9/11 Terrorist Tapes Found Under CIA Desk

CIA Found Video of 9/11 Plotter Ramzi Binalshibh Being Interrogated 

in Secret Prison

By ADAM GOLDMAN

New images of accused 9/11 architect Ramzi Binalshibh have been obtained by Flashpoint Global..

The CIA has tapes of 9/11 plotter Ramzi Binalshibh being interrogated in a secret overseas prison. Discovered under a desk, the recordings could provide an unparalleled look at how foreign governments aided the U.S. in holding and questioning suspected terrorists.

The two videotapes and one audiotape are believed to be the only remaining recordings made within the clandestine prison system.

The tapes depict Binalshibh’s interrogation sessions at a Moroccan-run facility the CIA used near Rabat in 2002........

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Warfighting Exercise Focuses on South Korean Defense

By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Dave, pointing, of the Nebraska National Guard's 1704th Transportation Company directs soldiers as they carry a patient to the landing zone established for a Medevac mission at Fort McCoy, Wis., during the Patriot exercise, July 15, 2005. Patriot, the largest annual exercise held across the United States, increases the warfighting capabilities of the National Guard, reserve, and active components of the Air Force and Army. Additionally, the participation of Canadian, United Kingdom, and Dutch forces increases combined effectiveness. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Todd A. Pendleton U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Dave, pointing, of the Nebraska National Guard's 1704th Transportation Company directs soldiers as they carry a patient to the landing zone established for a Medevac mission at Fort McCoy, Wis., during the Patriot exercise, July 15, 2005. Patriot, the largest annual exercise held across the United States, increases the warfighting capabilities of the National Guard, reserve, and active components of the Air Force and Army. Additionally, the participation of Canadian, United Kingdom, and Dutch forces increases combined effectiveness. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Todd A. Pendleton U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Dave, pointing, of the Nebraska National Guard's 1704th Transportation Company directs soldiers as they carry a patient to the landing zone established for a Medevac mission at Fort McCoy, Wis., during the Patriot exercise, July 15, 2005. Patriot, the largest annual exercise held across the United States, increases the warfighting capabilities of the National Guard, reserve, and active components of the Air Force and Army. Additionally, the participation of Canadian, United Kingdom, and Dutch forces increases combined effectiveness. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Todd A. Pendleton WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2010 – A 10-day warfighting exercise kicked off today to improve allied capabilities to deter and, if necessary, counter aggression against South Korea. About 27,000 U.S. forces in South Korea, as well as about 3,000 U.S. servicemembers from the United States and its bases in the Pacific region, are participating in this year’s Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, U.S. Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command officials reported. They join more than 500,000 South Korean military and government participants, as well as multinational representatives in the CFC-led exercise to test their readiness to defend South Korea and promote stability across northwest Asia. The exercise will “ensure that our alliance is prepared to respond to threats across the spectrum of conflicts, to include North Korean provocations,” officials said. This year’s exercise is taking place amid heightened tensions since North Korea sunk the South Korean navy frigate Cheonan in March. It also occurs during commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the North Korean attack that launched the Korean War. The South Korean-U.S. alliance has successfully deterred aggression on the Korean peninsula for 57 years, Army Gen. Walter L. “Skip” Sharp, who commands U.S. and United Nations forces in Korea, said in a message to his command before the exercise kicked off. He called Ulchi Freedom Guardian 10 “another opportunity for us to work together and demonstrate our resolve to ensuring regional stability.” The exercise is the first since President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announced the decision to delay the transition of wartime operational control of allied forces on the Korean peninsula to the South Korean military, Sharp noted. That transfer, originally scheduled for April 2012, has been moved to late 2015. In the lead-up to that transition, Sharp called the exercise an opportunity to continue improving combat readiness and joint and combined interoperability between South Korean and U.S. forces. “Like our combined exercises in the past, Ulchi Freedom Guardian affords the combined team an opportunity to continue to develop organizational structures and collaborate on command and control relationships between our militaries and our governments,” he said. The scope of the exercise extends beyond the Korean peninsula, with many of the participants connected from outside Korea by communications and computer simulation networks. “With units participating in Korea, throughout [U.S.] Pacific Command and at multiple locations across the United States, UFG 10 is one of the largest Joint Staff-directed exercises in the world,” Sharp said. “Like our combined exercises in the past, Ulchi Freedom Guardian affords the combined team an opportunity to develop organizational structures and collaborate on command and control relationships between our militaries and our governments.” Although focusing on deterring aggression, the participants also are fine-tuning their coordinated warfighting capabilities, recognizing, officials said, that if deterrence fails, they must be ready to “fight tonight and prevail.” Sharp called on his command to demonstrate discipline, dedication and teamwork during the exercise, which continues through Aug. 26. “As we demonstrate our ability to successfully defend the Republic of Korea,” he said, “we ensure regional ability across northwest Asia and show the world that we remain an agile, adaptive force capable of taking on any challenge.”

