British Army deploys new weapon based on mass-killing technology

Parliament not told, minister says

A new 'super-weapon' being supplied to British soldiers in Afghanistan employs technology based on the "thermobaric" principle which uses heat and pressure to kill people targeted across a wide air by sucking the air out of lungs and rupturing internal organs.

The so-called "enhanced blast" weapon uses similar technology used in the US "bunker busting" bombs and the devastating bombs dropped by the Russians to destroy the Chechen capital, Grozny.

Such weapons are brutally effective because they first disperse a gas or chemical agent which is lit at a second stage, allowing the blast to fill the spaces of a building or the crevices of a cave. When the US military deployed a version of these weapons in 2005, DefenseTech wrote an article titled, "Marines Quiet About Brutal New Weapon."

According to the US Defense Intelligence Agency, which released a study on thermobaric weapons in 1993, "The [blast] kill mechanism against living targets is unique--and unpleasant.... What kills is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent rarefaction [vacuum], which ruptures the lungs.… If the fuel deflagrates but does not detonate, victims will be severely burned and will probably also inhale the burning fuel. Since the most common FAE fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic, undetonated FAE should prove as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as most chemical agents."

A second DIA study said, "shock and pressure waves cause minimal damage to brain tissue... it is possible that victims of FAEs are not rendered unconscious by the blast, but instead suffer for several seconds or minutes while they suffocate."

"The effect of an FAE explosion within confined spaces is immense," said a CIA study of the weapons. "Those near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, and thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness."

British defense officials told the UK Guardian that British bombs were "different."

"They are optimized to create blast [rather than heat]", one said, speaking on the standard condition of anonymity in Britain. The official added that it would be misleading to call them "thermobaric."

Officials told the Guardian the new weapon was classified as a soldier launched "light anti-structure munition" and that the bombs would be more effective because "even when they hit the damage is limited to a confined area."

"The continuing issue of civilian casualties in Afghanistan has enormous importance in the battle for hearts and minds," said Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell in the article. "If these weapons contribute to the deaths of civilians then a primary purpose of the British deployment is going to be made yet more difficult."

According to Campbell, the deployment of the weapons was not announced to Parliament.

ISRAEL KILLS 2 HAMAS TERRORISTS~~ ONE AGED 10, THE OTHER AGED 12

Image 'Copyleft' by Carlos Latuff
Talk about 'being in the wrong place at the wrong time'..... that's apparently what happened yesterday in Gaza when two children were murdered and others wounded by Israeli forces.

That's not all.... the newest tactic in the WAR AGAINST CHILDREN will be the banning of textbooks and supplies to Gaza schools by the Israelis... UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Let's wait to see what AIPAC has to say about THIS one.....

The details of yesterdays murders is presented below in an AP Report...

2 Palestinian children killed by IDF fire

Israeli forces target Qassam rocket launchers in Gaza Strip, two children killed in crossfire. IDF: Anyone who is next to a launching cell is in danger

Associated Press

Israeli forces killed two Palestinian children along the Gaza-Israel border on Tuesday, Palestinian medical officials said.

he two dead were 10 and 12 years old, according to Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. A third child, 10, was seriously wounded and six other people were lightly hurt, he said.

The army said troops targeted two figures spotted near a rocket launcher in an area where a rocket had been fired into Israel earlier.

A third child, 10, was seriously wounded and six other people were lightly hurt, all of them civilians, Hassanin said.

The army said Palestinian rocket teams have been known to send young children to retrieve rocket launchers after the projectiles are fired. "In light of the reports, it seems likely that this was the case here," the army said in a statement.

"Anyone who is next to a launching cell is in danger," the IDF said.

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli troops killed three Islamic Jihad militants in southern Gaza, and on Monday, the Israeli air force killed six Hamas gunmen. The Israeli military regularly carries out attacks targeting Palestinian militants launching rockets at towns in southern Israel.

Gaza militants fired three rockets into Israel on Tuesday, the army said, including one that hit an empty kindergarten in the town of Sderot.

