Thursday, December 2, 2010

Cable: Bout extradition was almost stopped - UPI.com

BANGKOK, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. diplomats feared allies of alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout would stop his U.S. extradition from Thailand, a cable released by WikiLeaks indicated Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador Eric John told Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that Bout's "Russian supporters have been using money and influence" to persuade Thai courts to rule Bout should not be extradited to the United States, a Feb. 13, 2009, cable obtained by WikiLeaks and published on its Web site said.

John also told Abhisit witnesses had falsely testified that Bout was in Thailand on legitimate business at the time of his arrest, the cable said.

The cable, sent to Washington from the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, also said U.S. officials had learned of "a scheme to arrest and thereby embarrass two U.S. diplomats -- i.e. DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) agents assigned to the Bout investigation -- on meritless charges of participating in illegal recordings of Bout on the day of his arrest," the cable on the WikiLeaks Web site said.

A second cable John sent to Abhisit Aug. 13, 2009 -- two days after Thailand's Criminal Court rejected a U.S. request to extradite Bout -- encouraged "the Thai government to issue a public statement expressing disappointment in the judges' decision, its intention to win on appeal and a reiteration of Thailand's commitment to both the struggle against international terrorism and to its extensive law enforcement relationship with the United States."

Abhisit said Thursday his government was not pressured by Washington to extradite Bout, the Bangkok Post reported.

Bout, 43, reputed to have been the world's largest arms trafficker before his 2008 arrest in Thailand, was extradited to the United States last month to face federal charges of agreeing in a sting operation to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to agents posing as Colombian rebels intending to kill American pilots patrolling in the drug war.

Bout denied any links to arms trafficking. He faces possible life in prison if convicted.

Bout -- dubbed the "Merchant of Death" for allegedly selling guns, ammunition, tanks and helicopters to armed groups that U.S Treasury officials said inflamed conflicts in Afghanistan, Angola, Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan -- is said to have inspired the 2005 thriller film, "Lord of War," starring Nicolas Cage.

France pressed CAR on disinviting Sudan's Bashir as ICC judges calls for his arrest - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan

December 1, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an order today asking the government of the Central African Republic to arrest the Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir once he arrives for the country’s Golden Jubilee Independence Day celebrations.


President of the Central African Republic Francois Bozize (AFP)

Bashir was close to embarking on the one-day trip which was never made public by state media but reported by the Al-Rayaam pro-government newspaper on Tuesday. The Sudanese leader is wanted by the ICC on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity he allegedly orchestrated in Darfur.

In a statement, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber said CAR officials should "take all necessary measures to arrest Omar al-Bashir and transfer him to the Court, in the event and at the moment that he arrives in the country’s territory," noting that the CAR has "the obligation to execute" ICC arrest warrants as a state party to the court’s Rome Statute since 2001.

Otherwise the CAR has to inform the judges on why it cannot execute the warrant.

However, the visit by Bashir was confirmed to be cancelled in the early hours of the day for what it turned out to be the result of French pressure.

An aide to CAR President Francois Bozize told Reuters the no show by Bashir followed a long conversation late on Tuesday between Bozize and French Cooperation Minister Henri de Raincourt, who was present.

"I think Bashir’s absence is a result of the conversation between the French minister and the head of state," the aide said. "Not only France finds this invitation very embarrassing but it would cause us big problems if Bashir came."

In Khartoum, a presidential source told Reuters Bashir had decided not to attend the event, without elaborating on the reasons.

Yesterday, a number of rights groups in CAR have urged the government to honor its obligations and arrest Bashir should he enter the country or bar him entry in the alternative. The ICC is currently trying former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for crimes blamed on his militia in the CAR in 2002 and 2003.

The incident is another diplomatic setback for the Sudanese leader who managed to visit two ICC treaty signatories namely Chad and Kenya without being apprehended. Kenya in particular faced heavy international criticism for failing to arrest al-Bashir in August, including from U.S. President Barack Obama. Kenya then ducked out of hosting a regional summit al-Bashir was to attend in October.

This week Libya asked Bashir to stay away from the Africa-EU summit held in Tripoli to avoid a mass walkout by EU members. Khartoum angered by the exclusion cancelled its participation at the gathering on all levels and slammed "hypocrisy" of the European bloc.

One observer told Sudan Tribune that the Sudanese government is particularly concerned over the prospect of having Bashir isolated amongst neighboring countries despite having gained full backing of the African Union against the ICC.

