Messages In This Digest (18 Messages)
- 1.
- NATO Meeting: Gates 'Disappointed' At Turkey Opposing Iran Sanctions From: Rick Rozoff
- 2.
- Kosovo: NATO's Prototype 21st Century Pseudo-State Client From: Rick Rozoff
- 3.
- Pakistan: U.S. Missiles Kill 18, Wound Dozens From: Rick Rozoff
- 4.
- Pentagon Tests GBI Missile; SM-3s On Way To Europe From: Rick Rozoff
- 5.
- Southern Kyrgyzstan Toll: 41 Dead, 583 Injured From: Rick Rozoff
- 6.
- Army Space And Missile Command Aids 'Warfighters Around The Globe' From: Rick Rozoff
- 7.
- Evicting Russia From Abkhazia, S. Ossetia Remains White House Goal From: Rick Rozoff
- 8.
- NATO-Georgia Commission Meets On Sidelines Of DMs Gathering From: Rick Rozoff
- 9.
- Georgian Defense Chief To Inspect Troops In Afghanistan From: Rick Rozoff
- 10.
- Iran And The Balkans: Russia Makes The Same Mistakes From: Rick Rozoff
- 11.
- Afghan War: NATO Convoy Travels From Baltic To Central Asia From: Rick Rozoff
- 12.
- U.S. General Assumes Command Of All NATO Forces In Bosnia From: Rick Rozoff
- 13.
- South Caucasus: NATO Week To Be Held In Armenia From: Rick Rozoff
- 14.
- Afghanistan: Finland In First Post-World War II Combat From: Rick Rozoff
- 15.
- U.S. Special Forces Train Elite Afghan Units For South From: Rick Rozoff
- 16.
- 450 NATO Forces Assigned to Build Afghan Air Force From: Rick Rozoff
- 17.
- Pentagon's New Nuclear Villain: Myanmar From: Rick Rozoff
- 18.
- Baltic: U.S. Warship, British Commanders Host Swedish Officials From: Rick Rozoff
Messages
- 1.
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NATO Meeting: Gates 'Disappointed' At Turkey Opposing Iran Sanctions
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:23 am (PDT)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gMMWUftF26Q_T2ehdXVv7cOg3S-w
Agence France-Presse
June 11, 2010
Gates 'disappointed' at Turkey opposing Iran sanctions
BRUSSELS: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday he was "disappointed" that Turkey voted against imposing UN sanctions on Iran, but acknowledged allies sometimes disagree.
"I was disappointed by the Turkey vote on the Iranian sanctions," Gates told a news conference after a meeting of NATO defence ministers, including Turkey's representative.
"That said, Turkey is a decades long ally of the US and a member of NATO. Turkey continues to play a critical part in the alliance," he said.
Gates said Washington had "strong" defence ties with Ankara as well as military bases on Turkish territory.
"Allies don't always agree on things. But I think we move forward from here, and we'll just do that," he said.
Turkey, along with Brazil, voted against fresh sanctions against Iran, which the UN Security Council adopted on Wednesday.
Ankara argued that Tehran should be given a chance to carry out a nuclear fuel swap deal, brokered by Turkey and Brazil last month.
Gates on Wednesday blasted the European Union over its treatment of Turkey, saying the EU's reluctant stance towards possible Turkish membership was a factor behind Ankara's perceived foreign policy shift away from the West.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, dismissed the charges Thursday as "dirty propaganda," insisting that Turkey was committed to its links in both the East and West.
Asked about Iran's nuclear programme on Friday, Gates said the United States estimated Iran would be at the "threshold" of having a nuclear weapon in between "one and three years."
===========================
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- 2.
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Kosovo: NATO's Prototype 21st Century Pseudo-State Client
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:26 am (PDT)
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/breakingnews/nato-security-in-kosovo-remains-stable-despite-occasional-incidents-96127279.html
Associated Press
June 11, 2010
NATO: Security in Kosovo remains stable despite occasional incidents
BRUSSELS: NATO defence ministers say security in Kosovo remains stable despite occasional violent incidents between its Albanian majority and Serb minority.
A statement says the ministers on Friday discussed possible reductions in NATO's 10,000-strong peacekeeping force in the former Serbian province.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. About 70 nations including the United States support Kosovo's independence, but it is still not a member of the United Nations. [Meaning over 120 nations do not recognize Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.]
Last month riot police used tear gas and pepper spray to separate hundreds of ethnic Albanian protesters from rock-throwing Serbs in the divided town of Mitrovica.
===========================
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==============================
- 3.
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Pakistan: U.S. Missiles Kill 18, Wound Dozens
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:28 am (PDT)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=129950§ionid=351020401
Press TV
June 11, 2010
More US missiles kill 18 in Pakistan
Another US missile strike has killed at least 18 people and wounded dozens in a tribal area in northwest Pakistan, officials say.
According to Pakistani security officials, a drone fired six missiles 50 kilometers west of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan on Friday. They say a house in Bahadar Khel village was the target of the attack.
Reportedly, the previous drone strike killed three people late Thursday at a house in the village of Khaddi, 15 kilometers east of Miranshah.
Almost 1,000 Pakistanis have been killed in US drone strikes since 2008.
The issue of civilian casualties has strained Islamabad-Washington relations.
