http://www.liveleak.com/browse?channel_token=46d_1331408914 Items in channel 'SuperDrone' Wed, 22 May 2013 10:48:24 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?channel_token=46d_1331408914 Fri, 11 May 2012 16:55:10 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6e5_1336769483 SuperDrone The week after revelations by a double agent that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was trying to take down a US airliner with an underwear bomb, the Pentagon announced that it has begun sending US troops into Yemen. The move is part of a US effort to increase pressure on the terrorist outfit based in Yemen at a time when the Yemeni government is weak and only now beginning to emerge from a period of political turmoil. The troops will help train Yemeni soldiers, and together with a campaign of drone strikes and an increased intelligence presence, the aim is to hold AQAP in check while rebuilding the Yemeni government's capacity to fight its own battles. US forces had been on the ground training Yemeni forces last year, but President Obama suspended the mission in the wake of political turmoil in the country. In February, Yemen's autocratic ruler of 30 years, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was replaced in a democratic election, making the return of US troops possible. But the security situation in Yemen has worsened in recent months, with AQAP taking advantage of the civil unrest that grew as Mr. Saleh's grasp on power loosened. "It's clear that there are more volunteers, there are more sanctuaries" in Yemen, says Anthony Cordesman, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. It is also clear that these AQAP forces have been able to take arms and equipment that were either abandoned or lost by Yemeni forces and use them to wage attacks on the government and expand their base of operations, Dr. Cordesman adds. But Defense Secretary Leon Panetta denied that this could portend a greater presence for US ground forces. "Yeah, there's no consideration of that," Secretary Panetta responded when asked in a Pentagon briefing Thursday whether he would rule out using ground forces in Yemen "at some point." Added Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, the point is "trying to build their capacity, not use our own." This will likely include expanded US intelligence assets on the ground. "Some of these you use to cooperate very closely with the Yemenis, and some you use to figure out who's on first," Cordesman says. In this effort to understand relationships between AQAP and other terrorist groups, the US government will also expand intelligence operations with the Saudis, with whom there is now a "sharply improved level of cooperation," he adds. AQAP threatens Saudi Arabia as well as Oman, which borders Yemen. The British government has long had links in Oman, which are also proving helpful to US forces, Cordesman notes. For now, though, drone attacks like the one that killed Fahd Mohammed al-Quso, a top AQAP operative, over the weekend will be the US government's "only way of directly attacking AQAP as it builds up" its base of operations, he says. If the Yemeni government begins to achieve more stability, then it can dispatch its own forces to take on AQAP operatives and the US can suspend its drone campaign. There remain plenty of uncertainties, however. "None of us know where this is going," he says. In the meantime, it is clear that AQAP is "a threat," Panetta emphasized. "No one in any way underestimates the fact that all of them represent a concern for the United States in terms of our national security." http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/0511/US-sends-troops-to-Yemen-as-Al-Qaeda-gains-ground http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6e5_1336769483 SuperDrone Obama sends US Troops to Yemen Yemen War US troops Saleh Fri, 11 May 2012 16:48:27 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=150_1336767847 SuperDrone Egyptian security forces seized near the Libyan border on Thursday dozens of heavy weapons allegedly bound for the Sinai Peninsula to stir up trouble ahead of upcoming presidential elections, a police official said. Authorities uncovered the munitions - including 40 surface-to-surface missiles, 17 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortar rounds, automatic rifles and around 10,000 artillery shells - in three vehicles near the Mediterranean resort city of Marsa Matrouh, some 430 kilometers (270 miles) northwest of Cairo, the official said. Three Egyptian Bedouin smugglers were arrested, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. Two of the men were from the Egyptian town of Rafah on the border with the Gaza Strip. The official said the men claimed they were transporting the weapons to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to use "against army and police forces securing the borders to create chaos before presidential elections." Egypt's first presidential vote since last year's uprising that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak is scheduled for May 23-24. The confiscated weapons most likely came from Libya, which has become a key source of illicit arms since the civil war there last year, the official said. During the eight-month conflict that led to the toppling and killing of Moammar Gadhafi, Libyan citizens-turned-fighters stormed weapons storehouses and military camps to arm themselves, and the country is awash in everything from machine guns to mortars. A flood of weapons from Libya has added to security concerns in Egypt, where police have yet to fully return to the nation's streets since disappearing early in last year's uprising. Authorities fear the weapons most often fall into the hands of Islamist militants in Sinai who have moved swiftly to exploit the security void, carrying out almost daily attacks on security forces. They enjoy near complete control over parts of border towns like Rafah. Elsewhere in Sinai, they have taken advantage of long-standing grievances by the area's Bedouin inhabitants over services and development to recruit and whip up anti-government sentiment. In February last year, several militant groups joined forces in Sinai and nine months later declared in messages posted on militant websites the creation of an Islamic emirate in Sinai and stated their allegiance to al-Qaida. Israeli officials also have expressed concerns about looted weapons from Libya, saying that munitions, including longer-range Scud missiles, are being smuggled from there through Sinai and into the Gaza Strip. In April, two rockets believed to have been smuggled from Libya were fired from Egypt's Sinai desert toward the Israeli resort town of Eilat. No one was hurt and Egypt denied that the rockets were fired from its territory. http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/egypt-forces-seize-missiles-grenade-launchers-in-sinai-raid-1.429547 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=150_1336767847 SuperDrone Surprise Suprise Libyan Rebels Sending Weapons to Pally Fighters Israel Libya Rebels islamists militants weapons sinai Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:47:53 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=868_1332207954 SuperDrone King George Tupou V died Sunday in Hong Kong at age 63. The cause has not been released. ( Vincent Yu / Associated Press ) - A view of Queen Mary Hospital is seen in Hong Kong Monday, March 19, 2012. Tonga's King George Tupou V died at Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital Sunday, according to Tonga's Ministry of Information and Communications. Government spokesman Paula Mau said his body will be flown home and arrive in the small Pacific island nation on Monday. The body will lie in state for two days at the royal palace in the capital, Nuku'alofa, before being transported about 300 meters (1,000 feet) to the royal tomb. Mau said he expects thousands from Tonga and many foreign dignitaries to attend the funeral. The country has begun three months of official mourning. Wearing black is encouraged and celebrations and music are discouraged. The new king, Crown Prince Tupouto'a Lavaka, will go by the title King Tupou VI. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/tonga-plans-funeral-for-its-king-next-week-enters-3-months-of-official-mourning/2012/03/19/gIQA0TW7NS_story.html http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=868_1332207954 SuperDrone Tonga plans funeral for King George Tupou V King Tonga George Tupou V