₦airaland Forum

Where is the fingerprint reader from the pictures provided?

naijacutee:
I agree with you, Afam. Energy efficiency is a serious issue, however even more serious is the issue of acquiring energy in the first place. Igbo people say "Ekpere niile bere n'Amen" (All prayers end in Amen). I'm sure many Nigerians would give anything to have constant, uninterrupted electricity regardless of what source it comes from - clean or dirty. It is only when basic electric demands are met, that people can then decide "Since the light is always on, lets switch off the computer, instead of leaving it on standby to save bills". . . If the light suddenly comes on after 2/3 days, ones first instinct would be "lets charge this, that and the other. . "

Hello,

Thanks for your comments.

The interesting thing about energy generation and usage is that there is this delicate link that is so vital. Unless we are producing excess electricity the energy that is usually wasted could be used by others. Put differently, PHCN would be able to serve more people if they can recover a lot of energy that is usually being wasted by Nigerians, it doesn't matter if these Nigerians are paying for the energy, what matters is that the energy comes from a pool and managing this pool is very important if we want to see reasonable steady power supply.

A strong policy towards stopping the importation of energy inefficient products into the country will go a long way.

With energy efficient products alone the energy need of Nigerians and Nigeria could drop from say 11,000MW to say 3,000MW and you will agree with me that it is easier, cheaper and more likely to generate 3,000MW than it is to generate 11,000MW.

There is no better time to emphasize on the importance of energy efficiency than now considering the reality facing the world in terms of dwindling economy.

Even electronics makers are shifting to energy efficient products by updating or even radically changing designs to focus more on energy efficiency.

Why would someone be wasting say 900W of electricity every single hour when 75W of electicity is enough to achieve the same purpose? Why pay 12 times what you should be paying to PHCN simply because you do not want to take energy efficiency serious?

Why would PHCN and the relevant agencies in the power sector not take the issue of energy efficiency serious considering the fact that they cannot even march the demand for electricity today.

Take a look at your electronics and other home appliances in your homes and offices and see whether you can reduce your energy bills today and forever.

From electric incandescent bulbs that are energy inefficient to TVs, CRT based computer monitors, refrigerators to ACs that are unnecessarily power hungry the story is the same, we have energy efficient alternatives to these products and there is no reason why we cannot embrace them.

Even if the government refuses to do anything we should be able to crash our energy bills and divert the excess funds into other productive ventures.

Some of the many advantages of energy efficient products are reduced energy bills, smaller inverter backup systems for those that use them, smaller capacity generators for those that still depend on generators for backup power.

I have deliberately left out the issue of global warming and the part reduced carbon dioxide emissions play in reducing it because we have more than enough politics going on in that area so I will leave that to the environmentalists to defend or promote. Right now I want us to see the immediate benefits of embracing energy efficiency since we are most likely going to get involved in ventures that easily show whether we can make more money or lose more money based on our choices.

It is a win win situation, in fact there is no downside to it and as such should be the newest song in our mouths today.

As for the government, the current price of crude oil is enough to make it clear that the power to decide what people would pay for our oil does not lie with the government and it is very possible that one day the demand for crude oil will be so low that some states cannot even survive on the proceeds from crude oil sales.

Maybe the time is now for the government to promote or initiate alternative energy projects that could even be exported to other countries.

We have more than enough natural and human resources that could be taken advantage of to provide steady power supply to all Nigerians and even have enough to export to other countries.

With solar energy getting cheaper, wind turbines getting smaller, cars running on electricity forward thinking investors and governments should understand that the world is seriously moving towards alternative energy and energy efficiency.

You can reduce your energy requirements today or you can increase it, the choice is ultimately yours.

The phrase "The customer is always right" is not only wrong but ridiculous, misleading and has led to the down fall of a lot of businesses while throwing professionalism into the gutter.

Many of us grew up with this phrase, some of us due to our work environments are made to promote this even when we do not believe in it and many innocent workers have been thrown into the unemployment market due to this phrase that is so wrong and unfortunately being promoted by even big organizations like banks and retail outlets all over the country.

No boby can always be right. The customer cannot and the service provider cannot.

Agreed, many businesses are simply interested in the bottom line which is the money and regardless of how these funds come in there is no problem as long as they keep coming in.

I have been in business since 2003 and I believe I have had enough experiences in relating with clients in the 2 businesses I own and run (Just Web Services and Just Alternative Power).

