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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Military, Resources, Strategic Interests May 17, 2012

Energy Engagement: Turkish warplanes intercept Israeli jet violating Turkish Cyprus airspace

TURKEY accused Israel on Thursday of violating the airspace of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus in a controversial oil and gas exploration area.

The Israeli aircraft “violated” the northern Cyprus’s airspace five times in Monday’s incident which saw Turkish fighter jets chase out the intruder, the army command said in a statement.

The airspace violations reportedly occured between 11:05 a.m. and 12:49 p. m., and lasted a total of eigth minutes.

It gave no other details about the incident nor the type of Israeli plane involved in the alleged incursion over the breakaway statelet, which is recognized only by Ankara.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Crisis, Flashpoints, Intelligensia, Stratagem, War Crimes May 10, 2012

Turkish Daily: CIA and Mossad behind Syria Bombings

The Turkish daily Aydinlik said that suicide bombings represent a way of incitement carried out by the CIA and Mossad agents in Iraq, and are applied now in Syria, Lebanese daily Al-Benaa reported.

“CIA and Mossad agents have carried out – and still – various attacks in several countries including Iraq, Pakistan and Libya,” Aydinlik stated in a report published Monday.

The report made it clear that the agents have bombed mosques during the occupation of Iraq in order to incite Shiites against Sunnis and vice versa.

“Those agents have achieved their goal where most of their operations were targeting Shiite and Sunnite mosques. All bombings were declared suicide attacks, while the suicide bombers were announced killed, but the fact is contrary to what was claimed,” the daily added.

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Border Incursion, Drill, Flashpoints, Military May 9, 2012

Massive Show of Force: Over 15 nations to join US-led military drill near Syria border

12000 soldiers from 17 countries carry out a US-led joint military exercise in Jordan amid the ongoing the crisis in Syria. ‘It has nothing to do with Syria. [The timing] is just a coincidence,’ a top US official says
Wounded Syrian soldiers are taken to hospital after a bomb attack which targets their convoy as they escort UN peace observers, including the Norwegian general. AP photo

The United States military said yesterday that 12,000 soldiers from 17 countries would be taking part in this month’s military exercises in Jordan, designed to enhance their ability to meet “security challenges.”

Special action troops, naval and air force units from countries including Turkey, France and Saudi Arabia will carry out the joint training operations, according to the Voice of Russia.

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Border Incursion, Intelligensia, Territorial Dispute May 4, 2012

After 20 years, India’s RAW upgrades to super spy jets

After 20 years, India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) is set to spread its wings — deep into enemy territory.

The agency is to acquire two Bombardier jets packed with Israeli multi-mission airborne reconnaissance and surveillance systems that will multiply its capability along Pakistan and China borders.

The Bombardier 5000 aircraft, which will replace two 21-year-old Gulfstream jets, will daily collect electronic and ground intelligence 180 km inside the neighbours’ territories.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Development, Flashpoints, Military Buildup, Stratagem, Strategic Interests May 2, 2012

Map: US bases encircle Iran

US military bases continue to form a strategic envelope around Iran, although the American withdrawal from Iraq at the end of 2011 may have changed the regional balance somewhat towards Iran’s favour. While US forces are scaling back in many parts of the globe due to budget cuts – and have begun a gradual depature from Afghanistan to be completed by 2014 – their international presence remains vast.

From an active-duty force of 1.4 million soldiers, the US has deployed some 350,000 troops to at least 130 foreign countries around the world. Some are at Cold War-era installations, but many are in or near combat zones in the Middle East. At more than 750 bases internationally, private contractors and third-country nationals also form a large percentage of the staff, in addition to military reservists and civilian employees of the Pentagon.

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Border Incursion, Crisis, Flashpoints, Resources, Strategic Interests, Territorial Dispute May 2, 2012

Taiwan sets up airborne unit for contested Spratly Islands

Taiwan’s defence ministry said Wednesday that it has formed a special airborne unit capable of scrambling to the contested Spratly islands in just hours, as tensions in the South China Sea mounted.

The unit has been set up under a plan named “airborne fast response and maritime support” which was unveiled for the first time in a report by the ministry to parliament, officials said.

