{"article":{"id":26162,"heading":"US Trooops in Nepal","author":"Nepal News","created":"2003-01-15 23:04:47","modified":"2003-01-24 05:39:22","last_modified":"Fri, 24 Jan 2003 12:39:22","article":"

US forces in Nepal for joint military exercise

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, Jan 13:A team of the US Pacific Command forces is currently in Nepal as part of a joint military training exercise with the Royal Nepal Army soldiers, which will continue for a month beginning next week. A platoon each from both countries will take part in the exercise.

While this is a \"kind of a routine, annual exercise\" involving the US and the Nepalese soldiers, the exercise has three purposes: to enhance the operational capability of the US Pacific forces; to improve their inter-operability with other forces; and also to increase the tactical efficiency of the host nation, according to Constance Colding Jones, the US Embassy spokesperson in Kathmandu.

Dubbed ‘Joint Combined Exchange Training’, \"the exercise also includes some medical trauma and emergency (drills) that may be needed during natural disasters,\" Jones told The Kathmandu Post. \"The exercise is part of our on-going military exchange programme. It’s a business-as-usual kind of thing.\"

Such an exchange programme, she added, has been going on between the RNA and the US Pacific Command since mid-1990s. The United States has entered into agreements with a total of 25 countries in the Asia Pacific region to conduct such exercises.

The RNA officials, meanwhile, said the US Pacific Command forces comprising of a platoon will partake in the exercise together with a RNA platoon somewhere in central Nepal. \"The exercise will start next week,\" an official told The Kathmandu Post.

The RNA has been involved in similar joint military exercises also with the British Army. Just a few months ago, a joint British Army-RNA combined military exercise for effective disaster management was conducted in Kathmandu Valley.

A few examples of similar exercises forces are, the \"Baker Neptune\", and \"Hold Fast\". While the former was conducted once, about nine years ago, the latter was done thrice all in the mid-1990s.

Widely acclaimed for its expertise in various UN peacekeeping operations, the RNA also participated in a multi-platoon training event with forces from the US, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The event was held at the RNA’s Peacekeeping Training Centre, Kavre-Panchkhal three years ago.

ALSO:

One girl dead, four others injured in cross-fire, other details

An eight-year-old girl died and four others were injured, including three of her sisters, in shoot-out between the armed police and Maoists at Dingla in Bhojpur 150 kms southwest of the capital Monday

afternoon, security sources said Tuesday.

Sabina Khawas died instantly and sisters Sharmila, 19, Pramila, 12, Binita,12, and Lal Bahadur Bika, 56, were injured at home in the cross-fire, the same source said. The injured have been airlifted for

treatment at Dharan. Sabina died immediately of chest injuries.

A platoon each from the US Army and the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) will conduct a routine month long joint military exercise mostly in central Nepal beginning next week to enhance capabilities of the two armies, a spokesman of the RNA said.

