Iran Marks National Army Day

Sputnik: Iran Celebrates National Army Day, Unveils Latest Military Equipment

Iran's Army Ground Force revealed the latest military equipment it has manufactured, including an armed remote-controlled robot and a wheeled tank.

Iran celebrated its national army day, staging parades and unveiling the latest in military equipment.

The parades were held in front of the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the late Imam Khomeini in southern Tehran. President Hassan Rouhani was present on the occasion.

WNU Editor: And of course there is the usual chant "death to Israel, U.S." during the procession .... Iranians chant 'death to Israel, U.S.' during military parade (UPI).

Arms Merchants See Iran As The Next Battleground For The Sale Of Weapons

Members of the Iranian Armed Forces (file photo)

Defense News: Iran: Next Battleground for Arms Deals?

ABU DHABI — Arabian Gulf countries are closely watching Iran's anticipated re-integration into the international community as it may develop into a Russian-Chinese-Western battleground for arms sales, regional experts said.

Since the announcement of the Lausanne agreement, Russia has lifted its weapons exports ban to Iran and announced it will supply the S-300 missile system purchased in 2010.

And on April 5, the head of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce, Asadollah Asgaroladi, announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Iran in the "near future," according to the Fars press agency.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries disapprove of this Russian arms sale.

WNU Editor: To say that tens of billions of dollars are at stake is an understatement. When the Shah of Iran was in power, he was one of the world's largest arms buyers .... so everyone knows what is at stake.

Update: Even President Obama is aware of the potential of selling weapons to Iran .... Obama says he is surprised Russia did not resume S-300 supplies to Iran earlier (ITAR-TASS).

Update #2: For a closer look at Iran's military, go to this older War News Updates post .... A Look At Iran's Military.

A Somber Anniversary: 100 Years Of Chemical Weapons (Video)

President Putin: Beslan And Msocow Theater Hostage Crisis Toughest Moment of Presidency

Russian President Vladimir Putin reacts 26 October 2002 after receiving news about the successful storming of the Moscow theatre building captured by Chechen terrorists. (AFP Photo/Itar-Tass)

Sputnik: Beslan Hostage Crisis Toughest Moment of Presidency – Putin

Vladimir Putin has singled out two hostage crises, at a school in Beslan in southern Russia and at a Moscow theater, as the two toughest moments of his presidency.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has singled out two hostage crises, at a school in Beslan in southern Russia and at a Moscow theater, as the two toughest moments of his presidency.

"Of course, it is those horrible terrorist attacks. That is Beslan [school] and Dubrovka theater [in Moscow]," Putin said in a made-for-TV film to be broadcast on Sunday.

The documentary entitled "President" and hosted by Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov is dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Putin's presidency.

WNU Editor: Wikipedia has a good summary on the Beslan school massacre and on the Moscow theater massacre. The single surviving Beslan terrorist is still unrepentant for what he did .... ‘I don’t feel guilty’: Single surviving Beslan terrorist unrepentant 10 years after tragedy (RT).

In A 'Message To China' The U.S. And Philippines Begin Military Exercises

U.S. soldiers of 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team disembark from a U.S. military helicopter CH-47 as they take part in the annual "Balikatan" (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games with Filipino soldiers at a military camp, Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija in northern Philippines April 20, 2015. Reuters/Erik De Castro

Reuters: U.S. rebalance to Asia begins with major military drill in Philippines

(Reuters) - Philippine and U.S. soldiers began their biggest combined military exercise in 15 years on Monday, in a demonstration of Washington's commitment to its long-time ally as it rebalances to Asia in the face of China's expansion in the South China Sea.

The annual "Balikatan" (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games are part of a new U.S. military initiative known as Pacific Pathways, involving a series of drills across the Asia-Pacific as America deploys more troops, ships and aircraft in the region.

