Current Events in Mideast-Africa

From RIA Novosti [excerpt]

From Stratfor Two Leaks and the Deepening Iran Crisis By George Friedman | October 5, 2009 Two major leaks occurred this weekend over the Iran matter. In the first, The New York Times published an article reporting that staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear oversight group, had published an unreleased report saying that Iran was much more advanced in its nuclear program than the IAEA had thought previously. According to the report, Iran now has all the data needed to design a nuclear weapon. The article added that U.S. intelligence was re-examining the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) of 2007, which had stated that Ira…

Iranian Nuclear Facility Under Cyberattack, Computers Playing AC/DC’s Thunderstruck at Night Yesterday, the security research group F-Secure received a puzzling email claiming to be from a nuclear scientist with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). In it, the author claimed that the country’s nuclear facilities were once again under attack. Only this time, the hackers brought Angus Young along for the ride. F-Secure’s Mikko Hypponen said that a strange new chapter in the ongoing strife over Iran’s nuclear activities may be unfolding. He posted the following email which, although he cannot confirm the veracity of the claims, he does say came from wi…

Secret State Department cable: Chemical weapons used in Syria (Foreign Policy, The Cable blog)

Country: Libya 2010 Air Assets: Air Force 18,000 personnel Flying hours 85 hrs/year FORCES BY ROLE & EQUIPMENT BY TYPE (many non-operational, many ac in store) AIRCRAFT 590 combat capable BMR (6): 1 sqn with: 6 Tu-22B Blinder-A FTR (200): 9+ sqn with: 15 Mirage F-1ED 65 MiG-25P/PB/PDS/M Foxbat-A/B/D/E (storage) 75 MiG-23ML/MS Flogger-B 45 MiG-21bis Fishbed-N MiG-25U Foxbat FGA 134: 7 sqn with: 11 Su-24MK Fencer-D 14 Mirage F-1AD 40 MiG-23BN Flogger-H 45 Su-22M-2 Fitter-J 8 Su-22UM-3K Fitter-G MiG-23UB Flogger-C* 16 Soko J-21E Jastreb (Light Ground Attack) Recce 2 sqn with: 30 MiG-25R/RE Foxbat-B/D Mirage 5D…

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

Boston Globe April 4, 2007 US Is Said To Advise Militants On Raids In Iran By Reuters WASHINGTON -- The United States has been secretly advising and encouraging a Pakistani militant group that has carried out a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran, ABC News reported yesterday, citing US and Pakistani intelligence sources. The raids have resulted in the deaths or capture of Iranian soldiers and officials, ABC reported. The group, members of the Baluchi tribe, operates from Pakistan's gas-rich province of Baluchistan, just across the border from Iran, the report said. The only relationship with the group that US intelligence acknowledges is…

From RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti [excerpt]

Very widely reported this - which would make it the first US downing of a manned aircraft since 1999. Pilot of the Su-22 is apparently missing.

Solución de última hora de la Armada: Angola compra el Príncipe de Asturias (El Confidencial Digital, in Spanish) Google translate if need be.

The IAF vs Iran's Nuke Complex

From Stratfor Mediterranean Flyover: Telegraphing an Israeli Punch? June 23, 2008 By George Friedman On June 20, The New York Times published a report saying that more than 100 Israeli aircraft carried out an exercise in early June over the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Greece. The article pointed out that the distances covered were roughly the distances from Israel to Iranian nuclear sites and that the exercise was a trial run for a large-scale air strike against Iran. On June 21, the British newspaper The Times quoted Israeli military sources as saying that the exercise was a dress rehearsal for an attack on Iran. The Jerusalem Post, in covering these events, …

BBC News report So, I guess Mursi isn't as Islamist as some people feared...

Find it here. Early reports of an interesting naval/GOPLAT situation developing in the Persian Gulf. Scenario seed?

[iran continues to beef up the point defences, and check out the bold print ... interesting stuff] From Jane's Defence Weekly 22 May 2007 Iran set to obtain Pantsyr via Syria By Robin Hughes Iran is set to acquire at least 10 96K6 Pantsyr-S1E self-propelled short-range gun and missile air-defence systems as a derivative of a major deal struck between Syria and Russia earlier this year. A source close to the deal told Jane's that Russia has agreed to sell Damascus "some 50 Pantsyr-S1E systems", with initial deliveries set to begin later in 2007. Syria is understood to be receiving the Pantsyr-S1E equipped with the latest Roman I-Band fire control radar. …

From Time's Battleland blog [excerpt]

Is the Colonel still a kook? From Aviation Week's ARES Blog Moscow Eyes Strategic Port of Benghazi as Second Med Naval Station Posted by David Eshel at 11/4/2008 9:01 AM CST Colonel Mummar el-Qaddafi, Libya's longtime controversial leader, visited Moscow over the weekend and apparently offered the Port of Benghazi to Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev during their talks in the Kremlin last Saturday. The port is located in a highly strategic position, on the north east coast on the Gulf of Sidra, facing southern Europe. No wonder then that prominent Russian naval officers are happy with this lucrative offer. “Russia is interested in getting access to naval…

Obama: Iran a year away from nuclear weapon (Army Times)