Libyan war updates/Stop NATO news: May 24, 2011

====

USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group Headed To Mediterranean

What Price War?

U.S. Violating War Powers Act In Libya: Lawyer

Ad Majorem US Gloriam: Obama Worse Warmonger Than Bush

NATO Plotting Ground Operation In Libya: Russian Diplomat

NATO Campaign Aimed At Toppling Libyan Government: Russian Envoy

“Thought It Was Day Of Judgment”: Heaviest NATO Bombing Of Tripoli Yet

67-Day Air War: Over 8,000 NATO Air Missions, Over 3,000 Combat Flights

Attack Helicopter Deployment Brings NATO Closer To Libyan Ground War

Washington To Host Libyan Rebel Office

U.S. Drone Attacks In Pakistan: 32 Strikes, At Least 234 Victims

Polish Soldiers Face 12-Year Sentences For Slaying Afghan Civilians

NATO Chief Makes Unscheduled Visit To Afghanistan

NATO Military Plane Down In Afghanistan

NATO-Standard Payloads: Iraq To Buy Czech Combat Jets

Japan To Allow U.S. To Export Interceptor Missiles To NATO Nations

NATO Envoy, Recruiter For Afghan, Iraqi Wars To Become U.S. Ambassador To Armenia

NATO Caucasus, Central Asia Representative To Visit Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan: NATO’s Outpost On The Caspian Sea

Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf: USS Enterprise Carrier Lands 400,000th Aircraft

====

USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier

Tiger attack helicopter

Gazelle helicopters

L-159 combat planes

USS Enterprise

====

USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group Headed To Mediterranean

http://www.stripes.com/news/navy/uss-george-h-w-bush-enters-6th-fleet-waters-1.144346

Stars and Stripes
May 24, 2011

USS George H.W. Bush enters 6th Fleet waters
By Geoff Ziezulewicz

NAPLES, Italy: The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which departed Norfolk, Va., earlier this month, has made its way across the Atlantic Ocean and into 6th Fleet waters. This is the maiden voyage for the Navy’s newest and last Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered behemoth.

The carrier will lead the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, which will conduct a variety of operations during the deployment. It is expected to arrive at 6th Fleet headquarters here in Naples early next month.

….

A 6th Fleet spokesman would not give details of the group’s schedule at sea, but the group left Norfolk, Va., on May 11, and is conducting an exercise with allies off the coast of England this week, according to the Navy.

Later this year, the group will move into the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet territory to continue its deployment.

The strike group consists of about 6,000 sailors, five ships and eight aircraft squadrons. The deployment is part of a rotation of U.S. forces supporting maritime security operations in international waters worldwide, according to the Navy.

====

What Price War?

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/05/24/2028103/what-price-war.html

Bellingham Herald
May 24, 2011

What price war?
Anthony Gregory

-As a senator and presidential candidate, Barack Obama criticized President Bush’s war policies. But instead of changing course, President Obama has tripled down in Afghanistan, widened the war into Pakistan, multiplied the drone attacks, bombed Yemen and Somalia, and started an undeclared NATO war in Libya.

After more than two years, President Obama’s national security policy looks all too familiar: like President Bush’s policy.

You remember the Bush doctrine? Its most prominent tenet was the policy of preventive war – using the U.S. military to eliminate potentially dangerous enemies, rather than using military force only when the United States is clearly threatened.

Generally speaking, the Bush administration argued that deposing unfriendly regimes and promoting democracy both militarily and diplomatically were in America’s long-term best interests. President Obama not only has embraced this approach, stressing it again in his May 19 speech on the Middle East, he’s gone further: increasing military spending, expanding the war in Afghanistan, handing off more of the mission to contractors and mercenaries, and bombing Libya without anything resembling a threat to the United States or even a nod from Congress – in violation of the War Powers Act.

Consider the budget. President Obama’s first defense budget, for fiscal year 2010, was $685.1 billion, if we include the “supplemental” funds for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars (a budget gimmick he had promised not to use.) This was 3 percent higher than in the previous year.

