Messages In This Digest (17 Messages)

1.: Afghanistan: NATO's 10-Year War In South Asia

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:19 pm (PDT)

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/afghanistan-north-atlantic-military-blocs-ten-year-war-in-south-asia

Stop NATO
August 31, 2010

Afghanistan: North Atlantic Military Bloc's Ten-Year War In South Asia
Rick Rozoff

In slightly over a month, on October 7, the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan will enter its tenth year.

The conflict represents the longest continuous combat operations in the history of the United States and Afghanistan alike. With the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the only time in its existence activating its Article 5 mutual military assistance clause in September 2001 and thus entering the Afghan fray, European nations that had not been at war since the Second World War are now engaged in an endless combat mission.

There are 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, 120,000 of them under the command of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Military personnel from over a quarter of the 192 members of the United Nations.

They include soldiers from almost every European country, several Asia-Pacific states, and nations in the Americas and the Middle East.

NATO has grown from 19 to 28 members since it took control of ISAF in 2003 and has expanded military partnerships with several nations that have deployed troops to Afghanistan, from Australia to Georgia, Montenegro to South Korea, Armenia to the United Arab Emirates.

In the same interim the North Atlantic military bloc has assumed the role of an international, expeditionary, increasingly more multifaceted and politicized armed intervention force, a status that will be formalized this November at its summit in Portugal when its first 21st century Strategic Concept is adopted.

In the middle of August the death count for U.S. and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan passed the 2,000 mark and has grown almost every day since - 2051 by August 31 - with American fatalities accounting for some 60 percent of the total. The U.S. suffered 19 combat deaths in the four days beginning on August 28.

Troops from at least 26 nations serving under NATO's ISAF have been killed in Afghanistan, a record number of countries to sacrifice soldiers in one nation. 521 foreign troops lost their lives in the Afghan war theater last year, a dramatic increase from the preceding year when 295 were killed. So far this year the number is 478, with 2010 poised to be the deadliest year in the nine-year war for U.S. and NATO forces.

The amount of foreign soldiers killed is matched if not exceeded by the number of Afghan civilians slain by NATO.

On August 15 a NATO vehicle hit a motorcycle in southern Afghanistan, killing five civilians including a woman and her three children.

Two days later NATO troops killed a father and son in a raid in Nangarhar province, triggering a protest that blocked the highway from the capital of the province, Jalalabad, to the capital of the country, Kabul.

On August 21 as many as 1,000 Afghans took to the streets in Baghlan province after NATO raided a house in the Baghlan-i-Jadid district, killing one civilian and abducting two others. "Chanting anti-government and anti-NATO slogans, the protesters warned [they would] hold demonstrations in the future if the killing of civilians is not investigated." [1]

Two days later officials and residents of the same province accused NATO of killing eight civilians during an early morning raid.

On August 25 an Afghan identified as a police trainee and two Spanish soldiers were killed in a shoot-out at a NATO base in Badghis province. Afterwards thousands of Afghans attempted to storm the base in response to what they viewed as the slaying of an Afghan soldier by NATO troops. Four Spanish soldiers were hurt in the melee. One account of the incident reported that NATO forces opened fire on demonstrators, "killing dozens of people and wounding more than 20 other civilians." [2]

Two days later NATO aircraft bombed a remote part of Kunar province, and according to provincial police chief Khalilullah Ziayee, "In the bombardment six children, aged six to 12, were killed. Another child was injured." [3]

The time when NATO could pretend that the International Security Assistance Force was a peacekeeping and reconstruction initiative is long over, the pretext drowned in the blood of Afghan civilians.

Earlier this month the German Bundeswehr announced that it was dropping all charges against Colonel Georg Klein, who ordered a NATO air strike in Kunduz province last September that killed 142 people, by Afghan accounts all civilians. [4] "Investigators found no evidence that Klein had broken any rules." [5]

On August 29 Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg paid an unannounced visit to "a combat zone in Afghanistan" - in Kunduz province - "the first time a senior German politician has met German troops who are facing off day to day against the Taliban." [6]

15 kilometers from the rapid reaction force base he inspected, four German soldiers were killed in a firefight this April. Guttenberg participated in "ceremonies paying tribute to German soldiers who had been killed." [7]

German ground combat operations in the province are the nation's first since the defeat of the Nazi regime in 1945.

Berlin has abandoned post-war limits on the number of troops that can be deployed abroad - moreover to a war zone - and has as many as 4,600 in Afghanistan. 47 Bundeswehr troops have died serving NATO in the country.

On August 23 France lost two troops, a marine officer and soldier, in a firefight 55 kilometers north of the Afghan capital, bringing France's death toll to 47 also. Paris supplies 3,750 troops to NATO's ISAF.

Two days afterward President Nicolas Sarkozy, who reintegrated France into NATO's military command structure last year, stated "France will remain engaged in Afghanistan, with its allies, for as long as necessary...." [8]

On August 21 Britain lost a solider in Helmand province, its 332nd death, the second largest number after that of the U.S.

The Afghan war is also providing the 12 Eastern European countries brought into NATO in the past 11 years as well as new partners in the Asia-Pacific region their first combat in decades. Along with operations in Iraq starting in 2003, new NATO members are involved in warfighting for the first time since War World II and NATO Contact Countries like Australia, New Zealand and South Korea for the first time since the Vietnam War.

A Polish convoy in Ghazni province came under mortar attack on August 24 and the following day two Polish soldiers were wounded in shelling outside the Four Corners base in the same province.

As Poland's armed forces were fighting their first war since 1939, the U.S. Air Force deployed airmen and planes from the Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Poland's 33rd Air Base near Powidz for seven days of joint training. Operation Screaming Eagle included paratroop and night flying training.

"The training also allowed a chance for members of the Polish air force to receive incentive flights on a C-130J Super Hercules....Polish airmen received the first of five refurbished C-130E Hercules military transport planes in early 2009" [9] from the U.S. for use in Afghanistan and other NATO military missions overseas.

Earlier this year Britain conducted its latest Exercise Flying Rhino war games in the Czech Republic. "The British Army's largest land-air military exercise" occurred in that country where "Forward Air Controllers [prepared] to coordinate aircraft flying over Afghanistan at 1,000mph (1,600km/h) in an airspace littered with 45kg rounds being fired from the ground."

