We're a little peeved at al-Qaeda deputy dog Ayman al-Zawahiri. After months of stalling, the terrorist mastermind finally made good on his promise to answer questions online.  And while he responded to questions about Iran and the killing of innocents, Zawahiri didn't take a single one of ours! 

Nothing on whether he thought Britney was pregnant again.  Nada on his preference of Stallone movies -- "Rambo" or "Cobra" (right).  Hell, Mister Z didn't even respond to the all-important question of whether he likes pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain. Punk.

"Dead animals can't speak," says Dave Gaubatz, a former OSI agent, who worked on security for the Active Denial System at Kirtland Air Force Base. Gaubatz saw he saw clear evidence that the Air Force was testing lethal effects related to microwave weapons, including the Active Denial System.

The Active Denial System, of course, is the military's nonlethal "pain ray" that uses millimeter waves to heat the top layer of skin to create an intense burning sensation.

In an interview with FrontPage, Gaubatz says he saw "truck loads of animals were being brought in during the middle of the night."

Dead animals can’t speak, but if a goat or 500 pound cow can be killed almost instantly with the Ray Gun, then I believe most readers can safely assume a 175 pound man or woman could also die instantly from the intense heat.

Don't believe that Gaubatz was really in a position to see these things? Well, he's got proof that he was there.

Gaubatz'  more controversial claim is that the Active Denial System is really designed as a lethal weapon. That would mean all the testing and legal review related to its deployment is a cover-up. But that's not to say Gaubatz is wrong about what he saw, however.  I don't think it's much of a stretch to believe that the Air Force conducts testing on animals related to lethal effects of potential microwave weapons.

Update:

By the way, as several readers have pointed out, this is the same Dave Gaubatz who says he found Saddam's WMD bunkers. So, he's not new to controversial claims.

Continue reading "'Ray Gun' a Lethal Weapon, Says Former OSI Agent" »

"NATO leaders agreed Thursday to endorse the United States missile defense plans for Europe and provide more troops for Afghanistan," the Times is reporting.

Mr. Bush could claim success in NATO endorsement of his missile-defense plan, despite Russian objections, and in an agreement with the Czech Republic, announced on Thursday, to build a radar for the system.

Mr. Bush also succeeded in getting NATO to agree to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan, a Washington priority.

The main contributor was France, whose president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said that Paris would send another battalion – some 700 troops – to eastern Afghanistan, freeing up American soldiers to deploy more in the south, where the fighting against the Taleban is heaviest, in support of the Canadians.

Russia doesn’t like the missile defense system to be installed in the Czech Republic and Poland, despite Washington’s assurances that it is aimed at Iran and North Korea or China, not at Russia. Mr. Putin has even threatened to target the system with Russian missiles, while also offering a substitute system in Kazakhstan.

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Russian parliament, said that the topic would be high on the agenda for the Bush-Putin meeting in Sochi, after this conference.

Mr. Kosachev said Russia doubted Washington’s motives. “We still do not have a proper explanation of this project,” he said. “It is not about the number of interceptors. It’s about undermining mutual confidence and trust.”

Continue reading "NATO: Missile Defense, Afghan Troops OK" »

The Army and Marine Corps bought hundreds of thousands of sets of body armor -- without the equipment being properly tested,  according to a report by the Defense Department's inspector general.

"Nearly $3 billion worth of body armor did not go through early inspections known as 'first article testing,' or FAT, that are performed before major production," the Washington Post reports.

Normally," the report notes, "a first article is tested to verify that the manufacturing process has generated an acceptable item and to catch and correct any defects in the manufacturing process."

"First article testing would have assisted Army officials in determining whether the contractor could furnish an acceptable product," the inspector general's offices goes on to say.  But without the exams, the Pentagon "has no assurance that first articles produced under 13 of the 28 contracts and orders reviewed met the required standards, or that 11 of the 28 contracts were awarded based on informed procurement decisions."