The Obama administration upped the ante again for FY 2011, requesting a base budget of $548.9 billion, plus $159.3 billion for Afghanistan and Iraq, for a total of $708.3 billion. That was before the bombing of Libya, which already has cost some $750 million, Defense Secretary Robert Gates revealed on May 12 at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The president has requested “only” $670.9 billion for fiscal year 2012 – but the Department of Defense baseline request was actually raised from $548.9 billion to $553.1 billion. The overall decrease comes from a projected cut in operational costs for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Yet, according to the Congressional Research Service, Afghanistan will still cost $113.7 billion compared to the $43.5 billion spent in 2008, President Bush’s last year. Iraq will be much cheaper than before, but this decline was already in the works. In late 2008, President Bush signed the Status of Forces Agreement setting the Iraq drawdown in motion. If anything, President Obama has slowed down the withdrawal, and is now petitioning Iraq to stay past 2011. Meanwhile, the stepped-up war in Afghanistan has offset much of the savings we could have expected in Iraq.

And this is just the financial cost. Last year 559 American troops died in Iraq and Afghanistan – significantly more than the 469 who died during Bush’s final year in office.

Moreover, a growing number of civilian contractors also have fallen. In the first half of 2010, for example, 250 contractors reportedly died in Iraq and Afghanistan – more than the 235 military personnel who fell during the same period.

As a senator and presidential candidate, Barack Obama criticized President Bush’s war policies. But instead of changing course, President Obama has tripled down in Afghanistan, widened the war into Pakistan, multiplied the drone attacks, bombed Yemen and Somalia, and started an undeclared NATO war in Libya.

On surveillance questions, presidential war powers, Guantanamo, detention policy and habeas corpus, he has similarly stayed the course, or even expanded Bush’s precedents.

Almost none of this had anything to do with killing Osama bin Laden.

Those who voted for Obama in 2008, expecting a shift in defense policy, must face a sad fact: The United States would have likely spent less money and spilled less American and foreign blood in its wars had the president simply continued on the path charted by President Bush. Instead, we now have Bush Plus.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Anthony Gregory is research editor at The Independent Institute and author of the coming report “What Price War? Afghanistan, Iraq and the Costs of Conflict.” Readers may write to him at TII, 100 Swan Way, Oakland, Calif. 94621; website: www.independent.org. For information on TII’s funding, please go to http://www.mediatransparency.org/recipientgrants.php?recipientID=1119.

====

U.S. Violating War Powers Act In Libya: Lawyer

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=147923

Azeri Press Agency
May 24, 2011

US violating War Powers Act in Libya

Baku: The US military’s involvement in NATO attacks on Libya beyond May 20 has “no legal basis” since it is not authorized by Congress, international lawyer Paul Wolf says, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The War Powers Resolution passed by the US Congress in 1973 “gives the [US] president the power to use the US military for up to 60 days without seeking… congressional authorization. The problem is that, just a couple of days ago, that 60-day time period expired, so now there is no legal basis for the use of the US military in Libya,” Wolf told Press TV.

“It is quite surprising that [US] President [Barack] Obama has not gone to Congress and asked for this authorization, because chances are he would probably get it,” he added.

NATO launched a major air campaign against the forces of the Libyan regime in mid-March under a UN mandate to “protect the Libyan population.”

The United States, France, and Britain say they will not stop their military operation until Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi is removed from power.

The Western coalition airstrikes have claimed the lives of scores of civilians so far.

….

====

Ad Majorem US Gloriam: Obama Worse Warmonger Than Bush

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/24/50743796.html

Voice of Russia
May 24, 2011

Where do the US borders lie?
Boris Volkhonsky

-[Obama] looks much more of a war-monger than his predecessor. The war in Iraq is not over, the war in Afghanistan is going to be lost, there is a new war in Libya, and a number of an uncapped (as appears from Obama’s interview to the BBC) raids and military actions elsewhere in the world.
And the fervor in the US is such that Congress is ready to authorize such policy. One of the amendments to the law on military expenditures now before the House of Representatives aims to turn this policy into law.
-[H]ow many more American soldiers need to die in overseas missions, how many more terrorist attacks are needed against the US and its allies all over the world, and how many more countries, along with Pakistan, need to be alienated to the extent that government forces start firing at American aircraft, before US lawmakers and executives realize that something is going wrong?

