Cobham to deliver additional low band transmitters for US Navy

The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded a follow-on contract to Cobham to deliver the AN/ALQ-99 low band transmitter-antenna group (LBT-AG) in support of the navy and marine corps' EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler aircraft.

Under the $31.7m modification contract, Cobham will deliver 22 low band transmitters (LBT), 16 vertically polarized (VPOL) antennas, and 21 high-band horizontally polarised (HPOL) antennas for the AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System for the US Navy.

The company will also supply 11 LBTs, seven VPOL antennas, six Band-2 B2AIA, and eight high-band HPOL antennas for the AN/ALQ-99 TJS for Australia under the foreign military sales programme.

Work will be carried out at Cobham Defence Electronics' facility in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, US, and is scheduled to complete by May 2015.

"The LBT has been specifically designed to disrupt enemy radar and communications and protect strike aircraft, ships and ground troops."

Cobham-built LBT is equipped onboard the US Navy's EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G aircraft and the EA-6B aircraft of US Marine Corps for use in combat operations.

The LBT has been specifically designed to disrupt enemy radar and communications and protect strike aircraft, ships and ground troops.

Obama to nominate Hagel, Brennan for top security posts despite criticism

President Obama plans to nominate two controversial officials for his second-term national security team on Monday, teeing up what could turn into a confirmation battle shortly after the inauguration.

The president is expected to nominate former Sen. Chuck Hagel for defense secretary and White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan for CIA director. The administration is touting the credentials and years of service each would bring to their respective posts. In a recent Sunday show interview, Obama said Hagel, a Vietnam veteran, is a "patriot" and "somebody that's done extraordinary work" in the Senate and on his own intelligence advisory board.
Yet each nominee is poised to attract tough bipartisan criticism -- and perhaps opposition -- during the confirmation process. While Obama went the relatively safe route with his pick for secretary of state, tapping Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, his choices for his national security team could cause a ruckus on Capitol Hill.
On Sunday, several Republican senators suggested they would have problems with Hagel, while Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he is reserving judgment. Republicans question Hagel's commitment to Israel and his toughness when it comes to Iran. But Hagel also has come under fire from gay rights groups for saying in 1998 that a nominee for an ambassador post was "openly, aggressively gay."
He has since apologized for those comments. Gay rights group GetEQUAL, though, panned the apology as "hollow" and "politically expedient."
Texas Sen. John Cornyn had the most strident remarks, saying Obama nominating Hagel sends "the worst possible message" to Israel and other U.S. allies in the Middle East.

"I will not support Chuck Hagel's nomination," Cornyn said in a release, citing in part Hagel's views on Israel and his opposition to Iranian sanctions. He did not say whether he would try to block Hagel's potential nomination during a Senate confirmation hearing.
Hagel, a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, would replace Pentagon chief Leon Panetta in Obama's second-term Cabinet.
Newly-elected Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told "Fox News Sunday" that "it is very difficult to imagine the circumstance in which I could support his confirmation."
Cruz also cited Hagel's views and statements about Israel and Iran and questioned why Obama might pick Hagel in the face of tough opposition.
"The president seems bound and determined to proceed down this path, despite the fact that Hagel's record is very, very troubling on the nation of Israel," Cruz told Fox News. "I do think it is interesting that the president seems hell-bent on nominating him despite the fact that a number of prominent Republicans have criticized him and the Democratic senators have been surprisingly silent on it."
Hagel, a 66-year-old moderate Nebraska Republican, has criticized discussion of a military strike by either the U.S. or Israel against Iran. He also irritated some Israel backers with his reference to the "Jewish lobby" in the United States. And he has backed efforts to bring Iran to the table for future peace talks in Afghanistan.
McConnell told ABC's "This Week" that Hagel has "certainly been outspoken in foreign policy and defense over the years. The question we will be answering, if he's the nominee, is do his views make sense for that particular job?"
"This is a controversial pick," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told CNN. "He is an antagonistic figure when it comes to the state of Israel. It's a signal you're sending to Iran at the worst possible time and to our allies."
But Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, told CNN's "State of the Union" that Hagel "is a serious candidate if the president chooses to name him."
Officials close to the White House have talked up Hagel as a patriot who served in the military with distinction during Vietnam and someone who shares the president's skepticism about potential conflict with Iran and a large U.S. footprint in Afghanistan.
Brennan, meanwhile, is a 25-year CIA veteran who, during the George W. Bush administration, served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Despite his credentials, Brennan has faced criticism from both sides of the aisle, as well.
In 2008, he removed his name from consideration for the CIA's top job amid concerns on the left about his connection to enhanced interrogation techniques.
In a letter to Obama at the time, Brennan said he was "a strong opponent of many of the policies of the Bush administration, such as the preemptive war in Iraq and coercive interrogation tactics, to include waterboarding." White House officials say they don't expect Brennan to face similar trouble this time around given his four years of service in the Obama administration.
"The issue has been removed from the debate because the president and John Brennan, as his top counterterrorism adviser, brought those techniques to an end," Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said.
Brennan, though, also has defended the legality of the U.S. drone program, another issue that could come up during confirmation. And following the 2009 Christmas Day bombing attempt, Brennan agitated Republican lawmakers by defending the decision to read the bombing suspect his Miranda rights.
If confirmed, Brennan will succeed David Petraeus, who resigned in November after admitting to an affair with his biographer.
The Obama administration defends Brennan as a candidate with deep knowledge of the CIA's inner workings, and notes he has been on the front lines for more than a decade in the fight against Al Qaeda -- including involvement in the decision to launch the raid against Usama bin Laden.

Ballistic missile: North Korea can reach the United States

According to South Korea, the recent firing of the rocket Unha-3 made by Pyongyang is equivalent to a test ballistic missile with a load of half a ton and a range of about 10,000 km.

The recent firing rocket by North Korea is equivalent to a test ballistic missile with a load of half a ton and a range of about 10,000 km, said Sunday the South Korean army. This distance would allow a North Korean pitcher to reach any point in Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Africa, Alaska and part of the West Coast, including San Francisco. Pyongyang launched on 12 December, with success, a rocket Unha-3 loaded into orbit a satellite civilian mission purely scientific as the North. To its estimates, the South Korean army relied on the analysis of oxidizer tank, a product by combining with another product operates the combustion of the latter fell at sea during launch and recovered by the Navy South. "Based on our analysis and process simulation, the missile is capable of flying more than 10,000 km, with a load of between 500 and 600 kg," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence to press.

Pyongan control Does technology ICBMs?

