It doesn't offend me, it just reminds me of what could have been, and what is.

Edited by zimbos_05: 29/8/2013 05:18:54 PM

My GFs dad fought in the Rhodesian Bush War.

Interesting.

I how Leonardo DiCaprio portrays a Rhodesian in Blood Diamond.

Edited by Iridium1010: 29/8/2013 05:25:32 PM

I quite like that movie, but oh gawd. My girlfriend goes skitso every time I do a parody of his accent.

She reckon's it's the worst sounding Saffa accent she's ever heard. :lol:

Vietnam Rises as Middle Power at Defense Summit: Southeast Asia

Vietnam values its cooperative relationship with the U.S., Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh said, as a major security summit in Brunei puts Vietnam in focus as an emerging middle power in Southeast Asia.

General Thanh told U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel during their meeting today that he was “very happy to witness recently the defense and military cooperation between the two countries.”


Cyclists ride past Hanoi Stock Exchange in downtown Hanoi. Vietnam’s VN Index has increased 3.9 percent since May 22, extending its gain this year to 26 percent.

Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Ambassador to Singapore David Adelman talks about trade relations between the two countries, and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Singapore’s trade with the U.S. in 2013 will probably exceed $50 billion for a third year after the nation attracted the most investment from American companies in the Asia-Pacific region. Adelman spoke with Haslinda Amin in Singapore on August 20. (Source: Bloomberg)
Hagel held individual talks with defense ministers ahead of a broader gathering tomorrow of officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Japan and South Korea, at a time a number of countries are vying for access to oil, gas and fish in disputed waters in the South China Sea.

That race for resources, and a broader push for influence in the region, has the bigger powers looking to shore up relationships with smaller countries. Since 2010, when the first ADMM-Plus meeting was held in Hanoi, Vietnam’s role has come to the fore under the U.S.’s strategic shift to Asia and as China expands its reach. For China, one barrier to warmer ties with Vietnam is territorial; for the U.S., it is Vietnam’s human rights record.

“Vietnam is increasingly considered a significant player in the region” given its location, developing economy and young population, said Ralf Emmers, an associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. That puts Vietnam in a delicate spot, he said. “The Vietnamese don’t want to come across as a tacit ally of the U.S. because they want to preserve good relations with China. They don’t want to choose.”

State Visits

Hagel and senior defense officials from China were in the audience when Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung warned at a forum in Singapore in late May that miscalculations over territorial spats in the South China Sea could disrupt “huge” trade flows and have global consequences.

Weeks later, Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang met President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where they agreed to set up a hot-line to defuse territorial disputes and expand an agreement to jointly explore for oil in the Gulf of Tonkin. Sang then traveled to the U.S. in July, where he met President Barack Obama to discuss working to boost maritime security.

Warmer relations between Vietnam and the U.S. have “raised some eyebrows in Beijing,” said Le Hong Hiep, a lecturer at Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City.

“One of the key drivers in Vietnam’s attempt to improve its relations with the U.S. is to have more options in dealing with China in the South China Sea,” he said. “What Vietnam wants is a balanced and strong relationship with both China and the U.S. in which its legitimate interests are respected by both the great powers.”

Human Rights

U.S. engagement with Vietnam is constrained by concerns over Vietnam’s human rights record. Last year, Dung ordered a crackdown on blogs that attacked his leadership over an economy hurt by inefficient state-owned companies, a banking system riddled with bad debt, and government corruption.

“Vietnam is not allowed to buy offensive weapons from the U.S.” because of its human rights violations, said David Koh, adjunct associate professor of Southeast Asian studies at the National University of Singapore. “Certainly there is a lot of ground for improvement in terms of how Vietnam treats people who have a different political opinion.”

Two-way trade between the U.S. and Vietnam has grown from about $1 billion before a bilateral trade agreement in December 2001, to $26 billion for 2012, according to figures from the U.S. government. Obama is seeking to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which includes Vietnam, this year.

