The U.S. government says it has tacit consent to carry out drone strikes in Pakistan despite the Pakistani government not acknowledging planned bombings, the Wall Street Journal reports. 

U.S. officials told WSJ that the CIA—which is fighting in court to keep the drone program secret—sends a monthly fax to Pakistani intelligence that outlines areas where drones will strike.

But the Pakistanis—who publicly oppose the strikes—stopped responding after the May 2011 bin Laden raid.

Consequently, the legal basis for U.S. drone strikes within its sovereign ally's borders are based on sending those faxes and the fact that Pakistan continues to clear airspace to avoid mid-air collisions.

One senior Obama administration official called the approach "cowboy behavior" while a group of administration lawyers is actively trying to develop a legal framework for how governments should deploy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs).

Securing consent is considered critical, some legal experts say.

The current strategy is "at the margins of what can reasonably be construed as consent," Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told WSJ.

U.S. officials are also concerned that its classified drone war is setting a dangerous precedent for other countries such as Iran, which just unveiled its first armed drone.

The legality of strikes in general have been questioned: the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings said in June that U.S. drone strikes are an attack on "international law itself" and that the practice of the double tap, in which a targeted strike site is hit multiple times by hellfire missiles in relatively quick succession, is "a war crime."

A recent report from NYU and Stanford lawyers detailed the use of the double tap in Pakistan and also described it as a potential war crime. 

SEE ALSO: More Evidence That Drones Are Targeting Civilian Rescuers In Afghanistan >

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Believe it or not, dogs have been fighting beside their human counterparts in military conflicts for the better part of the last 3,000 years.

Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, and yes, Americans.

We here at BI Military and Defense do a lot of slideshows about jets or tanks or patrols, but not much about our literal dogs of war.

So now's your opportunity to ...

The United States War Dogs Association estimates that, since the beginning of their service, dogs have saved approximately 10,000 American lives.

Dogs have been in service and seen combat with Americans in every conflict since the birth of the nation, but have only served officially since WWI.

Dogs were mostly used as message carriers during the first few conflicts.

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"Healing touch" therapy combined with "guided imagery" led to a significant reductions in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms among active-duty military in a new study.

Healing touch is non-invasive treatment that involves eliciting the participant's own healing response through placing hands on or near the individual to reduce stress and decrease pain.

Guided imagery uses the imagination to reduce stress and decrease pain through visualization.

The study, published in the September issue of Military Medicine, included 123 returning active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton, Calif. from July 2008 to August 2010 who were experiencing PTSD symptoms including re-experiencing of trauma via flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbness, insomnia, irritability, exaggerated startle response, or avoidance of people or places that remind them of the trauma.

Suicides, often influenced by PTSD, are at the highest rate in 11 years of war and suicides outpaced combat deaths through the first half of the year.

As of Sept. 11 there have been 39 Marines who committed suicide, compared to 32 reported by the Marine Corps in all of 2011.

In the new study, researched provided regular treatment for PTSD to 55 subjects while 68 of them received healing touch combined with guided imagery. Guided imagery was administered through a recorded CD simultaneously with healing touch and then independently by subjects at least once daily.

The researchers found that patients receiving the complementary medicine interventions showed significant improvement in quality of life, as well as reduced depression and cynicism, compared to soldiers receiving treatment as usual alone.

"Scores for PTSD symptoms decreased substantially, about 14 points and below the clinical cutoffs for PTSD," said lead researcher Dr. Guarneri. "This indicates that the intervention was not just statistically significant, but actually decreased symptoms below the threshold for PTSD diagnosis." 

Healing touch is not widely accepted as a viable form of therapy within the medical community, but there aren't many options for suffering vets.

"The results of this study underscore the need to make effective, non-stigmatizing treatments for PTSD available to all our service members," Wayne B. Jonas, MD, president and chief executive officer of Samueli Institute, said in a press release.

Another surprising form of therapy that has been found to reduce PTSD symptoms is playing Tetris.

SEE ALSO: The First Major 'Surge' Operation Shows Why The US Is Failing In Afghanistan >

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The U.S. Army Soldier in this video believed his unit was trapped by enemy fire, so the only solution was to draw the fire away from them. The kicker is that he had to become the target.

When buddies—brothers—fellow soldiers in your unit are in danger, no action is too much, nothing goes without consideration, and in a flash you move.

The description of the video, allegedly from the soldier himself, says he "got hit four times" as he made his way down the mountain.