Hanan Greenberg contributed to this report

U.S. media curtail Iraq war coverage: study

Gee, wonder why they would curtail reporting on the war they are losing? Just don't make sense heh? Unless, of course . . . . there was something to hide? Like, that they are losing? But gosh, I thought, ah, aren't they, president Bush . . . we're making headway in Iraq, we're doing good in Iraq, that democracy in Iraq is - close at hand, the Iraqi people, these people wanted us to invade their country, only 15 US soldiers lost today, three apache helicopters fell from the sky today, wasn't shot down though, wasn't shot out of the sky or anything, mechanical problems, wasn't a missile or something no, no-one's shooting at us, they love us here, it was a roadside bomb, terrorist, terrorism, you know, our best friends, the boogie man, those, yea, . . . . we're doing we're good we're Iraq yes love us regime change, Saddam bad, Israel good, your sons and daughters are hero's - send more & blah blah blah . . . .


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. media reporting of the war in Iraq fell sharply in the second quarter of 2007, largely due to a drop in coverage of the Washington-based policy debate, a study released Monday said.

Taken together, the war's three major story lines -- the U.S. policy debate, events in Iraq and their impact on the U.S. homefront -- slipped roughly a third, to 15 percent of an index of total news coverage, down from 22 percent in the first three months of the year.

The study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism examined 18,010 stories that appeared between April 1 and June 29. Its "News Coverage Index" encompasses 48 outlets, including newspapers, radio, online, cable and network television.

The project is a research group studying and evaluating press performance. It describes itself as nonpartisan, nonideological and nonpolitical. The index is designed as an audit of a broad cross-section of U.S. news media.

The 2008 presidential campaign -- with its crowded field for the Democratic and Republican party nominations -- emerged as the top story in U.S. media in the second quarter, overtaking the Iraq policy debate, the biggest thread of the three Iraq-related storylines, the survey found.

Attention to the war dropped in all five media sectors surveyed. Network evening news, the sector that gave the war the greatest share of attention in the first quarter, scaled back more than 40 percent, from 33 percent in the first quarter to 19 percent in the second, the study showed.

On cable television, another leader in first-quarter coverage, the slide was nearly as great, from 23 percent of news reported to 14 percent -- a drop of 39 percent, the project said.

The bulk of the fall took place after May 24, when Congress approved war funding without including troop withdrawal timetables. This was widely viewed by the media as a victory for President George W. Bush in a political battle with Congress sparked by his January 10 troop "surge" announcement.

"In the aftermath, the debate itself quieted, as did coverage," the report said. Continued...

Muqtada al-Sadr: The British are retreating from Basra

Muqtada al-Sadr: The British are retreating from Basra

The British Army has been defeated in Iraq and left with no option but to retreat from the country, claims radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Violent resistance and a rising death toll among UK troops has forced a withdrawal, he said in an interview with The Independent.

"The British have given-up and they know they will be leaving Iraq soon," Mr Sadr said. "They are retreating because of the resistance they have faced. Without that, they would have stayed for much longer, there is no doubt."

The young nationalist cleric heads Iraq's largest Arab grassroots political movement, and its powerful military wing, the Mehdi army. It has clashed frequently with British forces in southern Iraq, most recently in the battle for power over the oil-rich port city of Basra. Scores of British soldiers have been killed and wounded by Sadrist militants.

"The British have realised this is not a war they should be fighting or one they can win," Mr Sadr said. "The Mehdi army has played an important role in that." He also warned that Britain's involvement in the invasion of Iraq had made the UK a less safe place to live. "The British put their soldiers in a dangerous position by sending them here but they also put the people in their own country in danger," he said. "They have made enemies among all Muslims and they now face attacks at home because of their war. That was their mistake." His comments came during two separate meetings with The Independent at the Sadr movement's headquarters in Kufa, a holy Shia city, 100 miles south of Baghdad, and site of the Grand Mosque where Mr Sadr often preaches fiery Friday sermons. The streets were eerily devoid of cars, which are, in effect, banned in an effort to prevent bombings. Senior Shia leaders are high on the list of targets for Sunni extremists.

Only two guards with AK-47 assault rifles appeared to be protecting Mr Sadr in his office, a clear sign that Kufa and the surrounding area is firmly under the control of Sadr loyalists. It is not patrolled by US troops and access is policed by Iraqi security at heavily armed roadblocks.

