Libyan war updates/Stop NATO news: May 30, 2011
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73-Day War: 8,878 NATO Air Missions, 3,385 Combat Flights
USS George H.W. Bush: “World’s Most Powerful Warship” Headed To Central Mediterranean
Libya: NATO Air Strikes Kill Eleven, Wound Scores
NATO Chief Rallies Member States For All-Out War On Libya
Video And Text: NATO To Shed Own Blood In Escalation Of Libyan War
Algeria: Killing Of 50 Soldiers Related To Chaos In Libya
Shanghai Cooperation Organization Can Counter Pentagon And NATO In Central Asia And Middle East
Rasmussen: NATO To Complete Full Integration Of Balkans
Bulgaria: U.S.-NATO Missile System In Strategic Black Sea
Bulgaria: NATO Chief Touts Interceptor Missile System
Leading MP: Unilateral U.S.-NATO Missile Plan Unacceptable To Russia
Afghanistan: Attack On NATO Base Kills At Least Four Soldiers, Wounds 28
NATO General: Deadly Afghan Night Raids To Continue
Afghan Soldier Kills NATO Soldier
Defense Minister: German Troops Can Be Deployed To Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan And Somalia
Reports: Coup Threats In Greece And Turkey
Obamania To Obamanic Depression: Neocon In Sheep’s Clothing
Video And Text: Paranoid Act: America’s Politics Of Fear
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Tornado fighter-bomber
USS George H.W. Bush nuclear supercarrier
Aegis class warship launches Standard Missile-3 interceptor
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73-Day War: 8,878 NATO Air Missions, 3,385 Combat Flights
http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_05/20110530_110530-oup-update.pdf
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
May 30, 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 8878 sorties, including 3385 strike sorties, have been conducted.
Sorties conducted 29 May: 149
Strike sorties conducted 29 May: 58
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Arms Embargo Activities
A total of 19 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.
11 Vessels were hailed on 29 May to determine destination and cargo. 1 boarding (no denial) was conducted.
A total of 1093 vessels have been hailed. 60 boardings and 7 denials have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.
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Libya: NATO Air Strikes Kill Eleven, Wound Scores
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1883674.html
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 30, 2011
Libya says 11 killed in NATO strikes south of Tripoli
The Libyan government said that 11 people were killed by NATO airstrikes Monday against civilian and military sites south of the capital Tripoli, a military source said, DPA reported.
Scores were injured by NATO attacks on Zlitan, Jafara and the Ein Kam valley areas, around 600 kilometres south of Tripoli.
He added that this is the second time NATO has conducted daytime strikes in the country.
NATO carried out its first daytime airstrikes in the current operation over Libya on Saturday….
NATO has launched more than 8,800 sorties in its air campaign, which began in late March….
In a speech delivered in Bulgaria, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the “Libya operation was a great success” in terms of NATO managing to act at an early stage of a conflict.
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USS George H.W. Bush: “World’s Most Powerful Warship” Headed To Central Mediterranean
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/05/27/world-s-most-powerful-warship-drops-anchor-off-the-uk-115875-23160942/
Daily Mirror
May 27, 2011
World’s most powerful warship drops anchor off the UK
A giant aircraft carrier which is the world’s newest and most powerful surface ship dropped anchor off the UK today in order for its crew to make a port visit.
A total of 5,300 sailors from the US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush are expected to visit Portsmouth, Hampshire, following the ship’s arrival this morning.
The vessel has to anchor off Stokes Bay because it is too large to fit into Portsmouth Harbour.
The warship completed war games in UK waters with HMS Dauntless and HMS Gloucester from the Royal Navy before its arrival in the Solent.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “The 97,000-ton Bush carries in excess of 70 aircraft from eight squadrons and 5,300 sailors and aircrew.
“The 1,100ft nuclear-powered supercarrier, commissioned at the beginning of 2009, is too large to enter Portsmouth Harbour so dropped anchor in the sheltered waters of Stokes Bay.
“Two other foreign vessels from the exercise – the destroyer USS Truxtun and the Spanish frigate ESPS Almirante Juan De Borbon – will spend the weekend in Portsmouth Naval Base.”
Exercise Saxon Warrior is one of the largest war games hosted by the Royal Navy in UK waters in recent years with other Nato forces, plus RAF and British Army units also taking part.
The USS George HW Bush is set to depart on Tuesday morning.
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NATO Chief Rallies Member States For All-Out War On Libya
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1883673.html
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
May 30, 2011
NATO chief criticises hesitancy over military commitment in Libya
Western allies have been too hesitant in supplying the NATO mission in Libya with the necessary military contributions, the head of the military alliance said on Monday.
In a speech delivered in Varna, Bulgaria, and posted on the NATO website, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the “Libya operation was a great success” in terms of NATO managing to act at an early stage of a conflict, DPA reported.
“Where we were less successful, however, was in backing up that political decision with the necessary military contributions,” he said.
“In the case of Libya, as well as in Afghanistan, we have sometimes struggled to generate the right forces and the right capabilities.”
Urging NATO member states “to demonstrate alliance solidarity not just in words, but also in deeds,” Rasmussen said NATO members needed to “take the political decision to deploy the right forces and capabilities. And this includes deploying them without caveats.”
