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

First the power goes out. It's not clear what's gone wrong, but cars are starting to jam the streets — the traffic light are down. And something seems to be going haywire with the subways, too. Of course, that hasn't happened yet, but it may not be as crazy as it sounds.

UN troops accused of 3 rapes in Central African Republic
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:53 PM

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. says three young females, including a minor, have accused U.N. peacekeepers of raping them in the Central African Republic. The announcement comes a week after the U.N. chief fired the head of the peacekeeping mission there over the handling of a series of similar ...

Generator Failure Led to Drone Crash, Investigation Finds
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:52 PM

Defense News - Home

A generator problem and electrical failure led to the crash of a drone in February, an Air Force investigation announced Wednesday.

UN to let Iran inspect alleged nuclear work site
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:52 PM

Iran, in an unusual arrangement, will be allowed to use its own experts to inspect a site it allegedly used to develop nuclear arms under a secret agreement with the U.N. agency that normally carries out such work, according to a document seen by The Associated Press.

James C. Trainor, Jr. Named Assistant Director of Cyber Division - Federal Bureau of Investigation (press release) (blog)
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:51 PM

Fbi - Google News

James C. Trainor, Jr. Named Assistant Director of Cyber Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation (press release) (blog)
FBI Director James B. Comey has named James C. Trainor, Jr. as assistant director of the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Trainor most recently served as deputy assistant director of the Cyber Operations Branch. Mr. Trainor ...

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Russian Regional Government Bans Books about WWII by British Historians by Jennifer Kerns
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:51 PM

A regional government in Russia has banned the books of two British historians, claiming that their work spreads Nazi propaganda.

According to E1, a Russian news source, officials in the Sverdlovsk region said that books by Antony Beevor and Sir John Keegan “propagandize stereotypes formed during the Third Reich.”

Before the start of every school year, officials check the content of libraries and computers in Sverdlovsk. Since this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, officials paid special attention to “literature with information about the Great Patriotic War,” as it is known in Russia.

“Many historians, both Russians and foreign experts, think that books by authors like John Keegan and Anthony Beevor mistakenly interpret information about the Second World War, contradict historical documents, and are imbued with the Nazi propaganda stereotypes,” E1 reported.

Officials in the regional government claimed that Beevor’s books were “noticed by the global academic community due to the fact that they contain scenes of cruelty and violence from Soviet troops to the German population. The author’s most famous contention is that women in Germany were subject to mass rape from our [Soviet] soldiers.”

“The news agency ‘Rosbalt’ published the opinion that these books develop Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda myth,” the officials said.

In an interview with the Guardian, Beevor lamented the attempt to maintain a single version of the war.

“In some ways I am amazed that it has taken them so long,” he told the Guardian. “What depresses me the most is that once again we are faced with a government trying to impose its own version of history. I am fundamentally opposed to all such attempts to dictate a truth, whether it concerns denial of the Holocaust or the Armenian genocide, or the ‘sacred victory’ of May 1945.”

Beevor is known for his bestselling works Stalingrad, Berlin: The Downfall, and The Second World War.
The organization responsible for publishing Beevor’s books, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, is one of 12 groups currently under investigation after being placed on the Russian government’s “patriotic stop-list.”

If an organization is found to be “undesirable,” it will be banned in Russia.

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Russia's summer of intrigue: political trials take center stage
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:51 PM

It's the summer of political trials in Russia. An Estonian officer allegedly abducted by Russia received 15 years in prison for espionage on Wednesday. Hours later, prosecutors in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don requested 23 years in prison for a Ukrainian filmmaker charged with terrorism.

Russia Agrees to Sell S-300 Missiles to Iran by Glynn Cosker
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:50 PM

In Homeland Security

By Glynn Cosker
Managing Editor, In Homeland Security

Russia appears ready to sell advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran, in spite of international sanctions banning the arms shipments to Iran.

The post Russia Agrees to Sell S-300 Missiles to Iran appeared first on In Homeland Security.

N.J. House Democrat Follows Menendez, Announces Opposition to Iran Nuclear Deal by Morgan Chalfant
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:50 PM

Rep. Donald Norcross (D., N.J.) joined fellow New Jersey Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez in voicing opposition to the Iran nuclear agreement Tuesday.

The freshman congressman came out against the deal during remarks to the Congregation Sons of Israel in Cherry Hill, echoing Menendez in insisting that “a better deal can be achieved.”

“The Iranian regime is a known sponsor of terrorism that has made no secret of its hatred for both the Unites States and Israel,” Norcross explained Tuesday. “Providing relief for them by lifting economic sanctions now essentially rewards past behavior and infuses billions of dollars into the their economy that could be used to buy more weapons and outsource more terror.”

“Moreover, the deal does not provide enough assurance that Iran will be restricted from developing or acquiring nuclear weapons. So this windfall may ultimately help fund their nuclear ambitions,” he added.

