Updates on Libyan war/Stop NATO News: August 29, 2011

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Libyan War: NATO Uses And Abuses The United Nations

Sarkozy’s Libya War: Russia The Next Target?

NATO Commanders Prepared Capture Of Tripoli: British Daily

Western Troops In Libya “Since Day One”

Libya: 20,751 NATO Sorties, 7,806 Combat Missions

NATO Continues To Bomb Tripoli

NATO’s Dirty Plan In Libya: Another Nation Falls To Western Imperialism

Russia: Drug Transit In North Africa Follows Iraqi, Kosovo, Afghan Models

Russia Wants Action Against Afghanistan-Kosovo-Colombia Drug Nexus

Chicago: Conference Plans Mass Demonstrations Against NATO, G8 Summits

Meeting With Top Commander: NATO Trains Iraqi Navy

NATO Attack On Syria To Result In Quagmire: Iranian Foreign Minister

Washington Post: “Syrians Demand” NATO Intervention

Canadian Military: Boost U.S.-Led Surveillance Against Russia, China

Welcome To Colonialism 2.0

Three NATO Soldiers Killed In Southern Afghanistan

U.S.-Based NATO Command Implements New Strategic Concept Measures

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Libyan War: NATO Uses And Abuses The United Nations

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/08/29/55345487.html

Voice of Russia
August 29, 2011

Russia concerned over Libya
Konstantin Garibov

-From the very start, coalition countries made it no secret that they were aiming at Libyan oil reserves and at establishing spheres of influence in the region, bypassing the UN. Libya is seen as a valuable trophy, and it’s up to those who dropped bombs on it to distribute the trophies. For this reason, the UN is not something to reckon with…
-”NATO’s statements of the past two years suggest an attempt to replace the UN. By crushing Gaddafi, even though a complete victory is nowhere in sight, NATO is trying to reap the fruits of victory bypassing other countries and the UN Security Council…”

The recent developments in Libya have triggered a lot of speculation across the political spectrum in Russia with political and media circles alike offering wide-ranging opinions on Libya in recent weeks.

NATO air strikes, the civil war in Libya and the collapse of the country’s state system are seen as the demise of Libya as a state. According to recent surveys, up to 80 percent of Russians condemn air strikes against Libya. Sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky comments:

“Russian attitudes towards NATO are mostly negative,” the expert says, “which is fully in line with the global trend. While revolution and mass protests received widespread support in Arab countries, NATO’s intervention caused an outcry from the public.”

In Russia, NATO’s campaign against Libya was immediately compared to the bombardments of Yugoslavia and Iraq and the developments in Afghanistan. Russian bloggers described the Libyan campaign as barbaric and “a gang shootout in the style of Wild West”. Russians oppose the use of force and consider the West’s intervention an overt aggression, particularly since UN Security Council Resolution 1973 did not authorize coalition forces to bomb cities or take part in ground operations.

The Transitional National Council, which sees itself as the only legitimate body in Libya, is split and is highly unlikely to normalize the situation. Political analysts in Russia say that the civil war in Libya will go on and years will pass before the country sees peace, stability or effective leaders. While it tacitly watches coalition forces distribute Libyan oil and establish control over oil wells and export terminals, the Transitional Council says that Russia, along with China and Brazil, might face problems with energy contracts for “political reasons”.

From the very start, coalition countries made it no secret that they were aiming at Libyan oil reserves and at establishing spheres of influence in the region, bypassing the UN. Libya is seen as a valuable trophy, and it’s up to those who dropped bombs on it to distribute the trophies. For this reason, the UN is not something to reckon with. A statement to this effect came a few days ago in the run-up to an international conference on Libya in Paris. Russia was not invited. The Russian Foreign Ministry made it clear that the key role belongs to the UN and the UN Security Council.

Russia didn’t take part in the military campaign against Libya. Neither did China, Germany, South Africa or Brazil. Moscow didn’t stay indifferent either: it didn’t veto Resolution 1973 and it joined sanctions against Libya. In this respect, any attempts from NATO to exclude Russia and the above countries from discussions on Libya are shortsighted, Azhdar Kurtov of the Russian Strategic Research Institute says:

“NATO’s statements of the past two years suggest an attempt to replace the UN. By crushing Gaddafi, even though a complete victory is nowhere in sight, NATO is trying to reap the fruits of victory bypassing other countries and the UN Security Council, whose permanent members include Russia and China. This is why Russia was not invited to join the conference of so-called ‘friends of Libya’ in Paris.”

