The quote of the movie..an awesome movie we're showing the girls on Sunday night...good family entertainment...how many years will it be before they go swimming again :<) Hope you have a great weekend. HYPERLINKS MAY REQUIRE AN EMAIL:
USA
U.S. Naval Update
Map: Feb. 23, 2011 | STRATFOR
United States: Saudi Arrested In Texas On Weapon Of Mass Destruction Charge February 24, 2011
Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was arrested Feb. 23 by FBI agents in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, the Department of Justice said in a press release Feb. 24. The charge is in connection with Aldawsari’s alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment needed to make an improvised explosive device and his research of potential U.S. targets. Aldawsari was legally admitted into the United States in 2008 on a student visa. He is enrolled at South Plains College near Lubbock. Aldawsari has allegedly described his desire for jihad and martyrdom in a personal journal and blog postings.
U.S.: Boeing Awarded Air Force Tanker Contract February 24, 2011
The U.S. Air Force awarded a $35 billion contract for aerial fueling tankers to Boeing, aides to lawmakers and industry executives said, The New York Times reported Feb. 24. Boeing was chosen over the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company N.V. (EADS).
EUROPE
Poland, Israel: DMs Sign Defense Cooperation Declaration February 24, 2011
Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich and his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, on Feb. 24 signed a declaration in Jerusalem on the development of defense cooperation, PAP reported. The countries will set up working groups in defense and air defense and cooperate in military information technology, F-16 fighter aircraft training and servicing, and special operations forces. They agreed to hold joint drills with F-16 jets and eight joint projects between their respective special operations forces.
ASIA
Kyrgyzstan: Bread Prices Increase 8-10 Percent February 24, 2011
The price of bread in Kyrgyzstan has increased by 8-10 percent in a single day, RFE/RL reported Feb. 24. Chairman of the Kyrgyz Bakers’ Union Akbar Atakeev told a session of Kyrgyzstan’s Anti-monopoly Committee on Feb. 22 that the country’s bakers raised bread prices to make up for a rise in the price of flour.
Japan, U.S.: Missile Defense Drills Planned - North Korean News February 26, 2011
Japan and the United States will hold drills for detecting, tracking and intercepting ballistic missiles at the Yokosuka base in Japan from Feb. 28 to March 3, state-run North Korean news agency KCNA reported Feb. 26. Similar drills took place in December 2010, but this will mark the first time the two navies have conducted a separate training, Japan’s Jiji Press reported.
RUSSIA
Russia: Defense Purchases Announced February 24, 2011
The Russian defense ministry plans to commission a Bulava missile by the end of 2011, while the army intends to acquire approximately 100 S-400 and S-500 missile systems, First Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin said, Interfax reported Feb. 24. Popovkin said the army will also acquire eight submarines with Bulava missiles by 2020 and ten Russian brigades will be armed with Iskander-M tactical missile systems. The armed forces will also buy more than 600 planes and more than 1,000 helicopters before 2020, Popovkin said.
Georgia: Youths Protest Against Soviet Occupation February 24, 2011
Georgian nongovernmental organization Prometheus staged a rally Feb. 24 against the Russian occupation of Georgia in 1921 and the massacre of Chechen and Ingush people by the Soviet Union on Feb. 23, 1944, Rustavi 2 reported. Protesting youths marched from Tbilisi to Gori and gathered at the monument of former Georgian Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. The protesters also lit torches representing solidarity in the Caucasus.
Russia: More Troops To Be Sent To Kabarda-Balkaria February 25, 2011
The Russian Interior Ministry will send additional soldiers to the southern republic of Kabarda-Balkaria after several rebel groups attacked the capital, Nalchik, RIA Novosti reported Feb. 25. No sources for the information were provided.
IRAN
Iran: Search For Uranium Expanded - IAEA February 24, 2011
A new intelligence report prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran is expanding its covert search for uranium, AP reported Feb. 24. The report also said Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi met secretly with senior Zimbabwean mining officials to resume negotiations on the procurement of uranium. An official from another IAEA member state independently confirmed the report.
Iran: 2nd Uranium Enrichment Plant Operational By Summer - IAEA February 25, 2011
Iran plans to being operating a second uranium enrichment plant by the summer of 2011 in an underground location near Quom, DPA reported Feb. 25, citing a restricted document it obtained that was issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The document said no centrifuges have been installed at the second location yet, and Iran is still generating enriched uranium at the existing plant in Natanz. The report did not mention the Stuxnet virus, but an official was cited as saying several hundred centrifuges at Natanz were replaced, but it did not significantly affect production rates.
IRAQ
Iraq: Largest Oil Refinery Closed After Attack February 26, 2011
Unknown gunmen assaulted Iraq’s largest oil refinery Feb. 26, killing two workers before bombing the refinery units, a police source said, Xinhua reported. The resulting fire shut down the refinery, located approximately 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Baghdad in Salah ad Din province, the source said. The refinery is operated by the North Refineries Co., which is affiliated with the Iraqi Oil Ministry, and has a refining capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.
ISRAEL
Israel: Iranian Ships In Suez Is "Scheme" February 24, 2011
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the recent movement of Iranian warships through the Suez Canal was “part of a wider scheme,” adding Israel would have acted against them if the ships were bringing rockets, weapons or explosives to militant groups like Hamas or Hezbollah, Israel National News reported Feb. 24, citing CNN. Barak said the ships are carrying naval cadets as well as weapons to visit a Syrian port, adding the mission is a projection of power, self-confidence and assertiveness in the region. He said the region is turbulent, but he doesn’t see a reason to be worried.