"The fast-paced European deployment saw more than 2,000 UK troops linking up with military personnel from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, Slovakia and the United States in an operational environment....[A] unified effort was imperative to the logistics of the exercise with 32 aircraft, 600 vehicles and thousands of servicemen and women being moved into the training area." [10]

In the middle of August the Czech military disclosed it would deploy its first four Pandur armored personnel carriers to Afghanistan. A spokesman for the nation's General Staff said "The Pandurs were specially modified for tens of millions of crowns to serve in allied operations" and, in addition, "14 Iveco light armoured vehicles will be sent to Afghanistan," where a Czech unit has already been using 15 of them. [11]

Despite talk of a drawdown of NATO military forces in Afghanistan, new member states in Eastern Europe are being tasked to increase the deployment of troops and ordnance to the war front.

NATO's war in Afghanistan is being used not only to integrate the armed forces of over 50 nations into a U.S.-controlled globally deployable military force, but also to expand the Pentagon's reach into Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia, ever closer to the borders of Russia, Iran and China.

Since 2005 the U.S. has acquired seven new military bases in Romania and Bulgaria, including strategic air bases, and launched the world's first multinational strategic airlift operation at the Papa Air Base in Hungary.

In June the U.S. led 100 personnel from five NATO nations in the first paratroop exercise under the auspices of the Heavy Airlift Wing at the Hungarian base. An American sergeant present at the drills said, "It's...beneficial for the other countries participating if they were to deploy to Afghanistan, because from the training, they would understand how the U.S. military works." [12]

Activated in the summer of 2009, last October the Heavy Airlift Wing flew one of its U.S. C-17 Globemaster IIIs into the Afghan capital with military representatives of 42 countries, all 28 NATO members and 14 other troop contributors.

By this April the operation had "moved 2.1 million pounds of equipment essential to surge operations supporting the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

"The international wing has been part of the operation to move more than 6
million pounds of basic expeditionary airfield resources, or BEAR materiel, to build six forward operating bases...." [13]

On August 23 a Hungarian convoy in northern Afghanistan was hit by a roadside bomb and then fired on from several directions. One Hungarian soldier was killed and three wounded in the attack. One of the injured troops later died, Hungary's first female combat fatality in Afghanistan and undoubtedly ever.

Last week the former Soviet republic of Estonia, with a population of only 1,300,000, announced its largest-ever military vehicle deal, purchasing 80 armored personnel carriers from the Netherlands.

A spokesman from the country's Defense Ministry stated, "The deal doubles the number of armored vehicles in the Estonian defense forces and is the biggest armored vehicle deal ever made (by Estonia)" The transaction followed by five months the biggest arms purchase in the nation's history with the "delivery of a short-range surface-to-air missile system from European defense giant MBDA and Sweden's Saab costing one billion kroons." (Kroon = 0.0814 U.S. dollars.)

"Estonia joined NATO in 2004 and has been upgrading its defense equipment to meet the standards of the 28-nation trans-Atlantic alliance...." [14]

On August 30 the country lost its eighth soldier in Afghanistan.

Again to demonstrate that NATO has no plans to leave South Asia in the imminent future, NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan announced on August 28 that fellow Baltic state Lithuania will deploy military personnel to train the Afghan National Army, partnering with Ukraine, not an official ISAF troop contributor. The former Soviet states signed a two-year commitment to begin in 2011.

A Los Angeles Times feature of August 19 entitled "Romania shows its support for the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan" stated "the U.S. military and political leadership has put a priority on strengthening ties with Romania," which has turned four military bases over to the Pentagon and NATO in recent years and this February announced it would host American land-based Standard Missile-3 anti-ballistic missiles.

While the Netherlands became the first NATO member state to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, since last year Romania has increased its contributions to NATO's Afghan war effort from 962 to over 1,500 troops, "even as Romania's economy is suffering and defense spending is being cut."

"To the Romanians, participation in the Afghan mission is a good way to demonstrate their bona fides as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and as an ally of the United States...." [15]

Earlier this month NATO awarded Romanian troops medals for their role in the Alliance's first ground war. "The event started with a moment of silence in memory of Romanian, US and Afghan troops killed in Afghanistan." [16]

Neighboring Bulgaria, where the U.S. has acquired three new bases including the Bezmer Air Base, sent 200 army rangers to Afghanistan in the same week. At the beginning of August Defense Minister Anyu Angelov "announced that Bulgaria was going to change the functions of the Bulgarian troops in Afghanistan, and that instead of guard units, it was going to send a 700-strong combat regiment by the end of 2012." [17]

Montenegro, the world's youngest nation (and newest member of the United Nations) with a population of only 670,000, lately deployed its second contingent of troops to Afghanistan. The diminutive Adriatic state became independent in 2006 and joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program the same year. The next year NATO signed a pact with Montenegro permitting the bloc's troops to cross the country, and in 2008 granted it an advanced Individual Partnership Action Plan. Last year NATO followed up with a Membership Action Plan, the final step to full membership.

This year Montenegro became the 44th Troop Contributing Nation for NATO's Afghan mission, preceded by Armenia - the first member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization to be assigned that role - and followed by Mongolia, South Korea and Malaysia, to indicate NATO's expanded reach into Asia.

On August 24 Australia - a NATO Contact Country partner along with Japan, New Zealand and South Korea - lost its 41st soldier in Afghanistan. With 1,550 troops in the country, Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor.

On the same day Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, announced that Australian troops will stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014: "We will still be there...beyond the two to four years [scheduled for training Afghan army units], for a period of time." [18]

Last week Singapore deployed a 52-troop Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Task Group to southern Afghanistan, which "will operate out of Multinational Base Tarin Kowt to augment the International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF's) surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in Uruzgan...." [19]

NATO's role in Asia is not limited to 120,000 troops in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It is steadily deepening military partnerships with an expanding array of Asia-Pacific nations.