On Monday, two top US Senators, Democrat John Kerry and Republican John McCain, together with five of their colleagues, introduced a resolution backing US involvement in the military operation against Libya. President Obama was quick to thank the senators.

In fact, the resolution absolves him of a serious violation of US laws that require that the President gets congressional approval for military action no later than 60 days after the start of the operation. The deadline expired last Friday and by that time the President had not asked Congress to give its approval.

Now, the senators thought it better to give their approval rather than demand that the President abide by the law. The military fervor in the United States is so high that action against Muammar Gaddafi is one of the few issues where Democrats and Republicans see eye-to-eye.

Another issue of the same kind is the operation against Al Qaeda. It has cast a major shadow over a decades-old alliance and partnership with Pakistan, with anti-American sentiments in that country rising sky-high and terrorists seeking revenge on everybody. But Osama bin Laden is dead, and the end justifies the means.

More so, in a recent interview to the BBC President Obama stated that he would repeat such an operation on the territory of any sovereign foreign state, including Pakistan, if he felt that the territory served as a haven for terrorists threatening US security.

It poses another question. Where are the limits to American actions in the world? Or isn’t this a repetition of the old policy of a “global gendarme”?

Well, Obama was elected as a peace dove. But the reality is such that he now looks much more of a war-monger than his predecessor. The war in Iraq is not over, the war in Afghanistan is going to be lost, there is a new war in Libya, and a number of an uncapped (as appears from Obama’s interview to the BBC) raids and military actions elsewhere in the world.

And the fervor in the US is such that Congress is ready to authorize such policy. One of the amendments to the law on military expenditures now before the House of Representatives aims to turn this policy into law. Representatives seek to give the President power to attack Al Qaeda and its associates wherever they are located.

Human rights activists have already stated that such amendments give the president the power to conduct any kind of military operation under the pretext that it is an anti-terrorist one.

There are lone voices opposing such policy. For example, Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich has introduced a draft resolution demanding that Obama pull out all troops from Libya and from areas around Libya.

But this is indeed a lone voice, and such a resolution has no chance of being approved. Unlike the belligerent resolution introduced by Senators Kerry, McCain and Co, which acquits the President when he violated the law without even questioning him.

Well, how many more American soldiers need to die in overseas missions, how many more terrorist attacks are needed against the US and its allies all over the world, and how many more countries, along with Pakistan, need to be alienated to the extent that government forces start firing at American aircraft, before US lawmakers and executives realize that something is going wrong?

It seems that in the context of today’s military fervor, US authorities really believe that their country has no borders at all, and that any coercive action in any part of the world is justified if it serves US national interests.

Ad majorem Dei gloriam – To the greater glory of God – is the centuries-old Jesuit motto. It seems that Obama might rewrite this as “ad majorem US gloriam”.

====

NATO Plotting Ground Operation In Libya: Russian Diplomat

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=2&id=246277

Interfax
May 24, 2011

NATO likely to be planning ground operation in Libya – Russian diplomat

MOSCOW: A French plan to use combat helicopters in the current NATO military action in Libya and the possibility that Britain will do the same likely mean that NATO is plotting a ground armed operation, Russian Permanent Envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said in a television program on Tuesday.

“The declared transfer of French and British combat to combat ships that are positioned in Libyan waters raises even more questions. This is, from my point of view, extra evidence that this transfer of combat helicopters is, quite probably, part of preparations for individual actions in a ground operation,” Dmitry Rogozin told Russia’s Rossiya 24 television.

On Monday, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said that, like France, Britain would send combat helicopters to the vicinity of the Libyan coast for more precise aerial attacks….

====

NATO Campaign Aimed At Toppling Libyan Government: Russian Envoy

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110524/164205853.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
May 24, 2011

NATO campaign aimed at ousting Gaddafi – Russian NATO envoy

NATO operations in Libya are only aimed at bringing down the Gaddafi regime, Russian ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday.