WATCH:

Clearly seen are the rounds rebounding off the turf around him as he makes his way down the mountain. The signature "pops" of rounds passing around him are just as clear. And even more telling is the increased accuracy as he closes distance with the enemy.

If drawing their fire was his goal, then he got what he bargained for: The end of the video is him trying to catch the attention of his squad, presumably freed up and moving.

He says he was hit four times, each time is easily identifiable, but it looks like just about every one was a ricochet (not that they're any less deadly, but usually there's not as much oomph on the round).

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Documents obtained under a FOIA request reveal that the U.S. Air Force has deemed Julian Assange and WikiLeaks an "enemy."

The documents stem from an Air Force probe on an intelligence analyst who supposedly expressed support for Assange, and showed up to some of his rallies.

The Australian paper The Sydney Morning Herald and NBC are reporting that a UK-based systems analyst with a Top Secret clearance passed through the probe without any charges. The analyst denies leaking information.

Though the Air Force's classification is not the same as something coming from the president, or the Pentagon, usage of the "104-D, communicating with enemy" charge in the official paperwork sets a legal precedent.

For some context, others considered an "enemy of the state" include al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Now: Check out how the NYPD surveyed your phone at OWS >

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Israel is conducting massive "snap-training" exercises.

The U.S. is doing unprecedented naval mine clearing evolutions.

Iran is launching anti-ship missiles and submarines.

Now is the time that a small provocation could lead to a full-blown war.

And Patrick Clawson, Director of Research at Washington Institute Of Near East Policy (WINEP), has suggested that someone should fabricate that small provocation.

Speaking at the WINEP policy forum luncheon on "How to Build US-Israeli Coordination on Preventing an Iranian Nuclear Breakout," Clawson (ironically) said that "if, in fact, the Iranians aren't going to compromise, it would be best if someone else started the war."

Before that Clawson listed all the conflicts in which the U.S. didn't become involved until they were attacked, emphasizing that a false flag was needed each time for conflict to be initiated.

Here's more from Clawson:

One can combine other means of pressure with sanctions. I mentioned that explosion on August 17th. We could step up the pressure. I mean look people, Iranian submarines periodically go down, some day one of them might not come up, who would know why? We can do a variety of things if we wish to increase the pressure... We are in the game of using covert means against the Iranians. We could get nastier.

WINEP is a "key organization in the Israel lobby" that was founded in 1985 by leading members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to "provide a seemingly 'objective' research organization to provide consistently 'pro-Israel' analysis and commentary," according to Harvard professor of International Affairs Steven M. Walt (h/t Firedoglake).

Former AIPAC staffer MJ Rosenberg was reportedly in the room when WINEP was founded and described the organization as "an AIPAC controlled think-tank that would disseminate the AIPAC line but in a way that would disguise its connections."

Clawson didn't disguise much. Here's the video:

SEE ALSO: These Are The Tools The US Will Use To Counter Iranian Action In Hormuz >

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In a bizarre bit of insult to injury in the digital world, the Syrian government just mass texted the rebels, "Game Over."

The text campaign comes in conjunction with what has been the bloodiest day for civilians since the start of the conflict. Al Arabiya is reporting that more than 300 civilians have died in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to an astounding 30,000 since March.

People on the ground are calling the day's work on behalf of Assad's regime a "massacre." The are videos which show the dead, and all appear to be male—a possibility that they were rebels.

And in a truly strange bit of digital psychological operations (psyops), the Assad regime followed the slaughter up with a text campaign. First the rebels got texts saying, "Game Over," and then longer texts urging rebels to surrender, the AP reports.

In terms of psyops, the texts are a far tactical cry from the leaflets the government dropped a month ago. Leaflets have been the standard since as far back as World War 2, and are still dropped in Afghanistan today.

The game is far from over though, as the rebels scored a huge hit by bombing government headquarters.

The government sent the texts to everyone with a subscription, but those with prepaid phones didn't get any texts.

Now: Read about this top analyst calling for a false flag attack >

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It was August when I put up a post saying I wanted to attend this week's Persian Gulf mine clearing exercise. 

After reporting Iran's incessant threats to mine the Strait of Hormuz and choke the global oil supply, I wanted some reality. I wanted to see what's really happening in the most important channel in the world.

Step into the Persian Gulf >

I won't lie, I expected answers. Some concrete, hang-your-hat-on opinions and experience put out by U.S. Naval troops that would give face to the threat.

I thought the words out of Iran would have a different meaning 50 miles offshore of the Islamic Republic, and would carry greater weight to the troops sailing through the Strait on a regular basis.