"The exercises this week are part of a U.S. rebalance to Asia starting with Balikatan in the Philippines," Major-General Raul del Rosario told Reuters as more than 1,000 US Army troops joined the drills at a jungle army base.

More News On The U.S. And Philippines Beginning Military Exercises

Philippines Starts South China Sea War Games With U.S. -- Bloomberg
U.S., Philippines Add Muscle to Military Drills -- WSJ
US, Philippines Begin Joint Drills Amid Rising Territorial Tensions In South China Sea -- IBTimes
US and Philippines to launch 'war games' amid China row -- Al Jazeera
AFP: US-PH military exercises not a show of force vs China -- Sun Star (Philippines)

Philippines Releases Aerial Photographs On China's Construction Projects In The Disputed South China Sea

The Philippines voiced alarm about Chinese 'aggressiveness' in the area as it launched giant war games with the United States that were partly aimed at warning China. This photograph shows Chinese construction at Chigua (Kennan) Reef

Daily Mail: Advance of the 'Great Wall of Sand': New aerial photographs show scale of construction on man-made islands in disputed area of South China Sea

* Philippines voiced alarm about Chinese 'aggressiveness' in the South China Sea ahead of war games with the US
* President Benigno Aquino set to ask Southeast Asian leaders to issue collective denouncement of China's activities
* The aerial images show recent Chinese construction over seven reefs and shoals in the Spratly archipelago
* ‘Concern is that the installations will give the Chinese the ability to project force much better' - RUSI expert

The Philippine army has released new photographs of Chinese construction work in disputed waters in the South China Sea as it launched giant war games with the United States involving 11,500 personnel that were partly aimed at warning China.

The Philippines voiced alarm about Chinese 'aggressiveness' in the area as it launched the Balikatan 2015 joint Philippines and US military exercises.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino is set to ask Southeast Asian leaders to issue a collective statement denouncing the reclamation activities. He said recently that China's actions in the region could lead to military conflict.

The aerial images show intense recent Chinese construction over seven reefs and shoals in the Spratly archipelago of the flashpoint South China Sea.

More News On The Philippines Releasing Aerial Photographs On China's Construction Projects In The Disputed South China Sea

Philippines warning over China's South China Sea reclamation -- BBC
Philippines Show Photos of China's Island-Building Work in Spratlys -- NBC
AFP bares China's latest moves in West Philippine Sea -- CNN
IN PHOTOS: China's reclamation in West PH Sea as of April 2015 -- Rappler

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko Focuses On The Economy

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko addresses the media in Kiev in this February 18, 2015 picture provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service. Reuters/Mykhailo Palinchak/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters

Reuters: Truce tenuous as Ukraine leader tackles economy, oligarchs

(Reuters) - President Petro Poroshenko is using the breathing space from a ceasefire with separatists to push reforms and rein in super-rich 'oligarchs' whose influence he says must be curbed for Ukraine to have a future in Europe.

But the truce in eastern Ukraine agreed on Feb. 12 is tenuous, with each side accusing the other of violations and the death toll still rising in a year-long conflict that has killed more than 6,100, and most people do not see it lasting.

Its collapse could derail Poroshenko's agenda.

WNU Editor: There is no truce in Ukraine .... and there is no political movement to resolve the deep divisions with the eastern part of the country. The economy has all but collapsed, the government is essentially bankrupted, crime is out of control, and Ukrainian - Russian Ukrainian relations are simmering. Reining in the "super-rich oligarchs" will probably be the easiest of Poroshenko's tasks.

The Debate On Releasing Guantanamo Bay Prisoners Continues

(Reuters: Joe Skipper )

Washington Examiner: Is it likely Gitmo prisoners will return to the battlefield?

Among the key snags in President Obama's failed push to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is that Republicans believe the White House is downplaying the likelihood of prisoners joining terrorist groups after their release.

The White House and congressional Republicans have vastly different interpretations of recidivism rates of former Gitmo detainees, with conservatives insisting that many "return to the battlefield" and Obama calling those fears overblown.

