8

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518788,00.html

Antipiracy efforts off the coast of Somalia are starting to really get under way. They tried to attack what they thought was a merchant ship, but had a nasty surprise when it turned out to be a french warship armed with soldiers. The three pirate boat convoy started speeding towards the vessel only to have outboards and a helicopter released from the warship. The 11 pirates immediately surrendered. On their 30 foot supply ship, the only things that were found were potatoes and gasoline.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518996,00.html

President Obama is back trying to negotiate peace talks with Middle Eastern powers. This time, he is trying to persuade Iranian and Syrian officials to listen and help get concessions for Palestine, rather than just go for a militaristic effort. Both presidents of the Middle Eastern countries have declared that they will continue until Palestine has regained the Holy Land once more. Robert Gates, who is touring the Middle East, says that all talks will be transparent to our allies so that no one will be surprised when something happens. He has been meeting with leaders from other countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. THe U.S. has sent special envoys to Syria to speak with leaders and arrange negotiations for a Presidential meeting between several countries.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518962,00.html

The United States has moved forward to work things out diplomatically with the Chinese rather than just explode and criticize their actions. Two U.S. vessels were doing routine submarine searches in international waters in the Yellow Sea, which is completely legal, when they were disrupted by two Chinese fishing vessels that got dangerously close. They had a standoff confrontation for about an hour, while the U.S. ship was shooting its water cannon. This is the fourth time an incident like this has occurred in the past couple of months. Instead of exploding, the United States govenrment has decided to try different diplomatic strategies. The ships signaled in to WAGOR 17 who came and told the Chinese fishing vessels to leave.

7

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514557,00.html

A Delta Airline pilot accidently hit the terrorist hijacking signal on a flight from New York to Tel Aviv. This triggered the Israeli military to send out two jets to escort the plane to its landing. Nobody was hurt. This shows the increased security is effective at preventing mishaps from happening, although the communication problem that prevented the pilot from telling air control that it was an accident. These kind of mishaps are unfortunate, but it is a good thing that the Israelis were prepared to take care of the situation.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514924,00.html

With the recent pirate attacks in Somalia, the United States, among other nations, have the need to figure out a way to prevent future attacks. One of the strategies is to attack the pirate bases that are on land. They have a plan that will be proposed to President Obama to create a Somali Coast Guard which will aim to prevent this. It will be funded by the United States. Analysts believe that the pirates need to be disrupted from their land base in order to effectively take them out. The Somali people would be required to help this movement, which is usually not well taken from non-Somalis.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,515115,00.html

The Serbian government is attempting to extradite Peter Egner from his retirement home in Bellevue, Washington. Egner is claimed to have been a part of the Nazi-run Einsatzgruppe which is a Serbian police force that rounded up Jews and supposedly killed 17,000 of them. The Serbs have requested that he be extradited once his citizenship has been revoked. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against him for witholding information on his citizenship application. Egner is trying to fight it currently, but the future looks grim for the 87 year old man.

6

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513318,00.html



John Solecki, part of the United Nations' refugee agency, was released from captivity. He was captured on February 2nd when his car was ambushed. The driver was shot. Solecki spent two months as a captive and was threatened with decapitation while in the custody of the captors. He had been working for the United Nations in this division for several years and had never experienced this. Solecki ran the agency's operations in Quetta. His main task was to help Afghan refugees who came across the Pakistani border. The group claiming responsibility is a new group known as the Baluchistan Liberation United Front.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513578,00.html

Iran has announced that they are now better equipped to move into final stages of building better nuclear weapon fuel. President Mahmoud was seen in one of the latest nuclear power plants observing uranium enrichment facilities. Their number of centrifuges has reportedly been increased to 7,000 from the 6,000 that were reported in February. Iran has denied the accusations that they are trying to build a nuclear weapon. "The process is distinct from uranium enrichment, which produces fuel for a light-water reactor." This report comes the day after President Obama's cabinet contacted Iran to talk about their nuclear program. "Ahmadinejad was attending celebrations for Iran's National Day of Nuclear Technology, which marks the day in 2006 when Iran enriched uranium for the first time."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513135,00.html

