April | 2011 | Stop NATO...Opposition to global militarism

Stop NATO News: April 30, 2011

April 30, 2011 richardrozoff 1 comment

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U.S. And NATO Allies Initiate Libyan Scenario For Syria

Updates on Libyan war and Syria: April 30

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Report: NATO Strike Kills Gaddafi’s Son, Three Grandchildren

Libya: NATO Bombs School For Down’s Syndrome Children, Orphanage

EU Support Of Georgian Claims May Trigger New War: South Ossetia

U.S. Criticizes Russian Foreign Minister’s Visit To “Separatist Regions”

Saakashvili: Georgia To Continue To Modernize Armed Forces

U.S.’s Pet Despot Saakashvili: No Illusion About Who Real Enemy Is

Georgia’s Deputy Prime Minister Meets With NATO Advisers

Karabakh Soldiers Killed: Another New Caucasus War Looms

Commando Units, Air Strikes No Solution For Unrest In Arab World

Pakistan: NATO Oil Tanker Destroyed

Roundtable: World War III Scenarios

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Report: NATO Strike Kills Gaddafi’s Son, Three Grandchildren

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13251570

BBC News
April 30, 2011

Nato strike ‘kills Saif al-Arab Gaddafi’, Libya says

A Nato air strike in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, has killed the son of the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, a government spokesman has said.

Colonel Gaddafi himself was in the large residential villa which was hit by the strike, the spokesman added, but he was unharmed.

His son Saif al-Arab was killed, as well as three of his grandsons.

Journalists say the building was extensively damaged and one unexploded bomb remains at the site.

Saif al-Arab was the youngest of Col Gaddafi’s sons, with a lower profile than his brother Saif al-Islam.

He had been studying in Germany and returned to Libya recently.

Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the villa was attacked “with full power.”

“The attack resulted in the martyrdom of brother Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, 29 years old, and three of the leader’s grandchildren,” he said.

“The leader with his wife was there in the house with other friends and relatives, the leader himself is in good health, he wasn’t harmed.”

“This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country,” the spokesman added.

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Libya: NATO Bombs School For Down’s Syndrome Children, Orphanage

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE73T0AG20110430

Reuters
April 30, 2011

Libya disabled children school hit in NATO strike
By Lin Noueihed

TRIPOLI: Shattered glass litters the carpet at the Libyan Down’s Syndrome Society, and dust covers pictures of grinning children that adorn the hallway, thrown into darkness by a NATO strike early on Saturday.

It was unclear what the target of the strike was, though Libyan officials said it was Muammar Gaddafi himself, who was giving a live television address at the time.

“They maybe wanted to hit the television. This is a non-military, non-governmental building,” said Mohammed al-Mehdi, head of the civil societies council, which licenses and oversees civil groups in Libya.

The missile completely destroyed an adjoining office in the compound that houses the government’s commission for children.

The force of the blast blew in windows and doors in the parent-funded school for children with Down’s Syndrome and officials said it damaged an orphanage on the floor above.

“I felt sad really. I kept thinking, what are we going to do with these children?” said Ismail Seddigh, who set up the school 17 years ago after his own daughter was born with Down’s.

“This is not the place we left on Thursday afternoon.”

There were no children at the school when the missiles hit early on Saturday morning, since Friday begins the weekend in Libya. Children had been due to come in on Saturday morning.

A mound of rubble was all that remained of one wing of the main building that adjoined the school, though an antenna of some kind protruded from the ruins.

Both Mehdi and Seddigh said they had assumed that the antenna on the building was there to strengthen mobile phone signals and were not aware of any other use.

In the rubble of the main building, a shredding machine packed with sliced up documents lay on its side. A fax and phone were nearby and shelves of files could be seen.

The Libyan government has repeatedly said that NATO airstrikes have hurt and killed civilians….

NATO has hit inside or near Gaddafi’s compound before, or struck military or logisitical sites. Saturday’s government-organised visit was the first to bring journalists…to a civilian site.

Inside the school, the power had been knocked out by the strikes, the floor was wet because of a leaking pipe and desks were covered in glass and debris.

Seddigh’s school prepared children with Down’s Syndrome up to the age of 6 to go to normal schools, giving them speech therapy, handicrafts and sports sessions and teaching them to read and write. It handles 50 to 60 children a day.

(Reporting by Lin Noueihed)

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EU Support Of Georgian Claims May Trigger New War: South Ossetia

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110430/163796323.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
April 30, 2011

EU support of Georgian claims may trigger new conflict – South Ossetia

Mowcow: Comments by EU’s top diplomat Catherine Ashton which has backed Georgia’s groundless territorial claims to South Ossetia may incite Georgia into new acts of aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia said on Saturday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was visiting the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia earlier this week without the permission of Georgian authorities. The European Union on Thursday condemned the visit.

“The European Union notes with concern that Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, has paid a visit to the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia without prior consent of the Georgian authorities,” Ashton said.

“Signs of support from the West, like Mrs. Ashton’s ones, which are addressed to the ‘fighters for Georgia’s territorial integrity’ in fact incite them to a new conflict,” the South Ossetian comment said.

“The time is ripe for the West to draw lessons from the realities which arose more than twenty years ago, and stop deceiving themselves,” the document said.

“Only owing to Russia the people of South Ossetia have preserved and are now building and developing their country. Russia recognized the Republic of South Ossetia and is now developing relations with it on an internationally accepted base. The development of bilateral ties stipulates close cooperation, including reciprocal official and working visits,” Ossetia’s ministry said.

Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia after a five-day war in 2008 and has since been the guarantor of their security, deploying thousands of troops and border guards to the tiny republics.

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U.S. Criticizes Russian Foreign Minister’s Visit To “Separatist Regions”

http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/1869359.html

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
April 30, 2011

US criticizes Russian FM’s visit to Abkhazia, South Ossetia

The United States on Saturday criticized Russia’s recent efforts to conclude formal state-to-state agreements with the “de facto” authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, dpa reported.

The visits by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the week to “those separatist regions are inconsistent with the principle of territorial integrity and Georgias internationally recognized borders,” the US Department of State said in a statement.

“The United States remains committed to a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Georgias separatist regions and the restoration of Georgias sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” said Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman.

“We further call upon all parties to the conflict to fully implement their commitments pursuant to the 2008 Ceasefire Agreement,” Toner said.

Lavrov signed bilateral agreements on transport, rescue operations and cultural centres, according to Russian media.

The two territories were at the centre of a brief war in 2008 between Russia and Georgia. Russia now recognizes the two South Caucasus regions as independent, while the West considers them to be part of Georgia.

On Thursday, the European Union also denounced the foreign minister’s visit.

“The EU does not consider these visits compatible with the principle of territorial integrity,” said a statement from the EU’s foreign policy chief.

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Saakashvili: Georgia To Continue To Modernize Armed Forces

http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/1869323.html

Trend News Agency
April 30, 2011

Georgian President: Georgia to continue modernizing its armed forces
N. Kirtskhalia

Tbilisi: Georgia will continue to modernize and equip its army with modern materiel, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili said at the training ground in Vaziani.

Field exercises of all kinds by the Georgian armed forces at battalion level were held in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Georgian army. The exercises were commanded by the Georgian land forces commander Giorgi Kalandadze. About 79 units of materiel – tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, helicopters and airplanes – were used.

“Every day we think about how to strengthen the army, which is the main protection of our homeland,” the president said.

After the exercises, about 200 servicemen were awarded with various medals by the president and defense minister Bacho Akhalaia.

The minister said that these exercises are held regularly.

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U.S.’s Pet Despot Saakashvili: No Illusion About Who Real Enemy Is

http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=23394

Civil Georgia
April 30, 2011

Military Drills in Vaziani

-President Saakashvili, who watched the drills together with his five-year old son dressed in a military uniform, said that although during exercises the enemy “is hypothetical”, there was “no illusion” about who Georgia’s real enemy was.

Tbilisi: Despite “the enemy’s attempts to demoralize” the Georgian army, “we have managed not only to maintain a combat spirit, but also to accelerate the pace of modernization,” President Saakashvili said after attending military exercises in Vaziani, outside Tbilisi on April 30.

The Georgian Ministry of Defense said up to 680 soldiers, 14 battle tanks, 15 armored personnel carriers, six BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, 18 DANA self-propelled howitzers, 10 SU-25 (Frogfoot) ground attack aircraft, four Mi-24 (Hind) helicopter gunships, six Mi-8 and three UH-1H helicopters, and one Hermes unmanned aerial vehicle were involved in the exercises.

The MoD said the goal of the exercises, which coincided with the Day of the Georgian Armed Forces, was to enhance interoperability and coordination between various military units during “defensive battles.” Defense Minister, Bacho Akhalaia, said that the drills in Vaziani were “routine exercises”.

President Saakashvili, who watched the drills together with his five-year old son dressed in a military uniform, said that although during exercises the enemy “is hypothetical”, there was “no illusion” about who Georgia’s real enemy was.

“We know very well who has intruded into Georgia, who is occupying our territories and who has further aggressive plans in respect to Georgia,” Saakashvili said.

He said that “very serious reforms” had been carried out in the armed forces.

“Of course when the country faces problems and when the country is attacked, each of its citizens becomes a soldier,” he told soldiers. “But you are in a forefront of our defense and a major guarantor of our future.”

“Because of that we will continue providing all kinds of assistance to the armed forces, its modernization with maximum pace, and we will achieve a situation wherein the Georgian armed forces will be very well prepared, equipped to accomplish all those tasks – including those which are almost impossible to accomplish – which will be put upon us by history,” Saakashvili said.

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Georgia’s Deputy Prime Minister Meets With NATO Advisers

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1869025.html

Trend News Agency
April 29, 2011

Georgian vice prime minister, NATO advisers hold discussions
N. Kirtskhalia

Tbilisi: Vice Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Baramidze met with members of the NATO Office of the Legal Adviser.

The efforts of the NATO-Georgia Commission and ongoing reforms in Georgia were discussed at the meeting, Baramidze said.

According to Baramidze, they also talked about the visit of the North Atlantic Council scheduled for November.

In addition, results of the last NDI survey were considered at the meeting. As for the results, the number of those wishing to affiliate with NATO has increased in Georgia compared to previous years.

According to Baramidze, constant consultations and relations are necessary not only with NGOs and the political majority but also with the opposition.

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Karabakh Soldiers Killed: Another New Caucasus War Looms

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=240862

Interfax
April 30, 2011

Armenia urges world to condemn Azerbaijan for killing N. Karabakh servicemen

Yerevan: The international community should strictly condemn Azerbaijan’s actions, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday, referring to reports that three servicemen from the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic were killed and one more wounded by sniper fire from the Azeri side.

“The situation that has taken shape as a result of Azerbaijan’s actions is causing additional tension and negatively affecting the negotiating process. Azerbaijan shows that it can ignore calls by various international organizations and countries to promote the armistice regime, withdraw snipers from the frontline, improve the atmosphere of confidence, and solve the problem in a purely peaceful way,” the ministry said.

“Azerbaijan’s conduct should be strictly condemned by the international community,” it said.

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Commando Units, Air Strikes No Solution For Unrest In Arab World

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/04/30/49679660.html

Voice of Russia
April 30, 2011

Arab revolutions rage on

-”Foreign interference in a settlement of Syria’s internal problems is very dangerous. Any country has an opposition that may cause mayhem on the assumption that it will gain the support of other countries that seek instability or the coming to power of people who would pursue a policy that would suit these countries. But this is no way to guarantee peace and security. If we follow that path, we are in for a period of chaos. That is why Russia’s stand on Syria is based on international law provisions and commonsense.”
-Experts point out that the Egyptian or Tunisian scenario of a peaceful presidential resignation is unfeasible for other regional nations. That is why the international community should jointly look for new, non-standard ways to settle the chain of conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East. Commando units and/or airstrikes are clearly insufficient to be seen as a solution.

Expectations that mass-scale unrest in North African and Middle East countries are over have proved short-lived. This past week the situation remained tense in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and other regional nations.

The case of Libya has proved that the West’s military interference in internal conflicts invariably leads to an impasse. The oft-repeated promise of aid to the civilian population that is allegedly being massacred by “criminal regimes” proves empty words. It is civilians who suffer the worst from military operations. But experts believe that efforts should be made to improve the situation in North Africa, or else things will grow still worse. But the mechanisms of influence have still failed to be agreed.

Libya’s so-called “peaceful population” that western politicians and the military decided to take care of a month ago are more often than not well armed and equipped rebels, while the obvious exceeding of the UN Security Council mandate that only authorized the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya served to further destabilize the situation. Russian politicians have repeatedly (and with good reason) warned against the use of force that would run counter to the letter and spirit of relevant Security Council resolutions. The armed standoff between the supporters and opponents of Muammar Gaddafi is continuing, while the Libyan leader remains out of reach of western allies’ bombs and is not about to lay down arms.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin levelled scathing criticism at the coalition’s moves during his visit to Denmark earlier this week. He said the western countries seem to be acting on the assumption that they will get away with whatever harm they may do in Libya, while their plans are increasingly at variance with the substance of the relevant Security Council resolution.

Vladimir Putin says that the internal contradictions that have arisen in Libya have spilt over into an armed conflict: “Why should there be any outside interference in the armed conflict? There’s a world of a difference between the imposition of a no-fly zone and daily airstrikes at Gaddafi palaces. Besides, Gaddafi has long since left his palaces. So, the strikes kill civilians. What’s more, some western officials admit that the West does seek to kill Gaddafi. By what right, may I ask? Was Gaddafi tried and sentenced?”

The threat of a ground operation in Libya looms large, with the Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin claiming that the European Union is prepared to send up to 1,500 troops to the North African country. This may cause a full-scale humanitarian disaster and push Libya dozens of years back, Moscow warns.

But the interest in Libyan oil, as well as the need to dictate their will to other countries, clearly outweighs the risk of this kind of consequence in the western countries’ eyes. But then, the coalition is not at one about interference in the internal Libyan conflict. An Italian government Minister, Umberto Bossi, who is an ally of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, warns that Rome’s decision to join NATO airstrikes on Libyan military facilities may split Italy’s ruling coalition.

And now for Yemen. The road map plan that the ruling General People’s Congress party has adopted to settle the drawn-out conflict has been called into question. Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf came out with a plan, whereby President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen should, within 30 days, step down in a move that would be followed by a democratic election of a new president.
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But blood was again shed in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on the 27th of April, which again gave cause for talking about an escalation rather than a settlement of the conflict. 11 people died in Sana’a, while more than a 100 others were wounded when an antigovernment demonstration was dispersed there. Unrest in Yemen has been on since January this year. Hundreds of people have already died as a result.

Nor is the situation calm in Syria. The opposition continues calling for the now traditional Days of Anger to protest against the brutal suppression of antigovernment protests. Dozens of people have died in the city of Deraa in recent days. The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement also calls for civil disobedience. Protests in Syria have been going on unabated for a month and a half now.

Meanwhile the UN Security Council has failed to agree on a statement denouncing the Syrian authorities’ violence against the opposition. Russia voted down the draft for a number of reasons, specifically because it grows increasingly clear that some people in Syria, as well as in other countries, say openly that it is their cherished hope that an aggravation of the situation will cause the international community to interfere under the pretext of rendering assistance and to side with one of the parties to the conflict. That this is true is borne out by the example of Libya. But this actually amounts to a chain of violence and to a sort of invitation to civil war, says the Deputy Director of the Institute for the US and Canada Studies Pavel Zolotarev, and elaborates.

“Foreign interference in a settlement of Syria’s internal problems is very dangerous,” Pavel Zolotarev says. “Any country has an opposition that may cause mayhem on the assumption that it will gain the support of other countries that seek instability or the coming to power of people who would pursue a policy that would suit these countries. But this is no way to guarantee peace and security. If we follow that path, we are in for a period of chaos. That is why Russia’s stand on Syria is based on international law provisions and commonsense.”

In Bahrain, too, the situation remains tense. Bahrain’s Military Tribunal has sentenced four antigovernment protesters to death. According to an official of Bahrain’s opposition Shia party Al Wefaq, another three participants in the unrest that occurred in the kingdom in February and March of this year have been sentenced to life in prison. Mass protests erupted in Bahrain in the middle of February, with the participants being mostly Shia Muslims pressing for more rights in the country that’s being ruled by a Sunni minority. The Tribunal decisions may serve to fuel the conflict.

Experts point out that the Egyptian or Tunisian scenario of a peaceful presidential resignation is unfeasible for other regional nations. That is why the international community should jointly look for new, non-standard ways to settle the chain of conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East. Commando units and/or airstrikes are clearly insufficient to be seen as a solution.

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Pakistan: NATO Oil Tanker Destroyed

http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/30-Apr-2011/NATO-Oil-tanker-destroyed

The Nation
April 30, 2011

NATO Oil tanker destroyed

A NATO oil tanker used to transport oil to NATO forces caught fire after an explosion although no loss of life was reported here in Peshawar on Saturday.

The NATO oil tanker caught fire and exploded. The flame engulfed and destroyed trucks that were parked nearby….The crew of the oil tanker was not present at the time of the accident.

The oil tanker on its way to Afghanistan via Tourkham exploded near the Karkhano market area. According to eyewitnesses, the oil tanker was stationary due to a technical problem when it suddenly caught fire at 4:30am on Saturday….

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Roundtable: World War III Scenarios

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110428/163758009.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
April 28, 2011

WWIII scenarios

-Experts cannot rule out that the United States will opt for a military strike against Iran, although most likely it would not initiate the war but rather would be part of a NATO peacekeeping force operating in highly probable conflicts between Iran and Israel or Iran and Saudi Arabia. “In any event there will be a showdown between Iran and the United States sooner or later.”
-[T]he situation in Transdnestria could escalate. “It is difficult to predict the consequences of the current Romanization of Moldova. For instance, the EU is already willing to introduce its peacekeepers in Transdnestria…It is very hard to say whether they will cope with a possible escalation in Transdnestria.”
-”No doubt, Nagorno-Karabakh may become a bone of contention. Azerbaijan is actively developing its foreign policy concepts and building up troops. Armenia, where we have a military base, is acting in the same manner.”
-”There is no case in history of a new world order taking shape without a war. A new world order came into being twice – in the early 20th century as a result of WWI and in mid-century as a result of WWII.”
-[T]here is the division between the “financial bubble” and the real economy. “This division played a significant role in Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. This is why Henry Ford kept a small bust of Hitler on his desk.”
-[A] new world war could last from 6-7 to 25-30 years and involve more than 100 million people on both sides. The aggregate human losses could exceed several hundred million.

The Caucasus, the Middle East, Central Asia, Asia-Pacific – these regions command the attention of military experts and diplomats. Where are the geopolitical fault lines in today’s world, and where can we expect military conflict tomorrow? How likely is a third world war, and will it be a nuclear war? How can we prevent the destruction of civilization? These were among the questions addressed by experts at the round table discussion “Military Concepts and Challenges of the 21st Century,” organized by the magazine Mezhdunarodnaya Zhizn (International Affairs), and held at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on April 26.

Classifying wars

Before one can talk about the likelihood of armed conflict, one should define what armed conflict consists of in today’s world. The average person thinks war is tanks and airplanes. But wars come in all shapes and sizes.

