World at War

Reports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) state that Ugandan rebel troops massacred 15 villagers in the town of Faradje in the northeast of the country. A joint military operation has been launched in an effort to curtail the violence. United Nations peacekeepers with support from DRC, Ugandan and Sudanese armies moved into a remote national park in search of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

The UN Security Council condemned the rebels on December 22. Air attacks against their bases have caused the army to scatter to different areas of the DRC. Retaliation against civilian populations continued.

The LRA has been operating within the DRC since the 1980s, have repeatedly committed atrocities and human rights violations. The International Criminal Court recently issued arrest warrants for the leadership of the organization on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to new reports, Israel has launched airstrikes against Palestinian positions in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Medical source within the area have reported at least 170 dead and 110 severely injured. Israel says the attacks will continue “as long as it takes.”

The attacks come on the heels of rocket and mortar bombardments into southern Israel from Islamic militants in Hamas-controlled Gaza. The six month cease-fire agreement between the factions concluded last week and the border was reopened. Israel began shipping relief supplies into Gaza.

Israel has targeted Hamas leadership and the police force headquarters. Hamas has launched at least fifteen large scale rocket attacks in response, killing one Israeli woman and injuring two.

Neither Hamas nor Israel has any plan to step down.

Israel has begun supplying Hamas with food rations in the Gaza Strip, while at the same time threatening the organization with an invasion. After reopening the border crossings with Gaza one week ago, rice, flour, fuel and medicine have crossed into the Hamas territory aboard 90 trucks.

At the same time, Islamic militants have been striking at southern Israel with rockets and mortar fire in what Israel calls an effort to stall the “good faith” shipments of the past week.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has come under increased pressure to invade the country, issuing threats of invasion to Gaza and ordering Hamas to halt its attacks on the people of the farming communities. He stated that he intends to give the organization another chance to denounce the violence and recognize Israel, but he repeated that time is running out.

Israeli forces, however, are reluctant to commit themselves, citing the 2006 invasion of Lebanon. The high volume of casualties and international condemnation could halt Israel’s progress.

A Hamas spokesman referenced the suicide bombers that would be waiting if Israel attempted to cross.

Speculation is mounting about possible retaliatory action by India against Pakistan if the country fails to act against the Islamic extremist organization, Lashkar-e-Taiba. The group was responsible for the late November terror attacks on the financial hub of Mumbai. Tensions have risen in recent weeks as the investigation points to Pakistan as the home of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee spoke to the envoys of 120 countries while in New Delhi. He demanded that Islamabad admit knowledge of the organization and dismantle it, rather than continue its “policy of denial” it has been promoting over the past weeks.

The United States has joined in the country’s investigation, urging restraint from India as well as action from Pakistan.

Both India and Pakistan are nuclear countries who have a long history of conflict, especially over the area of Kashmir. Until this terrorist attack, relations had cooled between the two nations and a situation of normalcy was established.

According to a press release by Reuters, British troops will complete their mission in Iraq on May 31, 2009. According to a joint statement British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday in an impromptu, troops will leave country within two months.

With the British planning to remove its 4,100 troops, Prime Minister Brown said that the partnership between the two countries will take on a new dimension.

Meanwhile, police in Iraq reported that central Baghdad was victim to a double-bombing that killed 18 people and wounded 50 more. A car bomb aided by a secondary explosion occurred within a few kilometers of their meeting.The brother of journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi says that attempted to assault U.S. President George W. Bush remains in custody in Baghdad.

According to an Armed Forces press release, two enemy fighters were killed in Afghanistan last week by Coalition and Afghan forces. In addition, 32 suspects and many caches of weapons were seized.

One militant was killed and sixteen suspects were detained in Kabul and Zabul provinces. Coalition forces were targeting the Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) group as well as Taliban commanders on Dec. 12.

Eight suspects were detained in Surobi, northeast of Kabul, including an HIG commander. The group was suspected of supplying explosives and weapons into the Afghan capital. The cache included assault rifles and grenades similar to those used in attacks against civilians and security forces.

Targeting a Taliban commander and his militants known to coordinate and direct attacks, Coalition forces killed one fighter and detained eight suspects in an operation in Zabul.

Afghan commandos detained a suspect believed to aid in bombings on Dec. 11 in Nangahar province.

A night patrol was attacked by militants using machine guns and grenades on Dec. 10. Reports remain unconfirmed regarding the death of three noncombatants during the incident in Uruzgan province.

Lockheed Martin recently announced that it successfully tested its new design for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Multiple Kill Vehicle-L. The MKV-L carries a cargo of kill vehicles into an area of interest by hovering approximately 23 feet above the ground and launches an offensive against any countermeasures provided from the enemy. The kill vehicles are then released and destroy any targets. The MKV-L also tracks targets  while simultaneously attacking.

The hover test was a complete success and will allow for Lockheed Martin to continue its construction of the arsenal.

The MKV-L is set to be deployed in Alaska and Southern California to assist the Missile Defense System in protecting the American homeland.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called for Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to step down. According to Rice the time has come for Mugabe to step down in light of the recent allegations of a cholera outbreak.

After months of political turmoil, including elections that were mired in controversy by United Nations officials and other political observers for their denial of opposition parties, a large cholera outbreak has been reported amongst the medical community of Zimbabwe.