Russia warns all parties involved that post-war restoration of Libya should proceed under the aegis of the UN Security Council. Oriental expert Stanislav Tarasov is sure that the West will have to honor Russia’s position eventually:

“Russia maintains the status of a powerful regional power with its own interests in the region. Its position and tactics are explicit enough. Russia is among the leading global powers and the world’s top players will achieve nothing without Russia. Contact groups, or “Libya friends” groups will be useless without Russia.”

While keen on making the UN a key figure in a Libyan settlement, Moscow is helping NATO to see the deadlock it has driven itself into and to find a way out of it.

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Sarkozy’s Libya War: Russia The Next Target?

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110829/166283734.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 29, 2011

Sarkozy’s Libya war
Dmitry Babich

-[S]uch words are all too familiar. We heard such talk several times from Levy himself and other French left-wing intellectuals, who on March 17 signed an appeal to Sarkozy and heads of NATO nations, published in Le Monde, calling for military intervention in Libya. At least one-third of the people who signed this appeal also signed appeals in 1995, 2000 and 2004, also published by Le Monde, which supported the secessionist Chechen Republic of Ichkeriya and its governments led by “presidents” Dzhokhar Dudayev and Aslan Maskhadov. In those appeals, Levy, his fellow “philosopher” Andre Glucksmann, deputy of the European parliament Daniel Cohn-Bendit and others called on Western leaders to boycott the celebration in Moscow of the 50th anniversary of the victory in WWII, to revoke Russia’s membership in international organizations, and to provide assistance to Maskhadov. In 2011, the same group of people implored Sarkozy to help Mahmoud Jibril and the Libyan rebels.

Among the key issues that will emerge once the war in Libya inevitably ends will be the political future of the Western backers of the intervention in Libya, primarily, the French President Nicholas Sarkozy and his advisors. Will these politicians reap the benefits of victory, or will they be blamed for what still could be a protracted war? This is a big issue in Europe, as it was French planes that fired the opening shots in the NATO operation.

According to Le Monde, Sarkozy has made this war his own. He has staked his reputation on the Western intervention. For months, he spent hours poring over war maps and kept in constant contact with the Libyan rebels and his informal publicist, Bernard-Henri Levy, who humbly presents himself to the world media as a philosopher defending the cause of peace.

During his meeting in Paris last Thursday with Mahmoud Jibril, the number two in the rebel leadership, Sarkozy announced an international conference on assistance to Libya, to be held in France on September 1. Sarkozy says that the NATO military operation and the activities of the international contact group are winding down, and that Russia, China, India and Brazil – members of the UN Security Council who did not support the NATO military intervention – are invited to participate in the upcoming conference. “In this way, Sarkozy let Russia know that it can play a role in the new Libya,” believes former Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom Anatoly Adamishin.

But what does the invitation really mean? Does it show confidence in ultimate victory, or is it just a last-ditch attempt to get as many players as possible involved in this failing project? Was the NATO intervention a success or a failure? This question will be answered, to a large extent, by the actions by the new Libyan government, which will be formed by the National Transitional Council (NTC), the rebel government recognized by France in March in the run-up to the military intervention. Will the new government be able to prevent a bloodbath and brutal retaliation against loyalist forces? By bringing new people to power in Tripoli, Sarkozy and his advisors have assumed a great responsibility. Many in France wonder now if the decision made in March was the right one.

Bernard-Henri Levy played a pivotal role in the intervention. He is the one who called Sarkozy’s cell phone in early March and told him that he “absolutely must see the Libyan Massouds,” alluding to the leader of the Afghan mujahedeen.