At the round table, First Vice President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems Konstantin Sivkov said that armed conflicts are classified by Russia’s Institute of Military-Strategic Studies according to causes, geography, duration and the number of troops involved.

At the low end of the classification system are border conflicts that last from a week to a month, requiring about 10,000-50,000 troops.

Next come armed conflicts involving about 100,000 and lasting from a month to several years.

This is followed by local wars, which involve at least one million troops (incidentally, this is the projected size of the Russian armed forces after the reform process) and last from several months to several years.

A regional war involves 5-6 million people. The Great Patriotic War (i.e. the Eastern Front of WWII) falls into this category.

Finally, at the other extreme of the classification system is a world war. “In terms of its structure, a world war can involve a number of regional and local wars and armed conflicts, or simply local wars and armed conflicts in a considerable portion of the world’s territory,” Sivkov explained.

Future hot spots

Based on a similar taxonomy of armed conflicts and existing disputes in the world, military experts predict probable threats. It is important to emphasize that this is just a long-term forecast. There are no predictions about exact dates or any guarantees that these events will come to pass.

“Existing disputes show that there is potential for war,” Sivkov said. In his opinion, there is a fifty-fifty chance of a local war in the Middle East (the military operation in Libya being a vivid example). Experts cannot rule out that the United States will opt for a military strike against Iran, although most likely it would not initiate the war but rather would be part of a NATO peacekeeping force operating in highly probable conflicts between Iran and Israel or Iran and Saudi Arabia. “In any event there will be a showdown between Iran and the United States sooner or later,” said Grigory Tishchenko, head of the defense policy department at the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies.

Armed conflicts could break out in Central Asia, drawing in Russia, who will act in support of its allies in the region.

Head of the Military Forecast Center Anatoly Tsyganok believes that “a conflict over water is possible in the region in the next three to five years.” Tishchenko noted that “a change in the region’s leaders” is just around the corner. “It is quite possible that this process will not be peaceful, all the more so since Central Asian countries already find themselves in a conflict over the Fergana Valley, which is the region’s only bread basket,” he explained, adding that “the Afghan conflict could also spread to Central Asia.”

Speaking about Russia’s neighbors, Tishchenko noted that the situation in Transdnestria could escalate. “It is difficult to predict the consequences of the current Romanization of Moldova. For instance, the EU is already willing to introduce its peacekeepers in Transdnestria but its troops have not yet proven themselves anywhere. It is very hard to say whether they will cope with a possible escalation in Transdnestria,” he explained.

Armed conflict is also likely in the Caucasus. “No doubt, Nagorno-Karabakh may become a bone of contention,” Tishchenko said. “Azerbaijan is actively developing its foreign policy concepts and building up troops. Armenia, where we have a military base, is acting in the same manner.” Tsyganok added: “The most interesting aspect to this is that Russia has no dispute with either Azerbaijan or Armenia, and we don’t have a clue as to what we will do if tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh spill over.”

Sivkov believes that an armed conflict or local war is also likely in Asia-Pacific, in particular between Cambodia and Thailand.

In his opinion, similar local conflicts in different parts of the world are the result of a changing world and the formation of a new world order. “There is no case in history of a new world order taking shape without a war,” Sivkov said. “A new world order came into being twice – in the early 20th century as a result of WWI and in mid-century as a result of WWII,” he explained.

Is war inevitable?

With time, humanity has learned how to resolve conflicts more or less peacefully. But a conflict-free world is a utopia. Disputes between countries are inevitable, just as they are between people. Now experts identify three types of disputes or divisions that can provoke armed conflicts at different levels.

First there are internal divisions within a state, which are primarily caused by two factors. The first is socio-economic in nature (divisions between the upper and lower classes over the distribution of material wealth). This division becomes acute when the incomes of the wealthiest 10% exceed those of the poorest 10% by more than 15 times over,” Sivkov said, adding that in Russia this threshold has long been passed.

The other factor is ethnic, cultural and religious tensions, which can be found in Russia and other countries, particularly in the United States.

Then there are regional disputes, for instance the territorial disputes between Russia and China, China and India, Russia and Japan, India and Pakistan. There are internal divisions in the Arab world, between Iran and the Arabs and between North and South America. Such disputes could easily boil over into regional conflicts.

Finally, there are global divisions, first among them being the division between the scale of production and consumption and the Earth’s resources that are left at the disposal of humanity, which puts at stake the entire direction of civilization’s development,” Sivkov said. He believes that this division is antagonistic because it can only be resolved by one of two options – either by restricting consumption or by changing the social system.

The second division is caused by the disproportionate distribution of production capacity and raw materials. “Some countries have high tech production, whereas others are rich in raw materials. The inadequate exchange between them is enriching some and impoverishing others,” Sivkov explained. “There are two ways of resolving it – either leave some countries in a subordinate position or establish a fair distribution of revenue, which will impoverish other countries without changing their social system.”

The third global division that is playing an increasing role is between “the immorality of the free market and the spiritual values of traditional civilizations – Muslim, Orthodox Christianity and others,” Sivkov said.

“This division gives rise to that volatile mass of future militants and suicide bombers. The current market is incompatible with the spiritual values of traditional civilizations. And the new globalized world is trying to decide whom to join – the free market or the traditional civilizations,” Sivkov said.

Finally, there is the division between the “financial bubble” and the real economy. “This division played a significant role in Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. This is why Henry Ford kept a small bust of Hitler on his desk,” Sivkov said. “This is the division between financial and industrial capital, and to resolve it one form of capital must be subordinate to the other.”

Third global reality

None of the experts at the round table believe that any of the world powers is likely to launch a premeditated aggressive war, including a nuclear attack. Fortunately, not only civilized countries but the rest of the world understands the consequences of such a war.

However, a new world war could start uncontrollably, as a “natural escalation of local or regional conflicts into large-scale hostilities,” Sivkov said, adding that the likelihood of such a war is low. The use of weapons of mass destruction would be the final stage of such a global war.

If unleashed, a new world war would have catastrophic consequences. In his time, Winston Churchill cautioned that “the Stone Age may return on the gleaming wings of science.” Now experts are more specific. They maintain that a new world war could last from 6-7 to 25-30 years and involve more than 100 million people on both sides. The aggregate human losses could exceed several hundred million.

Experts emphasize that the forecast of probable armed conflicts is important not so much as a means of preparing national armies for hostilities. Militaries have long ceased initiating wars. Only politicians or “captains of the economy,” as Sivkov put it, are capable of preventing the unavoidable divisions in the world from escalating into a world war.

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Categories: Uncategorized

Alfred Noyes: The Wine Press

April 30, 2011 richardrozoff Leave a comment

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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts

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Alfred Noyes: Out of the obscene seas of slaughter

Alfred Noyes: War they tell me is a noble thing

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Alfred Noyes
From The Wine Press (1913)

A murdered man, ten miles away,
Will hardly shake your peace,
Like one red stain upon your hand;
And a tortured child in a distant land
Will never check one smile to-day,
Or bid one fiddle cease.

The News

It comes along a little wire,
Sunk in a deep sea;
It thins in the clubs to a little smoke
Between one joke and another joke,
For a city in flames is less than the fire
That comforts you and me.

The Diplomats

Each was honest after his way,
Lukewarm in faith, and old;
And blood, to them, was only a word,
And the point of a phrase their only sword,
And the cost of war, they reckoned it
In little disks of gold.

They were cleanly groomed. They were not to be bought.
And their cigars were good.
But they had pulled so many strings
In the tinselled puppet-show of kings
That, when they talked of war, they thought
Of sawdust, not of blood;

Not of the crimson tempest
Where the shattered city falls:
They thought, behind their varnished doors,
Of diplomats, ambassadors,
Budgets, and loans and boundary-lines,
Coercions and re-calls.

The Charge

Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter!
The cold machines whirred on.
And strange things crawled amongst the wheat
With entrails dragging round their feet,
And over the foul red shambles
A fearful sunlight shone.…

The maxims cracked like cattle-whips
Above the struggling hordes.
They rolled and plunged and writhed like snakes
In the trampled wheat and the blackthorn brakes,
And the lightnings leapt among them
Like clashing crimson swords.

The rifles flogged their wallowing herds,
Flogged them down to die.
Down on their slain the slayers lay,
And the shrapnel thrashed them into the clay,
And tossed their limbs like tattered birds
Thro’ a red volcanic sky.

Categories: Uncategorized

Updates on Libyan war and Syria: April 30

April 30, 2011 richardrozoff 1 comment

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U.S. And NATO Allies Initiate Libyan Scenario For Syria

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Libya Calls For Ceasefire As NATO Bombs Capital

NATO’s Libyan War: Almost 4,400 Air Missions In One Month

U.S. Submarine Returns Home After Firing Over 90 Cruise Missiles Into Libya

Castro: NATOs’ Assault On Libya Can Be Repeated Throughout Third World

Libyan War: Nicaragua Says British Royal Wedding Stained With Blood

NATO Intervention In Libya Contravenes UN Charter

Commando Units, Air Strikes No Solution For Unrest In Arab World

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Libya Calls For Ceasefire As NATO Bombs Capital

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/gaddafi-calls-for-ceasefire-as-nato-strikes-tripoli/2011/04/30/AFWPndKF_story.html

Washington Post
April 30, 2011

Gaddafi calls for ceasefire as NATO strikes Tripoli
By Simon Denyer and Leila Fadel

TRIPOLI, LIBYA: Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi called for a ceasefire and negotiations with NATO Saturday but refused to surrender power, as alliance warplanes struck a government complex in the capital.

…Gaddafi appeared both calm and defiant, describing military intervention by NATO, designed to protect civilians from his regime, as a massacre.

In Brussels, a NATO official told the Associated Press the alliance needed “to see not words but actions,” and that NATO would keep up the pressure….

“The gate to peace is open,” Gaddafi said, sitting behind a desk and occasionally glancing at copious hand-written notes. “You are the aggressors. We will negotiate with you. Come, France, Italy, U.K., America, come, we will negotiate with you.

“Why are you attacking us? Why are you killing our children? Why are you destroying our infrastructure?” he asked, while denying his forces had killed Libyan civilians.

As he spoke, NATO warplanes attacked government buildings close to the television center in Tripoli in what the Libyan government described as an attempt to kill Gaddafi. The TV images briefly went black on three occasions but the signal was quickly restored and Gaddafi, speaking from an undisclosed location, carried on without interruption. The TV center was not damaged.

The Libyan leader…said he would negotiate and uphold a ceasefire if NATO “stopped its planes.”
….
He also refused to step down or leave the country as the rebels and the leaders of the United States, Britain and France demand.

“I’m not leaving my country,” Gaddafi said. “No one can force me to leave my country and no one can tell me not to fight for my country
….
Sitting in front of a painting of tribal horsemen, he spoke on the anniversary of a famous battle near his hometown of Sirte against the Italian occupation 96 years ago, a battle he says his grandfather was killed in.

He described young rebels as children “tricked” by NATO, and promised to reward them if they lay down their weapons.
….
Fadel reported from Benghazi.

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NATO’s Libyan War: Almost 4,400 Air Missions In One Month

http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_04/20110430_110430-oup-update.pdf

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
April 30, 2011

NATO and Libya
30 April. JFC Naples, SHAPE, NATO HQ

….

Air Operations

Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00GMT) a total of 4398 sorties, including 1821 strike sorties have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 29 April: 156

Strike sorties conducted 29 April: 55
….

Key Targets and Engagements

29 April: In the vicinity of Tripoli: 1 command & Control Building, 1 Self Propelled Artillery Piece.

In the vicinity of Zintan: 13 Ammunition Storages, 1 Armoured Personnel Carrier.

In the vicinity of Brega: 1 Armoured Fighting Vehicle.

In the vicinity of Sirte: 4 Ammunition Storages.
….
Arms Embargo Activities

A total of 18 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.

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U.S. Submarine Returns Home After Firing Over 90 Cruise Missiles Into Libya

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=60079

Navy NewsStand
April 29, 2011

Florida Returns from Historic Submarine Deployment
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class(SW) James Kimber, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay Public Affairs

KINGS BAY, Ga. – Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) returned to its homeport of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay April 29, following a 15-month deployment in both Central and European Command areas of responsibility.

During the deployment, the crew partnered with U.S., joint and coalition forces in support of U.N. Security Council resolution 1973….Florida was ordered to deploy in theater and remain submerged and undetected until further notice.

As tensions in Libya escalated, the order to use military forces in graduated and sequenced strike operations against the government of Libya was given by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Operation Odyssey Dawn was executed.

During the operation, Florida launched more than 90 Tomahawk land attack missiles (TLAM). The strike marked the first time a guided-missile submarine launched Tomahawks in conflict.

“Submarines proved their worth by giving us maximum flexibility in Operation Odyssey Dawn. They provided unprecedented intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and terrific firepower, all from the sea. They are critical to winning any war against any adversary today and tomorrow,” said Vice Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr., commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet and maritime component commander for Operation Odyssey Dawn.

Florida is scheduled to begin its maintenance cycle while in homeport.
….

====

Castro: NATO’s Assault On Libya Can Be Repeated Throughout Third World

http://www.cadenagramonte.cu/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i\

d=5432:fidel-castro-classifies-nato-attacks-on-libya-as-fascist&catid=3:world&It\
emid=14

Radio Havana
April 29, 2011

Fidel Castro Classifies NATO Attacks on Libya as Fascist

Havana: Leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, warned that the violent, Nazi-Fascist aerial attacks of NATO against the Libyan people could be used against any country in the Third World.

In his most recent written reflections, entitled, ¨A Fire that Could Burn Us All,¨ Fidel expressed his surprise about the resistance of the North African country, and emphasized that Libyan leader Al Gaddafi is not accepting the demands of the militaristic organization, and will remain in history as an important figure in this Arab country.

Fidel Castro affirmed that no one has the right to question the existence of Libya as an independent state and member of the United Nations, even if they do not agree with the political ideas of Al Gaddafi.

The leader of the Revolution continued to express his disbelief about the public behaviour of British Defense Minister, Liam Fox, during his recent meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Fidel said that when observing the television transmissions of their discussions about the criminal war in Libya, he thought that he had never seen a more horrible attitude of hatred, frustration, and nervousness as that which the British Defence Secretary expressed.

Fidel said that Fox seemed absolutely indignant that the powerful NATO planes had not been able to fold the resistance in Libya in 72 hours.

====

Libyan War: Nicaragua Says British Royal Wedding Stained With Blood

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/nicaraguas-daniel-ortega-royal-wedding-stained-with-libyas-blood-15149136.html

Belfast Telegraph
April 30, 2011

Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega: Royal wedding ‘stained with Libya’s blood’

Daniel Ortega, the president of Nicaragua, has attacked the British monarchy and said he was offended by William and Kate’s gala marriage ceremony.

Left-winger Mr Ortega said the hands of the monarchy “are stained with blood because they are celebrating while Libya is being bombed, while blood is being spilled in Libya”.

Nicaragua’s leader made the comments in a speech to thousands of supporters hours after the lavish royal wedding that was watched by an estimated two billion people around the world.

The governments of Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia are staunch allies of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and have criticised US and European air strikes.

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NATO Intervention In Libya Contravenes UN Charter

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/nato-intervention-contravenes-un-charter-20110429-1e13e.html

Sydney Morning Herald
April 30, 2011

Letter
NATO intervention contravenes UN charter
Lawry Herron
Sandy Beach

The Russian Prime Minister is reported as saying that the NATO campaign in Libya violated the principle of sovereignty and the wishes of the Libyan people (“Putin steps up critique of Libya strikes”, April 28). Apart from this report there has been a singular dearth in the Australian media of critiques or commentary on the legality or motivations of the NATO powers in Libya, nothing like in Britain, for example, where there is considered and anguished analyses by Adrian Hamilton and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown from The Independent.

Without rehearsing their arguments, it is worth noting that what is going on in Libya departs violently from the United Nations Charter obligations on members to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state and not to intervene in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.

In the early post-colonial decades of the UN these obligations, of all charter provisions, were the ones most zealously maintained and fought for by small and emergent states against former imperial powers.

What we are seeing now looks very like opportunistic imperial recidivism by Western permanent members of the Security Council using Chapter 7 action “as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security”.

Colonel Gaddafi certainly is not everyone’s idea of a stable and benevolent dictator, but he has not been the most repressive of his kind and has enjoyed a fair measure of domestic support. Thousands of willing guest workers from North Africa and Eastern Europe have enjoyed working in Libya for several decades rather than in their home states. He also had reached a modus vivendi with the West over Lockerbie and nuclear weapons development so that Libya was accepted as a desirable partner in arms, oil and other commercial deals.

No wonder Arab League members and other small states are having second thoughts about their initial support for the UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

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Commando Units, Air Strikes No Solution For Unrest In Arab World

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/04/30/49679660.html

Voice of Russia
April 30, 2011

Arab revolutions rage on

====

Categories: Uncategorized

U.S. And NATO Allies Initiate Libyan Scenario For Syria

April 30, 2011 richardrozoff Leave a comment

Stop NATO
April 30, 2011

U.S. And NATO Allies Initiate Libyan Scenario For Syria
Rick Rozoff

On April 29 the White House issued an executive order to enforce new and more stringent sanctions against Syria and appealed to European North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to follow suit.

In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives President Barack Obama wrote, “I have determined that the Government of Syria’s human rights abuses….constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, and warrant the imposition of additional sanctions.”

His order targeted among others Syrian President Bashar Assad’s brother Mahir and cousin Atif Najib and also included – in an indication that broader objectives are also being pursued however tenuous, even farfetched, the link – the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with the presidential demarche contending: “Despite the Government of Iran’s public rhetoric claiming revolutionary solidarity with people throughout the region, Iran’s actions in support of the Syrian regime place it in stark opposition to the will of the Syrian people.”

Immediately afterward a White House official threatened that President Assad himself could be sanctioned next.

On February 25 Obama issued a comparable – in fact an almost identical – order against Libya, only ten days after anti-government protests began in the nation and three weeks before U.S. cruise missiles and bombs landed on its soil.

Employing a standard template in which only proper and place names need be changed, the earlier version stated:

“I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, find that Colonel Muammar Qadhafi, his government, and close associates have taken extreme measures against the people of Libya…The foregoing circumstances…pose a serious risk to its stability, thereby constituting an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.” [1]

One cannot help be reminded of the couplet of Percy Bysshe Shelley:

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!

Washington seized $32 billion dollars worth of Libyan assets in the U.S., with special emphasis placed on those belonging to “any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State…to be a senior official of the Government” or “to be a child of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi.”

Twenty-two days later bombing missions and missile attacks were unleashed against Libya, initially under U.S. Africa Command’s Operation Odyssey Dawn and since March 31 through NATO’s Operation Unified Protector, which are continuing into their seventh week.

Libya and Syria are the only two Mediterranean nations and the sole remaining Arab states that are not subordinated to U.S. and NATO designs for control of the Mediterranean Sea Basin and the Middle East.

