$100M worth of JDAMs to Israel
another story from Middle East Times
JERUSALEM – The Israeli air force (IAF) will purchase an estimated $100 million worth of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) missiles from the US.The sale represents the largest weapons deal between the US and Israel since the war in Lebanon, said The Jerusalem Post Monday in an exclusive report.
Boeing produces the JDAM, a low-cost guidance kit that converts free-fall bombs into guided “smart” weapons. The JDAM-equipped bombs register the location of the target while attached to the computer in the jet. Once the bomb is launched, a satellite guides the bomb to its target, enabling the warplane to leave the enemy territory. The JDAM system also has the advantage of being able to navigate with accuracy, regardless of weather conditions.
Israel was the first foreign customer to purchase the weapons system in 2000. “The kits were then added to Mk-84, 2,000-pound warheads, turning simple iron bombs into precision, satellite-guided weapons,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
The IAF used JDAM missiles extensively last summer during the fighting against Hezbollah, and reported success in destroying targets. After the war, IAF commander Major General Elazar Shkedy pressed the Israeli defense department to begin negotiations with the US and Boeing to obtain additional JDAM kits.
let’s hope they can extract something useful
Middle East Times: Kenyan police ‘hack Al Qaeda laptop’
Spain implementing lessons learned from Madrid bombing
not just applicable to terrorism…
- “tighter coordination between security forces, first-responders, volunteer workers and public health players;
- faster communications with the public; and,
- a suspension of red-tape to galvanize public resources. “
Though many citizens immediately volunteered to help deal with the carnage, “we didn’t have a plan for organizing them and as a result, there was confusion and a huge waste of this potential. We don’t want that to happen again,” said the official.
read more at DefenseNews
Lt. Gen. Petraeus: simply parroting Bush’s faulty premise
well, that’s one way of looking at it.
I heard General Petraeus make this statement on national television the other night. He said, “ I believe security in Iraq must ultimately come from the Iraqis”. Yeh, right. And how long have Iraqi factions been fighting and killing? The ideology of the Iraqis does not embrace living peacefully with those who are not “ true believers” And nothing short of taking over that hodge podge government , instilling martial law and handing them a constitution based on complete separation of church and state will ever produce a country with any semblance of civilized behavior. The general’s belief is merely an off shoot of Presidents Bush’s dogmatic decree that the Iraqi government must come to the right decision how to govern on its own. The fact that Iraq has had thousands of years to develop this and has failed, seems to elude Mr. Bush. [More from Dale Netherton at American Chronicle]
Russia: “re-facilitating a bipolar world”
DEBKAfile: DEBKAfile’s Moscow sources report that president Vladimir Putin decided to settle the dispute with Tehran after learning from Washington that US sanctions were to be clamped down on Russian military industrial firms supplying Iran with the advanced Tor-M1 anti-missile missile systems for guarding Iranian nuclear installations. The new weapon was meant to deter US and Israel from taking military action against Iran’s nuclear industry.
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Putin’s instant response to Washington’s move was to dispatch Ivanov to Tehran with promises to satisfy Iran’s complaints.
winning hearts and minds…
…somebody has to do it
“A supportive civilian population can provide resources and information that facilitate friendly operations. It can also provide a positive climate for the military and diplomatic activity a nation pursues to achieve foreign policy objectives.”
almost feel sorry for the guy
Mike Luckovich’s latest.
today’s must read
Could a bunch of Nigerian militants in speedboats bring about a U.S. recession? Blowing up facilities and taking hostages, they are wreaking havoc on the oil production of America’s fifth-largest supplier. Deep in the Niger-delta swamps, the author meets the nightmarish result of four decades of corruption. [full article at Vanity Fair: Blood Oil: Politics & Power]
Russia urges quartet to lift sanctions against Hamas
Boston Globe:”Russia has always opposed the blockade and we count on the quartet listening to our point of view,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov said in an interview with the agency.
editoriale