To that end, I was disappointed. I mean, I should have known better. Known that the lower ranks are so busy performing the mission that they have little time to consider anything else. And the upper ranks aren't going to express anything outside policy: "The Iranian Navy has been nothing but professional and courteous," was the inescapable line last week.

When I asked why the enlisted troops I spoke to had little awareness of what was happening in the Gulf, one Navy LT Commander told me, "We need them to be occupied every second of every day." He was referring to keeping sailors from dwelling on home and family and preserving morale, but the effect applies to current events, as well.

Most sailors had little idea of Iran's bluster. And the few I talked to who were aware, just shrugged and laughed. "Doesn't matter much," they said. "The mission is the mission." In the end, it's still hot and they still get paid. 

Fear is something that may flicker through the cockpit of an F-18 desperate to find its mark on a carrier deck at night, or appear full blown for an instant during one of the disfiguring accidents that plague carrier flight crew; but fear rarely settles in for the night, and never lingers long enough to become accustomed to its presence.

Which is all mildly clever and true, but still fails to explain how complex marine mines are, and how daunting the task of neutralizing them really is. With about a dozen variations, knowing a mine is laid remains only a fraction of the fight. Magnetic, resonant, triggered … there are mines for every occasion.

In Libya, standard mines were laid about the harbors, but modified mines were placed in Zodiacs and remotely directed at NATO vessels. If that old saying about Eskimos having 100 words for snow were true, it could be applied to mines.

Several Admirals we spoke with pointed out how it costs as little as $1,000 to $1,500 to create a marine mine that could cause billions of dollars in damage. It's an almost romantic idea; biblical in its David-like ambition, but perhaps unlikely. 

What officials refer to when they mention this figure and contraption is an animal bladder filled with fuel, placed near the surface of the sea. While not only being easy to identify but difficult to control and ignite, surface mines lack a formidable favor of physics.

The deeper a mine, the greater the pressure imposed upon it by the water above, which results in a more powerful explosion when it detonates. 

Just one of many slippery perceptions out here in the Gulf about a device that invites no easy answers.

If Iran does manage to dump a string of mines into the Strait without the U.S. stopping them, it will take a long, long time to conclude an acceptable risk of passage.

And as one Navy LT,—an oceanographer—told me, that is what it will come down to: acceptable risk. I pressed him, "So what? Eighty percent, 70, 65 percent secure? What's the number that sends commercial traffic back through the strait? Is it even a number?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But, yes, it is a number."

Acceptable risk. If you're crewing a vessel through the Strait, you may want to check your company's insurance policy.

As simple as it sounds, the only way to know all the mines are gone is to see that nothing explodes. If one gets missed, chances are someone will find it, but that won't keep the strait from serving global vessels and ensuring tankers make their way to the marketplace.

But as picturesque as the strait may seem, it could just as easily become ground zero for the planet's next big global conflict.

Every once in a while there comes a spot on the planet able to wreak all sorts of havoc on the world's plans

Right now it's the 21-mile-wide Strait of Hormuz, which accommodates a third of the world's oil and faces constant threat from Iran's marine mines

If this were a novel, we'd say here that 21 miles are all that stands between peaceful commerce and untold havoc

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Canada? Really?

Yes, the country with residents who supposedly leave their doors unlocked, the country with a murder rate a third of that of the U.S., the country with no Pam Gellar, no Tea Party, and no 2nd Amendment, is the what the Iranian government would consider "dangerous" for its citizens.

Diplomats from Canada—officially the "world's most recommended country to visit"—recently walked out of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the U.N. General Assembly. On top of that, they also kicked Iranian diplomats out of the country and closed up Iran's Embassy.

The Canadian news agency CBC News speculates that the walk out and the lock out are the reasons behind Iran's new travel warning, reporting that "Ahmadinejad's vision of 'new world order' doesn't include travel to Canada."

Now: Read why this Middle East strategist recommends a "false flag" attack on the U.S. >

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled out this chart to describe the threat of a nuclear Iran during his speech to the UN General Assembly:

Netanyahu explained that Iran is in the second stage — near 90 percent — of becoming nuclear capable. The red line in this next picture (via BuzzFeed's Zeke Miller) is where he says it needs to stop — the "final stage."

"The hour is getting late," he said. "Very late."

"We must face the truth," he added. Economic sanctions, he said, are not enough to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions. He said "a clear red line on Iran's nuclear weapons program" needs to be established.