The tank was mounted on the first stage of the rocket. In the absence of debris 2nd and 3rd floors of the Unha-3, South Korean scientists have been unable to determine whether the rocket was able to reenter the atmosphere, a key technology of intercontinental ballistic missiles . Debris recovered by the South consisted of eight panels of aluminum and magnesium welded by hand. "The welding was coarse, handmade," said the ministry official, adding that this type of tank for storing toxic chemicals was rarely used by the powers have a advanced space technology.

According to a study by the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) published in 2011, Pyongyang has systems North Korean Taepodong, but BM-25/SS-N-6 Nodong and North Korea "should hold some Copies of longer-range gear deployed north of the country in fixed configurations. " However, the FRS estimates "in 2015 that North Korea will have two regiments Nodong missile type, that is to say, a dozen mobile launchers and several hundred missiles". And noted that "given the cooldown and preparation imposed by the Nodong system, and assuming that its mobile launchers undergo attrition zero, we can assume that North Korea would at most be able to make two launches for a day and a score launch before exhausting its stock of missiles. "

An atomic bomb North Korea?

The shooting of 12 December is considered by Washington and its allies as yet another test of long-range ballistic missile. It ended a long series of misfires that have earned a volley of Pyongyang sanctions since 2006 and allows the young North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, to strengthen his authority. Westerners and their Asian allies accuse Pyongyang to hold several nuclear bombs and carry out nuclear tests in order to achieve the miniaturization and install them on missiles. However, experts believe that it is far from having a reliable ballistic power and the development of a deliverable nuclear capability by intercontinental ballistic missile take much time.

What Is Site 911? And Why Is The U.S. Building It For Israel At A Cost Of $100 Million?

U.S. overseeing mysterious construction project in Israel

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to supervise construction of a five-story underground facility for an Israel Defense Forces complex, oddly named “Site 911,” at an Israeli Air Force base near Tel Aviv.

Expected to take more than two years to build, at a cost of up to $100 million, the facility is to have classrooms on Level 1, an auditorium on Level 3, a laboratory, shock-resistant doors, protection from nonionizing radiation and very tight security. Clearances will be required for all construction workers, guards will be at the fence and barriers will separate it from the rest of the base.

Only U.S. construction firms are being allowed to bid on the contract and proposals are due Dec. 3, according to the latest Corps of Engineers notice.
Site 911 is the latest in a long history of military construction projects the United States has undertaken for the IDF under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. The 1998 Wye River Memorandum between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has led to about $500 million in U.S. construction of military facilities for the Israelis, most of them initially in an undeveloped part of the Negev Desert. It was done to ensure there were bases to which IDF forces stationed in the West Bank could be redeployed.
As recorded in the Corps’ European District magazine, called Engineering in Europe, three bases were built to support 20,000 troops, and eventually the Israeli air force moved into the same area, creating Nevatim air base. A new runway, 2.5 miles long, was built there by the Corps along with about 100 new buildings and 10 miles of roads.
Over the years, the Corps has built underground hangers for Israeli fighter-bombers, facilities for handling nuclear weapons (though Israel does not admit having such weapons), command centers, training bases, intelligence facilities and simulators, according to Corps publications.
Within the past two years the Corps, which has three offices in Israel, completed a $30 million set of hangars at Nevatim, which the magazine describes as a “former small desert outpost that has grown to be one of the largest and most modern air bases in the country.” It has also supervised a $20 million project to build maintenance shops, hangars and headquarters to support Israel’s large Eitan unmanned aerial vehicle.
Site 911, which will be built at another base, appears to be one of the largest projects. Each of the first three underground floors is to be roughly 41,000 square feet, according to the Corps notice. The lower two floors are much smaller and hold equipment.

Security concerns are so great that non-Israeli employees hired by the builder can come only from “the U.S., Canada, Western Europe countries, Poland, Moldavia, Thailand, Philippines, Venezuela, Romania and China,” according to the Corps notice. “The employment of Palestinians is also forbidden,” it says.
Among other security rules: The site “shall have one gate only for both entering and exiting the site” and “no exit or entrance to the site shall be allowed during work hours except for supply trucks.” Guards will be Israeli citizens with experience in the Israeli air force. Also, “the collection of information of any type whatsoever related to base activities is prohibited.”The well-known Israeli architectural firm listed on the plans, Ada Karmi-Melamede Architects, has paid attention to the aesthetics of the site design as well as the sensibilities of future employees. The site, for example, will be decorated with rocks chosen by the architect but purchased by the contractor. Three picnic tables are planned, according to the solicitation.
The Corps offered a lengthy description of the mezuzas the contractor is to provide “for each door or opening exclusive of toilets or shower rooms” in the Site 911 building. A mezuza (also spelled mezuzah) is a parchment which has been inscribed with Hebrew verses from the Torah, placed in a case and attached to a door frame of a Jewish family’s house as a sign of faith. Some interpret Jewish law as requiring — as in this case — that a mezuza be attached to every door in a house.
These mezuzas, notes the Corps, “shall be written in inerasable ink, on . . . uncoated leather parchment” and be handwritten by a scribe “holding a written authorization according to Jewish law.” The writing may be “Ashkenazik or Sepharadik” but “not a mixture” and “must be uniform.”
Also, “The Mezuzahs shall be proof-read by a computer at an authorized institution for Mezuzah inspection, as well as manually proof-read for the form of the letters by a proof-reader authorized by the Chief Rabbinate.” The mezuza shall be supplied with an aluminum housing with holes so it can be connected to the door frame or opening. Finally, “All Mezuzahs for the facility shall be affixed by the Base’s Rabbi or his appointed representative and not by the contractor staff.”
What’s the purpose of Site 911? I asked the Pentagon on Tuesday, and the Corps on Wednesday said that only an Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman could provide an answer.
This may be a trend-starter. The Corps is also seeking a contractor for another secret construction project in Israel in the $100 million range to awarded next summer. This one will involve “a complex facility with site development challenges” requiring services that include “electrical, communication, mechanical/
HVAC [heating, ventilation, air conditioning] and plumbing.” The U.S. contractor must have a U.S. secret or equivalent Israeli security clearance for the project, which is expected to take almost 2¹/₂ years to complete.
That sounds like a secure command center.
The purpose of Site 911 is far less clear.

 

New Cameras for Army Ranges

Weapons have changed drastically over the last 30 years, but the cameras on Army test ranges have not. So the Army is preparing to upgrade the kineto-tracking mounts — the squat turrets that look like R2-D2 from Star Wars, if cameras were mounted on his head.

