Hamas Shows Off Rappelling Skills

     Cool trick, but when will this be usable in a combat situation?

Analysis & Questions About The Boston Marathon Bombing

     As of 2200 CST, 3 Americans are dead and 141 are injured because of two bomb blasts along the Boston Marathon route. One was located directly at the finish line, and a second was located before the finish line by about one block and detonated 10 seconds after the finish line bomb. The police have a 20 year old Saudi national in custody, and he is considered a person of interest.
     Now, the blast came from a backpack bomb located in a trash can, and from reports it was also loaded with ball bearings and the like. The blast is relatively small, not as big as some IEDs, but big enough to do a helluva a lot of damage. I'm curious as to what explosive the bomber used, and how much of it. If it was a backpack bomb, it could not have been more than ~15lbs, allowing for about 5lbs of metal for shrapnel.
      That only covers the bombing, if this "person of interest" is a Saudi chances are he is a Muslim. If so, that means it was religiously motivated. Notice how Obama has refrained from calling this an act of terrorism. I'm also curious how he (the bomber) got in-country without flags going up over a possible terror threat.
     This could have been a lot worse, but with only 3 dead so far it's not that bad. However, as more info comes out concerning the run up to the bombing, expect o of this to be damning for he Federal government.

War In Israel!

     Israel just killed the military CO of Hamas, and hit 20 underground storge facilities for rockets, Syrian rebels are taking control of parts of the Syrian-Israel border, and Egypt is going nuts. The Jeruslame Post reports that Israel is ready to launch an ground operation, and Iran is launching major drills all around. Get ready for a wild ride. Oh, and the video above is IR footage of the airstrike that killed the Hamas man. Congrats to the IDF for killing that SOB. I'll be posting more as this unfolds over the next few days.

Clancy Indirectly Predicted Green-On-Blue Attacks

     About a 2 years ago I bought a copy of Tom Clancy's The Cardinal of the Kremlin, which revolves around the story of an American mole high up the Soviet chain of command (I won't spoil it for those who have not read it). But that is beside the point, a good chunk of the book was devoted to the Soviet war in Afghanistan. 

    In Chapter 17, the main Afghan character, The Archer (so named because of his use of Stinger SAMs) leads an attack on a Soviet battalion at it's base. At about the time the unit was eating lunch, the CO was the first to get killed. In Chapter 3 a Afghan sergeant attempeted to kill a Soviet captain and an Afghan LT loyal to the Soviets, just prior to an attack by the Muj.

     Clancy is generally a good read, and is generally solid on the technical end of things, but here he not only told what was happening to the Soviet in A-Stan, he also told us what would happen when if we ever went in to A-Stan. A warning we would have been wise to heed.

SecDHS Admits Terrorists Are Crossing The Border "From Time To Time"

     From CNS News:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Congress last week that terrorists intending to harm the American people enter the U.S. from Mexico “from time to time."

At a July 25 hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) asked Napolitano: “As you know, Madam Secretary, there have been anecdotal reports about material evidence of the presence of terrorists along our southern border. My question is, is there any credible evidence that these reports are accurate and that terrorists are, in fact, crossing our southern border with the intent to do harm to the American people?”

Napolitano answered: “With respect, there have been--and the Ababziar matter would be one I would refer to that's currently being adjudicated in the criminal courts--from time to time, and we are constantly working against different and evolving threats involving various terrorist groups and various ways they may seek to enter the country.”

“What I can tell you, however, is that that southern border--the U.S.-Mexico border--is heavily, heavily staffed at record amounts of manpower, materiel, infrastructure and the like, and we are constantly making sure we're doing all we can to make that border as safe as possible,” she said.

     Here is video of the hearing:

     Not surprising, in 2005 2 Iraqis were caught attempting to smuggle weapons to Al-Qaeda, and if you know where to look there are often reports of Arabs crossing the border. For the the last 50 year the U.S. southern (and northern) border have become like swiss cheese, with hundreds of thousands of illegals crossing yearly. Nothing has been done about this because most illegals tend to vote Dem, and why would a politician alienate their voters? But one of these days our lax immigration policy will come back and bite us in the butt.

