ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Poly WB-1 (Photo: Top 81) China has presented Poly WB-1, a non-lethal ray gun that can be used for crowd dispersal, by making its targets feel like their skin is on fire. The US version of the weapon was shelved due to practical difficulties and the potential public backlash. According to the authoritative Jane’s magazine, the WB-1, presented at the Airshow China 2014 in Zhuhai last month, has a current range of about 80 meters, though it can be expanded to 1 kilometer. Using a similar principle to a microwave oven it incites movement in the fat and water molecules located just below the skin surface, making the target feel like they are burning from the inside. As soon as the target steps away from the ray, the pain ceases, purportedly leaving no damage to nerve endings and blood vessels, which are located deeper below the epidermis. This makes it a viable weapon for crowd control, which was how the US intended to use its own Active Denial System (ADS) during its occupations of Iraq a...

Reuters / Stringer An alleged policy plan of the Islamic State outlines some chilling, if unrealistic, plots of the would-be terrorist state, including bribing Russia with access to oilfields in exchange for nuclear technology, and digging a canal across the UAE. The document reported by Britain’s Sunday Times is believed to have been written by Abdullah Ahmed Meshedani, a member of the highly secretive six-man war cabinet of the terrorist group, which wants to build an Islamist state, or caliphate, in parts of Iraq and Syria. It was captured by Iraqi special forces during a March raid on the home of a senior Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) member and confirmed as authentic by Western security officials. The 70-point plan provides an insight into the grandiose, if somewhat far-fetched, strategy aimed at undermining Shiites in the Arab world and Iran as that branch of Islam’s powerhouse nation. One of the goals listed in the documents is to offer Russia access to oilfields in Iraq’s ...

Reuters / Khaled Abdullah Houthi Shiite rebels obtained secret Yemeni intelligence documents with details about US-backed counter-terrorism operations, including the names and locations of informants, the Los Angeles Times reported citing American officials. The documents were stolen when Houthi fighters took over the office of Yemen’s National Security Bureau in the country's capital Sanaa, which was closely cooperating with the CIA on various anti-terror missions. US officials claim that some files were given to Iranian advisers. At the same time, the paper said there is no indication that Houthi rebels had direct control over the US intelligence files. The compromised files reportedly affected US President Barack Obama’s decision to evacuate remaining US personnel from Yemen last weekend, including 1,000 special operations forces. The decision to leave Yemen has crippled America’s counter-terrorism operations against Al-Qaeda militants in the area. The report emerged hours befor...

Saudi Arabian forces, joined by nine other countries, have launched a military operation in Yemen against Shiite Houthi rebels, the Saudi ambassador to the US said. The offensive, which started with airstrikes, will also involve “other military assets.” According to Ambassador Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, the military operation in Yemen started at 7 p.m. EST (11 p.m. GMT). Obama ordered support to Saudi-led op, UN still ‘checking details’ US President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-led military operations in Yemen, the White House said in a statement, confirming that Washington had close communication with Hadi, the Saudis and other GCC states prior to the launch of the military operation. “While US forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support,” the statement said....