Neither has participated in NATO’s almost ten-year-old Operation Active Endeavor naval patrols and exercises in the Mediterranean Sea and neither is a member of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue military partnership which includes most regional countries: Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania. Lebanon is subject to a naval and internal (that is, on its border with Syria) blockade run overwhelmingly by NATO nations under the post-2006 expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon mission.

Jordan and Morocco are supporting the NATO war against Libya and members of another NATO partnership program – the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative – Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are supplying fighter-bombers for combat missions over Libya. Fellow Istanbul Cooperation Initiative partner Kuwait announced on April 24 that it will grant $180 million to pay the salaries of employees of the rebel Transitional National Council in Libya.

With renewed efforts earlier this year to recruit Cyprus into NATO’s Partnership for Peace transitional program [2] – member Sweden, for example, has provided eight Gripen warplanes for the campaign against Libya – Libya and Syria were prospectively the last outposts of independence and non-alignment in the entire Mediterranean region.

On April 24, Easter Sunday, three leading members of the patrician branch of the U.S. regime (and effective modern-day proconsuls) – Senators John McCain, who had just returned from meeting with Libyan insurgents in Benghazi, and Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham – appeared on CNN’s “State Of The Union” program, the first two live and the other in a segment taped two days before.

In what Americans and the rest of the world have come to accept as specimens of U.S. foreign policy expertise, international diplomacy and seasoned statesmanship, Lieberman stated that United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 “gives justification if NATO decides it wants to, for going directly after Gadhafi,” and Graham added that “my recommendation to NATO and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off, go to Tripoli, start bombing Gadhafi’s inner circle, their compounds, their military headquarters.”

McCain and Graham are Republicans and Lieberman is a self-described independent who caucuses with Democratic Party colleagues in the Senate and was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000. The once almost second-in-command of the world’s sole military superpower, to use Obama’s phrase, added: “You can’t get into a fight with one foot.” The transition from republic to empire cost Rome the eloquence of Cicero. The United States has nothing to lose on that score.

Graham, further working himself into a frenzy of unbridled bellicosity and not to be outdone by his colleague in either fury or coarse bluster, asserted that “the goal is to get rid of Gadhafi” and added “Let’s get this guy gone.”

He offered these specifics:

“The people around Gadhafi need to wake up every day wondering, ‘Will this be my last?’ The military commanders in Tripoli supporting Gadhafi should be pounded.” As the expression has it, beating – or more accurately killing – the servant to punish the master. The model of interstate relations the imperial metropolis is enforcing around the world with the resources of the most powerful military machine in history.

To demonstrate to Russia and China, nuclear powers and veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, how much their obsequious compliance in allowing the U.S. and its NATO allies to launch the war against Libya by abstaining on the March 17 Security Council vote has gained them respect and gratitude as “responsible” partners on the global stage, Graham also said:

“You can’t let the Russians and the Chinese veto the freedom agenda. So any time you go to the United Nations Security Council, you run into the Russians and the Chinese. These are quasi-dictatorships, so I wouldn’t be locked down by the U.N. mandate.”

Lieberman, not content with a Libyan campaign that will soon enter its third month on the calendar with no indication of abating, advocated the replication of its lead-up in regard to Syria, calling for the seizing of government officials’ assets and an arms embargo against the nation he took pains to link with Iran.

In his words, “This is a moment of extraordinary opportunity for the cause of freedom in Syria, and it has tremendous strategic significance for the region.”

On April 28 Lieberman, McCain and Graham released a joint statement targeting Syria in earnest, which opens with this paragraph:

“The escalating crackdown by Bashar al Assad’s regime against the Syrian people has reached a decisive point. By following the path of Moammar Qaddafi and deploying military forces to crush peaceful demonstrations, Assad and those loyal to him have lost the legitimacy to remain in power in Syria. We urge President Obama to state unequivocally – as he did in the case of Qaddafi and Mubarak – that it is time for Assad to go. The President should take tangible diplomatic and economic measures to isolate and pressure the Assad regime, including through targeted sanctions against Assad himself and other regime officials who are responsible for gross human rights abuses.” [3]

From “Let’s get this guy [Gaddafi] gone” to “it is time for Assad to go” in four days.

The following day the Obama administration in large measure obliged them.

The U.S. and its NATO allies have, in addition to U.S. Sixth Fleet and NATO Active Endeavor military assets permanently deployed in the Mediterranean, warplanes, warships and submarines engaged in the assault against Libya that can be used against Syria at a moment’s notice.

On April 27 Russia and China evidently prevented the U.S. and its NATO allies from pushing through an equivalent of Resolution 1973 against Syria in the Security Council, with Russian deputy ambassador to the UN Alexander Pankin stating that the current situation in Syria “does not present a threat to international peace and security.” Syria is Russia’s last true partner in the Mediterranean and the Arab world and hosts one of only two Russian overseas naval bases, that at Tartus. (The other being in Ukraine’s Crimea.)

Last May Russian President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Soviet or Russian head of state to visit Syria where he pledged assistance in developing the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure and discussed constructing a nuclear power station.

However, blocked in the Security Council this time, the West has resorted to unilateral, what it refers to as “coalitional,” expedients, the first of which is Obama’s executive order.

Britain, France, Germany and Portugal circulated a draft for a Resolution 1973-type initiative against Syria earlier in the week, failing which Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain later on the 27th demanded the Syrian ambassadors to their countries condemn their government’s actions at home.

Synchronized with the U.S. action on the 29th, the European Union announced it plans to impose a wide range of sanctions against Syria including the now typical portfolio of travel bans, the freezing of assets and an arms embargo.

What is underway currently is the realization of the former George W. Bush administration’s project for “regime change” in Syria of six years ago following the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri in Lebanon and the subsequent Cedar Revolution – a term coined by then-U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky – the withdrawal of Syrian troops from the country and the recall of the American ambassador from Damascus.

In 2005 the major Western powers – the U.S., Britain, France and Germany – acted against Syria in the United Nations. At the time Russia and China blocked more punishing measures than were taken under Security Council Resolution 1636 in October of that year.

In the same month Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz acknowledged that Syria could be the target of American military action, saying “I won’t be surprised if Syria gets a red card,” according to Britain’s Daily Telegraph.

Shortly before National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and the State Department’s Karen Hughes visited Turkey where, according to the Turkish Daily News, “Both U.S. officials said the Washington administration is in search of ways to facilitate a change of regime in Syria.”

Six years ago American and allied plans for overthrowing the government of Syria through subversion, military aggression or a combination of both were being justified by accusations of Syria’s alleged role in the Hariri killing, subversion of the U.S. client regime in Iraq and support for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Today the rationale is that used for the war against Libya: The violent suppression of protests.

Justifications change. Political, particularly geopolitical, objectives do not.

1) http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/2011libya.eo_.rel_.pdf
2) Cyprus: U.S. To Dominate All Europe, Mediterranean Through NATO
Stop NATO, March 3, 2011

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/cyprus-u-s-to-dominate-all-europe-mediterranean-through-nato/

Libyan War And Control Of The Mediterranean
Stop NATO, March 25, 2011

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/3973/

3) http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=9cae435d-f7dd-27c7-bd7d-39e78c5ba2d0

Categories: Uncategorized

Stop NATO News: April 29, 2011

April 30, 2011 richardrozoff 1 comment

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Updates on Libyan war and Syria: April 29

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Bulgaria: U.S. Launches Latest Joint Military Exercises

NATO Hails Petraeus’ New CIA Role

Strategic Partnership: State Department Backs Georgia Versus Russia

Western-Backed Oil Pipelines From Caspian To Baltic Seas

Germany Pushes EU Regime Change Package For Syria

Chinese Envoy Rules Out Threat Of External Force In Syria

Russian Interview On Western Media Lies About Syria

Uncle Sam’s Century And Control Of World’s Sea Routes

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Bulgaria: U.S. Launches Latest Joint Military Exercises

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=127705

Sofia News Agency
April 27, 2011

Bulgaria, US Militaries Start ‘Thracian Spring’ Drills

The joint Bulgarian-US military training “Thracian Spring 2011″ began Wednesday in the Plovdiv region, the Defense Ministry announced.

The 2011 “Thracian Spring,” an annual Bulgarian-American military exercise, will last from April 27 till May 5, and will be concentrated around the Plovdiv Airport and the Krumovo Air Base.

Units of the Bulgarian Army, Bulgarian Air Force and Bulgarian Navy will partner with detachments from US forces in Europe.

The American military will take part in the joint drills with two C-130 Hercules military cargo aircraft and up to 150 servicemen.

The Bulgarian forces will be represented by one military transport plane Spartan C-27J, two Cougar AS 532AL helicopters, and up to 600 soldiers.

The 2011 Thracian Spring drills will include night and day training of parachute units, low altitude tactical flights, transportation of troops and equipment….

The annual “Thracian Spring” exercise is one of the prominent examples of the extensive Bulgarian-US military cooperation developed in the recent years.

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NATO Hails Petraeus’ New CIA Role

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-401A5C7F-882F934A/natolive/news_72939.htm

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
April 29, 2011

Statement by the NATO Secretary General on the nomination of General Petraeus

I would like to extend my congratulations to General David Petraeus on his nomination as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. I have enjoyed working with him and would like to thank him for a particularly successful tour of duty in Afghanistan.

ISAF has seen many successes under his command, which is due in no small part to his hard work and dedication. We will continue our joint efforts to further campaign progress and implement Transition between now and his departure.

I wish him every success in his future role.

————————————————————————–

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17956688?nclick_check=1

Associated Press
April 29, 2011

NATO welcomes Petraeus’ CIA nomination

BRUSSELS: NATO is congratulating Gen. David Petraeus on his nomination as CIA head, saying its forces in Afghanistan will continue implementing his strategy of handing control to local security forces.

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday the 150,000-strong NATO force “has seen many successes under his command.”

Petraeus assumed command in Kabul in June, after President Barack Obama fired Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
….

====

Strategic Partnership: State Department Backs Georgia Versus Russia

http://rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=41288&pg=1&im=main&ct=0&wth=

Rustavi2
April 27, 2011

Kaidanow sums up results of her visit to Tbilisi

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Tina Kaidanow summed up results of her visit to Tbilisi at a press conference after the 4-hour meeting, which was held within the US-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership.

At the press conference Tina Kaidanow especially stressed the importance of developing democratic institutions in the country.
….
Kaidanow also said U.S. strongly supports Georgia`s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The next meeting on economic issues within the US-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership is expected to be held in Washington in a few months.

====

Western-Backed Oil Pipelines From Caspian To Baltic Seas

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110429104618.shtml

RosBusinessConsulting
April 29, 2011

Odessa-Brody oil pipe could run to Baltic Sea

Kiev: Ukraine is interested in extending the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline to the Baltic Sea, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said Thursday at a joint press conference with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

“The Odessa-Brody pipeline has finally become operational. Needless to say, we would like it to run as far as the Baltic Sea.” Yanukovich said, adding: “We will work on extending this pipeline to the Baltic Sea.”

The 674-kilometer pipeline with an annual capacity of 9m tons of oil, was built in 2001 to transit Caspian oil to Europe. However, it was commissioned only in 2004 in reverse mode to pump Russian oil to Black Sea ports and in 2010 to the Odessa refinery. Since February, the pipeline has been moving Azeri oil to Belarus.

====

Germany Pushes EU Regime Change Package For Syria

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15038596,00.html

Deutsche Welle
April 29, 2011

Germany pushes for tough sanctions against Syria

Ahead of a series of international meetings, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has called for broad sanctions against Syria for its brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Speaking on German television Friday morning, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urged the international community to implement tough sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.

“We strongly condemn in all severity the violence against one’s own people,” Westerwelle told the ARD morning news program, Morgenmagazin.

European Union ambassadors in Brussels are slated to discuss a joint EU reaction to the escalating violence against peaceful demonstrators in Syria at a meeting Friday afternoon.

A push by the EU to condemn Syria in a United Nations resolution failed in the Security Council on Thursday.

Clear response needed

Westerwelle stressed that it was important that the international community now speak with one voice.

“We Europeans will be implementing sanctions,” he said.

The chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the German parliament, Ruprecht Polenz, also called for “targeted sanctions” and a “clear response” to Assad.

“I am for clearly showing Syria that what they are doing in unacceptable,” he said.

Polenz raised the prospect of sanctions aimed at travel restrictions for members of the Syrian regime, the freezing of assets, a weapons embargo and political isolation.

….

Author: Gregg Benzow (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Sean Sinico

====

Chinese Envoy Rules Out Threat Of External Force In Syria

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/29/c_13852195.htm

Xinhua News Agency
April 29, 2011

Use of force not solution to Syrian crisis: Chinese envoy

GENEVA: The use or threat of force should be ruled out in dealing with the Syrian crisis, Chinese Ambassador He Yafei said at a special session of UN Human Rights Council on Syria Friday.

The use or threat of force “cannot not bring a solution to the problem and will only cause a greater humanitarian crisis,” He said.

Addressing the Human Rights Council, he said China welcomed the moves taken by the Syrian government, such as the lifting of the state of emergency and beginning of political reforms, as well as a call for national dialogue and decision to investigate all the recent events.

The Chinese envoy also expressed his concern over the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa. The unrest, he said, has not only affected those countries’ stability and disrupted their economic and social development as well as people’s normal life, but also undermined the regional security.

Apart from the principle of non-use of force, China also insists that the solution to the Syrian crisis should be in accordance with the UN Charter and international law while respecting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries concerned, and refraining from interfering in their internal affairs.

“Any help from the international community has to be of a constructive nature, which is conducive to the restoration of stability and public order and ensuring the maintenance of normal economic and social life,” He said.

====

Russian Interview On Western Media Lies About Syria

http://rt.com/news/syria-lies-interview/

RT
April 29, 2011

Western media lie about Syria – eyewitness reports
Nadezhda Kevorkova

-It was quite a shock to see Al-Jazeera presenting rallies in support of the president as if they were protests against him. It was just as surprising to see the Israeli websites post photos and videos of supporters’ rallies with comments saying those were opponents of the regime. There you have people holding portraits of Bashar al-Assad and flags, and we’re told that these people are against him.
-Reuters broadcast their material around the world, including Russia. One source lies, and then this lie is like a snowball rolling downhill creating a fake reality, and picking up rumor and speculation.
-People in Syria watch the footage. What do they see? A picture allegedly from Yemen. A picture allegedly from Egypt. A picture allegedly from Syria. But the pictures all show people dressed in the same fashion. People in Syria can tell their fellow countrymen from their neighbors – both by their faces and their clothes.
-I repeat, policemen are unarmed. The Syrian police are not too good with guns, because nothing like this has happened here for a long time. But the killed rookies are reported as either victims among the protestors, or as policemen who refused to shoot at their fellow countrymen, depending on the editors’ preference. Goebbels’ words seem to be true: the bigger the lie, the more easily they believe it.
-Rumor has it that trained commandos came across the border from Iraq. People in Syria are well-aware that after the US occupied Iraq, they formed special squads there. They were killing people, stirring up conflicts between the Shiite and Sunni communities, and between Muslims and Christians; they were blowing up streets, markets, mosques and churches….Such militants were detained in Deraa and Latakia. They had US-made weapons.

While media reports paint a picture of the situation in Syria as a mass public uprising brutally suppressed by the dictatorial government, the events are viewed in a totally different way by those living there.

RT caught up with Ankhar Kochneva, director of a Moscow-based tourist firm specializing in the Middle East. She often travels to Syria, and stays in touch with hundreds of people in the region. She shared what her contacts say about the unfolding unrest and who they blame for the spreading violence.

RT: What’s happening in Syria? What have you seen? And that are the Syrians saying?

Ankhar Kochneva: Not even once did I come across anyone who would in any way support these riots; and mind you, in the line of my job, I deal with all sorts of people. There are many vehicles with the president’s portraits driving the streets throughout the country – ranging from old, barely moving crankers to brand new Porsches and Hummers. You can’t force people into hanging up portraits. It means that people, irrespective of their status and income, support the president rather than the rebellion. I saw quite a number of young people walking or driving around with Syrian flags. How can you force a young person hanging out with friends to wave flags? I think it’s difficult too. If you understand the mentality of the Syrians you can tell there is a sincere impulse rather than a forced obligation.

On March 29, I saw a rally in Hama to support the president – indeed, many thousands of men and women, with their children, and entire families went out. The streets were flooded with people. It was quite a shock to see Al-Jazeera presenting rallies in support of the president as if they were protests against him. It was just as surprising to see the Israeli websites post photos and videos of supporters’ rallies with comments saying those were opponents of the regime. There you have people holding portraits of Bashar al-Assad and flags, and we’re told that these people are against him.

RT: The media reports mass anti-government rallies.

A.K.: There’s a powerful misinformation swell going on. On April 1, the media reported a large anti-governmental rally in Damascus. I was in Damascus on that day. This rally never happened – I didn’t see it, and neither did the locals.

On April 16, Reuters news agency wrote that 50,000 opponents of the regime took to the streets of Damascus, and that they had been dispersed with tear gas and batons. Damascus’ residents realize that such a rally could not take place in the city unnoticed. How many policemen would it take to disperse it? And how come nobody saw it except Reuters? Five hundred people in the streets of Damascus are a large crowd. Reuters broadcast their material around the world, including Russia. One source lies, and then this lie is like a snowball rolling downhill creating a fake reality, and picking up rumor and speculation.

People in Syria watch the footage. What do they see? A picture allegedly from Yemen. A picture allegedly from Egypt. A picture allegedly from Syria. But the pictures all show people dressed in the same fashion. People in Syria can tell their fellow countrymen from their neighbors – both by their faces and their clothes.

There are videos on the internet showing how amateur footage of the so-called riots is made. There’s a parked car and nothing’s going on around. And there’s a man standing next to it throwing rocks. And people around are taking pictures.

There are a lot of staged videos. A Lebanese can tell the difference between footage taken in Lebanon and that taken in Damascus at a glance. And they show footage from Tripoli, or footage taken several years ago in Iraq, and say it is unrest in Syria.

There are many online forums for women in Arab countries. Women share information following TV reports on ‘mass unrests’. Women write – what’s happening outside your window? And they reply: we looked down from the balcony, and didn’t see anything that the TV was talking about.

Presently, a lot of young unarmed policemen get killed. The media propaganda immediately labels them as victims of the regime. I repeat, policemen are unarmed. The Syrian police are not too good with guns, because nothing like this has happened here for a long time. But the killed rookies are reported as either victims among the protestors, or as policemen who refused to shoot at their fellow countrymen, depending on the editors’ preference. Goebbels’ words seem to be true: the bigger the lie, the more easily they believe it.

RT: But why are policemen dying if there are no mass protests?

A.K.: Policemen die because they get shot by those who know that they are unarmed.

RT: Who shoots policemen?

A.K.: They talk a lot about it in Syria. Rumor has it that trained commandos came across the border from Iraq. People in Syria are well-aware that after the US occupied Iraq, they formed special squads there. They were killing people, stirring up conflicts between the Shiite and Sunni communities, and between Muslims and Christians; they were blowing up streets, markets, mosques and churches. Those terrorist attacks targeted civilians rather than the occupying regime.

Not long ago, they caught three such commandos in the outskirts of Damascus, when they were randomly shooting at people. They turned out to be Iraqis.