“Right now, the current systems are not very reliable; they cannot be remotely operated and they require extensive manpower and labor to set up and calibrate,” said Col. Sharlene Donovan, project manager for Instrumentation, Targets and Threat Simulators at the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI). “And because they are not very reliable after 30 years, we have to have extra systems on standby just to ensure we can guarantee data is collected in case a system goes down.”

PM ITTS, along with the Department of Defense’s Test Resource Management Center and Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program, are conducting market research for new optical tracking systems under the Advanced Range Test Instrumentation System (ARTIS) program. The ARTIS timeline calls for an RFP in mid-2013, a contract award in mid-2014, and initial deployment by 2017, according to Donovan. While she could not provide a cost estimate at this stage, she does expect the Army to buy 30 to 50 mounts, with the other services possibly ordering more for their ranges.
ARTIS will replace a menagerie of optical tracking systems and sensors, including kineto-tracking mounts, cine theodolites and launch area theodolites (used to measure angles), and distant object attitude measurement systems. The new optical tracking systems will come in a small, easily deployed model that can turn quickly for testing ground-based tests, and a larger model to accommodate bigger instruments for tracking aircraft, UAVs, ballistic missiles, and aerial intercepts. They will incorporate multi-waveband sensors for simultaneous optical and infrared data.
Interestingly, ARTIS will improve testing of directed energy weapons such as lasers, masers, or particle beam weapons.
“Instrumentation currently exists that can be used for directed energy testing,” Donovan said. “ARTIS will integrate these capabilities onto a high-precision optical tracking gimbal for an integrated solution with better pointing accuracy.”
One key change will be moving from film-based cameras to digital equipment, which means quicker processing time and less manpower needed to process it. With film, “it literally takes days because all that visual data has to be converted,” said ARTIS project director Nikki Boi. A remote capability means that the systems can be operated without personnel needing to travel to severe areas to operate them.
Different test ranges, such as White Sands, Yuma and Redstone, have different requirements. So the goal is to have tracking systems that can be easily modified to accommodate local needs. But either way, it’s time for new equipment, said Donovan.
“The scenarios under which these original tracking systems were developed were simpler. You’re talking about the traditional aircraft bomb drop or traditional missile intercept. Now we have much more complicated scenarios and we need much more advanced tracking technology to provide data.”

UK intelligence officers knew of CIA's rendition plans within days of 9/11

Meeting at British embassy in US raises questions about repeated denials by MI5 and MI6 of connivance in torture

 Jack Straw, who told MPs in 2005 there was 'simply no truth in the claims that the United Kingdom has been involved in rendition

Within days of the 9/11 attacks on the US, the CIA told British intelligence officers of its plans to abduct al-Qaida suspects and fly them to secret prisons where they would be systematically abused.
The meeting, at the British embassy in Washington, is disclosed in a forthcoming book by the Guardian journalist Ian Cobain. It raises serious questions about repeated claims by senior MI5 and MI6 officers that they were slow to appreciate the US response to the attacks, and never connived in torture.
The meeting signalled to British officials that the US was preparing to embark on a global kidnapping programme which became known as extraordinary rendition. Cobain reveals that at the end of a three-hour presentation by Cofer Black, President George Bush's top counter-terrorist adviser, Mark Allen – his opposite number in MI6 – commented that it all sounded "rather bloodcurdling".

A few weeks later, in early October 2001, at a secret meeting at Nato headquarters in Brussels, US officials drew up a list of "necessary measures to increase security", Cobain discloses. They included flights to and from secret prisons in Asia, Africa, and throughout Europe. "Quietly, Britain pledged logistics support for the rendition programme, which resulted in the CIA's Gulfstream V and other jets becoming frequent visitors to British airports en route to the agency's secret prisons," writes Cobain.
Over the next four years CIA rendition flights used British airports at least 210 times. The book reveals that Washington asked the UK for permission to build a large prison on Diego Garcia, the British territory in the Indian Ocean where the US has a large bomber base. The project was dropped, for logistical rather than legal reasons.
However, Diego Garcia was used as a stopover for CIA flights taking detainees to secret prisons around the world. And in secret memos, Labour ministers said in early 2002 that their "preferred option" was to render British nationals to Guantánamo Bay, Cobain records. MI5 and MI6 officers carried out around 100 interrogations at the US prison on Cuba between 2002 and 2004.
Yet for years ministers emphatically denied any British involvement in America's rendition programme. As late as December 2005, Jack Straw, then foreign secretary, was telling MPs there was "simply no truth in the claims that the United Kingdom has been involved in rendition". Just a year earlier, we now know, MI6 – under Straw's watch and with the blessing of ministers, officials say – helped to render two leading Libyan dissidents to Muammar Gaddafi's secret police.
Despite the post-9/11 Washington embassy and Nato meetings, and other evidence of their early involvement in rendition, MI5 and MI6 witnesses told the parliamentary intelligence and security committee (ISC) that it was some time before they knew what the US was up to. As late as July 2007, the misinformed ISC stated in a report on rendition that MI5 and MI6 "were … slow to detect the emerging pattern of renditions to detention".
Cobain's book, Cruel Britannia, says the British military operated a "torture centre" throughout the 1940s "in complete secrecy, in a row of Victorian villas in one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in London". They also ran an "interrogation centre" near Hanover in Germany. Evidence from newly released records shows that British involvement in abuse was common earlier – in the colonies, later in Northern Ireland, and much more recently in Iraq.
The book reveals that Allen (who was later to develop a cosy relationship with Gaddafi's intelligence chiefs) expressed concern after the post-9/11 meeting in the UK embassy in Washington about what would happen once the Americans had "hammered the mercury in Afghanistan". Al-Qaida would simply scatter elsewhere, destabilising entire regions, Allen suggested. A CIA officer who was present at the embassy meeting remarked later that while the British appeared laid back, "it was clear they were worried, and not without reason".

US Army chooses Raytheon to provide Thermal Weapon Sights

    Most affordable solution to the government cited as key performance metric

In a competition against two other suppliers, Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) was selected by the U.S. Army to provide Thermal Weapon Sights (TWS) with enhanced capabilities so soldiers can better detect and engage targets day or night. One of the key drivers behind the Army's decision was Raytheon's ability to deliver cost-effective, advanced technology.

The awards for new deliveries were made under a modification to an existing contract and have a potential value of $131 million. Under the contract, which extends the period of performance by three years, Raytheon could potentially supply more than 24,000 sights over the life of the contract. The TWS systems will be built in McKinney, Texas, the headquarters of Raytheon's Network Centric Systems (NCS) business. The thermal sights allow a soldier to spot targets at long distances through haze, dust, fog and other obscurants.

