Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik August 2005 / Timeline August, 2005
Version 3.0
|
08/01/2005
Det er nu 27 måneder siden, at USAs præsident Bush
erklærede krigen i Irak for vundet.
08/01/2005
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department
of Defense
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Spc. James D. Carroll, 23, of McKenzie, Tenn., died July 31 near Baghdad, Iraq, where an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Carroll was assigned to the Army National Guard's 230th Engineer Battalion, McKenzie, Tenn.
08/01/2005
DR Congo: Prominent Human Rights Defender Assassinated
Transitional Government Must Investigate, Bring Killers to
Justice
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/08/01/congo11549.htm
(London, August 1, 2005) — The Congolese government must
immediately start thorough and independent investigations into
yesterday’s assassination of human rights activist Pascal
Kabungulu Kibembi, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International
and Front Line said today. Pascal Kabungulu was a highly regarded
and courageous defender of human rights who gave hope to ordinary
people afflicted by war and misery. Killing a human rights defender
means spreading fear across whole communities in Congo.
Pascal Kabungulu was the Secretary-General of Héritiers de
la Justice (Heirs of Justice), a leading human rights organization
in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was also the Vice-President
of the regional umbrella Ligue des Droits de l’Homme dans la
Région des Grands Lacs (LDGL).
Pascal Kabungulu was assassinated in his home in Bukavu, eastern
Congo, in the early hours of July 31. Three armed men in uniform
broke into his house, dragged him out of his bedroom and shot him
in front of his family. Family members reported that just before
his execution the attackers said, “We were looking for you
and today is the day of your death.” The men stole Mr.
Kabungulu’s laptop, a TV and a tape recorder.
“Pascal Kabungulu was a highly regarded and courageous
defender of human rights who gave hope to ordinary people afflicted
by war and misery,” the three international human rights
organizations said in a joint statement. “Killing a human
rights defender means spreading fear across whole communities in
Congo.”
Héritiers de la Justice is a well-known human rights group
that has uncovered grave human rights abuses, including war crimes
in eastern DRC. Created in 1991, the organization has been an
independent critic of the governments of former Presidents Mobutu
Sese Seko, Laurent-Désiré Kabila and the current
transitional authorities under Joseph Kabila. The organization has
also documented grave abuses by armed groups operating in eastern
Congo. Pascal Kabungulu joined Héritiers de la Justice in
the mid-1990s and became its Secretary-General in 1999. He had been
planning to leave Héritiers de la Justice to take up a
position at the LDGL secretariat in Kigali, Rwanda.
The human rights organizations said that threats against human
rights defenders in eastern DRC have been on the rise. Since late
last year, a growing number of human rights activists across
eastern Congo have received death threats after denouncing serious
human rights abuses by provincial authorities. Some activists have
had to flee the country fearing for their lives. Several members of
Mr. Kabungulu’s organization, Héritiers de la Justice,
based in more rural areas, have been assassinated in the past.
“The government must urgently carry out thorough and
independent investigations into Pascal Kabungulu’s
assassination, and prosecute those responsible,” the
organizations said. “The insecurity of South Kivu cannot be a
pretext for inaction. Those who defend the rights of others must be
allowed to continue their work free of harassment and
persecution.”
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Front Line also
called on the Congolese transitional government to develop an
effective plan for the protection of human rights defenders, and
asked the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Congo, MONUC, to
provide the government with technical and logistical assistance in
this endeavor.
08/01/2005
DRC: Arms embargo extended one more year
NAIROBI, 1 August (IRIN) - The UN Security Council unanimously
adopted resolution 1616 (2005) on Friday which extends an existing
two-year arms embargo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for
at least one more year.
The civil war in the DRC officially ended in 2003 but the army of
the transitional government of the DRC and the UN mission there,
known as MONUC, are still trying to control many areas,
particularly in the east, from various armed groups.
08/01/2005
Naval mission aims to boost Africa
security
By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition
Petroleum protection is not the only reason behind the U.S.
military's long-term thrust into the Gulf of Guinea to help West
African nations.
"It's not all about oil," said Lt. Cmdr. Dan Trott, Gulf of Guinea
strategy and policy desk officer for U.S. Naval Forces Europe Sixth
Fleet. "It comes down to, there are a lot of resources in the
region, and when you get to the nexus of an area with a lot of
resources and not a lot of security, then you have the opportunity
for the bad actors."
U.S. Naval Forces Europe has embarked on a 10-year push to help 10
West African nations either develop or improve maritime security,
and in turn, boost economic development.
The 10 nations are: Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea,
Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, São Tomé
and Príncipe, and Togo.
The Navy wants to help protect the fishing industries as well as to
combat piracy, drug trafficking and terrorism in the region,
officials said.
"We're not trying to work covertly in the region," Trott said
during an interview in his Naples, Italy, office. "It's vulnerable
to misuse of illegal oil bunkering. Vulnerable to terrorist
acts.
"Part of the U.S. interest is access to the region for trade, for
just regular activities, whether transporting goods or transporting
oil or gas," he said.
The Gulf of Guinea mission dovetails with a bigger-picture push by
the U.S. European Command to combat growing terrorist activity in
unstable regions of Africa, said Lt. Cmdr. Greg Griffitt, EUCOM's
planning and policy Africa programs desk officer, based in
Stuttgart, Germany.
"Maritime security is an important component of our ongoing efforts
in the war on terror," Griffitt said. "For us not to be engaged in
an effort to improve maritime security, both in the region and on
the continent, would be us failing to do our job as part of the
broader war on terror."
EUCOM has conducted 18 military-to-military exercises in Africa so
far in 2005, including military medicine, information operations,
chaplains visits, intelligence officer training and small-unit
reconnaissance patrolling, said Army Capt. Steven Martinez, African
regional program manager for EUCOM's military-to-military
program.
08/01/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
American Science and Engineering of Billerica, Mass., was awarded
July 29, 2005, a $9,466,596 firm-fixed price contract for eight
Z-Backscatter Vans to meet U.S. Central Command requirements for
Afghanistan and Iraq. Work will be performed at Billerica, Mass.,
and is estimated to be completed on Sept. 1, 2005. The U.S. Army
Contracting Agency at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., is the
contracting activity. Army Public Affairs can be reached at (703)
692-2000. (GS-07F-8897D)
08/02/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
Caddell Construction Co. Inc., of Montgomery, Ala., was awarded
July 29, 2005, an estimated $68,080,000 firm-fixed price contract
for the construction of the 1st Corps Support Command barracks
complex for about 302 soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C. The project
includes construction of two, four-story buildings, a dining
facility and other related headquarters facilities. There were 430
bids solicited on April 13, 2005, and two bids were received. Work
will be performed on Fort Bragg and is estimated to be completed by
March 31, 2008. The U.S. Army Engineer District in Savannah, Ga.,
is the contracting activity. Army Public Affairs can be reached at
(703) 692-2000. (W912JN-05-C-0052).
Russian and East European Partnership, Fineview, N.Y., is being
awarded a $35,498,223 firm fixed price contract to provide for up
to 200 bi-cultural bi-lingual advisors for subject matters experts
to support the Multi-National Forces in Iraq. The location of
performance is Operational Support Services, Fayetteville, N.C.,
and various locations in Iraq. At this time, $10,000,000 of the
funds has been obligated. This work will be complete by July 2006.
Solicitation began July 2005 and negotiations were completed July
2005. The 11th Contracting Squadron, Bolling Air Force Base,
Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity
(FA7012-05-C-0020).
08/03/2005
Archive, Secrecy Experts, Urge Court to Scrutinize Government
Secrecy Claims
Washington D.C. August 3, 2005 - The National Security Archive,
along with other secrecy experts, today filed a "friend of the
court" brief in a lawsuit challenging the FBI's authority to issue
national security letters (NSLs) without any judicial oversight and
under a blanket gag order that prohibits the recipient from
speaking with anyone about the NSL. The amicus curiae brief was
filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit, which is reviewing a lower court decision that held that
the NSL authority violated the First and Fourth Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution.
The brief argues that secrecy does not always serve the goal of
protecting national security, as the numerous investigations into
the September 11 attacks on the United States all concluded. Noting
that there has been an upsurge in secrecy over the last four years
- and that military and intelligence officials ranging from
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to now-Director of the CIA
Porter Goss all admit that a significant amount of the secrecy is
unnecessary - the brief argues that the judiciary must provide a
meaningful review of government claims for secrecy.
In the case of the NSL authority, the brief points out the
particular dangers associated with a permanent and categorical ban
on speech by recipients of NSLs and demonstrates the terrible
impact that the rule has on government accountability.
In addition to the Archive, the brief was filed on behalf of the
Project on Government Secrecy of the Federation of American
Scientists, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the
National Whistleblower Coalition. More information about the
lawsuit is available at www.aclu.org.
08/03/2005
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department
of Defense
National Guard and Reserve Mobilized as of August 3, 2005
This week, the Army, Air Force and Navy announced an increase in
the number of reservists on active duty in support of the partial
mobilization, while the Marine Corps number decreased and the Coast
Guard number remained the same. The net collective result is 1,680
more reservists mobilized than last week.
At any given time, services may mobilize some units and individuals
while demobilizing others, making it possible for these figures to
either increase or decrease. Total number currently on active duty
in support of the partial mobilization for the Army National Guard
and Army Reserve is 115,880; Navy Reserve, 3,960; Air National
Guard and Air Force Reserve, 9,899; Marine Corps Reserve, 8,924;
and the Coast Guard Reserve, 555. This brings the total National
Guard and Reserve personnel, who have been mobilized, to 139,218,
including both units and individual augmentees.
08/04/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
USA Environmental Inc., Tampa, Fla., is being awarded a not to
exceed $50,000,000 cost plus award fee, indefinite
delivery/indefinite quantity contract for munitions response and
incidental environmental remediation at sites which potentially
contain munitions and explosives of concern. The total contract
amount is for base year and four one-year options, with a
guaranteed minimum of $6,000. Work will be performed in Alaska (45
percent); Washington (40 percent); Hawaii (3 percent) and other
sites worldwide (12%). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60
months, with an expected completion date of July 2006 (July 2010
with options). Contract funds will not expire at the end of the
current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via
the NAFAC e-solicitation website with four offers received. The
Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-05-D-1868).
08/05/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
Sunflower Redevelopment, LLC, Kansas City, Mo., was awarded Aug. 3,
2005, a $109,000,000 requirements-type contract with delivery
orders for the environmental remediation and explosives
decontamination of 9,065 acres of land formally known as Sunflower
Army Ammunition Plant in Johnson County, Kan. Congress enacted
legislation in October 2004 authorizing the Army (in consultation
with the General Services Administration) to complete transfer of
Sunflower to an entity selected by the Johnson County Board of
Commissioners: the Sunflower Redevelopment LLC. Sunflower Army
Ammunition Plant was established in 1941 as the world's largest
powder and propellant plant, later playing a historic role
providing munitions during World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam
conflicts. The ammunition plant is now an excess property.
Sunflower Redevelopment, LLC, will perform the work at the former
ammunition plant's site with planned completion by Dec. 13, 2012.
The U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Rock Island at
Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity. Army Public Affairs
can be reached at (703) 692-2000. (W52H09-05-D-5007)
08/05/2005
The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II:
A Collection of Primary Sources
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 162
Edited by William Burr
Posted - August 5, 2005
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/index.htm
Comprehensive Collection Includes "Ultra Secret" Comint, Truman
Meetings, First-ever English Language Publication of Japanese
Sources on End of War
5 August 2005 - On the 60th anniversary of the bombing of
Hiroshima, the National Security Archive publishes on the World
Wide Web the most comprehensive on-line collection to date of
declassified U.S. government documents on the first use of the
atomic bomb and the end of the war in the Pacific. Besides material
from the files of the Manhattan Project and senior officials, this
posting includes formerly top secret "Magic" summaries and
translations of intercepted Japanese diplomatic cable traffic. It
also publishes for the first time anywhere complete translations
from the Japanese of accounts of key high level meetings and
discussions in Tokyo leading to the end of the war.
