NEWS

1. China accuses US Navy of breaking the law
China has escalated a spat with America, accusing an unarmed US Navy surveillance ship of illegally monitoring the Chinese coast.
By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai 10 Mar 2009 The Daily Telegraph (London)
http://www.investigativeproject.org/ext/2887

1. Obama Ponders Outreach to Elements of Taliban
By HELENE COOPER and SHERYL GAY STOLBERG March 8, 2009 New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/us/politics/08obama.html?

The Navy says it won't know until late summer "the full extent of repairs" required to fix the ASDS (Advanced SEAL Delivery System) minisub damaged by fire Nov. 9 at Pearl Harbor.

A sports website came up with a list of the ’10 competitions you have to be crazy to enter’. These races are some of the most grueling – maybe even torturous!

March 9, 2009: The U.S. Army Special Forces and the CIA are trying to get Congress to allow the two organizations to officially merge some of their operations, and share personnel. This is a process that started both during World War II, and a decade ago.

The U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq will create a shortage of helicopters and logistics support that high-level officials worry will hamper the elite U.S. troops who stay behind to train Iraqi forces and to combat terrorist networks, according to experts studying the problem.

1. FACTBOX: Ups and downs in U.S.-Iranian relations
Thu Mar 5, 2009 3:28pm EST Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE5245OI20090305

March 4, 2009: For the second time in three years, the U.S. Navy has had to discipline sailors who maintain nuclear power plants. Back in 2007, several members of the nuclear power department on a nuclear submarine were disciplined for not maintaining logs properly.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russia has been re-establishing much of its lost Soviet-era strength. This has given rise to the possibility — and even the probability — that Russia again will become a potent adversary of the Western world.

Last week, my husband, Brendan, and I had the opportunity to go to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. We were there for a promotion ceremony of a friend of ours. The wife and I are very close friends and it was wonderful to see recognition given to a family that has given a lifetime of service.