I will use some examples to demonstrate why the customer is not always right.

Web development

Over the years I have come to understand why many websites don't do well in Nigeria based on my interactions with a lot of clients. Some of these clients actually came my way after having one, two or more failed attempts at developing websites or software for their businesses.

The average customer will provide very scanty information on what the real features he/she really wants in a web project. Once the project takes off the customer begins to bring to the table very serious issues that should have been brought to the table before cost implications were decided and considering the importance of the features you will immediately realize that these features were neither afterthoughts nor initially forgotten. No, they were deliberately left out in the discussions because the customer knew that they would cost money to implement.

The problem then arises if the service provider has received part payment and still has a balance to collect. The customer will insist on having all the features implemented (including the new ones that were never quoted for) before making available the balance while the service provider who may have been boxed into a corner would have the option of implementing features that would ordinarily incur additional costs at no cost or abandon the project (in essence, forgetting about his balance). Either way there will be friction and unnecessary bad blood between the customer and the service provider.

Best approach:
For the web developer, written contracts should be adhered to and make it clear that you will abide by the terms of references in the contract. Also ask for 100% payment for web projects. Sounds difficult but works like magic especially if you can demonstrate to the customer that you have all it takes to web enable any business process.

For the customer, always state from the beginning all the features and functionality required in your web project. Bring up any issues you may have on time as doing so after payment is decided upon may most likely cause problems because some features may require programming and the time required to do this must be paid for. Insist on seeing past projects and once you are convinced that the developer can deliver come clean with what you want to do.

Inverter backup systems

It seems to me that for every single successful inverter backup project you have two or three unsuccessful installations.

Again, the customer cannot be held responsible fully for the bad installations as I am aware that there are a lot of inverter dealers out there that don't know how inverters work, have not used inverters, don't understand battery bank sizing let alone being able to advice customers on what they need to enjoy reliable inverter backup for their homes and offices.

That said, this piece is about the customers that are usually wrong but would be the first to remind the service provider that the customer is always right.

Customers are initially tempted to downplay the load they want to backup in inverter backup solutions thinking that once they get quotations based on a reduced load estimate (just to get a lower cost) everything will just pan out after the system is installed when they will unleash the full load they intended for the backup.

This line of thought has led to a lot of frustrations, disappointments and wasted investments because battery based backup systems will only deliver power based on the charge in the battery bank and nothing more. Put differently, a battery bank that would deliver 20hrs of backup with just 1 TV will deliver only 5hrs of backup with 4 TVs assuming same power rating.

In this case who do you blame? The easiest route would be to blame the service provider even when he may have done his/her calculations based on the information the customer provided.

Still on inverter backup systems, I have had issues with customers who know very little about electricity, wiring systems, inverters etc trying to direct you on what to do while telling you that they are graduates of some universities and that they read electrical/electronics engineering. Considering the fact that electricity is dangerous I usually do not waste time in telling them that they are indeed very wrong and I usually advice them to do some research to learn more because I will not risk the lives of customers just because I want to please a customer.

In most cases when they must have realized their mistakes they tell me that the way I tried to correct them was not good and that I should understand that they are my customers and as such I should not be arguing with them. Some will even threaten not to recommend other people to me and each time I hear this I will remind them that our contract really don't cover recommendations as I am simply interested in providing reliable services that have been duly paid for.

Further more, I make it clear to them that friendship is completely optional in any business relationship. The customer demands reliable services or products that have been paid for while the service providers owe the customer the delivery of these reliable services and products.

Best approach:
For the service provider, always ask for a written list of appliances that the backup will support and insist on load separation to guarantee that only load designed for the system will be powered by the inverter.

For the customer, always provide complete list of appliances and state the required backup time expected. Check references and contact them directly if need be to ensure that other customers are not having problems using solutions from the service provider.

Unjust firing of bank staff

I have witnessed first hand, customers insulting bankers in the banking hall for no reasons, in the majority of the cases that I have witnessed, the customers actually based their insults on ignorance and/or lack of understanding of the issues they were interested in. Sometimes I am forced to intervene and point out to the customer where he/she may be missing the point. Even apologies to the bank staff cannot be enough to erase the pain felt for the simple fact that someone was raining abuses and curses for no reasons at all and because the bank believes that the customer is always right the banker cannot do anything.