The documents should help readers to make up their own minds over
the long-standing controversies over such questions as whether the
first use of atomic weapons was justified, whether it was crucial
to obtain Japan's surrender, and whether President Truman had
alternatives to atomic attacks to ending the war. Since the 1960s,
when the declassification of important sources began, historians
have engaged in vigorous debate over the bomb and the end of World
War II. Drawing on sources at the National Archives and the Library
of Congress as well as Japanese materials, this briefing book
presents key documents that historians of the events have used to
make their arguments. The documents in this compilation cover a
variety of issues, including:
- why and how cities such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki became nuclear targets
- the debate in Washington over unconditional surrender
- alternatives to using the bomb
- debates between Japanese diplomats over surrender, as gleaned from intercepted secret cable traffic
- the first atomic test on July 17, 1945
- petitions by scientists questioning the military use of atomic weapons the directive that authorized the atomic bombing of Japan
- reports from the bombing missions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- the conferences where Emperor Hirohito settled cabinet disagreements over whether to accept unconditional surrender
- official damage reports on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the early encounter
- with radiation poisoning
- photographs of atomic bombing preparations at Tinian Island and the destruction caused by the bombings
The editor of this briefing book, Archive senior analyst Dr.
William Burr commented that "To the greatest extent possible, I
have selected key documents on the central military and diplomatic
issues used by scholars on all sides of the historical controversy
so that readers can see for themselves the primary sources that
continue to influence contradictory arguments on the first use of
nuclear weapons."
For more information, please visit our website at
www.nsarchive.org.
08/06/2005
Amerikansk atombombe eksploderer over den japanske by Hiroshima, 1945.
Hiroshima Peace Declaration Aug. 6, 2005
Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima
Friends,
This August 6, the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing, is a
moment of shared lamentation in which more than 300 thousand souls
of A-bomb victims and those who remain behind transcend the
boundary between life and death to remember that day. It is also a
time of inheritance, of awakening, and of commitment, in which we
inherit the commitment of the hibakusha to the abolition of nuclear
weapons and realization of genuine world peace, awaken to our
individual responsibilities, and recommit ourselves to take action.
This new commitment, building on the desires of all war victims and
the millions around the world who are sharing this moment, is
creating a harmony that is enveloping our planet.
The keynote of this harmony is the hibakusha warning, "No one else
should ever suffer as we did," along with the cornerstone of all
religions and bodies of law, "Thou shalt not kill." Our sacred
obligation to future generations is to establish this axiom,
especially its corollary, "Thou shalt not kill children," as the
highest priority for the human race across all nations and
religions. The International Court of Justice advisory opinion
issued nine years ago was a vital step toward fulfilling this
obligation, and the Japanese Constitution, which embodies this
axiom forever as the sovereign will of a nation, should be a
guiding light for the world in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, the Review Conference of the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty this past May left no doubt that the U.S.,
Russia, U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and a few
other nations wishing to become nuclear-weapon states are ignoring
the majority voices of the people and governments of the world,
thereby jeopardizing human survival.
Based on the dogma "Might is right," these countries have formed
their own "nuclear club," the admission requirement being
possession of nuclear weapons. Through the media, they have long
repeated the incantation, "Nuclear weapons protect you." With no
means of rebuttal, many people worldwide have succumbed to the
feeling that "There is nothing we can do." Within the United
Nations, nuclear club members use their veto power to override the
global majority and pursue their selfish objectives.
To break out of this situation, Mayors for Peace, with more than
1,080 member cities, is currently holding its sixth General
Conference in Hiroshima, where we are revising the Emergency
Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons launched two years ago. The primary
objective is to produce an action plan that will further expand the
circle of cooperation formed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the
European Parliament, International Physicians for the Prevention of
Nuclear War and other international NGOs, organizations and
individuals worldwide, and will encourage all world citizens to
awaken to their own responsibilities with a sense of urgency, "as
if the entire world rests on their shoulders alone," and work with
new commitment to abolish nuclear weapons.
To these ends and to ensure that the will of the majority is
reflected at the UN, we propose that the First Committee of the UN
General Assembly, which will meet in October, establish a special
committee to deliberate and plan for the achievement and
maintenance of a nuclear-weapon-free world. Such a committee is
needed because the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and the NPT
Review Conference in New York have failed due to a "consensus rule"
that gives a veto to every country.
We expect that the General Assembly will then act on the
recommendations from this special committee, adopting by the year
2010 specific steps leading toward the elimination of nuclear
weapons by 2020.
Meanwhile, we hereby declare the 369 days from today until August
9, 2006, a "Year of Inheritance, Awakening and Commitment." During
this Year, the Mayors for Peace, working with nations, NGOs and the
vast majority of the world's people, will launch a great diversity
of campaigns for nuclear weapons abolition in numerous cities
throughout the world.
We expect the Japanese government to respect the voice of the
world's cities and work energetically in the First Committee and
the General Assembly to ensure that the abolition of nuclear
weapons is achieved by the will of the majority. Furthermore, we
request that the Japanese government provide the warm, humanitarian
support appropriate to the needs of all the aging hibakusha,
including those living abroad and those exposed in areas affected
by the black rain.
On this, the sixtieth anniversary of the atomic bombing, we seek to
comfort the souls of all its victims by declaring that we humbly
reaffirm our responsibility never to "repeat the evil."
"Please rest peacefully; for we will not repeat the evil."
Hiroshimadag 6. august 2005 Christianshavns Gymnasium
I anledning af 60 årsdagen for bombningen af Hiroshima og
Nagasaki arrangerer Den Danske Pugwashgruppe (www.pugwash.dk) et
mindearrangement den 6. august 2005. Dette sker i samarbejde med
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the Embassy of Japan in Denmark,
International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global
Responsibility (www.inesglobal.com), Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
(www.wagingpeace.org), Det danske Fredsråd, Det danske
Fredsakademi (www.fredsakademiet.dk), Danske Læger Mod
Kernevåben (www.dlmk.dk), AIF-
København/Frederiksberg, the Danish Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights, Kunstnere for Fred og Esbjerg
Fredsbevægelse.
Program på dansk 
, programme in English. 
“Piecing together evidence from an array of sources, the Natural Resources Defense Council has determined that the United States is still deploying 4801 nuclear weapons in Europe. That should come as a surprise. Until now, most observers believed that there were no more than half of those weapons still left on the continent. Declassified documents obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, military literature, the media, non-governmental organizations, and other sources show that the 480 bombs are stored at eight air bases in six NATO countries – a formidable arsenal larger than the entire Chinese nuclear stockpile”.
Kilde
Kristensen, Hans M. : U.S. Nuclear Weapons in
Europe : A Review of Post-Cold War Policy, Force Levels,
and War Planning.
- Washington, D.C. : Natural Resources Defense Council, February
2005.
Litteratur
Avery, John: The Need for a Culture of
Peace.
Hoodbhoy, Pervez : Bin Laden And
Hiroshima.
Gunnarson, Bo: Striden om Japans fortid. I:
Information, 08/06/2005.
Leder: Aldrig igen. I: Information, 08/06/2005.
60 Years Since Hiroshima / John
Avery, Mads Fleckner, Tom Børsen Hansen .
Nygaard, Else Marie: Da mennesket gjorde sig Gud lig
HIROSHIMA-DAG - De nationale ledere, som i dag har magten over
kernevåben, sidder med nøglen til den moderne
syndflod. Det stiller mennesker over for en ny etisk udfordring,
siger fredsforskeren Jan Øberg, som op til 60-året for
Hiroshima-dagen advarer mod, at man ser på atombombning som
noget, der hører historien til. I: Kristeligt
Dagblad, 5. august 2005, side 6.
08/06/2005
Hardanger Symposium 2005 .
08/06/2005
HJÆLP MED AT REDDE LIVET FOR SOMALISKE
FREDSAKTIVISTER
Foreningen STS International Solidarity
- Nairobi 6 august 2005
Ledelsen af en af vore somaliske medlemsorganisationer, Peace
Campaign Group, som vi mener er den største og mest
effektive fredsorganisation i Somalia, bad os under et
besøg, vi lige har aflagt i Mogadishu i sidste uge om at
medvirke i en kampagne, der kan redde deres liv.
De hævdede, at en gruppe krigsherrer i regeringen havde
udarbejdet en liste over folk, de ønskede at slippe af med
for om muligt at eliminere de vigtigste vidner til de
umådelige myrderier, de har begået imod den somaliske
civilbefolkning under den lange borgerkrig og at medlemmer af PCG
stod på denne liste.
Krigsherrerne i Somalia håber dermed at have undgået en
del af risikoen for at blive draget til ansvar for deres handlinger
sådan, som det sker i Rwanda.
En af de etiopisk støttede krigsherrer er særligt
fortørnet over PCG's vellykkede mæglinger i
Galgaduud-regionen. (Se www.intersol.dk eller Sretno nr. 62). Begge
de kæmpende klaner var blevet udstyret med våben fra
Etiopien, som har interesse i at skabe så megen ufred som
muligt i Somalia for desto bedre at kunne argumentere for, at der
vil være brug for etiopiske troppers "hjælp".
Nogen tid efter denne mægling blev formanden for PCG, Asad
Hashi, som er den, der træder frem i offentligheden, af
medlemmer af det civile samfund i Galgaduud, advaret om, at et
attentat snart ville finde sted. Krigsherren Abdulaziz Sheik, der
også er formand for den etiopiske støttede koalition
af krigsherrer, SRRC, havde sendt lejemordere af sted for at myrde
Asad. I øvrigt er Abdulaziz sundhedsminister i krigsherren
Abdullahi Yusufs nye kabinet!
Der er flere fortilfælde for at sådanne trusler ikke er
tomme senest for nogle uger siden mordet på Somalias mest
kendte fredsaktivist. Asad Hashi måtte hurtigt forlade
Somalia, men nåede inden han rejste, at fortælle
somaliske medier om historien og appellerede til offentligheden om
at få standset bølgen af fortsat vold og mord i
Somalia.
De øvrige medlemmer af ledelsen af PRG opretholder sig
"inden døre", som de udtrykte sig. Vi vil snart modtage de
appeller, PCG selv har udsendt samt andet baggrundsmateriale
08/06/2005
Harring Report another 'Deep Throat' - Official
DoD Iraq War US Military over 8 Times More Dead than
Reported
'DoD Deliberately Reducing The Numbers,' States Brian Harring,
Domestic Intelligence Reporter
TEMPE, AZ, August 6, 2005, Dandelion Books [
www.dandelionbooks.net] . . . Actual death toll of US Military in
Iraq is in excess of 8,000, "far more realistic than the
government's current official number of 1,800-plus," according to
'Deep Throat' data researcher Brian Harring.
According to Brian Harring, a computer data specialist who obtained
this report for tbrnews.org, a popular Internet news website, of
the 158,000 US Military shipped to Iraq, 34,000 have either
deserted, were killed or seriously wounded. DoD lists currently
being quietly circulated indicate almost 9,000 dead, over 23,000
seriously wounded and a large number of suicides, forced
hospitalization for ongoing drug usage and sales, murder of Iraqi
civilians and fellow soldiers, rapes and courts martial.
Prelude to Disaster also includes Russian daily military
intelligence reports of the Iraqi War from March 17 - April 8,
2003. "These reports are certainly far more informative and
accurate than the heavily edited and controlled material now
appearing in the various branches of the American media," states
TBR News. "We've also included Russian intelligence analysis of
'two enormous mistakes made by the U.S. command during the planning
stages of this war that resulted in obvious strategic
failure.'"
"President Bush personally ordered that no pictures be taken of the
coffined and flag-draped dead under any circumstances," says
Harring. "He claims this is to comfort the bereaved relatives, but
is designed to keep the huge number of arriving bodies secret.
"Bush has never attended any kind of a memorial service for his
dead soldiers," states Harring. "He never will because he is
terrified some parent might curse him in front of the press, or,
worse, attack him."
08/08/2005
National Security Watch: The hidden casualties in Iraq
By Kevin Whitelaw
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050808/8natsec.htm
This past week was a particularly bloody one for U.S. soldiers in
Iraq. But the conflict has also been deadly for the armies of
private contractors who support the U.S. military effort--and
Iraq's stalled reconstruction work. It has been difficult, however,
to assess the civilian toll. While the U.S. military keeps a
running tally of military (and Pentagon civilian) casualties, few
official statistics have been available on contractors.
Now, in a report the Pentagon submitted to Congress earlier this
year, some partial figures have been released. From May 2003
through October 2004, U.S. authorities recorded at least 1,171
contractor casualties, including 166 contractors who were killed.
Of the dead, 64 were Americans (out of a total of 175 U.S.
contractor casualties). In the same period, more than 220 U.S.
soldiers were killed out of a total of nearly 1,500 casualties. The
Pentagon acknowledges the figures may not be complete because
officials have not been tracking contractor casualties
systematically. The figures also do not cover the most violent part
of the war. The violence has worsened over the past year as the
insurgency has grown increasingly persistent.
08/08/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
General Atomics Aeronautical System, San Diego, Calif., is being
awarded a $214,409,789 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for
research, development, test and evaluation of the Extended Range
Multi Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system. One hundred twenty
bids were solicited on Sept. 1, 2004, and three bids were received.
