-
-
US to deliver aid to tense Georgian port of Poti
In a direct challenge to Russia, the United States announced Tuesday it intends to deliver humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Georgian port city of Poti, which Russian troops still control through checkpoints on the city's outskirts.
The aid will be delivered Wednesday by ship, a U.S. embassy spokesman said.
"The heightened activity of NATO ships in the Black Sea perplexes us," Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said in Moscow.
"We can confirm that US ship-borne humanitarian aid will be delivered to Poti tomorrow," Guice said.
In Moscow, the deputy head of the Russian military's general staff lashed out at the U.S. naval operation.
"We are worried" about aid the way aid is delivered on warships, Nogoviysyn said. "This is devilish."
"This aid could be bought at any flea market," he added. In a direct challenge to Russia, the United States announced Tuesday it intends to deliver humanitarian aid to the beleaguered Georgia... more -
Northwest Passage is navigable again
A modest recovery of the Arctic ice cover had been predicted for this summer after a cool winter, but accelerating ice loss this month has increased the chance that 2008's melt could come close to last year's. A modest recovery of the Arctic ice cover had been predicted for this summer after a cool winter, but accelerating ice loss this month... more
-
Detainees sealed in pepper spray cell
SIX American sailors working as prison camp guards in Iraq face courts martial for abusing detainees, some of whom were sealed in a cell with pepper spray.
The US Navy said seven other sailors were given non-judicial punishments over the incident, which took place on May 14 at Camp Bucca, the vast desert camp in southern Iraq where the US military houses 18,000 of its 21,000 prisoners.
"Two detainees suffered minor abrasions as a result of the alleged assaults, eight others were confined overnight in a detainee housing unit which was sprayed with riot control agent and then the ventilation secured," the Navy said in a statement.
Navy Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Commander Jane Campbell said the riot control agent was pepper spray. None of the victims required medical attention apart from the two who were beaten, she said.
"The day that this all took place there had actually been some unrest at the camp. There had been some detainee-on-guard issues, which ranged from spitting to throwing bodily functions at some guards," she said.
The six facing courts martial have remained with their unit at the prison camp but were removed from duty.
"They are no longer doing the mission of guards," Commander Campbell said.
The courts martial will begin at Camp Bucca within the next 30 days.
The seven guards already subjected to the less-severe system of non-judicial punishment had mainly faced accusations that they failed to report the incident, rather than being accused of taking part themselves, she said.
Two had their charges dismissed and the rest were given reductions in rank, with some also docked pay or confined to base for 45 days.
Use of pepper spray in warfare is banned by international treaties on chemical weapons, but many governments say members of their armed forces are permitted to use it in war zones for law-enforcement duties. SIX American sailors working as prison camp guards in Iraq face courts martial for abusing detainees, some of whom were sealed in a ce... more -
Mexican military losing drug war support
OJINAGA, Mexico - This hardscrabble Mexican border town welcomed 400 soldiers when they arrived four months ago to stop a wave of drug violence that brought daytime gunbattles to its main street.
But then the soldiers themselves turned violent, townspeople say, ransacking homes and even torturing people.
The frustration boiled over this week. More than 1,000 people marched through the streets carrying signs begging President Felipe Calderon for protection from his own troops.
Ojinaga, across the Rio Grande from Presidio, Texas, is not alone. People in cities on the front lines of Mexico's battle against trafficking say they are increasingly frustrated with military tactics — a shift in opinion that threatens to undermine Calderon's nationwide crackdown.
Reports of abuse
Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says it has documented more than 600 cases of abuse since Calderon sent 20,000 soldiers across the nation to take back territory controlled by drug lords.
Mexico's attorney general argues the cases are isolated incidents. The army says it investigates all allegations and punishes those found to have to violated the law.
But many people say the soldiers have become part of the problem.
A poll published June 30 by the newspaper El Diario of Ciudad Juarez found that only 18 percent of those living in Juarez completely approved of the army's presence. Two months earlier, the number was 65 percent. The poll, by Confirme, had a margin of error of 5 percentage points.
"These guys don't care about anything," said Lalo Lucero, 44, as he watched soldiers in the city detain a neighborhood youth recently. "They came into my house without a warrant, searched through everything and told me to sit on a couch and not say anything."
Battles between rival drug cartels killed 4,000 people nationwide in the first 18 months of Calderon's presidency. At least 10 people have been gunned down this year in Ojinaga, a town of 20,000.
"I'm sure that the army has come here to fight a war against the drug traffickers, and we are very much in agreement with that," said Mayor Cesar Carrasco. "But we also hope that all the authorities will respect the individual rights of every Ojinaga citizen."
Sharing stories
At Wednesday's march, protesters swapped stories of masked soldiers breaking down doors and ransacking homes.
"I'm not against what they do. I'm against how they do it," said Martha Leyva, 44. She said her family was awakened one night in May when soldiers with machine guns but no warrant broke down her door. They said an anonymous call had directed them to her house.