….

“These actions have been reduced to [an attempt to] overthrow the Gaddafi regime, not fulfill UN resolutions,” Rogozin said. “This is in open conflict with the UN Security Council resolutions.”

Russia will formally ask NATO to clarify reports about an imminent ground operation in Libya during a NATO-Russia Council meeting on Wednesday, he said.

Fourteen of the 28 NATO countries are taking part in the operation Unified Protector in Libya, which includes airstrikes, a no-fly zone and naval enforcement of an arms embargo in response to attacks on civilians.

Russia abstained in the UN Security Council vote on the resolution.

Western media reports claim the United States has suggested the Libyan rebels open a representative office in Washington.

====

“Thought It Was Day Of Judgment”: Heaviest NATO Bombing Of Tripoli Yet

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/world/africa/25libya.html

New York Times
May 24, 2011

NATO Bombs Tripoli in Heaviest Strikes Yet
John F. Burns

TRIPOLI, Libya: In the heaviest attack yet on the capital since the start of the two-month-old NATO bombing campaign, alliance aircraft struck at least 15 targets in central Tripoli early Tuesday, with most of the airstrikes concentrated on an area around Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s command compound.

The strikes, within a 30-minute period around 1 a.m., caused thunderous explosions and fireballs that leapt high into the night sky, causing people in neighborhoods a mile or more away to cry out in alarm.

Just as one strike ended, the sound of jet engines from low-flying aircraft in the stormy skies above the capital signaled the imminence of another. Huge plumes of black smoke rose and converged over the darkened cityscape.

“We thought it was the day of judgment,” one enraged Libyan said.

The intensity of the attacks, and their focus on the area of the Bab al-Aziziya command compound in central Tripoli, appeared to reflect a NATO decision to step up the tempo of the air war over the Libyan capital, perhaps with a view to breaking the stalemate that has threatened to settle over the three-month-old Libyan conflict.

As NATO intensified its airstrikes, the American State Department’s highest-ranking Middle East official, Jeffrey D. Feltman, was in Benghazi on Tuesday on a visit aimed at providing fresh impetus to the rebel cause. Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Feltman said that the Obama administration had invited the Libyan opposition to open an office in Washington, but stopped short of offering the formal recognition the rebels have been seeking.

“This step marks an important milestone in our relationship with the Transitional Council,” Mr. Feltman said, referring to the rebel governing body, who he said had accepted the American invitation.

….

On Monday, Mr. Feltman toured the rebel headquarters, a visit that coincided with an announcement by France’s defense minister, Gérard Longuet, that Britain and France would add attack helicopters to the NATO force as soon as possible…..

As the rebels pushed for helicopter attacks, Tuesday’s airstrikes shook the center of the capital near Colonel Qaddafi’s compound. Libyan officials have accused NATO of repeatedly trying to assassinate Colonel Qaddafi with airstrikes on and near the compound, and Colonel Qaddafi himself has mocked the attacks, saying NATO cannot reach him as he “lives in the hearts of millions.”

…A government spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, said the strikes had hit a compound housing units of an auxiliary army force known as the Popular Guard. He said military commanders had largely cleared the compound in anticipation that it would be hit, and that casualties — which he gave as 3 dead and 150 wounded — were civilians from a nearby neighborhood.

….

Reporters taken to the Tripoli Central Hospital were shown three dirt-strewn male bodies in civilian clothes with gaping shrapnel wounds to their heads, and half a dozen other men being treated for what appeared to be light wounds. Mr. Ibrahim said that the other wounded had been treated and released before reporters arrived, or had been treated at another hospital.

….

NATO has called the targets military, and often designates them as “command-and-control” centers; Qaddafi government spokesmen say the bombs and missiles have hit civilian structures.

Despite more than 2,500 NATO airstrikes, and an increasing focus in the past two weeks on targets in Tripoli, there have been few signs of an imminent collapse of the Qaddafi government, and rebel forces in the east, despite recent gains around the city of Misurata, have shown no sign of a broader breakthrough to the west.

