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Haldex board recommends ZF takeover offer, rejects SAF-Holland bid Reuters / August 4, 2016 Swedish brake systems supplier Haldex said its board has recommended shareholders to approve a 4.4 billion crown ($515 million) cash offer by ZF Friedrichshafen and reject a separate takeover bid by SAF-Holland. Haldex said in July it had been approached by two suitors, including commercial vehicle components maker SAF-Holland. It did not name ZF at the time. Haldex said in a statement today that ZF's offer was "clearly superior" to a 4.2 billion crown bid by SAF-Holland. Haldex said it had considered risks associated with operating in a highly competitive automotive market with tight margins. "Haldex has significantly lower sales than the two largest players in the market," it said. "Because of its relatively small size, Haldex is more exposed to these risks than other larger players in the market." ZF said it planned to invest in Haldex, not cut costs. "It is ZF's intention to develop and expand Haldex technologically and regionally as part of the worldwide activities of ZF Group, especially in its commercial vehicles business," ZF said in a statement. No decisions have been made on the integration of Haldex within ZF Group, including as regards changes to employees or management. ZF acquired TRW Automotive last year. It supplies technological solutions to the automotive sector and has a global workforce of around 138,300 in some 40 countries and reported sales of 29.2 billion euros in 2015. Haldex, a leading supplier of brake adjusters, has 2,200 employees in 18 countries. It said ZF's cash offer represented a premium of approximately 34.4 percent per share compared to Haldex's volume-weighted average price during the three months prior to the announcement of SAF-Holland's bid on July 14. The premium was largely in line with recent takeover offers for listed Swedish manufacturing companies. Finland's Scanfil, for example, paid a 27 percent premium for Sweden's Partnertech last year. Premiums in initial offers for metal-powder maker Hoganas and humidity control firm Munters were 17 percent and 30 percent respectively. Both ended up being bought out at a higher price. The acceptance period will start on August 22 and expire on or around September 30.

KrAZ Trucks Press Release / August 3, 2016 .

Australasian Transport News (ATN) / August 4, 2016 Researchers say test showed ease of attack on American trucks and buses US researchers are due to report on the potential for hacking an articulated truck’s computers in that country. Current affairs website Wired has looked into the issue a year after it made headlines on the remote hacking of two passenger vehicles, where computer assisted controls were taken over as they were driving. Now University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMITRI) researchers plan to unveil their findings on the remote interference of a semi-trailer’s braking and acceleration, at the Usenix Workshop on Offensive Technologies conference next week. In their abstract for the workshop, UMITRI researchers Yelizaveta Burakova, Bill Hass, Leif Millar, and André Weimerskirch highlight the vulnerability of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ SAE J1939 standard used for large vehicle communications and diagnostics. All trucks on the Australian market use the J1939 code. It is a universal language for electronic systems, though it is understood messages can be and are coded and therefore not be prone to hacking. "Consumer vehicles have been proven to be insecure; the addition of electronics to monitor and control vehicle functions have added complexity resulting in safety critical vulnerabilities," the UMITRI abstract says. "Heavy commercial vehicles have also begun adding electronic control systems similar to consumer vehicles. "We show how the openness of the SAE J1939 standard used across all US heavy vehicle industries gives easy access for safety-critical attacks and that these attacks aren't limited to one specific make, model, or industry. "We test our attacks on a 2006 Class-8 semi tractor and 2001 school bus. "With these two vehicles, we demonstrate how simple it is to replicate the kinds of attacks used on consumer vehicles and that it is possible to use the same attack on other vehicles that use the SAE J1939 standard. "We show safety critical attacks that include the ability to accelerate a truck in motion, disable the driver's ability to accelerate, and disable the vehicle's engine brake. "We conclude with a discussion for possibilities of additional attacks and potential remote attack vectors." The full paper is to be made available after the workshop. The news comes after US industry technology publication trucks.com reported in mid-May that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had sought out UMITRI last year for an examination of cybersecurity and long-haul trucks, with Weimerskirch leading the project. The workshop will be held on Monday, two weeks after US president Barack Obama signed Presidential Policy Directive – United States Cyber IncidentCoordination that outlines his government’s roles and approach for responding to significant cyber incidents. US national industry body American Trucking Associations is to hold an August 24 webinar on ‘vehicle-to-everything’ (V2X) vulnerabilities in trucks. "The trucking industry needs to outline whose role will it be to look after their best interests as well. "With 100 per cent uncertainty as to how safe V2X will be; how secure a truck’s communications currently are; and what everyone else is doing about it, trucks could become criminal pawns with minimal effort by cyber adversaries." In Australia, when the US car hacking report surfaced last year, the Truck Industry Council (TIC) was firm that local truck cybersecurity defences were in line with those in Europe and more stringent than in the US. TIC is drawing together a considered response to the issue. "TIC has referred the issues raised in the US article to its members, who supply a range of European, Japanese and USA trucks in the Australian market and requested their comment and feedback," chief technical officer Mark Hammond says. "Based on the information received TIC will respond in due course." The NHTSA and UMITRI have all been contacted for further comment and details. It is understood that truck makers here are confident of their own systems but less so where third-party systems are wired directly into a vehicle’s controller area network (CAN) rather than through the vehicle’s secured CAN interface.

Radical Islamists attack city bus in Paris Associated Press / August 3, 2016 Shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great), radical Islamists set a city municipal transit bus on fire with Molotov cocktails after blocking its way with makeshift barricade in Paris. The perpetrators were reportedly The attack occurred in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis last week. A group of young men rolled trash containers into the street in front of an approaching bus to “set up a trap to force the bus to stop,” police said. After forcing the articulated bus to a halt, the attackers forced the driver and passengers out. The men then start kicking the bus and smashing its windows, before finally throwing Molotov cocktails at the vehicle, causing an explosion and a massive fire. “This act of premeditated vandalism, the consequences of which have been tragic, follows an attempted homicide on a worker by a Molotov cocktail on July 22 and buildings being looted,” Saint-Denis mayor Didier Paillard told Le Parisien. The Saint-Denis district, known for a high immigrant population, has been a scene of similar unrest in the previous years. In 2005, massive riots swept through the area, with thousands of cars burned to ashes. The following year, unease over the arrest of a teenager for attacking a bus driver led to more street protests and violence, eventually involving riot police. Several buses also came under attack in Saint-Denis in 2010, with one set ablaze with a Molotov cocktail while others torched. The November 2015 wave of terrorist attacks in Paris also affected Saint-Denis. One of the suspected masterminds of the atrocities was killed in a standoff with police and army after he was located by law enforcement in the district. .

Commercial Motor TV - sponsored by DAF Trucks / August 3, 2016 .

Fleet Owner / August 3, 2016 Medium-duty orders down as well, but not steep as those for Class 8 A deep decline in Class 8 orders for the month of July is not surprising trucking industry analysts all that much, as both freight demand and rates remain subdued. North American Class 8 orders slumped to 10,500 units in July, down 19% from June, down 57% year-over-year, and marking the lowest order level since the first quarter of 2010. Orders for medium duty trucks – Class 5 through 7 – also declined in July, but not by as much as in the Class 8 segment. Class 5-7 orders dipped down to 14,500 units, down 4% from June and 6% year-over-year. In line with the two-speed U.S. economy of healthy consumers and weak industrial activity, the two-speed commercial vehicle story continued to unfold in July. Medium duty orders remained on trend, while Class 8 orders continued to soften, with some of that softness related to seasonality as of July-September, the traditional low ebb for Classes 5-8 vehicle orders. Research firm FTR’s data indicated net Class 8 order volume for July dipped to 10,400 units, 56% below the same month in 2015 and the weakest month since February 2010 – dropping “annualized” Class 8 order volume to 210,000 units for the year. “Usually there are a low number of cancellations in July, but not this year,” said FTR vice president Don Ake. “The high cancellations are likely the result of fleets placing large orders at the end of 2015, for delivery a year out.” He added that without the cancellations, July orders would have been similar to June’s numbers. But with those cancelations included, month-to-month order volume dipped 19%. “Freight growth remains sluggish, so fleets are backing off expanding the number of truck,” Ake pointed out. “They are expected to continue to replace older units in the short-term, however. Orders should increase some in August.” Another analyst noted that July’s Class 8 order volume is “about as bad as we expected” given that July again is a seasonally weak month for truck orders, with the market giving no reason to believe orders as trucking conditions remain poor or continue to deteriorate. On the medium-duty side, that analyst is now lowering its production forecast due to a string of sluggish order months, “Given three consecutive year-over-year declines in orders and some creep up in inventory levels, we are lowering our outlook for medium duty production [for] 2016 slightly to reflect flat production, down from our prior estimate of a low-single digit increase,” he said. In terms of expected annual Class 8 production levels down the road, he is projecting a total of 230,000 Class 8 units for this year, down 29% from 2015, falling further in 2017 to 205,000 units (down 11% from 2016), before reaching 200,000 units in 2018 (down 2% from 2017’s estimates). Other analysts offer a more robust Class 8 production picture, especially for 2018, with projections of about 236,000 units this year and 214,000 units in 2017, before a big spike back to 261,000 units in 2018.