The exercise includes handling emergencies during natural disasters. nepalnews.com br Jan.14<\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"nepalnews.com","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"A team of the US Pacific Command forces is currently in Nepal as part of a joint military training exercise with the Royal Nepal Army soldiers, which will continue for a month beginning next week.","numcomment":12,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2003\/01\/26162.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":26174,"heading":"Nepalese to thank USA for latest "aid"?","article":"Thanks but no thanks. Just ask the Afghani civilians how well the USA sent them tons of "aid" last year via USAF B-52s! Especially Warlord Don's carpet-bombing donations of Depleted Uranium.","author":"DLi","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-16 00:05:34","modified":"2003-01-16 00:05:34","fileurl":""},{"id":26183,"heading":"Simple","article":"You're a damn liar, DLI. DU is not used in bombs. Get your facts straight.","author":"Simple Simon","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-16 01:15:24","modified":"2003-01-16 01:15:24","fileurl":""},{"id":26202,"heading":"To Simple S:","article":"Speaking of simpletons, are you saying the more than 300 tons of DU in Iraq got there by "natural causes," rather than gifted by the murderous USAF? And you deny that the U.S. Dept. of War has used DU weapons in Afghanistan? Get your facts first before you speak with ignorance, Simple S... ","author":"DLi","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-16 03:37:14","modified":"2003-01-16 03:37:14","fileurl":""},{"id":26214,"heading":".","article":"can 'Simple Simon' afford to face facts<\/a>?\r\n\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\na<\/a>n<\/a>t<\/a>i<\/a>c<\/a>r<\/a>i<\/a>s<\/a>i<\/a>s<\/a>\r\n","author":"lynx-11","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-16 05:47:45","modified":"2003-01-18 02:58:59","fileurl":""},{"id":26220,"heading":"Simple","article":"DLI and Link, go soak your collective ignorant heads. DU is not used in bombs. It is used in large-caliber bullets and in the APFSDS-T tank round. Nowhere else. No bombs.\r\n\r\nAnd Link, why don't you conclusively prove that the poor wretch in your picture is the result of DU poisoning. Birth defects are common the world over. There are hundreds if not thousands of possible reasons for why that child was born that way.","author":"Simple Simon","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-16 06:56:38","modified":"2003-01-16 06:56:38","fileurl":""},{"id":26624,"heading":"thanks, 'DLi'.....","article":"technically.....\r\n\r\n25 and 30 mm shells, bunker busting bombs and missiles [GBU-28, 15,24,27,31 and 37, AGM-130C].....\r\n\r\nThe widely-used Lockheed Martin GBU-28 5,000 lb. 'bunker-buster' bomb with a BLU-109 penetrator head carried only by the Air Force's F-15E's and B-2s, contains 1.5 metric tons of depleted uranium, compared to only five kilograms in the 120 mm shell. According to the GBU-28 Bunker Buster animation on USA Today the warhead is \"classified\".....\r\n\r\ntomahawk, etc<\/a>...\r\n\r\nanother face<\/a>?\r\n\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\na<\/a>n<\/a>t<\/a>i<\/a>c<\/a>r<\/a>i<\/a>s<\/a>i<\/a>s<\/a>\r\n","author":"lynx-11","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-18 23:16:51","modified":"2003-01-18 23:32:40","fileurl":""},{"id":26630,"heading":"Simple","article":"First of all Link, let\u2019s start with this:\r\n\r\nYou left out Professor Mark W. Herold\u2019s title, which will no doubt shed light on his expertise in this arena:\r\n\r\nMark W. Herold\r\nDepartments of Economics and Women's Studies\r\nWhittemore School of Business & Economics\r\nUniversity of New Hampshire\r\n\r\nYep, Economics and Women\u2019s Studies. Regular Jane\u2019s Defense Weekly man. Knows more about munitions than anybody. Says so in his article. Which is meticulously footnoted. But what about those footnotes? The footnotes pertinent to GBU 28 and GBU 37 are numbers 6 through 10. Let\u2019s review them, shall we?\r\n\r\n6. See\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/graphics\/news\/gra\/gbuster\/frame.htm\r\n\r\nNo Mention of DU. Curious.\r\n\r\n7. "PGU-14\/B API Armor Piercing Incendiary 30 mm Ammunition," at FAS site http:\/\/www.fas.org\/man\/dod-101\/sys\/land\/pgu-14.htm\r\n\r\nHas nothing to do with to the subject. Refers to 30 mm Ammunition, not bombs. Curiouser still.