Low-flying helicopters, including Britain’s fleet of American-built Apaches and France’s Tigre gunships, would give allied air commanders more flexibility to strike at government targets than the fast combat jets used until now.

Kareem Fahim contributed reporting from Benghazi, Libya.

====

67-Day Air War: Over 8,000 NATO Air Missions, Over 3,000 Combat Flights

http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_05/20110524_110524-oup-update.pdf

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
May 24, 2011

NATO and Libya
Allied Joint Force Command NAPLES, SHAPE, NATO HQ

….

Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR:

Air Operations

Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00GMT) a total of 8019 sorties, including 3077 strike sorties, have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 23 May: 149

Strike sorties conducted 23 May: 52

….

A total of 21 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.

7 Vessels were hailed on 23 May to determine destination and cargo. 2 boardings (no diversion) were conducted.

A total of 1025 vessels have been hailed. 50 boardings and 7 diversions have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.

….

====

Attack Helicopter Deployment Brings NATO Closer To Libyan Ground War

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/24/50752489.html

Voice of Russia
May 24, 2011

NATO deploys attack helicopters to Libya
Vladimir Gladkov

Britain has announced its intentions to deploy Apache attack helicopters to Libya. This move reflects the frustration of coalition chiefs over their inability to break the stalemate in the troubled region.

A blitzkrieg-style military operation turned out to be an exhausting endless confrontation between the Libyan rebels supported by NATO air forces and Gaddafi troops….At the same time the use of the helicopters takes the NATO offensive much closer to the ground, which goes against the promise of not sending troops into the country.

The decision to send Apaches to Libya demonstrates the late admission by NATO commanders that bombing from an attitude of more than 4500 meters has small chances of protecting civilians….

Apaches, which are being used in counter-insurgency operations in Afghanistan, have good mobility and can attack small targets in built-up areas. They are also equipped with night vision equipment and electronic guidance systems, which makes them an effective weapon against enemy targets….

The Apaches will join the Tigers and the Gazelles – French helicopters of a similar class. According to French sources, the battleship Tonnerre, carrying the helicopters, left Toulon last week.

“Our strategy is to step up the military pressure in the weeks ahead…,” – said Alain Juppé, France’s foreign minister, adding that 12 French helicopters would allow the allied forces “to better adapt our ground attack capacity with more precise means of striking”.

His position has been backed by the British foreign secretary William Hague, who, attending an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels, stated that “we certainly agree with France, and indeed with all our partners, including all our partners at the EU meeting here today, that it is necessary to intensify the military, economic and diplomatic pressure on the Gaddafi regime.”

The deployment of helicopters along with the heavy bombing of the Libyan capital Tripoli may be seen as an attempt at an adequate response to the progress recently made by the Gaddafi forces. According to Reuters, government troops intensified operations on the western front, moving troops closer to the mountain region bordering Tunisia. A rebel spokesman also claimed that Gaddafi artillery had started the shelling of the town of Zintan, controlled by rebel troops.

In response, NATO air forces started a bombardment of Tripoli that has already been described by observers as the heaviest attack on the Libyan capital since the beginning of the campaign.

According to British and French officials, even the unveiling of plans to use the helicopters has a chance to break the morale of pro-Gaddafi forces. Considering the developments in the Libyan campaign, such a forecast sounds a little bit naïve, however the move could satisfy, at least temporarily, the rebels’ demand for more effective military support from NATO. The helicopter trick seems to be the last chance for the NATO chiefs to keep their promise. While the officials keep denying any possibility of deploying troops, the failure of the helicopter plan would leave NATO no other option.

====

Washington To Host Libyan Rebel Office

http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1881063.html

Trend News Agency
May 24, 2011

Libyan opposition to open office in Washington: U.S. diplomat

The visiting U.S. assistant secretary of state Jeffery Feltman on Tuesday said that at the invitation of U.S. president Barack Obama the Libyan opposition will establish a representative office in Washington, Xinhua reported.