Here are the hard numbers as recently provided by the Obama administration: Nearly 18 percent of former Guantanamo inmates have been confirmed of re-engaging in terrorism. Another 11 percent are suspected of returning to terrorist activity.

WNU Editor: The release of the Taliban 5 for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was the most disturbing of the lot .... one of them is wanted at The Hague at war crimes, and the other 3 have already been in communication with their former Taliban colleagues (apparently the fifth former prisoner has health issues). The debate on the closing of Guantanamo has always been political .... and with the 2016 elections just around the corner expect Democrats in troubled districts to influence the White House to scale back their plans on closing, and depending on who is the Presidential nominee .... expect influence from that corner. As to what is my take .... the cases for many of these detainees has been ongoing for far too long .... but as I had said before .... this entire affair has been more about politics  than justice.

Recvently Captured Documents Reveal The Political And Military Structure Of The Islamic State

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Christoph Reuter, Spiegel Online: The Terror Strategist: Secret Files Reveal the Structure of Islamic State

An Iraqi officer planned Islamic State's takeover in Syria and SPIEGEL has been given exclusive access to his papers. They portray an organization that, while seemingly driven by religious fanaticism, is actually coldly calculating.

Aloof. Polite. Cajoling. Extremely attentive. Restrained. Dishonest. Inscrutable. Malicious. The rebels from northern Syria, remembering encounters with him months later, recall completely different facets of the man. But they agree on one thing: "We never knew exactly who we were sitting across from."

In fact, not even those who shot and killed him after a brief firefight in the town of Tal Rifaat on a January morning in 2014 knew the true identity of the tall man in his late fifties. They were unaware that they had killed the strategic head of the group calling itself "Islamic State" (IS). The fact that this could have happened at all was the result of a rare but fatal miscalculation by the brilliant planner. The local rebels placed the body into a refrigerator, in which they intended to bury him. Only later, when they realized how important the man was, did they lift his body out again.

WNU Editor: There is a lot that needs to be done to verify if these documents do come from the Islamic State .... but if true it definitely gives a perspective of the organization that we rarely see.

Greece On The Brink Of Default

New York Times: Greece Flashes Warning Signals About Its Debt



WASHINGTON — By the standards of his frenzied schedule here last week, the meeting on Friday between Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, and Lee C. Buchheit, the dean of international debt lawyers, was a quiet one.


There was none of the media scrum that had followed Mr. Varoufakis around town during the semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, as he paid calls on the I.M.F. chief, Christine Lagarde; the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi; the United States Treasury secretary, Jacob J. Lew, and even President Obama.


But the get-together with Mr. Buchheit carried critical meaning, according to experts here. After all, it was Mr. Buchheit who helped broker Greece’s most recent debt refinancing, in 2012.



WNU Editor: This is not going to end well .... and it has a very real chance of impacting everyone in his or her pocketbook.

More News On Greece's Debt Crisis

Eurozone crisis: Grexit edges closer as markets brace for Athens default -- The Guardian

Fears grow over Greece exit after ECB says Europe is 'equipped' for fallout -- The Independent

Greece's Varoufakis warns of Grexit contagion -- Reuters

Greece Remains Defiant as Creditors Up Pressure for a Deal -- Bloomberg

Greek Economic Crisis Dominates IMF, World Banking Meetings In Washington -- IBTimes

Greece hunts for cash to stay afloat -- Business Today

Delamaide: IMF faces tipping point over Greece -- USA Today

Yemen Houthi Rebel Leader Vows Resistance Against Saudi Arabia's Military Campaign

Image grab taken from a video broadcasted by Al-Masira TV on March 26, 2015, shows Yemeni Shiite Huthi movement's leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi delivering a televised statement from an undisclosed location in Yemen

CNN: Houthi leader in Yemen: 'Anyone who thinks we will surrender is dreaming'



(CNN)The leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels vowed not to back down on Sunday as a top Saudi military official claimed weeks of airstrikes had significantly weakened the Shiite group.


