First, shedding pretense, via The Hill:
Obama readies war powers pitch
The White House is poised to send a formal request to Congress asking for a new authorization to use military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The request, expected within the next week, would come days after ISIS released a video showing a caged Jordanian pilot being burned alive — a further display of the group’s brutality that one Republican lawmaker described Wednesday as a “game-changer.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said he would be “disappointed” if President Obama did not make the request very soon.
From Deutsche Welle and worthy of note:
9/11 conspirator acuses Saudi royals of aiding al Qaeda
Al Qaeda operative Zacarias Moussaoui has told lawyers for terror victims that members of the Saudi royal family donated millions to the terrorist network. He is serving a life sentence for his role in the 9/11 attacks.
French citizen Zacarias Moussaoui , dubbed the 20th hijacker, is the only al Qaeda member ever convicted for plotting the deadliest terror strikes in American history.
According to the lawyers for the families of the 9/11 victims, his testimony is a part of new evidence that agents of Saudi Arabia “knowingly and directly” helped the hijackers who carried out the attack.
Some families of 9/11 victims are currently waging a legal battle to prove that Saudi Arabia supported and funded al Qaeda. In papers filed in the Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, their legal representatives wrote that an “expansive volume” of previously unavailable US and foreign intelligence reports, congressional testimony, government reports and other information supports the claim.
Moussaoui’s testimony was filed in opposition to the newest bid by Saudi Arabia to dismiss the lawsuits.
A question posed by the Independent:
War with Isis: If the Saudis aren’t fuelling the militant inferno, who is?
Saudi Arabia is a Wahhabist state whose 18th-century puritan morality defined the Taliban – which received moral and financial support from Saudis – and whose misogyny and grotesque public beheadings after unfair trials parallel the cruelty of Isis punishments. The Saudis always declare their innocence – sometimes through their lawyers – of any involvement in “terrorism”. But bin Laden was himself a Saudi, who in the 1990s did have a personal meeting with Prince Turki in Pakistan. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers of 9/11 were Saudi citizens. And within months of the US attacks, a classified Pentagon briefing was told by an analyst for the Rand Corporation – set up in 1945 with the help of the US military – that Saudi Arabia was the “kernel of evil” in the Middle East and was “active at every level of the terrorist chain”.
Deciding who is funding Isis – and who should take the heat for its survival – depends upon the degree to which the world believes that the “Islamic State” is self-financing. Western governments have detailed the production of oil wells in Isis territory and the vast amounts of cash supposedly stolen from Mosul banks after Isis took over, but smuggling fuel and ransacking vaults can hardly sustain an Islamist “nation” which controls an area larger than the UK.
Millions of dollars must be arriving in Isis hands from outside Iraq and Syria, and the question must be asked: if it doesn’t come from within Saudi Arabia – or Qatar – who on earth is providing the wherewithal? Iceland? Peru?
From Reuters, realpolitik:
Suppression of Islamic State more realistic than elimination: UK lawmakers
Containing Islamic State may be a more realistic strategy than defeating it, a committee of British lawmakers said, calling on Britain to play a greater role in the fight against the militants in Iraq and Syria.
Britain has so far taken part in U.S.-led air strikes against the Islamist group in Iraq, but not Syria. It has also provided some equipment and training for Kurdish forces.
Parliament’s defense committee said in a report released on Thursday that these actions were “strikingly modest”, with on average less than one air strike a day, and said it was “surprised and deeply concerned” Britain was not doing more.
And from the McClatchy Washington Bureau, the other battlefront:
2016 election campaign will debate U.S. troops to stop Islamic State
The horrifying murder of a Jordanian pilot, made public this week, suggests that U.S. efforts to stop the Islamic State extremist group are ineffective, making it more likely that the 2016 election campaign will become a debate about ground troops.
President Barack Obama has launched waves of airstrikes at Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria, but he steadfastly rules out sending ground troops into combat.
At least six potential Republican presidential candidates won’t dismiss that option. Others, though, hedge when asked how they’d proceed beyond criticizing Obama’s airstrikes-only strategy as ineffective.
From RT, fanning flames:
ISIS vows attacks on France, calls Muslims to join new ‘caliphate’
The Islamic State has reportedly threatened France with more attacks and called for French Muslims to join the new “caliphate.” A new video by the group has emerged online, nearly a month after the deadly attacks in Paris.