\r\n\r\n8. Vernon Loeb, "Concrete-Piercing Bombs Hammer Caves," Washington Post [December 13, 2001]\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.globalsecurity.org\/org\/news\/2001\/011213-attack02.htm\r\n\r\nAbove is the article. No mention of DU. My, even more curious.\r\n\r\n9. "US Deploying Chemical, Biological Weapons: Taliban," Agence France-Presse [October 22, 2001 at 14:39 IST]\r\n \r\n10. Sayed Salahuddin, "Taliban Claim U.S Using Chemical Weapons," Reuters [October 29, 2001]\r\n\r\nThese last two articles concern the claims of the Taliban that the United States was using chemical and biological weapons. Besides the obvious point that the Taliban\u2019s pronouncements should be taken with a grain of salt, DU is a RADIOLOGICAL weapon. Not a chemical or biological one.\r\n\r\nHere is a link to a site which describes the GBU 28 and GBU 37 bombs. Enjoy\r\nhttp:\/\/www.invisible-defenders.org\/programs\/b2\/01WAR\/bunker_buster.htm\r\n\r\nSo, link, we\u2019ve got an economics and women\u2019s studies professor who claims to know that a bomb is made of DU, yet his footnotes don\u2019t say ONE FREAKING WORD about DU. Golly, that\u2019s embarrassing.\r\n\r\nBullets and the APFSDS-T round only, my dear.\r\n","author":"Simple Simon","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-18 23:53:27","modified":"2013-11-10 23:48:07","fileurl":""},{"id":26638,"heading":"DU Rounds & munitions","article":"http:\/\/www.miltoxproj.org\/DU\/DU_Titlepage\/DU_Titlepage.htm\r\n\r\n\r\nDOD Munitions containing DU at Seneca Army Depot and other areas\r\n7.62 mm\r\n.50 caliber\r\n20mm MK149 70 grams - .15lbs.\r\n25mm PGU-20 148 grams - .32lbs.\r\n25mm M919 97 grams - .21lbs.\r\n30mm PGU-14 298 grams - .66lbs.\r\n105mm M774 3364 grams - 7.41lbs.\r\n105mm M833 3668 grams - 8.08lbs\r\n120mm\r\n155mm Special Artillery\r\nVarious missile components\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.ngwrc.org\/Dulink\/du_link.htm\r\n\r\nKinetic Energy Tungsten Core (KE-T) Round\r\nThe KE-T round features armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot tracer capabilities with a tungsten penetrator.\r\n\r\nM829 APFSDS-T Round\r\nThe M829 is an armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot tracer round. (NSN 1315-01-226-7418-C786)\r\n\r\nM830 HEAT-MP-T Round\r\nThis multipurpose round employs a shaped charge warhead to defeat targets. (NSN 1315-01-232-4638-C787)\r\n\r\nM831A1 TP-T\r\nTraining round used to simulate the M830 tactical round. (NSN 1315-01-369-6612-C784)\r\n\r\nM865 TP-T\r\nTraining round used to simulate the M829 tactical round. (NSN 1315-01-288-5545-C785)\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.atk.com\/defense\/descriptions\/products\/120mm-tank-ammo.htm\r\n\r\nGAU-8\/A Ammunition\r\nCurrently in use with the 30mm Gatling gun on the U.S. Air Force A-10 close-support aircraft and Goalkeeper\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.atk.com\/defense\/descriptions\/products\/medium-cal-ammo\/gau-8.htm\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.iacenter.org\/depleted\/du.htm\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.gulflink.osd.mil\/faq_17apr.htm\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.tv.cbc.ca\/national\/pgminfo\/du\/\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/web.ead.anl.gov\/uranium\/\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.antenna.nl\/wise\/uranium\/dfac.html#AMMFAB\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.cadu.org.uk\/whatisdu.htm\r\n\r\n","author":"Marc","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-19 00:41:07","modified":"2003-01-19 00:41:07","fileurl":""},{"id":26640,"heading":".","article":"more technical details.....\r\n\r\nDEPLETED URANIUM IN BUNKER BOMBS<\/a>\r\n\r\n\"US Patents confirm Uranium warheads<\/a>\"\r\n\r\n\"Uranium weapons in 2001-2003<\/a>\"\r\n\r\npitifully non-updated page: \r\n\r\n\"....DOD Munitions containing DU at Seneca Army Depot and other areas..... Various missile components<\/a>....\" (search for word: 'components' on this page)\r\n\r\nbetter updated<\/a>\r\n\r\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nmore than technical detail<\/a>\r\n\r\n-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\na<\/a>n<\/a>t<\/a>i<\/a>c<\/a>r<\/a>i<\/a>s<\/a>i<\/a>s<\/a>\r\n\r\n","author":"lynx-11","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-19 01:04:47","modified":"2003-01-19 01:13:52","fileurl":""},{"id":26748,"heading":"Simple","article":"Marc, you\u2019re gonna have to read some of what you post before posting it. It would help if you read the posts above, too.