Iran Says U.S. Aircraft Carrier Has Entered Zone Near Key Oil Route

"foreign fleet will be warned by Iranian forces if it enters the area of the drill."

Yep, the Iranian Navy sounds real tough.

Let the Fifth Fleet cruise through the straights of Hormuz and then we can see the Iranians poop themselves at the sheer size of a real Navy.

Foxnews
An Iranian surveillance plane has shot video and photographed a U.S. aircraft carrier during Iran's ongoing navy drill near a strategic waterway in the Persian Gulf, the official IRNA news agency reported on Thursday.
The report did not provide details and it was unclear what information the Iranian military could gleam from such footage. But the announcement is an indication Iran is seeking to cast its navy as having a powerful role in the region's waters.
IRNA quoted Iran's navy chief, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, as saying the action shows that Iran has "control over the moves by foreign forces" in the area where Tehran is holding a 10-day military exercise.

"An Iranian vessel and surveillance plane have tracked, filmed and photographed a U.S. aircraft carrier as it was entering the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf," Sayyari said.
He added that the "foreign fleet will be warned by Iranian forces if it enters the area of the drill."

Pentagon Pentagon Warns China's Military Is Growing Rapidly

The largest standing Military getting bigger every year, and the U.S. Government doesn't ever think too much of it , until now.

What will the Obamasiah have to say?

Foxnews
Bolstered by the development of a new stealth fighter, an aircraft carrier and a record number of space launches over the past year, China is on pace to achieve its goal of building a modern, regionally focused military by 2020, according to the Pentagon.

In a report released Wednesday, the Pentagon said Beijing has closed critical technological gaps and is rapidly modernizing its military equipment, all with an eye toward preventing possible U.S. and allied intervention in a conflict with Taiwan. It also warns that the military expansion could increasingly stretch to the western Pacific in a move to deny U.S. and allies' access or movement there.

"The pace and scope of China's sustained military investments have allowed China to pursue capabilities that we believe are potentially destabilizing to regional military balances, increase the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation and may contribute to regional tensions and anxieties," said Michael Schiffer, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia.

Pakistan army officer held for 'links with extremists'

One down, several dozen to go.
Pakistan or should we say Muslim countries are never to quick at getting to the bottom of the obvious, to many issues in the way.
Taqiya,Islam itself, the many goats,prayers five times a day, and the fact that most of these jackass's are considered good Muslims!
They considered Osama Bin Lade a good Muslim.
So how are they supposed to find the corrupt ones in the Military when they can't see the fact that the Taliban are bad guys and Military officers working with the Taliban are the bad guys too.

Islam the Religion of Stupidity.

BBC
A senior officer serving in Pakistan's army has been detained for alleged contacts with banned extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Brig Ali Khan is being interrogated by military intelligence, the army says.

"We follow a zero tolerance policy of any such activity within the army," a military spokesman said.

Brig Khan, serving at Pakistan's military headquarters in Rawalpindi, was detained last month. His family say he is innocent.

The brigadier is one of the most senior serving officers accused of links with extremists in Pakistan in recent years.

"He is under detention and an investigation is in progress for his contacts with a proscribed militant organisation," military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told BBC Urdu's Asif Farooqi.

China aircraft carrier confirmed by general

The Chinese have an old Russian aircraft carrier the are remodeling.
Big deal, what is anyone going to do about it.
If they are this far along in their quest to build the biggest military in the world and they are just now getting their first aircraft carrier and one that they did not build in the first place, there is not much to worry about.
I'd say they are still a little behind the U.S Navy, we currently have 11, we built them all by ourselves.


BBC
The head of China's General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has confirmed that China's first aircraft carrier is under construction.

Gen Chen Bingde refused to say when the carrier - a remodelled Soviet-era vessel, the Varyag - would be ready.

A member of his staff said the carrier would pose no threat to other nations.

The 300m (990ft) carrier, which is being built in the north-east port of Dalian, has been one of China's worst-kept secrets, analysts say.

Gen Chen made his comments to the Chinese-language Hong Kong Commercial Daily newspaper.

China Does Not Have The Capability To Challenge The U.S."

So will General Chen Bingde be having a stay at a re education Camp?

Something is not right with this, China never condones any talk like this.

Never trust a Communist.