Work will be performed at facilities in six locations -- San Diego,
Adelanto and Palmdale, Calif.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Hunt Valley,
Md.; and Huntsville, Ala. - and is estimated to be completed by
Aug. 31, 2009. (The System Development and Demonstration phase of
the program is anticipated to take two years. The selected ERMP UAV
System is named "Warrior" and leverages technologies from its
predecessor, "Predator.") The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile
Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity.
Their public affairs office can be reached at (256) 955-9174.
(W58RGZ-05-C-0069)
08/09/2005
Amerikansk atombombe eksploderer over den japanske by Nagasaki 1945.
08/09/2005
Depleted uranium is WMD
By: Leuren
Moret
My grandfather, U.S. Army Col. Edwin Joseph McAllister, was born in
Battle Creek in 1895. He does not know that his first grandchild is
an international expert on depleted uranium. I have worked in two
U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories, and in 1991 I became a
whistleblower at the Livermore lab. Depleted uranium is very, very,
very nasty stuff:
- Depleted uranium (DU) weaponry meets the definition of weapon of mass destruction in two out of three categories under U.S. Federal Code Title 50 Chapter 40 Section 2302.
- DU weaponry violates all international treaties and agreements, Hague and Geneva war conventions, the 1925 Geneva gas protocol, U.S. laws and U.S. military law.
- Since 1991, the U.S. has released the radioactive atomicity equivalent of at least 400,000 Nagasaki bombs into the global atmosphere. That is 10 times the amount released during atmospheric testing which was the equivalent of 40,000 Hiroshima bombs. The U.S. has permanently contaminated the global atmosphere with radioactive pollution having a half-life of 2.5 billion years.
- The U.S. has illegally conducted four nuclear wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and twice in Iraq since 1991, calling DU "conventional" weapons when in fact they are nuclear weapons.
- DU on the battlefield has three effects on living systems: it is a heavy metal "chemical" poison, a "radioactive" poison and has a "particulate" effect due to the very tiny size of the particles that are 0.1 microns and smaller.
- The blueprint for DU weaponry is a 1943 Manhattan Project memo to Gen. L. Groves that recommended development of radioactive materials as poison gas weapons - dirty bombs, dirty missiles and dirty bullets.
- DU weapons are very effective kinetic energy penetrators, but even more effective bioweapons since uranium has a strong chemical affinity for phosphate structures concentrated in DNA.
- DU is the Trojan Horse of nuclear war - it keeps giving and keeps killing. There is no way to clean it up, and no way to turn it off because it continues to decay into other radioactive isotopes in over 20 steps.
- Terry Jemison at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs stated in August 2004 that over 518,000 Gulf-era veterans (14-year period) are now on medical disability, and that 7,039 were wounded on the battlefield in that same period. Over 500,000 U.S. veterans are homeless.
- In some studies of soldiers who had normal babies before the war, 67 percent of the post-war babies are born with severe birth defects - missing brains, eyes, organs, legs and arms, and blood diseases.
- In southern Iraq, scientists are reporting five times higher levels of gamma radiation in the air, which increases the radioactive body burden daily of inhabitants. In fact, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan are uninhabitable.
- Cancer starts with one alpha particle under the right conditions. One gram of DU is the size of a period in this sentence and releases 12,000 alpha particles per second.
Before my grandfather died, he told me that his generation had made a mess of this planet. I wonder what he would say to me now I would tell him to see "Beyond Treason" ( www.beyondtreason.com), a new documentary about the history of treason by the U.S. government against our own troops: Atomic veterans, MK-Ultra, Agent Orange and DU. After Vietnam, Henry Kissinger said, "Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy..." (from Chapter 5 in the "Final Days" by Woodward and Bernstein).
08/09/2005
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department
of Defense
The Department of Defense announced today plans to award
instrumentation grants totaling $2.42 million to nine tribal
colleges and universities. These grants will be made under the
fiscal 2005 DoD Historically Black Colleges and Universities and
Minority Institutions Infrastructure Support Program. The grants
will enhance programs and capabilities at these minority
institutions in scientific disciplines critical to national
security and the DoD.
08/11/2005
(MIDDLETOWN, RI - August 11, 2005) -- KVH Industries, Inc.,
announced today that it has received three new orders for its
TACNAV® vehicle navigation systems and T-FOG™ fiber optic
gyro (FOG) upgrade. Together, the orders are valued at more than
$2.4 million. The orders were placed by U.S. defense prime
contractors and a foreign military, all of which are current KVH
customers. KVH expects to recognize the majority of the contract
revenue during the second half of 2005, writes KVH Industries.
08/12/2005
Death toll for part-time troops in Iraq soars
Summer months prove deadly for Reserves and National Guard
The Associated Press
The National Guard and Reserve suffered more combat deaths in Iraq
during the first 10 days of August — at least 32, according
to a Pentagon count — than in any full month of the entire
war.
More broadly, Pentagon casualty reports show that the number of
deaths among Guard and Reserve forces has been trending upward much
of this year, totaling more than 100 since May 1. That ranks as the
deadliest stretch of the war for the Guard and Reserve, whose
members perform both combat and support missions...
08/12/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
Friday, August 12, 2005 - 5:00 PM
Trijicon Inc. Wixom, Mich., is being awarded a $660,000,000
firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract
for Rifle Combat Optics (RCO) fixed 4 power scopes designed for use
with the M-16 family of weapons. The RCO enhances the Marine's
ability to identify and engage targets in combat situations at
greater ranges and with increased accuracy over standard iron
sights. The initial purchase will be 104,000 scopes at $610 each
for a total initial delivery order of $63,440,000. The government
may purchase up to a maximum of 800,000 RCO scopes on this contract
over the five-year period the contract is in effect. Work will be
performed in Wixom, Mich. (90 percent) and Fredericksburg Va. (10
percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2010. Contract
funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This
contract was competitively procured using full and open
competition. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is
the contracting activity (M67854-05-D-1061). FN Manufacturing, LLC,
Columbia, S.C., is being awarded a potential $9,830,874
firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract,
to provide a maximum quantity 1,100 (ea) MK46 Lightweight Machine
Guns (LMG) and auxiliary support equipment (fluted barrels and bolt
assemblies). The MK46 LMG is a 5.56mm weapons system used in
support of the United States Special Operations Command. It is a
belt-fed, compact and lightweight weapon. Work will be performed in
Columbia, S.C., and is expected to be completed by August 2010.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal
year. The contract was not competitively procured. The Naval
Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Ind., is the
contracting activity (N00164-05-D-4848). Alliant Ammunition and
Powder Co. L.L.C., Radford, Va., was awarded on Aug. 11, 2005, a
$21,137,473 modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the
Modernization of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Work will be
performed in Radford, Va., and is expected to be completed by June
30, 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current
fiscal year. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 30,
2004. The U.S. Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is
the contracting activity (DAAA09-03-E-0001).
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif., is being awarded
a $48,583,774 cost-plus award-fee contract modification to provide
extended engineering and technical support to conduct planning and
execution for Launch and on-orbit checkout of the SBIRS
Geosynchronous Elliptical Orbit Satellites while continually
operating the High Elliptical Orbit payload. The period of
performance will be extended through the year 2010. This contract
action supports the SBIRS Combined Task Force located at Boulder,
Colo. No funds have been obligated. This work will be complete by
June 2010. Negotiations were completed July 2005. The Headquarters
Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base,
Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-95-C-0017, P00313).
Raytheon Systems Co., Reston, Va., is being awarded a $5,140,228
cost-plus award-fee contract modification for the Global Broadcast
Service (GBS) program, DoD's satellite-based system for
distributing video, imagery, and other large data files to users
around the world. The contract action directs Raytheon to build 44
Enhanced 88XR Receive Suites (RS). Each E88XR RS consists of two
transportable Receive Broadcast Manager (RBM) cases and one Next
Generation Receive Terminal (NGRT) including GBS unique software.
NGRTs are the antenna portion of a GBS Transportable Ground Receive
Suite and are paired with the RBMs to allow the user to receive,
decrypt, and access the GBS broadcast. The 44 RS are destined for
multiple users. The US Marine Corp procured the majority of RS in
this modification with 33 E88XR RS bound for their operational
units and one additional NGRT. Total funds have been obligated.
This work will be complete by May 2006. Solicitation began May 2005
and negotiations were completed August 2005. The Headquarters
Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the
contracting activity (F04701-97-C-0044, P00221).
08/13/2005
Korean War Veteran Has Authorities Illegally Swarm On His
Property
Just Hours After He Called President Bush A
Liar On A Local AM Radio Station
By Greg Szymanski
August 13, 2005
Don Stout looked up into the Midwestern sky one afternoon two weeks
ago and saw a strange helicopter flying over his five-acre piece of
land in rural Albany, Ohio.
Before he knew what happened, the 77-year-old long-time resident,
law-abiding citizen and Korean War veteran had eight law
enforcement officials swarm on his property, checking the place out
for marijuana.
Never before having a run-in with the law, Stout said the
heavy-handed looking group of law enforcement thugs “came and
went without saying a word” after suspiciously looking at a
large bush on his property not in the slightest bit resembling a
pot plant.
“I’ve been here since 1994 and everybody’s knows
me including the sheriff. I never smoked marijuana and they know
it, but I think they just like terrorizing people,” said
Stout in a telephone conversation from his rural home, adding he
still hasn’t received an answer from anyone why law
enforcement officials invaded his privacy and entered his land
without a proper search warrant.
“It scared the hell out of me as eight or ten men swarmed my
place. I was weeding my garden and the next thing you know, they
were on my property, looked at this bush and left without saying a
word. It was ridiculous, but the sheriff, the deputy sheriff and
the game warden all raided my place for no reason and I am still
looking for an explanation.”
Although Stout can’t pinpoint why authorities entered his
property without a warrant, earlier that day he aired his strong
opinions against President Bush, calling him an outright liar, on a
free speech and truth-telling talk radio show on the popular WAIF
AM770 local radio station.
Stout said he has been calling in regularly voicing his anti-Bush
opinions, saying people in rural Ohio are finally starting to wake
up to lies, deceit and treachery imposed on the American people by
what he calls a “lying dog of a President.’
“I think he and the rest of his buddies are corrupt, down
right crazy and Bush should be impeached plain and simple for lying
to the people about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq,”
said the former Korean War veteran, who lashed out at Bush for
going to war illegally and in the process killing thousands of
innocent civilians, including more than 1,700 GI’s.
“I think George Bush is a liar and is personally responsible
for the deaths of many good young men in order that his rich
buddies could profit from this illegal war.”
Considering himself a “true American” who honorably
fought for his country and drove a Greyhound bus for many years,
the plain speaking Bush critic thinks America is in a crisis and at
the brink of martial law at the hands of government tyrants bent on
destroying the country from within. “I think we have lost
this country and many people feel it’s too late and feel
helpless about doing anything about it,” said Stout. “I
am pretty outspoken about a lot of things and it wouldn’t
surprise me if another terrorist hits us harder than 9/11, putting
the country under a state of emergency and martial law while at the
same time taking the heat off Bush.
“This reminds me of Nazi Germany. The people are being fed
propaganda and in turn the dollar is going to hell as are the rest
of our freedoms. I don’t think we should give up our freedoms
in order to be safer, when all the government is trying to do is
take us over from within.
“The Founding Fathers would have never stood for what is
going on and would have thrown Bush and his buddies out on their
ears. I think the people of Ohio are starting to wake up and I do
not intend to stop talking about how I feel on that talk radio
show.”
Besides the strange raid on Stout’s property, the radio
station giving the thumbs up to air the controversial truth-telling
radio program in the traditionally conservative heartland also has
reported mysteriously having its transmitter knocked out on two
occasions from “two mysterious bolts of
lightening.”
Housewife Lauren Dowling, another avid WAIF listener and unofficial
promoter of the truth-telling show that schedules many of the
guests for broadcaster Sharon Elliot and station owner Joe Edwards,
isn’t pointing fingers but said this week from her rural home
that the two “bolts of lightening” in the last six
weeks was very unusual.
Although Elliot and Edwards have been airing a controversial show
from their station headquarters in Nelsonville, Ohio, radio for
quite some time, it hasn’t been until recently that they
decided to bring on even more controversial figures like
anti-establishment broadcaster Alex Jones and others to talk the
traditionally mainstream audience at WAIF.
“And Maureen Jones just came on the other day educating
people about fluoride in the water, which was very
interesting,” said Dowling, adding calls have been coming in
from all over the South East quadrant of Ohio, including parts of
West Virginia about the station that has small town roots but a
large broadcast reach.
