Messages In This Digest (10 Messages)

Messages

1.: Afghanistan: NATO's Annual Death Toll Nears 500

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

Sun Sep 5, 2010 7:22 am (PDT)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gf2AVA3PW-Q2AivjD-G5loyrh_gA

Agence France-Presse
September 5, 2010

NATO reports two soldiers killed in Afghanistan

KABUL:NATO on Sunday announced the death of two foreign soldiers, one of them American, in Afghanistan's insurgent heartland....

One soldier whose nationality was not given, died Sunday in an insurgent attack, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

Another, confirmed as an American, died Saturday following a Taliban-style bomb attack, ISAF said.

The deaths brings to 497 the total number of foreign troops to die in the Afghan war so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on one kept by the icasualties.org website. The total in 2009 was 521.

The war is nearing the end of its ninth year, with international troops at almost full strength of 150,000, from the United States and NATO.

The deployments include 30,000 US troops ordered up by US President Barack Obama last December as part of a new counter-insurgency strategy aimed at speeding an end to the war.

Most of the new arrivals are heading to Kandahar and Helmand provinces, where the insurgency is concentrated and the fighting is the hardest.
....
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwrozoff@yahoo.com
or
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Daily digest option available.
==============================

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

2.: Pakistan: Over 20 NATO Tankers Destroyed In Past Weeks

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

Sun Sep 5, 2010 7:22 am (PDT)

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C09%5C05%5Cstory_5-9-2010_pg7_10

Daily Times
September 5, 2010

Three NATO tankers blown up

QUETTA: Three NATO tankers were torched on Saturday in the Mongechar area of the Kalat district.

According to official sources, NATO tankers were carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan and were on their way to Kandahar.

Unknown armed men on a motorcycle intercepted the oil tankers and took the people on board hostage at gunpoint and set the trucks on fire. The assailants managed to flee from the scene. Law enforcement agencies rushed to the spot soon after the incident.

A case had been registered in the Mongechar police station and investigations were underway. In the past few weeks, more than 20 NATO oil tankers had been set on fire, going through the same route, but no organization has claimed responsibility so far. staff report
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwrozoff@yahoo.com
or
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Daily digest option available.
==============================

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

3.: Bahrain: NATO Powers' Anti-Iran Policy Targets Opposition

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

Sun Sep 5, 2010 7:22 am (PDT)

http://www.arabmonitor.info/news/dettaglio.php?idnews=31562&lang=en

Arab Monitor
September 4, 2010

Driven by leading NATO powers' anti-Iran policy, Bahrain's Shiite majority under increased pressure

Manama: As the long-standing conflict between Bahrain's Sunni ruling elite and its huge Shiite majority is being drawn into the fold of leading NATO powers' efforts to heap the burden of their anti-Iran policy on the shoulders of Gulf Cooperation Council governments, Bahrain's opposition parties are made to pay the price.

In the past weeks some 250 political and social activists, who are contemporaneously exponents of the Shiite community and members either of the HAQ Movement for Liberty and Democracy or the Islamic Wafa party, have been arrested on suspicion of undermining the country's security. Some of them have been released, but now Bahrain's security agency accuses 23 Shiite activists of forming a terror network working to overthrow the government.

It must yet be seen whether the state prosecutors will file official charges, but in the meantime the arrested people and would-be defendants have not been allowed to meet their lawyer, Mohammed al-Tajir, who says some of his clients have been arrested already in mid-August and are being interrogated since then without legal assistance. Two of the 23 would-be defendants are not among the arrested because they currently are living abroad.

Pressure on the Shiite majority of Bahrain has been mounting since May this year, when the US Navy announced its intentions to double the expenditure for the US Fifth Fleet, based in Manama.

The Fifth Fleet supports operational forces and afloat units assigned or attached to the US Naval Forces Central Command and to other joint and combined US military units. The Fifth Fleet's area of responsibility extends to the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The decision to expand the US Naval base's activities in the area coincides with the new guidelines of US General David Petraeus, the American top commander in the Middle East, who ordered an expansion of clandestine operations to disrupt and gather intelligence on militant terror groups across the region.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwrozoff@yahoo.com
or
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Daily digest option available.
==============================

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

4a.: Re: Caucasus: Deadly Azerbaijan-Armenia Clashes Continue

Posted by: "Nazar" muratoglunazar@yahoo.com muratoglunazar

Sun Sep 5, 2010 7:22 am (PDT)

Azeri attack on NKR position fails
September 04, 2010 | 17:23

On September 4 morning, an Azerbaijani commando unit attacked the
Nagorno-Karabakh positions, trying to take Armenian prisoners.