Mr Sadr's remarks echo those of senior British military commanders who have come to view the mission of UK forces in Iraq as finished. They have reportedly told the Prime Minister Gordon Brown there is nothing more to be achieved in southern Iraq and that troops should be redeployed to Afghanistan.

(Continues)

Who is Muqtada al-Sadr and why should you care?


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The "Hit Team" that assassinates “grunts” (your sons/daughters) who are considered as “trouble makers”

Growing discontent among the grunts here about certain very ugly stories, mostly true, of murders of soldiers and increasing suicides. Also, ‘fragging’ of dictatorial officers and NCOs are increasing.

Whenever you see ‘The death is currently under investigation’ you know it was probably either a murder by the military or a suicide. They have a small gang attached here whom no one knows anything about but very strong and enduring rumor has it that they are an official ‘hit gang’ who go around offing GIs who are viewed as trouble makers or those who might talk too much if rotated.

And one of the reasons for increasing suicides is that fact that once here, you almost always stay here or, if sent home, it’s for a very short period of time and then back into the maw of the great death machine. Any grunt who dares to bitch or, most especially, to trash mouth Bush is looking for a “sniper’s bullet’ through the head.

Last week we lost three helicopters and eleven men but I see by looking at the DoD sites that only one was reported.

I would safely say the death toll is at least double what is reported and I know why the injury lists are never, ever, published.

If the public ever saw these kids with legs, arms or faces blown off by the terrible new bombs, there would be rioting stateside. The new propaganda line is that these deadly bombs are made in Iran but they are made right here with a little help from the Saudis.

Many of the brass here believe Bush lives in a weird world that no one wants to talk about and Cheney is a flat nut. But we can not talk about any of this.

So when you read about a death being ‘under investigation,’ take that with a huge block of salt. If there was a nice, neutral country connected with Iraq, half the troops (or probably more) would desert in one weekend and then the brass would have to leave their steel and concrete bunkers and get their legs and arms blown off. And we don’t see many Congressmen’s sons over here. Webb’s son is here but he’s the only one I know of. “

12 US troops killed in Afghanistan

At least 12 US troops have been killed in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Paktika, a Taliban spokesman has said.

Taliban Spokesman Zabihollah Mojahid said that in an ambush on a US military convoy in Paktika's Bashti district, all 12 US troops who were in a military vehicle have been killed.

Afghan officials and the US-led coalition have yet to confirm the report.

Meanwhile in a statement, the occupation forces claimed that five pro-Taliban militants were killed in clashes with Afghan and coalition forces in the restive province of Helmand.

The clashes erupted when a military patrol came under attack from Taliban gunmen in the Sangin district, the statement added. The US-led coalition said there were no casualties among military forces or civilians.

LINK

Britain faces Iraq rout says US

A MILITARY adviser to President George W Bush has warned that British forces will have to fight their way out of Iraq in an “ugly and embarrassing” retreat.

Stephen Biddle, who also advises the US commander in Iraq, said Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias in the south would try to create the impression they were forcing a retreat. “They want to make it clear they have forced the British out. That means they’ll use car bombs, ambushes, RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] . . . and there will be a number of British casualties.”

The comments coincide with British military estimates that withdrawal could cost the lives of 10 to 15 soldiers.

Some British officers believe they are facing a “humiliating” retreat under fire to Kuwait or the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr.

“I regret to say that the Basra experience is set to become a major blunder in terms of military history,” said a senior officer. “The insurgents are calling the shots . . . and in a worst-case scenario will chase us out of southern Iraq.”

Gordon Brown, the prime minister, has agreed with Bush that no decision will be made to withdraw until after General David Petraeus, the US commander, delivers a report to Congress next month on the progress of the Americans’ “troop surge”.

But the British are expected to pull back to a single base at Basra airport soon in preparation for withdrawal.

Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who advised Bush on the troop surge, said Iran would use its influence with the Shi’ite Mahdi Army to exploit the situation.

“It will be a hard withdrawal. They want the image of a British defeat . . . It will be ugly and embarrassing,” he said.

The Ministry of Defence said the British were not heading for defeat. “Although the militias are trying to claim credit for ‘driving us out’, they are failing.”

Link