Stop NATO News February 26, 2011
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1. Bahrain: Top U.S. Military Officer Visits New Marine Base
2. Pakistan: Six Killed As 40 NATO Oil
3. 15,000 U.S. Troops Have Transited Russia For Afghan War
4. Russia Stands Firm On Kurils
5. After 103 Deaths, U.S. Troops Abandon Afghan Valley
6. International Critics Blast 21st Century Global NATO
7. Hungary: U.S., NATO Conduct 30-Year Global Strategic Airlift Operations For Afghan And Future Wars
8. Massive Azores Base: U.S. Air Force Supports Egyptian Military Transport Plane
9. Envoy: U.S. To Shore Up Georgian Client State
10. NATO Chief Addresses European Union Defense Ministers In Hungary On Balkans, Horn Of Africa And Libya
11. Djibouti: U.S.’s Military Chief Tours Main Military Base In Africa
12. Cyprus Peace Council, MPs Protest Against NATO, PfP
13. Afghan Probe: NATO Gunships Killed 65 Civilians, Including 50 Women And Children
14. Italian MEP And Crime Expert: Kosovo Is Mafia State, U.S. And Europe Wanted War
15. Top Military Chief: Russia May Deploy Warships To Kurils
16. NATO Holds Submarine Warfare Exercise In Eastern Mediterranean
17. Pentagon Supports NATO Conference With 13 Mideast, N. Africa Partners
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1. Bahrain: Top U.S. Military Officer Visits New Marine Base
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62948
U.S. Department of Defense
February 25, 2011
Marine Forward Element Set Up to Help in Middle East
By Donna Miles
MANAMA, Bahrain: Traveling through the Middle East to confer with U.S. allies in the midst of regional unrest, the top U.S. military officer visited a new Marine Corps headquarters element here….
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, checked in today on the Marine Corps Forces Central Command Forward element at Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
The headquarters stood up in November to bring Marine Corps Forces Central Command what its other sister services already have: a forward element within the 20-nation Centcom area of operations.
“Trying to conduct business from the MARFORCENT headquarters in Tampa is a bit difficult,” Lt. Col. Mark Duffer, the element’s deputy current operations officer, told reporters traveling with Mullen. “So we wanted to push something forward to the here and now, to what’s happening so we can [create an] effect right away.”
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, pushed for the new forward element to focus on two primary missions: theater security cooperation and crisis management…..
MARFORCENT stood up with a staff of 161 Marines, sailors and civilian employees working in a tiny facility within Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
The location proved to be perfect, operationally as well as geographically, Duffer said. Home to Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. Fifth Fleet, close partners in the MARFORCENT mission, it’s situated smack in the middle of the Centcom area of operations.
“If you put your finger right on the map, on Bahrain, you can see we are very centrally located and [that it’s] a very good location,” Duffer said. “We can … reach out and touch anybody, so we provide that stabilizing force.”
From their new location, Marines assigned to the element work to build capability within regional militaries, concentrating more on ground than amphibious forces. “We focus … on the basics of what Marines do: hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship and other things that are very basic and make up the Marine Corps ethos that we want to provide,” Duffer said.
The goal, he explained, is to help strengthen regional allies’ forces so they are better able to defend their nations and, if needed, to provide coalition support for future operations.
….
As unrest ripples through the Middle East, he recognized the potential for the new element to be called on to help evacuate civilian noncombatants caught in the violence.
“As we stand up this command center, we have an ability to command and control that” at Centcom’s direction, he said. “We can actually stand up as a joint task force with coalition forces, as well as provide [evacuation operations] within this region.
….
As the element continues to take shape, Doyle and his fellow MARFORCENT Marines are preparing to move next month into a larger headquarters being renovated across the base.
Exactly how many Marines ultimately will join the element is classified, but Duffer said he sees developments underway as a sign of MARFORCENT’s long-term commitment to strengthening partnerships and protecting U.S. interests in the region.
“We are building up this command center for a lasting, enduring mission within [Centcom’s] area of responsibility,” he said.