In Libya, some NATO countries are contributing to the enforcement of the no-fly zone and the policing of the naval arms embargo, but are holding back from taking part in air raids.
Rasmussen said that “the constraints that caveats impose upon (NATO commanders) severely reduce the flexibility they need and limit their options.”
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Video And Text: NATO To Shed Own Blood In Escalation Of Libyan War
http://rt.com/news/nato-pressure-gaddafi-libya/
RT
May 30, 2011
NATO risks spilling own blood while mounting pressure on Gaddafi
NATO is stepping up its pressure on Colonel Gaddafi as Britain and France are ready to deploy strike helicopters into Libya. But it comes at the risk of suffering their first casualties after two months of one-way bunker buster bombing.
NATO Secretary General Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday Gaddafi’s “reign of terror is coming to an end”. He added the coalition forces will keep pressuring the Libyan government as it’s coming closer to achieving its goals.
Part of this mounting pressure is the deployment of the strike helicopters, which are soon to provide NATO forces in Libya with new capabilities.
“They can fly low; they can fly slow; so they can hit targets that fast jets can’t hit from the air. They also involve a fair amount of risk. They can be shot down much more easily than a fast jet, so the prospect of NATO personnel being captured on the ground has just gone up,” explains Shashank Joshi, associate fellow a the defense think tank Royal United Services Institute.
The Apaches, which will be joined by a contingent of French helicopters, can maneuver in urban areas and attack fairly small targets. They’ll make it easier to take out arms stores, and target places where Colonel Gaddafi may be hiding.
The deployment is part of Prime Minister David Cameron’s strategy to “turn up the heat” in Libya.
“They seem to think if they quote the UN resolution at the same time as they call for Gaddafi to go and for regime change, it’s a sort of guarantee, or as a laissez-passer. Frankly they’re involved in a civil war in Libya. The deployment of helicopters, the intensive bombing of Tripoli that’s going on – this is a war about regime change,” British MP Jeremy Corbyn believes.
The helicopters mark only the latest escalation of this conflict. Following the no-fly zone, NATO sent in advisors to train the rebels, introduced drone patrols and by the first week of May, had flown nearly 6,000 strike sorties, with Tripoli subjected to the heaviest bombing.
A recent YouGov poll for the Sun tabloid newspaper showed less than half of Britons now support the intervention in Libya. But that number’s likely to plummet once UK troops are in significantly more danger.
“Just wait, if a helicopter crashes and God forbid we lose ten people… If that happened, [if] we started being blown out of the sky – don’t even think about it. So the issue is we haven’t dropped any blood. Yeah, we’ve dropped tens of millions of pounds which we haven’t got, but not single one of our people has died. When that happens, the game, and the PR game, will change,” Kelvin MacKenzie, former editor for The Sun expects.
People have marched against the Libyan war in the UK, but in small numbers compared to the million that marched ahead of the invasion of Iraq. But helicopters bring the fighting closer to the ground, and with it, a higher risk of death, as well as fierce opposition at home.
The government might be able to defend that, as long as the new strategy makes rapid progress. But if it doesn’t, many see the next step as troops on the ground – in clear defiance of the UN resolution that allowed the original no-fly zone to be enforced in Libya.
The situation is getting worse for the West in Libya, as an operation which they believed would be short and easy is taking longer than expected, said Patrick Hayes, a reporter for the London-based Spiked online magazine.
“In many ways it seems that the situation is getting worse for the West in Libya,” Hayes said. “I think that at first they thought they could swoop in and actually bomb the country into democracy. They thought this is going to be quite a quick process, where they could basically keep their hands [clean] at a distance – bomb [their way] into Libya, get rid of Gaddafi and then everything will be all right. Now obviously that is not the case. And these bunker-buster bombs and helicopters are inevitably going to make the situation worse. They could bring about civilian casualties in Libya, and I think that reeks of desperation.”
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Algeria: Killing Of 50 Soldiers Related To Chaos In Libya
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/30/c_13900135.htm
Xinhua News Agency
May 30, 2011
Killing of 40 Algerian soldiers has direct connection with chaos in Libya: PM
ALGIERS: Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said Sunday that the killing of 40 soldiers in clashes with armed groups in the country is due to the spread of Libyan arms in the African Sahel region.
Ouyahia told a news conference here that the unrest in Libya has led to the spread of weapons among “terrorist groups,” adding that the killing of 40 Algerian soldiers in the past few weeks has a direct connection with the spread of arms in the region.
Ouyahia also called for an “immediate cease-fire in Libya.”
Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci had earlier expressed concerns that violence in Libya might have a negative impact on Algeria’s counterterrorism activities.
“We have to take into consideration that in case the crisis in Libya is aggravated, the situation would probably go beyond the Libyan borders and then would become an issue for the region,” Medelci said.
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Shanghai Cooperation Organization Can Counter Pentagon And NATO In Central Asia And Middle East
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/ea_china0650_05_30.asp
World Tribune
March 30, 2011
Shanghai Cooperation Organization outflanking U.S. in Mideast, Central Asia regions
By Fariborz Saremi
-The most urgent issues for Russia and China, however, have been Western intervention in Libya, events in Syria, charges of the West’s hypocrisy concerning Bahrain, and the U.S. determination to keep a military presence in Iraq, all of which suggest that the West is determined to maintain a controlling presence in the Middle East.
