To all who have worn the uniform and answered the call
"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
Abraham Lincoln, 1863
HYPERLINKS MAY REQUIRE AN EMAIL:
USA
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
EUROPE
Germany's Geopolitical Opening
France Seeks a Military Leadership Role in Europe STRATFOR
ASIA
Russia, South Korea: Rocket Launch Planned November 10, 2010
Russia and South Korea have agreed to carry out the third launch of the Korean KSLV-1 rocket equipped with a Russian first-stage engine, Interfax reported, citing a joint statement issued Nov. 10 at the end of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s visit to South Korea.
RUSSIA
Russia: Gunmen Kill 7 Police Officers In Dagestan November 11, 2010
Gunmen killed at least seven Russian police officers Nov. 11 in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan, AFP reported, citing RIA Novosti. The attackers stole a car in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, before carrying out shootings at two locations in the city center, killing six police officers on the spot; a seventh later died of his wounds. At least three civilians were also injured in the shootout. Police chased the shooters and blocked their vehicle, which caught fire and exploded in the ensuing shootout. Four gunmen were killed.
Russia: Collaborator In Spy-Ring Bust Named November 11, 2010
A Russian intelligence colonel identified as Shcherbakov aided in the breakup of a Russian spy ring by the United States in the summer, AFP reported Nov. 11, citing Kommersant daily. The agent’s daughter reportedly lives in the United States, and he fled to the United States three days before Russian President Dmitri Medvedev visited Washington in June. Also, according to the paper, the agent’s son left his post with the Russian drug control agency and fled for the United States shortly before
the spy ring was revealed. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in the summer, according to Kommersant, that the then-unnamed collaborator’s life would end in “boozing or drugs.”
IRAN
Singapore: Iran Having Difficulty Finding Storage For Oil November 11, 2010
Iran is trying to store at least 2 million barrels of crude oil in Southeast Asia for at least six months, but is having difficulties finding hosts because of international sanctions, Reuters reported Nov. 11, citing unnamed industry sources familiar with the negotiations. A JTC Corporation spokeswoman said Iran was among many industry “players” recently meeting
about Singapore’s Jurong Rock Caverns. A senior industry official said that while the Iranian proposal was “interesting,” that is not the kind of business currently being engaged in. The source said geopolitics and pressure from the United States and the European Union complicate the issue.
Iran: Imam Ali Military Drills Begin November 9, 2010
Iranian Basij paramilitary forces have begun the Imam Ali military drills in Amol, Iran, Mehr news agency reported Nov. 9, citing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops in Amol leader Col. Ebrahim Mohseni-Moqqadam. The tactical exercises, which began Nov. 9 and involve the participation of five battalions of the Ashura Corps, will last until Nov. 11. The main objective of the drills is to enhance the participants’ abilities to confront crises, Mohseni-Moqqadam said.
IRAQ
Iraq: Al-Iraqiya List Withdraws From Political Process November 11, 2010
Iraqi political party al-Iraqiya List refuses to participate in a government that lacks trust between the parties, and it has withdrawn from the political process, party spokesman Haider Mulla said Nov. 11, Al Sumaria News reported. During a news conference after al-Iraqiya lawmakers walked out of the parliament, Mulla said the party cannot reach a deal with a government that found political agreement via coup.
A Possible Step Forward in Iraq STRATFOR
Iraq: U.S. Open To Extending Troop Presence - Gates November 9, 2010
The United States is open to keeping troops in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline for withdrawal if Baghdad requests it, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Nov. 9, AP reported. Gates called on Iraqi political leaders to reconcile and said an extension of the U.S. military presence in the country would require an amendment to the current agreement, which
necessitates a functioning central government. U.S. troops must leave Iraq by the end of 2011 under the current deal. The United States hopes Iraq can form a government representative of all the major elements of Iraqi society in a nonsectarian manner, Gates added.
ISRAEL
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
AFGHANISTAN
Canada: Contingent May Remain To Train Afghans - PM November 11, 2010
Some Canadian troops may remain in Afghanistan to help train local forces after the country’s military mission ends in 2011 as planned, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Nov. 11, Reuters reported. Such a force, which would be on a non-combat mission, would stay in Afghanistan from 2011-2014, he told CTV television in Seoul. He noted that he wants to see Canadian troops home, but Afghan forces need more training.
Afghanistan: NATO Transit Through Russia To Be Discussed November 10, 2010
A decision about NATO transit through Russia to Afghanistan will be made at the Russia-NATO summit in Lisbon on Nov. 20, the Russian permanent representative at NATO, Dmitri Rogozin, said, Interfax reported Nov. 10. He said measures will be taken to expand transit capabilities, adding that the goods to be discussed are not military cargo and that military cargo would not be shipped by rail. He said pacts are in place with Germany, France and the United States, with pending agreements with Italy and Spain. A commercial venture, it is profitable for Russia, he said.
A Week in the War: Afghanistan, Nov. 3-9, 2010 STRATFOR
MIDDLE EAST
NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Somalia: Panama-flagged Ship Seized By Pirates November 11, 2010
Pirates have seized a Panama-flagged 31-crewmember chemical tanker off the coast of Somalia, according to a Nov. 11 statement from the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) for Somalia, Reuters reported. The EU Navfor anti-piracy taskforce said the 24,145-tonne MV Hannibal II was overrun while sailing to Suez from Malaysia. The master of the vessel reported the ship as being under attack by pirates some 860 nautical miles east of the Horn of Africa — much closer to India than to Somalia — EU Navfor said. The ship was ferrying vegetable oil, and its crew consisted of 23 Tunisians, one Croatian, one Georgian, one Russian, one Moroccan and 4 individuals from the Philippines.Mexico: Drug Cartel May Have Killed Mayor November 9, 2010 Veracruz state mayor-elect Gregorio Barradas Miravete could have been killed by members of a drug trafficking cartel, according to a printed message left at the scene, the Veracruz attorney general’s office said, El Universal reported Nov. 9.
Barradas Miravete was found dead in an abandoned car along with former local legislator Omar Manzur Assad and driver Angel Landa in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca state.
Mexico: Schools Suspend Classes Amid Bomb Threats November 8, 2010
Approximately 400 public and private schools in the Mexican city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas state, suspended classes due to bomb threats made by unidentified criminal organizations against at least two schools, Milenio reported Nov. 8.
Mexico Security Memo: Nov. 8, 2010 STRATFOR
Makled's Threat to the Venezuelan Regime STRATFOR
MISC
Somalia: Panama-flagged Ship Seized By Pirates November 11, 2010
Pirates have seized a Panama-flagged 31-crewmember chemical tanker off the coast of Somalia, according to a Nov. 11 statement from the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) for Somalia, Reuters reported. The EU Navfor anti-piracy taskforce said the 24,145-tonne MV Hannibal II was overrun while sailing to Suez from Malaysia. The master of the vessel reported the ship as being under attack by pirates some 860 nautical miles east of the Horn of Africa — much closer to India than to Somalia — EU Navfor said. The ship was ferrying vegetable oil, and its crew consisted of 23 Tunisians, one Croatian, one Georgian, one Russian, one Moroccan and 4 individuals from the Philippines.
Above the Tearline: Presidential Security Abroad STRATFOR
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