Tuesday, February 8, 2011

NATO massacres Afghans Hired by Singapore Firm




Messages In This Digest (21 Messages)

1.
NATO Pushes Closer Links With Asia-Pacific From: Rick Rozoff
2.
NATO Kills Afghans Hired By Singapore Firm From: Rick Rozoff
3.
Afghanistan, Beyond: Estonia Hosts High-Level NATO Training From: Rick Rozoff
4.
Georgia Approves NATO Cooperation Plan From: Rick Rozoff
5.
Lithuania: McCain, Lieberman Push NATO, Belarus Subversion From: Rick Rozoff
6.
Division Of Egypt? U.S., Israeli, NATO Military Intervention Threat? From: Rick Rozoff
7.
NATO Chief On NATO-EU Symbiosis, North Africa, Afghanistan From: Rick Rozoff
8.
Kurils: Russia Condemns Anti-Russian Rhetoric In Japan From: Rick Rozoff
9.
Strategic In Nature: Russia Wants U.S. To Remove Nukes From Europe From: Rick Rozoff
10.
February 7: Japan's "Day Of Northern Territories" From: Rick Rozoff
11.
Russia Warns U.S.-NATO Missile Shield Threat To Its Nuclear Forces From: Rick Rozoff
12.
Georgia "Interested" In Hosting U.S.-NATO Interceptor Missile Radar From: Rick Rozoff
13.
Top NATO (American) Military Chief: Afghan War Croatia's Ticket To E From: Rick Rozoff
14.
New NATO Headquarters To Cost One Billion Euros From: Rick Rozoff
15.
Saakashvili Offers NATO More Georgian Troops For Afghan War From: Rick Rozoff
16.
American Soldiers Killed In South Afghanistan Attack From: Rick Rozoff
17.
Serbian Defense, Military Chiefs Visit U.S. Nuclear Supercarrier From: Rick Rozoff
18.
(Audio/Text) Weimar Triangle: German-French-Polish Triad Revived From: Rick Rozoff
19.
Japanese-Russian Territorial Dispute Heats Up From: Rick Rozoff
20.
New Canadian Elite Special Forces Chief For NATO Afghan Training From: Rick Rozoff
21.
Report: U.S. To Whisk Mubarak Away To Germany From: Rick Rozoff

Messages

1.

NATO Pushes Closer Links With Asia-Pacific

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 6:11 am (PST)



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-affairs/nato-wants-closer-links-with-asia-pacific/story-fn59nm2j-1226001660971

The Australian
February 7, 2011

NATO wants closer links with Asia-Pacific
Mark Dodd

NATO has flagged its intention to boost engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, saying it wants increased cooperation with Australia across a range of issues including counter-terrorism, organised crime and cyber security.

Speaking at the Australian National University tonight, visiting NATO deputy secretary-general, Claudio Bisogniero, warned that while globalisation had brought many benefits, security threats had also globalised.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd will meet Mr Bisogniero tomorrow for official talks.

The 10th anniversary of the September 11 World Trade Centre attacks was a timely reminder of how al-Qa'ida and Jemaah Islamiah epitomised a new breed of terrorism "bent on sowing death and destruction", Mr Bisogniero said.

"From the Caucasus, through the Horn of Africa, to central and South-East Asia, fragile states have become hotbeds for organised crime, and for the trafficking of people, weapons and narcotics.
....
Despite many challenges, the 48-member NATO-led International Security Assistance Force was making encouraging progress in creating a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

"Our resolve is strong, our strategy is sound and we have in place the necessary resources to accomplish it," Mr Bisogniero said.

"This year, 2011 will be a pivotal year for our engagement in Afghanistan," Mr Bisogniero said.

NATO was keen to intensify its dialogue with Australia across a range of shared concerns including counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and cyber security.

Canberra was also praised for its commitment to support Afghanistan beyond 2014....

2.

NATO Kills Afghans Hired By Singapore Firm

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 6:12 am (PST)



http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_632200.html

Agence France-Presse
February 7, 2011

Nato kills 2 Afghans hired by Singapore firm

SINGAPORE: Two Afghans hired by a Singapore-based engineering firm were killed last week by 'friendly fire' from Nato-led security forces in Afghanistan's Helmand province, the company said Monday.

A third Afghan employee of the Central Asia Development Group (CADG) was seriously injured in the incident on February 3, CADG spokesman Matthew Goldthwaite said in an email to AFP.

'On February 3, 2011, a CADG vehicle, carrying four of CADG's Afghan national staff were caught in kinetic activity between ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) forces and insurgent forces on Highway 1 near Spin Masjid Bazaar, near Gereshk in Helmand Province,' he said.

'As a result of this exchange, two of the passengers were killed, one passenger was seriously wounded (and) the fourth passenger was unharmed,' added Goldthwaite.

'CADG was informed that ISAF have accepted responsibility for this incident....We believe it's friendly fire.' The wounded Afghan was being treated at the British-run Camp Bastion for a gunshot wound, he said. British Prime Minister David Cameron has described Helmand as the 'toughest part of the country by a very, very long way'.

A human rights watchdog said last week that 2010 was the deadliest year for ordinary Afghans since the US-led invasion of 2001, with more than 2,400 civilians killed.

3.

Afghanistan, Beyond: Estonia Hosts High-Level NATO Training

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 6:13 am (PST)



http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=6652

Baltic Course
February 7, 2011

High-level NATO training conference starts in Tallinn

Tallinn: A high-level training conference organised by the Estonian Defence Forces and NATO development high command starts on Monday in Tallinn, bringing together some 200 military from military academies, training centres and international headquarters of allied and partner states, reported BC/National Broadcasting.

Over five days, the training experts of allies will discuss possibilities of synchronising, unifying and developing NATO and partner states training at the unit and individual fighters level.

A special sub-conference will work on preparing units for the Afghanistan mission; also the larger NATO training exercises of the next five years and developing the network between training facilities of states will be discussed.

4.

Georgia Approves NATO Cooperation Plan

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 6:13 am (PST)



http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1824543.html

Trend News Agency
February 7, 2011

Georgia approves NATO cooperation program
N. Kirtzkhalia

Tbilisi: The Georgia-NATO cooperation program for 2011 has been completed and approved, the Georgian government reported.

Under the program, Georgia is committed to continuing reforms in politics, economy, defense and security, as well as to develop legal and educational fields.

NATO is expected to approve the plan on Feb. 11.

Georgian First Deputy State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Elena Khoshtaria and Deputy Foreign Minister Tornike Gordadze will visit Brussels tor this end.

In 2008, the alliance did not provide Georgia with a Membership Action Plan. Afterward, Georgia and NATO began to cooperate on the basis of annual plans.

The draft annual national program for 2011 contains a plan for reforms in the political, economic, legal and educational spheres, as well as in defense and security.

The program, along with the NATO-Georgia Commission, is the main instrument for Georgia to join the alliance.

5.

Lithuania: McCain, Lieberman Push NATO, Belarus Subversion

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 6:15 am (PST)



http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/27926/

Baltic Times
February 7, 2011

Lithuania receives high-profile US senators
Oskars Magone

VILNIUS: Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite has received the largest ever delegation of US congressmen and senators, led by prominent US lawmakers John McCain and Joe Lieberman.

