1.: Egypt: Will U.S. And NATO Launch Second Suez Intervention?

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 3:39 pm (PST)

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/egypt-will-u-s-and-nato-launch-second-suez-intervention

Stop NATO
February 2, 2011

Egypt: Will U.S. And NATO Launch Second Suez Intervention?
Rick Rozoff

On February 1 General James Mattis, commander of United States Central Command whose area of responsibility includes Egypt on its western end, stated that Washington currently has no plans to reinforce naval presence off the coast of that country, but added that in the event of the closure of the Suez Canal:

"Were it to happen obviously we would have to deal with it diplomatically, economically, militarily...."

After the canal was nationalized in 1956 by the government of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt was attacked by Israel, Britain and France.

The day before Mattis' statement the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and its carrier strike group - consisting of a guided missile cruiser, three guided missile destroyers, a fast combat support ship and Carrier Air Wing One (which had been deployed for the Suez Crisis in 1956-1957) with fighter and surveillance aircraft and Seahawk helicopters - crossed through the Strait of Gibraltar from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea on its way to the Suez Canal. The warships are scheduled for operations in the Gulf of Aden off the coasts of Somalia and Yemen and in the Arabian Sea to support the war in Afghanistan.

In the words of the commander of the carrier strike group, the deployment "sends a strong signal that the Enterprise Strike Group has arrived to operate and integrate with our partners in the region." [1]

U.S. and NATO warships regularly transit the canal for operations off the Horn of Africa and for the escalating war in South Asia.

With the expansion of protests in Egypt calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarek, the prospect of the Suez Canal being closed would severely hamper Western military operations across the Arabian Sea from Somalia to Pakistan, the central locus of global naval deployments and warfighting in the 21st century. [2]

In addition to being a gateway for the passage of warships including carriers and their warplanes, the Suez Canal is a major transit point for oil emanating from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea en route to the Mediterranean Sea for European consumption. "The waterway is the fastest crossing from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. Should it close, tankers would have to sail around southern Africa. About 7.5% of world sea trade is carried via the canal today."

"Energy industry analysts...view the intimidation factor posed by the U.S. military's presence in the region as beneficial to Western corporate interests in case a new government in Cairo does indeed seek to block shipments of oil and other goods through the canal." [3]

This week it was announced that several European oil companies, among them Norway's Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum, halted drilling in Egypt, closed down local offices and began evacuating the families of foreign workers as well as non-essential staff.

On January 31 U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates held phone conversations with his Egyptian and Israeli counterparts, defense ministers Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and Ehud Barak. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell would not disclose the contents of the talks to the press.

President Barack Obama praised the U.S.-armed and -trained Egyptian armed forces for their "professionalism," stating:

"I urge the military to help ensure this time of change is peaceful."

Chief of the U.S. General Staff Admiral Michael Mullen spoke by phone with Egyptian chief of staff Lieutenant General Sami Enan on the same day, after the latter and the high-level military delegation he led hastily left Washington, D.C. ahead of the completion of scheduled week-long consultations at the Pentagon. The Internet is buzzing with speculation that Enan may be slated to head an interim government should President Mubarek be prevailed upon to exit the scene in the imminent future.

Afterward, Mullen affirmed:

"We've had a very strong relationship with the Egyptian military for decades. And as I look to the future, I certainly look to that to continue.

"I look forward to continuing to work with the Egyptian military. We look to a future that certainly, we hope, is stable, within Egypt as well as, obviously, in the region." [4]

According to the Pentagon's website: "Mullen stressed the importance of Egypt's military as a stabilizing force. The United States military has had a close and continuing relationship with Egyptian officers and noncommissioned officers since the Camp David Accords in 1978, he noted." [5]

In a recent article the Jewish Telegraph Agency reminded its readers that:

"The largely American-equipped and American-trained Egyptian army — by far the most powerful military in the Arab world — numbers around 650,000 men, with 60 combat brigades, 3500 tanks and 600 fighter planes. For Israel, the main strategic significance of the peace with Egypt is that it has been able to take the threat of full-scale war against its strongest foe out of the military equation." [6]

In announcing the precipitate departure of the Egyptian military delegation from Washington, Marine General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that the visit had been curtailed because of domestic developments, stating the U.S. and its military allies "go through all sorts of contingencies." [7]

Although the NATO website does not mention it, it is to be assumed that Enan's top-level delegation attended the chiefs of defense and military representatives meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on January 26 and 27, particularly the first day's Mediterranean Dialogue session. The meetings included the top commanders and other military representatives of 66 nations - more than a third of all the countries in the world - and was presided over by Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, Chairman of the bloc's Military Committee. Other participants included NATO's two Strategic Commanders, Admiral James Stavridis, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and General Stephane Abrial, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, as well as the Chairman of the European Union's Military Committee, General Hakan Syren.

Topics of deliberation included NATO's two ongoing naval operations, Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean Sea and Ocean Shield in the Gulf of Aden.

The Alliance conclave also included a meeting of military representatives from NATO Mediterranean Dialogue partnership members Egypt, Israel, Algeria, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, who "agreed on the further development of Cooperative Security core task as outlined in the new Strategic Concept" endorsed at last November's summit in Portugal. [8]

Outgoing Israel Defense Forces [IDF} Chief of General Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, who is to step down from his post on February 14, was a guest of honor at the 66-nation NATO military meeting in Brussels. He addressed the assembled military chiefs and told them:

"Cooperation with NATO will continue to be of extreme importance for Israel, particularly in the face of countries that are trying to obtain nuclear and nonconventional weapons. NATO's decision to develop a missile defense system demonstrates the worrisome reality that radical countries and maybe even terrorist groups are a clear and present danger, not just to the Middle East but also to Europe." [9]

Delivering a speech at the Mediterranean Dialogue session, Ashkenazi stated:

"NATO currently faces the very same challenges [as Israel does at home] in Afghanistan, and its member countries encounter complex strategic, tactical and logistic issues in different arenas of war."

He also thanked chairman of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola and his counterparts for their "friendship and partnership." [10]

Ashkenazi was accompanied on his trip to NATO Headquarters by his wife, IDF spokesperson Brigadier General Avi Benayahu, head of the International Military Cooperation Department in the Planning Directorate Colonel Hani Caspi, Israeli Defense Attache to NATO Colonel Uri Halperin and Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant Colonel Amos HaCohen.

