Pakistan to get about 50 Predator drones

• General Atomics Wins Approval to Sell First Predator Drones in Middle East. (Bloomberg)
• “There could be an argument that if the countries do it themselves, it’s less intrusive”. (Bloomberg)
• General Atomics see the potential for sales of as many as 100 units in the Middle East and Pakistan of the so-called Predator XP model approved for export, Pace said. (Bloomberg)
• “Saudi Arabia is a huge country, and if they want to cover the country well, they alone could get 50 aircraft,” Pace said. (Bloomberg)
• Predators range in price from about $4 million for the basic model to about $15 million for the so-called Avenger version. (Bloomberg)
• U.S. approves Predator drone sales to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan (True Slant)
• The non-NATO Predators will differ from the full-functionality versions in several significant ways. San Francisco Gate
• Most importantly, they will lack the ability to carry missiles and will be crippled to perform surveillance and reconnaissance missions only. San Francisco Gate

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. said it won U.S. approval for an export version of the Predator drone, clearing the way for the first sales of the unmanned aircraft in the Middle East.

“There’s interest from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates,” Frank Pace, president of the aircraft systems group at the closely held company, said today in an interview at the Farnborough Air Show near London.

General Atomics recently received U.S. State Department approval to offer an unarmed Predator model to countries beyond the NATO bloc, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Pace said. That would allow sales in the Middle East and elsewhere to governments previously ineligible to buy the planes, he said.

U.S. Predators are now used to monitor and strike targets in Iraq, Afghanistan and the border areas of Pakistan. Selling the aircraft to countries in the Middle East may ease regional opposition to the surveillance while raising new issues related to how the buyers fly them, one analyst said.

“There could be an argument that if the countries do it themselves, it’s less intrusive,” William Hartung, an analyst at the New America Foundation, a Washington research group, said in a phone interview. “But there’s still a question of how this capability is used.”

For example, a Pakistani Predator that was sent to monitor neighboring India would be “problematic” because such a mission might not be in U.S. interests, Hartung said.

Predator Capabilities

Predators are popular with U.S. military and intelligence agencies because they’re smaller than manned planes and can loiter over a target for long periods without risk to a pilot. Missile-equipped Predators can mount attacks via remote control.

General Atomics see the potential for sales of as many as 100 units in the Middle East and Pakistan of the so-called Predator XP model approved for export, Pace said.

“Saudi Arabia is a huge country, and if they want to cover the country well, they alone could get 50 aircraft,” Pace said.

General Atomics, based in Poway, California, has sold about 435 Predator-series drones, mostly to the U.S. government, according to spokeswoman Kimberly Kasitz. That total includes about 25 sold to NATO countries, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Kasitz said. The export model also is being promoted in South America and Mexico, she said.

That version, based on the model used by the U.S. Army and the Air Force, will lack the ability to carry weapons and will be designed only for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, Pace said.

Predators range in price from about $4 million for the basic model to about $15 million for the so-called Avenger version, Kasitz said.

General Atomics also builds the Predator B model with extended range and a new Predator C, the Avenger, that can evade enemy radar. Boeing Co., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. also make unmanned aerial vehicles used by the U.S. military for surveillance and armed missions. General Atomics Wins Approval to Sell First Predator Drones in Middle East By Gopal Ratnam – Jul 20, 2010

To contact the reporter on this story: Gopal Ratnam in Washington at gratnam1@bloomberg.net.

Kabul conference highlights Pakistan’s seminal role

It has been a cascading series of events. The Afghan president visited Pakistan and called the countries inseparable conjoined twin brothers. This cleared the way for the Tehran Agreement (Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan), then there was Istanbul Meeting (All the neighbors of Afghanistan and Turkey), then there was London Conference (62 members of the international community). After the London Conference an Afghan jirga was held which approved reconciliation with the Afghan National Resistence (aka Taliban). President Hamid Karzai called the Taliban “Talibjan (Dearest students) and has been talking to the Afghan National Resistance. Now there is the Kabul Meeting with 72 countries represented in Afghanistan’s capital.

In all the previous conferences a Pan-Afghan has been suggested and proposed. Now the Kabul Conference is suggesting and advertising a similar message for all Afghans. Even Bharat which was opposing the Pan-Afghan solution or any reconciliation with the Afghan National Resistance–has now accepted the reconciliation formula proposed by Pakistan.