At the time of press release, over 600 individuals have died for reported unknown causes. The intentional community, however, has determined a choldera epidemic is being passively sustained within the country.

Russia and India are concluding contract negotiations to develop a next-generation military fighter under an intergovernmental agreement signed in October of 2007. Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are poised to develop the fighter starting early next year. The fighter will feature advanced computer and weapons systems, high maneuverability and stealth technology to ensure air superiority in the region.

India has long been a substantial customer to Russia’s military industry, accounting for 40% of arms sales for the last fifty years.

Russia is in the process of rebuilding its armed forces, which were left derelect after the fall of the Soviet Union, while India is ramping up its military for a possible conflict with Pakistan.

Pakistan claims an airstrike from a U.S. unmanned aircraft attacked a tribal area in the mountains to the west, killing at least three people. The suspected attack was carried out late last week, and involved a single missile being launched into North Waziristan.

The Pakistani government has long accused the United States of acting independently and attacking targets inside their soveriegn territory.

Pakistan is still realing from a car bomb that killed at least 20 people and injured 70 in a crowded market in the city of Peshawar. There was also a car bomb carried out in the Onakazai tribal region killing six and an insurgent attack against police forces in Bannu that killed two officers.

Pakistans’ defense minister Ahmed Mukhtar criticized both the Americans and the al-Qaida and Taliban militants for acting agressively. The U.S. has agreed to send an envoy to the country to discuss the airstrikes that it says are not taking place.

Senior Coalition and Iraqi leaders assembled at the Iraqi Army Armor School yesterday to announce the withdrawal of Czech Republic forces from Iraq. Czech forces have been instrumental in training Iraqi security forces over the past six months, providing trainers and advisers.

Czech forces first joined the Coalition of the Willing during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, providing medical relief to civilians and military personell during the occupation fo Basra. They then moved onto training of the border patrol in southern Iraq.

Only forteen soldiers of the Czech Republic were left in country during the ceremony. The Czech Ambassador praised their efforts and Coalition leaders thanked the forces for their continued assistance.

Czech politicians had come under continued pressure from the public to remove comabat troops from the operation, citing threats to national security and civilians working inside the country.

News reports began to circulate today that the Pentagon had been attacked by a substantial computer virus on November 20. The attack was targeted at operational computers monitoring the situations in Afghanistan and Iraq and was apparently large enough to cause a major unproar within the walls of the U.S. military headquarters.

Initial allegations have been targeted at the Russian government. The Russian Foreign Ministry denies any knowledge or responsibility for the attack. Washington is not ruling out an organization within Russia’s borders that may be responsible.

Allegations have surfaced previously blaming Russia for cyberattacks against Estonia in 2007 and Georgia during the invasion of South Ossetia.  The Russians have used the event as an opportunity to push for an international IT Security agency.

Beginning today, more than 100 countries have agreed to sign a document  that promises their governments and military will not manufacture, use, or condone the usage of cluster bombs.  The two day event bans the use of the bombs that explode in midair and release bomblets that fall down in random patterns across the ground, damaging anything in the immediate area. Many of these ordinances fail to explode and detonate years later, injuring civilians.

Major signatories to the agreement include the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, and Canada. Other important countries are presently entwined in foreign engagements that issue important resolutions to avoid the dangerous bombs. These include the Congo, Sudan, Bosnia- Herzegovina , and Serbia.

However, political observers note the absence of some specific powers that are responsible for much of the usage of cluster bomb technology worldwide. The United States, Russia, China, Israel, India, and Pakistan were absent from negotiations and attending the signing ceremony. With their absence, it will be seen whether the treaty will make any difference in the long term effects of cluster bombs on civilians.

Recently, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced a plan for their navy to begin production on a new line of aircraft carriers. The designs differ from traditional American carriers in that they are smaller and hold less aircraft. They are also armed with additional missiles and feature strong defense against air attacks. By utilizing this technology, these aircrraft cruisers will be able to respond to situations alone without support, unlike the U.S. carriers which need their entire strike force.

Medvedev made the public announcement on October 14 aboard Russia’s only functional aircraft carrier, the Nikolai Kuznetsov.  The military has a target launch date of  2013 to add aircraft cruisers to both its Arctic and Pacific fleets.

During the 1980s, the Soviet Union moved its naval construction to focus on submarines and aircraft carriers, however, with the collapse of the communism, the navy was essentially mothballed due to a lack of necessity as Russia focused on its land operations to secure its borders.

The focus of Russia to rebuild its navy with a modern arsenal represents a strong shift in global power. With Russia’s recent actions in Georgia and threats to place missile batteries in Europe,  the nation has proven it no longer has the intention of remaining a second tier military.

I feel it’s appropriate to begin with a statement about the objective of this blog. Not simply complacent to report issues in an unconnected fashion, this blog will strive to show the interaction of the world after globalization and how the world war that began so many years ago, still has not truly ended. Every country is connected in this modern era, every nation faces the same challenges of survival. This is the demands that our generations face, whether in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, or the Pacific. War is prevalent across the globe. Hot spots like Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Georgia, or Burma are not alone in conflict. This is not some elegant fight that begins with a battle and ends with a treaty. This is the way the world continues to function, good or bad. As always, the world is at war.