Syrian TV showed footage of somebody shooting at policemen and passers-by from bushes and rooftops. They occasionally get caught, and they either turn out to be Iraqis, or they admit that they were paid for it. Such militants were detained in Deraa and Latakia. They had US-made weapons.

The Lebanese security service intercepted several cars carrying weapons as they were coming into Lebanon. One such car was stopped coming from Iraq. There were American weapons in those cars too. Also there are reports about detained people who had large sums of money with them – with US dollars. These people carried expensive satellite phones that cannot be tapped by the Syrian security service.

In Syria, it is no longer a secret to anyone that the Americans have an unhindered opportunity to recruit and train the commandos in Iraq, and then send them wherever they want.

Hilary Clinton has already stated that if Syria cuts its relations with Iran and withdraws its support for Hamas and Hezbollah, the demonstrations would stop the next day. They don’t even bother to keep secret the hand instilling riots in Syria.

There’s plenty of evidence of foreign interference.

Finally, people say protestors are brought in from afar for the rallies. Those people speak and look differently from the locals. Nobody in the neighborhood knows them. Who rents the buses and finances the delivery of these people? The question stands.

The former Syrian Vice-President Abdel Halim Khaddam had initiated the riots in the coastal regions. He had plundered half of the country. He was involved in corruption schemes and finally fled to the West. It was he who tried to accuse Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of assassinating the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The Syrians firmly believe that Sayed Hariri had personally given a villa to Abdel Halim Khaddam for spreading this version of Rafik Hariri’s murder. But when that version fell apart and was not confirmed, the villa was taken away. Today, those who shot at cars in Banias are shouting: “We don’t want Bashar. We want Abdel Halim!”

There are peaceful and cultured opposition members in Banias who have been against al-Assad’s regime for many years. But they are shocked by what’s going on and do not support Khaddam at all. They say: “He’s a thief. He who stole most calls to fight corruption and thievery.”

RT: What role are Syrian emigrants playing in the Syrian destabilization?

A.K.: It’s an open question. There was a leak claiming that Dan Feldman, Hillary Clinton’s special representative for the Middle East, met representatives of the Syrian opposition in Istanbul in mid-April and suggested the tactics for assassinations of civil and military officials. In less than three days, on April 19, several military officials had been brutally killed in Syria. Not only were they attacked and shot dead, some victims of the attacks, including three teenage children of a Syrian general, who were in a car with him, were cut to pieces with sabres.

Murders committed with a high degree of brutality are aimed at intimidating the population. The news that children had been cut to pieces served that purpose quite well.

RT: Media reports used to say that the riots started after the arrest in the city of Deraa, in southern Syria, of several children writing anti-government slogans? Is it really so?

A.K.: All the children had been released very quickly. Moreover, the government-owned Syrian newspapers published the release orders.

RT: Have troops been brought into Deraa?

A.K.: Yes, troops are there. After an Islamic emirate had been proclaimed in Deraa, the local residents asked the government for help. Troops have been brought in. I’ve just seen the videos. The demonstrators published them on the internet and shortly after erased them. But people made copies. There are soldiers, and people come to them and talk peacefully. Nobody shoots anyone.

RT: Is there a sentiment in Syria that if it gets rid of Hamas support and the Palestinians and strike a peace deal with Israel, all the riots will end immediately?

A.K.: No, there’s no such sentiment. There’s consolidation of society. The people are sticking together because they see that the enemy is extremely dangerous. For instance, previously I never heard anything except pop music and the recital of the Koran on the radio when I rode in a taxi. Now, patriotic music is coming from all cars. When Bashar al-Assad was speaking on television, the people who were listening to him at the market applauded him. You cannot force people to applaud a president who speaks on television.

RT: What has the public mood been in recent days?

A.K.: People are afraid of going out. In some regions, people risked their lives to record with a secret camera how unidentified persons sneaked into a car, moved off and started shooting in all directions. This is how they are sowing panic in residential areas.

Bandits blocked a bridge on the road near the coast. Soon, the military pushed them back. One of my Syrian contacts told me: “you don’t need many people to plunge the country into trouble.”

Putting five people on a major road would be enough to paralyze the whole area. People are unable to deliver foodstuffs or reach hospitals. And the whole country is in shock because of a handful of bandits.

Now, Syrian television is making live broadcasts from various parts of Damascus and other cities for people to see how the situation is unfolding and how life is getting back to normal, whatever the Western media show.

It’s noteworthy that bandits intentionally tried to rouse hatred among various communities. Recently, a sheikh was insulting the Druze, particularly women, in an address to the residents of the south. This video is being broadcast by the foreign media and is advertized on the internet. Nothing like that ever happened in Syria before. Provocations failed in Damascus though attempts were made to set religious communities against each other. Provocateurs lack support in rural areas too – the sowing campaign has started there.

The most massive demonstrations in Dera gathered 500 people. But they say 450 people have been killed.

RT: Has the government launched any reforms?

A.K.: The government has lifted martial law and has allowed the staging of authorized rallies if permission for them is obtained five days ahead. Foreigners have been allowed to buy real estate. The Kurds have been granted citizenship. The Kurdish population didn’t have it before for a number of historical reasons. The government is opening business courses for women in northern Syria. Many provincial governors have been dismissed. Unfortunately, in some cases they were honest people. Like those who refused to free criminals from prison for bribes and had been targeted by smear campaigns in public for it.

RT: Have the number of flights to Syria been cut?

A.K.: There are no tickets for Syria. We wanted to dispatch a group of tourists to Syria but there were no air tickets to Damascus for April 30. But Russians are not fleeing from Syria. I have full information about it for my job.

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Uncle Sam’s Century And Control Of World’s Sea Routes

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20114\29\story_29-4-2011_pg3_4

Daily Times
April 29, 2011

Uncle Sam, this is your century
Wasay Majid

Today we have it; the neocons eventually evolved a pathway for their ideology, turning it into a system dictating the future of mankind

-World War II and its end (the UN was born) brought about the Washington Treaty of 1949 to give birth to a global attack force, abruptly named NATO. These were the sweet beginnings of the Cold War era. Baby Sam was out of the cot…
-[T]his god complex to monitor the world has also been reflected in the US Navy’s new strategy, presented in 2007, called A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower. Basically, it raises the notion of prevention of war to the same philosophical level as the conduct of war.
-Sammy’s childhood toy soldiers came to life. RAND’s decision in the 1950s to re-model the globe towards a new world order changed everything. With the development of Rational Choice Theory, it turned people from citizens into consumers, as rights and responsibilities were replaced with choices and people’s lives slowly came to be dominated not by integrity or principle, but by what they spent their money on.
-Ideas are in constant conflict throughout the ages as that is their characteristic. They rise and fall. They win battles, arguments, discussions and regime changes but the war continues.

The world has always been in conflict and the decisive player has always had access to sea routes. It has usually been said, throughout time, that whoever controls the seas controls the world. Well, in this present century, all other navies of the world combined are insignificant when compared to the US Navy. All oceans of the world are ruled by the US. Europe had its day and enjoyed it for the last 500 years but after World War II the US reigned supreme on the much coveted North Atlantic route to dominate the world, at last.

While our Uncle was just a baby, he started his end goal’s grand design as early as the end of World War I (when the League of Nations was born) with the Treaty of Versailles. Baby Sam’s annoying dictates were unwittingly painful for the Germans and it was only a matter of time before it would result in its inevitable end — conflict.

Germany was to follow strict orders on handing over territory, restrict its military, pay damages to the amount chosen at will by damaged nations and was to sign and accept a ‘War Guilt Clause’. Surely, even Germans have a tipping point. In 1933, Hitler refused to pay up and this started the systematic breaking of the terms. Thus came World War II and its end (the UN was born) brought about the Washington Treaty of 1949 to give birth to a global attack force, abruptly named NATO. These were the sweet beginnings of the Cold War era. Baby Sam was out of the cot and knowingly used containment of communism as its main strategy to put the Soviet Union into a cot.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, interestingly, saw arrogance being flaunted by a proud and promising adolescent Sam, albeit in a clandestine manner initially. The sudden birth of the neo-conservatives was synonymous with the US becoming the dominant power of the world. Unlike the Dalai Lama, I think Sammy was becoming more a worldly kinda guy.

Looking at a brief history of neoconservative ideology takes us back to the 1930s and 1940s where one can explain it as once being leftist or liberal. Seeing Stalinism, they moved towards the right and supported the Cold War, thus moving into the realm of foreign affairs.

They found refuge in the ideology of the liberal democrats in the 1960s, who demanded a hard line against the Soviet Union. They rejected the New Left of the 1960s, aka the ‘hippies’. The New Left was considered anti-American by the neocons. Their focus on human rights abuses around the world and support for labour unions domestically was in contrast to a logical and superior pathway the US had paved out for its prosperity and control over the globe. Looking at Sam’s moral value and family ethics, do we not all want our daddy to be just like Sam?

The neocons were moving forward. They had think tanks, academic institutes and government covered.

They had a plethora of white papers ripe to make them government policy.

Most notably, the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) achieved its systemic penetration. PNAC has its roots in neconservative ideology. PNAC outrightly blurts that after the end of the Cold War, the US is the most powerful state on the globe and it fears no one.

If I am allowed to explain in plain words, the philosophy of the project has been that the US has to prevent an emergence of any rival and to make damn sure of this it can act in isolation and can pre-empt an attack.

Secondly, it is required to police the world and has to keep tabs on all other nations and any conflicts. Academics like Paul Wolfowitz and Francis Fukuyama are original signatories of PNAC, including Dick Cheney, Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, Zalmay Khalilzad and Donald Rumsfeld. Prominent members include Robert Zoellick, Richard Perle and Richard Armitage. Sam became the company he kept.

Furthermore, this god complex to monitor the world has also been reflected in the US Navy’s new strategy, presented in 2007, called A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower. Basically, it raises the notion of prevention of war to the same philosophical level as the conduct of war.

PNAC’s fundamentals reflected the exact philosophy that the Roman Republic evolved into and were eloquently orated and cherished by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Cicero, who among his numerous legacies, as a republican, inspired the founding fathers of the US.

A similar philosophy has been around in the military establishment. RAND — a private sector think tank — is its base. RAND originated in the minds of leading air force generals after World War II.

Sammy’s childhood toy soldiers came to life. RAND’s decision in the 1950s to re-model the globe towards a new world order changed everything. With the development of Rational Choice Theory, it turned people from citizens into consumers, as rights and responsibilities were replaced with choices and people’s lives slowly came to be dominated not by integrity or principle, but by what they spent their money on. Sam’s entrepreneurial itch started to play.

Interestingly, if you look into Leo Strauss’s views of the Republic, being a political philosopher, he points to Cicero’s explanation of Plato’s Republic through a quote of his: “The Republic does not bring to light the best possible regime but rather the nature of political things — the nature of the city.”

In effect, the system is not stirred by efficiency and humanism, but lineage, law, society and suffrage. That is the reason Strauss believes politics and philosophy are intertwined and Socrates’ trial was the inception point of this fact. Strauss feared that people trying to force a world state to come into being in the future would eventually result in it being a tyranny. Sam always knew tyranny is never suffered by the tyrant.

Today we have it; the neocons eventually evolved a pathway for their ideology, turning it into a system dictating the future of mankind. All their white papers are policy. It is inevitable. It is not forced but merely an eventual pathway.

Looking closely we see that people, thinkers, leaders, are products of their previous generations to an extent, and ideas, although they have the luxury of centuries to shape and penetrate, hardly evolve. Ideas are in constant conflict throughout the ages as that is their characteristic. They rise and fall. They win battles, arguments, discussions and regime changes but the war continues.

In short, the new century will be a dangerous one: lots of conflict, war and death, not to mention the plethora of natural disasters gaining probability.

Historically, Sam likes war. He reflects an increasing trend towards it. Though he has the muscle and will, he is still young and immature, and that is what makes him dangerous.

Wherever the US takes its wars, its effects will be detrimental to those countries and their future, but for Americans these constitute distant skirmishes not affecting daily life. I reiterate: this is your century Uncle, though I will always be expecting presents on Christmas and Easter, at least.

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Categories: Uncategorized

Stephen Crane: War Is Kind

April 30, 2011 richardrozoff Leave a comment

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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts

American writers on peace and against war

Stephen Crane: There was crimson clash of war

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Stephen Crane
War Is Kind (1899)

Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind,
Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them.
Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom -
A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbles in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.

Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind!

Categories: Uncategorized

Updates on Libyan war and Syria: April 29

April 29, 2011 richardrozoff Leave a comment

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NATO Warplanes Target Tripoli As Air Missions Reach 4,242

NATO To Establish Post In Eastern Libya

NATO Mission To Benghazi Prelude To Ground Operations: Expert

130 Missions: Danish Warplanes Bomb Libyan Ammunition Depot

“Human Rights Overriding Sovereignty”: Threat Of World Disorder

Germany Pushes EU Regime Change Package For Syria

Chinese Envoy Rules Out Threat Of External Force In Syria

Russian Interview On Western Media Lies About Syria

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NATO Warplanes Target Tripoli As Air Missions Reach 4,242

http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_04/20110429_110429-oup-update.pdf

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
April 29, 2011

NATO and Libya
JFC Naples, SHAPE, NATO HQ

….

Air Operations

Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00GMT) a total of 4242 sorties, including 1766 strike sorties have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 28 April: 142

Strike sorties conducted 28 April: 67
….
Key Targets and Engagements

28 April: In the vicinity of Tripoli: 1 command and control building. 1 helicopter maintenance area, 7 ammunition storage bunkers, 5 infantry fighting vehicles.

In the vicinity of Zintan: 1 ammunition storage facility.

In the vicinity of Brega: 1 command and control building.
….
Arms Embargo Activities

A total of 19 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.

24 Vessels were hailed on 28 April to determine destination and cargo. 1 boarding (no diversion) was conducted.

A total of 706 vessels have been hailed, 21 boardings and 5 diversions have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.
….

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NATO To Establish Post In Eastern Libya

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110427/world/nato-to-establish-civilian-post-in-libya.362472

Times of Malta
April 27, 2011

NATO to establish civilian post in Libya

NATO allies have agreed to establish a civilian post in Libya’s eastern rebel bastion of Benghazi in an effort to step up political contacts with the opposition, an alliance source said today.

Ambassadors of the 28-nation alliance backed late Tuesday the “general principle” of having a “contact point” in the country, and the details of the post will be worked out in the coming days or weeks, the source said.

The alliance representative will likely be a diplomat from a NATO country that already has a representative in Benghazi, the souce added.

NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero said Tuesday that the goal was to “improve and enhance these political contacts with the (opposition’s) interim national council.”

France and Italy are the only NATO countries to have officially recognised the opposition Transitional National Council. Qatar, which is contributing to NATO’s operations in Libya, has also recognised the TNC.

France, Italy and Britain announced last week that they were sending military advisers to assist Libya’s rebel shadow government in Benghazi.

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NATO Mission To Benghazi Prelude To Ground Operations: Expert

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/04/29/49652127.html

Voice of Russia
April 29, 2011

Does NATO have a clear goal in Libya?

Permanent members of the North Atlantic Council have approved the initiative of NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen to name a point of contact in Libya’s rebel-held city of Benghazi to improve political links with the rebel leadership there. The contact point was likely to be a diplomat from a NATO state which already has representation in Benghazi. Many experts see this as the alliance making its final decision on joining the anti-Gaddafi forces.

Citing a source in NATO headquarters, The Financial Times Deutschland says that a new NATO representative will be responsible for developing initial contacts between the alliance and the rebels’ Benghazi-based interim national council. The paper notes that until recently Brussels had been trying to maintain neutral position in the Libyan conflict, though it did not prevent the coalition forces from bombing Gaddafi`s residence. But now the alliance has openly taken the side of the insurgents.

Viktor Litovkin, executive editor-in-chief of ‘Independent Military Observer’ newspaper is certain about NATO`s true reason for naming a point contact in Benghazi:

“I see it as a step towards ground operation, no matter who will lead it. All these aides and experts are expected not just to teach the insurgents to fight Gaddafi but also explore Libyan territories to know where to dispatch troops and place weaponry.”

France, Italy and Turkey have already announced that they are ready to send their diplomats to Libya. However, not all NATO members are said to have approved Rasmussen`s proposal since it takes the western coalition even further from the UNSC resolution on a no-fly zone above Libya and protection of peaceful civilians there. More and more experts agree that the alliance still does not have a clear goal on Libya.

A prominent Russian political analyst Fiodor Lukyanov described the NATO-led campaign in Libya ‘a war without a goal’. He notes that there is a kind of mystery about NATO`s true position on the Libyan crisis. Besides, very little is known about the number and military might of the insurgents.

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130 Missions: Danish Warplanes Bomb Libyan Ammunition Depot

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1867941.html

Trend News Agency
April 28, 2011

Danish F-16 jets bomb Libyan ammunition dumps

Danish F-16 fighters attacked ammunition dumps in Libya while an accident at the fighters’ forward operating base in Sigonella, Sicily of Italy, led to them being diverted to Trapani, also in Sicily, said Denmark’s Air Force on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Air Force said Danish F-16s have carried out three missions in areas south of the Libyan capital Tripoli, and south of its third-largest city, Misrata, in the past 24 hours, with eight precision-guided bombs being dropped against ammunition dumps, Xinhua reported.

Six Danish F-16 fighter jets are currently deployed as part of the NATO-led intervention against Libya, and are operating out of Sigonella Air Force Base in Sicily.

The statement added that Danish F-16s returning from missions over Libya are being directed to land at Trapani, Italy, after a United Arab Emirates (UAE) fighter jet suffered an accident on the runway at Sigonella.

The UAE F-16 veered off the runway Wednesday, but no casualties were reported. The runway remains closed.

In all, Danish aircraft have carried out 130 missions since deployment to the Libya mission in mid-March.

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“Human Rights Overriding Sovereignty”: Threat Of World Disorder

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90780/91345/7366136.html

People’s Daily
April 29, 2011

‘Human rights overriding sovereignty’ only a mask of hegemony
By Wang Hanlu

Some Western countries recently have been claiming the “human rights overriding sovereignty” [principle] in high-sounding [language].

However, it is only a public mask for some western clowns to hide their true faces of hegemonism and a public excuse for them to pursue their own national interests and carry out their values behind [the process].

Apparently, they are holding up the moral flag for safeguarding the human rights of all people on this planet, but in doing that they violate other countries’ sovereignty optionally, interfere un their internal affairs, overthrow governments in other countries, attack with military forces and even operate “Decapitation Action” toward other countries’ leaders.

Covering the mask, they act like “preachers of human rights,” and issue the so-called Country Reports on Human Rights to criticize the “terrible” situations regarding human rights in more than 190 countries, excluding themselves.

Using the excuse, they disrespect other countries’ laws when talking of human rights, and turn mutual dialogue into unilateral pressure.

Under the circumstances, “human rights overriding sovereignty” has already become the most powerful weapon of some Western countries.

However, nothing hints at the “human rights overriding sovereignty” being legal in the UN Charter, but the saying does violate the UN Charter.

The Charter regulates clearly that “Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. (Chapter I)”

“No State or group of States has the right to intervene directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State.”