Photo Credit: Dan Sorensen

Israel May Strike Syria To Keep WMDs From Hezbollah

     From Fox News:

HAIFA, Israel –  As Syria's regime teeters on the brink of collapse, Israeli soldiers and civilians alike are preparing for possible military action to make sure Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons don't fall into the hands of terrorist groups.

Sources close to the Israel Defense Force told FoxNews.com soldiers have been put on standby and are ready to move, while civilian demand for gas masks has jumped 66 percent over the last few weeks from 2,200 to 3,700 per day. The fears center around the prospect of Hezbollah getting Syrian chemical weapons as the Assad regime shows imminent signs of collapse.

“Israel...will not hold back and will respond decisively if this happens,” Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.

Hezbollah, (the Islamic militant group based in south Lebanon, supported by both Syria and Iran), who has long called for the destruction of Israel, is the prime candidate to take possession of the armaments. Speculation is mounting about when and how Israel will deal with the prospect of chemical weapons being spirited away during the chaos of Assad's likely fall.

“It appears the IDF may seek to eliminate Syria’s ability to transport the weapons to proxy forces but not to eliminate the actual weapons themselves by striking at storage facilities," Idan Kweller, political correspondent for Israel Army Radio, told FoxNews.com. "Israel’s main interest is to ensure the weapons are not passed on to the likes of Hezbollah in south Lebanon.”

The potential breakdown of the Syrian regime has reportedly paved the way for any number of Islamist terror groups, including Al Qaeda, to blend in with the Free Syrian Army, giving them cover to get at the a chemical weapons stockpile Assad acknowledges having. That could potentially pose a massive threat to Israel’s security and inflict significant civilian casualties, according to experts.

Meanwhile, the race to locate the chemical weapons has reportedly been taxing a number of international security agencies, including the CIA, desperate to ensure the arms won’t fall into the wrong hands and spark an all-out regional war. One report suggested that a group of Jordanian commandoes had been sent into Syria to try and recover the weapons, while Turkey’s intelligence agency is another with good reason to fear unaccounted for weapons.

Earlier this week, Turkey, nervous of growing activity from Kurds in western Syria, mobilized troops and missile batteries to the border, further ratcheting up tensions in the region against their former ally. Earlier on Thursday, Turkish newspaper Zalman reported officials speaking optimistically of Turkey’s “commitment to preserving warm relations with Israel,” a significant change in tone from the antagonistic relationship on both sides in recent years and a follow on from the up-beat visit of a Turkish delegation to Jerusalem who met with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu a day earlier.

Kweller believes Israel and Turkey could well be on the verge of setting aside recent disputes to jointly focus on the danger a de-stabilized Syria poses them both.

With increased reconnaissance of the region set to dictate the next move, the Israeli public is holding its breath to see exactly what Netanyahu and his advisors will do next. They may hold back until the last possible moment in an effort to be seen as doing everything to keep the lid on the region, or they could move proactively. The IDF and the public don't know yet, but their jitters are real.

     A picture is worth a thousand words.

    

More Bang For Your Truck, Part 2: Someone Is Buying The Klub-K

     One of the first posts I wrote after starting General Quarters! was a kind-of analysis of the Klub-K container-fired cruise missile. Today, Strategy Page posted a story saying that the Klub-K has been on the market for two years, meaning that someone is buying it. The question the author asks is, who? Read it:

July 24, 2012: For the last two years a Russian firm (Morinformsystem-Agat JSC) has been marketing a version of the Klub cruise missile that can be carried in a 40 foot (12.9 meter) shipping container. Called “Pandora’s Box”, the launcher and the missile have to slide out of the container before firing, thus limiting where it can be placed on a ship, particularly your typical container ship. Recently the manufacturer announced another version of this system with a smaller, slower and presumably cheaper cruise missile. This unidentified weapon is described as weighing 520 kg (half a ton), having a 145 kg (319 pound) warhead and being 3.8 meters (11.8 feet) long. Max range is 130 kilometers.

What worries counter-terrorism officials is that you could get many of these shipping container missiles on most cargo ships, turning the vessel into warship. The shipping container can also be hauled around (like many such containers are) via truck or rail car and used to surprise someone you don’t like.