“I thought it was time the people of our community heard the
truth from people like Alex Jones, who by the way, probably shocked
a few listeners, but had a very important message which has been
basically censored by the mainstream press.
“I’m just an average Mom, giving out a common sense
dose of the truth to these arrogant leaders.
Besides Jones, WAIF is scheduling for future morning shows other
alternative broadcasters and activists basically silenced in rural
America by the Bush propaganda machine and a cooperative press.
Plans also include interviewing many people who have had their
voices silenced about 9/11, especially eye-witness, victims and
journalists who have struggled hard to wake up a sleeping
country.
“It’s never too late and people around here are
starting to open their hearts and minds, tuning in to listen and
participate,” added Dalling.
And Stout, who many people in the community believe had his civil
rights violated by law enforcement officials for voicing his
regularly on WAIF, had one last message to President Bush before
getting to the bottom of why officials illegally swarmed down on
his private property:
“I don’t intend to trade of security for my rights as
an American. I believe we need to take our country back from these
thugs and brown shirts before or jobs, our financial security and
our lives are taken away from us right before our very eyes.
“I want the American people to know that a lot of other
people here in Ohio feel like I do and also know the election was
stolen by Bush. He is losing popularity because a lot of people
over here are finally starting to see through his lies, lies that
are costing young American lives every day this illegal war
continues.”
08/15/2005
Losses during two Chechen wars reach 160,000 - official
http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=2318413&PageNum=0
MOSCOW, August 15 (Itar-Tass) - Total losses during the two
military campaigns in Chechnya reached 160,000, chairman of the
republic's State Council Taus Dzhabrailov told reporters on Monday.
The toll includes both the killed and the missing among federal
troops, militants and civilians. Approximately 100,000 casualties
are not Chechens. "According to preliminary estimates, 30,000 to
40,000 Chechens were killed in the republic during the two wars,"
Dzhabrailov said.
When asked about the number of militants, the official put it at
800 to 1,000 people, including 100 to 150 foreign mercenaries.
"These mercenaries call themselves the adherents of Islam which
enables them to pump finance from aboard," the State Council
chairman said. Chechnya had a population of 1.2 million before the
breakup of the Soviet Union.
08/16/2005
Russia Stops Use of Rail-Based Missiles
Interfax Military News Agency
Russian Strategic Missile Commander Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov
said yesterday that the service’s rail-based missile
launchers have all been permanently removed from operation.
08/16/2005
Psychological trauma widespread in Iraq
By Vermont Guardian
BAGHDAD - One of Iraq’s top psychiatrists says that more than
two years of war, occupation and insurgency have turned the country
into possibly the most psychologically damaged place in the world.
"Psychologically, it may be the worst affected country in the
world,” Dr. Harith Hassan, the former head of Baghdad's
Psychological Research Center, told Reuters news agency last week.
“What's going on is really a catastrophe from a psychological
and a societal point of view.”
More than 70 percent of the private clients Hassan sees each week
are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a severe
anxiety condition, he said. Since the "shock and awe" of the 2003
U.S. bombing, Iraqis have had to deal with occupation by foreign
forces, random and widespread death brought about by insurgents,
and the growing effects of sectarian tensions.
08/16/2005
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department
of Defense
U.S. Department of Defense - Israeli Ministry of Defense Joint
Press Statement The strategic alliance between the United States
and Israel reflects common understandings of the global security
environment. In this cooperative relationship, the United States
and Israel share information and consult on possible threats to
U.S. and Israeli defense interests.
The U.S. Department of Defense and the Israeli Ministry of Defense
have signed an understanding that is designed to remedy problems of
the past that seriously affected the technology security
relationship between their defense establishments and which begins
to restore confidence in the technology security area. In the
coming months additional steps will be taken to restore confidence
fully.
The signing of this understanding underscores the commitment of the
U.S. and Israel to work together to address global security
challenges. Cooperation between the U.S. and Israel is important to
the security of the Middle East and we expect that cooperation to
continue.
08/16/2005
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of
Defense
Cryptek Inc., Sterling Va., is being awarded a $9,900,000
cost-plus-fixed fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity
contract for software research and development (R&D) efforts in
support of Expeditionary Warfare Systems Department work on the
Mobile Rapidly Deployed (MoRAD), Secure Information Technology
Systems program. Tasking will include basic R&D and serve to
further basic efforts by the contractor to explore the need to
address a constantly changing threat matrix to the U.S. and its
coalition allies. Work will be performed in Sterling Va., and is
expected to be completed by September 2006. Contract funds will not
expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was
competitively procured and advertised via the Internet, with one
offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division,
Crane, Ind., is the contracting activity (N00164-05-C-6651).
08/16/2005
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department
of Defense
Statement on Freedom Walk
It is unfortunate that the Washington Post has made this decision
not to support the "Freedom Walk," but we welcome their donation to
the Pentagon Memorial Fund. This is a commemorative event to honor
the memory of the victims who died in the attack on the Pentagon
and to highlight the yet to be constructed Pentagon Memorial.
08/17/2005
State Department experts warned CENTCOM before Iraq war about
lack of plans for post-war Iraq security
Planning for post-Saddam regime change began as early as October
2001
National Security Archive Update, August 17, 2005
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, D.C., August 17, 2005: Newly declassified State
Department documents show that government experts warned the U.S.
Central Command (CENTCOM) in early 2003 about "serious planning
gaps for post-conflict public security and humanitarian
assistance," well before Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
In a February 7, 2003, memo to Under Secretary of State Paula
Dobriansky, three senior Department officials noted CENTCOM's
"focus on its primary military objectives and its reluctance to
take on 'policing' roles," but warned that "a failure to address
short-term public security and humanitarian assistance concerns
could result in serious human rights abuses which would undermine
an otherwise successful military campaign, and our reputation
internationally." The memo adds "We have raised these issues with
top CENTCOM officials."
By contrast, a December 2003 report to Congress, also released by
the State Department, offers a relatively rosy picture of the
security situation, saying U.S. forces are "increasingly successful
in preventing planned hostile attacks; and in capturing former
regime loyalists, would-be terrorists and planners; and seizing
weapons caches." The document acknowledges that "Challenges
remain."
Since then, 1,393 U.S. military fatalities have been recorded in
Iraq, including two on the day the report went to Congress.
The new documents, released this month to the National Security
Archive under the Freedom of Information Act, also provide more
evidence on when the Bush administration began planning for regime
change in Iraq -- as early as October 2001.
The declassified records relate mainly to the so-called "Future of
Iraq Project," an effort, initially run by the State Department
then by the Pentagon, to plan for the transition to a new regime
after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. They provide detail
on each of the working groups and give the starting date for
planning as October 2001.
Entire sections of a Powerpoint presentation the State Department
prepared on November 1, 2002 -- including those covering "What We
Have Learned So Far" and "Implications for the Real Future of Iraq"
-- have been censored as still-classified information.
08/17/2005
The Pentagon's Bid to Militarize Space
By: Giuseppe Anzera
http://www.pinr.com
17 August 2005
A series of Pentagon initiatives aimed at space militarization and
at the creation of new types of armament -- capable of precisely
striking small targets in every corner of the world and to
neutralize most of today's anti-aircraft defenses -- will likely
result in a new power battlefield in the near future.
While the implementation of space weapons is likely to increase the
capability gap between Washington and other powers at first, a
broader vision reveals dangers involved in the move that could
affect U.S. interests, for it will likely trigger off determined
reactions by its competitors. Competitor states could successfully
deploy a small number of low cost orbital weapons, thus forcing the
U.S. to design an extremely expensive space defense system.
At the moment, a space weaponization policy may generate more
troubles than advantages for Washington.
Washington's Turn Toward Space Militarization
The Pentagon's plans to militarize space have definitely emerged.
In mid-May 2005, the U.S. Air Force formally asked President George
W. Bush to issue a presidential directive that allows Washington to
deploy defensive and offensive weapons into orbit. Formally, the
new directive is necessary to replace a precedent decree
(PDD-NSC-49 -- National Space Policy) issued by the Clinton
administration which forbids the indiscriminate militarization of
space. While the decree has not yet been issued, speculations over
the Pentagon's move already hit the news.
After the 2002 unilateral U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty, worries were raised about Washington's possible
start of such a program, for it could transform space into a new
battlefield. The U.S. Air Force request, coupled with the April
2005 launch of the XSS-11 orbital micro-satellite, increased the
concerns of observers and world powers. XSS-11 is in fact
specifically designed to disturb other states'
military/reconnaissance or communication satellites.
A discontinuance of U.S. traditional policy about the restricted
(e.g. peaceful) use of space could engender a new arms race --
which appears economically and technologically challenging and way
beyond many states' reach.
Global Strike and Rods from God
On the technological level, the Pentagon's planning is in the
advanced stage: some projects -- aimed at space weaponization --
have already been in place for some time. Among the (partially
known) Pentagon's new plans, the two most interesting projects are
the "Global Strike" program and the "Rods from God" program. Global
Strike involves the employment of military space planes capable of
carrying about 500 kg (1100 lbs) of high-precision weapons (with a
circular error probability less than 3 meters) with the primary use
of striking enemy military bases and command and control facilities
in any point of the world.
The main strength of military space planes is the ability to reach
any spot on the globe within 45 minutes. This is a short period of
time that could provide U.S. forces with a formidable quick
reaction capability, as opposed to the enemy's subsequent inability
to organize any effective defense. Such a weapon's primary target
would be the enemy's strategic forces and -- according to U.S. Air
Force sources widely quoted in the press -- the Pentagon is
inclined to give priority to this project. One of the main reasons,
these sources say, is that the Pentagon itself -- after spending
over US$100 billion -- has finally admitted its failure to create
an infallible earth-based anti-missile system to protect the
American soil from ballistic strikes.
The U.S. Air Force often underscores the space plane's wide
operational spectrum. In fact, its utilization encompasses that of
a strategic weapon as well as that of its defensive uses of
neutralizing nuclear missiles; it would have the ability to target
and eliminate militant and terrorist leaders. The space plane could
also be employed to suppress long-range air defenses, thanks to its
high mobility, hyper-fast deployment and its immunity from the
defenses of its opponents. Other uses could be envisaged in the
Integrated Air Defense System, as well as surveillance tasks.
Moreover, space planes could be easily deployed to support the U.S.
Army's rapid reaction force and units of Marines during power
projection operations and redeployment phases.
"Rods from God" is the evolution of a 1980s program. Basically, it
consists of orbiting platforms stocked with metal tungsten rods
around 6.1 meters long (20 feet) and 30 cm (one foot) in diameter
that could be satellite-guided to targets anywhere on the earth
within minutes, for the rods would move at over 11,000 km/hr (6,835
mph). This weapon exploits kinetic energy to cause an explosion the
same magnitude of that of an earth-penetrating nuclear weapon, but
with no radioactive fall-out. The system would function due to two
satellites, one of which would work as a communications platform,
while the other would contain an arsenal of tungsten rods. Each of
the satellites would be seven meters long (23 feet) and its
diameter would be approximately 30 cm (one foot).
However, serious problems would arise if the Pentagon begins the
operational phase -- especially from a financial perspective. Some
studies maintain that Rods from God could be fully operational in
ten years. The targets of the rods would be much more restricted
than those of Global Strike. Their main targets remains ballistic
missiles stockpiled in hardened sites, or orbital devices and
satellite systems deployed by other powers -- according to the
counter-space operation doctrine. Rods from God can, however, be
employed to strike targets in desert areas -- be they hardened
sites or concentrated hostile forces.
Its devastating striking power does not allow such a weapon to be
used for other missions, if unsustainable collateral damage is to
be avoided.
Other projects -- which often look like a revisited version of
former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense
Initiative's (S.D.I.) programs -- could also be undertaken, such as
space mirrors satellites redirecting laser beams from earth against
any orbit or surface target and satellites that send out radio
waves with a high range in power and breadth.
Problems
The White House will face several problems if it wants to pursue
the ambitious project of space militarization consisting of both
offensive and defensive weapons.
The first point is the political issue. International reactions to
U.S. plans have already appeared: Russian Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov recently evoked an immediate reaction from Moscow, and
serious consequences were threatened should an orbital weapon
deployment be performed by Washington. Such a reaction could
consist of a modified version of the SS-18 intercontinental
ballistic missile, capable of putting into orbit a remarkable
quantity of space vehicles -- which could even carry military
nukes, thus making the U.S. planned intercepting effort much more
difficult.