No details of the unit, such as its size, were released to the public, but local media said that if needed, it can arrive on Taiping Island, the biggest in the disputed waters, onboard C-130 transport planes within four hours.

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Border Incursion, Drill, Flashpoints, Military, News May 2, 2012

IDF Conducts ‘Lebanon Attack’ Drill

IDF forces carried out a series of contingency maneuvers along the Blue Line on Tuesday to prepare for a possible attack as it constructs a 6-meter high separation wall between Israel and Lebanon.

According to Lebanese sources, tens of Israeli soldiers were deployed in the defacto border region and were visible from the border town of Kfar Kila.

The troops – said to number in the “tens” – deployed using Hummers and asked the construction company to evacuate the area for practice.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Crisis, Flashpoints, Paramilitary April 16, 2012

Balochistan being pushed to civil war: Raisani

Balochistan Chief Minister Sardar Aslam Raisani has said the province is being pushed to civil war through a plan.

While chairing a meeting to review law and order situation in the province, Aslam Raisani said that the government would launch a targeted operation in Quetta for the restoration of peace.

Provincial Home Minister Zafarullah Zahri, Ali Madad Jatak, religious leaders and representatives of law enforcement agencies were also present on the occasion.

Raisani urged the religious leaders to play their role to normalize the situation in the province.

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Border Incursion, Crisis, Flashpoints, News, Risks April 14, 2012

Syrian strife hits Lebanese border villages

A few kilometres separate the two Lebanese villages of Ersal and Qaa from the Syrian border, both of which have been unwillingly drawn into the violence of the Syrian uprising. Unrest has been brewing in the region for weeks and recently it was on the receiving end of intermittent gunfire from the Syrian army. The situation remains tense despite the fragile new ceasefire.

Official sources are now reporting Syrian army incursions into Masharii Qaa (the Qaa Projects), a border town consisting of Ersal, a Sunni village, and Qaa, which is predominately Christian. Ersal supports Syrian opposition fighters, whom Qaa residents view with great suspicion.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Crisis, Flashpoints, Military, Stratagem, Strategic Interests April 12, 2012

PM: Turkey may invoke NATO’s Article 5 over Syrian border fire

In a statement that may be interpreted as the harshest response yet to the escalating 13-month-old Syrian crisis, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the first time on Wednesday raised the possibility of calling on the NATO military alliance to protect Turkey’s border against incursions by Syrian forces.
Speaking to reporters travelling with him during his official visit to China, Erdoğan said Turkey may consider invoking NATO’s fifth article to protect Turkish national security in the face of increasing tension along the Syrian border. His comments came after four Syrians who fled to Turkey from the violence in Syria were killed by Syrian forces targeting refugees on the Turkish side of the border on Monday.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Flashpoints April 9, 2012

Syrian violence spills into Lebanon and Turkey

Conflict in Syria burst over the borders into neighboring Lebanon and Turkey on Monday, with one Lebanese cameraman killed and at least four people, two Syrian and two Turkish, injured in fighting on the Syrian-Turkish border.

The violence, on the eve of the deadline of a fading U.N.-backed deal for Syrian troops to withdraw from cities and cease hostilities against a widespread uprising, provoked strong responses from Lebanese and Turkish officials and heightened already tense regional relations.

The incidents came less than two weeks after heavy fighting on the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon threatened to spill into the Qaa area of Lebanon.

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Border Incursion, Paramilitary, Powerplay April 4, 2012

Backstory: India denies LTTE terrorists trained in Tamil Nadu sent to destabilize Sri Lanka

India today rejected a news item carried by a local newspaper that Tamil Tiger terrorists have been given training in Tamil Nadu state of Southern India and sent back to destabilize Sri Lanka.

Referring to a news item in today’s The Island newspaper titled “Tigers return from India on a destabilization mission – SL intelligence, three arrested, others at large”, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a statement that “The suggestion contained in the news item regarding the training of terrorists at three secret camps in Tamil Nadu, India is entirely erroneous and baseless.”

