OSINT: History not to be repeated

Back in the 30's (and earlier) nations competed all over the world for resources. In the case of Japan rising needs drove them both west and south in an attempt to create the Greater Co-Prosperity Sphere. In the case of todays resource crunches, military forces are starting to look at other ways to meet their needs. Thats learning from history - a thing seldom done.

Hat tip to Peter Johnson at Sikorsky Aircraft for spotting this.

Oil prices prompt search for fuel alternatives
Cost pressures on military budgets, caused in part by last year’s rocketing oil prices, are pushing the UK and other leading powers to consider alternative fuels and propulsion technologies.

Fuel costs accounted for $17bn of the combined budget for the world’s top 20 military spenders last year, and the sharp increase in the price of oil added $6bn to the bill, according to estimates in a Jane’s Industry Quarterly study last month.

The US, the world’s biggest military spender, spent $12.6bn, or 2 per cent, of its total budget on fuel.

In the UK, where rising oil costs added £120m-£130m to its fuel bill between 2006 and 2008, the government spent $1.06bn (£740m) last year.

France called off three naval exercises during the summer of 2008 as a result of escalating fuel costs.

“The burden placed on militaries by fuel demands is significant,” said Guy Anderson, editor of Jane’s Industry Quarterly. Even putting budgetary burdens aside, the reliance on petroleum products exposed militaries to the vagaries of the international energy markets and security concerns relating to dependence on foreign suppliers, he added.

In the UK, the Ministry of Defence last year set up an internal fuel forum to look at all aspects of fuel usage, including efficiency. Several initiatives are under way: expanding use of simulator-based training for armed forces; optimising fuel usage during live training (for example conducting fast-jet training without unnecessary underslung equipment); and improving fuel storage.

Separately, the Royal Navy says it recycles ships that are no longer seaworthy, where possible, and is in the process of installing updated waste disposal methods on ships.

The navy’s two new £4bn aircraft carriers, which are due to come into service in the next few years, will have diesel generators while current carriers are having “anti-foul coating systems” applied to their hulls to improve fuel efficiency.

Longer-term solutions are also on the horizon. The US defence department views hybrid electric drive as the most attainable military propulsion technology in the near term.

HED vehicles offer fuel savings of 30-40 per cent over diesel systems, according to Mr Anderson. But to be widely ready for military use in the next 15 years, the primary challenge for HED developers will be “to continue to keep development costs down while at the same time maturing the technology”, says Jane’s.

Another alternative is biofuels, such as biodiesel, which is a product of feedstocks such as soyabeans and palm oil. However, there are drawbacks to using biofuels in the military. Not least of these is that current biofuels are 25 per cent lower in energy density than military jet fuel.

Researchers are also trying to increase the endurance of unmanned aerial vehicles, a big growth area for the military and already used extensively for intelligence and surveillance.

According to Mr Anderson, the US is the only market even close to large enough to drive change.

OSINT: SUNDAY SITREP

World news in no particular order...

IRAQ:Vote ends without incident
AFGHANISTAN: Question of a widening war
IRAN:Iran publically spurns talks
SAUDI ARABIA: US envoy arrives in Saudi Arabia
UAE:People in UAE happier with global economy than others
PAKISTAN: US Congress to take up Pakistan aid package
CHINA: Migrant workers suddenly without jobs
INDIA: India projects a 7.0% growth rate despite global downturn
JAPAN: Japan to offer 17B in Asian aid
KOREAS: N Korea creating a crisis for attention?
VENEZEULA: Chavez beats down his college resistance
ARGENTIA: Severe drought grips Argentina
CUBA: Raul Castro visits Kremlin
MEXICO: Mexico loosing jobs
CANADA: Canada has a problem with “buy America”
ARCTIC REGION: Security woes for NATO in Arctic
RUSSIA: Protesters complain about economy
EUROPE: EU and China to hold summit meeting.
AFRICA: Africa mulls over unity plan

DoD: This Week at the Pentagon

OSINT: China and Russia Slam "American" Financial System

Premiers Wen Jiabao of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia

The premiers of Russia and China slammed the U.S. economic system in speeches Wednesday, holding it responsible for the global economic crisis.

Both focused on the role of the U.S. dollar, with China's Premier Wen Jiabao calling for better regulation of major reserve currencies and Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin calling over-reliance on the dollar "dangerous."