That doesn't mean the armor was unsafe, necessarily.  As the Post observes, "Officials with the inspector general's office said its auditors did not test the armor or look for flaws after it was made and put into use."  Instead, this report focused on the process of how the gear was purchased.  Which is, in and of itself, a subject of some controversy. 

For years, Pinnacle Armor Inc., makers of the Dragon Skin protective gear, accused Army officials of unfairly favoring rival Point Blank Body Armor. The Army went so far as to ban soldiers from wearing the alternative defense. Congress held hearings into the body armor brou-ha-ha last year, after NBC News alleged that the Army's tests were rigged.  But after disputed testimony, it was Pinnacle (and its allies) who wound up under investigation and facing possible punitive action from the armed services.  A new round of trials showed that "four out of the eight Dragon Skin vests tested failed after suffering 13 first- or second-shot complete penetrations with 7.62mmx63mm APM2 Armor Piercing ammunition," according to Army Times.

Continue reading "Billions in Body Armor Bought Without Full Tests" »

Don't believe that scientists can really create cyborg insects? Watch this video, created by New Scientist. It's clearly still at the beginning stages, but scientists supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency appear to be making some progress in this fascinating area of research.

Continue reading "Video: Cyborg Moth Flies!" »

After 12 years and $3.8 billion, we may not have a ray gun-equipped jet, quite yet. But, thanks to our pal Stephen Trimble, we do have this animated video from Boeing, the maker of the Airborne Laser.  The modified 747 is supposed to start test-zapping missiles next year.  In the meantime, enjoy some CGI. And a healthy heap of jargon, with phrases like, "through Link 16 network-centric communication and the C2BMC system, ABL notifies the rest of the BMDS system."

Continue reading "Laser Jet Zaps Animated Missiles, Spouts Jargon" »

Recently, Senator John McCain has repeatedly indicated that Iran and al-Qaeda are in cahoots.  The terror group's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, would beg to differ.  In a long-promised online Q&A session, Zawahiri says it would be "in the interest" of Al-Qaeda to see Iran "sap[ped]" by a fight with the United States.  Moreover, he seems to promise that the extremist collective will "battle" whoever wins that U.S.-Iran struggle.

The dispute between America and Iran is a real dispute based on the struggle over areas of influence, and the possibility of America striking Iran is a real possibility. As for what might happen in the region, I can only say that major changes will occur in the region, and the situation will be in the interest of the Mujahideen if the war saps both of them. If, however, one of them emerges victorious, its influence will intensify and fierce battles will begin between it and the Mujahideen, except that the Jihadi awakening currently under way and the degeneration state of affairs of the invaders in Afghanistan and Iraq will make it impossible for Iran or America to become the sole decision-maker in the region. (emphasis mine; translation courtesy of IntelCenter)

This isn't the first time Zawahiri has criticized Iran, either.  In a videotape released in December, he said that "Iran has stabbed the Muslim Ummah [nation] in the back" during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

It caused itself and the Shiites following it a historic disgrace. The signs of this stab will remain vivid in the Muslims' memory for a very long time. The strange paradox to which I would like to draw attention is that despite the fact that Iran permitted the Crusader troops to enter Iraq, recognized the agent government there, and pushed its militias to participate in this government's army, security services, and police force.

On other points, however, Zawahiri seems to be reinforcing some of McCain's warnings about al-Qaeda.  The Republican Presidential candidate recently said that, "if we withdraw prematurely from Iraq, al Qaeda in Iraq will survive, proclaim victory and continue to provoke sectarian tensions... could easily descend into genocide, and destabilize the entire region." 

Damn straight, Zawahiri replies.  He "expect[s] the Jihadi influence to spread after the Americans' exit from Iraq, and to move towards Jerusalem." 

(High five: AR)

You've found out how to take down 500-foot monsters, and learned the secret to terminating Terminators.  Now it's time for the utimate challenge. How you should arm yourself to survive a zombie apocalypse?

Step one, Know Your Zombies.

