Blackwater Founder Assembling Secret Mercenary Obama's secret military operations

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/05/15/blackwater-founder-assembling-secret-mercenary-army-for-uae
For the second time this year, Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince has been tapped as the leader of a secret military being formed in the desert. In January he was reportedly at the head of a “anti-piracy milita” in northern Somalia. Now, he is in the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE confirmed Prince’s hiring, saying he was providing “operational, planning and training support” for them, but offering no additional details. Documents leaked regarding the deal with Prince’s new company, Reflex Responses, confirm that he is building up a new mercenary army for the emirates.
The mercenary force is largely composed of Colombians and reportedly also features a number of South African mercs who were involved in the Executive Outcomes corporate army of the 1990′s.
Officially the reason for the new mercenary army is “anti-terrorism” operations, but the force is also confirmed to be created to deal with “internal unrest.” A number of other nations in the region have faced pro-democracy uprisings in recent months, and the United Arab Emirates even provided troops to help Bahrain crush theirs.

At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.

Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/world/middleeast/15prince.html
The Colombians, along with South African and other foreign troops, are trained by retired American soldiers and veterans of the German and British special operations units and the French Foreign Legion, according to the former employees and American officials.
In outsourcing critical parts of their defense to mercenaries — the soldiers of choice for medieval kings, Italian Renaissance dukes and African dictators — the Emiratis have begun a new era in the boom in wartime contracting that began after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. And by relying on a force largely created by Americans, they have introduced a volatile element in an already combustible region where the United States is widely viewed with suspicion.
The United Arab Emirates — an autocracy with the sheen of a progressive, modern state — are closely allied with the United States, and American officials indicated that the battalion program had some support in Washington.
“The gulf countries, and the U.A.E. in particular, don’t have a lot of military experience. It would make sense if they looked outside their borders for help,” said one Obama administration official who knew of the operation. “They might want to show that they are not to be messed with.”
Still, it is not clear whether the project has the United States’ official blessing. Legal experts and government officials said some of those involved with the battalion might be breaking federal laws that prohibit American citizens from training foreign troops if they did not secure a license from the State Department.
Mark C. Toner, a spokesman for the department, would not confirm whether Mr. Prince’s company had obtained such a license, but he said the department was investigating to see if the training effort was in violation of American laws. Mr. Toner pointed out that Blackwater (which renamed itself Xe Services ) paid $42 million in fines last year for training foreign troops in Jordan and other countries over the years.
The U.A.E.’s ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, declined to comment for this article. A spokesman for Mr. Prince also did not comment.

Obama sharply increases secret military operations

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/jun2010/spec-j05.shtml

5 June 2010

The Obama administration has sharply increased the use of US Special Operations forces in secret military interventions around the world, according to a report Thursday by the Washington Post.
The Post reports that the administration has increased to 75 the number of countries where these elements, including US Army Delta Force and Green Beret troops, Navy Seals and other secretive units, are operating, compared to 60 at the beginning of 2009.
Funding for these operations has risen accordingly. The Obama White House has requested a 5.7 percent increase in appropriations for Special Operations in fiscal 2011, amounting to a total budget of $6.3 billion. It has also sought another $3.5 billion in contingency funding for Special Ops in 2010.
Citing senior US military and administration officials, the Post presents a telling picture of the Janus-like character of the Obama administration’s foreign and military policy: “Beneath its commitment to soft-spoken diplomacy, and beyond the combat zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Obama administration has significantly expanded a largely secret US war against al-Qaeda and other radical groups,” the newspaper states.
The article continues, “The surge in Special Operations deployments, along with intensified CIA drone attacks in western Pakistan, is the other side of the national security doctrine of global engagement and domestic values President Obama released last week.”
In other words, while mouthing phrases about diplomacy, universal values and the rule of law, Obama has presided over a dramatic escalation in the use of killing squads that have been responsible for assassination programs, torture and the murder of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. The use of these methods has been extended secretly to numerous other countries.

