Yemeni general emphasizes the importance of connecting with the public In essence, the pen is the weapon of choice for Yemeni Brig. Gen. Ali Ghaleb Ali al-Harazi. As deputy director of the Moral Guidance Department, the media arm of Yemen’s Defense Ministry, al-Harazi has spent the bulk of his career in public affairs, which he describes as a vital role for any military. “In order for any Army to be victorious in battle, it must be closely linked with its people, because the people are the main source from which the Army obtains its strength and power,” al-Harazi told Unipath.…
Unipath
The Coalition Coordination Center strengthens international military relationships LT. COL. LINNAEUS CLINTON DE ZILVA, SENIOR NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, SINGAPORE ARMED FORCES U.S. Central Command’s Coalition Coordination Center (CCC) is a melting pot of some of the world’s best military minds, all working together to solve shared security challenges and achieve joint goals. Since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, the responsibility to integrate the coalition with U.S. forces has rested with the CCC. Located at command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, the center was created after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Construction began September 21, 2001,…
Multinational efforts can help counter threats LT. COL. KHALID ALNAEMI/QATAR DELEGATION OFFICE TO U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND Failing and failed states provide a serious danger to international security as well as to the welfare of their citizens. On the international level, they have the potential of becoming safe grounds for terrorist organizations, creating a base for criminal activities such as drug, arms and human trafficking. On a regional level, they can destabilize neighboring countries. Domestically, these states cannot provide essential and basic services for their populations, which generates insecurity and poverty. These consequences of failed states have fueled concerns in the…
Law enforcement programs increase information sharing and strengthen border crossings UNIPATH STAFF Central Asia is awash in heroin and raw opium smuggled from Afghanistan. The numbers are staggering: Traffickers moved 90 tons of heroin and nearly 40 tons of raw opium through Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in 2010. But country by country and city by city, authorities are working to address the problem. The Uzbek National Center for Drug Control says that in the first half of 2011 law enforcement agencies seized 2,457 kilograms (5,417 pounds) of illicit drugs, a 21 percent increase over the same…
Eagle Resolve 2013 Joins Militaries to Counter Security Threats With confidence and stealth, the special operations forces quietly moved into position. Their mission: Retake an airport control tower from terrorists who were holding civilians hostage, demanding money, political prisoners and a getaway plane in exchange for the captives. The terrorists thought they had the upper hand. But the multinational team of highly trained warriors had developed a plan to stop them. The team stormed the tower from multiple locations, then conducted a systematic search that quickly captured the five terrorists without injuring any civilians. Hailing from Jordan, Kuwait, the United…
Jordanian border guards endure not just a wave of Syrian refugees but a surge in arms and narcotics trafficking Two white flatbed trucks appear on the horizon, bounding over a dirt road through a wheat field that marks Syria and Jordan’s international boundary. At an outpost on a nearby knoll, two helmeted Jordanian border guards, rifles at the ready, squint at the new arrivals through the glare of the setting sun. Like many sections of the 378-kilometer border between Jordan and Syria, this stretch of frontier is a haunt for drug trafficckers, weapons smugglers and political and religious extremists eager…
PAKISTANI BRIG. GEN. ZAHID JAMIL AHMAD Pakistan’s commitment to promoting international peace and prosperity stems from the vision of its Founding Father, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who said, in February 1948: “Our foreign policy is one of friendliness and goodwill towards all the nations of the world. We believe in the principle of honesty and fair play in national and international dealings and are prepared to make our utmost contribution to the promotion of peace and prosperity among the nations of the world. Pakistan will never be found lacking in extending its material and moral support to the oppressed and…
Cooperative mil-to-mil engagements lay the foundation for diplomatic and political initiatives Heat waves shimmered off the tarmac as it baked under a relentless sun. Palm trees swayed in a blast of hot wind. Suddenly a squadron of United Arab Emirates F-16 Desert Falcons screamed into the air, assembling into a strike force tasked with destroying an enemy munitions depot. As the Falcons headed to their target, relentless enemy aircraft dogged them. But the Emirati pilots managed to evade, and even destroy, one of the aggressors. They completed their mission and returned to the base in triumph, where they received a…
The region shares a common interest in expanding trade and marginalizing violent extremism Unipath Staff With a throaty whistle and flash of fresh blue paint, a diesel locomotive tugging a train of box and tanker cars rolls through a railway station in northern Afghanistan’s Balkh province. The 75-kilometer stretch of track from the Uzbek border to Mazar-e Sharif that opened in 2012, the first international railway in the nation’s history, could be the start of a transportation revolution that helps solidify Afghanistan as a trade and communications hub. “This connects Afghanistan to the world,” an 18-year-old high school student named…
Nations Unite for Mine Countermeasures Exercise UNIPATH STAFF Hidden beneath the surface of the sea, thousands of deadly mines wait for their targets, threatening global commerce and the lives of mariners. Neutralizing these water-borne threats is no easy feat, but nations have recognized the need for a cooperative approach to keeping the seas safe. Military officials and maritime experts from more than 40 countries gathered May 6 to 30 for the International Mine Countermeasures Exercise 2013 (IMCMEX), an event that drew countries such as Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. This was the largest anti-mine exercise in the region, bringing together…