The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

Al Qaeda frees 300 inmates from Yemeni jail, including militants
Fox News
Al Qaeda militants in Yemen stormed the center of the coastal city of al-Mukalla early Thursday, freeing about 300 inmates, including scores of militants, Yemeni security officials said. Abdullah al Sharafi, a defense ministry official, said about a third of those ...

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UK's Cameron pledges 'controlled' immigration policy if re-elected
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:13 PM

Reuters: World News

SALFORD, England (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday promised he'd deliver a "controlled and fair" immigration policy if re-elected on May 7, seeking to neutralize attacks from the anti-EU UK Independence Party which threatens to split his vote.

Saudi Air War Over Yemen Leaves U.S. on Sidelinesby Mark Thompson
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:13 PM

TIME

When it came time to bomb Libya—both times, in fact, in 1986 and 2011—American airpower led the way. When Iraq was in the crosshairs—all three times, in 1991, 2003 and 2014—the stars and bars of the U.S. Air Force led the charge. Same thing in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria and even Iran (against oil platforms and small boats in the Persian Gulf in 1987-1988).

That history makes it almost relaxing for the U.S. military to be sitting out the latest air war launched by Saudi Arabia against the Houthi rebels now occupying a growing chunk of Yemen. The kingdom, which kicked off aerial attacks March 25, is nervous about the Iranian-backed rebels along its southern border. But Riyadh’s hardly flying solo: it has been joined by Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.

Washington shouldn’t feel left out, according to Anthony Zinni, the retired four-star Marine who headed U.S. Central Command, which oversees the region, from 1997 to 2000. “Ever since the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, we’ve been pushing to get some sort of alliance in the region,” he says. “We wanted them to come together and basically find a way where we could support them but not have to lead them all the time.”

Zinni says the Saudis have acted because they hate the Houthis, hate the Iranians, and hate the idea of an ungoverned state next door. “They will not tolerate a Houthis-led Yemen on their southern border,” he adds. “And they’re pissed that the Iranians support them.” Saudi Arabia has attacked the Houthis before, he notes, but never this extensively.

Precise details about what each country allied in the battle against the Houthis is doing remain murky. But it’s obvious a lot of the air attacks on Houthi sites, in what Riyadh has dubbed Operation Decisive Storm, involve U.S.-built warplanes dropping U.S.-built bombs.

Much of Saudi Arabia’s air force consists of U.S.-built warplanes. It says it has dedicated 100 to the fight, and lost a St. Louis-built F-15 involved in the campaign March 26 (both pilots rescued by a U.S. helicopter from the Gulf of Aden). Bahrain has earmarked up to 12 Fort Worth-built F-16s, with Jordan and Morocco contributing six apiece. Kuwait reportedly has dispatched 15 St. Louis-built F-18s to the battle.

But the U.S. role is decidedly limited. “Our current position is that we will help the Saudis with intelligence and logistics and planning support,” Army General Lloyd Austin, Zinni’s successor as chief of Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee March 26. That’s not necessarily a bad thing: the U.S. has been selling weapons and providing training to many nations in the region for decades. Most Americans have no interest in wading into another war. President Obama—with his pledge not to deploy U.S. ground combat troops in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria—shares their view (although the U.S. has been bombing ISIS since August).

While U.S. intelligence has begun flowing to the Saudis, logistical help remains largely in the planning stages, U.S. officials say. U.S. intelligence is being funneled to the Saudis through the Combined Air and Space Operations Center at the major U.S. al Udeid air base in Qatar—the same base conducting the daily air strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria. “Right now it’s almost exclusively intel—intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” a U.S. military officer says of the American aid.

“Log[istical] support hasn’t really kicked in yet,” he adds. “When it does it will be mostly refueling and spare parts. It’s not clear yet where the [aerial refueling] tankers would one from. Presumably al Udied.”

Without the U.S. in the lead, Washington can’t start and stop bombing. But it retains some control: it can control the flow of spare parts for the warplanes it built and the bombs they drop.

Of course, one of the advantages of being in charge is calling the shots, and knowing why they’re being called. When it comes to the Saudi effort against the Houthis, Austin acknowledged at that armed services committee session that he’s all but clueless. “I don’t currently know the specific goals and objectives of the Saudi campaign,” Austin said. “I would have to know that to be able to assess the likelihood of success.”