Washington claims the attacks target militants whereas most of them have killed civilians.
Islamabad has repeatedly called for an end to the attacks, saying they violate Pakistan's sovereignty.
===========================
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- 4.
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Pentagon Tests GBI Missile; SM-3s On Way To Europe
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:31 am (PDT)
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/military-missile-interceptor-sn-100610.html
Space News
June 10, 2010
U.S. Military Test Launches New Missile Interceptor
By Turner Brinton
-Under a revised plan for European missile defense announced last year, U.S. Navy Aegis ships equipped with SM-3 interceptors will be deployed to European waters in 2011. Land-based SM-3 batteries will be developed and deployed in Poland and Romania in 2015. These interceptors have a successful test record against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on June 6 successfully conducted the first flight test of a smaller version of its ground-based interceptor being developed as a backup option for a European missile shield, the agency said June 6.
The two-stage interceptor launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and delivered an operational kill vehicle to a target point in space, as opposed to actually intercepting a target missile, an MDA press release said. Program officials are still analyzing telemetry data from the test, but all indications are that it was a success, the release said.
The two-stage interceptor is derived from the three-stage Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptors now deployed in Alaska and California to defend the United States against long-range missiles. The MDA and GMD prime contractor Boeing Defense, Space & Security of St. Louis were developing the smaller variant to be deployed in Europe to defend allies and deployed forces there, but the White House has since changed course, relegating the interceptor to a backup option in favor of the Raytheon-built Standard Missile (SM)-3 interceptors.
Under a revised plan for European missile defense announced last year, U.S. Navy Aegis ships equipped with SM-3 interceptors will be deployed to European waters in 2011. Land-based SM-3 batteries will be developed and deployed in Poland and Romania in 2015. These interceptors have a successful test record against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
A larger and more capable version of the SM-3, known as block 2B, is needed to intercept long-range missiles and provide an additional layer of defense for the United States. It is being co-developed with Japan and is not expected to be ready until 2020. Development of the two-stage ground-based interceptor will continue as a hedge against technological problems with the larger SM-3 interceptor.
===========================
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==============================
- 5.
-
Southern Kyrgyzstan Toll: 41 Dead, 583 Injured
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:33 am (PDT)
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=170627
Interfax
June 11, 2010
Osh riot death toll reaches 41
BISHKEK: The death toll in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh, that is engulfed in riots, has reached 41, the Kyrgyz Health Ministry told Interfax on Friday.
Another 583 people have been injured and 406 of them have been hospitalized, it said.
===========================
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- 6.
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Army Space And Missile Command Aids 'Warfighters Around The Globe'
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:42 am (PDT)
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/06/army_space_and_missile_defense.html
Huntsville Times
June 11, 2010
Space and Missile Defense Command's new lab at Redstone Arsenal develops technology, workforce
Kenneth Kesner
HUNTSVILLE, AL: There are a lot of rooms that look like these on Redstone Arsenal: Erasable whiteboards tattooed with formulas and diagrams, racks of equipment with switches and glowing numbers, ergonomic office chairs in front of dozens of computer keyboards and flat screens ...
In this particular suite of rooms, the furnishings and infrastructure have just been unpacked and connected. This is the Army Space and Missile Defense Command's new Concepts Analysis Lab, officially opened this week.
It's one place where SMDC is identifying and exploring emerging technology and ideas to see whether they're worth pursuing to develop new tools to help warfighters around the globe.
It's also where they are developing future ranks of engineers and researchers.
"It's really key to growing our work force," said Debra Wymer, director of SMDC's Test and Warfighter Solutions Center.
....
Engineering students don't sit around dreaming of hours spent in conference rooms or preparing briefings, he said. "When I got the opportunity to get into a lab environment and do more hands-on, I jumped at it."
Nash tries to keep the student researchers out of meetings and makes sure they get "real" work while at the lab.
"There's a whole different culture down here that we've tried to instill," he said.
....
Today, the spacious, new CAL has about 20 student workers in the summer months and about eight through the school year, Nash said. Those from the local colleges can more easily juggle work and school at the same time during the fall and spring, but SMDC gets students from all over the country, including the military academies.
He said they've gotten a boost from the Department of Defense SMART Scholarship - Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation - which pays students a full scholarship, stipend, insurance, and more to encourage science and technology studies.
Stephanie Cleveland of Geraldine, who'll turn 21 in about a week, is a SMART scholar in the lab, where she's been an intern for three years. She had planned to be a doctor, but her math interest and skills led her to major in electrical engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where she'll graduate next May.
"Right now, I've been working on a lot of medical research," she said, explaining her SMDC duties. Cleveland's looking at mammograms, at how the cancer hides in the imagery.
"We're hoping to transition that into radar images, looking for missiles in clutter," she said. "It's kind of the same principle."
When Cleveland first heard about the chance to work for the government, she assumed it would be filing and running errands.
"I actually get to do real work," she said. "I get to work on projects by myself, and I think that's really cool. ...
"I plan on staying here."
Mark Ray stayed. It had been his goal to work for Alabama Power, but the lab experience changed his mind.
"They started giving me real things to do, and it progressed," he said, pausing from his work in the CAL's new "clean room." Eventually, the SMDC will build prototypes and equipment destined for orbit here.