Sarkozy agreed and 24 hours later, on March 10, 2011, France recognized the NTC. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe was informed about the meeting only after the fact – a testament to the influence of the “philosopher.” Today, Levy is convinced that he did the right thing. Answering a question on his website about the fate of Gaddafi, his family and supporters, he said coolly: “Let the Libyans decide…I’m not in the least bit concerned, because the leaders of the National Transitional Council have proved their political maturity. They are not motivated by a desire for revenge; we are now witnessing the laying of the first bricks of a nation of laws.” In all his interviews since March, Levy invariably says that the rebels managed to overcome “the temptation of Islamism” and have no connections with radical Islam. Regarding detractors of the rebel movement, Levy fancifully described them as “adepts of despotism hypnotized by a modern Medusa – the belief that
tyrants cannot be toppled.”

Alas, such words are all too familiar. We heard such talk several times from Levy himself and other French left-wing intellectuals, who on March 17 signed an appeal to Sarkozy and heads of NATO nations, published in Le Monde, calling for military intervention in Libya. At least one-third of the people who signed this appeal also signed appeals in 1995, 2000 and 2004, also published by Le Monde, which supported the secessionist Chechen Republic of Ichkeriya and its governments led by “presidents” Dzhokhar Dudayev and Aslan Maskhadov. In those appeals, Levy, his fellow “philosopher” Andre Glucksmann, deputy of the European parliament Daniel Cohn-Bendit and others called on Western leaders to boycott the celebration in Moscow of the 50th anniversary of the victory in WWII, to revoke Russia’s membership in international organizations, and to provide assistance to Maskhadov. In 2011, the same group of people implored Sarkozy to help Mahmoud Jibril and the
Libyan rebels.

When asked whether Maskhadov and his fighters were involved in global terrorism, Glucksmann and Levy answered with more fanciful metaphor. According to Glucksmann, the rebels “resisted the call of the radical Islamist sirens.” We had many chances to judge the veracity of this statement since 2002.

Lie just once and no one will ever believe you again. The objectivity of the intellectual force behind the Libya intervention is called into question by their support for the Chechen rebels. It is entirely possible that soon the world will see acts of vengeance and terrorism and the rise of radical Islam in Libya. In that case, it will be hard to say that Sarkozy won.

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NATO Commanders Prepared Capture Of Tripoli: British Daily

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/08/29/55336157.html

Voice of Russia
August 29, 2011

Capture of Tripoli prepared by NATO – Daily Telegraph

NATO commanders prepared the capture of Tripoli code-named Operation Mermaid Dawn for three months, the Daily Telegraph reports.

According to the newspaper, the personnel of the British MI6 service and special operations troops, and also officers from France, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates trained the Libyan opposition troops in Benghazi. Hundreds of guns and pieces of ammunition were smuggled into Tripoli and hidden.

Apart from that, the commander of the troops defending the city turned to the opposition’s side. He is said to have harboured resentment towards Gaddafi for 20 years, so he came to an agreement with the rebels and surrendered the city to them at the right moment, the newspaper points out.

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Western Troops In Libya “Since Day One”

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110829/166274046.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 29, 2011

NATO admits UK and France may have troops in Libya

MOSCOW: NATO has revealed its member countries may have troops on the ground in Libya.

In an interview with the EUobserver website, an unnamed NATO official admitted Britain and France may have deployed troops in Libya, but said that it would be “unfair to call them NATO forces.”

In comments carried by state news channel Rossiya 24 on Sunday, the Russian ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said there was “direct evidence” that British and French special forces were carrying out ground operations in Libya in violation of UN Security Council resolution 1973.

The resolution, passed in March, authorized a no-fly zone over Libya and use of “all necessary measures” to protect civilians.

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British Defense Secretary Liam Fox told Sky News last week the rebels were getting intelligence and reconnaissance assistance from NATO.

Last week, Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper claimed Britain’s elite Special Air Service regiment (SAS) were helping the rebels hunt down Col Muammar Gaddafi, whose forces have lost control of most of the country including the capital Tripoli.

Gaddafi’s whereabouts remain unknown, though the transitional government says he is still in hiding in Tripoli.

A former member of the SAS told RIA Novosti last week that UK special forces had been in Libya “since day one” of the insurrection.

The rebels, who seized Tripoli a week ago, have offered a $1.3 million reward and amnesty from prosecution for anyone who kills or captures Gaddafi.

