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The warning came almost too late. The freighter ANL Australia had already fired its engines for a 70-mile dash to Iran when customs agents here were alerted to a possible hidden cache of weapons on board.

(An Excerpt From Page 2 Of The Article)...“I should mention another interesting aspect. Modern-day Western arms are produced with special chips which make it impossible to use the weapons against the manufacturing country and its allies. It may mean that Saudi Arabia does not exclude a possible military confrontation with the West. Finally, Saudi Arabia does not perceive Moscow as an enemy. Quite on the contrary – it’s a potential partner,” the expert said...

(Video) Israel Navy chief says seized Francop vessel carried enough weapons and ammunition to supply Hezbollah for month or more of fighting against Israel. Navy chief: 'Ship's crew didn't know anything about it. Neither did Egyptians.' Barak: This will not be Iran's last smuggling attempt VIDEO - "The quantity of arms seized on the weapons ship Francop is 10 times or even more than the quantity of weapons on the Karin-A ship," said Israel Deputy Navy Chief Brig. Gen. Rani Ben-Yehuda told reporters during a briefing Wednesday at the naval base in Ashdod. The Francop weapons ship that was seized...

This Iraqi Security Force Update provides a summary of changes to the ISF during October 2009. The Iraqi Security Force Order of Battle as of 31 October 2009 is published at Montrose Toast. Joint Special Forces Strike Teams [Battalions] In late 2007, Prime Minister Maliki announced plans for “elite” quick reaction force (QRF) battalions in the Iraqi Army. These battalions were to be equipped with the most modern light armor and used for counter-insurgency. During the same time-period, eight battalions worth [336] of BTR-3E1 armored personnel carriers were ordered via US Foreign Military Sales. The BTR-3E1s were cancelled in 2008...

CARACAS, Venezuela — Russia has opened a $2.2 billion line of credit for Venezuela to purchase weapons including armored vehicles and surface-to-air missiles, President Hugo Chavez said Sunday. Venezuela is buying more arms because it feels threatened by Colombia's decision to give U.S. troops greater access to its military bases, Chavez said. Repeating a frequent theme of his presidency, the socialist leader said the United States would like to invade Venezuela and seize the country's oil fields. He said the bases in Colombia could help the U.S. stage such an attack.

According to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the most effective way to stop the Iranian Islamist regime from acquiring nukes, is to threaten them with a military build-up of other Islamist regimes: "US allies in the Middle East should strengthen their respective militaries to deter Iran from continuing its suspected nuclear weapons program..." If by that, Gates meant supplying Israel with all the bunker busters, refueling aircraft, and F22's it has sought to purchase, that might cause the mullahs knees to knock. But since the U.S. Administration has denied Israel purchase of bunker busters and refueling aircraft, certainly needed for...

WASHINGTON — At last, the secret to first lady Michelle Obama's sculpted arms? Tricep pushdowns and hammer curls.

The hidden Hizbullah arms cache in southern Lebanon that exploded in July contained chemical weapons, and three Hizbullah terrorists died as a result of the toxins, in addition to eight other terrorists killed by the blast, the Kuwaiti newspaper Alseyassah Kuwait said on Thursday.

A Florida man born without arms says a Tampa bank would not let him cash a check because he couldn't provide a thumbprint.

They Died With Gucci's On /snip Satellite photos show that construction of new facilities continues in the suburbs of the capital, where the elite families live. There is no let-up in the importing of luxury goods, including automobiles. The leaders in the north are determined to go down with their Gucci's on. One thing the elite cannot have is cell phones. The use of such devices was made legal again at the beginning of the year (at least in the capital), and all the swells, and even their college age kids, have them. But not the most senior officials, who...

ISTANBUL (AP) - Challenging a global aversion to guns aboard ships, France has put troops on tuna boats in the Indian Ocean, and Belgium is offering military units to its merchant vessels off the Horn of Africa. Now, U.S. lawmakers are weighing similar action to fight piracy. Opponents fear such moves will escalate the violence and raise a minefield of legal issues. In June, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment that would require the Department of Defense to put armed teams on U.S.-flagged ships passing through high-risk waters, specifically around the Horn of Africa where Somali pirates have...

The British Embassy in Tel Aviv confirmed Monday that the United Kingdom has revoked a number of arms export licenses to Israel following the Gaza war, but insisted that the move did not constitute a partial embargo. "There is no partial U.K. arms embargo on Israel," the embassy said in a statement to Haaretz. "U.K. policy remains to assess all export licenses to Israel against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria

WINNIPEG — Manitoba exported a cache of guns worth $1.2 million to Saudi Arabia last year, but the federal government won't say who sold them, who bought them, or what they were used for. According to international-trade data available on the Industry Canada website, Manitoba exported a total of $3.1 million in "arms and ammunition" to foreign countries last year. That could include anything from flame-throwers to shotgun cartridges to rocket-launchers, and it's double what the province exported in 2004. Except for Manitoba's guns, Canada sold virtually no other weapons or ammunition to Saudi Arabia last year. Ontario was the...

May 16, 2009 SNIPPET: "There have been a number of reports of foreign fighters, with possible links to al-Qaeda, fighting alongside hardline Islamists of al-Shabaab and Hisbul-Islam, said Mr Carson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. "We're extremely worried about the reports." "There seem to be fairly serious and creditable reports that al Shabaab does have, amongst its fighters, a number of individuals of South Asian and Chechen origin," said Mr Carson. "This is a very disturbing situation and reflects the seriousness of the problem in Somalia." Mr Carson also expressed concern about flights from Eritrea were...

The Italian police have arrested two men suspected of planning an attack on the Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris. They are also suspected of planning other attacks in France and Great Britain. The two are thought to play a leading role in the al-Qaeda network.

"May I change the subject," said a prominent Washington theologian at a recent dinner. The conversation had been high-minded -- religion, philosophy, the nature of evil. "I'd like to talk about Michelle Obama's arms," he said. snipMichelle Obama's arms, we determined, were transformational. Her arms are representative of a new kind of woman: young, strong, vigorous, intelligent, accomplished, sexual, powerful, embracing and, most of all, loving. This is a woman who has the courage to say "I am mom in chief" and make her children and her family -- unapologetically -- her No. 1 priority. She is able to do...

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday formally nominated Ellen Tauscher, a seven-term member of Congress who is considered an expert on defense, as his top arms control official. Tauscher, who represents a California district, has a record of introducing arms control and counter proliferation legislation and has campaigned for greater oversight of the US Missile Defense Agency. She said in a statement in March, after details of her impending appointment emerged, that she

An Iranian vessel en route to Sudan in order to deliver weapons to Hamas in the Gaza Strip was attacked by an Israeli or American ship and destroyed, according to a report Sunday in the Egyptian weekly Al-Usbua.

Britain said it will review all weapons exports to Israel following the country's recent war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The move comes amid pressure from British lawmakers who had demanded that the government ensure UK weapon parts were not used against Palestinians. Foreign Secretary David Miliband told Parliament Tuesday that all export licenses would be reviewed "in light of recent events in Gaza." Israel's three-week offensive ended in mid-January. He said all future applications to export arms to Israel will also be assessed with the Gaza conflict in mind. Miliband said Britain supplies less than 1 percent of...