"The United States is Lithuania's key ally and strategic partner within NATO. U.S. support has been a crucial factor in laying down collective defense principles in NATO's Strategic Concept. Partnership in the area of security, close dialogue on foreign policy issues and stronger bilateral economic relations - these are an important direction of our foreign policy in pursuing Euroatlantic cooperation," the president was quoted as saying in a press release.

The main topics of discussion at the meeting were Lithuania's chairmanship of the OSCE and the country's policy toward Belarus.

According the the press release, the president said Lithuania was in favor of the EU sanctions to restrict entry to the European Union for a targeted group of Belarusian government officials and the decision not to impose economic sanctions.

Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis, meanwhile, said Lithuania would continue to support Belarussian civil society.

"Vilnius is the closest capital to Minsk, and this circumstance creates great opportunities for Belarusian non-governmental organizations and civil society activists to set up and work from a distance, implementing various initiatives. Lithuania has consistently supported the Belarusian civil society and will certainly continue to do so in the future," he said.

6.

Division Of Egypt? U.S., Israeli, NATO Military Intervention Threat?

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 6:21 am (PST)



http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23102

Global Research
February 7, 2011

The Division of Egypt: Threats of US, Israeli, and NATO Military Intervention?
by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya


The protests in Tunisia have had a domino effect in the Arab World. Egypt, the largest Arab country, is now electrified with popular uproar to remove the Mubarak regime in Cairo. It must be asked what effects would this event have? Will the U.S., Israel, and NATO simply watch the Egyptian people establish a free government?

The parable of the Arab dictators is like that of the spider's web. Although the spider feels safe in its web, in reality the web is one of the frailest homes. All the Arab dictators and tyrants, from Morocco to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are in fear now. Egypt is on the brink of what could amount to being one of the most important geo-political events in this century.

Pharoahs, ancient or modern, all have their end days. Mubarak's day are numbered, but the powers behind him have not yet been defeated. Egypt is an important part of America's global empire. The U.S. government, Tel Aviv, the E.U., and NATO all have significant interests in maintaining Egypt as a puppet regime.

The U.S. and Israel want to use the Egyptian Military to Police the Egyptian People

When protests started in Egypt, the heads of the Egyptian military all went to the U.S. and consulted with U.S. officials for orders. The Egyptians are well aware that the regime in Cairo is a pawn in the services of the U.S. and Israel. This is why Egyptian slogans are not only directed against the Mubarak regime but are also aimed against the U.S. and Israel, in similarity to some of the slogans of the Iranian Revolution. The U.S. has been involved in every aspect of the Egyptian government's activities. Cairo has not made a single move without consulting both the White House and Tel Aviv. Israel has also permitted the Egyptian military to move into urban areas in the Sinai Peninsula.

The reality of the situation is that the U.S. government has worked against freedom in the Arab World and beyond. When President Obama says that there should be a period of "transition" in Egypt, it means that Mubarak and the Egyptian regime should stay intact. The U.S. does not want a people's government in Cairo.

Martin Indyk, a former Clinton Administration official at the U.S. National Security Council with an area of responsibility for the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an individual closely tied to the Obama Administration, told the New York Times that the U.S. must work towards bringing  the Egyptian military towards the control of Egypt until a "moderate and legitimate political leadership can emerge". [1] Not only did Indyk call for a military takeover in Egypt, he also used U.S. State Department double-speak. What U.S. officials mean by "moderate" are dictatorships and regimes like Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Jordan, Morocco, and Ben Ali's Tunisia. As for legitimacy, in the eyes of U.S. officials, it means individuals who will serve U.S. interests.

Tel Aviv is far less coy than the U.S. about the situation in Egypt. Out of fear of losing Cairo, Tel Aviv has been encouraging the Mubarak regime to unleash the full force of the Egyptian military on the civilian protesters. They have also been defending Mubarak internationally. In this regard, the Egyptian military's primary role has always been to police the Egyptian people and to keep the Mubarak regime in power. U.S. military aid to Egypt is solely intended for this purpose.

Revolutionary Egypt: A Second Iran in the Middle East?

If the Egyptian people manage to establish a new and truly sovereign government, it would equate to a second Iran in the Middle East. This would cause a major regional and global geo-political shift. It would also deeply upset and cripple the interests of the U.S., Britain, Israel, France, the E.U., and NATO in what would amount to a colossal loss, like that of Iran in 1979.

If a new revolutionary government were to emerge in Cairo the bogus Israeli-Palestinian peace talks would be over, the starvation of the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip would end, the cornerstone of Israeli military security would be gone, and the Iranian-Syrian Awliyaa (Alliance) could possibly gain a significant new member.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed Tel Aviv's fears about Egypt allying with Iran and a new gateway of Iranian influence being opened in a speech by saying: "Tehran is waiting for the day in which darkness descends [in Egypt]." [2] Netanyahu is correct about one thing, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has been monitoring the events in Egypt very eagerly and the Iranians are awaiting the establishment of a new revolutionary government that could join Iran and the Resistance Bloc. Tehran has been overjoyed and Iran is abuzz with speeches by its officials about what they believe to be an "Islamic Awakening."

While the Arab members of the Resistance Bloc have made low-key statements about the protests in Egypt, non-Arab Iran has been vocal in its support of the protesters in the Arab World. Syria has made low-key remarks, because of its own fears of revolt at home. Hezbollah and Hamas have also been relatively low-key on their stances about the protests in the Arab World, because they wish to avoid being targeted by the Arab regimes through accusations of meddling.

At every opportunity the so-called "moderate" Arab regimes seek to demonize these Arab players. On the other hand the Turkish government, which maintains close ties to the Arab regimes, has also been virtually silent about the protests in the Arab World.

Israel is preparing itself for the possible reality that an unfriendly government will be taking office in Cairo, which is what will happen if the Egyptian people are successful. Tel Aviv has secret military-security contingency plans for Egypt. In the words of Netanyahu to the Israeli Knesset: "A peace agreement does not guarantee the existence of peace [between Israel and Egypt], so in order to protect it and ourselves, in cases in which the agreement disappears or is violated due to regime change on the other side, we protect it with security arrangements on the ground." [3]

Threats of U.S., Israeli, and NATO Military Intervention in Egypt: Recall the 1956 Invasion of Egypt?

There is also the chance of renewed war with Israel and even American and NATO military intervention in Egypt. The threat of military intervention in Egypt must be considered. In 1956, the British, the French, and the Israelis jointly attacked Egypt when President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. Recalling 1956, the U.S. and NATO could do the same. General James Mattis, the commander of U.S. Central Command said that the U.S. will deal with Egypt "diplomatically, economically, [and] militarily" should access to the Suez Canal be shut by Egypt to the U.S. and its allies. [4]

In 2008, Norman Podhoretz proposed a unthinkable nightmare scenario. In this nightmare scenario the Israelis would militarily occupy the oil refineries and naval ports of the Persian Gulf to insure "energy security" and they would also launch a so-called pre-emptive nuclear attack against Iran, Syria, and Egypt. [5]

In 2008, the main questions that arose were: "energy security" for whom and why attack Egypt, where the Mubarak government has been a staunch Israeli ally?