The video, reportedly seen by AFP, shows a masked individual surrounded by armed fighters calling on French Muslims to take up the cause for the creation of an “Islamic caliphate,” which has taken root in parts of Iraq and Syria.
The group is also demanding that the French government release suspected jihadists that were detained for participating in the fighting in the Middle East.
The Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants have also urged attacks on police and military targets, as well as individuals who participated in a Parisian movement last month to express outrage over the slaying of 12 people at the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7th. Last month, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the massacre, which claimed the lives of 11 people, including the magazine’s top editors.
From NHK WORLD, [one of several Japanese moves, with the rest after the jump]:
Japan to increase assistance for Middle East
Japan plans to increase spending on humanitarian assistance to the Middle East in its effort to help refugees and people displaced by Islamic State militants.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe already promised financial assistance of 200 million dollars during his tour of the Middle East last month.
Speaking at a plenary session of the Diet on Wednesday, Prime Minister Abe said his government intends to increase humanitarian assistance for the Middle East in cooperation with the rest of the international community.
He also said his government is resolved to fulfil its responsibility in the fight against terrorism.
From the New York Times, oh fercrissakes!:
Ashton Carter, Defense Nominee, Says He Would Consider More Military Aid to Ukraine
Ashton B. Carter, President Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense, told senators on Wednesday that he would consider increased American military assistance to Ukraine, including the sale of lethal arms, as part of the country’s effort to fight Russian-backed separatists in the east.
Mr. Carter’s comments, which came as he cruised through a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, echoed those of senior administration officials, who in recent weeks have indicated that the White House is rethinking its opposition to arming Ukraine in what is turning into a proxy war with Russia.
Thus far, the United States has not provided the type of lethal aid that Ukraine has asked for, out of fear of further inflaming the situation.
And in opposition, via MintPress News, the Oddest Couple:
Chomsky And Kissinger Agree: Avoid Historic Tragedy In Ukraine
It would usually be difficult to find more polar opposite views to U.S. foreign policy, but when it comes to Ukraine, the anti-war intellectual and the former U.S. Secretary of State have more in common than either might like to admit.
The slippery slope of U.S. involvement in what is developing into a civil war is based on a great deal of propagandistic statements and inaccurate corporate media coverage, and it calls to mind so many wars started for false reasons.
The views of Henry Kissinger and Noam Chomsky on this conflict are quite similar, though it’s difficult to find two more polar opposites regarding U.S. foreign policy. Indeed, Chomsky has been a long-time critic of Kissinger for the bombings in Southeast Asia and the various coups against democratic leaders that occurred during his tenure. Chomsky has said that in a just world, Kissinger certainly would have been prosecuted for these actions. (These were the war crimes that CODEPINK recently protested before the Senate Finance Committee.)
Yet when it comes to Ukraine, Chomsky and Kissinger essentially agree with each other. They disagree with the more hawkish Obama administration and the even more extreme Sen. John McCain — who are both escalating the conflict in their own ways.
After the jump, millions scarewared through Google aps while Google boasts of anti-malware successes, Sony sets a hacking price tag, a new wave of hacking hits iPhones, a Japanese false flag hacker sentenced to prison, Western cyberspooks’ hacking schizophrenia, a question of window dressing?, Canadian Liberals endorse the Patriot Act of the North, the no-longer-unwarranted British press, on to the battle front with a call for foreign troops for the ISIS fray, the ritual slaughter of children turned into popular spectacle, and a vehement response to the most recent high profile media spectacular, caution from Washington, an Austrian xenophobe stand down, Chad claims a Boko Haram body count and Boko Haram’s bloody blowback, China orders troops to be highly espianoid, and Beijing announces an online parody ban, the Philippines claim Chinese harassment, on to Japan as the empowered security state marches on, Shinzo Abe announces constitutional “reform” referendum, and Abe mulls a major maritime move. . .
From Network World, Google this!:
Scareware found hidden in Google Play apps downloaded by millions
Google has done a good job at keeping data-stealing Trojan apps out of Google Play, but attackers still find ways to monetize rogue apps through the store.
Avast Software researchers recently found three apps on Google Play with hidden adware functionality that was designed to activate days after the apps were installed. The rogue applications—a game called Durak, an IQ test and a history app—had been downloaded millions of times.