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Border Incursion, Development, Flashpoints, Military Buildup April 2, 2012

Call for India to develop striking capability along border with China

There is urgent need for India to develop infrastructure and striking capability along the border with China to face any eventuality, while unfortunately some major proposals for strengthening India’s striking power are pending before the Government for a long time. This was the observation of defence analyst Brig (Retd) Gurmeet Kanwal, who was the Director of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies till recently.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, Brig Kanwal admitted that the border with China in the North East was neglected for a long time and even today, India lacks proper infrastructure.

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Analysis, Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Paramilitary, Resources, Risks, Stratagem March 30, 2012

Mali Coup a New Step towards Global Resources Grab

The media uniformly stress that Mali is among the world’s poorest countries, which is basically true considering that it ranks 127th in the global GDP listing and 168th (of 179) (6) in terms of the index of human development (7). The ratings, however, should not overshadow the strategic importance and the economic potential of the territory of Mali. It borders seven other countries – Algeria, Mauritania, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Senegal – and sits on considerable natural reserves of gold, uranium, bauxites, iron, manganese, tin, and copper. According to fresh reports, the northern part of Mali is found to be rich in oil and, importantly, contains a usable underground water ecosystem.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Flashpoints March 23, 2012

Kurd militants threaten Turkey if it enters Syria

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Kurd militants threatened on Thursday to turn all Kurdish populated areas into a “war zone” if Turkish troops entered Syria, a sign the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has allies in Syria may be taking sides in the conflict there.

A renewed alliance between Damascus and the PKK would anger Turkey and could prompt it to take an even stronger line against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over his brutal repression of anti-government protesters.

PKK field commander Murat Karayilan said Turkey was preparing the ground for an intervention in Syria.

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Analysis, Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Military Buildup, News March 20, 2012

India’s arms mostly target Pakistan

India and China have never been serious military rivals. Never in history, other than the minor Sino-Indian Border Conflict of 1962, has India fought a sustained war with China. The probability of a future war between India and China is minimal. And that is so because the Great Himalayas run through the entire 3,380 km of the India-China border.

According to a report by Stratfor, the Texas-based private intelligence agency, “China has been seen as a threat to India, and simplistic models show them to be potential rivals. In fact, however, China and India might as well be on different planets. Their entire frontier runs through the highest elevations of the Himalayas. It would be impossible for a substantial army to fight its way through the few passes that exist, and it would be utterly impossible for either country to sustain an army there in the long term. The two countries are irrevocably walled off from each other.

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Military, News March 1, 2012

‘China may resort to Indian territory grab’

China may resort to territorial grabs, including through a “major military offensive”, especially in Arunachal Pradesh or Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, and India should respond with “a strategy of quid pro quo”, says a report by an independent group of Indian analysts.

“Our frontiers with China have been mostly stable for some years now. However, China could assert its territorial claims (especially in the Arunachal sector or Ladakh) by the use of force,” says the report that seeks to outline a foreign and strategic policy for India in the 21st century.

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Border Incursion, Military, News February 26, 2012

Russian Bombers over Black Sea Alert Bulgarian, Turkish Air Forces

Five Russian strategic bombers have raised alert with the Bulgarian and Turkish Air Forces after flying close by over the Black Sea on Wednesday.

The five Russian Tu-22 bombers were detected right off Bulgaria’s coast, on the fringes of the Bulgarian air space, the Standart daily reported Thursday, saying that the information has been confirmed by sources from the Bulgarian Defense Ministry.

The Bulgarian military has explained, however, that the Russian bombers never entered Bulgaria’s air space, even though they reached within 40 km of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, apparently bound south, towards Africa.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Flashpoints, Military February 23, 2012

With eye on Iran, US pressing Pak for bases in Balochistan

The US has been pushing Pakistan for permission to establish bases in Balochistan for intelligence operations against bordering Iran, according to a media report on Monday.

The “outburst in America for Balochistan”, including a resolution introduced in the US Congress seeking the recognition of the Baloch people’s right to self-determination , is part ofthe move to set up intelligence bases close to the Iranian border, an Pakistani unnamed official was quoted as saying by ‘The Express Tribune’ newspaper.

