Infinite Unknown

A tiny Black Hornet Nano unmanned air vehicle (UAV), is launched from a compound in Afghanistan. Photograph: Reuters

- Nearly 450 British military drones lost in Iraq and Afghanistan (Guardian, Feb 12, 2013):

Ministry of Defence releases figures for crashes, breakdowns and missing vehicles, including loss of half of Hermes 450 fleet

Almost 450 drones operated by the British military have crashed, broken down or been lost in action during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last five years, figures reveal.

The Ministry of Defence has disclosed for the first time the five Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems used in the conflicts and the number that have perished due to pilot error, technical faults or the undesirability of retrieving them from hostile areas.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Drones, Global News, Iraq, Military, Politics, Technology, U.K.

- Iran Releases Footage From Hacked US Drone (ZeroHedge, Feb 7, 2013):

Back in December 2011 the US government first lied, then grudgingly had to admit that Iran had seized one of its RQ-170 Sentinel drones, which crash-landed in the middle of the country, after Iran released a video showing its scientists attempting to reverse engineer the contents of the drone. Naturally, the US politely asked for its drone back, and just as naturally, Iran politely refused to comply. So what was Iran doing in the intervening 14 months? Hacking the drone of course, which it finally succeeded last night when it released a short clip of what it had supposedly extracted from the remains of the Sentinel. The full clip is below, and while it does not provide any incremental informational benefits to Iran, or any further humiliation to whoever created the US drone fleet without a self-destruct option, it certainly will boost Iranian morale on the ground for hacking the Great Satan.

More from Telegraph:

The video aired late on Wednesday on Iranian TV shows an aerial view of an airport and a city, said to be a US drone base and Kandahar, Afghanistan. The TV also showed images purported to be the Sentinel landing at a base in eastern Iran but it was unclear if that footage meant to depict the moment of the drone’s seizure.

In addition, the TV also showed images of an Iranian helicopter transporting the drone, as well as its disassembled parts being carried on a trailer.

In another part of the video, the chief of the Revolutionary Guard’s airspace division, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said that only after capturing the drone, Iran realised it “belongs to the CIA.” Continue reading »

Tags: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, Drones, Global News, Government, Iran, Military, Obama administration, Politics, U.S.

A tiny 4ins remote-control helicopter is being used for surveillance on the front line to detect enemy threats to British troops.

The tiny drones send video and still images back to a handheld screen

- Mini Drones: Army Deploys Tiny Helicopters (Sky news, Feb 4, 2013):

British troops are using a nano drone just 10cm long and weighing 16 grams on the front line in Afghanistan to provide vital information on the ground.

They are the first to use the state-of-the-art handheld tiny surveillance helicopters, which relay reliable full motion video and still images back to the devices’ handlers in the battlefield.

The Black Hornet Nano Unmanned Air Vehicle is the size of a child’s toy, measuring just 10cm (4 ins) by 2.5cm (1 inch), and is equipped with a tiny camera. Continue reading »

Tags: Afghanistan, Drones, Global News, Government, Military, Politics, Surveillance, Technology, U.K.

- The Children Killed by America’s Drones. “Crimes Against Humanity” committed by Barack H. Obama. (Global Research, Jan 26, 2013)

Tags: Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Global News, Government, Military, Obama administration, Pakistan, Politics, U.S., War, Yemen

- A New Perspective on Cost of War

Tags: Afghanistan, EU, Europe, Global News, Government, Iraq, Military, NATO, Politics, U.S., War

- Is Mali the next Afghanistan? (McClatchy, Jan 18, 2013):

WASHINGTON — The war rages about cities with names such as Goa and Timbuktu, in a sparsely populated, mostly flat, dusty and landlocked country in northwest Africa.

The combatants include a nomadic Berber people known as Tuareg, the French Foreign Legion and a coalition of al Qaida affiliates who identify themselves with the Maghreb, the desert region of Northwestern Africa.