Meanwhile, the rebels are trying to advance toward Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte east of Tripoli, but are continuing to meet resistance from the deposed leader’s loyalists.

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Libya: 20,751 NATO Sorties, 7,806 Combat Missions

http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_08/20110829_110829-oup-update.pdf

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
August 29, 2011

NATO and Libya

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, 06.00GMT) a total of 20,751 sorties, including 7,806 strike sorties, have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 28 AUGUST: 118
Strike sorties conducted 28 AUGUST: 38

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NATO Continues To Bomb Tripoli

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/nato-warplane-flies-over-tripoli-20110829-1jh6p.html

Agence France-Presse
August 29, 2011

NATO warplane flies over Tripoli

A half dozen explosions were heard in the distance early on Monday in Tripoli just after a NATO warplane flew over the Libyan capital.

The blasts were heard just before 1am (0900 AEST)…an AFP correspondent reported.

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The violence of the blasts indicated the presence of pro-Gaddafi forces near the capital…

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NATO’s Dirty Plan In Libya: Another Nation Falls To Western Imperialism

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=111418

Pakistan Observer
August 29, 2011

NATO’s dirty plan in Libya
Dr. Samiullah Koreshi

During Ramazan, I am not writing my columns and therefore this letter to the editor on the situation in Libya after NATO’s and Western powers surrogates have entered Tripoli is in lieu of a column.

The question arises what should be our attitudes towards these foreign puppets’ victory. I had no doubt at any stage in the past what would be the end result of this conflict. The power equations of Ghaddafi supporters and the rebels/traitors, mask of NATO, was not too difficult to understand and the end result of the NATO/Western surrogates was but expected.

That Ghaddafi stood against NATO’s filthy war so long should be an indication that Ghaddafi had the support of Libyan nationalists to the hilt and is sticking to the war because he has that even now, small as it may be, which is causing Ghaddafi’s heroic stand. Let no one glorify this Western proxy war. Sarkozy has bagged one of the richest oil fields of the world and that was what The Western game plan in Libya was.

It should be noted that despite NATO’s dirty game, and the rebels/traitors implementing the dirty plan, no one should at all give it any fancy name of liberation or any such high-sounding description. It is the obvious success of traitors promoting NATO’s interests, selling Libya to foreign powers. Many traitor regimes have established themselves by serving enemies’ interest. This is another such case. We should not be among the first fools to extend recognition to the NATO surrogates. Another country falls to Western imperialism.

Even as a diplomat I have stuck to my principles and I believe principles should be upheld in diplomacy also. This NATO war for foreign oil and resources must be viewed as what it is. All the usual false and sanctimonious statements that will come from Obama, Sarkozy, Ban Ki-moon, not withstanding all high-sounding concern for humanity and what not would be another blah, blah, blah.

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Russia: Drug Transit In North Africa Follows Iraqi, Kosovo, Afghan Models

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=3&id=269023

Interfax
August 29, 2011

Russian chief drug enforcer affirms increased drug traffic through Africa

MOSCOW: Political destabilization in Africa has increased drug transit through that continent, Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov told a Monday press conference at the Interfax main office.

“Events of the recent years have intensified the deliveries of Afghan heroin via African countries,” he said.

The drugs are smuggled through Iraq, where many criminal groups intensified their business amid the hostilities. Now they are smuggling drugs to East Africa through Somalia and to North Africa, where constant armed clashes cover up drug operations, he said.

“We are witnessing a significant increase of heroin transit from Africa across the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.

Russia is interested in stabilization on the African continent, in particular in Libya, Ivanov said.

“Russia is interested in the soonest end of the hostilities and stabilization. In that case Europe will have a good shield to protect itself from drugs transited through Africa,” he said.

Drug trafficking may have a negative effect on the political situation, Ivanov said.

“We can see that drug transit has entailed riots in Cote d’Ivoire and coups in Guinea and Guinea Bissau. Huge drug profits are larger than national budgets. Criminal groups are growing in number, merge and develop into structures, which have their own armies, armaments and budgets much larger than budgets of the countries of their operation,” he said.