Speaking on the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, they both urged more international cooperation to escape the downturn. They also talked up the abilities of their own economies to ride out the recession. Mr. Wen said he was "confident" China would hit its 8% growth target for this year even though that was "a tall order." (See the full text.)

The Russian and Chinese leaders also called for cooperation with U.S. President Barack Obama, but it was a chilly reception for the new administration that reflected growing anger in economies that are now getting hit hard by a financial crisis that began with subprime mortgages sold in the U.S.
More here...

OSINT: Revealed: the letter Obama team hope will heal Iran rift

Officials of Barack Obama's administration have drafted a letter to Iran from the president aimed at unfreezing US-Iranian relations and opening the way for face-to-face talks, the Guardian has learned.

The US state department has been working on drafts of the letter since Obama was elected on 4 November last year. It is in reply to a lengthy letter of congratulations sent by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on 6 November.

Obama's letter would be a symbolic gesture to mark a change in tone from the hostile one adopted by the Bush administration, which portrayed Iran as part of an "axis of evil".

It would be intended to allay the ­suspicions of Iran's leaders and pave the way for Obama to engage them directly, a break with past policy.
More here...

Current Affairs (OSINT): Divided House Passes Recovery Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night, filled with new spending and tax cuts at the core of the young adminstration's revival plan for the desperately ailing economy. The vote was 244-188.

Senate debate and a vote is next and then a meeting of the bills before it can be signed by the president. The target is mid February for signing.
More here...

OSINT: SUNDAY SITREP

World Headlines in no particular order...

IRAN: Iranian arms ship intercepted by US warship has sealed secret holds

US: Two ex-Guantanamo inmates appear in Al-Qaeda video
Study finds troubling pattern of Southern California quakes

SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Kingdom posts Q4 profit

CHINA: China reports 4th bird flu death in 2009

MID EAST: Obama Envoy to Make First Direct Move Into Mideast Peace Efforts

MEXICO: Top Mexico Cops Charged With Favoring Drug Cartel

COLUMBIA: Colombia Says Top Narco Offering Bounties for Cops

VENEZUELA: Thousands Demonstrate Ahead of Venezuela Vote

AFGHANISTAN: Russia Ready to Cooperate With US on Afghanistan

PHILIPPINES: 100 WWII BOMBS DISCOVERED IN U.S. EMBASSY IN PHILIPPINES

PAKISTAN: PAKISTAN URGES OBAMA TO HALT MISSILE STRIKES

SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka says troops enter final rebel stronghold

RWANDA: Rwanda-Congo force kills 9 militiamen, UN says

BOLIVIA: Polls open in Bolivia's constitutional referendum

FRANCE: France and Spain pick up pieces after deadly storm

GERMANY: Germany, EU Receive Gas After Gazprom Turns on Taps

SERBIA: Serbia protests Kosovo Security Force

BRAZIL: Brazil expands investment in offshore drilling projects

Aerospace: Missile History and Future

A quick history lesson. A quarter of a century ago, the US (and NATO) were engaged in an unprecedented nuclear arms build-up in Europe that was initiated with the deployment of the SS-20 Sabre (NATO)/RT-21M Pioneer (Russia) IRBM in 1976. Unlike the much older SS-4 and SS-5 IRBMs, employed in 1959 and 1961, the SS-20 was a modern, road-mobile, MIRV’d missile with a CEP of 150m. In a word - it was a game changer when all 405 were ddeployed by 1986. The most significant and troublesome aspect of the SS-20 was that it was clearly a first strike weapon, meant for a swift strike against NATO leadership and theater nuclear forces, or TNF which mostly consisted of short- and medium range aircraft and Pershing I missiles.
More history here...

OSINT: Connectivity is everything!

Hat Tip to Dr. Tom Barnett.

The world is shrinking. Cheap flights, large scale commercial shipping and expanding road networks redefine Wilderness. Only 10% of the land area is remote – more than 48 hours from a large city mean that we are better connected to everywhere else than ever before. But global travel and international trade and just two of the forces that have reshaped our world. A new map of Travel Time to Major Cities - developed by the European Commission and the World Bank - captures this connectivity and the concentration of economic activity and also highlights that there is little wilderness left. The map shows how accessible some parts of the world have become whilst other regions have remained isolated. Accessibility - whether it is to markets, schools, hospitals or water - is a precondition for the satisfaction of almost any economic need. Furthermore, accessibility is relevant at all levels, from local development to global trade and this map fills an important gap in our understanding of the spatial patterns of economic, physical and social connectivity.