Here's the red line:

So far, there have been mixed reactions to the chart. 

The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg tweeted that it "turned a serious issue into a joke:"

Goldberg followed up that it was Netanyahu's equivalent of the Republican National Convention's Clint Eastwood moment. 

Netanyahu's bomb cartoon is the Middle East equivalent of Clint Eastwood's chair.

— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) September 27, 2012

Former George W. Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, on the other hand, called it "effective" and "gripping."

UPDATE: Netanyahu follows up with this tweet:

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Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta admitted to Natalie Morales of NBC that about 19,000 members of the military are sexually assaulted each year and the government isn't doing enough to help victims.

Last year 3,192 service members across all branches of the military reported sexual assaults, but only 240 cases were brought against attackers.

Anonymous surveys of active-duty service members conducted by the Department of Defense in 2010 puts the number of incidents closer to 19,000.

Panetta's statement comes on the heels of two major developments. The Air Force chose Col. Deborah Liddick to lead its basic training unit following the military indictment of six basic training instructors, one of whom is accused of raping one female recruit and assaulting several others.

More recently brigadier general Jeffrey A Sinclair was sent home from Afghanistan while the DoD investigates him for forcible sodomy and several counts of adultery.

While the military has been ignoring the systemic problem, civilians have created some strong representations of its scale and impact: Oscar-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick released the documentary "The Invisible War" earlier this year and “Lauren,” a three-part series on women and military rape, debuted last month.

NBC's full report airs  tonight at 10 p.m. EST on Rock Center with Brian Williams. Here's a clip of Panetta's statements:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SEE ALSO: The Most Staggering Moments From "The Invisible War"

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The Obama administration might be coming for you, no matter who you are, according to a group of people fighting President Barack Obama's indefinite detention act.

Chris Hedges, Daniel Ellsberg, and a whole host of others involved in the fight against the National Defense Authorization Act yesterday took to Reddit to answer questions about the act.

A federal judge permanently blocked the NDAA — which allows the government to indefinitely detain anyone even remotely related to terrorism — claiming it has a "chilling effect" on free speech.

But the Obama administration was quick to pounce, saying Judge Katherine B. Forrest overstepped her bounds in opposing the White House.

"Anyone who dissents is in threat," Hedges wrote in response to a question about who should fear the act. "The legislation, as the dumped emails by Wikileaks from the security firm Stafford illustrated, allows the state to tie a legitimate dissident group to terrorism and strip them of their right of dissent."

Another Redditor asked why Obama was so quick to fight Forrest's ruling.

"If the Obama administration simply appealed it, as we expected, it would have raised this red flag," Hedges wrote. "But since they were so aggressive it means that once Judge Forrest declared the law invalid, if they were using it, as we expect, they could be held in contempt of court. This was quite disturbing, for it means, I suspect, that U.S. citizens, probably dual nationals, are being held in military detention facilities almost certainly overseas and maybe at home."

DON'T MISS: 83-Year-Old Lesbian Hopes She Can Survive Her Fight Against The Defense Of Marriage Act >

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Here's a social media surprise for you: The U.S. Marine Corps has an active Pinterest page.

That's right, the über masculine branch of the armed forces has invaded the female-friendly hub as a part of its social media platform, Sgt. Mark Fayloga, Social Media Chief of Defense Media Activity for Marines said at Business Insider's Social Media ROI Conference.

"We have about 4,000 followers," Fayloga told a laughing audience, explaining that the Marines saw a void in its reach to the female demographic.

And what does it pin about?

"Wedding ideas, believe it or not," Fayloga said. The board is called Semper Fi Do.

Oorah.

Taking advantage of another Pinterest trend, the page also dedicates a section to puppies in the popular Marines with Dogs and Kids board.

To keep things level, there's also a portion devoted to "Things that go BOOM."

The Marines also dedicates resources to Twitter — primarily to reach out to lower level Marines — and Facebook.

"I am not going to put a billboard up where there aren't any cars," Fayloga said. "Everyone is on Facebook, so we go to Facebook."

Here's a look at what you can find on the Marine's Pinterest page:

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A group of about 40 Americans are traveling to Pakistan next week to protest drone strikes and promote peaceful relations between U.S. and Pakistan. 

The delegation, organized by the activist group CODEPINK, will meet with the families of drone victims, lawyers, academics, Pakistani politicians and U.S. officials.

On October 7 they will join thousands of Pakistanis—including politician and U.S. critic Imran Khan — in a march to South Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to protest U.S. drone strikes that have killed more than 2,500 people, including hundreds of civilians.