The idea of the zombie derives from Voodoo lore. Voodoo (or voudou or vodun) is a much maligned and misunderstood religion; the popular idea of it in the United States and Europe is about as close to the reality as Satanism is to the Catholic church. Anyone using voodoo for evil (a bokor) is the equivalent of the guys who carry out ceremonies in deserted churches with pentagrams and goat's blood.

In any case, zombies do not feature in the original West African voodoo; the idea of a person drained of their soul and forced to obey a master only appeared in the Americas. These we could class as Natural Zombies. If you believe anthropologist Wade Davis, these are created by poisoning the victim with 'zombie powder' which includes puffer fish venom (tetrodotoxin). Supposedly this causes a death-like coma and brain damage which turns the victim into a pliable slaves. These zombies are harmless; you don’t need to shoot them, but watch out for the bokor who controls them.

Then there are Supernatural Zombies, corpses possessed by spirits or demonic powers. If they are animated by angelic spirits (as in the Rime of The Ancient Mariner), then they are here to help. If they are animated by something demonic (as in The Evil Dead), then firearms may be of limited use as they are beyond the laws of nature. Consult your priest, Rabbi, guru or shaman for further advice. Unless you're one of the ultra-cool gangsters in the terrific zombie/yakuza flick Versus, that is -- in which case, gunning down zombies is all in a day's work.

However, mostly you're likely to encounter the type of Alien Zombie favored by Geroge Romero. These are reanimated by an extra-terrestrial force; this is an infectious form of zombiedom that seems to be spread via biting. They are oblivious to most injuries but can reliably be taken out by destroying their brain.

Continue reading "How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse" »

* DARPA's Quantum Leap

* Were the generals paid off?

* Space Radar Killed! (again) 

* DOD Intel unit to close shop

* Spies, lies, and casinos

It's that time of year again! Citizens Against Government Waste has released its annual "Pig Book" that chronicles all the little dirty dealings in Congress to divvy up money -- in the form of earmarks -- to various districts. And not surprisingly, there's a lot of lard to be found in the defense bill.

Some of the more unusual earmarks this year appear to be $3 million, courtesy of House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), for a golf program that teaches "life-enhancing" skills to young boys and girl. Isn't that what video games are for? Anyhow, why the heck it's in the defense bill, is unclear, but the Pig Book says the money is going to First Tee...

...whose purpose, according to its website, is “To impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and lifeenhancing values through the game of golf.” If The First Tee wanted money to spread its teachings to the military, it could ask its numerous corporate sponsors, who would likely respond with at least $3 million. Rep. Clyburn told CNBC on November 27, 2007 that the program will help “make generals and colonels.” Apparently, after hundreds of years of military operations without having such a program, it was critical to add The First Tee in conference, in the middle of the war on terrorism.

Another pork project in the defense bill involves funding the search for extraterrestrial lifeforms. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) earmarked over one-and-half millions dollars for the Allen Telescope Array:

This project first appeared in the 2005 Congressional Pig Book and has received a total of $5.6 million. It is part of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), which describes the telescope as “cutting-edge astronomical research and a simultaneous search for signals of intelligent, extraterrestrial origin.” The Pentagon should classify this as an Unidentified Fiscal Object.

Continue reading "Oink, Oink! Defense Pork Goes to Golf, UFOs" »

Pirates have been attacking ships off the coast of Somalia for years.  This map, from the United Nations satellite imagery team, plots all the strikes in 2007.  There are no big red Xs to mark the treasure spots, I'm afraid. But it does note the last known whereabouts of the pirate "mother ship."  Which is still pretty cool.

Perhaps not surprisingly, U.S. Materiel Command is hunting around for new suppliers of ammunition for Afghanistan's military.  Just as a reminder, the New York Times late last month revealed that the U.S. military had awarded a contract worth as much as $300 million to a company "led by a 22-year-old man whose vice president was a licensed masseur." The Times reported, that among other problems, the military lacked any standards for "nonstandard" ammunition (i.e. ammunition meant for Soviet-made weapons), so old, badly packaged equipment was showing up in Afghanistan:

An official at the Army Sustainment Command said that because the ammunition was for foreign weapons, and considered “nonstandard,” it only had to fit in weapons it was intended for.