"It's interesting and challenging work, something that you don't do everywhere," he said.
Ray, 25, of Anniston, was a co-op student in the lab and has earned a master's in electrical engineering from Auburn University. He is now lead engineer for further development of the portable ground station for SMDC-ONE, the Army's experimental nanosatellite expected to ride into orbit this year.
"They're already designing modifications to what we've received from the contractor. And they're looking at the next-generation design, trying to do that in-house," Nash said.
"This has been the best job I could have ever hoped for," Ray said. "It's been great."
===========================
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- 7.
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Evicting Russia From Abkhazia, S. Ossetia Remains White House Goal
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:46 am (PDT)
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=22409
Civil Georgia
June 11, 2010
U.S. Official: 'We are not Ignoring Georgia'
Tbilisi: It remains the Obama administration's foreign policy objective "to end Russian occupation" of parts of Georgian territory, although there is no progress in pursuing this objective, a senior White House adviser on Russia said on June 10.
Michael McFaul, the U.S. President's special assistant and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs at the National Security Council, has strongly rejected a notion that Washington was abandoning Georgia, at the expense of hitting a reset button with Russia.
Speaking at Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics McFaul laid out key principles of the Obama administration's reset policy with Russia saying that from the very start of his presidential tenure Obama's "principle observation" was that the dangerous drift in the U.S.-Russia relations, which started even before "Russian invasion of Georgia" in August, 2008, was not in the Washington's nation interests.
....
As another example he brought Georgia's case and said: "We are deliberately not pushing for the end of the occupation of Georgia to resubmit 123 agreement" – a peaceful nuclear treaty with Russia.
When President Obama resubmitted the treaty to the Congress on May 10 he wrote in the message to lawmakers that "the situation in Georgia need no longer be considered an obstacle to proceeding with the proposed Agreement." Remarks were criticized by Obama's former presidential challenger, senator John McCain, saying that such stance was fueling sentiments that Washington "is selling" Georgia "out to Moscow as the price of our 'hitting the reset button'."
But as McFaul said the Administration's strategy "does not mean that we are ignoring Georgia… We are doing these things in parallel, but we are not linking them."
At the same time, he said, the Administration was not "allowing our Russian colleagues to link things that they want to link."
"So we are not ending our assistance to Georgia [and] throwing Georgians under the bus in the name of UN Security Council resolution – that was a proposition put to us a long time ago and we said: 'we're not gonna play that game'," McFaul said.
After speaking about the issues on which he thought progress had been achieved with Russia as part of reset policy, McFaul then listed areas where no progress was observed.
"On the top of my list are Georgia and democracy [in Russia]," McFaul said.
"Is it a foreign policy objective of the Obama administration to help end Russia's occupation of Georgia in a peaceful manner and restore Georgia territorial integrity? Absolutely yes; that's the objective we have. We have other goals with Georgia as well: we have a goal of enhancing stability in Georgia and in the region; we have a goal of enhancing democracy and we have a goal of enhancing economic growth in Georgia and we are doing all those things simultaneously."
....
Also on June 10, the U.S. Department of State spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, told a news briefing in Washington that Georgia and in particular situation in its breakaway regions remained a source of disagreement between the U.S. and Russia.
"We still do not see eye-to-eye on all aspects of that," Crowley said. "We've certainly not forgotten what happened in the crisis between Georgia and Russia. We continue to make clear to Russia that the situation needs to change. And we continue to support Georgia in terms of its territorial integrity and its rights in the region."
....
===========================
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- 8.
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NATO-Georgia Commission Meets On Sidelines Of DMs Gathering
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:49 am (PDT)
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=22410
Civil Georgia
June 11, 2010
NATO-Georgia Commission at Defense Ministers Level
Tbilisi: The NATO-Georgia Commission met on a sideline of NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels on June 11.
"NATO's decision to open [the] door to Georgia still stands, but lot of reform still needs to be done. The Alliance will continue to support and guide those reforms, in particular in democratic, civilian oversight of defense and security force," NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said in his opening remarks for the press before the meeting.
Bacho Akhalaia, the Georgian defense minister, told the meeting in his opening remarks that Annual National Program with NATO was proceeding "successfully."
"Despite security challenges we are vigorously moving forward," Akhalaia said.
The NATO Secretary General thanked Georgia for a "significant" contribution to the Afghan operations.
At a news conference after the meeting Rasmussen said that the Georgian Defense Minister heard from his counterparts "a strong message of support for Georgia's territorial integrity."
"They reiterated that NATO's door remains open to Georgia, when it meets the standards," he said.
"But of course, that day is not yet here. There is a long road of reform still to follow. The recent elections were an encouraging sign, and NATO will continue to support Georgia's reforms," Rasmussen added.
===========================
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==============================
- 9.
-
Georgian Defense Chief To Inspect Troops In Afghanistan
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:59 am (PDT)
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/foreign/1703594.html
Trend News Agency
June 11, 2010
Georgian Defense Minister to visit Georgian military contingent in Afghanistan
N. Kirtskhalia
Tbilisi: The Georgian Minister of Defence will soon visit Afghanistan and get acquainted with the life of Georgian military men there, Georgian Ambassador to NATO Grigol Mgaloblishvili told the media in Brussels.