It is easy to imagine that space weaponization -- once in place --
could be employed as well by U.S. rivals at any occasion, as these
latter will develop mutual strategic ties just like China and
Russia are doing in Central Asia.
The second problem is economic. Orbital weapons -- as the Strategic
Defense Initiative showed in the 1980s -- are extremely expensive.
It has been estimated that a space defense system against weak
ballistic missile strikes could cost between US$220 billion and
US$1 trillion. A laser-based system to be used against ballistic
missiles would cost about US$100 million for each target.
For instance, the Future Imagery Architecture -- a project aimed at
the implementation of new spy satellites which are vital to
identify targets for space weapons -- has already reached a cost of
US$25 billion. It is a legitimate question, therefore, of whether
Washington really needs to finance such projects in today's
geostrategic context. Moreover, would these tools be cost-effective
in relation of their real operational capability? The first
question raises doubts and the second one remains, at the moment,
without answer. Henceforth, such initiatives resemble more and more
Reagan's S.D.I.
The third fundamental problem is of strategic nature. The
implications of space militarization are enormous, and its
consequences can't be predicted. It is certain that -- in the short
term -- U.S. financial and technological superiority would increase
the already prominent gap in military power between Washington and
the rest of the world. In addition, some of the new weapons could
give the White House new effective tools to fight against
symmetrical (states) and asymmetrical (terror networks) threats.
However, in the long run, a military colonization of outer space
could very well be started by other powers -- which would hardly
tolerate Washington's quasi-private use of space.
The Clinton administration decided to take the opposite route and
avoided international space militarization, as it considered a new
front useless because of the U.S. military's overwhelming dominance
on land, sea and air.
Moreover, the orbital deployment of offensive weapons -- even
though unequivocally non-nuclear -- can be perilous for various
reasons. First of all, the U.S. is currently obligated not to
deploy atomic or W.M.D. space weapons, as it signed the 1967 Outer
Space Treaty. Even if Rods of God is not a nuclear weapon, its
impact power is near the magnitude of a nuke. Hence, it is not
certain that the international community will consider it a
conventional weapon, and a violation of the treaty could,
therefore, be claimed. As a consequence, an indiscriminate race to
space weaponization could begin -- involving the orbital deployment
of W.M.D. and nuclear weapons. This latter scenario could result in
a problem for the United States, a problem that its decision-makers
in the 1960s strived to avoid at any cost.
Second, political consequences of a quasi-nuclear weapon should not
be overlooked. If Rods of God will be used and other powers will
perceive it as the equivalent of a nuclear strike, many states
could change their perception of W.M.D. and nuclear weapons
standards. A stark decrease in the traditional refrain from using
nuclear bombs could then occur, thus changing the current strategy
behind nuclear weapons: that of deterrence tools.
Conclusion
The road to space weaponization is hazardous. The current U.S.
administration appears confident that it can handle the issue
successfully. As usual, when a new category of weapons sees the
light, it is not clear whether newcomers will suffer from perpetual
disadvantage.
If other powers succeed in implementing low-cost orbital
instruments that could endanger Washington's sophisticated space
weapons, the U.S. could rapidly find itself in need of financing
hyper-expensive programs designed to protect the country -- a
situation which could make the Pentagon regret having opened the
space front to begin with.
08/18/2005
Stage one of
chemical weapons destruction facility to be launched in
March
Russian News & Information Agency
MOSCOW, August 18 (RIA Novosti) - The first stage of a chemical
weapons destruction facility in the Kirov region in European
Russia's northeast will be launched in March 2006, Regional
Governor Nikolai Shaklein told a press conference Thursday.
He said all chemical weapons in the Kirov region, which is one of
Russia's six regions with chemical weapons arsenals and holds
second place in the country in terms of its stock (17.4% of
national chemical weapons stock), should be destroyed by 2012.
Shaklein said some of the ammunition have expired storage terms. He
said such weapons are destroyed in line with special secure
technology.
The Maradykovsky arsenal holds 40,791 aviation weapons and
warheads, which means 6,936 metric tons of nerve agents.
All of the ammunition was produced between 1953 and 1987.
08/19/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
Pratt and Whitney, Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being
awarded a not to exceed $968,607,839 modification to a previously
awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-02-C-3003) to extend
the F135 System [Joint Strike Fighter, editor] Development and
Demonstration (SDD) contract period of performance by 16 months.
This modification will also provide additional ground and flight
test assets necessary to meet the revised Propulsion Verification
Plan; Interface Control Document and Specification Change
requirements; and changes in the areas of Alternate Material
Development & Qualification effort, International Partner
Support, Material Review Board activity; training software
requirements, and GE, Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team (PET) Engine
Interchangeability (El) requirements. Work will be performed in
East Hartford, Conn. (72 percent); Middletown, Conn. (16 percent);
the United Kingdom (11 percent); and West Palm Beach, Fla. (1
percent), and is expected to be completed in September 2013.
Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal
year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. is the
contracting activity.
Alliant Lake City Small Caliber Ammunition Company L.L.C.,
Independence, Mo., was awarded on Aug. 18, 2005, a delivery order
amount of $13,385,849 as part of a $408,077,664 firm-fixed-price
contract for additional quantities of .45 and .50 small caliber
ammunition. Work will be performed in Independence, Mo., and is
expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2006. Contract funds will not
expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This was a sole
source contract initiated on Oct. 5, 2004. The U.S. Army Field
Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity
(DAAA09-99-D-0016).
The Boeing Co., Huntington Beach, Calif., is being awarded a
$24,679,000 cost-plus award-fee contract modification to provide
for funding for the continued production of Space Vehicles 1
through 3. Total funds have been obligated. This work will be
complete by June 2006. The Headquarters Space and Missile Systems
Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting
activity (F04701-96-C-0025, P00358).
08/19/2005
Strejke for Fred
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9868.htm
Underskriftsindsamling for Fredelige prioriteter. Indeværende
underskriftsindsamling vil blive leveret til det HvideHus og andre
adresser den September 26, 2005.
Direktør George W. Bush, Det Hvide Hus
Forsvarsminister Donald H. Rumsfeld, Forsvarsministeriet
Pentagon.
Direktør Nils Hasselmo, Sammenslutningen af Amerikanske
Universiteter
Guvernør Ted Kulongoski, i Oregon
Direktør Dave Frohnmayer, Universitetet i Oregon
Kære Offentligt ansatte,
Som student i fredstudier på Universitet i Oregon, er det mit
ansvar at undersøge den rolle militæret har i
samfundet, og de vilkår, som bedst fremmer fred og human
velfærd. Gennem mit studie er jeg er nået til en
forståelse af den amerikanske krigsindustri, og hvordan denne
industri har opblomstet i kølvandet på Den kolde krig.
Jeg har fundet ud af at mere end 300 af vores universiteter
udvikler våben for forsvaret, og at disse skoler i stigende
grad er afhængige af krigsindustrien for at kunne opretholde
deres uddannelsesplaner.
Sammenslutningen af Amerikanske Universiteter er tilsyneladende
blot en lobbyvirksomhed for den slags virksomhed. Som en
anstændig person med god samvittighed har jeg lært for
meget om den krigsforretning til at forblive tavs omkring disse
overvældende overgreb i vor skoler, samfundet, og systemer i
det globale liv. Ved at fremme denne fremgangsmåde mener jeg
ikke at I tjener interesser i velfærd og sikkerhed for den
almene befolkning. Det er åbenlyst og klart at gennem jeres
vedvarende handlinger, at I mener at Amerikas top prioritet er
krigsprofitten og ikke folks generelle velfærd. Dengang
Amerika blev født, som et frihedselskende land, hvor
mennesket kom i første række, spredtes budskabet om
frihed hurtigt over hele verden uden brug af militær magt.
Vores grundlæggere havde visionen at fremme folks frihed til
at leve i fred og have retten til at være født som
frie mennesker. Det kan være at I føler fred, men jeg
mener I opfører jer som forretningsmænd i stedet for
som tjenere. Jeg vil oplyse jer, at når i ærer vores
frihedserklæring men faktisk udnytter frygt og fordomme hos
den almindelige befolkning til at forsætte strømmen af
profit fra konflikter for personlig vinding, er det
landsforræderi. I kalder dette en fredselskende nation
når I udmærket godt ved dette ikke er tilfældet;
Amerika er langt tilbage i historien en våbenhandler, og i
forsøger at gøres jeres krigsforretning til alle
andres krigsforretning. Folkene under disse prioriteringer er en
betragtelig ressource, og på vegne af stifterne af dette land
og de borgere, der stadig lever i livsfare i dag - derfor på
vegne af alle amerikanere - modsætter jeg mig at vores
tjenere kun serverer for dem selv og de der profiterer på
krig.
Derfor føler jeg mig tvunget til på fredelig vis at
angribe og yde verbal modstand mod jeres prioriteter indtil vores
nationale politikker svarer til vores prioriteter og almenvellets
rettigheder og behov.
Jeg er en pligttro student ved Universitetet i Oregon, men jeg
nægter at læse i et klasseværelse på nogen
som helst skole, der har solgt sin sjæl til krigsindustrien.
Jeg vil stille mig udenfor og tale så stærkt som muligt
helt fra mit hjerte for at få bragt jeres åbenlyse
dobbeltmoral frem i lyset - for hvis jeg ikke gør dette, vil
såvel Amerika som andre lande sikkert komme til at lide
nød og nedgang som følge af jeres kolde
målbevidsthed og falde som et resultat af jeres kolde
beslutning om med våben at bombe sønder og sammen en
verden der læner sig på randen af udtømning af
ressourcer. At udvikle våben på vores
læreanstalter modsiger den iboende mening med at lære.
Hvordan skal vi lære om fred samtidig med at vi udvikler krig
i vores skoler?Jeg tilslutter mig herved indeværende
underskriftsindsamling - nenmlig fredelige prioriteter.
Pligtskyldigst,
Brian D. Bogart Multicultural Studies Certificate,
US-Japan Relations, Lewis and Clark College,
Portland 1995International Studies Certificate,
Waseda University, Tokyo 1996B.A. Japanese History,
University of Oregon 1997M.A. Candidate, Peace Studies, University
of Oregon
Sponsorer af denne aktion inkluderer:
Noam Chomsky
Medea Benjamin Code Pink,
Global Exchange
Franklin W. Stahl Professor Emeritus of BiologyUniversity of
Oregon
Peter Phillips Ph.D.Sociology Department/Project Censored Sonoma
State University
Scott Kerlin Ph.D.Peace Studies Vancouver, BC Canada Madoka
Kusakabe M.A.Japanese Language & Literature University of
Oregon
Oleg Kripkov Ph.D.Russian StudiesUniversity of Oregon.
Og i hundredvis flere. Er du eller har du været en underviser
på universitets niveau og ønsker du at underskrive
denne erklæring, så send venligst dit navn og title
til: bdb92@hotmail.comDenne underskriftsindsamling vil blive
leveret til det Hvide hus og andre den 26. september 2005.
Støtte til denne underskriftsindsamling fra organisationer
eller finansielt kan ske ved henvendelse
til:bbogart@uoregon.edu
08/19/2005
Folkebevægelsen mod EU: - Radikal ledelse er på
EU-militære afveje
- Den radikale ledelse bryder tænkepausen og ignorerer
problemer med EU-militær og EU-landenes våbenhandel,
udtaler Ditte Staun fra Folkebevægelsen mod EU
Den radikale ledelse ønsker en hurtig afstemning om Danmarks
EU-forsvarsundtagelse allerede i foråret 2006 på trods
af den netop lancerede tænkepause om EU.
- Den radikale ledelse har skyklapper på, når de
støtter opbygningen af EU-militæret. Derudover bryder
de enigheden om en tænkepause, konstaterer Ditte Staun, som
er talsperson for Folkebevægelsen mod EU og desuden aktiv i
Det Radikale Venstre.
- EU’s militære udvikling rummer mange problemer. Der
er bl.a. ingen garanti for at et fremtidigt EU-militær kun
vil operere på baggrund af FN-mandater. Og der er flere lande
som gennem tiderne har arbejdet for et EU-forsvar med
atomvåben, understreger Ditte Staun.
- Hvis den radikale ledelse vil gå fredens sag, så
bør man mere aktivt støtte FN’s
bestræbelser på at sikre fred og man kunne
bekæmpe EU’s store eksport af krigsmateriel. En eksport
som bl.a. Amnesty International har advaret imod, tilføjer
Ditte Staun.
08/19/2005
DoD Announces One-Year Open Enrollment for
SBP
The US Department of Defense announced today that military
retirees, who opted out of some or all their Survivor Benefit Plan
(SBP) coverage, will have another opportunity to elect coverage
during a one-year open enrollment period from Oct. 1, 2005 through
Sept. 30, 2006.