Transport Topics / August 3, 2016 Cab-related products and systems supplier Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. announced that it would close three U.S. facilities in the Midwest beginning in the third quarter of the year in connection with a cost-reduction and restructuring plan it announced in 2015. The affected facilities include plants located in Monona, Iowa, and Shadyside, Ohio, along with administrative offices in Wixom, Michigan, according to the company. It said it will close its administrative office in Wixom when the lease expires in the third quarter of this year, as an outcome of its ongoing efforts to consolidate engineering services. The company said the Monona facility manufactures wire harnesses and has about 146 employees and the work will be transferred to the its operations in Agua Prieta, Mexico. A small group of administrative and sales professionals will remain in the Iowa market following the closure of the Monona facility, which is expected to be substantially completed by March 31, 2017, according to the company. The Shadyside facility performs assembly and stamping activities and has about 172 employees and the activities there will be transferred to alternative facilities or sourced to local suppliers, CVG said. The closure of the Shadyside facility is expected to be substantially completed by June 30, 2017, it said. The company said it plans to petition for assistance for eligible employees under the Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Program. “Decisions regarding facility closures are extremely difficult, but ultimately this restructuring plan reflects our ongoing efforts to align our manufacturing footprint with our customers and supply base in response to changing global macroeconomic conditions and the state of our end markets,” said Joseph Saoud, president of global construction, agriculture and military markets, said in a statement. He added, “Our employees are important to us and we will provide support for impacted personnel, however we must strategically manage our overhead and competitive cost position in response to market conditions and customer expectations.” “We understand the impact this decision will have on our employees and the communities of Monona and Shadyside where we have served as a long-time employer. Ultimately, we made the best decision we could to maximize our global capacity utilization in response to changing customer needs,” Dale McKillop, managing director of trim and structures, said in a statement. "We will provide assistance to our employees, including severance benefits, and hope that many of them will consider opportunities with CVG in other markets," added McKillop. The announcement follows one in May that reported pending negotiations with the hourly employees' union representative, to consolidate its North American seat production into two North American facilities and cease seat production in its Piedmont, Alabama facility [because that plant’s workers voted to join the UAW....see link below]. In February, the company said it began construction of a new wire harness facility in Agua Prieta. "This facility will allow us to expand and enhance our capabilities for the construction, agriculture and specialty vehicle markets." Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/41944-bostrom-seating-plant-workers-join-uaw/#comment-305107 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CVG produces all the Mack cabs, and has over the years purchased several well known component brands including Bostrom and National seating, Sprague and Moto Mirror. http://cvgrp.com/ It's up in the air as to whether CVG will produce the new cab. Connecting the dots of Mack conventional cab supplier history, Sheller-Globe purchased Motor Panels of the UK and then put the Norwalk Mack cab plant under its new Motor Panels division. Then that division was sold in 1989 to UK-based CH Industrials, which was sold in 1991 to UK-based Mayflower Vehicle Systems, which was sold in 2005 to CVG. The company had no prior history of assembling cabs, but was willing to do so. Currently, CVG stamps and assembles the cabs under contract in a run-down plant in Kings Mountain, North Carolina (originally located there to supply Mack Trucks' Winnsboro, South Carolina plant 70 miles away), from which they are trucked up 470 miles to Macungie.