Janeth Lopez, a 28-year-old hairdresser, said she came home last month to find eight masked soldiers rifling through her belongings.
"If they come and knock on the door of your house and you have nothing to fear, you're going to open the door and tell them, 'Come in and look around,'" Lopez said. "But if you're up to no good, you're going to run away."
Case of 'suffering'
Roberto, a 25-year-old man who didn't want his last name used for fear of retribution, said he, five other men and a teenage boy were returning from a nearby town recently when they were stopped by soldiers.
Roberto said they were beaten, bound, blindfolded and taken to a military camp.
He said soldiers wrapped their heads in plastic bags, beat and kicked them, and hung some of the members of the group upside down. Soldiers also forced some of them — including Roberto's 20-year-old cousin — to drop their pants, and then applied pliers to one man's testicles, Roberto said.
"It was always the same question: 'Where did you hide the drugs? Where did you hide the drugs?'" Roberto said. "I told them, 'If I knew, I would say instead of suffering through all this.' "
He said he and his friends were released without charge and reported their detention to human rights officials. OJINAGA, Mexico - This hardscrabble Mexican border town welcomed 400 soldiers when they arrived four months ago to stop a wave of drug... more -
Suicide blast kills 8 U.S.-allied forces
BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber killed at least eight people Thursday night at a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied Sunni guards northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
The woman blew herself up near a checkpoint in central Baqouba, a police officer said.
At least eight guards were killed and 24 other people were wounded, according to the officer. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber killed at least eight people Thursday night at a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied Sunni guards north... more -
War Video Warning:Graphic
7 years!
I have gathered an exhibition of graphic and bloody videos. 30 in all.
I believe you'll find them sickening and hard to watch.
I encourage you to view as many as possible go gain insight into the issue I'm presenting.
Watch and learn about the reality of war.
Barack Obama and John McCain want this to continue...
How can anyone see the sense or goodness in this.
Please add any links you have.
Let others know your thoughts by commenting below. 7 years! I have gathered an exhibition of graphic and bloody videos. 30 in all. ... more -
Our American Arrogance
A US navy ship fires at a local merchandise vessel in the Suez canal because "they told them to stop and they kept moving" !!!!!
Are you kidding me??? One man was killed. What are we people? Do we think we own the world? Because we are afraid of possible terrorist vessel, we shoot and kill whoever comes near us if they don't stop? It is not even in our land, it is on their land.......
For God's sake, when will this culture of arrogance and supremacy going to stop????? A US navy ship fires at a local merchandise vessel in the Suez canal because "they told them to stop and they kept moving" !... more -
US Navy gets big powerful gun
The world's most powerful functional rail gun capable of accelerating projectiles up to Mach 8 has been delivered to the Navy. The new rail gun is a 32-megajoule Electro-Magnetic Laboratory Rail Gun. The world's most powerful functional rail gun capable of accelerating projectiles up to Mach 8 has been delivered to the Navy. Th... more
-
POLITICS-US: Official Version of Naval Incident Starts to Unravel
"Despite the official and media portrayal of the incident in the Strait of Hormuz early Monday morning as a serious threat to U.S. ships from Iranian speedboats that nearly resulted in a "battle at sea", new information over the past three days suggests that the incident did not involve such a threat and that no U.S. commander was on the verge of firing at the Iranian boats.
"The new information that appears to contradict the original version of the incident includes the revelation that U.S. officials spliced the audio recording of an alleged Iranian threat onto to a videotape of the incident. That suggests that the threatening message may not have come in immediately after the initial warning to Iranian boats from a U.S. warship, as appears to do on the video.
"Also unraveling the story is testimony from a former U.S. naval officer that non-official chatter is common on the channel used to communicate with the Iranian boats and testimony from the commander of the U.S. 5th fleet that the commanding officers of the U.S. warships involved in the incident never felt the need to warn the Iranians of a possible use of force against them."
More at link. "Despite the official and media portrayal of the incident in the Strait of Hormuz early Monday morning as a serious threat to U.S... more -
US 'Comes Close To Firing On Iranian Ships'
Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats reportedly threatened three US Navy ships in international waters, around the Strait of Hormuz, in what's being called a "serious provocation" and American forces were on the verge of firing on the vessels after being "harrassed and provoked", according to Pentagon officials. As the captain of one of the US ships was about to give the order to fire, the Iranian vessels suddenly turned and sped away.
According to US Military officials, the five Iranian ships made "threatening" moves and in one case came within 200 yards of a US ship. The US military also claim the Iranians directly threatened them.
In one radio transmission, the Iranians allegedly told the US Navy: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes."
In the end, no shots were fired. The Iranian government have given no response so far.
(The ship pictured is the USS Hopper, one of the US vessels reported to have been threatened). Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats reportedly threatened three US Navy ships in international waters, around the Strait of Hormuz, in w... more
-
related topics
US Navy
Contributors (46)
US Navy
