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The global arms market has been growing steadily during the recent years. Russian arms are in high demand on this market, and it is the weapons and equipment of Soviet development that are competitive most. Their performance is even better than that of advanced Western models for certain tasks. In 2012, the Russian Federation has topped the arms export plan.

Russian (Soviet) small arms and more sophisticated equipment works smoothly and efficiently in all climate conditions. On December 5th, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy published a report, which said that Iranian pilots on Soviet Su-25 fighter jets (NATO: Frogfoot) intercepted advanced U.S. drone USAF MQ-1 Predator over the Persian Gulf. The authors of the report said that the Soviet-made aircraft was not an interceptor: it was not equipped with modern radars, but it could successfully destroy state-of-the-art aircraft, Worldtribune.com wrote.

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Update: Russia Says This Military Hardware Is 'The Best In The World' [PHOTOS] -- Business Insider

My Comment: Russian hardware is (in many cases) cheaper .... but the best .... I have some doubts. Business Insider has a list of what Russia is selling.

Lebanon and Israel dispute their maritime boundary in the eastern Mediterranean, which contains some 8.5 percent of the world's oil and gas under the seabed.

The United States has proposed a boundary between Lebanon and Israel's maritime economic zones to help end a lingering dispute over rival claims and open up oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

If the idea is accepted by both sides, it will reduce the risk of renewed conflict between the two enemy states and hasten Lebanon’s efforts to begin tapping the billions of dollars of natural gas estimated to be lying beneath the seabed.

The proposal, which was submitted to both countries recently, is a compromise on the overlapping exclusive economic zone (EEZ) boundaries individually submitted by Lebanon and Israel, which left 330 square miles in dispute.

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My Comment: I will be surprise if Lebanon agrees to this border. Hezbollah is a major player in the government .... and they have made it very clear over the years that they do not even recognize the state of Israel. But by agreeing to this proposed border with Israel .... they will then be tacitly agreeing that the state of Israel does exist.

(CNN) -- They were hiding in a place security officers called a "safe area." It was anything but. Outside an angry crowd grew, gunfire rang out and a fire blazed. Thick smoke blinded the three trapped men. The intruders banged on the fortified safety gate of the bunker-like villa. A security officer handed his cell phone to Ambassador Chris Stevens. Prepare for the mob to blast open the locks of the safety gate, the officer said.

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My Comment: This is depressing reading, but we owe it to Amb. Stevens and three other Americans who died to understand why this occurred, to bring those who committed this crime to justice, to have those U.S. officials who failed in doing their job be held accountable, and to make sure that it does not happen again.

Washington (CNN) -- Three State Department officials, including two who oversaw security decisions at the diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, resigned in the wake of a review of security failures there, senior State Department officials told CNN Wednesday.

The independent review of the September 11 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi released Tuesday cites "systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department.

The attacks killed four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

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Senior US State Department officials removed -- Al Jazeera
State Department security chief, 2 deputies, resign after damning Benghazi attack report -- Washington Post/AP
3 Resign at State Department After Libya Attack Report -- New York Times
U.S. State Dept officials resign under pressure over Benghazi killings -- Reuters
Stinging Benghazi report leads to three resignations -- Christian Science Monitor
State department resignations over Benghazi attack -- BBC
Benghazi report forces resignation of three US state department officials -- The Guardian

