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No surprises here. On a day in which Audi has dominated the news – by buying Ducati and unveiling a new concept for the Beijing auto show – it completes the hat trick by announcing that its new factory will be built in Mexico. Production is slated to begin in 2016, but Audi only announced that the plant would be building “an SUV model.” Speculating on which that might be, we imagine it would make sense for one of the brand’s high-volume nameplates to be built here in North America, which would point to the Q5.

Audi parent Volkswagen already operates facilities in the Mexican cities of Puebla and Silao, so the company is intimately familiar with the nuances of building cars in the country. That should help in getting the facility up to speed quickly Emilio Pucci Dresses, although Audi board members emphasized finding the right location in Mexico in their statement announcing the decision.

Audi also said it could supply vehicles from Mexico worldwide, and reiterated its goal of selling two million vehicles each year by 2020. That, of course Christian Audigier Clothes, is part of Volkswagen’s stated intent of becoming the world’s largest carmaker by the end of this decade.

Robert Gates

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wants to send 7,000 more U.S. troops—about two brigades—to Afghanistan, according to the May 3 New York Times. But there’s a problem, which the story underplays: We don’t have any more troops to send. The Army is in a zero-sum state: No more soldiers can be sent to Afghanistan without a one-for-one reduction of soldiers in Iraq.

Let’s look at the numbers.

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After the last of the five “surge” brigades goes home this summer, the U.S. Army will have 13 brigade combat teams in Iraq (the Marines have two more) and two in Afghanistan. One BCT serves as a “global response force,” ready to respond to a small-scale emergency elsewhere in the world. One is in Korea. One is dedicated to homeland defense and security. One, at a base in Fort Riley, Kan. Fake Richard Mille Watches for sale, is training soldiers to become advisers to Iraqi and Afghan security forces. That adds up to 19 BCTs. All the other Army brigades are either between deployments or in their 12-month downtime periods, having fulfilled their 12-to-15-month deployment tours. (For a little more detail on these numbers, click here.)

And that’s it. There are no more combat brigades left. To send one or two more brigades to Afghanistan would require taking one of five steps:

Extend combat tours from 12 months to 15 months. The Army already did this, during the surge. Starting this August, at senior officers’ insistence, soldiers will go back to serving 12-month tours. The longer tours have triggered great worry Replica Longines Watches, at very high levels, that the Army was nearing the point of exhaustion and, without a letup, would soon break down. In short, Secretary Gates and the entire Army brass are adamantly opposed to renewing the 15-month combat tour.Lengthen the Marines’ tours of duty. Marines are deployed for combat for just seven months at a time, but Fake Hamilton Watches for sale, as with the Army, there is no interest—either among senior officers or civilian officials—in extending them.Mobilize the entire Guard and Reserves. No president has ever done this, including Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War, because it would put thousands of untrained, ill-suited people into battle and trigger widespread revolt on the home front.Sacrifice one of America’s other missions. In other words, pull the brigade out of South Korea or eliminate the global response force (thus leaving us with no ability to deal with any sudden contingencies in the near future) or forget about homeland defense (good luck selling that one). This option, too, is a nonstarter.Pull one brigade out of Iraq for every brigade needed in Afghanistan.

This last option is the only one that’s at all practical. There is no way to put more boots in Afghanistan without taking boots out of Iraq. As one senior Army officer put it to me, having it both ways is, “in a word, impossible Fake Jacob & Co Watches for sale,” and anyone who thinks otherwise, he added, is “dreaming.” Gates, by the way, is not among the daydreamers. His press secretary Discount Replica Hamilton Watches, Geoff Morrell, said in an e-mail today that Gates well knows that, fundamentally, “the only way he can add significant forces to Afghanistan, while keeping the President’s commitment to reduce tour-lengths, is to continue the drawdown of troops in Iraq.”

