GAO: DoD Should Oversee Army Network

The Government Accountability Office wants the Pentagon to tighten its oversight of the Army’s high-tech network effort.

Developing and fielding an advanced tactical network designed to give soldiers and combat units a better understanding of the battlefield has become the service’s highest procurement priority.

Early versions of this situational-awareness technology have proven highly successful in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the GAO maintains that the complex, multi-phased effort could be in for a risky future. In a Jan. 10 report, GAO officials maintain that the Army plans to spend $60 billion on the network over the next two decades without sufficient data that the program will succeed.

“The Army’s strategy addresses some aspects of cost, technology maturity, security, and readiness, but as implementation is still under way, data for assessing progress are not available at this time. … Given the magnitude and financial commitment envisioned, a consolidated reporting and budgeting framework could yield more consistency and clarity in the justifications for Army network initiatives and facilitate congressional oversight,” the report states.

Obama to nominate Hagel, Brennan for top security posts despite criticism

President Obama plans to nominate two controversial officials for his second-term national security team on Monday, teeing up what could turn into a confirmation battle shortly after the inauguration.

The president is expected to nominate former Sen. Chuck Hagel for defense secretary and White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan for CIA director. The administration is touting the credentials and years of service each would bring to their respective posts. In a recent Sunday show interview, Obama said Hagel, a Vietnam veteran, is a "patriot" and "somebody that's done extraordinary work" in the Senate and on his own intelligence advisory board.
Yet each nominee is poised to attract tough bipartisan criticism -- and perhaps opposition -- during the confirmation process. While Obama went the relatively safe route with his pick for secretary of state, tapping Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, his choices for his national security team could cause a ruckus on Capitol Hill.
On Sunday, several Republican senators suggested they would have problems with Hagel, while Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he is reserving judgment. Republicans question Hagel's commitment to Israel and his toughness when it comes to Iran. But Hagel also has come under fire from gay rights groups for saying in 1998 that a nominee for an ambassador post was "openly, aggressively gay."
He has since apologized for those comments. Gay rights group GetEQUAL, though, panned the apology as "hollow" and "politically expedient."
Texas Sen. John Cornyn had the most strident remarks, saying Obama nominating Hagel sends "the worst possible message" to Israel and other U.S. allies in the Middle East.

Ballistic missile: North Korea can reach the United States

According to South Korea, the recent firing of the rocket Unha-3 made by Pyongyang is equivalent to a test ballistic missile with a load of half a ton and a range of about 10,000 km.

The recent firing rocket by North Korea is equivalent to a test ballistic missile with a load of half a ton and a range of about 10,000 km, said Sunday the South Korean army. This distance would allow a North Korean pitcher to reach any point in Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Africa, Alaska and part of the West Coast, including San Francisco. Pyongyang launched on 12 December, with success, a rocket Unha-3 loaded into orbit a satellite civilian mission purely scientific as the North. To its estimates, the South Korean army relied on the analysis of oxidizer tank, a product by combining with another product operates the combustion of the latter fell at sea during launch and recovered by the Navy South. "Based on our analysis and process simulation, the missile is capable of flying more than 10,000 km, with a load of between 500 and 600 kg," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence to press.

Pyongan control Does technology ICBMs?

The tank was mounted on the first stage of the rocket. In the absence of debris 2nd and 3rd floors of the Unha-3, South Korean scientists have been unable to determine whether the rocket was able to reenter the atmosphere, a key technology of intercontinental ballistic missiles . Debris recovered by the South consisted of eight panels of aluminum and magnesium welded by hand. "The welding was coarse, handmade," said the ministry official, adding that this type of tank for storing toxic chemicals was rarely used by the powers have a advanced space technology.

According to a study by the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) published in 2011, Pyongyang has systems North Korean Taepodong, but BM-25/SS-N-6 Nodong and North Korea "should hold some Copies of longer-range gear deployed north of the country in fixed configurations. " However, the FRS estimates "in 2015 that North Korea will have two regiments Nodong missile type, that is to say, a dozen mobile launchers and several hundred missiles". And noted that "given the cooldown and preparation imposed by the Nodong system, and assuming that its mobile launchers undergo attrition zero, we can assume that North Korea would at most be able to make two launches for a day and a score launch before exhausting its stock of missiles. "

What Is Site 911? And Why Is The U.S. Building It For Israel At A Cost Of $100 Million?

U.S. overseeing mysterious construction project in Israel

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to supervise construction of a five-story underground facility for an Israel Defense Forces complex, oddly named “Site 911,” at an Israeli Air Force base near Tel Aviv.

Expected to take more than two years to build, at a cost of up to $100 million, the facility is to have classrooms on Level 1, an auditorium on Level 3, a laboratory, shock-resistant doors, protection from nonionizing radiation and very tight security. Clearances will be required for all construction workers, guards will be at the fence and barriers will separate it from the rest of the base.

Only U.S. construction firms are being allowed to bid on the contract and proposals are due Dec. 3, according to the latest Corps of Engineers notice.
Site 911 is the latest in a long history of military construction projects the United States has undertaken for the IDF under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. The 1998 Wye River Memorandum between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has led to about $500 million in U.S. construction of military facilities for the Israelis, most of them initially in an undeveloped part of the Negev Desert. It was done to ensure there were bases to which IDF forces stationed in the West Bank could be redeployed.
As recorded in the Corps’ European District magazine, called Engineering in Europe, three bases were built to support 20,000 troops, and eventually the Israeli air force moved into the same area, creating Nevatim air base. A new runway, 2.5 miles long, was built there by the Corps along with about 100 new buildings and 10 miles of roads.
Over the years, the Corps has built underground hangers for Israeli fighter-bombers, facilities for handling nuclear weapons (though Israel does not admit having such weapons), command centers, training bases, intelligence facilities and simulators, according to Corps publications.
Within the past two years the Corps, which has three offices in Israel, completed a $30 million set of hangars at Nevatim, which the magazine describes as a “former small desert outpost that has grown to be one of the largest and most modern air bases in the country.” It has also supervised a $20 million project to build maintenance shops, hangars and headquarters to support Israel’s large Eitan unmanned aerial vehicle.
Site 911, which will be built at another base, appears to be one of the largest projects. Each of the first three underground floors is to be roughly 41,000 square feet, according to the Corps notice. The lower two floors are much smaller and hold equipment.

New Cameras for Army Ranges

Weapons have changed drastically over the last 30 years, but the cameras on Army test ranges have not. So the Army is preparing to upgrade the kineto-tracking mounts — the squat turrets that look like R2-D2 from Star Wars, if cameras were mounted on his head.

“Right now, the current systems are not very reliable; they cannot be remotely operated and they require extensive manpower and labor to set up and calibrate,” said Col. Sharlene Donovan, project manager for Instrumentation, Targets and Threat Simulators at the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI). “And because they are not very reliable after 30 years, we have to have extra systems on standby just to ensure we can guarantee data is collected in case a system goes down.”

UK intelligence officers knew of CIA's rendition plans within days of 9/11

Meeting at British embassy in US raises questions about repeated denials by MI5 and MI6 of connivance in torture

 Jack Straw, who told MPs in 2005 there was 'simply no truth in the claims that the United Kingdom has been involved in rendition

Within days of the 9/11 attacks on the US, the CIA told British intelligence officers of its plans to abduct al-Qaida suspects and fly them to secret prisons where they would be systematically abused.
The meeting, at the British embassy in Washington, is disclosed in a forthcoming book by the Guardian journalist Ian Cobain. It raises serious questions about repeated claims by senior MI5 and MI6 officers that they were slow to appreciate the US response to the attacks, and never connived in torture.
The meeting signalled to British officials that the US was preparing to embark on a global kidnapping programme which became known as extraordinary rendition. Cobain reveals that at the end of a three-hour presentation by Cofer Black, President George Bush's top counter-terrorist adviser, Mark Allen – his opposite number in MI6 – commented that it all sounded "rather bloodcurdling".

US Army chooses Raytheon to provide Thermal Weapon Sights

    Most affordable solution to the government cited as key performance metric

In a competition against two other suppliers, Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) was selected by the U.S. Army to provide Thermal Weapon Sights (TWS) with enhanced capabilities so soldiers can better detect and engage targets day or night. One of the key drivers behind the Army's decision was Raytheon's ability to deliver cost-effective, advanced technology.

The awards for new deliveries were made under a modification to an existing contract and have a potential value of $131 million. Under the contract, which extends the period of performance by three years, Raytheon could potentially supply more than 24,000 sights over the life of the contract. The TWS systems will be built in McKinney, Texas, the headquarters of Raytheon's Network Centric Systems (NCS) business. The thermal sights allow a soldier to spot targets at long distances through haze, dust, fog and other obscurants.

7 Billion Human Around the world Demand the US Govt to Stop Drone Attacks on Childers

Laptop built to protect classified docs

General Dynamics C4 Systems recently unveiled a new laptop that’s supposed to keep classified information safer when you’re at home or on travel.

GD officials maintain that the new TACLANE MultiBook laptop is certified by the National Security Agency to secure network communications to the secret level, allowing secret-squirrel government types to operate on unclassified and classified networks simultaneously.
“For the first time, these specialized workers can merge real life with work life using the TACLANE-MultiBook,” said Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics C4 Systems, in a recent press release.  “To get the same level of information security that the new computer provides, users would need three or more information security devices, at twice the cost of the TACLANE-Multibook, and still not have the MultiBook’s mobility.”

The CIA's Secret Bin Laden Training Facility In North Carolina

In No Easy Day, Navy Seal Mark Bissonnette's account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, Bissonnette mentions that Seal Team 6 trained on a replica compound at a secret site in North Carolina.
The website Cryptome has published  Maps images of Harvey Point Defense Testing in North Carolina, a CIA training facility, that show what appears to be a pretty accurate model of bin Laden's Abbottabad compound in Pakistan.

The construction of the model compound as of February 15, 2011

        Here is a Google Maps image of bin Laden's compound: 

For Afghan Policewomen, Sex Abuse Is A Job Hazard

"Anywhere you ask for a job in the police force, they either ask you to give yourself or bring them  girls" 

The image of Afghan women wearing police and army uniforms is meant to inspire pride and hope for a future where the rights of women will be protected in Afghanistan.

So why would female police officers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif be ashamed to admit they wear the badge?

"Except my very close family members, no one really knows that I am a police officer," said one woman at a NATO training session.

The woman, who asked not to give her name, says she tells most of her family that she works with a foreign aid organization. That's because the rumors about sexual abuse in Mazar-e-Sharif's police force are so widespread that many of these women are ashamed to say they're cops.

 Afghan female police officers are trained by Afghan police and NATO soldiers in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Sept. 12. In the culturally conservative country, women serving in the security forces say they face systemic sexual coercion and even rape by male colleagues

Profound Inequality

Protection of women's rights in Afghanistan remains a focal point for the West — and American officials regularly tout the fact that the Afghan security forces now include hundreds of women. In northern Afghanistan alone, about 300 women are serving in the police force.

But in a culture that is not fully comfortable with women working outside the home, these women face significant risks. An NPR investigation in the city discovered disturbing allegations of systematic sexual coercion and even rape of female police officers by their male colleagues.

The women at the recent training session at a huge base outside Mazar-e-Sharif hardly looked like victims as they assembled and loaded assault rifles. But none dared to give their names as they alluded to what is an open secret in the city.

"Some women are being promoted only if they agree to give sexual favors," said one female officer.

Most of the female police have many children, and most are poor. Though they say they'd like to serve their country, just as many say they joined the police because the pay — about $300 a month — is better than working as a maid or a teacher. The threat of job loss is a powerful one.

None of the policewomen on the training course — which consisted of a mix of men and women — would admit to being victims of sexual coercion.

Shocking Stories Of Rape

But privately, several told of terrifying experiences. The women agreed to speak on the condition that their names be withheld, and the only place they felt safe enough to talk with a reporter was in a car moving around the city.

"It's a fact. Women in the police are being used for sex and as prostitutes," said Ann — not her real name — who is in her mid-30s.

"It's happened to me. Male cops ask for sex openly because they think women join the police just to work as prostitutes," she said.

Big U.S. Fleet Nears Disputed Islands, But What For?

It’s probably just a coincidence; no need to worry yet. But the U.S. has quietly assembled a powerful air, land and sea armada not far from where Japan and China are squaring off over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Two Navy aircraft carrier battle groups and a Marine Corps air-ground task force have begun operating in the Western Pacific, within easy reach of the Senkaku Islands. That’s where Japanese and Chinese patrol boats are engaged in an increasingly tense standoff.
Chinese vessels have repeatedly entered territorial waters around the small islands in recent weeks and Coast Guard vessels from Japan and Taiwan fired water cannons at each other last week. The islands are controlled and administered by Japan, but claimed by both China and Taiwan.
No warships have been directly involved in the confrontations, so far. But China has vowed to continue sending patrol vessels into territorial waters and Japan has assembled scores of Coast Guard vessels to “defend” the islands.
The U.S. hasn’t taken sides in the ownership dispute, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for “cooler heads” to prevail. Nonetheless, U.S. officials have stated clearly that the Senkakus fall under the U.S.-Japan security treaty, which would require the U.S. to come to Japan’s aid in case of attack.
Navy officials confirmed Sunday that the USS George Washington carrier strike group has begun operating in the East China Sea, near the disputed islands. The USS John C. Stennis group is only slightly further away in the South China Sea. Each carrier is armed with more than 80 warplanes, and strike groups typically include guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, submarines and supply ships.

Homosexuals in the military demand special privileges

The American armed forces exist to defend our nation, not to conduct social science lab experiments in which our troops serve as human subjects. Try telling that to this administration.
The first anniversary of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Sept. 20, has come and gone. Now, there is mounting evidence that proves our warnings were not idle chatter. The threat to freedom posed by this radical sexual experiment on our military is real: It is grave and it is growing.
Activists inside and outside our government who pushed the repeal have deployed a smoke screen around the fact that once the military was forced to exalt homosexuality in the ranks, the all-too-foreseen consequence reared its ugly head.
Senior military officials have allowed personnel in favor of repeal to speak to media while those who have concerns have been ordered to be silent. Two airmen were publicly harassed in a Post Exchange food court as they were privately discussing their concerns about the impact of repeal. A chaplain was encouraged by military officials to resign his commission unless he could “get in line with the new policy,” demonstrating no tolerance for that chaplain’s religious viewpoint. Another chaplain was threatened with early retirement, and then reassigned to be more “closely supervised” because he had expressed concerns with the policy change, again demonstrating no tolerance for that chaplain’s religious viewpoint.

DoD cracks down on sexual assaults by trainers

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered a “comprehensive assessment” of all boot camps and entry-level training programs across the military to identify ways to reduce the frequency of sexual assault.
The internal probe comes in the wake of a scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, where 43 women have come forward with allegations that training instructors sexually assaulted them at the Air Force’s largest training command.
“This assessment will look across the services into several key areas including the selection, training, and oversight of basic training instructors and leaders who directly supervise initial military training for officers and enlisted personnel,” the Pentagon announced in a statement Tuesday.
“The study will also look at the instructor-to-student ratio, the ratio of leaders in the chain of command to instructors, and consider the potential benefits of increasing the number of female instructors,” the statement said.
This is the latest move by Panetta to crack down on sexual assaults in the military, which he estimates to number about 19,000 each year. Earlier this year, Panetta changed rules for handling sexual assault complaints by requiring an O-6-level commander to review each case to determine whether it should be dismissed or investigated further.

U.S. Defense Secretary Calls Beijing Meetings ‘Substantive, Productive’

Visiting China at what he called a “very important moment” for the U.S.-China relationship, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Sept. 19 his meetings with key Chinese leaders here have been both substantive and productive.

In a discussion with Chinese reporters and media representatives traveling with him, Panetta reviewed his meetings over two days with Chinese leaders including Vice President Xi Jinping, State Councilor Dai Bingguo, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xu Caihou and Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie.