Recently two people were fired in one of the most visible banks in Nigeria because the bank believes that the customer is always right and this particular incident is most unfortunate.

Gist has it that a customer of the bank made a transaction that was supposed to enable his family (living in another state) access funds but for some reasons the funds could not be accessed and for good reasons the customer went to the bank to find out why.

He first met the CSO of the branch who was on the phone and because he couldn't wait (probably felt that the phone should have been dropped regardless of the issues being discussed) and went to talk to a cashier who asked the customer to point out who received the payment so as to be able to figure out what may have gone wrong since it was not a regular deposit.

Not satisfied he went to see the ranking officer in the branch who resolved the problem.

Now, this customer sent an email to the CEO of the bank and expressed his dissatisfaction with the responses he got from the CSO and the cashier. Without any investigation and of course without giving the CSO and the cashier any opportunity to tell their stories top executives decided that the best course of action was to fire the two workers and as I write this piece these two people have been fired because someone knew someone that had the power to hire and fire at will.

Let us all remember that the customer, those that recommended sack without investigation and the CEO of the bank may have children and similar fate may befall them where ever they may be right now or in the future because we will surely reap whatever we sow if not now then certainly later.

Maybe poverty is rampant in the country, maybe we try to please people even when it is impossible to please everyone, maybe we are desperate to keep our jobs or maybe we simply accept policies or even make them even when we do not believe in them or understand them.

There are a lot of maybes but the fact remains that the customer is not always right and there are countless experiences and incidents to support this position.

Many businesses have crumbled trying to please everyone. Professionalism is almost non existent in Nigeria today because those who are ready to accept insults or lick boots would not mind doing so as long as they see the money. Where is the job satisfaction? What about integrity, credibility, dignity? Have we so freely forgotten about these things just for naira and kobo?

For those still in business and especially those going into business I want you to remember this; the most successful businesses in the world today actually place emphasis on the quality of products and services they render and in most cases you never get to even have direct contact with them.

They understand that the reliability of their products (in the midst of fierce competition and increasing sophistication of customers) will ultimately determine whether they will remain in business or not.

Always remember that the customer is only paying you for your services or products because the customer needs the products or services. Nobody will pay you because he/she likes your face otherwise the person could as well forget about the product or service and give you the cash just to prove that he/she really likes you.

All you need to do is to maintain the highest level of professional integrity and trust me serious customers will find you and when they do they will never give you stress neither will they insult you because they will be more interested in the products and services you may be delivering.

rancetech:
The last time I checked, a software developer is somebody that designs as well codes. In broader terms, a developer can do the whole thing from start to finish.

Thanks a lot for pointing that out. This is how people who know very little mislead others and continue to embarrass themselves.

Most companies are more comfortable with foreign companies because quite a number of local companies have caused a lot of pains to a lot of businesses in Nigeria, as simple as that.

I have seen a lot of web projects that don't make sense, don't solve any problems, in fact some of them actually hurt the very brands they were meant to protect or improve.

We have a lot of talkers and braggers with little or nothing to show for it.

It will only get worse and for good reasons too.

The web is not the same thing as the print media where artistes pose as customers and smile at you to make you like a product. The web is task oriented and until quite a number of web developers realize this many businesses will continue to have bad experiences with their web projects that are most times full of meaningless images and irrelevant stuff.

quikengr:
Plz can anyone help me with details of practical training on how to build the solar/inverter?

Just as Toyota, Coca cola, Honda etc will not train you on how to do what they do they way they do them it will be very difficult to see any company that will devote time to teach or train you on how to build inverters.

What you have around are training centers where they provide information they probably got from the internet for free. These people make their money by selling the information, not by doing what they are preaching.

Just have these things in mind while searching for training centers.

Keep throwing around words. This is crazy, someone who asked a client that actually paid him for a web project to go get oracle database because he wrongly thought mysql could not do the job is trying to offer advice?

Guy, go apologize and refund the money you collected from the client you misled rather than sleeping and waking up on wikipedia, it is obvious you have complex issues.

As usual you have succeeded in diverting attention from the original post. You will remain inconsequential that is a promise because you lie a lot and you keep claiming to know this and that without any single stuff being verified. You are in my opinion a fraud. Have come across many like you, trust me.

I am one of those that are truly afraid of the future of this country when I get to see how educated and semi educated Nigerians reason like goats.