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Border Incursion, Crisis, Flashpoints, Resources February 23, 2012

CIA carving out new role in Balochistan

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), led by David Petraeus the former Commander, US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A), has a strategic, multidimensional interest in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province. In March 2011, The Peninsula, Qatar’s leading English language daily, revealed that the “CIA is indulging in heavy recruitment of local people as agents (each being paid $500 a month) in Balochistan to locate members of the Quetta Shura, a term used by the Americans for Mullah Omar-led Taliban commanders.”

Over the long term, the CIA has an interest in keeping the strategically important Port of Gwadar out of China’s influence. Over the short to medium term, the CIA also has an interest in supporting Jundallah, also known as People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (PRMI), a violent organization that claims to be “fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran.”

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Military Buildup, Powerplay February 20, 2012

Russia’s Encroachment: Moldova will bring down Russian planes and defend airspace with NATO

Under the bill, Chisinau intends to buy from NATO countries for 240 million dollars, airplanes and helicopters to control your sky. The purpose of undertaking – a supremacy over the army of the Moldovan Transnistrian army, the leader of political movement “Equality”, Valery Klimenko.

In turn, the head of the KGB, Vladislav Finagin Transnistria considers that the plan is aimed at Chisinau oust Russia from the region: “This is certainly the pressure on the peace process, to Russia.”

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Border Incursion, Crisis, Flashpoints, Intelligensia February 12, 2012

Israel’s Mossad is using Azerbaijan to spy on Iran: reports

Israel is using Azerbaijan, a former soviet republic bordering Iran, as a base to spy on the regime in Tehran, the London Times reported Saturday.

The newspaper cited testimony from an anonymous Mossad agent, referred
to only as Shimon.

“This is ground zero for intelligence work,” Shimon told The Times. “Our presence here is quiet, but substantial. We have increased our presence in the past year, and it gets us very close to Iran. This is a wonderfully porous country.”

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Border Incursion, Military, News January 27, 2012

Six Pakistanis gunned down by Iranian border guards

At least six Pakistani nationals were gunned down and four others wounded when Iranian border security guards opened indiscriminate firing without prior warning near the country’s border with Iran.

According to reports, the incident took place in the Iranian territory close to the Zaran border overlooking Chah Bahar, which is a common route for informal trade between the neighbouring countries.

The Pakistani nationals were travelling in a vehicle carrying cattle and heading towards Chah Bahar from the Zaran border when they were intercepted by the Iranian border guards, the Balochistan Levies confirmed.

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, GeoPolitics, Military Buildup, Strategic Interests January 21, 2012

Cold War Redux: Russia’s Kaliningrad buildup causes NATO chief concern

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen Thursday urged Russia to refrain from building up its military near the alliance’s borders, saying it was a concern for the 28-nation organization.

Rasmussen questioned Russian moves to bolster its forces in its Kaliningrad territory, which borders NATO members Lithuania and Poland, both part of Moscow’s Cold War-era stamping ground.

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Border Incursion, Development, GeoPolitics, Resources, Strategic Interests January 9, 2012

Philippines Protests New China ‘Intrusion’ in Disputed Water

The Philippines protested a new “intrusion” by China in waters it claims to be Philippine territory, a move that threatens to revive tensions over areas of the South China Sea that may contain energy reserves.

Two Chinese vessels and a military ship were spotted on Dec. 11 and 12 “at the vicinity” of Escoda Shoal, which is within Philippine territory, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The department on Jan. 5 “conveyed to the Chinese Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires its serious concerns over recent actions” in the South China Sea, it said in the statement.

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Border Incursion, Crisis, Diplomacy, Flashpoints January 3, 2012

Iran closes border with Pakistan over military arrest

Iranian border guards accused of killing a Pakistani civilian on the weekend “unintentionally” entered Pakistan in pursuit of drug traffickers, the commander of Iran’s police border guard said Tuesday.

“Three Iranian border guards pursued the drug traffickers and unintentionally and due to darkness entered Pakistani territory and were arrested by Pakistani forces,” Hossein Zolfaqari was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

Two smugglers were killed in the incident and another was wounded, he said, without giving their nationalities. He said 500 kilogrammes (1,100 pounds) of drugs were seized.