"This is just one example of how Raytheon is putting rugged lightweight thermal imaging technology in soldiers' hands to deliver clear targeting and surveillance imagery, significantly increasing survivability," said Jeff Miller, vice president of Combat and Sensing Systems in NCS. "Our troops are getting equipment with improved detection ranges and the ability to operate effectively day or night."

Since 2000, Raytheon has provided more than 65,000 sights to the Army under various contracts.

7 Billion Human Around the world Demand the US Govt to Stop Drone Attacks on Childers

Laptop built to protect classified docs

General Dynamics C4 Systems recently unveiled a new laptop that’s supposed to keep classified information safer when you’re at home or on travel.

GD officials maintain that the new TACLANE MultiBook laptop is certified by the National Security Agency to secure network communications to the secret level, allowing secret-squirrel government types to operate on unclassified and classified networks simultaneously.
“For the first time, these specialized workers can merge real life with work life using the TACLANE-MultiBook,” said Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics C4 Systems, in a recent press release.  “To get the same level of information security that the new computer provides, users would need three or more information security devices, at twice the cost of the TACLANE-Multibook, and still not have the MultiBook’s mobility.”

TACLANE Data-in-Transit encryption protects information being sent to and from classified networks, and the ProtecD@R® Data-at-Rest encryption protects data stored on the computer from loss or theft, GD officials maintain.
MultiBook starts at $5,790 and is available on GSA.

The CIA's Secret Bin Laden Training Facility In North Carolina

In No Easy Day, Navy Seal Mark Bissonnette's account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, Bissonnette mentions that Seal Team 6 trained on a replica compound at a secret site in North Carolina.
The website Cryptome has published  Maps images of Harvey Point Defense Testing in North Carolina, a CIA training facility, that show what appears to be a pretty accurate model of bin Laden's Abbottabad compound in Pakistan.

The construction of the model compound as of February 15, 2011

        Here is a Google Maps image of bin Laden's compound: 

Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad as of May 11, 2011

Harvey Point, North Carolina

As the Atlantic Wire points out, the same Harvey Point coordinates in Google Earth show that the mock-Abbottabad compound was destroyed as of January 30, 2012—just like bin Laden's actual compound.

For Afghan Policewomen, Sex Abuse Is A Job Hazard

"Anywhere you ask for a job in the police force, they either ask you to give yourself or bring them  girls" 

The image of Afghan women wearing police and army uniforms is meant to inspire pride and hope for a future where the rights of women will be protected in Afghanistan.

So why would female police officers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif be ashamed to admit they wear the badge?

"Except my very close family members, no one really knows that I am a police officer," said one woman at a NATO training session.

The woman, who asked not to give her name, says she tells most of her family that she works with a foreign aid organization. That's because the rumors about sexual abuse in Mazar-e-Sharif's police force are so widespread that many of these women are ashamed to say they're cops.

 Afghan female police officers are trained by Afghan police and NATO soldiers in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Sept. 12. In the culturally conservative country, women serving in the security forces say they face systemic sexual coercion and even rape by male colleagues

Profound Inequality

Protection of women's rights in Afghanistan remains a focal point for the West — and American officials regularly tout the fact that the Afghan security forces now include hundreds of women. In northern Afghanistan alone, about 300 women are serving in the police force.

But in a culture that is not fully comfortable with women working outside the home, these women face significant risks. An NPR investigation in the city discovered disturbing allegations of systematic sexual coercion and even rape of female police officers by their male colleagues.

The women at the recent training session at a huge base outside Mazar-e-Sharif hardly looked like victims as they assembled and loaded assault rifles. But none dared to give their names as they alluded to what is an open secret in the city.

"Some women are being promoted only if they agree to give sexual favors," said one female officer.

Most of the female police have many children, and most are poor. Though they say they'd like to serve their country, just as many say they joined the police because the pay — about $300 a month — is better than working as a maid or a teacher. The threat of job loss is a powerful one.

None of the policewomen on the training course — which consisted of a mix of men and women — would admit to being victims of sexual coercion.

Shocking Stories Of Rape

But privately, several told of terrifying experiences. The women agreed to speak on the condition that their names be withheld, and the only place they felt safe enough to talk with a reporter was in a car moving around the city.

"It's a fact. Women in the police are being used for sex and as prostitutes," said Ann — not her real name — who is in her mid-30s.

"It's happened to me. Male cops ask for sex openly because they think women join the police just to work as prostitutes," she said.

In Afghanistan, even in modern cities like Mazar-e-Sharif or Kabul, the capital, a wide array of supposedly "immoral" conduct can get a woman called a prostitute. Anything from wearing the wrong clothes to sitting in the front seat of a car, or simply working outside the home can cause dangerous rumors.

The law reflects that. With sexual assault, the woman is as often sent to jail as the man, the assumption being that any woman who puts herself in a situation to be vulnerable to rape must be immoral.

That seems to apply even to police officers: Women interviewed for this story said that if cases of rape are exposed, the woman always gets the blame.

Ann says that's why she never reported the worst attack.

She says on one occasion her house was invaded by a group of men who stayed all night, raping her in front of her small children. Ann, who is married, recognized some of them as police. She didn't report the incident for fear of public disgrace, and because she believes the police chief already knew.

A second woman in her mid-30s, Jane — also not her real name — says she was also raped by her superiors on the force after the threat of losing her job — the only income supporting her several children.

"Put it this way: If there is a young woman, and she wants to remain in her post, she accepts being used this way," said Jane.

A Type Of Sexual 'Trafficking'

The women say abuse is widespread across Mazar-e-Sharif's police force and that female officers are practically "trafficked" when they are transferred from one district to another. Pay and promotion depend on sexual favors. Ann says she would never encourage a woman to join the police.

"I have daughters of my own, and I would never ever want them to join the police force," she said.

Another woman, in her late-30s, arrived for an interview hiding her police uniform under her burqa. She says that after almost 10 years on the force, police officers stopped demanding sex from her but forced her to procure prostitutes.

"Anywhere you ask for a job in the police force, they either ask you to give yourself or bring them girls," she said. She named several policewomen who act as madams for cops in the city.

Official Denial

Afghan officials in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul denied all the charges made in this story.

"The women police are working closely alongside their Afghan brothers. I totally reject any report that they are being abused by their male counterparts," said Sadiq Sadiqi, the spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry.

But advocates in Kabul say the problem is not limited to Mazar-e-Sharif.

"We've received many reports of abuse of Afghan women police in many parts of the country," said Georgette Gagnon, director of human rights for the U.N. mission in Afghanistan. "We are very concerned."

Gagnon says the U.N. is currently trying to gauge how widespread the problem is — especially as the international community draws down and starts handing over control to Afghan forces.

