wouldn't say it won ww2. it definetly did help though. iirc a common misconception about ww2 is japan surrended once the nuclear bombs landed. I think I read that they continued to fight for months after, Australia was one of the countries that had to clean this up, while the americans participated in island hopping to the more important islands. ww2 had already turned before the nuclear bombs, japan was being pushed back. I got no doubt that the bombs quickened japans surrender, and the morale of its people and did help end the war though.
and this relates to the article about the most famous. douglas mcarthur is on the notably absent list, he was massive in the war in the pacific

@ Afro - by 1945 the war in Europe was already won. The US held the upper hand in the pacific though it was messy and costing lots of lives on both sides. With the Russians about to enter the war the Japanese had no chance.

The atomic bomb didn't win the war, it just brought the end a whole lot closer, rightly or wrongly.

Wut? Russia had been fighting on the Eastern Front since 1941.

Wut? Russia had been fighting on the Eastern Front since 1941.

You probably should have said that then ;)

Al Qaeda group captures town near Syria-Turkey border, eyes key crossing

Oncupinar Border Crossing, Turkey (CNN) -- Al Qaeda-linked militants were on the verge of capturing a strategic border gate between Turkey and opposition-controlled northern Syria late Wednesday night.

Hardline Islamist fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) made their advance toward the Turkish border hours after they attacked and pushed more moderate Syrian rebels out of the nearby Syrian town of Azaz.

"We are trying to bring reinforcements to make sure that the border crossing is not lost to the ISIS," said Abu Rashid, a commander from the Northern Storm Brigade, a rebel contingent from the opposition Free Syrian Army.

That rebel faction has controlled Azaz and the Syrian side of the Oncupinar-Bab el Salama border crossing with Turkey for the past year after it wrested control of the town from the government of Bashar al-Assad.

The fighting erupted first erupted in Azaz between FSA rebels and ISIS militants on Wednesday afternoon.

The clashes raised tensions on the Turkish side of the border as convoys of ambulances raced back and forth through the border gate and large numbers of Turkish border guards and plain-clothed security personnel deployed throughout the customs terminal, prohibiting journalists from filming the commotion.

The advance of the jihadist fighters threatens the main entry point for international aid on the main highway linking the Turkish city of Gaziantep and the divided Syrian northern metropolis of Aleppo.

In recent months, deliveries of U.S. humanitarian and nonlethal assistance to the opposition-held north have been trucked through the Bab el Salama gate. This was also the border crossing used by U.S. Sen. John McCain when he made a brief surprise visit to Syria to meet the commander of the Free Syrian Army.

During Wednesday's battle between the rival opposition groups in Azaz, a prominent opposition activist named Omar Hajouleh was shot dead by a sniper from ISIS, his brother said. Hajouleh was the head of the Azaz Media Center, a rebel-affiliated group that has long facilitated visits for foreign journalists to northern Syria.

"These guys (ISIS) are infidels. They killed my brother and wounded my other brother," said Hajouleh's older brother, Khaled, who wept as he spoke to CNN.

The elder Hajouleh said he had previously helped facilitate the arrival of foreign jihadist fighters from Turkey, some of whom volunteered to fight with the hardline ISIS militia in Syria.

"I let these guys in, and I totally regret it," said Khaled Hajouleh. "I thought these guys were coming to help us and protect us."

The apparent power play at the border by ISIS, one of the newest and most ideologically extreme jihadist groups to have established itself in Syria, immediately triggered calls for vengeance from the more moderate Free Syrian Army.

"[ISIS] are not rebels anymore; from this point, they are terrorists now," said Louay Almokdad, the political and media coordinator for the FSA, said in an interview broadcast live on CNN.

"We are fighting two terrorist teams on two fronts; one al-Assad regime and Hezbollah militia and the Iranian revolutionary guards and the other the extremists al Qaeda, ISIS," Almokdad added.

Until recently, there had been cooperation between the two groups.
Last month, ISIS' al Qaeda-linked fighters fought alongside the FSA to capture a long-besieged Syrian government airbase that's less than 20 minutes' drive from the Turkish border.

Government troops barricaded inside Minnigh Airbase had succeeded in holding out for months against the rebel siege. Their defenses finally collapsed on August 5, after an ISIS suicide bomber drove a captured armored personnel carrier loaded with explosives to the gates of the airbase and then detonated the huge mobile bomb.

The stated goal of ISIS is to establish an Islamic caliphate uniting Iraq and Syria. The group includes many foreign militants hailing from North Africa, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and other countries.

Eyewitnesses say some of the fighters wear suicide bomb belts as part of their daily uniform.