Would the Israelis attack Egypt if a revolutionary government emerged in Cairo? This is what essentially happened a few years after Gamal Abdel Nasser took power from Mohammed Naguib in Egypt. Also, is such a military attack on Egypt tied to Israel's secret military-security contingency plans that Netanyahu assured the Israeli Knesset about.

Is such a nightmare scenario, which includes the use of nuclear weapons, a distinct possiblity? Podhoretz has close ties to both Israeli and U.S. officials. It should also be mentioned that Podhoretz is a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom for his intellectual influence in the U.S. and is one of the original 1997 signatories of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) along with Elliot Abrams, Richard Cheney, John (Jeb) Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Steen Forbes Jr., and Paul Wolfowitz. The PNAC has essentially outlined plans for transforming America into a global empire through militarism overseas and domestic militarization.

"Managed Chaos" and the Threats of Balkanization in Egypt: The Yinon Plan at Work?

Egypt cannot be managed by the Mubarak regime, the U.S., Israel, and their allies anymore. Thus, the U.S., Israel, and their allies are now working to divide and destabilize Egypt, as the most powerful Arab state, so that no strategic challenge can emerge from Cairo. The attacks on the peaceful protestors in Cairo's central Tahrir Square by Mubarak's club-wielding thugs riding camels and horses was a stage-managed event to build public support outside of the Arab World for having a dictatorial strongman in Cairo. It epitomized every stereotype and incorrect Orientalist attitude about Arabs and the peoples of the Middle East. It would come as no surprise if the U.S., Israel, and Britain played direct or advisory roles in the event.

In a major departure from reality, the Mubarak regime's state-controlled media is reporting popular support for Mubarak by millions of Egyptians and wide-spread approval of his speech and his "transitional government" plans. In a show of desperation, the same state-controlled media is also trying to blame Iran and its Arab allies for the Egyptian protests. Egyptian state-controlled media has reported that Iranian commandos and special forces, along with the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas, have been on destabilization and sabotage missions against Egypt.

These types of accusations by the regime in Cairo are not new. Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, and Mahmoud Abbas also all do the same. The Mubarak regime has blamed Iran, Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement, Syria, and Hamas for meddling and inciting revolt several times in the past. When the Free Patriotic Movement criticized the Mubarak regime about the treatment of Egyptian Christians, the Mubarak regime accused Michel Aoun of sectarian sedition. On the other hand, Hezbollah was accused of attempting to create chaos in Egypt when Hassan Nasrallah asked the Egyptian people to show solidarity with the Palestinians and demand that their government allow humanitarian aid to go to the people of the Gaza Strip.

Managed Chaos

Although Mubarak's thugs are also creating chaos in Egypt to try to keep his regime in power, the doctrine of "managed chaos" is being used by external actors with the Israeli Yinon Plan in mind. Making Egyptians fight against one another and turning Egypt into a divided and insecure state, just like Anglo-American Iraq, appears to be the objective of the U.S., Israel, and their allies. The building tensions between Egyptian Muslims and Egyptian Christians, which includes the attacks on Coptic churches, is tied to this project. In this context, on the thirteenth day of the protests in Egypt, the Mar Girgis Church in the Egyptian town of Rafah, next to Gaza and Israel, was attacked by armed men on motorcycles. [6]

The White House and Tel Aviv do not want a second Iran in the Middle East. They will do whatever they can to prevent the emergence of a strong and independent Egypt.

A free Egypt could prove to be a much bigger threat than non-Arab Iran within the Arab World to the objectives of the U.S., Israel, and NATO.

The Return of the Egyptian Eagle as the Champion of Arab Independence?

Egypt was once a major strategic challenge to the U.S., Israel, France, and Britain in the Arab World and Africa. Nasserite Egypt aided the Algerian Resistance against the French occupation of Algeria, openly supported the Palestinians against the Israeli occupation of their homes, supported the Yemenite resistance against the British occupation in South Yemen, challenged the legitimacy of the British-installed Hashemites and the American-supported House of Saud, and offered support to national liberation and anti-imperialist movements. Cairo under a revolutionary government, whether deeply tied to Islam or not, could give the Arab World a new leader that would revive pan-Arabism, make Tel Aviv further nervous about trying to launch wars, and rally the Arabs and other peoples worldwide in revolt against the global confederacy formed by the U.S. and its allies.

Egypt is not free from bondage yet. The Egyptian people must also address the role of global capitalism in supporting the Mubarak regime. At the same time they must remain united. If they are successful, they will make a huge impact on the history of the current century.

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Association (CRG).

NOTES

[1] Elisabeth Bumiller, "Calling for Restraint, Pentagon Faces Test of Influence With Ally," The New York Times, January 29, 2011; Indyk's words are as follows: "What we have to focus on now is getting the military into a position where they can hold the ring for a moderate and legitimate political leadership to emerge."

[2] Attila Somfalvi, "Natanyahu: Democratic Egypt no threat," Yedioth Ahronoth, February 2, 2011.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Adrian Croft, "U.S. sees Suez Canal closure as inconceivable," eds. Peter Griffiths and Elizabeth Fullerton, Reuters, February 1, 2011.

[5] Norman Podhoretz, "Stopping Iran: Why the Case for Military Action Still Stands," Commentary Magazine, vol.125, no. 2, (February, 2008): pp.11-19.

[6] "Church in flames in Egypt's Sinai: witness," Agence France-Presse (AFP), February 6, 2011.

[7] "Senior US envoy presses for democracy in Tunisia," Agence France-Presse (AFP), January 24, 2011.

7.

NATO Chief On NATO-EU Symbiosis, North Africa, Afghanistan

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 8:29 am (PST)



http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/opinions_70427.htm

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
February 7, 2011

Secretary General's Monthly Press Conference

I am very happy to meet you for the first time here at the Residence Palace [in Brussels], in the European quarter.

In terms of location, NATO is somewhat on the outskirts of Brussels, but I think we are very much at the heart of the European debate when it comes to dealing with the effects of the economic crisis on our security.

In this age of austerity, it is vital that the Euro-Atlantic community pulls together – and that Europe pulls its weight – to ensure that the economic crisis does not turn into a security crisis.

This is a matter of serious concern – and I have a serious warning. But I am also convinced that NATO can provide the solution.
....
My message is that governments need to cut wisely – because cuts that are too deep will make us unable to defend the security on which our democratic societies and prosperous economies are based.

If we do not address these problems, we risk a divided and weaker Europe, increasingly adrift from the United States.

As a former prime minister, I fully understand that defence cannot be exempt from spending cuts. But let me be clear: Europe simply cannot afford to get out of the security business.

And events in Egypt and North Africa serve as a timely reminder. We cannot take stability for granted, even in our immediate neighbourhood. It is too early to predict the outcome of these dramatic developments. But coupled with the economic crisis, this could have a profound impact on us in Europe.
....
The crisis makes cooperation between nations no longer a choice. It is a necessity. Today, no European Ally on its own is able to develop the full range of responses to meet all security challenges.

Recently, France and the UK, made a fundamental shift towards more cooperation, as the way to preserve and build their mutual capabilities - this new agreement is a significant step forward.

So I see three ways ahead: pooling and sharing resources; setting the right priorities; and forging closer links with industry and within Europe.