Foxnews
China's top military officer said Wednesday that his country lacked the equipment and directives necessary to challenge the U.S. militarily.

"Through my visit over the past couple of days in the United States, I am surprised by the sophistication of the U.S. military, including its weapons and equipment and doctrines and so on," People's Liberation Army leader General Chen Bingde said. "I can tell you that China does not have the capability to challenge the United States. As a matter of fact, the reconnaissance activities along China's coast by U.S. military aircraft and vessels are seen in China as deterrents."

For emphasis, the general added, "What I'm trying to say is that we do not have the capability to challenge the United States."

Chen made the comments at a joint Pentagon press briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, in response to a question about potential exaggerations in some U.S. media circles regarding China's military capability. The briefing followed two days of what both military leaders described as positive meetings about U.S.-China military relations.

Army base locked to solve 'serious concern'

Spooky stuff, there are 1200-1400 people at this base.


Msnbc
SALT LAKE CITY — The commander of an Army base in Utah, which works on how to protect troops against biological and chemical attacks, said it was on lockdown while trying to resolve a "serious concern."

Military weapons are tested at Dugway Proving Grounds, located about 85 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The base, which covers around 80,000 acres of desert, according to KSL.com, has a primary mission of defending troops against biological and chemical attacks.

Chinese Military Buildup Apparent Ahead of Gates Visit

"But many more experts say they believe the pictures and the aircraft are authentic"

How is this for Authentic?

The Chinese J20 Black Eagle/ Stealth Fighter.




BEIJING—The first clear pictures of what appears to be a Chinese stealth fighter prototype have been published online
, highlighting China's military buildup just days before U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates heads to Bejiing to try to repair defense ties.

The photographs, published on several unofficial Chinese and foreign defense-related websites, appear to show a J-20 prototype making a high-speed taxi test—usually one of the last steps before an aircraft makes its first flight—according to experts on aviation and China's military.

The exact origin of the photographs is unclear, although they appear to have been taken by Chinese enthusiasts from the grounds of or around the Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute in western China, where the J-20 is in development. A few experts have suggested that the pictured aircraft is a mock-up, rather than a functioning prototype of a stealth fighter—so-called because it is designed to evade detection by radar and infrared sensors.

But many more experts say they believe the pictures and the aircraft are authentic, giving the strongest indication yet that Beijing is making faster-than-expected progress in developing a rival to the U.S. F-22—the world's only fully operational stealth fighter.

Unmanned US Spacecraft Returns After 7-Month Trip

Uh, Autonomous landing? 7 Months in space!



Can it Carry Cargo?

If it can land itself while carrying say ...

Nevermind! Move along sheeple nothing to see here.

Foxnews
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The U.S. Air Force's secrecy-shrouded X-37B unmanned spaceplane returned to Earth early Friday after more than seven months in orbit on a classified mission, officials said.

The winged craft autonomously landed at at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California coast 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, Vandenburg spokesman Jeremy Eggers said.

"It's very exciting," Eggers said of the 1:16 a.m. PST landing.

The X-37B was launched by an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 22, 2010, with a maximum mission duration of 270 days.

Also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, the Boeing-built spacecraft was originally a NASA project before being taken over by the military.


The Air Force has not said whether it carried anything in its cargo bay, but insists the primary purpose of the mission was to test the craft itself.

Mystery Solved? Missile Launch Could Be a Jet Contrail

Sorry I'm not buying that one !

Not being an expert on Missiles or Anything, But I did spend Two years working at the Fort Bliss Army base in Texas/New Mexico.
I personally witnessed Patriot Missile Launches(From a distance)along with several other Missiles that are tested on their Firing ranges !
This was nothing but a Missile, Jet's do not leave a Contrail, and they don't make Vertical Takeoffs.
go Here and check out the Video Yourself.

Foxnews
A video that appears to show a missile launch off the coast of California is so far "unexplained" by anyone in the military, a Pentagon spokesman told reporters Tuesday -- but what seems mysterious could be nothing more than an airplane.

Federal officials do not consider the event a threat. And they aren't the only ones.

According to a post on ContrailScience.com, the visible exhaust from a jet engine, a trail of condensed water vapor called a contrail, resembles a missile trail when seen from some angles.

