Current Events in Mideast-Africa

Gulf States Prepare for Blockage of Hormuz Strait By REUTERS, ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates DefenseNews Oil-exporting Gulf states adopted a contingency plan on June 14 in case of a blockage of shipping through the mouths of the Gulf and the Red Sea, the United Arab Emirates’ official news agency WAM reported. The move came amid tension between the United States and Iran over its nuclear program, and a warning this month by Iran’s supreme leader that world energy flows could be endangered by any U.S. "wrong move" against Tehran. WAM said transport ministers of the six Gulf countries "adopted an emergency plan to be implemented on (Gulf Arab) seaports if Hor…

Afghanistan/U.S.: 'Strategic Partnership' Seen As Move Toward De Facto Rights For U.S. Bases By Ron Synovitz GlobalSecurity The strategic partnership agreed to at the White House on 23 May by U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai seeks to ensure long-term cooperation between the two governments. In their memorandum of understanding, Bush pledged continued help to strengthen security forces, democracy, and the Afghan economy. Karzai agreed that U.S. forces will continue to have access to the Bagram Air Field north of Kabul and other strategic military installations. Prague, 25 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the s…

From Reuters [excerpt]

From http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/25/party-appears-to-be-ending-for-somali-pirates/?test=latestnews [excerpt]

From Reuters [excerpt]

Pakistan admits defense role of China-built Gwadar port Special to World Tribune.com EAST-ASIA-INTEL.COM Thursday, May 26, 2005 The Chinese-built port facility at Gwadar, on the Indian Ocean in western Pakistan, will be used for defense purposes, a Pakistani admiral said. Gwadar is seen as part of Beijing's 'string of pearls' strategy to secure sea routes for oil from the Middle East. Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Shahid Karimullah said at a conference on April 26 that while the port is also a commercial facility it will also be used by warships. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said last year that the port would be strictly a commercial facility …

From http://www.cnn.com/2....html?hpt=hp_t1 [excerpt]

Death by Chemicals: The Syrian Government’s Widespread and Systematic Use of Chemical Weapons (Human Rights Watch)

From DefenseNews Posted 09/06/07 08:14 India to Launch BrahMos From Russian Sub By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI, NEW DELHI India’s supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, built jointly with Russia, is ready to be launched from a submarine, Defence Minister A.K. Anthony reportedly told the Indian Parliament on Sept. 5. Currently, the Indian navy’s submarines do not have the capability to launch BrahMos missiles. Sources in the Indian Defence Ministry said the BrahMos will be tested on an unspecified Russian submarine later this year. Versions of the BrahMos have been developed for the Indian army, navy and air force. The air version will be integrated on IL-38 maritime surveil…

From Defence Talk Iran Threatens Longer Stride For Nuclear Drive Agence France-Presse | Jun 22, 2007 Washington: Iran warned Thursday it would take a "longer stride" in its hotly contested nuclear program if it is slapped with a third set of United Nations sanctions. The comment in a Newsweek interview by Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, came as Larijani prepared to discuss the row with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Portugal this weekend. Iran has been hit with two sets of UN Security Council sanctions and faces a third for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment work, the process which makes nuclear fuel and the fissile c…

Looks like another step taken by India to become the Regional Dominance.

From Defence Talk Israeli Nukes Complicate International Nuclear Doctrine AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Wed, 28 Jun 2006, 01:28 Houston, Texas: The United States cannot denounce Iran's nuclear program while accepting Israel's possession of nuclear bombs, the head of the Arab League said Tuesday. "This will ultimately bring the Middle East to further instability and there will be an inevitable arms race," Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa told the US Arab Economic Forum in Houston, Texas. The United States is locked in a standoff with Iran over its uranium enrichment program. Washington and its allies suspect the program masks a nuclear bomb-making effort. …

From DefenseNews Posted 09/07/07 09:48 Report: BAE to Seal $40B Eurofighter Deal With Saudis Next Week AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, LONDON British defense firm BAE Systems will next week clinch a 20-billion-pound ($40.4 billion) deal to supply 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Saudi Arabia, a report said Sept. 7. "It is understood that the British government sent the Typhoon contract to King Abdullah two days ago," The Times newspaper in London wrote. "The king is expected to sign the contract next week, sealing one of the largest export orders ever won by the UK.” A spokeswoman for BAE told the newspaper, "This is a government-to-government negotiation and we are unabl…

From DefenseNews Russia, China Want Talks, Not Sanctions on Iran By OLEG SHCHEDROV, REUTERS, MOSCOW Russia and China made clear on Jan. 17 they do not favor U.N. sanctions to induce Iran to scale back its nuclear program, and Tehran urged the European Union to return to the negotiating table. A senior British official dismissed as “vacuous” the Iranian offer, contained in a letter from Javad Vaeedi, deputy head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tehran should first halt all uranium enrichment work. “Talks presuppose an obligation. The Iranian obligation was to stick to the moratorium,” Lavrov said.…

From Defence Talk Israel air force training for distance missions: report Agence France-Presse | Jun 25, 2007 Jerusalem: Israel's air force is training for long distance missions, after agreeing a timetable with the United States for sanctions against Iran's nuclear programme to work, a report said on Friday. Israel's tabloid-style Maariv daily, which said the military censor had authorised its report, said the training included long-range strikes as well as in-flight refuelling. The newspaper gave no further details of the flights but said Israel and the United States would hold joint assessments at the end of the year of the effectiveness of economic sancti…

Satellite imagery shows Russian AWACS back in Syria (DefenseNews)

From Marine Corps Times ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s outdated military presents little current threat to its neighbors, despite the fierce rhetoric from its hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, military analysts said Monday at a security conference here in the Persian Gulf. Iran has exaggerated its military capabilities, while U.S. and Israeli leaders have engaged in “provocative rhetoric” that overstates the Iranian threat, said Anthony Cordesman of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. In reality, Iran is more focused on national defense than using military power to boost its influence in the region, he said. …

From Flight Global [excerpt]

From ARES Sarkozy: Rafales, Rafales, Buy a Rafale! Posted by Robert Wall at 2/12/2009 12:26 PM CST French president Nicholas Sarkozy may yet prove to be a miracle worker. On a trip to Kuwait, Sarkozy says he's gotten close to securing an agreement to sell the Rafale strike fighters to the Middle East country. The deal hasn’t been inked, though, and it wouldn’t be the first time Paris thought it had found its first export customer for the Rafale, only to see the deal fall by the wayside. Kuwait may buy between 14 and 28 fighters, if a contract can be finalized. Kuwait was an operator of Dassault Mirage F1 fighters, although it replaced those after the…

AP You see, South Sudan got most of the oil when it seceded last year...