Closer to home, Moscow fears that Obama is preparing to reactivate plans to deploy missile defense shields in Poland and Romania and to establish a long-term military presence in these two countries.
The U.S. government suffered a major diplomatic setback in the Central Asian region when Zalmay Rasoul, the Afghan Foreign Minister, traveled to Beijing to discuss proposals for tightening Afghan relations with the Chinese government despite prior American warnings that it should not do so.
Rasoul’s recent four day trip (May 9-12) was particularly irksome as it came at a time in which the United States has been particularly active in the region and because it reflects the growing confidence of China that it can undermine U.S. ambitions in Central Asia by establishing diplomatic ties with various neighbors.
Moreover, the move was so swift and effective that the Americans seem to have caught on the wrong foot. It has most certainly made U.S. and NATO efforts to secure a long-term military presence in Afghanistan and Central Asia more strenuous than they already were.
The primary mover behind such diplomacy has been the Shanghai Cooperation Organization which has enabled China and Russia to cooperate more closely in their dealings with the Central Asia and the Middle East than in any other region. China has been given a platform to expand interests in the region without inciting Russian ire and at the same time Russia now has a means for indirectly but actively participating in Chinese policy.
The SCO has presented itself to the region as an alternative provider of security to NATO even as China and Russia publicly profess interest in supporting Western security efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Thus, since the SCO already contains China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as members and is now cozying up to Afghanistan, it seriously threatens the USA’s exclusive right to secure military bases in Afghanistan and other parts of the area.
China has other potential allies in its sights too, one of these being India, which has made it clear that it prefers to pursue an independent regional policy rather than simply toe the U.S. line.
Both India and China share an interest in stabilizing Afghanistan and Pakistan but neither wants the United States to use either the war against terrorism or the conflict in Afghanistan to further its “Great Central Asia” strategy. The SCO provides an ideal framework for cooperation on regional security issues.
Of all the countries in the region, however, Pakistan is the one whose confidence in American intentions and ambitions has been most keenly shaken.
Relations between Islamabad and Washington have never been easy but they were seriously affected by the operation to kill Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad. The U.S. government made it clear that it was willing to act inside Pakistan’s territory without concern for Pakistan’s sovereignty or sensitivities. Moreover, Obama has warned Pakistan it would not hesitate to repeat such an operation and that Pakistani public opinion takes second place to American security as Washington’s concerns about Pakistan’s attitude to terrorism seem confirmed.
This has severely damaged the Pakistan government’s self confidence, and weakened its faith in Washington’s interest in real cooperation. It has been embarrassed by the impression it cannot secure its own territorial integrity.
SCO membership would seem to come at an ideal juncture as Islamabad seeks alternative allies to help it provide for its own security.
The most urgent issues for Russia and China, however, have been Western intervention in Libya, events in Syria, charges of the West’s hypocrisy concerning Bahrain, and the U.S. determination to keep a military presence in Iraq, all of which suggest that the West is determined to maintain a controlling presence in the Middle East.
Closer to home, Moscow fears that Obama is preparing to reactivate plans to deploy missile defense shields in Poland and Romania and to establish a long-term military presence in these two countries. This would challenge Moscow’s traditional hegemony over the Black Sea. Russia’s efforts to be a part of discussions concerning the U.S.’s and the European Union’s missile defense program have failed.
All of these developments and the obvious distaste in both the Middle East and Central Asia for prolonged U.S. and NATO military presence in the two regions have encouraged all participants to speed up their diplomatic efforts.
Thus, while Rasoul was courting Beijing, Pakistani President Zardari was visiting Russia and Indian Prime Minister Singh was undertaking an extraordinary two-day visit to Kabul.
These shifting power balances have been provided an ideal shelter, namely the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Dr. Fariborz Saremi is a commentator on TV and radio (German ARD/NDR TV,SAT 1,N24, Voice of America and Radio Israel) on Middle East issues and a contributer to FreePressers.com, WorldTribune.com and Defense&Foreign Affairs.
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Rasmussen: NATO To Complete Full Integration Of Balkans
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n251044
Focus News Agency
May 30, 2011
We want Western Balkan states integrated into Euro-Atlantic structures: NATO chief
Desislava Antova
Sofia: “We all would like to see Western Balkan states completely integrated into the Euro-Atlantic structures. I think the recent arrest of Ratko Mladic is a very important step,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after meeting with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov in Sofia, FOCUS News Agency reported.
“First, his arrest sends a very clear message that war crimes are punished sooner or later and second, which is not less important, the arrest removes a very important hurdle on Serbia’s path to the European Union and NATO membership,” said Rasmussen.
“I want to see a stronger and more reinforced cooperation between Serbia and NATO,” he said.
He noted there could be skepticism about NATO in the Serbian society because of historical reasons.