Still, the U.S. and Vietnam have failed to reach a strategic partnership, first proposed by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2010.

“There are elements in the party in Vietnam and in the military that have long ties to China and are anxious about moving too fast with the U.S.,” according to Murray Hiebert, a senior fellow and specialist on South East Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Party Connection

China’s two-way trade with Vietnam grew at the fastest pace in six months in July. While China’s relationship with Vietnam has been testy at times, with Chinese vessels accused of cutting the cables of survey ships working for Vietnam in the South China Sea, their Communist Party links have helped.

“Vietnam has one advantage over the Philippines in dealing with China on the South China Sea -- it has the party-to-party connection,” said Termsak Chalermpalanupap, a researcher at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. “At least party leaders of both Vietnam and China still consider one another as ‘comrades.’”

Maritime Disputes

China has agreed to talks on a code of conduct for the South China Sea with fellow claimants such as Vietnam and the Philippines. The Philippines in January asked the United Nations to rule on its dispute with China, which moved to take control of the Scarborough Shoal a year after a standoff between Philippine and Chinese ships.

Vietnam holds joint naval exercises at sea with China while engagements with the U.S. are still port-based, according to Carlyle Thayer, an emeritus professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra. Both China and the U.S. send combat ships to Vietnam’s military ports.

China and Vietnam have “compartmentalized” their disputes over the South China Sea, Thayer said.

Syria Focus

The Brunei meeting follows Hagel’s stops in Malaysia and Indonesia, with plans for him to briefly visit the Philippines afterward. So far his trip has been dominated by Syria, with the U.S. concluding that Syrian forces launched a chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb last week that opposition groups say killed 1,300 people.
“Even though you’re facing a severe international environment represented by the situation in Syria, the fact that you’re participating in ADMM-Plus should be appreciated by all members of Asean,” Japan’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told Hagel at the start of their bilateral meeting in Brunei today.

U.S. Pivot

Closer to home, Hagel is seeking to reassure allies that the U.S. can sustain a military and economic shift to Asia even as it faces as much as $500 billion in defense budget cuts over nine years.

Hagel told Onodera at the start of their meeting that the U.S.-Japan alliance is an “important key to our rebalance” toward the Asia-Pacific region.
At the first ADMM-Plus meeting in 2010, delegates agreed to cooperate on issues such as counter-terrorism, disaster management and peacekeeping operations, according to Brunei’s Defense Ministry. This week’s meetings will let ministers review progress on these priorities, the ministry said on its website.

“Those are themes that are welcomed by all the participants, no one feels threatened by that kind of cooperation,” said RSIS’s Emmers. “Ultimately the ADMM Plus is mostly about confidence-building and trust.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Sharon Chen in Singapore at schen462@bloomberg.net; Gopal Ratnam in Washington at gratnam1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net

Syria Strike Wouldn't Be Cheap

WASHINGTON — A cruise missile strike against Syria could cost the Pentagon hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons, according to experts and government documents.

Since any type of US military action is expected to last just a few days, the price tag would be similar to costs accrued during the early days of the 2011, five-month NATO operation to overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, defense analysts say.

The first few weeks of the Libyan operation cost the US about $600 million. About $340 million of that was directly was to replenish munitions, specifically sea-launched Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles and air-launched Boeing Joint Direct Attack munitions, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (T-LAMs) cost about $1.4 million each, according to government budget documents.

But unlike the Libyan mission, there has been little talk of establishing a costly no fly zone over Syria.

The US and its allies appear to be planning for a limited strike against the Syrian government, which Western nations claim has used chemical weapons against civilians.

The US Navy has four destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, each with up to 96 missile cells — although experts say these ships are rarely loaded with a full complement of these types of weapons.

Missile-armed submarines are also likely to be in the area, although the US would not confirm their presence. Several submarines, including one SSGN missile sub armed with a capacity of 154 missiles, took part in the Libyan campaign. That submarine, the Florida, reportedly launched as many as 99 Tomahawks at targets in Libya in March 2011 alone.