"This decision was made by the minister to get acquainted with the terms of our military men, who perform their duties to maintain peace and stability within the NATO operation for several months," he said.
At today's meeting of the NATO-Georgian Commission, Mgaloblishvili said that all Georgia's efforts to reform the Army were appreciated. Defense ministers of NATO countries called for an intensification of relations of the alliance with Georgia.
"We have received recommendations for further actions in the direction of reforms and the promise of assistance in this direction", Georgian Ambassador to NATO said.
During the visit, Georgian Minister of Defence Bacho Akhalaia got acquainted with the activities of Georgian military men in the areas of responsibility of France and the United States. There are 950 Georgian military men in Afghanistan.
===========================
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==============================
- 10.
-
Iran And The Balkans: Russia Makes The Same Mistakes
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:06 pm (PDT)
http://en.fondsk.ru/article.php?id=3088
Strategic Culture Foundation
June 11, 2010
Iran and the Balkans: Russia Risks Making the Same Mistakes
Pyotr Iskenderov
[Edited by RR]
-[T]he missile defense program is still on but will employ more advanced technologies ensuring radar surveillance over a greater area. In the foreseeable future Russia will be confronted with an evasive network of mobile systems instead of two undisguised stationary installations.
The Persian Gulf zone and the Black Sea region will be given key roles in the framework of the initiative. It did not go unnoticed that the US Administration carefully avoided linking any of the provisions of the New START treaty with the state of the US missile defense program.
-Russia was defeated in the five-party talks on Kosovo when it consented to the so-called three principles, one of them being that the situation should not revert to the 1999 status quo. The provision was eventually used by the proponents of Kosovo independence to justify its unilateral declaration....[I]sn't the West demonstrating bias and acting unilaterally when it consents to the nuclear status of India and Pakistan and shields Israel from criticism over its nuclear program, but keeps pushing for ever tighter sanctions to be imposed on Iran?
The recent UN Security Council resolution slapping new sanctions on Iran is likely to become the worst defeat suffered by Russian diplomacy over the past years.
Its negative impact may be persistent and more serious than that of the proclamation of Kosovo's independence to which Russia continues to object.
What we are witnessing seems to be an unexpected recurrence of the syndrome of unilateral concessions to the West which eroded Russia's international politics, especially its Balkan part, in the 1990s. Following the Western lead in dealing with Iran, Russia is risking the loss of both its positions in a region much more extensive than the Balkans and its hard-earned key role in the emerging multipolar world.
Commenting on the vote in the UN Security Council (where Russia's BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China] peer Brazil and NATO member Turkey voted against the sanctions), the influential Tehran Times wrote: "The fact that Turkey and Brazil, two U.S. allies, voted against the resolution provides further proof that the actions against Iran and the latest decision of the Security Council are based on secret deals struck by the major powers. Thus, those who say the U.S. abandoned its Eastern European missile shield plan in order to win the support of Russia were probably correct."
In 2009, the Russian foreign ministry was on a number of occasions forced to deny that — as Western media kept suggesting — there existed a "missile defense for Iran" swap deal. Indeed, it probably did not exist as a formalized agreement, but the truth is that at a certain moment Russia adopted a much tougher stance on Iran and froze its arms transactions with the country (suspending the supply of the S-300 air defense systems), as well as the fact that currently Moscow risks losing its strategic partner in the Middle East without any visible reasons for such a sacrifice. Can the invisible reason be an obscure deal with US President Barack Obama?
Recent developments signal a complicated array of shifts in the region and outside of it. The mediation successfully undertaken by Turkey and Brazil in talks over the enrichment of Iran's uranium stockpile outside of the country, the escalation in the Middle East, the tensions between Turkey and Israel, new geopolitical maneuvers around the Karabakh settlement and related energy projects (in which Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan, a country with a special position, are to play the key roles) altogether confront the US with the threat of isolation and loss of leadership.
As for Iran, it is no secret that the three rounds of sanctions imposed on the country in 2006-2008 failed to undermine its capability to implement a nuclear program, which has become an element of the Iranian national identity. There are no indications that the situation is going to change from Iran's perspective this time.
The situation is going to change from Russia's perspective, though, and certainly for the worse. Losing Iran, demonstratively distancing itself from the Turkish-Brazilian mediation (for which President Medvedev expressed support previously), and siding with the U.S., Moscow put in jeopardy the political gains of recent years such as independence and assertiveness in international politics and clarity of geopolitical priorities. Voting for new sanctions and constructing the nuclear power plant in Bushehr at the same time is an example of the very double standards that Moscow justly rebelled against whenever it encountered them in Western policies.
Russia evidently tried to recoup some of its geopolitical losses immediately after the vote in the UN Security Council. Russia's foreign ministry promptly posted an extensive comment saying: "However, we can't ignore the signals indicating that some partners intend, almost immediately after the decision in New York, to move to considering additional sanctions against Iran, more stringent than those provided by the UNSC resolution.
"We regard this as the manifestation of a policy that runs counter to the principles of joint work within the Six [U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China] and the UNSC format. Unacceptable to us are attempts in such a way to place oneself 'above' the Security Council. We also categorically reject any national decisions on the imposition of extraterritorial sanctions,' i.e., restrictive measures under one's own legislation with regard to individuals and legal entities in third countries. Such decisions, should they affect Russian legal entities or individuals, would entail a retaliatory response by us.