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Russia Wants Action Against Afghanistan-Kosovo-Colombia Drug Nexus

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/08/29/55358104.html

Voice of Russia
August 29, 2011

Barrier against Kosovo drug route proposed
Nina Dmitriyeva

The current heroin output of Afghanistan is twice that of the entire world ten years ago. Afghan-produced heroin – an estimated 150 tons of it each year – flows to buyers in Russia and Europe by way of Central Asia and by way of Iran, Turkey and the Balkans. And in the latter area, Kosovo is the main conduit. Its 15 major drug cartels control some 70 percent of the heroin market on the continent, and close to 20 percent on the British Isles. The annual traffic amounts to 50 tons, generating 3 billion euros. This is twice the annual budget of the breakaway territory in southern Serbia. To make matters worse, Kosovo drug gangs also traffic South American cocaine, which reaches them by way of West Africa.

Although backed by the EU, Kosovo is powerless to get on top of the problem. Russia proposes a solution in the form of an international group for cutting the Kosovo drug route.

Mr Viktor Ivanov is Russia’s chief counternarcotics officer:

“The group should be a quintet bringing Russia together with four powers in the Balkans – Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and, of course, Serbia, which already acts as a shield against Kosovo-routed drugs. Joint action on the quintet would be aided by generous intelligence sharing. Russia, for instance, possesses vast drug intelligence from American and Afghan sources in Afghanistan. The reaction to the initiative so far gives rise to hopes that the proposed front can be in place before January. Security against drugs is part of the overall European security.”

Two members of the proposed quintet, Russia and Serbia, do not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state. They hope, however, that this will not be an obstacle to cooperation against drug trade. Cutting the drug route across Kosovo would narrow the market for Afghan and South American drugs and bring forward a time when both are brought under international control.

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NATO Missile Shield: Russia To Upgrade ABM, Air Defense Strength

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/08/29/55349847.html

Voice of Russia
August 29, 2011

Russia to beef up ABM, air defence muscle
Oleg Nekhai

The American cruiser USS Monterey with Aegis interceptor rockets on board cruised the Black Sea in June, stirring Russian suspicions that the US is less than serious about honouring understandings at the NATO-Russia summit in Lisbon last November to develop anti-missile systems in and around Europe in close cooperation.

If NATO opts to go it alone, Russia will have to consider a serious beefing-up of its ABM and air defence muscle. We hear about this from Lower House deputy. Colonel General Igor Puzanov:

“Russia’s Air and Space Defence Force already possesses capabilities to knock out jets, ballistic and cruise missiles and even satellites. Now, it will also have to deploy systems for neutralizing anti-missile defenses, positioned close to its western and southwestern borders.”

Accordingly, there are plans for more and more S-400 air defence missile batteries and for a new constellation of missile-monitoring satellites. An integrated air and space defence force is taking shape, cemented by a single command chain.

We have more about this programme from Editor-in-Chief of the Natsionalnaya Oborona (or National Defence) journal Dr Igor Korotchenko:

“Integrating firepower, intelligence, communications and decision-making should dramatically boost the capability of Russia’s space and air defenses. An even further boost should come from putting S-500 batteries into service.”

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Chicago: Conference Plans Mass Demonstrations Against NATO, G8 Summits

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-local-activists-gear-up-for-g8-nato-summits-planned-for-city-20110828,0,1771314.story

Chicago Tribune
August 28, 2011

Local activists gear up for G8, NATO summits planned for city
By Andy Grimm

Activists are planning massive demonstrations to coincide with the G8 and NATO summits in Chicago scheduled for spring 2012, with crowds of protesters likely to reach “tens of thousands,” organizers said.

More than 160 members representing about 50 groups from across the U.S. and Canada gathered Sunday at the Chicago-Kent College of Law to discuss strategy and start planning two large-scale protests and a march that during the week-long joint summit, which is set for mid-May.

The G8 and similar economic forums have for more than a decade drawn thousands of demonstrators. With the world economy in turmoil and NATO leaders set to discuss Afghanistan war policy, the joint summit should draw protesters on behalf of a wide array of causes, activists said.

Chicago could see crowds of protesters similar to the 35,000 or so activists who descended on St. Paul, Minn., during the 2008 Republican National Convention, said Joe Lombardo, co-coordinator for the New York-based United National Anti-War Committee.