More here and here....

OSINT: Presidential Slideshow

Special NewsMax prsidential Slideshow here...

OSINT: Afghanistan, plague strikes down Terrorists

At least 40 al-Qaeda fanatics died horribly after being struck down with the disease that devastated Europe in the Middle Ages

More here…

OSINT: Terrorist Innovations: Iranian experts devise special containers for clandestine delivery of arms to Gaza

To bypass security patrols, containers are dropped from freighters out at sea, plummet to a calculated depth and carried by the undercurrent to a point close to the Gaza shore. A built-in mechanism then shoots them up to the surface, where Gazan fishermen pick up the bobbing containers. A marine expert on deck of these Iranian freighters guides the captain to the exact location for dropping the container.

More here…

OSINT: SUNDAY SITREP

HOLLAND: Canal ice helps Dutch rediscover national identity

MIDDLE EAST: Arabs lost 2.5 trillion dollars from credit crunch

RUSSIA: Putin warns of 'big expectations' of Obama

VENEZUELA: Venezuela's Chavez says Obama has "stench" of Bush
Venezuela's Chavez urges tear gas against protests

AFRICA: Can Africa Trade Its Way to Peace?

CHINA: Global slump casts a pall over Chinese New Year
Tempers Rise Over Trade With China

KOREAS: S. Korean Military On Alert After N. Korea Pledges 'Confrontational Posture'

ZIMBABWE: Mugabe admits cholera outbrake

SRI LANKA: Sri Lanka army seizes camp, says rebels boxed in

GABON: Two French Soldiers Killed in Rescue Training

NIGERIA: Nigeria militants report botched British hostage rescue

ISRAEL: Israel to cease fire in Gaza, no deal for Hamas
Hamas Agrees to Cease-Fire, Gives Israel One Week to Remove Troops

IRAN: Iranian Cleric Calls for Shooting Israeli FM

AFGHANISTAN: Counterinsurgency Field Manual: Afghanistan Edition

OSINT: Introducing Mike Yon, winner of 2008's Best MilBlog

Congratulations to Mike Yon on receiving the most votes in the Best Military Blog category of the 2008 Weblog Awards.

Mike is an award winning writer and photographer. Retired from Army Special Forces, he writes from the actual front line anywhere in the world, with a point of view based on experience.

His website here..

OSINT: Joint Forces report warns Mexico could destabilize

EL PASO - Mexico is one of two countries that "bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse," according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats.

The command's "Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)" report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. "In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.

"The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."

The Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., is a Defense Department combat command that includes different military service branches, active and reserves. One of its roles is to transform the military's capabilities.

In the report's foreword, Marine Gen. J.N. Mattis, the Joint Forces commander, said "Predictions about the future are always risky. ...

More here...

OSINT: Incoming Vet Affairs Chief has a tough job

Retired four-star Gen. Eric K. Shinseki is facing a daunting task as the probable next head of the Veterans Affairs Department -- getting soldiers returning from the field into the workforce in a very weak employment environment.

Nearly 900,000 troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they could have a hard time finding or keeping a job. Many have been in and out of the workforce because of multiple deployments, and others face the prospect of being deployed overseas again.

"The unemployment rate among veterans is high and dramatically increasing," said Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq war veteran and head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has consulted informally. "We need to hear about job creation, and how we are going to get veterans out and to work."

More here...

OSINT: SUNDAY SITREP

This weeks world wide SITREP, in no particular order…

ISRAEL: Israeli troops, militants battle in Gaza suburb

SYRIA: Syria deals with Gaza, eyeing own peace

EGYPT: Israel says Egypt should have Gaza border role

SAUDI ARABIA: Dun and Bradstreet, in association with National Commercial Bank, launches Saudi Arabia's first Business Optimism Index

