DTN News – QATARI DEFENSE NEWS: Gulf Falcon 2013 Qatar-France Military Exercise

DTN News – QATARI DEFENSE NEWS: Gulf Falcon 2013 Qatar-France Military Exercise 

 

Source: DTN News 

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada – March 18, 2013: Gulf Falcon Exercise 2013, conducted by the Qatari Armed Forces and the French Armed Forces from February 16 to March 7, concluded in Al Galayel Square.

HE the Chief of Staff Major-General Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah and his French counterpart Admiral Edouard Guillaud attended the final day of the exercises in which 3,000 troops participated.

The Gulf Falcon Exercise is held every four years by the Qatari Armed Forces and its French counterpart. Some 1,700 Qatari troops participated in the exercise, along with 1,300 French soldiers. The exercise aims to highlight the joint defence strategy of Qatar and France.  

In a statement to the press, HE the Chief of Staff Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah thanked the French Armed Forces for participating in the exercise. He added that the Gulf Falcon 2013 was part of the bilateral co-operation between two countries.  

Al-Attiyah said that the exercise has been planned for a long time, expressing his satisfaction of how the exercise was executed. The Chief of Staff said that the participation of all the branches of the Armed Forces distinguished Gulf Falcon 2013 from other exercises.

 

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DTN News – KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: North Korea Threatens Pre-Emptive Nuclear Strike Against US

DTN News – KOREAN PENINSULA NEWS: North Korea Threatens Pre-Emptive Nuclear Strike Against US
*Threatening rhetoric comes before vote by UN on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test

Source: DTN News – – This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Associated Press in Seoul – guardian.co.uk,
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada – March 7, 2013: North Korea has vowed to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, amplifying its threatening rhetoric hours before a vote by UN security council on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.

An unidentified spokesman for Pyongyang’s foreign ministry said the North will exercise its right for “pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the headquarters of the aggressors” because Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against it.

Although North Korea boasts of nuclear bombs and pre-emptive strikes, it is not thought to have mastered the ability to produce a warhead small enough to put on a missile capable of reaching the US. It is believed to have enough nuclear fuel, however, for a handful of cruder devices.

Such inflammatory rhetoric is common from North Korea, but it has been coming regularly in recent days. The Pyongyang regime is angry over the possible sanctions and over upcoming US-South Korean military drills.

The UN security council is set to impose a fourth round of sanctions against North Korea in a fresh attempt to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Russia’s UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, the current security council president, said the council will vote on the draft sanctions resolution on Thursday morning.

The resolution was drafted by the US and China, North Korea’s closest ally. The council’s agreement to put the resolution to a vote just 48 hours later signalled that it would almost certainly have the support of all 15 council members.

The statement by North Korea’s foreign ministry spokesman was carried by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency.

It accused the US of leading efforts to slap sanctions on North Korea. The statement said the new sanctions would only advance the timing for North Korea to fulfil previous vows of taking “powerful second and third countermeasures” against its enemies. Those measures haven’t been specifically elaborated on.

“We gravely warn that at a time when we cannot avoid a second Korean war, the UN security council, which served as the US puppet in 1950 and made Korean people harbour eternal grudges against it, must not commit the same crime again,” it said.

North Korea in the statement demanded the security council immediately dismantle the American-led UN command that is based in Seoul and move to end the state of war that exists on the Korean peninsula, which continues six decades after fighting stopped because an armistice, not a peace treaty, ended the war.

 

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Associated Press in Seoul – guardian.co.uk,
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DTN News – ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: IDF Launches Surprise Live-Fire Drill In Golan

DTN News – ISRAEL DEFENSE NEWS: IDF Launches Surprise Live-Fire Drill In Golan 
*Exercise in Golan Heights aims to test army readiness and fitness in North and Central Commands, Artillery Corps

 

Source: DTN News – – This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Yaakov Lappin – Jerusalem Post

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada – September 19, 2012: The IDF launched a surprise drill early Wednesday morning on the Golan Heights.

Units were scrambled to the North without warning following an order was given by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz.

The exercise is aimed at testing the fitness and readiness of several IDF units, with the Artillery Corps taking up center stage.

The Air Force has joined units from the IDF’s Northern and Central Commands to take part in the drill. Other military forces are also taking part.

The exercise will end with a live fire exercise on Wednesday afternoon.

“This drill is part of a routine program of checks and surprise exercises held throughout the year by the IDF Comptroller. It is being held under the command of Brig.-Gen. Roee Riptin, who is the chief artillery officer,” the IDF Spokesman’s Unit said.

Sources in the IDF said the drill was planned ahead of time, and that it should not be seen as a sign of a change in the level of alert.

It comes on the heels of a major Golani Brigade infantry and Armored Corps drill, which was was jointly held in the Golan Heights over recent weeks.

Related News from Haaretz

*IDF Launches Surprise Live-Fire Drill In Golan Heights

The drill, to include Northern Command, Central Command, and Air Force troops, is meant to test the IDF’s readiness for an ‘emergency situation.

The Israel Defense Forces General Staff launched a comprehensive surprise drill on Wednesday, which will include the airlifting of forces to the Golan Heights and a live fire exercise, set to take place later in the evening.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz notified the units involved in the drill overnight, as the drill is meant to test the level of preparation of various units, including the Northern Command, Central Command, Air Force, and others.

The units involved specialize in offensive firepower, and for this reason they were chosen to participate in the drill, meant to test their readiness for an emergency situation.

The drill itself is expected to end in the evening, and is being overseen by the IDF’s Chief Artillery Officer, Brig. Gen. Roei Riftin, and is part of IDF efforts to examine the quality of operations, led by the IDF comptroller.

The drill was planned ahead of time and does not suggest the IDF has raised its level of preparation. However, such a test of the IDF’s ability to move a large number of forces from the Central Command to the Golan Heights, by way of helicopters, and to hold a comprehensive live-fire drill, examines the IDF’s ability to launch a serious military operation or even go to war.

A similar surprise drill was held on Yom Kippur Eve last year, involving two IDF divisions, which focused on testing the level of preparation for reserve units for emergency call-ups. Last year’s drill involved the emergency call-up of two reserve combat companies from the Central Command. Then, an IDF official said that holding the drill right before Yom Kippur was “more than a coincidence.”

Last week, the IDF began work on reinforcing the fence on the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights. Plans drafted by the IDF Northern Command call for placing dozens of new information-gathering sensors along the fence, electrifying parts of it so that it will warn of intruders, and laying mines along parts of the border.

Over the years, severe weather in the Golan Heights has battered the fence to the point where in certain places, it barely exists.

The Northern Command’s main concern is the possibility that terrorists will try to launch a cross-border attack on IDF soldiers or on Israeli communities in the Golan. The army’s assumption is that the deteriorating situation in Syria is liable to lead to an increase in terrorist activity near the border. Army sources said the volume of attempts to penetrate the border has already increased.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Yaakov Lappin – Jerusalem Post
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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