Journalists that arrived at the place report that an 8-member commando
unit attacked the Nagorno-Karabakh defense army's positions. One of
the killed Azeri commandos was a brawny young man of 25-30. He had a
night viewer made in Israel, knifes and a tommy gun.

Immediately after the incident, NKR Defense Minister Movses Hakobyan
arrived at the scene of action. The General thanked the Armenian
soldiers for their courage. The NKR intelligence service reports that
the failed attack threw the Azerbaijani armed forces into panic.

On September 4, at 6:50 a.m. Yerevan time, two kilometers north-east of
Jraberd, the Azeri side attempted another act of sabotage.
<http://news.am/eng/news/29787.html> The Nagorno-Karabakh side took
retaliatory actions. As a result of a skirmish, the Azeri task force
was thrown back, leaving one dead in the NKR territory. In retreating,
the Azeri soldiers were wounded by a blown up mine. The NKR side does
not report any losses.

The Azeri side has lately committed acts of sabotage. On August 31, on
the contact line near Verin Chailu <http://news.am/eng/news/29355.html>
, the Azeri side attempted an act of sabotage. The Armenian soldier
Rusik Manaseryan was wounded.

On June 5, near Chailu, an Azeri reconnaissance detachment entered
penetrated to the Nagorno-Karabakh territory
<http://news.am/eng/news/22786.html> . As a result, four Armenian
soldiers were killed and another four wounded.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\
////////////

--- In stopnato@yahoogroups.com, Rick Rozoff <rwrozoff@...> wrote:
>
> http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=187088
>
>
> Interfax
> September 4, 2010
>
>
> Azerbaijan says two of its officers killed in Armenian attack
>
>
> BAKU: Azerbaijan has aired its version of an armed incident that took
place at the contact line between the Nagorno-Karabakh and Azeri forces
on Saturday morning.
>
> The Azeri TV channel ANS said Armenian armed forces had attacked Azeri
army positions in the Tartar district of Azerbaijan.
>
> Two Azeri military officers were killed and one soldier was wounded,
ANS said. As one of the officers was involved in suppressing an enemy
firing point, his body remained on the Armenian side, it said.
>
> The Azeri Defense Ministry has not yet commented on the incident.
>
> Armenia had said earlier that an Azeri military serviceman had been
killed and several others wounded while an Azeri reconnaissance and
sabotage group attempted to infiltrate Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
>
> Yerevan has called on the international community to assess what it
described as Azerbaijan's steps aimed at disrupting Nagorno-Karabakh
peace negotiations.
> ===========================
> Stop NATO
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato
>
> Blog site:
> http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/
>
> To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
> rwrozoff@...
> or
> stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> Daily digest option available.
> ==============================
>

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (2)

5.: First Georgian Soldier Killed In Afghanistan

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

Sun Sep 5, 2010 8:31 pm (PDT)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68412E20100905

Reuters
September 5, 2010

First Georgian soldier killed in Afghanistan

TBILISI: Georgia has suffered its first soldier killed in Afghanistan since joining the NATO-led force fighting there, the Georgian Defense Ministry said Sunday.

"One soldier was killed during operations and one was injured," a Defense Ministry official said, declining to give further details. The NATO-led force said the Georgian was killed by a home-made bomb in the south of Afghanistan Saturday.

Georgia has 925 troops in Afghanistan, including 750 based in the southern province of Helmand, the most violent region of the country.

The former Soviet republic is a staunch ally of the United States and aspires to join NATO to help protect it from Russia. It has made a priority of sending its small military to join U.S. and NATO troops in combat wherever possible.

Georgia had 2,000 troops in Iraq, the third-largest force in support of U.S. operations there, but pulled them out during a five-day war with Russia in 2008, when Russian forces crushed a Georgian assault on a pro-Moscow breakaway region.

