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From: <stopnato@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 8:25 PM
Subject: [stopnato] Digest Number 3610
To: stopnato@yahoogroups.com

Messages In This Digest (7 Messages)

1.: Afghan War: NATO 2010 Death Toll 165, 150,000 Troops Soon From: Rick Rozoff

2.: Pentagon Official: Azerbaijan Vital Partner In Caucasus, Caspian From: Rick Rozoff

3.: Afghanistan: 1,000 NATO Soldiers Commemorate German War Dead From: Rick Rozoff

4.: 120 Afghans Killed, Over 100 Wounded In Week Of Carnage From: Rick Rozoff

5.: Canadian Military Chief Wages Curious War In Afghanistan From: Rick Rozoff

6.: U.S. NATO Commander: Arm Commercial Vessels In Horn Of Africa From: Rick Rozoff

7.: START II Allows Quicker, Broader U.S. Interceptor Missile Deployment From: Rick Rozoff

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Messages

1.: Afghan War: NATO 2010 Death Toll 165, 150,000 Troops Soon

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

Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:14 pm (PDT)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jrNV-SUuOZVAvqLeKkn_K1iOqOlg

Agence France-Presse
April 18, 2010

NATO soldier killed by bomb in south Afghanistan

KABUL: A foreign soldier in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban insurgency has been killed by a roadside bomb in the most volatile part of the country, NATO said Sunday.

The soldier, whose nationality was not given, was the third to die as a result of a Taliban-style attack using an improvised explosive device (IED) on Saturday, the statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

The statement did not say if the incident was the same as one previously announced by the defence ministry in the Netherlands that killed two Dutch soldiers in Uruzgan province.

The latest death takes to 165 the number of foreign troops killed so far in 2010, according to an AFP toll based on the independent icasualties.org website, which tracks coalition deaths.

There are 126,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan fighting a virulent insurgency concentrated in the country's south.

Deployment will peak at 150,000 in August as the coalition attempts to bring a swift end to the war so that troops can begin to withdraw from mid-2011.

Around 1,950 Dutch troops are deployed in Afghanistan, with 23 having died since the Dutch mission started in 2006.

Dutch troops are set to start withdrawing from Uruzgan in August, to be completed by year-end.

The Dutch government collapsed in February in a spat over whether to extend the deployment.
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2.: Pentagon Official: Azerbaijan Vital Partner In Caucasus, Caspian

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

Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:14 pm (PDT)

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/foreign/1671740.html

Trend News Agency
April 18, 2010

U.S. Deputy Defense Minister highly values U.S.-Azerbaijan partnership
R. Darakhshan

Azerbaijan, Baku: During a one-day-visit to Baku on April 17, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy thanked Azerbaijan for its contributions in Afghanistan and cooperation in the efforts to fight violent extremism, calling Azerbaijan a "vital partner of the United States," the U.S. embassy public affairs office said.

Flournoy met Saturday with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Defense Minister Safar Abiyev.

"Azerbaijan's leadership is demonstrated by the country's commitment to the government and people of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan," says the statement released by Flournoy at the conclusion of the meetings.
....
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3.: Afghanistan: 1,000 NATO Soldiers Commemorate German War Dead

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

Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:14 pm (PDT)

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5480521,00.html

Deutsche Welle
April 18, 2010

Memorial held for German soldiers killed in Afghanistan

More than a thousand soldiers from the multinational security forces serving in Afghanistan gathered in Mazar-i-Sharif on Sunday to pay their last respects to four German soldiers killed by the Taliban last week.

For the second time in two weeks, German soldiers in north Afghanistan memorialized comrades killed by Taliban forces.

The memorial for the four Germans killed last Thursday in a rocket attack was held at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Mazar-i-Sharif. Some 1,500 soldiers from 19 different countries attended.

The bodies were supposed to be flown back to Germany earlier in the weekend, but the volcanic ash cloud that has disrupted European air travel in recent days forced the transport to be delayed. A funeral in southern Germany is planned for Friday, but the exact date and time are unclear.

Germany's National Inspector of the Armed Forces, Volker Wieker, told the crowd that public debate about German troops' participation in the Afghan mission "should and will not be allowed to stand in the way...."

The four dead all came from southern Germany: a 33-year-old from Ulm, a 28-year-old from Weiden, and two 24 and 32-year old soldiers from Ingolstadt.

Five other soldiers were severely injured in the attack and evacuated to Istanbul, where they are being treated in a US military hospital until they can be flown to Germany. The condition of two soldiers is still so serious that they couldn't yet be transported, but a defense ministry spokesman said their condition was stable.

A total of 43 German soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the beginning of the 2001 mission.
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4.: 120 Afghans Killed, Over 100 Wounded In Week Of Carnage

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

Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:16 pm (PDT)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123717§ionid=351020403

Press TV
April 18, 2010

120 Afghans die in a week of carnage

The war in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of 120 people and injured over 100 more over the past week.

On Sunday, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said dozens of civilians were killed in another week of carnage.

He also confirmed that 20 policemen and scores of militants lost their lives in the past seven days.

The insurgents were killed in joint operations by Afghan forces and international troops, he added.

Afghan civilians â€" killed both by violent militant acts, including bombings and daily fighting, as well as by US military operations in the country â€" have been the main victims of the war.

The 120,000 foreign soldiers deployed in the country have not been able to stabilize Afghanistan.

But the occupiers still plan to deploy tens of thousands of additional foreign troops to the Central Asian country this year.