"Our fighters will not evacuate from the main cities or the government institutions," rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised address. "Anyone who thinks we will surrender is dreaming."


His comments came after more than three weeks of Saudi-led coalition bombings aimed at pushing back the Houthis, who surged into the capital of Sanaa in January and ousted President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi from power. Hadi still claims he's Yemen's legitimate leader and is working with the Saudis and other allies to return to his country.


Since mid-March, more than 700 people have been killed in violence that shows no sign of slowing, according to figures from the World Health Organization.

More News On Yemen's Houthi Rebel Leader Vowing Resistance Against Saudi Arabia's Military Campaign

Yemen's Houthi leader accuses Saudi Arabia of seeking to invade -- Reuters

Yemen rebel leader vows resistance against Saudi-led air war -- AFP

Yemen Houthi Leader Defiant, Accuses Saudi Arabia Of Plotting Invasion -- IBTimes

Houthi leader accuses Saudi Arabia of seeking to occupy Yemen -- Reuters

Houthi Leader Calls on Yemeni Tribes to Unite Against ‘Foreign Aggressors’ -- Sputnik

Houthi leader: Yemenis have right to resist Saudi ‘aggression’ -- Al Arabiya

Houthi leader vows to defy Saudi-led air war -- Al Jazeera

U.S. Arms Sales To The Middle East Are Booming

New York Times: Sale of U.S. Arms Fuels the Wars of Arab States



WASHINGTON — To wage war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is using F-15 fighter jets bought from Boeing. Pilots from the United Arab Emirates are flying Lockheed Martin’s F-16 to bomb both Yemen and Syria. Soon, the Emirates are expected to complete a deal with General Atomics for a fleet of Predator drones to run spying missions in their neighborhood.


As the Middle East descends into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks, countries in the region that have stockpiled American military hardware are now actually using it and wanting more. The result is a boom for American defense contractors looking for foreign business in an era of shrinking Pentagon budgets — but also the prospect of a dangerous new arms race in a region where the map of alliances has been sharply redrawn.


Last week, defense industry officials told Congress that they were expecting within days a request from Arab allies fighting the Islamic State — Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt — to buy thousands of American-made missiles, bombs and other weapons, replenishing an arsenal that has been depleted over the past year.



WNU Editor: War has/is always good for defense contractors .... and the Middle East is going to be a boom for these defense-related industries.

Top Revolutionary Guard Commander: 'Iran Will Never Allow Foreigners To Inspect Military Sites'

USA Today: Iran official: Foreign inspectors can't see military sites



A senior military commander in Iran said Sunday that foreign inspectors would be barred from military sites in the country under any nuclear agreement with world powers, the Associated Press reported.


Speaking on state TV, Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said allowing the inspection is tantamount to "selling out," according to the news agency.


The United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany — the so-called P5 +1 group — reached an understanding with Iran earlier this month on limits to its nuclear program in return for lifting crippling economic sanctions.

More News On Iranian Remarks That they Will Block Inspectors From Visiting Military Sites

Iran to block inspectors to military sites, reports -- Deutsche Welle

Iran Guard Says Military Sites Not Open To Inspections -- Radio Free Europe

Iran guard says no military site inspections under nuclear deal -- Al Bawaba

Iran never to allow foreigners to inspect military sites: Top commander -- Press TV (Iran)

Iran Supreme Leader: US Created 'Myth' Of Iranian Nuclear Weapons

Reuters: Khamenei says Iran nuclear weapons are a U.S. 'myth'



(Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told military commanders on Sunday the United States had created the "myth" of nuclear weapons to portray Iran as a threat, hardening his rhetoric before nuclear negotiations resume this week.


Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, has supported the talks but continues to express deep mistrust of the United States.