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Bahrain declares martial law, violence flares

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110315/wl_nm/us_bahrain_protests
MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahrain's king declared martial law on Tuesday as his government struggled to quell an uprising by the island's Shi'ite Muslim majority that has drawn in troops from fellow Sunni-ruled neighbor Saudi Arabia.
The three-month state of emergency will hand wholesale power to Bahrain's security forces, which are dominated by the Sunni Muslim elite, stoking sectarian tensions in one of the Gulf's most politically volatile nations.
Disturbances shook the kingdom through the day. A hospital source said two men, one Bahraini and the other Bangladeshi, were killed in clashes in the Shi'ite area of Sitra and more than 200 people were wounded in various incidents.
State television said a Bahraini policeman was also killed, denying media reports that a Saudi soldier had been shot dead.
The United States, a close ally of both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, said it was concerned about reports of growing sectarianism in the country, home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. It dispatched Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman to Bahrain to push for dialogue to resolve the crisis.
Speaking in Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said she had told her Saudi counterpart to promote talks to resolve the situation.
It was not clear if a curfew would be imposed or whether there would be any clampdown on media or public gatherings.

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Magnitude 7.2 quake hits Pakistan - World news - South and Central Asia - Pakistan - msnbc.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41139829/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia

WASHINGTON  — A major 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked a remote area of southwestern Pakistan early Wednesday, shaking many parts of the country and causing tremors as far away as India and the United Arab Emirates.

The quake was centered in Baluchistan province, the country's most sparsely populated area, said the United States Geological Service, occurring at 1:30 a.m. local time at a depth of some 50 miles.

Its epicenter was in a remote area some 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of the Baluchistan capital of Quetta, said chief Pakistani meteorologist Arif Mahmood, not far from the Afghan border.

1. More world news
   1. Magnitude 7.2 quake hits Pakistan
      Updated 5 minutes ago 1/18/2011 11:13:31 PM +00:00 The quake was centered in Baluchistan province, the country's most sparsely populated area, said the United States Geological Service, occurring at 1:30 a.m. local time at a depth of some 50 miles. Full story

The closest town to the epicenter was Dalbandin, with a population around 15,000 people, and is so remote that the nearby Chagai hills were the site of Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests.
There was no word on damage in Dalbandin. But another town close to the epicenter, Karan, suffered no major damage, said Fateh Bangar, Karan's deputy commissioner. The town was some 45 miles (70 kilometers) from the epicenter, he said.
Nasir Baluch, a police officer in Karan, said several mud houses collapsed or were damaged in an area outside the town called Mashkil. There was no immediate word on casualties, but the area is sparsely populated, he said.

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AG: Times Square bomb suspect admits role

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clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com NEW YORK - Pakistani-born U.S. citizen Faisal Shahzad has admitted trying to set off a car bomb in busy Times Square and will face terrorism and mass destruction charges, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday. "Based on what we know so far, it is clear that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans in one of the busiest places in our country," Holder said. Authorities tracked down Shahzad using the vehicle identification number on the Nissan Pathfinder that failed to detonate. They linked that number to a recent sale in Connecticut, Holder said. Once they identified Shahzad, authorities placed him on a federal air travel no-fly list. He was arrested late Monday night aboard a plane bound for the United Arab Emirates. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declined to say how Shahzad was able to board the flight if he was on the No Fly list.

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105 countries to send reps to interfaith meet in Manila

Image by Martin Beek via Flickr

clipped from www.gmanews.tv At least 105 countries will be represented in the Special Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting (SNAMMM) on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development in Manila from March 16 to 18. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, who is also NAM National Organizing Committee Secretary General, said the SNAMMM highlights the Philippines' leading role in interfaith dialogue worldwide. "The SNAMMM is the biggest inter-governmental meeting in recent years, and the first of its kind ever to be hosted by the Philippines. It aims to promote interfaith dialogue and cooperation to cultivate a culture of respect, tolerance, understanding and harmony among people of different faiths, cultures and religions," Seguis said in an article on the DFA website. Other NAM member-countries that will be sending high-level representatives include Chile, Korea, Kuwait, Peru, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam.