When people first install Durak, it looks and acts like a normal gaming app, Avast researcher Filip Chytry said in a blog post Tuesday. “This impression remains until you reboot your device and wait for a couple of days. After a week, you might start to feel there is something wrong with your device.”
While Google boasts of anti-malware successes, via TechWeekEurope:
Google – We Blocked 524 MILLION Bad Ads Last Year
Search giant also banned 214,000 advertisers and removed 250,000 sites in fight against malware
Google has revealed it blocked more malicious adverts than ever before during 2014, as the company’s fight against malware reached a whole new level.
The company said it blocked over 524 million ‘bad ads’ and removed 250,000 sites for spreading malware last year, a 50 percent increase on 2013 and its highest level ever.
It also blocked 214,000 advertisers in what proved to be a record-breaking year all round for fighting malware.
Sony sets a hacking price tag, via the Associated Press:
Sony says studio hack cost $15M, trims loss forecast
Sony Corp. trimmed its forecast of losses and estimates the Sony Pictures hack cost it about $15 million, but expects no significant harm from the cyberattack in the long run.
Sony also issued new earnings forecasts for the fiscal year ending in March and said it was benefiting from strong sales of the PlayStation 4, other devices and network services.
The hack became public in December when the Hollywood studio’s computers were crippled and sensitive documents were posted online.
“We don’t expect leaks of unreleased films online or damage to our IT systems will cause a significant loss,” Kazuhiko Takeda, vice president of Sony’s corporate planning department, told reporters. “We had insurance against cyberattacks and will be able to recover a significant portion of the costs.”
A new wave of hacking hits iPhones, via Network World:
New spyware targets iOS devices, steals pictures and data
A team of hackers that target governments, the military and journalists has turned its attention to the iPhone, according to Trend Micro.
The computer security company says it has discovered new spyware that infects iPhones, gathers large amounts of personal information and sends it to a remote server.
The spyware, called XAgent, is delivered via a phishing attack using a technique called island hopping. In that, the phones of friends and associates of the true target are first infected and then used to pass on the spyware link. It’s based on the assumption that the target is more likely to click on links from people they know than from strangers.
A Japanese false flag hacker sentenced to prison, via the Japan Times:
Hacker who framed computer users with cyberthreats jailed for eight years
The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday handed down an eight-year prison term to a hacker who hijacked computers and used them to send malicious threats, leading to the erroneous arrest of the devices’ unsuspecting owners.
The case, which dates back to 2012, raised questions about policing practices after four people were wrongfully arrested in connection with the cyberthreats.
Two of those arrested even gave false confessions for issuing the messages, which included bomb threats and a vow to go on a mass-killing spree.
From the Intercept, Western cyberspooks’ hacking schizophrenia:
Western Spy Agencies Secretly Rely on Hackers for Intel and Expertise
The U.S., U.K. and Canadian governments characterize hackers as a criminal menace, warn of the threats they allegedly pose to critical infrastructure, and aggressively prosecute them, but they are also secretly exploiting their information and expertise, according to top secret documents.
In some cases, the surveillance agencies are obtaining the content of emails by monitoring hackers as they breach email accounts, often without notifying the hacking victims of these breaches. “Hackers are stealing the emails of some of our targets… by collecting the hackers’ ‘take,’ we . . . get access to the emails themselves,” reads one top secret 2010 National Security Agency document.
These and other revelations about the intelligence agencies’ reliance on hackers are contained in documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The documents—which come from the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters agency and NSA—shed new light on the various means used by intelligence agencies to exploit hackers’ successes and learn from their skills, while also raising questions about whether governments have overstated the threat posed by some hackers.
From the Atlantic Monthly, a question of window dressing? Or not?:
The NSA’s Director of Civil Liberties Renounces Secret Law
Rebecca Richards says that “cute” legal interpretations hurt the surveillance agency’s legitimacy with the public
Here is how its director of privacy and civil liberties answered. An important lesson that “we’re really taking to heart” is “no secret legal interpretations,” she said. This next part is a bit muddled but worth quoting directly: “If the law on it’s face does not—if you have to go through too many contorted legal [inaudible], I mean what is legal? That’s where we need to, not have perhaps cute legal interpretations.”
(In passing, she mentioned the phone dragnet program, which is ostensibly authorized by Section 215 of the Patriot Act, though an author and prominent champion of the legislation insists that the Obama Administration’s secret interpretation of the law twists its meaning to be contrary to Congressional intent.)