“I would like to send a very clear message to the Serbian people – your future is in a productive and mutually beneficial cooperation between Serbia on the one hand and the EU and NATO on the other, which might lead to full-fledged membership in both organizations. I can assure you we are friends of the Serbian people today. You must not suffer from the mistakes made in the past,” said NATO chief.
“Thanks to the NATO intervention in the Balkans, the peoples of the Western Balkans can live in peace, security and stability. We managed to oust an autocratic system and assist the development of freedom and democracy. Now we call on you to try to use the maximum potential of the opportunities you have. You can do this by drawing closer to the EU and NATO. In this respect, I believe Bulgaria can play a constructive role in the region,” underlined Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
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Bulgaria: U.S.-NATO Missile System In Strategic Black Sea
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=128734
Sofia News Agency
May 30, 2011
Bulgarian PM: NATO Missile Shield Must Cover Entire Country
-The PM pointed out to participants in the assembly the Black Sea Region, where three countries are NATO members and the other three are partners, is the place of crucial strategic transport corridors.
-Fogh Rasmussen is on an official visit to Bulgaria Monday to take part in the parliamentary assembly.
Bulgaria has a firm position on the NATO missile defense system – it must cover the entire territory of the country, Bulgaria’s Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, declared.
Borisov spoke Monday at the NATO parliamentary assembly, held between May 27 and May 30 in Bulgaria’s Black Sea capital Varna.
According to Borisov, the missile shield guarantees the security of NATO countries’ territories, but where and what exact elements are to be located, would depend on technical and strategic decisions of the Alliance.
The PM pointed out to participants in the assembly the Black Sea Region, where three countries are NATO members and the other three are partners, is the place of crucial strategic transport corridors.
Regarding NATO’s mission in Libya, Borisov stated Bulgaria is taking part according to its possibilities such as the “Drazki” frigate, adding the Bulgarian State has expressed its support from day one.
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Bulgaria’s leader announced the country is going to be included next week in the work of a contact group on Libya, and appealed to all to listen to Bulgaria carefully since it has a lot to say about Gaddafi.
Borisov further focused on energy security of NATO members, explaining energy independence is a warrant for the economic one.
“I assure NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen that Bulgaria is a predictable and active ally,” Borisov concluded.
Fogh Rasmussen is on an official visit to Bulgaria Monday to take part in the parliamentary assembly.
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Bulgaria: NATO Chief Touts Interceptor Missile System
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=128731
Sofia News Agency
May 30, 2011
NATO Secretary General in Bulgaria: Missile Threat Is Real
NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is taking part Monday in the spring session of the Alliance’s Parliamentary Assembly, held in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Varna.
The forum, which began on Friday, May 30, is focusing on issues such as cyber terrorism, nuclear disarmament in Europe, the economic crisis, security, and developments in northern Africa and the Middle East.
The meeting is held in Bulgaria for the second time…
While in Bulgaria, Fogh Rasmussen is also scheduled to meet with President Georgi Parvanov, the Speaker of the Parliament Tsetska Tsacheva, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, and Foreign Affairs Minister Nikolay Mladenov.
“The missile threat is real and NATO needs protection. We have asked Russia for support – our relations are improving. We have no intentions of menacing Russia and we have invited it to negotiations. We believe there have to be two missile defense systems – Russia’s and NATO’s to protect from a direct attack and exchange data,” the Secretary General said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Television, BNT, pointing out a decision on the location of elements of the missile shield, including Bulgaria, is still pending.
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Leading MP: Unilateral U.S.-NATO Missile Plan Unacceptable To Russia
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=4&id=247725
Interfax-Military
May 30, 2011
U.S. proposal of ‘cooperative missile defense’ unacceptable for Russia – State Duma Defense Committee head
MOSCOW: The ‘sectoral missile defense’ suggested by Moscow for Europe is rejected by Western states, while the U.S. initiative of ‘a cooperative missile defense system’ is not acceptable for Russia, Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee Viktor Zavarzin told Interfax-AVN.
“While putting forward the proposal of ‘sectoral missile defense’ in Europe, we primarily proceeded from the need to minimize the negative effect of the U.S. missile defense network in Europe on the potential of the Russian strategic nuclear forces and to avoid Russia’s involvement in an arms race and a tough confrontation with the U.S. and other NATO member states,” he said.
“However, the United States and Western countries rejected the Russian proposals. The alternative ‘cooperative missile defense’ offered by Washington is not acceptable for us. This approach means the development of a missile defense without due account of Russian concerns,” he said.
The Russian proposals imply the U.S. decision to not place missile defense elements in northwestern and northern Europe, Zavarzin said. “In exchange, Russia agrees to cooperate in the southern sector without indicating a specific military threat,” he said.
The success of this approach would have NATO interceptor missiles removed from the Russian borders in the north and northwest, he said.
Zavarzin said that he declared the Russian stance on missile defense at a meeting of a subcommittee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which had a spring session in Varna from May 26-30.
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Afghanistan: Attack On NATO Base Kills At Least Four Soldiers, Wounds 28
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/30/51021549.html
Voice of Russia
May 30, 2011
NATO base in Afghanistan attacked
Insurgents attacked a NATO base in Afghanistan’s western city of Herat on Monday, killing four Italian soldiers in a car blast, the country’s Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa reports.