However, pundits predict the troop surge will only lead to a surge in violence while peace remains a distant dream for the people of Afghanistan.
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5.: Canadian Military Chief Wages Curious War In Afghanistan

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

Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:16 pm (PDT)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/7604332/Canadas-military-chief-in-Afghanistan-fired-rifle-in-air-base.html

Sunday Telegraph
April 18, 2010

Canada's military chief in Afghanistan 'fired rifle in air base'
Canad's senior military commander in Afghanistan has ordered an investigation into himself after he accidentally fired his rifle while loading it at an air base
By Toby Harnden in Washington

Brigadier-General Daniel Ménard, who commands the Canadian and American troops who make up Task Force Kandahar, approached the media on Saturday, citing a need for openness, to say that his C8 carbine had fired unexpectedly at Kandahar air base on March 25th.

His disclosure followed inquiries from the independent war reporter Michael Yon. If an investigation concludes that the incident was a negligent discharge, then Brig-Gen Ménard, who once served as an exchange officer with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, could face a court martial under Canada's National Defence Act or a fine or reprimand.

Two Canadian sources suggested to Mr Yon that Brig-Gen Ménard had fired his rifle inside an American helicopter and that he had nearly hit a Canadian official.

Brig-Gen Ménard stated that no property was damaged but declined to discuss further details because of the ongoing investigation. It is unusual for such a senior officer to carry a rifle.

In the past 18 months, more than 600 Canadian Forces soldiers have been convicted of negligently discharging their weapons. Most of those incidents involve junior soldiers or recruits and many of them an instance of pulling the trigger prematurely during firing range practice.
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6.: U.S. NATO Commander: Arm Commercial Vessels In Horn Of Africa

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

Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:24 pm (PDT)

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=58776

U.S. Department of Defense
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2010

Admiral Urges Arming of Vessels to Combat Piracy
By John J. Kruzel

WASHINGTON: Navy Adm. Mark P. Fitzgerald, commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa and of NATOâ€™s Allied Joint Task Force Command Naples, told Pentagon reporters that the scope of the piracy problem is too great to be policed by military vessels alone.

â€œWe could put a World War II fleet of ships out there,â€ Fitzgerald said, referring to the Gulf of Aden and the Mozambique Channel off the Indian coast, â€œand we still wouldnâ€™t be able to cover the whole ocean.â€

On an average day, 30 to 40 ships comprising international maritime forces monitor pirate activity in the Somali basin and the western Indian Ocean, Fitzgerald said, adding that five to 10 of these ships at any given time are American vessels.

Another issue, the admiral said, is what to do with pirates who are captured. The international community, he explained, has not yet answered the question of how to bring to justice pirates captured at sea. This issue has come to the fore with the recent capture of five suspected pirates by the crew of the USS Nicholas in the Indian Ocean west of the Seychelles.

â€œCatch and release is not a very good option,â€ Fitzgerald said. â€œHow do we deal with this? We've got to come to some kind of solution.â€
....
The admiralâ€™s comments echoed remarks Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates made last year after Navy SEAL snipers killed three Somali pirates while rescuing the kidnapped American ship captain of the Maersk-Alabama cargo ship.

Gates, emphasizing the limitations of a purely military approach to piracy, said some officials have suggested bypassing the central government of Somalia and instead establishing relationships with officials of functioning local governments there.
....
[I]n the near-term, Fitzgerald said yesterday, it is â€œincumbent upon the vessels who are sailing the high seas to either protect themselves or accept the dangers.â€

Asked if he would recommend that commercial ships arm themselves, Fitzgerald said: â€œI think they should.â€

â€œCommercial ships should take appropriate protections,â€ he added, â€œbecause we cannot offer 100-percent guarantees of protection as the ships go through.â€

Fitzgerald also recommended tracking the spoils of successful piracy operations. â€œI think we'd be able to trace the financiers [and] the middlemen,â€ he said.
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7.: START II Allows Quicker, Broader U.S. Interceptor Missile Deployment

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

Mon Apr 19, 2010 8:24 am (PDT)

http://en.rian.ru/papers/20100419/158650784.html

Kommersant
April 19, 2010

New treaty may help U.S. deploy new ballistic missile shield in Europe

The United States plans to complete the deployment of its ballistic missile shield in Europe within eight years, thanks to the new START treaty signed with Russia.

Late last week, the Pentagon explained why President Barack Obama scrapped Bush-era plans to deploy elements of the system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The Czech radar installation and the 10 long-range missile interceptors in Poland would have covered only 75% of Europe's territory, which U.S. allies said was not enough. The new missile defense shield will cover 100% of Europe, said Bradley Roberts, deputy assistant defense secretary for nuclear and missile defense policy.

The new system is to be deployed within eight years. The first phase, by the end of 2011, stipulates the deployment of a radar, sea-based Aegis missile defense systems and Standard Missile 3 interceptors in southern Europe.

Around 2015, more-advanced interceptors and missile detectors would be fielded in addition to the first land-based SM-3 facility in southern Europe. The final two stages of the shield would see the land and sea fielding of even-more sophisticated versions of SM-3 interceptors that would be able to fly faster and farther....

U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly said that the long-range interceptors in Poland would have cost $70 million each, whereas a single SM-3 interceptor would cost $10 million to $15 million.

O'Reilly dismissed recent assertions from Republican lawmakers that a new nuclear arms control treaty with Russia would jeopardize plans for missile defenses in Europe.

"The new START treaty actually reduces constraints on the development of the missile defense program," he said during a hearing in the House Armed Services subcommittee.

The accord, signed in early April by Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, will permit missile defense tests that had been prescribed under the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, he said.

"Our targets will no longer be subject to START constraints, which limited our use of air-to-surface and waterborne launches of targets which are essential for a cost-effective testing of a missile defense interceptor against medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the Pacific region," O'Reilly said.
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