NATO drones bring the war to Gaddafi’s doorstep


JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images

JOSEPH EID/AFP/Getty Images

Libyans inspect office of Muammar Gaddafi following a NATO airstrike early April 25 )

Apr 25, 2011 – 10:34 AM ET | Last Updated: Apr 25, 2011 10:37 AM ET

If Muammar Gaddafi hadn’t noticed over the weekend, he discovered the truth early Monday, when NATO war planes targeted his personal compound in Tripoli and destroyed a multi-storey library and office complex, while damaging a reception hall for visiting dignitaries.

The war in Libya has entered a dramatic new phase. It began last Thursday when U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates announced the United States’ return to direct combat in Libya with the deployment of two squadrons of Predator drone pilotless aircraft.

The drones, possibly the most sophisticated weapons in the history of warfare, will give NATO’s Libyan command the ability to peek into formerly inaccessible corners of the battlefield, 24 hours-a-day. With their sophisticated command and control systems, video surveillance and intelligence gathering capabilities and their Hellfire missiles, the Predator drones are a deadly new addition to NATO’s arsenal.

They can hover over the battlefield for hours on end and strike without warning. They can fly low to more accurately identify targets and launch precise air strikes in built up urban areas.

But their biggest benefit may be merely psychological – impressing upon Col. Gaddafi that he should consider retiring, since he can now be hunted 24 hours a day.


To drive that message home, NATO warplanes launched an attack Friday on a secret underground bunker in Col. Gaddafi’s sprawling Bab al-Azizya compound.

There was no proof the Libyan dictator was using the bunker at the time, but Col. Gaddafi’s supporters said three people were injured in the attack on what they claimed was simply a paved parking lot. But when they brought foreign reporters to the bomb site, the propaganda value of the tour was reduced by the obvious evidence of a now damaged steel-reinforced concrete roof directly under the shattered asphalt.

While U.S. officials have said they initially intend to use their Predator drones over the urban battlefield of besieged Misurata, the introduction of the drones could greatly expand NATO’s surveillance and strike capabilities in Libya.

While Washington withdrew from a combat role in Libya after the initial air strikes needed to help impose a no-fly zone, the Pentagon continued to provide NATO with targeting and intelligence information gathered by Global Hawk spy drones.

RC-135 Rivet Joint eavesdropping planes were being used to intercept communications from Libyan commanders and troops, and the information relayed to the Global Hawk drones which zoomed in to locate Libyan armoured forces and calculated their geographical coordinates.

The Global Hawks would send their target information to NATO analysts at a ground station, who would share the information with command centres that establish target priorities in Libya. Ultimately, the target co-ordinates would be relayed to AWAC command and control planes that direct NATO fighter jets on their bombing runs.

With Predator drones participating in the war, the whole process of launching an attack can be dramatically condensed.

Any electronic intercept can be relayed directly to the Predators, whose pilots work out of the Creech Air Force base, 56 kilometres northwest of Las Vegas.

Once the Predator arrives over a potential target, it can hover there for hours, while a team of trained video analysts – nicknamed “screeners” – in Okaloosa, Florida, monitor the battlefield through high-definition television screens.

Any decision to attack can be executed within seconds. That should terrify Col. Gaddafi, who he has just become the primary target in a new, computerized battle of the drones.

Monday’s attack on his leadership compound may just be the beginning of an all out campaign to personally drive him from power.

“The way to get Gaddafi to leave is have his inner circle break and turn on him,” U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program on Sunday.

“I think the focus should now be to cut the head of the snake off. That’s the quickest way to end this.”

Col. Gaddafi “needs to wake up every day wondering, ‘Will this be my last?’,” he said.

National Post

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Cooking Recipes : Catfish Tempoyak





Cooking
Recipes Catfish Tempoyak

Under these include materials & how to cook catfish ... want to be tried


Material principal:

A catfish (Pangasius cage / original) (weeding fish with tamarind &lime to remove the fishy smell of fish for 1 hour)
Turmeric 2 cloves (finely minced)
6 small onions (finely minced)
20 Fire chillies (finely minced)
2 scoops tempoyak (agak2, we can put more condensed)
1 Chinese cucumber (diced)
2 tie leaves kesum
2 tie a little tamarind ginger flower
3 cups water (follow concentrations) salt (to taste) sugar (if a bit too spicy)

Ways:

Fish cleaned and diperapkan with tamarind and lime to remove the fishy smell of fish,turmeric, onion and chilli crushed into powder and fire with tempoyak earlier.

put into a pot of water placed gently mix well add tamarind, place over low heat 3 minutes and let the new enter the first fish is cleaned,

input ginger flower, leaf and cucumber kesum China,

while the state in the salt, not too salty, spicy agak2 if so add a little sugar.

Serving suggestions:

delicious hot with white rice, very tempting,


Extension:

Tempoyak let the new 5-day fermented taste

Good Try
3690875020_cd63e5ef94


Ikan Patin Masak Tempoyak

Bahan-bahan utama

  • Seekor ikan patin (eloknya ikan patin sangkar) ikan disiang dan diperapkan dengan asam jawa dan limau nipis untuk hilangkan hanyir selama kira-kira 1 jam.
  • 2 ulas kunyit hidup (bukan serbuk kunyit)
  • 6 biji bawang kecil.
  • 20 biji cili padi (bergantung pada suka pedas mana ya)
  • 2 senduk tempoyak
  • 1 ikat daun kesum
  • 2 ikat bunga kantan ( yang guna untuk masak laksa tu)
  • sedikit asam keping
  • air
  • garam secukup rasa
  • gula (jika perlu dan jika suka)


Cara memasaknya

Kunyit hidup, bawang kecil dan cili padi ditumbuk halus dan digaulkan dengan tempoyak tadi. Masukkan ke dalam periuk yang bersama air. Lepas tu kacau sehingga rasa dan masukkan asam keping. Letak di atas api dan biarkan selama kira-kira 3 minit. Masukkan ikan yang dibersihkan tadi, masukkan bunga kantan dan daun kesum.

Masukkan garam secukup rasa, adjustlah kalau takut pedas dengan mengurangkan jumlah cili tadi. Kalau terlajak, adjust dengan meletakkan sedikit gula ok…

Cadangan Hidangan

Ini kalau makan dengan nasi putih lepas tu ada plak sambal belacan ke sup panas.. Memang best laaa… So.. apa salahnya cuba ya tak??

Petua

Tempoyak yang digunakan eloklah yang sudah diperam selama 5 hari.. Baru sedap...


TERKINI

AirAsia lancar promosi Tempat Duduk PERCUMA* dan jualan hebat ke lebih 130 destinasi

AirAsia melancarkan promosi  dan jualan hebat pertama pada tahun 2024 dengan jutaan tempat duduk ke lebih 130 destinasi. Syarikat itu dalam ...