The second blast ripped through the city center injuring 24 Italians, who
mainly serve in this area.
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http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Afghanistan-Attack-near-Italian-base-killed-at-least-4-Nato-troops_312074679394.html
ADN Kronos International
May 30, 2011
Afghanistan: Attack ‘near’ Italian base ‘killed at least 4 Nato troops’
Herat: A suicide attack in the western Afghanistan city of Herat on Monday killed at least four Nato soldiers, according to a report by Arab-language satellite news channel Al-Jazeera.
The attack, which wounded at least 28 people, took place close to the military base overseen by the Italian Nato contingent.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemari Bashary said two suicide bombers launched their attack near the joint civilian/military Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) base. He gave no details on casualties.
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http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Afghanistan-Five-Italians-wounded-1-seriously-in-attack_312075053581.html
ADN Kronos International
May 30, 2011
Afghanistan: ‘Five Italians wounded, 1 seriously’ in attack
Herat: A suicide attack in the western Afghanistan city of Herat on Monday wounded five Italian soldiers, according to Italian defense minister Ignazio La Russa.
One of the Italian’s wounds are considered serious, he said.
“It was a captain who was wounded in the abdomen,” La Russa said.
At least 4 people died and 27 were wounded by the attack that took place near the base overseen by the Italian Nato contingent, according to reports.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemari Bashary said two suicide bombers launched their attack near the joint civilian/military Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) base. He gave no details on casualties.
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NATO General: Deadly Afghan Night Raids To Continue
http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/05/30/nighttime-raids-continue-gen-blotz
Pajhwok Afghan News
May 30, 2011
Nighttime raids to continue: Gen. Blotz
by Muhammad Hassan Khetab
KABUL: Despite President Hamid Karzai’s orders for an immediate stop to nighttime raids, the NATO-led force said on Monday it would go ahead with the operations.
On Sunday, Karzai issued a final warning to NATO-led troops over civilian deaths – hours after 14 non-combatants were killed in a new airstrike in southern Helmand province.
The fatalities resulting from a raid in Nawzad district included women and children, said the governor’s spokesman Daud Ahmadi. Governor Gulab Mangal, condemning the casualties, said a team had been set up to investigate the raid.
Karzai strongly denounced the latest instance of collateral damage, his office said in a statement. “The US and ISAF forces have been told repeatedly that their irresponsible operations are harming innocent and poor Afghans.”
The statement added: “Although such raids trample all human and moral values, NATO-led forces seem not to heed our warnings,” the president was quoted as saying.
On behalf of Afghans, Karzai issued a final warning to foreign soldiers and condemned the Helmand strike as a blunder. He directed the provincial authorities to probe the raid and compensate the victims’ families.
“In order to achieve our goals, we should continue with nighttime raids” ISAF spokesman Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz said at a joint press conference with NATO senior civilian representative’s spokesman, Dominic Medley.
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Afghan Soldier Kills NATO Soldier
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/30/afghan-soldier-kills-nato-soldier/
CNN
May 30, 2011
Afghan soldier kills NATO soldier
An Afghan soldier shot and killed a NATO soldier Monday in southern Afghanistan, high-ranking officials from the country’s National Directorate for Security said.
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said an “individual wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon against” an ISAF service member, “killing the service member.” Afghan officials confirmed that the man who did the firing was an Afghan soldier.
In another incident, two ISAF service members died after an improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said.
The nationalities of the service members were not immediately released.
Separately, Afghan and coalition forces repelled an attack on the provincial reconstruction team headquarters in the Herat district of Herat province on Monday, ISAF Joint Command said in a statement.
Insurgents trying to get inside the compound attacked the headquarters with a vehicle-borne IED and small-arms fire, but Afghan and coalition forces returned fire, killing several insurgents, it said.
Several ISAF service members were wounded.
The incidents took place a day after NATO apologized for an airstrike that killed nine civilians in southern Afghanistan.
….
Earlier, Afghan and NATO officials said the attack – an airstrike Saturday in Helmand province – had killed a dozen children and two women. There was no immediate explanation for the disparity between these figure and the toll of nine civilians offered Sunday by Toolan, who also noted that a U.S. Marine was killed immediately before the strike.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the airstrike and said he was warning the U.S military and government “for the last time” on behalf of the Afghan people about civilian deaths. He called the operation a mistake.
Journalist Reshad Fazel contributed to this report.
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Defense Minister: German Troops Can Be Deployed To Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan And Somalia
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=94510
News Network International
May 27, 2011
Germany open to troops deployment in Pak or Yemen
-[German Defence Minister Thomas de Maziere] said in future up to 10,000 soldiers would be able to participate simultaneously in various military missions abroad.
Berlin: German Defence Minister Thomas de Maziere does not rule out deployment of German troops in unstable countries, including Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan or Somalia, the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Friday.
De Maziere said he expected that requests would be made for the stationing of German forces in volatile states as part of international military operations like in Afghanistan or the Balkan region.
‘How we respond to these depends on the type of request as well as our considerations,’ he told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The minister underlined the fact that ‘soldiers are part of (German) foreign policy, and a political process must accompany the deployment of soldiers.’ He pointed to Germany’s alliance interests which are ‘usually also national interests.’
De Maziere made headlines earlier this month by saying his country would be ready to boost its global military intervention role.
‘We have to be prepared for many conceivable scenarios,’ the minister told German public broadcaster ZDF.
The spectrum of German military missions abroad could include merely election monitoring as well as a major military interventions like what took place in the Balkans, de Maziere was quoted as saying.
He said in future up to 10,000 soldiers would be able to participate simultaneously in various military missions abroad.
There are presently around 6,750 German troops deployed around the world of whom over 5,300 soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Critics of Germany’s growing global military interventionist role say it smacked of new form of imperialism.
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Reports: Coup Threats In Greece And Turkey
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=report-military-coup-possible-in-greece-2011-05-29
Hurriyet Daily News
May 30, 2011
Report: Military coup possible in Greece
BERLIN: The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency warned in a report that the tough austerity measures and the dire situation could escalate and even lead to a military coup, according to a report by Germany’s popular daily Bild.
According to he CIA report, ongoing street protests in crisis-hit Greece could turn into escalated violence and a rebellion and the Greek government could lose control, said Bild. The newspaper said the CIA report talks of a possible military coup if the situation becomes more serious and uncontrolled.
Greece is under immense pressure owing to public debt that has swollen to 340 billion euros. The EU, IMF and European Central Bank are pressing Greece to step up a privatization program and get all political parties to approve more austerity and reform measures that have sparked violent protests, but emergency talks called by the president on Friday failed to make any headway, AFP reported.
Opposition parties have mostly refused to support the government in its quest to cut spending by trimming an overblown civil service and the sweeping privatization drive announced this week has attracted even stronger protests.
Meanwhile, the Dutch finance minister said his country, Germany, Finland and other EU members won’t give Greece any more bailout money, if the debt-laden country fails to adopt further austerity measures.
Jan Kees de Jager said Saturday that “it’s vital that Greece will live up fully” to conditions set by the International Monetary Fund if it’s to receive the next batch of a 110 billion euros ($155 billion) bailout loan deal it agreed to last year, the Associated Press reported.
Last year, as the financial crisis battered Greece, Bild went as far as to highlight a suggestion by a conservative politician that Athens sell off some of its many islands to help pay off its debts.
A bailout for Greece was put in place a year ago by the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, involving loans of 110 billion euros ($157 billion) over three years.
But there are now grave doubts whether Athens can meet its repayments and talk of a second bailout, or even a drastic debt restructuring, is rife.
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http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=prosecutor-demands-arrest-of-top-officer-2011-05-30
Hurriyet Daily News
May 30, 2011
Top military officer arrested on coup charges
ISTANBUL: An Istanbul court has ordered the arrest of the highest-ranking active-duty military officer charged with plotting to overthrow the government.
War Academies Commander Gen. Bilgin Balanlı, who testified for three hours in front of the prosecutor before being sent to court and then testified in court for another four hours Monday, is the first active-duty top general arrested in connection with the alleged coup plans.
Gen. Balanlı was arrested as a suspect in the ongoing “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) case, which is based on documents reportedly seized in February from a house that belonged to Col. Hakan Büyük. A member of the intelligence branch of the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, Col. Büyük has already been arrested on charges of plotting a military coup.
The new evidence regarding the case, according to police reports, consists of written documents, video files and digital material on a flash disk, and includes plans to be put into action if the alleged coup attempt were to fail.
Eight active-duty officers were released early Saturday after providing 12 hours of testimony in Istanbul on the same charges.
The testimonies came at a time when relations between the government and the TSK are increasingly tense, reportedly due to the ongoing investigations of alleged coup plots. Of the TSK’s approximately 300 active-duty generals, 29 are under arrest on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.
More than 160 soldiers – both active-duty and retired – are in prison pending trial on suspected links to the alleged coup plans.
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Obamania To Obamanic Depression: Neocon In Sheep’s Clothing
http://rt.com/politics/columns/bridge-too/barack-obama-us-bridge/
RT
May 30, 2011
Barack Obama: A Neocon in sheep’s clothing
Robert Bridge
I admit it; I was one of the estimated 5.9 billion people worldwide who was initially captivated, enraptured, shellacked, call it what you will, by America’s “first black president” Barack Hussein Obama.
But who on earth wasn’t?
Following eight brutal years of being dragged around the planet in search of monsters by a self-declared “war president,” it was all too easy to be seduced by Obama’s honey-dripping message of Hope and Change.
The Bush years, we believed, were an unfortunate and very un-American anomaly and Obama would put the American house back in order. Yes, we’d sit down and chat with tyrants; we’d get tough with transnational corporations; we’d put the long-forgotten rugged individuals back where they belong in the grand order of things. With the triumphant election of Barack Obama, it felt like morning again in America, which had just passed through the longest, darkest night of its history.
Indeed, the need to believe the hype and hysteria was so powerful that it even compelled the otherwise intelligent people at the Nobel Institute to pin the peace laurels on Obama’s chest at the very same time US troops were hunkered down on two fronts.