“No State may use or encourage the use of economic, political or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights and to secure from it advantages of any kind.”

Regulated in “The Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations” issued on Oct. 24 of 1970 by the United Nations.

After listing 28 items of human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights written in the U.N. in 1948 says “These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”

The principle of a country’s sovereignty is a basic right the basic supported by the purposes and principles of the United Nations. If that basis is waved, the world is going to be in disorder.

When coming down to its own sovereignty, America, the country that is claiming the “human rights overriding sovereignty” right all the time, will never make any compromise.

As of now, United States still refuses to sign the Ottawa Treaty, which aims at stopping the effects of anti-personnel landmines (AP mines) around the world, as well as the Kyoto Protocol, which aims at controlling global warming, because such treaties will absolutely affect its sovereignty and national interests.

“Human rights overriding sovereignty” stands for messing up the whole world. When the Western coalition intervening in Libyan civil affairs under the name of humanitarian [intervention] uses military force to target places, including TV stations and the accommodation of Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, which has nothing to do with protecting civilian and human rights. Obviously, it is intended to effect a “Decapitation Action” for Qaddafi.

Further, the most horrible aspect about the saying is it’s borderless. What else cannot be done, even to kill a country’s leader can be done under the excuse of it?

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Germany Pushes EU Regime Change Package For Syria

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15038596,00.html

Deutsche Welle
April 29, 2011

Germany pushes for tough sanctions against Syria

Ahead of a series of international meetings, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has called for broad sanctions against Syria for its brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.

“We strongly condemn in all severity the violence against one’s own people,” Westerwelle told the ARD morning news program, Morgenmagazin.

European Union ambassadors in Brussels are slated to discuss a joint EU reaction to the escalating violence against peaceful demonstrators in Syria at a meeting Friday afternoon.

A push by the EU to condemn Syria in a United Nations resolution failed in the Security Council on Thursday.

Clear response needed

Westerwelle stressed that it was important that the international community now speak with one voice.

“We Europeans will be implementing sanctions,” he said.

The chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the German parliament, Ruprecht Polenz, also called for “targeted sanctions” and a “clear response” to Assad.

“I am for clearly showing Syria that what they are doing in unacceptable,” he said.

Polenz raised the prospect of sanctions aimed at travel restrictions for members of the Syrian regime, the freezing of assets, a weapons embargo and political isolation.

….

Author: Gregg Benzow (dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters)
Editor: Sean Sinico

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Chinese Envoy Rules Out Threat Of External Force In Syria

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/29/c_13852195.htm

Xinhua News Agency
April 29, 2011

Use of force not solution to Syrian crisis: Chinese envoy

GENEVA: The use or threat of force should be ruled out in dealing with the Syrian crisis, Chinese Ambassador He Yafei said at a special session of UN Human Rights Council on Syria Friday.

The use or threat of force “cannot not bring a solution to the problem and will only cause a greater humanitarian crisis,” He said.

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Russian Interview On Western Media Lies About Syria

http://rt.com/news/syria-lies-interview/

RT
April 29, 2011

Western media lie about Syria – eyewitness reports
Nadezhda Kevorkova

RT: What’s happening in Syria? What have you seen? And that are the Syrians saying?

RT: The media reports mass anti-government rallies.

RT: But why are policemen dying if there are no mass protests?

A.K.: Policemen die because they get shot by those who know that they are unarmed.

RT: Who shoots policemen?

Not long ago, they caught three such commandos in the outskirts of Damascus, when they were randomly shooting at people. They turned out to be Iraqis.

In Syria, it is no longer a secret to anyone that the Americans have an unhindered opportunity to recruit and train the commandos in Iraq, and then send them wherever they want.

There’s plenty of evidence of foreign interference.

RT: What role are Syrian emigrants playing in the Syrian destabilization?

Murders committed with a high degree of brutality are aimed at intimidating the population. The news that children had been cut to pieces served that purpose quite well.

RT: Media reports used to say that the riots started after the arrest in the city of Deraa, in southern Syria, of several children writing anti-government slogans? Is it really so?

A.K.: All the children had been released very quickly. Moreover, the government-owned Syrian newspapers published the release orders.

RT: Have troops been brought into Deraa?

RT: Is there a sentiment in Syria that if it gets rid of Hamas support and the Palestinians and strike a peace deal with Israel, all the riots will end immediately?

RT: What has the public mood been in recent days?

Bandits blocked a bridge on the road near the coast. Soon, the military pushed them back. One of my Syrian contacts told me: “you don’t need many people to plunge the country into trouble.”

The most massive demonstrations in Dera gathered 500 people. But they say 450 people have been killed.

RT: Has the government launched any reforms?

RT: Have the number of flights to Syria been cut?

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Categories: Uncategorized

Stop NATO News: April 28, 2011

April 29, 2011 richardrozoff 1 comment

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Updates on Libyan war: April 28

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CIA, Pentagon, NATO Afghan Command: U.S. Reshuffles Posts

U.S. Billion Dollar Democracy: Model For The World

International Investigation Needed Into Kosovo Murder-For-Organs Trade

Turkey: Bosnia And Serbia Should Join NATO

Three NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghan Attacks

Afghan War: U.S. Marine General Praises USMC-Trained Georgian Troops

NATO Festival Begins In Norfolk, Virginia

NATO Trains Iraqi Proxy Army In Europe, At Home

Polish Navy “Makes History” In Leading NATO Naval Group

U.S. Forecasts 50 Percent Growth In World Energy Demand

South Asian Asymmetries, U.S. Drone Warfare And The Peloponnesian War

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CIA, Pentagon, NATO Afghan Command: U.S. Reshuffles Posts

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/04/28/49586948.html

[Panetta will be the second defense secretary in a row who had been a director of the CIA.]

Voice of Russia
April 28, 2011

Big reshuffle in Obama’s administration ahead
Sergei Sayenko

President Obama is making new appointments for top security jobs in his administration. On Thursday the US president is expected to name the country’s new defense secretary, CIA director, NATO forces commander in Afghanistan and US ambassador to Afghanistan.

CIA Director Leon Panetta will be nominated to take over from Robert Gates as US defense secretary. General David Petraeus, the US head of international forces in Afghanistan, will be nominated as CIA director, and his post will go to Lieutenant General John Allen, currently deputy head of US Central Command. Veteran diplomat with 37-year experience Ryan Crocker will become the next US ambassador to Afghanistan, taking over from Karl Eikenberry, whose term is running out and who failed to hit it off with President Hamid Karzai.

All four candidacies are likely to sail smoothly through the Senate given that even the Republicans have nothing against them. The appointment of Leon Panetta is likely to be approved in July, and David Petraeus will be able to get down to work as CIA chief at the beginning of September.
….
As for Gen Petraeus, who led the US and international forces during the war in Iraq and took over leading NATO forces in Afghanistan from Gen Stanley McChrystal in summer last year, he will have to explore new ground. An army general, straightforward and used to open warfare, the secret war run by the CIA might be a challenge, to say the least.

Lt Gen Allen is likely to find it easier in Afghanistan, having served in the army and boasting enough experience in conducting military operations. His success will largely depend on whether he will be able to find common language with the Afghan leadership and the country’s new Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Crocker is familiar with work in hot spots, having served as US ambassador to Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Syria and Lebanon.
….
In reality, the situation in Afghanistan is challenging, to say the least.

Many fear that there can be Taliban fighters among Afghan security services recruits and that they might attack coalition servicemen and foreigners. Wednesday’s incident at Kabul Airport in which an Afghan pilot killed eight US servicemen, is glaring proof of that. Taliban claimed responsibility for the incident. All this testifies to the highly explosive situation in Afghanistan.

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U.S. Billion Dollar Democracy: Model For The World

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/04/28/49592701.html

Voice of Russia
April 28, 2011

How much does it cost to get into the White House?
Valentin Zorin

-Chasing votes is nothing unusual for American democracy. And it’s no longer a secret that top jobs in Washington are up for sale….[A] seat in the House of Representatives cost more than one million dollars during the last elections, a seat in the Senate cost much more. Many politicians, the report says, are elected to Congress just because no one else can top them with money.
-Recently the US Supreme Court gave Washington political sponsors a free hand, de facto disabling the laws that ban corporations from financing candidates.
-There are quite a few in Washington who see that as genuine democracy. They are ready to advise others on democratic elections but should actually start with themselves.

How much money do you need to get the job of US president? One billion dollars for a start, say those who oversee Barack Obama’s election campaign ahead of presidential elections in November 2012. The organizers of the campaign plan to raise the needed sum over the next few months. To this end, the election headquarters has moved from Washington to Chicago, which is home to one of the most powerful financial and industrial groups, which has invested over four billion dollars in President Obama’s political career.

The organizers of the presidential campaign talk openly about what it costs to secure votes in favor of a candidate. Chasing votes is nothing unusual for American democracy. And it’s no longer a secret that top jobs in Washington are up for sale.

Commenting on the outcome of the 2010 election, Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Politics, said that it was money that won on the November election day. There is a special chart according to which a seat in the House of Representatives cost more than one million dollars during the last elections, a seat in the Senate cost much more. Many politicians, the report says, are elected to Congress just because no one else can top them with money.

The Center for Responsive Politics described the election campaign last autumn as the costliest in US history. The campaign bills ran into billions of dollars. And some candidates’ expenses amounted to six-digit figures, the Center’s report says. For one, Meg Whitman, a candidate for California Governor from the Republican Party, spent 140 million dollars.

The Republicans succeeded in the elections because they were loaded with more dollars than their Democratic rivals. When asked where the money came from, Barack Obama replied with a sincerity uncommon for Washington officials that it could come from oil companies, insurance businesses or Wall Street. Nobody knows, where, the president said, as they keep their mouths shut and financial flows channels open.

Recently the US Supreme Court gave Washington political sponsors a free hand, de facto disabling the laws that ban corporations from financing candidates. The judges said that they proceeded from freedom of expression guaranteed by the country’s Constitution. They provided no explanation though, as to what connection they saw between this constitutional principle and undisguised bribery.

There are quite a few in Washington who see that as genuine democracy. They are ready to advise others on democratic elections but should actually start with themselves.

The one billion dollars which the organizers of the campaign from the Democratic Party are rushing to raise may spell an unprecedented in scale election race. Naturally, the Republicans aren’t lagging behind, particularly since Wall Street is definitely prone to back them.

The election battle of American fat cats has got under way.

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International Investigation Needed Into Kosovo Murder-For-Organs Trade

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/04/28/49595923.html

Voice of Russia
April 28, 2011

“Black” transplantology in Kosovo: international investigation needed
Timur Blokhin

-”[T]rafficking in human organs is a profitable type of business, in which some people in Kosovo were engaged earlier and that there are people who remain engaged in it now too. Such crimes were committed during the conflict with NATO, and the majority of people disappeared exactly at that period of time – according to our information, 300 to 500 people are listed missing, who, again according to our information, disappeared in the north of Albania.”

Serbia’s proposal for the establishment of an independent investigative body with a mandate of the UN Security Council is expected to be considered in New York in the middle of May. The new body will tackle the cases of human organ trafficking in Kosovo. The Serbian side came up with this proposal after consultations between Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Yeremic and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. During his visit to Belgrade on April 19th he said that regarding this issue, Moscow would offer Serbia its support.

Despite the loud words – just those – of the international community to the effect that criminals have no nationality, it is very hard to deny the fact of the 10-year-long “demonization” of the Serbs by Western media.

What appeared as a result was Dick Marti’s report about the “black” transplantology in Kosovo and about the involvement of the current Kosovo ruling clique in this dirty business, which came as a bombshell.

In an exclusive interview with Voice of Russia correspondents, who visited Serbia during their business trip, Serbian Deputy Prosecutor Bruno Vekaric answered a few questions concerning this subject.

“What is meant here are several people having information about human organ trafficking in Europe of today. That is why if we start divulging the details just now, this may hamper the on-going developments in the investigation. However, there’s still one thing we should stress here – that many people tried to give a political colour to this matter while we are sure that this is a classical example of a criminal business.”

Belgrade politologists fear that after the shocking information concerning the human organ trafficking in Kosovo came to the surface, the members of the world community will do their utmost so that the investigations dedicated to all these facts will remain deeply hidden.

“Let’s proceed from the analysis of the current state of affairs in Kosovo. The so –called ‘grey zone’ accounts for approximately 60 per cent of business there. And we start believing that trafficking in human organs is a profitable type of business, in which some people in Kosovo were engaged earlier and that there are people who remain engaged in it now too. Such crimes were committed during the conflict with NATO, and the majority of people disappeared exactly at that period of time – according to our information, 300 to 500 people are listed missing, who, again according to our information, disappeared in the north of Albania.”

So why do the Albanian prosecutors refuse to take part in the investigation?

“For political reasons, I believe”, Bruno Vekaric says, adding the following: “We have an agreement on cooperation with the Albanian prosecutors, which was signed back in 2005, and we would like to conduct a joint investigation on its basis.

“Had such an investigation been carried out at that time, there’s reason to believe that Marti’s report would have never appeared. We have proved that that there were camps of the Kosovo Liberation Army in the north of Albania and that there were special medical centres in four of them where surgical operations, possibly, were performed. Western channels interviewed witnesses in this case. And after all, Dick Marti’s report does exist. Therefore, we should not turn a blind eye to that. The Albanian side refuses to cooperate on this issue. Albania even did not allow Dick Marti to check some facts on its territory.

“And as regards Kosovo and Metohija, it is in the interests of the Albanian leader Hashim Thachi that the investigation should be completed since he says that he was not involved. Because otherwise, he will remain suspected of committing crimes unprecedented in their cruelty.”

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Turkey: Bosnia And Serbia Should Join NATO

http://www.sify.com/news/turkey-bosnia-and-serbia-should-join-nato-eu-news-international-le3guqbbcdj.html

Associated Press
April 28, 2011

Turkey: Bosnia and Serbia should join NATO, EU

Turkey wants to help turn the war-ravaged Balkans into a region of cooperation with a joint future in the European Union and NATO, the Turkish president said Tuesday, as part of his country’s increased involvement in the region where it has historic influence.

“It is our desire to have the whole region united under a wider umbrella of the European Union and NATO,” Abdullah Gul said after talks with Serbia’s President Boris Tadic and the three members of Bosnia’s multiethnic presidency.

“We believe that the Balkans is not at the end of Europe, but that it is the heart of Europe,” Gul said. “We want to … strengthen cooperation and move jointly toward solving burning issues.”

The talks at the Karadjordjevo residency near the border with Croatia came a year after Turkey hosted a similar summit in Istanbul, aimed at bringing former Balkan foes Serbia and Bosnia closer together.

Turkey’s diplomatic initiative illustrates its bid to renew its influence in the Balkans stemming from centuries-long Ottoman rule and close ties with the region’s Muslims.

“Turkey has its historic reasons and … legitimate interests for its presence in the Balkans,” Serbia’s president Tadic said. “We want the entire region to be integrated into the European Union as soon as possible … this is our main political goal.”

Tadic pledged to put the past behind and “create a better future” for the region that was in the 1990s engulfed in the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.

Tadic did not elaborate on Gul’s proposed NATO ties. The issue is sensitive among the Serbs because of the Western military alliance’s 1999 bombing of Serbia that ended Belgrade’s rule over Kosovo, Serbia’s former province.
….

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Three NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghan Attacks

http://channel6newsonline.com/2011/04/three-coalition-service-members-die-in-afghan-attacks-4/

BNO News
April 28, 2011

Three coalition service members die in Afghan attacks

KABUL: Three coalition service members were killed in two separate attacks in eastern and southern Afghanistan on Thursday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed on Friday.

ISAF said a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan killed two of its service members, while an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan claimed a third service member. The nationalities of the service members were not immediately disclosed. “It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities,” a brief statement said.

Coalition casualties in Afghanistan have been rising sharply in recent years, with a total coalition death toll of 709 in 2010, making it the deadliest year for international troops since the war….

So far this year, more than 155 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most troops are killed in the country’s south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.

On Wednesday, one of the deadliest days so far this year for coalition troops, eight American service members were killed when an Afghan military officer opened fire at an air force base at North Kabul International Airport. An American civilian with ISAF was also killed.

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Afghan War: U.S. Marine General Praises USMC-Trained Georgian Troops

http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=23387

Civil Georgia
April 28, 2011

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Praises Georgian Troops in Afghanistan

Tbilisi: U.S. Marine Corps General Richard Mills, a former commander of coalition forces in southwest Afghanistan, praised Georgian troops serving in the coalition forces for “absolutely superb work.”

Speaking with journalists in Washington on April 27, Gen. Mills, who oversaw operations in the Afghan Helmand and Nimruz provinces from April 2010 until earlier this month, gave some details of assignments undertaken by the Georgian forces under his commend.

Two Georgian battalions – the 31st and 32nd from the 3rd infantry brigade – were serving in Afghanistan under Mills’ command. Georgia started rotating its 32nd battalion with the 33rd battalion earlier this month.
….
“Georgians like to fight, they are professional soldiers, who understand what their tasks are and they are more than willing to carry them out. As a matter of fact they asked if they could be given even more duties and so one of their companies was sent to help out in place called Sangin…where a rather significant battle is being fought…,,” Gen. Mills said.
….
Gen. Mills said in Sangin the Georgian company was given “a tough” tasks against “a very determined enemy.”
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He also said that as part of the assistance, the U.S. Marines provided the Georgian troops with “correct vehicles to resist mines.”

With the latest death reported on March 14, the total number of Georgian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since joining the NATO-led operation in November, 2009 increased to seven.

Georgia first deployed a company-sized unit in Afghanistan in November, 2009 and increased its contribution to the NATO-led forces to about 950 soldiers in April, 2010 after sending a battalion to Helmand. In February the Georgian Parliament approved the government’s proposal to send to Afghanistan a team of artillery instructors to train the Afghan military.

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NATO Festival Begins In Norfolk, Virginia

http://www.act.nato.int/multimedia/archive/42-news-stories/593-flag-raising-kicks-off-annual-norfolk-nato-festival

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Transformation
April 27, 2011

Flag raising kicks off annual Norfolk NATO festival
Written by U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Chris Carrothers

-”[W]e take it above all as a salute to the brave men and women from all our nations who, as we speak, are serving in Afghanistan, over Libya, off the Horn of Africa and elsewhere….”

NORFOLK, Va. – Despite an unseasonably rainy day, Norfolk community leaders joined with staff from Allied Command Transformation to kick-off the Norfolk NATO festival with a flag raising ceremony at the ACT headquarters flag complex yesterday.

Supreme Allied Commander Transformation French Air Force General Stéphane Abrial presided over the ceremony, which officially begins Norfolk’s NATO Festival.

The ceremony began with the raising of all 28 NATO member nations, with the U.S. flags hoisted on the ceremonial flag poles. Once the flags were in place, Abrial addressed the guests and staff.

“We greatly appreciate the NATO festival as a heartfelt gesture towards ACT personnel, but we also know that it goes beyond: we take it above all as a salute to the brave men and women from all our nations who, as we speak, are serving in Afghanistan, over Libya, off the Horn of Africa and elsewhere, putting themselves in harm’s way for the sake of our common security and our shared values.”