It sounds as if it could be the plot for a new Indiana Jones adventure. But those who study international terrorism say it would be a mistake for Americans to think of this conflict as anything but deadly serious. The war in Mali is the new front in the war on international terrorism.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Africa, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, France, Global News, Government, Mali, Politics, Terrorism, U.S.

A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. The U.S. is conducting drone strikes in in at least three countries beyond Iraq and Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Stanley Thompson)

- Everything We Know So Far About Drone Strikes (ProPublica, Jan 11, 2013):

Jan. 11, 2013: this post has been corrected.

You might have heard about the “kill list.” You’ve certainly heard about drones. But the details of the U.S. campaign against militants in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia — a centerpiece of the Obama administration’s national security approach – remain shrouded in secrecy. Here’s our guide to what we know—and what we don’t know.

Where is the drone war? Who carries it out?

Drones have been the Obama administration’s tool of choice for taking out militants outside of Iraq and Afghanistan. Drones aren’t the exclusive weapon – traditional airstrikes and other attacks have also been reported. But by one estimate, 95 percent of targeted killings since 9/11 have been conducted by drones.  Among the benefits of drones: they don’t put American troops in harm’s way.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaida, Barack Obama, CIA, George Bush, Global News, Government, Iraq, Military, Obama administration, Pakistan, Politics, Somalia, U.S., Yemen

- Almost a quarter of female troops become victims of sex assaults in combat zones (RT, Dec 28, 2012):

Almost half of all US women deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan say they were sexually harassed, while nearly one-quarter claim they were sexually assaulted. The findings shed light on the additional stress military women face when they work abroad.

Research by the Department of Veterans Affairs shows that sexual misconduct is a much greater problem than previously believed, since the Pentagon asserts that few reports were filed alleging sexual assault.

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Tags: Afghanistan, Crime, Global News, Government, Iraq, Military, Pentagon, Politics, Sex, Society, U.S., Women

- An Afghan Mystery: Why Are Large Shipments of Gold Leaving the Country? (New York Times, Dec 15, 2012):

KABUL, Afghanistan — Packed into hand luggage and tucked into jacket pockets, roughly hewed bars of gold are being flown out of Kabul with increasing regularity, confounding Afghan and American officials who fear money launderers have found a new way to spirit funds from the country. Continue reading »

Tags: Afghanistan, Economy, Global News, Gold

Flashback:

- UNBELIEVABLE: ‘More Than 20 Navy SEALS From The Unit That Killed Osama Bin Laden’ Die In Helicopter Crash

- US Navy Commander who killed Bin Laden, commits suicide (The Siasat Daily, Dec 25, 2012):

Hyderabad – SEAL Team 4 Commanding Officer Job W. Price commit suicide. He was best known for finding and then killing Osama bin Laden.

Cmdr. Job W. Price, 42, died Saturday, Dec. 22, of a non-combat-related injury while supporting stability operations in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.

Suicide of the Officer of this grade raises many questions among the media, as the team was best known for killing Osama Bin Laden that assaulted his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 1, 2011.

Military officials are looking into the death of Cmdr. Job W. Price as a possible suicide, but that his death remains under investigation.

Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pa., was in charge of coordinating all Team 4 missions.

Price was in Afghanistan supporting stability operations in Uruzgan Province. He was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit based in Virginia Beach, Va.

SEAL Team 4 is among eight SEAL team deployments. SEAL Team 6 is best known among them for finding and then killing Osama bin Laden.

- US Navy Seal’s ‘apparent suicide’ in Afghanistan under investigation (Guardian, Dec 25, 2012):

US military officials are investigating the apparent suicide of a Navy Seal commander in Afghanistan.

Navy Seal Commander Job W Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday from a non-combat-related injury while supporting stability operations in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

A US military official said the death “appears to be the result of suicide”. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the death is still being investigated.

Continue reading »

Tags: Afghanistan, Assassination, Barack Obama, Global News, Government, Military, Navy Seals, Obama administration, Osama Bin Laden, Politics, U.S.