The Political Conundrum!

On 6 February, the chairman of the Aceh provincial branch of the Indonesian Islamic Defender's Front claimed that two snipers and four suicide bombers would go to the Gaza Strip next week in order to fight against Israel. That chairman, Yusuf al Qardhani, claimed that they were selected from a group of 80 who passed a four-day interview and physical training in North Aceh district last month. He claimed that 50 out of the 80 were fit to be sent abroad; of the 50, they would be sent not only to Palestine but other Islamic countries as well. The six allegedly headed to Gaza were aged between 21 and 27. They had trained alongside an Indonesian named Abu Alyas, a veteran of the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan who also fought with the Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines and is a member of Hamas.

The central office of the Islamic Defender's Front in Jakarta claimed that two other batches of jihadists had been sent to Gaza in January.

It should be noted that Indonesian radical groups, including the Islamic Defender's Front, have claimed to have dispatched jihadists to places like Lebanon and Afghanistan on several previous occasions since 2001. However, these have been largely dismissed as publicity stunts.

The White House is considering at least two troop withdrawal options as it weighs a new Iraq strategy - one that would preserve President Barack Obama's campaign pledge to get all combat brigades out within 16 months and a second that would stretch it to 23 months, two officials said.

To battle a growing suicide rate, the Army may have to start teaching soldiers how to handle stress from the first day they take their entry oath, the service's top trainer said.

Defense contractor KBR Inc., which is under criminal investigation in the electrocution deaths of at least two U.S. Soldiers in Iraq, has been awarded a $35 million contract by the Pentagon to build an electrical distribution center and other projects there.

The Navy hopes a high tide due to reach Hawaii early Saturday will enable it to refloat a 9,600-ton warship that ran aground about a half mile off seaside Honolulu International Airport.

Two seasoned Navy SEALs who died during parachute training near Marana last year made mistakes that hurled them to their deaths, military investigators have determined.

Potential obstacle to Airbus winning a lucrative contract for the U.S. Air Force has been cleared after President Barack Obama backed away from protectionist measures that could have triggered a trade war.