“With the war (and) the global economy as they are, and the (U.S. presidential) election in full swing next spring, I think it will have the potential to be bigger than the protests in Minnesota,” said Lombardo, a retired New York state government worker who has participated in demonstrations since the 1960s. “Those issues are not going to go away (by May) and Chicago is a larger city than some of the other places they’ve had these summits recently.”

Chicago activist Joe Iosbaker, who helped organize the RNC protests in 2008 and whose home was raided by FBI agents last October, said he applied for permits to hold demonstrations in Daley Plaza and Federal Plaza downtown the day the White House announced the city would host the summits.

So far, he has not heard anything about the status of the permits from the county about using Daley Plaza or the agency that controls Federal Plaza. City officials also have said organizers will not be able to apply for a permit for a planned march through the city until the first of the year, Iosbaker said.

“They told me they would get back to me in two weeks to let me know at least that we were in the process of getting the permit,” Iosbaker said. “That was nine weeks ago.”

Local activist Andy Thayer said demonstrations will be peaceful, despite a recent statement by police Superintendent Garry McCarthy that the department is preparing for “mass arrests” of protestors during the summit.

The remarks were especially galling given Chicago’s mixed history of dealing with large demonstrations, Thayer said. Police in 2003 arrested about 900 people who marched to protest the start of the Iraq war, with some protesters held for up to 36 hours. The arrests prompted a class-action lawsuit, Thayer said.

“Statements like that from McCarthy have a chilling effect,” he said. “The city has a history of attacks on civil rights.”

Iosbaker noted that events like the G8 and World Trade Organization summits have seen some violence in their host cities. Iosbaker attributed the clashes to aggressive police, and said his group is planning to do nothing to disrupt the city or the conferences.

“What we want is a safe, permitted, legal protest,” Iosbaker said. “Something that parents feel safe bringing their babies in strollers to, and we want our voice to be heard.”

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Meeting With Top Commander: NATO Trains Iraqi Navy

http://www.aco.nato.int/iraqi-navy-commander-meets-nato-training-mission-iraq-deputy-commander.aspx

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Transformation
August 26, 2011

Iraqi Navy Commander meets NATO Training Mission–Iraq Deputy Commander
Ali Hussein Al-Rubaye

BAGHDAD: NATO Training Mission-Iraq Deputy Commander, Maj. Gen. Giovanni Armentani, and NTM-I advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Defence, Col. Caimmi, met with the Iraqi Navy Commander, Rear Adm. Ali Hussein Al-Rubaye at the Iraqi Ministry of Defence for the first time Thursday.

The group discussed possible ways ahead with cooperation and assistance for the Navy training and education system.

During the meeting, the admiral said he was interested in courses on specific naval subjects that NTM-I could provide. Maj. Gen. Armentani said he would seriously consider the request and added that NTM-I is ready to offer advising and mentoring in the fields of training, maintenance and doctrine.

The Navy commander also expressed an interest in out-of-country initiatives conducted by NATO Nations and asked for a calendar of these activities in order to organize Navy participation. Armentani said NTM-I is also evaluating the possibility of supporting English language courses. General Armentani finally expressed his wish to visit the Iraqi naval base in Umm Qasr and the Arabian Gulf Maritime Academy in Basrah.

The NATO Training Mission in Iraq (NTM-I) was established in 2004 at the request of the Iraqi Interim Government under the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1546.

The aim of NTM-I is to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions so that Iraq can build an effective and self-sustainable capability that address the needs of the nation.

NTM-I…is a distinct training mission, under the political control of NATO’s North Atlantic Council. Its operational emphasis is on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission are coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the US-led Deputy Commanding General Advising and Training (DCG (A&T)) who is also dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-I. NATO has an enduring commitment to Iraq.

NTM-I advises and supports the Defence University for Military Studies, National Defence College, War College, and the Defence Language Institute with the other institutions in Baghdad. Other cooperation projects for NATO in Iraq are out-of-country training courses for Iraqi nationals at NATO schools as well as the Iraqi Police (Iraqi Federal Police and Oil Police) training led by Italian Carabinieri.

Currently, NTM-I is a small tactical force of NATO/PfP personnel, representing 14 member nations (as at August 2011).