"They created the myth of nuclear weapons so they could say the Islamic Republic is a source of threat. No, the source of threat is America itself, with its unrestrained, destabilizing interventions," Khamenei said in a televised address to a hall of several hundred military commanders.

More News On Iran's Supreme Leader Claiming The US Created The 'Myth' Of Iranian Nuclear Weapons

Iran supreme leader says US created 'myth' of nuclear weapons -- The Guardian

Iran Supreme Leader Calls Nuclear Weapons Allegations a Myth -- WSJ

Khamenei: US Created 'Myth' of Iranian Nuclear Weapons -- VOA

Khamenei accuses US of creating Iran nuclear weapons ‘myth’ -- RT

Supreme Leader Says Iran Nuclear Weapons Are U.S. 'Myth' -- Radio Free Europe

Iran: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei heaps scorn on US for 'military threats' -- IBTimes

Disaster In The Mediterranean

Reuters: Up to 700 feared dead after migrant boat sinks off Libya



(Reuters) - As many as 700 people were feared dead after a fishing boat packed with migrants capsized off the Libyan coast overnight, in what may be one of the worst disasters of the Mediterranean migrant crisis, officials said on Sunday.


Twenty eight people were rescued and 24 bodies recovered from the 20 meter-long vessel, which sank around 70 miles from the Libyan coast, south of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, the Italian coast guard said.


If confirmed, the death toll would bring the total number of dead since the beginning of the year to more than 1,500 as the flow of migrants seeking to flee poverty, war and insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East has continued.



Update #1: 24 dead, 28 safe, hundreds missing as Med migrant boat sinks -- AP

Update #2: 700 migrants feared dead in Mediterranean shipwreck -- The Guardian



WNU Editor: The reason why these numbers are increasing is because there are literally millions who are trying to flee to Europe right now. We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg.



Update #3: Talk about military action against Libya to curtail this refugee crisis is starting to make the rounds .... Overwhelmed by Migrants, Italy Mulls Action to Stabilize Libya (VOA).

Islamic State In Libya Claims To Have Beheaded 30 Ethiopian Christians

A screenshot from the video footage released online shows two groups of men being beheaded by militants.

Al Jazeera: ISIL claims massacre of Ethiopian Christians in Libya



Video released online shows one group of captives being shot and another group being beheaded on a beach.


A new video from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) purportedly shows the group killing captured Ethiopian Christians in Libya.


The 29-minute video released online on Sunday shows two groups of dark-skinned captives. It says one group is held by an ISIL affiliate in eastern Libya and the other by an affiliate in the south.


A masked fighter delivers a long statement before the video switches between footage of the captives in the south being shot to death and the captives in the east being beheaded on a beach.



Update #1: Video: Islamic State kills Ethiopian Christians in Libya

Update #2: Islamic State shot and beheaded 30 people in Libya: video -- Reuters



WNU Editor: The atrocities continue to pile up.

The U.S. Evacuation Of Its Nationals From Yemen Has Been A Disaster

Weekly Standard: If This Is What Success Looks Like, Just Imagine Failure



The Obama administration once pointed to Yemen as the proof that the application of what it calls “smart power” works. Today, from John Zarocostas, writing for McClatchy, we learn that:



American citizens escaping Yemen, including small children and some frail elderly, are arriving exhausted in Djibouti after harrowing journeys from the besieged country …



The U.S. ambassador:



… Tom Kelly, said hundreds of Americans have arrived in Djibouti in recent days aboard foreign ships and aircraft after journeys that for some included hundreds of miles of dangerous land travel from Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, to the ports of Hodeidah and Aden.



With:



... some would-be evacuees ... left behind at the port of Aden because they had been unable to climb up rope ladders to board an Indian navy frigate from smaller boats that had ferried them to the larger ship, which had been unable to dock because of fighting in the city.



The Americans who fled Yemen were on their own after the Obama administration decided it wouldn’t be smart “to organize a rescue mission for the estimated 3,000 to 4,000 U.S. citizens in Yemen.”



