. Medical and Hospital News .




.
MILPLEX
Gulf states bale out U.S. arms industry
by Staff Writers
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UPI) Mar 6, 2012

US sentencing postponed for Russian arms dealer
New York (AFP) March 6, 2012 - A US federal court postponed to March 28 a sentencing hearing for convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout, who prison authorities call highly dangerous, officials said Tuesday.

US District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin delayed the hearing, originally scheduled for March 12, following a request by the defense, according to court officials.

Bout, 45, was convicted in November in New York federal court, concluding a marathon operation by US authorities to incarcerate the larger-than-life figure popularly dubbed "the merchant of death," in a case that infuriated Russia.

He faces at least 25 years behind bars for conspiring to sell weapons to Colombia's FARC, a US-designated terrorist organization that prosecutors said Bout believed to be plotting to kill US service members.

The mustachioed Russian is widely believed to have been the world's biggest black market arms dealer in the post-Cold War period, specializing in arming African warlords and dictators. He says he worked exclusively as a private air transporter -- although sometimes carrying legal shipments of arms.

Dubbed "the merchant of death," he lived openly in Moscow, where he reputedly had ties to the Russian intelligence services, until he was lured to Thailand by US agents posing as members of the FARC looking to buy weapons.

Scheindlin ruled in favor of a February appeal by Bout's lawyers to let him out of solitary confinement for the first time in 15 months.


The Persian Gulf arms race is accelerating amid the smoldering confrontation between Iran and the United States, with gulf monarchies re-examining their defense programs even though they've spent far in excess of $100 billion on arms since 2006.

Rising tensions with Iran, a predominantly Shiite Muslim country suspected of working toward development of a nuclear weapon, is likely to drive rival Sunni Muslim states like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey to acquire nuclear weapons as well.

But that's some way in the future. In the meantime, the Gulf Cooperation Council states -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain -- are bolstering defense budgets to counter Iran and are being encouraged to do by the United States.

"Military spending is increasing across the gulf," the Middle East Economic Digest reported. "With the exception of Oman, the GCC states have all accelerated defense expenditure since 2006."

In 2010, the last year for which data are available, the Saudis spent $45 billion on defense, a 79 percent increase over 2005. The emirates spent more than $16 billion, a 113 percent jump from 2006.

But this isn't just to strengthen defenses against Iran and its swelling force of ballistic missiles that even without nuclear warheads are powerful weapons to be used against sprawling oil installations and even cities.

It's widely seen as a systematic long-term effort by the United States to keep its defense industry functioning at a time when the U.S. Department of Defense is drastically cutting its defense spending and reducing the size of the U.S. military to rescue the economy.

The Persian Gulf monarchies, all but Bahrain rich in oil or gas or both, have become vital partners in the Obama White House's drive to ramp up military sales to its Middle Eastern allies as it cuts back U.S. defense spending and shrinks the United States' costly military forces.

Historian and anti-war activist Nick Turse observed recently: "The agreement to broker the sale of tens of billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia sheds light on the Pentagon's efforts to shield itself -- and its favored arms dealers -- from the shakiness of the American economy, as well as President Barack Obama's stated goal of trimming $400 billion from projected national security spending of $10 trillion over the next 12 years."

Turse, who has written extensively on U.S. military affairs, says the administration has been creating "a comprehensive plan to sustain and enrich weapons makers and other military contractors in the coming years" to shield them from the downturn in domestic defense spending by expanding military exports.

"America's Middle Eastern allies are seen as a significant partner in this effort … When it comes to the Middle East, the Pentagon acts not as a buyer, but as a broker and shill, clearing the way for its Middle Eastern partners to buy some of the world's most advanced weaponry."

Critics say this has led the United States to support Arab dictators like Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, a longtime U.S. ally who was toppled in February 2011 in one of the first pro-democracy revolutions to sweep the region.

Saudi Arabia, one of the most heavily armed Arab powers and by far the richest, has gone along with Washington's wishes.

Turse said that from 2002-05, Riyadh signed arms deals with the United States worth $15.3 billion. The total soared to $29.5 billion in 2006-09.

The blockbuster multiyear, $60 billion deal in 2010, the largest foreign arms sale in U.S. history, "signaled far more of the same and will help ensure the continuing health and profitability of Boeing, Lockheed Martin and other mega-defense contractors even if Pentagon spending goes slack or begins to shrink in the years to come."

In October 2010, the U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor observed that the $60 billion U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia wasn't just about countering Iran's expansionist strategy.