Pentagon proposes training moderate Syrian rebels

Washington (CNN) -- The Pentagon has "put a proposal on the table" for U.S. military forces to train and equip moderate Syrian opposition forces for the first time, two Obama administration officials told CNN.

If approved, it would dramatically increase the role of the U.S. military in Syria's civil war and would for the first time put American troops in direct contact with opposition forces.

The idea has been under consideration since the August 21 chemical weapons attack outside Damascus, which the United States says was carried out by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
There are few specifics on troops or other aspects of the military proposal, but both officials said the effort envisions training taking place in a country near Syria.

"We have any number of options under development that could expand our support to the moderate opposition, but no decision has been taken at this point," Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey said when asked by reporters on Wednesday about the proposal.

Until now, any training and equipping of Syrian opposition forces has fallen under the purview of the CIA and has not directly been acknowledged by the United States government.
The Obama administration has acknowledged providing logistical, humanitarian and some military assistance to rebels fighting al-Assad's forces in a civil war now in its third year.

The training proposal was first floated in the days after the August attack as a means to step up U.S. support for the opposition.

The proposal envisions U.S. troops training certain rebels on small arms, command and control and military tactics, according to one of the officials.

Weapons however would not be directly supplied by the United States because legal authority does not exist for the Pentagon to arm the rebels.

President Barack Obama, who blames al-Assad's regime for the attack and threatened a limited military strike as punishment, has vowed not to put "boots on the ground" inside Syria.

The training idea, however, has run into trouble in recent days as the United States has focused on diplomatic efforts to turn Syria's chemical weapons over to international control, sidelining at least for now Obama's push for congressional support to take military action.

Both administration officials said the timing might be too sensitive now to engage in such an initiative.

Dempsey initially hinted at the plan during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing earlier this month.

"The path to the resolution of the Syrian conflict is through a d
eveloped capable moderate opposition, and we know how to do that," he said.
Dempsey noted the focus on dealing with chemical weapons.

"I think that subsequent to that, we would probably return to have a discussion about what we might do with the moderate opposition in a more overt way," he said.
Both administration officials declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information.

Syria rebels, jihadists agree on truce

Rebels fighting the Syrian regime have reached a ceasefire pact with jihadists who battled them for control of a key border town.

The National Coalition accused al-Qaeda front group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) of violating the principles of the revolution by turning its guns on fighters of the mainstream Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Azaz.

ISIS seized the town on the border with Turkey in hours-long fighting on Wednesday, in the latest in a growing spate of clashes between jihadists and mainstream rebel units.

The Northern Storm brigade, which is loyal to the FSA and was based in Azaz, agreed to the truce with ISIS under which both sides pledged to observe a ceasefire, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.

The deal was brokered by Liwa al-Tawhid, a powerful rebel brigade loyal to the FSA, which sent fighters to the town on Thursday who have deployed between the two sides, the Observatory said.

The rival groups also undertook to free detainees captured in Wednesday's fighting and to immediately return any goods looted from the other side.

They agreed that any future problems that might emerge be dealt with by an arbitration committee, the Britain-based watchdog added.

Azaz has symbolic as well as strategic value as it was one of the first towns to be captured from government troops, in July 2012, by FSA fighters, who set up their own administration.

Tensions have spiralled between some mainstream rebel groups and ISIS in recent months, especially in northern Syria, where the opposition controls vast swathes of territory.

Several local groups resent ISIS's growing territorial control, its steady supply of arms, as well as its brutality, which opponents often compare to that of the regime.

ISIS, on the other hand, has accused some rebels affiliated with the FSA's Supreme Military Command of collaborating with the West and of being 'heretics'.

The opposition National Coalition issued a rare condemnation of ISIS on Friday, accusing the group of violating the principles of the revolution by turning its guns on FSA fighters.

'The Coalition condemns the aggressions against the forces of the Syrian revolution and the repeated disregard for the lives of Syrians, and considers that this behaviour runs contrary to the Syrian revolution and the principles it is striving to achieve,' a statement said.

It accused ISIS of 'repeated repressive practices against the freedom of civilians, doctors, journalists and political activists in recent months'.

It also accused it of having 'links to foreign agendas' and of seeking to create a 'new state inside the Syrian state entity in violation of national sovereignty'.

ISIS and fellow jihadist group Al-Nusra Front have long posed a dilemma for the opposition and FSA commanders.

The two groups have proved themselves effective fighting machines against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, and FSA commanders have been ready to co-operate with them tactically.

But their presence on the battlefield has deterred Western governments from providing the rebels with more than non-lethal assistance for fear that any weapons supplied might fall into jihadist hands.