MIDDLE EAST
Saudi Arabia and the Context of Regional Unrest | STRATFOR
Special Report: Libya's Tribal Dynamics | STRATFOR
The Status of the Libyan Military | STRATFOR
The Significance of Libya's Gulf of Sidra Energy Assets | STRATFOR
Cairo and Riyadh Working to Stem Regional Unrest | STRATFOR
Agenda: With George Friedman on the Middle East | STRATFOR Bahrain: Protests Continue, Opposition Leader Detained In Lebanon February 24, 2011
Protests at Manama’s Pearl Square are continuing Feb. 24 with what appears to be governmental consent, BBC News reported. Meanwhile, Bahraini opposition leader Hassan Mushaimei said Lebanese authorities briefly detained him and took away his passport upon arriving at the airport in Beirut. According to Mushaimei, the authorities said Bahrain had issued a warrant for his arrest.
Saudi Arabia: Compensatory Oil To Europe Offered February 24, 2011
Saudi authorities have contacted European oil companies to ascertain the quantities and qualities of crude they will need in order to compensate for the loss of Libyan oil supplies, Argus reported Feb. 24. Saudi Arabia would make up the difference in two ways. First, it would send extra shipments would through its East-West pipeline for loading at the Red Sea port of Yanbu, where where the shipments would then transit the SUMED pipeline to the Mediterranean. Second, a “special arrangement” with West African countries will allow cargoes originally destined for the Asia-Pacific region to be diverted to the Mediterranean; Saudi Arabia will then substitute those shipments from the Gulf and from its new storage facility in Japan. Saudi state-owned Aramco said no European country has requested extra oil yet.
Libya: Gadhafi's Cousin Defects To Egypt lFebruary 24, 2011
A cousin and adviser to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Ahmed Gadhaf al-Dam, has defected to Egypt to protest the Libyan government’s crackdown on protesters, AP reported Feb. 24, citing a statement issued by Gadhaf al-Dam from Cairo. Gadhaf al-Dam was the commander of Tobruk military region and former top commander of Cyrenaica region, and until Feb. 24 was Libya’s special representative to Egypt. He had left for Egypt several days ago and did not make the announcement until Feb. 24.
Syria: Uranium Conversion Facility Discovered February 24, 2011
A uranium conversion facility intended to process uranium yellowcake into uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) was discovered by satellite imagery near the town of Marj as Sultan, The Institute for Science and International Security reported Feb, 24, citing the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. The operational status of the facility, which was functionally related to the destroyed covert reactor construction project at al Kibar, is unknown.
Syria: Iran Ready To Build Port Facilities - Navy Chief February 26, 2011
Iran’s navy is ready to help Syria construct and develop its port facilities and to cooperate in technical fields, the commander of the Iranian navy, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, said Feb. 26, Fars News Agency reported. Speaking to the crews of two Iranian naval vessels in the Syrian port city of Latakia, Sayyari said his country’s navy was prepared to help build jetties, wharfs and other infrastructure as well as to assist Syria with ship repairs and maintenance and anti-piracy operations. Sayyari also invited his Syrian counterpart, Gen. Taleb al-Barri, to visit Iran
AFGHANISTAN
A Week in the War: Afghanistan, Feb. 16-22, 2011 | STRATFORMIDDLE EAST
Afghanistan: U.S. Forces Begin Withdrawal From Pech Valley February 24, 2011
U.S. forces began withdrawing from Pech Valley in Kunar province, Afghanistan, on Feb. 15 in a move that is predicted to last two months, while Afghan units remain in the valley, The New York Times reported Feb 25. There are some areas that are not ready for the build up of security that leads to development and better governance, Maj. Gen. John F. Campbell said, adding, he has to use forces where they can do the most good. The people in Pech Valley aren’t anti-U.S., they just want to be left alone and our presence is destabilizing the area, an American military official said. The Pech people promised many times that if U.S. forces withdrew from the area, they would not fight the remaining Afghan units, former commander of the Afghan Border Police Gen. Mohammed Zaman Mamozai said.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
U.S.: Massive Sweeps Following Agent's Death February 24, 2011
Federal, state and local authorities conducted a sweep of suspected Mexican drug cartels in the United States on Feb. 24 following the killing of a U.S. agent in Mexico, AP reported. The move is intended to send a message to the cartels that the murder of a U.S. agent will not be tolerated, according Drug Enforcement Administration official Chris Pike. The raids will likely continue and will target suspected criminals with ties to Mexican drug cartels. Agents have so far seized more than $4.5 million in cash, 10.4 kilograms (23 pounds) of methamphetamine, 107 kilograms of cocaine, 2.27 kilograms of heroin, 136 kilograms of marijuana and nearly 20 guns, and have arrested more than 100 people in150 different locations. Pike said many of those arrested were already suspects in other investigations.
Mexico: La Linea Leader Killed February 24, 2011
Mexican authorities confirmed the death of Luis Humberto “El Condor” Peralta Hernandez, a leader of La Linea, the enforcement arm of the Juarez cartel, La Jornada reported Feb. 24. Peralta was killed Feb. 22 during a confrontation with Mexican Federal Police in the city of Chihuahua MISC NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
Except where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com
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