It is also consolidating its grip on the three former Soviet republics in the South Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, all of which have troops serving under the Alliance in Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Transport of Caspian Sea nation Azerbaijan announced earlier this month that "NATO is expected to increase shipping to Afghanistan via Georgia and Azerbaijan," in particular that "A part of the equipment [of] the troops withdrawn from Iraq...will be sent to Afghanistan via Turkey, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan." An Azerbaijani government official estimated that "NATO countries transport 1,500 containers to Afghanistan via Azerbaijan every month." [20]

In October NATO will conduct a regional training course on border security in Azerbaijan for Central Asian and other countries. According to a news source in Azerbaijan, currently "training is carried out with the involvement of Iraqi and Afghan border guards...at the State Border Service's base." [21]

The war in Afghanistan provides long-range integrated combat training for global NATO and a foundation for the U.S. to build a far-reaching military network unprecedented in scope.

Related articles:

Military Watershed: Longest War In U.S. And Afghan History
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/military-watershed-longest-war-in-u-s-and-afghan-history

NATO In Afghanistan: World War In One Country
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/nato-in-afghanistan-world-war-in-one-country

War In Afghanistan Evokes Second World War Parallels
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/war-in-afghanistan-evokes-second-world-war-parallels

Afghanistan: NATO Intensifies Its First Asian War
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/afghanistan-nato-intensifies-its-first-asian-war

West's Afghan War: From Conquest To Bloodbath
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/wests-afghan-war-from-conquest-to-bloodbath

Afghanistan: World's Lengthiest War Has Just Begun
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/12/18/afghanistan-worlds-lengthiest-war-has-just-begun

U.S., NATO War In Afghanistan: Antecedents And Precedents
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/u-s-nato-war-in-afghanistan-antecedents-and-precedents

1) Xinhua News Agency, August 21, 2010
2) Press TV, August 26, 2010
3) Agence France-Presse, August 27, 2010
4) Following Afghan Election, NATO Intensifies Deployments, Carnage
Stop NATO, September 6, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/following-afghan-election-nato-intensifies-deployments-carnage
5) Deutsche Welle, August 19, 2010]
6) Deutsche Presse-Agentur, August 29, 2010
7) Ibid
8) Agence France-Presse, August 25, 2010
9) U.S. Air Force, August 25, 2010
10) Defence Professionals, August 24, 2010
11) Czech News Agency, August 19, 2010
12) United States Air Forces in Europe, June 17, 2010
13) United States European Command
United States Air Forces in Europe
April 2, 2010
14) Agence France-Presse, August 26, 2010
15) Los Angeles Times, August 19, 2010
16) The Financiarul, August 17, 2010
17) Sofia News Agency, August 18, 2010
18) Xinhua News Agency, August 26, 2010
19) Straits Times, August 27, 2010
20) Azeri Press Agency, August 20, 2010
Pentagon Chief In Azerbaijan: Afghan War Arc Stretches To Caspian And
Caucasus
Stop NATO, June 8, 2010
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/1761
21) Azeri Press Agency, August 18, 2010
===========================
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2.: Yellow Sea: U.S. Aegis Destroyers, S. Korean Subs In New Drills

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:21 pm (PDT)

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2925422

JoongAng Daily
September 1, 2010

Second round of military drills in sea
By Kim Min-seok

South Korea and the United States are planning a second round of combined military drills including Aegis destroyers and several Korean submarines from Sunday to Sept. 9 in the Yellow Sea, a South Korean military source said yesterday.

"South Korea and the U.S. had actually agreed on implementing the second joint exercise this Sunday," the military official said.

The official said the U.S. will send two Aegis-equipped ships and there will be other Korean warships involved, such as a 1,200-ton submarine, corvettes and destroyers.

°The exercise will focus on detecting and blocking attacks by North Korean submarines," said the official.

The drill is expected to be small in scale, since there will be no other aircraft carriers or nuclear-powered submarines dispatched by the U.S.

The U.S.S. George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, participated in the first joint exercise held July 25-28 in the East Sea only, which was moved from the Yellow Sea after a harsh response from China, which said the drills would cause unnecessary tension on the Korean Peninsula.

The drill will be the fifth military deterrence drill since the Korean warship Cheonan's sinking on March 24, which was allegedly caused by a torpedo attack by the North.

According to the source, Chinese fleets are planning to hold ammunition drills in China's southeast sea near Qingdao today to Saturday, a few days before the Seoul-Washington joint exercise.
===========================
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3.: Estonian Soldier Killed In Afghanistan

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:21 pm (PDT)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iy2vFgn-wix10WfRbYmk7G-K5HpQ

Associated Press
August 31, 2010

Estonian soldier killed in southern Afghanistan after insurgent ambush

TALLINN, Estonia: Estonia's Defence Ministry says a soldier has died in southern Afghanistan after insurgents ambushed his unit.

The ministry says that Sgt. Herdis Sikka was killed Monday in an explosion while the unit was on a routine patrol in Helmand province.

The 20-year-old Sikka served as the driver of his unit's armoured personnel carrier.

Officials said Tuesday that no other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The death brought the total of Estonian soldiers killed in Afghanistan to eight. The Baltic country has some 160 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led force.
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4.: Aghanistan: U.S. Loses Five More Soldiers

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:21 pm (PDT)

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/31/afghanistan.casualties/?hpt=T2#fbid=EEHF7gtYLVO&wom=false

CNN International
August 31, 2010

Americans die in bloody day in Afghanistan

Kabul, Afghanistan: Insurgents and security forces in Afghanistan have cranked up their fight in recent days, with militants ambushing coalition and government targets and an air assault pounding enemy fighters, coalition authorities said on Tuesday.

Five American service members were killed Tuesday in Afghanistan - four of them in a roadside bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force said.

The NATO-led force did not release additional details about the roadside attack or where it took place.

A fifth U.S. service member died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, ISAF said.

In addition, three Afghan supreme court personnel were killed and 12 were wounded in a terrorist attack in the Mosahi district in Kabul province on Tuesday, Afghanistan's Ministry of the Interior said in a written statement.
....
The attacks came a day after seven NATO troops were killed in two incidents in southern Afghanistan, the military said.

One of the dead was identified as Sgt. Herdis Sikka, 20, of Estonia. He was on routine patrol in Helmand province Monday when he stepped on an improvised explosive device. He died a few hours later, the military said. Sikka was the eighth Estonian soldier killed in Afghanistan, said Peeter Kuimet, press officer for the Estonian Defense Ministry.