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Strategic Interests December 27, 2011

‘China increasing presence in Pakistani Kashmir’

AMMU: Causing concern in the Indian Army, China has increased the presence of its military engineers in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a senior army officer said.

Although the exact number of Peoples Liberation Army men and engineers engaged in building infrastructure across the Line of Control is not known, their number has increased in recent months, the senior commander said.

The LoC divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

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Analysis, Border Incursion, Conflict, Military Buildup, Regime Change, Risks December 18, 2011

Russian Military Post in Armenia Cut, Russia Preparing for Iranian Invasion: Analysis

More than a year ago, Russia began to take steps to minimize losses from a possible military action against Tehran, and now preparations are nearly complete. The Russian military base in Armenia is fully optimized, military families have been evacuated from the country, the Russian garrison stationed near Yerevan has been cut, and military units have been moved to Gyumri, closer to the Turkish border. The US troops can hit targets in Iran from Turkey, writes Russian news source Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

In connection with the prospect of war against Iran, Russia’s Ministry of Defense is wary of Azerbaijan, which in the past three years has doubled its military budget, acquiring Israeli drones and other advanced means of intelligence. In addition, Baku has stepped up pressure on Moscow, demanding that it pay more in rent for the use of its Gabala radar station.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Crisis, Regime Change, Risks December 12, 2011

Syrian defectors regroup in Turkey, plot Assad’s end

Ayham Kurdi refused to open fire on unarmed protesters and is now an enemy of the Syrian state. A captain in President Bashar al-Assad’s army, Kurdi, 30, a soft-spoken man with a trimmed black moustache, deserted his post in June and fled to neighbouring Turkey with his family Today`s Zaman reported

He is now a member of the Free Syrian Army, a loose collection of deserters who are fighting to topple Assad.

Other Free Army officers have taken refuge in Turkey as well, including the group’s most senior commander, from where they communicate and coordinate operations with rebel units inside Syria.

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Border Incursion, CyberOps, Flashpoints, Intelligensia, Military December 4, 2011

Drone shot down in Iran ‘may’ belong to US

A surveillance drone flying over western Afghanistan had gone out of control late last week and may be the one Iran said it had shot down over its own airspace, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has said.

“The UAV to which the Iranians are referring may be a US unarmed reconnaissance aircraft that had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week. The operators of the UAV lost control of the aircraft and had been working to determine its status,” an ISAF statement said on Sunday.
The statement was issued in Kabul and released to reporters covering an international conference on Afghanistan in the German city Bonn.

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Border Incursion, Drill, Flashpoints, Military Buildup December 2, 2011

India in war games on Pak border

At a time when Pakistanis are recovering from the shock of Nato attack on two military posts, thousands of Indian soldiers armed with hundreds of tanks, armoured carriers and fighter jets are getting ready for manoeuvres in Rajasthan sector along Pakistani border, reported Indian media on Thursday.

More than 50,000 Indian troops along with T-90, T-72, Arjun Tanks and BMPs are expected to take part in this gigantic military exercise code-named ‘SUDARSHAN SHAKTI’.

An Indian defence report says that “This exercise will be a trendsetter for the Integrated Theatre Concept”.

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Border Incursion, Intelligensia, Paramilitary November 28, 2011

Pakistan Heightened Fears?: CIA ‘Black Night’ out to fuel sectarian strife in Muharram

The intelligence agencies have raised fears of terrorism across the country as a CIA-backed squad has been tasked to carry out terrorists activities to stoke sectarian strife during Muharram

The agencies have urged all the provincial and AJK authorities to ensure foolproof security as a CIA-sponsored squad, ‘Black Night’, has been assigned the task of carrying out targeted killings, and suicide bombings to instigate sectarian violence during the holy month.

According to sources, the hostile spy agencies had recruited militants to disrupt peace in the country as the rift between Washington and Islamabad is widening since the Raymond Davis episode.