"The new resolution leaves extensive room for further cooperation with Iran in the trade and economic fields and on energy, transport and peaceful space exploration. As applied to Russian-Iranian bilateral ties, all of these areas have significant potential and growth opportunities. Of fundamental importance for us is the further development of cooperation with Iran in the construction of light water reactors."
The arguments seem OK but still reek of an attempt to save face. It is unlikely that the US and the EU, overwhelmed with gratitude to Russia, will in the future show greater respect for its interests or adapt to the Russian foreign ministry's position on Iran. Russian diplomacy's pledges to go on cooperating with Iran would have been more credible if Russia at least abstained during the UN Security Council vote, as, for example, did Lebanon.
Washington pursued its own interests without exception throughout the Russian-US debates over Iran. Obama's decision against deploying missile defense infrastructures in Poland and the Czech Republic was predictable due to purely economic regards and did not require Russia's consent to sanctions against Iran.
In fact, the missile defense program is still on but will employ more advanced technologies ensuring radar surveillance over a greater area. In the foreseeable future Russia will be confronted with an evasive network of mobile systems instead of two undisguised stationary installations.
The Persian Gulf zone and the Black Sea region will be given key roles in the framework of the initiative. It did not go unnoticed that the US Administration carefully avoided linking any of the provisions of the New START treaty with the state of the US missile defense program.
The most alarming aspect of the current situation is the analogy it invokes with the 1990s—early 2000s Balkan developments. In that epoch Russia also demanded on the formal level that all sides in the Balkan conflicts equally abide by international law, called for compromises, and voted for sanctions in the UN Security Council, holding that this was the only way to stop escalations.
The overall result was progressing imbalance in the Balkans and broader European security architecture. The norms declared were supposed to be mandatory for all nations, but the Serbs invariably ended up disadvantaged. The format of the international contact group which handled the Balkan crises is frighteningly similar to that currently employed in dealing with Iran (the six-party talks). Russia was defeated in the five-party talks on Kosovo when it consented to the so-called three principles, one of them being that the situation should not revert to the 1999 status quo. The provision was eventually used by the proponents of Kosovo independence to justify its unilateral declaration.
Now Russian envoys quite reasonably blame the UN and its Secretary General for being either reluctant or unable to address the Kosovo problem and charge the EU and the US with bias and unilateralism. But isn't the West demonstrating bias and acting unilaterally when it consents to the nuclear status of India and Pakistan and shields Israel from criticism over its nuclear program, but keeps pushing for ever tighter sanctions to be imposed on Iran?
The Balkans settlement has shown the inadequacy of international negotiating formats like five-party or six-party talks and the pointless character of UN discussions.
In practice, the West relies entirely on its own mechanisms to promote its own geopolitical interests. Russia chose to be on the side of the US and the EU instead of strengthening its commercial ties with Iran (including Caspian Sea delimitation and energy projects), involving countries with unbiased positions in the talks over the Iranian nuclear dossier, and supporting the independent and successful mediation contributed by Turkey and Brazil. Will the US and the EU return the favor — for example, in the form of concessions in Kosovo, the Caucasus, or energy politics? Based on the Balkans experience, it is clear that they will not.
____________________
Petr Iskenderov is a senior research fellow at the Institute for Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Science and an international commentator at Vremya Novstey and the Voice of Russia.
===========================
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- 11.
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Afghan War: NATO Convoy Travels From Baltic To Central Asia
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:10 pm (PDT)
http://en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1703538.html
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
June 11, 2010
First NATO convoy reaches Afghanistan via Russia
NATO marked a new first in its Afghan campaign on Friday as officials announced that the alliance had sent supplies by rail to its troops via Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for the first time, DPA reported.
Most NATO supplies enter Afghanistan via Pakistan. But the route has come under increasing attack by militants in the border region between the two countries, and the alliance has spent months negotiating to open alternate routes.
"The first trial shipment of the NATO train departed Riga, Latvia on May 14 and arrived in Afghanistan on June 9 ... The train transited through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan before entering Afghanistan," the alliance announced.
The shipment consisted of 27 standard 20-foot cargo containers loaded with construction materials and food supplies from Belgium, Britain and Spain, officials said.
NATO member Latvia was once part of Imperial Russia and was later occupied by the Soviet Union. Its rail network is part of the former Tsarist and Soviet network which reaches across Central Asia.
"Plans are already under way for follow-on shipments in the months ahead," the NATO statement said.
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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=06&dd=11&nav_id=67744
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
June 11, 2010
NATO opens new supply route to Afghanistan
BRUSSELS - NATO has opened an alternate supply route to its troops in Afghanistan across Russia and Central Asia.
Most NATO supplies enter Afghanistan through Pakistan, but the route has come under increasing attacks by militants in the border region, and NATO has been negotiating alternate routes for months.
The alliance said in a statement today that a train-load of supplies for its 122,000-strong force arrived in Afghanistan on June 9, traveling via Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan for the first time.
The shipment consisted of construction materials and food supplies.
===========================
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- 12.