"President Obama's counter-terrorism chief John Brennan insists that U.S. drones strikes aren't harming innocent Pakistanis, but we know that’s not true, especially since the Obama administration calls all military-age males in the area ‘militants’," said CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin, who wrote the book Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control.

The protest comes in the wake of a scathing report by NYU and Stanford lawyers that details how drone warfare affects citizens and humanitarian workers in Pakistan.

Here's a video of Benjamin calling out Brennan as he spoke about U.S. counter-terrorism policy in Washington.

WATCH:

SEE ALSO: More Evidence That Drones Are Targeting Civilian Rescuers In Afghanistan >

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From ABC7's Eyewitness News:

#BREAKINGNEWS The customs area at Terminal 4 at JFK was evacuated as official investigate a grenade found in a travelers bag.

— Eyewitness News(@eyewitnessnyc) September 27, 2012

UPDATE: More details from ABC. The passenger told officials that the grenade was inert, but the evacuation was carried out as a precaution. The grenade is now being inspected.

The passenger had arrived on a flight from Tel Aviv via Moscow.

UPDATE 2: All clear given after the "grenade" turned out to be a paperweight, according to New York Port Authority.

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War between China and Japan looms, with neither power willing to back down over a disputed chain of islands, expert warns.

The spat over the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands has escalated dramatically in the past month with violent protests across China.

But with a national election approaching in Japan, and a change of leadership in China, politicians on both sides have refused to step back from the brink, afraid that they will appear weak.

"There is a danger of China and Japan having a military conflict," said Yan Xuetong, one of China's most influential foreign policy strategists, and a noted hawk.

"One country must make a concession. But I do not see Japan making concessions. I do not see either side making concessions. Both sides want to solve the situation peacefully, but neither side can provide the right approach," he added.

He warned that unless one side backs down, there could be a repeat of the Falklands Conflict in Asia.

"Generally speaking, according to the theory of international relations, unless one country makes concessions to the other, the escalation of a conflict between two countries will not stop until there is a military clash, like between the UK and Argentina," he said.

He added: "China takes a very tolerant policy elsewhere, with smaller powers. But the case of Japan is different. There is history between us. Japan is a big power. It regards itself as a regional, and sometimes a world power. So China can very naturally regard Japan as an equal. And if we are equal, you cannot poke us. You cannot make a mistake."

Mr Yan is the dean of International Relations at Tsinghua university, the elite college that schooled both China's president, Hu Jintao, and his likely successor, Xi Jinping.

He is also one of China's representatives to the Council of Security Cooperation of Asia-Pacific, a non-governmental body that coordinates security in the region.

Chinese and Japanese diplomats have met this week for talks over the crisis, but no agreement has been reached.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign ministry attacked Yoshihiko Noda, the Japanese prime minister, for telling reporters at the United Nations that the islands belonged to Japan.

"There are no territorial issues as such. Therefore, there cannot be any compromise that represents a retreat from this position," Mr Noda said.

"China is strongly disappointed and sternly opposes the Japanese leader's obstinacy regarding his wrong position on the Diaoyu Islands issue," replied the Chinese Foreign ministry.

In the balance is some £216 billion of bilateral trade. Last year, exports to China were responsible for three per cent of the Japanese economy.

Meanwhile Japan's new opposition leader, Shinzo Abe, is, if anything, more determined than Mr Noda. "Japan's oceans and territory are being threatened. It is my mission to overcome these difficulties," he said.

Several Japanese businesses on the Chinese mainland have had to shut down because of the crisis. Nissan, which relies on the Chinese market for as much as 25 per cent of its revenues, has shut down until October 7 after demand for its cars plummeted.

Toyota has suspended plants in Tianjin and Guangzhou until October 8.

Chinese consumers are shying away from Japanese cars not just because of nationalism, but out of fear after one man in Xi'an was beaten into a coma for driving a Japanese marque.

All Nippon Airways, meanwhile, said 40,000 reservations had been cancelled on flights between China and Japan from this month to November. A cruise line between Shanghai and Nagasaki will suspend its operations from October 13. Guizhou television has banned all advertisements by Japanese brands.

Mitsumi, a supplier for Nintendo, has not reopened its factory in Qingdao since September 16, while two toothbrush factories owned by Lion Corporation also remain shuttered.

Mr Yan predicted that if there was a military confrontation between China and Japan, the United States would not physically intervene.