\r\n\r\nHere\u2019s your list. What did I say above? Bullets and APFSDS-T tank round only. OK, here we go:\r\n\r\nDOD Munitions containing DU at Seneca Army Depot and other areas \r\n7.62 mm \t(BULLET)\r\n.50 caliber \t(BULLET)\r\n20mm MK149 70 grams - .15lbs. (BIG BULLET)\r\n25mm PGU-20 148 grams - .32lbs. (EVEN BIGGER BULLET)\r\n25mm M919 97 grams - .21lbs. (JUST A BIG OLE BULLET)\r\n30mm PGU-14 298 grams - .66lbs. (MY, THAT\u2019S A BIG BULLET)\r\n105mm M774 3364 grams - 7.41lbs. (APFSDS-T TANK ROUND)\r\n105mm M833 3668 grams - 8.08lbs (APFSDS-T TANK ROUND (IMPROVED)\r\n120mm APFSDS-T TANK ROUND (FOR 120mm SMOOTHBORE ON M1A1\/2\/3 TANK)\r\n155mm Special Artillery (SUBMUNITION ROUND- LOTS OF BULLETS)\r\nVarious missile components (UNKNOWN)\r\n\r\nNow, to continue, Marc, why did you list the following?\r\n\r\nKinetic Energy Tungsten Core (KE-T) Round \r\nThe KE-T round features armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot tracer capabilities with a tungsten penetrator. \r\nM829 APFSDS-T Round \r\nThe M829 is an armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot tracer round. (NSN 1315-01-226-7418-C786) \r\nM830 HEAT-MP-T Round \r\nThis multipurpose round employs a shaped charge warhead to defeat targets. (NSN 1315-01-232-4638-C787) \r\nM831A1 TP-T \r\nTraining round used to simulate the M830 tactical round. (NSN 1315-01-369-6612-C784) \r\nM865 TP-T \r\nTraining round used to simulate the M829 tactical round. (NSN 1315-01-288-5545-C785) \r\nGAU-8\/A Ammunition \r\nCurrently in use with the 30mm Gatling gun on the U.S. Air Force A-10 close-support aircraft and Goalkeeper \r\n\r\nThe KE-T round uses a steel penetrator, no DU. While it is an APFSDS-T, it is not the DU one.\r\nThe M829 or \u2018Silver Bullet\u2019 is the APFSDS-T round I\u2019ve been talking about.\r\nThe M830 is a High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) round, which uses a shaped chemical charge to defeat armor (it goes \u2018boom\u2019). No DU.\r\nThe M831A1 and M865 are TRAINING rounds. They are smaller and lighter than real rounds, colored blue, and have no DU. The M831A1 is a HEAT simulated round, so even if it was live, it wouldn\u2019t have any DU.\r\nThe GAU-8 is a 30mm gatling gun used on the A-10. It shoots bullets.\r\nLink, you\u2019ve got me. An environmentalist site and a Leftist French newspaper say it\u2019s so, so it must be. So far how many of your \u2018sources\u2019 have I successfully discredited? 2? 3? 4? You going for a dozen?\r\nNow, in all fairness, the Seneca site does admit that some missile components are made of DU. Tell me, is a bomb a missile?\r\n\r\nOh, and it's hilarious to see someone like yourself suddenly concerned about the fate of the unborn.\r\n","author":"Simple Simon","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-19 23:46:31","modified":"2013-11-10 23:48:07","fileurl":""},{"id":27051,"heading":"..","article":""Now, in all fairness, the Seneca site does admit that some missile components are made of DU<\/a>....." \r\n\r\n -- 'Simple Simon'\r\n\r\n","author":"baby","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2003-01-24 00:30:26","modified":"2005-08-15 01:08:07","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2003\/01\/now__in_all_fairness__the_seneca_site_does_admit_that_some_missile_components_are_made_of_du.....","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2003\/01\/now__in_all_fairness__the_seneca_site_does_admit_that_some_missile_components_are_made_of_du....."}},{"id":27107,"heading":"Simple","article":"Change your name all you want, you'll always be my little anonymous volunteer. Lovely picture. Someone you know? Let me guess: She picked up a handful of DU and rubbed it in her eyes and that's how she got that way. That DU crap is everywhere. Can't get those kids to stop playing with it.\r\n\r\nOr, looking at the remarkably good condition of the rest of the child, one might surmise that this picture is bogus, much like most of AV\/Link\/Baby's sources.","author":"Simple Simon","parent_id":26162,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-01-24 05:39:22","modified":"2003-01-24 05:39:22","fileurl":""}]}