“And no symbol, perhaps, demonstrates this more clearly than the flags of all our nations rising in a ripple of colour during today’s ceremony.”

Next to speak was Ambassador to the Norfolk NATO Festival U.S. Navy Petty Officer first Class Carla Burdt who is also HQ SACT’s Military Member of the Year for 2011. Burdt emphasized the long-standing friendship between Norfolk and the international military community that the festival represents.
….
After Petty Officer Burdt’s address she was presented with the Mace of the city of Norfolk by Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim. The mace was a colonial-era symbol of the authority bestowed by English royalty and was originally presented to the Norfolk Common Council by then Royal Lt. Governor Robert Dinwiddie April 1, 1754. Fraim then addressed the guest and staff.
….
Following the addresses, the Atlantic Fleet Band passed in review, while playing a mixture of U.S. and NATO songs….

This is one of several events leading up to the main week of the annual Norfolk NATO Festival April 26-30. Other events also include a parade in downtown Norfolk followed by a salute to NATO Nations at Town Point Park.

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NATO Trains Iraqi Proxy Army In Europe, At Home

http://www.aco.nato.int/page424204844.aspx

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
April 27, 2011

NATO Training Mission-Iraq Deputy Commander meets Iraq’s Chief of Defence

-[Italian Army Maj. Gen Claudio Angelelli and Iraqi Army Gen. Babakir Zebari] discussed training to be conducted at the Iraqi International Academy, where, once established, Iraq will have the premier Advanced Military Studies Complex in the Gulf Region; and the development of a Structured Cooperation Framework as a fundamental instrument for a long-term relationship between NATO and Iraq.

BAGHDAD – NATO Training Mission-Iraq Deputy Commander, Italian Army Maj. Gen Claudio Angelelli, met with Iraq’s Chief of Defence, Iraqi Army Gen. Babakir Zebari, here to discuss Iraqi military training conducted outside Iraq April 25.

During the meeting the two discussed efforts to better coordinate training courses conducted outside Iraq, of particular interest is a one-week long logistics course.
….
In addition to the logistics course several other significant achievements have been accomplished in recent months, including: Iraq’s Operational Centres achieving self-sustainable capability at the ministerial level (Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence and Prime Minister Office) last November and other completed courses as well as many currently in progress. Additionally, NATO has provided the Iraqi military with more than 112.2 million Euros worth of needed equipment through the Equipment Donation Programme.

They also discussed training to be conducted at the Iraqi International Academy, where, once established, Iraq will have the premier Advanced Military Studies Complex in the Gulf Region; and the development of a Structured Cooperation Framework as a fundamental instrument for a long-term relationship between NATO and Iraq.
….
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Mission

The NTM-I mission has always been fundamentally concerned with structures and institutions – building and developing enduring, national self-sustaining capabilities in the Iraqi Security Forces. Furthermore, NTM-I has always been a relatively small, tactical size organization, with limited resources but one that has had a strategic impact on Iraq.

Mission statement

Provide training and assistance to the Iraqi Security Forces in order to contribute to the development of Iraqi training structures and institutions, so that Iraq can continue to build effective and sustainable multi-ethnic security forces which address the security needs of the Iraqi people.

Participating nations

The NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) was established in 2004 at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government under the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1546 and currently, the NTM-I footprint is a small tactical force of around 170 NATO/PfP personnel, representing 14 member nations (as of April 2011) as part of 28 NATO countries.

14 member nations: Albania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania Turkey, Ukraine (Partnership for Peace), UK, USA.

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Polish Navy “Makes History” In Leading NATO Naval Group

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-36FEC94C-5571C740/natolive/news_72943.htm

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
April 28, 2011

Polish naval command makes NATO history

Making history is not something every commander can say when they hand over the rotational lead of one of NATO’s maritime groups. For Commander Krzysztof Jan Rybak, completing a year at the helm of NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Maritime Group 1 (SNMCMG1), meant he was the first ever Pole to lead Alliance ships.
….
The Polish Navy initiated Poland’s involvement in NATO manoeuvres in 1993. Since then, as one of the newer members of NATO (1999), Poland has been participating in various NATO operations and training.

“Leading the group proved that even though Poland is the youngest member-country to take over we were well prepared to lead multinational forces throughout 2010,” says Cdr. Rybak. “Back then we were writing a completely new page in the history of the Polish Navy, and I was starting a new chapter in my personal career.”

NATO has 4 standing maritime groups – Standing NATO Maritime Groups (SNMG) 1 and 2 and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Maritime Groups (SNMCMG) 1 and 2. Each is comprised of between three to five ships on rotational cycles. While ships in these groups are not always on active operation, they continue to conduct exercises all year round.

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U.S. Forecasts 50 Percent Growth In World Energy Demand

http://en.trend.az/capital/energy/1868364.html

Trend News Agency
April 28, 2011

U.S. forecasts 50-percent growth of world demand for energy resources
A. Badalova

Baku: World demand for energy resources will grow by 50 percent from 2009 to 2035, the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported in its annual report on the energy review.

The major part of the growth during this period will be accounted for by countries which are not members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where energy consumption will increase by 84 percent. In the developed OECD countries, this figure will hit 14 percent.

Among the countries that are not OECD members, the maximum growth in energy consumption for the period from 2009 to 2035 will be observed in the Middle East at 82 percent and in Africa and Central and South America at 63 percent.

According to the EIA forecasts, the consumption of liquid hydrocarbons in the OECD countries will rise to 47.9 million barrels per day in 2035, while in countries that are not members of this organization to 62.9 million barrels per day.

In the case of high oil prices by that year (about $200 per barrel), the consumption of liquid hydrocarbons in the OECD countries according to the EIA expectations will fall to 53.1 million barrels per day. In countries that are not members of the organization, on the contrary, an increase will be observed in energy consumption against the backdrop of high GDP growth. According to the EIA forecasts, the level of energy consumption in these countries in 2035 will hit 70 million barrels per day.

EIA forecasts the world’s liquid hydrocarbon production from non-traditional sources in 2035 at 10.4, 13.5, or 19.4 million barrels per day, depending on the scenario of changes in world oil prices.

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South Asian Asymmetries, U.S. Drone Warfare And The Peloponnesian War

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=88878

Pakistan Observer
April 29, 2011

Symmetry of asymmetries
Abid Latif Sindhu

Imperialism is a strange thing; by default it is taken as a de jure phenomenon for the smart and the beautiful. The West even coined euphemistic terms like Islamic Imperialism and Oriental Militarism, whereas nothing of this sort exists in the Muslim world. The Madina state, the Abbasids, the Omayyad, the Moguls and even the Ottomans were not imperialist in their intent. They were not even expansionist.

At the maximum these were self-satisfying monarchies with aggrandizing politics of the durbars. Is imperialism a Western theory of subjugation?

Modern history is full of Western hegemony and drive for Oriental and backyard colonialism.

It is said that history repeats itself. Now it is believed that history comes in concentric circles; the Romans invaded surrounding countries three millenniums ago on the plea that the Roman law applies the world over and authorized them to take action anywhere to secure the mainland from even future threats.

What a historical analogy with the present day USA state establishment!

Uncle Sam has come to this region to probably teach a lesson or two in intellectual history. The AfPak is a strategy of America and its allies to create or achieve symmetry in the sphere of regional power politics.

Amongst the states it is almost achievable, thanks to the strings attached with the tag of globalization, but things a little more primitive than the states in this part of world are really difficult to control and tame.

Here then come the drones, the Roman way or the traditional Ku Klux Klan with a bang. The Peloponnesian War is the most important historic simile of the present day problems in Afghanistan and the Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Three things played important parts in the conduct of this war: one, the repeated campaigning season of summer; second, the motivating and incisive speeches of both the Spartan and Athenian Generals at every stage of war; and thirdly, the absence of religion and theocratic inferences.

If the AfPak policy is designed on these lines, then the chances of success are increased, so Uncle Sam gets a leaf from history and makes General Peterson read the Peloponnesian War. It is said that already Thucydides is the favorite author of many American generals engaged in this war and the Peloponnesian War is on their coffee tables. The situation on the ground is getting more complexed, the political cam is not even creating a torque by a single degree.

Drones are proving to be anathema to the complete matrix of this war; the protagonist who uses it as a force multiplier is actually losing whatever little power left in the military system which is waging this war.

Any war which has murkier tones of engagement is going to be an unending affair. The players the USA, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Taliban and the bold and beautiful CIA along the ISI are protagonists. The March 17 drone attack emerges as another Gordian knot after the Raymond Davis case. It targeted the jirga of the Madda Khel tribe which was called to solve an inter-tribe sale of a chromite mine at Datta Khel. Drones are being used as the unilateral weapon of choice; these are more of a political destabilizer than a force multiplier.

The Pakistan government has now reached a point where it cannot take more of these attacks. The military is also getting jittery on the subject.

Over 700 drone attacks are enough to disturb the barometric readings of any nation or people. To counter the negative atmospherics of the tribal region, especially North Waziristan, General Kayani announced the construction of an 80-kilometer road from Bannu to Ghulam Khan, the border town at the Pak Afghan border and the most important crossing place for trade and tribal movements for centuries. Another irritant in the regional distemper between Pakistan and USA is the presence of intelligence operatives in Pakistan.

Once the ISI chief protested on the issue in Washington; he was told that the number is difficult to reduce, rather it is a matter which cannot be take into account Pakistan’s perspective.

On the other hand Pakistan has showed its willingness to allow the Taliban to open an office in Turkey, magnanimity at its best. For the USA it will be difficult to leave Afghanistan in the hands of Afghan national forces, which are still in their seminal stage. Afghanistan and the tribal region of Pakistan are at the historical equinox, whether night prevails or the dawn emerges is a million dollar question which can only be answered by getting the priorities right at the grass root levels of engagement.

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Categories: Uncategorized

Update on Libyan war: April 28

April 28, 2011 richardrozoff 2 comments

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Tripoli Bishop: Bombs Striking Everywhere, Italian Government Should Resign

Libya: Robin Hood And Robbers

Several Injured, Perhaps Dead In NATO Air Strike On Libyan Capital

Libya To Take Legal Action Against NATO Over Gaddafi Assassination Attempt

NATO’s Month-Long Air War: 4,100 Sorties, 1,700 Strike Missions

Russia Says EU, NATO Ready To Start Ground Operation In Libya

West Plans Libyan Invasion Under Humanitarian Guise

Libya Trains Volunteer Army To Fight Against NATO Invasion

Bishop Denounces NATO Bombing Campaign In Libya

War Against Libya As Seen From Caribbean, Latin America

Russia, China Oppose Foreign Interference In Syria

Libya: Africa And Politics of Contradictions

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Tripoli Bishop: Bombs Striking Everywhere, Italian Government Should Resign

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/This-%E2%80%9Cwar-makes-no-sense%E2%80%9D,-the-Italian-govt-should-%E2%80%9Cresign%E2%80%9D,-Tripoli-bishop-says-21417.html

Asia News
April 28, 2011

This “war makes no sense”, the Italian govt should “resign”, Tripoli bishop says

Tripoli: “NATO’s war makes no sense. People want peace. What have people done to deserve all this?” asks Mgr Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Tripoli. “Targeting military objectives” is crazy because “bombs are striking everywhere,” the prelate said. “We cannot sleep and people are panicking,” he added. “Just last night, there were some explosions just a few kilometres from our area.”

The situation is desperate and the West should stop the war, Mgr Martinelli urged. “We can see women and children crying in the streets. Many Muslim women have come to church crying, asking the Pope to stop the conflict,” the prelate said.

“Bombs solve nothing. NATO and the rebels must stop the military intervention and accept diplomatic talks with the regime,” he explained.

The prelate is also very critical of the positions taken by the Italian government. After backing Gaddafi and his regime for years, now Rome has decided to take part in the air strikes.

“If this is the government’s choice, it would be better for everyone that it resign,” the bishop said.

“How can anyone say that everything is normal and right? If the war continues, the gap between the Libyan and Italian peoples could get bigger, with unforeseeable consequences.”

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Libya: Robin Hood And Robbers

http://print.dailymirror.lk/opinion1/42367.html

Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)
April 29, 2011

Libya’s Robin Hood and the Robbers
Ameen Izzadeen

With every passing day, the Libyan picture becomes clearer. The emerging picture confirms what most people, including imperialists, know — that the reason for the military action against Libya is anything but humanitarian.

Protecting Libya’s civilians from Muammar Gaddafi’s forces is only a cover for a campaign aimed at regime change and the plunder of the resources not only of Libya but also of the whole of Africa.

According to a shocking article posted on OpEdNews.com, the Libyan war has its roots in oil and Lockerbie. The author, Susan Lindauer, a CIA ‘asset’ turned anti-war activist, says Libya was made a fall guy in the Lockerbie bombing that was carried out by the CIA’s drug mafia.

{For a compilation of the CIA’s drug operations, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_drug_trafficking.}

Lindauer claims that Gaddafi was the fall guy and he was forced to cough up about 2.7 billion dollars in compensation for the 270 victims who died when a bomb planted on Pan Am flight 103 exploded on December 21, 1988 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Gaddafi paid the money in 2008 after admitting to a crime which he had not committed to save his country from the pangs of gruelling UN sanctions.

When Gaddafi improved relations with the West in the wake of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, US oil companies wasted no time in striking deals. But they withdrew last year, complaining about the huge kickbacks Gaddafi was demanding.

Justifying the Libyan leader’s demand, Lindauer says, “Gaddafi took on the role of a modern-day Robin Hood, who insisted on replenishing his people for the costs they’d suffered under UN sanctions….You’ve got to admit that Gaddafi’s attempt to balance the scales of justice demonstrated a flair of righteous nationalism.”

She adds: “Don’t kid yourself. This is an oil war, and it smacks of imperialist double standards”.

{Visit http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/Libya-s-Blood-for-Oil-The-by-Susan-Lindauer-110327-21.html for Lindauer’s article.}

If oil is the reward that the US is seeking from the Libyan war, the enslavement of Africa is perhaps what France and Britain are after.

Though Gaddafi courted the West by dismantling Libya’s weapons of mass destruction programmes soon after the US invasion of Iraq, the Libyan leader had other ideas. He conceived a vision to free Africa from the West’s neocolonialist clutches.

In 1992, 45 African nations formed RASCOM (Regional African Satellite Communication Organisation) aimed at bringing down the cost of communications in the continent. Africa was paying some US$ 500 million a year as satellite fees to French and other European companies, and the call charges in the continent were the highest in the world. RASCOM had a plan to launch its own African satellite. The project would cost US$ 400 million. For 14 years, they went behind the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other donors. These imperialist-run institutions made borrowing difficult by placing tough conditions.

Gaddafi put an end to these futile pleas and offered US$ 300 million. The African Development Bank with US$50 million and the West African Development Bank with US$27 million contributed to the project which was brought to fruition in December 2007. Africa’s gain was Europe’s loss. No wonder Gaddafi has become a villain for France, Britain and other imperialists though he is a hero for Africa.

Gaddafi had also pledged to fund three ambitious African projects — the creation of an African investment bank, an African monetary fund and an African central bank. Africa felt that these Africa-centred institutions were necessary to end its dependence on the IMF and the World Bank — institutions that prescribe unrealistic and unpopular measures to qualify for loans. These conditions which include measures to privatize natural resources and allowing unlimited access to foreign companies are designed to keep Africa eternally poor or dependant on the West. Libya had pledged funds for these projects from its investments in the United States. The US$ 30 billion which the Barack Obama administration froze (or robbed) at the first signs of the orchestrated troubles in the Libyan town of Benghazi was meant to finance these three African projects which would have given Africa some economic freedom.

Besides oil and Africa’s economic freedom, Libya’ refusal to join Africom, the United State’s African Command, is also a casus belli for the war on Libya. Though Africom’s stated objective is to assist African nations, critics say its military objective is to prevent China from gaining a strategic foothold in Africa. At present Africom operates from an old French base in Djibouti. Is the Libyan war aimed at bringing Africom to Libya? The one who controls Libya controls the Mediterranean, the Middle East and half of Africa. Since the end of World War II, the United States had a huge military base in Libya until Gaddafi in 1969 told the US to get out. Amidst uncertainty over the direction a civilian government in Egypt will take, a base in neighbouring Libya assumes added significance. Gaddafi opposed these moves and played a dangerous game with the West — offering them oil deals while taking steps to check the West’s influence on Africa and the Middle East.

In one such anti-West tirade in 2003, Gaddafi at an Arab summit slammed Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah who was seated opposite him. “You are a product of Britain and protected by the US.”

Six year later, he repeated the accusations at another summit, saying “After six years, it has been proven that with…the grave before you, it is Britain that made you and the Americans that protected you.”

No wonder that Saudi Arabia and other pro-US Gulf states have joined the military campaign against Libya — something they would not even dream of doing to protect the Palestinian people from Israel.

====

Several Injured, Perhaps Dead In NATO Air Strike On Libyan Capital

http://english.cri.cn/6966/2011/04/28/2741s634609.htm

Xinhua News Agency
April 28, 2011

At Least 4 Injured in NATO Airstrikes on Tripoli

At least four people were injured in NATO airstrikes on Libyan capital Tripoli early Thursday morning, which had struck a military target in the eastern part of the city, a Xinhua reporter said.

At least four people were pulled out from the explosion sites and sent to hospital, but it was unclear whether they were fatally wounded, said the reporter, adding that more casualties are possible.

NATO airplanes fired four rockets on Tripoli in the latest raid, hitting a military academy. An administrative building of the academy and a government-owned warehouse was destroyed.

Large plumes of smoke could be seen above the areas struck by the rockets, said the reporter whose home is just 2 km away from one of the explosion sites.

====

Libya To Take Legal Action Against NATO Over Gaddafi Assassination Attempt

http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/libya-takes-legal-action-against-nato-for-attempt-on-kadhafi’s-life-2011042810243.html

Afrique en ligne/Pan-African News Agency
April 28, 2011

Libya takes legal action against NATO for attempt on Kadhafi’s life

Tripoli, Libya: Libya has undertaken legal proceedings before the ‘competent courts’ against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its allies for attempting to assassinate the country’s leader, Mouammar Kadhafi, an official source said here Wednesday.

On Sunday, Kadhafi’s office, located in his residence at Bab Al-Aziziya in Tripoli, was totally destroyed by the air strikes launched by NATO. Legal services at the Libyan General People’s Committee said Wednesday that ‘NATO, on 25 April, bombarded the administrative building at Bab Al-Aziziya, used for administrative purposes and this was in an attempt to assassinate Kadhafi,’ the Libyan News Agency (JANA) said.

The Libyan judicial services said ‘with regard to the violation of the international law, which this criminal act represents, the absence of all basis on international legality, as well as its violation of the content of the 1970 and 1973 UN Security Council resolutions, the legal competent services at the Libyan General People’s Committee for Justice have undertaken actions for a complaint before the specialized courts against NATO and those responsible for those acts.’

====

NATO’s Month-Long Air War: 4,100 Sorties, 1,700 Strike Missions

http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_04/20110428_110428-oup-update.pdf

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
April 28, 2011

NATO and Libya
JFC Naples, SHAPE, NATO HQ

….