Authorities released details about two incidents on Monday:

A district sub-governor was killed and four of his bodyguards were wounded when a car bomb blew up outside the governor's palace in the Jalalabad district of Nangarhar province.
....
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5.: NATO Trains Azerbaijani Troops In Germany, Ukraine, Balkans

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:48 pm (PDT)

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=128849

Azeri Press Agency
August 31, 2010

Azerbaijani servicemen to join NATO exercises in September
Rashad Suleymanov

Baku: Representatives of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces will join NATO exercises in September, the press service of the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan told APA.

According to programs signed with NATO, Azerbaijani servicemen will participate in Combined Endeavor 2010 in Grafenwoehr, Germany on Septmeber 3-16, Rapid Trident 2010 command staff and field trainings in Lviv, Ukraine on September 5-17, Medceur 2010 in Podgoritsa, Montenegro on September 8-22.

Representatives of the Defense Ministry will visit the MSPO 2010 international defense exhibition in Kielce, Poland on September 6-9.
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6.: 'Where is the reset?': sceptical Putin asks in interview

Posted by: "arn specter" arnpeace@yahoo.com arnpeace

Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:48 pm (PDT)

August 31, 2010
'Where is the reset?': skeptical Putin asks in interview
Fortunately Putin and the Russians are still thinking and speaking about the
lack of reset" by President Obama and the US government
and military, instead of taking forceful action against the United States. The
encroachment by the US Missile Defense programs in Eastern Europe is provoking
Russia and creating a dangerous climate of mistrust between Russia and the US.
This military buildup of missile defense in many countries in Eastern Europe is
demonstrating supreme arrogance by the US and putting millions of people in the
region at risk of military confrontation in the future. These aggressive
policies by the US need to be challenged by progressives in the US, Europe and
the Euro-Russian region, in order to prevent further military buildup and
possible confrontation. The idea that Iran might attack Europe has always been
preposterous as it continues to be used by the US as the reason for missile
defense buildup...Let us try to curtail this potential danger ...
Arn Specter, The Nuclear Review, Phila.
----------------------------------------------------------

'Where is the reset?': sceptical Putin asks in interview

by Staff Writers
www.spacewar.com
Moscow (AFP) Aug 30, 2010
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday he wanted to believe in the
much-vaunted "reset" in ties between Moscow and Washington but indicated he was
somewhat sceptical about the US administration's intentions.

He voiced unease about US plans for a missile defence shield in Europe, saying
ongoing talks with several European countries on hosting missile interceptors
ran counter to the reset launched by US President Barack Obama.

"We have spoken about our stance on the missile defense in Europe. It looks like
we've agreed there won't be countermissiles and the issue on radars has not been
yet solved in the Czech Republic. Great!" Putin said in an interview with the
Kommersant daily published on Monday.

"And practically immediately they announce that the same is being planned for
other countries in Europe. So where is the reset? So we do not see it in this
respect," he said.

Obama in September 2009 shelved an initiative by his predecessor George W. Bush
to place an anti-missile radar facility in the Czech Republic and interceptors
in Poland.

However Bulgaria and Romania this year began talks with the US on hosting
anti-ballistic missile interceptors. Putin indicated he had not yet lost hope.

"I very much want to believe in it (the reset). Secondly I want it very much.
Thirdly I see that the current US administration's intentions to improve
relations with Russia are clearly defined," he said.

"I feel that Obama is sincere. I do not know what he can do, what he can't do. I
want to see whether he manages to do it. But he does want it. I have an instinct
that his position is sincere."

The Russian premier also criticised US support for Georgia, with which Russia
fought a brief war in August 2008.

"Further rearming of Georgia is taking place. Why?" he asked. "If there had not
been rearming two years ago, there would not have been the aggression and the
blood that was spilt there."

Moscow has often criticised Washington for selling arms to Georgia, which in
August 2008 launched an offensive against the pro-Russian breakaway region of
South Ossetia, later recognized as independent by Russia.

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7.: Saudis amass U.S. weapons to confront Iran

Posted by: "arn specter" arnpeace@yahoo.com arnpeace

Tue Aug 31, 2010 12:49 pm (PDT)

Saudis amass U.S. weapons to confront Iran

by Staff Writers
www.spacewar.com
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (UPI) Aug 30, 2010
A proposed $60 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, one of the largest-ever U.S.
weapons sales, marks the consolidation of America as the kingdom's main arms
supplier after years of strain following 9/11.

The deal, which includes Boeing F-15SA Strike Eagle fighters, also underlines
Riyadh's determination to confront the threat it perceives from Iran, Saudi
Arabia's rival for regional supremacy and leadership of the Muslim world.

The Pentagon advised the U.S. Congress of the proposed multi-layered deal, which
is expected to win approval in September.

That's because the administration of President Barack Obama, committed to
ensuring that its ally Israel retains its long-held qualitative military edge in
the region, has assured Israeli leaders the Saudis won't receive cutting-edge
technology, particularly long-range missiles.

Significantly, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful
pro-Israel lobby in Washington, has raised no public objections to the proposed
deal with Riyadh. If that remains the case, pro-Israeli lawmakers will likely
wave the deal through Congress.

There are other considerations. Saudi Arabia and Israel have found themselves
linked by their deep fears of a nuclear-armed Iran.

This hardly makes allies out of these longtime foes. But, in a changing world,
the Israelis appreciate that the more able Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf
Arab states are stand up to Iran, and support U.S. forces in the region, the
better off they will all be.

Word of the massive arms deal was first reported Aug. 13 in Washington.
"Contacts for the deal were conducted secretly due to Saudi sensitivity," said
Israeli analyst Yiftah Shapir of the Institute for National Security Studies.

"At the same time, however, there were hints that the deal would not include
equipment items that could arouse serious opposition on the part of Israel, such
as long-range precision-guided air-to-surface missiles."

Whether arming the Saudis with advanced weaponry to stand up to Iran will help
U.S. leaders convince Israel not mount threatened pre-emptive strikes against
the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities isn't clear.