I can assure you by the time you are done you would have made other claims about what you have done that are never verified. Where did we stop the other time? You developed Pentagon website or google, which one?

Unless words have lost their meanings I believe you are completely floating as regards understanding of what you just reproduced. In a typical law court you would have done enough to get a conviction all by yourself.

Still cursing?

Well, we have 2 people already with the necessary titles talking about the project so don't mess up the thread and stop making a fool of yourself.

If he needs an architect then advice him on that with good reasons and stop proving to the world that you are just floating and trying to look smart.

It seems I have just learned that an architect is basically an IT consultant, wonders shall never end. Maybe any that uses a kettle to boil water can pass for a cook.

A pastor can fly a plane if he knows how.

An IT consultant can write a program or develop software but an IT consultant is not a programmer or software developer. Even spelling difference is enough to show that these are not one and the same.

I sincerely hope you will be able to tell the difference. Who am I kidding? The same guy that advised a client to go get oracle database because he wrongly thought that mysql could not handle a project he was paid for leaving behind another dissatisfied client that believes that Nigerian programmers are no good and are just cheats, shame.

Seems you have not embarrassed yourself enough, the floor is open.

You need a software developer or a programmer not an IT consultant unless you are willing to pay an IT consultant to help you get a good programmer.

blezzing:
It is a pity that people will try to under rate the intelligence of their neibours. as in the case of AFAM or what does it call himself? you better be careful or i will report you to the moderator.

Don't get excited over nothing. The only reason why I take time to post on this thread is to provide information to the general public that could prevent them from being duped or ripped off just as many Nigerians are right now on anything inverter backup.

Aside from that exchanging words with someone that uses multiple IDs on a forum would be an insult on my part. Just to let you know before you think you deserve any attention.

sleek dude:
Afam, i have been to your office twice at allen avenue, but you are never around or don't you get messages from your neigbours that somebody came looking for you?

plsssss, if you no won see inverter, tell me so i will find other alternative ohhhhhhhhh as the name implies,

In this age and time where technology makes life easy and simple I would have believed that one should at least confirm any appointment before taking a trip to an office or house as it is cheaper to make a call to confirm than to visit an office only to find out that the person you needed to see is not in the office.

Yes, I was told that someone came looking for me but that someone did not drop a name or a contact number neither did I miss any appointment.

I attend to clients based on appointments. So, we must agree on a time for meeting as I am usually busy even in the office or on the road.

We do not stock inverters, we build according to order based on user requirements.

Feel free to contact others for your inverter needs if you so wish. We do not run a monopoly but we pride ourselves in providing backup solutions that work all the time and that is what matters to us.

Enjoy the weekend.

HC:
I think it will work in Nigeria, just depends on location, cause the turbine need some high speed to work, except the ones that were being developed in Asia some years back; the turbines were made to be as light as a cieling fan blade.

Turbines don't need high speed to work. There are design issues that make high speed even unnecessary and unsafe for generating electricity.

tomi_ade:
wind turbine?? and where would it be placed, plus where is the wind coming from, i don't think that would work in nigeria, it should be in places where heavy winds are located,

It can work in Nigeria, in fact there is nothing stopping it from working in Nigeria.

All you need is money to buy, install and enough clearance both horizontal and vertical to avoid turbulence.

The wind turbine don't need too much wind, it is not like fan. The higher the position the better for those living in low land areas.

afam@justalternativepower.com or see www.justalternativepower.com

I will not answer any question you have addressed to myself and the same person that has been using multiple usernames to confuse people on this forum, sorry.

Be warned!

destiny10 and blezzing are one and the same person.

He tries to create a false sense of credibility by asking himself questions and providing answers to the same questions.

Simply check out the profiles of the two names and you will see the same person making similar posts on some sections and providing the same email address for people to contact.

It is sad that people like these have access to this forum.

@topic,

For someone willing to train other on web development I believe you should have a decent and effective website, not necessarily flashy but simple and useful.

Take a look at any website you like ans see if you can come up with something similar, that way you will uncover a lot of tricks and skills while trying to develop the site.

Practice, practice, practice. Good luck.

Ojukwu remains a hero who fought a war that the Yorubas would have fought if Brigadier Ogundipe who at the time of the counter coup was the most senior army officer who should have taken over.