It’s heartening to see at least one NSA official acknowledging that agencies should not “contort” the law with “cute” legal interpretations, though her interviewer didn’t agree. “Isn’t the problem there, you say I’m not going to have cute or aggressive legal interpretations,” he replied, “but if you want to explain to people what your new interpretation is you kinda have to put it in a context of facts, and context of facts gives a lot away about how your program actually works.”
Canadian Liberals endorse the Patriot Act of the North, via CBC News:
Anti-terrorism bill to be supported by Liberals, Justin Trudeau says
Liberal Leader says his party wants changes, but content is too important to vote against
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says his caucus will vote in favour of a bill to vastly increase the powers of Canada’s spy agency — with or without the improved oversight civil rights experts are calling for.
The announcement, made Wednesday afternoon, seems particularly odd because the bill includes a measure that would let the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) apply for a warrant to ignore the charter. The charter is indelibly linked to Trudeau, as it was written and enacted under the Liberal government headed by his father, former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
Trudeau said he wants to see the bill changed to include better oversight for CSIS and regular reviews of its measures. But, he said, his party will vote for Bill C-51 even without amendments.
“This bill can be improved. But on the whole it does include measures that help keep Canadians safe,” Trudeau said. “Matters of national security should be beyond partisanship.”
From the Guardian, the no-longer-unwarranted British press:
Police will need judge’s permission to access journalists’ phone and email records
David Cameron accepts recommendation for judicial oversight of police use of anti-terror powers to snoop on reporters
Police will be forced to seek the permission of a judge if they want to retrieve the phone and email records of journalists, after the prime minister’s snooping watchdog found that 19 police forces made more than 600 applications to uncover confidential sources in the past three years.
The requests to use anti-terror legislation to access journalists’ communication records were made in 34 police investigations into suspected leaks by public officials, the Interception of Communication Commissioner’s Office (ICCO) report published on Wednesday shows.
Sir Anthony May, the interception of communications commissioner, said police forces “did not give due consideration to freedom of speech” and Home Office guidelines do not sufficiently protect journalistic sources.
On to the battle front, with a call for foreign troops for the ISIS fray, via the Associated Press:
Iraqi Kurds call for foreign ground troops in anti-IS fight
A senior Iraqi Kurdish official on Wednesday called for greater support in the battle against the Islamic State group, including with foreign troops, saying the Kurds are “alone” in the fight.
Fouad Hussein, chief of staff to Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, said the U.S.-led coalition airstrikes are helpful but “to finish ISIS … you need to finish it on the ground. And on the ground, we are most of the time alone. So we need partners.”
“It means advisers, it means special forces, it means a collective fight against ISIS, it means equipment, it means munitions,” Hussein said.
From Reuters, the overwhelmingly atrocious:
Islamic State selling, crucifying, burying children alive in Iraq – UN
Islamic State militants are selling abducted Iraqi children at markets as sex slaves, and killing other youth, including by crucifixion or burying them alive, a United Nations watchdog said on Wednesday.
Iraqi boys aged under 18 are increasingly being used by the militant group as suicide bombers, bomb makers, informants or human shields to protect facilities against U.S.-led air strikes, the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said.
“We are really deeply concerned at torture and murder of those children, especially those belonging to minorities, but not only from minorities,” committee expert Renate Winter told a news briefing. “The scope of the problem is huge.”
And its role as public spectacle, via the London Telegraph:
Isil ‘broadcast video of pilot burning on giant public screen to young children’
Young boy shown in video saying “I wish to capture pilots and burn them”, as leaders across the Middle East condemn the death by burning of a captive Jordanian pilot
Isil broadcast the horrific video of a Jordanian pilot being burned to death on giant public screens to crowds that included young children, it has emerged.
Footage appeared on Wednesday purporting to show a crowd cheering and chanting as the murder was projected onto an outdoor screen at night in Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The new five-minute film includes interviews with those in attendance at the screening, who appear to be giving their verdict on the murder.
More from GlobalPost:
Every Islamic State execution is a public spectacle. But you’ll never see most of them
Analysis: For every high-profile hostage who has been murdered by IS in front of an HD camera, hundreds of other victims in Syria and Iraq have been executed, too.
IS has turned public executions into multifaceted tools of social control, recruitment and unconventional warfare, as well as performances of legitimacy and strength.