The confusion between a missile launch and a jet plane launch is caused by several common misconceptions, the site notes, explaining that the angle of launch, the direction of flight, and even the shape of the Earth can lead to the illusion. And indeed, when you look at certain images of jet launches, they do look a fair bit like missiles.

China says defense spending rise slows to 7.5 percent

Why is there always a doubt in your mind about what China is really saying or doing ?
Here again with another Military Budget announcement we are left wondering if they are telling the truth !


Reuters
China kept the rise in its military budget to 7.5 percent in 2010, a spokesman said on Thursday, a slowdown that left observers skeptical after an increase in tensions with the United States.
Some foreign analysts were surprised by the figure after more than two decades of nearly unbroken double-digit rises in China's defense budget, and said the announced numbers were unlikely to show the growing power's real military spending.

"All the evidence suggests that they are on a very powerful trajectory of expansion in substantive terms, and they seem to use this figure for political purposes almost, to send signals," said Ron Huisken, a China defense expert at the Australian National University in Canberra.

The announcement came after quarrels with the United States over human rights, Internet censorship, Tibet and Washington's arms sales to Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own.

Chinese parliamentary spokesman Li Zhaoxing said the increase would bring the country's defense budget for the year to 532.1 billion yuan ($77.95 billion), or 37.1 billion yuan more than what was actually spent on defense in 2009.

The budget for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) showed Beijing was not seeking confrontation, Li told a news conference a day ahead of the opening of China's annual parliament, or National People's Congress.

China has 2.3 million personnel in its armed forces, more than any other nation. The government has sought to slim numbers and lift troop quality by offering better benefits.

"I think the (Chinese) armed forces will be dissatisfied," Ikuo Kayahara, a retired Japanese major-general who teaches security studies at Takushoku University, said.

"The world has been criticizing China for increasing its defense budget by more than 10 percent every year," he said. "China may be reacting to this by trying to show that it is not focused only on expanding its armed forces."

British Defense Unveils Special Goo to Protect Soldiers

Amazing what can be done when you put your Mind to it .
Special Goo ? Just sounds odd though .


Foxnews
Britain's Ministry of Defense unveiled a robot hand that could defuse bombs and a luminous goo that flows around soldiers’ moving bodies but hardens to protect them if they are hit and a uniform that conducts electricity.

The innovations were among the first fruits of the initiative that aims to harness scientific innovation for rapid use on the battlefield. They are being funded by grants from the MoD's Center for Defense Enterprise, which encourages private companies to bring their products straight to the government for development. Officials say that 15 in every 100 applications are tested and about two are then developed.

But, the event held in Oxford on Friday looked more like a convention for dreadlocked and ponytailed Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts than a Ministry of Defence event.

Among the companies to have received funding is d3o Lab, which has developed an "intelligent" liquid polymer that is easily malleable when moved slowly but whose molecules lock together and absorb force when hit by a projectile.

To demonstrate its properties, which have uses in a new generation of helmets and types of body armor, members of the d3o team wrapped the luminous orange goo round their hands and then struck them repeatedly with hammers. "The way that the material responds to your body movements, you get a duality of flexibility and protection," Floria Antolini said.

Other innovations on show included the "Little Owl", a lightweight drone that its developers hope will carry 20kg of surveillance equipment and power itself on solar energy for up to three months. The project has received £44,000 of funding for development.

Intelligent Textiles received £49,500 to help it to develop an army uniform that conducts electricity and computer data through internally woven "conductive yarns". It allows troops to attach electrical equipment to powerpoints on their uniform, and to run internal heaters to keep them warm. The uniform runs off a central battery pack.

Clerics threaten to declare holy war if foreign troops land on Yemeni soil

“If any party insists on aggression, or invades the country, then according to Islam, jihad becomes obligatory,”

Obligitory ? oh that is spooky !



Timesonline
A group of influential religious leaders in Yemen has threatened to declare jihad — holy war — if foreign troops intervene to stem the spread of al-Qaeda in the country. The edict is a clear warning to the United States as it plans to step up its military involvement in the country.

The leaders said that a jihad would be called if foreign troops set up bases inside the country, or moved into its territorial waters.

“If any party insists on aggression, or invades the country, then according to Islam, jihad becomes obligatory," said a statement signed by 150 clerics and read out at a news conference in Sanaa, the capital. The stark threat came as Yemeni security officials declared that the country was openly now at war with the terrorists, who are trying to carve out a haven in a country riven by rebellion, secessionism, poverty and tribal loyalties...