Ojukwu would never accept Gowon as his CIC and that is normal in the army considering Gowon's rank.

As the leader of Biafra Ojukwu could not have negotiated any surrender because he was the symbol of the struggle at that time. Put differently, the war would have been more bitter (even in defeat) if Ojukwu surrended himself whether alive or killed.

He did what was appropriate at that time and well meaning Igbos respect him till tomorrow for what he sacrificed for his people.

NB: It is Igbo not Ibo

Little wonder they say that the Nigerian graduate is increasingly becoming unemployable.

Did anyone state that google is running on PHP or is this clown's monitor upside down or what?

Hope you don't graduate to the stage where you will start to catch flies on the road, so take your medication often and stay off hard drugs.

Logica can be really stupid.

Where do you place the can in this case? Present tense, past or future tense?

logica:
Saying smart cards can be programmed in PHP should mean that there exists @ least 1 API for doing this, and the API should not be a wrapper for another framework written in some other language. The fact that PHP is similar to C (in syntax more like) does not mean it has the power of C.

Did you really put down the content in bold above? Should mean? Guy, so you are now qualifying words with should? Maybe you need to understand the meaning of should before you run mad completely in the process of trying to understand the meaning of can.

logica:
So if you want to imply that it is possible to develop an API entirely in PHP for programming smart cards, you are not speaking in the present tense. that will be in the future tense and "can" is not appropriate. "Can" is used in the present tense. The fact I said I was done with you probably prompted you to spew more crap. I full ground for you. And the free lessons continue.

This your moronic generalization self. Oh, you stated you were done with me but you never meant it since you have nothing in common with words like credibility and integrity. So, it really doesn't matter if you lie or say things you don't mean.

It seems we are dealing with someone with zero credibility here.

On PHP, smart cards and embedded environments, I will respond to any reasonable issue you raise. I will not waste my time dealing with the confusion and lack of understanding you are currently going through right now.

I will pray for those you claimed you mentored because if they are really lucky some of them will be driving okada or buses right now as I don't see any of them doing well if their mentor will shamelessly advice a client to get oracle database any time he runs into problems using a third party software.

Is Oracle paying you for this wrong advice or is it just plain stupidity? Only God knows how many people you have scammed with this Oracle database scheme once you collect money for projects and can't deliver.

Can someone explain to this slowpoke the meaning of CAN?

If one cannot understand a word as simple as can then it would amount to sheer wickedness to expect the person to reason like a human being.

PHP can be used to program smart cards and PHP can be used to develop applications that run in embedded environments. I guess this clown have not seen this on google so he cannot understand why someone would be saying this.

There is a world of difference between acquisition of knowledge and application of knowledge.

I have found a complete slowpoke that is devoid of any sense of reasoning and without any doubt lacks both native intelligence and acquired intelligence.

I believe you are exactly where you needed to be - confused and clutching at anything to save your face after so many blunders.

PHP is a scripting language that is very close to C. Who am I kidding? Do I really expect you to understand that?

In conclusion I will delve a little bit into the other part that you have been making a lot of noise about. 

Embedded environment is a concept and not a technology and as such you can develop software that can run in embedded environments by understanding the processing power of the underlying operating system, stripping the language to the very essentials codes and even in cases where you require databases (not just flat files) you can get stripped down versions of any database (mysql in this case).

I would want to assume that you do not understand the concept behind embedded environments so I can understand your very sorry line of reasoning that PHP cannot be used in such environments.

On smart cards just remember that I made it clear that it can be developed using PHP, the key work here is can and this is not the same thing as saying that I have programmed smart cards using PHP.

Your comments on SIM cards being smart cards are unnecessary considering the fact you have messed up on basic issues while confusing and ripping off clients by advising them wrongly when you couldn't deliver on a simple PHP and MySQL solution so to be honest with you it will take a miracle for me to believe anything you put down. If this will make you sleep well my thoughts about you are - olodo, a liar, very unintelligent, making bogus claims, lacks basic understanding of issues.

Arsenal is playing a match today so I may not be responding to any more lies and claims you may come up with. But I may respond if the next bogus claim is really serious like claiming that you invented the computer.

Thanks Brume,

Will do you an email shortly on the Vista Ultimate as I got 1 no Vista Home Premium and 1 no Vista Business today, both have 250GB and 3GB RAM.

Will you promise to hide your head in shame if you are shown on this forum that you can program smart cards using PHP?