Despite the presence of almost 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, violence is at its worst since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001.

(Reporting by Matt Robinson in Tbilisi and Paul Tait in Kabul; Writing by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Peter Graff)
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwrozoff@yahoo.com
or
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Daily digest option available.
==============================

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

6.: 2,000 More NATO Troops Headed To Afghanistan: Petraeus

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

Sun Sep 5, 2010 8:33 pm (PDT)

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/05/afghanistan.troops/

CNN News
September 5, 2010

Sources: As many as 2,000 more troops may be going to AfghanistanFrom Barbara Starr
A number of U.S. soldiers may be included in a 2,000-troop increase in Afghanistan in the next few weeks

-NATO military authorities are scheduled to meet in the coming days to try to get specific troop commitments from member nations. The goal is to get the matter resolved before a November NATO summit in which U.S. and NATO military commanders are expected to discuss progress in the war.

Washington: As many as 2,000 additional troops - including a number of U.S. forces - may be headed to Afghanistan in the coming weeks under a plan being proposed by Gen. David Petraeus, CNN has learned.

Petraeus has not commented publicly on the need for more troops, but a U.S. defense official and a senior NATO official directly familiar with his thinking and the entire matter have confirmed details to CNN.

The Petraeus proposal for more troops has been briefed to NATO officials behind closed doors.

According to the NATO source, it calls for an additional 2,000 troops including at least 750 personnel to serve as trainers for Afghan forces. The trainers specifically would work to teach Afghan units how to support their operations in the field. The balance of the forces would work largely to counter the still significant threat posed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Another NATO official tells CNN "it's highly likely" many of the additional forces will be U.S. troops. Some NATO member countries are politically ambivalent about the war, he noted. And practically, it is only U.S. forces that have the most advanced equipment to counter roadside bombs

In May, Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent 850 U.S. military trainers on a temporary deployment when European countries could not pledge enough of their own forces. This latest need for 2,OOO forces goes beyond that to include counter-IED forces, although some small number of the at least 750 additional trainers could replace those already there.

No final decisions have been made on any additional U.S. troops.

NATO military authorities are scheduled to meet in the coming days to try to get specific troop commitments from member nations. The goal is to get the matter resolved before a November NATO summit in which U.S. and NATO military commanders are expected to discuss progress in the war.

The potential for yet another troop increase, even a relatively small one, is already being defended by NATO....

A U.S. military official also confirms that in recent weeks the discussion of the "withdrawal" of forces from certain areas of Afghanistan beginning in July 2011 has taken a bit of a twist.

The official said the withdrawal in some areas will signify that those areas may be turned over to Afghan control, but that may not mean troops will come home. The latest options call for taking those troops not needed and sending them to other areas where security is still poor.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwrozoff@yahoo.com
or
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Daily digest option available.
==============================

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

7.: US mercenaries in Yugoslavia war: Serbian immigrants' Class-action s

Posted by: "ANTIC.org-SNN" mantic@rogers.com minimaks

Sun Sep 5, 2010 8:45 pm (PDT)

Class-action suit: U.S. mercenaries were behind Croatian offensive in Balkan War

By Ron Grossman, Tribune reporter

September 5 2010

Zivka Mijic doesn't burden people with her troubles — which would be impractical anyway, unless the other person spoke Serbian — but she does want the tragic story of what brought her family to a Chicago suburb told in federal court.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-balkan-war-lawsuit-20100905,0,4694493.story

Visit chicagotribune.com at http://www.chicagotribune.com <http://www.chicagotribune.com/>

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

8.: US Military Chief: MissileTalks With Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania

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

Sun Sep 5, 2010 9:09 pm (PDT)

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3300d898-b82b-11df-86d7-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss

Financial Times
September 4, 2010

Mullen visit aims to paper over US-Turkey differences
By Delphine Strauss in Ankara

-[T]alks over where to locate missile defences against Iran were continuing with Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

Turkey and the United States are "not just allies" but "good friends", the US military's top commander said after a visit to Ankara aimed at papering over the cracks in an increasingly fractious relationship.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said military co-operation was unaffected by Turkey's recent breach with Israel and opposition to UN sanctions against Iran.

