-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- March 17, 2000 Inside the Ring Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough Notes from the Pentagon. China seeks Hellfire Chinese military agents secretly tried to buy one of the Army's most effective weapons: the Hellfire anti-tank guided missile. According to Pentagon intelligence officials, Chinese agents recently approached the government of Egypt and offered to buy one of 900 Hellfires purchased by Cairo in recent years from the United States. The Hellfire is a laser-guided missile carried by the Army's AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopters. The Marines also use Hellfires on their AH-1 Super Cobra helicopters. The missile is guided to its targets by a laser designator operated by a ground spotter, weapons officer in another aircraft or from the firing helicopter. The laser guidance makes it extremely accurate against the most heavily armored tanks and vehicles. China is believed to want the missile for reverse-engineering. China's defense industries are notorious for acquiring one or two weapons systems, taking them apart and building their own version. The weapons are then used with People's Liberation Army forces and sold abroad to Beijing's many customers, nations often regarded by the United States as rogue states or supporters of international terrorism, like Iran and North Korea. A State Department official said the Egyptian government agreed not to resell the missiles as part of the purchase arrangement. Cairo has not been warned against the sale, the official said. Obtaining Hellfires would augment a Chinese army increasingly viewed as a potential U.S. enemy. Adm. Dennis Blair, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, told the House Armed Services Committee hearing this week that Chinese leaders believe resolving the Taiwan dispute "may come to fighting." As for the so-called policy of "ambiguity" about a U.S. defense of Taiwan in the event of a mainland attack, Adm. Blair made it clear the U.S. military is ready. "As far as the military situation, I hope I made it clear the ambiguity is the political decision, not the military capabilities. The PRC cannot take and hold Taiwan, and we can defend Taiwan if ordered. And that's what will happen." Dogfight The Air Force has gone to the dogs in its perennial battle to keep birds away from flight paths. The game is deadly serious: Air Force fighters, bombers and cargo planes suffer 3,000 bird strikes annually. The collisions have cost the service 15 aircraft and the lives of 33 crew members over the past 16 years. Air base commanders have tried pyrotechnics, rifle shots, remotely controlled boats and other scare tactics to scatter geese, ducks, hawks and other birds large enough to bring down multimillion-dollar aircraft. Today, the Air Force is turning to man's best friend. At least three bases have contracted with dog handlers, who release the canines to chase away flocks of fowl. For example, the marsh-surrounded base at Dover, Del., home to giant, four-engine C-5 cargo jets, uses border collies. "The idea started with golf courses," said Maj. Peter Windler, chief of the Bird-Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) office at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. "They're really good at running them off the fairways and into the water. "They work pretty good," he added. "They are very controllable. They come back to you. They are very responsive to handlers. That's very good in an airfield where you have planes flying all over the place. If we make it uncomfortable for birds, they will go someplace else." A fighter canopy can withstand the splatter of a four-pound bird at 575 mph. That same bird, however, can disable an open-mouth jet engine. <rest snipped> ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day. ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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