The system is all in one shipping container, which is equipped with four missiles, in sealed shipping/firing containers. Also in the container are communications and targeting equipment which the two man crew uses to program the missiles, operate the hydraulic system to raise the missiles, and fire them. The entire container is waterproof, and contains a satellite link for receiving target data, or whatever.
The first version of Pandora's Box used the 3M54 Klub missile. This weapon was originally designed for the Kilo submarine. Each Klub weighs two tons, can be fired from a 533mm (21 inch) torpedo tube and has a 200 kg (440 pound) warhead. The anti-ship version has a range of 300 kilometers, and moves at up to 3,000 kilometers an hour during its last minute or so of flight. There is also an air launched and ship launched version (which is used in Pandora's Box). A land attack version does away with the high speed final approach feature, and has a 400 kg (880 pound) warhead.


What makes the anti-ship version of the 3M54 particularly dangerous is its final approach, which begins when the missile is about 15 kilometers from its target. Up to that point, the missile travels at an altitude of about 32 meters (hundred feet). This makes the missile more difficult to detect. The "high speed approach" (via the use of additional rockets) means that it covers that last fifteen kilometers in less than twenty seconds. This makes it difficult for current anti-missile weapons to take it down.


It’s unusual for a firm to offer something like Pandora's Box, which is designed for concealed transport on a merchant ship, truck or rail car. So far, none of the buyers have been identified. The manufacturer says there have been many inquiries from foreign nations (none were identified). While these missiles are of questionable effectiveness in wartime, they would likely be much more potent if used for a surprise attack on a military or civilian target. Estimated price for each cargo container of Klubs is about $6 million. The new version probably goes for less than $4 million per container. The fact that Pandora's Box is still being offered for sale after two years, and has just been upgraded, indicates that someone is buying, but who?


     In my original post I suggested that potential buyers could be muslims, or disgruntled citizens. However, in light of recent world developments countries like Iran, Syria, or Venezuela would be wise to purchase these as they can be moved into an enemy country (read the U.S.) without a great deal of trouble. Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, or Taiwan could also buy these as a first strike weapon to use against China, or an asymmetrical weapon when conventional weapon systems have been disabled.
     Either way, the Klub-K has the capability to be be a grave threat, and needs to be monitored closely.




Photo Credit: Concern Morinformsystem-Agat 
     

Chinook Hit With An RPG In Afghanistan

    Everyone made it back OK. That is a well trained pilot and crew right there.

Hat tip to CDR Salamander.

MSNBC Host Loses It: Claims Race Responsible For War On Terror

    

Some quotes from Melissa Harris-Perry:

• “Americans of course responded in very typically American ways to [terrorism], something that many people in the rest of the world had already experienced.  We began with a kind of nationalist fervor that was justified as reasonable patriotism.”

• “I’d like to point out that we clearly must have been having post-traumatic stress disorder because for about a year after September 11th, there were African-American men walking around the city of New York with N.Y.P.D hats on– that can only be explained as a P.T.S.D. response.” 

• “The other thing that happens in that moment, I don’t want to miss this, is that a new version of what America typically needs emerge, and that is a racial enemy.  Americans in part identify who we are, and who deserves what, through our notions of whiteness and of the racial enemies that are the non-whites.“

• “And in this moment, the new racial enemy became not so much Reagan‘s ’welfare queen,’ who was imaginary, but instead this imagined other that is somehow Muslim, or Arab, or Sikh, or something else.”

• “We became willing to stomach a kind of horrific racial violence in the name of national security.  It is something that we have been willing to stomach as a people over and over again in our history.”

• “The Patriot Act was not an act of a Republican president acting alone.  The Patriot Act was a bipartisan decision by both parties.  It was not bought and paid for by corporations; it was bought and paid for by our fear.”

     I am not going to waste my time refuting this point by point, it would a waste of good bytes. But to say race is the reason for the War on Terror, what is that? Naivete? Stupidity? Race-baiting?  Hat tip to The Blaze for spotting this.

Afghan cop: Marine killings were ‘God’s will’

     From the Marine Corps Times:

An Afghan police officer accused of killing two Marines and wounding four others during an attack last year in Helmand province told investigators he was motivated by “God’s will,” according to a report outlining the incident.