"Violence against women in Afghanistan is at very high levels. One of the solutions put forward is for more females to join the police force to address this issue," she said. "It will be very difficult to take this seriously when females join and are themselves abused by other officers within the force."

Big U.S. Fleet Nears Disputed Islands, But What For?

It’s probably just a coincidence; no need to worry yet. But the U.S. has quietly assembled a powerful air, land and sea armada not far from where Japan and China are squaring off over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Two Navy aircraft carrier battle groups and a Marine Corps air-ground task force have begun operating in the Western Pacific, within easy reach of the Senkaku Islands. That’s where Japanese and Chinese patrol boats are engaged in an increasingly tense standoff.
Chinese vessels have repeatedly entered territorial waters around the small islands in recent weeks and Coast Guard vessels from Japan and Taiwan fired water cannons at each other last week. The islands are controlled and administered by Japan, but claimed by both China and Taiwan.
No warships have been directly involved in the confrontations, so far. But China has vowed to continue sending patrol vessels into territorial waters and Japan has assembled scores of Coast Guard vessels to “defend” the islands.
The U.S. hasn’t taken sides in the ownership dispute, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for “cooler heads” to prevail. Nonetheless, U.S. officials have stated clearly that the Senkakus fall under the U.S.-Japan security treaty, which would require the U.S. to come to Japan’s aid in case of attack.
Navy officials confirmed Sunday that the USS George Washington carrier strike group has begun operating in the East China Sea, near the disputed islands. The USS John C. Stennis group is only slightly further away in the South China Sea. Each carrier is armed with more than 80 warplanes, and strike groups typically include guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, submarines and supply ships.

In the nearby Philippine Sea, some 2,200 Marines are embarked aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard and two escorts. The Marines are equipped with amphibious assault vehicles, light armored vehicles, artillery, helicopters and Harrier fighter jets.
Carrier groups and Marine task forces often operate alone, so the convergence of the three groups in a relatively small part of the Pacific represents an unusual concentration of firepower. All three are fresh from training exercises in and around Guam. Those exercises included live-fire with missiles and joint beach landings by U.S. Marines and Japanese ground troops.
A spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command says the training missions and carrier deployments are not necessarily related to the Senkaku tensions.  The islands are called Diaoyu in China, and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan.
“These operations are not tied to any specific event,” said Capt. Darryn James, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu.  “As part of the U.S. commitment to regional security, two of the Navy’s 11 global force carrier strike groups are operating in the Western Pacific to help safeguard stability and peace.”
In truth, the carrier and Marine deployments may have as much to do with the “re-balancing” of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region, and with an unrelated crisis in the Middle East, as with the squabble in the East China Sea.
The George Washington battle group and the Marine task force, both based in Japan, were scheduled to conduct separate but overlapping exercises in the Guam region well before the Senkaku dispute heated up. Guam and nearby Tinian Island have been tabbed as a hub for the “re-balancing” of U.S. forces in the region — a hedge against China’s growing military power and ambitions in the region.
The Stennis is being sent from its homeport in Washington state to the Persian Gulf, four months ahead of schedule in response to the escalating crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. The Guam exercises allowed the Stennis to grab a few days of extra training with the George Washington group en route. The Senkakus are situated close to the major sea routes from Pacific to Mideast; it is unclear if the Stennis group is simply passing, by or will remain awhile.
The Marines, meanwhile, were expected to move from Guam to the Philippines for previously scheduled training with the Philippines military.
Navy spokesman James said he could not comment on future ship movements.
Although significant oil and gas deposits may exist within the islands’ territorial waters or exclusive economic zone, the Senkaku dispute has centered largely on old grievances and resurgent nationalism. U.S. officials have privately expressed frustration with the lack of diplomatic progress in resolving the dispute. China placed two-page ads in major U.S. newspapers this weekend, accusing Japan of “stealing” the islands and citing claims that date back hundreds of years.
The Senkakus are located about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Taiwan and about 200 miles (320 km) east of the Chinese mainland.
While the big U.S. fleet might have been intended as a warning to China not to escalate the islands dispute, it may have been intended to focus Japan’s attention, as well.

Homosexuals in the military demand special privileges

The American armed forces exist to defend our nation, not to conduct social science lab experiments in which our troops serve as human subjects. Try telling that to this administration.
The first anniversary of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Sept. 20, has come and gone. Now, there is mounting evidence that proves our warnings were not idle chatter. The threat to freedom posed by this radical sexual experiment on our military is real: It is grave and it is growing.
Activists inside and outside our government who pushed the repeal have deployed a smoke screen around the fact that once the military was forced to exalt homosexuality in the ranks, the all-too-foreseen consequence reared its ugly head.
Senior military officials have allowed personnel in favor of repeal to speak to media while those who have concerns have been ordered to be silent. Two airmen were publicly harassed in a Post Exchange food court as they were privately discussing their concerns about the impact of repeal. A chaplain was encouraged by military officials to resign his commission unless he could “get in line with the new policy,” demonstrating no tolerance for that chaplain’s religious viewpoint. Another chaplain was threatened with early retirement, and then reassigned to be more “closely supervised” because he had expressed concerns with the policy change, again demonstrating no tolerance for that chaplain’s religious viewpoint.

At an officer training service school, a male serviceman sexually harassed another male serviceman through text messages, emails, phone calls and in-person confrontations. The harassing male insisted the two would “make a great couple.” The harassed serviceman reported the harassment, but the command failed to take disciplinary action.
Service members engaged in homosexual behavior protested a service school’s open-door policy for all students that prohibited the closing of room doors for the purpose of hiding sexual behavior. The protesters claimed that they had a right to participate in sexual behavior with their same-sex roommates.
A senior chaplain was stripped of his authority over the chapel under his charge because, in accordance with federal law, he proclaimed the chapel to be a “sacred space” where marriage ceremonies would only be between one man and one woman.
The Navy has allowed sailors openly engaged in homosexual behavior to choose their bunkmates. Imagine in this new age of “tolerance” if a sailor asked to be moved from a close-quarters berthing area because of his concern about another sailor’s sexual appetites. We already know what would happen, because tolerance has never been a two-way street.
Obviously, the recent “study” (aka propaganda) claiming that the repeal went off without a hitch should be shredded post-haste. It has no connection to reality.
This is just the first wave in the first year of the assault on the constitutionally protected freedom of our service members. Remember, the groups that forced their sexual experiment on the armed forces represent the lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgender community. It’s only a matter of time before a man who claims to be transgender demands to be placed with women during training, in the showers and in the barracks. The women in the units will have no recourse, especially if their objection to living, changing, bathing and bunking with a man is based on sincerely held religious beliefs. They would have two choices: Either accept this outrageous imposition silently or be charged with bigotry, hatred, intolerance and every other name the advocates of this agenda can throw at them. Neither choice is acceptable. When “sensitivity training” is in full force, these women just might face discipline and punitive separation merely for speaking up and requesting a reasonable measure of privacy and protection of their religious freedom.
This outrageous social science lab experiment could have been easily prevented. The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty has worked closely with members of Congress to enact legislation, which has already passed the House, to protect freedom of conscience for chaplains and those they serve.
Even more outrageous is that we have to ask Congress to protect freedom of conscience for chaplains and those who serve in the military. The fact that Congress excluded a religious freedom protection amendment (authored in partnership with Alliance Defending Freedom), to the repeal sends a clear message that our current leadership does not consider, much less respect, the constitutional implications of their actions while they bow in allegiance to the powerful and aggressive lobby of those who supported the repeal.