Benghazi report singles out Ambassador Chris Stevens for criticism -- McClatchy News
Benghazi panel: US officers ‘heroic’ but security ‘grossly inadequate’ -- Al-Monitor
Report: Inadequate Security at US Mission in Benghazi -- Voice of America
'Systemic Failure' by State Department in Benghazi Attack, Report Finds -- ABC News
'Grossly inadequate' security at Benghazi mission -- Sydney Morning Herald
Review of Benghazi attack faults ‘grossly’ inadequate security, leadership failures -- Washington Post
Benghazi panel faults State Department for 'grossly inadequate' security arrangements -- Foreign Policy
State Faulted in Libya Attack -- Wall Street Journal
Report on Libya attack cites 'systemic failures' in security, confirms no protest -- FOX News
Report on Benghazi attack cites 'systemic failures' -- CNN
Inquiry harshly criticizes US State Dept. over Benghazi attack -- Reuters
Benghazi review finds systematic security faults -- USA Today
Benghazi report blames 'systemic failures' within State Department -- NBC
State Department Cited for Libya Security Failures -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Benghazi report: Systematic failures -- Politico
Benghazi review: 'Systemic failures' to blame -- Politico
The Benghazi report: What you need to know -- Global Post
Fear slows Libyan probe into attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi -- Reuters
Clinton to testify before House panel in January -- CNN

SEATTLE — The United States Army will seek the death penalty against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.

Sergeant Bales’s court-martial will consider 16 counts of premeditated murder, six counts of attempted murder and seven counts of assault, among other charges, but no trial date was set.

The Army has charged that Sergeant Bales, 39, who was serving his fourth combat tour, walked away from a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan and shot and stabbed members of several families in an ambush in two villages in the early morning hours of March 11. At least nine of the people he is accused of killing were children.

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Robert Bales: Court martial for US sergeant over Afghan deaths -- BBC
U.S. soldier referred to court martial in Afghan killings -- Reuters
US Army seeks death penalty for Robert Bales, accused of Afghan villager massacre -- Christian Science Monitor
US Army Seeks Death Penalty in 16 Afghan Killings -- ABC News/AP
Death penalty sought for Afghan massacre soldier Robert Bales -- The Australian/AFP
U.S. soldier to be court-martialed, could face death penalty -- CNN
Army seeks death for Sgt. Robert Bales in Afghan shooting rampage -- L.A. Times
US Army Seeks Death Penalty for Soldier Over Afghan Massacre -- RIA Novosti
Death Penalty Possible In Court Martial Of Army Sgt. Accused Of Afghan Killings -- NPR
Army seeks death penalty in Afghan massacre case -- Seattle Times
Military Seeking the Death Penalty for One Its Own for First Time in 50 Years -- The Atlantic

Twenty-seven years after driving from New York City to Chicago in a $2,000 Honda Civic for a job that probably wouldn’t amount to much, Barack Obama, in better shape but with grayer hair, stood in the presidential suite on the top floor of the Fairmont Millennium Park hotel as flat screens announced his re-election as President of the United States. The networks called Ohio earlier than predicted, so his aides had to hightail it down the hall to join his family and friends. They encountered a room of high fives and fist pumps, hugs and relief.

The final days of any campaign can alter the psyches of even the most experienced political pros. At some point, there is nothing to do but wait. Members of Obama’s team responded in the only rational way available to them — by acting irrationally. They turned neckties into magic charms and facial hair into a talisman and compulsively repeated past behaviors so as not to jinx what seemed to be working. In Boca Raton, Fla., before the last debate, they dispatched advance staff to find a greasy-spoon diner because they had eaten at a similar joint before the second debate, on New York’s Long Island. They sent senior strategist David Axelrod a photograph of the tie he had to find to wear on election night: the same one he wore in 2008. Several staffers on Air Force One stopped shaving, like big-league hitters in the playoffs. Even the President succumbed, playing basketball on Election Day at the same court he played on before winning in 2008.

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WNU Editor: More from Time ....

• Exclusive: The Person of the Year Interview
• Inside the White House: Never-Before-Seen Photos
• Re-Election: The Data Miners Who Helped Obama Win
• Obama Photo Diary: 48 Hours with the President
• Runner-Up: Malala's Journey — A Timeline
• Runner-Up: Tim Cook and Apple's Greatest Moments
• Runner-Up: TIME Sits Down with Morsi
• Runner-Up: What Is the 'God Particle'?
• 2012 In Brief: The People Who Mattered Most
• Those We Lost: TIME's 2012 Tributes
• President Obama, Driller-in-Chief
• Joe Klein: The 2012 Awards for Political Courage
• Joel Stein: 2012's Coolest Person Is...
• Live Reactions: What You're Saying About #POY2012
• Take the TIME Person of the Year Quiz

My Comment: I agree with the choice .... for better or worse President Obama is the 'Person of the Year" for 2012 .... and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is #2. But unlike 2008 when Time chose President Obama the first time as their "Person of the Year" .... the mood is more darker now .... the optimism of 2008 is certainly not present  today.