It will take several years for the Saudis to receive and absorb the new weapons
systems, and that may be longer than the Israelis will accept.

But, as Shapir notes, while "the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait preferred
investing most of their money in defensive equipment (mainly air-defense and
anti-ballistic missile defense systems), the Saudi deal is for aerial attack
equipment (fighter jets and assault helicopters)."

The planned U.S. sales to Riyadh are expected to fall into four phases over the
next 10 years.

The first involves 84 F-15SA -- the "SA" stands for "Saudi Advanced" -- strike
aircraft configured to Saudi specifications to replace its aging F-15C/D
air-defense variants acquired in 1978-92, plus upgrades for 70 F-15S strike jets
already in service.

The second embraces an expected 72 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, the U.S. Army's
main anti-tank helicopter manufactured by United Technologies Corp. that will
augment the 22 the Saudi air force already operates.

This package also includes up to 60 Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack
helicopters, plus possible upgrades for the 12 AH-65As Congress cleared for
Riyadh in 2008. The helicopter sales would total some $30 billion.

The third phase comprises advanced, helicopter-carrying offshore patrol vessels
worth up to $5 billion. The fourth segment consists of upgrades for the 96
Raytheon-built Patriot Advanced capability 2 missiles already in Saudi hands.

Jane's Defense Weekly reported that life-cycle maintenance and upgrades could
eventually double the $60 billion value of the deal.

Aviation Week reported that a major sticking point in the deal was Riyadh's
demand the new F-15SAs carry the long-range Raytheon AESA radars, such as the
APG-63(v)3 on upgraded U.S. Air Force and Singapore air force models.

The magazine said these could nearly triple the sensor's range for detecting
small targets, such as fighter-sized aircraft, from the current 56 miles to
about 150 miles.

"More importantly, AESA radars … can find and target small moving ground targets
at long ranges so they can be struck with standoff weapons beyond the range of
anti-aircraft weapons," Aviation Week reported.

"The combination of a large AESA radar and a powerful new air-to-air weapons
would help match the Middle East's growing short-range missile proliferation
problem and help contain a nuclear weapons threat from Iran that worries
planners in the region."

----------------------------------------------------------

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8.: Uganda Could Supply U.S. 10,000 Troops For Somalia

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:34 pm (PDT)

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1000118/-/cocw9iz/-/

Daily Monitor
August 31, 2010

Army ready to send 10,000 to Somalia

Uganda is set to send thousands of its reserve troops for deployment to Somalia if the US government provides promised funding for the mission, the Chief of Defence Forces has said.

Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, in an interview in Kotido District on Thursday, said; "we can even call up to 10,000 [reservists] but that will depend on whether the United States supports us or not." A final decision on the matter is yet to be taken, he stressed, but it will be anchored on "our conclusive talks" with President Obama's administration.

Top US diplomat for Africa, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, who was in Kampala to attend the African Union summit held days after the July 11 terrorist attacks, promised increased support to the AU Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (Amisom).

Uganda presently has more than 4 000 troops in Mogadishu, ostensibly to support Sheikh Sharif's Transitional Federal Government that most African countries appear reluctant to directly support in its quest to rein-in myriad fighting groups, including the al Shabaab the US classifies as a "terrorist" group.

Gen. Aronda, in the Thursday interview conducted at the UPDF 405 brigade headquarters in Nakapirimoru, made clear they require military hardware, armoured vehicles and helicopters and money for salaries.

Financial issues

"We don't want to overstretch our budget by calling up our [reserve] forces and then we have to even pay [their] salary," he said, adding: "To my knowledge, America has undertaken to support that undertaking; that when we call up [the reserves], they will do this. But we will be waiting and see what happens."

Defence and Military Spokesman, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye, yesterday said there are more than 100,000 members under the Uganda National Reserve Forces that is commanded by Maj. Gen. Levi Karuhanga.

The reserve force comprises former soldiers who left active service within the past five years; Chaka Mchaka graduates (para-militarily graduates) and retired Special Police Constables.

"Ordinarily, reserve forces do their own things," Lt. Col. Kulayigye said, "But when there is a disaster or emergency, they are called up to augment the regular army."

Yesterday, Ms Joann Lockard, the public affairs officer at the US Mission in Kampala, said she is aware of promised American assistance to Amisom but has no specific details. "I don't believe any specific commitments have been made yet," she said.

On Thursday, Gen. Nyakairima said inadequate financing by the international community and failure by other countries to put troops on the ground could compel Uganda to re-think its continued presence in the Horn of Africa.
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9.: NATO To Poland: Finish The Job In Afghanistan

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:34 pm (PDT)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67U55M20100831

Reuters
August 31, 2010

NATO says Poland must finish job in Afghanistan
By Anna Ringstrom

COPENHAGEN: Poland needs to stay committed in Afghanistan until the job there is done, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Reuters on the eve of a meeting with the new Polish president.

Poland, which has 2,600 troops in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), is one of a growing number of NATO nations that are setting target dates for withdrawal amid domestic unease over the war.

President Bronislaw Komorowski vowed during his election campaign to bring Polish troops home by 2012 regardless of what other NATO countries decided.

He is due to meet with Rasmussen on his first visit to Brussels since being sworn in on August 6.

"Obviously, the goal is to make it possible for the international coalition to move into a more supporting role by handing over responsibility to the Afghans," Rasmussen told Reuters.

"But we also have to make sure that we finish our job, that we stay committed until we have reached our goal. This will be my message to the president. As it has been to all political leaders within the international coalition."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has set a goal of 2014 for Afghan forces to take over full responsibility for security, but the deadline will rely heavily on the success of foreign troops in battling Taliban insurgents and training the Afghan army.

Rasmussen has opposed setting timetables for withdrawing troops, saying it could encourage the Taliban.
....
Poland's Chief of Staff General Mieczyslaw Cieniuch has expressed skepticism about Komorowski's 2012 aim.