Having penned a letter to President Obama in advance of the finalized deal voicing concerns about the importance of transparency and the need for “intrusive inspections” to be conducted in Iranian facilities, Norcross concluded that agreement announced in July “ultimately falls short of the guarantees necessary to assure the American people that it will do more good than harm.”

The New Jersey lawmaker allegedly met with Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry, among others, in order to make a final decision on the deal during the congressional review period.

“I’ve listened. I’ve studied the issues. And, after careful consideration, I must vote against this deal.We all know no deal is perfect or iron-clad. I’m not looking for perfection, but I do believe that a better deal can be achieved,” Norcross told the crowd in New Jersey.

Norcross is the 12th Democratic member of the House to oppose the nuclear deal, according to The Hill. Menendez became the second Democratic senator to do so, following Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) who made public his disapproval of the deal earlier this month.

Congressional lawmakers, who have until mid-September to review the agreement, would have to pass a resolution to kill the deal, which would need two-thirds majority support in order to override a veto from Obama.

U.S. Withdrawing Patriot Missiles from Turkey by Jack Caravelli
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:50 PM

The U.S. Army will withdraw two Patriot air defense missile batteries and their approximately 300 support personnel from Turkey in October, according to a joint announcement by the U.S. embassy in Ankara and the Turkish government.

The joint statement said that, “the Patriot missiles will be redeployed to the United States for critical modernization upgrades” and noted that “the U.S. and NATO commitment to the defense of its allies—including Turkey—are steadfast.”

The missile batteries—each battery can be comprised of 16 launchers—were deployed on the Turkey-Syria border in 2013 to defend against possible Syrian missile attacks.

A defense official said deployment of Patriots was mainly a political gesture of support for the Turkish government. However, as Syria’s military is believed to have expended most or all its Scud missiles, Pentagon leaders said the anti-missile systems could be withdrawn without affecting regional security.

Only one Syrian Scud missile landed near the Turkish border during the Patriot deployment, the official said.

Germany sent Turkey Patriot missile batteries in the same year in conjunction with the U.S. deployment. The German government also announced that it will withdraw the missiles this fall.

The Patriot missile defense system, supported by ground-based radar, is effective against small, fast flying missiles as well as Scud missiles, a mainstay weapon deployed widely in the Middle East and Asia.

During two years of deployment in Turkey, the Patriots were never fired and served primarily in the eyes of some Pentagon officials as nothing more than a symbolic sign of U.S. support to the Turkish government, which was shocked by the June 2012 downing of a Turkish jet by Syrian forces.

Turkish concerns were further exacerbated by Syria’s use of missiles in 2012 against insurgents operating near the Turkish border.

After scheduled modernization upgrades and personnel rest in the United States, the batteries can be redeployed to other missions.

Reports indicate that the United States withheld the announcement until it had secured Turkish consent to send six F-16 fighter aircraft to Turkey as part of a plan to establish a “safe zone” about 60 miles along the Turkish border in Aleppo Province, in order to avoid a possible Turkish perception of a weakening U.S. commitment to the country’s defense against the Assad regime.

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Iranian inspectors will control review of secret nuke siteby Dave Boyer
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:49 PM

In a development sure to incite more opposition in Congress to the Obama administration's nuclear deal, Iran is being granted the rare benefit of using its own experts to inspect a site where Tehran allegedly worked on atomic weapons.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the condition is part of ...

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Undercover FBI agent tapes of KKK member played at death-ray trial - Palm Beach Post
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:49 PM

Fbi - Google News

Palm Beach Post

Undercover FBI agent tapes of KKK member played at death-ray trial
Palm Beach Post
The Times-Union of Albany, N.Y., reported that Chris Barker, leader of the Loyal White Knights of the KKK and undercover agent for the FBI, recorded a conversation he had in 2012 with Glendon Scott Crawford, who came to Barker in North Carolina to gain ...
Prosecutor: Crawford explained his plot to undercover FBI he thought were KKKWNYT

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U.N. To Let Iran Use Own Experts to Inspect Alleged Nuclear Work Site by Morgan Chalfant
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:47 PM

An apparent draft of one of the secret side agreements to the Iran nuclear deal indicates that Tehran will be permitted to use its own experts to inspect the Parchin nuclear site believed to have housed nuclear arms development.

The Associated Press obtained the document, which an anonymous official described as a draft of an agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that does not differ much from the final version. The IAEA is the U.N. agency responsible for ensuring that Tehran abides by the stipulations in the finalized deal.

The secret agreements between Iran and the IAEA–of which there are at least two–have to do with the inspection of Iran’s Parchin military facility as well as the extent to which Tehran must admit to the details of its alleged nuclear weapons program.

Despite repeated calls from lawmakers, President Obama has refused to provide Congress with the details of the secret deals.