Conservative candidate Park Geun-hye has made history by winning South Korea's presidential election, becoming the country's first female president-elect after defeating her liberal rival.

Park Geun-hye won a decisive victory Wednesday after a bitterly fought election for president of South Korea in which she overcame criticism of her legacy as the daughter of long-ruling dictator Park Chung-hee. So doing, she also overcame traditional barriers to women in government and business to become the first woman to win her country's presidency.

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Syria: Modern barbarisms -- Michael Weiss, NOW

Intervention in Syria risks blowback and regional war -- Seumas Milne, The Guardian

A Game-Changer in Syria -- Rob Miller, American Thinker

2013: The year of Iran -- David Horowitz, Times of Israel

Tahrir and Egypt's emerging culture of resistance -- Mark LeVine, Al Jazeera

Next of Kim: North Korea, One Year Later -- Victor Cha, Foreign Affairs

Taliban’s actions deny children a healthy future -- Gulf News editorial

In Russia, unheeded cries of corruption -- John Lloyd, Reuters

What's behind Russia's bill banning US adoptions? -- Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor

Greece: A debt colony, shackled to its lenders -- Matthaios Tsimitakis, Al Jazeera

The prospects for Venezuela without Chávez -- Charles Shapiro, Miami Herald

The Terrifying Story Of NBC Correspondent Richard Engel's Syrian Abduction -- Robert Johnson and Michael Kelley, Business Insider

SOUTH Korea has elected its first female president, handing a slim but historic victory to conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-Hye, daughter of the country's former military ruler.

As leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy, Park, 60, will face numerous challenges, handling a belligerent North Korea, a slowing economy and soaring welfare costs in one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies.

With 85 per cent of the national vote counted, Park had an insurmountable lead of 51.6 per cent to 48 per cent over her liberal rival, Moon Jae-In of the main opposition party.

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Lebanese take sides in Syrian civil war.

Rebels seize towns in central Syria.

Syrian troops battle rebels in Damascus suburbs.

U.N. seeks $1.5 billion to address Syria crisis.

Abbas urges UN to help Palestinian refugees in Syria.

Yemeni president curbs rival's power in army overhaul.

Israelis, Palestinians face sharp challenges in 2013.

UN, EU, Russia condemn Israeli settlements.

Kurdistan Peshmerga troops fire on Iraqi army helicopter in dispute areas.

Iraq President Jalal Talabani's health 'improving'.

Iraqi president stroke fuels succession talk.

West Bank workers strike over unpaid salaries.

Arab Spring energizes Gulf's stateless.


U.S. soldier referred to court martial in Afghan killings.

UN suspends polio drive in Pakistan after killings.

Britain to cut Afghanistan troop numbers in 2013.

South Korean president congratulates Park on win. South Korea's Park seen winning presidential race.

China says geology boosts island claims.

Amid China tensions, Southeast Asia looks to India.

More attacks on polio workers in Pakistan. Three more polio workers shot in Pakistan; eight dead in 48 hours.

China's multimillionaires emigrating in droves.


Africa says it’s ready to conduct own missions – with West’s money.

Egypt: deposed President Mubarak transferred to a Cairo military hospital after head injury.

Egyptian Islamists plan mass protest ahead of constitution vote.

Chad deploys troops to help fight CAR rebels.

All signs point to an epic catastrophe in Mali.

Sudan, South Sudan to discuss rebel support next month.


Report blames chaos, not cover-up, for BBC scandal.