"I do not think they will send soldiers to fight against the People's Liberation Army," he said. "They [the US] will be involved, but they can be involved in many different ways, providing intelligence, ammunition, political support, logistical help and so on."

Mr Yan said he expected whoever wins the US presidential election to continue to toughen policy on China.

"In terms of the economy, China and the US are partners. But in terms of security, they are rivals. We both know we cannot get along. Both sides are always alert to the other's military policy," he said.

"In the future, the military relationship will become more important. There is a simple reason for this: American hegemony is based on military capability and the military gap with China. When China narrows that gap, it will scare the US," he said.

However, he added that China increasingly needs to change the ideology that guides its foreign policy. "Deng Xiaoping said China should not take a leadership role, make no alliances, and focus on the economy.

"This gap, between China's international status and its foreign policy is widening. We have reached the point where China needs to seriously consider having a new policy consistent with its international status. I do not know when it will happen, but it will not be too long," he said.

Additional reporting by Valentina Luo

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Uncontrolled security threats on the Internet could return much of the planet to an era without electricity or automated transportation, top U.S. and Russian experts said on Thursday.

Former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden warned that the United States had yet to resolve basic questions about how to police the Internet, let alone how to defend critical infrastructure such as electric generation plants.

And if recently discovered and government-sponsored intrusion software proliferates in the same way that viruses have in the past, "somewhere in 2020, maybe 2040, we'll get back to a romantic time - no power, no cars, no trains," said Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive officer of Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, the largest privately held security vendor.

The back-to-back presentations at a Washington conference painted the starkest picture to date about the severity of the cybersecurity problem.

The past two years have seen an escalation of such warnings, especially about what U.S. officials have termed an unprecedented theft of trade secrets and, more lately, mounting threats to infrastructure.

At the same time, Congress failed last month to pass legislation aimed at protecting vital facilities, which Hayden bemoaned, and Kaspersky earlier this year detected extremely sophisticated surveillance programs that infiltrated personal computers and energy facilities in the Middle East.

If previous viruses were like bicycles, Kaspersky said, then the Stuxnet worm that damaged uranium enrichment centrifuges at the Natanz plant in Iran two years ago would be a plane, and the latest programs, dubbed Flame and Gauss, would be "space shuttles."

Researchers are still dissecting those heavily encrypted viruses. Kaspersky and others say they are related to Stuxnet, which officials have privately admitted was designed by U.S. and Israel intelligence forces.

But Kaspersky said Stuxnet, Flame and Gauss would become templates.

Although Stuxnet infected thousands of machines in friendly nations, it was written by cautious "professionals" who minimized collateral damage, Kaspersky said at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit at the National Press Club. The knock-off versions by others will be much less discriminating, he added.

To show how quickly computer attacks can proliferate, Kaspersky said an electronic assault that disabled thousands of computers at Saudi Arabia's Aramco in mid-August had followed a separate infection reported by an Iranian oil company a few months ago.

Mounting a defense against nation-sponsored attacks will be extraordinarily difficult, Kaspersky said, as it requires new operating systems designed to manage equipment at crucial facilities. He said stopping criminals and terrorists who will adopt the same techniques would take strong international cooperation and deeper monitoring of the Internet, which many oppose on privacy grounds.

"We need to upgrade our understanding that the world is different," Kaspersky said. "We need to pay more attention to the critical information technology security issues."

Yet Kaspersky and Hayden said international treaties or even nonbinding agreements were nowhere in sight.

What is more, Hayden said, both the divided U.S. Congress and even different agencies within the executive branch have failed to reach a consensus on fundamental concepts, in part because the issues are still so new.

A Senate bill backed by President Barack Obama would have set voluntary cybersecurity standards for critical plants and allowed for greater information-sharing between intelligence agencies and private companies. But the bill encountered opposition from both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which objected to additional regulation, and the American Civil Liberties Union, which was worried about privacy issues.

The White House is now developing an executive order that would not go so far, but it still wants more powerful laws.

Even inside the administration, Hayden said, the Defense Department has defined cyberspace as a warfare domain that it must "dominate," while the Department of Homeland Security has publicly disagreed.

A core problem is that the same communications networks are used both for military operations and civilian transactions, which are protected from unreasonable searches.

While most Americans would welcome a local police officer shining a light at a shrub in their yard after seeing something suspicious, almost no one would feel the same way about questionable Internet activity.

The National Security Agency has the most advanced capabilities for cyberattacks and defense in the world, Hayden said.

"It is awesome," he said. "But nobody there has the authorization to defend you," because the NSA is generally barred from domestic eavesdropping.