Air Operations

Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00GMT) a total of 4,100 sorties of which 1,699 strike sorties have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 27 April: 119

Strike sorties conducted 27 April: 41

….

Key Targets and Engagements

27 April: in the vicinity of Tripoli: 1 Communications facility; 2 vehicle storage buildings; 1 surface-to-air missile storage facility.

In the vicinity of Misurata: 2 rocket launchers; 2 artillery vehicles; 1 armoured personnel carrier.

In the vicinity of Mizdah: 7 ammunition storage bunkers.

In the vicinity of Sirte: 12 ammunition storage bunkers.

….

Arms Embargo Activities

A total of 19 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.

20 Vessels were hailed on 27 April to determine destination and cargo. 2 boardings (no diversion) were conducted.

A total of 682 vessels have been hailed, 20 boardings and 5 diversions have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.

….

====

Russia Says EU, NATO Ready To Start Ground Operation In Libya

http://rt.com/politics/nato-ready-ground-libya/

RT
April 28, 2011

Russia says EU, NATO ready to start ground operation in Libya

Russia’s envoy to NATO says that the European Union is ready to send up to 1,500 soldiers to conduct a ground operation in Libya, albeit this will be called support of the humanitarian mission.

Dmitry Rogozin told Russian news agencies on Thursday that the European Union had prepared an operation to enforce the security of the humanitarian mission and at present there were only some logistical details to be fixed. Rogozin said that the EU will send about 1,500 people divided into tactical groups and according to his information these will be soldiers from Germany and the Netherlands.

The EU Council made the decision to start preparations for the humanitarian operation on April 1, but in order to turn the operation into the practical phase the union needs a request from the United Nations which has not yet been received.

NATO was also considering ground operations in Libya despite the fact that the UN resolution on the situation in the country only allows an air blockade. At present, NATO is sending a civilian representative to the city of Benghazi to establish ties with the Libyan opposition forces. The Russian envoy said that such a move can be explained by ambitions more than practical reasons.

“Sending the NATO civilian mission to Benghazi fully matches the ambitions stated in the alliance’s new strategic concept that reads that from now on NATO will be holding all-in-one operations without using any services from the European Union or other international organizations. NATO wants to show now that it is able to conduct universal work. Be a universal soldier, a nurse and a babysitter all in one,” Rogozin said.

Dmitry Rogozin earlier warned that the international coalition could use the humanitarian operation as a disguise for a large-scale ground operation against Muammar Gaddafi’s troops.

Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported earlier on Thursday that a diplomatic source had confirmed that NATO was sending a civilian representative with a small staff of aides to Benghazi in order to secure political contacts with the National Transitional Council….

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West Plans Libyan Invasion Under Humanitarian Guise

http://rt.com/politics/press/nezavisimaya/gaddafi-ground-un-operation/en/

Nezavisimaya/RT
April 28, 2011

Gaddafi asks Russia to be his counsel
Coalition members are planning a ground “humanitarian” operation
Olesya Khantsevich

The Western coalition is looking for ways to initiate a ground operation in Libya, which would not violate the current UN resolution and not trigger the adoption of a new one.

The EU’s secret plan for a ground operation became available to the press.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in the combat zone is deteriorating day by day. While the West continues strikes and its aerial hunt for Gaddafi, the rebels are receiving significant financial support from abroad – the US, Australia, and Kuwait. The Libyan authorities have asked Russia to initiate an emergency UN Security Council meeting in order to stop “the excessive aggression of the colonialists and Crusaders”.

The German newspaper Bild had published the EU’s secret plan for a ground operation in Libya. Despite the fact that the mission is officially called humanitarian, the 60-page document provides for the involvement of soldiers, sappers, air traffic controllers, and special military machinery. The headquarters of the mission are expected to be located in Rome, the term of operation – no more than four months. The military campaign, named EUFOR Libya, could start after the EU receives an appropriate request from the UN. A source in the EU has confirmed this information, while a representative of NATO headquarters in Brussels said that plans for this type of a ground operation are also nurtured by the alliance.

Despite the fact that the Western collation leaders continue to assert that a ground invasion is not in their plans, the leadership of the NATO countries is considering the option of bypassing the UN resolution of March 17 – this conclusion is being drawn by the media.

On Tuesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had excluded the possibility of launching a ground operation, underscoring that it would violate the UN Security Council resolution, but at the same time he left room for the possibility of sending reconnaissance units and military experts, which according to him is not prohibited by the resolution.

Earlier, French authorities had spoken in favor of aiming NATO bombers from the ground; otherwise, they “blindly” deliver strikes, which leads to fatal mistakes.

And British Prime Minister David Cameron had accepted the possibility of supplying arms to the Libyan rebels. “We do not exclude the possibility of delivering arms supplies, but we have yet to make a decision on this issue. The legal and practical issues must be carefully examined,” he said. Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, expressed the opinion that the arms embargo is not obsolete. “In certain circumstances, it is legal under the UN resolution to supply equipment to protect civilian lives,” said the foreign secretary. The media had repeatedly reported that special ground units from Great Britain, France, and Italy are secretly operating in Libya.

Meanwhile, despite the all-round assistance, the opposition is unable to overturn Muammar Gaddafi. His loyal army continues to strike against Misurata.

A month and a half after the Western coalition launched the airborne mission, the bloodshed continues.

Residents of east Libya, which is under the control of Gaddafi’s opposition, could face food shortages. Meanwhile, the financial support of the rebels rises day by day – US President Barack Obama has instructed to allocate $25 million, Australia donated ten time less for humanitarian relief, and Kuwait provided $180 million to the rebels.

Moreover, the US Treasury had allowed American companies to buy oil from the Libyan rebels. The Libyan leader, meanwhile, was not discouraged after the bombing of his residence in Tripoli. He is actively seeking support from abroad. Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, said that a delegation from Libya had arrived to his country “in search for a political solution”. He called Gaddafi a friend and condemned the “military intervention” of the US and members of the EU. “They are dropping bombs on military barracks, schools, shopping centers….Who gave them this right? We are searching for a peaceful solution to the situation,” said Chavez.

Libyan authorities have also turned to Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, urging it to convene an emergency meeting. In the appeal it is stated that the topic of discussion at the meeting needs to be “the excessive aggression of the colonizers and Crusaders, who are striking civilian targets and trying to liquidate Muammar Gaddafi, which violates the UN Security Council resolutions and the principles of international law”.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has not yet decided to initiate an emergency meeting; but recently, Russia has been acting as Libya’s chief defender in the international arena.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently confronted NATO by telling journalists in Copenhagen that “Libyans need to be allowed to resolve the situation themselves”.

He recalled the UN Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya. “Where is there a no-fly zone, if the palaces, where Gaddafi resides, are bombarded from the sky on a daily basis? They say: no we don’t want to destroy him. Then why strike the palaces? What are they trying to do there, get rid of mice?” said the head of the government.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said that Russia will use its veto right and will not support a new UN Security Council resolution on Libya “if it, one way or another, leads to further exacerbation of the civil war, including by outside intervention”.

====

Libya Trains Volunteer Army To Fight Against NATO Invasion

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE73Q8ZZ20110427

Reuters
April 27, 2011

Libya’s Gaddafi trains volunteer army to fight NATO
By Lin Noueihed

TARHUNAH, LibyaL The man squats down and fires. A rocket-propelled grenade shoots into the desert to calls of “Allahu Akbar,” God is Greatest. Another man takes his place.

These are members of the volunteer army being trained by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the name of fighting any NATO ground invasion.

Libyan officials have said in recent weeks that they had begun arming and training civilians across government-controlled western Libya, in an effort to put the country’s tribes at the forefront of the fight against NATO attacks.

In a government-organised trip on Wednesday, journalists were taken to Tarhunah, 85 km (53 miles) southeast of Tripoli, to meet the volunteers who are being armed and trained there.
….
“We have trained 400 people so far and given them arms. We started with the NATO strikes,” said Jamal Ibrahim Abu Ghrara, an agricultural engineer and head of the local people’s committee who was supervising the training.

Another 14 committees have also trained volunteers to fight what they see as a possible NATO invasion.
….
Sitting on the grass, cradling his Kalashnikov rifle, 22-year-old Mohammed Jumaa, said he volunteered with his two brothers and two sisters, to protect their family in any war.

“We are all volunteers. Even the girls,” Jumaa said softly.

“We’re not expecting a rebellion here or the rebels to reach here. It is about NATO. They are planning to come by land and they want to come here and take our oil.”
….

====

Bishop Denounces NATO Bombing Campaign In Libya

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=10141

Catholic Culture
April 28, 2011

Bishop denounces continued bombing campaign in Libya

The apostolic vicar of Tripoli has renewed his condemnation of the bombing of Libya by NATO forces.

“On Easter Monday, we witnessed a terrible bombing in Tripoli, but this did not stop the faithful from being present in church,” Bishop Giovanni Martinelli told the Fides news agency. “The United Nations has decided to make war and does not allow any form of dialogue as a means of resolving disputes. Everyone wants to continue to pursue the solution of the bombs. It is sad, terrible, because nothing will change. It is a defeat for humanity.”

====

War Against Libya As Seen From Caribbean, Latin America

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Caricom_s_watch_on_Libya-120756154.html

Trinindad Express
April 27, 2011

Caricom’s watch on Libya
By Rickey Singh

Caribbean Community governments whose economic development programmes are linked to some vital funding from Libya, are in deep agony as the powerful and wealthy western nations now intensify their military battle for “regime change” in Tripoli with direct bombing strikes on the office complex of President Moammar Gadaffi.

Among Caribbean leaders expressing concerns are Caricom’s current chairman, Prime Minister Tillman Thomas of Grenada and counterparts in St Vincent and the Grenadines (Ralph Gonzales); Antigua and Barbuda (Baldwin Spencer); Dominica (Roosevelt Skerrit); St Lucia (Stephenson King) and St Kitts and Nevis (Denzil Douglas).

As the Guardian (UK) was reporting on Easter Monday’s official Libyan complaint that two successive bombing strikes were part of a plan to assassinate Gadaffi, the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) was pointing to the consequences for some regional economies in view of the deteriorating situation in Libya.

Immediate projects expected to be affected include the opening of a Libyan embassy in St Lucia and a bank in St Kitts. As Prime Minister Spencer contends, “whether we like it or not, we are still very much dependent on oil from the Middle East and most of our economies are driven by that…and we are nervously watching developments in the North African country of Libya….”

Prime Minister Spencer and a lot of other Caribbean leaders — if not all of them — would also be conscious of another reality beyond our dependency on oil.

It is the reality that the western nations currently driving the campaign for regime change in Libya — namely the US, Britain and France — and distorting in the process last month’s UN Security Council’s “no fly zone” resolution to “protect civilians” — do not give a damn as to what the governments and people of the Latin American and Caribbean region think about how they wage their campaign to get Gadaffi out of power.

In the March 23 column on an “Arab ‘fig leaf’ for regime change” in Libya, I made clear that as a journalist of this region, I have no tears to shed for Gadaffi who has been ruling Libya with an iron first for some four decades.

Further, it was evident that the support sought from the Arab League by the US and its allies for the UN Security Council’s “no-fly zone” resolution could not mask the real objective of “regime change” in Tripoli.

Since then, the spreading turmoil in that region, with thousands dead and injured and widespread destruction in Libya, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere, have served to confirm the real objective of the UN ‘no-fly zone’ resolution — getting rid of Gadaffi, by all means necessary..

In contrast to the double-speak on the bloody battles in that region, the US and its two most formidable “partners in war” on Libya — Britain and France — have been demonstrating that “regime change” in Tripoli is the name of the game — as was done in Baghdad to get rid of Saddam Hussein. Then it was done with open contempt for the UN when then-President George Bush ignored the world body in launching the US military invasion of Iraq.

The people and governments of the Caribbean are mere spectators — like people and governments in other poor and developing regions of the world — to the hypocrisy of the US and its major European allies as they expediently engage in muted criticisms against the brutal repression of western-backed regimes in the Middle East but are pressing for regime change in Libya. Even if, as of now, it means taking taking out the Libyan dictator dead.

It should be recalled that back in 1986 President Ronald Reagan had authorised the bombing of Libya — with US jets flying from British bases — and including the residential compound. There were more than 100 civilian deaths, among them Gadaffi adopted baby daughter, Hannah.

In Libya, unlike elsewhere in that region, the US and its NATO allies are actually involved in warfare on behalf of armed rebels committed to the goal of ending the Gadaffi regime. Not satisfied with the gains of Gadaffi’s political opponents, they are no longer pretending about simply restricting themselves to the original intent of the UN Security Council resolution on “protecting” civilians.

Under enormous pressure from the Obama administration, the UN had refused Libya’s request for a hearing of its position in the current conflict. The UN had made no prior effort to seriously broker negotiations between Gadaffi’s government and the coalition of rebel forces.

While Caricom ponders the usefulness of at least issuing a collective “statement of concern” about the politics of regime change in Libya, the government in Tripoli has denounced what it regards “as an attempt to assassinate the (Libyan) leader and unifying the figure of our country….”

Do not expect America and its NATO allies to give any credence to Gadaffi’s claim that the war currently being waged against Libya reveals a violation of the letter and spirit of the UN Security Council resolution authorising military intervention “to protect civilians”

One does not, however, have to be a political sympathiser of the Libyan leader to make an independent judgment on what’s occurring at present in Libya — in the name of “democracy”.

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Russia, China Oppose Foreign Interference In Syria

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/04/28/49589323.html

Voice of Russia
April 28, 2011

Russia warns against interference in Syria
Konstantin Garibov

-It is becoming increasingly obvious that some people in Syria and other countries hope that the deteriorating situation will compel the international community to interfere under the pretext of assistance and side with one of the parties involved, like it happened in Libya. This is a provocation of violence and a sort of invitation to a civil war….

Members of the UN Security Council have failed to agree upon a statement condemning the Syrian government’s violence against the opposition.

Great Britain, France, Germany and Portugal suggested that the UN condemn Damascus for its disproportionate use of force against the peaceful population and urged an independent enquiry into all the related facts.

Responding to this proposal, UN Envoy in Syria Bashar Ja’afari said that Damascus has nothing to hide and is ready to carry out its own investigation. The Syrian army’s military operations are not targeted against the peaceful population but aim to do away with extremist terrorist groups, the official stressed.

Russia, China and Lebanon, which is the only Arab country in the UN Security Council, have taken a stand against the draft statement. Russian deputy UN Ambassador Alexander Pankin urged members not to ignore the fact that Syrian violence “does not all originate from one side.” He referred to the killing of a military convoy by anti-government forces, armed assaults on military facilities and checkpoints, as well as murders of police officers. The Russian diplomat does not however consider the conflict in Syria a threat to international security.

There was another reason behind Russia’s refusal to back the draft statement. It is becoming increasingly obvious that some people in Syria and other countries hope that the deteriorating situation will compel the international community to interfere under the pretext of assistance and side with one of the parties involved, like it happened in Libya. This is a provocation of violence and a sort of invitation to a civil war, deputy director of the Institute for US and Canada Studies Pavel Zolotarev said.

“Any outside interference in the settlement of Syria’s domestic issues is exceedingly dangerous in this context. Every country has some internal opposition forces capable of provoking chaos, presuming that other countries, interested in Syrian instability or the ascent to power of people who will pursue a policy beneficial to them, will start supporting these forces. This is not the way to ensure peace and stability. We will definitely trigger chaos if we follow this track. Therefore, Russia’s stand on Syria is clearly based on the principles of international law and common sense,” Pavel Zolotarev emphasized.
….
On Thursday, April 28th, the UN Security Council is going to discuss the situation in Libya. No draft resolution has been prepared as yet. Russia will not endorse any new resolution unless it contains an appeal to cease violence, bloodshed and military operations, as well as to immediately sit down at the negotiating table and finally agree on the Libyan future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the day before. But if the resolution leads to further exacerbation of the civil war, including outside interference, Russia will find it completely impossible to uphold it.

====

Libya: Africa And Politics of Contradictions

http://allafrica.com/stories/201104280016.html

The Herald (Zimbabwe)
April 27, 2011

Africa And Politics of Contradictions
Reason Wafawarova

-It is people without love who talk about love most often. It is people without grassroots participation in the decision-making process of their own countries who preach about democracy the most. It is people with atomic bombs and earth-shattering nuclear weapons who preach loudest about international peace.
It is people with lethal bombs and sophisticated military aircraft who preach most about the protection of Libyan civilians while spraying Libyan cities with deadly bombs….
-In fact, imperialism maintains itself largely on the effect of the apathy and hopelessness of its victims. It is purely the apathy and ignorance of Africans that is maintaining the Western aggression in Libya today.
It is quite unthinkable that a coalition of the willing from Africa could decide to go and bomb a European country, banking on the apathy and ignorance of Europeans.
As Libya is burning, Africa is busy fearing who could be next and our own people are heard bragging that Zimbabwe could be next, Uganda is next, Ethiopia is next and so on.
-What is discussed in white written slave history is the nature and condition of slavery, not the nature and condition of the slave master….And today we are made to discuss the nature and condition of democracy and human rights, not the nature and condition of the democratisation masters pushing all nationalities into compliance with the West’s dictates.

There is an unexplained wonder of political history where the people with a track record of going to war, who are ready to go to war, and have gone to war and destroyed millions of lives, are the most vocal in talking about peace, human rights and the protection of civilians from military attacks.

The United States, France and the UK have a terrible history of murderous slavery, cruel colonisation of other peoples, and despicable modern-day imperialistic tendencies.

This history is indelible and cannot be denied or wished away.

But Amos Wilson noted: “If accepting the truth about the situation of African peoples and other people in the world today means exposing the European to himself, of course he is going to ignore that expose.”

When writers expose the real motives of Westerners for the unjust war they are currently launching on Libya, what Western powers can only do is ignore that expose, while pushing a propaganda line that says the war is about protecting Libyans from their monstrous leadership.

It is people without love who talk about love most often. It is people without grassroots participation in the decision-making process of their own countries who preach about democracy the most. It is people with atomic bombs and earth-shattering nuclear weapons who preach loudest about international peace.

It is people with lethal bombs and sophisticated military aircraft who preach most about the protection of Libyan civilians while spraying Libyan cities with deadly bombs – of course in the name of benefitting the very civilians whose lives and infrastructure they are destroying.

What we must always recognise is that Africans do have a huge stake in ensuring the continuation of the failure of large segments of our own population, and Libya is no exception.

There are numerous contradictions in African society and these are issues of great importance in determining the problems bedevilling the continent.

Many of our people have an amazing excuse that says the circumstances determining our lives today are beyond our control. So there is a belief that other people are totally responsible for the state of Africa today and therefore we have neither say in nor control over these issues.

There is an extent to which this might be true when one looks at colonial history and what slavery did to the people of Africa. But when post-colonial influences end up creating psychological problems for the African individual it becomes time for self-reflection.

One has to see the apathy Africa is expressing over the military aggression in Libya today. The African leadership is apathetic if and when not complicit. They have given up and most have resigned from the African life, leaving the fate of their countries to the dictates of Western aid and to the will of Western political elites and their NGO arms.