-
U.S. General Assumes Command Of All NATO Forces In Bosnia
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:18 pm (PDT)
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2010/06/10/nb-04
Southeast European Times
June 10, 2010
US general assumes command of NATO forces in BiH
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina: US Brigadier General David Enyeart assumed command of NATO headquarters in Sarajevo on Wednesday (June 9th) from Brigadier General John Bullard.
At the ceremony, Enyeart said that the Alliance will continue to support BiH's Defence Ministry and armed forces.
In his farewell speech, Bullard praised the country's progress in reforming its defence sector.
NATO Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples Admiral Mark Fitzgerald - as well as other senior military and civilian officials - attended the ceremony at Camp Butmir. (BHRT, Dnevni Avaz, RTS, Fena - 09/06/10)
===========================
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- 13.
-
South Caucasus: NATO Week To Be Held In Armenia
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:23 pm (PDT)
http://www.aysor.am/en/news/2010/06/11/arm-nato/
Aysor
June 12, 2010
2010 NATO Week in Armenia
Within the framework of the Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan, week-long NATO sessions will be held in Armenia from June 14 to 18.
Included on the program are visits of NATO officials to Armenia, meetings, lectures and other activities.
The NATO Week in Armenia is an important event aimed at raising public awareness of NATO policies and structures, directions of its cooperation with Armenia and current activities.
Scheduled for June 14 is a teleconference Yerevan-Kunduz/ISAF for members of Armenia's peacekeeping mission to Afghanistan and their families.
An international seminar entitled "Public Perceptions of NATO activities and reforms on spheres of security and defence" will be held on June 15-16 in the ANI Plaza Hotel.
On June 17 the State Pedagogical Institute of Nalbandian in Gyumri town will host special lectures. There will be distributed books for establishment of the NATO Corner.
===========================
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- 14.
-
Afghanistan: Finland In First Post-World War II Combat
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:27 pm (PDT)
-Currently a total of 140 Finnish crisis management troops are participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The number is set to rise to a maximum of 195 at the beginning of 2011.
http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/06/stubb_in_afghanistan_situation_increasingly_difficult_1752772.html
Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE)
June 11, 2010
Stubb in Afghanistan: Situation Increasingly Difficult
The increase in unrest in Afghanistan can also be felt at the base of operations of Finnish crisis management forces in the north of the country. During a visit to the Finns in Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday, Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb said that he expects the situation in Afghanistan to grow more difficult in the coming year.
Foreign Minister Stubb's visit to the base was not postponed even though the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated. On Wednesday this week, Finnish crisis management forces were fired on.
"It is clear that it is less secure in Afghanistan than it was last year or the preceding year, and the direction is not the right one," Stubb said in Mazar-i-Sharif.
Stubb added that there is an overall feeling of security at the base, but the trip from the airport to the base, the situation was quite different.
"Although we were wearing bulletproof vests and helmets in the Pasi [armoured personnel carriers], there was a feeling of tension," Stubb added.
The Finns are part of the NATO-led ISAF operation in the north of Afghanistan involving a total of 5,000 soldiers from different countries. The number of clashes has doubled from last year.
Dangers Need to Be Acknowledged
On Wednesday, a group of Finns were fired on when they stopped to help Swedish crisis management soldiers get their stuck vehicle on the move again. There were no casualties or injuries, but the vehicle was lost. The commander of the Finnish forces, Lieutenant-Colonel Ari Grönroos, said that the incident on Wednesday did not add to the feeling of insecurity.
The higher risks and the increase in Finnish forces has been felt in the cost of the operation as well. In 2008 Finnish expenditure was about 15 million euros, but next year the costs could exceed 40 million.
Stubb spent Thursday night at the peacekeepers' camp in Mazar-i-Sharif. On Friday morning he continued to Armenia.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/domestic-news/general/11442-fm-stubb-visits-finnish-troops-in-afghanistan-.html
Helsinki Times
June 11, 2010
FM Stubb visits Finnish troops in Afghanistan
Alexander Stubb (cons), Finland's foreign minister, visited Finnish soldiers in Afghanistan on Thursday, the foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.
Stubb stayed the night at the base of the Finnish troops in Mazar-i-Sharif before continuing on Friday to the Armenian capital Yerevan to meet with the country's president and foreign minister.
Currently a total of 140 Finnish crisis management troops are participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The number is set to rise to a maximum of 195 at the beginning of 2011.
===========================
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- 15.
-
U.S. Special Forces Train Elite Afghan Units For South
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" r_rozoff@yahoo.com r_rozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:18 pm (PDT)
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/army_special_forces_afghan_police_061110w/
Army Times
June 11, 2010
Special Forces training Afghan police units
By Sean D. Naylor
-Two kandaks [Afghan National Civil Order Police] trained by special operators are already partnered with Marine conventional forces in Helmand, said a spokesman for NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, the U.S.-led headquarters responsible for overseeing the training of all Afghan national security forces....Bolduc's [Col. Don Bolduc, commander of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan] command includes Navy SEALs and Marine special operations forces, but its largest component is made up of Special Forces, which have traditionally had the task of training foreign security forces how to counter insurgents — a mission known as "foreign internal defense."