“There is no specific testing request, and there is no age limit,” said Michael Hutchison, the command’s deputy director for acquisition. “As the ammunition is not standard to the U.S. inventory, the Army doesn’t possess packaging or quality standards for that ammo.”

When purchasing such munitions, Mr. Hutchison said, the Army Sustainment Command relies on standards from the “customer” — meaning the Army units in Afghanistan. And the customer, he said, did not set age or testing requirements.

Just two days after the article came out, however, U.S. Army Materiel Command put out a solicitation for more non-standard ammunition for Afghanistan, but there are now at least some standards:

Materiel will not be supplied in a combination of paper interior packaging and fiberboard exterior packaging. If interior packaging is paper, exterior packaging must be metal con tainer or wood box. If interior packaging is metal container, exterior fiberboard packaging is allowable.

Each package will contain the same type of ammo. Materiel shall be free of dirt and other contaminants which would contribute to the deterior ation of the item or which would require cleaning by customer prior to use.

There's also what looks a related solicitation, issued in January, that also specified the age of the ammunition: "MATERIEL SHALL BE FROM NEW PRODUCTION OR NEW SURPLUS MANUFACTURED WITHIN THE LAST TWENTY (20) YEARS AND SERVICEABLE WITHOUT QUALIFICATIONS."

Companies headed by a masseur, your ne'er-do-well son, and generally shifty characters are still welcome to bid, however.

[High five: Iraq Slogger]

Vice President Dick Cheney opposed the signing ratification of a treaty banning the use chemical weapons, a recently unearthed letter shows. 

183 countries pledged never to "develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain chemical weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly, chemical weapons to anyone" under the Chemical Weapons Convention, put into effect in 1997.

But in a letter dated April 8, 1997, then Halliburton-CEO Cheney told Sen. Jesse Helms, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that it would be a mistake for America to join the Convention.  "Those nations most likely to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention are not likely to ever constitute a military threat to the United States.  The governments we should be concerned about are likely to cheat on the CWC, even if they do participate," reads the letter, published by the Federation of American Scientists.

The CWC was ratified by the Senate that same month.  And since then, Albania, Libya, Russia, the United States, and India have declared over 71,000 metric tons of chemical weapon stockpiles, and destroyed about a third of them. Under the terms of the agreement, the United States and Russia are supposed to eliminate the rest of their supplies of chemical weapons by 2012. But that looks unlikely -- the U.S. government figures it will get the job done by 2017.

Later this month, the 183 countries that have signed onto the CWC will meet in the Hague, to discuss how the Conference can be adapted for the future.   An Iranian diplomat told Arms  Control Today that Iran would like this so-called "review conference" to describe any violation of the 2012 deadline “as a clear case of serious noncompliance,” which could eventually lead to punitive measures.

In Cheney's 1997 letter, the future Vice President voiced concerns that "the technology to manufacture chemical weapons is simply too ubiquitous, covert chemical warfare programs too easily concealed, and the international community's record of responding effectively to violations of arms control treaties too unsatisfactory, to permit confidence that such a regime would actually reduce the chemical threat."

But in a recent interview with Arms Control Today, Ambassador Donald Mahley, acting deputy assistant  secretary of state for threat reduction, said the convention has been helpful in "preventing [the] spread of chemical terrorism." The CWC  "continues to work in as efficient and effective manner," he added; the implementing it is "lean and mean."

(Said in Dr. Evil's voice, of course.)

I just heard from the Conde Nast overlords that Danger Room just had its 10,000,000th page view in March.  Better yet, the last 2,500,000 were in just the past two months.  Thanks for the clicks, everyone.

Happy April Fools' Day. Which of these headlines is true?

• Nato prevents outbreak of war in Gent
• Romania Outlaws Jokes (and stray dogs) to impress NATO leaders
• Russia Develops Answer to Gay Bomb

April Fool's day always sees a crop of spoof car adverts in the newspapers, and this year we were treated to some non-lethal silliness from BMW:

BMW has announced the first details of the new Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system. Designed to stop dogs fouling against the sparkling alloys of new BMW cars, the \innovative Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system (C.R.A.P.) is the latest offering in the BMW EfficientDynamics programme.

