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Video on siteThe M1 Abrams is a main battle tank produced in the United States. The M1 is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. It is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for modern armored ground warfare. Notable features of the M1 Abrams include the use of a powerful gas turbine engine, the adoption of sophisticated composite armor, and separate ammunition storage in a blow-out compartment for crew safety. It is one of the heaviest tanks in service, weighing in...

World just not into U.S. battle tanks anymore WASHINGTON — The end of U.S. dominance over the main battle tank market has been projected. A leading U.S. consultant asserted that non-U.S. MBTs were expected to dominate the global market over the next decade. In a report, Forecast International asserted that MBTs from China, Pakistan and Russia would account for most of the market through 2018. "In terms of sheer numbers, Forecast Internat ional expects Pakistan's Al Khalid, the Type 98 of the People's Republic of China, and the Russian Federation's T-90 — including India's licensed T-90S production program — to...

From J.J. Abrams ("Lost"), Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the team behind "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible III" and "Alias," comes a new series that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between the possible and the impossible. When an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport with no signs of life, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (Anna Torv) is called in to investigate as part of an inter-agency task force. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT (Mark Valley), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER...

Nicely produced video focused on the Abrams tank in Iraq. There is no way we can't be proud of the service of the crews to our country.

Interesting bit of light news in a heavy news cycle. The first images from J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek franchise have been released. Initial screenings of the movie have apparently been so positive that they've moved the release from Winter 2008 to Summer 2009. The first picture includes, from left to right, Chekov, Kirk, Scottie, McCoy, Sulu and Uhura.

Excerpt- ~ snip ~ The liberal commentator and Air America host, who has become a breakout star for the cable channel during this campaign, is taking over the 9 p.m. slot following Keith Olbermann, who she often subs for on "Countdown." Olbermann broke the news in what he called a "fully authorized leak" this afternoon on the left-wing Web site Daily Kos. Dan Abrams, the former MSNBC general manager who had been hosting "Verdict" at that hour, will continue as NBC's chief legal correspondent and will be a daytime anchor for MSNBC. ~ snip ~

Keith Weissman and Steven Rosen Are PhDs and Middle East Experts Who Did Some Lobbying. They Thought They Were Doing What Washington Insiders Always Do. Thomas O’Donnell didn’t reveal his job when he phoned Keith Weissman in 2004 and got the policy analyst’s wife. He says he didn’t want to scare her. When Weissman returned the call and found out O’Donnell was an FBI agent, his first reaction was to attempt a joke: “What did I do?” “I’m sure you didn’t do anything,” O’Donnell told him. He wanted to meet that day, for five or ten minutes, and get Weissman’s...

AL JURN — With their 72-ton M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks parked in the motor pool, Soldiers loaded their gear into wheeled trucks less than half the size of the tracked vehicles. Tankers of Punisher Platoon, Dragon Company, 1st Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, switched from their traditional jobs of manning the tanks as the squadron’s heavy element to driving patrols mounted in up-armored Humvees. “It’s kind of like going from a Corvette to a Volkswagen,” said Sgt. 1st Class J.C. Jensen, the platoon sergeant for Punisher, about making the switch. “The tank has 1,500 horsepower, it will go anywhere...

Diggers fired up as new tanks roll Andrew McGarry | September 12, 2007 THERE was no red carpet, just a thick layer of dust coating the gibber plain at Cultana Training Area yesterday. But there was a big, excited crowd of soldiers in the hills outside Port Augusta to look on and take a few pictures of an action premiere: the first big hit-out for the Abrams tanks that have recently arrived to bolster Australia's military armoury. For the next few weeks, the crews of 30 Abrams will be part of a huge influx of personnel at Cultana, on the...

August 10, 2007: Crews of the latest model (M1A2) Abrams tank can't help but notice that, while their workspace is well protected, air conditioned and a smooth ride, it also resembles the inside of a space ship. The current generation of recruits grew up with video games and spectacular science fiction films. The number of gadgets inside a tank has just kept increasing over the last decade. And all the new computers, and their software, have been redesigned to make them faster and easier to use. That's handy when you are under a lot of stress, or tired from being...