DoD cracks down on sexual assaults by trainers

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered a “comprehensive assessment” of all boot camps and entry-level training programs across the military to identify ways to reduce the frequency of sexual assault.
The internal probe comes in the wake of a scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where 43 women have come forward with allegations that training instructors sexually assaulted them at the Air Force’s largest training command.
“This assessment will look across the services into several key areas including the selection, training, and oversight of basic training instructors and leaders who directly supervise initial military training for officers and enlisted personnel,” the Pentagon announced in a statement Tuesday.
“The study will also look at the instructor-to-student ratio, the ratio of leaders in the chain of command to instructors, and consider the potential benefits of increasing the number of female instructors,” the statement said.
This is the latest move by Panetta to crack down on sexual assaults in the military, which he estimates to number about 19,000 each year. Earlier this year, Panetta changed rules for handling sexual assault complaints by requiring an O-6-level commander to review each case to determine whether it should be dismissed or investigated further.

The latest internal review also instructs the services to review how and when sexual assault prevention training is provided to new recruits and their trainers.
Panetta ordered each of the services to report back to him on the status of the review by Feb. 8, 2013.
At a higher level, Panetta also ordered the services to expand the training provided to officers preparing to assume command of a unit and their senior enlisted leaders. That training should include “interactive instruction with vignettes, exercises, and classroom discussion,” the Pentagon’s report said.
The secretary said the services should develop those new training efforts by the end of the year and begin implementing them by March 30, 2013.

U.S. Defense Secretary Calls Beijing Meetings ‘Substantive, Productive’

Visiting China at what he called a “very important moment” for the U.S.-China relationship, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Sept. 19 his meetings with key Chinese leaders here have been both substantive and productive.

In a discussion with Chinese reporters and media representatives traveling with him, Panetta reviewed his meetings over two days with Chinese leaders including Vice President Xi Jinping, State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xu Caihou and Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie.

Key discussion points throughout the meetings, the secretary said, included territorial disputes, ballistic missile defense and North Korea, and cyber attack and intrusions. The overarching topic, he added, was the U.S.–China relationship in the context of the U.S. strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.

Panetta drew a parallel in describing his advice to Chinese leaders over a territorial dispute simmering between China and Japan – which, he noted, he also tendered to Japanese senior government officials when he visited there earlier this week – and Chinese advice to him over North Korea. Each side urged the other to seek peaceful, diplomatic solutions to their differences, he noted.

The secretary said he has some understanding of the deep feelings and long-standing differences between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea. But, he added, “it's really important that we not be trapped by the past and that we move forward.”

Panetta said his message on the topic is consistent to any country claiming disputed territory in the East China Sea or South China Sea: while the United States doesn’t take sides in territorial disputes, “we strongly urge the parties to exercise restraint and to work together to find a peaceful resolution to these issues.”

The secretary added that he also strongly urges the Asia-Pacific nations to form a multilateral forum to resolve regional conflicts according to agreed-upon principles.

Panetta said his meetings here gave him the impression that the Chinese are looking for a good format in which to try to resolve these issues for the future. “They, too, have a concern that these issues can't just be resolved on the fly -- that there's got to be a process to try to deal with them,” he added.

Both Japanese and Chinese leaders signaled this week that they “recognize that it's important not to let this kind of dispute get out of hand,” Panetta said.

China’s leaders similarly urged that the United States exercise restraint in its approach to North Korea, Panetta acknowledged. China, along with Russia, is one of North Korea’s principal allies.

U.S.-North Korea differences came to the fore this week when, during his stay in Japan, the secretary announced the United States and Japan are discussing expansion of Japan-based ballistic missile defense radar systems. Panetta emphasized the X-band radar, which detects ballistic missiles early in their flight and provides precise tracking information for targeting systems, is intended solely for defense against North Korea.

The secretary told reporters that North Korea threatens the United States, its forward-deployed forces and its allied and partner nations as it continues to test nuclear weapons and delivery systems and to enrich uranium in defiance of international law.

During his meetings with China’s leaders, Panetta said, he urged Chinese officials to try to persuade North Korea to engage with the United States to work on resolving these issues through diplomacy. In turn, he added, the Chinese leaders strongly recommended that the United States try to resolve its issues with North Korea peacefully.

Both sides noted that the recent change in North Korean leadership has produced some signs of softening in Pyongyang’s stance, he noted. “We agreed that there are changes that are taking place and that we have to keep track of those changes,” the secretary said.

Panetta said he also raised concerns about threats in the cyber domain, which he called the “potential battlefield for the future.”

Cyber technology “has the potential to cripple a country, paralyze a country … [and is] being used in order to exploit information -- important economic information -- from one country to the next,” he said.

Panetta said the United States “has concerns about what China has been doing, in terms of exploiting information,” and that during his meetings here he stressed the importance of the United States and China having a dialogue regarding cyber.

“I think we do have to make the effort to try to sit down with China and with other countries to discuss how we can approach cyber,” the secretary said. He added that cyber is a growing threat in China as well, and that “there was concurrence” during meetings that the topic is worthy of strategic discussion.

“There was a sense that there has to be an effort to look at the larger picture here and whether or not we can develop international rules and standards. … I thought that was a very good step to … at least beginning the discussion about dealing with this issue,” Panetta said.

The secretary has maintained throughout his comments to reporters this week that the chief focus of his visit to China was to strengthen military relations between the two countries and to seek Chinese response to the U.S. strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.

“What I hope this visit has made clear is that engagement with China is a critical part of [the rebalance],” he said. “And I believe we're making real progress towards building a military-to-military relationship with China that is, in fact, healthy, stable, reliable, and continuous.”