NATO can provide the bigger picture of what Allies need and want. This is the time to make better use of NATO as an adviser and an honest broker – to ensure a degree of coherence in any cuts which nations may consider, and to minimise their impact on the overall effectiveness of the Alliance.

Smart Defence is about making it easier for nations to develop and acquire capabilities – alone, together as Allies, or even involving non-NATO countries, in NATO or in the EU.

Indeed, European efforts are particularly welcome, because they strengthen both the EU and NATO. All frameworks are good, as long as they deliver the capabilities that nations need to protect their population, and to develop a stronger Europe.
....
I was in Washington last week. I discussed progress in Afghanistan with Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates....

8.

Kurils: Russia Condemns Anti-Russian Rhetoric In Japan

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 8:29 am (PST)



http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110207/162493821.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
February 7, 2011

Russian Foreign Ministry condemns anti-Russian rhetoric in Japan

[Last November State Department spokesman Philip Crowley confirmed that the U.S. supports Japan's claims to Russia's South Kuril Islands, referring to them by the Japanese government designation of Northern Territories.]

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned on Monday the provocative actions of Japanese extremists in connection with a long-standing territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands.

Both Tokyo and Moscow have laid claims to the islands off Russia's far eastern coast since they were annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.

"Russia decisively protests the unacceptable statements made by the Japanese leadership towards Russia, believes Tokyo's territorial claims to be unacceptable and condemns the provocative actions of Japanese extremists," the ministry said in a statement.

Tensions between Japan and Russia reached new heights last November when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Kunashir, the second-largest of the four islands, called the Northern Territories by Japan.

On Monday during Japan's Northern Territories Day celebrations, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan called Medvedev's visit an "inexcusable rudeness."

February 7 marks the anniversary of the signing in 1855 of the Russian-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation, known as the Shimoda Treaty.

Japanese right-wing campaigners dragged the Russian flag along the ground outside the Russian Embassy in Tokyo and called for the return of the disputed islands.

The ministry said the "unprecedented and disgusting act" was a result of Japanese policies and urged the Japanese government to "take all measures to prevent such anti-Russian actions."

The pro-Kremlin youth nationalist movement Molodaya Gvardiya (Young Guard) held a protest rally near the Japanese embassy in Moscow to demand an apology.

The Russian embassy in Tokyo said it would send a protest note to the Japanese Foreign Ministry over the incident.

9.

Strategic In Nature: Russia Wants U.S. To Remove Nukes From Europe

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 8:42 am (PST)



http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/02/07/43267144.html

Voice of Russia
February 7, 2011

Russia to US: remove tactical nukes from Europe

Russia believes European stability and mutual confidence are compromised by American tactical nuclear weapons in European countries.

Speaking in Moscow Monday, Deputy Foreign Sergei Ryabkov said the proximity of Europe to Russia makes this arsenal strategic in nature.

10.

February 7: Japan's "Day Of Northern Territories"

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 8:42 am (PST)



http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/02/07/43221749.html

Voice of Russia
February 7, 2011

Who is "rude" – Medvedev or Kan?

Japan's authorities call February 7 "The Day of Northern Territories".

On this day, Japan's government and ultra-right organizations usually call on Russia to give the southern Kuril Islands back to Japan.

This time, however, there was more to it than that. Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan called President Medvedev's recent visit to Southern Kurils "unacceptable rudeness".

As the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted, this statement by Mr. Kan is a contrast to the polite atmosphere of the meeting between Mr. Kan and Mr. Medvedev which took place in the autumn.

Of late, top Russian leaders often visit the Kuril Islands – which seems to irritate Japan's leaders. As soon as any of Russia's ministers appears in the Kurils, some Japanese leader says that this "hurts Japanese's feelings".

In such cases, all that is left for Russia's Foreign Ministry to do is to explain again that these islands – namely, Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai - are part of Russia's territory and Russian officials can come and go there any time they find it necessary.

At a sitting of Russia's Security Council on Friday, President Medvedev again stressed that much attention must be given to this faraway province of Russia.

"The nature and climate of the Kuril Islands is rather severe," he said, "and we must help people who live there. We must attract investors there. On my orders, Russia's First Vice Prime Minister, the Minister of Regional Development, the Foreign Minister and the Defense Minister have already visited that region."

Mr. Medvedev's visit to the Kurils in November was more evidence to the islands' residents that the government remembers about their needs. It was also a signal for the government to pay more attention to that region. Moreover, it was a signal for Japan – by this, Russia clearly defined its position again.

A Russian expert on the Far East Victor Pavlyatenko says:

"By this visit, the Russian president, in fact, said: these islands are part of Russia and its residents must live in no way worse than other Russians. Then, several Russian ministers came there to fulfill the president's orders, aimed at developing this region's economy. These islands are part of Russia, and there can be no other way."

These islands came to the Soviet Union after WWII, and this is officially recognized worldwide. Now, Russia is the legal successor of the Soviet Union. As for Tokyo's claims to these islands - they are based on a treaty between Russia and Japan which dates back to… February 7, 1855.

This is why Japan's authorities call February 7 "The Day of Northern Territories". Usually, they "celebrate" this day with what they call a "nation-wide rally" – though the only people who take part in this rally are a bunch of Japan's top officials and a bunch of nationalists who gather near the Russian embassy in Tokyo.

Here is Victor Pavlyatenko again:

"One can hardly say that the demand to give the Kurils back to Japan is supported by the whole Japanese people. All talk about this is mere propaganda. It seems like Tokyo's officials still want to take revenge for Japan's defeat in WWII. This is why they want to have the Kurils back and to get rid of American military bases in Japan."

Paradoxical as it may seem, though WWII is long over, an official peace treaty between Russia and Japan has not yet been signed. Probably the main thing which hampers its signing is this dispute over the Kuril Islands.

On February 11, Japan's Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara will come to Moscow. Recently, Mr. Maehara said that he would try his best to get the Kurils back for Japan. This causes concern that the talks between him and Russia's leaders will not be highly productive.

11.

Russia Warns U.S.-NATO Missile Shield Threat To Its Nuclear Forces

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 8:51 am (PST)



http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gOx0vUJdBU6Z-ZMGAIukagjBn_cA?docId=a5c16da08cca491fbfbe2cdffbfcf00d

Associated Press
February 7, 2011

Report: Russia warns US over missile defense plans

MOSCOW: Russia sees the planned U.S. missile defense system as a potential threat to its nuclear forces and may review its participation in a landmark nuclear arms treaty, officials said Monday.

The New START deal, the centerpiece of Barack Obama's efforts to reset ties with Russia and the most significant arms control pact in nearly two decades, took effect last week. It limits each country to 1,550 strategic warheads, down from the current ceiling of 2,200.

The treaty doesn't prevent the U.S. from building new missile defense systems, but Russia has warned that it reserves the right to withdraw from the treaty if the United States significantly boosts its missile shield.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reaffirmed Monday that a buildup in the U.S. missile defense capability would prompt Moscow re-consider its obligations under the New START treaty.

"If the U.S. increases the qualitative and quantitative potential of its missile defense...a question will arise whether Russia should further abide by the treaty or would have to take other measures to respond to the situation, including military-technical measures," Ryabkov said, according to Russian news agencies.