Using the EfficientDynamics Brake Energy Regeneration system, energy that would normally have been lost during engine over-run and during braking is harnessed as Rim Impulse Power (R.I.P.) and stored for future use. Whenever a dog tries to relieve itself on the wheel of a suitably-equipped BMW, a small and relatively painless electric shock is immediately administered to the animal, thus deterring it from future fouling.

Dr Hans Zoff, Head of Automotive Security from BMW AG, said; “Research shows that most BMW customers like to keep their cars clean and dog fouling is a constant irritant. Not only does the Canine Repellent Alloy Protection system support this aim, but it does so using energy created through the EfficientDynamics programme. Beauty through engineering perfection – our philosophy in a wheel nut.”

Probably not the last C.R.A.P. non-lethal device to feature on Danger Room.

(Incidentally, I looked at a genuine device which stuns with a static electricity discharge for New Scientist a few years back)

If you're a regular Danger Room reader, the front page of today's Science Times is going to look awfully familiar.

Over December and January, we all scoured the web -- and our own personal collections -- for the military's most awesomely bad morale patches. After twelve installments, and hundreds of truly ludicrous insignias, we voted on the very best one. The winner: the legendary "Death Wears Bunny Slippers" patch, showing the Grim Reaper in his comfy clothes, triggering nuclear armageddon.

The series was inspired by Trevor Paglen's remarkable book, I Could Tell You but Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World.  (In fact, Trevor himself thew up some of his favorite awesomely bad patches up on the site.)

The same book inspired William Broad, in today's Times. 

“The military has patches for almost everything it does,” Mr. Paglen writes in the introduction. “Including, curiously, for programs, units and activities that are officially secret.”

He said contractors in some cases made the patches to build esprit de corps. Other times, he added, military units produced them informally, in contrast to official patches.

Mr. Paglen said he found them by touring bases, noting what personnel wore, joining alumni associations, interviewing active and former team members, talking to base historians and filing requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

A spokesman for the Pentagon, Cmdr. Bob Mehal, said it would be imprudent to comment on “which patches do or do not represent classified units.” In an e-mail message, Commander Mehal added, “It would be supposition to suggest ‘anyone’ is uncomfortable with this book.”

Continue reading "Times Discovers Most Awesomely Bad Military Patches" »

Apparently, I'm a "warmonger." Or a "neo-conservative." Or a "liberal military-hate[r]." Or possibly "knee-jerk anti-defense, anti-Pentagon."  At least, that's what some of the commenters here tell me.

I'm constantly amazed at the partisan maneuvering some of them see behind every post here (even if they can't agree on which agenda, exactly, is being advanced). But what's even stranger is how the most technical, seemingly apolitical story can spark the same ol' red vs. blue fights. I've been so perplexed, in fact, that I've asked a bona fide expert, Farhad Manjoo, to investigate.  Farhad is the author of True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society. The book looks at, among other things, how deeply people perceive "bias" in today's news -- and how it colors nearly every story they read, see, or hear.  Farhad, take it away...

The other day Noah posted an item on Dick Cheney's reaction to American troop deaths in Iraq passing 4,000. In an interview with ABC News, Cheney said that while families of the dead felt a "special burden" of war, "the president carries the biggest burden, obviously."

Noah's post was a simple, straightforward recounting of Cheney's quote. He even included a video of the interview to show the context surrounding Cheney's words. Several readers, though, saw it differently; at worst, Cheney simply misspoke, they said, and Noah was betraying a knee-jerk anti-Cheney liberal bias in pointing to the quote.

"I really just can't believe you went so low to spin a statement around on the Vice President who obviously didn't mean that in the context you infer," wrote Drew.  "You know damn well what Cheney meant. An American president bears the biggest burden of any American when sending troops into battle. He has to make the decisions and he has to take responsibility." 