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Intelligensia November 21, 2011

CIA Intrigues against Pakistani Institutions

Anyhow, philosophy of “conspiring against the state” by few incredible traitors is not a simple anti Pakistan propaganda. There are chances that CIA has planned: to create political anarchy, target ISI Chief to whom CIA considered a main hindrance in the implantation of US agenda in this region, moreover pitching government against security agencies and vital state organs. CIA knows that ISI chief tenure might be completing in March 2011 which is already the month of senate election in Pakistan where political temperature is quite high in these days. Similar a number of tries have already been made at number of occasions.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Flashpoints, Intelligensia November 21, 2011

CIA spies caught in Iran, Lebanon: report

More than a dozen spies working for the CIA have been caught in Iran and Lebanon, and US officials fear they may face execution, ABC News reported Monday.

The report is based on information from four current and former US officials with connections to the intelligence community.

“Espionage is a risky business,” a US official told ABC News. “Many risks lead to wins, but some result in occasional setbacks.”

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Crisis, Flashpoints November 20, 2011

Syrian rebel group claims attack on ruling party office in Damascus

Rocket-propelled grenades reportedly struck a Damascus office of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s Baath Party before dawn Sunday, the first attack of its kind in the capital since an anti-government uprising began last spring.

Few details were available on the unusually brazen attack, which was claimed by a group of military defectors calling itself the Free Syrian Army.

The Turkey-based defectors have joined protesters and appear to be taking the lead in an increasingly armed rebellion that analysts fear will lead to a civil war that could further destabilize the Middle East. The region already is in turmoil from this year’s unprecedented mass uprisings against autocratic regimes.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Military, News November 16, 2011

N.Korea ‘Has 180,000 Special Forces Ready to Cross into South’

North Korea operates 40,000 special forces troops, including the 11th or “Storm” Corps whose mission is to infiltrate South Korea and create havoc in case of war. It also has around 10,000 naval special forces and around 5,000 air force soldiers who can cross the border if a war breaks out.

The figures were revealed in a speech by former South Korean commander of special operations Kim Yun-suk to fellow veterans at the War Memorial in Seoul.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Military November 16, 2011

Free Syrian Army Hit Intel Complex

Syrian army defectors attacked an intelligence complex on the edge of Damascus early on Wednesday, in the first reported assault on a major security facility in the eight-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

Members of the Free Syrian Army fired shoulder-mounted rockets and machineguns at a large Air Force Intelligence complex situated on the northern edge of the capital on the Damascus-Aleppo highway at about 2:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. British time).

A gunfight ensued and helicopters circled the area, the sources said.

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Military, Strategic Interests November 15, 2011

Why China is setting up military bases in PoK – Analysis

Reputed Pakistani journalist Amir Mir has revealed that China now seeks to establish military bases in the Af-Pak region, where US troops are deployed. These Chinese military bases are to be established in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas or in Gilgit-Baltistan, a region that borders China and has traditionally been considered part of Jammu & Kashmir.

From an Indian security perspective, Chinese military presence in PoK has political as well as military implications, considering J&K is a disputed territory. The Sino-Pakistan collaboration underway through infrastructure development projects in Gilgit-Baltistan clearly challenges India’s sovereignty over those J&K territories under China’s occupation.

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Military, Military Buildup November 8, 2011

China to develop town on Pak border

BEIJING:China is all set to develop the historic town of Kashgar along its border with Pakistan into a “key financial and manufacturing hub” to counter terrorism in its restive province of Xinjiang and help Islamabad’s efforts for economic recovery in the Taliban-scarred areas in border areas.

The move suggests Beijing’s belief that additional employment and business opportunities will wean away the youth in Kashgar, the scene of repeated riots, from terror activities.

It also signals China’s long-term plans of cementing relationship for Pakistan as a means to contain what the Chinese media calls “Indian ambitions” .

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Border Incursion, Military, News November 3, 2011

Lawlessness Reigns In Tajik-Afghan Border Region

It flies in the face of Tajik tradition, but residents of this southern village along the border with Afghanistan feel their caution is justified. Dashti Jum is one of a handful of communities in the district of Shuroobod with a well-deserved reputation for lawlessness.

The sound of gunfire — rumored to be between border guards and drug smugglers encroaching from Afghanistan — surprises no one. Young men are employed as drug mules, often landing them in prison, and abductions of local residents and livestock thefts by smugglers are frequent occurrences.