Russia was strongly critical of the previous U.S. administration's plan to deploy missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic and hailed Obama's decision to scrap it. But the Kremlin has remained concerned about revamped U.S. missile defense plans and continued to see them as potentially dangerous to its security.

NATO last fall approved a plan for a U.S.-led missile shield in Europe and invited Russia to join, but Moscow hasn't yet made a definite commitment. Experts from both sides will analyze the issue and report to defense ministers in July.

Ryabkov warned Monday that Russia won't cooperate with NATO on the project unless it's treated as a full partner.

"This must be a joint system with shared responsibilities, information exchange and decision-making in order to make us an equal and responsible member," he said. "If two separate networks are built, things won't change for us and we will see a situation when the NATO system could potentially be used against Russia's security interests. Cooperating on such a system would mean hurting ourselves."

Russian officials have remained skeptical about U.S. and NATO claims that the proposed shield is designed to fend off a missile threat from Iran.

Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Monday the U.S. missile defense could only be aimed against Russian missiles. "This system could undermine Russian nuclear deterrent forces," he said.

12.

Georgia "Interested" In Hosting U.S.-NATO Interceptor Missile Radar

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 8:55 am (PST)



http://en.rian.ru/world/20110207/162488779.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
February 7, 2011

Tbilisi 'interested' in U.S. missile defense radar

Georgia is interested in the proposal by a group of U.S. senators that Tbilisi host a missile defense radar, Deputy Foreign Minister David Dzhalagania said on Monday.

Four U.S. Republican senators - Jon Kyl, James Risch, Mark Kirk and James Inhofe - have sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asking him to consider Georgia as a potential host for the TPY-2 missile defense radar.

"This is a new initiative so I can't say the Georgian side has formulated a concrete position on the matter," Dzhalagania said.

"This initiative is interesting in and of itself and it deserves attention from the point of view of regional security and stability."

The United States previously invited Turkey to host a radar site but Ankara set a number of conditions, including that an anti-missile shield should be deployed in all the alliance's member states, not just Turkey.

The senators have suggested that alternate sites be considered and that Georgia's geographic location would make it an ideal place for a radar targeting Iran.

13.

Top NATO (American) Military Chief: Afghan War Croatia's Ticket To E

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 12:18 pm (PST)



http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/General_News/2011-02-07/17017/NATO_commander_praises_Croatian_involvment_in_Afghanistan

Croatian Times
February 7, 2011

NATO commander praises Croatian involvment in Afghanistan

Defence Minister Davor Bozinovic has met with NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, Admiral James Stavridis, who praised the Croatian involvement in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo.

At a meeting on the markings of the security and defence conference in Munich on Friday, Stavridis said that he is proud of Croatian soldiers, and has voiced strong support for Croatia's European Union membershiop.

The Croatian Minister said that he believes that the inclusion of other countries in the region in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan would further contribute to the stability of the Balkans. Admiral Stavridis added that he was confident that good cooperation will continue under the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Drago Lovric, who will replace General Josip Lucic.

14.

New NATO Headquarters To Cost One Billion Euros

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 12:18 pm (PST)



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/8309509/Nato-Brussels-headquarters-to-cost-1billion.html

Daily Telegraph
February 7, 2011

Nato Brussels headquarters to cost €1billion
By Bruno Waterfield

Brussels: Nato's new headquarters in Brussels will cost its members €1billion (£841 million) at a time of deep cuts to British defence budgets and despite promises by the Alliance to cut its costs.

Officials confirmed the rising scale of the cost against a background of Nato pledges to reduce its command structure, agencies and national HQs by 30 per cent in response to savage defence cuts in most of its 28 member states.

But despite the promises of cuts to Nato bureaucracy, construction began in mid-December on a stylish new building to house military officials. Work is scheduled to finish in 2015.
....
A British government spokesman said that Britain's contribution to the building's costs would be £105 million.

"The UK will contribute 12.5 per cent of this budget and we're scrutinising it closely for value for money. It is important that Nato has a good HQ," he said.

The announcement of the rising building bill came as Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of Nato, pleaded with national governments not to cut Alliance spending too far.

"Governments need to cut wisely because cuts that are too deep will make us unable to defend the security on which our democratic societies and prosperous economies are based," he said.

Alliance officials insist that it is no longer possible to continue operating out of its current HQ, a "temporary" building given to Nato by Belgium in 1967 after it was expelled from Paris by France.

Since then, Nato has grown from 15 to 28 members and no longer has room for all its delegations.

The building's undulating structure will consist of eight wings, converging in a glass-covered central hall, a design said to "symbolise the allies coming together, while glass walls are supposed to represent Nato's transparency".
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http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1617596.php/New-NATO-HQ-to-cost-1-billion-euros-officials-reveal

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
February 7, 2011

New NATO HQ to cost 1 billion euros, officials reveal

Brussels: NATO's new headquarters, under construction in Brussels, are expected to cost 1 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars), alliance officials said Monday.

NATO has been housed in what were meant to be temporary quarters in the Belgian capital since 1967, when France asked it to leave its original home in Paris. Since then, the alliance has grown from 15 to 28 members and its building no longer has room for all its delegations.

'The total estimated cost of the new NATO headquarters is about 1 billion euros,' alliance spokeswoman Oana Lungescu told journalists.

The revelation comes as NATO is pushing to slash its costs and streamline its bureaucracy against a backdrop of savage defence cuts in practically all member states.

'Over the past two years, European defence spending by NATO's European member nations has shrunk by some 45 billion dollars - that is the equivalent of Germany's entire annual defence budget,' NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Monday.

NATO nations are expected to reduce dramatically the number of alliance command bases this year, with a decision on which to close expected in June.

However, officials insist that it is no longer possible for NATO to continue operating out of its current political headquarters, a building hastily offered to the alliance in 1967 by Belgium.

'Our current building simply cannot cope with the demands that we are placing on it. It is too small, it is too inflexible, and it is inefficient,' Rasmussen said as he inaugurated work on the new HQ building, located across the road from the old one, on December 16.

The billion-euro price tag is in fact cheaper than had previously been budgeted, because the economic crisis has forced prices down in the construction sector, Rasmussen said Monday.

15.

Saakashvili Offers NATO More Georgian Troops For Afghan War

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 3:34 pm (PST)



http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=23121

Civil Georgia
February 8, 2011

Saakashvili: Georgia Ready to Send More Troops to Afghanistan


Tbilisi: Georgia, which is already contributing 950-strong combat unit in Afghanistan, is ready to send more soldiers to ISAF mission, President Saakashvili told the Munich Security Conference on February 6.

"We've offered to send more troops and for the months to come some more troops will follow from Georgia and we are willing to consider an increase of our assistance in order to help the Afghan people achieve a sustainable peace and to prevent terrorists from again using that country as a base," he said.

Saakashvili said that Georgia had also offered Afghan President Hamid Karzai that Tbilisi was ready to send experts to help in police and economic reforms, as well as to send artillery instructors.

"For Georgia, a country of just 4.7 millions souls, whose territory is still partly occupied, such an effort underscores our determination to be a provider — and not just a consumer — of international security," he said.