When you’re out of the loop, you also don’t know what’s going to happen next. The Saudi defense chief informed him of the impending strikes “the day of the attacks,” Austin said, “so it was not much before that they actually started the attacks.”

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Help Your Poor, Forget Falklands, Argentina Tells Britainby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:12 PM

Voice Of America

Britain should spend more helping its own poor than on defending the Falkland Islands, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez said Thursday, responding to a recently announced budget increase aimed at protecting the contested archipelago. Britain's government said last week that it would reinforce its military presence on the Falklands to counter the "very live threat'' posed by Argentina. Fernandez, in a speech honoring soldiers who died in her country's failed...

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2 NYC women arrested on charges they plotted to build bomb - 13WHAM-TV
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:12 PM

2 NYC women arrested on charges they plotted to build bomb
13WHAM-TV
NEW YORK (AP) -- Two women arrested on charges they plotted to wage violent jihad by building a homemade bomb are being held without bail after a brief appearance in federal court in New York. The complaint unsealed Thursday names Noelle ...

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Saudis in Martial Mood Over Yemen as Salman Turns to Hard Power - Bloomberg
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:11 PM

Bloomberg

Saudis in Martial Mood Over Yemen as Salman Turns to Hard Power
Bloomberg
Saudi airwaves are full of the war in Yemen. On television, fighter jets soar into the sky, soldiers march in columns against a backdrop of the national flag, and King Salman confers with his army chiefs. Patriotic songs blare from the radio. Salman's reign, not ...

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Drug-Resistant Food Poisoning Lands In The U.S. - Wyoming Public Media
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:10 PM

Wyoming Public Media

Drug-Resistant Food Poisoning Lands In The U.S.
Wyoming Public Media
Shigella is a huge problem around the world. The bacteria infect about 100 million people each year and kill about 600,000. CDC/Science Source. This time last year, a painful new virus was knocking on our doorstep. Travelers were bringing chikungunya to ...

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A Forbidden Relationship, From the Other Side of the World - New York Times
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:10 PM

New York Times

A Forbidden Relationship, From the Other Side of the World
New York Times
On the day she and I met in a Chicago bar, her father had been threatened by terrorists and rescued by commandos in the Mumbai attacks halfway around the world. It was so loud at the bar that I didn't catch any of this. We talked about Lady Gaga. Lady ...

Imported drug-resistant stomach bug spreading in US - MiamiHerald.com
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:09 PM

MiamiHerald.com

Imported drug-resistant stomach bug spreading in US
MiamiHerald.com
A drug-resistant strain of a nasty stomach bug made its way into the U.S. and spread, causing more than 200 illnesses since last May, health officials said Thursday. Many cases were traced to people who had recently traveled to the Dominican Republic, India ...

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US commander accuses China of creating artificial landmass in South China Sea - Times of India
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:09 PM

Times of India

US commander accuses China of creating artificial landmass in South China Sea
Times of India
BEIJING: A US navy commander has accused China of creating an "artificial landmass" in the disputed waters of the South China Sea. "China is building artificial land by pumping sand on to live coral reefs — some of them submerged — and paving over ...
US Navy Alarmed At Beijing's 'Great Wall Of Sand' In South China SeaFox News (blog)

Why are superpowers squabbling over rocks in the South China…

Foreign Policy (blog)
China is taking the Pacific, one fake island at a timeChicago Tribune
The Korea Observer-Philippine Star
all 43 news articles »

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Argentinian president Fernández orders declassification of Falklands war files by AFP in Buenos Aires
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:09 PM

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner gives 30-day deadline to make documents public
Argentina seeks to control islands that are currently British territory

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina has ordered the declassification of all secret documents on the 1982 Falklands war with Britain.

Speaking on the 33rd anniversary of Argentina’s invasion of the disputed south Atlantic islands, which it calls the Malvinas, Kirchner said on Thursday the defence ministry had 30 days to make all files on the conflict public.

Prison guards with KKK plotted to kill inmate: Officials - Toronto Sun
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:07 PM

Toronto Sun

Prison guards with KKK plotted to kill inmate: Officials
Toronto Sun
TAMPA, Fla. - Florida officials on Thursday said undercover investigators had broken up a murder scheme involving Ku Klux Klan members working in state prisons, announcing the arrests of three men who intended to kill a released black prison inmate.