“This step marks an important milestone in our relationship with the National Transitional Council,” Feltman told the reporters at a press conference at the end of his visit in Libyan opposition’s base Benghazi.

Feltman reiterated that Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi had lost legitimacy to rule, calling him to step down immediately and allow the Libyan people to determine their own future.

He delivered a message from Obama….

“President Obama also underscored the U.S. commitment to work with our international partners to support the National Transitional Council and efforts for democratic institutions, and he stressed the U.S. will continue to focus on finding ways to improve the National Transitional Council’s financial situations,” said Feltman.

Feltman was in Benghazi for talks with the opposition leadership during a three-day visit from Sunday to Tuesday. He said he has held talks with the National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil and representatives from various groups.

The opposition is now seeking and gaining more international support in its fight against Gaddafi’s government. Following Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and the European Union high representative of foreign and security policy Catherine Ashton, Feltman is another high-ranking diplomats who visited the opposition’s base.

====

U.S. Drone Attacks In Pakistan: 32 Strikes, At Least 234 Victims

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/24/c_13890296.htm

Xinhua News Agency
May 24, 2011

7 killed in U.S. drone strike in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: At least seven people were killed in a U.S. drone strike launched Monday evening in Pakistan’s northwest tribal area of North Waziristan, reported the local English TV channel Express.

According to the report, the U.S. drones fired two missiles at a vehicle in the Machi Khel area of the Mir Ali district in North Waziristan, a place bordering Afghanistan….

Monday’s strike is the 32nd of its kind in Pakistan in 2011. Up to date, at least 234 people, most of whom are believed to be suspected militants, have reportedly been killed in such strikes since this year.

====

Polish Soldiers Face 12-Year Sentences For Slaying Afghan Civilians

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110524/164203223.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
May 24, 2011

Polish prosecutor demands 12 years for Polish soldiers in Afghan war crimes case

Warsaw: Poland’s military Prosecutor General demanded on Tuesday 12-year sentences for seven Polish soldiers who shot civilians in Afghanistan in 2007.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers fired a heavy machine gun and a 60 mm mortar at the village of Nangar Khel in the Paktika province, killing six civilians, including a pregnant woman and three children. Three other women were left badly injured.

The troops say their commander ordered them to attack the village after their patrol was attacked by militants.

If found guilty, the soldiers face between five and 12 years in prison for violating international law. The Prosecutors are demanding 12 years for commanders and from 8-10 years for privates.

====

NATO Chief Makes Unscheduled Visit To Afghanistan

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/24/50736213.html

Voice of Russia
May 24, 2011

NATO Head in Afghanistan in surprise visit

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is currently in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit, is discussing the handover of responsibility for security in the Asian country to the Afghan authorities.

Currently, security is ensured by a NATO-led international military force. The handover of responsibility to the Afghans is due to be completed by the late 2014.

Meanwhile the situation in Afghanistan remains tense. The Taliban has recently launched another campaign against the foreign military force and the Afghan leadership.

At least 25 died in another explosion, in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, earlier today.

====

NATO Military Plane Down In Afghanistan

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1881012.html

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 24, 2011

NATO aircraft crashes in western Afghanistan, no injuries

A NATO aircraft crashed in western Afghanistan on Tuesday but caused no injuries among those aboard, the alliance said, DPA reported.

….

The reason for the crash was unknown and the military did not rule out the possibility of insurgents’ hostile fire.

“An investigation into the incident has been launched,” it said.

====

NATO-Standard Payloads: Iraq To Buy Czech Combat Jets

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110524/164189099.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
May 24, 2011

DefenseIraq says ready to buy Czech-made combat jets

Mowcow Iraq is ready to buy light attack aircraft, offered for sale by the Czech republic earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said after talks with his Czech counterpart in Baghdad.

The visit to Baghdad by Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, which began on Monday, focused on bilateral economic and political cooperation.

In mid-April, the Czech Republic announced its plans to offer Iraq 24 L-159 combat aircraft and help in modernizing the Iraqi helicopter fleet.

The single-seat L-159 ALCA is a light multi-role combat aircraft designed for a variety of air-to-air, air-to-ground and reconnaissance missions.