In November, 2010 Georgia offered to send 20 instructors to help train the Afghan forces.

16.

American Soldiers Killed In South Afghanistan Attack

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 3:48 pm (PST)



http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/us-soldiers-dead-afghan-blast-police

Radio Netherlands
February 7, 2011

US soldiers dead in Afghan blast: police

US soldiers have been killed in a suicide blast in southern Afghanistan's biggest city, Kandahar, along with an Afghan interpreter for the US military, police said Monday.

Khan Mohammad Mujahid, the provincial police chief for Kandahar, could not specify exactly how many troops were killed in the attack on the customs office in the city, a Taliban heartland.
....
"An Afghan translator of the troops has been killed but we are not clear about the number of US soldiers killed."

Mujahid said the bodies of the casualties had been evacuated from the scene by US military helicopters.
....
Kandahar is regarded as the birthplace of the Taliban and has been the scene of a major anti-Taliban offensive by international troops.

Last month, the deputy governor of Kandahar, Abdul Latif Ashna, was killed by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle who blew himself up shortly after the official left his home.

Suicide attacks are a common tactic of the Taliban and other insurgents attempting to topple the pro-US Kabul administration.

17.

Serbian Defense, Military Chiefs Visit U.S. Nuclear Supercarrier

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 6:34 pm (PST)



http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=02&dd=06&nav_id=72561

Tanjug News Agency
February 6, 2011

Defense minister visits USS Enterprise

WASHINGTON: Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac and Serbian Army (VS) Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Miloje Miletić have visited the USS Enterprise.

This is the first visit of a Serbian Defense Ministry and VS delegation to a U.S. aircraft carrier.

The Serbian officials visited the carrier at the invitation of the U.S. Embassy in Serbia. "Such visits are organized for top political and military officials from friendly countries," reported Tanjug news agency.

The Serbian delegation also included Commander of Serbian Air Force and Air Defense Brigadier General Ranko Živak.

18.

(Audio/Text) Weimar Triangle: German-French-Polish Triad Revived

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 7:00 pm (PST)



http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul148864_weimar-triangle-summits-revived.html

Polish Radio
February 7, 2011

Weimar Triangle summits revived

An informal grouping of Poland, France and Germany, formed 20 years ago is being given a new lease of life with the summit of the heads of state in Warsaw, Monday.

Reporter Michal Kubicki talked with political scientist Roman Kuźniar, an adviser to President Bronisław Komorowski, on propects for the tripartite alliance and why the Weimar Triangle is more important for Poland than it is for France or Germany.

[Audio at URL above.]

19.

Japanese-Russian Territorial Dispute Heats Up

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 7:01 pm (PST)



See:
U.S. Supports Japan, Confronts China And Russia Over Island Disputes
Stop NATO, November 4, 2010
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/u-s-supports-japan-confronts-china-and-russia-over-island-disputes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12382309

BBC News
February 7, 2011

[Video at URL above.]

Japan demands Kuril Islands be returned from Russia

Japan's dispute with Russia over the Kuril islands is heating up with Prime Minister Naoto Kan demanding their return at a rally in Tokyo.

The chain of islands in the North Pacific has been held by Russia since the end of the Second World War, keeping old tensions between the countries very much in play.

Roland Buerk reports.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15930617&PageNum=0

Itar-Tass
February 7, 2011

RF sovereignty over Kuriles cannot be subject to revision – aide

MOSCOW: Russia's sovereignty over South Kurile Islands is not subject to revision, presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said on Monday.

According to the Kremlin press service, commenting on the reaction on Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's statement saying the trip to the Kurile Islands by the Russian president "is impermissible disrespect", Prikhodko said: "If the words by the Japanese head of government are transmitted exactly, probably he is to prepare for a difficult period: such 'humiliations' in Japan's logic and the Russian president's working trips in our view will continue."

"By visiting any region of the Russian Federation, the head of state solves the key tasks to meet the interests of Russian citizens. He is not needed any consent. Moreover, Russia's sovereignty over Kurile Islands is not subject to revision either today or tomorrow," the presidential aide stressed.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/02/08/43306558.html

Voice of Russia
February 7, 2011

Russia's sovereignty of the Kuril Islands unquestionable


Russia's sovereignty with respect to the Kuril Islands is not subject to revision, said presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko. Russia's Head of State will travel to the island, regardless of the reaction of Tokyo, he said.

On Monday, Prime Minister of Japan Naoto Kan called the recent visit of Dmitry Medvedev in the Kuril Islands "inexcusable rudeness."

Sergey Prikhodko explained that when visiting a particular region of the country to solve urgent problems in the interests of the citizens the head of state does not need to get someone else approval.

The South Kuril Islands were transferred to Russia at the end of the Second World War.

Russian sovereignty over these territories is enshrined in international instruments.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15929021&PageNum=0

Itar-Tass
February 7, 2011

Japan PM describes RF pres trip to S Kurils as "unforgivable outrage"

-Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, who also serves as minister in charge of Northern Territories issues, said the government has doubled its spending for awareness-raising activities on the territorial row to 2.07 billion yen in the fiscal 2011 budget plan from the current year to make stronger calls for the return....

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday criticised Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit last November to one of four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan as an "unforgivable outrage" and vowed to tenaciously seek the settlement of the bilateral territorial dispute.

However, he calls for continuing negotiations with Moscow on a peace treaty and economic cooperation. The Japanese government head made this statement in Tokyo at a "nationwide rally for the return of the Northern Territories." By decision of the government, he it is held annually on February 7 in memory of the first Russian-Japanese treaty of 1855, which left the Southern Kurils in Japan.

Kan told the annual rally to press for the early return of the four islands off Hokkaido that the territorial row is "a very important challenge for Japanese foreign affairs" and said that his government will work "with a strong will" to conclude a peace treaty with Russia after clarifying the claims to the isles, the Kyodo news agency reported. The Japanese premier also indicated Tokyo's intention to continue talks with Moscow on expanding economic cooperation during his remarks at the government-organised gathering in Tokyo, which was attended by about 1,500 former islanders, politicians and activists.

Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, who will visit Moscow from Thursday for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on matters including the territorial dispute, also said he will stake his political life on realising the early return of the islands. "I will wholeheartedly devote myself to resolving the territorial issue," he said. The foreign minister added he will try to lay the groundwork for Kan's summit talks with Medvedev during his upcoming visit to Russia to help settle the row.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, who also serves as minister in charge of Northern Territories issues, said the government has doubled its spending for awareness-raising activities on the territorial row to 2.07 billion yen in the fiscal 2011 budget plan from the current year to make stronger calls for the return, according to Kyodo.

Nemuro Mayor Shunsuke Hasegawa lambasted Medvedev's trip to Kunashiri Island, saying the Russian president "ignored laws and international justice by justifying the illegal occupation" of the islands by Russia and "repeated the same mistake as the one made 65 years ago by infringing upon Japan's sovereignty."

The Soviet Union seized the islands of Etorofu (Iturup), Kunashiri (Kunashir), Shikotan and the Habomai islet group shortly after Japan's surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945. The territorial spat has prevented the two countries from signing a post-war peace treaty. The islands are known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils.