Today the African Union Peace and Security Council called for the suspension of ICC proceedings against Bashir by the UN Security Council (UNSC) in order to ensure implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South Sudan.

(ST)

Russia to test another Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter - English pravda.ru

Russia to test another Sukhoi T-50 fifth-generation fighter

22.11.2010

Russia's Sukhoi design bureau will start testing another T-50 PAK FA fifth generation fighter jet until the end of the year. Mikhail Pogosyan, the head of the bureau, told reporters on November 22 that the first plane, which is currently being tested, had performed 40 flights. The official described the tests of the new plane as successful and fast.

The maiden flight of Russia's new fighter jet, produced with the use of stealth technology, took place on January 29 in Russia's Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The serial production of the fifth-generation fighter is expected to be launched in 2015. The PAK FA jet is said to replace MiG-29 and Su-27 in Russia's Air Force. The training of crews for T-50 is to begin in 2013. T-50 is expected to overcome Western analogues in terms of the price-efficiency correlation and raise significant interest on the international market. For the time, it is only the United States that has fifth-generation fighter jets.

According to Mikhail Pogosyan, Sukhoi currently has over 100 orders for the plane from Russia's defense ministry. More orders are to be signed next year, the official said. The total number of orders for PAK FA planes may reach 150, RIA Novosti reports.

Three years ago, the Russian Federation put forward a suggestion to India to participate in the creation of PAK FA. The two sides will spend approximately 8-10 billion dollars on the project. Two versions of the new plane are to be designed - with one and two seats.

Russia is expected to finish the talks regarding India's participation in the project until the end of the current year. The fifth-generation fighter jet is to be put into service in Russia and India in 2020.

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In the future, the two countries intend to sell T-50 planes to other countries. Russia and India are working on an export modification of the plane. The export version of the plane is called FGFA - Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft. Sukhoi plans to produce 100 fifth-generation aircraft a year.

A fifth generation jet fighter, it is designed to directly compete with Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. The PAK-FA SH121 radar complex includes three X-Band AESA radars located on the front and sides of the aircraft. These will be accompanied by L-Band radars on the wing leading edges. L-Band radars are proven to have increased effectiveness against VLO targets which are optimized only against X-Band frequencies, but their longer wavelengths reduce their resolution.

The PAK-FA will feature an IRST optical/IR search and tracking system. Sukhoi recently demonstrated cockpit mock-ups, which may relate to both Su-35 or PAK-FA, suggest two very large MFDs and a very wide HUD.

As for its drawbacks, experts point out the improper use of the stealth technology in the production of PAK FA. Choosing between maneuverability and stealth, Sukhoi chose the first quality.

Experts also say that the electronic equipment of the T-50 does not meet the requirements of a fifth-generation jet.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin observed the flight of the T-50 fighter in June of this year in the Moscow region. It was a 16th test flight of the aircraft. Putin stated after the test that the new Russian fighter will be twice as cheap as its Western analogues, whereas its performance will exceed that of its prime competitor, the F-22 of the USA.

Russia to restore naval presence in all oceans - English pravda.ru

Russia to restore naval presence in all oceans

26.11.2010

Russia may open new naval bases in other countries, President Dmitry Medvedev stated November 25 at a meeting with Russia's top brass.

"Unfortunately, the reality is that a number of our previous opportunities have disappeared," Medvedev said. Medvedev said that he now had "certain ideas" about how these could be replaced. "But for obvious reasons, I will not say them out loud," he added.

First and foremost, it goes about support points for Russian vessels on the territory of foreign countries. It is necessary to build such objects to support Russia's military presence in strategically important parts of the globe.

According to the president, it is very expensive and inefficient to send support vessels along with combat ships. "At this point, our foreign partners enjoy better conditions because they organized many bases in different parts of the world, where thy can stop and fuel their vessels. In general, this subject requires attentive participation of the state," the president said.

First and foremost, it goes about the USA, as well as Great Britain and France - the countries that preserve military presence in all oceans.

The USSR had an extensive network of foreign naval bases and technical support points. The nation had such bases in 16 countries of the globe. It goes about Cuba, Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen, Angola, Guinea, Libya, Tunisia, Yugoslavia and Vietnam.

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The above-mentioned bases guaranteed the USSR's naval presence in critically important regions of the globe, where the country was competing with the United States. In addition, the bases allowed to support Soviet allies during the moments when the USA tried to put pressure on them.