In a Reuters interview on July 20 he said it is impossible to achieve NATO's goals in Afghanistan in two years and Poland would have to redefine its targets if it wants to bring its troops home in 2012.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; editing by Noah Barkin)
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10.: Germany: U.S. Military Chief Meets With EUCOM, AFRICOM Leaders

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:34 pm (PDT)

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=60670

United States Department of Defense
American Forces Press Service
August 31, 2010

Mullen Meets With Eucom, Africom Leaders
By John D. Banusiewicz

-Eucom had responsibility for U.S. military relations in Africa, but with Eucom's vast area and its commander also serving in a NATO role, it wasn't physically possible for Africa to receive an appropriate level of attention and engagement.
"[Africom] gives us a 24/7 engagement in that continent that we had very little of prior to that stand-up."

STUTTGART, Germany: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met today with leaders of U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, both of which have their headquarters here.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen visited with Army Gen. William E. "Kip" Ward, commander of Africom, and Army Lt. Gen. John D. Gardner, Eucom's deputy commander, and members of their respective staffs.

"One of my goals as chairman is to engage the [combatant commanders] not only when they're in Washington on my turf, but out on their turf," Mullen told reporters traveling with him en route to Germany.

Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, Eucom's commander, also serves as NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and was unavailable for today's meeting, though Mullen said he'd spoken with him by phone before leaving Washington.

Eucom's area of focus includes not only all of Europe, but also large portions of Asia, parts of the Middle East and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The command is responsible for U.S. military relations with NATO and 51 countries.

In recent years, Eucom has expanded its partnerships with U.S. agencies outside of the Defense Department to bring subject-matter experts together and facilitate the exchange of information for "whole of government" international efforts in which military and nonmilitary agencies have what Eucom officials call "a coincidence of purpose."

Mullen noted he was a strong proponent for the creation of Africom, which stood up as a full-fledged unified command in October 2008. Previously, he said, Eucom had responsibility for U.S. military relations in Africa, but with Eucom's vast area and its commander also serving in a NATO role, it wasn't physically possible for Africa to receive an appropriate level of attention and engagement.

"[Africom] gives us a 24/7 engagement in that continent that we had very little of prior to that stand-up," the chairman said, "so I'm very pleased with the leadership and the progress in what we've been able to do in Africa over a relatively short period of time."

Africom was created as an "engagement command" to help African nations build their capabilities, Mullen said, but it has had to work to overcome suspicions that the United States created the command with designs on militarizing the continent.
....
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11.: Fw: Space Week Actions List Grows

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:34 pm (PDT)

From: Global Network <globalnet@mindspring.com>
Subject: Space Week Actions List Grows
To: "GN List Serve" <globenet@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 3:40 PM

October 2-9, 2010

Keep Space for Peace Week:
International Week of Protest to
Stop the Militarization of Space

No Missile Offense
Stop the Drones
Convert the Military Industrial Complex
Bring Our War $$ Home

Local Events (List now in formation)

1.      Albuquerque, New Mexico (Oct 2) Showing of Pax Americana & the Weaponization of Space, Guild Theatre, 1:00 pm stopthewarmachine@comcast.net
2.      Argentina - Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space will show in a Cordoba cinema during space week denis@intrepidofilms.com
3.      Bath Iron Works, Maine (Oct 9) Vigil across from administration building on Washington Street, 11:30-12:30 am   Smilin' Trees Disarmament Farm (207) 763-4062
4.      Bradford, England (Sept 27-Oct 8) U.S. Missile Defence Exhibition at Bradford Library, Yorkshire CND info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk
5.      Bradford, England (Oct 5) Showing Pax Americana and the Weaponisation of Space, Desmond Tutu House, 2 Ashgrove, Bradford, Yorkshire CND info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk
6.      Chile - Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space will show in 5 cinemas across the country during space week denis@intrepidofilms.com
7.      Duluth, Minnesota - Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space will be shown during space week, Andy Anderson (218) 724-1891
8.      Fylingdales, England (Oct 4) Guided walk to launch the new guide to Fylingdales U.S. radar facility. Bring weatherproof clothing and sturdy footwear. Meet Ellerbeck Car Park, A169, near Whitby. Yorkshire CND info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk
9.      Fukuoka, Japan (Oct 3) Public forum on space weaponization at Salon de Sofia, 2:00 pm, seamesky@sand.ocn.ne.jp
10. Leeds, England (Oct 6) Showing Pax Americana and the Weaponisation of Space at Leeds Metropolitan University, Yorkshire CND info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk
11. Menwith Hill, England (Oct 2) Demonstration at NSA Spy Base in Yorkshire, Sponsored by CAAB mail@caab.corner.org.uk
12. Nagpur, India (Oct 9-11) National conference on Achieving a Nuclear Weapons and Missile Defense Free Asia jnrao36@rediffmail.com
13. New York City, New York   L-3 aerospace corporation vigil nyleaf@verizon.net
14. North Andover, Massachusetts (Oct 4) Bruce Gagnon speaks at Merrimack College about Raytheon's role in Star Wars, John Schuchardt (978) 356-9395
15. Oslo, Norway (Sept 27) Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space with panel discussion to follow, Literary House, 6:00 pm   d-soerb@online.no
16. RAF Croughton, England (Oct 2) Rally at U.S. communication base, noon-3:00 pm, Oxfordshire Peace Campaign, oxonpeace@yahoo.co.uk
17. Spain – Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space will show in 47 cinemas across the country during space week denis@intrepidofilms.com
18. Uruguay - Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space will show in 3 cinemas across the country during space week denis@intrepidofilms.com
19. Washington DC (Oct. 1) Bruce Gagnon speaks at Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House on space issues, 7:30 pm, Art Laffin, artlaffin@hotmail.com   202-360-6416

             Download the full space week poster at:
http://www.space4peace.org/actions/ksfpw10.htm

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)

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12.: Romania rewrites its history again

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 3:51 pm (PDT)

Romania rewrites its history again

NATO's headquarters in Brussels continues to prioritize mutual trust in relations between the alliance and Russia. Brussels' NATO-expansion policy implies that new members can join on a purely voluntary basis, and that none of the 27 NATO countries has any territorial claims against its neighbors.

In reality, it is the other way round. Estonian politicians regularly demand that Moscow return the Pytalovo District of Russia's Pskov Region. Bucharest also reminds Ukraine and Moldova that Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were part of Romania from 1918 until 1940. Romania maintains that it had every right to occupy both regions in December 1917 when the Russian Empire was rapidly disintegrating. However, Russian and Romanian representatives signed an Entente-brokered agreement in Jassy (Iasi), Romania, on March 5, 1918.