China and the United States will not always agree, Panetta acknowledged. But he said the key to the relationship, as to any relationship, is open communications and the ability to express views candidly. “That, almost more than anything else, is what can lead to improved relations between the United States and China,” he said. The “candid and frank discussions” he has had here bode well for the future, he added.

Concerning the U.S. rebalance in the Asia-Pacific region, Panetta said, Chinese leaders acknowledged that they don’t view it as a threat. “They viewed it as important to the future prosperity and security of the Pacific region,” he told reporters.

Their key concerns, he added, are that the United States develops and strengthens its presence in conjunction with developing a strong U.S.-China relationship, and that both nations work together to develop the capabilities of other countries and develop security for the region.

U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Community Partners with Academia

The U.S. Army's Project Manager for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or PM UAS, is establishing partnerships with a handful of academic institutions as a way to further research, advance technology and maximize progress emerging from lessons learned in combat, service officials said.

PM UAS has set up a collaborative memorandum of understanding with Middle Tennessee State University that is designed to promote independent research of UAS development, deployment, tactics, techniques and procedures. The goal is to advance academic and operational understanding of the technologies involved, said Lt. Col. Robb Walker, director of external programs, PM UAS.

Academic research and study agreements are also underway between PM UAS and Mississippi State University, Alabama A&M University and Auburn University, Walker added.

These academic partnerships will not only facilitate ongoing dialogue between the Army's PM UAS and the academic institutions related to the growing use of UAS in combat operations, but will also explore the full range of the rapidly expanding uses of UAS technology.

"UAS have changed the way we fight and will continue to change the way we operate in the U.S. It is natural and very helpful for universities to work toward standing up a UAS curriculum, in some cases within their aerospace engineering departments. UAS use in the national airspace, which is in its infancy, is something they will be able to research and study as well," Walker said.

For instance, UAS operation within the U.S. is expected to increase in a variety of key respects and potentially contribute to the technological advancement of domestic disaster response and humanitarian relief efforts as well as environmental, geological, agricultural and law-enforcement initiatives. UAS may increasingly be used to study wildlife and ecosystems and also contribute substantially to vital relief efforts in the event of emergencies such as floods, earthquakes and wildfires.

"These UAS agreements could lead to further cross-referencing of academic boundaries, connecting aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering and airspace issues," Walker explained.

The agreements will allow students, in some cases, to visit Department of Defense laboratories at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Ala. The research will take up examination regarding the mechanics of UAS flight as well as sensor technology applications, interoperability issues and cutting-edge efforts such as manned-unmanned teaming, wherein manned aircraft work in tandem with nearby UAS to share and distribute sensor feeds in real time.

"There are an endless number of things you could use UAS for. It is amazing to see what these students think of and how they conquer problem," Walker said. "The success of this program with universities will help accelerate some of the technological advances we seek for Army UAS programs."

Overall, the Army now manages a sizeable fleet of more than 6,000 UAS which have logged more than 1.43 million flight hours in support of worldwide combat missions, Walker said.

"This symbiotic relationship with academic institutions is designed to benefit the Warfighter, something which is always the bottom line," he added.

Textron’s Remote-Controlled Flying Bomb

Textron Defense Systems has a new flying drone that’s designed to explode on contact with enemy positions.
The compact BattleHawk Squad Level Loitering Munition is armed with a 40mm high-fragmentation charge. It has a video camera built into its nose, so ground troops can remotely pilot it over rooftops or hills to attack hiding enemy forces.
The BattleHawk weighs about five pounds when it’s packed inside its special launching tube. A spring propels the drone into the air and the electric motor starts up the tiny, rear propeller.
“Once it’s launched, it’s armed,” Mick Guthals, director of Business Strategy & Capture at Textron, said while displaying the BattleHawk at the Air Force Association’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. Sept. 17–19.
Using a small remote control, ground troops can fly the BattleHawk at speeds up to 60 miles per hour for approximately 30 minutes. The BattleHawk is designed to attack dismounted enemy and light-skinned vehicles, Textron officials said.

So far, the BattleHawk has been an in-house project at Textron, but Guthals said U.S. Special Operations Command units have shown interest in the carbon-fiber, flying explosive. Textron hopes to market it to conventional infantry units as well, he said.
Textron officials would not talk price, but did say the BattleHawk should cost “considerably less” than a similar-sized unmanned aerial vehicle, Guthals said.

Obama's Arab Spring becomes the Arab Winter

The murder of Ambassador Stevens prompts a new question to Obama supporters: "How's that Arab Spring thing workin' out for ya?"
The horrific photo of Chris Stevens, who died in service to his country, is the new icon for Obama's naïve Arab Spring mantra.
Back on May 19, 2011, in a speech on the Arab Spring, Obama said:

"That story of self-determination began six months ago in Tunisia. On December 17, a young vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi was devastated when a police officer confiscated his cart. This was not unique. It is the same kind of humiliation that takes place every day in many parts of the world - the relentless tyranny of governments that deny their citizens dignity. Only this time, something different happened. After local officials refused to hear his complaint, this young man who had never been particularly active in politics went to the headquarters of the provincial government, doused himself in fuel, and lit himself on fire.
Sometimes, in the course of history, the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has built up for years. In America, think of the defiance of those patriots in Boston who refused to pay taxes to a King, or the dignity of Rosa Parks as she sat courageously in her seat. So it was in Tunisia, as that vendor's act of desperation tapped into the frustration felt throughout the country. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets, then thousands. And in the face of batons and sometimes bullets, they refused to go home - day after day, week after week, until a dictator of more than two decades finally left power.
The story of this Revolution, and the ones that followed, should not have come as a surprise. The nations of the Middle East and North Africa won their independence long ago, but in too many places their people did not. In too many countries, power has been concentrated in the hands of the few. In too many countries, a citizen like that young vendor had nowhere to turn - no honest judiciary to hear his case; no independent media to give him voice; no credible political party to represent his views; no free and fair election where he could choose his leader.
This lack of self determination - the chance to make of your life what you will - has applied to the region's economy as well. Yes, some nations are blessed with wealth in oil and gas, and that has led to pockets of prosperity. But in a global economy based on knowledge and innovation, no development strategy can be based solely upon what comes out of the ground. Nor can people reach their potential when you cannot start a business without paying a bribe.
In the face of these challenges, too many leaders in the region tried to direct their people's grievances elsewhere. The West was blamed as the source of all ills, a half century after the end of colonialism. Antagonism toward Israel became the only acceptable outlet for political expression. Divisions of tribe, ethnicity and religious sect were manipulated as a means of holding on to power, or taking it away from somebody else.
But the events of the past six months show us that strategies of repression and diversion won't work anymore. Satellite television and the Internet provide a window into the wider world - a world of astonishing progress in places like India, Indonesia and Brazil. Cell phones and social networks allow young people to connect and organize like never before. A new generation has emerged. And their voices tell us that change cannot be denied.
In Cairo, we heard the voice of the young mother who said, "It's like I can finally breathe fresh air for the first time."
In Sanaa, we heard the students who chanted, "The night must come to an end."
In Benghazi, we heard the engineer who said, "Our words are free now. It's a feeling you can't explain."
In Damascus, we heard the young man who said, "After the first yelling, the first shout, you feel dignity."