The jet was developed in the late 1990s by Aero Vodochody on the basis of the proven airframe design and aerodynamic configuration of the L39 Albatros and L59 family of combat trainers.

The aircraft is equipped with an advanced multi-mode radar for all-weather, day-and-night missions and can carry a wide range of NATO-standard payloads including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles and laser guided bombs.

====

Japan To Allow U.S. To Export Interceptor Missiles To NATO Nations

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110525a7.html

Kyodo News
May 24, 2011

Japan to allow U.S. to export new missile

-[S]ome experts said Tokyo’s position will be tested if the planned destination is involved in conflicts, such as Israel, to which Washington is believed to be considering exporting the interceptors.
Allowing exports to a country in conflict would clearly violate Japan’s “three principles” on arms exports.

The government has decided to allow the U.S. to export to third countries a jointly developed ballistic missile interceptor, in a politically sensitive move that represents a further easing of Japan’s ban on arms exports, sources said Tuesday.

The two countries will discuss each export of the new Block 2A type of the sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptor to stay in line with Japan’s export controls, such as excluding countries under U.N. arms sanctions.

But it is uncertain whether Japan in reality can turn down requests by its closest ally.

The decision will be conveyed when the two allies’ defense chiefs meet early next month, and will be confirmed at the two-plus-two security talks involving their defense and foreign ministers later in June, the sources said.

SM-3 interceptors are designed to shoot down intermediate-range ballistic missiles. They are fired from warships equipped with the sophisticated Aegis air defense system.

The U.S. plans to begin deploying the advanced version of the SM-3 system in 2018, mainly for a shield in Europe…which is why Washington had urged Tokyo to ease the arms embargo.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s administration has reached a basic agreement to accept the U.S. request…the sources said.

“It is extremely difficult to reject the request from the United States, with which we are bound in an alliance,” a government source said. “Saying no might result in negative repercussions on future joint development of equipment.”

In addition, Tokyo hopes that by agreeing to allow the exports, it would send a message of deepening the bilateral relationship despite the prolonged stalemate over the controversial relocation of the Futenma military base in Okinawa, the sources said.

But while Japan expects the U.S. to exercise strict control of the weapon system in the case of such exports, some experts said Tokyo’s position will be tested if the planned destination is involved in conflicts, such as Israel, to which Washington is believed to be considering exporting the interceptors.

Allowing exports to a country in conflict would clearly violate Japan’s “three principles” on arms exports.

====

NATO Envoy, Recruiter For Afghan, Iraqi Wars To Become U.S. Ambassador To Armenia

http://www.reporter.am/index.cfm?objectid=6217E970-861E-11E0-A9FE0003FF3452C2

Armenian Reporter
May 24, 2011

Envoy to NATO nominated U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
by Emil Sanamyan

Washington: John A. Heffern, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and current deputy chief of the U.S. Mission to NATO, was nominated to become the next U.S. ambassador to Armenia, the White House reported on May 18.

Prior to his latest NATO assignment, Heffern served as deputy ambassador to Indonesia, and his earlier assignments included postings to Japan, Malaysia, Ivory Coast, Taiwan and China.

While working in Brussels as political advisor at the time of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and as deputy representative since 2009, Heffern became involved in some tangentially Armenia-related issues. According to published media reports, these included mobilizing allied and partner support for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and formulating relations with Russia in aftermath of its 2008 war with Georgia.

In Jakarta in the mid-2000s, Heffern was deputy to then U.S. Ambassador Lynn Pascoe who in 1997-98 was U.S. negotiator for Karabakh.

A graduate of Michigan State University, Heffern completed two stints on Capitol Hill.

In 1994-6, as Pearson Fellow on the House International Relations Committee’s Asia Sub-Committee under former Rep. Doug Bereuter (R-Neb.). Before joining the State Department in 1982, Heffern was office director and research assistant for the former Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.).

….