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Border Incursion, Conflict, Flashpoints, Military October 31, 2011

China could do Kargil on India, warns IDSA

Projecting conflict scenarios between the two Asian giants, a report titled A Consideration of Sino Indian Conflict by Ali Ahmed said, “The lower end of the conflict at this level could be a Kargil-like situation. China’s aim could be to teach India a lesson so as to influence India’s rise before its capacity building underway acquires traction.”

The report warned this “could be a limited war confined to a specific section of the border or LAC, limited in duration and amenable to a negotiated termination”.

The Kargil hostilities were triggered by infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) in 1999.

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Border Incursion, Military October 19, 2011

Turkish troops enter Iraq after PKK attacks

At least 20 soldiers have been killed in simultaneous attacks on police and military installations in southeastern Turkey, according to local reports.

A security source said the attacks were carried out by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in several locations in Cukurca and Yuksekova in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border, during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Television reports said the army initiated an air-supported operation against the fighters in response and the head of the general staff and some commanders had gone to the region.

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Black Market, Border Incursion, Military, News October 9, 2011

Chinese sailors killed in ‘Golden Triangle’

At least 11 Chinese sailors were killed when their ships were attacked on the Mekong River between Thailand and Myanmar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, voicing concern about what media reports said appeared to be an assault by drug smugglers.

The sailors were on two cargo ships attacked on Wednesday in the “Golden Triangle” of the Mekong, a region of Southeast Asia notorious for narcotic production, the Foreign Ministry said on its website late on Sunday.

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Border Incursion, Military, News October 6, 2011

India, China to launch new border mechanism soon

Amid reports of sporadic incursions by Chinese troops into Indian territory, India and China are set to launch a new joint boundary mechanism later this year to maintain peace along their nearly 3,500-km border.

The border mechanism will be an important confidence building measure and will ensure that the India-China border will remain the most peaceful and tranquil in the world, said informed sources here Wednesday.

The proposed mechanism would comprise diplomats from the external affairs ministry and military personnel, including representatives of paramilitary and intelligence agencies.

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Border Incursion, Crisis, Paramilitary October 3, 2011

‘Latest PKK attacks aim to drag Turkey to brink of civil war’

Turkey is preparing to launch cross-border military operations against the PKK. Yet, for the first time, despite terrorist attacks, a government seems to be determined to take further steps towards democratization, while also taking security precautions against terrorism. So why is all of this occurring now in Turkey, a country living between hope and fear?

Orhan Miroğlu is a Kurdish intellectual and politician. He was tortured at Diyarbakır Prison, where he was imprisoned for eight years after being convicted in the aftermath of the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup. He later survived serious wounds sustained during an assassination targeting Kurdish intellectual Musa Anter.

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Border Incursion, Diplomacy, Flashpoints September 27, 2011

Iran says could deploy navy near U.S. coast: Report

Iran raised the prospect on Tuesday of sending military ships close to the United States’ Atlantic coast, in what would be a major escalation of tensions between the long-standing adversaries.

“Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders,” the head of the Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said, according to the official IRNA news agency.

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Border Incursion, Flashpoints, Military, Powerplay September 14, 2011

Chinese troops land in frontier Kashmir region: report

Chinese troops reportedly entered into Indian territory and destroyed several unused bunkers in Chumar area of Leh last month.

This is the same area where Chinese troops had left the telltales of their incursion in 2009.

Chinese army had painted the rocks red and left some empty food cans signaling the incursion in the area.

However, one report suggest that Chinese troops came into the Chumar area in helicopters and destroyed some unused bunkers before fleeing back to their area.

Another report said the troops landed in Chinese territory and then crossed the line of actual control destroying the bunkers.

Sources said the incursion was detected by the paramilitary group which is located 40 kilometres away from the site which informed the higher-ups.

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StratRisks: Global Insights, Global Intelligence, Strategic News and Risk Assessment "Praemonitus Praemunitus"

StratRisks:
Global Insights, Global Intelligence, Strategic News and Risk Assessment
"Praemonitus Praemunitus"