Tehran’s F-14s Tomcats David Axe / September 8, 2015 On April 9, 1972, Iraq and the Soviet Union signed an historic agreement. The USSR committed to arming the Arab republic with the latest weaponry. In return for sending Baghdad guns, tanks and jet fighters, Moscow got just one thing, influence … in a region that held most of the world’s accessible oil. In neighboring Iran, news of Iraq’s alliance with the Soviets exploded like a bomb. Ethnically Persian and predominately Shia, Iran was, and still is, a bitter rival of Iraq’s Sunni Arab establishment, which during the 1970s dominated the country’s politics. In Tehran, King Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (the “shah”) moved quickly to counter Baghdad’s move. First he set loose an army of secret police in a desperate and bloody bid to quell internal dissent. And then he reached out to the United States. The shah wanted weapons. And not just any weapons. Himself a former military pilot, the king wanted the latest and best U.S.-made warplanes, with which the Iranian air force might dominate the Persian Gulf and even patrol as far away as the Indian Ocean. The Iranian leader’s appetite for planes was notorious. “He’ll buy anything that flies,” one American official said of the shah. But Pahlavi was especially keen to acquire a fighter that could fly fast enough and shoot far enough to confront Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat recon planes that had been flying over Iran at 60,000 feet and Mach 3. The Nixon administration was all too eager to grant the shah’s wish in exchange for Iran’s help balancing a rising Soviet Union. Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger visited Tehran in May 1972, and promptly offered the shah a “blank check.” Any weapons the king wanted and could pay for, he would get, regardless of the Pentagon’s own reservations and the State Department’s stringent export policies. That’s how, starting in the mid-1970s, Iran became the only country besides the United States to operate arguably the most powerful interceptor jet ever built, the Long Island-built Grumman F-14 Tomcat, a swing-wing carrier fighter packing a sophisticated radar and long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles. It’s fair to say American policymakers quickly regretted giving Iran the F-14s. In February 1979, Islamic hardliners rose up against the shah’s police state, kidnapping 52 Americans at the U.S. embassy in Tehran and ushering the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Islamic Revolution transformed Iran from an American ally to an enemy possessing 79 of the world’s most feared fighters. For the next five decades, the United States would do everything in its power, short of war, to ground the ayatollah’s F-14 “Tomcats”. But it failed. Through a combination of engineering ingenuity and audacious espionage, Iran kept its F-14s in working order, and even improved them. The swing-wing fighters took to the air in several conflicts and even occasionally confronted American planes. Today, Iran’s 40 or so surviving F-14s remain some of the best fighters in the Middle East. And since the U.S. Navy retired its last Tomcats in 2006, the ayatollah’s Tomcats are the only active Tomcats left in the world. The F-14 was a product of failure. In the 1960s, the Pentagon hoped to replace thousands of fighters in the U.S. Air Force and Navy with a single design capable of ground attack and air-to-air combat. The result was the General Dynamics F-111 — a two-person, twin-engine marvel of high technology that, in time, became an excellent long-range bomber in Air Force service. But as a naval fighter, the F-111 was a disaster. Complex, underpowered and difficult to maintain, the Navy’s F-111B version, which General Dynamics built in cooperation with carrier-fighter specialist Grumman, was also a widowmaker. Of the seven F-111B prototypes that the consortium built starting in 1964, three crashed. In 1968, the Defense Department halted work on the F-111B. Scrambling for a replacement, Grumman took the swing-wing concept, TF-30 engines, AWG-9 radar and long-range AIM-54 missile from the F-111B design and packed them into a smaller, lighter, simpler airframe. The result was the F-14 “Tomcat”. The first prototype took off on its inaugural flight in December 1970. The U.S. fleet got its first Tomcats two years later. Grumman ultimately built 712 F-14s. In 1974, the shah ordered 80 of the fighters plus spare parts and 284 Phoenix missiles at a cost of $2 billion. Seventy-nine of the Tomcats arrived before the Islamic Revolution forced the shah into exile in Egypt and compelled the United States to impose an arms embargo. The U.S. Navy eventually scooped up the 80th plane for one of its test squadrons. The U.S. State Department oversaw the F-14 transfer and, in its eternal wisdom, delegated most of the work to the Air Force. But the F-14 was a Navy plane and only the Navy had pilots qualified to fly the machine. The Navy seconded Tomcat crews to the Air Force, but only after extensive security checks lasting six months — and not without some culture clash. The Navy pilots picked up the brand-new Tomcats at the Grumman factory in Long Island, New York and flew them three at a time to Iran. “Few pilots in their careers ever have the opportunity to fly an airplane that ‘smells’ exactly as a new car, and still has cellophane covering the cushions of the ejection seat,” one F-14 flier wrote years later. “Well, I had that amazing experience.” “Although my F-14 was ‘factory fresh,’ it had an Iranian specified camouflage paint scheme. And while it did have U.S. military markings, as I found out later, those markings would be ingeniously and quickly changed upon arrival in Iran. The U.S. paint easily disappeared when a certain solution was applied, thus exposing the Iranian air force markings underneath.” The journey to Iran involved two legs, from Long Island to Torrejon, Spain, and then onward to Iran’s Isfahan air base, with Air Force KC-135 aerial tankers constantly attending to the F-14s. It was a complex and, for the pilots, uncomfortable undertaking. “We needed to be ‘topped-off’ with fuel for most of the seven-hour flight in case we had to divert to an emergency field,” the ferry pilot wrote. “This meant at least six in-flight refueling events for each leg, despite some weather conditions, and the KC-135’s difficult, Rube Goldberg type of refueling hose to accommodate Navy aircraft.” Air Force planes refuel in mid-air via a probe extending from the tanker into the receiving plane’s fuselage, the tanker crew does most of the work. Navy aircraft have their own probes and refuel by maneuvering the probe into a basket dangling from the tanker’s underwing fuel pods. The receiving pilot does the work, an arrangement consistent with the incredibly high demands the Navy traditionally places on its combat pilots. To make the KC-135s compatible with the F-14s, the Air Force awkwardly fitted a basket to the tankers’ probes. The improvised contraption tended to whip around in the air, threatening to smash the Tomcats’ canopies every time they refueled. Keeping gassed up wasn’t the only source of stress for the Tomcat ferry crews. “People often wonder, and it is rarely discussed, how did you relieve yourself, strapped into an ejection seat and immobile for seven-plus hours?” the pilot wrote. The Navy offered the fliers diapers, but some refused to wear them. “I personally held it for seven hours … as I had planned and for which I had prepared by remaining dehydrated. Hey, I’m a fighter pilot.” “However, upon arrival in Torrejon, I could barely salute the welcoming Air Force colonel,” the pilot continued. “Bending over and doubled-up under pressure, I feverishly ran to the nearest ‘head’ to relieve myself for seemingly and refreshingly forever, before I could then return to properly meet, greet and properly salute the receiving Air Force colonel.” While the U.S. Air Force and Navy worked together to deliver Iran’s F-14s, the State Department arranged for Iranian aviators and maintenance technicians to get training on the Tomcats and their complex systems. Some of the Iranians attended classes in the United States, others received instruction from American contractors in Iran. By 1979, the Americans had trained 120 pilots and backseat radar intercept officers. The shah’s Tomcat squadrons were coming to life. But the Iranian king wasn’t entirely happy with his acquisition. In late 1975, the shah complained to the U.S. embassy in Tehran that Grumman had paid agents in Iran $24 million to facilitate the F-14 sale. The shah considered the payments bribes — and wanted Grumman to take the money back. “Shah views with bitter scorn corrupt practices of agents for U.S. companies and ineffective [U.S. government] efforts to deal with problem,” the embassy reported back to Washington in January 1976. The shah was so angry that he threatened to halt payments to Grumman. Washington reminded Tehran that failure to pay would amount to breach of contract. “The dispute over agents fees was poisoning U.S.-Iranian relations,” American diplomats in Tehran warned. Amid the diplomatic tension, Tehran put its Tomcats to good use performing the mission for which Iran originally wanted them — deterring the Soviet Union’s MiG-25 spy planes. In August 1977, Iranian F-14 crews shot down a BQM-34E target drone flying at 50,000 feet. “The Soviets took the hint and Foxbat over flights promptly ended,” Iranian air force major Farhad Nassirkhani wrote. Tehran’s spat with Grumman continued, but a year and a half later the Islamic Revolution intervened and rendered the issue moot. On January 16, 1979, the shah fled Iran. Twenty-seven of Iran’s freshly-minted F-14 fliers fled, too. On their own way out of the country, American technicians working for Hughes, the company that manufactured the Phoenix missile, sabotaged 16 of the deadly missiles, or tried to, at least. Engineers eventually repaired the damaged munitions. Agents of Iran’s new Islamic regime suspected the remaining F-14 crews of harboring pro-shah and pro-American sentiments. Police arrested at least one F-14 pilot at gunpoint at his home, finally releasing him months later when the regime realized it actually needed trained aircrews if it ever hoped to make use of all those brand-new F-14s lined up on the tarmac at Khatami air base. By September 1980, Iran and Iraq were at war. Baghdad’s own MiG-25 fighters and recon planes could dash into Iranian air space unmolested by Tehran’s much slower and lower-flying F-4 and F-5 fighters. Over the course of the eight-year war, MiG-25s shot down more than a dozen Iranian aircraft, including a priceless EC-130 electronic warfare plane. Iraqi pilot Col. Mohommed Rayyan alone claimed eight kills in his MiG-25. Only the F-14 could challenge the MiG-25. When war broke out, just 77 Tomcats were left — two had crashed. With crews and maintainers scattered and Tehran cut off from Grumman, Hughes and the U.S. Air Force and Navy, most of the Iranian F-14s were inoperable. The ayatollah’s air force managed to assemble 60 loyal pilots and 24 back-seat radar operators. By stripping parts from grounded Tomcats, technicians were able to get a dozen F-14s in fighting shape. At first, the Tomcats acted as early-warning and battle-management platforms while less sophisticated planes did the actual fighting. “The planes have not been used in combat,” The New York Times reported in December 1981. “Rather they have stood off from the battle and been used as control aircraft, with their advanced radar and electronics guiding other planes to their targets or warning the pilots of Iraqi aircraft attacks.” The fighting escalated and drew the F-14s into battle. In eight years of combat, Iran’s Tomcat crews claimed some 200 aerial victories against Iraqi planes, 64 of which the Iranian air force was able to confirm. One F-14 pilot named Jalil Zandi reportedly claimed a staggering 11 air-to-air victories, making him by far Iran’s deadliest fighter pilot of the war. “The Iraqi high command had ordered all its pilots not to engage with F-14 and do not get close if [an] F-14 is known to be operating in the area,” Nassirkhani wrote. “Usually the presence of Tomcats was enough to scare the enemy and send the Iraqi fighters back.” At first, the F-14s were armed only with their internal 20-millimeter cannons and the long-range Phoenix missiles. American contractors had not had time to integrate medium-range Sparrow and short-range Sidewinder missiles. Normal tactics called for F-14 crews to fire Phoenixes at their targets from a hundred miles away or farther, but with no alternative armament Iranian aviators relied on the heavy AIM-54s for close-in fighting, as well, once even hitting an Iraqi plane from just 12 miles away, according to Iranian reporter Babak Taghvaee. Eight F-14s fell in combat during the war with Iraq, one accidentally shot down by an Iranian F-4; three struck by Baghdad’s Mirage F.1 fighters; one hit by an Iraqi MiG-21; and two falling victim to unknown attackers. The eighth Tomcat that Tehran lost during the Iran-Iraq war reportedly wound up in Iraq when its crew defected. Taghvaee claimed that U.S. Special Operations Forces infiltrated “deep inside Iraqi territory” in order to destroy the abandoned F-14 and “prevent it falling into Soviet hands.” Iranian Tomcats intercepted Iraqi MiG-25s on several occasions. But only one Iranian flier succeeded in downing any of the Mach-3 MiGs. In September 1982 and again in December, Shahram Rostani struck MiG-25s with Phoenix missiles. Combat ops were hard on Iran’s F-14 force. A lack of spare parts compounded the maintenance woes. After the revolution, the United States had frozen Iranian assets, embargoed Iranian trade and imposed other economic sanctions. The United Nations and many U.S. allies followed suit, cutting off Tehran from global supply chains. In 1981 an Iranian trade agent wrote to the London office of F-14-builder Grumman asking to acquire parts for Iran’s Tomcats. Citing the new sanctions, Washington declined to grant Grumman a license to sell the components. “It is the present policy of the United States government not to permit Grumman or any other defense contractor to obtain a license to provide Iran with these materials,” the Navy told The New York Times. By 1984, just 15 or so of the twin-engine fighters were flightworthy, according to Nassirkhani. Technicians kept the 15 jets in good repair mainly by taking parts from the roughly 50 F-14s that couldn’t fly. Starting in 1981, Iranian Aircraft Industries began performing overhauls and upgrades on the F-14s as part of the Tehran’s effort to make the country militarily self-sufficient. The upgrades finally added Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles to the Tomcats. The self-sufficiency program had help from Iranian agents working abroad — and at great risk to themselves — to divert spare parts for the F-14s and other weapon systems. America begrudgingly helped, too — albeit briefly. In negotiating to free American hostages that an Iran-backed militant group was holding in Lebanon, the Reagan administration agreed to transfer to Tehran badly-needed military equipment including Phoenix missiles and bomb racks. Iranian engineers added the bomb racks to four of the F-14s as early as 1985, transforming the Tomcats into heavy ground-attack planes. Years later, the U.S. Navy would modify its own F-14s in the same way. Rostani flew the “Bombcat’s” first ground-attack mission in 1985, targeting an Iraqi field headquarters … but missing. Frustrated technicians boosted the Bombcat’s weapons load-out with a whopping, custom-made 7,000-pound bomb, one of the biggest freefall munitions ever. As Iranian commander-in-chief Gen. Abbas Babaei observed from near the front line, an F-14 lobbed the massive bomb. The estimated time on target passed … but nothing happened. Babaei was getting ready to return to his jeep when a powerful blast shook the ground. The bomb had missed, but its psychological effect on Iraqi troops was surely profound. By the war’s end in 1988, 34 of the 68 surviving F-14s were airworthy. But just two of the Persian Tomcats had working radars. And Iran had expended all of its original consignment of Phoenixes. More Phoenixes arrived as part of the hostages-for-arms deal with the United States, and in the post-war years Iranian Aircraft Industries experimented with “new” weaponry for the F-14 — including modified Hawk surface-to-air missiles that the shah had bought from the United States as well as Soviet-supplied R-73 