Upon a retiree's death, SBP provides an annuity of up to 55 percent
of the military retired pay. Until recently, the annuity for a
surviving spouse age 62 or older was reduced to 35 percent to
reflect the availability of Social Security benefits. This
reduction will phase out by April 2008, and the full 55 percent
benefit will be paid regardless of the spouse's age in accordance
with the Fiscal 2005 National Defense Authorization Act.
Current non-participants will be able to elect any coverage they
could have elected previously upon retiring from active service or
upon receiving notification of eligibility for reserve retired pay
at age 60.
08/20/2005
Protests Continue Despite Absence Of Vacaville
Mom
http://www.nbc11.com/print/4874545/detail.html
Although their leader had just departed because of a family
emergency, anti-war demonstrators here didn't miss a beat, marching
closer to President George W. Bush's ranch to deliver handwritten
letters.
The protest camp outside Bush's ranch resumed its activities
Thursday shortly after Cindy Sheehan -- whose 24-year-old
son Casey died in Iraq -- learned that her 74-year-old mother had a
stroke in Los Angeles and made preparations to leave.
"I'll be back as soon as possible, if it's possible," Sheehan said
before hugging tearful supporters and heading for the airport.
After arriving at the hospital in Los Angeles where her mother is
being treated, Sheehan reiterated the reason for her protest in
Crawford.
"I want to know what the noble cause is that my son died for like
(Bush) always says," she told reporters. "I don't believe dying in
a war of aggression on a country that's no threat to the United
States of America is a noble cause."
On her daily blog, Sheehan wrote that she hoped to return to
Crawford before the end of August. She had refused to leave until
Bush met with her or his monthlong vacation ended. Bush is
scheduled to return to Washington on Sept. 3.
Sheehan's mother is stabilized, Mimi Evans, one of the
demonstrators, said during a news conference in Crawford on Friday.
She offered no additional details on the mother's condition.
Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., started the makeshift campsite Aug.
6 in ditches along the road to Bush's ranch. Since then it has
grown to more than 100 people, including many relatives of soldiers
killed in Iraq, and hundreds more visitors who don't spend the
night.
About 150 protesters marched two miles down the road to the
checkpoint outside Bush's ranch Thursday with letters urging first
lady Laura Bush to persuade her husband to meet with Sheehan.
Bush has said he sympathizes with Sheehan. White House spokeswoman
Dana Perino said earlier Thursday that the president said Sheehan
had a right to protest but that he did not plan to change his
schedule and meet with her.
Two top Bush administration officials talked to Sheehan the day she
started her camp, and she and other families met with Bush shortly
after her son's death and before she became a vocal opponent of the
war.
FBI whistleblower Coleen Rowley and Sen. Becky Lourey, a Minnesota
lawmaker whose son died in Iraq, joined the protesters Thursday and
planned to stay for a few days. Rowley said going to war was a
mistake because the link between Iraq and al-Qaida was
exaggerated.
Rowley, now retired, gained national attention after criticizing
the FBI for ignoring her pleas before the Sept. 11 attacks to
investigate terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui more
aggressively.
Meanwhile, a conservative California-based group, Move America
Forward, has produced a national television commercial to say
Sheehan does not speak for military families. Group founder Deborah
Johns, whose son is a Marine and is featured in the ad, said she
believes Sheehan's crusade discredits the soldiers serving in
Iraq.
"Cindy Sheehan certainly doesn't speak for me, our military
families or our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan,"
Johns says in the ad.
Litteratur: Høi, Poul: Cindy-effekten.
I: Berlingske Tidende, 08/18/2005.
08/20/2005
Hypocrites and Liars
By Cindy Sheehan
The media are wrong. The people who have come out to Camp Casey to
help coordinate the press and events with me are not putting words
in my mouth, they are taking words out of my mouth. I have been
known for sometime as a person who speaks the truth and speaks it
strongly. I have always called a liar a liar and a hypocrite a
hypocrite. Now I am urged to use softer language to appeal to a
wider audience. Why do my friends at Camp Casey think they are
there? Why did such a big movement occur from such a small action
on August 6, 2005?
I haven't had much time to analyze the Camp Casey phenomena. I just
read that I gave 250 interviews in less than a week's time. I
believe it. I would go to bed with a raw throat every night. I got
pretty tired of answering some questions, like: "What do you want
to say to the President?" and "Do you really think he will meet
with you?" However, since my mom has been sick I have had a chance
to step back and ponder what I started in Crawford, Tx.
I just read an article posted today on LewRockwell.com by artist
Robert Shetterly who painted my portrait. The article reminded me
of something I said at the Veteran's for Peace Convention the night
before I set out to Bush's ranch in my probable futile quest for
the truth. This is what I said:
"I got an email the other day and it said, `Cindy if you didn't use
so much profanity .... there's people on the fence that get
offended.'
"And you know what I said? `You know what? You know what, god damn
it? How in the world is anybody still sitting on that fence?'
"If you fall on the side that is pro-George and pro-war, you get
your ass over to Iraq, and take the place of somebody who wants to
come home. And if you fall on the side that is against this war and
against George Bush, stand up and speak out."
This is what the Camp Casey miracle is all about. American citizens
who oppose the war but never had a conduit for their disgust and
dismay are dropping everything and traveling to Crawford to stand
in solidarity with us who have made a commitment to sit outside of
George's ranch for the duration of the miserable Texan August. If
they can't come to Texas, they are attending vigils, writing
letters to their elected officials and to their local newspapers;
they are setting up Camp Casey branches in their hometowns; they
are sending flowers, cards, letters, gifts, and donations here to
us at Camp Casey. We are so grateful for all of the support, but I
think pro-peace Americans are grateful for something to do,
finally.
One thing I haven't noticed or become aware of though is an
increased number of pro-war, pro-Bush people on the other side of
the fence enlisting to go and fight George Bush's war for
imperialism and insatiable greed. The pro-peace side has gotten off
their apathetic butts to be warriors for peace and justice. Where
are the pro-war people? Everyday at Camp Casey we have a couple of
anti-peace people on the other side of the road holding up signs
that remind me that "Freedom isn't Free" but I don't see them
putting their money where their mouths are. I don't think they are
willing to pay even a small down payment for freedom by sacrificing
their own blood or the flesh of their children. I still challenge
them to go to Iraq and let another soldier come home. Perhaps a
soldier that is on his/her third tour of duty, or one that has been
stop-lossed after serving his/her country nobly and selflessly,
only to be held hostage in Iraq by power mad hypocrites who have a
long history of avoiding putting their own skin in the game.
Contrary to what the main stream media thinks, I did not just fall
off a pumpkin truck in Crawford, Tx. on that scorchingly hot day
two weeks ago. I have been writing, speaking, testifying in front
of Congressional committees, lobbying Congress, and doing
interviews for over a year now. I have been pretty well known in
the progressive, peace community and I had many, many supporters
before I even left California. The people who supported me did so
because they know that I uncompromisingly tell the truth about this
war. I have stood up and said: "My son died for NOTHING, and George
Bush and his evil cabal and their reckless policies killed him. My
son was sent to fight in a war that had no basis in reality and was
killed for it." I have never said "pretty please" or "thank you." I
have never said anything wishy-washy like he uses "Patriotic
Rhetoric." I say my son died for LIES. George Bush LIED to us and
he knew he was LYING. The Downing Street Memos dated 23 July, 2002
prove that he knew that Saddam didn't have WMD's or any ties to Al
Qaeda. I believe that George lied and he knew he was lying. He
didn't use patriotic rhetoric. He lied and made us afraid of ghosts
that weren't there. Now he is using patriotic rhetoric to keep the
U.S. military presence in Iraq: Patriotic rhetoric that is based on
greed and nothing else.
Now I am being vilified and dragged through the mud by the righties
and so-called "fair and balanced" main stream media who are afraid
of the truth and can't face someone who tells it by telling any
truth of their own. Now they have to twist, distort, lie, and
scrutinize anything I have ever said when they never scrutinize
anything that George Bush said or is saying. Instead of asking
George or Scotty McClellan if he will meet with me, why aren't they
asking the questions they should have been asking all along: "Why
are our young people fighting, dying, and killing in Iraq? What is
this noble cause you are sending our young people to Iraq for? What
do you hope to accomplish there? Why did you tell us there were
WMD's and ties to Al Qaeda when you knew there weren't? Why did you
lie to us? Why did you lie to the American people? Why did you lie
to the world? Why are our nation's children still in harm's way and
dying everyday when we all know you lied? Why do you continually
say we have to `complete the mission' when you know damn well you
have no idea what that mission is and you can change it at will
like you change your cowboy shirts?"
Camp Casey has grown and prospered and survived all attacks and
challenges because America is sick and tired of liars and
hypocrites and we want the answers to the tough questions that I
was the first to dare ask. THIS is George Bush's accountability
moment and he is failing...miserably. George Bush and his advisers
seriously "misunderestimated" me when they thought they could
intimidate me into leaving before I had the answers, or before the
end of August. I can take anything they throw at me, or Camp Casey.
If it shortens the war by a minute or saves one life, it is worth
it. I think they seriously "misunderestimated" all mothers. I
wonder if any of them had authentic mother-child relationships and
if they are surprised that there are so many mothers in this
country who are bear-like when it comes to wanting the truth and
who want to make meaning of their child's needless and seemingly
meaningless deaths?
The Camp Casey movement will not die until we have a genuine
accounting of the truth and until our troops are brought home. Get
used to it George, we are not going away.
08/21/2005
Scholarships for European Studies in Hungary
www.ises.hu/maegad.htm
The Institute for Social and European Studies (ISES) with locations
in Budapest, Szombathely and Koszeg offers 30 scholarships for its
2005-2007 MA Program on Europe, Globalization, and Democracy. The
scholarships cover full tuition and free housing. Recipients are
responsible for their travel expenses, food and health
insurance.
ISES is known for its work on Europe, democratic transition, civil
society, the mass media, human rights and regional studies.
The first semester lasts from September 26 - December 9, 2005.
After a week of introduction, courses cover the following main
areas: European Civilization, Europe in a Global Context, Civil
Society, Markets and Societies, Transition and Social Change. The
semester concludes with a week long integrative seminar. All
courses are taught in English, by an international faculty.
The MA program lasts two years and consists of two semesters of
courses, an internship, and a fourth semester to write a
thesis.
The courses are taught in the newly renovated magnificent Europa
House in the beautiful medieval town of Koszeg on the Austrian
border, surrounded by a bucolic landscape.
For information and application forms, see
www.ises.hu/maegad.htm
Applications for fall 2005 are due by September 15, 2005, but it is
recommended that you send in your application as soon as
possible.
Please share this information with anyone who may be
interested.
08/23/2005
Tilbagetrækning fra Gaza er et første skridt til
fred
Af Bent Christensen og Lave K. Broch, henholdsvis formand og
næstformand for Danmarks Fredsråd
Den israelske tilbagetrækning fra Gaza er nu tilendebragt. I
alt bliver 21 jødiske bosættelser afviklede i Gaza.
Samtidigt afvikles også nogle af bosættelserne på
Vestbredden. Dette er både en historisk og vigtig udvikling,
som Israel skal have ros for. Men der vil stadig være over
100 israelske bosættelser tilbage på besat
område. Det er derfor vores klare holdning, at
tilbagetrækningen fra Gaza kun er begyndelsen. Næste
skridt må være at Israel river den mur ned, som er
bygget på besat område, og at Vestbredden bliver
overdraget til palæstinenserne.
Både Gaza og Vestbredden bør udgøre territoriet
for en selvstændig og gerne en demilitariseret
palæstinensisk stat. Derudover bør verdenssamfundet
gøre hvad, det kan for at sikre en fornuftig løsning
i forhold til Jerusalem og de mange palæstinensiske
flygtninge. Tostatsløsningen er den eneste farbare vej til
fred i området, og vi vil derfor opfordre den danske regering
til at støtte alle bestræbelser på at skabe et
bæredygtigt fundament for en palæstinensisk stat.
08/24/2005
Two Menwith Hill Protesters Appeal Against Conviction in High
Court
Two women from Menwith Hill Women’s Peace Camp(aign),
Helen John and Anne Lee, have renewed their appeal
against conviction for trespass inside Menwith Hill. The case is
under consideration by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
The peace women issued a statement accusing the former Defence
Secretary, Michael Portillo, and the Ministry of Defence of acting
in bad faith, because they say that the military lands byelaws,
under which they were convicted in the High Court in 1999, were
enacted as part of the cover up to conceal the illegal activities
carried out by the US National Security Agency at Menwith Hill.