Under the document, Romania pledged to withdraw its forces from Bessarabia within two months. Instead, the Romanian occupation lasted for over 20 years.

Romania, which joined NATO in 2004, promptly voiced territorial claims to Ukraine, as well as the right to control the continental shelf.

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko pandered to Romania, hoping that Bucharest would support Kiev's NATO membership bid. Yushchenko had no misgivings about the fact that 80 percent of the continental shelf contained 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas and ten million metric tons of crude oil.

Moreover, Yushchenko agreed to allow the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial body of the United Nations, to examine the future of Zmeiny Island. He assured Romanian President Traian Basescu that Ukraine would unfailingly abide by any ICJ decision.

After gaining control of the continental shelf, Romania granted hydrocarbon-production rights to Rompetrol Group N.V., a multinational oil company based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

The company subsequently leased the rights to the deposits to its U.S. friends for a period of 30 years, swelling the Romanian budget. Bucharest, inspired by this success, now voices claims to the small Maikan Island making it possible to control the Danube River.

The Ukrainian public is also concerned about Bucharest's possible decision to issue Romanian passports to Ukrainians who lived in Romania before 1940. Kiev sees this as a first step to resuming territorial claims to Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia.

Romania which initiates all these actions under NATO auspices assumes that Kiev will not want to sour relations with the alliance and the EU. But it appears that Bucharest underestimates the Ukrainian government's determination to defend its regional interests.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko recently told the people of Ukraine that his ministry was determined to defend national interests in its dialogue with Romania, which strives to rewrite the history of its relations with neighboring nations under NATO auspices.

http://en.rian.ru/papers/20100831/160410373.html

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13.: NATO Chief: West's Afghan War To Intensify

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:11 pm (PDT)

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4761351&c=MID&s=TOP

Agence France-Presse
August 31, 2010

Campaign Against Taliban To Intensify: NATO Chief

COPENHAGEN: NATO forces in Afghanistan are set to intensify the campaign against Taliban strongholds in the coming weeks, the head of the military alliance said on Aug. 30.

"I share the point of view of American military leaders on the intensification of fighting in the coming weeks and months," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Danish channel TV2 News in an interview broadcast on Monday.

"We are in a very decisive phase at the moment. We have sent more soldiers to Afghanistan, where we are attacking Taliban strongholds, which results in more fighting, and unfortunately more losses," he said.

The escalation in combat operations was part of the strategy by international forces to dislodge the Taliban from their strongholds in Helmand province and Kandahar, Rasmussen said.

The escalation is "unfortunately necessary for us to be able to transfer responsibility for security to the Afghans," he said.
....
While welcoming the commitment of a handover to Afghan security forces by the end of 2014, Rasmussen warned against a total withdrawal.

"That would mean the return of the Taliban. And all our efforts would be in vain," he said.

While acknowledging the political pressure for a fixed withdrawal date, "we must stay and finish the job and not allow an open field for the return of the Taliban," Rasmussen said.

"The (international community) is agreed that we will not leave Afghanistan before being certain that the Afghans can ensure their own security," he said.

Rasmussen, a former Danish Prime Minister, on Tuesday makes an official visit to Denmark, which has suffered the highest proportional casualty rate among foreign forces in Afghanistan.
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14.: Iraq: U.S. "Preemptive" Attack Ends In Lonely Departure

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:11 pm (PDT)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2010-08/31/c_13471749.htm

Xinhua News Agency
August 31, 2010

U.S. preemptive attack ends in lonely departure from Iraq
by Li Bo

BEIJING: The U.S. military formally concluded its combat operations in Iraq on Tuesday, marking the end of a seven-year-long war that was neither popular in Iraq, the United States, nor the world at large.

In terms of time, the Iraq War lasted longer than the American Civil War. It also lasted longer than U.S. participation in World Wars I and II.

The war cost huge amounts of social wealth, led to the deaths of more than 4,400 U.S. soldiers and over 100,000 Iraqi civilians. It also created a dangerous precedent that a global superpower resorted to force against another sovereign state without a United Nations mandate.

Over the last seven years, the United States has failed to find evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the U.S. pretext for waging the war against the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Failing to cool insurgent attacks, which peaked at 25 attacks in one day, the U.S. military also could not secure the safety of Iraqis, and protect Iraqi museums and cultural spots that were damaged in the chaos and looting.

Photos of torture and prisoner abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison that were published worldwide totally ruined the image of U.S. troops and laid bare the U.S. administration's lies of freedom and democracy.

It is no exaggeration to describe the U.S. exit as a lonely departure. Few Iraqis cheered the American withdrawal. Former military allies have quietly phased out of the invasion.

Moreover, 53 percent of U.S. respondents think history will judge the Iraq War to have been a mistake, according to a recent Gallup survey.

Former U.S. national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski said earlier that the American course in the Middle East is a political mistake. In the short run, it damages America's principles and international legitimacy; in the long run, it is dangerous for America.

Each war will leave a legacy. The Iraq War is not an exception.

The architectures of the Iraq War such as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz have retreated from the political stage while Barack Obama won the voters' recognition during his presidential campaign because of his promises of making changes and reforms.

When asked about the Bush administration's failure to find any WMD, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that the lesson drawn in Washington was that the rationale for any future American offensive will have to meet stricter criteria.

The current American administration as well as those that follow it will exercise extreme caution before launching a preemptive military strike against an enemy state, Gates said.

History often repeats itself. The trauma caused by the Iraq War reminded many people of the U.S. war in Vietnam. If we compare the Vietnam War to a modern Apocalypse, then the Iraq War should become a contemporary revelation that warns people against flexing military muscle without moral support.
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15.: Afghanistan: France Loses 48th Soldier

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:11 pm (PDT)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-09/01/c_13471953.htm

Xinhua News Agency
September 1, 2010

French soldier killed in accident in Afghanistan

PARIS: A French soldier was killed in a road accident in Afghanistan, the French Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.

The soldier was seriously wounded and succumbed to his injuries after the armored vehicle carrying him and two other soldiers fell into a ravine in the Uzbin valley, east of the capital Kabul, the ministry noted.