Down to -50C: Russians freeze to death as strongest-in-decades winter hits (PHOTOS).

Greece hit by public sector strike.

Russian parliament moves to ban U.S. adoptions.

UN security council's EU members to condemn Israeli settlements expansion.

Ireland to clarify law on abortion when mother's life is at risk.

Court upholds Strauss-Kahn sex inquiry in France.


Obama calls on Congress to act on gun control. Obama urges Congress to ban military-style assault weapons.

Guns out of stock at Wal-Mart as magazine prices surge on.

U.S. State Dept officials resign under pressure over Benghazi killings.

Benghazi attack report blames State Department for security failures, makes no mention of anti-Islam video.

Seized Argentina navy ship Libertad leaves Ghana.

Inmate and guards killed in Mexico jailbreak attempt.

Venezuela could postpone Chavez inauguration: lawmaker.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez 'stable after infection'.

Obama tasks Biden with US gun law review.

Victory for Chilean students as minister resigns over corruption scandal.


Al Qaeda's Al Nusrah Front denies reports of death of its emir.

Yemeni’s death in Guantánamo still under investigation.

US: Al-Qaeda's core seriously degraded in South Asia.

Ansar al Sharia in Mali.


Google captures 2012 zeitgeist.

Treasury announces GM exit strategy; automaker buying 200 million shares from U.S..

Google strikes back against big thumbs.

UBS fined $1.5bn for Libor rigging.

Coal may pass oil as world's No. 1 energy source by 2017, study says.

New-wave economies going for growth.

SEOUL — Conservative Saenuri [New Frontier] Party candidate Park Geun-hye has made history by winning South Korea's presidential election, becoming the country's first female president-elect after defeating liberal rival Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party by several percentage points.

Interacting briefly with several media representatives on a large open-air stage in downtown Seoul, the five-term lawmaker and daughter of a former dictator vowed to fulfill every promise she made during the campaign.

Read more ....


Daughter of Dictator Wins South Korea Presidency -- New York Times
Park Geun-hye claims South Korea presidential victory -- CNN
Park Geun-hye wins South Korea’s presidential election -- Washington Post
Park sweeps to victory in South Korean election -- The Australian
South Korea election: Park Geun-hye defeats Moon Jae-in -- BBC
South Korea elects its first woman president, Park Geun-hye -- Christian Science Monitor
South Korea elects first female president -- The Australian/AP
South Korea To Get Its First Female Leader -- NPR
Korea's Park Is First Woman to Lead Asia's Fourth-Largest Economy -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Park Geun-hye elected South Korea’s 1st female president, is open to North Korea detente -- Washington Post/AP
Dictator Father Looms Over SKorea's New President -- ABC News/AP
Profile: South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye -- BBC

 

 

I am traveling today. Regular blogging will return late tonight.

 

An independent panel investigating the 9/11 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi released a report finding that the State Department failed at securing the compound on multiple fronts.

An independent panel investigating the 9/11 attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi concluded that the State Department suffered “systemic failures” in providing adequate security.

The failures listed in a report released last night include relying too heavily on poorly trained local militias for security; “leadership and management” deficiencies in coordination of two important State Department bureaus; and an “under resourced” embassy lacking adequate security equipment, such as security cameras and outer perimeter walls high enough to protect the compound.

Read more ....


Syrian troops battle rebels in Damascus suburbs.

U.N. seeks $1.5 billion to address Syria crisis.

Abbas urges UN to help Palestinian refugees in Syria.

Kurdistan Peshmerga troops fire on Iraqi army helicopter in dispute areas.

Iraq President Jalal Talabani's health 'improving'.

Iraqi president stroke fuels succession talk.

West Bank workers strike over unpaid salaries.

Arab Spring energizes Gulf's stateless.


Britain to cut Afghanistan troop numbers in 2013.

South Korean president congratulates Park on win. South Korea's Park seen winning presidential race.

Amid China tensions, Southeast Asia looks to India.