They say that no law permits a foreign power based on British soil
indiscriminately to intercept telephone and email communications.
The Ministry of Defence knowingly colludes with the USA’s law
breaking and is therefore an accomplice.
The women won the case at York Crown Court in 1997 when
Helen’s barrister Vera Baird, (now Labour MP for Redcar)
changed the defence to ultra vires by claiming that the grazing of
sheep on the undeveloped part of the Base was not covered by the
1892 Military Lands Act. The MOD won the case back in 1999 on
appeal to the High Court, un-apposed by either Helen or Anne, who
refused to argue on these terms.
The women say that new evidence has since emerged which supports
their defence and that the judges would not have convicted them if
they had been aware of it.
Contact: Helen John 01943 468593 helenmenwith@yahoo.co.uk
08/24/2005
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of
Defense
Two Infantry Battalions to Deploy to Iraq for Election Period
On August 23, 2005, the Secretary of Defense approved a request by
the commander of Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) to deploy two
additional infantry battalions to Iraq.
Two battalions from the 82nd Airborne Division will deploy to Iraq
for an anticipated duration of approximately 120 days to support
security efforts during the election period. Adjustments to troop
levels in Iraq occurred prior to the transfer to Iraqi sovereignty
in June 2004 and during the January Iraqi elections.
These troops will join 180,000 Iraqi security forces and 138,000
coalition forces in helping set the security conditions for
successful elections. Gen. Casey's request for this additional
capability was made in close consultation with, and with the
support of, the Iraqi government. This approved request temporarily
adds an additional 1,500 active duty soldiers to the troop level in
Iraq.
This decision follows a decision in July 2005 to deploy a battalion
to Afghanistan in support of security efforts during the upcoming
September elections.
08/25/2005
America Library Association calls for withdrawal of US troops
from Iraq
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/aug2005/alib-a25_prn.shtml
By Sandy English
World Socialist Web Site
25 August 2005
At its annual conference in Chicago earlier this summer, the
182-member Council of the American Library Association,
representing more than 65,000 librarians, passed a resolution
calling for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
The resolution stated: “The justifications for the invasion
of Iraq have proven to be completely unfounded and the war already
has taken the lives of more than 100,000 Iraqis and more than 1700
U.S. soldiers and these numbers will continue to mount as long as
the U.S. remains in Iraq, and during the current occupation, many
of Iraq’s cultural treasures, including libraries, archives,
manuscripts, and artifacts, have been destroyed, lost, or stolen,
and as long as U.S. forces remain in Iraq, the inevitable
escalation of fighting threatens further destruction of
Iraq’s cultural heritage....”
Since the April 2003 looting of the Baghdad Museum and the burning
of the Al-Awqaf library with its collection of precious Islamic
manuscripts, American and international scholars, librarians, and
museum professionals have followed with increasing disquiet the
loss of life in Iraq and the systematic destruction of some of the
world’s oldest cultural resources. (It is arguable that
libraries were invented in Iraq 5,000 years ago.) The Middle East
Library Association recently released a report that details the
magnitude of this tragedy.
The ALA has been known in the past for its advocacy of freedom of
expression and its opposition to the government monitoring of
readership in the United States. In 1988, it opposed the Library
Awareness Program in which the FBI lied to librarians and
intimidated them into turning over lists of “sensitive”
books that individuals had borrowed, especially from university
libraries.
Although the ALA has not opposed the entire Patriot Act, it has
lobbied for the deletion of sections 215 and 505, which have
broadened the powers of the state to criminalize the free flow of
information. The ALA has made information available to librarians
who opposed government intrusion into the privacy of library
patrons.
This year’s ALA convention featured an event called
“Intellectual freedom, a casualty of war?” with First
Amendment scholar Geoffrey R. Stone.
The ALA has assisted in providing funds for the rebuilding of Iraqi
libraries. In January 2003 the ALA opposed the limit on the free
exchange of information between Iraqi and US libraries imposed by
government sanctions against Iraq, noting that all other countries
operating under UN sanctions had provided exemptions for
educational materials. An ALA resolution in June 2003 deplored the
consequences of the destruction of Iraqi libraries and museums. As
the brutality and cultural vandalism of the Iraq war has
progressed, the tone of concern by the ALA has become sharper. This
summer’s resolution is one of the first resolutions by a
major professional organization calling for the withdrawal of
American troops form Iraq.
08/26/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of
Defense
Maersk Line, Limited, Norfolk, Va., is being awarded a $25,900,821
firm-fixed-price contract with reimbursables subject to the
availability of fiscal year 2006 funds. The contract is for the
operation and maintenance of eight fast sealift ships. These ships
move cargo primarily in support of deployed U.S. military forces
worldwide. This contract includes four one-year options, which, if
exercised, would bring the total value of the contract to
$134,796,176. The ships will be primarily maintained at U.S. East
Coast and Gulf Coast ports in reduced operating status, but must be
deployable worldwide when activated. Work performance is worldwide,
and is expected to be completed by September 2010. Contract funds
will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This
contract was competitively procured with more than 50 proposals
solicited and offers received. The Military Sealift Command,
Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity
(N00033-05-C-5340).
08/26/2005
Radioactive Wounds of War : Tests on returning troops
suggest serious health consequences of depleted uranium use in
Iraq
By Dave Lindorff
In These Times
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2298/
August 25, 2005
Gerard Matthew thought he was lucky. He returned from his Iraq tour
a year and a half ago alive and in one piece. But after the New
York State National Guardsman got home, he learned that a bunkmate,
Sgt. Ray Ramos, and a group of N.Y. Guard members from another unit
had accepted an offer by the New York Daily News and reporter Juan
Gonzalez to be tested for depleted uranium (DU) contamination, and
had tested positive.
Matthew, 31, decided that since he'd spent much of his time in Iraq
lugging around DU-damaged equipment, he'd better get tested too. It
turned out he was the most contaminated of them all.
Matthew immediately urged his wife to get an ultrasound check of
their unborn baby. They discovered the fetus had a condition common
to those with radioactive exposure: atypical syndactyly. The right
hand had only two digits.
So far Victoria Claudette, now 13 months old, shows no other
genetic disorders and is healthy, but Matthew feels guilty for
causing her deformity and angry at a government that never warned
him about DU's dangers.
U.S. forces first used DU in the 1991 Gulf War, when some 300 tons
of depleted uranium--the waste product of nuclear power plants and
weapons facilities--were used in tank shells and shells fired by
A-10 jets. A lesser amount was deployed by U.S. and NATO forces
during the Balkans conflict. But in the current wars in Afghanistan
and, especially, Iraq, DU has become the weapon of choice, with
more than 1,000 tons used in Afghanistan and more than 3,000 tons
used in Iraq. And while DU was fired mostly in the desert during
the Gulf War, in the current war in Iraq, most of DU munitions are
exploding in populated urban areas.
The Pentagon has expanded DU beyond tank and A-10 shells, for use
in bunker-busting bombs, which can spew out more than half a ton of
DU in one explosion, in anti-personnel bomblets, and even in M-16
and pistol shells. The military loves DU for its unique penetration
capability--it cuts through steel or concrete like they're
butter.
The problem is that when DU hits its target, it burns at a high
temperature, throwing off clouds of microscopic particles that
poison a wide area and remain radioactive for billions of years. If
inhaled, these particles can lodge in lungs, other organs or bones,
irradiating tissue and causing cancers.
Worse yet, uranium is also a highly toxic heavy metal. Indeed,
while there is some debate over the risk posed by the element's
radioactive emissions, there is no debate regarding its chemical
toxicity. According to Mt. Sinai pathologist Thomas Fasey, who
participated in the New York Guard unit testing, the element has an
affinity for bonding with DNA, where even trace amounts can cause
cancers and fetal abnormalities.
Dr. Doug Rokke, a health physicist at the University of Illinois
who headed up a Pentagon study of depleted uranium weapons in the
mid '90s after concerns were raised during the Gulf War, concluded
there was no safe way to use the weapons. Rokke says the Pentagon
responded by denouncing him, after earlier commending his work.
No one knows how many U.S. soldiers have been contaminated by DU
residue. Despite regulations authorizing tests for any military
personnel who suspects exposure, the U.S. military is avoiding
doing those tests--or delaying them until they are meaningless.
"When we asked to be tested at Ft. Dix, they wrongly told us we
didn't have to worry unless we had DU fragments in our body," says
Matthew. His buddy, Sgt. Ramos, who exhibits symptoms resembling
radiation sickness and heavy metal poisoning, adds that at Walter
Reed Medical Center he was grilled for hours about why he wanted to
be tested and was then branded a troublemaker by his own unit.
Matthew says Walter Reed "lost" his sample.
At the war's start, the United States refused to allow U.N. or
other environmental inspectors to test DU levels within Iraq. Now
the United Nations won't even go near Iraq because of security
concerns.
"It doesn't seem right that we are poisoning the places we are
supposed to be liberating," Ramos says.
The Pentagon continues to insist, on the basis of no field
evidence, that DU is safe. To date, only some 270 returned troops
have been tested for DU contamination by the military and Veterans
Affairs. But even those tests, mostly urine samples, are useless 30
days after exposure, because by that time most of the DU has left
the body or migrated into bones or organs.
Gonzalez and the Daily News paid for costlier tests for nine
Guardsmen--tests that could pinpoint uranium inside the body and
identify the special isotope signature of man-made DU. Four of the
nine tested positive for DU; all had symptoms of uranium
poisoning.
Even harder evidence may soon arrive. Connecticut State
Representative Pat Dillon (D-New Haven), a Yale-trained
epidemiologist, has crafted state-level legislation that
Connecticut and Louisiana have unanimously passed, authorizing
returned National Guard troops to request and receive specialized
DU contamination tests at the Pentagon's expense. This approach
bypasses the Pentagon's feet-dragging because National Guard troops
fall under state, rather than federal, jurisdiction.
"This was not a Democratic or a Republican issue," Dillon says.
"These are our kids and someone needs to protect them." She says
that since passage of her bill, which takes effect this October,
military groups and family organizations, state legislators, and
even National Guard unit commanders have contacted her for copies
of her bill to promote in their states. Bob Smith, a veteran in
Louisiana who got hold of Dillon's bill and spearheaded a
successful effort to pass similar legislation in Louisiana, claims
that 14 to 20 other states are considering similar measures.
If enough Guard troops avail themselves of the testing--and start
testing positive for contamination--it seems likely that reservists
and active duty troops and veterans will demand similar access to
rigorous tests, which can cost upwards of $1000 per person.
One way or another, the Pentagon will pay a price. "DU is a war
crime. It's that simple," Rokke says. "Once you've scattered all
this stuff around, and then refuse to clean it up, you've committed
a war crime."
Dave Lindorff, an In These Times contributing editor, is the author
of This Can’t Be Happening: Resisting the Disintegration of
American Democracy. His work can be found at This Can’t Be
Happening.
08/26/2005
Poll: 90 percent support right to protest war
Survey also gauges public on Bush's handling of Iraq policy
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - An overwhelming number of people say critics of the
Iraq war should be free to voice their objections — a rare
example of widespread agreement about a conflict that has divided
the nation along partisan lines.
Nearly three weeks after a grieving California mother Cindy Sheehan started her anti-war protest near
President Bush’s Texas ranch, nine of 10 people surveyed in
an AP-Ipsos poll say it’s OK for war opponents to publicly
share their concerns about the conflict.
“Part of the Constitution is the First Amendment,” said
Mike Malone, a salesman from Odessa, Fla. “We have the right
to disagree with the government.”
08/26/2005
Efter at orkanen Katerina rammer Louisiana, erklæres staten i
undtagelsestilstand.
08/28/2005
Piratkopi af
Fredsakademiet.
08/29/2005
FBI Document Labels Michigan Affirmative Action and Peace Groups as Terrorists
http://www.aclu.org/safefree/spying/20246prs20050829.html
NEW YORK -- The American Civil Liberties Union today released an FBI document that designates a Michigan-based peace group and an affirmative action advocacy group as potentially "involved in terrorist activities." The file was obtained through an ongoing nationwide ACLU effort seeking information on the FBI's use of Joint Terrorism Task Forces to engage in political surveillance.
"This document confirms our fears that federal and state counterterrorism officers have turned their attention to groups and individuals engaged in peaceful protest activities," said Ben Wizner, an ACLU staff attorney and counsel in a lawsuit seeking the release of additional FBI records. "When the FBI and local law enforcement identify affirmative action advocates as potential terrorists, every American has cause for concern."