President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that France was in favour of sending weapons to the FSA, but only 'in a controlled environment' and 'with a number of countries'.

'The Russians regularly send (weapons) but we will do it in a broader context, with a number of countries and a framework which can be controlled, because we cannot have a situation where weapons end up with Islamists,' Hollande said.

'We always said we wanted to control the supply of weapons if we did this, so that they go to the FSA,' he added.

Washington too has repeatedly expressed concern about the risks of weaponry ending up in the hands of groups loyal to al-Qaeda.

On the diplomatic front, meanwhile, UN envoys were set to resume talks on a draft Security Council resolution that would enshrine a joint US-Russian plan to secure and neutralise Assad's banned chemical weapons.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that a UN report has proved the Syrian regime was behind a deadly chemical weapons attack in August that killed hundreds of civilians.

And Iranian President Hassan Rowhani, writing in The Washington Post, announced Tehran's 'readiness' to facilitate dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition.

In The Hague, the 41 committee members of the executive committee of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will meet on Sunday to discuss the elimination of chemical weapons arsenals in Syria and decide on matters of procedure.

Syria has to provide the organisation a complete inventory of its chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities.

Afghan soldier accused of killing Australian soldiers captured, to face trial


ACCUSED KILLER TO FACE TRIAL FOR 'GREEN ON BLUE' ATTACKS 1:24

Play video

Chief of Defence General David Hurley announces the rogue Afghan National Army Sergeant accused of killing three Australian soldiers last year has been captured and will face trial.
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Accused killer to face trial for 'green ...Hekmatullah
A FORMER Afghan National Army sergeant accused of shooting dead three Australian soldiers is in custody in Afghanistan, where he could face the death penalty.

Defence Force Chief David Hurley said Sergeant Hekmatullah, wanted for killing Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin, and Private Robert Poate in August last year, was captured at least seven months ago in Pakistan.

General Hurley said it was expected Hekmatullah would face trial in Afghanistan for the “green on blue” attack, which also left two other soldiers wounded.

He said he had been unable to announce Hekmatullah's capture any earlier.

“In February this year, Pakistani authorities formally advised Australia that Hekmatullah was in custody in Pakistan.

“Since that time, the Pakistani government has been working to establish an appropriate transfer arrangement to return Hekmatullah to Afghanistan.”

He said the transfer arrangements were a matter for the Pakistani and Afghan governments, and it would have been “inappropriate and possibly detrimental for Defence to disclose Hekmatullah's apprehension until the transfer to Afghanistan authorities was complete”.

General Hurley said Australian spy agencies had provided “crucial support” to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency “which they were able to act on”.

He said the development was “bittersweet news” the families of the slain soldiers, who were informed of the development today.

“On one hand there is a great sense of relief, but it will not change history,” General Hurley said.

The three soldiers were gunned down at Patrol Base Wahab on August 29 last year as they played cards.

General Hurley said Hekmatullah's capture drew a line under the four insider attacks on Australian troops in Afghanistan.

“Those responsible for the deaths of seven Australian soldiers, and who wounded another ten, have been captured or killed and no longer pose a threat to our people,” he said.

An internal Defence report released last week found the army failed to provide the Australian soldiers adequate protection ahead of the “green on blue” attack.

The killings occurred 13 days after a warning about increased “sleeper” attacks from Taliban chief Mullah Omar and during a spike in deadly insider attacks by Afghan soldiers.

The International Security Assistance Force ordered security be increased but the warnings were not passed to those at Patrol Base Wahab, the report found.

The soldiers had changed out of their combat gear and into shorts and T-shirts just before they were attacked.

Most of the Diggers were playing poker while others watched movies on their laptops as Hekmatullah allegedly entered their recreation area and unloaded 23 rounds, killing two instantly.

A third died later and two more were wounded as the gunman escaped.

An inquiry into the shooting found that while the ADF became aware of an unofficial Taliban video in which Hekmatullah spoke of the attack, the Taliban had never claimed responsibility and the motivations of the gunman remained unknown.

Hekmatullah's existence was “unremarkable from a personnel or intelligence perspective”, vice-chief of the defence force, Air Marshal Mark Binskin told reporters last week.

Releasing the inquiry report, Air Marshal Binskin also told journalists last week Hekmatullah was still at large, and his capture remained a priority.

“We will not let this rest. We will hunt him down and bring him to justice,” he said.

Some 40 Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/diggers-killer-captured/story-e6frg8yo-1226731493075#sthash.aNRhLm75.dpuf

U.S. military forces strike in Libya, Somalia; capture wanted al Qaeda leader

(CNN) -- In two raids nearly 3,000 miles apart, U.S. military forces went after two high-value targets over the weekend. And while officials have yet to say whether the operations were coordinated or directly related, they show Washington's reach, capability and willingness to pursue alleged terrorists.