They’re not all meant to start trending on Twitter.
IS speaks to a variety of different publics: Foreign governments, leaders, and citizens of those nations; people living in areas IS controls or could control in the future; IS militants fighting in Iraq and Syria; and sympathetic foreigners and potential foreign recreuits.
And it communicates its messages in a variety of publics using a variety of forms of broadcast: Live in the town squares, streets, and places of worship within its self-declared caliphate; and around the world virtually via news media, and social media.
Its messages, too, are varied. But one of the tools that spans across these campaigns is public execution.
And a response to the most recent high profile media spectacular, via the Associated Press:
Jordan says IS can be defeated; uproar over burn video
ordan called Wednesday for a decisive battle against the Islamic State group, declaring “this evil can and should be defeated,” after the militants burned a Jordanian pilot to death in a cage and gleefully broadcast the horrific images on outdoor screens in their stronghold.
Waves of revulsion over the killing washed across the Middle East, a region long accustomed to violence. In mosques, streets and coffee shops, Muslims denounced the militants’ brutality and distanced themselves from their violent version of Islam.
Even a prominent preacher with close links to jihadi groups said Islamic State militants miscalculated if they hoped the images of the pilot’s agony would galvanize greater opposition to a U.S.-led military coalition that has been bombing targets of the group.
Caution from Washington, via Xinhua:
White House cautious on commenting Jordan’s tit-for-tat execution as Congress builds up military support for Jordan
The White House was cautious on Wednesday in its comments on the Jordanian government’s retaliatory execution of two Iraqi extremists after the Islamic State (IS) released a video purporting to show IS burning alive a Jordanian pilot hostage.
“These were individuals who were sentenced to death and were serving time on death row,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest at the daily briefing. “For questions about the circumstance of their confinement or the decision to move forward on the execution, I’d refer you to Jordanian authorities who can provide a great deal more insight into the Jordanian justice system.”
IS militants released a video on Tuesday purporting to show the Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh captured last December being burned alive in a cage, just days after the militants beheaded a Japanese journalist.
An Austrian xenophobe stand down, via TheLocal.at:
Vienna’s Pegida spokesman steps down
The spokesman for the Vienna branch of the German Pegida movement has said that he is “stepping down” and that in future any press information will be posted on Facebook.
Georg Immanuel Nagel (28) told the Austrian Press Agency (APA) that Pegida marches would continue in Austria, but that the establishment of an official association was “still in the planning stage”.
More than 300 Pegida supporters (Patriots Against the Islamisation of the West) marched in Vienna on Monday evening, but they were dwarfed by a colourful counter-demonstration more than ten times larger, according to police estimates. Police are examining video footage and photos from Austria’s first Pegida march, after some supporters were seen performing Nazi salutes.
Chad claims a Boko Haram body count, via Reuters:
Chad says it killed 200 Boko Haram militants in Nigeria
Chad’s army killed more than 200 militants from Boko Haram on Tuesday in fighting in northeastern Nigeria, with nine of its own forces killed, the army and state television said on Wednesday.
Chad has deployed 2,500 troops as part of a regional effort to take on the militant group, which has been fighting for five years to create an Islamist emirate in northern Nigeria. An estimated 10,000 people died in the region last year.
Chad’s army destroyed more than a dozen vehicles equipped with heavy weapons and some 100 motorcycles used by the militants in battles in the towns of Gambaru and Ngala, the army high command said in a statement on Wednesday.
And Boko Haram’s bloody blowback, via Al Jazeera America:
Boko Haram goes on deadly rampage after Chad offensive
Nigerian armed group massacres dozens of civilians and torches mosque in Cameroonian border town of Fotokol
Nigerian Boko Haram fighters went on a rampage in the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol on Wednesday, massacring dozens of civilians and torching a mosque before being repelled by regional forces.
The onslaught came a day after Chad sent troops across the border to flush the armed men out of the Nigerian town of Gamboru, which lies some 500 yards from Fotokol on the other side of a bridge.
Chad’s army said it had killed more than 200 Boko Haram fighters in the intervention — the first by regional forces against Boko Haram on its home ground. But some of the fighters escaped, it added.
China orders troops to be highly espianoid, via SINA English:
Chinese troops warned on espionage
Chinese military authorities have ordered servicemen to be on guard against infiltration and espionage by “hostile forces”.