As NATO is seeking deeper links with Pakistan–in a post Afghan phase, and Kabul and Islamabad seem to be drawing closer with trade and access to ports, there has been a transformational improvement in the atmospherics in the two capitals. Pakistan is proposing joint monitoring of the Durand Line and is now training Afghan Army officers in one of the finest military academies in the world–in Kakul.

Pakistan has been a crucial and important player in the reconciliation process.

British and US sources are confirming internal Afghan and NATO documents which outline the beginning of the withdrawal and the end of the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.

As international leaders arrive in Kabul for a key conference on Afghanistan’s future, Channel 4 News has obtained the document on which the Afghan government’s plan to reintegrate the Taliban is based.

As International Editor Lindsey Hilsum writes, it says fighters could be retrained in forestry and literacy skills. … I say it’s a government document, because the front page says “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan National Security Council”, but the 80 pages of management consultant-speak about ‘stakeholders’, ‘change management’, ‘broad strategic vision’ and ‘a menu of conflict recovery options’ suggest that the men from the Afghan ministry were not the ones to write the draft. The flowery paragraphs about “We Afghans desire… a consolidated and sustainable peace”, and statements that it’s all ‘Afghan owned and led’ do not convince. The document says that international donors will spend $772m over five years to retrain former Taliban fighters in forestry, literacy, technical and vocational skills and keep them busy on agricultural conservation and public works.’ – UK Channel 4 News

The Official Chinese media is highlighting Pakistan’s role at the Kabul Conference:

ISLAMABAD, July 21 (Xinhua) — The international conference in Kabul has backed Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s efforts of reconciliation with Taliban. Representatives of almost every country in their speeches tried to announce the end of its engagement in Afghanistan. This is now a test case for the Afghan security forces as how to deal with the law and order in 2014, the deadline set by President Karzai to hand over security to Afghan forces.

Some 150,000 US-led NATO troops have fought their enemy — the Taliban and remnants of al-Qaeda in nearly nine years, but the fast growing deaths of foreign troops raised concerns over how foreign troops will deal with insurgents.

June was the deadliest month for foreign forces in Afghanistan with 102 deaths including 60 of Americans. Over 50 NATO troops have died this month. Taliban failed to disrupt the Kabul Conference, but their rockets fired at Kabul international airport forced diversion of the plane of the UN Secretary General to the U. S-controlled Bagram airbase north of Kabul. The rocket attack to some extent highlighted Taliban ability that they can attract the world attention.

The conference highlighted the role of Pakistan in any possible political reconciliation and reintegration process as it is strongly believed that Islamabad still has influence on the Afghan Taliban. The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also said in Islamabad on Wednesday that Pakistan can play important role in Afghanistan’s political reconciliation. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was quick to add that Islamabad will play role in political reconciliation after the Afghan government formally makes a request for such a role.

When Pakistan announced this January to reach out Afghan Taliban, several Afghan experts and foreign media opined that Islamabad can play a role as it has influence on Afghan Taliban. Pakistan is believed to have strong contacts with Haqqani network, which is based in North Waziristan tribal region and led by Siraj- ud-Haqqani,the son of former Taliban Minister Jalaluddin Haqqani.

No delegate opposed talks with Taliban in the Kabul conference as NATO member countries are anxious to quit Afghanistan as they have not succeeded in defeating their enemy despite spending some 40 billion US dollars and loosing hundreds of soldiers.

After President Obama’s announcement to start withdrawal of forces in July 2011, several other voices emerged for political reconciliation and the Kabul conference endorsed those voices.

Late last month, head of the British army Gen Sir David Richards surprised the world when he suggested politicians and military chiefs to talk to members of the Taliban sooner rather than later. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Australian Defence Minister have also said they could start withdrawal of troops in 2011.

These are among NATO’s important countries and the others will follow them to leave Afghanistan. NATO is confident to train the Afghan forces to take responsibility in 2014, but Afghan experts say it may be very difficult for the Afghan forces to deal with the Taliban and that is why the notion of reconciliation is gaining momentum. Pakistan would play a key role in this process. The Afghan President, on a number of occasions, sought Islamabad’s help to reach out to Taliban.