Saudis may make weapons with US By Ahmed A. Elewa, Staff Reporter Abu Dhabi: The United States is planning to jointly produce tank components, light armoured vehicles and other products in Saudi Arabia, according to a senior US military official. "Our biggest co-production project in the Middle East is in Egypt, where we jointly produced 1025 M1A1 tanks. In Saudi Arabia we are still in the planning phase, though the project initially will not be as big as what we have in Egypt, but there is good potential for growth there," Brigadier General Clinton Anderson, head of the US Army's...

Covert US group plots to isolate 'rising' Iran Farah Stockman, Washington January 3, 2007 A SELECT group of US officials has been quietly co-ordinating actions for nearly a year to counter the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, including increasing the military capabilities of Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The group, known as the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group, is also giving covert help to Iranian dissidents and building international outrage towards Iran by publicising its alleged role in a 1994 terrorist attack in Argentina. Pentagon officials involved with the group intend to...

The Australian Army has begun taking delivery of new tanks which, unlike their predecessors, are likely to see battlefield action, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has warned. The first 18 of 59 Abrams battle tanks - bought from the United States at a cost of $528 million - were unloaded at Port Melbourne on Friday. Each weighs in at 63 tonnes and at full-throttle can hit almost 70 kph. Chief of Army Lieutenant General Peter Leahy told a delivery ceremony in a container terminal that the Abrams were much superior to the army's 30-year-old Leopard tanks, which are being retired without...

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/12/02/national2032EST0775.DTL (12-02) 17:32 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- Iran-Contra figure Elliott Abrams, who received a pardon from the first President Bush for his role in the scandal and has served in the White House for over a year, has been promoted to a key post among the current President Bush's national security aides. Abrams was appointed to lead the National Security Council's office for Near East and North African affairs. The senior director job oversees Arab-Israeli relations and U.S. efforts to promote peace in the troubled region. His appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, was announced Monday by Bush's...

Dan Abrams is adding an editorial director to MSNBC's management team. Davidson Goldin has joined the cable news net from The New York Sun, where he was a columnist and acting city editor. Goldin will report to Abrams. "Together with Meghan Schaefer in her new role as Senior Executive Producer of Dayside Programming, David will assist Susan Sullivan with the editorial content of our live coverage -- everything from scripts and teases to chyrons and presentation," Abrams said in a memo this afternoon. Goldin has guested on MSNBC and other nets numerous times. He produced for Fox News before moving...

The Dan Abrams regime at MSNBC got off to an embarrassing start on Tuesday as the cable news channel was caught unprepared to cover Korea's test launch of a long-range missile in defiance of U.S. warnings. The channel aired mostly canned programs while rivals Fox News Channel and CNN presented live telecasts dealing with the launch throughout the day. TV news bloggers excoriated MSNBC for failing to devote appropriate coverage to the affair, with one writing, "Now, it's not really even a cable news channel after ignoring an international crisis."

THE first five of 59 Abrams battle tanks for the Australian Army rolled off a United States production line this week. Defence said the newly refurbished tanks remained on schedule for introduction to Australian service. The first are destined for army training schools in Australia later this year. They will enter operational service in Darwin by mid-2007. Defence said in a statement a ceremony marking completion of the first five vehicles was held at the Joint Services Manufacturing Centre in Lima, Ohio. It was attended by Australian Defence Organisation representatives. These tanks will go to Fort Hood, Texas, in preparation...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Floyd Abrams, the attorney for New York Times reporter Judith Miller, said Sunday he had tried a year ago to reach an agreement with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald concerning Miller's testimony about the leak of a covert CIA officer's identity. Instead, a federal judge ordered Miller jailed when she refused to testify before the grand jury investigating the Bush administration's disclosure of CIA officer Valerie Plame's name. The reporter spent 85 days in jail before being released Thursday after she agreed to testify.Appearing Sunday on CNN's ``Reliable Sources,'' Abrams said: ``I tried to get a deal a...

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