Arcane said, "Ah, typical Noah. The U.S. can never do anything right (at least not until a Democratic administration comes to power, of course)." Jim agreed, calling Noah "willfully stupid" and "blinded by his Bush-hatred." And then there was brett: "If I want to read about politics, I'll go to a political blog. Unsubscribe from this blog? <-- Yes."

Continue reading "Author Dissects Danger Room Commenters' Brains (Updated)" »

Did Iraqi prime minister do Shi'ite firebrand Moqtada al-Sadr a favor by launching attacks against some of his militiamen last week?  That's the provocative theory from one long-time Iraq observer.

Retired Major William "Mac" McCallister spent more than four years in Iraq, much of it as an advisor to the Marines on Iraq's tribes and culture.  Here's how Mac sees the recent Maliki-Sadr clash:

1. Fighting is a form of negotiation to gain an advantage and not necessarily to gain control of a given situation. Maliki government perceives an opportunity to gain advantage due to weakening of Organization of Martyr Sadr (OMS).

2.  On the other hand do not discount the likelihood that IA [Iraqi Army] are targeting rogue JAM [Jaysh al-Mahdi, Sadr's militia] units that failed to rally to Sadr in the last 6 months. A number of reports implied that one to the reasons Muqtada al Sadr initiated the cease fire was to verify loyalty of JAM militias to OMS. Those that did not respond may well be the "target audience". If this is the case then I am inclined to believe that Maliki and Muqtada al Sadr are in communication to "manage the violence".

3. The timing for this punitive expedition is about right. The "awakening" meme [tribal resistance to extremist, which began in Iraq's west] has infected Arab tribes in the south. Arab tribes that happen to Shia. Many southern tribal leaders have openly expressed their "disappointment" with OMS and rogue militias for a while now, due to their inability to "fix" economic and security conditions. The tribes are a powerful lobbying group, especially in the south since most are engaged in agriculture. Agriculture translates into "power" since you have to feed the cities.

Conclusion. This is a punitive expedition only. The short-term objective is to assist Sadr in ridding himself of rogue elements so as to make him a more stable long-term political partner and more reliable participant in governance. The Maliki government, although it seeks to consolidate its hold on power knows it can not do so without the help of Sadr. The intermediate objective is to maintain Sadr as a viable and potential political ally for he is needed against the numerous groups also seeking greater influence such as Fadilah, Hakim family, Sunni tribes and the Kurds. The long-term objective will be determined as this thing plays itself out.

Food for thought.  And it dovetails -- well, somewhat -- with what veteran counterterror specialist Malcolm Nance writes in today's Small Wars Journal. Nance notes that, over the last year, American troops have been "on a campaign to isolate the JAM one cell at a time and bring them to heel through a series of targeted raids."

Continue reading "Did Maliki do Sadr a Favor in Basra?" »

It never got a lot of publicity, but in 2002, American Technology Corp., best known for its Long Range Acoustic Device, worked on a prototype of an Acoustic Bazooka, a man-portable nonlethal weapon that would blast the living heck out of anyone it encountered. According to one account of that early weapons work in Signal Magazine, this weapon was:

...a crude test device consisting of three to four transducers stacked together to form a column or tube that is three or four feet long and three to four inches in diameter. The device produces a range of sound patterns across frequencies to which humans are sensitive. He notes that in its current configuration, the DSR can make its target extremely uncomfortable. “If you stand in the beam for more than 10 or 12 seconds, you get sick. People turn as green as grass, and you can pulse it in such a way that their ears don’t really recover—so they keep getting this uncomfortable effect and they can’t brace themselves to get away from it,” he explains.

I have just one question: where the heck is my Acoustic Bazooka? I want one, perhaps even two or three. Over the past few months, I've been on a sonic blaster kick: I described Penn State's plans to test new new sonic blasters; I've followed the burgeoning competition for "sonic blasters" (referred to more prosaically as "long-range hailing devices"); and in Israel, I even subjected myself to a "sonic barrier" that claims to make people dizzy and nauseous.

Continue reading "Where's My Acoustic Bazooka?" »