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NATO Attack On Syria To Result In Quagmire: Iranian Foreign Minister

http://tehrantimes.com/index.php/politics/2061-syria-would-be-a-quagmire-for-nato-iran-says-

Tehran Times
August 28, 2011

Syria would be a quagmire for NATO, Iran says

TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said that NATO will get bogged down in a quagmire if it launches a military campaign against Syria.

Salehi made the remarks during an interview with IRNA published on Sunday in reference to the threats of military action against Damascus if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad does not step down.

“If, God forbid, such a thing happens, NATO will be drawn into a quagmire, which it will never be able to extricate itself from,” Salehi stated.

“Syria is in the forefront of resistance in the Middle East, and NATO cannot threaten this country with attack,” he added.

Salehi also said, “The threats being issued by the United States and the West will have no effect on the resolve of the Syrian people.”

“Regional nations have certainly woken up, and the awareness of nations will prevent the West from doing anything through launching a military campaign,” he stated.

Salehi also described the West’s military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan as “ineffective”, saying, “If the West continues this path, it will not reach a favorable result.”

…

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Washington Post: “Syrians Demand” NATO Intervention

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/calls-in-syria-for-weapons-nato-intervention/2011/08/26/gIQA3WAslJ_story.html

Washington Post
August 28, 2011

Calls in Syria for weapons, NATO intervention
By Liz Sly

[Excerpts]

BEIRUT — The success of Libya’s rebels…is prompting calls within the Syrian opposition for armed rebellion and NATO intervention…

Protesters in recent days have carried banners calling for a no-fly zone over Syria akin to the one that facilitated the Libyan revolt. “We want any [intervention] that stops the killing, whether Arab or foreign,” said one banner held by protesters in…Homs.

Activists who have recently visited Homs say protesters there also have begun carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles…Videos have appeared on Facebook pages teaching activists how to make molotov cocktails.

…

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Canadian Military: Boost U.S.-Led Surveillance Against Russia, China

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Military+calls+boost+ocean+surveillance/5317051/story.html

Postmedia News
August 27, 2011

Military calls for boost in ocean surveillance
By David Pugliese

Canada’s military wants the Harper government to take part in rebuilding a Cold War ocean surveillance system, arguing that the country’s waters, including the approaches to the Arctic, are vulnerable to Chinese and Russian submarines.

The current system, overseen by the U.S., involves specialized vessels and underwater sensors scattered around the globe to detect submarine movements.

But with the end of the Cold War in the 1990s and the collapse of the former Soviet Union, that sensor technology, including systems called arrays, were not modernized. They now need to be upgraded or replaced. In some cases Canada shut down its facilities for monitoring underwater activities.

“The oldest portions of the global infrastructure were terminated without replacement – Argentia, Nfld and Shelburne, N.S. fixed arrays – creating gaps covering the Arctic approaches and major portions of the Eastern Atlantic,” reads a briefing note sent by defence chief Gen. Walter Natynczyk to Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

That September 2010 document was obtained under the Access to Information Act.

…

The military wants to become more involved in the U.S.-led underwater surveillance system, arguing that it would be too expensive to put its own sensors into the ocean.

The warning about Chinese submarines echoes similar concerns contained in a report issued Wednesday by the Pentagon. It pointed out that China’s military capabilities are growing and that could threaten stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Welcome To Colonialism 2.0

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Welcome-to-Colonialism-2-0-by-Rakesh-Krishnan-Si-110826-680.html?show=votes

OpEd News
August 28, 2011

Welcome to Colonialism 2.0
By Rakesh Krishnan Simha

The assault on Libya by a coalition of mostly Western nations begs the question: Is colonialism making some sort of a comeback? While their economies are collapsing in slow motion, it is hard to picture Western countries prospecting for real estate across the globe, as they did 300 years ago. But as unreal as it seems, it is happening.

Few will shed tears for Gaddafi because it was his impetuosity that cost Libya its freedom; of more concern is the fact that after 40 years the country’s considerable oil wealth has reverted to Western control. Iraqi oil too is flowing west. Iran could very well be the next target of American and British warplanes.