Here's the newest addition to his list of events:  In Tripoli, we see the limp body of a dead American Ambassador.

In that May, 2011 speech, Obama went on to say,

"That's why, two years ago in Cairo, I began to broaden our engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect."

"Mutual respect," he predicted.
When a nation chooses to be governed by incompetent leadership, people die. It's always been that way. It will always be that way. And that's the way it is now, in America.

Romney wants to buy more F-22s

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Saturday he would buy more F-22 Raptors as part of his plan to reverse many of the defense cuts planned by the Obama administration.

Romney told a Virginia Beach, Va., television station he would not include the military in the spending cuts he is proposing to cut down the U.S. deficit.
“Rather than completing nine ships per year, I’d move that up to 15. I’d also add F-22s to our Air Force fleet. And I’d add about 100,000 active duty personnel to our military team,” Romney said in the interview. “I think the idea of shrinking our military to try and get closer to balancing our budget is the wrong place to look.”
He’s repeated his plan to increase ship building from nine to 15 ships per year and add 100,000 active duty troops to the military’s end strength. However, this is the first time he’s mentioned any plans to buy more F-22s.
F-22 production was famously ended by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates after the Air Force had fought for the U.S. to buy more fifth generation fighter jets. Air Force leaders wanted to buy 243 F-22s, Gates halted production at 187. Originally, the Air Force wanted to buy more than 750 Raptors.
The last U.S. F-22 rolled off the production line in 2011. The Raptor program has since come under scrutiny after a string of pilots have suffered hypoxia-like symptoms and struggled to breathe in flight. Air Force officials claim to have found the cause, but it has repeatedly grounded the F-22 fleet the past two years and continue to impose flight restrictions.
Air Force leaders pushed to build more F-22s to add to the fleet because they warned a fleet of 187 would be insufficient to defeat an enemy with a top line air force like China. Former Air Force Chief of Staffs Gen. Norton Schwartz and Gen. Michael “Buzz” Moseley argued the costs of re-opening the production line would be too costly to build up the fleet if Congress changed its mind and wanted more F-22s.
If Romney wins and follows through on his plan to buy more F-22s, it would cost at least $900 million to reopen the F-22 production line, according to Loren Thompson, a consultant for Lockheed Martin and other defense companies.

In 2010, Japan discussed buying 40 F-22s from Lockheed Martin, builder of the F-22. Lockheed officials then told Japanese leaders it would cost $900 million to re-open the production line. Thompson said the cost would surely increase when considering two years have passed and the production line was still “semi-warm.”
The cost to reopen the production line would come in addition to the per aircraft price tag to manufacture each jet. That per aircraft cost is harder to decipher. When factoring in development and manufacturing, the price tag per jet totaled the U.S. more than $370 million. However, the flyaway cost — the cost of manufacturing one jet — equaled $137 million per jet.
Re-opening the production line in Marietta, Ga., would take at least two years, Thompson said. Lockheed would be slowed by re-establishing supplier networks and re-training employees.
“In a rush, you could do it in about two years assuming all the other workers weren’t on other projects like F-35,” Thompson said.
He didn’t expect the problems with the F-22’s oxygen system to hold a Romney administration back from following through on buying more F-22 plans.
“It wouldn’t be a problem, Thompson said. “If there are still issues with the oxgen system they could just switch over to another supplier like Cobham.”
There are also questions about whether further F-22 buys would affect the acquisition schedule for the F-35. The Defense Department plans to buy 2,443 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

Clinton To Urge ASEAN Unity On South China Sea

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling for Southeast Asian states to present a united front to the Chinese in dealing with territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Clinton will be in Indonesia's capital Monday to offer strong U.S. support for a regionally endorsed plan to ease rising tensions by implementing a code of conduct for all claimants to disputed islands. Jakarta is the headquarters of the Association of South East Asian Nations, and Clinton will also press the group to insist that China agree to a formal mechanism to reduce short-term risks of conflict and ultimately come to final settlements over sovereignty.

She wants "to strengthen ASEAN unity going forward," a senior U.S. official told reporters on board Clinton's plane as she flew from the Cook Islands to Australia for a brief refueling stop en route to Indonesia.


Indonesia played a leading role in putting the six-point plan together after ASEAN was unable to reach consensus on the matter in July. The official said the U.S. is "encouraged" by the plan but wants it acted on — particularly implementation and enforcement of the code of conduct, which has languished since a preliminary framework for it was first agreed in 2002. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to publicly preview Clinton's meetings.

The U.S. has asserted a national security interest in the peaceful resolution to South China Sea disputes and hopes for progress to be made before a November summit of East Asian leaders that President Barack Obama plans to attend.

The U.S. position has riled China, which has become increasingly assertive in pressing its territorial claims with its smaller neighbors and wants the disputes to be resolved individually with each country. The U.S. says it takes no position on the conflicting claims but wants to see them resolved between China and ASEAN, which has collective clout that its 10 members do not have individually.

Clinton will travel to China on Tuesday to continue talks on the South China Sea and a number of other issues, including the crisis in Syria and ways to deal with Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs.
Clinton will be in Indonesia on the second stop of an 11-day, six-nation tour that will take her to East Timor, Brunei and Russia's Far East after her stop in China.

In Indonesia, the official said, Clinton would also raise human rights concerns, including a recent uptick in mob violence against religious minorities.

The official described the incidents as "disturbing" and said Clinton would be asking Indonesian authorities how they intend to deal with them. The U.S. has championed Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, as a model for a moderate Islamic democracy,
Human Rights Watch on Sunday called for Clinton to bring up such cases and press the government "to take concrete steps to address rising religious intolerance" in Indonesia. It also asked her to address Indonesian authorities' use of blasphemy and criminal defamation laws that it says are being used to persecute minorities and political activists.

"Indonesia needs to recognize that oppressive laws and policies against religious minorities fuel violence and discrimination," the human rights group said.