KABUL, Afghanistan — In an effort to reduce attrition rates in Afghan National Civil Order Police units — and improve those units' performance ahead of the upcoming Kandahar offensive — senior military officials here have ordered U.S. special operations forces to provide additional training to 40 percent of the elite police force and to establish long-term partnerships with half the battalions they train.
To reduce the attrition that can run as high as 140 percent in a year, the special operations forces will convert the ANCOP battalions, or kandaks, to the same operational cycle that has worked to keep attrition rates low in the Afghan National Army's Commando units, which are trained by and partnered with Special Forces.
Meanwhile, the ANCOP units trained by the special operations units are being sent to southern Afghanistan, to support the Marine operation to secure the town of Marjah in Helmand province and the upcoming set of missions — named Hamkari Baraye Kandahar, or Cooperation for Kandahar — in and around Kandahar city.
The plan for exactly how the special operations units will assist the ANCOP kandaks is evolving, said Army Brig. Gen. Scott Miller, commander of Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan, which has oversight over most U.S. special operations forces here that do not belong to the secretive Joint Special Operations Command. As things stand now, special operations units will train eight ANCOP kandaks, four of which they will partner with, he said. The remaining four will partner with conventional forces. (The mission does not involve standing the kandaks up from scratch — they already exist.)
Two kandaks trained by special operators are already partnered with Marine conventional forces in Helmand, said a spokesman for NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, the U.S.-led headquarters responsible for overseeing the training of all Afghan national security forces. (The spokesman declined to be identified.)
The remaining six units "will be deployed on a schedule yet to be determined to Kandahar province to support Hamkari," said Col. Don Bolduc, commander of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan, which is subordinate to Miller's command and which received the ANCOP mission in early April.
The Afghan National Civil Order Police consist of about 20 kandaks that fall under the Afghan National Police and its higher headquarters, the Afghan Ministry of Interior. ANCOP's purpose is to provide a mobile force that can respond to emergencies, augment regular ANP units where and when necessary, and also fill in for ANP elements when they deploy to Kabul for "focused district development" training, which all ANP units must complete, Bolduc said.
....
To redress some of these shortfalls, Bolduc said he was assigning a combination of Special Forces operational detachments-alpha, or A-teams, and Marine special operations teams to the ANCOP mission. "We've been tasked to partner with them, to reorganize them, to train them and then to employ [them]," Bolduc said.
Bolduc's command includes Navy SEALs and Marine special operations forces, but its largest component is made up of Special Forces, which have traditionally had the task of training foreign security forces how to counter insurgents — a mission known as "foreign internal defense." This background made CJSOTF-A the logical force to handle the ANCOP mission, Miller said.
....
The "pre-mission training" that the SF and Marine special ops troops are giving to the ANCOP forces consists of "a seven- to eight-day program of instruction where we give them just some basics on small unit tactics [and] traffic control points," said Lt. Col. Donald Franklin, commander of CJSOTF-A's Special Operations Task Force-East. "There's obviously some shoot, move and communicate type stuff as well," he added.
(The length of time an ANCOP unit spends in pre-mission training is driven by how soon it is scheduled to deploy, said the NTM-A spokesman. While the training for early-deploying units lasts no longer than 10 days and consists mostly of "refresher" and "sustainment" training in individual skills such as rifle marksmanship, "some units that will deploy this summer will receive much longer and more comprehensive training that will focus on collective tasks," he said.)
One of the biggest challenges ANCOP faces is that it has proven spectacularly unable to retain personnel. The four ANCOP brigades have annual attrition rates that range between 50.7 percent for the 1st Brigade to 140.2 percent for the 3rd Brigade, according to the NTM-A spokesman....
To counter the corrosive effects of such a high attrition rate, the special ops forces are putting the ANCOP kandaks on the same "red-amber-green" cycle that has worked well over the last three years for the Commandos, said Franklin, whose troops run the Commando training program at Camp Morehead on the edge of Kabul. Under that system, a kandak's three maneuver companies rotate between a "red" period, when they rest, refit and conduct professional development; an "amber" period devoted mainly to training; and a "green" period when they are ready to conduct operations on short notice. "It is definitely my intent to help with the retention problem," Franklin said.
....
Once in Kandahar, the ANCOP kandaks' "basic mission will be static checkpoints and population engagement within certain districts yet to be identified in order to augment the Afghan National Police at the local level for a period of time yet to be determined," Bolduc said. "Eventually the ANCOP kandaks will return to the provinces which they came from. That's what they were designed to do."
....
===========================
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- 16.
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450 NATO Forces Assigned to Build Afghan Air Force
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" r_rozoff@yahoo.com r_rozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:24 pm (PDT)
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123208904
United States Air Forces in Europe
American Forces Press Service
June 11, 2010
Transition force creates air power in Afghanistan
by Christen N. McCluney
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity
-General Boera's team does its mission with about 450 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, contractors and NATO partners in four locations around the country. He plans to expand to two additional locations.
One of his primary missions is to take care of the growth and development of the air force and turn it into a professional force.
-The air corps currently has 48 aircraft and almost 3,300 soldiers, including noncommissioned and commissioned officers.
They plan to grow to 146 aircraft and more than 8,000 airmen, General Boera said.