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2. Pakistan: Six Killed As 40 NATO Oil Tankers Attacked
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2011-02/25/c_13750395.htm
Xinhua News Agency
February 25, 2011
40 NATO oil tankers attacked in Pakistan
Fire rages from oil tankers after the attacks near northwest Pakistan’s Peshawar, on Feb. 25, 2011.
At least six people were killed and four others were injured as 40 NATO oil tankers were attacked early Friday morning by some unknown militants in Peshawar.
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3. 15,000 U.S. Troops Have Transited Russia For Afghan War
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/02/25/46217544.html
Voice of Russia
February 25, 2011
Duma okays US transit to Afghanistan
The Lower House of the Russian Parliament has voted 347 to 95 to ratify an agreement for American military transit to Afghanistan, signed at a Moscow summit in June 2009.
The deal has been working since the following October, allowing the Americans to shuffle 15 thousand personnel and almost 20 thousand tons of cargoe across Russian territory.
The figures are from the Foreign Ministry.
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4. Russia Stands Firm On Kurils
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110222/162720913.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
February 22, 2011
Russia stands firm on Kurils
Dmitry Kosyrev
-The current U.S. policy in East Asia is to support any country with claims – especially territorial claims – against China. Russia is no longer the focus. But the recent Russian-Japanese diplomatic exchange has forced Washington to adopt a similar position with regard to Russia, for the sake of consistency.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador John Beyrle on February 21 to register disapproval of America’s support for Japan’s territorial claims on the disputed southern Kuril Islands. But this is just a war of words.
Deputy Minister Alexei Borodavkin reiterated to the ambassador Russia’s “principled and consistent position on its sovereignty over the southern Kuril Islands”, the ministry said in a statement. This move was no doubt a response to recent statements by officials of the U.S. State Department expressing support for Japan’s territorial claims. Neither side appears willing to cede ground.
Russian Presidential Aide Sergei Prikhodko summed up Russia’s position during a recent visit by Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara: “The sovereignty of the Russian Federation with respect to the Kuril Islands will not be subject to any review, either today or tomorrow.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference following his meeting with Maehara that the two countries remain determined to work on a peace treaty but “without preconditions or unilateral historical references.”
There is nothing remarkable about the recent escalation in this protracted territorial dispute. One gets the impression that the diplomats on both sides are merely going through the motions. One side reiterates its decades-old position, and the other is obligated to respond, then it’s back to business as usual. Everybody knows that Russia will never relinquish the islands, just like Japan will never give up the Senkaku Islands, which China claims as its territory.
There are two schools of thought on the Kuril Islands dispute. The more conservative school holds that President Medvedev should not have travelled to the Kurils in November of last year. A lower ranking official could have been sent there to announce the government’s new policies for the islands, including investment, economic development and bolstering the islands’ defenses with S-400 missile systems. Presidential visits send a strong message, and as such, they should be used sparingly. If Medvedev had stayed in Moscow, Russia and Japan could have continued talks on the status of the islands indefinitely without making any progress, because all Tokyo wants is to maintain the status quo. Diplomats are known for their limitless patience.
The other school of thought holds that Moscow and Tokyo could not keep up this charade forever. Any steps to improve the economy on the Kurils would have caused a scandal. Medvedev’s visit simply sped up the process.
Time will tell who was right. For now, the United States is probably regretting that it let itself get dragged into this conflict in the first place.
In 1956, Russia and Japan signed an agreement dividing the four islands into two and two. But Japan unexpectedly backed out of the deal. The Cold War was escalating, and the United States was gradually turning Japan, its vanquished foe, into an ally against Russia and, even more importantly, against China. America does not deny that its goal was to provoke a never-ending Russian-Japanese dispute while protecting Japan with its military bases.
Russian diplomats then unsuccessfully attempted to block a U.S.-Japanese security agreement by offering to divide up the islands.
These “principled and consistent” positions dating back to 1956 look out of place in a today’s world. The current U.S. policy in East Asia is to support any country with claims – especially territorial claims – against China. Russia is no longer the focus. But the recent Russian-Japanese diplomatic exchange has forced Washington to adopt a similar position with regard to Russia, for the sake of consistency.
The United States probably would have preferred to forget about consistency this time, as its support for Japan only serves to bring China and Russia closer together and to antagonize Moscow. But Washington just could not abandon a position it has held for 50 years.
America has no plans to resume the Cold War. In fact, it is considering cutting military spending in 2012-2021 by 21%, adjusted for inflation. It also plans to cut foreign aid. It is unclear what foreign policy the country will be able to afford going forward. But today it was forced to reiterate an unambiguous stance on an East Asia issue, while facing trouble in the Middle East and North Africa.
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5. After 103 Deaths, U.S. Troops Abandon Afghan Valley
http://www.stripes.com/news/u-s-pulling-forces-out-of-pech-valley-1.135915#
Stars and Stripes
February 25, 2011
U.S. pulling forces out of Pech Valley
Staff and wire reports
-“What we figured out is that people in the Pech really aren’t anti-U.S. or anti-anything; they just want to be left alone,” an American military official familiar with the decision told the Times. “Our presence is what’s destabilizing this area.”
The U.S. military is pulling back most of its forces from the remote Pech Valley in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, ground it once insisted was central to the war effort, the New York Times reported late Thursday.
The withdrawal formally began Feb. 15, the Times wrote. The military projects that it will take about two months, part of a shift of Western forces to more populated areas.
In April 2010, the U.S. closed its outposts in the adjoining Korengal Valley because it was too violent and didn’t seem to fit in with the overall counterinsurgency mission.
Now the Pech Valley outposts are being shuttered for much the same reason — the population in the Pech is too small to spend time trying to win hearts and minds and the insurgent resistance is too strong to justify the modest military gains.
And it is an emotional issue for American troops, who fear their service and sacrifices could be squandered. At least 103 American soldiers have died in or near the valley’s maze of steep gullies and soaring peaks, according to a count by The Times, and many times more have been wounded, often severely.
Stars and Stripes reporter James Foley embedded with the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment in the Pech Valley in late 2010 while a freelance reporter for the GlobalPost.
In September, Lt. Col. Joe Ryan talked about the frustrations and doubtful utility of fighting in Pech.
“My theory, I don’t think it’s too outlandish, is that we provide all these insurgent groups with a common enemy, that helps them,” Ryan said in a video interview from FOB Blessing. “Our presence almost helps them combine their forces, combine their efforts against us,” he said.
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Ultimately, the decision to withdraw reflected a stark — and controversial — internal assessment by the military that it would have been better served by not having entered the high valley in the first place.
“What we figured out is that people in the Pech really aren’t anti-U.S. or anti-anything; they just want to be left alone,” an American military official familiar with the decision told the Times. “Our presence is what’s destabilizing this area.”
….
Afghan Defense Minister Rahim Wardak, who is in Washington for high-level meetings, expressed concern about what would happen if U.S. troops left long-established bases in the Pech Valley.
“It will be difficult for Afghans to hold these areas on their own,” Wardak told The Washington Post. “The terrain there is very tough. “I personally fought against the Soviets in that area.”
Afghans see the Pech Valley and surrounding Kunar province as key terrain because the insurgency against the Soviets in the 1980s first gained significant momentum in those areas. “We have to be very careful in how we manage this area,” Wardak said.
American forces first came to the valley in force in 2003, The Times wrote, following the trail of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Hezb-i-Islami group, who, like other prominent insurgent leaders, has been said at different times to hide in Kunar. They did not find him, though Hezb-i-Islami is active in the valley.
The New York Times, The Washington Post and Stars and Stripes reporter James Foley contributed to this report.
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6. International Critics Blast 21st Century Global NATO
http://rt.com/news/nato-existence-agenda-war/
RT
February 25, 2011
NATO: an assault to the peace it pledged to keep
Once the Soviet Union collapsed 20 years ago, the members of the Warsaw Pact agreed to end their alliance. Originally formed at the height of the Cold War as a deterrent to NATO, it was no longer necessary.
But NATO carried on, and today the organization is having trouble justifying its existence.
Born of fear, the alliance “was originally supposed to defend Western Europe from the Soviet Union,” Ivan Eland, director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at the Independent Institute, said.
The fall of the Berlin Wall changed all that. Now, decades later, the military alliance formed against the Soviet threat, has been long deprived of its enemy.
Fumbling for a clear-cut mission, the North Atlantic Treaty organization has been fighting for justifiable reason to be.
That has not stopped NATO from continuing to pursue a global reach. It has been 20 years since the Warsaw Pact, formed in response to NATO, dissolved, but even without its main geopolitical rival and with the Cold War long over, NATO has aggressively expanded. Their current operations span several countries, with troops and resources in Sudan, Kosovo, the Horn of Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Mediterranean Sea.
In November, they redefined their goals going forward, at the summit in Lisbon, wanting to tackle everything from nuclear disarmament, to terrorism and cyber security.
The redefinition was adopted amidst protests on the streets.
“NATO is out of date and out of time. We need a world of peace and justice, not one preparing for yet more wars,” advocates British MP Jeremy Corbyn.
And the NATO members have already been divided over the near decade-long war in Afghanistan. NATO has not prevailed there, calling into question the alliance’s mission.
“There was every expectation that with the end of the cold war NATO would be disbanded. Instead what happened in fact and in violation of accords and agreements at that time was NATO aggressively expanded” Sara Flounders of International Action Center told RT.
Critics say US defense companies are benefiting most from this expansion, with the sales of weapons to every new NATO member and the building of every new base and that growth allows other tools to be used.
Lawyer and author Eva Golinger believes, “It has changed, altered militarily to become also this very powerful political entity that is used to pressure countries to bow down to NATO’s agenda – NATO’s agenda being primarily a US agenda.”
It is an agenda some countries see as a threat and critics of that agenda right in the US say its global expansion must be stopped.
Manager of the Stop NATO campaign Rick Rozoff shared, “I don’t believe there’s anything that justifies NATO’s existence, at least in terms of world security and peace.”
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7. Hungary: U.S., NATO Plan 30-Year Global Strategic Airlift Operation
http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123244162
U.S. Air Forces In Europe
February 25, 2011
Hungary’s president visits Pápa
by Military Officer 3rd Grade Annele Apajakari
Heavy Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PÁPA AIR BASE, Hungary :Dr. Pál Schmitt, the President of the Republic of Hungary, visited Pápa Air Base and Heavy Airlift Wing Feb. 24.
Dr. Schmitt was given a presentation of the air base and Heavy Airlift Wing by Cols. Miklós Domonkos, base commander, and Fredrik Hedén, HAW vice commander. Dr. Schmitt personally greeted six Hungarian soldiers who serve in the Heavy Airlift Wing.
The president was given a tour at the Pápa Air Base, which included a visit to the air traffic control tower to follow a night vision training flight with one of the HAW C-17 Globemaster III aircrafts, which was flown by a crew led U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Hobbs.
Dr. Schmitt was impressed of the co-operation between the 12 nations and the Hungarian host base….He also emphasized the local community’s support and importance of building a team, including the HAW families, which is essential for the 30 year perspective to the Strategic Airlift Capability program.
SAC is a co-operative effort of 12 nations: Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden and the United States. It is stationed in Pápa Air Base, Hungary.
Since the delivery of the first aircraft in July 2009, the HAW has flown more than 3,600 flight hours and delivered more than 13,800 tons of cargo and more than 6,100 passengers for the nations over six continents including missions to Haiti, Afghanistan, South Africa and Europe. More information is available at www.heavyairliftwing.org.
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8. Massive Azores Base: U.S. Air Force Supports Egyptian Military Transport Plane
http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123244123
U.S. Air Forces in Europe
February 25, 2011
Lajes supports Egyptian C-130
by Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi
65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
LAJES FIELD, Azores: It’s not just a saying that Lajes Airmen, including Portuguese and Americans, are a vital part of ensuring airpower gets across the Atlantic. An Egyptian C-130 Hercules that landed during a mission to refuel at Lajes Field, Azores, Feb. 20 received help from Team Lajes members.
….
“To provide assistance to a third-world country is a great learning experience,” said Senior Airman Matthew Shoppell, 65th Operations Support Squadron’s transient alert/crash recovery technician. “It allows us to assist a fellow non-NATO-ally country with any requests they may need. It also assists the wing in maintaining a bilateral relationship with Egypt.”
The next day, before the aircraft and its 16 Egyptian aircrew departed Lajes, Airmen of the 65th Logistics Readiness Squadron supplied the team with more than 5,400 gallons of JP-8 fuel.
The U.S. version of the Egyptian C-130 operates throughout the U.S. Air Force major commands.
….
According to Airmen at Lajes, providing support for American and foreign transient aircraft and crew members is a rewarding job because it showcases the mission of Lajes to the world.
Airman Shoppell describes the job as a fascinating opportunity, “because it allows us to explore different aircraft that we normally are not used to.”
“It also allows us to communicate with aircrew and maintainers from around the world,” added Airman Shoppell.
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9. Envoy: U.S. To Shore Up Georgian Client State
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1835588.html
Trend News Agency
February 25, 2011
Ambassador: United States to strengthen support for Georgia
N. Kirtzkhalia
Tbilisi: The United States will its strengthen support for Georgia, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia John Bass said on the results of U.S. Undersecretary of State James B. Steinberg’s visit to Georgia.
“At a meeting with the Georgian president, Steinberg reaffirmed U.S. support for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he said.
Bass said the meeting focused on Georgian and regional security.
“It was also stated that the United States will support Georgia in the development of a democratic society,” he said.
Bass regarded Steinberg’s meeting with representatives of civil society as “fruitful,” as the sides had intensively exchanged their views.
“We will try to help Georgia so that a greater proportion of the population benefits from the ongoing reforms in the country” he added.
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10. NATO Chief Addresses EU DMs In Hungary On Balkans, Horn, Libya
http://en.trend.az/regions/world/europe/1835739.html
Deutsche Presse Agentur
February 25, 2011
NATO chief joins meeting of EU defence ministers in Hungary
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton were on Friday due in Hungary to participate in an informal meeting of European defence ministers, DPA reported.
Hungary is hosting the meeting as part of its six-month presidency of the European Union.
The “most vigorous” debate is likely to be about Operation Althea, the EU’s military mission to the unstable Balkan state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary’s defence ministry said Thursday.
Also on the agenda is Atalanta, the EU naval operation off the coast of Somalia, with the focus on “pooling and sharing” of military capabilities.
With regards to the “increasingly intolerable” problem of piracy in that area, Hungary’s Defence Minister Csaba Hende said that the “broadening of operations” could be discussed, along with the issue of how to bring captured pirates to justice.
Hende was talking to reporters prior to a working dinner with his EU counterparts Thursday evening at which he said the ongoing situation in Libya would “very probably” be discussed, although it did not feature on the official agenda and no policy decision was likely.
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11. Djibouti: U.S.’s Military Chief Tours Main Military Base In Africa
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62927
U.S. Department of Defense
February 24, 2011
Mullen Visits Horn of Africa Task Force
By Donna Miles
CAMP LEMONNIER: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff took time today during his whirlwind trip through the Middle East to visit with troops of Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa….
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen’s visit here was part of a week-long, six-country trip aimed at reassuring U.S. allies and hearing their views of the unfolding events surrounding unrest in the region.
In Djibouti, Mullen met with Maj. Gen. Ahmed Housein Fathi, chief of the general staff, and other key military leaders. Djibouti experienced only small-scale protests that have quieted down, officials here said, unlike Yemen and Libya, just across the Gulf of Aden.
A highlight of the day, Mullen said, was his visit to Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. Navy Rear Adm. Brian Losey, the task force commander, updated him on operations his 1,700 service members are conducting….
The task force initially stood up in November 2002 as a seafaring force aimed at ***blocking terrorists fleeing Afghanistan*** from setting up a new safe haven here. But within six months, it moved ashore to this former French Foreign Legion base.
Today, the task force focuses on challenges in a region strategic because of its geographic location, resources and struggles with instability, officials told reporters traveling with Mullen.
….
The task force is a model of the “whole of government” approach that Mullen, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and others advocate for promoting U.S. security interests, Glasgow explained.
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12. Cyprus Peace Council, MPs Protest Against NATO, PfP
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/protesters-say-no-nato-and-pfp/20110225
Cyprus Mail
February 25, 2011
Protesters say ‘no’ to NATO and PfP
-Among the demonstrators were Turkish Cypriots as well as members from other ethnic minorities – such as Maronites and Armenians – while all AKEL deputies and candidate MPs were present – including the party’s general secretary, Andros Kyprianou.
The Cyprus Peace Council (CPC) was yesterday joined by all AKEL MPs outside the parliament building, as they protested the four parties’ proposal to apply to join the Partnership for Peace (PfP).
Holding banners with the messages: “No to the Partnership for Peace” and “No Cyprus in NATO, or NATO in Cyprus”, the protestors called for a rejection of DISY, EDEK, DIKO and EVROKO’s decision to apply for the PfP, which was voted on in the afternoon.
“They say this is a riot; that’s how they describe the expression of a different opinion,” said former Famagusta Mayor Yiannakis Skordis, who called on Cyprus to stay away from the “murderous organisation, at the hands of which Cyprus has suffered and continues to suffer”.
Among the demonstrators were Turkish Cypriots as well as members from other ethnic minorities – such as Maronites and Armenians – while all AKEL deputies and candidate MPs were present – including the party’s general secretary, Andros Kyprianou.
The delegation presented a representative for House President Marios Garoyian (of DIKO) with a referendum, which described efforts to join “warmongering NATO” as “treachery”.
It added: “We demand an immediate end to efforts to join the military camp of those who are responsible for the Cypriot tragedy. We demand respect for the deceased of the coup and the invasion; respect to the revolutionaries, respect to everything the refugees and enclaved have suffered; respect to our missing persons.”
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13. Afghan Probe: NATO Gunships Killed 65 Civilians, 50 Women, Children
http://www.rttnews.com/Content/GeneralNews.aspx?Id=1562727&SM=1
RTT News
February 25, 2011
Probe Finds Nato Guilty Of Civilian Deaths
An Afghan government probe into deaths caused by a recent Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation in a remote mountainous district has concluded that the action claimed the lives of 65 civilians including 50 women and children, reports said on Friday.
Following last week’s attack carried out by Nato Apache helicopters in north-eastern Kunar province, the local Governor said several civilians had indeed been killed in the airstrike.
The operation was held as part of a three-day offensive carried out against Taliban mlitants. The fierce battle lasting close to five hours was fought on rough terrain under the cover of darkness.
However, the ISAF had remained in denial mode over civilian casualties in the operation. The ISAF also claimed that some 30 insurgents had been killed in the operation.
As for the charge of mass slaughter, ISAF termed it a propoganda story latched on to by politicians in Kabul for deriving political mileage out of it. Nato officials also claimed that village elders may have burnt the feet of young children to make it appear that they were involved in skirmishes with ISAF troops.
The charge was reportedly repeated at a meeting this week between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Gen. David Petraeus, the top US commander in Afghanistan. A Presidential spokesman later slammed the remark calling it “outrageous, insulting and racist.”
Further, the Afghan government probe found that the victims were charred beyond recognition and were buried in a mass grave.
Analysts say the apparent contradiction in the version of events will only help deepen the rift between the Karzai administration and the ISAF. Already, there is considerable dismay among Afghans over the ***alleged*** unilateral aggression on the part of foreign troops.
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14. Italian MEP: Kosovo Mafia State, U.S. And Europe Wanted War
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=02&dd=24&nav_id=72906
BBC News
February 24, 2011
Kosovo is “mafia state”, says Italian MEP
-”When I worked for the UN in 1999 as Executive Director of the Office for Drug Control, I issued an order to have a report made on the situation in Kosovo. I sent that internal report to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the end of that same year. The picture that the report painted was exactly what you see today: the same structures, the same people, the same disgraceful situation. It’s disgraceful how Europe and the United States faced the problem. They wanted political results, and in a way, they wanted a war to break out over there.”
STRASBOURG: An Italian member of the European Parliament Foreign Policy Committee has commented on the Kosovo organ trafficking case.
Pino Arlacchi spoke to the BBC Serbian service in Strasbourg this week to say that he hoped he and like-minded MEPs would succeed in their attempt to have an EP rapporteur appointed to look into “what EULEX (the EU mission in Kosovo) has been doing all these years”.
Arlacchi, a sociology professor, is known in Italy as a “mafia expert”. From 1997 until 2002 he was the Executive Director of the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP).
Now he spoke in favor of probing the work of EULEX, in the wake of the Marty report – which accused the ethnic Albanian KLA of kidnapping Serb civilians and killing them for their organs, and which provided the basis for a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) resolution adopted last month, calling for an investigation into the allegations.
Unlike PACE which gathers 47 countries, the European Parliament members come only from the 27 EU states.
The BBC learned from unofficial contacts with MEPs that there was still “implied resistance” to opening up the issues of “organized crime and alleged organ trafficking” in Kosovo.
Ahead of a closed meeting that CoE’s Dick Marty will have with the EP committee in March, Arlacchi voiced his optimism and said he believed the EP would soon “exit its phase of keeping silent on the Marty report”.
“I believe there will be a debate. We already have the regular report on Kosovo, and it touches on various issues. If there is broad agreement, perhaps we could have a special report on the same subject that was investigated by Marty. Perhaps I, together with my colleagues, will win over a majority in favor of investigating this question more seriously. We could also have another topic for a report – and that is EULEX – the EU police and judiciary mission in Kosovo, and the fact that even after three years their work has not produced results,” said the Italian MEP, and continued:
“If nothing has been done during three years, that means something’s wrong, that we must change two things: first, our policy toward Kosovo, and second, the way EULEX is organized. I read Marty’s report, which is excellent and contains much information and details. It ought to receive strong support, and I am surprised it has not received it from EULEX.”
Asked to comment on unofficial statements coming from some MEPs that “Marty must provide evidence” – despite the fact the Swiss CoE rapporteur is neither a judge nor a prosecutor – Arlachi responded:
“The thing is that there is no judicial evidence. I’ve mentioned EULEX, which, as far as I know, has ten prosecutors, precisely for that reason. What have they been up to these three years? They are responsible for the work of the local judiciary, which should have the final word. Whatever one says about Kosovo – there is no judicial evidence to back it up. We can say there is organized crime, and strong ties of politicians with all that, but we have no judicial evidence on that. The principal goal of both those accused and democracy is to undertake a judicial investigation. Marty’s conclusions cannot be taken as definitive. It’s a paradox that without a judicial investigation we will continue as before – and that’s unacceptable”.
Another CoE rapporteur, Jean-Charles Gardetto, recently submitted his report on witness protection in the Balkans, which states that EULEX is not capable of protecting witnesses, and that “the EULEX personnel, if they do their job in big cases, expose themselves and the members of their families to danger”.
In reaction to this, Arlacchi mentoned Italy’s fight against the mafia.
“I’m sorry to say it, but when you fight against organized crime – you are in danger. They (EULEX) must be prepared for that – there can be no serious investigation without any risks. That’s a separate subject: investigators must be protected, there must be a witness protection program in place. It will be hard to achieve anything without that. In Italy we overpowered the mafia when we established an efficient witness protection program. It included 5,000 people, and naturally, it’s expensive. But none of the witnesses were murdered. I think that EULEX should launch an investigation, because that is the job of EULEX. If they are unable to protect witnesses – then that’s a disaster.”
Arlacchi also noted that “it is clear everyone knew about ties between Kosovo’s leaders and the KLA with organized crime”, and repeated his recent statement that Kosovo was a “mafia state”.
“When I worked for the UN in 1999 as Executive Director of the Office for Drug Control, I issued an order to have a report made on the situation in Kosovo. I sent that internal report to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the end of that same year. The picture that the report painted was exactly what you see today: the same structures, the same people, the same disgraceful situation. It’s disgraceful how Europe and the United States faced the problem. They wanted political results, and in a way, they wanted a war to break out over there. It was done by turning their heads away from KLA’s criminal activities. Later on, I was in Kosovo for a few months in 2004, and I had access to some NATO files. The picture was effectively the same,” Arlacchi concluded his interview for the BBC.