Many believed that without the help of Pakistan it would be impossible to oust Taliban and it would also be difficult to reconcile with Taliban. Pakistan’s contacts with Afghan Taliban are not a secret. Some local security officials privately defended such contacts as a must as Islamabad needs influence in the neighboring country. Kabul conference highlights Pakistan’s role. English.news.cn 2010-07-21 23:56:13 FeedbackPrintRSS, by Muhammad Tahir

JF-17 Thunders a big at prestigious UK Air show

Some even say the JF-17 Thunder fighters were a major attraction of the Farnborough International Airshow, which ended here on Sunday.
“For me, they are the stars of Farnborough,” said Piotr Abraszek, aviation editor of Warsaw-based magazine Nowa Technika Wojskowa, who said he had been following reports of the JF-17 for several years. Also interested in the fighter was a Japanese air attache at the country’s embassy in London.

What interests him most about the aircraft?

“Quality and capability. And how it compares with other Asian aircraft,” he responded.

The aircraft has been in development in one form or another since 1991. After several design concepts and name changes, it emerged in its present form.

Since acquiring the first two from China in July 2007, the Pakistani Air Force is now equipped with 14 JF-17s. It has now started its own assembly line, which saw the first aircraft roll out in November 2009.

Despite the early morning hour at the air show, and the fact the planes sit in a corner of the local airport where they are one display, dozens of people have already made their way to see the “mysterious” aircraft from Asia, even when their full-glass cockpits are still covered by canvas.

The two on display here were assembled in Pakistan, said Ali Saeed, the chief of the JF-17 engineering office of the PAF, which according to previous reports has requested as many as 250 of the aircraft from China.
Powered by a Russia-built Kilmov RD-93 engine, the JF-17, according to Saeed, is presently the best plane of the PAF.

For Major Azkaar Ul-Husnain, who had also flown other fighters like the F-6 and F-16, the JF-17 is like his best friend.

He’s been flying them since early 2008, and took to the skies again to bring one to the air show.

“It is quite useful. And it’s a very important part of the PAF,” he said, noting the plane will eventually replace its present fleet of F-7s, A-5s and Mirages.
“We hope in the future 80 percent of the air force will be JF-17,” Ul-Husnain said.

Orders take off

Since 2004, when the air show was first held under civil rather than military oversight, airline orders and defense spending have normally dominated the week-long events.

The last air show in 2008 was a record-breaking year for the business with $88.7 billion worth of orders announced during the show.
This year had an exciting start with a flurry of deals taking place on the first day as airlines “opened up their cheque books”, the London-based Daily Mail reported.

Boeing hogged most of the attention after winning a 6-billion pound ($9.1-billion) order for 30 of its 777 jetliners from Dubai-based airline Emirates.
The leasing arm of GE Capital, which buys planes and lends them to airlines, was another big spender. It ordered 100 planes, 40 from Boeing and 60 from Airbus, at a cost of $7.9 billion.

And Canadian manufacturer Bombardier won an order from Qatar Airways for three business jets worth $121 million.

The highlight of the show, Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, on its debut outside North America, has given a further boost to the industry, which has been in the grips of the bleakest downturn since the Great Depression.

Thomson Airways will be the first UK airline to fly this fuel-efficient plane and will take delivery in January 2012, the Daily Mail reported.

“Overall, we are encouraged that 2010 will be a very buoyant year,” says Shaun Ormrod, CEO of Farnborough International ltd., the organizer of the air show.

Welcoming more mosques–good for USA

We ought to welcome the growth of Islam in America for one reason: Muslims in America are fast becoming the model of intelligent and progressive Islam for the entire Muslim world. Muslim Americans have all the ingredients at hand to nurture the most reasoned and learned scholars, thinkers and leaders. This is a good thing for America and the rest of the planet.

Muslims often say America is the best place to practice Islam — not the easiest place — but the best place to be a Muslim. In many parts of the country Muslims still struggle to come together for worship and community life; and when a mosque is finally built, different challenges arise. These places of worship are being vandalized; hate mail and death threats are left on mosque answering and fax machines; and worshippers have been targeted while at prayer. Small, very vocal groups are whipping up the hatred and bigotry with a lot of paranoid and xenophobic rhetoric. However, despite this adversity, Muslims in America can vote, we have the freedom to assemble, the freedom of speech, and the freedom to practice Islam the way we choose. This cannot always be said in many Muslim-majority countries.

Muslims in America are free from the shackles of culture that so often bear a weight on their understanding of Islam. Because we are an incredibly diverse group of people who frequently have only Islam in common, we are deliberate and thoughtful about what is being taught in our mosques. American Islamic centers are living and breathing institutions that have evolved and matured over time. The statement, “this is the way we always did it back home” doesn’t hold water in an American mosque. Before 9/11 and after, I’ve seen many cultural practices and extreme ideologies be dismissed in America’s mosques while the clean and pure Islamic practices are implemented and embraced.

The larger and stronger a mosque becomes in a community, the more the Muslims are able to engage their youth in positive activities like service projects, sports, healthy recreation, and proper Islamic scholarship. The last thing any of us want is for our kids to turn to the Internet or some small fringe group for companionship to be negatively influenced. Muslim kids are under tremendous pressure; when they leave their homes they are inundated with prejudice and bigotry toward them for no other reason than they are Muslim. Having a safe haven where they can connect in positive ways with their peers, vetted mentors and other caring adults will help these kids grow up feeling proud to be Muslim and proud to be American.

When a mosque is well-established in the neighborhood, its members seek to create partnerships through interfaith service and fellowship that strengthens the entire community. Christian and Jewish faith leaders are opening their interfaith circles to include Muslims, and all are finding tremendous commonalities between their faith teachings. Muslims work cooperatively with various faith groups in their shared communities to serve the needy. Muslims are charged by our faith to serve everyone in our community; in fact, there is a tradition that says if our neighbors within a radius of forty houses are hungry, we are obliged to share what we have to ease the hunger. Look in some of the poorest, inner-city neighborhoods and you will find Muslims running food pantries and health clinics that serve everyone in need.

Muslim women are being empowered in America, often well beyond their overseas counterparts. When a Muslim community grows and settles in, women become an integral part of the mosque. We still have a long way to go toward real gender equity in our communities; however, women are fighting for more than a space in the mosque, we are fighting for and winning leadership roles within Islamic institutions. Dr. Ingrid Mattson exemplifies this trend. Muslim women in America are implementing programs that support peaceful families; they sponsor scholarships for young women; they mentor young girls through apple pie programs like the Girl Scouts of the USA.

As Muslim women become leaders in American mosques and institutions, they prevent the import of misogynistic practices and attitudes that are still accepted in some overseas patriarchal societies. They are raising their daughters to know their Islam-given rights as equal partners within the Muslim society. These same women are models for Muslim women around the world. I hosted a web chat for the State Dept. last year and answered questions from Muslim women all over the world on the subject of being a working Muslim mother in America. The women I spoke with were encouraged and empowered to hear our American-Muslim story. One of the last comments from a Muslim woman in Africa said it all. She wrote, “Sister, I envy you. This ideal situation of yours: reconcile your status as businesswoman, Muslim and mother. This is possible because you are in the United States, which offer great opportunities to anyone with ideas. Thanks to Allah.”

There’s something in the air in America that inspires Muslims to work cooperatively toward the common goal of a strong faith community. Because we are a small group from a huge world of vastly different cultures, we have learned to work together as Muslim-Americans instead of as nationals of different countries. For example, while India and Pakistan rattle their sabers at each other over Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani Muslims in America have left politics back home and work together for the common good. We can’t afford political or sectarian strife, instead we are moving forward toward a holistic way of working together for the sake of God and society.

Folks who push back against a mosque being built or expanded in their neighborhood on the grounds that they don’t want Islam to spread in their area are being naive. Protesting against an Islamic center, (as recently occurred in Tennessee, New York, and California), only serves to create animosity and more misunderstanding between the community at large and their Muslim neighbors. Efforts to limit Muslims’ freedom to worship will not keep Muslims from living in your neighborhood, going to school with your kids, supporting your businesses, contributing to the tax base or practicing Islam.

Muslims are positively contributing to the beautiful diversity of this country through community service, professional and business development, and academic achievement. A growing and thriving Muslim community in America is a tide the haters can’t turn as long as we continue to be a free society that protects the civil liberties of all. The hostile bigotry displayed toward Muslims in America is hurtful, but we are reminded of Nietzche’s memorable quote: “What does not destroy me makes me strong”. Kari Ansari. Huff Post. Writer and co-founder of America’s Muslim Family Magazine, Posted: July 20, 2010 04:20 PM