Again do not bother with any claims on experimenting with anything because your lies are way too much. Your level of intelligence is abysmally low. Do you take statements out of context or do you find it difficult to understand statements?

The next thing I will read is how you rewrote the new yahoo interface for the company.

And he continues to display his stupidity.

1. I never stated that PHP can replace J2ME. However, in my opinion and based on application of knowledge any programming language if mastered well can be used to achieve tasks you may think cannot be achieved simply because you are used to hearing of a particular language.

2. On Smart cards and PHP, again you have proven to the world that you are a complete slowpoke. I started taking a good look at smart card technology as far back as 2005 and have complete working codes for different applications though written in languages different from PHP could easily be rewritten to run on PHP.

Since you like google too much type smartcard programming in PHP when you get to google and when you are done with the search results you can either hide your head in shame or continue to embarrass yourself without setting any upper limit.

The chicken seems like it is coming home to roost. You are indeed a very big clown, thanks for entertaining.

Hi Brume,

Thanks. I am getting this for a cousin of mine. I am not touching any laptop that is not loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate as I never compromise on quality when getting electronics.

The laptop I am using now is almost 7 years old and works like new because it was top of the range when I got it in January 2003 for N280k and it works almost every day without any issues whatsoever.

So, I would appreciate it if you could get pricing and logistics information on any Vista Ultimate machine with 3 or 4GB RAM.

Enjoy the weekend and stay blessed.

We have about 21 hrs between your last post and the one before the last (the one that was ignored) and this goes to show that you are indeed desperately trying to be heard after you have proven to everyone that you know very little about issues you dabble into and dabble out with very wrong positions and opinions.

There is no substitute for real education, throwing around one liners that were picked up from google or ebooks will not turn you into an expert on anything remotely connected to IT (based on what I have read from you anyway).

Now you are talking about php-gtk, sorry, I don't use it. I developed what I developed using the same general knowledge of PHP and MySQL. This is why I insist that you know nothing because anyone that understands any programming language well enough will do a lot with the knowledge instead of going from one forum to the other making claims that are lies and advising clients wrongly.

Better go and apologize to the Nigerian client you advised to get oracle and in the process collected money without delivering on the project. It is people like you that bring bad names to programmers that are Nigerians. Or, better still return the client's money as it is fraudulent for you to agree to do a project you were incapable of completing.

Thanks.

The request will be done with by 4.00pm today, many thanks for your time.

Hello,

Anyone with 1 or 2 units of the laptops with the following minimum configurations?

3GB or 4GB RAM
200GB hard disk
Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate edition

HP or Toshiba

If available please send sms to 08023519492 with your final price and if ok I will make money available today before 4pm and the laptop must be accompanied with a receipt.

N140,000.00 or N150,000.00 available depending on the model and features.

From my inbox - Viewpoint article

This one fit be better diversion make people no too worry about the crippling economy

++++++++++++ +++++++++ +++++++++ +++++++++ +++++++++ ++++

Special RADAR and Troops Deployed to Israel

U.S. European Command has deployed to Israel a high-powered
X-band radar and the supporting people and equipment needed
for coordinated defense against Iranian missile attack,
marking the first permanent U.S. military presence on
Israeli soil.

More than a dozen aircraft, including C-5s and C-17s,
helped with the Sept. 21 delivery of the AN/TPY-2
Transportable Radar Surveillance/ Forward Based X-band
Transportable, its ancillary components and some 120 EuCom
personnel to Israel's Nevatim Air Base southeast of
Beersheba, said sources here and in Stuttgart, Germany.

Among the U.S. personnel is at least one representative
from the Missile Defense Agency, although officials said
the agency had little to no say in the deployment decision.
MDA involvement has been confined to providing equipment
and advice on technical aspects of its deployment, one
official said.

The Raytheon-built FBX-T system is the same phased-array
radar that was deployed to northern Japan with the U.S.
Pacific Air Forces in 2006. The high-powered, high-
frequency, transportable X-band radar is designed to
detect and track ballistic missiles soon after launch.

Its ancillary gear included cooling systems, generators,
perimeter defense weaponry, logistics supplies and dozens
of technicians, maintenance specialists and security forces
to operate and defend the U.S. installation.