When a president of a country becomes a victim of psychological problems to the extent of giving up effort and acknowledging that Africa is powerless and cannot do without handholding from Westerners, then we have to be alive to the reality that our hope as a continent is right in the abyss.

It is the apathy and resignation on the part of our African leadership that helps a great deal in maintaining the post-colonial imperial system that subjugates Africa today.

There is a fear of uniting and trusting each other, the inexplicable fear of coming together and solving our problems together. This explains a lot the great deal of political polarisation within our body politic.

Political parties in Africa are like armies going to war against each other, as opposed to mental bodies competing in the battle of ideas. We threaten our political rivals with sloganeering, violence, financial muscle, and the eventuality is often intolerance and armed confrontation.

It is probably only in Africa where singing, shouting, dancing, eating and drinking are integral components of structuring a successful political party.

Not only are we convinced that it is just not in us to unite and solve our problems together as a people, but many of us are so much awed by the might of white imperialism that there is this belief that the dominance of imperial powers is in itself indomitable.

In fact, imperialism maintains itself largely on the effect of the apathy and hopelessness of its victims. It is purely the apathy and ignorance of Africans that is maintaining the Western aggression in Libya today.

It is quite unthinkable that a coalition of the willing from Africa could decide to go and bomb a European country, banking on the apathy and ignorance of Europeans.

As Libya is burning, Africa is busy fearing who could be next and our own people are heard bragging that Zimbabwe could be next, Uganda is next, Ethiopia is next and so on.

Cheering the monster in the house is quite understandable when it is coming from individuals with psychological problems emanating from the effects of slavery and colonisation. It is a socially constructed mental disorder.

We are witnessing a period when a section of our people is drowned in the fear of the white man, resigned from life and hope, incapable of self-initiative, and absolutely mesmerised by the glitter of Western civilisation.

There are those among us who try to deal with the discrepancy between what the imperial system dictates Africa can achieve, and our failure to achieve even that.

One easy way out has always been the lowering of the African aspiration, fitting the African story into a lesser place that will not tamper with Western interests within our own continent.

So, South Africa battles to lower the aspiration of blacks in repossessing their colonially stolen lands; to lower the aspiration of the black person in having control over the mineral resources of that country, and to lower the aspiration of the African to become an employer and not an employee, as is defined by colonial tradition.

The moment Julius Malema talks land redistribution or nationalisation of mines, there are always those among us who are quick to remind the rest of Africa that such aspirations must be lowered so that white investors are not scared. The irony of protecting one’s own chains is exactly what perpetuated slavery and colonialism.

And, Africa is openly threatened that the West will do a Zimbabwe on anyone that dares threaten post-colonial imperial economic interests on the continent. Of course Zimbabwe embarked on an ambitious land redistribution programme that resulted in the strangulation of its economy through a murderous sanctions regime illegally imposed by the US, the EU and other Western outposts.

Then there are other African leaders who try to inflate their achievements, to inflate their personalities. They gloat and brag about economic growth that is based on over 70 percent Western donor aid. They gloat about rising to political power as puppets funded and directed by Western elites. They look around pompously as they showcase what they describe as “our friends from the international community”.

We see the average African middle class citizen being very boastful, being so egocentric, bragging a great deal about personal achievements, pumping themselves up, and pumping even smallest of achievements up into gigantic exploits.

This is just a measure of the destruction that has occurred to the self-esteem of the African – the effect of colonial hegemony over the African life. A family car is to an average African middle class citizen what Virgin is to Richard Branson.
….
[T]hose who tell us about Libya cannot be expected to condemn themselves. But it really needs no explanation to figure out that the invasion of a sovereign state for the sake of removing its political leadership is illegal and unacceptable.

So what is discussed in the media today is the nature and conditions of the politics of Libya, not the nature and condition of the invading Western forces.

What is discussed in white written slave history is the nature and condition of slavery, not the nature and condition of the slave master.

The same goes for colonialism. White written colonialism discusses the nature and condition of colonialism itself, not the nature and condition of the colonial master.

And today we are made to discuss the nature and condition of democracy and human rights, not the nature and condition of the democratisation masters pushing all nationalities into compliance with the West’s dictates.

The questions dealt with in the history that shapes our lives today are not questions about the mental stability and characteristics of those who enslaved and colonised us, those who continue to dominate us today, and we never get to ask if these same people should continue to be influential over our lives.

This is why some among us believe that the same people are fighting on behalf of Libyan civilians today – even by bombing the same civilians in whose name they fly their murderous planes over Libyan air space, of course with the full blessing of Ban Ki-moon’s United Nations.

We have been made to see an imaginary genocide “averted” by real Western firepower and the world is being coerced to imagine that Gaddafi was about to commit genocide in Benghazi just before the messianic West came with the love and mercy of the Archangel Michael.

Africa we are one and together we will overcome. It is homeland or death!

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Categories: Uncategorized

Stop NATO News: April 27, 2011

April 28, 2011 richardrozoff 1 comment

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Updates on Libya war: April 27

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Russia Alarmed By NATO Expansion On Its Borders

NATO Death Toll At Nine In Afghan Airport Attack

Six NATO Soldiers Killed In Attack At Kabul Airport

Attack On Military Post Sign NATO Pushing Afghan War Into Pakistan

Afghan, NATO Troops Attack Pakistani Checkpoint, Several Dead

Three Afghan, Two Pakistani Soldiers Killed In Border Clash

After Libya, France And Italy Turn Attention To Syria

AFRICOM: U.S. Marines Conduct Amphibious Drills With Senegal, Nigeria

Ethiopia: AFRICOM Air Force Holds Conference With 20 African Nations

New Macedonian Army Chief Must Meet NATO Criteria

Iraqi General Staff To Develop Relations With NATO

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Russia Alarmed By NATO Expansion On Its Borders

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE73Q3GH20110427

Reuters
April 27, 2011

Russia worried by NATO expansion near its border

Stockholm: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin expressed worries again Wednesday about the expansion of NATO, which has already taken in former Soviet states as members.

“The expansion of NATO infrastructure towards our borders is causing us concern,” Putin told a news conference after meeting Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

“NATO is not simply a political bloc, it is a military bloc. No one cancelled the agreements on how the bloc reacts to external threats. It is a defence structure,” added Putin.

NATO has already taken in the three former Soviet Baltic states as members, as well as old Warsaw Pact nations including Poland and the Czech Republic.

Moscow has long been worried by the military alliance’s growth and the possibility of its further expansion to take in former Soviet republics such as Georgia or Ukraine. And it is wary of U.S. and NATO plans for a European missile defence shield, which it fears could be a threat to its security unless Russia too is integrated into such a system.

Visiting Denmark Tuesday, Putin criticized the Western coalition attacking Libya, saying it had neither the right nor the mandate to kill the country’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

Sweden is taking part in the NATO operation in Libya, though it is not a member of the military alliance.

In the context of the Libya operation, Putin also said decisions on using military force were being taken too easily.

He contrasted this with the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, when he said Soviet commanders were much more careful in their use of force for fear of causing civilian deaths and casualties.

(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski and Patrick Lannin, editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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NATO Death Toll At Nine In Afghan Airport Attack

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/27/c_13848966.htm

Xinhua News Agency
April 27, 2011

Death toll of NATO casualties at shootout in Kabul airport rises to 9

KABUL: The death toll of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) as a result of the shootout in Kabul airport on Wednesday reached nine, a statement of the military alliance released here said.

“Eight International Security Assistance Force service members and one ISAF civilian died following a shooting incident here today,” the statement confirmed.

However, it did not identify the nationalities of the victims, saying it is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.

In the previous statement the alliance put the number of casualties suffered at the incident which happened at Afghan Air Corps at 11:00 a.m. local time just six soldiers.

Earlier, Afghan Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement that shootout between an Afghan pilot and his foreign colleagues at Afghan Air Corps which located in western part of Kabul airport left a number of people dead and injured.

The Afghan Defense Ministry in the statement also noted that more details would be released after completion of investigation.

Meantime, Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan claimed responsibility, saying in the incident carried out by a Taliban loyalist nine foreign and five Afghan soldiers were killed.

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Six NATO Soldiers Killed In Attack At Kabul Airport

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1867697.html

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
April 27, 2011

Six NATO soldiers killed in Afghan shooting at airport

Six NATO troops were killed Wednesday when an Afghan army pilot opened fire on his foreign trainers at the Kabul airport, officials said, DPA reported.

“Six International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) service members died following a shooting incident,” the alliance military said in a statement.

The shooting began after an argument between the attacker and foreign officers inside the military airfield, adjacent to the capital’s international airport, the Defence Ministry said.

Army spokesman General Zahir Azimi said the attacker, a veteran military pilot, was killed in the exchange of fire. He said two Afghan army soldiers were also injured.

The ISAF statement did not disclose the nationalities of the deceased soldiers, but Al Jazeera’s English-language news service quoted a source saying six of those killed were US soldiers.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid took responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to media. He claimed the shooter was a sleeper agent who used an Afghan army uniform and gained access to the military airport with the cooperation of an insider.

He said nine NATO troops and five Afghan soldiers were killed in the suicidal attack, while the shooter, identified as Azizullah, was also killed after he spent his ammunition.

Recent weeks have seen a wave of attacks by militants dressed in Afghan military uniforms, including several suicide bombings.

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Attack On Military Post Sign NATO Pushing Afghan War Into Pakistan

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=44002&Cat=5&dt=4/28/2011

News International
April 28, 2011

Nato attack on Pakistani post flayed

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Syed Munawar Hasan has strongly condemned the NATO forces attack on a Pakistani post on Pak-Afghan border and warned that NATO seemed bent upon thrusting its lost Afghan war on Pakistan.

In a statement on Wednesday, he said the NATO attack was not accidental but a calculated and planned move to target Pakistan so as to hide its failure in Afghanistan. The violation of Pakistani territory indicated that the US was planning to push the war inside Pakistan.

He said that had Pakistan pulled out of the US war the US forces would not have dared to carry out this attack. He said the armed forces were the custodian of the Pakistani territory and if the US and its allies did not change their nefarious designs, the Pakistani nation would stand shoulder to shoulder with its armed forces and frustrate enemy’s unholy designs.

Syed Munawar Hasan said that instead of acknowledging Pakistan’s huge sacrifices in the so-called war on terror, the US was now branding Pakistani institutions as terrorist. Pakistan, he said, had incurred a loss of 70 billion dollars in this war besides losing thousands of precious lives. However, the US administration was blaming Pakistani institutions for its own failure. On one hand, innocent Pakistanis were being killed in drone attacks and on the other hand people were falling victim to terrorist activities by Blackwater and other US and Indian agencies, he said, adding that now US and NATO forces had launched a direct attack on the Pakistani armed forces.

In such a situation, he said it was time that the government and the armed forces reviewed their strategy and announced pulling out of the US war.

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Afghan, NATO Troops Attack Pakistani Checkpoint, Several Dead

http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Pakistan-Fatal-shoot-out-as-Afghan-and-Nato-forces-attack-checkpoint_311948647656.html

ADN Kronos International/Dawn News
April 27, 2011

Pakistan: Fatal shoot-out as Afghan and Nato forces attack checkpoint

Peshawar: Three Afghan soldiers were killed and two Pakistani security force personnel were wounded Wednesday in a shoot-out when Afghan and Nato forces attacked a border checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, DawnNews reported.

Pakistani security forces said they returned fire when they came under attack from Afghan and Nato forces in Pakistan’s restive tribal area of South Waziristan….

The Pakistani government did not immediately issue an official statement confirming the incident which took place in South Waziristan’s Angoor Adda area.

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Three Afghan, Two Pakistani Soldiers Killed In Border Clash

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1867529.html

Trend News Agency
April 27, 2011

3 Afghan soldiers killed, 2 Pakistani troops injured in clash along border area

At least three Afghan soldiers were killed and two Pakistani troops were injured in a clash that broke out at Wednesday noon time along the border area of the two countries, reported local Urdu TV channel Duniya.

According to the report, the firing between the two sides is still going on following the intrusion of the Afghan government forces into the Pakistani side in the Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan, a tribal area in northwest Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, Xinhua reported.

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After Libya, France And Italy Turn Attention To Syria

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110427/163741348.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
April 27, 2011

Italy, France urge EU sanctions as Syria violence escalates

Rome: Italy and France are calling on other EU countries to discus the introduction of sanctions against Syrian authorities to prevent the further escalation of violence against protesters, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Wednesday.

Addressing Italian lawmakers, Frattini expressed hope that the European Union would be able to discuss the issue as early as in May.

Frattini and his French counterpart Alain Juppe met in Rome on Tuesday and demanded that an independent UN investigation be launched into the recent crackdown on protesters in the Middle Eastern country.

France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain summoned on Wednesday respective Syrian ambassadors to condemn the use of violence against protesters by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
….
In response to the protests, Assad formed a new government, promised a score of political and economic reforms, and even lifted on Tuesday the almost five-decade long state of emergency in the country.

However, these measures failed to pacify the opposition prompting the government to resort to violence in dealing with the protesters.
….

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AFRICOM: U.S. Marines Conduct Amphibious Drills With Senegal, Nigeria

http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=6496&lang=0

Marine Corps Forces Africa
April 27, 2011

Senegalese, Nigerian Special Forces Show Marines Small Boat Amphibious Tactics During APS-11
By Master Sergeant Grady Fontana

-The live-fire course was part of APS-11, a U.S. Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM) maritime security engagement program that is designed to strengthen participating nations’ maritime security capacity. Marine Corps Forces, Africa is supporting APS 11 with a security assistance force based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. The SCTF began its deployment in Ghana in March and is slated to continue its follow-on mission at Gabon in June.

TOUBAKOUTA, Senegal:…In the spirit of multilateral collaboration and cross-border cooperation – both cornerstones of Africa Partnership Station 2011 – the Nigerian Navy provided six instructors to share their experiences with the Security Cooperation Task Force (SCTF) in riverine operations, while the Senegalese contributed their expertise is small boat maneuver.
….
The riverine range comprised of about 400 meters of river banks lined with various targets at river and tree levels. The river boats motored off gyrating up and down while U.S. marines, with 60 rounds each, applied their new marksmanship skills to the test.

“We are conducting a live-fire range for riverine operations,” said Lieutenant Moses K. Omopariola, chief instructor, Special Boat Service, Nigerian Navy….

“It’s important to apply the fundamentals because you don’t want to waste rounds by shooting in the water, you want to be able to hit your targets,” said Omopariola, a 2006 graduate of The Basic School, a U.S. Marine Corps officers’ course in Quantico, Va. “You really need to conduct it proficiently.”

Omopariola and his cadre of instructors provide three days of classes before the Marines hit the range. The instruction involved a lot of tactics on river operations. The river range is not something Marines typically train to do….

The Senegalese marines also showed their proficiency in maneuvering the boat on the river. The boat driver skillfully leaned the boat to its side to allow the U.S. Marines a better position and a more open view of the targets.

“The big thing with this type of training is the cooperation that’s going on between the Nigerians, the Senegalese and the U.S. Marines,” said 1st Lieutenant Michael J. Thomas, 2nd platoon commander and executive officer of the Ground Combat Element, SCTF, APS-11. “[River operation] is something the Nigerians are very good at and the Senegalese have some skills, so it’s something they bring to the table and show us how to do.”
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The live-fire course was part of APS-11, a U.S. Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM) maritime security engagement program that is designed to strengthen participating nations’ maritime security capacity. Marine Corps Forces, Africa is supporting APS 11 with a security assistance force based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. The SCTF began its deployment in Ghana in March and is slated to continue its follow-on mission at Gabon in June.

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Ethiopia: AFRICOM Air Force Holds Conference With 20 African Nations

http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123253423

Air Forces Africa
April 27, 2011

Air force leaders from Africa, United States meet in Ethiopia
by Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: Air force leaders from more than 20 nations across Africa joined with U.S. Air Force leaders April 26 to discuss aviation issues and develop partnerships across the continent.

The 2011 African Air Chiefs Conference, which runs through April 28 and is hosted by Air Forces Africa (17th Air Force), is the largest gathering of air chiefs across African nations to date.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy, and Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward, Air Forces Africa commander, spoke during the opening day of the conference and listened to issues faced by many partner nations across the continent.

General Schwartz addressed an audience of more than 150 military and diplomatic leaders as the keynote speaker….

“This conference brings together a community of Airmen who are connected by an appreciation of what air power can do to present additional strategic and operational options for our national and coalition leaders…,” General Schwartz said.

In discussing how the U.S. military supports American foreign policy objectives and vital national interests, General Schwartz said joint military leadership is being recalibrated to be more effective by emphasizing three key areas:

- Mutual responsibility, respect, and support with and to U.S. interagency and international partners;

- Full-spectrum military capabilities to underpin U.S. foreign and defense policy; and

- Direct and indirect leadership approaches as facilitator, enabler, convener, and guarantor of support to broader U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives, and those of U.S. friends and allies around the world.

According to General Woodward, “the conference gives us an opportunity to work together on issues that are most important to regional cooperation and stability.”

She said the air chiefs will also “strengthen the personal and professional relationships that bring us together as Airmen, colleagues and friends, so that we are better able to build bi-lateral and multi-lateral air partnerships that benefit us all.”
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AFAFRICA, located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is the Air Force component to U.S. Africa Command and is responsible for U.S. Air Force activities and programs in Africa. Since the unit activation in 2008, Air Forces Africa has worked in partnership with African nations to employ a full spectrum of capabilities, to include humanitarian airlift support, as well as civil and military engagements on the continent.

(The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, contributed to this story.)

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New Macedonian Army Chief Must Meet NATO Criteria

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/18034/45/

Macedonian International News Agency
April 27, 2011

Ivanov: New ARM chief of staff has to meet NATO criteria

Serious consultations are under way involving the election of a future chief of the Macedonian Army’s General Staff. The procedure will be transparent and a candidate who meets the NATO criteria will be appointed, President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Gjorge Ivanov told reporters on Wednesday.

The current chief of the ARM General Staff is Lieutenant General Miroslav Stojanovski whose second mandate ends in June.

“Talks aim at creating a profile of the future chief of staff. We’re not talking about individuals, but about profiles that need to be met by the ARM chief of staff. The future chief of staff has to meet NATO criteria, since Macedonia is a candidate country. Consultations are under way with the defense minister and the incumbent chief of staff,” said President Ivanov.

Accompanied by Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Miroslav Stojanovski and Deputy Defense Minister Emil Dimitriev, the President met with officers and cadets of the “Mihailo Apostolski” Military Academy.
….

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Iraqi General Staff To Develop Relations With NATO

http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/36935.htm

Middle East Media Research Institute
April 27, 2011

Iraqi COS To Develop Relations With NATO

Iraq’s chief of general staff general Babkar Zibari has said that Iraq is keen on developing its relations with NATO countries and on its efforts to establish “a civilized army that respects the people and supports the federal democratic system.”

At his meeting with Maj. Gen. Claudio Angelelli, deputy commander of NATO Training Mission-Iraq, Zibari emphasized the need for maintaining the training both inside and outside Iraq of qualified army officers.

Source: Imn.iq, April 26, 2011

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