The statement by the Yemeni Clerics Association, which wields considerable influence in the conservative Muslim state, seemed to be a clear attempt to limit the role Western forces can play in combating the new menace of al-Qaeda.

The religious group includes Sheikh Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, who was once the spiritual adviser to Osama bin Laden, and who is wanted by the US and UN on terrorism charges. The Yemeni Government has refused to arrest him, saying that no proof has been given linking him to terrorism. It is also fearful of going after so influential a figure.

Muslim Population in the Military Raises Difficult Issues

Difficult Issues ? You Don't say !
I guess the main issue would be If we can really trust A Muslim In the United States Military , Or do we just keep rolling along like it was not that big of a deal , And wait till it happens again ? (And Repeat as many times as needed , to not offend Muslims ? )
What is the difference between a Muslim suicide Bomber that kills 13 people and injures 30 , And a Major in the U.S. Army who happens to be a Muslim , snapping and going on a rampage killing 13 People and wounding 30 ?
Well one is a Terrorist attack !
And The other , In my opinion ... Also A Terrorist attack

....Fox News
The deadly rampage at Fort Hood is forcing Pentagon officials to confront difficult questions about the military's growing Muslim population.

The military has worked hard to recruit more Muslims since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the number of Muslim troops, while still small, has been increasing. There were 3,409 Muslims in the active-duty military as of April 2008, according to Pentagon statistics.

Military personnel don't have to disclose their religions, and many officials believe the actual number of Muslim soldiers may be at least 10,000 higher than the Pentagon statistics. For instance, the military "Officer Record Brief" of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings, said he had "no religious preference" and didn't identify him as a Muslim.

Even now, Muslim soldiers remain fairly rare in some parts of the military. At West Point, Army officials said there were just 24 Muslim cadets out of a total student body of 4,400. The Muslim cadets worship in an interfaith center on the bucolic New York campus, but don't have a dedicated mosque.

The push to boost Muslim representation has proven to be a double-edged sword for the military, which desperately needs the Muslim soldiers for their language skills and cultural knowledge, but also worries that a small percentage of those soldiers might harbor extremist ideologies or choose to turn their guns on their fellow soldiers.

In one of the military's most notorious cases of fratricide since Vietnam, Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar, a convert to Islam, rolled a grenade into a tent filled with other soldiers in April 2003. The attack killed two officers and wounded 14 others. During his court-martial, prosecution witnesses testified Sgt. Akbar had committed the attack because he believed the U.S. military would kill Muslim civilians during the coming invasion. Sgt. Akbar was later sentenced to death.

Muslim soldiers also face challenges stemming from their dual identities as adherents of the Islamic faith and as members of the U.S. military. In Iraq and Afghanistan, Muslims serving in the U.S. military often use fake last names to avoid being singled out by insurgents as traitors and to prevent reprisals against their families elsewhere in the world.

Army post shooting rampage leaves 13 dead, 30 hurt

Authorities have not ruled out that Hasan was acting on behalf of some unidentified radical group, the official said. He would not say whether any evidence had come to light to support that theory.

This POS probably was not acting on behalf of a radical muslim Group , he may have been suffering from sudden Jihad Syndrome .
Why would you join the Army ? Why would you be a Muslim In the U.S. military ?
13 dead 30 wounded , for what ? Because this pussy Muslim traumatic stress Psychiatrist snapped ?
Now the Bigger problem , Even if an Isolated incident , what are you supposed to think about other Muslims that are part of our Military ? Can you trust them ? Do you never send them into battle now ? What do you do with them ?

Can you TRUST them ?

....AP
FORT HOOD, Texas — Military officials were starting Friday to piece together what may have pushed an Army psychiatrist trained to help soldiers in distress to turn on his comrades in a shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded 30 in Texas.

The suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was on a ventilator and unconscious in a hospital after being shot four times during the shootings at the Army's sprawling Fort Hood, post officials said. In the early chaos after the shootings, authorities believed they had killed him, only to discover later that he had survived.

In Washington, a senior U.S. official said authorities at Fort Hood initially thought one of the victims who had been shot and killed was the shooter. The mistake resulted in a delay of several hours in identifying Hasan as the alleged assailant.