One operation took place Saturday in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, when U.S. forces captured Abu Anas al Libi, an al Qaeda leader wanted for his role in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

In the second raid, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs in southern Somalia targeted a top leader of Al-Shabaab, which was behind last month's mall attack in Kenya. The SEALs came under fire and had to withdraw before they could confirm whether they killed their target, a senior U.S. official said.

"One could have gone without the other," said retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona, CNN's military analyst. "But the fact that they did them both, I think, is a real signal that the United States -- no matter how long it takes -- will go after these targets."

The operations were carried out even as polls show Americans are skittish about U.S. military involvement in overseas conflicts. This means, Francona said, that others who might be in the U.S. government's cross hairs could have more reason to worry.

Al Libi tied to U.S. embassy bombings

Al Libi, 49, has been high on the radar for years. He was on the FBI's "Most Wanted Terrorists" list, with a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

He is alleged to have played a key role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. More than 200 people were killed and another 5,000 wounded in the Kenya attack; 11 died in the Tanzania incident.
Al Libi has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, murder, destruction of American buildings and government property, and destruction of national defense utilities of the United States.

As early as December 2010, Libyan authorities told a United Nations committee that al Libi was living there, even providing a Tripoli address for him.

U.S. officials wanted al Libi to face trial in an American court.

But, counterterrorism analysts told CNN, he may not have been apprehended because of the delicate security situation in much of Libya. There, ex-jihadists -- especially those who once belonged to the Libyan Islamic Fighters Group -- held considerable sway since the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The Saturday operation was conducted with the knowledge of the Libyan government, said one U.S. official. The Pentagon said the U.S. military was holding al Libi in a "secure location" outside Libya.

"It's a huge deal to get him," said CNN's Nic Robertson, who has long been covering al Qaeda. "He's a big player in al Qaeda (and) he is in one of the key target areas, the north of Africa."

Beyond any psychological impact on the terrorist group, al Libi's capture could potentially yield a wealth of information about al Qaeda's plans and capabilities. The terrorist network has shown particular strength of late in Africa.

"Clearly, he may have useful information about the strength of al Qaeda and the Islamists in Libya," Robertson said. "He is somebody who is senior within al Qaeda. He was well respected, a good operative."

Al-Shabaab blamed for Kenya mall attack

Al-Shabaab long has been a target of Washington as well: It was designated a foreign terrorist organization in 2008. The group is seeking to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, though it has carried out attacks in other African countries as well.

The attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall on September 21`thrust Al-Shabaab into the spotlight once again. Washington vowed to support Kenya's government after the bloody raid, which killed at least 67 people.

The Al-Shabaab raid took place Friday in the southern Somalian port city of Barawe.
The Pentagon would only say the operation was against a "known Al-Shabaab terrorist." But town residents told CNN the "foreign forces" came via speed boat and stormed a house believed to be a hideout for several top militant commanders, including the group's top leader Ahmed abdi Godane, also known as Moktar Ali Zubeyr.

A senior U.S. official said the Navy SEALs inflicted some Al-Shabaab casualties, and came under fire.

They made the "prudent decision" to withdraw, and couldn't confirm whether they killed their target, the official said.

Abdiaziz Abu Musab, an Al-Shabaab spokesman, said at least one Al-Shabaab fighter was killed in the gunfight. But no U.S. personnel were injured or killed, a U.S. official said.
In recent months, Al-Shabaab's haven in south-central Somalia has been been increasingly squeezed as Kenyan forces fight the group from the south and African Union forces come down from Mogadishu.

At the same time, Al-Shabaab has become even more closely aligned with al Qaeda. The two groups effectively merged last year, said CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.

"This is a group that has adopted al Qaeda's ideology wholesale," Bergen said. "The reason they attacked the mall was not only because it was Kenyan, but also because it attracted a fair number of Western businessmen and others living in Nairobi."

'Most Wanted Terrorist' al Libi nabbed in native Libya after years tied to al Qaeda
U.S. officials: Navy SEALs launch raid on Al-Shabaab leader

S. Korea Envisions Light Aircraft Carrier



SEOUL — The South Korean Navy believes it can deploy two light aircraft carriers by 2036 and expand its blue-water force to cope with the rapid naval buildups of China and Japan, according to a Navy source.

The service has been exploring ways of securing light aircraft carriers based on an interim feasibility study, the source said.