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Florida prison guards charged in murder plot - KSPR
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:05 PM

World News - Breaking International News And Headlines | Sky News

Florida prison guards charged in murder plot
KSPR
They used to do the guarding at Florida prisons. Now they're the one's behind bars. More from KSPR.com. What's in the Iran nuclear deal? 6 key points · Al-Shabaab's blood legacy with Kenya · Could military force still be used on Iran? Wade injures knee as ...

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China's Ex-Spy Boss Zhou Charged Over Secrets
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:03 PM

Labelled a "traitor" and also accused of bribery, Zhou Yongkang is the most senior Chinese official to face trial in decades.

Argentina-UK conflict reignites over new found Oil and Gas in Falklands by The European Union Times
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:02 PM

The European Union Times - World News, Breaking News

A group of British exploration companies have found oil and gas in an area north of the Falkland Islands. The Argentine government has threatened to challenge all exploration and drilling efforts in court.

The discoveries by the Zebedee exploration well were described by companies involved as “better than expected”.

The oil explorers said they found 27.9 meters of net-oil bearing reservoir and 18.5 meters of net gas-bearing reservoir. The license area being explored is 40 percent owned by Falklands Oil and Gas, 36 percent by Premiere Oil and 24 percent by Rockhopper Exploration.

“This is a fantastic start to the 2015 Falklands drilling campaign and provides early proof of the significant remaining potential of the North Falklands Basin,” said Samuel Moody, chief executive at Rockhopper, in a statement.

The oil was found by the Eirik Raude floating drilling rig as part of an eight month exploration campaign. After this it is due to drill an exploration well at the Elaine/Isobel fan complex in the southern part of the North Falkland Basin. The rig will then move to sites to the east and south of the Falkland Islands.

Argentina has predictably not been happy about the exploration activity, which is bound to further inflame tensions over the island’s disputed ownership.

The Malvinas, as the the Falklands are called in Argentina, Islands Affairs Secretary Daniel Filmus told the state run agency Telam that the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Planning Ministry are going to carry out a joint legal case against the oil and gas exploration.

“A new offshore oil platform has just arrived in the islands to carry out some of the most important exploration efforts to try to find hydrocarbons in the area, which carries a huge environmental risk. We want the owners of the companies to be tried according to Argentine laws and international statutes,” Filmus said, as cited by the Buenos Aires Herald.

Argentina claims that drilling for oil off the Falkland Islands is illegal and the Argentinian embassy in London issued a statement in November 2013 that British oil executives face up to 15 years in prison and fines equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil as well as the confiscation of equipment and any hydrocarbons extracted.

The UK Foreign Office disputed the claim and said “the UK government unequivocally supports the right of the Falkland Islanders to develop their natural resources for their own economic benefit.”

As tensions continue to mount over the islands, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon announced in March an increase in the island’s defenses, including boosting the 1,200 troops already stationed there and modernizing the Rapier anti-aircraft missile battery.

Source

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Inmate To Be Freed After 30 Years On Death Row
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:02 PM

World News - Breaking International News And Headlines | Sky News

Anthony Ray Hinton was found guilty of two murders but now prosecutors say the evidence linking him to the crimes is insufficient.

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The best recent crime novels – review roundup by Laura Wilson
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 2:02 PM

Disclaimer by Renée Knight, What She Left by TR Richmond, A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson, The Burning Man by Christopher Fowler, Soil by Jamie Kornegay

Documentary-maker Catherine Ravenscroft is successful, happily married to Robert, and, despite the fact that their son, Nicholas, is something of an underachiever, things are going pretty well – until they move into their new home and Catherine spots a mysterious self‑published book on her bedside table. Opening it, she is horrified to find she is reading about herself, with details of an incident that she has kept secret for 20 years. This is the intriguing premise of Disclaimer (Doubleday, £12.99), the assured debut novel from scriptwriter Renée Knight. The roman à clef within the book is calledThe Perfect Stranger, and it tells the story of a young man who had an affair with Catherine while on holiday in Spain, and drowned saving the life of the then five-year-old Nicholas. The book ends with Catherine’s imagined death, and it is clear that its pseudonymous author is bent on revenge. As their lives become increasingly entangled, Catherine’s world begins to fall apart, as does that of her tormentor, in this strong and compelling portrait of two individuals who are forced to confront unpalatable, even unbearable, truths.