One might wonder: Couldn’t the Army just stage another surge? Here’s the thing, and this hasn’t been well-understood: The surge was always something of an artifice. The term suggests gathering up a bunch of extra troops—in this case, five brigades’ worth—and hurling them into Iraq. In fact, there were no extra troops. The surge involved accelerating the departure of brigades already scheduled to go to Iraq—and then keeping them there for 15 months instead of the customary 12. The Army had more troops on the ground, but only because the troops were there for a longer period of time.

These calculations do point up to a larger set of problems. The United States has the world’s most powerful military. This military consumes more money (adjusting for inflation) than it did at the height of the Cold War. Not counting the costs of the two wars Best place to buy Replica Graham London Watches, it spends as much on the military as the rest of the world’s countries combined. And yet, despite all this money and global reach, the U.S. Army finds itself unable to sustain more than 150,000 or so troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The next president has a lot more to mull over than whether to move a few brigades from Iraq to Afghanistan. It’s time—it’s urgent—to rethink the broad outlines of American foreign and military policy. If such a big budget buys so few combat brigades, should we restructure the armed forces? If we simply need more troops, how are we going to get them—through higher pay, more glittering benefits, a return to the draft? If we need to rely more on allies, what can we offer to get them onboard? Right now, there’s a mismatch between our imperial missions and our constricted forces. Either we have to expand our forces or cut back on our missions. To stay the course is to guarantee more stalemates, frustrations, and defeats.

Julian Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange turned himself in to British police on Tuesday after Sweden put out a warrant for his arrest. Assange stands accused of “rape Maurice Lacroix Replica Watches, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion” during encounters with two Swedish women. But some Assange defenders are suggesting that the 39-year-old Australian is the victim of government-sponsored seduction, known as a “honey trap.” Are honey traps real, or are they found only in James Bond movies?

Oh Chopard Replica Watches, they’re real. Honey traps, also called “honey pots,” have been a favorite spying tactic as long as sex and espionage have existed—in other words, forever. Perhaps the earliest honey trap on record was the betrayal of Samson by Delilah, who revealed Samson’s weakness (his hair) to the Philistines in exchange for 1,100 pieces of silver, as described in the Book of Judges. The practice continued into the 20th century and became a staple of Cold War spy craft. Governments around the world set up honey traps to this day, but it’s an especially common practice in Russia and China. The Central Intelligence Agency doesn’t comment on whether its agents use their sexuality to obtain information, but current and former intelligence officials say it does happen occasionally.

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The classic honey trap is seduction to extract secrets. Perhaps the best-known trap layer was the Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari, who was executed by firing squad in France in 1917 for allegedly passing secrets along to the Germans. Other times, spies set honey traps to draw their victims into their enemy’s clutches. In 1978, undercover Sandinista operative Nora Astorga lured a Nicaraguan general into her bedroom, where assailants slit his throat. When Israeli technician Mordechai Vanunu went public with secrets about Israel’s nuclear capabilities in 1986, he fled to London, only to be seduced by a woman who led him to Mossad agents in Rome. (A rabbi later determined that the Mossad’s actions were Fake Dior Watches, in fact, kosher.)

Honey trapping often leads to blackmail—though some of the more famous examples didn’t go according to plan. In one 1957 case, the Soviets recruited an attractive man to seduce legendary (and gay) American columnist Joseph Alsop. When KGB agents tried to blackmail Alsop with compromising photos, he went to the American authorities and told them everything. London Daily Telegraph correspondent Jeremy Wolfenden got similarly ensnared in the 1960s, when the KGB photographed him having sex with another man. Wolfenden told the British embassy Fake Free Gift Watches, and they asked him to become a double agent. The stress drove him to drink. He died at age 31. When the KGB tried to blackmail Indonesian President Achmed Sukarno with videotapes of the president having sex with Russian women disguised as flight attendants, Sukarno wasn’t upset. He was pleased. He even asked for more copies of the video to show back in his country.

Women, too, have been honey-trap targets. During the Cold War, East German intelligence chief Markus Wolf sent Stasi “Romeo spies” into West Germany to seduce powerful women and extract their secrets. * In the early ’80s, a CIA agent stationed in Ghana fell in love with a man who turned out to be a Ghanaian intelligence officer.