EDITOR'S CHOICE
Erdogan seeks Kurdish support for reforms - Sep-03Opinion: Turkey is a bridge too far for Europe - Aug-25Gideon Rachman: End the hypocrisy and talk Turkey - Aug-23US warns Turkey on Iran and Israel - Aug-15Turkey plays down US rift - Aug-16Turkey lifts ban to allow mass at monastery - Aug-15"I have not come to question or in any way rebut Turkey's decision [to oppose] UN sanctions in Iran, though I note with gratitude the government's decision to enforce those sanctions," he said.

Ankara's vote against sanctions in June disappointed the US administration and alienated some members of Congress. Last month US president Barack Obama told Turkey's prime minister Reçep Tayyip Erdogan that Ankara stood little chance of obtaining the US weapons it wanted to buy unless it shifted its position on Israel and Iran.

The post of US ambassador in Ankara is vacant after the Senate delayed confirming the appointment of Francis Joseph Ricciardone, perceived by some as a soft choice unlikely to put pressure on Turkey's government.

Shared military interests have long formed the bedrock of the US-Turkish alliance. Admiral Mullen told reporters on Saturday his visit, en route from Baghdad and Kabul, was meant to "reaffirm the commitment of the American military to continuing, indeed strengthening, our already close relationship."

He coloured his message with effusive quotes from a letter Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish republic's founder, wrote to Franklin D Roosevelt.

He said the programme of arms sales "continues to flourish", and denied his visit – framed as a courtesy call on Isik Kosaner, Turkey's new chief of general staff – was designed to press Turkey to play a bigger role in Afghanistan, or to brave domestic controversy by letting US troops leave Iraq through its territory.

"I did not come to press Turkey to do more in Afghanistan … though we certainly welcome any additional assistance this government feels comfortable in providing. I have not come to question or in any way rebut Turkey's decision [to oppose] UN sanctions in Iran," he said, adding no weapons or heavy equipment would leave Iraq through Turkey.

He said talks over where to locate missile defences against Iran were continuing with Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. but "I did not specifically discuss that with General Kosaner," he said.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwrozoff@yahoo.com
or
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Daily digest option available.
==============================

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

9.: Saakashvili Sacrifices Georgian Lives In Afghanistan, Iraq

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

Sun Sep 5, 2010 9:10 pm (PDT)

http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=22642

Civil Georgia
September 5, 2010

Georgian Soldier Killed, Another Wounded in Afghanistan

Tbilisi: One Georgian soldier was killed and another badly wounded in Afghanistan - the first casualty suffered by the Georgian armed forces since joining the NATO-led operation in November, 2009.

Company commander from the 31st infantry battalion, first lieutenant Mukhran Shukvani, 28, died while on mission as a result of explosion of improvised explosive device, the Georgian Ministry of Defense said on September 5.

It also said that 25-year-old corporal Alika Gitolendia from the 31st battalion lost both of his legs in the same incident.
....
Georgia sent its 31st infantry battalion to Afghanistan in April, 2010 to serve alongside with the U.S. marines in the province of Helmand. With this deployment Georgia increased its military presence in Afghanistan up to 950 soldiers. Georgia first deployed a company-sized unit in Afghanistan under the French command in November, 2009.

Lt. Shukvani, who joined the Georgian armed forces in 2006, also served in Iraq, from where Georgian pulled out its 2,000 troops during the war with Russia in August, 2008.

Georgia suffered three combat fatalities and at least 19 servicemen were injured in Iraq, where Georgia first deployed its troops in August, 2003. Also in Iraq one Georgian serviceman died in a car accident and one committed suicide.
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwrozoff@yahoo.com
or
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Daily digest option available.
==============================

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)

10.: Britain To Join NATO Conflict With Russia In Arctic

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

Sun Sep 5, 2010 9:11 pm (PDT)

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/197663/-Arctic-battle-between-Scotland-and-Russia/

Sunday Express
September 5, 2010

ARCTIC BATTLE BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND RUSSIA
By Ben Borland

-Britain has no territorial rights within the Arctic Circle, but its key role in Nato, its location at the gateway to the North Atlantic, and its experience in the oil industry mean the country is more than likely to become involved in any future skirmish over land rights.
-Last winter, hundreds of Royal Marines endured extreme-weather training in Norway, learning to ski, make shelters and use weapons in -30°C temperatures. This led to a massive Nato exercise called Cold Response in
March, involving more than 20,000 servicemen from 14 countries. It was widely interpreted as a show of force towards Moscow.