Second Lt. Mohammad Daoud was a member of the Afghan National Civil Order Police when he opened fire May 12, 2011, on Marines assigned to an ANCOP training team, the report says. Lt. Col. Benjamin Palmer, 43, died after being shot in the chest from about 8 feet away as he ate dinner. Sgt. Kevin Balduf, 27, was killed moments later.

Daoud survived the firefight and was taken into custody shortly after the shooting.

The report, dated June 1, 2011, was obtained by Marine Corps Times through the Freedom of Information Act. The report highlights an ongoing threat in which Afghan troops or those wearing Afghan military uniforms turn their weapons on the coalition troops tasked with training them.

The case remains under investigation, according to a June 4 letter accompanying the report, compiled by Marine Corps Forces Central Command.

The incident occurred at a police training compound in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. The shooter fired on Marines with an AK-47 assault rifle while they were eating dinner, Marine officials determined.

“Completely surprised by the vicious attack, the Marines began returning fire with their M9 service pistols,” the report said. “The enemy shooter immediately withdrew while continuing to engage the Marines, wounding yet another Marine.

“The Marines fired and maneuvered on the enemy shooter, who had moved to a covered position. Eventually, the Marines wounded him enough that he collapsed and stopped returning fire.”

Daoud, the alleged shooter, later told investigators with the Naval Criminal Investigation Service that he is not connected to Al Qaida or the Taliban, and shot the Marines as part of his own personal “Jihad,” or holy war.

“He stated it was ‘God’s will’ to kill the Marines because they kill women and children,” the report said. “Further, he stated that those who sent the ‘Colonel that died by my hand’ are responsible. Additionally, Lieutenant Daoud stated it was just ‘luck’ which Marines he shot and that he felt lucky that he killed and wounded so many.”

    Cut off his nuts and put a 9mm slug in the back of his head.  This SOB killed 2 Marines, and wounded 4 more, and there is no mention of punishment in the article. WTH? How much more before before we realize we need to get out?

A-Stan Headshot

Heads up, brains at 0:23. Not pretty.

Terrorist Bloopers

With soldiers like this, who needs enemies?

Video credit: YouTube

A Strategy For The 21st Century, Part 6: North America

     Now, we come to home, in the years since the Cold War America has become more and more at risk for attacks on our shores by other countries and by terrorist organisations. Here is a good start for securing America.
     1. Secure the borders. In the last few years our borders have become increasingly porous with millions of illigal aliens pouring across the border. Recent estimates have put the number of illegals in the U.S. at arounf 11,000,000. There are several threat which arise from this. 1. Not every illegal alien wants to pick produce or wash dishes. Many work for drug cartels, are criminals, or could be even terrorists who want the southwest U.S. to be given back to Mexico. 2. It is extremely easy for muslims to cross the border and commit acts of terror in the U.S.. 3. It becomes easy for the drug cartels and human trafficker to ships people and/or drugs across the border. The solution to this is not to build a wall in a conventional sense but, rather to build a electronic wall using drones, and soldiers brought home from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Europe (see Part 1 and Part 3). There also needs to be tightening of the border with Canada, as the situation is many times worse with fewer border agents, and laziness based on the idea that all Canadians are our friends (most are, but not all).
     2. Establish a working land based missile defense shield covering all of the U.S.. The U.S. has been working on missile defense systems for the last 20 years, examples of this are Aegis, THAAD, and the Patriot PAC-3.  At the moment all three system have been deployed, however there is no missile shild covering the entire U.S..
     3. Stop closing bases. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union  many bases have been shut down, NS Ingleside here in Texas was just shut down a few months ago, and now there is talk of closing NS Mayport, among others. This must stop with fewer bases means fewer targets to hit and a larger amount of America's military is concentrated in a smaller number of locations.Now, it is understandable if some bases become redundant and are closed. However, this rash of bases closures since 1991 seriously undermines America's security.
     These among other things, must be down to secure America, from outside threats. Because like it or not we have been and will be attacked from abroad.

Iranian Navy To Patrol Off U.S. Coast

     Defense Tech reports that Iran plans to establish a "powerful force" off the U.S. eastern seaboard.