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Interpol expands search for Dubai killing suspects

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clipped from www.cnn.com (CNN) -- Interpol announced Monday it is issuing notices to help search for another 16 suspects believed linked to the January killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai. The organization will now help investigators in Dubai try to track down all 27 people suspected of links to the death of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel. Information gathered by investigators in Dubai "bore out the international links and broad scope of the number of people involved, as well as the role of two 'teams' of individuals identified by the Dubai police as being linked," Interpol said. Interpol Secretary-General Ronald K. Noble said investigators have established "clear" links through passport records, video surveillance, DNA analysis, witness interviews and hotel, credit card, phone and transport records, according to the news release. Dubai's police chief told CNN last month that he is "100 percent sure" Mossad was responsible.

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Global treaty may make your ISP spy on you

clipped from www.newscientist.com Documents from talks on a secret global copyright deal have leaked online, various sources are reporting. The documents discussed are said to confirm that internet service providers could be compelled to constantly sift through their customers' data looking for copyright transgressions. The European Union's data protection chief has said that such requirements could curtail individuals' civil liberties. It's the latest twist in the tale of ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which has been swiftly and secretly negotiated by the 27 nations of the European Union, the US, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. ISPs told New Scientist in December that such technology will not only slow downloads, but puts in place technology that could be used for snooping and censorship. In France, the government has already introduced a measure along these lines

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Dubai assassins wanted by Interpol

clipped from www.ynetnews.com International police organization issues 'red notices' for 11 suspects connected with assassination of senior Hamas man Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Dubai police chief: Issue notice against Mossad chief Pictures of the11 suspects were published on the organization's website, along with a description of their alleged crimes. British newspaper The Guardian, which was first to report the Interpol's notice, claimed they all had ties with the Israeli secret services. The Interpol notice included the information appearing on the fake passports carried by the suspects, including their names, birthdates and nationalities.

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* News * World news * Iran US raises stakes on Iran by sending in ships and missiles

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk The US is dispatching Patriot defensive missiles to four countries – Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait – and keeping two ships in the Gulf capable of shooting down Iranian missiles. Washington is also helping Saudi Arabia develop a force to protect its oil installations. Pro-Israel lobby groups in the US have joined Republican party leaders in trying to build public pressure on the administration to take a tougher line with Iran. One group, the Israel Project, has been running a TV campaign warning that Iran might supply nuclear weapons to terrorists. The administration is deploying two Patriot batteries, capable of shooting down incoming missiles, in each of the four Gulf countries. Kuwait already has an older version of the missile, deployed after Iraq's invasion. Saudi Arabia has long had the missiles, as has Israel.

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gulfnews : Dubai invites United Nations to set up headquarters

Image by Åndrey via Flickr

• gulfnews : Dubai invites United Nations to set up headquarters

  "Dubai: The government of Dubai on Thursday announced that it is fully prepared to host the headquarters of the United Nations if its officials decide to move from New York where the organisation is currently located. According to an official source in the Dubai government, the announcement was made in light of the UAE's — and Dubai's — appreciation of the vital role the United Nations plays in all areas, and in the protection of international peace and security and economic development in particular. The source said Dubai welcomes dialogue with UN officials to provide them with full information on the capabilities which the emirate can provide and which could make it the optimal choice as the new seat of the UN headquarters if a final decision is taken to move out of New York. Among the capabilities which Dubai possesses are suitable geographical location and world-class infrastructure and air, land and sea transport systems which make the emirate an easily accessible meeting point in the middle of the world, noted the source. Dubai's offer is part of efforts the UAE is making to assume its full role as a responsible and effective member of the international community and to find alternatives to contribute to stronger international joint actions."

  tags: Dubai, UN, World, Government, move, Law, Muslim, Islam, War, Global, Armageddon, WW3, Military

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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