The document released today is an FBI report labeled, "Domestic Terrorism Symposium," and describes a meeting that was intended to "keep the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies apprised of the activities of the various groups and individuals within the state of Michigan who are thought to be involved in terrorist activities."
Among the groups mentioned are Direct Action, an anti-war group, and BAMN (By Any Means Necessary), a national organization dedicated to defending affirmative action, integration, and other gains of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The FBI acknowledges in the report that the Michigan State Police has information that BAMN has been peaceful in the past...
08/29/2005
Conventional Arms
Transfers to
Developing Nations, 1997-2004
August 29, 2005
Richard F. Grimmett
Specialist in National Defense
Congressional Research Service: The Library of Congress
http://www.fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/52179.pdf
Summary
This report is prepared annually to provide unclassified
quantitative data on conventional arms transfers to developing
nations by the United States and foreign countries for the
preceding eight calendar years. Some general data are provided on
worldwide conventional arms transfers, but the principal focus is
the level of arms transfers by major weapons suppliers to nations
in the developing world. Developing nations continue to be the
primary focus of foreign arms sales activity by weapons suppliers.
During the years 1997-2004, the value of arms transfer agreements
with developing nations comprised 62.7% of all such agreements
worldwide. More recently, arms transfer agreements with developing
nations constituted 57.3% of all such agreements globally from
2001-2004, and 58.9% of these agreements in 2004.
The value of all arms transfer agreements with developing nations
in 2004 was nearly $21.8 billion. This was a substantial increase
over 2003, and the highest total, in real terms, since 2000. In
2004, the value of all arms deliveries to developing nations was
nearly $22.5 billion, the highest total in these deliveries values
since 2000 (in constant 2004 dollars).
Recently, from 2001-2004, the United States and Russia have
dominated the arms market in the developing world, with the United
States ranking first and Russia second each of the last four years
in the value of arms transfer agreements. From 2001-2004, the
United States made $29.8 billion in arms transfer agreements with
developing nations, in constant 2004 dollars, 39.9% of all such
agreements. Russia, the second leading supplier during this period,
made $21.7 billion in arms transfer agreements, or 29.1%.
In 2004, the United States ranked first in arms transfer agreements
with developing nations with nearly $6.9 billion or 31.6% of these
agreements. Russia was second with $5.9 billion or 27.1% of such
agreements. In 2004, the United States ranked first in the value of
arms deliveries to developing nations at nearly $9.6 billion, or
42.6% of all such deliveries. Russia ranked second at $4.5 billion
or 20% of such deliveries. France ranked third at $4.2 billion or
18.7% of such deliveries. During the 2001-2004 period, China ranked
first among developing nations purchasers in the value of arms
transfer agreements, concluding $10.4 billion in such agreements.
India ranked second at $7.9 billion. Egypt ranked third at $6.5
billion. In 2004, India ranked first in the value of arms transfer
agreements among all developing nations weapons purchasers,
concluding $5.7 billion in such agreements. Saudi Arabia ranked
second with $2.9 billion in such agreements. China ranked third
with $2.2 billion.
08/30/2005
What Noble Cause
Did Casey Sheehan Die For?
"Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source
of legislation. No law can be passed that contradicts the
undisputed rules of Islam." - Iraqi Constitution supported by
Iran-backed Shiites and the Bush Administration (but opposed by
Sunni leaders)
"Fortunately, after years of effort and expectations in Iraq, an
Islamic state has come to power and the constitution has been
established on the basis of Islamic precepts. We must congratulate
the Iraqi people and authorities for this victory." - Ayatollah
Ahmad Jannati, head of Iran's powerful ultra-conservative Guardian
Council
"This is the future of the new Iraqi government - it will be in the
hands of the clerics. I wanted Iraqi women to be free, to be able
to talk freely and to able to move around. I am not going to stay
here." - Dr. Raja Kuzai, an obstetrician and secular Shiite member
of the Assembly who met President Bush in the White House in
November 2003.
Resolution of Inquiry into Bush Lies Gains Momentum There are now
53 co-sponsors on Barbara Lee's Resolution of Inquiry into the
Downing Street Memos, including one Republican member of the
International Relations Committee, Jim Leach. If your
Representative isn't on this list yet, please call their D.C.
office (202-224-3121) and ask to speak to the Legislative Director.
Ask why they haven't cosponsored HRes375, and then report back to
us. A vote in committee will come between Sept. 6 and Sept. 16.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/902
"Bring the Troops Home Now" Bus Tour Begins August 31
On August 31st, the last day of the encampment, the Bring Them Home
Now Tour will launch three buses from Crawford, Texas, each
carrying military and Gold Star families, veterans of the Iraq War
and veterans of previous wars. These buses will travel different
routes across the country, converging in Washington, DC on
September 21, for the United for Peace and Justice Mobilization
September 24th-26th. From George Bush's doorstep to communities
along the way, we demand that:
* Elected Representatives Decide Now to Bring the Troops Home
* We Take Care of Them When They Get Here
* We Never Again Send Our Loved Ones to War Based on Lies!
http://www.bringthemhomenowtour.org/
Why Aren't Congress's Kids Fighting in Iraq?
Dear Senator/Representative,
If you support the War in Iraq, why aren't you or your children or
your grandchildren fighting there?
The Army is short of soldiers because of the Iraq War disaster.
This shortage has put our national security in danger throughout
the world.
Your family can help fix the problem that you created by supporting
the Iraq War disaster.
As your constituent, I will continue to ask this question until you
call for the withdrawal of America's children from Iraq.
http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/57
Pass Local Resolutions
The Backbone Campaign is helping grassroots activists organize
their Town Councils and Democratic Committees to pass resolutions
on:
* Barbara Lee's Resolution of Inquiry (H. Res. 375)
* Rep. Rush Holt's Resolution of Inquiry (H.Res 363) into the
Valerie Plame outing * Letter to Senate Intelligence Committee
chair Pat Roberts (R-KS) for Phase II of the Investigation Into
Pre-War Intelligence
Show your Representatives that you have backbones - and they should
too!
http://backbonecampaign.org/storydetail.cfm?id=96
Demand More Polls on Impeaching Bush
On June 30, a Zogby poll found 42% of Americans said "if it is
found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons
for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable
through impeachment."
At the time, Bush's approval rating was just 43%. Since then,
Bush's approval has dropped even lower - down to 36%.
It's time for other pollsters to follow up on the Zogby Poll and to
ask about impeaching George Bush. We've collected all the e-mail
addresses you need to contact them.
http://www.democrats.com/bush-impeachment-polls
C-SPAN to Broadcast McKinney Congressional Briefing on 9/11
On July 22, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) organized a day-long
briefing on the 9/11 Commission's Final Report one year later. The
event included leading victims' family members, former government
and intelligence workers, academics and authors speaking on the
flaws and weaknesses of the 9/11 Commission's investigation,
assumptions, omissions, conclusions and recommendations. It was
filmed in entirety by C-SPAN and will be broadcast:
* Wednesday August 31 from 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm
* Friday, September 2 from 8:00 pm to 1:00 am
http://www.911truth.org
BS Protector - Don't Leave Home Without It!
Veteran Bill Moyer didn't take any risks when he watched Bush
speak. You shouldn't either!
Make your own BS Protector - it's easy and fun for the whole
family!
http://tinyurl.com/8bh8u
08/30/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense
The Alliance Contractor Team, Sterling, Va., is being awarded a
$1,221,656,297 indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to
provide for International Airlift Services. The Air Force can issue
delivery orders totaling up to maximum amount indicated above,
although actual requirements may necessitate less than the amount
above. The locations of performances are World Airways, Peachtree
City, Ga., and at Evergreen International Airlines Inc.,
McMinnville, Ore. At this time, $190,474,700 of the funds has been
obligated. This work will be complete by September 2006.
Solicitation began March 2005 and negotiations were completed
August 2005. The Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force
Base, Ill., is the contracting activity (FA4428-05-D-0004). The
Public Affairs contact for this contract is Maj Mike Coleman, (618)
229-7843.
Federal Express Charter Programs Teaming Arrangement, Memphis,
Tenn., is being awarded a $864,466,385 indefinite
delivery/indefinite quantity contract to provide for International
Airlift Services. The Air Force can issue delivery orders totaling
up to maximum amount indicated above, although actual requirements
may necessitate less than the amount above. The location of
performance is Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (parent of Atlas Air
and Polar Air Cargo), Purchase, N.J. At this time, $140,065,297 of
the funds has been obligated. This work will be complete by
September 2006. Solicitation began March 2005 and negotiations were
completed August 2005. The Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott
Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting activity
(FA4428-05-D-0005). The Public Affairs contact for this contract is
Maj Mike Coleman, (618) 229-7843.
United Parcel Service Contractor Team, Louisville, Ky., is being
awarded a $120,740,645 indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity
contract to provide for International Airlift Services. The Air
Force can issue delivery orders totaling up to maximum amount
indicated above, though actual requirements may necessitate less
than the amount above. The locations of performances are Kalitta
Air LLC, Ypsilanti, Mich, (56 percent) and North American Airlines,
Jamaica, N.Y. (44 percent). At this time, $16,721,969 of the funds
has been obligated. This work will be complete by September 2006.
Solicitation began March 2005 and negotiations were completed
August 2005. The Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force
Base, Ill., is the contracting activity (FA4428-05-D-0006).
Miami Air Team, Miami, Fla., is being awarded a $41,984,644
indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to provide for
International Airlift Services. The Air Force can issue delivery
orders totaling up to the maximum amount indicated above, although
actual requirements may necessitate less than the amount. No funds
have been obligated. This work will be complete by September 2006.
Solicitation began March 2005 and negotiations were completed
August 2005. The Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force
Base, Ill., is the contracting activity (FA4428-05-D-0007).
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems, Manassas, Va., is being awarded a
$21,318,570 cost plus award fee contract. This project is in
support of Department of Defense's Global Transportation Network
(GTN) system. This action is extending the current contract until
the replacement system GTN 21 is operational. The location of
performance is Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions,
O'Fallon, Ill. At this time, $2,427,854 of the funds has been
obligated. This work will be completed by August 2006. The AMC
Contracting Flight, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting
activity (F19628-95-C-0029, P00274).
Continental Airlines, Houston, Texas, is being awarded an
$11,387,689 indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to
provide for International Airlift Services. The Air Force can issue
delivery orders totaling up to the maximum amount indicated above,
although actual requirements may necessitate less than the amount.
At this time, $885,989 of the funds has been obligated. This work
will be complete by September 2006. Solicitation began March 2005
and negotiations were completed August 2005. The Headquarters Air
Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting
activity (FA4428-05-D-0008).
United Paradyne Corp., Santa Maria, Calif., is being awarded a
$6,802,970 cost-plus award-fee contract modification. The purpose
of the contract is to consolidate three vital logistical aerospace
support services (Unconventional Propellant Support, Precision
Measurement Equipment Laboratory Services, Aerospace Ground
Equipment Maintenance and Transient Aircraft Maintenance Services)
into one comprehensive Operation and Maintenance for the 30th Space
Wing. The Aerospace Support Services Contract will provide an
integrated management entity, the "Aerospace Maintenance Operations
Center." A single point of contact that interfaces, controls,
schedules, coordinates, operates, maintains, and provides support
to 30th Space Wing. The Aerospace Support Services Contract
provides and integrated management entity, the "Aerospace
Maintenance Operations Center," a single point of contact that
interfaces, controls, schedules, coordinates, operates maintains,
and provides support to the 30th Wing community. This contract
supports operational programs, including local airfield operations,
United States lift programs, the Expeditionary Aerospace Force,
future Aerospace Plane and Space Operational Vehicle activities.
This is the fourth option to be exercised out of seven option
periods. The location of performance is Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif. No funds have been obligated. This work will be complete by
September 2006. The 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif., is the contracting activity (F04684-02-C-0008, P00071).
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc., St.
Petersburg, Fla., was awarded on Aug. 23, 2005, a $171,177,551
firm-fixed-price contract for Establishment of the Small Caliber
Ammunition Second Source Prime Contractor for the Production of
5.56mm, 7.62mm, and .50 Caliber Ammunition. Work will be performed
in St. Petersburg, Fla., and is expected to be completed by Aug.
23, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current
fiscal year. There were an unknown number of bids solicited via the
World Wide Web on Jan. 18, 2005, and two bids were received. The
U.S. Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the
contracting activity (W52P1J-05-G-0002).
08/31/2005
Hundredåret for den fredelige løsning af konflikten
mellem Norge og Sverige.
 |
 |