The AP reports:

Any IAEA member country must give the agency some insight into its nuclear program. Some countries are required to do no more than give a yearly accounting of the nuclear material they possess. But nations—like Iran—suspected of possible proliferation are under greater scrutiny that can include stringent inspections.

But the agreement diverges from normal inspection procedures between the IAEA and a member country by essentially ceding the agency’s investigative authority to Iran. It allows Tehran to employ its own experts and equipment in the search for evidence for activities that it has consistently denied—trying to develop nuclear weapons.

The document suggests that IAEA officials will merely monitor Iranian experts as they inspect the Parchin site and provide the U.N. agency with photos and videos taken only of areas that Iran has not deemed off-limits because of military implications.

Iranian technicians are also to perform the sampling of weapons development work, which is limited to seven samples inside the facility building.

In the face of criticism, the Obama administration has denied that the nuclear deal is built on the trust of the Iranians.

Multiple GOP lawmakers have sounded the alarm regarding the secret agreements between Tehran and the IAEA, accusing Obama of violating the law by denying Congress access to the details of the side deals.

Before the final deal was reached in Vienna, Obama signed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which requires congressional lawmakers view all documents of the nuclear agreement–specifically including those reached on the “side.”

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Second airship launched in test of missile defense systemby DAVID DISHNEAU
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:47 PM

On Wednesday, The North American Aerospace Defense Command launched the second of two helium-filled airships near Baltimore to test an East Coast missile defense system. The launch at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground completes the aerial part of the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or ...

'Completely betrayed': An investigation into the insider attack that killed a 2-star general
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:46 PM

The family gathered at the Pentagon for a private briefing on how an Afghan soldier fatally shot their loved one, Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, the highest-ranking American officer killed in a combat zone since the Vietnam War. Among the conclusions: The shooting could not have been foreseen or prevented, and there was no negligence on the part of any military leader. Family members were furious.

Russia planting new anti-aircraft missiles in Arcticby Kellan Howell
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:45 PM

Russia is moving new, specially modified air-defense systems that can withstand harsh arctic environments to key areas along its border with Norway and the U.S., the U.S. Army's Foreign Military Studies Office (FSMO) said in its August report.

According to the report, the Kremlin will place short-to-medium range ...

NATO Warns Pro-Russia Rebels Against More Ukraine Land Grabs
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:40 PM

Agence France-Presse 3:58 p.m. EDT August 19, 2015

Pro-Russian separatists of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic sit atop a self-propelled gun on May 9 during the Victory Day parade in Donetsk.(Photo: Aleksey Flippov/AFP via Getty)

BRUSSELS — NATO on Wednesday warned pro-Russian separatists against grabbing more land in eastern Ukraine and stressed Moscow has a “special responsibility” to help restore peace as fighting escalates.

It said the members of the 28-nation, US-led alliance expressed “their serious concern about the recent sharp escalation of violence” when they met in Brussels.

“Russia has a special responsibility to find a political solution,” NATO acting spokeswoman Carmen Romero said in a statement.

“Any attempt by the Russian-backed separatists to take over more of Ukraine’s territory would be unacceptable to the international community,” she said.

The rebels currently control parts of Ukraine’s Lugansk and Donetsk regions and have threatened to expand their holdings further westwards.

The NATO allies stressed the need for all sides to “de-escalate tensions and exercise restraint” while calling for “full implementation” of the peace accords reached in Minsk in February.

It said monitors from Europe’s OSCE mission must be able to “do their job safely and without restrictions” after the organization said they faced “unprecedented” harassment during the spike in violence, mostly from the separatists.

“NATO stands firm in our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it said.

It renewed its support for “an independent, sovereign and stable Ukraine” that will pursue the path of democracy as the best way to ensure security in the Euro-Atlantic area.

It vowed to continuing following events closely.

Ukraine’s government troops have been fighting pro-Russian separatists since April last year, which has claimed the lives of nearly 7,000 people.

While the conflict eased after the February truce agreement, fighting has intensified in recent days.

The Western-backed Kiev government and the insurgents on Monday reported the deaths of at lest 10 soldiers and civilians, the worst bloodshed in more than a month.

The fighting has stirred the highest tensions since the Cold War ended more than two decades ago as the West accuses Russia of not only arming the rebels but sending in troops to support them. Moscow denies the charges.

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NATO Warns Pro-Russia Rebels Against More Ukraine Land Grabs
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:39 PM

Defense News - Home

NATO on Wednesday warned pro-Russian separatists against grabbing more land in eastern Ukraine and stressed Moscow has a “special responsibility” to help restore peace as fighting escalates.

Man Arrested for Allegedly Threatening to Blow Up Statue of Liberty by Morgan Chalfant
Wednesday August 19th, 2015 at 4:39 PM