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Al-Qaida is rebuilding in Iraq and has set up training camps for insurgents in the nation's western deserts as the extremist group seizes on regional instability and government security failures to regain strength, officials say.

Iraq has seen a jump in al-Qaida attacks over the last 10 weeks, and officials believe most of the fighters are former prisoners who have either escaped from jail or were released by Iraqi authorities for lack of evidence after the U.S. military withdrawal last December. Many are said to be Saudi or from Sunni-dominated Gulf states.

During the war and its aftermath, U.S. forces, joined by allied Sunni groups and later by Iraqi counterterror forces, managed to beat back al-Qaida's Iraqi branch.

But now, Iraqi and U.S. officials say, the insurgent group has more than doubled in numbers from a year ago - from about 1,000 to 2,500 fighters. And it is carrying out an average of 140 attacks each week across Iraq, up from 75 attacks each week earlier this year, according to Pentagon data.

North Korea says it has missiles that can hit the US mainland, in a statement two days after South Korea unveiled a missile deal with the US.

The statement said US bases in "Japan, Guam and the US mainland" were within its "scope of strike".

It follows Seoul's announcement on Sunday that it would almost triple the range of its own missile system.

One of the men who was in charge of security for U.S. diplomats in Libya says he feared for their safety long before the attack last month on the consulate in Benghazi. Four Americans were killed in the attacks on the Libyan consulate, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.


The concerned military security officer and Army green beret, Lt. Colonel Andrew Wood, will tell his story to Congress on Wednesday.

Russia announced on Tuesday it has signed $4.2 billion in arms deals with Iraq, making it the largest weapons supplier to the Middle East country after the United States.

The deals, disclosed in a Russian government document issued at a meeting between Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, give Russia a big boost at a time when the future of its arms sales to Libya and Syria is uncertain.

Iraq had been all but off limits for Russia's defense industry after the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 which ousted Saddam Hussein, one of Moscow's biggest weapons customers.

President Vladimir Putin had vocally opposed the invasion and Moscow has struggled to claw back a share of the markets in energy, arms sales and infrastructure projects in Iraq.

"After the fall of Saddam Hussein, it looked like the country was lost forever" as a Russian arms customer, said Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Russian security and defense think tank CAST. "This is absolutely sensational."

The incursion by an unmanned aircraft into Israeli airspace on Saturday exposed the weakness of Israeli air defenses, an Iranian military official was quoted as saying on Monday.

The Israel Air Force shot down a drone on Saturday after it crossed into southern Israel, the IDF said. It remained unclear where the aircraft had come from, but Hezbollah was though to be the main suspect.

Jamaluddin Aberoumand, deputy coordinator for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the incident indicated that Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense system "does not work and lacks the necessary capacity," Fars news agency reported.

Grizalltheway wrote:We don't need a debate, we need another war, and NOW, goddammit! Halliburton and Lockheed are hurting, just like everyone else in this economy.

Taliban gunmen in Pakistan shot and seriously wounded on Tuesday a 14-year-old schoolgirl who rose to fame for speaking out against the militants, authorities said.

Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head and neck when gunmen fired on her school bus in the Swat valley, northwest of the capital, Islamabad. Two other girls were also wounded, police said.

Yousufzai became famous for speaking out against the Pakistani Taliban at a time when even the government seemed to be appeasing the hardline Islamists.

The government agreed to a ceasefire with the Taliban in Swat in early 2009, effectively recognizing insurgent control of the valley whose lakes and mountains had long been a tourist attraction.

The Taliban set up courts, executed residents and closed girls' schools, including the one that Yousufzai attended. A documentary team filmed her weeping as she explained her ambition to be a doctor.

AZGrizFan wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:We don't need a debate, we need another war, and NOW, goddammit! Halliburton and Lockheed are hurting, just like everyone else in this economy.

What we need is someone in the white house who understands that "foreign policy" is more than just sucking your adversary's cock and apologizing to the world repeatedly.

When all they tyrants in the world are backing YOUR guy to win, that should speak volumes.

Grizalltheway wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
What we need is someone in the white house who understands that "foreign policy" is more than just sucking your adversary's cock and apologizing to the world repeatedly.

When all they tyrants in the world are backing YOUR guy to win, that should speak volumes.

I didn't realize that crippling Iran's economy (which W never had the sack to do, BTW) amounted to sucking their cocks, but I appreciate the enlightenment.

AZGrizFan wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:
I didn't realize that crippling Iran's economy (which W never had the sack to do, BTW) amounted to sucking their cocks, but I appreciate the enlightenment.

Yeah. He's done that. What about blowing off Israel? Too close to the election to chance it?

AZGrizFan wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:We don't need a debate, we need another war, and NOW, goddammit! Halliburton and Lockheed are hurting, just like everyone else in this economy.

What we need is someone in the white house who understands that "foreign policy" is more than just sucking your adversary's cock and apologizing to the world repeatedly.

When all they tyrants in the world are backing YOUR guy to win, that should speak volumes.

Grizalltheway wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
Yeah. He's done that. What about blowing off Israel? Too close to the election to chance it?

If Israel wants to preemptively attack Iran, go for it. But they shouldn't expect us to bail out their sorry asses when they find they've bitten off more than they can chew.

AZGrizFan wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:
If Israel wants to preemptively attack Iran, go for it. But they shouldn't expect us to bail out their sorry asses when they find they've bitten off more than they can chew.

Perfect. And why, pray tell, are Obama's people just asking them to wait until AFTER the election? Perhaps he needs that Jew vote in Florida to win?

Grizalltheway wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
Perfect. And why, pray tell, are Obama's people just asking them to wait until AFTER the election? Perhaps he needs that Jew vote in Florida to win?

Why, pray tell, did Benji himself put off a decision on military action until after his election (which he just bumped up to early next year: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19891455" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)? Could it be because only right wingers in Israel actually want a war with Iran?

Chizzang wrote:That's it...?
That's all you two got the two funniest guys on the board and you deliver this turd

I need some entertainment here people - I'm between projects

Grizalltheway wrote:We don't need a debate, we need another war, and NOW, goddammit! Halliburton and Lockheed are hurting, just like everyone else in this economy.

Chizzang wrote:That's it...?
That's all you two got the two funniest guys on the board and you deliver this turd

I need some entertainment here people - I'm between projects

Ibanez wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:We don't need a debate, we need another war, and NOW, goddammit! Halliburton and Lockheed are hurting, just like everyone else in this economy.

I don't think Lockheed is hurting much.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10- ... g-200-jobs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They are getting wiser and evolving. In talking in with employees, they have no concerns and see a lot of work coming in. With revenues totaling $42.795 billion in 2011, I think they might be ok. That and a restructure sounds like good news to me.

Grizalltheway wrote:

Ibanez wrote: I don't think Lockheed is hurting much.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10- ... g-200-jobs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They are getting wiser and evolving. In talking in with employees, they have no concerns and see a lot of work coming in. With revenues totaling $42.795 billion in 2011, I think they might be ok. That and a restructure sounds like good news to me.

Looks like someone's sarcasm detector got broken while he was away.

Ibanez wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:
Looks like someone's sarcasm detector got broken while he was away.

Eh. I picked up on it. When you start talking defense, my big Dumbo-sized ears perk up.

Grizalltheway wrote:

Ibanez wrote: Eh. I picked up on it. When you start talking defense, my big Dumbo-sized ears perk up.

You're just a tool.