As part of the conference "a ceremonial dinner [was] held at the home of the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, where he...bid a farewell to Ashkenazi." [11]

The Suez Canal is Israel's lifeline to the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. In July of 2009 Israeli "missile class warships sailed through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea ten days after a submarine capable of launching a nuclear missile strike" - a German-made Dolphin - had made the same journey in a move "apparently done in preparation for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities." [12]

The canal is also the choke point through which Caspian Sea oil and natural gas transported across the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and Nabucco pipelines are projected to reach Israel in addition to plans to ship energy supplies to the Israeli Mediterranean port city of Ashkelon and from there by pipeline to the Red Sea port of Eilat where it can be shipped on tankers across the Indian Ocean to East Asia. [13]

The Suez Canal is also the convergence point of two of the six navy fleets the U.S. employs to patrol the world's seas and oceans: The Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Italy, and the Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain.

The Sixth Fleet's area of responsibility encompasses the entire Mediterranean, since October of 2001 paralleled and reinforced by NATO's Operation Active Endeavor, and the Fifth's the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the eastern coast of Africa south to Kenya.

The Enterprise Carrier Strike Group headed to the Suez Canal will be attached to the Fifth Fleet when it arrives in the Red Sea on its way to the Indian Ocean.

Both fleets have several naval task forces assigned to them, including amphibious assault, battle force, carrier strike group, expeditionary combat, Marine Expeditionary Unit, maritime surveillance, naval interdiction, oil terminal protection (in Iraq), patrol and reconnaissance, sealift, special operations and submarine warfare groups.

The Fifth Fleet and Naval Forces Central Command are jointly in charge of Combined Task Forces 52, 150, 151, 152 and 158 in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin, and the Persian Gulf, which are U.S.-led multinational naval groups with the participation of NATO and Asia-Pacific military partners like Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

The Sixth Fleet at any given time has as many as forty ships, 175 aircraft and 21,000 personnel deployed in the Mediterranean.

The fleet overlaps with Naval Forces Europe as the Fifth Fleet does with Naval Forces Central Command. The commanders of the first two also hold NATO positions, with the commander of Naval Forces Europe serving as head of Allied Joint Force Command Naples and the commander of the Sixth Fleet as commander of Allied Joint Command Lisbon and of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO.

As examined earlier, NATO's Operation Active Endeavor also incorporates the entire Mediterranean Sea, including Egypt's northern coast, and over the past nine years has contacted over 110,000 ships and boarded an estimated 160 "suspect" ships.

The now permanent operation is "enabling NATO to strengthen its relations with partner countries, especially those participating in the Alliance's Mediterranean Dialogue." [14]

By NATO's account:

"In terms of energy alone, some 65 per cent of the oil and natural gas consumed in Western Europe pass through the Mediterranean each year, with major pipelines connecting Libya to Italy and Morocco to Spain. For this reason, NATO ships are systematically carrying out preparatory route surveys in 'choke' points as well as in important passages and harbours throughout the Mediterranean.

"What happens in practice is that merchant ships passing through the Eastern Mediterranean are hailed by patrolling NATO naval units and asked to identify themselves and their activity. This information is then reported to both NATO's Allied Maritime Component Commander in Naples, Italy, and the NATO Shipping Centre in Northwood, the United Kingdom. If anything appears unusual or suspicious, a boarding team may enter the vessel to inspect documentation and cargo."

"The increased NATO presence in the Mediterranean has also enhanced the Alliance's security cooperation programme with seven countries in the wider Mediterranean region – Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. This programme - the Mediterranean Dialogue - was set up in 1995 to contribute to regional security and stability and to achieve better mutual understanding between NATO and its Mediterranean Partners.

"The operation is under the overall command of Joint Forces Command (JFC), Naples, and is conducted from the Allied Maritime Component Command Naples, Italy (CC-Mar Naples) through a Task Force deployed in the Mediterranean. Occasionally, transiting ships and aircraft provide additional associated support to the operation." [15]

Active Endeavor is one of eight components resulting from the U.S.-dominated alliance's activation of its Article 5 collective military assistance provision after September 1, 2001.

At its 2004 summit in Istanbul, Turkey, NATO expanded the surveillance and interdiction mission as well as adopting the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative to elevate Mediterranean Dialogue partnerships with Egypt, Israel, Algeria, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia to the level of the Partnership for Peace program that graduated twelve Eastern European nations to full NATO membership from 1999-2009.

Last November Alliance Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper that NATO is ready to dispatch troops to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, stating: "If a Middle East peace agreement is reached, an international military force will be needed to monitor and implement it." [16] The same source revealed that "The North Atlantic Council - NATO's most senior governing body - also announced it would launch bilateral relations (in contrast to collective ties) with Israel and the six Arab states that comprise the Mediterranean Dialogue."

Israel is the only Middle Eastern nation not in Central Command's area of responsibility (it is assigned to U.S. European Command) - as Egypt is the only African country not in U.S. Africa Command's - and is all but officially NATO's 29th member state. [17]

A few months before, Rasmussen visited Jordan and Bahrain to pressure the host countries to "contribute to alliance naval operations...in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf of Aden," Operation Active Endeavor and Operation Ocean Shield, respectively. [18]

In the previous month twelve warships attached to an enlarged Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) began what were identified as surge operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. "SNMG2 has been reinforced with additional ships which, along with submarine and air surveillance assets, will ensure sweeping coverage from Crete to the far-eastern reaches of the Mediterranean Sea." That its operations are being augmented by Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and submarines marks a dramatic escalation of NATO strength in the region. [19]

In the month before the naval buildup in the Eastern Mediterranean, five ships from the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 docked in Casablanca "to boost ties with Morocco."

"A joint training session between NATO forces and the Moroccan navy is also planned, according to the Dutch commander of SNMG2, Michiel Hijmans, who will be in Casablanca for the Sept. 16-19 visit.

"SNMG2 regularly participates in the Active Endeavour Operation...in the Mediterranean." [20]

After being feted at NATO Headquarters and at the home of the bloc's Military Committee chairman last week, Israel's Chief of General Staff Ashkenazi said that mounting demonstrations in Egypt "could force Israel to adapt to a new security reality in the Middle East."

"The quiet is fragile and the security reality can easily change," he said on the sidelines of a military exercise in the south of Israel. "It is enough to look at what is happening in Egypt to understand this." [21]

Ashkenazi added that the Israel Defense Forces were maintaining a "watchful eye" on the Gaza Strip adjoining Egypt.