WNU Editor: There are 3 to 4 thousand Americans trapped in Yemen, and if it was any other administration, the U.S. press would have been on this story 24/7. And the weird part of this story is that many Americans have been rescued from other countries, Russia included . And while it is hard to be sympathetic to people who decided to stay even though they were repeatedly warn that it was dangerous .... the U.S. government still has an obligation to try its best to bring them back home.

Yemen Is Running Out Of Gas

Washington Post: Yemen grinds to a halt for lack of gas



SANAA, Yemen — Hamoud al-Harazi’s brush with death happened while he was trying to buy gasoline this week. On his fifth day waiting at a filling station in Yemen’s capital, a fight erupted when armed men in a Toyota pickup tried to cut in at the front of the mile-long line.


They began trading gunfire with other frustrated motorists, prompting Harazi to run for his life, he said.


“It’s come to the point that we in Yemen may die just trying to get gas,” said Harazi, a minibus driver who lives in Sanaa.


Intense fighting, involving Shiite rebels and a Saudi-led military force, is starving Yemen of gasoline, leaving residents unable to drive to supermarkets or shuttle wounded people to hospitals. Citizens also are increasingly unable to flee bombing raids that have killed scores of civilians.



WNU Editor: As the war grinds on these shortages will only get worse. But shortages of gas is a major weakness for the Houthis rebels .... and by cutting off their ability to travel the Saudis and their allies have effectively limited the rebels scope of military operations. It should also be noted that food shortages are also occurring, and in a country that is dependent on imports for even the basics .... this has the potential of becoming a catastrophy.

The U.S. Military's New Cyber Plan: 'Blunt Force Trauma'

REUTERS/Skip Peterson

Philip Ewing, Politico: The Pentagon's new cyber attack plan: 'Blunt force trauma'



The Pentagon wants cyber weapons that can inflict “blunt force trauma.”


That’s one vision that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh has laid out for the next phase of military cyber operations — and in a rare occurrence in the cyber realm, he elaborated with examples.


“How do you make an enemy air defense system go completely blank in the first minute of the conflict?” Welsh asked reporters last week. “How do you make a [surface to air missile] radar show a thousand false targets that all look real so you don’t know where the real package is in the middle of that? How do you keep enemy surface to surface missiles from ever launching — or [fly] halfway to their target and then turn around and go home?”


The military services devote a lot of effort to defending their networks against cyberattacks and supporting the intelligence community, he said, but so far not enough pursuing cyber weapons they could wield the way they now deploy fighter squadrons or infantry battalions.



WNU Editor: What this means is that the Pentagon is shifting from a purely defensive posture to an offensive one .... and from my point of view this makes it sense .... why spend billions on stealth technology when you can accomplish the same thing by disabling their communications/electronics/radars/etc. . But I suspect that they have a long way to go before being able to implement any form of strategy or cyber weaponry.

One More Recognition For The Doolitle Raiders

Rick Moran, PJ Media: Last Two Doolittle Raiders Honored on Anniversary



Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot among the last survivors of the raid.

Only two men are left alive from the 80 airmen and pilots who took off from the deck of the USS Hornet on April 18, 1942, and set out to send Japan a message that the U.S. would stop at nothing to win the war begun by Japan a few months earlier.



Retired Lt. Col. Richard “Dick” Cole, 99, and Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, 93, are the last of the Doolittle Raiders — the men who struck the first blow against the Japanese empire by bombing Tokyo. They are in Dayton, Ohio, today to present the Raiders Congressional Gold Medal to the National Museum of the US Air Force.



Update: Last of Doolittle Raiders present congressional gold medal to Air Force museum -- AP



WNU Editor: Two out of original 80 airmen are still alive .... as I had mentioned in a previous post when the third to last airman died last month .... it is amazing that many of these pilots actually survived on what was for all intents and purposes regarded as a suicide mission. A good description on the attack and the aftermath of the raid can be seen here .