Cape Nosappu on the eastern tip of Nemuro, an eastern Hokkaido city, is about 3 kilometres from one of the Habomai islets. The rally is held every year in Japan to mark Northern Territories Day, which commemorates the conclusion of the Treaty of Commerce, Navigation and Delimitation on February 7, 1855, in which Japan and Russia confirmed that the four islands are Japanese territory.

Since Medvedev's trip (Nov 1), the Japanese government has been irked by a series of visits to the disputed islands by high-ranking Russian officials including First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Regional Development Minister Viktor Basargin and Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. However, Tokyo until now has not used such strong words as "unforgivable outrage."
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12379331

BBC News
February 7, 2011

Japan-Russia row escalates over disputed Kurils islands
The dispute over the islands has been going on since the end of World War II

Japan and Russia have exchanged heated comments over the disputed southern Kuril islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Japan's PM Naoto Kan called a visit by Russia's president to the islands last year an "unforgivable outrage".

Mr Kan was speaking during a rally in Tokyo held to demand the return of the islands, which were occupied by Soviet troops at the end of World War II.

Russian FM Sergei Lavrov responded by saying that Mr Kan's remarks were "clearly undiplomatic".

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to visit the islands last November.

The dispute over the islands, which lie north of Hokkaido and are known as the Northern Territories in Japan, has stopped Japan and Russia from signing a peace treaty.

'Flag burning'

A protest rally was also held in Nemuro, Hokkaido Mr Kan was the main speaker at the Tokyo rally on Monday.

Japan has designated 7 February as Northern Territories Day, marking the anniversary of an 1855 treaty which Tokyo says confirms its claim. A protest rally was also held in Nemuro, Hokkaido.

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, who is to visit Moscow this week, has said he will stake his political career on securing the islands' early return.

Russia's response to Mr Kan's comments was swift.

"Those expressions are clearly undiplomatic," Mr Lavrov said.

"They contrast sharply with the respectful, positive tone that was characteristic of the meeting between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and President Dmitry Medvedev in Yokohama last autumn," Russia's top diplomat added.

He also accused Tokyo of supporting Japanese nationalist organisations, whose members reportedly burned a Russian flag during the demonstration in the Japanese capital.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/02/07/43299041.html

Voice of Russia
February 7, 2011

Russia fuming over Japanese claims
Alexei Chernichenko

Official Moscow protests against the undiplomatic statements of Japanese leaders against the Russian Federation, and states as well, that territorial claims by Tokyo are unacceptable. This came in a published statement on Monday by the Russian Foreign Ministry

Far right activists in Japan have marked what their country calls Northern Territories Day Monday by dragging a torn Russian flag in front of the Russian Embassy in Tokyo. In an almost parallel statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan denounced November's tour by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev of the South Kuril Islands that the Japanese say are their lost northern territory as an inadmissible affront to Japan.

Russia is fuming.

There has been a special television appearance by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in which he said the following:

"I read a message on the terms coming from the mouths of the Japanese leadership. The expressions they used are clearly un-diplomatic. Maybe the Japanese leadership decided to keep up with Japanese non-governmental organizations, which this year have shown their discontent in a totally unacceptable forms.."

Professor Viktor Pavliatenko is a leading researcher at the Far East Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

"The most distressing thing of all is that the prime minister does not have even rudimentary diplomatic skills, though, as a head of state he should possess them. The leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party, who until recently were in power, were more prepared for this post. Japan lost the temp in the dialogue with Russia and the position which it had under the previous leadership. So the only way out, that the current government sees is a hardening of positions. Moreover this toughening of position is also being applied to the internal political situation in the country. The position of the current cabinet is not strong enough: the opposition is demanding the dissolution of parliament, and everywhere can be heard calls for occupancy limits on the Khan Cabinet which is in power.

Professor Sergei Luzianin is Deputy Director of the Far East Institute:

"The day the Northern Territories in Japan always been controversial. But today's act before the Russian embassy with the Russian flag is the height of cynicism. And it is clear that indirectly and perhaps even directly the official Japanese government is behind the events, they are well-informed, and there is even evidence that the government is going to increase budget allocations for radical extremist Japanese organizations which are inflaming anti-Russian hysteria. On this occasion nothing but regret and indignation can be expressed."

The Kremlin aide Sergei Prikhodko said on Monday that Russia's sovereignty over the South Kurils is indisputable, because the islands became Russian under international agreements at the end of the Second World War. The Kremlin also informed foreign powers that the Russian President will be visiting the area whenever he deems it necessary and without advance consultation with anybody.
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http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15930032&PageNum=0

Itar-Tass
February 7, 2011

Lavrov considers Japan's statements on Kurile not diplomatic

MOSCOW: Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said statements by Japanese officials on trips to South Kurile Islands by Russian leaders "are clearly not diplomatic in nature".

Lavrov commented on Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's statement. Kan considered Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's trip to South Kurile Islands "impressible disrespect".

"I read reports on the expression uttered by the Japanese prime minister. These expressions are clearly not diplomatic in nature. They form a contrast to the polite tone, which was proper to the talks between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the Japanese prime minister in Yokohama last autumn," the minister said.

Lavrov said, "This is conditioned by the fact that today Japan has marked the day of the so-called 'Northern Territories'. Maybe, the Japanese leadership has decided to keep up with non-governmental organisations, which show their attitude in an absolutely unacceptable form."

"It is regrettable that the Japanese leadership finances these non-governmental organisations," Lavrov stressed.

Last week the Russian president stressed that it was important to speed up the social and economic development of South Kurile Islands and the whole Sakhalin region. "We are ready to closely cooperate with our Japanese neighbours in order to implement concrete projects in this region and maintain a multilateral dialogue, including on the signing of a peace treaty in compliance with the agreements reached by Dmitry Medvedev and the Japanese prime minister in Yokohama," Lavrov said.

Japanese right-wing campaigners dragged the Russian flag along the ground outside the Russian Embassy in Tokyo on Monday and called for the return of a group of disputed islands.

The Day of Northern Territories is marked annually in Japan on February 7. On Monday, as happens every year, right-wing activists cruised the streets in vans equipped with loudspeakers to play nationalist music and chants.

"Return the Northern Territories!" and "You are illegally occupying our land!" were just some of the slogans broadcast before the activists approached the embassy, guarded heavily by police, with a Russian flag.

On Saturday, February 5, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow hoped that a reasonable and weighty approach towards territorial realities prevails in Tokyo.

Commenting on Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov's trip to South Kurile Islands, the ministry said, "Tokyo continues to comment on Russian leaders' trips to South Kurile Islands. The Foreign Ministry reacted on such comments several times. We are disappointed with the fact that Japan repeated them due to the trip to the islands by Anatoly Serdyukov."

Russia hopes that "a reasonable and weighty attitude towards territorial realities will prevail in Japan. Japan's refusal to lay emphasis on the 'island' issue would facilitate the calm and constructive bilateral dialogue," the ministry said.

The ministry said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev "intends to continue discussions on the development of Russian-Japanese relations, including a peace treaty in order to reach a new level of cooperation".

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's trip to Kunashir that Japan describes as its Northern territories evoked protests in Tokyo, however they were rejected by Russia. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Russian leader plans to visit other islands of the South Kurils.