Jorge Alberto Mendez, a naturalized citizen of the United States, spent an estimated 11 months crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to go to Ciudad Juarez. While he spent time there, he would gain entry into women's homes and proceed to rape them on threat of having a gun. It is estimated that Mendez has raped around 19 women, the youngest being 13 years old. Mendez who is 42 years old has a wife and worked in El Paso as a chemical engineer. He is currently being detained in a Mexican prison. He was found with pornographic materials on his person. Ciudad juarez, a traditionally violent and drug filled city, has a very depleted police force and Mexican soldiers have been positioned there to fight crime.

5

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517235,00.html

Israel's Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has asked Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense for the United States, if they can purchase a United States missile defense system. The goal would be to stop incoming missiles from neighboring countries like Syria and Lebanon. They currently have a missile defense system that is more equipped for primitive, makeshift rockets rather than more technologically advanced weapons. Israel is also looking to purchase a defense system that is designed to protect against long range weapons that could potentially come from Iran, who is producing weapons capable enough to travel 1,250 miles. The Israeli government believes that Iran is currently the biggest threat with near nuclear capabilities.
I think that it would be smart for Israel to acquire a missile defense system that protects them from long range attacks. The next war could easily be fought on their soil against other Middle Eastern countries. Iran is a very real threat with their president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, publicly saying that Israel needs to be destroyed. As one of our greatest allies, it is our duty to help the Israeli people as much as possible, in my opinion.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517383,00.html

Fidel Castro has come back to Cuba's limilight with his essay that is criticizing President Barack Obama for reading too much into his brother Raul's words. Raul Castro, dictator of Cuba, said "Cuban leaders would be willing to sit down with their U.S. counterparts and discuss 'everything,' including human rights, freedom of the press and expression, and political prisoners on the island." Fidel, his older brother and former dictator of Cuba, has declared that this was not Raul's intention and that President Obama is wrong. Words have been exchanged on both sides about reducing tensions and even the trade embargo. Fidel has blasted the United States by saying that Cuba will continue to levy the tax on money sent into Cuba from the United States and saying that Cuba will not release political prisoners if the United States will not release the 5 Cuban spies.
I personally don't think that Cuba should be dealt with until the Castro family is out of power and it is not a dictatorial state. I believe we should try to negotiate the release of prisoners, but we cannot do anything about the levied tax. It is a crummy situation to be in, but I believe the United States should not show weakness towards something we have stood strong on for the past 50 years.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517388,00.html

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has gone to Afghanistan to judge how the new training program is going for Afghani militants in Wardak and to also give a Purple Heart. Admiral Mike Mullen talks about the program being new and having it tested on 240 Afghani citizens. The program is being run by the Afghan Interior Ministry and funded by the United States. General David McKiernan, head of U.S. and Nato forces in Afghanistan, said that if this program is successful then it will be implemented in different regions of Afghanistan.
I agree with the idea to train Afghans because it will help keep U.S. soldiers safer. I think that we need all the support we can get with this style of guerilla warfare, especially from the native people. The warfront in the Middle East needs to be transferred over to Afghanistan from Iraq, where things are starting to get better.

4

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/clinton-announces-new-efforts-fight-somali-piracy/

This article is really two articles in one. The first part of the article talks about Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton's, plan to try to eradicate pirates or stop them from attacking merchant vessels in the future. Her plan talks of bringing the United Nations into play with several countries working together to eradicate piracy. Clinton does not mention using militaristic force against them, as most of them have been reported to be teens or tweens with automatic weapons and dinghy type boats. Clinton has called a meeting for nations to convene to speak about how best to go about eradicating piracy from several different perspectives. It seems that to eradicate them by financial means would be one of the best ways. Suggestions are being made to freeze known pirates' assets. Another method would be to coordinate different naval fleets to stop piracy.
I think that, in light, of the most recent occurrence involving Somali pirates and an American ship, this is a very good idea for our Secretary of State to be addressing. I think that a coordinated naval effort by several nations could be very effective in stopping piracy from occurring outside of shipping lanes, near Somalia. Pirates would have to be extremely desparate to be willing to risk themselves to take ships when they know they are going to be taking on powerful navies. I will be interested in following this over the next few weeks to see how Clinton addresses the issue.

The second part of the article addresses the military's need to stop spending so much money on such specialized equipment. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has been admonishing that the United States curtail some spending due to the lack of necessity for certain weapons systems. His main argument point has been against the Air Force's F-22 Raptor warplanes. The price tag on those is around $400 million and they have yet to be used in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Gates is proposing that the United States military forces focus on building "Joint Strike Fighters," which cost around $80 million.
I must admit that I partially agree with Gates' idea that we do not need such weapons when we are fighting skirmishes against pirates or terrorists in mountain caves. For that, we need more conventional weapons. However, if the American government continues to produce new weapons and high-tech weapons, good things can come. We can keep ahead of other countries with firepower and they create more jobs. The F-22 Raptor, alone, creates jobs in 40 states. I think we just need to maintain a good balance of spending on new, expensive weapons and conventional weapons.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/north-korea-asks-nuclear-experts-leave/
North Korea has recently expelled four American nuclear scientists. This comes comes a short time after the North Koreans fired what they claimed to be a "satellite." World powers think it to be a "thinly disguised test launch of a multistage intercontinental ballistic missile." Robert Wood, head of the State Department, has declared that he believes this to be a step backward in negotiations with North Korea. Things have progressively gotten worse recently with the North, as they have become more uncooperative. The International Atomic Energy Agency has also been expelled from the country.
I still believe that the North Koreans might need to be handled strongly in the very near future. We cannot allow a psychotic dictator continue to produce weapons that could potentially hurt us or our allies. We must confront the problem and attempt to reason with the rest of the Security Council to receive United Nations support, in my opinion. I do not believe we should start abandoning them after we have just started to become very active again.

3

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513258,00.html

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has led to some aggravated U.S. officials. Pirates seized the Maersk Alabama, a carrier, some 350 miles off the coast of Somalia. The pirates originally took the 20 members of the crew captive on the ship, while taking the captain hostage on one of the life boats. The sailors, however, were able to overcome the pirates, taking one hostage and, thus, negotiating their own release. The captain is still being held hostage currently, as United States warships are traveling to their current position. They will attempt to secure the captain back to his ship, when the time comes. People have been wondering why there was no security, and security specialists have claimed tht they cannot be everywhere at once. These security personnel believe that because the sailors were able to overpower the pirates, it will help discourage further pirate attacks.
I personally agree with the security specialists, in that, pirates will think twice about attacking U.S. ships now, due to the overpowering and naval intervention so quickly. I also believe that there is no way we can expect all ships to be protected because of how wide shipping lanes can be, and how far apart ships usually travel from each other. I believe that the pirates will not be paid ransom for the captain and that they will probably be killed/detained by the United States Navy, instead of receiving their big payday.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513207,00.html

Roxana Saberi, an Iranian-American reporter, is being charged for espionage by the Iranian government. "'Her case has been sent to the revolutionary court. She, without press credentials, was carrying out spying activities under the guise of being a reporter,' AFP quoted deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad." Roxana is a 31 year old, American born woman who was arrested in January. She was arrested while carrying expired press credentials. Reportedly, she was arrested for buying alcohol, which is illegal in Iran. "'She has an Iranian citizenship, passport and an Iranian national identity card. She has entered Iran as an Iranian citizen and if she has another citizenship, we are unaware of it and it has no effect on how we will proceed with her case,' AFP quoted Haddad."
I personally think this is an outrage. If she is convicted, the United States might have to intervene, in my opinion. If she is innocent, as she most likely is, the United States cannot let her be punished by the Iranian government. Secretaryof State, Hilary Clinton, has called for her release, while President Obama is trying to improve diplomatic relations with Iran. We cannot let Iran take advantage of the United States again and must decide one way, or another how we are going to act in the future with the Iranian government.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513215,00.html

