Occupations you can believe in: US Army prepared to stay in Iraq for a decade 27 May 2009 The Pentagon is prepared to remain in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between Washington and Baghdad that would bring all American troops home by 2012, according to the US army chief of staff. Gen George Casey said the world remained “dangerous and unpredictable”, and the Pentagon must plan for extended US combat and stability operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan that could deploy 50,000 US military personnel for a decade.
May Is Iraq’s Deadliest Month Since September 28 May 2009 An American soldier and four Iraqi civilians died Wednesday when a bomb exploded on a Baghdad street as a United States military patrol drove past, officials said. The death of the soldier brings to at least 20 the number of American soldiers who have died this month, the most since September 2008, when 25 service members died.
Israel threatening Iran with ‘nukes’ 27 May 2009 As Israel remains adamant on blemishing the prospects of Iran-US dialogue and coaxing the White House into a war, Israel’s military Chief of Staff says the regime is ready to use all options against Iran.Israel, the possessor of the sole nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, has long strived to portray Iran as a regime hell-bent on starting a nuclear war through the pursuit of its nuclear program.
Army post shuts down for anti-suicide event –Record number of soldiers committed suicide last year, Army says 27 May 2009 A major United States military post is shutting down for three days following a rash of suicides, the post announced. Fort Campbell, home of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, is holding a three-day “suicide stand-down training event” starting Wednesday — the second one it has held this year, a post spokeswoman told CNN. At least 11 deaths of Fort Campbell soldiers this year are confirmed or suspected suicides, spokeswoman Kelly Tyler said.
MI5 faces fresh torture allegations –The claims bring to three the number of countries in which British intelligence agents have been accused of colluding in the torture of UK nationals. 26 May 2009 The home secretary Jacqui Smith faces legal action over allegations that MI5 agents colluded in the torture of a British former civil servant by Bangladeshi intelligence officers. Lawyers for the British man, Jamil Rahman, are to file a damages claim alleging that Smith was complicit in assault, unlawful arrest, false imprisonment and breaches of human rights legislation over his alleged ill-treatment while detained in Bangladesh.
Pentagon Working on Cyberwarfare Tools for GIs 27 May 2009 The U.S. military is developing easy-to-use, highly powerful hacking tools for GIs to use in case of a cyberwar, reports the Web site of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine. One prototype device shown to Aviation Week used an easy-to-understand interface to show how best to tap into any wireless communication system, then monitored how successfully a hacking attempt was going.
Network Attack Weapons Emerge –DARPA has awarded several contracts to information technology companies to design a cyberattack range. 21 May 2009 Devices to launch and control cyber, electronic and information attacks are being tested and refined by the U.S. military and industry in preparation for moving out of the laboratory and into the warfighter’s backpack… The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA] has awarded several contracts to information technology companies to design a cyberattack range. Candidate sites include Naval Air Warfare Center’s China Lake, Calif., radar cross-section facility and the U.S. Air Force radar cross-section range at Holloman AFB, N.M. Several future attack devices are being built in a U.S. cyberwarfare attack laboratory.
‘New arms race’ taking shape in cyberspace: Van Loan 27 May 2009 A “new arms race” is taking shape in cyberspace, Canada’s security czar said Wednesday, lamenting ever bolder and more sophisticated attacks on government websites by Russia, China and others. “I really look at this area almost as the new arms race,” said Canadian Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan. Cyber security is “a concern both countries share,” he told a joint press conference with US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, in Canada to discuss border and other security concerns.
Leaders of Muslim charity sentenced to 65 years 28 May 2009 Two leaders of what was once the largest Muslim charity in the US have been sentenced to 65 years in jail for supporting Palestinian resistance group Hamas. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation and five of its leaders were convicted late last year for allegedly funneling more than 12 million dollars to Hamas in the largest “terror financing” case in US history. Jurors returned guilty verdicts on 108 charges of providing material support to terrorists, money laundering and tax fraud.
