Reflecting upon another April morning

“…Whatever else happened that day at Lexington Green and Concord Bridge, it began with a government move to seize guns, powder and ball from the citizens…”

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/reflecting-upon-another-ap...

Article by Dave Workman

An international research group says violent extremism in Indonesia, such as a suicide bombing last week at a mosque in West Java, increasingly is the work of small groups acting independently of large terrorist networks.

The International Crisis Group said in a report Tuesday that an emerging pattern of violence involves targeted killings, rather than “indiscriminate” bombings. In Indonesia, the study's authors said, small local groups tend to carry out targeted-killing plots against police, Christians or members of a minority Muslim sect.

Prosecutors in South Africa have announced plans to file more charges against Henry Okah, the alleged mastermind of a deadly bombing in Nigeria last year.

News reports on Tuesday quote prosecutor Shaun Abrahams as saying the additional charges relate to a March 2010 bombing in the southern Nigerian city of Warri. Abrahams says Okah will be charged with terrorism and conspiracy for the blast.

Authorities arrested Okah in South Africa on October 2, a day after bombings in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, killed 12 people. The explosions occurred as Nigerians marked their Independence Day.

As thousands of Zimbabweans gathered in Harare on Monday to celebrate 31 years of independence, President Robert Mugabe rebuked Western nations for what he called “bullying the world” and deplored political violence in his own country.

Mr. Mugabe took his customary swipe at Britain and the United States, accusing them of proposing to dictate to African nations, accusing the West of violating the United Nations charter on peace and security by using military force in the Libyan conflict.

Chinese state media are reporting what could be the second known test flight by the nation's indigenously developed J-20 stealth fighter aircraft.

The flight is noted Tuesday in the Communist Party-controlled Global Times newspaper under the headline “Mystery jet 'flies' again.” Videos of an aircraft identified as the J-20 prototype also appear on the website of Phoenix Satellite Television, a pro-Beijing Hong Kong broadcaster, and on online military forums.

A combined Afghan and coalition force captured a Haqqani Network facilitator during a security operation in Bak district, Khost province, yesterday.

The facilitator was responsible for the acquisition and supply of weapons, ammunition and homemade bomb materials for attacks against coalition forces. Specifically, he was involved in supplying detonators and rocket propelled grenades for use in the production of homemade bombs.

Tank crewmen with Company B, 1st Tank Battalion, had to learn another set of skills recently to succeed during their seven-month tour in Afghanistan.

“To go from being tankers to route clearance was a pretty big leap for us,” said 1st Lt. William Fortin, a 24-year-old platoon commander from Selden, N.Y. “If there is any unit that really has an appreciation for this job it’s us, because as tankers you don’t realize the effects of improvised explosive devices the same way as you would if you were route clearance.”

The first two Afghan air force helicopter pilots to complete basic aviator training in the U.S. recently became qualified as co-pilots in the Mi-17 helicopter, the focal point of the Afghan air force's rotary-wing force.

The qualification marks the halfway point in their Mi-17 training.

After more than five years training side-by-side with their Iraqi counterparts in the skies, U.S. Air Force UH-1 Huey instructor pilots have taken a step back as Iraqi instructor pilots take over responsibility for training their own junior pilots.

Last month, the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron's two Huey instructor pilots, Lt. Col. Brandon Deacon and Capt. Jun Oh, stepped out of the cockpit for the last time to start ground-level advising their Iraqi partners with Iraqi army Aviation Command's 2nd Squadron.