Biographies: Army Gen. Walter L. “Skip” Sharp  Related Sites: U.S. Forces Korea Ulchi Freedom Guardian

Families Take Center Stage at Guard Workshop

Sheila Casey and her husband, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. talk with attendees at the 2010 National Guard Family Program Volunteer Workshop in New Orleans, Aug. 3, 2010. Mrs. Casey emphasized military spouses taking care of themselves as well as their loved ones. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill

by Elaine Wilson, AFPSelaine.wilson@dma.mil

Families have been the focus this week at the 2010 National Guard Volunteer Workshop in New Orleans.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was at the workshop Monday, and spoke about the challenges facing military families. I highlighted the thoughts he shared on those issues in my blog, “Mullen Addresses Military Family Challenges.”

I wanted to share what other leaders had to say at the workshop as well.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Harry M. “Bud” Wyatt III, director of the Air National Guard, said the Guard’s family readiness groups need to receive the same support as National Guard members deploying overseas.

“If we allow these rotations and what we do to become common, accepted and routine, then we need to give the families the focus that we should and that they deserve,” Wyatt said in an interview with Army Sgt. Darron Salzer that was published in the article, “Guard Leaders Urge Family Readiness Support.” 

Wyatt also commented on the economy’s impact on family programs.

“Your immediate response is [to ask] why anyone would cut back on the most important part of combat readiness, but it’s not easy,” he said, adding that the services also are cutting back on equipment.

Army Maj. Gen. Raymond W. Carpenter, acting director of the Army National Guard, said the Army is looking at the programs available to the families of unmarried soldiers. “And I am confident that at the end of the process, the right support will go to the right people. “For us here in the Army National Guard,” he continued, “people are our No. 1 priority, and taking care of people is absolutely part of that process.”

At a separate event, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and his wife, Sheila Casey, spent about two hours talking with volunteers who support National Guard families.

“It’s not just the Guard families, it’s the entire volunteer force,” Casey said in an interview with Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill for the article, “Casey Shares Vision of National Guard’s Future.”

“We realized back in 2007 that we had to significantly increase what we were doing for all Army families because of what we were asking of them. We were asking of them far more than what our programs were delivering,” Gen. Casey said.

As a result, spending on family programs doubled, and an Army covenant recommitted leadership to supporting active, Guard and Reserve families, Greenhill wrote.

The general’s wife, Sheila Casey, focused on the importance of caring for caregivers.

“Part of the problem that caregivers have is that they don’t take care of themselves,” Mrs. Casey said. “Everybody else comes first. What I end up seeing is people who after extended deployments … are burnt out and they’re tired.

“What I ask them to do is to change that and to start putting themselves first, on top of the pile,” she added. “If they do that, then they will have the strength and the wherewithal to take care of their families.”  (Issued on: Aug. 4, 2010)

Face of Defense: Recruit Joins Marines to Return Favor

By Marine Corps Pfc. Emily Cone
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 9, 2010 - People have many reasons for joining the Marine Corps. These reasons can include family tradition or a strong desire to serve, but one recruit here joined the Corps because a group of Marines saved his father's life.

Marine Corps Pfc. Wendu Gebremichael, foreground, listens to directions before providing part of a perimeter around an obstacle on the confidence course at Marine Corps Recruit Training Depot San Diego, Calif., July 27, 2010. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Emily Cone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Marine Corps Pfc. Weldu Aregawi Gebrimichael said he was inspired to join after hearing how a Marine sniper team saved his father's life.
His father, Weldu Aregawi Gebrimichael, was an activist against the communist government in Ethiopia, and was known to have valuable information that could be used to fight them, Gebrimichael said. The communist government had gained a foothold in Ethiopia in the early 1980s after a series of droughts and famines that affected 8 million people and left 1 million dead.
His father fled to Sudan with other activists, but was captured by the Ethiopian government. Later, he was rescued by Marines who were conducting operations in Sudan at the time, said Gebrimichael.
He said his father returned to Ethiopia in 1988, and shortly afterward Gebrimichael was born and given his father's full name, which is an Ethiopian custom.
A short while later, his father moved to the United States for his safety. Gebrimichael grew up in Ethiopia with his mother, never having known his father or hearing the story of the Marines who had save his father's life.
It wasn't until five years ago, at the age of 17, that Gebrimichael was able to come to the United States, sent for by the father he had never met. It was then he learned that his father's life was saved by Marines.
"I knew I wanted to join the Marine Corps as soon as I heard the story about Marines saving my father's life," Gebrimichael said. But first, he chose to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to learn English.
"I will finish college while I am in the Marine Corps, but I stopped for now so I could enlist," he said.
"He shone among his pears because he had a better attitude and was very enthusiastic and motivated," said Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Zachary Taylor, Gebrimichael's drill instructor. "He refused to quit, even when it got hard on him. He did more than exceptionally well on the tests."
Gebrimichael has earned a sharpshooter badge on the rifle range and excelled in his physical fitness test. He finished the 54-hour Crucible, the final task to complete before earning the title of Marine, with his fellow recruits, culminating in a nine-mile hike called the Reaper, on July 29, and then received his eagle, globe and anchor emblem, the symbol of the Marine Corps.