missiles. The experiments added flexibility to the F-14 force, but it was the spare parts that kept the Tomcats in working condition, and the Iranian air force quickly burned through the spares it obtained from the hostage deal. Tehran established self-sufficiency programs, not just in the air force, but across the nation’s economy, in an effort to satisfy material needs that foreign companies had once met. But Iranian companies struggled to produce all the specialized parts that the Tomcat requires. In the late 1990s, the air force considered simply buying new planes to replace the F-14s, but China was the only country that would sell fighters to Iran. In 1997 and 1998, Iranian pilots evaluated China’s F-8 … and rejected it. Even deprived of spares and mostly grounded, the F-14s were superior to the Chinese planes in the eyes of Iran’s air force. Tehran turned to the black market, paying huge sums to shady middlemen to sneak F-14 parts into Iran. American authorities became aware of the illicit trade as early as 1998. In March that year, federal agents arrested Iranian-born Parviz Lavi at his home in Long Island, charging him with violating U.S. export law by attempting to buy up spare parts for the F-14’s TF-30 engine and ship them to Iran via The Netherlands. Lavi got five years in prison plus a $125,000 fine. The arrests came in a steady drumbeat. In 1998, an aircraft parts vendor in San Diego told U.S. customs officials that Multicore Ltd. in California had requested price information for air intake seals used only on the F-14. Agents arrested Multicore’s Saeed Homayouni, a naturalized Canadian from Iran, and Yew Leng Fung, a Malaysian citizen. “Bank records subpoenaed by the Customs Service showed that Multicore Ltd. had made 399 payments totaling $2.26 million to military parts brokers since 1995 and had received deposits of $2.21 million,” The Washington Post reported. The company shipped parts mostly through Singapore. The feds began investigating 18 companies that had supplied airplane components to Multicore. In September 2003, U.S. authorities arrested Iranian Serzhik Avasappian in a South Florida hotel as part of a sting operation. Agents had shown Avasappian several F-14 parts worth $800,000 and arrested him after he offered to buy the components. “While these components may appear relatively innocuous to the untrained eye, they are tightly controlled for good reason,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement interim agent Jesus Torres. “In the wrong hands, they pose a potential threat to Americans at home and abroad.” Even with U.S. authorities tamping down on the illicit trade in F-14 parts, Iran persisted. After shutting down Multicore, the feds confiscated the firm’s Tomcat components and sent them to the Defense Department’s surplus-parts office. In 2005, a company, allegedly Iranian, bought the very same parts from the military. The parts war escalated after the U.S. Navy retired its last F-14s in 2006, leaving Iran as the type’s only operator. In 2007, U.S. agents even seized four intact ex-U.S. Navy F-14s in California, three at museums and one belonging to a producer on the military-themed T.V. show JAG, charging that the F-14s had not been properly stripped of useful parts that could wind up in Iranian hands. The U.S. Congress was furious at the Pentagon for its lax handling of the F-14-parts problem. Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican, described it as “a huge breakdown, an absolute, huge breakdown.” Lawmakers passed a bill specifically banning any trade in Tomcat components to Iran or any other entity, and then-president George W. Bush signed the law in 2008. A tragedy unfolded as the military paid contractors to dismantle, crush and shred many of the approximately 150 retired F-14s. Scores of old F-14s, properly “demilitarized”, are still on display in museums across the United States. But none remain at the famous airplane “boneyard” in Arizona, where the Pentagon stores retired planes just in case it needs them again. Even so, the underground trade in Tomcat parts continues, with shady companies scouring the planet for leftover components. In early 2014, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigated Israeli arms dealers that it said had twice tried to send F-14 spares to Iran. Tomcats have led the effort to intercept American RQ-170 stealth reconnaissance drones. In the early 2000s, Iranian F-14 crews reported seeing increasingly sophisticated and bizarre drones. The CIA’s intelligence drones displayed astonishing hypersonic space-capable flight characteristics, including an ability to fly outside the atmosphere, attain a maximum cruise speed of Mach 10 and a minimum speed of zero, with the ability to hover over the target. And, the drones used powerful [electronic countermeasures] that could jam enemy radars using very high levels of magnetic energy. In November 2004, one F-14 crew intercepted a suspected CIA drone. As the aviators tried to lock onto the drone with their Tomcat’s AWG-9 radar, they “saw that the radar scope was disrupted. The drone lit its green afterburner and escaped. Whether it’s producing parts itself or acquiring them abroad, Iran is clearly succeeding in its efforts to supply its trusted 40-year-old F-14s. In October 2013, over 40 of Tehran’s surviving F-14s were estimated to be in flyable condition, possibly the highest number since the mid-1970s. Iran has begun upgrading the Tomcats with new radar components, radios, navigation systems and wiring while also adding compatibility with R-73 and Hawk missiles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wikipedia Beginning in the late 1950s, the U.S. Navy sought a long-range, high-endurance interceptor to defend its carrier battle groups against long-range anti-ship missiles launched from the jet bombers and submarines of the Soviet Union. The U.S. Navy needed a Fleet Air Defense (FAD) aircraft with a more powerful radar, and longer range missiles than the F-4 Phantom II to intercept both enemy bombers and missiles. The Navy was directed to participate in the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX) program with the U.S. Air Force by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. McNamara wanted "joint" solutions to service aircraft needs to reduce development costs, and had already directed the Air Force to buy the F-4 Phantom II, which was developed for the Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy strenuously opposed the TFX as it feared compromises necessary for the Air Force's need for a low-level attack aircraft would adversely impact the aircraft's performance as a fighter. Weight and performance issues plagued the U.S. Navy F-111B variant for TFX and would not be resolved to the Navy's satisfaction. The F-111 manufacturer General Dynamics partnered with Grumman on the Navy F-111B. With the F-111B program in distress, Grumman began studying improvements and alternatives. In 1966, the Navy awarded Grumman a contract to begin studying advanced fighter designs. Grumman narrowed down these designs to its 303 design. Vice Admiral Thomas F. Connolly, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare, took the developmental F-111A variant for a flight and discovered that it had difficulty going supersonic and had poor carrier landing characteristics. He later testified to Congress about his concerns against the official Department of the Navy position and, in May 1968, Congress stopped funding for the F-111B, allowing the Navy to pursue an answer tailored to its requirements. The name "Tomcat" was partially chosen to pay tribute to Admiral Connolly, as the nickname "Tom's Cat" had already been widely used by the manufacturer, although the name also followed the Grumman tradition of naming its fighter aircraft after felines. The F-111B had been designed for the long-range Fleet Air Defense (FAD) interceptor role, but not for new requirements for air combat based on experience of American aircraft against agile MiG fighters over Vietnam. The Navy studied the need for VFAX, an additional fighter that was more agile than the F-4 Phantom for air-combat and ground-attack roles. Grumman continued work on its 303 design and offered it to the Navy in 1967, which led to fighter studies by the Navy. The company continued to refine the design into 1968. In July 1968, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program. VFX called for a tandem two-seat, twin-engined air-to-air fighter with a maximum speed of Mach 2.2. It would also have a built-in M61 Vulcan cannon and a secondary close air support role. The VFX's air-to-air missiles would be either six AIM-54 Phoenix or a combination of six AIM-7 Sparrow and four AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Bids were received from General Dynamics, Grumman, Ling-Temco-Vought, McDonnell Douglas and North American Rockwell;[11] four bids incorporated variable-geometry wings. McDonnell Douglas and Grumman were selected as finalists in December 1968. Grumman was selected for the contract award in January 1969. Grumman's design reused the TF30 engines from the F-111B, though the Navy planned on replacing them with the Pratt & Whitney F401-400 engines under development for the Navy, along with the related Pratt & Whitney F100 for the USAF. Though lighter than the F-111B, it was still the largest and heaviest U.S. fighter to fly from an aircraft carrier, a consequence of the requirement to carry the large AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles (from the F-111B) and an internal fuel load of 16,000 lb (7,300 kg). Upon winning the contract for the F-14, Grumman greatly expanded its Calverton, Long Island, New York facility for evaluating the aircraft. Much of the testing, including the first of many compressor stalls and multiple ejections, took place over Long Island Sound. In order to save time and forestall interference from Secretary McNamara, the Navy skipped the prototype phase and jumped directly to full-scale development; the Air Force took a similar approach with its F-15. The F-14 first flew on 21 December 1970, just 22 months after Grumman was awarded the contract, and reached initial operational capability (IOC) in 1973. The United States Marine Corps was initially interested in the F-14 as an F-4 Phantom II replacement; going so far as to send officers to Fighter Squadron One Twenty-Four (VF-124) to train as instructors. The Marine Corps pulled out of any procurement when development of the stores management system for ground attack munitions was not pursued. An air-to-ground capability was not developed until the 1990s. Operational History - Iran The sole foreign customer for the F-14 Tomcat was the Imperial Iranian Air Force, during the reign of the last Shah (King) of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In the early 1970s, the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was searching for an advanced fighter, specifically one capable of intercepting Soviet MiG-25 reconnaissance flights. After a visit of U.S. President Richard Nixon to Iran in 1972, during which Iran was offered the latest in American military technology, the IIAF narrowed its choice between the F-14 Tomcat or the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. Grumman Corporation arranged a competitive demonstration of the Eagle against the Tomcat before the Shah, and in January 1974, Iran ordered 30 F-14s and 424 AIM-54 Phoenix missiles, initiating Project Persian King, worth US$300 million. A few months later, this order was increased to a total of 80 Tomcats and 714 Phoenix missiles as well as spare parts and replacement engines for 10 years, complete armament package, and support infrastructure (including construction of the Khatami Air Base near Esfahan). The first F-14 arrived in January 1976, modified only by the removal of classified avionics components, but fitted with the TF-30-414 engines. The following year 12 more were delivered. Meanwhile, training of the first groups of Iranian crews by the U.S. Navy, was underway in the USA; and one of these conducted a successful shoot-down with a Phoenix missile of a target drone flying at 50,000 ft (15 km). Following the overthrow of the Shah in 1979, the air force was renamed the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) and the post-revolution interim government of Iran canceled most Western arms orders. In 1980, an Iranian F-14 shot down an Iraqi Mil Mi-25 helicopter for its first air-to-air kill during the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988). According to research by Tom Cooper, Iranian F-14s scored at least 50 air-to-air victories in the first six months of the war against Iraqi MiG-21s, MiG-23s, and some Su-20s/22s. During the same time period, only one Iranian F-14 suffered damage after being hit by an nearby MiG-21 when it exploded. Iranian Tomcats were originally used as an early-warning platform assisting other less-sophisticated aircraft with targeting and defense. They were also crucial to the defense of areas deemed vital by Iranian regime and infrastructure, such as Tehran and Kharg Island. Many of these patrols had the support of Boeing 707-3J9C in-flight refueling tankers. As fighting escalated between 1982 and 1986, however, the F-14s gradually became more involved in battle. They performed well, but their primary role was to intimidate the Iraqi Air Force and avoid heavy engagement to protect the fleet's numbers. Their presence was often enough to drive away opposing Iraqi fighters. The precision and effectiveness of the Tomcat's AWG-9 weapons system and AIM-54A Phoenix long-range air-to-air missiles enabled the F-14 to maintain air superiority. By 1987, the Iraqis had suffered heavy losses and were forced to find a solution to level the battle field. They obtained Mirage F.1EQ-6 fighters from France in 1988, armed with Super530D and Magic Mk.2 air-to-air missiles. The Mirage F.1 fighters were eventually responsible for three confirmed F-14 kills. The IRIAF attempted to keep 60 F-14s operational throughout the war, but reports indicate this number was reduced to 30 by 1986 with only half fully mission-capable. Overall, Cooper states that Iranian F-14s shot down at least 160 Iraqi aircraft during the Iran–Iraq War, which includes 58 MiG-23s, 33 Mirage F1s, 23 MiG-21s, 23 Su-20s/22s, nine MiG-25s, five Tu-22s, two MiG-27s, one Mil Mi-24, one Dassault Mirage 5, one B-6D, one Aérospatiale Super Frelon, and two unidentified aircraft. Despite the circumstances the F-14s and their crews faced during the war against Iraq – lacking support from AWACS, AEW aircraft, and Ground Control Intercept (GCI) – the F-14 proved to be successful in combat. It achieved this in the midst of a confrontation with an enemy that was constantly upgrading its capabilities and receiving support from three major countries – France, the USA, and the USSR. While Iraq's army claimed it shot down more than 70 F-14s, the Foreign Broadcast Information System in Washington DC estimated that Iran lost 12 to 16 during the war. Cooper writes only three F-14 were shot down by Iraqis and four others by Iranian SAM Missiles. Two Tomcats were lost in unknown circumstances during the battle, and as many as seven crashed due to technical failure or accidents. On 31 August 1986, an Iranian F-14A armed with at least one AIM-54A missile defected to Iraq. In addition, one or more of Iran's F-14A was delivered to the Soviet Union in exchange for technical assistance; at least one of its crew defected to the Soviet Union. Iran had an estimated 44 F-14s in 2009 according to Combat Aircraft.Aviation Week estimated it had 19 operational F-14s in January 2013, and Flight Global estimated that 28 were in service in 2014. In January 2007, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that sales of spare F-14 parts would be suspended over concerns of the parts ending up in Iran. In July 2007, the remaining American F-14s were shredded to ensure that any parts could not be acquired. In summer of 2010, Iran requested that the United States deliver the 80th F-14 it had purchased in 1974. In October 2010, an Iranian Air Force commander claimed that the country overhauls and optimizes different types of military aircraft, mentioning that Air Force has even installed Iran-made radar systems on the F-14. On 26 January 2012, an Iranian F-14 crashed three minutes after takeoff. Both crew members were killed. In November 2015, Iranian F-14s had been reported flying escort for Russian Tu-95 bombers on air strikes in Syria against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. .