The USSR also had war rooms and wiretapping stations in foreign countries. Such stations were located in Poland, Finland, Somalia, Vietnam, North Korea, Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Egypt and Libya.

Nearly all of them were liquidated as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, because the new Russian administration believed that it would be extremely expensive for the country to maintain them. Naval bases in Vietnam and Cuba were shut down just several years ago.

Konstantin Sivkov, an expert with the Academy for Geopolitical Problems, believes that opening new naval bases in foreign countries is a noble initiative that Russia needs to pursue.

"Naval bases ensure influence for this or that country in strategically important regions of the globe. During the Soviet era, we had constant presence in all oceans. It is not that hard to restore those bases, because many of the old bases were put in dead storage. The problem is different: the Russian Pacific Navy has been considerably cut, and Russia does not have considerable resources to both defend its shores and open new naval bases," the expert said.

Where will new Russian military objects appear? The most likely destinations are Vietnam, Syria and Algeria. It is not ruled out that Russian Latin American allies will offer their bases for the Russian navy as well.

Spankin' Sarah Palin: A clown short of a circus - English pravda.ru

Opinion » Columnists

Spankin' Sarah Palin: A clown short of a circus

30.11.2010

I have already called Sarah Palin a pith-headed bimbo from the back of beyond, in this column. I shall now go one step further. By attacking the democratically elected President of the United States of America at a sensitive time in her country's history, she shows the tact of a boorish drunkard bawling obscenities at a funeral.

If Sarah Palin is not some kind of a massive political joke in the USA, wheeled out to liven up the political scene from time to time with nonsensical and pastiche (one hopes) displays of sheer and utter ignorance, then it is worrying. It is even more so if anyone other than a manic depressive suffering from a chronic lack of lithium takes this...female...seriously.

Hockey Mum Sarah ex-Governess of Alaska is famous for her shrill shrieking style, displaying a pitifully shallow persona which one hopes is stage-managed to give the rest of the world a good chuckle at the Americans' ability and unique quality to make fun of themselves, a real-life female version of Homer Simpson-cum-Belching Barney at Mo's, giving us ever-more hilarious soundbites as she sets herself up as the dumbest woman on Earth.

Just occasionally, one encounters a bar-room idiot whose party piece is belching loudly before falling backwards off his stool, bouncing off the floor on his backside with a background provided by guffaws of laughter, yet who winks knowingly as he is carried out with his feet scraping along the ground and says "Don't worry son, most of it is an act".

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The act. It reminds one of Marilyn Monroe putting on the act of the dumb blonde. But an act it was, a character projected by a shrewd, intelligent and charismatic woman with the ability to invent a persona. Sarah Palin, however, is the real-life thing. And it is becoming patently obvious that it isn't an act.

Sarah Palin, the one famous for ludicrous statements such as "I want to help clean up the state that is so sorry today of journalism. And I have a communications degree"; she is after all someone who "must have lived such a doggoned sheltered life", Sarah "We're all Arizonans now" Palin, cracking down on immigrants when the US of A is after all a country formed by...whom?

And now she turns not only against the fibre and backbone of her country, but against its democratically-elected President, accusing him of being incompetent for not stopping Wikileaks. Where was she and where was her GOP before and during the 9/11 attacks? She accuses President Obama of not taking "steps" to assure the leaks were not published. What "steps"?

Sinister Sarah Palin then goes on to insinuate that she is an advocate of cyber terrorism, questioning "Did we use all the cyber tools at our disposal to dismantle WikiLeaks?" Surely a more sensible question would have been why the material for the leaks was provided in the first place...and this has nothing to do with President Obama, but indeed speaks volumes about the State apparatus itself which goes beyond party politics. Her question also speaks volumes about her own inability to perform logical and strategic thinking.

President Obama after all knows the difference between North and South Korea, he knows that Hawaii is the largest US island and not Kodiak and he does not use the expression "refudiate".

If anything is a threat to the national security of the United States of America, it is this screaming, unrefined oaf with as much class as a searing release of flatulence followed by hysterical giggling at a state banquet. Is this what the people of the USA deserve?

To attack the President of the country at a time when the USA needs to close ranks and stand together to consolidate the enormous strides his intelligent and respectful approach has achieved in building bridges, when her party's period in government bombed them, Spankin' Sarah Palin comes across as a pitifully inadequate anachronism from the times of the Far West.

The United States of America has evolved. She has not.

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey