This post is interesting because it brings to a close a story that I have followed on this since nearly the beginning of this blog, namely that the JDS Hyuga was put into commission on the 18th of the month.  Japan now truly possesses the ability to project power outward rather than merely acting defensively with at best limited offensive capability.



From the Japan Times:  Helicopter carrier commissioned

The acquisition of a combat ship that can project force far from Japan raises concerns in Asia and may even spur rivalry with China, which is rumored to covet an aircraft carrier of its own.

Setting another precedent, the ¥105 billion Hyuga will have female officers and enlisted personnel, the first combat ship to have a mixed-sex complement since the Self-Defense Forces were created in 1954.

At a ceremony at IHI Marine United Inc.'s shipyard in Yokohama, Parliamentary Defense Secretary Ryota Takeda handed the MSDF's rising sun ensign to the skipper, Capt. Katsunori Yamada, to hoist on the Hyuga.

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Govt to tell SDF to 'destroy' DPRK missiles.

From the Yomiuri Shimbun:

The government has decided to order the Self-Defense Forces to "destroy" missiles predicted to strike Japanese territory, in preparation for North Korea's scheduled launch of what it claims to be a satellite but is believed to be a ballistic missile, government sources said Wednesday.

The order may be issued by the end of this month, according to the sources.

The action will be taken in line with Article 82 of the Self-Defense Forces Law to enable the SDF to intercept missiles using its missile defense system.

Objects to be subject to the order will be defined as "ballistic missiles and others" deemed to pose a threat to Japanese territory. The government said the objects will include satellites predicted to strike Japanese territory--whether water or land--as well as rockets used to launch them, according to the sources.

The SDF law stipulates that prime ministerial approval alone is required for issuing such an order. In practice, however, the order would be issued following cabinet approval and would be announced to the public.

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From Multi National Force Iraq and Defenselink

ISF discover ordnance, MND-B Soldiers detain suspected AQI in Rashid.

Tips lead MND-N Soldiers to four suspected terrorists.

U.S. helps Iraq's air force fly again.

Iraqi School Reopens After Renovations.

Engineers unearth large munitions cache in combined effort.

Plans May Put Water Back Into Rio Lobo.

Bush Thanks U.S., South Korean Troops for War Efforts.

Remember Operational Security Starts with YOU!

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Hello everyone!

I am Raging Tachikoma's brother, and I'll be filling in for him while he's away at Basic. I'm new to this site, so please forgive any errors I may make in posting for the time being - I'll try to learn all this quickly so I can avoid mistakes. I may comment on some things once in a while but as I am not quite as up to speed on current events as he is my remarks will likely be fewer. I will also sign my posts with the username signguy29 to avoid any confusion (just as soon as I figure out how to do that without changing all the posts' signatures).

That said, here's some news:

From First Multi National Force Iraq:

Armor Regiment Soldiers Delivers School Supplies to Children in Khadra

‘Operation Raider Harvest’ Provides Humanitarian Aid to Iraqis in Need

Army Reserve Celebrates 100th Birthday with Reenlistments

Coalition Forces Resume Air Assault on al-Qaeda Targets

2007 Gave Iraqis Hope; Progress Must Continue

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From First Multi National Force Iraq:

Iraqi Military Academy Graduates 229 New Officers, 44 Pilot Candidates.

Marines Teach Iraqis to Overcome Differences for Greater Good.

Iraqi Ministry of Defense Hosts Military Sales Office Grand Opening.

Iraqi Air Force provides airlift to Iraqi National Police.

Iraqi Army Soldiers recover large cache.

Mosul religious pilgrims return from Hajj

Iraq: al-Qaida 75 Percent Gone.

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From First Multi National Force Iraq:

USO Tour Brings Smiles to Soldiers’ Faces.

Iraqi Special Operations Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain 2 extremists near Abu Saydah as Saghir.

Iraqi Security Volunteers, Iraqi Police, Coalition Forces team up to arrest thieves.

Iraqi Woman Walks Out of Hospital on New Legs.

Extremists 'Getting Desperate' in Iraq, Army Colonel Says.

NMCB 1 Brings Runway Project on Final Approach.

Two suspected extremists arrested in Shurta.

Baghdad CID, U.S. MPs release 108 detainees.

U.S. Soldiers detain suspected insurgent south of Baghdad.

Coalition forces target al-Qaeda foreign terrorist facilitators, media networks.

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     This story offends me both as an individual, but all the more so as a soldier myself.  When a person committs themselves to risking life and limb for their nation, or in this case a foreign nation they are owed all that they are promised and not one bit less.  Even the French see to it that members of the Foreign Legion who serve  twenty or more years are well taken care of after the leave the Legion.  Certainly the British can see to it that the Gurkahs are treated in a manner equal to every other British soldier.

From the Times of London: Gurkhas will be sacked early to reduce their pension rights.

     THE Ministry of Defence (MoD) is facing legal action over plans to cut the pensions of Gurkhas by sacking them three years before they are due to leave the army. 

     The move, which means the MoD will avoid having to pay an ordinary Gurkha soldier more than £200,000, is to be challenged in the courts by the British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF).

     The policy was introduced by civil servants after they were forced to increase the Gurkhas’ pay and pensions to bring them into line with the rest of the army. An official briefing document on the new pension scheme shows that 80%-85% of Gurkhas will be discharged early, so missing the better payments.

     What is worse is that this has been tried before with regular members of the British Army and caused a stink back in 2002.  The fact that this policy is being revived is bad enough, but the fact that it is limited to the Gurkahs certainly has at least some hint of racism to it.

     But its deliberate intent to cut pension payments was exposed in 2002 after a series of cases in which highly experienced soldiers with extremely good reports were thrown out at a time when the army was desperately short of such men.

     Ministers ordered civil servants to stop using the scheme to discharge good soldiers and it has not been used since. It has been revived specifically to control the numbers of Gurkha soldiers.

Hat tip to the Huntsman for twigging me to this bit of shameful news.

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     The nature of the debate on the role and limits of Japan's military actions would be high farce if the issue itself wasn't so important.  No nation can maintain its place in the world without being able to A.) Defend itself and B.) to defeat any one who attacks her.  Japan can do A if attacked but her ability to do B is in serious dobt, because she is reliant upon the US to carry out B, but the US not unreasonably believes that Japan should play a role in B, not just A.

From the Daily Yomuiri: Vision needed to enact lasting SDF dispatch law.

     A government panel of experts tasked with reestablishing the legal framework for the nation's preparedness to deal with state emergencies must come up with reports that contribute to the nation's security without being influenced by changes in the political landscape.

     Under the government's traditional interpretation of the Constitution, Japan has the right of collective self-defense, but may not exercise this right. Naturally, this interpretation has caused much head-scratching in the international community.

     Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who wanted to tackle this problem, established the panel in April. The panel held five meetings, but has been inactive since Abe resigned suddenly from his post about three months ago.

     In addition, the situation surrounding the panel has been turned on its head due to the Liberal Democratic Party's crushing defeat in July's House of Councillors election and the ensuing change of administration.

     Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is very cautious about changing this constitutional interpretation, while the LDP's coalition partner, New Komeito, has hardened its opposition to modifying it. Even if the government wanted to change this interpretation, enacting necessary laws would be no easy task because of the current split Diet in which the ruling parties hold a majority in the House of Representatives and the opposition bloc controls the upper house.

     Nevertheless, the government panel's direct reference to the issue as "shackling" the nation's security policy was eye-opening.

     Shackled is right, Japan is shackeled to the corpse of mid Twentieth century idealism in the wild and wooly world of the early twenty first century.

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From First Multi-National force Iraq:

Troops Want to Come Home, But Want Service in Iraq to Count, Gates Says.

Shaping the Future: Police Transition Team Helping to Instill Pride in the Force.

Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain 13 in separate operations.

Iraqis Construct Fallujah’s First-Ever Sewage System.

Iraqi Security Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain terrorist cell leader, two others in separate operations.

Operation Varsity March leads to capture of suspect.

Iraqi Police find massive weapons cache in southern Ninevah.

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      The DPJ has apparently managed to pull itself together enough to resume its doomed oposition to a new Anti-Terrorism special measures bill.  As expected the LDP has been more than willing to work with the DPJ to find  a mutually agreeable bill but the DPJ proves once more that you can lead a horse to water but you can't force him to drink.

From the Yomuiri Shimbun: Ozawa refuses to budge on antiterror bill.

     Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Thursday was rebuffed by Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa over a request for the opposition party to cooperate in the adoption of a new antiterrorism bill at the current Diet session.

     Failure by the two leaders to reach an agreement on the government-sponsored bill aimed at resuming the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean has set the stage for the extension of the current Diet session, observers say.

     The Diet session, which had already been extended earlier this month, will end on Dec. 15. The government and the ruling parties are set to enter discussions on a plan to extend the session for a second time, government sources said.

     And of course the DPJ still can't get itself together enough to offer up an alternative either viable or not to the government's bill currently on offer.  They are in fact hinting that they might just ignore the issue entirely in the upper house, which would make it and their control of it completely irrelevant.

As detailed here also by the Yomuiri: Where are the alternatives?

     The Democratic Party of Japan, as the largest force in the House of Councillors, has a great role to play in helping administer state affairs. This is particularly significant under the current extraordinary power relationship in the Diet, with the opposition camp controlling the upper house and the ruling coalition holding an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives.

     To make matters worse, the DPJ has yet to submit to the Diet an alternative for the government's antiterrorism bill. Neither has the party presented realistic and specific international peacekeeping plans as a means of fighting terrorism. This attitude can be seen as the DPJ lacking any sense of responsibility.

     Ozawa has said it is necessary to uncover the whole truth about suspicions surrounding Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga and former Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya in connection with a scandal involving defense contractor Yamada Corp.

     Although doing so is important, the affair is unrelated to Japan's contribution to international peacekeeping activities and should not be used as a delay tool for Diet discussions on the new antiterrorism bill.

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     Rather the DPJ (Minshuto) are more interested in parsing the particulars of what Japan does and who approved of it.  Basically it is all down to semantics at this point.  The DPJ has said that A) any continuation of the Indian ocean mission must have UN approval, and that it would rather send ground troops to Afghanistan to participate in the PRT's (Provincial Reconstruction Teams) working with the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) which does have a UN mandate.  But the US will have little dificulty ginning up a UN mandate to cover the past and future Indian ocean operations, as we have already steered a resolution praising the Japanese mission through the UNSC (United Nations Security Council).  So Ozawa and the DPJ may end up gaining nothng on the naval front while giving the Fukuda administration a bludegon to use against them or worse allow the deployment to Afghanistan and lay the blame for the inevitable casualties at the feet of the DPJ, which while nasty would not be all that untrue, politics is a nasty business at the best of times and these certainly aren't the best of times as far as politics in Japan are concerned.

The Asahi Shimbun on the need for a UN mandate: Minshuto: Refueling must have U.N. OK.

     In a counterproposal to the government's new anti-terrorism bill, Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) on Tuesday offered to support such missions only when they have U.N. approval. Otherwise, the Self-Defense Forces should limit their role to civilian activities.

 The Yomuiri Shimbun on the problems with the DPJ's counter proposal: DPJ's counterproposal unsatisfactory.

     The Democratic Party of Japan has drafted the outline of a bill that constitutes the party's counterproposal to the government's bill for a new antiterrorism law to allow the Maritime Self-Defense Force to resume refueling activities in the Indian Ocean.

     Its content, however, makes it unsatisfactory as a workable counterproposal.

     The draft outline stipulates that the nation would dispatch Self-Defense Forces and civilian personnel to Afghanistan to participate in provincial reconstruction team (PRT) activities linked with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in four areas, including food production, medical services and transportation.

     Regarding the ISAF, which DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa has called for Japan to participate in, the draft outline says this country will not participate in ISAF activities because the activities have yet to be proved effective.

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From the Yomuiri Shimbun: Envoys make case for MSDF mission.

     Ambassadors to Japan and military attaches at embassies in Japan from countries tied to antiterrorism missions in and around Afghanistan stressed the importance of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean to about 70 lawmakers of ruling and opposition parties in a presentation Wednesday.

     The meeting, arranged by the embassies of countries participating in maritime interdiction operations as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, was held in the morning at the Canadian Embassy in Minato Ward, Tokyo.

     The military attaches delivered presentations using photographs and maps to illustrate the security situation in Afghanistan. They also discussed the content of the maritime interdiction operations and how much fuel oil the MSDF has supplied to vessels.

     The LDP is mounting the fullcourt press to overcome the opposition of the DPJ on extending Japan's involvement with Operation Enduring freedom, and they are getting help from plenbty of sources.  While this a good start I think that to ensure the sucess of the new Anti-Terrorism special measures law the US and other Japanese allies should work to make their case directly to the Japanese public at large.  If the can be convinced that the mission should continue then they can bring pressure on their legislators to authorize continuing it.  While at the same time the Japanese government of Fukuda should also point out the downside of leaving her allies in a lurch.  As this piece from the Yomuiri Shimbun points out: MSDF pullout will have complex effects / Move seen likely to damage ties with Washington, tarnish Japan's image overseas.

     The withdrawal of the Maritime Self-Defense Force from its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean on Thursday has pulled Japan back from the front line of the war on terrorism.

     Though the government and ruling parties fret over the negative diplomatic impact of the move--especially its effect on ties with the United States--it is not yet known when the MSDF can resume its operations.

     Some lawmakers have initiated moves toward the creation of a permanent law governing the overseas dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces, saying a limited-term law is not fully capable of dealing with such affairs.

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From Air Force Link: Former Iraqi citizen returns to serve as Air Force officer.

     The journey to American citizenship and eventual commissioning in the Air Force was a long and dangerous path for Iraqi-born Capt. Rasul Alsalih of the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.

     He was 29 years old and living in his hometown of Samawah, Iraq, when the United States and its coalition partners ejected the Iraqi army from Kuwait in 1991.

    I am always amazed at how strong the dedication that we Americans have to our Nation, wteher we were born here or came here from another land.  Captain Alsalih represents everything that is great about America, and Americans.  He has my unending respect and admiration for the courage he showed in fighting against opression and tyranny and risking all to build a better life.

    "I had a lot of admiration and respect for the military because my experience in the refugee camp gave me a good impression of them -- of how strong they are, how caring they were. They took good care of us in the camp," Captain Alsalih said. "I formed my opinion about the military and I wished to become one of them because they did a good job for us. I still remember the names and the faces of the soldiers who helped us in the refugee camp."

Capt. Rasul Alsalih, a project officer for the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, discusses a construction project with an Iraqi national. An Iraqi by birth, Captain Alsalih fought against Saddam Hussein shortly after Desert Storm and found refuge in an Army camp in Saudi Arabia. He was educated in the U.S. before seeking a commission in the Air Force. He was one of four servicemembers recognized as an "Outstanding American by Choice" this year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jonathan Snyder)

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From First Multi National Force Iraq and Combined Joint Task Force-82 and Air Force Link:

Local citizens help Iraqi Security Forces seize terrorist weapons cache in Hillah.

Baghdad dramatically increasing Police Force: Stryker Brigade picks best recruits.

Coalition forces disrupt terrorist operations, 11 detained.

Unyielding dedication: Soldier makes national defense a career.

New U.S. northern cmdr says he hopes diplomacy will resolve Iraq-Turkey standoff.

Father gains sense of son’s last moments in Iraq.

Ramadi war zone now rare bright spot. (I would say that Ramadi is just one bright spot of many, but the story is from the Guardian so what can you expect. - RT)

Marines declare war on garbage.

Another dispute in Iraq presents an opportunity for reconciliation.

Tammimi, Jibouri tribes uphold reconciliation in Diyala.

U.S. Soldiers free Hostage from al Qaeda.

Iraqi Policemen Learn the Basics during Prep Course.

Common-Sense Recruiting, Cutting-Edge Training Lift Iraq’s Air Force.

Petraeus gets Feedback from Surge Troops.

Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq, three terrorists killed. (Kirkuk)

Coalition forces capture targeted Special Groups member, eleven others detained.

Rock Hammer III disrupts enemy supply network in Baqouba.

British Commitment to Coalition, Oct. 31.

Kirtland gifts reach Afghan school children.

ANSF, Coalition forces kill several Taliban fighters in Oruzgan Province.

Several militants killed, two detained in Ghazni Province.

 A-10 pilot awarded Mackay Trophy.

Children of fallen troops honored at remembrance ceremonies.

CSAF presents Bronze Star to Royal Air Force exchange officer.

F-15C's from the First Fighter Wing, out of Langely AFB.  Offical USAF Photo.

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From the Chosin Ilbo: Bush Sends Tougher Message to N.Korea.

     U.S. President George W. Bush has warned North Korea against failure to fulfill its part of a six-nation agreement whereby it is to disable nuclear facilities by the end of the year. “There will be consequences to the North Koreans if North Korea renege on their promises,” Bush said in a press conference at the White House. “They have declared that they will show us weapons and get rid of the weapons programs, as well as stop proliferation … If they don't fulfill that which they've said, we are now in a position to make sure that they understand that there be consequences.”

     So the US continues to take the hard line with the North Koreans, while the Japanese have from a all pressure approach to one of pressure and dialog, with the hopes of making more progress than in the past.  From the Yomuiri Shimbum: Govt's new North Korea line: More carrots, less stick.

     Reflecting Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's intentions, the government increasingly has been focusing on dialogue in its diplomatic relations with North Korea," revealing a shift in the foreign policy line from that taken by the Abe administration, which favored pressuring the country.

     "If some of the abductees return to Japan, I think we can consider that to be 'progress' on the abduction issue," Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told reporters Friday at the Diet.

     Suggesting that the government might lift sanctions on, or give aid to, North Korea in phases, Komura said: "We may take measures in accordance with the [degree of] progress. That's a matter of course when it comes to improving relations with North Korea."

     Aiming at the return of all abductees, the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe repeatedly emphasized that it would never provide assistance to North Korea without progress on the abduction issue, while avoiding clarifying how it defined "progress." Abe said, "It's us who decide the definition of 'progress,'" and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said, "We don't think we can call it 'progress' if North Korea merely promises to continue its investigation into the issue and offer [any] information."

     I am aware of the apparent progress of the six party talks, but I remain very wary of North Korea, they have decieved in the past nad may yet do so agian.  Witht he reports filtering out about their involvement with the Syrian nuclear program we should not let up one bit, but rather tighten the sanctions untill we have the full and toatl truth.  The economic and military impact of the various embargoes against North Korea are working as this valuable tidbit from the China Post shows: North Korea stops spy flights due to fuel shortage.

     SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has suspended flight training for military aircraft aimed at infiltrating special operation forces in rival South Korea because of fuel shortages, a news report said Sunday.

     Yonhap news agency, quoting unidentified government and military sources, said the impoverished country's military has had to halt training flights of the Soviet-designed AN-2 planes as the fuel shortages have been worsened by soaring oil prices.

     "We found (North Korea) is diverting fuel oil for AN-2 planes to training of other aircraft, and that is why their flights have been suspended for a long time," Yonhap quoted a South Korean government official privy to North Korean affairs as saying.

     Of course US efforts aren't helped by the pussyfooting at the State Department, which as always wants to talk about thing forever and a day without getting anywhere nearer to a solution. The dust up between State and everyone else over the Nork's involvement with the Syrian nuke program is case in point. From the Chosin Ilbo: U.S. Leaders at Odds over N.Korea-Syria Nuke Connection.

     Suspicions over a nuclear connection between North Korea and Syria are dividing the Bush administration in the U.S., the New York Times reported Saturday. "A dispute has broken out between conservatives and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the administration’s pursuit of diplomacy with North Korea in the face of intelligence that North Korea might have helped Syria design a nuclear reactor," the daily said.

     In recent days, Vice President Dick Cheney has reportedly urged Rice to reconsider her North Korea policy, pointing to the rumor. Rice reportedly countered this by saying that President George W. Bush was briefed on the intelligence and issued a statement in support of talks with Pyongyang early this month.

     If we continue to pressure North Korea we can force them to put all their cards on the table, because they know that it is their best interests to do so.  If they continue down the nuclear path and help others to do so things might get a bit, kinetic as it were.  And in that case they would loose, so it is better to give it up and avoid the alternative.

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From Defend America, First Multi National Force Iraq and CJTF-82:

Senior Citizen Stops Suicide Bomber.

Paratroopers Sign Up for Another Tour.

Concerned Local Citizens turn in three IEDs. (Kalsu)

Kidnapped Catholic priests freed in Iraq.

Iraq boy treated for defect with U.S. help.

Prince honours reservists for Iraq tour.

Gov’t in attempt to extend troops’ mandate in Iraq.

Tip leads to cache in western Baghdad.

Army Engineers work to improve Maysan’s electrical system.

Key Madrid train bombins suspect killed in Iraq: report.

Iraqi Army visits school children in Jerf Al-Mila.

Soldiers find huge weapons cache.

Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda: 11 killed, two detained.

ANSF, Coalition forces defeat insurgents for second time in 2 days.

ANSF, Coalition forces focus on Haqqani network.

Afghanistan milestone has special meaning for Bagram Airmen.

And in 1950, 1965, 1983, 1990, and 2001 or any other time

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     Weak nations talk about how strong they are, while strong nations let that power speak for its self.  The US is a strong nation, while Iran is most definately a weak nation. They talk, we demonstrate compare and contrast.

The US:

And Iran:

From the China Post, but just about everywhere really: Iran can fire 11,000 rockets a minute: commander.

     TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran is capable of firing 11,000 rockets into enemy bases within the first minute after any possible attack, state-run television quoted a top Revolutionary Guards Corps commander as saying Saturday.

     Gen. Mahmoud Chaharbaghi, the missile commander of the Guards, said Iran has identified all enemy positions and was prepared to respond in less than a minute to any possible attack.

     "Enemy bases and positions have been identified. ... The Guards ground force will fire 11,000 rockets into identified enemy positions within the first minute of any aggression against the Iranian territory," the television quoted Chaharbaghi as saying.

     Of course what the Iranians fail to mention is that most of these raockets are in fact just that unguided free flight artillery rockets whose accuracy is measured in hundreds of meters, and are of highly limited range.  Typical artillery rocket systems have maximu ranges of between fiteen to fifty miles for the larger system.  And the longer ou fling them the less accurate they become.  This is the main reason that the US MLRS and HIMARS systems use cluster munition warheads, rather than relying on one wrahead to hit the target each rocket carries over 600, making accuracy less of an issue.  As for their guided systems, thes are all either old Soviet system dating form the fifties and sixties or indeigenous variations thereof.  Alot of them are little better than upgraded Scuds, which itself is directly descended from the less than stellarly accurate V-2.   This is just more saber rattling by a nation that really doesn't have much in the way of sabers to be rattled.  The Iranians know how weak they are and this kind of posturing just proves that to anyone who looks at the reality of the Iranian's capability versus their daft proclamations.

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Both From the Yomuiri Shimbun:  New antiterrorism law to last 1 year.

     The government decided Monday that a bill to establish a new law to continue the refueling mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean will include a one-year time limit.

     The new law, which would replace the Antiterrorism Law due to expire on Nov. 1, will not contain a clause stating that the government must periodically report on the MSDF's activities to the Diet.

       The rational for the new law is clear, but the editors at the Yomuiri and I are in agreement that a permanent solution is needed.  Japan is hamstrung by the need to pass a law in order to respond to each new crisis, and needs tp put in place a permanent law spelling out when and when not the SDF can become involved.

Japan mustn't quit war on terrorism.

     Japan must not abandon the war that the international community is waging against terrorism. It is a matter of course for the government and the ruling camp to do their utmost to quickly establish new legislation to replace the current Antiterrorism Law. The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, for its part, will be tested on how it handles a bill for the new law.

     The government has submitted to the Diet the bill for the new antiterrorism law to allow the Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

     The new law will limit the Self-Defense Force's antiterrorism support activities to the MSDF's refueling and water supply mission. The subjects of the mission will be limited to other countries' vessels participating in maritime interdiction activities to prevent the movement of terrorists and the transportation of weapons and drugs.

Permanent law needed.

     The government initially sought a two-year term for the new law. However, in consideration of New Komeito's view that having it enforced for one year would make it easier to maintain civilian control over the MSDF mission, the government set the term of the law at one year.

     But for Japan to properly tackle the war on terrorism, which will be a long and difficult task, the term of the law that governs the nation's efforts for the war should be longer. After the law is established, creating a permanent law regarding the overseas dispatch of the SDF likely will become a topic of discussion.

     Of course this would all be a moot point if the Japanese consitution is amended to remove article nine or the Japanese goverment decides that it can simply ignore article nine and get away with it.  I talked about that here and here.

JDS Murasame, DD-101. The lead ship in a class of nine multipurpose destroyers laid down in 1991.

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From Fox News: North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones Calls for Inquiry of Army General Involved in Soldier Scrutiny.

     WASHINGTON —  Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., has asked the Pentagon to open an investigation of a high-ranking Army official who is at the center of two probes involving possible wrong-doing by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

     Jones said he believes Lt. Gen. Frank Kearney has overstepped his authority in the investigations and in turn is hurting troops' morale.

     "When men and women are asked to go to war for this country, then in my humble opinion they should be given every benefit of the doubt, and if there are any questions then they should not be handled in the press," Jones said in an interview with FOX News.

     I, and I am sure a lot of other people are glad to see that the highly questionable behavior of Gen. Kearney is finally being looked into.  It has been a point of serious contention and complaint among personel in the Afghan theater and people back home for some time now.  His continual invetsigations into behavior that has been deemed perfectly acceptable, and his sudden withdrawl of  a USMC unit for being too aggressive should have raised flags on the hill some time ago, or if not their then at the Pentagon.  If nothing else he needs to be removed from command and sent to job where he can do no further harm to our efforts in Afghanistan.

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From First Multi National Force Iraq and Defend America:

Airmen Patrol Streets of Baghdad.

Diamond heroes visit battlefield heroes.

Soldiers capture kidnapper, free hostage. (Adhamiyah)

Concerned Citizens discover improvised explosive device. (Arab Jabour)

Citizen volunteers vastly improve security in Iraq’s Diyala Province.

Marines team with Iraqi Security Forces.

International news links, Oct. 13, 2007.

Scouts assist in propane distribution. (Arab Jabour)

Coalition forces disrupt terrorist operations; one killed, 17 detained.

New Iraqi Air Force Continues to Grow.

Afghan National Police Continue Progress.

Coalition forces clear former insurgent stronghold.

Renovations Bring Reliable Power.

The ships of the US Navy's Destroyer Squadron 15 Steaming in the Pacific during exercise Valiant Shield '06.

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