I bet those boys would have an unforgettable vacation at the beach. http://www.cntraveler.com/galleries/2015-05-22/best-beaches-in-the-us/1

Car & Driver / August 2016 Gas prices have dipped nearly 50 cents per gallon in a year, providing suburban cowboys with a guilt-free opportunity to scratch that off-road itch. Enter GMC with a well-timed All Terrain X package for the Sierra 1500. The truck reviewed here is a two-step march up from the base $48,465 Sierra 1500 4WD Crew Cab SLT, which lives just below the Sierra Denali in GMC’s pecking order. The $2105 All Terrain package contains a mix of hard- and soft-core upgrades: an off-road suspension with Rancho shocks, a locking rear differential, an 8-speed automatic transmission, 18-inch wheels, body-color bumpers, a spray-on bedliner, Bose audio, heated leather seats, and a center console with wireless charging. The $4315 X package—available on Sierra SLT 4x4s in the crew-cab, short-box body style as well as double-cab, standard-box form—kicks in additional macho gear: Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac on-/off-road tires, black-finished wheels and mirrors, LED headlamps and taillamps, side steps, a performance exhaust system that adds 10 horsepower for a total of 365 hp, and a full set of rubber floor mats. A bed-mounted sport bar touts your Sierra Club membership in mega-red letters. Add a few more upgrades—a $995 power sunroof, GMC’s $495 Intellilink infotainment system with navigation, and a $275 trailer-brake controller—and you’ll match our truck’s $56,695 window sticker. For reference, that tops a BMW M2’s base price by exactly $4000. This king’s ransom buys surprising versatility. The stiffer suspension doesn’t beat you to death when you drive on pavement, the standard 5.3-liter V-8 is all but silent at work, and the eight-speed automatic transmission—introduced for 2015 and now available with the smaller Sierra V-8—shuffles gears with the skill of a Vegas blackjack dealer. This transmission offers trailer-tow and manual shift modes, allowing you to hold your selected ratio up to the engine’s fuel cutoff. The refinement GMC has put into this truck is what makes it popular with well-heeled customers seeking a pickup with a wide range of on-road, off-road, hauling, and towing capabilities. Casual shoppers, though, must be cautioned. This is a huge truck, and its 12-foot wheelbase and 47-foot turning circle mean it takes planning and practice to enter a standard parking spot. Every trip to the driver’s seat is a two-step climb, and the 35-inch-high tailgate is annoyingly high for performing normal truck tasks such as loading dirt bikes, home-improvement materials, and lawn fertilizer. During our 1000-mile drive, which involved minimal hauling and off-roading and no towing, we averaged 19 mpg. That’s respectable for a buff 5688-pound vehicle. One quirk is that lighter, less luxurious Sierra 4x4s equipped with GMC’s six-speed automatic transmission outscore the eight-speed’s 15/21 mpg city/highway EPA ratings by 1 mpg each. While our Sierra’s 19-mpg observed fuel economy beat two Ford F-150 pickups we recently tested by 3 mpg, this GMC fell behind in practically every other test. The run to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds is 0.3 second slower than the 385-hp F-150 V-8 and 0.8 second slower than the 375-hp EcoBoost V-6. (Who wouldn’t trade .3 seconds of 0-60 time for 3 mpg of improved fuel economy? Note: the 6.2L is only rated 1 mpg less) Chalk that up to the Fords’ aluminum cab and bed construction, which gives them a 255-to-468-pound weight advantage. (The GMC earns partial credit for its aluminum hood.) The Sierra’s off-road rubber hurt it in traction tests, where it needed more than 200 feet to stop from 70 mph (versus 179 to 187 feet for previous four-by-four GMCs without the off-road kit and tires). It also scored only 0.70 g of lateral adhesion on the skidpad, versus the F-150 V-8’s 0.75 g and the 0.77 g that its GMC siblings managed. The GMC’s highway cruising noise level is four decibels higher than the Ford’s and two decibels louder than with ordinary all-season tires. That’s the price you pay for driving on treads molded to dig into mud and dirt. Fortunately, there is compensation for these performance shortcomings. This Sierra is a handsome piece, with minimal chrome disrupting its black exterior theme. The 3.5-inch-high GMC letters in the black chrome grille are quite effective at brushing left-lane laggards out of the way. The X package’s few flashy bits live discreetly in the LED lamps, lug nuts, and Sierra All Terrain badges. One flight of fancy is the double-tube bed adornment, a visual throwback to the Chevrolet Avalanche and the Cadillac Escalade EXT. Any potential rollover protection is squandered by securing this aluminum arch atop the bed flanks with just a few fasteners. This sport bar’s main purpose is to look cool while carrying the CHMSL and a pair of LED jacklights. Before you plan your attack on the Rubicon, be advised that the All Terrain label is hyperbole. This truck is too wide to slip between trees and boulders. There are guard plates under the engine and transfer case, but the fuel tank, front air dam, spare tire, and side steps are vulnerable to attack from the dark side. This Sierra should confidently handle trails and year-round slippery conditions, but those serious about taking the fight to Mother Nature will need a lift kit, taller tires, and additional underbody protection. Inside, this high Sierra is a model of impeccable taste. The three-adults-wide back seat, a vanishing attribute in the car world, lives here in comfortable splendor. Lifting the split bottom cushions opens space to secure camping gear, beverage coolers, and sporting equipment galore. The red-stitched leather seat trim has side bolsters accented with a convincing use of woven carbon fiber. The ignition still requires a key, but the cabin is otherwise well stocked with contemporary features. The front seats are heated, and the pedals are adjustable. There are enough AC, DC, USB, and wireless-charging receptacles to dazzle an electrician. The center console and twin gloveboxes are commodious enough to support a mobile business. The 8.0-inch touchscreen is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (although at this writing, there’s a hold on this feature in some Sierra configurations, including this model, and a $200 credit for doing without). The bank of six analog instruments will impress classic-gauge fans, although a 140-mph speedometer in a vehicle governed at 98 mph seems silly. There’s a handy inclinometer in the driver’s cluster to report pitch, roll, and steering angles. One lapse is that the cab lacks high-level cooling vents for rear occupants. It’s no easy feat to charm buyers with a traditional pickup while the horde of crossovers offers creative solutions to transportation and hauling needs. But as long as Texas keeps pumping and fracking continues to suppress pump prices, pickup fans will keep coming back for GMCs that have a fresh face and a sense of adventure. Photo gallery - http://www.caranddriver.com/photo-gallery/2016-gmc-sierra-1500-4x4-all-terrain-x-instrumented-test

U.S. market Value-Liners all always had small "Mack" letters, part number 230SX2 (2" high).......versus 230SX1 (3" high).

Justice Department Officials Raised Objections on U.S. Cash Payment to Iran The Wall Street Journal / August 3, 2016 Some officials worried about message being sent but were overruled Senior Justice Department officials objected to sending a plane loaded with cash to Tehran at the same time that Iran released four imprisoned Americans, but their objections were overruled by the State Department. After announcing the release of the Americans in January, President Barack Obama also said the U.S. would pay $1.7 billion to Iran to settle a failed arms deal dating back to 1979. What wasn’t disclosed then was that the first payment would be $400 million in cash, flown in at the same time. The timing and manner of the payment raised alarms at the Justice Department. “People knew what it was going to look like, and there was concern the Iranians probably did consider it a ransom payment,’’ said a person familiar with the discussions. The disclosures reignited a political furor over the Iran deal in Washington that could complicate White House efforts to fortify it before Mr. Obama’s term ends. Three top Republicans who have been feuding in recent weeks—presidential candidate Donald Trump, Sen. John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan—were united Wednesday in blasting the Obama administration. Senior U.S. officials denied the payment was anything like a ransom. They disputed that there was any link between the payment and the prisoner exchange, saying there was no quid pro quo. White House press secretary Josh Earnest accused Republicans of seizing upon the Journal report to revive their campaign against the landmark nuclear deal, which took effect the same weekend as the prisoner release. The prisoner-swap negotiations were led by the State Department, with help from the CIA and FBI. The cash settlement talks were handled principally by State Department lawyers. All of that work was overseen, and ultimately approved, by the White House. A Justice Department spokesman said the agency “fully supported the ultimate outcome of the administration’s resolution of several issues with Iran,” including the settlement of the long-running case at a tribunal in The Hague, “as well as the return of U.S. citizens detained in Iran.” The Justice Department spokesman declined to comment further on what he termed “internal interagency deliberations.’’ A State Department spokesman declined to comment. [Your employees in Washington.......refuse to tell the American public what happened.] Justice Department officials didn’t object to the $1.7 billion settlement, which they viewed as a bargain given decades of inflation and the circumstances of the original deal, these people said. But their concerns show that even within the Obama administration there were worries that the pallets of cash could send the wrong signal to Iran—and potentially to others—about U.S. policy when it came to hostages. The U.S. has a longstanding policy of not paying ransom to hostage-takers. The issue has long been a difficult one for the Justice Department and the FBI, which was criticized last year for providing intelligence assistance to a U.S. family as it tried to buy the freedom of an American aid worker in Pakistan. As a result, the Obama administration issued new guidance on how to handle international hostage cases. The instructions didn’t represent a policy shift but were largely designed to foster better cooperation and coordination among the federal agencies involved. The Justice Department raised other objections to the Iran deals. Prosecutors were concerned that the U.S. would release too many Iranian convicts and drop too many pending criminal cases against people suspected of violating sanctions laws. They prevailed regarding some of the suspects—those accused or suspected of crimes of terrorism or other violence—but the objections on others were overruled, according to the people familiar with the discussions. The cash transfer and prisoner exchange coincided with the formal implementation that same weekend of the landmark nuclear agreement reached between Tehran, the U.S. and other global powers the summer before.

