Stop NATO News: April 27, 2011

====

Updates on Libya war: April 27

====

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

====

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)

====

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.

====

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.

====

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.

====

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.

====

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.

====

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.
….

====

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.”
….
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.

====

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.”
….
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.)

====

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.
….

====

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

====

About these ads