Shaul Mofaz, the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman and a former defense minister, "said that Israel would need to conduct a new strategic review due to the possibility of a regime change in Egypt." [22]

In addition to U.S. Sixth Fleet, NATO and Israeli naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean, NATO nations are also deployed there as part of the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) Maritime Task Force, which since 2006 has run an effective blockade of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Currently there are three German, one Greek, one Italian and one Turkish ship assigned to the mission. Other nations that have contributed to the interdiction operation include Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.

The Maritime Task Force (MTF) website states: "Since the start of its operations, the MTF has hailed around 28,000 ships and referred around 400 suspicious vessels to the Lebanese authorities for further inspection."

As seen above, the Suez Canal is vital for the transit of Western aircraft carriers and other warships and for oil shipments.

Egypt is also important for the NATO nations of North America and Europe as part of their energy war against Russia aside from the Suez passageway.

The Suez-Mediterranean (SuMed) oil pipeline runs from the Ain Sukhna terminal on the Gulf of Suez (leading to the canal) at the northern end of the Red Sea to Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean. The 200-mile pipeline provides an alternative to the Suez Canal for transporting Persian Gulf oil to the Mediterranean Sea, and there are currently plans to extend it across the Red Sea from Ain Sukhna to the terminal of Saudi Arabia's 745-mile East-West Crude Oil Pipeline (Petroline) in Yanbu in the west of the kingdom.

On January 28 Egyptian troops were deployed to the SuMed pipeline.

In May of 2009 the European Union held a conference entitled Southern Corridor - New Silk Road in the Czech capital of Prague in order "to help reduce Europe's heavy dependence on Russia." [23]

Centering on the Nabucco natural gas and other pipelines to bring Caspian Sea hydrocarbons to Europe in opposition to Russian projects, participating non-EU countries included Egypt and Iraq in addition to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Turkey.

The conference promoted "three gas projects, all bypassing Russia. It [discussed] the 10 billion euro Nabucco project, which by 2013 is to link the Caspian Sea region, Middle East and Egypt to the EU via Turkey. The others are the Inter-Connector pipeline linking Turkey to Italy via Greece, and the White Stream, which would run from Georgia to Romania across the Black Sea."

"The leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Egypt and Iraq [and] the EU [pushed] for a broad commitment on the expansion of a web of half a dozen east-west gas pipelines spanning thousands of miles (kilometers)" with "stable gas deliveries that bypass Russia." [24]

Egypt is too strategically important to the U.S. and its European and Israeli allies to permit its citizens to exercise control over the nation's military and energy policies, over what passes through the Suez Canal. Before that will be permitted to occur, the threats of a military takeover and intervention loom over the nation.

1) Navy NewsStand, February 1, 2011
2) Arabian Sea: Center Of West's 21st Century War
Stop NATO, October 25, 2010
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/arabian-sea-center-of-wests-21st-century-war
3) Egypt's Suez Canal and the US Navy's Fifth Fleet
Press Action, January 31, 2011
4) Department of Defense, January 31, 2011
5) Ibid
6) Jewish Telegraph Agency, February 1, 2011
7) CNN, January 28, 2011
8) North Atlantic Treaty Organization, January 27, 2011
9) Jerusalem Post, January 26, 2011
10) Israel Defense Forces, January 26, 2011
11) Arutz Sheva, January 27, 2011
12) Report: Warships in Suez prepare for Iran attack
Ynetnews, July 16, 2009
13) Azerbaijan And The Caspian: NATO's War For The World's Heartland
Stop NATO, June 10, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/azerbaijan-and-the-caspian-natos-war-for-the-worlds-heartland
14) North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Operation Active Endeavor
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_7932.htm
15) Ibid
16) Ha'aretz, November 21, 2010
17) Israel: Global NATO's 29th Member
Stop NATO, January 17, 2010
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/israel-global-natos-29th-member
18) Deutsche Presse-Agentur, March 9, 2010
19) North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
November 12, 2010
20) Agence France-Presse, September 14, 2010
21) Jerusalem Post, February 1, 2011
22) Ibid
23) Azeri Press Agency, May 8, 2009
24) Robert Wielaard, EU Seeks to Enroll Caucasus Neighbors, Egypt and Iraq
into Energy Deal Bypassing Russia
Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2009

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2.: Scotland: NATO To Hold Europe's Largest Military Exercise

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 4:00 pm (PST)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-12333093

BBC News
February 2, 2011

Axed RAF Kinloss to play part in Exercise Joint Warrior
By Steven McKenzie

An RAF station will play a role in a major UK-led Nato training exercise before it closes later this year.

RAF Kinloss is no longer required as a main operating base following the cancellation and scrapping of the new Nimrod MRA4.

The Moray airfield will close on 31 July.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that Kinloss will host Nato personnel and aircraft during next month's Exercise Joint Warrior.

Considered to be the biggest military training exercise staged in Europe, the first of this year's two Joint Warriors will run from 28 March to 8 April.

It has been confirmed that Kinloss will feature in this exercise.

An MoD spokesperson told BBC Scotland news online: "Exercise Joint Warrior is a UK-wide, tri-service exercise which is intended to provide opportunities for training all war fighting disciplines.

"RAF Kinloss will be taking part and hosting assets from partner nations.

"It would be inappropriate to comment on the capabilities and assets of other nations."

In previous years, large-scale training involving aircraft, warships and ground troops has taken place across the UK - particularly in the Highlands and Islands.

Kinloss and neighbouring station RAF Lossiemouth - itself the subject of a high profile campaign to save it from closure - have played key roles.
....
Exercise Joint Warrior is held twice a year, in spring and again in autumn.

During the second of the exercises of 2010, maritime aircraft from the US, Canada and Norway flew out of Kinloss.

Crews of P3 and Aurora patrol planes trained in anti-submarine, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance techniques off the west coast of Scotland and the Western Isles.

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3.: U.S. CENTCOM Chief "Militarily Uncomfortable" With Afghan Date

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 4:00 pm (PST)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/02/us-afghanistan-mattis-idUKTRE7110LJ20110202

Reuters
February 2, 2011

U.S. general "militarily uncomfortable" with Afghan date

LONDON: A senior U.S. military commander said on Tuesday setting a 2014 goal for halting NATO combat operations in Afghanistan weakened the Taliban's arguments although he was "militarily uncomfortable" with it.