"Militarily, Riyadh's challenge is not a matter of hardware: Saudi Arabia already fields a broad spectrum of some of the highest-end and most modern military equipment in the region," it said.

"Instead, its challenge is fielding that hardware. With deliveries years away, the deal will do little to balance the resurgent Iranian regime in the near-term, and prolongs Saudi Arabia's dependence on U.S. defense support."

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries


EADS subsidiary delivers 200th Lakota
Columbus, Miss. (UPI) Mar 7, 2012 - A U.S. unit of Netherlands company EADS reports delivery of the 200th UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter to the U.S. Army.

The UH-72A is the militarized version of the EC145, a twin-engine aircraft by EADS subsidiary Eurocopter.

Delivery of the aircraft took place during a ceremony at the American Eurocopter production facility in Columbus, Miss.

"Today marks another significant milestone for the Lakota program -- the only Department of Defense program of this size and scope to remain 100 percent on schedule and on budget," said Sean O'Keefe, EADS North America chairman and chief executive officer.

"The success of this program stems from the strong partnership we've built with the Department of Defense and the Army over the past seven years."

The Lakota delivered is the first production aircraft with the new Security and Support Battalion Mission Equipment Package, which features a centerline electro-optical infrared sensor, a 30 million candle power search light, analog/digital video downlink, rear observer's console with a 15-inch display, an enhanced tactical communications suite, an onboard digital video recorder, 10.4-inch auxiliary displays for the pilot and co-pilot, and a video management system.

Eurocopter said the package will allow for a broader range of missions for the aircraft, including armed scout missions in the future.

Previously delivered Lakotas were retrofitted with the S&S systems.

The Lakotas equipped with the S&S Battalion MEP are being flown by the Army National Guard, which supports state and local law enforcement and federal homeland security agencies during disasters and emergencies.

EADS North America said 52 UH-72As will be produced in the Army's S&S Battalion configuration in addition to refits.

The UH-72A can carry eight soldiers in addition to crew or stretchers and a medical team. It has a maximum speed of nearly 170 miles per hour, a service ceiling of 18,000 feet and a range of 426 miles.

It is replacing the National Guard's OH-58 and UH-1 rotary-wing aircraft. Those being acquired by the regular Army will replace Sikorsky's UH-60 Black Hawks.

EADS notes that with its North American subsidiaries -- EADS North America and American Eurocopter -- it contributes more than $11 billion each year to the U.S. economy and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, both directly and indirectly through its supply and service chain.



.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



MILPLEX
Fifth Generation Fighters Crucial to Air Superiority
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 07, 2012
The Air Force is the world's most advanced air and space force and, with the integration of fifth generation aircraft, is gaining new tactical advantages that transcend beyond just stealth into areas such as enhanced maneuverability, multi-role capabilities and fused sensor and avionics systems that can communicate with other weapons systems. That's why it is imperative that U.S. forces co ... read more


MILPLEX
Thai PM in Japan vows no more flood chaos

Disasters cost $380 billion in 2011, says UN

Fukushima refugees still in limbo one year on

Fires brought 'under control' in Congo munitions depot: army

MILPLEX
Galileo to spearhead extension of worldwide search and rescue service

LightSquared Undertakes Search for New CEO

Galileo on the ground reaches some of Earth's loneliest places

China launches 11th satellite for independent navigation system

MILPLEX
Scientists search for source of creativity

Bosnian fights to save 'bear children', Laka and Gvido

Neandertals faced extinction before the arrival of modern humans

Website lets people shine light on dark secrets

MILPLEX
Niger rare giraffe population makes a comeback

How do you stop a synthetic-biology disaster?

Researchers get first full look at prehistoric New Zealand penguin

Evolution of Earliest Horses Driven by Climate Change

MILPLEX
Small US trial looks at body's ability to fight HIV

Cuba to test new AIDS vaccine on humans

Taiwan official quits over 'bird flu cover-up'

Collaboration shields AIDS patients from tuberculosis: UN

MILPLEX
Chinese governor lauds clamp down on birth agents

Rebel China village revolution unlikely to spread

Tibetan teen self-immolates in China: exile groups

China to spend $111 billion on police in 2012

MILPLEX
Pirates kill four Nigerian soldiers in creek attack: army

Danish navy frees 16 held by pirates, two hostages killed

Britain funds Seychelles anti-piracy plan

Hit hard, Seychelles seeks Indian help against pirates

MILPLEX
Chinese named IMF secretary

Walker's World: Brits reform welfare

China may target slower economic growth: media

EU clinches new pact to salvage eurozone


Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement