"A serious misunderstanding"

Diplomatic initiative

The United Kingdom’s involvement in what is now becoming a civil war took an embarrassing turn this week. A “Diplomatic initiative” to make contact with the Libyan opposition went spectacularly wrong when the diplomatic team was ambushed and detained. To make matters worse for the British government, the team was being escorted by a squadron of SAS Special Forces troops. The soldiers were also detained, allegedly by a group of farmhands.

The SAS soldiers and diplomats, who were carrying weapons, explosives and fake passports were first suspected as spies. It was later revealed that the diplomat was actually a high ranking member of the Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6.

William Hague - (Free image, Wiki commons)

Foreign secretary William Hague took to the floor of the House of Commons for questions and accepted full responsibility for the teams’ deployment to Libya. He also announced that all eight members had been released and repatriated by the warship HMS Cumberland.

Hague has now been at the head of two blunders involving Libya and faced calls of “Resign!” from the back benches of the house. The first was earlier in the crisis when he announced and confirmed Colonel Gaddafi has fled Libya. This second incident has left the UK government red faced, the SAS are held in esteem as the country’s finest soldiers and amongst the best in the world.

Military options

While the British government cringes in embarrassment, President Obama is exploring all options. Speaking in Brussels at a NATO meeting the President was quoted as saying,

“We are consulting around a wide range of potential options, including potential military options, in response to the violence that continues to take place inside of Libya.”

Earlier this week the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise transited the Suez Canal to take station close to Libya. Along with her battle group, Enterprise and land based aircraft from France, the UK and Italy is quite capable of establishing air superiority over Libya, a vital prelude to a no fly zone.

USS Enterprise (Free image wiki commons)

Libya possesses a moderate air defence network, most of their equipment is obsolete 1970’s Soviet technology, but these weapons and their support systems, such as radar and command and communications installations would have to neutralise before fighters could patrol.

An attack on these targets could prove politically costly. Colonel Gaddafi would probably move all of his mobile equipment into population centres, thus risking collateral damage and civilian casualties. It could also have the effect of rallying the people against the common “Western enemy."

Exit Strategy?

Whilst military options are being planned there is a chance they will never have to be implemented. On March 8 reports began to emerge in the press that Colonel Gaddafi would be willing to stand down.

Rebel forces fight on

The stipulations for him to make the move would be that he and his family are made immune from prosecution and safe passage out of the country. It is understood that this idea has been rejected by the Libyan opposition.

With Gaddafi seemingly in the corner, the military action has continued with forces loyal to him striking back at the rebels. With fighting now in its third week, the UN reports more than 1,000 people have died and 200,000 have fled the country.

Japan Earthquake coverage

The burning tide (Image published courtesy of STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Japan has been hit by a massive earthquake registering 9.1 on the Richter scale. The earthquake produced a ten metre high Tsunami wave which swept inland causing devastation on a massive scale. Five of Japan’s nuclear facilities have declared an emergency.

The earthquake struck 80 miles off the coast of Sendai, a major city on the Japanese island of Honshu.

Japan is regarded as the best country in the world for earthquake preparation. From a young age children practice regular drills, and there are strict building codes enforced that mean most modern buildings are 'Quake proof.'

TSUNAMI

No amount of preparation can prepare a country for a Tsunami wave. The wave, which registered over ten metres high, crashed inland devastating everything in its path. As the sea water moved further in land engulfing agricultural areas it turned to a type of thick sludge.

The Tsunami was caused when the Pacific tectonic plate pushed underneath the Okhotsk plate, a geological process known as subduction. The impact was so powerful that it caused the ocean floor to bounce, thus creating a Tsunami.

Much of Northern Honshiu’s infrastructure has been severely damaged. Four of Japan’s iconic bullet trains remain unaccounted for, many highways, power lines and communication hubs have all been destroyed or critically damaged. Most disturbingly, 9’500 residents of Minamisanriku, a coastal town are unaccounted for.

Earthquake damage near Tokyo (Free Image Wiki commons)

NUCLEAR INCIDENTS

Five nuclear plants along the coast were shut down as a precaution following earthquake warnings. The usual procedure for emergency shutdown is that a reactor uses external power generation to achieve cooling and power control systems. The diesel generators at Fukushima Dai-ichi, one of the effected power plants were affected by the tsunami failed.

Pressure inside the Fukushima I reactor was reported to be 2.1 times the design limit by midnight (JST) on March 12. Because of this, workers at the plant decided to vent steam from the reactor, which caused a swift and minor radioactive release.

Unfortunately by half past three that day pressure had built up again, causing a major steam explosion which vented more radioactive material, and destroyed much of the reactor housing. The Japanese government reports that the actual reactor core is still intact.

Two hundred thousand residents have now been evacuated and there is a 20Km total exclusion zone in operation around Fukushima.

RELIEF EFFORT

Japan’s government has put out a general request for humanitarian aid and relief. Forty five countries have offered rescue teams and equipment. The United Kingdom’s contribution at the time of writing includes 70 specially trained rescue workers, two rescue dogs, a medical support team and over ten tonnes of equipment.

The British Red Cross, in collaboration with the Japanese Red Cross, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have started an emergency appeal for the Japanese Tsunami. The website for donations can be found below.

http://www.redcross.org.uk/japantsunami/?approachcode=68816_googleAD_japantsunami&gclid=CLj50ZK8y6cCFchO4QodEHJYDw

(Please note this page will continue to be updated)

UPDATE: 07:21, 14/03/11

Another explosion has been reported at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. Japanese state TV have broadcast images of smoke rising from the number 3 reactor. Japanese officials have reported the explosion was caused by a build up of hydrogen gas.

Operations continue to cool down the nuclear reactors on site with seawater.

UPDATE: 18:55, 14/03/11

Relief operations continue into the fifth day as dawn breaks in Japan. Technicians at the Fukushima nuclear plant are still battling to bring reactors under control. Further aftershocks continue to be felt sparking Tsunami warnings in the North East of Japan.

UPDATE 22:41, 15/03/11

The situation at the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has continued to deteriorate in the last 24 hours with further explosions and a fire. The total exclusion zone in the vicinity has been expanded to 30km.