NATO agreed at a Lisbon summit last November to hand control of security in Afghanistan to Afghan forces by the end of 2014 and said the NATO-led force could halt combat operations by the same date if security conditions were good enough.
....
General James Mattis, the head of U.S. Central Command which oversees the war in Afghanistan, said he was not concerned about the approach the United States was taking in Afghanistan "so long as it is done in concert ... with the allies."

In the short term, a target date may give the Taliban heart "to some degree," he said, speaking at an event in London hosted by the Policy Exchange thinktank.
....
"Militarily, I'm uncomfortable with it, as all military men are, with the uncertainty, the unpredictability of war," he said.
....
Some U.S. and NATO officials have said a spike in violence and problems in building up a capable Afghan army and police force to take over could make it hard to meet the 2014 goal.
....
A mild winter in Afghanistan meant fighting continued in what was usually the "off season," he said. The U.S. Senate confirmed Mattis as new head of Central Command last August, replacing General David Petraeus, who took command of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Centcom, as it is known, oversees operations in a volatile swath of the world that covers 20 countries and stretches from Egypt across the Middle East and into south and central Asia.

(Editing by Andrew Roche)

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4.: Washington: NATO Chief Plans Global Missions With Gates, Clinton

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 4:00 pm (PST)

http://www.defpro.com/news/details/21675/?SID=3478fa7486165d710585d49511edeaee

Defence Professionals (Germany)
February 2, 2011

NATO Secretary General receives strong US endorsement for 2011 priorities

NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, concluded a successful two-day visit to Washington D.C. where he received strong US endorsement for his plans to turn the Lisbon Summit agreements into action in 2011, including the start of transition in Afghanistan, enhancing Alliance partnerships and following through with NATO Reform.

The Secretary General met with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, as well as with other senior members of the US Administration, to discuss NATO priorities in 2011 and how this work will culminate in the next NATO Summit, to be held in the United States in the first half of 2012.

On Afghanistan, the Secretary General expressed his appreciation for the continuing US support for the transition process towards Afghan security lead. "There is a shared sense of commitment," said Rasmussen. "NATO Allies and partners in the ISAF coalition provided nearly 10,000 additional troops over the last year, at the same time that President Obama decided to send an extra 30,000 troops to Afghanistan...."

The training of Afghan security forces remains the ticket to transition and the Secretary General stressed that the NATO training mission in Afghanistan was a great success. "From now until transition is complete," Rasmussen said, "we will continue to need more trainers."

Discussions also revolved around NATO's global partnerships and ways to enhance cooperation with influential countries and organisations interested in promoting security and stability around the globe....

The Secretary General also recognized the tough financial decisions the US and other Allies are facing this year. "Despite all the economic pressures, the US continues to show great leadership in its ability to reduce defence spending, while investing for the future. I have received strong US support for our NATO reform agenda, which must start to deliver efficiencies this year to continue to improve our effectiveness as an Alliance."

The Secretary General wrapped up the visit by outlining the sequence of NATO ministerial meetings, in March, April and June, which will take these and other Alliance priorities forward towards the 2012 Summit in the United States.

During the visit, he also discussed NATO's priorities at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

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5.: Global NATO Seeks Partnership With China For "Asia, World"

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 4:00 pm (PST)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-02/02/c_13717140.htm

Xinhua News Agency
February 2, 2011

China, NATO have potential to develop partnership: Ischinger
by Wu Mei, Liu Xiang

BERLIN, Germany: China and NATO have a potential to develop a certain partnership in the future, especially in addressing security challenges, said Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of Munich Security Conference (MSC).

Ischinger, in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the annual conference which will be held in Munich from Friday to Sunday, said that he believed that NATO and China could be good partners in addressing security challenges, not only in Asia, but also in the world.

He called on the two sides to "sit together to discuss the rules of the game"....

Talking about the upcoming annual Munich Security conference, Ischinger said as the global political balance had started to shift in a rather dramatic way into the Pacific area, the question of security cooperation in the area should be discussed at a globally focused conference like the conference in Munich.
....
Referring to the upcoming Munich conference, Ischinger, a senior German diplomat who had acted as the German ambassador to the United States and the United Kingdom, said some new security challenges, like cyber war, were going to be mixed with the traditional issues, such as NATO's role in Afghanistan and the ballistic missile defense between the United States and Russia in Europe.
....
The MSC, an annual conference on international security policy, was founded in 1962 by German publisher Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin.

Around 300 high-level participants will attend the three-day meeting this year, among whom are U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy Catherine Ashton.

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6.: NATO: Egypt Is Valued Mediterranean Dialogue Partner

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 4:00 pm (PST)

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1616556.php/NATO-calls-for-transition-constructive-regional-role-in-Egypt

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
February 2, 2011

NATO calls for transition, constructive regional role in Egypt

Brussels: NATO wants to see Egypt move towards more democracy while still playing a 'constructive' role in the region, the alliance's spokeswoman said Wednesday.

NATO sees Egypt as a key stabilizing factor in the Middle East and an ally in the fight against terrorism. But at the same time, its own basic values include democracy and human rights, leaving it treading a difficult line between advocating reform and calling for stability.

'We call on all parties to refrain from violence, and NATO urges all parties to engage without delay in an open dialogue to ensure a peaceful democratic transition with full respect of human rights,' NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu told journalists in Brussels.

Egypt is a member of NATO's 'Mediterranean Dialogue,' in which the alliance discusses security issues and supports reforms in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

'Egypt is a valuable partner in the Mediterranean Dialogue, it's a country that played a very important role in developing that partnership, and we hope and expect that it will continue to play a constructive role in the region,' Lungescu said.

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7.: Japan To Open Interceptor Missile Command On U.S. Base In Spring

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 4:11 pm (PST)

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/japan/japanese-air-defense-command-center-set-to-open-on-yokota-this-spring-1.133536

Stars and Stripes
February 2, 2011

Japanese Air Defense Command center set to open on Yokota this spring
By Charlie Reed

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan: As construction of Japan's new Air Defense Command headquarters nears completion, officials here are still working out exactly how U.S. and Japanese troops will share the base.

The ADC will begin operations on Yokota by the end of March, and all 800 Japanese troops associated with the command will be on base by the end of the year, Yokota officials said.

Along with a 1.3 million square-foot operations center, the Japanese are also building a dormitory for about 200 single enlisted troops who will live on base, a dining facility, a Japanese military exchange store, an auditorium and other support facilities for the ADC, which is transferring from Japan's nearby Fuchu air base in metropolitan Tokyo.

The ADC commander and vice commander along with four other general officers and their families will also reside at Yokota, home to U.S. Forces Japan headquarters and 5th Air Force. U.S. and Japanese officials could not provide figures for how many dependents will accompany the 800 Japanese troops and civilian employees assigned to the ADC.
....
A headquarters command, the ADC controls air operations and missile defense for all of Japan and coordinates air support for Japan's naval and ground forces.

The project, which broke ground three years ago, has been touted most for enhancing U.S.-Japan cooperation on missile defense.
....
The U.S. and Japan began partnering on missile defense in the wake of North Korea's 1998 missile test over Japan. In December, Japan announced plans to further expand its anti-missile system as part of a new "dynamic" defense policy.

The relocation is "necessary to share useful information between the U.S. and Japan," a spokesman for Japan's Ministry of Defense said this week.

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8.: Afghan, Pakistani Troops Exchange Fire, Artillery Rounds

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 4:23 pm (PST)

http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/afghan-pakistani-troops-exchange-fire-one-killed

Radio Netherlands
February 2, 2011

Afghan, Pakistan troops exchange fire: officials

Afghan and Pakistani troops exchanged fire across their border on Wednesday, officials from both sides said, blaming each other for starting the incident.

General Almar Gul Mangal, commander of the border police's fourth battalion in Afghanistan's eastern province of Khost confirmed the exchange of fire and accused Pakistani troops of sparking the battle.

"At around 11 am (0630 GMT) today, Pakistani troops in Waziristan started firing heavy and light weapons towards police posts in Gurbuz district. Our soldiers returned fire," he said.

In Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, a senior military official said one Pakistani soldier had been killed and three wounded.

"Afghan forces fired several mortar shells on one of our military checkposts, leaving one soldier dead and injuring three others. We fired in retaliation. Our troops are using artillery and mortars," the official said.

© ANP/AFP

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9.: German General: NATO-Georgia Relations Entering New Phase

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 4:23 pm (PST)

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1822065.html

Trend News Agency
February 2, 2011

NATO: Georgia efficiently carries out mission in NATO peacekeeping operations
N. Kirtskhalia

Tbilisi: Georgia is effectively carrying out its mission in NATO peacekeeping operations, NATO International Military Staff Lieutenant-General Jürgen Bornemann said this week on his official visit to Georgia.

"I came to Georgia at an interesting time when relations between NATO and the country have started to enter a new phase," Bornemann said.

The general added that his visit will review the status of cooperation between Georgia and the alliance.

"2010 was quite successful in terms of cooperation. There were many events. We are ready to continue this cooperation with Georgia in 2011," he said.

During the visit, Bornemann met with Georgian Chief of Joint Staff Devi Chankotadze.

As the Georgian Defense Ministry told Trend, the sides discussed prospects for further cooperation, ways of effectively carrying out peacekeeping missions and reforms to the Georgian defense system.

Bornemann stressed that a major priority of cooperation is Georgia's involvement in the ISAF operations.

"During my visit, I will meet with senior Georgian officials, and I am confident that cooperation between NATO and Georgia will continue successfully," he said.

Bornemann is also attending a Georgian Defense Ministry conference in Batumi.

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10.: Thailand: Malaysia In U.S.-Led Military Exercise For First Time

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 6:02 pm (PST)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/219503/malaysia-to-join-cobra-gold-11

Bangkok Post
February 2, 2011

Malaysia to join in Cobra Gold

-Ten other countries will also take part in the multinational planning augmentation team (MPAT) training. They are Australia, France, Italy, Britain, China, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, India and the Philippines.

Malaysia will for the first time take part in the annual Cobra Gold joint military exercise this year, in which nearly 10,000 soldiers of six countries will participate, a military source said.

Cobra Gold 2011, the 30th of its kind, will be carried out between Feb 7-18 in northern Thailand under the jurisdiction of the 3rd Army Region.

The ceremony to launch the exercise will be held in Chiang Mai and co-chaired by Gen Pirun Phaewpolsong, the deputy supreme commander, and Judith Cefkin, deputy chief of mission at the United States embassy in Thailand.

A total of 9,536 soldiers of six countries will take part in the wargames -- 2,996 troops from Thailand, 5,900 from the US, 38 from Singapore, 54 from Japan, 304 from South Korea, and 13 from Malaysia.

Malaysia, formerly an observer, will join the exercise for the first time as a participant in the command post exercise (CPX).

Ten other countries will also take part in the multinational planning augmentation team (MPAT) training. They are Australia, France, Italy, Britain, China, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, India and the Philippines.

The exercise will be observed by military teams from China, India, Sri Lanka, Laos, Brunei, Russia, Mongolia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and New Zealand.
....
The US troops to take part in the exercise are from the US Pacific Command (USPACOM).

In the last part of Cobra Gold 2011 there will be a landing exercise under live fire at Sattahip in Chon Buri province by Thai and US marines. The exercise is codenamed PHIBTRAEX.

There will also be a training exercise codenamed UNDERSEAL involving Thai and US sea-air-land-underwater demolition teams.

A major exercise using live ammunition will be held at Dan Lan Hoi district of Sukhothai province in the North.

Part of the exercise will also be held in the eastern provinces of Chon Buri and Rayong as well as in the Gulf of Thailand.

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11.: U.S. Turns To Egyptian Military As Crisis Persists

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 6:02 pm (PST)

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-egypt-white-house-20110203,0,1423457.story

Los Angeles Times
February 3, 2011

Rebuffed U.S. turns to Egypt military in the crisis
'Our sense is that the military, on balance, is still serving as a buffer between both sides and they likely still hold the key to a peaceful transition,' says one senior U.S. Defense official
By Peter Nicholas, Paul Richter and David S. Cloud

Washington: Faced with a bloody rejection of its call for a rapid, orderly transition of power in Egypt, the Obama administration finds itself with diminished leverage over President Hosni Mubarak, and has stepped up its contacts with the Egyptian military to try to exert influence over events rocking a key ally.

A frustrated administration Wednesday repeated its demand that Mubarak begin handing over power immediately. U.S. officials also sharply condemned the violence in Cairo that followed Mubarak's flat rejection of White House overtures to quit.

But with lines of communication between the two capitals badly frayed, officials in Washington say they believe the best channel for persuading Mubarak to leave may be through the Egyptian military, despite the army's opaque role in the clashes between pro- and anti-Mubarak crowds Wednesday.

"I think our sense is that the military, on balance, is still serving as a buffer between both sides and they likely still hold the key to a peaceful transition," said one senior U.S. Defense official, who spoke as did others on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive diplomacy involved.

The strategy is predicated on a White House belief that there is now some separation between the Egyptian military and the Mubarak government.

"They [the military] are positioning themselves as the guardians of the Egyptian state — not the guardians of Mubarak's rule," said a senior administration official.

U.S. policy in this crisis now appears to ride on that bet. It is still uncertain whether the military leadership will abandon one of their own: Mubarak was a career air force officer before becoming president, and his inner circle is heavily composed of current and former military leaders.

And American officials who thought the military would step in to prevent violence in the streets were dismayed by the scenes from Cairo, where soldiers stood by as pro-Mubarak forces clashed openly with anti-government protesters.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton phoned Omar Suleiman, Egypt's newly appointed vice president and long time intelligence chief, and urged the government to hold "fully accountable" those responsible for the day's violence, said Philip J. Crowley, the State Department spokesman.

Clinton also told Suleiman that the government must immediately start its promised overhaul, Crowley said.

Looking for ways to squeeze Mubarak, U.S. officials also stepped up contacts with other political leaders in the region to try to get them to persuade him to leave office. That regional diplomacy followed the failure of a more direct approach by U.S. special envoy Frank Wisner to persuade Mubarak to quit during a meeting Tuesday.

Wisner was on his way back to the United States, a sign that the administration had set aside, for now at least, dealing directly with Mubarak — or was no longer welcome to do so.

"There are things [President Obama] can do, but there are no obvious steps he can take that you can say with certainty would be effective," said Stephen McInerney, executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy. "At this point, we're seeing a pretty intransigent regime that has been resistant to our entreaties."

Added another U.S. official: "There are limits. The Egyptians are dug in."

For several days, White House officials maintained a cautious approach to the crisis. When Mubarak said in a speech Tuesday that he would remain until a presidential election in September, Obama countered that a transition of power must begin immediately.

"'Now' means yesterday," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

U.S. officials have a deep, longstanding relationship with the Egyptian military and have provided billions of dollars in direct military aid to Cairo. Nonetheless, the ties between the two nations are complex, and it is unclear whether the U.S. will succeed in persuading military officials to help pry Mubarak from power.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have had a series of telephone conversations in recent days with Egyptian counterparts as part of a high-level effort to prevent bloodshed.

"Each and every one of those conversations starts out with a conversation about restraint and nonviolence," Gibbs told reporters Wednesday, adding that he believed the contacts had contributed to the Egyptian military's reluctance to move against protesters.

The U.S. provides more than $1 billion a year in aid to Egypt, much of it in military assistance. While U.S. officials would not say whether they have explicitly threatened an aid cutoff, they did say that Egyptian military officials understand that a crackdown would negatively affect the funding.
....
"They are in a tough position," one U.S. official said, while saying, nevertheless, that the military was "not moving fast enough" to push government reform.

In the face of the stalemate, some experts said Congress could play a role by taking a stronger stand, perhaps using its leverage as the body that approves the annual aid that has flowed to Egypt since 1979.

"What we need right now is a clear and simple message from Congress that the military needs to get this under control and avert further violence," said Andrew Albertson, a Middle East analyst. "Congress is where its aid comes from, and Congress has also played a fairly big role when it comes to Egypt and the peace process."

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12.: Macedonia Solicits Atlantic Council Imprimatur For NATO Accession

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 6:21 pm (PST)

http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2011/02/02/nb-08

Southeast European Times
February 2, 2011

Macedonia's Ivanov addresses Atlantic Council in Washington

WASHINGTON: Prospective NATO membership unites Macedonian society, regardless of ethnic, religious and political differences, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov told representatives of the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday (February 1st). He also voiced hope that Skopje will soon receive an invitation to join the pact, and said membership was Macedonia's top priority.

Ivanov is heading a Macedonian delegation that is meeting with members of Congress as well as with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman.

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13.: U.S. Transformed Bulgarian Military For Global NATO Missions

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:12 pm (PST)

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=124803

Sofia News Agency
February 2, 2011

US Moved to Model Bulgaria's Armed Forces for Missions Abroad - Wikileaks
The primary concern of the USA with respect to modeling the military of its modest ally Bulgaria has been a boost of capabilities for deployment abroad

-"Bulgaria should be steered away from the purchase of additional Russian fighters, which are currently an obstacle to Bulgaria's transformation to a more operationally and tactically flexible organization as expected by NATO."

A freshly released US diplomatic cable on Wikileaks shows that the USA has taken an active role in influencing the shaping of Bulgaria's armed force stressing primarily their capacities for foreign missions.

The document entitled "Strategy to Shape Bulgaria's Military Modernization" is a US diplomatic cable sent on October 29, 2007, by John Beyrle, then US Ambassador to Bulgaria. It was passed by Wikileaks to The Daily Telegraph, which published it late Tuesday night.

In the cable, Ambassador Beyrle points out that a decision of Bulgaria's Council of Minister's (i.e. the former Stanishev Cabinet) to revise Bulgaria's "Plan 2015" military modernization roadmap represents an important opportunity for the United States to influence the development of Bulgarian military capabilities over the medium and long-term.

Beyrle argues that the US should help Bulgaria boost its capacity to deploy forces on missions abroad rather than invest its anyway limited resources in the purchase of expensive weapon systems, thus modeling Bulgaria's future weapons procurement decisions.

"Our primary goal is increase Bulgaria's capacity to deploy and fight interoperably with U.S. and NATO forces overseas. Given its very limited resources, we advocate for larger investments for Bulgarian Land Forces, since the purchase of additional armored vehicles, body armor, training, personal gear and communications equipment will have a greater and more immediate impact on deployability than the procurement of new fighters or ships. We argue Bulgaria should be steered away from massive procurements on new air and naval systems and toward slightly older, perhaps used systems of intermediate complexity, which would allow Bulgarian servicemembers to more quickly master new technologies and thus become interoperable partners more quickly. We welcome US, NATO and EUCOM officials' visits here, reinforcing a consistent message on interoperability and deployability," states the former US Ambassador in Sofia in the diplomatic cable.