No one has perfected the honey trap quite like the Russians. One former KGB agent has said that the Soviet intelligence agency didn’t ask Russian women to stand up for their country but “asked them to lay down.” One of the biggest Cold War spy cases was that of Clayton Lonetree, a Marine Corps security guard entrapped by a female Soviet officer Fake Dolce & Gabbana Watches, then blackmailed into sharing documents. In 1987, he became the first Marine convicted of espionage. Russian spy craft didn’t disappear with the Soviet Union. Russian political satirist Viktor Shenderovich was recently filmed cheating on his wife with a young woman named Katya, who had also seduced a half dozen other Kremlin critics. A similar trap appeared to catch  an American diplomat in Moscow in 2009, but the State Department said the evidence was fabricated as part of a smear campaign. *  China, too, seems to employ honey traps regularly. When former Deputy Mayor of London Ian Clement was seduced and drugged in his Beijing hotel room in 2009 only to find his BlackBerry stolen the next day Replica Rolex Watches, he admitted that he “fell for the oldest trick in the book.”

Got a question about today’s news?  Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Joseph Finder, author of  Vanished;Col. Rose Mary Sheldon of the Virginia Military Institute; and Tim Weiner, author of Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA.

Like  Slate and the Explainer on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Correction, Dec. 10, 2010: This article incorrectly stated that the East German intelligence operation took place during World War II. (Return to the corrected sentence.)

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A little confusion travels quickly. As long ago as last year and as recently as last week’s Chicago Auto Show Fake Movado Watches for sale, the bed-happy gents at PickupTrucks.com were told that a new Honda Ridgeline would be arriving sometime in 2011. Now the guys have been told by Honda Buy Cheap Replica Rolex Watches, “That’s not the case.” The proper information: “there will be no significant change to the Ridgeline through the 2011 model year.”

That leaves the Honda pickup to soldier on through a 50-percent decline in sales and EPA numbers on the wrong side of frugality for at least another two years. And with a five-year-old design. Perhaps Honda wants to see how the truck market (and the auto market in general) does in the near term before it decides what the next Ridgeline should be. Or perhaps the company wants to get its core models in order Discount Replica Seiko Watches, like those hybrids Fake Hublot Watches for sale, before it makes another play at a small segment. We only have guesses – but there are certainly people out there who’d rather have a new Ridgeline.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

2011 Audi A7 Sportback – Click above for high-res image gallery
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Autoblog is driving the stunning new Audi A7 Sportback at its international media launch this week in Sardinia, and the scuttlebutt around the hotel bar is that a hotter performance variant Replica Wyler Watches, the S7, will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show in the coming weeks.

With garden-variety U.S. A7 five-door powered by the latest evolution of Audi’s supercharged 3.0-liter TFSI six-cylinder engine backed by a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic Best place to buy Replica Concord Watches, it will be interesting to see what the higher-performance S7 brings to the party. As is often the way with such things MB&F Replica Watches, Audi representatives here on the Mediterranean island are stopping just short of confirming the debut altogether, and they certainly aren’t telling us what will lurk under in the engine bay of the all-wheel drive hatchback.

Like other German automakers, Audi has pledged to back down from the cylinder-count escalation wars that have marked the last decade of its performance products Where find Replica Raymond Weil Watches, so we certainly aren’t expecting a further derivation of the Lamborghini-sourced 5.2-liter V10 engine found in the current S6. The company has also been veering away from its excellent 4.2-liter FSI engine as seen in the R8 and S5 coupe, so it’s possible that this engine won’t make it into the S7 as well. Sister brand Bentley has already confirmed that the 2011 Continental GT will be available with a V8 engine for the first time Replica Aigner Watches, and it’s broadly suspected that the new engine will be a direct-injected 4.0-liter turbo, and an Audi-fied version of that powerplant is expected to filter down throughout the S6/S7/S8 range.

Even though North American A7s will funnel their 296 horsepower exclusively through a paddle-shift eight-speed automatic, the model range is available with a seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch cogswapper in European markets, and it’s likely that Audi would save this more sports-oriented gearbox for the higher-performance S7. A six-speed manual is also a possibility.