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15. Top Military Chief: Russia May Deploy Warships To Kurils
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/russia-may-send-warship-kuril-islands
Agence France-Presse
February 25, 2011
Russia ‘may send’ warship to Kuril Islands
Russia may send one or even two French-designed Mistral warships to the Pacific to protect a chain of islands that are bitterly claimed by Japan, its top general said Friday.
“We do not exclude that one or possibly two Mistrals will be sent to the Pacific Fleet, including for the purpose of addressing security issues in the Kuril Islands,” Chief of Staff General Nikolai Makarov told Interfax.
Russia has purchased two Mistral helicopter carriers from France in a deal othat has been criticised by some of France’s NATO partners.
The contract provides for the construction of two more Mistrals in Russia at a later date, and it was not immediately clear if the general was referring to the craft purchased from France.
The islands row has escalated dramatically in recent weeks, with President Dmitry Medvedev vowing to step up the islands’ defences and Japan reasserting its claim on the land annexed by the Soviet army at the end of World War II.
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16. NATO Holds Submarine Warfare Exercise In Eastern Mediterranean
http://www.act.nato.int/multimedia/archive/42-news-stories/531-successful-test-of-new-technology-in-anti-submarine-exercise
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Transformation
February 23, 2011
Successful test of new technology in anti-submarine exercise
-Operational experimentation helps to determine how new tools such as gliders can be used in actual operations and to assess subsequent improvements on war fighting capabilities.
The NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) located in La Spezia, Italy participated in “Proud Manta 11” an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercise that took place [in the] Southeast of Sicily in the Ionian Sea recently.
The centre successfully deployed three autonomous underwater vehicles, called gliders, from an Italian Navy vessel.
The exercise provides NATO Nations and the NURC a unique opportunity to experiment with new technologies and tactics in an operational environment. Operational experimentation helps to determine how new tools such as gliders can be used in actual operations and to assess subsequent improvements on war fighting capabilities.
This year was the first time the NURC successfully used the gliders to collect three-dimensional environmental data to support improved operational planning and decision-making tools. Temperature, salinity, and optical data are examples of information the glider gathers to aid in the understanding of environmental conditions that impact the operational effectiveness of submarines.
“Glider data has been exploited continuously in ocean prediction systems and anti-submarine warfare tactical decision aids to support and optimize operational planning and asset management.” said NURC’s Proud Manta 11 scientist-in-charge, Michael Rixen.
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“We have developed sophisticated models and software to ensure effective glider mission planning and safe operations management during the exercise” said Michael Rixen.
The NURC plays an important role in the development of new capabilities for NATO and is central to the work of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT).
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17. Pentagon Supports NATO Conference With 13 Mideast, North Africa Partners
http://www.act.nato.int/multimedia/archive/42-news-stories/535-building-integrity-conference
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Transformation
February 25, 2011
Building Integrity Conference
On Thursday February 24, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, French Air Force General Stephane Abrial, addressed attendees during the NATO Building Integrity Conference held February 23-25 at the Monterey Plaza Hotel in Monterey, California.
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The Building Integrity (BI) Initiative was launched by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in November 2007 and is open to all NATO nations and partner countries, including Afghanistan…..
Attendees included an array of senior military and civilian officials from NATO nations, Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue [Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania Morocco and Tunsia], Istanbul Cooperation Initiative [Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates] and other countries, representatives from Afghanistan, parliaments, international organizations, the private sector, institutes, and non-governmental organizations.
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“Allied Command Transformation has completely overhauled its education and training system in order to allow for the provision of more efficient and more abundant opportunities, provided by and available to partners,” explained Abrial.
Joining Abrial in presenting keynote addresses were Dr. Huguette Labelle, Chair of the Board for Transparency International, and Sir Stewart Eldon, former UK Ambassador to NATO.
Transparency International (TI) is one of the leading non-profit organizations dedicated to fighting corruption, and among the key partners for NATO on the development and implementation of the Building Integrity initiative.
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The conference was supported by the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense and organized by the Naval Postgraduate School, the U.S. Partnership for Peace Training and Education Center (USPTC).