US-backed Syrian rebels responsible for toxic gas attack in Aleppo RT / August 3, 2016 Syrian fighters from a rebel group considered ‘moderate’ by Washington are responsible for using toxic gas-filled (chlorine) shells that killed seven and injured 23 in Aleppo on Tuesday, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. On August 2, 2016 at 19 hours 05 minutes militants from the Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki group, considered by Washington as ‘moderate opposition’, launched poisonous materials from the Sukkari district towards the eastern part of Aleppo,” the ministry said. The ministry added that the territory is under rebel control and that shells were fired towards “the residential area” of the Salah-Eddin district. Moscow informed Washington of the use of toxic shells on Monday, Lieutenant-General Sergey Chvarkov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, said. On Tuesday evening, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported that Syrian officials said an attack using poisonous gas had occurred in Aleppo. A “terrorist attack” on the Old City of Aleppo with “shells containing toxic gas” led to the deaths of five and suffocation of eight more civilians, said city health director Mohamad Hazouri. Terrorist groups fired rocket shells at the al-Hamadaniyeh neighborhood, injuring six. They also targeted the Salah-Eddin neighborhood, killing two and injuring 11 more. “We’ve taken 12 injured people, six other patients have already died from suffocation. Our doctors were prepared to treat people showing symptoms of gas poisoning. We’ve been expecting terrorists to use weapons of this kind,” said an Aleppo hospital doctor. The gas in question was reportedly chlorine – a highly toxic substance that leads to breathing problems, a loss of consciousness, and illnesses among those exposed to it. The al-Zenki rebel group was in the spotlight in July after two videos appeared online showing its fighters taunting and then cutting off the head of a Palestinian boy. (http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/41827-syria/?page=2) State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said it would look into the case and warned of ‘possible’ consequences for the rebels (http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/41827-syria/?page=3). On Wednesday, Tone said the U.S. is still “looking into that incident.”. “One indeed can ask the United States why it still continues to support this group,” says Belgian journalist Willy Van Damme. He added that despite promises from Washington to look into the case, there has been “no reply” since. In a separate incident, Tuesday media reports suggested that toxic gas had been dispersed in an area in which a Russian helicopter had been shot down, in Syria’s Idlib province. The Kremlin said that it has no information on the issue adding that it’s not always clear what such claims are based on. The UN also said that it can’t confirm these reports, while Washington said that it is investigating the claims.

Terrorist attack in London, 1 dead, 5 wounded Associated Press / August 3, 2016 A 64-year-old American, Darlene Horton, has been killed, and five people wounded (2 other women and 3 men - Australian, Israeli and British), in a mass stabbing in the centre of London. Police have arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of murder. The suspect is a Norwegian national of Somali origin who came to the UK in 2002. The Metropolitan Police say the incident occurred at Russell Square near the British Museum at around 10.30pm on Wednesday night. “Police were called at 22:33 hours on Wednesday 3 August to reports of a man seen in possession of a knife injuring people at Russell Square, WC1,” the Metropolitan Police stated. “Officers attended the scene along with the London Ambulance Service. Up to six people were found injured at the location.” “A female (no further details) was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later. We await an update on the condition of the other persons injured and details of any other injuries.” “A man was arrested at 22:39 hours and a Taser was discharged by one of the arresting officers. Additional police units have been deployed to the area to provide reassurance.” Fears that the knifeman operated with an accomplice were raised in the early hours as the Met refused to rule out further suspects. One witness saw three men fleeing nearby Queen Square shortly after the incident. “One man fled on a motorcycle heading down a pedestrian area,” he said. “He obviously looked in a hurry.” Scotland Yard had earlier on Wednesday announced an extra 600 officers armed officers were being deployed on patrol in London after the recent terror attacks in France and Germany. The incident occurred in the same area where one of the July 7 bombs detonated in 2005. A total of 26 people were murdered when radical Islamist Germaine Lindsay, 19, detonated a suicide bomb on a Piccadilly line subway as it moved between King's Cross station and Russell Square. Retired American teacher Darlene Horton was in London with her husband, Florida State University psychology professor Richard Wagner, where he taught during the summer session when the attack occurred. The couple had planned to return to Florida on Thursday. .

Clint Eastwood defends Trump's 'racist' remarks: 'Just get over it' The Guardian / August 3, 2016 Another Republican luminary has gone public with strong feelings about Donald Trump. Really, really strong feelings. He didn’t pussyfoot like Paul Ryan. He wasn’t a convention no-show, like John Kasich. Hollywood tough guy Clint Eastwood emptied both barrels in an interview with Esquire magazine, aiming squarely … at those who have taken the presidential candidate to task for racism and other, well, rough edges. “He’s said a lot of dumb things,” the actor and director said of the man who has pilloried Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants, women, and the list goes on and on. “So have all of them. Both sides. But everybody – the press and everybody’s going, ‘Oh, well, that’s racist’, and they’re making a big hoodoo out of it”. Eastwood’s advice to America: “Just f*cking get over it. It’s a sad time in history”. This country, he said, is plagued by what he derided as “a pussy generation”, and he wasn’t talking about all those cute videos your mom posts on FaceBook. Trump, the actor fumed, is “onto something, because secretly everybody’s getting tired of political correctness, kissing up. That’s the kiss-ass generation we’re in right now. We’re really in a pussy generation. Everybody’s walking on eggshells. “We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff”, Eastwood continued. “When I grew up, those things weren’t called racist”. He knows a thing or two about racial slurs, as anyone who has watched the movie Gran Torino can attest. In it, he plays Walt Kowalski, a retired auto worker and Korean War veteran who hates the Asian, Latino and black families that move into his changing neighborhood. Before he gets a change of heart and becomes heartwarmingly friendly with an Asian teen who was pushed by gang members to steal his eponymous car, Eastwood/Kowalski lets loose with pretty much any slur you can think of – “chinks”, “zipperheads”, “jabbering gooks”. In a bar scene when he’s surrounded by his old, white guy friends, he lets loose with a joke that sets them all off laughing: “I’ve got one”, he starts, waving his half-full pint glass. “A Mexican, a Jew and a colored guy go into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, ‘get the f*ck out of here’.” Ba dum bum. “And then when I did Gran Torino”, Eastwood told Esquire, “even my associate said, ‘This is a really good script, but it’s politically incorrect’. And I said, ‘Good. Let me read it tonight’. The next morning, I came in and I threw it on his desk and I said, ‘We’re starting this immediately’.” On Trump’s deriding Indiana-born US district judge Gonzalo Curiel for being unfair because of his Mexican heritage, Eastwood was dismissive. “Yeah,” he said, “It’s a dumb thing.” Eastwood has not endorsed his rhetorical soulmate, he said, but given a choice between the billionaire real estate mogul and the former US secretary of state, he’ll vote for Trump in a heartbeat. After all, Hillary Clinton said she’d carry on Obama’s legacy, which is anathema to a man who was once the mayor of an upscale seaside town in California. Besides, he said, Clinton’s is “a tough voice to listen to for four years”. The worst thing about politics today, says the man who describes himself as part of the “anti-pussy generation. Not to be confused with pussy” – is that politicians basically put him to sleep. “They’re boring everybody,” he said. “Chesty Puller, a great Marine general, once said, ‘You can run me, and you can starve me, and you can beat me, and you can kill me, but don’t bore me.’ And that’s exactly what’s happening now: Everybody is boring everybody. It’s boring to listen to all this shit. It’s boring to listen to these candidates.” If he were writing a stump speech today, Eastwood said, it would be, “Knock it off. Knock everything off.” If only.