North Korea's long range weapons may now be operational. The reports of a missile that was fired out of North Korea have been almost confirmed by the Japanese, who were looking for the remains. This caused the Koreans to declare an act of espionage against the Japanese. Meanwhile, in the United Nations Security Council, Russia and China are backing the North Koreans and declaring that they would not like to see action taken against them. This article declares that massive amounts of people crowded into Kim Il Sung square to congratulate Kim Jong Il on the successful launch. He claims that it was to launch a satellite into orbit, but the United States government swears that nothing went into orbit.
This is a scary thought because Kim Jong Il is close to death and has proved to be mentally instable in the past. This is the man who has let most of his country starve half to death, while robbing it of its riches for Swedish prostitutes and cartoons. He has repeatedly refused entry to foreigners and should be considered one of the worst dicatators of all time. He has little concern for his people, except that they obey him. He has created a scary cult of personality and brain washed his people extensively. If he is gaining long range nuclear weapon capabilities, we need to be worried. The Securty Council, or the United States government must eventually intervene.

02/26/09

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,499984,00.html

The United States and Pakistan have vowed to work together to rid "extremism and terrorism." Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, visited Pakistan to get the support of Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Recently, the United States government has been putting pressure on Pakistani officials to keep Taliban camps out of their country. They had been reportedly meeting in Swat Valley.

I personally believe that we need to maintain a tight, formal relationship with Pakistan. They can be a good ally for us due to their position in the region. They have good military capabilities if we needed them to fight with us or to fight on their own. It seems that their Foreign Minister has a pretty good head on his shoulders for not wanting extremist Muslims in his country who will cause the American government to come after them.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,499866,00.html

This article hilights President Barack Obama's plan for U.S. troops to be fully out of Iraq by August 2011. It states that troops will be out of cities by this summer, in order to give the Iraqi people more freedom and their troops a chance to test themselves. The troops will remain in bases outside of Iraqi cities and will begin to move away further from cities until they leave for good. Iraq's Prime Minister has been publicly declaring that he think it is time for American soldiers to be out and to have Iraqis take over. As it is, there are still 140,000 troops in Iraq. They have Parliamentary elections this year, which is a big test for them.

I don't know if I agree with President Obama's plan. History has shown us that if we leave a war zone too soon, it falls apart. We are still in several war zones decades after the conflicts have ended. It will be a big test for the Iraqi troops to see if they can stop their own people from causing incident, without the support of American troops. I personally have little faith for right now, but will be delighted to be proven wrong.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,501604,00.html

This article deals with the recent murders in key tourist areas and spring break destinations. The U.S. State Department has issued a warning to college students to be extremely careful when considering, or going to Mexico in the next few weeks. They advised them to stay away from areas where drugs are sold or prostitution is prevalent. The killings have been due to the warring drug cartels. Mexico's Attorney General has advised that it is perfectly safe for high school and college students to go to Mexico. He claims that they just need to watch their step, just like they normally would. Many students seem to not be worried about violence or that anything will happen to them. If students did not spend their breaks in Mexico, their tourism business would see a huge decline and potentially cripple them.

I personally believe that the Mexican government will do anything possible to make sure the tourists will be kept safe. This is a huge source of income for that part of the country, especially this time of the year. It would really hurt their economy if people did not come down and spend money. The United States governement, at the same time, will be working with Mexican officials to make sure things wil be ok. I believe that students will be fine as long as they do not do anything stupid and try to behave them selves.