At least one British submarine also launched missiles against Libyan targets.

Command-and-control and intelligence aircraft — such as E-3 AWACS Airborne Warning and Control System and E-8 JSTARS Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System — which would likely support any type of strike on Syria, could also add to the price tag. During the first 10 days of the Libya operation, the US spent about $1.6 million on these types of missions.

Support from aerial refueling tankers would also add to the cost. During the first weeks of the Libya operation, US Air Force tankers flew for more than 800 hours, costing $9.3 million.

I quite like that movie, but oh gawd. My girlfriend goes skitso every time I do a parody of his accent.

She reckon's it's the worst sounding Saffa accent she's ever heard. :lol:

Audio or gtfo.


Di Caprio was totally spot on for a Rhodesian.

You see, many people who were in Rhodesia and left after independence still consider themselves Rhodesian and the country Rhodesia. They are similar to the AWB in South Africa but not so extreme. I know of people who can be offended if you call them Zimbabwean.

There is a difference in accent from a local Zimbabwean, a non local Zimbabwean, a coloured Zimbabwean, and a Rhodesian. If you want to start talking about South African accents then you going to be here a long time.

Chinese unhappy with US build-up

CHINA has expressed concern at the US decision to ramp up its military presence in the region by establishing a special naval task force to support its troops based in Darwin.

A technical "amphibious lift" group will be in place by 2018, possibly in Guam, to help the US mobilise its Australia-based troops quickly in an emergency.

The decision was interpreted by some Australian defence analysts as the next step of the US's goal to "pivot" its defence capabilities towards the Asia-Pacific region over the next decade.

In China, analysts said the decision could further offend the Chinese government, which is still unhappy over Julia Gillard's 2011 decision to allow US marines to be based in Darwin.

Shanghai Academy of Social Science researcher Li Kaisheng said the build-up of US troops in the region endangered Australia's political ties with China.

"A strengthening of the military presence will only make China's caution and antagonism grow. It is not good for the region's security and stability," Mr Li told The Weekend Australian.

"China sees Australia as an important country in the region and hopes Australia can play the role of being a bridge in the communications between China and the US rather than becoming a frontline for confrontation."

The number of US marines in Darwin will increase from 200 to 1150 next year and the US plans eventually to have 2500 stationed there.

Under the plan, revealed by The Australian yesterday, the US will place more marines on vessels that would form part of the "amphibious lift".

"China understands Australia's stance and mentality and it understands that other countries are concerned about China's rise," Mr Li said.

"But it would be better to work out a broader framework to co-exist with China."

Fudan University's international politics professor Shen Yi said China would be unhappy with the increased number of US troops in the region.

"The deployment will stir China's imagination: what does it mean and who is the target?" he said. "As a result of that, China will not be 100 per cent comfortable with this. Only China can be the target of this decision."

Thanks for that, yeah i know many don't like being called Zimbabwean, hopefully one day the country has a change around and they can return.

I never heard of the AWB until now, what a disgrace.

Kevin Rudd pledges new supply ships for navy


HMAS Sirius will be replaced earlier than planned if Labor is re-elected.

The Labor government has vowed that if re-elected it will fast-track a multimillion dollar project to build supply ships for the Navy.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will announce on Thursday that he will bring forward to 2015-16 the purchase of new vessels to replace supply ships HMAS Success and HMAS Sirius.

The announcement aims at assuaging defence industry fears that it faces a "valley of death" in which existing projects dry up but future ship building remains over the horizon.

By fast-tracking the major project, the government says it will "generate multimillion dollar contracts for Australia's shipbuilding industry and support hundreds of high-skill jobs".