“We don’t know who these individuals are. Any idea (that) you can do a background check of someone that’s been living in Syria is absolutely ridiculous. These are dangerous times, whether people want to admit it or not. We want to keep the war out of Mississippi, here on the homefront.” Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant "It is irresponsible and severely disconcerting to place individuals, who may have ties to ISIS, in a state without the state's knowledge or involvement." Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal "There is virtually no vetting because there are no databases in Syria, there are no government records. We don't know who these people are." New York Rep. Peter King "It's not that we don't want to -- it's that we can't, because there's no way to background check someone that's coming from Syria." Florida Senator Marco Rubio. "The governor doesn't believe the U.S. should accept additional Syrian refugees because security and safety issues cannot be adequately addressed. The governor is writing to the President to ask him to stop, and to ask him to stop resettling them in Ohio. We are also looking at what additional steps Ohio can take to stop resettlement of these refugees." Ohio Governor John Kasich spokesman Jim Lynch ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- States whose governors oppose refugees (unvetted economic migrants): Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy suspects ISIS is sending thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean Business Insider / August 3, 2016 Italy is investigating whether ISIS is involved in organizing the passage of tens of thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean. The Turkey to Greece migration route has been largely shut down since a repatriation deal was struck between the European Union and Ankara in March, but hundreds of people are arriving in Italy every day, mostly from Libya. Criminal gangs have taken advantage of chaos in Libya to charge mainly sub-Saharan Africans, looking for a better life in Europe [economic migrants], hundreds of dollars to make the voyage. "There is an investigation underway focused on whether ISIS has crucial roles in controlling and managing migrant flows to Italy," Justice Minister Andrea Orlando told a parliamentary committee. He told the hearing on immigration, Europe's border-free Schengen accord and the activity of European police agency Europol that details of the investigation were secret. "The risks we have to take on are high," he said, adding there was also a suspicion the militants were trying to influence where in Italy migrants were eventually placed. The militant group has made money by selling oil from fields it seized in the Middle East and North Africa and from plundering weapons and ammunition. Militant groups have smuggled members into Europe among the migrants, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. More than 257,000 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea this year, it said. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: ISIS Fighters Are Posing as Refugees in Our Camps Associated Press / May 10, 2016 A string of arrests suggest that ISIS recruiters have infiltrated the asylum centers full of desperate migrants. The Bari-Palese CARA Refugee Reception Center in Italy’s southern province of Puglia was built to host 850 refugees. These days, it’s overflowing with 1,389—mostly men from Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who wait behind high walls and spirals of barbed wire for their political-asylum applications to be heard. The refugee center is a hotbed of discontent, and most of the men who stay there would rather be just about anywhere else. In 2013, a Kurdish refugee was killed there in a violent riot that started as a protest against maltreatment. Since then, the camp gates are left open so the refugees and migrants can come and go as they please. Early Tuesday, Italian anti-mafia police (also responsible for anti-terrorism) entered the camp and arrested Hakim Nasiri, a 23-year-old from Afghanistan, on international terrorism charges. He had been granted provisional political asylum on May 5, despite the fact that undercover detectives posing as refugees inside the camp had been trailing his suspicious movements since December. Among the pictures found on his cellphone was one with the mayor of Bari, Antonio Decaro, taken at a rally in support of integrating Italy’s growing immigrant communities. Other photos confiscated by police show Nasiri brandishing semi-automatic weapons in unidentifiable gun shops. At the same time across town, police also arrested Gulistan Ahmadzai, 29, also from Afghanistan, on charges he abetted illegal immigration specifically related to the alleged recruitment of jihadi fighters who he helped bring into Europe as well as a connection to “Islamic fundamentalists associated with attacks in Paris and Belgium.” On his computer, police said they found propaganda material for “jihadi fighters sympathetic to the Islamic State” and instruction manuals for building explosives. According to the arrest warrant, he represented the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, an ISIS splinter group that broke off from the Taliban. Ahmadzai had been given full political asylum in September 2011 and may have helped Nasiri reach Italy. Police said three other men— Ahmadzai Qari Khesta, Ahmadzai Surgul, and Amjad Zulfiqar—are affiliated with the alleged terrorist cell, and are still at large. Italian investigators first discovered the network last December when they stopped four foreigners who were capturing video of a large commercial center in Bari with a cellphone. They sequestered the phone, which they said led them to the rest of the suspects arrested Tuesday. Several of the suspects had apparently taken low-cost flights from Bari to Paris in December 2015. They are also accused of playing an integral role in a human-trafficking ring that facilitates the illegal travel of migrants from southern Italy to Calais, France, and Hungary. Roberto Rossi, Puglia’s anti-mafia district director, said the men in custody had photos and videos on their cellphones of the Coliseum and Circus Maximus in Rome and the tourist cruise ship port and a large shopping center in Bari that were of “no tourist value,” he said. “They were inspections by the cell to carry out attacks.” The men also had a number of photos and videos of hotels, shopping centers, and apartment blocks in suburban London, including the Sunborn Yacht Hotel, which is permanently docked in the East London Royal Docks, as well as the South Quay Foot drawbridge to Canary Wharf and the entrances of the Premier Inn London Stratford and the Ibis Styles London Excel, which are uninspiring moderate-for-London hotels in the area. “This was an organization planning an attack through the preliminary inspection of the locations, including photographic and video documentation,” Rossi said. “They were clearly planning terrorist attacks at airports, ports, law-enforcement buildings, commercial centers, hotels, as well as other unspecified terrorist attacks in Italy and England." Rossi said the men also had images of weapons and “star” Taliban militants as well as audio files of “prayers and proselytization chants relating to the indoctrination of radical Islam.” He said the men also had collected video tributes to apparent relatives and friends who were being held at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, as well as a computer in Ahmadzai’s apartment with radical-Islam recruitment propaganda and manuals for building explosives. Before the arrests, European counterterrorism forces had come under scrutiny by aid agencies for effectively “terrorist-hunting” in refugee camps in Italy and Greece. There has been a fierce debate about whether or not terrorists could come into Italy and Greece through the migrant trails. Nearly 29,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Italy from Libya since the beginning of 2016, compared to more than 155,000 who have arrived in Greece via Turkey, though there have been no Greek arrivals “documented” yet in May, after a contentious agreement that includes sending refugees back to Turkey. Out of fears that terrorists have infiltrated the refugees, Europol said it recently sent some 150 agents into the camps in Italy and Greece to screen suspect refugees who might be sympathetic to ISIS.

Georgia teens executed Associated Press / August 3, 2016 Georgia police have arrested a 20-year-old man for the murders of two teenagers shot execution-style whose bodies were found behind a grocery store. Jeffrey A. Hazelwood, of Roswell, Georgia, has been charged with the murders of Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis, both age 17. The bodies of Henderson and Davis were found behind the Publix store in Roswell near Atlanta, Georgia, by a delivery driver before dawn on Monday. The Fulton County medical examiner's office says the two teenagers died from a single gunshot to the head. Parents of both victims told officers they thought their children were still at home in bed. Roswell police chief Rusty Grant said he could not discuss the motive, but police believe Hazelwood acted alone. Hazelwood was arrested at 5am this morning is being held at the Roswell Detention Center and will be transferred to Fulton County Jail, police said. .

Zachary Chesser of Bristow, Virginia was an acquaintance of Nicholas Young. In 2010, then age 20, Chesser pleaded guilty to providing material support to the group al-Shabab. The muslim convert also told the creators of the television show “South Park” that they risked death for mocking the Prophet Muhammad in an episode. Court papers stated that Chesser tried to join the join the al-Shabab terror group in Somalia in early 2010 and that he posted online propaganda on their behalf. Chesser also took his infant son with him to the airport to make his travel appear more innocuous. Prosecutors also charged him with communicating threats and soliciting crimes of violence. .

DC police officer tried to support ISIS Associated Press / August 3, 2016 A Washington, D.C.-area transit police officer has been charged in an FBI sting with attempting to support ISIS. Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, Virginia, was arrested at the Metropolitan Police Headquarters on Wednesday morning. Young, a 12-year veteran of the transit police force, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The FBI says he is the first law enforcement officer in the United States to be charged with a terror-related crime. Young bought nearly $250 in gift cards he intended for the Islamic State's fighters to use to purchase mobile apps that would facilitate communication. Young believed the informant he was messaging was an acquaintance who was working with the militant group, but he actually gave the gift cards to an undercover FBI source. Young has been under surveillance since 2010. He traveled to Libya twice in 2011, where he said he joined rebel forces seeking to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Young traveled with body armor, a kevlar helmet, and several other military-style items. Officials say Young did not pose any threat to the Metro system in the US capital. He has been with the Metro Transit Police Department since 2003. Young had converted to Islam. Police first interviewed Young in connection with his acquaintance, Zachary Chesser in 2010. A month later, Chesser pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists. Over the next several years, Young had a number of interactions with undercover officers and a cooperating witness regarding his knowledge or interest of terrorist-related activity. In one conversation with an undercover officer in March 2011, Young said that he hated the FBI and was skilled enough to attack the agency. Young said that although firearms are not permitted in Alexandria's federal courthouse, he went on to desscribea way to bring multiple guns inside undetected in order to distribute to others. Young met an FBI source on 20 separate occasions in 2014. The source posed as a U.S. military reservist of Middle Eastern descent who was becoming more religious and eager to leave the U.S. military as a result of having had to fight against Muslims during his deployment to Iraq. Young advised the source on how to evade detection by law enforcement by using specific travel methods and advised the man to watch out for informants and not discuss his plans with others. In the fall of 2014, the source led Young to believe that he had successfully left the United States and had joined ISIS - but in reality, he had no further contact with the source. All further communications between Young and the source's email account were actually between Young and FBI undercover personnel posing as him. In January last year, Young 'proudly' referenced the Charlie Hebdo terror attacks in an email. 'Not sure if you got the news there yet,' he said in a message days after the massacre in Paris. 'A couple brothers... were named in an assault on a french newspaper... Hopefully now people understand there are some lines you don't cross.' In June last year, Young emailed him asking for advice from ISIS commanders on how to send his money overseas. 'Unfortunately I have enough flags on my name that I can't even buy a plane ticket without little alerts ending up in someone's hands, so I imagine banking transactions are automatically monitored and will flag depending on what is going on,' Young wrote. In an interview with the police who responded to a report of domestic violence on June 1, Young revealed he had dressed up as 'Jihadi John' - the ISIS fighter who beheaded numerous people in propaganda videos - for Halloween in 2014. As part of his costume, Young said that he had stuffed an orange jumpsuit with paper to portray a headless hostage, which he carried with him throughout the party. In that interview, Young also revealed that he had dressed up as a Nazi before and collects Nazi memorabilia. He also showed officers a tattoo of a German eagle on his neck. In December last year, the FBI interviewed Young, ostensibly in connection to an investigation into the whereabouts of the source. Young told agents that he had left the United States to go on a vacation tour in Turkey around one year ago, but said that he knew of no one who helped the man cross the Turkish border into Syria. On July 18, Young sent a message intended for the source regarding purchasing of gift cards for mobile messaging accounts which the terror group uses for recruitment purposes. On July 28, Young sent 22 16-digit gift card codes to the undercover FBI agents with a message that said: 'Respond to verify receipt... may not answer depending on when as this device will be destroyed after all are sent to prevent the data being possibly seen on this end in the case of something unfortunate.' Young sent the gift card codes after the informant told him that the group needed help setting up mobile messaging accounts, according to the affidavit, and then promised to cover his tracks: 'Gonna eat the SIM card. Have a good day.' The codes were ultimately redeemed by the FBI for $245. Several meetings Young had with an undercover officer in 2011 included another of Young's acquaintances, Amine El Khalifi, who later pleaded guilty to charges relating to attempting a suicide bombing at the U.S. Capitol Building in 2012. The investigation into Young was initiated by the transit police [not the FBI ?], Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority CEO Paul Wiedefeld said. Young is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, at 2pm on Wednesday. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. .

Ford threw all the latest technology into a pot and stirred. The result is the Ecoboost range. They proved a smaller engine can equate to a larger engine (Though one can expect shorter engine life from the busier smaller engine, a point Ford never comments on). Though the 3.5L Ecoboost V-6 engine, for example, has the power of the 5.0L V-8, they also have the fuel consumption of the V-8 as well, rather than that of a V-6. Performance is better, under certain conditions, thanks of course to turbocharging. But unless you drive an Ecoboost fitted truck as if there were a Faberge egg under the accelerator pedal, you want discover a world of "eco".

For Bosnia and Herzegowina, you can find local Mercedes-Benz after-sales support here. http://www.mercedes-benz.rs/content/serbia/mpc/mpc_serbia_website/rsng/home_mpc/passengercars.html

The Iranians paid a hefty deposit for additional Grumman F-14s. They didn't get them. They wanted the airplanes, or their money back. The U.S. side provided neither. The international tribunal in The Hague ruled that Iran should get their money back. Interestingly, Iran was the F-14's only foreign customer, and they used it, very successfully, as a land-based air force fighter (as opposed to our US Navy). During the Iran-Iraq war, the Iranian F-14s were so successful that Iraq's pilots were finally told to avoid them. Approached by military arms superstore Pentagon Inc., Iran compared the F-14 head-to-head with the F-15. It was no contest......the F-14 was far superior (Everyone knows the US Navy has the best planes and pilots.)