It could be viewed as the opening exchanges of a new Cold War – this one taking place off the coast of Scotland – as Russia battles the West for control of the Arctic and the vast, untapped natural resources that lie underneath the melting ice caps.

The revelation last week that a Russian attack submarine had attempted to track one of the Trident nuclear fleet out of Faslane naval base on the Clyde signalled a worrying return to an era that many thought had been confined to history.

Moreover, Russian military aircraft are once again a common sight above the North Sea, most recently when two TU-160 Blackjack bombers were turned back by RAF Tornado jets. The Ministry of Defence said it was the 20th
such incident in just 15 months.

Britain has no territorial rights within the Arctic Circle, but its key role in Nato, its location at the gateway to the North Atlantic, and its experience in the oil industry mean the country is more than likely to become involved in any future skirmish over land rights.

Indeed, Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy took the lead in the race for Arctic oil last month when it became the first international company to strike gas off Greenland, despite the best efforts of a hapless crew of Greenpeace protesters.

Meanwhile, the Russians have spent billions trying to prove that a huge undersea ridge running from Siberia across the North Pole is their territory, famously planting a titanium flag at the seabed in 2007.

With so much money at stake, it is perhaps not surprising that recent years have seen an increase of military activity in the frozen north, a part of the world seemingly far removed from any current wars.

Last winter, hundreds of Royal Marines endured extreme-weather training in Norway, learning to ski, make shelters and use weapons in -30°C temperatures. This led to a massive Nato exercise called Cold Response in
March, involving more than 20,000 servicemen from 14 countries. It was widely interpreted as a show of force towards Moscow.

The Russian response has not been confined to Scottish waters and air space. In August last year, the Pentagon said two Russian attack submarines had come within 200 miles of New York, the first such patrol since the end of the Cold War. And last month, the Canadians had to scramble two fighters to turn back a pair of long-range Russian
jets that had flown across the North Pole to approach the Labrador coast from the east.

Military expert Francis Tusa, editor of Defence Analysis, said it would be wrong to dismiss the recent increase in Russian activity as "irrelevant sabre rattling".

"If it does come to a land grab in the Arctic then Russia wants to show it has the means to protect its territory," he said.

"The Canadians have opened a new base in the Arctic to defend their rights, and the Americans, the Danes and the Norwegians are also taking this incredibly seriously.

"Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said his preferred option for the Strategic Defence Review is 'Vision 2020', looking ahead rather than fixating on the past or on Afghanistan.

"He wants to look at the threats we could face in 10 years' time, and someone would have to come up with very persuasive reasons why we would not see a rearming Russia asserting its territorial rights in the Arctic. I don't see Russia as a shrinking violet."

In the recent Faslane incident, Navy sources said an Akula-class sub had attempted to track one of the nuclear missile-carrying Vanguard fleet in order to record its unique sonar profile. Navy commanders sent a Trafalgar-class 'hunter-killer' submarine to intercept, and the Russians were forced to back off.

Mr Tusa said: "I was on board a hunter-killer recently and I was told that even if the Russians have been close to Faslane they have never been able to track a bomber.

"They have either lost it within seconds or been chased off.

"Absolutely this will happen again, it is part of the great game. If you assume the Russians took a holiday from this type of activity for about a decade then there will have been a degree of skills fade, and the only way to get those skills back is by practising, coming back time and time again."

Even if the Russians are only "practising", a momentary lapse from the Navy or the RAF could have disastrous consequences. One Ministry of Defence insider said that if Russian planes are able to reach the Scottish
mainland, the resulting loss of face would be enough to "bring down any Government".

But it is clear that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep the Russians away, even before the extensive spending cuts expected in this autumn's defence review.
....
===========================
Stop NATO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato

Blog site:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, send an e-mail to:
rwrozoff@yahoo.com
or
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Daily digest option available.
==============================

Back to top
Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post
Messages in this topic (1)