The international community is no longer enamored by Obama, however, at least not the way they were just three years ago. The American president can still charm the pants off a news conference, and deliver a mesmerizing speech via the teleprompter, but the magic of those early days, when Change was so close you could almost reach out and touch it, has vanished into thin air.
“Obamania” has been downgraded to “Obamanic depression.”
The British betrayed their inner feelings about America’s Commander in Speech when they chose a tongue-in-cheek codename for Obama’s recent UK visit.
According to the Daily Mail: “More than one person has wanted to call Barack Obama a ‘smart alec’, and now British police will get the chance to do so without getting reprimanded. That’s because Scotland Yard has tapped the codename ‘Chalaque’ to refer to the U.S. president for security reasons during his upcoming state visit to the United Kingdom May 24-26.”
And what exactly does “Chalaque” mean? The Mail, quoting a Punjabi speaker, said the word is used “when we want to denigrate someone who we think is too clever for their own good.”
Although Scotland Yard says the name was selected randomly from some cheeky supercomputer, the characterization appears too accurate to be the product of mere chance. Besides, even if the program really did spit out the very applicable designation, the British authorities could have easily commanded the computer to ‘try again.”
Anyways, there is no need for name calling when simply reporting the facts is so much more effective.
GUANTANAMO BAY
Of Barack Obama’s numerous unfulfilled promises, the failure to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is the most glaring and unpardonable. Not only does this prison, situated in a remote corner of communist Cuba, fly in the face of democratic principles, it has actually served to harden the resolve of America’s enemies due to the inhumane treatment of the detainees, some of whom are innocent.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, “Washington has ignored human rights standards in its own treatment of terrorism suspects. It has refused to apply the Geneva Conventions to prisoners of war from Afghanistan, and has misused the designation of ‘illegal combatant’ to apply to criminal suspects on U.S. soil.”
On May 25, 2005, Amnesty International released its annual report calling the detention facility the “gulag of our times.”
Meanwhile, Lord Steyn, a prominent judge in the United Kingdom, called it “a monstrous failure of justice,” because “… The military will act as interrogators, prosecutors and defense counsel, judges, and when death sentences are imposed, as executioners. The trials will be held in secret. None of the guarantees of a fair trial need be observed.”
Remember, Obama was going to reverse all of this insanity. And there is no question about: it is insane.
Guantanamo Bay ranks as one of the most sinister war-time camps ever devised. Who will ever forget (certainly, America’s enemies never will) the images of cuffed detainees kneeling on the ground, inside of barbed-wire enclosures, while sporting sensory-deprivation devices – i.e. no light, no sound, no tactile stimuli whatsoever. All the while, US soldiers, armed to the teeth, were inside of the enclosures as well. Even if there was a chance that one of the bad guys would pull a Houdini and escape, Guantanamo Bay is in the middle of shark-infested waters miles away from nothing. Why so many over-the-top security measures, which only make the American captors look cruel and ridiculous?
On January 22, 2009, much of the free world let out a sigh of relief when Barack Obama announced the facility would be shuttered within one year. At this point, the Democratic president got his first indication as to what a joy it would be trying to work with the Republican Party. With former vice president Dick Cheney suddenly on every news channel, the Neocons came out of the woodwork, arguing that the country with the world’s premier prison system could not handle a couple hundred broken “terrorists” on American soil for their trials. What?!
Obama finally caved in to the incredible pressure, and to this day Guantanamo Bay, the darkest chapter in America’s history since at least the days of slavery, remains open for business. Not only is it open for business, but the detainees, who have been blamed for some of the worst crimes against the United States, will not have an opportunity to tell their story before a civilian court. More importantly, however, nor will the American people get to hear their story. The voice of the detainees of Guantanamo Bay will disappear into the void of military tribunals, where closed courts will keep Americans in the dark.
Not democracy’s best day.
WAR
Barack Obama has failed to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as he promised to do on the campaign trail. In the case of Afghanistan, US troop strength has tripled there, while the death of American soldiers is on the rapid uptick. According to justforeignpolicy.org, since Obama took over the Oval Office, 910 US troops have been killed in Afghanistan, compared to 575 in the seven years that Bush served as president.
In Iraq, where the official close of military operations has been announced, Obama has left behind a 50,000-strong “transitional force” tasked with training the Iraqi Security Forces and conducting counterterrorism operations. Obama says the troops there “may” remain until the end of 2011, but only a fool would take Obama’s golden words at face value.
Did Obama stop the illegitimate and indiscriminate use of drone technology? Here is Cindy Sheehan, anti-war activist who lost her son in Iraq: “On day three (of Obama’s presidency), he ordered his first drone bombing strike in the tribal regions of North Pakistan thus murdering a reported 36 civilians. Since that day, the US has used this tactic of abject terror 192 more times resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths. In the four years the Bush stain used this tactic of terror it was used 43 times. In this area, Obama is definitely an overachiever.”
Not only has our Nobel Laureate failed to bring home the boys from Afghanistan and Iraq, he threw his support behind military intervention in Libya, where antigovernment rebels are attempting to overthrow Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi. NATO forces are now conducting massive aerial bombardments over Tripoli, inflicting untold casualties on the civilian population. According to Bloomberg News, “thousands” have been killed since the bombing campaign started two months ago, and hundreds of thousands have fled the country.