F-35 ready for service, says US Air Force, as Australia and Britain await delivery The Guardian / August 2, 2016 Doubts remain over Pentagon’s biggest ever weapons project after long delays, cost overruns and technical problems The US air force has declared an initial squadron of F-35 fighters jets ready for combat, marking a major milestone for a program dogged by serious cost overruns and delays that have infuriated US lawmakers and governments around the world that are buying the planes. The $379 billion program is the Pentagon’s largest weapons project. The air force’s decision follows one by the US marines in July 2015 declaring a first squadron of the Lockheed Martin planes ready for combat. The air force plans to buy a total of 1,763 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jets in coming years, and to operate the largest F-35 fleet in the world. Lockheed is building three models of the F-35 Lightning II for the US military and 10 countries that have ordered them: Britain, Australia, Norway, Italy, Turkey, Denmark, the Netherlands, Israel, South Korea and Japan. But the program, launched in 2001, has been dogged by huge cost overruns and technical problems that blew out its budget by nearly 70%. Britain slashed its orders and the decision of Australia’s Howard government in 2002 to buy the jet fighter has been heavily criticised as hasty and ill-judged as cost increases, delays and doubts about its capability have mounted up. Problems with the fighter jet have included issues with the radar software and increased risk of neck injury to lower-weight pilots when they ejected from the aircraft. The F-35 was also reportedly out-performed by the ageing F-16 fighter in a mock dogfight. Industry and US defence officials have said they are working hard to continue driving down the cost of the new warplanes to $85 million per plane by 2019, as well as the cost of operating them. “The U.S. Air Force decision to make the 15 F-35As ... combat-ready sends a simple and powerful message to America’s friends and foes alike – the F-35 can do its mission,” said the program’s chief, Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan. But Dan Grazier, a fellow of the US-based Project On Government Oversight, said the declaration of combat readiness was “nothing but a public relations stunt”. He added that it would not be possible to know if the F-35 jets were ready for combat until after initial operational testing. Todd Harrison, a defence analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: “The program is not doing everything they wanted it to do ... But they’re at a point now where it is stabilising and so it is progress.” Air Force General Herbert Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said work to upgrade the jet would continue in areas such as software, making the displays more intuitive and boosting the ability to share information between aircraft. The aircraft could provide basic air support at this point but did not have everything the final version would, Carlisle said, adding that he would try to get the jets deployed to Europe and the Pacific within 18 months. The Pentagon’s F-35 program office said it remained in negotiations with Lockheed over long-delayed contracts for the next two batches of F-35 jets – deals worth about $15bn. “We’re seeking a fair deal for the F-35 enterprise and industry,” said F-35 program spokesman Joe DellaVedova. Senator John McCain, the Republican chairman of the armed services committee, said he welcomed the announcement but made clear he intended to keep a close eye on the hugely expensive program. “The Senate Armed Services Committee will continue to exercise rigorous oversight of the Joint Strike Fighter program’s long-delayed system development and demonstration phase as well as the start of the operational test and evaluation phase,” McCain said.

U.S. Sent Cash to Iran as Americans Were Freed The Wall Street Journal / August 3, 2016 Obama administration insists there was no quid pro quo, but critics charge payment amounted to ransom The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward. Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. The U.S. procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland, they said. The money represented the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement the Obama administration reached with Iran to resolve a decades-old dispute over a failed arms deal signed just before the 1979 fall of Iran’s last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The settlement, which resolved claims before an international tribunal in The Hague, also coincided with the formal implementation that same weekend of the landmark nuclear agreement reached between Tehran, the U.S. and other global powers the summer before. “With the nuclear deal done, prisoners released, the time was right to resolve this dispute as well,” President Barack Obama said at the White House on January 17—without disclosing the $400 million cash payment. Senior U.S. officials denied any link between the payment and the prisoner exchange. They say the way the various strands came together simultaneously was coincidental, not the result of any quid pro quo. “As we’ve made clear, the negotiations over the settlement of an outstanding claim…were completely separate from the discussions about returning our American citizens home,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said. “Not only were the two negotiations separate, they were conducted by different teams on each side, including, in the case of The Hague claims, by technical experts involved in these negotiations for many years.” But U.S. officials also acknowledge that Iranian negotiators on the prisoner exchange said they wanted the cash to show they had gained something tangible. Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas and a fierce foe of the Iran nuclear deal, accused President Barack Obama of paying “a $1.7 billion ransom to the ayatollahs for U.S. hostages.” “This break with longstanding U.S. policy put a price on the head of Americans, and has led Iran to continue its illegal seizures” of Americans, he said. Since the cash shipment, the intelligence arm of the Revolutionary Guard has arrested two more Iranian-Americans. Tehran has also detained dual-nationals from France, Canada and the U.K. in recent months. At the time of the prisoner release, Secretary of State John Kerry and the White House portrayed it as a diplomatic breakthrough. Mr. Kerry cited the importance of “the relationships forged and the diplomatic channels unlocked over the course of the nuclear talks.” Meanwhile, U.S. officials have said they were certain Washington was going to lose the arbitration in The Hague, where Iran was seeking more than $10 billion, and described the settlement as a bargain for taxpayers. Iranian press reports have quoted senior Iranian defense officials describing the cash as a ransom payment. The Iranian foreign ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. The $400 million was paid in foreign currency because any transaction with Iran in U.S. dollars is illegal under U.S. law. Sanctions also complicate Tehran’s access to global banks. “Sometimes the Iranians want cash because it’s so hard for them to access things in the international financial system,” said a senior U.S. official briefed on the January cash delivery. “They know it can take months just to figure out how to wire money from one place to another.” The Obama administration has refused to disclose how it paid any of the $1.7 billion, despite congressional queries, outside of saying that it wasn’t paid in dollars. Lawmakers have expressed concern that the cash would be used by Iran to fund regional allies, including the Assad regime in Syria and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. The U.S. and United Nations believe Tehran is subsidizing the Assad regime’s war in Syria through cash and energy shipments. Iran has acknowledged providing both financial and military aid to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and deploying Iranian soldiers there. But John Brennan, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said last week that there was evidence much of the money Iran has received from sanctions relief was being used for development projects. “The money, the revenue that’s flowing into Iran is being used to support its currency, to provide moneys to the departments and agencies, build up its infrastructure,” Mr. Brennan said at a conference in Aspen, Colo. The U.S. and Iran entered into secret negotiations to secure the release of Americans imprisoned in Iran in November 2014, according to U.S. and European officials. Switzerland’s foreign minister, Didier Burkhalter, offered to host the discussions. The Swiss have represented the U.S.’s diplomatic interests in Iran since Washington closed its embassy in Tehran following the 1979 hostage crisis. Iranian security services arrested two Iranian-Americans during President Obama’s first term. In July 2014, the intelligence arm of Iran’s elite military unit, the Revolutionary Guard, detained the Washington Post’s Tehran bureau chief, Jason Rezaian, and charged him with espionage. A fourth Iranian-American was arrested last year. A former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, disappeared on the Iranian island of Kish in 2007. His whereabouts remain unknown. The Swiss channel initially saw little activity, according to these officials. But momentum shifted after Tehran and world powers forged a final agreement in July 2015 to constrain Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of most international sanctions. A surge of meetings then took place in the Swiss lakeside city of Geneva in November and December. The U.S. delegation was led by a special State Department envoy, Brett McGurk, and included representatives from the CIA and FBI. The Iranian team was largely staffed by members of its domestic spy service, according to U.S. officials. The discussions, held at the InterContinental Hotel, initially focused solely on a formula whereby Iran would swap the Americans detained in Tehran for Iranian nationals held in U.S. jails, U.S. officials said. But around Christmas, the discussions dovetailed with the arbitration in The Hague concerning the old arms deal. The Iranians were demanding the return of $400 million the Shah’s regime deposited into a Pentagon trust fund in 1979 to purchase [Grumman F-14] U.S. fighter jets, U.S. officials said. They also wanted billions of dollars as interest accrued since then. President Obama approved the shipment of the $400 million. But accumulating so much cash presented a logistical and security challenge, said U.S. and European officials. One person briefed on the operation joked: “You can’t just withdraw that much money from ATMs.” Mr. Kerry and the State and Treasury departments sought the cooperation of the Swiss and Dutch governments. Ultimately, the Obama administration transferred the equivalent of $400 million to their central banks. It was then converted into Euros, Swiss francs and other currencies, stacked onto wooden pallets and sent to Iran aboard an unmarked cargo plane. On the morning of Jan. 17, Iran released the four Americans: Three of them boarded a Swiss Air Force jet and flew off to Geneva, with the fourth returning to the U.S. on his own. In return, the U.S. freed seven Iranian citizens and dropped extradition requests for 14 others. U.S. and European officials wouldn’t disclose exactly when the plane carrying the $400 million landed in Iran. But Iranian news said the cash arrived in Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on the same day the Americans departed. Revolutionary Guard commanders boasted at the time that the Americans had succumbed to Iranian pressure. “Taking this much money back was in return for the release of the American spies,” said Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi, commander of the Guard’s Basij militia. Among the Americans currently being held are an energy executive named Siamak Namazi and his 80-year old father, Baqer, according to U.S. and Iranian officials. Iran’s judiciary spokesman last month confirmed Tehran had arrested the third American, believed to be a San Diego resident named Reza “Robin” Shahini. Friends and family of the Namazis believe the Iranians are seeking to increase their leverage to force another prisoner exchange or cash payment in the final six months of the Obama administration. Mr. Kerry and other U.S. officials have been raising their case with Iranian diplomats, U.S. officials say. Iranian officials have demanded in recent weeks the U.S. return $2 billion in Iranian funds that were frozen in New York in 2009. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the money should be given to victims of Iranian-sponsored terror attacks. Members of Congress are seeking to pass legislation preventing the Obama administration from making any further cash payments to Iran. One of the bills requires for the White House to make public the details of its $1.7 billion transfer to Iran. “President Obama’s…payment to Iran in January, which we now know will fund Iran’s military expansion, is an appalling example of executive branch governance,” said Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.), who co-wrote the bill. “Subsidizing Iran’s military is perhaps the worst use of taxpayer dollars ever by an American president.”

Truckstop TV / August 2, 2016 .