====

NATO Caucasus, Central Asia Representative To Visit Azerbaijan

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=147891

Azeri Press Agency
May 24, 2011

NATO Special Representative for Caucasus and Central Asia to visit Azerbaijan
Victoria Dementieva

Baku: NATO Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai plans to visit Azerbaijan in the first half of June, the head of the Azerbaijani representation to NATO, Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim told APA.

It will be Appathurai’s first visit to Azerbaijan in capacity of NATO Special Representative.

====

Azerbaijan: NATO’s Outpost On The Caspian Sea

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=147890

Azeri Press Agency
May 24, 2011

Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim: “Azerbaijan-NATO partnership strengthened and deepened in content passing long way of development”
Victoria Dementieva

Baku: Interview with Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim, head of the Azerbaijani representation to NATO

- How do you characterize the current Azerbaijan-NATO partnership?

- I characterize it as a dynamic and multilateral partnership….Since 1994 the Azerbaijan-NATO partnership has strengthened and deepened in content, passing a long way of development. Mechanisms like the Individual Partnership Action Plan and Planning and Review Process are widely used and intensive work is done towards political dialogue, operations and reforms. Guided by the principle of indivisible security, Azerbaijan intensively contributes to NATO operations.

In its turn, NATO gives special importance to the partnership after the last summit and meeting of foreign ministers….

- Will discussions concerning Azerbaijan be held within the framework of the session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on May 27-30?

-The parliamentary criterion is important in improving the NATO-Azerbaijan partnership. Being an associate member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Azerbaijani parliament takes an active part in the work of the organization and has even hosted some events of the Parliamentary Assembly. For example, our country hosted the Rose-Roth seminar of the Parliamentary Assembly in 2004 and 2008.

It should be noted that according to the rules, the Azerbaijani parliament, as an independent branch of the government and legislative body, is directly realizing cooperation with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

-Does Azerbaijan plan to increase its military contingent in Afghanistan?

- Azerbaijan actively contributes to the efforts…on Afghanistan. Azerbaijan is one of the first partner countries which joined ISAF operations and our contribution to the operations has been increased several times in recent years. The last time Azerbaijan sent military doctors and field engineers in 2010.

….

- How do you assess NATO’s military operations in Libya?

- Touching on the international legal aspect of the problem, we need to note that the operation is held on the basis of the UN Security Council’s resolution….

====

Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf: USS Enterprise Carrier Lands 400,000th Aircraft

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=60587

Navy Newsstand
May 24, 2011

Enterprise Lands 400,000th Aircraft
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Michael Croft, USS Enterprise Public Affairs

-Enterprise…is the first nuclear-powered carrier and the first nuclear carrier to transit the Suez Canal. Enterprise was the first carrier to fly F-14 Tomcats and is the longest warship in the world. This achievement of 400,000 landings is one more record added to the list.

USS ENTERPRISE, At sea: An F/A-18F Super Hornet from the Red Rippers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11 became the 400,000th aircraft to land on USS Enterprise’s (CVN 65) flight deck May 24.

….

Enterprise is only the fourth Navy aircraft carrier to have more than 400,000 carrier landings, and is the only carrier still in commission to surpass the number.

Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1, Enterprise’s embarked air wing, was honored to be a part of this great achievement.

….

U.S. Navy aircraft operate from nearly every ship in the fleet, as well as from bases around the world, providing uniquely capable, forward presence and giving naval air assets access nearly anywhere in the world.

“One of the greatest strengths that carrier aviation brings to the table is ‘presence,’” said Capt. Gregory C. Huffman, Enterprise’s executive officer. “Simply by moving into an area of operation, we play a part in shaping world events and defining national strategy.

“In many parts of the world, the carrier and air wing dwarf the capabilities of entire air forces. That is a powerful tool.”

…Enterprise…is the first nuclear-powered carrier and the first nuclear carrier to transit the Suez Canal. Enterprise was the first carrier to fly F-14 Tomcats and is the longest warship in the world. This achievement of 400,000 landings is one more record added to the list.

….

The other three carriers with more than 400,000 traps are USS Lexington (CV 16), USS Independence (CV 62) and USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).

Enterprise and Carrier Air Wing 1 are in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting close-air support missions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

====