CHINA: China's Middle East special envoy to visit Egypt, Palestine, Israel

RUSSIA: Ukraine, Russia and EU sign deal to get gas flowing

EUROPE: Thousands in Europe protest Gaza violence

FRANCE: France and Indonesia disappointed by rebuffal of UN resolution in Gaza

POLAND: Dell moves production from Ireland to Poland

GREAT BRITAIN: UFO-destroyed wind turbine' sent to Germany for forensic analysis (Editors note: This was just too good not to include in the SITREP)

SPAIN: Ruling Socialists Hold Small Lead in Spain

US: Obama Calls for 'Grand Bargain' on Economy: 'Everybody's Going to Have to Give'

CANADA: Obama's first foreign trip as president: Canada

MEXICO: Kidnapping Expert Kidnapped In Mexico

BRAZIL: Brazil bank buys 50 pct stake in Votorantim unit

VENEZUELA: Chavez Threatens to Expel U.S. Embassy Personnel in Caracas

CUBA: Is Obama factor behind flurry of Cuba trips?

SOMALIA: Five Somali pirates drown as they squabble over their $3million ransom

SAFETY: Navy changes the way it trains the Blue Angels

Go to the Blue Angels web site, here...

The Navy hopes changes in the way Blue Angels train will help prevent crashes like the one that killed Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis in Burton two years ago.

Instituted in December, the new G-Tolerance Training Program is designed to help Blue Angel pilots withstand the physical and mental rigors of performing aerial maneuvers that can multiply normal gravitational forces.

Effects caused by those forces are believed to have caused the April 2007 crash that killed Davis.

In the last maneuver of the Blue Angels’ performance at the 2007 Beaufort Air Show at the Marine Corps Air Station, Davis was trailing the other pilots and accelerated to more than 425 mph. Investigators said the sudden force caused him to lose awareness of his speed and altitude.

Davis' F/A-18 Hornet clipped several trees before crashing in a wooded neighborhood near the intersection of Shanklin and Pine Grove roads. The pilot was killed, eight people were injured and dozens of homes were damaged in the crash.

The Navy hopes the new physical training program will reduce the incidence of "G-LOC," when a pilot loses consciousness because of excessive gravitational forces.
Unlike Navy and Marine pilots, Blue Angel pilots are not required to wear G-suits. The suits use a compressed air and bladder system to restrict the amount of blood flowing from a pilot's brain, preventing blackouts, said Lt. j.g. Brett Dawson, spokesman for the Chief of Naval Air Training in Corpus Christi, Texas.

However, the suits are not conducive to the type of flying done by the team, Dawson said.

"Those guys are flying 18 inches apart, and their arms and legs and hands are extremely close to that stick during those maneuvers; and if that suit inflates or deflates, it can move the stick," he said. "When we're flying 18 inches apart, we don't want that stick to move."

The Blue Angels annually submit a waiver to the Secretary of the Navy to exempt them from wearing G-suits, which are standard issue for Marine and Navy pilots.

More here…

OSINT: A view into the Army’s future

ARTICLE: Army's New Manual: Peacekeeper Training, AP, December 17, 2008

Both the Army and Marines have long been partial to "Full Spectrum" operations, a buzz phrase that signals the need to be equally proficient on the lower-end of the conflict spectrum.

The Army has released its first new training field manual in six years, highlighting the need for units to be ready to conduct stability operations after traditional combat has ended.

The manual, titled "Training for Full Spectrum Operations" and written at Fort Leavenworth, explains what soldiers can expect when in combat.

It replaces a 2002 edition and comes on the heels of the Army's release earlier this year of its latest operations doctrine, which emphasized that soldiers must be prepared and proficient in offense, defense and stability skills. The Army says it is the first time it has synchronized the manuals for operations and training.

Army officials say the latest manual released Tuesday is a reflection of the past seven years of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq and a reality that units will be in a period of "persistent conflict" for years to come.

More here…

OSINT: Pakistan, a mixed bag

Taliban bans education for girls in Swat Valley
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Taliban militants in a former tourist region of Pakistan have banned girls from school beginning this month, claiming female education is contrary to Islam.
"From January 15, girls will not be allowed to attend schools," Mullah Shah Doran, the Taliban second in command in the scenic Swat Valley, announced in a recent radio address.
More here…

Pakistan and U.S. Rebuild Strained Military Ties

TORKHAM, Afghanistan
U.S and Pakistani military cooperation has increased as the two nations push to eliminate militants destabilizing both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border, a marked change from last year's tense relationship.
More here…