It is not clear how far forward the government is pushing the projects. The recent Defence white paper did not put a year on their acquisition but rather pledged to replace the Success and Sirius "at the first possible opportunity".
The shipbuilding industry is mainly in Adelaide, Melbourne, Newcastle and Perth.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/kevin-rudd-pledges-new-supply-ships-for-navy-20130829-2sro4.html#ixzz2dM1gXbDu

AWB are on another level. They fighting for the right to be their own country. They believe the land belongs to them and they prepared to fight for it.

To add to the simmering tensions, both Lebanon and Jordan have refused to allow their airspace to be used to attack Syria. Which means should fighter jets be used - they'll have to go from the water (Wouldn't be surprised if the US deploy an ACC soon) or via Turkey. It would be too risky in terms of repercussions to use Israeli airspace.

Lebanon and Jordan protecting their air-space basically makes the Cyprus air base completely useless.

How so?

It's about 350km from the airforce base directly to Damascus, Homs or Hamah, ruling it out of range for pretty much all but the F/A-18.

oops didn't see Damascus is tucked nicely behind Lebanon:lol:

Range could be increased with aerial refueling.

Yeah, you're going to fly a Stratotanker with 0 defences and valued in excess of $40 million into hostile air space.

You can refuel at sea.

“The first missile detonated at 9,200 meters, the second one at 8,900 meters”, the source said.

CIA files prove America helped Saddam as he gassed Iran

Secret documents reveal that the US Government not only knew that Saddam Hussein was using chemical weapons in Iran - they helped.

The US government may be considering military action in response to chemical strikes near Damascus. But a generation ago, America's military and intelligence communities knew about and did nothing to stop a series of nerve gas attacks far more devastating than anything Syria has seen, Foreign Policy has learned.

In 1988, during the waning days of Iraq's war with Iran, the United States learned through satellite imagery that Iran was about to gain a major strategic advantage by exploiting a hole in Iraqi defenses. US intelligence officials conveyed the location of the Iranian troops to Iraq, fully aware that Hussein's military would attack with chemical weapons, including sarin, a lethal nerve agent.

The intelligence included imagery and maps about Iranian troop movements, as well as the locations of Iranian logistics facilities and details about Iranian air defenses. The Iraqis used mustard gas and sarin prior to four major offensives in early 1988 that relied on US satellite imagery, maps, and other intelligence. These attacks helped to tilt the war in Iraq's favor and bring Iran to the negotiating table, and they ensured that the Reagan administration's long-standing policy of securing an Iraqi victory would succeed. But they were also the last in a series of chemical strikes stretching back several years that the Reagan administration knew about and didn't disclose.

US officials have long denied acquiescing to Iraqi chemical attacks, insisting that Hussein's government never announced he was going to use the weapons. But retired Air Force Col. Rick Francona, who was a military attaché in Baghdad during the 1988 strikes, paints a different picture.

"The Iraqis never told us that they intended to use nerve gas. They didn't have to. We already knew," he told Foreign Policy.

Uk currently debating on Syria on CNN.

what is it that attracts you to join the armed forces????

UK has sent 6 euro fighters and two AWACS, which would be used to Detect and intercept any syrian aircraft, U.S sent another destroyer and the U.K House of Commons voted against action on Syria.

I'm sensing a bit of a confliction here.

Colombia President Calls Troops to Patrol Capital
BOGOTA, Colombia August 30, 2013 (AP)
By VIVIAN SEQUERA Associated Press
Associated Press
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday ordered troops to patrol the capital following rioting in which at least two people died.

Santos said that "to assure normality ... I have ordered the militarization of Bogota."

He did not say how many troops would be involved or the measure's duration. City officials said police would continue to be in charge of maintaining order, with no suspension of civil liberties.

Violence broke out Thursday afternoon after some 30,000 university students and others marched peacefully in support of a 10-day protest by small farmers.

Masked youths began hurling rocks and bricks and fought tear gas-firing riot police, shattering store windows. At least two people were reported killed in what became Bogota's worst street violence since March 2012, when protesets against the city's troubled municipal bus system were blighted by young vandals.