"On the Crucible, he worked hard," Taylor said. "I think he put out max effort. It was exhausting, and he never lagged behind. At the emblem ceremony, he really had earned it."  

Senate Confirms Mattis for Top Centcom Post

By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON : The Senate unanimously confirmed Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis as commander of U.S. Central Command. The Senate confirmed Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis as the next commander of U.S. Central Command. DoD photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Mattis, who previously served as NATO supreme allied commander for transformation and commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., received the Senate nod late yesterday. Before adjourning for a five-week recess, the Senate also confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper as director of national intelligence. In his new post, Mattis will oversee all U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, including the war in Afghanistan and the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq. Mattis will replace Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, who left Centcom to replace Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The Senate confirmed Petraeus to that position June 30. Mattis emphasized during his July 27 Senate confirmation hearing the need for continued military, civilian and regional cooperation to successfully drive out extremism. "The wars we are fighting require highly integrated military efforts from the highest to the lowest levels," he said. "If confirmed, I will make every effort to work closely with civilian and military leaders charged with leading our operations, and to ensure they are fully resourced in a coherent and comprehensive manner." Combating the threat requires sustained pressure from coalition partners, he told the committee, promising to work to galvanize international support. Acknowledging that "the stakes are high," Mattis said he believes the military component of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is sound. "I believe that by steadfastly executing our strategy, we will win in Afghanistan," he said. "Nothing about the mission will be easy. We recognize that achieving our goals in Afghanistan requires also the enduring commitment of the international community." During an early July news conference, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates expressed great confidence in Mattis' capabilities for the top Centcom post. "General Mattis has proven to be one of the military's most innovative and iconoclastic thinkers," he said. "His insights into the nature of warfare in the 21st century have influenced my own views about how the armed forces must be shaped and postured for the future." Mattis served as the commander of the first Marine forces in Afghanistan in 2001. He also commanded the 1st Marine Division during the initial push into Iraq in 2003, then served as commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif. (Issued on:Aug. 6, 2010)

Biographies:  Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis  Related Sites:  U.S. Central Command  Related Articles:  Gates Recommends Mattis for Central Command Job

In the Bala Murghad Valley

U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, meets with members of the Afghan National Army in the Bala Murghad Valley of Afghanistan Aug. 2, 2010. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Bradley Lail, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Face of Defense: Family Ties Help Wounded Marine

By Army Staff Sgt. Donald Reeves 

Combined Joint Task Force 101
POL–E-CHARKI, Afghanistan : When Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Gerardo "Josh" DeAvila was wounded in Marja, Afghanistan, July 10, he was half a world away from home. But he quickly was surrounded by family and friends, due to a strong military family and community.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Gerardo "Josh" DeAvila, left, poses with, left to right, his cousin, Army Staff Sgt. David DeAvila; his father, Army Sgt. Jerry DeAvila of the Georgia National Guard; his brother-in-law, Army Spc. Josh Head; and his uncle, Army Maj. David DeAvila. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

DeAvila, assigned to Company I, 3rd Battalion of the 6th Regiment, heard shots fired and then felt what he described as "a baseball bat" hitting him. Shortly after a medic came around, DeAvila saw the blood and realized he had been hit.
He was evacuated to Camp Dwyers and then Bagram Airfield for surgery. Doctors discovered he had been shot twice; one bullet missed major arteries in his arm, and the other barely missed his spinal cord and lodged in his pelvis.
Meanwhile, Army Maj. David DeAvila of Holland, Mich., serving in northeastern Afghanistan, received word from home that his nephew had been hurt.
"I myself am on orders with the 82nd Airborne attached to the 101st at Camp Blackhorse as the day shift chief of operations," the major said. "I received text messages from the States that Josh had been hurt and would be headed to Germany."
Major DeAvila cleared it through his chain of command to arrange transport to Bagram to be with his nephew.
"I was able to spend 12 hours with him, feeding him water and juice through a straw and helping to keep him comfortable," he said. "I sat by his bed the entire night."
The DeAvilas are a close-knit, very pro-military family, the major said. "It was a bit difficult for me to see him in that condition. ... I held Josh the same day he was born," he recalled. "In fact, my son David, a staff sergeant in the Army, and Josh are more like brothers than cousins. Josh's father recently joined the National Guard after being out of the military for 20 years.
Major DeAvila said Josh kept waking up, asking if his uncle was comfortable. He said he told his nephew, "I have been in the Army longer than you have been alive. Don't worry about me."
Major DeAvila helped to transport his nephew to the bus that would take him to the flightline. There, a plane awaited that would carry him to Germany for more surgery.
Once in Germany, the lance corporal got another surprise. The chaplain who came to visit him was Chaplain (Col.) Douglas Kinder. Kinder had married his parents as a civilian pastor in Roswell, Ga.
The young Marine now is recovering at home in Braselton, Ga.
"Everyone I tell this story to is amazed at the coincidences," Major DeAvila said. "It is amazing how God orchestrated the little pieces." (Issued on:Aug. 4, 2010)