Key discussion points throughout the meetings, the secretary said, included territorial disputes, ballistic missile defense and North Korea, and cyber attack and intrusions. The overarching topic, he added, was the U.S.–China relationship in the context of the U.S. strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.

Panetta drew a parallel in describing his advice to Chinese leaders over a territorial dispute simmering between China and Japan – which, he noted, he also tendered to Japanese senior government officials when he visited there earlier this week – and Chinese advice to him over North Korea. Each side urged the other to seek peaceful, diplomatic solutions to their differences, he noted.

U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems Community Partners with Academia

The U.S. Army's Project Manager for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or PM UAS, is establishing partnerships with a handful of academic institutions as a way to further research, advance technology and maximize progress emerging from lessons learned in combat, service officials said.

PM UAS has set up a collaborative memorandum of understanding with Middle Tennessee State University that is designed to promote independent research of UAS development, deployment, tactics, techniques and procedures. The goal is to advance academic and operational understanding of the technologies involved, said Lt. Col. Robb Walker, director of external programs, PM UAS.

Academic research and study agreements are also underway between PM UAS and Mississippi State University, Alabama A&M University and Auburn University, Walker added.

These academic partnerships will not only facilitate ongoing dialogue between the Army's PM UAS and the academic institutions related to the growing use of UAS in combat operations, but will also explore the full range of the rapidly expanding uses of UAS technology.

Textron’s Remote-Controlled Flying Bomb

Textron Defense Systems has a new flying drone that’s designed to explode on contact with enemy positions.
The compact BattleHawk Squad Level Loitering Munition is armed with a 40mm high-fragmentation charge. It has a video camera built into its nose, so ground troops can remotely pilot it over rooftops or hills to attack hiding enemy forces.
The BattleHawk weighs about five pounds when it’s packed inside its special launching tube. A spring propels the drone into the air and the electric motor starts up the tiny, rear propeller.
“Once it’s launched, it’s armed,” Mick Guthals, director of Business Strategy & Capture at Textron, said while displaying the BattleHawk at the Air Force Association’s annual conference in Washington, D.C. Sept. 17–19.
Using a small remote control, ground troops can fly the BattleHawk at speeds up to 60 miles per hour for approximately 30 minutes. The BattleHawk is designed to attack dismounted enemy and light-skinned vehicles, Textron officials said.

Obama's Arab Spring becomes the Arab Winter

The murder of Ambassador Stevens prompts a new question to Obama supporters: "How's that Arab Spring thing workin' out for ya?"
The horrific photo of Chris Stevens, who died in service to his country, is the new icon for Obama's naïve Arab Spring mantra.
Back on May 19, 2011, in a speech on the Arab Spring, Obama said:

"That story of self-determination began six months ago in Tunisia. On December 17, a young vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi was devastated when a police officer confiscated his cart. This was not unique. It is the same kind of humiliation that takes place every day in many parts of the world - the relentless tyranny of governments that deny their citizens dignity. Only this time, something different happened. After local officials refused to hear his complaint, this young man who had never been particularly active in politics went to the headquarters of the provincial government, doused himself in fuel, and lit himself on fire.
Sometimes, in the course of history, the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has built up for years. In America, think of the defiance of those patriots in Boston who refused to pay taxes to a King, or the dignity of Rosa Parks as she sat courageously in her seat. So it was in Tunisia, as that vendor's act of desperation tapped into the frustration felt throughout the country. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets, then thousands. And in the face of batons and sometimes bullets, they refused to go home - day after day, week after week, until a dictator of more than two decades finally left power.
The story of this Revolution, and the ones that followed, should not have come as a surprise. The nations of the Middle East and North Africa won their independence long ago, but in too many places their people did not. In too many countries, power has been concentrated in the hands of the few. In too many countries, a citizen like that young vendor had nowhere to turn - no honest judiciary to hear his case; no independent media to give him voice; no credible political party to represent his views; no free and fair election where he could choose his leader.
This lack of self determination - the chance to make of your life what you will - has applied to the region's economy as well. Yes, some nations are blessed with wealth in oil and gas, and that has led to pockets of prosperity. But in a global economy based on knowledge and innovation, no development strategy can be based solely upon what comes out of the ground. Nor can people reach their potential when you cannot start a business without paying a bribe.
In the face of these challenges, too many leaders in the region tried to direct their people's grievances elsewhere. The West was blamed as the source of all ills, a half century after the end of colonialism. Antagonism toward Israel became the only acceptable outlet for political expression. Divisions of tribe, ethnicity and religious sect were manipulated as a means of holding on to power, or taking it away from somebody else.
But the events of the past six months show us that strategies of repression and diversion won't work anymore. Satellite television and the Internet provide a window into the wider world - a world of astonishing progress in places like India, Indonesia and Brazil. Cell phones and social networks allow young people to connect and organize like never before. A new generation has emerged. And their voices tell us that change cannot be denied.
In Cairo, we heard the voice of the young mother who said, "It's like I can finally breathe fresh air for the first time."
In Sanaa, we heard the students who chanted, "The night must come to an end."
In Benghazi, we heard the engineer who said, "Our words are free now. It's a feeling you can't explain."
In Damascus, we heard the young man who said, "After the first yelling, the first shout, you feel dignity."