Will the sporty S7 slantback make it into our showrooms? Again, Audi of America reps won’t confirm it, but they are clearly vying to receive the car, and with only one powertrain confirmed for the A7 bodystyle in our market, it would make sense that a second powertrain package like that of the S7 would join the stable. As the U.S. A7 will carry a 2012 designation and won’t be available until late spring, don’t look for the S7 to hit U.S. dealers any time soon.

As you’ll likely remember, Audi USA has been aggressively lobbying its German counterparts for more performance models as of late, having only recently confirmed the white-hot RS5 coupe for the States. The RS5 won’t show until 2012, sadly, but still on the table is the importation of the TT RS, and a decision on that model is likely to be handed down within the next few days. Further, you may recall that Audi of America actually went so far as to create an online petition on its Facebook page asking brand fans to urge for its importation, and it even tempted members of the U.S. media (’Hi!’) with local test drives in California.

While we’re all waiting for further word on the S7 and TT RS, there’s at least a new high-res gallery of the A7 Sportback to keep us entertained. Check it out below.

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The hardcore NISMO 370Z first appeared in April at the New York Auto Show Fake Aigner Watches for sale, but Nissan didn’t stick a price tag on it at that time. Those interested in the ultimate in factory Z performance now know that they will have to save up $39 Replica Parmigiani Fleurier Watches,130 in order to get a taste. For that near 40 grand price tag, pretty much everything is included on this late-to-the-party 2009 model. The only options available for the NISMO are back-lit sill plates, carpeted floor mats and a carpeted trunk mat Fake Calvin Klein Watches for sale, none of which do anything to make the NISMO any quicker.

All of the go-faster bits are included in price of admission, including an upgraded 3.7-liter V6 that bumps power from 332 to 350 horsepower How to buy Replica Technomarine Watches, and torque nudges from 270 to 275 pound-feet. Like the standard Z Replica Emporio Armani Watches, the NISMO gets SynchroRev matching for its close-ratio gearbox, and unique five-spoke 19-inch wheels work with the upgraded suspension and brakes to get the most out of that more powerful engine. Needless to say, the car’s airflow get a substantial reworking thanks to the less-than-subtle aerodynamics package. Check out the full press release after the jump and the high-res galleries below.

Related Gallery2009 Nismo Z
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[Source: Nissan]

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On Thursday Replica Franck Muller Watches, Fiat is expected to put its John Hancock on a preliminary agreement to close its purchase of Carrozzeria Bertone Replica Baume & Mercier Watches, the coachbuilding arm of the Bertone company. In August Fiat won the right to acquire the builder, and it will throw €150 million at its operations over the next three years to return it to glory… or at the least allow it to begin producing new models.

Specific vehicles haven’t been mentioned, but when (if) the Bertone factory reopens in late 2011 MB&F Replica Watches, it’s expected the production center will make the car that replaces the Euro-spec 300C. As a side note, that could be interesting because the European 300C is currently built by Magna, in Austria Replica Blancpain Watches, and if Fiat brings production in-house that would mean more contract work taken from Opel’s new papa. Jeep knockdown kits could also be shipped over and built for European consumption.

The purchase gives Fiat no stake in Stile Bertone, the now independent design firm that brought out the Mantide Wholesale Replica Corum Watches, so don’t get your hopes up about wildly styled Chrysler supercars being built in northern Italy. Yet.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

2010 Volkswagen GTI – click above for high-res image gallery
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In 1983, Run-DMC was fresh (which meant dope) Replica Montblanc Watches, Volvo 760 Turbos weighed 3,300 pounds and the 2,200-pound Volkswagen GTI made its U.S. debut. In 2010 Hublot Replica Watches, the Rabbit-turned-Golf entered its sixth generation and attempted to draw a clear line to the first-generation car. The historical link has been made especially clear in the 2010 Volkswagen GTI Buy Cheap Replica Chronoswiss Watches, though it’s gone through the typical changes you face when you hit your 30s. The GTI is now 1 Replica Rado Watches for Cheap,000 pounds porkier Replica Concord Watches for Cheap, but it’s still as slick as a greased pig when it comes to handling.