EuCom has repeatedly deployed troops and Patriot air
defense batteries for joint exercises and Iraq-related
wartime contingencies but has never before permanently
deployed troops on Israeli soil.

A EuCom spokesman declined to comment. MDA officials
referred to the U.S. State Department, which did not
provide comment Friday.

An Israeli military spokesman said the Israel Defense
Forces enjoys long-standing strategic cooperation with
all branches of the U.S. military.

"This cooperation is varied and comes in multiple forms,
and it is not our practice to discuss details of our
bilateral activities," he said.

Nevertheless, in previous interviews, U.S. and Israeli
officials confirmed that the X-band deployment plan was
approved in July, first by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his Israeli counterpart,
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi; and then by Defense Secretary
Robert Gates and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

SHAVING MINUTES FROM REACTION TIME

The radar will be linked to the U.S. Joint Tactical
Ground Station, which receives and processes threat data
transmitted by U.S. Defense Support System satellites.
According to U.S. and Israeli sources, JTAGS will remain
in Europe, but its essential cueing data will stream into
the forward-deployed X-band radar, where it instantaneously
shares information with Israel’s Arrow Weapon System.

Once operational, the combined U.S. and Israeli system
is expected to double or even triple the range at which
Israel can detect, track and ultimately intercept Iranian
missiles, according to Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director
of the MDA.

During a visit to Israel in early August, Obering said the
X-Band radar could add precious minutes to the time in
which Israel has to respond to incoming missile attacks.

"The missile threat from Iran is very real, and we must
stay ahead of the threat, that's why we're working so
hard with all our allies to put the most optimized,
effective, anti-missile capabilities in place," Obering
said.

"In the context of Israel, if we can take the radar out
here and tie it into the Arrow Weapon System, they'll be
able to launch that interceptor way before they could with
an autonomous system," he added.

Brig. Gen. Ilan Biton of the Israel Air Force reserves, a
former commander of the nation's air defense forces, could
not comment on the latest developments associated with the
X-band radar. However, he said that an IAF air defense
brigade established during his 2003-06 tenure has
continuously demonstrated its ability to interoperate well
with American forces.

"We advanced tremendously on multiple levels and have
developed very impressive cooperation, " Biton said at a
Sept. 22 conference in Herzliya. Referring to bilateral
Juniper Cobra air defense exercises and the 2003 deployment
of Patriot batteries prior to the U.S.-led invasion of
Iraq, Biton noted, "At the human level, we've developed a
common language and at the technical level, we’ve put in
place the interfaces that allow our systems to speak to one
another."

The end result, according to Biton, is a combined ability
"to manage battles, execute debriefs and implement
corrections, all in real time."

TWIN MESSAGES

As U.S. public affairs officers last week debated whether
to publicly disclose the Israel deployment, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a U.N. General Assembly
meeting in New York, continued to defend his country's
nuclear enrichment and missile development program.

"Iran's [nuclear] activities are peaceful," Ahmadinejad
said Sept. 23, adding that in Israel, "the Zionist regime
is on a definite slope to collapse."

A U.S. government source said the X-band deployment and
other bilateral alliance-bolstering activities send
parallel messages: "First, we want to put Iran on
notice that we're bolstering our capabilities through-
out the region, and especially in Israel. But just as
important, we're telling the Israelis, 'Calm down;
behave. We're doing all we can to stand by your side and
strengthen defenses, because at this time, we don't want
you rushing into the military option.'"

But in Israel, frustration is mounting at what is roundly
perceived as a lack of international resolve to halt Iran's
nuclear weapons drive. At a Sept. 21 meeting of the Israeli
Cabinet, an Israeli military intelligence officer reported
that Iran is accelerating the pace at which it enriches
uranium, and that Tehran already possesses possibly half
of the fissionable material needed to produce its first
nuclear warhead.

Reflecting Israeli concern about the ineffectiveness of
sanctions against Tehran, Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head
of Military Intelligence' s research department, reported,
"The international front against Iran is weak and not
consolidated, and isn't putting enough pressure on the
regime to stop enriching uranium."

According to selected excerpts from the briefing released
by the Israeli prime minister's office, Baidatz warned that
Iran is "galloping toward a nuclear bomb."

"The sanctions have very little influence and are far from
bringing to bear a critical mass of pressure on Iran," he
added.

Vago Muradian contributed to this report from Washington,
Barbara Opall-Rome from Tel Aviv.

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