Here's the newest addition to his list of events:  In Tripoli, we see the limp body of a dead American Ambassador.

In that May, 2011 speech, Obama went on to say,

"That's why, two years ago in Cairo, I began to broaden our engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect."

"Mutual respect," he predicted.
When a nation chooses to be governed by incompetent leadership, people die. It's always been that way. It will always be that way. And that's the way it is now, in America.

Romney wants to buy more F-22s

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Saturday he would buy more F-22 Raptors as part of his plan to reverse many of the defense cuts planned by the Obama administration.

Romney told a Virginia Beach, Va., television station he would not include the military in the spending cuts he is proposing to cut down the U.S. deficit.
“Rather than completing nine ships per year, I’d move that up to 15. I’d also add F-22s to our Air Force fleet. And I’d add about 100,000 active duty personnel to our military team,” Romney said in the interview. “I think the idea of shrinking our military to try and get closer to balancing our budget is the wrong place to look.”
He’s repeated his plan to increase ship building from nine to 15 ships per year and add 100,000 active duty troops to the military’s end strength. However, this is the first time he’s mentioned any plans to buy more F-22s.
F-22 production was famously ended by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates after the Air Force had fought for the U.S. to buy more fifth generation fighter jets. Air Force leaders wanted to buy 243 F-22s, Gates halted production at 187. Originally, the Air Force wanted to buy more than 750 Raptors.
The last U.S. F-22 rolled off the production line in 2011. The Raptor program has since come under scrutiny after a string of pilots have suffered hypoxia-like symptoms and struggled to breathe in flight. Air Force officials claim to have found the cause, but it has repeatedly grounded the F-22 fleet the past two years and continue to impose flight restrictions.
Air Force leaders pushed to build more F-22s to add to the fleet because they warned a fleet of 187 would be insufficient to defeat an enemy with a top line air force like China. Former Air Force Chief of Staffs Gen. Norton Schwartz and Gen. Michael “Buzz” Moseley argued the costs of re-opening the production line would be too costly to build up the fleet if Congress changed its mind and wanted more F-22s.
If Romney wins and follows through on his plan to buy more F-22s, it would cost at least $900 million to reopen the F-22 production line, according to Loren Thompson, a consultant for Lockheed Martin and other defense companies.

Clinton To Urge ASEAN Unity On South China Sea

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is calling for Southeast Asian states to present a united front to the Chinese in dealing with territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Clinton will be in Indonesia's capital Monday to offer strong U.S. support for a regionally endorsed plan to ease rising tensions by implementing a code of conduct for all claimants to disputed islands. Jakarta is the headquarters of the Association of South East Asian Nations, and Clinton will also press the group to insist that China agree to a formal mechanism to reduce short-term risks of conflict and ultimately come to final settlements over sovereignty.

She wants "to strengthen ASEAN unity going forward," a senior U.S. official told reporters on board Clinton's plane as she flew from the Cook Islands to Australia for a brief refueling stop en route to Indonesia.