As governments and companies recognize that they have all been hacked and focus more on limiting the damage from breaches, Hayden called for more extensive debate from civilians on how the United States should treat the Internet.

"You and I have not yet given our government guidance about what we want it to do," he said.

SEE ALSO: CYBERSECURITY EXPERT: The US Is Vulnerable To Viruses Much Simpler Than Those It Used Against Iran >

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A Russian Orthodox bishop has lowered a "holy memorial capsule" into the sea at the North Pole in an attempt to "consecrate" the Arctic and reasserts Moscow's claims to the territory.

The service was held by Bishop Iakov on the ice alongside the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya during a polar expedition titled "Arctic-2012", organised by the country's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

The metal capsule carried the blessings of the church's leader, bearing the inscription: "With the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the consecration of the North Pole marks 1150 years of Russian Statehood."

The Kremlin is keen to claim the hydrocarbon riches off its northern coast despite territorial claims from other governments, and is gradually re-militarising the area.

A conservative Moscow think-tank suggested in July that the Arctic Ocean should be renamed the "Russian Ocean" and this week it was announced that MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft will be based in the region by the end of the year.

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, who says exploiting oil and gas reserves in the North is a "strategic priority".

At the North Pole, the bishop's service was attended by a small group of scientists and the Rossiya's captain Oleg Shchapin.

It was held during an expedition to find a floe suitable for Russia's 40th drifting polar research station and to deliver a 17-strong team to man the outpost for the next year.

The consecration earlier this month highlights Russia's urge to claim international waters beyond its continental shelf because of underwater ridges it says are attached to the mainland.

Bishop Iakov, who is thought to be the first Russian priest to visit the pole, emphasised that the consecration symbolised efforts "to restore Russia's position and confirm its achievements in the Arctic".

In 2007, in another political move, Russia planted its flag on the seabed below the polar ice cap using a remotely operated mini-submarine, symbolically laying claim to the surrounding area.

The Rossiya carried on its voyage an icon and holy relics of St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker, the patron saint of sailors, normally kept in the diocese's main church on dry land.

Bishop Iakov was appointed last year as bishop of the newly created, most northerly diocese of Naryan-Mar and Mezen, which lies inside the Arctic Circle on the White and Barents Seas.

The diocese includes the islands of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, where airfields have recently been upgraded by the Russian Air Force as operational strategic bomber stations.

One airbase on Graham Bell Island boasts a 7,000-foot year-round compacted ice runway.

Bishop Iakov has taken part in other polar missions, sailing the length of the contested Northern Sea Route between Scandinavia and Alaska along Russia's Arctic coast, which Russia claims and seeks to charge ships for using like the Panama Canal, but is regarded by most other countries as international waters.

In 2004 the bishop consecrated an Orthodox church in Antarctica at Russia's Bellingshausen research base.

SEE ALSO: Iceland's President Explains Why EVERYONE (Especially China) Is Watching The Arctic >

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As Turkey and Syria continue to lob ordnance back-and-forth across their shared border for the eighth straight day, news has emerged that Turkey is upping the ante.

David Cenciotti at The Aviationist reports that Turkey is sending 25 F-16 fighter jets close to the Syrian border.

As Cenciotti points out the planes are multi-purpose, capable of leading strikes into Syria or running down any Syrian jets getting too close to Turkey.

In addition to the F-16s, Turkey is deploying four F-4 Phantoms very much like the reconnaissance model shot down over Syria in June.

The F-16s are merely the final installment in a pretty comprehensive defense system that we outlined in a post put up a couple of days ago:

In June, after Syria shot down a Turkish fighter jet, Turkey sent a convoy of more than 30 military vehicles carrying missile batteries, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft artillery, anti-aircraft guns, military ambulances as well as troops to the Syrian border. (It's unclear what variety of weapons the Turks are using, but those links offer examples of each.)

In late September Turkey's private Dogan news agency reported that a six-vehicle convoy moved three Howitzers and an anti-aircraft gun to the border as shells from Syria began landing in Turkish towns near the border.

A Howitzer is a large gun that fires heavy shells, relatively short distances, at pretty steep angles. Howitzer shells come in many different varieties, but are commonly highly explosive.

Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency reports that the military deployed additional tanks and missile defense systems to the Syrian border on Sunday. Last week Turkey's parliament authorized sending troops across the border. 

Bloomberg reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told state-run television on Oct. 6 that the five civilian deaths in a Turkish border town on Oct. 3 were caused by a D30 type, 122mm artillery shell, which is used by the Syrian army. (A Turkish newspaper reported that it was a NATO mortar.)