More attacks on polio workers in Pakistan. Three more polio workers shot in Pakistan; eight dead in 48 hours.

China's multimillionaires emigrating in droves.


Egyptian Islamists plan mass protest ahead of constitution vote.

Chad deploys troops to help fight CAR rebels.

All signs point to an epic catastrophe in Mali.

Sudan, South Sudan to discuss rebel support next month.


Greece hit by public sector strike.

Russian parliament moves to ban U.S. adoptions.

UN security council's EU members to condemn Israeli settlements expansion.

Ireland to clarify law on abortion when mother's life is at risk.

Court upholds Strauss-Kahn sex inquiry in France.


Benghazi attack report blames State Department for security failures, makes no mention of anti-Islam video.

Inmate and guards killed in Mexico jailbreak attempt.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez 'stable after infection'.

Obama tasks Biden with US gun law review.

Victory for Chilean students as minister resigns over corruption scandal.


Yemeni’s death in Guantánamo still under investigation.

US: Al-Qaeda's core seriously degraded in South Asia.

Ansar al Sharia in Mali.


Google strikes back against big thumbs.

UBS fined $1.5bn for Libor rigging.

Coal may pass oil as world's No. 1 energy source by 2017, study says.

New-wave economies going for growth.

The stealth technology of America's fifth-generation jet fighters, the F-22 and the F-35, could be obsolete after a new discovery from the University of Rochester in New York.

One main goal of fifth-generation aircrafts is to slip through skies over enemy lines without being targeted. It's not invisible, but elusive, and digitally feisty.

Read more ....


Almost Everything You’ve Heard About the North Korean Space Launch Is Wrong -- Danger Room

UK to withdraw 3,800 troops from Afghanistan during 2013 -- BBC

Strategic Weapons: China Stumbles Forward -- Strategy Page

China has ability to build high-power aircraft carrier -- People's Daily

Brazil invests in rocket technology -- UPI

Russia to Put 100 Strategic Missiles on Service by Yearend -- CRI English

Russia to roll out new hypersonic missiles -- Russia & India Report

Kyrgyzstan Okays ‘Integrated’ Russian Military Base -- RIA Novosti

Russian Military to Get 30 More Su-30SM Fighter Jets -- RIA Novosti

Russia to Float Out New Borey Class Sub on Dec. 30 -- RIA Novosti

Russia to Start Testing New Helicopter Gunship Engine -- RIA Novosti

Media: India, Algeria, Vietnam still biggest buyers of Russian arms -- Kyiv Post

U.K. Plans Review of Future Sub-Hunting Aircraft Needs Next Year -- Bloomberg

Europe Ain't Getting Better: Defense Budgets, Personnel, R&D All Down, Says CSIS -- Aol Defense

US drastically expanding military presence in the Philippines -- RT

U.S. Hopes for Progress on Japan Base Issue -- Defense News

US, Turkey Have 'Never Been So Close'; Amb. Tan Lauds Patriot, F-35 -- Aol Defense

AFRICOM announces it will have rapid reaction force -- Stars and Stripes

Panetta says first F-35 overseas deployment planned for Iwakuni -- Stars and Stripes

For Lockheed F-16, Buyers Still Remain -- Aviation Week/Reuters

A-10s, F-16s targeted in latest budget talks -- Air Force Times

Announcement delayed on base tanker finalists -- Air Force Times

Artillery: Cheaper GPS Shells -- Strategy Page

Lockheed Martin's New Killer Laser Puts Israel's Iron Dome To Shame [Video] -- Business Insider

X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Completes First At-Sea Tests -- Navy.mil

Disparate defense think tanks reach common ground on defense cuts -- The Hill

DOJ Plans to Indict State-Sponsored Cyber Attackers -- Defense News

AF tests 24/7 fitness centers -- US Air Force

Cuts in military ranks for all-volunteer force likely to be painful, but it’s happened before -- Washington Post/AP

