US$125 of loans, non payment of which could lead to removal from the IMF at their review meeting in February.

What can I do ? Well educate yourself by setting up Google Alerts, Mugabe, Mutasa, ZANU-PF, hounding your MP, MEP, tell your friends now, it is too late but eventually the conscience of the West will be prodded into action. Meanwhile some links to follow ....
Cry Beloved Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Outpost of Tyranny (links to every conceivable Zim site)

Crisis in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Vigil

A vigil is held outside the Zimbabwean Embassy in London every Saturday from 1400 to 1800 hrs and this week singer Viomak was present - her new “Happy 83rd Birthday President R.G Mugabe (Zimbabwe Classics 2) Bones of a 30 Year Old.” is due out soon. Her website is here
http://www.viomakcharitymusic.com/ where you can listen to and order HAPPY 82ND BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT R.G MUGABE ( ZIMBABWE CLASSICS 1) Emotions Of The Emotionless. see more pics here

Tonight - Monday, 8th January, 7.30 pm, First Central London Zimbabwe Forum of 2007.
Jenni Williams of WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise)
Monday, 15th January, 7.30 pm, Forum + MDC Central London Branch Assembly.
Upstairs at the Theodore Bullfrog pub, 28 John Adam Street, London WC2