     While this propaganda is probably for internal consumption, if followed through it could pose a threat to states on the Gulf of Mexico. The main problem with this is the range factor, as the eastern seaboard is over 6,000 kilometers from Iran's major naval base at Bandar Abbas. However, Iran does have some friends in the region, Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez is a friend of Iran's and would probably offer Iran the ability to refuel at a Venezuelan port. And of course there is always Cuba, which is stilled ruled by the old fool named Fidel Castro, who would also probably offer Iran the ability to refuel at a Cuban port.

     While it is highly unlikely that Iran will mount a naval expedition to the U.S. eastern seaboard, if they do it could pose a threat to the many Oil Rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Along with the massive fishing fleet that works the Gulf. As this continues to develop it will be interesting to see if Iran actually attempts this. If so, how do you say "live fire exercise" in Farsi?

More Iranian Military Photos

     Uskowi On Iran has been posting some rather interesting photos of a recent Iranian military parade. The first two photos show a Bavar-2 in what little glory it has. The Iranians claim that the Bavar-2 is a stealth aircraft, even thought it has an open-air cockpit and an engine block that would destroy any stealth it had.

Next up to bat is the Ashura-class inshore patrol craft. It appears to be armed with a PKM machine gun on the bow, and a MRLS (Multiple Rocket Launcher System) system above the cockpit which looks like it would burn the helmsman if the rockets are launched.

Now in this next section we see some of Iran's trucks and artillery. First to strikeout is Iran's copy of the BM-21, the HMxx MLRS, which is equipped with 30 122mm rocket tubes. The BM-21 was developed in 1964 and it's rocket have no guidance system. 

After the HMxx we see two D-20 152mm towed howitzers.

Now we come to section of the parade where Iran shows off it's repackaged Estes rockets that they claim will take out tanks. First we see a BGM-71 mounted on a truck. After that we see 13 trucks carrying AT-5s.

Next we come to the most dangerous (to the Iranians) vehicle in the parade. The Samander dune buggy with a M134 .30cal minigun on top.

Last we come to a large formation of Iranian soldiers carrying something that appears to be a weapon from American Gladiator.

Photo Credit: Uskowi On Iran, the last photo is from The Blaze

10th Anniversary Of 9/11

     This morning at 8:46 EST, 10 years ago, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the WTC North Tower. 17 minutes later at 9:03 EST, United Air Lines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower (see photo above).

     The attacks that day, which are forever burned into America's mind, were carried out by 19 Muslims who were part of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. Those men were not brave martyrs as Muslims would like believe. No, they were cowards who could not fight America in the open like real men, but instead chose to hijack civilian aircraft to attack a civilian target, to kill civilians, all in the name of their god. 

     As we enter the 10th year of the War on Terror, we must consider why we continue to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. For while it is a worthy fight in some respects, the same fate that befell the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s might befall the U.S. as well. But, whatever happens to the U.S. in the War on Terror, We shall never forget what happened on that terrible day in September 2001.

Photo Credit: TheMachineStops

     

Libyan SA-24s: Terrorists New Toy

     Defense Tech reports that over 20,000 surface-to-air missiles mainly, SA-24s, along a number of SA-7s have fallen into terrorist hands.
     The SA-7 was developed in the 1970s to shoot down low flying western aircraft, and has a max altitude 4.5 kilometers (2.8 miles) and a warhead of 1.15 kilogram (2.5lbs). The SA-7 has been fired at civilian airliners several times, including an incident where a DHL aircraft was hit by an SA-7 taking off from Baghdad in 2003.
     However, the more serious threat is the SA-24 Grinch. The SA-24 has a maximum engagement altitude of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles), and a warhead of 2.5 kilograms (5.5lbs). The SA-24 also has a more advanced guidance system than the SA-7, and is not as easy to evade as the SA-7. The SA-24 entered into service with the Russian military in 2004 making it rather new, and thus is just entering it's service life. This also makes the SA-24 a threat for a long time to come as the batteries in a MANPADS's (MAn Portable Air Defense System ) guidance system determine the missile's lifespan as long as there are no problems with the missile itself.
     As Libya is still in turmoil it will be interesting to see what other weapons are stolen from ex-Qaddafi weapons caches.
     


Photo Credit: Mike1979Russia

JDAM In Afghanistan

Video Credit: YouTube

Helmet Camera Records American Soldiers Being Ambushed In Afghanistan

     Thanks to Kit Up! for spotting this video.

Predator Drone Nails Terrorist Car