WASHINGTON: About 450 U.S. and NATO forces are working to bring the 3,300 members and 48 aircraft of the Afghan army air corps up to par as part of a long-term effort to give the country a self-sufficient air force, the Air Force general leading the transition team said June 10.
"Our mission is to set the conditions for a professional, fully independent and operationally capable Afghan air force that is ready to meet the security requirements of Afghanistan today and tomorrow," Brig. Gen. Michael R. Boera, the commander of the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan's Combined Air Power Transition Force, said during a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable June 10.
General Boera oversees the development of aviation within the Afghan military and police forces, which includes mentoring, training and assisting aviation units. Afghanistan's air forces consist of the national army air corps and an air interdiction unit....
General Boera's team does its mission with about 450 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, contractors and NATO partners in four locations around the country. He plans to expand to two additional locations.
One of his primary missions is to take care of the growth and development of the air force and turn it into a professional force.
The air corps currently has 48 aircraft and almost 3,300 soldiers, including noncommissioned and commissioned officers.
They plan to grow to 146 aircraft and more than 8,000 airmen, General Boera said.
The Air Interdiction Unit has nine aircraft and 129 airmen, and plans to expand to 19 aircraft and 282 airmen, he said.
The mission in Afghanistan is a long-term effort.
"You cannot build an air force over night," General Boera said.
To build a good force takes anywhere from two to five years to develop an air crew, and up to three-and-a-half years to train an engineer, or maintainer, from scratch, he said.
....
===========================
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- 17.
-
Pentagon's New Nuclear Villain: Myanmar
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" r_rozoff@yahoo.com r_rozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:27 pm (PDT)
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4665830&c=ASI&s=TOP
Agence France-Presse
June 10, 2010
Myanmar Nukes Would Destabilize Region: U.S.
WASHINGTON: Myanmar risks destabilizing Southeast Asia through its pursuit of weapons, although ***it is not yet clear whether the military regime is developing a nuclear program***, a U.S. official said June 10.
A senior army defector, in a recent documentary broadcast on Al Jazeera television, said the junta has been seeking nuclear weapons and developing a secret network of underground tunnels with help from North Korea.
Scot Marciel, the State Department official in charge of Southeast Asia, said that the United States was still assessing the allegations about Myanmar - also known as Burma.
"I think there's two issues. One is whether there is some kind of serious nuclear program in Burma, which certainly would be tremendously destabilizing to the entire region," Marciel testified at a congressional hearing.
"There's also the Burmese acquisition of other military equipment - conventional - which also can affect regional stability," he said.
"We're looking at both of those questions very closely," said Marciel, the deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs.
A senior Myanmar official last week told AFP that the accusations of a nuclear program were "groundless," without elaborating.
On a visit to Myanmar in May, Marciel's superior, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, expressed concern about a suspected arms shipment from North Korea and sought assurances from the regime.
Senator Jim Webb, one of the most vocal U.S. advocates of engagement with Myanmar, abruptly canceled a visit to the country earlier this month due to the allegations of cooperation with North Korea.
Addressing the Asia Society on June 9, Webb said he was still waiting to learn more about the allegations but decided it would be counterproductive to visit Myanmar at the time the documentary was broadcast.
President Barack Obama's administration last year opened dialogue with Myanmar, concluding that the previous approach of isolating the regime had not borne fruit.
But the administration has voiced deep concern about elections later this year, which the opposition considers a sham to legitimize military rule.
===========================
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- 18.
-
Baltic: U.S. Warship, British Commanders Host Swedish Officials
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" r_rozoff@yahoo.com r_rozoff
Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:33 pm (PDT)
http://www.eucom.mil/english/fullstory.asp?article=Mount-Whitney-Host-Swedish-Officials
United States European Command
June 9, 2010
Mount Whitney Host Swedish Officials
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Jennifer Rivera Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs
USS MOUNT WHITNEY, Mediterranean Sea: Swedish Ambassador Veronika Wand-Danielsson, head of the Swedish mission to NATO, and Annika Engblom, a member of Swedish Parliament representing the Karlskrona area, visited USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20) on June 9, in support of Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise 2010.
During the visit they received an detailed brief on BALTOPS 2010 exercise and toured the ship's engineering spaces, network operation center, helicopter control tower and the bridge; where they were able to view flight operations.
"I was able to come out to the ship last year for BALTOPS and it has been interesting to see first hand how the exercise has grown from last year," said Engblom. "Visiting the network operation center really puts in perspective how complex the functions of the exercise are and how partnerships between the participating nations have evolved."
After the tour Wand-Danielsson and Engblom were received by, U.K. Royal navy Rear Adm. Ian Corder, deputy commander, Combined Joint Task Force BALTOPS, and U. S. Navy Rear Adm. Michelle Howard, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 2 for lunch.
"We are very privileged to be a part of this exercise, and coming aboard the ship today really helped me understand the broadness of the Baltic exercise and how all the nations work together so well," said Wand-Danielsson. "You can read about the exercise but that doesn't always present it accurately, so being here today and being able to ask questions has been a great opportunity."
BALTOPS is comprised of forces from 12 countries and is the largest multinational naval exercise this year in the Baltic Sea. The exercise aims to improve maritime security in the Baltic Sea through increased interoperability and cooperation among regional allies.
===========================
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