“It’s a hope,” the Navy source said on condition of anonymity. “There are no fixed requirements at the moment, but we’ve been studying ways of launching light aircraft carriers over the next two decades.”

Rep. Chung Hee-soo of the ruling Saenuri Party revealed the contents of a program in a feasibility report last week.

“To cope with potential maritime disputes with neighboring countries, we need to secure aircraft carriers as soon as possible,” Chung, a member of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee, said during a confirmation hearing Oct. 11 for Adm. Choi Yoon-hee, new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “For more active international peacekeeping operations, our Navy should have carriers.”

According to Chung, the Navy envisions three phases:

■The first is to equip the second ship of the Dokdo-class landing platform helicopter ship (LPH) with a ski ramp to operate short-range or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

The flight surface of the landing ship is already sprayed with urethane, which can withstand the heat created by the aircraft during operations.

Dokdo, with the addition of a ski ramp, could be deployed before 2019, according to the report, which suggests the Navy procure used VTOL jets from the US, UK and Spain if needed.

■Second, the Navy could build an amphibious assault ship, similar to the Spanish Navy’s Juan Carlos, before 2019.

■Finally, the service aims to build two 30,000-ton light aircraft carriers between 2028 and 2036, the report said. The carrier is to have specifications similar to the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour, which can support about 30 aircraft.

“We should have capabilities to deter North Korea, and at the same time, we need minimal capabilities to respond to potential threats from neighboring countries,” Choi replied to Chung, apparently referring to the naval buildups of China and Japan.

China commissioned its first aircraft carrier last year, with three more carriers planned. Japan, whose Navy is classed as a self-defense force, has controversially unveiled a 20,000-ton helicopter destroyer akin to a small aircraft carrier.

More Aegis Ships and Jets
During the National Assembly last week, the Navy unveiled mid- to long-term procurement plans to further strengthen its naval power.

The service plans to commission three more 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis destroyers by 2023 to develop a strategic mobile fleet. The service has three KDX-III destroyers fitted with Lockheed Martin-built SPY-1D radar capable of tracking incoming ballistic missiles and enemy aircraft.

“The construction of new Aegis ships could be completed earlier than scheduled,��� Adm. Hwang Gi-chul, chief of naval operations, testified. “And the new Aegis ships will have better stealth functions than those with the existing ships.”

The Navy will also launch six, 5,900-ton next-generation destroyers — dubbed KDDX — after 2023.

The development of an attack submarine is on track, according to the Navy. The service plans to commission six more 1,800-ton Type 214 submarines to bring the 214 fleet to nine subs by 2023. After that, it will deploy nine, 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines codenamed KSS-III. The KSS-III is to be equipped with a vertical launch tube to fire a 1,500-kilometer cruise missile that can hit key targets in North Korea.

Other procurement plans include the FFX program to build a dozen new frigates with advanced sensors and a wide variety of weaponry. The FFX program is intended to replace the aging fleet of existing Ulsan class frigates and Pohang class corvettes with multimission frigates.

The 2,300- to 3,000-ton FFX vessels are to be built in two batches with an objective of putting up to 24 ships into service by 2026.

The Navy also puts a priority on acquiring reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. In particular, the service laid out plans to buy the Lockheed S-3 Vikings retired from front-fleet service aboard aircraft carriers by the US Navy in January 2009.

The service will purchase 18 S-3 jets and modify them into a new configuration meeting the Navy’s operational requirements. If adopted, it will be the first fixed-wing jet patrol aircraft operated by the South Korean Navy, which flies 16 P-3CK turboprop patrol aircraft.

“The S-3 introduction will offer a great opportunity for the ROK Navy to operate a carrier-based jet, as the service envisions deploying aircraft carriers in the future,” Kim Dae-young, a research member of the Korea Defense & Security Forum, a private defense think tank here. “From the operational perspective, the S-3 is expected to be used for various purposes, such as patrol, surface warfare and aerial refueling.”

In order to beef up its anti-submarine operation, the Navy will procure six more new naval helicopters by 2022.

In January, AgustaWestland won a $560 million contract to supply the South Korean Navy with six AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopters equipped with an active dipping sonar for anti-submarine role.

Wow, the initial post had photos of me in three different countries. (One was Australia though).

P.S. In Palas map, Did anyone else find it funny that Germany became a black colour in 1936 :-P


[youtube]8VwkyrTb6go[/youtube]

Also love it how Metropolitan France is still represented by Saint Pierre and Miquelon right up to the present day!

The map was also right to show Russia's ownership of Alaska, that everyone knows about, but I was disappointed that they didn't show at least a dot for their colonisation of California. They were first into Hawaii as well.