The document says that senior Bulgarian Ministry of Defense officials have warned the US Embassy privately that the then Bulgarian government was planning to reduce military expenditures from approximately 2.5% of GDP to 2.1% or lower over the coming years, which "makes the prioritization of modernization projects and careful allocation of scarce resources even more critical for Bulgaria."

"We plan to present the government of Bulgaria with the following proposals and to use these points as the basis for our advocacy in guiding Bulgarian planners toward a modernization vision that best matches our shared interests. These proposals are intended to complement and reinforce, not replace NATO force goals, and to guide the Bulgarians toward key procurement decisions which will improve their ability to meet these goals," Beyrle wrote to the State Department.

The listed US priorities focus on boosting the deployability capacities of the Bulgarian forces, elimination of outdated defense equipment, avoiding "budget-busting mega-procurements", and maintaining certain niche capabilities of the Bulgarian military.

"Although Bulgaria possesses nearly 40,000 servicemembers, it has no means to deploy and very limited means to sustain forces outside its borders. The overwhelming majority of its currently deployed 727 servicemembers are drawn from the Bulgarian Land Force's four maneuver battalions, virtually all of which have been transported and are sustained by the United States. These realities represent the most basic limitations to increased Bulgarian commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The highest priority should be placed on encouraging Bulgaria to invest in the equipment, vehicles and weapons that will enable them to deploy and fight interoperably with U.S. and NATO forces overseas," the diplomatic cable explains.

With respect to seeking to steer Bulgaria away from major arms procurement projects, the document points out that "Bulgaria has been under intense pressure from France to sign a massive ship procurement deal worth over one billion dollars. While modernization of the Navy remains a goal, we will continue to advocate against Bulgaria spending an amount greater than its annual defense budget on this single procurement, particularly since this purchase exceeds Bulgaria's operational requirements and will not address its own stated top priority of improving Bulgaria's ability to deploy and sustain troops outside its borders."

The US Embassy plans to encourage Bulgarian planners "to fence off funds for requirements essential to overseas deployments, such as armored vehicles, body armor, training, personal gear and communications equipment."

Beyrle also mentions that Bulgaria's current fighter force has reached the end of its useful life but that the USA will seek to discourage Bulgaria from buying Russian aircraft as well as new Eurofighter, Swedish Gripen, and Joint Strike Fighter in favor of older versions of US-produced F-16 or F-18. However, the primary concern of the US diplomats appears to be not that Bulgaria might buy fighter jets from another country but that the purchase of brand-new planes will deplete Bulgaria's modest funds:

"Bulgaria should be steered away from the purchase of additional Russian fighters, which are currently an obstacle to Bulgaria's transformation to a more operationally and tactically flexible organization as expected by NATO. A slightly older, perhaps used aircraft of intermediate complexity, would allow Bulgarian pilots to quickly master new systems and immediately become interoperable partners. We plan to advocate against new, very expensive systems such as the Eurofighter, Swedish Gripen, and Joint Strike Fighter in favor of very capable older versions of the F-16 or F-18 as a bridge and catalyst for operational and tactical transformation. The Bulgarians may be eyeing new combat aircraft, and U.S. manufacturers will, of course, be in this hunt. But cost factors would exhaust the defense budget, and Bulgaria would be hard pressed to perform essential training and maintenance functions on such a squeezed budget."

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14.: Bulgaria Must Focus On Modern Land Forces For U.S., NATO Needs

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:12 pm (PST)

http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2011-02-03&article=35397

Standart News
February 2, 2011

Washington: Bulgaria Should Focus on Modern Land Forces

Bulgaria should move the focus of its defense strategy from buying costly combat helicopters and vessels and concentrate on the strengthening of its land forces. This is the key objective of Washi8ngton, according to a secret cable former US ambassador to Bulgaria John Beyrle.

Washington would like to see the Bulgarian troops to be more interoperable and take more active part in the joint missions of NATO and the USA. That is why military experts recommend buying armoured vehicles, bullet-proof vests and communication means for the Bulgarian rangers.

According to the analysis quoted in the cable Bulgaria has very limited resources for the maintenance of its contingents abroad. It is underscored that the Bulgarian military in foreign countries number (by that time) 727 officers. The USA covered their transportation and maintenance costs.

The USA recommends that Bulgaria should give up these elements of its defense system as they are ineffective or incompatible with the requirements for participation in multi-national missions.

In a conclusion of the analysis it is stated that Bulgarian representatives have expressed their fears that without the participation of the USA and NATO in the survey of the the program for armed forces development of the, "the political interests will take the upper hand over the military necessities."

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15.: U.S., NATO Demand, Get More Bulgarian Troops For Afghan War

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:12 pm (PST)

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=124808

Sofia News Agency
February 2, 2011

Bulgaria Sends Off More Troops to Afghanistan

A send-off ceremony will be held in the town of Pleven, Northern Bulgaria, on Wednesday for a 200-strong unit which will join the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan to provide security at Kabul Airport.

At the end of last year Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov visited war-torn Afghanistan and the country's troops there for two days.

He assessed highly the work of the contingents in Kabul and Kandahar and stressed that Bulgaria's participation in the operations is a priority for the country's army.

At present, the Bulgarian contingents in Afghanistan, numbering 600 troops, are based in three locations – Kabul, Kandahar and Herat. Taliban rocket attacks on the Kandahar base, the outer perimeter of which is guarded by UK soldiers, are very common with up to 400 reported in 2009.

Bulgaria's center-right government, elected in the summer of 2009, initially said it would not be able to provide more forces in Afghanistan due to the economic crisis, but later changed its strategy under pressure from the United States and NATO.

At the end of July last year Defense Minister Anyu Angelov announced that about 700 Bulgarian troops will be trained to join the military operations of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and sent there in 2013 at the latest.

The information was subsequently denied.

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16.: 5,000 U.S. Troops To Be Stationed At Upgraded Bulgarian Base

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:16 pm (PST)

http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2011-02-03&article=35395

Standart News
February 2, 2011

Novo Selo Range To Start Functioning This Autumn
Georgi Manginov

The construction of the Novo Selo military base will be completed this autumn. However, its first residents are expected next year, The Standart learnt.

Novo Selo range will start functioning at the same time as a military base in Romania.

In the US-Bulgarian military base 2,500 US soldiers from the infantry are expected. During rotation the number of soldiers in the Novo Selo may reach 5,000.
....