Inside, there’s plaid seat upholstery and higher-quality materials. Just like it was back in ‘83, the underhood motivation is only available from a four-cylinder, a change from recent generations that could be stuffed with Volkswagen’s VR6. At a glance, the 2010 model promises to be more visceral than its direct predecessors, but does it come anywhere near the primal magic of the original, or is it just playing dress-up? Click through to the jump to find out.

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Photos by John Neff / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc.

If you ask us, it’s a good thing Fiat has resisted the urge to branch out of automobiles and into boat manufacturing, because as it stands, they’ve got far too many leaks. The latest are a series of photos and details of the upcoming highly-anticipated 500, ostensibly leaked from Fiat in a slide show for internal consumption. Silly Italians, didn’t you know we’d get our hands on it?

The photos show what appears to be the production version of the retro ultra-mini. And not just one or two shots, either. Here we get a host of photos from various angles, in various colors Aigner Replica Watches, inside and out Fake Calvin Klein Watches, and outlining a wide range of customizable options that Replica Longines Watches, as promised, will give customers the freedom to make their 500 their own.

After the jump you’ll find photos showing interior options, a cargo compartment organizer Replica IWC Watches, exterior luggage rack Corum Replica Watches, a number of different wheel options Fake Patek Philippe Watches for sale, exterior badging and decals… even customizable keys with faceplates like a Nokia cellphone (not a bad idea).

[Source: WorldScoop via Jalopnik via Carscoop]

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There are plenty of numbers between three and eight, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that BMW’s recently unveiled i sub-brand will expand after the i3 and i8 go on sale in the next two to three years.

A few reports and our own sources indicate that the next two models will be the i4 and i5; a smaller coupe and a family focused four-door.

Both models will be based around the carbon fiber reinforced plastic “Life” structure to keep weight in check and use variations of the drivetrains fitted to the i3 and i8.

The i4 will supposedly be based on the i3’s architecture Fake Blancpain Watches, but will nix the extra set of doors and seats to become a two-seater with a sloping roof Buy Cheap Replica Girard Perregaux Watches, wider track and a more sporting demeanor. Power will likely come from a variant of the i3’s electric motor, with the same optional range-extending engine mounted out back. BMW wants to have at least one affordable i-branded two-door within the next five to six years Replica Audemars Piguet Watches, and considering the i8 will likely crest $100,000, the i4 will be a more attainable entry point for the marque.

Less is known about the i5 aside from the fact that it will be a more conventional four-door sedan with a coupe-ish profile and power provided by the same plug-in hybrid drivetrain as the i8. That could mean up to 400 lb-ft of torque when the turbo’d 1.5-liter and electric motor work in unison Replica Hermes Watches, creating one incredibly compelling hybrid sports sedan.

However, both models are a ways off. Concept versions should arrive sometime after the i8’s launch in 2014 Where buy best Replica Versace Watches, so don’t expect either to arrive until late into the decade.

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Toyota has let slip a few additional teasers for the company’s FT-Bh concept headed to the Geneva Motor Show in March. As you may recall Buy Cheap Replica Breitling Watches, the vehicle is an engineering study designed to evaluate what kind of emission reductions can be accomplished in the city car segment without resorting to exotic materials or science-fiction drivetrains. Toyota says the concept emits around 50 percent less CO2 than your run-of-the-mill supermini thanks in part to the fact that it tips the scales at a feathery 1 Replica Vacheron Constantin Watches for sale,763 pounds.

The hybrid’s aerodynamic shape and efficient powertrain also contribute to the reduction. While the FT-Bh isn’t headed to production any time soon Replica Girard Perregaux Watches, there’s a good chance some of the vehicle’s tricks may show up on consumer models in the near future. Hit the jump to check out a short teaser video and the press release Where buy best Replica Hublot Watches, and be sure to stay tuned for our live Geneva Motor Show coverage.