To give you an idea of what goes into firing these things, here's the Afghan National Army firing a 122mm Howitzer.

And to provide an idea of what this type of shell can do, here's a video of U.S. combat engineers destroying a 122 mm artillery round in Iraq—the shrapnel actually hits their Humvee:

A Turkish newspaper Milliyet speculated that Turkish F-16 warplanes may strike Syrian artillery batteries if Syrian shells cause new casualties, according to Bloomberg.

SEE ALSO: These Are The Weapons Facing Any Country That Intervenes In Syria >

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In a glass case at Beijing's Imperial College, an 18th century book with a yellowed title page in bold, black characters is evidence -- some Chinese say -- that a swathe of modern-day Japan belongs to China.

The two Asian powers are already at loggerheads over a set of tiny uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, even stoking fears of armed conflict.

But the most aggressive Chinese nationalists -- tacitly encouraged by authorities -- say far more is open to claim, including the island of Okinawa, home to 1.3 million people and major US military bases.

The biggest of the Ryukyu Islands, which stretch for about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from Japan's mainland almost to Taiwan, Okinawa was the centre of the Ryukyuan kingdom, which pledged fealty to both Chinese emperors and Japanese feudal lords.

For hundreds of years it paid tribute to China's Ming and Qing dynasties, until it was absorbed by Japan in 1879.

The people of the Ryukyus are considered more closely related to Japan in ethnic and linguistic terms, than to China.

Some Chinese, however, see historical and cultural ties as a basis for sovereignty and dismiss Japan's possession of the islands as a legacy of its aggressive expansionism that ended in World War II defeat.

"This kind of thing proves Ryukyu is China's," said electrical engineer Zhu Shaobo, looking at a Qing dynasty volume from the 1760s about Ryukyuan students on display at the Imperial College, now a tourist site.

"Ryukyuan students studied hard and the cultural level of some was not inferior to Chinese students," explains an exhibit panel at the institution, which trained Imperial officials and some foreign students.

The belief that China has a legitimate claim to the Ryukyu Islands has existed among flag-wavers in China -- and Taiwan -- for years.

But it has been given new attention by the row over the uninhabited islets, known as the Diaoyu islands in China, which claims them, and as the Senkaku chain in Japan, which controls them.

In recent anti-Japan protests in China, some demonstrators carried signs reading: "Retake Ryukyu" and "Take back Okinawa".

China's government does not make such claims, but state media have carried articles and commentaries questioning Japan's authority.

In an article carried by state media in July, People's Liberation Army Major General Luo Yuan wrote: "The Ryukyu Kingdom had always been an independent kingdom directly under the Chinese imperial government before it was seized by Japan in 1879."

The kingdom, which lasted from 1429 until 1879, had a complex history wedged between powerful neighbours.

In return for tribute to Chinese emperors, trade and cultural ties flourished. But from the early 17th century, it came under pressure from Japan, suffering a punitive invasion and demands for loyalty and tribute.

Nominal independence, however, was maintained, and the "dual subordination" continued until the late 19th century when a modernising Japan could no longer tolerate Ryukyu's vague status.

Western and Japanese scholars say Okinawa's links to China are no basis for sovereignty claims today. Many states were part of a China-centred structure of international relations in Asia.

"It was a system of cultural subordination and also a way of the Chinese empire attempting to control trade," said Gregory Smits, an expert on Ryukyu history at Pennsylvania State University.

Experts see little chance of Beijing pushing a demand for Okinawa.

Gavan McCormack, emeritus professor at Australian National University, called any claim "quite unrealistic", adding it was probably "an extreme position to try and attract Japan back to the negotiating table".

Jia Qingguo, an international relations expert at Peking University, added: "I don't think the Chinese government wants to further complicate the already complicated issue."

Still, questions being raised over Japan's sovereignty worry Akihiro Kinjo, a 25-year-old Okinawa native and restaurant manager in Beijing.

Okinawa was the site of a deadly 1945 battle between Japan and the United States.

"Our grandmothers experienced war and based on their stories they had a horrible time," he said.

Under a security treaty with Japan the US maintains major military facilities on the island, and Washington is also making a strategic "pivot" to Asia, raising fears in Beijing of containment.

In August, the World Journal, a military affairs tabloid, carried a cover showing a projectile soaring toward Okinawa under the headline: "People's Liberation Army guided missile targets Okinawa bases."

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