The alleged killing of Osama bin Laden (no proof of this exploit exists, not even a video, which the US Army has proven very adept at providing in the past) can not wash away all of these failed promises, especially when it remains possible that OBL was not even remotely responsible for pulling off 9/11. Indeed, how a man on the run in the mountains could pull off a sophisticated attack against the strongest country in the world will be a question for the historians to ultimately decide.
OBAMA BATTING FOR BUSH
Ok, so you are still unconvinced that Barack Obama has not only continued Bush-era policy, but actually intensified it? In addition to recently continuing with Bush tax cuts for the rich, at a time when the US is facing the deepest deficit in its history, Obama also snuck through an extension of the Patriot Act minutes before it was set to expire.
The Patriot Act, rammed through by the Bush administration when America was in a code-red panic following the events of 9/11, empowers US security agencies to implement wiretaps, as well as conduct extensive searches against private citizens. But that is only the tip of the iceberg concerning its powers, since there has never been a real democratic debate on this autocratic piece of legislation.
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon complained that “the government won’t even tell the American people how it interprets these provisions, or whether it sees any limits on its authority at all.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico said almost 10 years after the Patriot Act’s passage, “we still haven’t had the debate that we need to have on this piece of legislation.”
Did Obama the Great Changer give America the debate it wants and needs on the subject of this invasion of privacy? Did he listen to his own constituents, many of whom expected the Democratic wunderkind to end this draconian trend toward tyranny? Of course not. In fact, at the eleventh hour, just minutes before the highly controversial Patriot Act was set to succumb to a much-deserved demise, Obama, who once challenged us to have the audacity to hope, signed the legislation for another four years with his autopen while away in France.
And I would imagine the Stature of Liberty, if caught at that moment, blushed; blushed in frustration, anger and hopelessness for what has become of her once proud nation.
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Video And Text: Paranoid Act: America’s Politics Of Fear
http://rt.com/usa/news/america-politics-of-fear/
RT
May 30, 2011
America’s politics of fear
US President Barack Obama and the US Congress joined forces to successfully extend the Patriot Act until 2015, meaning broader domestic surveillance will pioneer through America for another four years.
The variety of far-reaching surveillance measures being used to collect information from most law-abiding citizens are being criticized as tools to perpetrate fear for political purposes.
The country that created Blackberry phones and gave birth to iPhones has more than 300-million wireless users. And in the name of national security, the US government will soon have a direct link to each and every hand held device.
Gathered at the scene of the September 11th terrorist attacks, Federal and New York City officials joined the presidents of the four largest wireless carriers to announce the nation’s new tech tool. An alert system enabling the president and government agencies to blast every American with text messages warning of terror threats, weather disasters and kidnappings.
“It’s like a police officer’s gun. It’s there for a good reason. But we hope we never had to pull the trigger,” said New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
The cell phone alert system will launch in New York City and Washington, DC by the end of this year, expanding nationwide thereafter. Some carriers may allow cell phone users to opt out of receiving certain alerts, but Americans will not be allowed to opt out of the presidential texts.
Opponents say politicians are promoting more fear while providing little protection.
“Now we have a system of mandatory and inescapable alerts through every cellphone in the land. In the event that the government decides that something’s happening that we ought to know about. Just as the introduction of the patriot act came after nine-eleven, this new technological invasion comes to us without any public discussion, right after the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, which has raised our terror alerts,” said Mark Crispin Miller, NYU Professor and author.
He added that Americans are living in an age of creeping authoritarianism and scare tactics.
“The use of fear for any kind of government that craves any kind of control over people’s lives and thoughts is that it makes people malleable. It makes people obedient. You go to any airport today and you see this in action. That people are taking off their shoes. Submitting to getting groped,” Miller commented.
Under the auspices of airport safety, babies, senior citizens and everyone in between must now endure pat-downs or pass through body scanners before boarding.
In the case Muslim-Americans, that may not be enough. Six days following the US assassination of Osama Bin Laden, four Imam’s on two separate US flights were illegally kicked off planes for looking suspicious.
“You have a few hate mongers who can evoke emotions and that’s what people do. They play on people’s emotions. They play on people’s ignorance about Islam and Muslims and that’s created a climate of fear you see,” said Imam Al Amin Abdul Latif, President of the Islamic Leadership Council of NY.
In December, the department of homeland security began encouraging Americans to report suspicious activity to American largest food retailer, as Wal-Mart joined Washington’s “see something say something” campaign.The marriage between government and business has been accused of perpetuating a climate of panic and subsequent need for more surveillance.
“You need to create and enemy for people to rally around endless wars and we’re spending fifty percent of our taxes on war and our national defense. When there’s really no threat directly to this country. There’s really a need to keep validating this spending,” said Abby Martin, journalist and founder of Media Roots.
Following the assassination of enemy number one, New York’s senior US Senator Charles Schumer called for an increase in rail safety funding and the creation of a no-ride list.
As US officials warn of more terror threats following Bin Laden’s death, many Americans remain concerned, while others, are left wondering about the dangers of forsaking too much liberty for security.
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