Authorities have not ruled out that Hasan was acting on behalf of some unidentified radical group, the official said. He would not say whether any evidence had come to light to support that theory.
The motive for the shooting wasn't clear, but Hasan was apparently set to deploy soon, and had expressed some anger about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said generals at Fort Hood told her that Hasan was about to deploy overseas. Retired Col. Terry Lee, who said he had worked with Hasan, told Fox News he was being sent to Afghanistan.

Lee said Hasan had hoped Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars.

For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing a career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001.

But his record wasn't sterling. At Walter Reed, he received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. And while he was an intern, Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.

At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.

Investigators had not determined for certain whether Hasan was the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case.

Juárez mayor asks for more soldiers

To read the papers around here (El Paso TX ) not much is going on in Jaurez , some of my co-workers live in the wonderful city of Jaurez , and I here some tid bits here and there ! for the most part they are true !
A day last week there was a report on the radio (Mexico) that 18 people were killed by noon ! it never appeared in the papers or online !
Either way it is a war zone south of the border , whether they report it or not !
The cartels own Jaurez !

....El Paso Times
Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz has asked the Mexican army to keep patrolling his city until mid-March as the unrelenting violence continues with several murders a day.

City officials, in a statement asking for more soldiers, said that the "presence of organized crime groups is still too strong" to allow military operations to end.

Reyes had a closed-door meeting in Mexico City on Thursday with some of the nation's top officials: Interior Minister Fernando Gomez Mont, Attorney General Arturo Chavez Chavez and Genaro Garcia Luna, the federal public-safety secretary.

Also on Thursday, convoys of Mexican army vehicles and soldiers rolled into Juárez as part of the regular rotation of soldiers done every 60 days.

A spokesman for the federal government's Joint Operation Chihuahua said that about 6,000 soldiers and 1,000 federal police officers are deployed in Juárez, and that 1,200 soldiers patrol alongside city police.

There were plans for the combined soldier-police patrols to be phased out by the end of September as new police recruits hit the streets. But city officials said this week the patrols would continue until the end of the year and Reyes was asking that they be extended until March 15.

The cost of the combined patrols for November and December alone will be 17.2 million pesos (about $1.3 million) from a municipal safety fund, Juárez city officials said.

Mexican federal forces have been in Juárez since spring 2008 in response to the crime crisis.
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Despite the presence of thousands of soldiers and federal police, a war among drug traffickers continues to claim several lives daily. More than 2,000 homicides have occurred in Juárez this year, surpassing the 1,600 a year ago.

Guillermo Dowell Delgado, the Juárez equivalent of a city manager, said the army has made progress.

Dowell said in a statement that the military has made 2,150 arrests, including 45 suspects since late August who allegedly confessed to at least 700 cartel-related murders. The army has also seized 2,532 firearms, plus 100 hand grenades, he said.

"These are impressive quantities," Dowell said, "even if only referring to the weapons, which would be enough to arm 21 companies or more than four infantry battalions."

Russia to build 6 nuclear subs with cruise missiles

This is nice to know , Along with China building up it's Military , Knowing now that Russia is doing the same , I wonder if the Obamasiah , thinks it a smart idea to "Downsize our Military" or just do nothing ?

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia will build at least six nuclear-powered submarines with long-range cruise missiles for its navy, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry told the Itar-Tass news agency.

The missiles can potentially carry low-capacity tactical warheads, the news agency reported Friday.

"These supersonic, highly maneuvering missiles are designed for strikes on aircraft carriers of the enemy if the latter poses a direct threat to Russia's security," the unnamed source told Itar-Tass. "The missiles can be launched at the most important coastal facilities."

The source added, "Despite the construction of a new nuclear submarine with new missiles, Russia intends to observe firmly international arms control agreements on equal terms with other countries."

The Severodvinsk-class submarines are being built at the Sevmash shipyard, the center of Russian nuclear submarine production, according to Global Security's Web site.

The new subs will be put into service for the Russian navy in 2011, the source told Itar-Tass.

Russia will finance the construction of the new submarine with long-range cruise missiles, First Deputy Chief of the Navy's General Staff, Vice-Admiral Oleg Burtsev told Itar-Tass.