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17.: Australia Loses 22nd Soldier In NATO's Afghan War

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:25 pm (PST)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5haThxkKheM831ENJYQ0q9YHDhBvQ?docId=5837753

Associated Press
February 2, 2011

Australian soldier killed by IED in Afghanistan; raises casualty toll to 22

CANBERRA, Australia: An Australian soldier has been killed by an improvised explosive device during a patrol in southern Afghanistan, bringing the Australian death toll to 22.

The acting chief of the defence force, Lt. Gen. David Hurley, said 22-year-old Corp. Richard Edward Atkinson was on his first deployment to Afghanistan.

A second soldier was seriously wounded in the explosion in Uruzgan province, and is now in satisfactory condition at a military hospital in Tarin Kowt.
....
Australia has the largest military commitment in Afghanistan of any country outside NATO, with 1,550 Australian troops there.

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18.: Israeli F-16 Strikes Target On Gaza-Egypt Border

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:30 pm (PST)

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/palestine/1822588.html

Trend News Agency
February 3, 2011

Israeli war jet strikes smuggling tunnel in Gaza

An Israeli F16 warplane struck on Wednesday evening by an air-to-ground missile a tunnel used for smuggling under the borderline between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, no injuries were reported, witnesses said.

The witnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli warplanes flew over southern Gaza Strip and then fired one missile at the tunnel, adding that a huge explosion wrecked Rafah town and the tunnel was destroyed. No injuries were reported.
....

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19.: Georgian Intelligence Chief On Leave In U.S. For Reprogramming

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:35 pm (PST)

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1821398.html

Trend News Agency
February 2, 2011

Georgian intelligence service head advances skills in United States
N. Kirtskhalia

Tbilisi: Georgian intelligence service head Gela Bezhuashvili has temporarily left his post, Georgian Presidential Spokesperson Manana Manjgaladze said at a briefing.

According to her, in six months Bezhuashvili will return from the United States and again hold his post.

"Bezhuashvili left for the United States to advance his skills, which will take six weeks. It was therefore decided that he will leave the office only for this period," she said.

Meanwhile, Georgian media report that relations between President Mikheil Saakashvili and Bezhuashvili worsened after harsh criticism was voiced by the president of the Industrial Group company, which owns the Tkibuli coal mine. Saakashvili spoke sharply about the company's owners after a blast at a mine killed one person.

One of the owners of the company is Bezhuashvili's brother, David.

Georgian media wrote that Saakashvili is unlikely to further tolerate Bezhuashvili, who has headed the intelligence service for three years.

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20.: Canadian Military Integrated Into U.S. Africa Command

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:46 pm (PST)

http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=5898&lang=0

U.S. Africa Command
February 1, 2011

Canada's CEFCOM and U.S. AFRICOM Looking to Increase Cooperation

-The Canadian Forces are made up of roughly 70,000 regular military personnel and 30,000 reserve military personnel and 28,000 civilian employees. On any given day, about 8,000 Canadian Forces members -- one third of its deployable force -- are preparing for, engaged in or returning from an overseas mission.

STUTTGART, Germany: Canadian Air Force Major General Alain Parent, Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM) deputy commander, visited U.S. Africa Command Headquarters January 25, 2011 to identify potential areas of partnership on the African continent following 2011.

U.S. AFRICOM's Canadian Forces Liaison Officer, Colonel Pierre Lamontagne, explained that "CEFCOM will drawdown its contingent in Afghanistan from roughly 3,000 to 950 troops in 2011 and is working to increase the Canadian relationship with U.S. COCOMs [Combatant Commands] (including recent engagements with Southern Command and Pacific Command).

The Canadian Forces are made up of roughly 70,000 regular military personnel and 30,000 reserve military personnel and 28,000 civilian employees. On any given day, about 8,000 Canadian Forces members -- one third of its deployable force -- are preparing for, engaged in or returning from an overseas mission. The most important operational deployments are Afghanistan (3,000), Africa (60) and the Middle East (45). Canadian soldiers are also present in the Americas as well as in Europe."

This visit was an "effort to assess AFRICOM's vision, mission, goals, priorities, challenges and initiatives," according to Lamontagne.

Parent's visit is the fourth in a series of senior Canadian military personnel to visit the headquarters. According to Bradford Sellers, a Capstone Corporation contractor who hosted this visit on behalf of the AFRICOM Outreach Directorate, "This visit is one in a series of cooperation-building visits by senior Canadian Forces leadership. These visits, over the past two years, have consistently demonstrated Canada's strong commitment to actively contributing to AFRICOM programs."

According to Sellers, then CEFCOM Commander, retired Lieutenant General Mike Gauthier visited AFRICOM in 2008; the Canadian Chief of Defense, General Walter Natynczyk followed him in the spring of 2009; and the current CEFCOM Commander, Lieutenant General Marc Lessard, visited in November 2009.

For continuity Canada posted a liaison officer at AFRICOM in 2009 whose "role is to provide a conduit between AFRICOM and CEFCOM HQ to inform on and resolve operational, planning or administrative issues and facilitate the achievement of Canadian operational objectives with forces deployed in the AFRICOM Area of Operations," according to Lamontagne.

Canadian forces currently have four contingents supporting missions in Africa:

(1) Sierra Leone. Eight military personnel deployed with the International Military Advisory Team led by the United Kingdom.

(2) Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eleven military personnel deployed with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).

(3) Sudan. Thirty military personnel and 11 Canadian civilian police deployed with the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

(4) Darfur. Six military personnel and two civilian Canadian police deployed with the UN Missions in Darfur (UNAMID).

In addition to these contingents the Canadian Forces also have two officers employed with the International Peace Support Training Centre in Kenya and two others employed with l'Ecole de Maintien de la Paix in Mali.

Canada's activities with African nations are not always limited to the continent. Lamontagne also shared that, "…each year, over 250 candidates from 16 African countries benefit from language, staff/professional development, and Peace Support Operations training provided through the Directorate of Military Training Cooperation (DMTC)."

Lamontagne added, "Most of the training takes place in Canada at training institutions such as the Canadian Land Forces Staff College in Kingston, the Canadian Peace Support Training Centre in Kingston, the Canadian Forces Language School in St-Jean and the Combat Training Centre in Gagetown. Some training also takes place on the African continent."
....

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

UNCLES MOST FAITHFUL - EGYPTS ARMY

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:35 pm (PST)

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

Wed Feb 2, 2011 7:46 pm (PST)

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