The People’s Liberation Army Daily (PLA Daily) on Wednesday carried the full text of a guideline issued by the Central Military Commission (CMC) stressing the need to run political background checks on officers and soldiers to “prevent penetration, sabotage by hostile forces or erosion by corrupt ideas and cultures.”
The guideline encouraged other measures to improve management of servicemen, including better psychological services.
Psychological evaluation and counseling should be conducted regularly, and officers and soldiers suffering severe psychological problems need to get timely treatment, it said.
From VICE News, Beijing announces an online parody ban:
No Joke: China Announces Crackdown on Internet Parody Accounts
For the Chinese government, social media parody accounts are no laughing matter. The country’s latest internet crackdown targets web users who set up pseudonymous accounts using the names of Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, Chinese officials, celebrities, and media outlets such as the People’s Daily newspaper, to name just a few soon-to-be restricted web handles.
Under new rules announced Wednesday by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), Chinese citizens will be forced to use their real names and personal information when registering online. The new policy is set to take effect March 1.
The restrictions are aimed at stemming the spread of rumors and eliminating a “vulgar culture” online, the CAC wrote on its website Wednesday. The regulator said it is targeting handles containing “malicious content,” such as cultist, pornographic or extremist information, that either violates Chinese law, undermines national security, or is seen as rumormongering, according to state run-media Xinhua news agency.
The Philippines claim Chinese harassment, via Kyodo News:
Manila protests China’s actions to “harass” Filipino fishermen
on Wednesday lodged protests against China’s alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen in two incidents off Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea in January, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
In a statement, the department said three Philippines fishing vessels were “intentionally rammed” and damaged by a Chinese Coast Guard Vessel on Jan. 29′ putting the Filipino fishermen onboard in danger.
The Philippines also protested the alleged illegal harvest by Chinese fishermen of giant clams, an endangered species, in a lagoon of the shoal on Jan. 22, contrary to international rules.
On to Japan and the empowered security state marches on, via the Asahi Shimbun:
New anti-terror moves taking shape in Japan
Japan will implement a raft of new measures to protect its citizens at home and abroad from terrorist threats following the grisly deaths of two Japanese hostages at the hands of the Islamic State in Syria.
Foreign visitors to Japan will face stricter inspection at airports and ports. Governments overseas will be asked to reinforce security around schools attended by Japanese children.
These and other steps, such as ways to combat organized crime with an international reach, were discussed at a meeting held Feb. 3 in the prime minister’s office.
High-ranking officials of relevant agencies agreed to not only review anti-terrorism measures now in place but to also consider what new actions might be needed.
Calling on the people to march down Abe Road, via the Asahi Shimbun:
Abe seeks national referendum for amending the Constitution as early as late 2016
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Feb. 4 that it is “reasonable” to hold a national referendum on constitutional amendments, which could cover emergency situations and fiscal health, after the Upper House election in summer 2016, one of Abe’s long sought-after goals.
If the process goes smoothly, a national referendum, which requires backing from at least two-thirds of members of both houses of the Diet, could be held as early as late 2016 or the first half of 2017.
It marked the first time that Abe distinctly referred to a time period suitable for a national referendum on amending the Constitution.
Finally, from Want China Times, Abe mulls a major maritime move:
Japan considers taking part in South China Sea patrols
Japan’s defense minister, Gen Nakatani, said Feb. 3 that Japan is preparing for potential involvement in the disputed South China Sea, according to Kyodo News based in Tokyo.
After Vice Admiral Robert Thomas, the commander of the US 7th Fleet, expressed support for Japanese involvement in the South China Sea on Jan. 29, the possibility that Japan could carry out patrol missions in the disputed maritime region has increased. Nakatani said Tokyo is paying close attention to political and military developments in the South China Sea, where China is engaged in territorial disputes with several other claimant countries. If necessary, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will be deployed to patrol the region, Nakatani said.
Japan has no claims in the South China Sea. However, Nakatani said the area patrolled by the country’s aircraft and vessels should not be restricted ton the East China Sea, where Japan is locked in a territorial dispute with China over the Japan-administered Diaoyutai islands (Senkaku to Japan, Diaoyu to China). Since Vice Admiral Thomas hopes Japan can expand its aerial patrols to the South China Sea, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is considering deploying P-3C patrol planes to the region if necessary, Nakatani said.