The two others were injured and hospitalized in a French military hospital in Kabul, it added.

About 3,500 French soldiers were deployed in Afghan territories as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF) to help local authorities restore security and crack down on Taliban insurgents.
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16.: Arctic: Canada Sabre-Rattling and Russia's Strategic Interests

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:12 pm (PDT)

Arctic: Canada Sabre-Rattling and Russia's Strategic Interests

The recently completed Operation Nanook (August 6 to 26), an operation which Canada began after Russia made claims to Arctic territories in 2007, involved an unprecedented degree of collaboration among military forces from Canada, the USA and Denmark: NATO member states. Yet is there not a commercial interest behind the sabre-rattling?

There are five states with Arctic claims. Four of them are NATO member states (the three mentioned above plus Norway). The other is Russia. Operation Nanook this year took a new turn: far from being a purely Canadian exercise, it involved unprecedented cooperation among three NATO member states.

It comes as no surprise to learn that the Arctic is home to some 30 per cent of undiscovered natural gas fields and around 13 per cent of undiscovered oil. It also comes as no surprise that the three NATO members seem to be settling their own differences in the Arctic (Canada has disputes with both the USA and Denmark) and in a sinister twist of the tale, are raising the stakes into what is gradually becoming a NATO v. Russia scenario.

Canada has already made bellicose claims that it is concerned about Russia's "desire to work outside the international framework. That is obviously why we are taking a range of measures, including military measures, to strengthen our sovereignty in the North" (Canadian Minister of Defence Peter MacKay, 2008). Since then Canada has regularly scrambled jets to "intercept" Russian aircraft flying in international airspace.

This year's military operation pushed far further to the north than the previous years' exercises and was held in an area including the Alpha Mendeleev Ridge - one of Russia's Arctic claims.

Yet how real is Canada's sabre rattling, and to what extent is there a commercial element behind the raising of the stakes? After all, Canada's CF-18 fleet is due for replacement (it is 30 years old) and now is the time for a lucrative arms deal to acquire the USA's F-35 Lightning fifth generation Stealth fighter.

Regarding Russia's claims, the Arktika Expedition in 2007 when a Russian flag was placed on the sea bed under the North Pole by the Mir submersible, was part of the work being undertaken under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, part of the process in which Russia lays claim to submerged ridges which prove the area in question is an extension of Russian territory.

The claim defends that the eastern Lomonosov Ridge is an extension of the Siberian Continental Shelf and this claim does not enter the Arctic sector of any other Arctic coastal State. This claim, together with the position that the Mendeleev Ridge is an extension of the Eurasian Continent, has been submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in accordance with Article 76, Paragraph 8 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

As a result of the Arktika Expedition, it was declared by Russia's Natural Resources Ministry in September 2007 that "Preliminary results of an analysis of the Earth's Crust...have confirmed that the crust structure of the Lomonosov Ridge corresponds to the world analogues of the continental crust and it is therefore part of the Russian Federation's adjacent continental shelf".

The Ilulissat Declaration made in Greenland among the five Arctic States in May 2008 declares that all demarcation issues should be resolved on a bilateral basis between contesting parties.

Since Russia's claims enter the territory of nobody except the Russian Federation itself, then why does Canada get steamed up making bellicose remarks and scrambling warplanes? Who is benefiting from the forthcoming arms sales and why is the Canadian taxpayer footing the bill for the exercises?

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru

http://www.moscowtopnews.com/?area=postView&id=2092#cut

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17.: 'Strategic Relationship For Future': $13B In U.S. Arms For Iraq

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

Tue Aug 31, 2010 7:06 pm (PDT)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2010-08-31-Iraq-arms-deal_N.htm

USA TODAY
August 31, 2010

Iraq to spend $13B on U.S. arms, equipment
By Jim Michaels

-The sales will make Iraq among the world's biggest customers for American military arms and equipment. The Iraq Defense Ministry intends to transform the country's degraded conventional forces into a state-of-the-art military....In addition to the $13 billion purchase, the Iraqis have requested 18 F-16 Falcon fighter jets as part of a $3 billion program that also includes aircraft training and maintenance.

BAGHDAD: Iraq is preparing to buy as much as $13 billion in American arms and military equipment, a huge order of tanks, ships and hardware that U.S. officials say shows Iraqi-U.S. military ties will be tight for years to come.

"It helps to build their capabilities, first and foremost; and second, it builds our strategic relationship for the future," said Army Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero, the ranking U.S. officer responsible for training and advising Iraq forces.
....
Military sales, which often include lengthy maintenance and training contracts, are part of U.S. efforts to maintain a relationship with Iraq. About half the $13 billion in sales are finalized contracts, and the rest are still in negotiations.

The sales will make Iraq among the world's biggest customers for American military arms and equipment. The Iraq Defense Ministry intends to transform the country's degraded conventional forces into a state-of-the-art military.

"It's going to be a modern and fairly sophisticated military," Barbero said.

Part of the planned purchase includes M-1 tanks, the main battle tank for the U.S. military. Iraq wants to buy 140 of the tanks, and Iraqi crews have already started training on them.

Iraqi forces saw firsthand the effectiveness of America's M-1 tank during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, when the U.S. Army obliterated the slower and less sophisticated Iraqi tanks.

Iraq's conventional weaponry came largely from the Soviet Union and was ravaged by Saddam Hussein's war with Iran in the 1980s and the Gulf War led by the United States. The Iraqi air force was practically wiped out in the wars. Later, United Nations sanctions after the Gulf War prevented Saddam from maintaining his military.

In addition to the $13 billion purchase, the Iraqis have requested 18 F-16 Falcon fighter jets as part of a $3 billion program that also includes aircraft training and maintenance. If approved by Congress, the first aircraft could arrive in spring 2013. Under the plan, the first 10 pilots would be trained in the U.S.

Recent success in battling the Islamist insurgency has allowed Iraq to shift from a lightly equipped counterinsurgency force to a conventional force capable of securing its borders and repelling threats, Barbero said.

"They're at a point now where they're starting to make changes to focus on these conventional capabilities that they need," he said.
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