Iran Nuclear Deal: World Reacts With Praise, Caution and Criticism - NBCNews.com
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:58 PM

NBCNews.com

Iran Nuclear Deal: World Reacts With Praise, Caution and Criticism
NBCNews.com
President Barack Obama: The deal made the world safer and "cut off every pathway" to an Iranian nuclear weapon, the president said. "If Iran cheats, the world will know it," he said. "If we see something suspicious, we will inspect it." The agreement ...
Iran nuclear framework is a 'grave danger' to the world, Netanyahu saysCNN International
Iran agrees to nuclear restrictions in framework deal with world powersWashington Post
President Rouhani: Iran Will Honor Framework For Nuclear Agreement If World ...Huffington Post
ABC News -Yahoo News -Newsweek
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Public Saudi welcome for Iran nuclear deal masks private unease - Reuters
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:57 PM

NDTV

Public Saudi welcome for Iran nuclear deal masks private unease
Reuters
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, whose late King Abdullah once urged the United States to "cut off the head of the snake" by attacking Iran's atomic program, has publicly welcomed a framework nuclear deal with Tehran, but in private mistrust remains deep.
Saudi Air War Over Yemen Leaves US on SidelinesTIME
Saudis watch Iran talks with own atomic plans in mindTODAYonline

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US Economy Gained 126000 Jobs in March, an Abrupt Slowdown in Hiring - New York Times
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:56 PM

New York Times

US Economy Gained 126000 Jobs in March, an Abrupt Slowdown in Hiring
New York Times
The labor market's yearlong streak of robust monthly job creation was broken on Friday with the Labor Department's report that employers added just 126,000 workers in March, a marked slowdown in hiring that echoed earlier signs that the economy slowed ...
US employers back off, adding only 126000 workers in March; jobless rate ...Minneapolis Star Tribune
Pace of US hiring weakens, with just 126000 jobs added in MarchTampabay.com
Ouch! Job creation big letdown in MarchCNBC
CNNMoney -WXIX -WUFT
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US Arrests Focus on Terrorism Fightby webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:55 PM

Voice Of America

Disturbing allegations were contained in court papers describing the latest homegrown terror plot thwarted by the FBI and the New York Police Department. Noelle Velentzas and Asia Siddiqui were arrested at their Queens homes early Thursday following a sting operation using an undercover officer wearing a wire. The officer searching the homes recovered items including three gas tanks, a pressure cooker, fertilizer, jihadist literature and handwritten notes on the recipes for bomb making,...

Could military force still be used against Iran?
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:53 PM

CNN.Com - World

Does Thursday's framework deal on Iran's nuclear program take the military option off the table?

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British student ordered to leave Russia as media speculate she was spying by Alec Luhn in Moscow
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:53 PM

Laura Sumner, a history graduate from the University of Nottingham, officially told to leave because she held a commercial rather than a student visa

A British student has become the latest foreign researcher to be deported from Russia as media speculated that she was spying.

Laura Sumner, a history graduate from the University of Nottingham, has been ordered to leave Russia within 10 days for a visa violation, reported LifeNews, a site known for its close ties to the authorities.

Lithuania to increase military spending to counter Russian threat
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:52 PM

Reuters: World News

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuania, spooked by Russian military assertiveness, outlined plans on Friday to raise defense spending by a third in 2016, contributing the highest share of its economy to defense since it joined NATO in 2004.

Reports: Clinton campaign headquarters chosen in Brooklyn - USA TODAY
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:51 PM

USA TODAY

Reports: Clinton campaign headquarters chosen in Brooklyn
USA TODAY
Hillary Clinton speaks at a women's equality event in New York. (Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images). In a signal that the launch of the Hillary Clinton presidential bid may be getting very close, a lease for office space in Brooklyn that would house her campaign ...
Hillary Clinton's campaign signs lease for Brooklyn HeightsNew York Daily News
Team Clinton signs lease for Brooklyn officeWPTZ The Champlain Valley
Clinton signs lease for campaign headquarters in BrooklynDeath and Taxes
Slate Magazine (blog) -Daily Mail -Elle.com (blog)
all 31 news articles »

Thousands displaced by Mexico's drug wars: government is 'deaf and blind' to our plight by Jo Tuckman in Guamúchil
Friday April 3rd, 2015 at 1:51 PM