Free Republic

WALLER COUNTY, Texas -- Houston police started testing unmanned aircraft and the event was shrouded in secrecy, but it was captured on tape by Local 2 Investigates. Neighbors in rural Waller County said they thought a top-secret military venture was under way among the farmland and ranches, some 70 miles northwest of Houston. KPRC Local 2 Investigates had four hidden cameras aimed at a row of mysterious black trucks. Satellite dishes and a swirling radar added to the neighbors' suspense. Then, cameras were rolling as an unmanned aircraft was launched into the sky and operated by remote control.

This recently unclassified photo was taken as the result of manoeuvres during Exercise NOBLE MARINER in May where HMCS Corner Brook was able to approach a high value unit, in this case the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, without being detected. Anti-submarine warfare continues to be one of the most under-estimated and difficult threats for allies and potential adversaries to deal with. “The picture represents hard evidence that the submarine was well within attack parameters and would have been successful in an attack,” says Commander Luc Cassivi, commander Submarine Division in Halifax. “This situation enabled the crew to demonstrate advanced...

David Samuels reports that the US is promoting a campaign against Iran that includes covert action. Last fall, he writes, "Rice and her colleagues in the administration decided to embark on a daring and risky third course: a coordinated campaign, directed with the help of the intelligence services of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. The bill for the covert part of this activity, which has involved funding sectarian political movements and paramilitary groups in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories, is said to amount to more than $300 million...

PESHAWAR: Suspected militants shot dead two Pakistani men accused of spying for US troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, police said on Sunday. The bodies of two men, aged about 30, were found early Sunday by paramilitary soldiers near Khirgi checkpost in the northwestern town of Jandola which borders the South Waziristan tribal district, local police official Omar Hayat said. A note found with the bodies read "they were spying for Americans. They were involved in fake currency business and were enemies of 160 million Pakistani people." The pair were shot in the head and one also had knife cuts on his...

This is a "headsup" for a couple of books being covered on BookTV (C-Span2 weekends). I'd say these two books fall in the general category of "fighting the savages". The Night Stalkers is written by Michael Durant, the downed helicopter pilot held captive by Aideed during the "Blackhawk Done" incident. The "Becoming Charlemange..." book sounds like it might be an interesting coverage on how Europe was stictched together.

This is a "headsup" for selected reviews/presentations about WWII and the Cold War that will appear on BookTV (C-Span2) this weekend of Jan. 13/14, 2007. Links to the segments of specific reviews (and their broadcast times) will be posted below. The "Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston..." might be pretty good. The author also produced "Last Stand of The Tin-Can Sailors" about Taffy 3 (Battle of Samar). The links below are for other WWII and Cold War topics that might be interesting.

<p>The Pentagon is working to block Congress from adopting restrictions that would make it more difficult to deploy Special Operations Forces on clandestine missions, a spokesman said yesterday.</p> <p>"It would clearly not be helpful for additional &#8212; any kind of additional restrictions to be placed on the ability to engage in the global war on terrorism, using the kinds of capability that the United States has across the board," said Larry Di Rita, the chief Pentagon spokesman.</p>