"We are not going to permit the excesses of a bunch of misfits to affect the tranquility of citizens." Santos said.

The two deaths ocurred Thursday night in two towns just west of Bogota: Suba and Engativa. Two men, aged 18 and 24, were killed by gunfire in circumstances not yet clear, said Alfonso Jaramillo, security chief for the capital, a city of 8 million.

The president also said 50,000 military personnel would help police along highways that small farmers and truckers demanding lower fertilizer and gas prices have intermittently blockaded.

Santos also said Air Force planes and guarded convoys would be available to ferry supplies to any cities affected by shortages because of the blockades.

Thursday's clashes occurred just hours after Santos acknowledged in a nationwide TV address that "a storm" is battering Colombia's agricultural sector and promised remedies.

He opened talks with the protesting farmers Tuesday and on Thursday promised them remedies including erasing import tariffs on fertilizer.

The unrest comes in the midst of peace talks in Cuba between the government and Colombia's main leftist rebel group to end a half-century-old conflict that largely affects remote provinces far from the capital.

Authorities said they believed leftist militants could have been involved in Thursday's unrest in the capital.

Russia sends warships to Mediterranean as Syria tension rises

Moscow: Russia said on Thursday it was sending warships to the Mediterranean, but denied it was beefing up its naval force there as Western powers prepare for military action against Syria.

Interfax news agency quoted a source in the armed forces' general staff as saying Russia, Syria's most powerful ally, was deploying a missile cruiser from the Black Sea Fleet and a large anti-submarine ship from the Northern Fleet in the "coming days".

Any strengthening of the navy's presence could fuel tension, especially as the United States has said it is repositioning naval forces in the Mediterranean following an alleged chemical weapons attack which it blames on Syrian government forces.

"The well-known situation now in the eastern Mediterranean required us to make some adjustments to the naval force," the source said in a reference to the events in Syria.

It was not clear when the vessels would arrive but Interfax said the missile cruiser Moskva was currently in the North Atlantic and would set sail in the next few days.

President Vladimir Putin has said the naval presence is needed to protect national security interests and is not a threat to any nation. Russia cooperates with NATO navies against piracy and its ships call at Western ports.

The navy later said a deployment was imminent in the Mediterranean but suggested it would not increase the size of Russian forces there.

"This is not a new group ... but a planned rotation," the state-run RIA news agency quoted an unnamed naval official as saying.

Secrecy

Confusion has at times surrounded Russian deployments in the Mediterranean because of the secrecy involved.

Both RIA and Interfax later quoted the Defence Ministry as saying that in the rotation, to be conducted from September 1-7, a destroyer and two landing ships would replace a frigate and three landing ships in the Mediterranean.

Separately, the Defence Ministry website said the Moskva, which Interfax had reported was headed to the Mediterranean, was leaving Venezuela but would remain in the Atlantic for now.

Washington accuses Syrian government forces of carrying out last week's chemical weapons attack and has made clear it could soon launch a military strike.

Russia is one of Assad's biggest arms suppliers. It opposes any military intervention in Syria and has shielded Damascus against further sanctions at the UN Security Council.

Defence experts said the deployment of the two warships identified by Interfax could give Assad early warning of cruise missile launches, particularly by submarine, or jam radars or navigation systems, although they might never be used for this.

"What we may be seeing here is an example of gunboat diplomacy rather than a deliberate attempt to interfere directly in any coalition strike militarily," said Lee Willett, editor of IHS Jane's Navy International.

"The simple presence of any ships will have an impact politically, and that is the primary intent."

Russia's chief of staff said in June the navy had stationed 16 warships and three ship-based helicopters in the Mediterranean, its first permanent naval deployment there since Soviet times.
Reuters

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/russia-sends-warships-to-mediterranean-as-syria-tension-rises-20130830-2su45.html#ixzz2dSmolxWh