Army investigating day care centers worldwide -- AP

Army general to face court-martial, possible life sentence, over sexual misconduct charges -- Washington Post/AP

Judge: Hasan beard OK for Hood shooting trial -- Army Times/AP

Pentagon backs official who spoke to 'Zero Dark Thirty' filmmakers -- L.A. Times

Could Disclosure of Classified Info DQ Pentagon Intel Chief in CIA Director Race? -- Defense News

Petraeus’ Mistress Won’t Face Cyberstalking Charges -- Danger Room

Interview: Brett Lambert, U.S. Defense Department’s Industrial Policy -- Defense News

Google Accidentally Photographs Military Drone Landing -- Gizmodo

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon quietly notified Congress this month that it would reimburse Pakistan nearly $700 million for the cost of stationing 140,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan, an effort to normalize support for the Pakistani military after nearly two years of crises and mutual retaliation.

The biggest proponent of putting foreign aid and military reimbursements to Pakistan on a steady footing is the man President Barack Obama is leaning toward naming as secretary of state: Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts. Mr. Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has frequently served as an envoy to Pakistan, including after the killing of Osama bin Laden, and was a co-author of a law that authorized five years and about $7.5 billion of nonmilitary assistance to Pakistan.

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My Comment: Where is the outcry? So much for the U.S. commitment to free this hero.

The Marines had the idea of enlisting journalists, making their story far more compelling to the civilians back home.


The Marines are the most celebrated but least understood of our four military services. They have done a brilliant job of burnishing their martial image, from the days of the 1949 John Wayne movie "The Sands of Iwo Jima" to today's "The Few, the Proud, the Marines" commercials. With nearly 200,000 personnel and their own aircraft, tanks and artillery, they comprise one of the most capable military forces in the world. But so adept have the Marines become at telling their story—somehow the even less-than-heroic portrayals in "Gomer Pyle, USMC" and "Heavy Metal Jacket" have enhanced their reputation—that it isn't always easy to separate myth from reality.

That is a task that Aaron B. O'Connell, a history professor at the Naval Academy and himself a Marine reservist, tackles with brio in his absorbing account of the Marines between 1941 and 1965, "Underdogs: The Making of the Modern Marine Corps." Prior to World War II, Mr. O'Connell notes, the Corps "was tiny, unpopular and institutionally disadvantaged"—it had just 50,000 men, and it was seen as an adjunct of the Navy. Its commandant was a two-star general who didn't even merit a seat on the newly created Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1942.

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My Comment: Oohrah!

(Reuters) - Afghan father-of-four Mohammad Nasir has a secret he's been keeping from his family.

The aid worker pulls a television bench out from the living-room wall of his Kabul home. Behind it is a carved out shelf, hiding what he hopes will keep loved ones safe when Western troops withdraw by the end of 2014 -- an AK-47 assault rifle.

Arms purchases are soaring in Afghanistan, along with the price of weapons, a sign that many Afghans fear a return of the Taliban, civil war or rising lawlessness.

An assault rifle cost $400 a year ago. Today, some arms dealers are selling them for triple the price.

And it's not just ordinary Afghans who are buying. Warlords who control militias, and former anti-Soviet mujahideen fighters are also boosting the trade.

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My Comment: Not exactly a vote of confidence in the future.

Vladimir Putin wants to build a big friggin’ army. But to pay for it, the Russian president has expanded the amount of Russian weapons sold around the globe, and he isn’t being all that discriminating about who he sells them to.

“Let’s talk about our results — they are positive,” Putin said on Monday while meeting with officials. “We are reaching a record level of weapons exports. Their total volume was above $14 billion.” That would be the highest ever for Moscow.

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Russian Arms Sales at $14 Bln in 2012 -- RIA Novosti
Russia military exports reached record $14bn in 2012 -- RT
Putin touts record Russian arms sales of $14 billion in 2012 -- Reuters
Russian arms sales hit $14B -- UPI
Russia Exports $14B in 2012 Arms Sales -- Ares/Aviation Week