Naoto Kan said he saw no prospects for finding fast solutions to the territorial dispute and called for changing the tactics in the dialogue with Moscow.

"This is not the issue that can be resolved by one round of talks, by one meeting," he said. "We have to change the strategy and take all efforts to return the islands."

Kan did not disclose how he would change his approach to the dialogue with Moscow.

The Kuril Islands dispute, also known as the Northern Territories dispute, is a dispute between Russian and Japan over sovereignty over the South Kuril Islands.

The disputed islands, which were occupied by Soviet forces during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation at the end of World War II, are under Russian administration as the South Kuril District of the Sakhalin region, but are claimed by Japan, which refers to them as the Northern Territories, being part of the Nemuro Subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture.

The San Francisco Peace Treaty between the Allied Powers and Japan from 1951 states that Japan must give up all claims to the Kuril Islands, but it also does not recognize the Soviet Union's sovereignty over the Kuril Islands.

Russia maintains that the Soviet Union's sovereignty over the islands was recognized following agreements at the end of the Second World War. However, Japan has disputed this claim.
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http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15929772&PageNum=0

Itar-Tass
February 7, 2011

Embassy challenges act of vandalism against Russian state flag

TOKYO: The Russian embassy in Tokyo has sent a note to the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Monday, protesting against an act of vandalism against the Russian state flag staged outside the Russian embassy on Monday.

Like in the previous years on February 7 Japanese right-wing nationalistic groups staged stormy demonstrations around the Russian embassy in Tokyo timed to coincide with the so-called "Day of the Northern Territories."

These demonstrations were staged in the presence of Japanese police and security services mobilized to prevent unwanted incidents. In violation of the Vienna Convention the Japanese side failed to ensure conditions for normal work of the embassy, to which both visitors' access and exit of the embassy's staff and families impeded. In fact, the embassy has been blockaded for a long time.

The diplomats cracked down on the act of vandalism against the Russian state flag staged outside the Russian embassy as "outrageous and unpardonable," the Russian embassy said in its note forwarded to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The Russian embassy stressed it regrets the tone in which some Japanese officials had been speaking at Monday's riot at which Tokyo demanded the return of the "Northern territories". Thus, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan dismissed a visit paid by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to the Kuril Islands on November 1, 2010 as "inexcusable rudeness."


20.

New Canadian Elite Special Forces Chief For NATO Afghan Training

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 7:21 pm (PST)



http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/afghanmission/article/934786--military-names-new-commander-for-elite-unit

Toronto Star/Canadian Press
February 7, 2011

Military names new commander for elite unit
Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA: The military has named a new commander for its elite special operations unit, which includes the JTF2 counterterrorist force.

The move, one of 15 appointments announced Monday by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, comes while the Canadian Forces is conducting a probe of complaints that the unit's senior leaders may have encouraged the commission of war crimes in Afghanistan.

Brig.-Gen. Michael Day, head of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, is heading to Afghanistan where he will work at the Kabul headquarters of the NATO force responsible for training the Afghan army and police.

He will be promoted to major-general and become the deputy commander of army training activities. There, he will be closely involved with the 950 Canadian soldiers who will be deployed to the training mission starting this summer.

Day was among the first soldiers selected to join JTF2 back in 2002 when the unit was created to counter terrorist threats against Canada.

He returned to the unit as acting director of counter terrorism special operations and was among those deployed to chase the Taliban and Al Qaeda out of Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

His third posting with Canada's special forces came in 2005 when he was named commanding officer of JTF2. His role was expanded in 2007 when he also assumed command of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, a second tier special forces unit.

Brig.-Gen. Dennis Thompson, who is currently the chief of the army's land operations and formerly commanded Canadian troops in Afghanistan, will assume command of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM).

A spokesman for the special forces said Thompson is expected to take over in April.

It is unclear what the future holds for Canada's elite fighters after Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan formally ends in July. But one of the most public challenges on Thompson's plate will be an ongoing investigation into JTF2's past activities in Afghanistan.

An initial probe was launched into complaints by a member of the unit that a fellow Canadian commando shot and killed an Afghan who had his hands up in a signal of surrender in 2006. The military labelled its board of inquiry Sand Trap, but the case was ultimately closed with no charges being laid.

It did lead to a second, more comprehensive investigation of JTF2's senior leaders, known as the chain of command in military lingo. That probe was labelled Sand Trap Two and is still ongoing.

Documents obtained last month by the CBC show that the unnamed complainant at the heart of the investigations took the allegations first to the military's ombudsman, who then directed the commando to lodge a complaint with the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.

The soldier told the ombudsman's office that he felt fellow members of his unit were "being encouraged to commit war crimes by the chain of command," according to those documents.

The reports do not specify what crimes may have been committed, but suggests the senior special forces leader pushed commandos to take a more aggressive approach on the battlefield, similar to their American counterparts.

The soldier said those who got involved in the suspect activities were promoted more quickly than those who refused.
....

21.

Report: U.S. To Whisk Mubarak Away To Germany

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com   rwrozoff

Mon Feb 7, 2011 7:32 pm (PST)



http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,743998,00.html

Der Spiegel
February 7, 2011

Possible Exile in Germany
Clinic Near Baden-Baden Considered For Mubarak
By Björn Hengst and Christoph Schwennicke

Will Hosni Mubarak travel to Germany as a patient as part of a graceful exit strategy for the Egyptian president? Plans for a possible hospital stay here appear to be more concrete than previously believed. SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned that a luxury clinic near Baden-Baden is being favored.

The United States government's scenario for an end to the political chaos in Egypt appears to be this: President Hosni Mubarak travels to Germany for a "prolonged health check" that would offer the 82-year-old a dignified departure. Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that secret talks to that effect were being held between the US government and Egyptian military officials.

According to information obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE, plans for a possible hospital stay in Germany are far more concrete than had been assumed so far. Talks are already being held with suitable hospitals, particularly with the Max-Grundig-Klinik Bühlerhöhe in the southwestern town of Bühl near Baden-Baden, SPIEGEL ONLINE has learned from sources close to the clinic. The hospital management declined to comment.

The luxury clinic has an excellent reputation, as well as a respected oncology department, and says on its website it offers "first-class medical care" and the "comfort and service of a top hotel." Patients are accommodated in suites up to 200 square meters (2,152 square feet) in size. Former Ukrainian President Vickor Yushchenko and former Russian Economics Minister German Gref have been treated there.

In the past there have been rumors that Mubarak is suffering from cancer. During the spring of 2010, Mubarak had his gallbladder and an intestinal polyp removed in the Heidelberg University Clinic. Doctors in Heidelberg quashed the cancer rumors at the time.

Currently, Mubarak is residing in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in a holiday villa. Politicians from Germany's center-right coalition government under Chancellor Angela Merkel have said in recent days they were open to a hospital stay by Mubarak in Germany.

"We need a peaceful transition in Egypt. If Germany can make a constructive contribution in an international framework, we should receive Hosni Mubarak -- if he wants that," said Andreas Schockenhoff, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

Elke Hof, security policy spokeswoman for the business-friendly Free Democratic Party, the junior coalition partner to the CDU, said: "I would welcome an early departure by Mubarak if this can contribute to stabilizing the situation in Egypt.

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