Ironically, it is when the West is weak that the emergent nations of Asia and Africa have reason to worry. Colonialism 2.0 isn’t just a catchphrase; it is simple economics: the wealthy will always need to be vigilant against the desperate.

In the 18th and 19th centuries when the world was being colonized by the likes of Spain, Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal and the Dutch, India and China were the two richest countries in the world, together accounting for over 50 per cent of world GDP. And yet the two giant Asian nations ended up under colonial jackboots.

If you think colonization happened when the East was decadent and the West was rising or that India and China neglected their militaries and ignored the foreign threats lurking at their shores, you couldn’t be more wrong. Both countries had very powerful armies and naval flotillas led by able commanders.

Military edge

In the early 1700′s, India’s legendary Admiral of the Fleet, Kanhoji Angre, routed the British, Dutch and Portuguese navies on the high seas. For 33 years until his death in 1729, the Indian remained undefeated. The British were so pissed they called him a pirate.

Indian ships of that time were so advanced in design and durability that the British inducted them into their fleet. In the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Horatio Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory was an Indian built vessel.

According to the Indian Navy’s website, “This so agitated British shipbuilders on the River Thames that they protested against the use of Indian built ships to carry trade from England. Consequently, active measures were adopted to cripple the Indian shipbuilding industries.”

The southern Indian kingdom of Mysore was the first in modern history to use rockets in war, and they used it with deadly effect against the British in the Battle of Guntur in 1780. The literally shell-shocked British army fled from the battlefield. A few unexploded rockets were later shipped to the Royal Arsenal in London, where William Congreve, the British weapons expert, reverse engineered them to launch modern rocketry in Europe.

Most Indian rulers also possessed keen geopolitical awareness. For instance, they did not allow European merchants to keep garrisons or conduct inland trade. When Thomas Roe, the British monarch’s emissary, landed in western India in 1616, he was made to wait a year before the Indian emperor granted him an audience. Three years later, Roe despite many entreaties and considerable bowing before the grandees at Delhi, returned without a trade treaty because the emperor saw no point in trading with a country that had not one product or commodity to offer India.

Thin end of the wedge

However, one slip-up by a weak emperor let in the hordes. A hundred years after Roe’s exit, an English embassy had a stroke of luck when one of its members, William Hamilton, a physician of questionable medical skills, managed to relieve the figurehead emperor of severe pain in his groin. The emperor gratefully signed a decree giving the British inland trading rights, customs duty exemptions, and the right to keep a garrison. The rest as they say is history.

According to professor Rajesh Kochhar, emeritus scientist at the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Chandigarh, “These exemptions gave the English traders commercial advantages not only over other European companies but also over Indian traders. More importantly, the various official orders granting trade concessions gave the British a cause to defend, with military strength if needed.” Does that sound familiar?

Return of the East

Today, the east is rising once again. Economists are stunned by the unprecedented flow of manufacturing, finance and wealth to the east. Magid Igbaria, former professor of management information systems at Tel Aviv University, wrote in The Virtual Workplace: “For all but the last 500 years of human history, the world’s wealth measured in human capital and in goods was concentrated in Asia. During the past five centuries, the world’s wealth has been concentrated in the West. This era is coming to an end. Today, the great concentrations of human capital, financial power, manufacturing power, and informated power are once again accumulating in the East.”

Indeed, in 30 years India is predicted to overtake the US, even though it is only one-fourteenth the size of the US economy now. That is an incredible rate of wealth accretion.

The question is will the US and Europe simply watch the world go past? On the contrary, there is a concerted effort by a US-led coalition to stop this trend. Here are a few ways the West is trying to stay on top:

Base instincts: Today the US-led coalition has over 750 military bases across the globe. Despite the huge costs, this extension of military power is essential to their hegemony. A slew of European nationalities has followed the American military in its misadventures around the world. No empire in history has attempted such sweeping control. In Pliny’s days the Roman, Indian and Chinese empires co-existed in their spheres of influence and never attempted to destabilise each other. The good old days.

Divide and rule: The Americans are playing up India as a major “regional” power allied with the West. This is not only insulting to the Indians (why should India only be a regional power?), it also scares the hell out of the Chinese. The communists in Beijing, therefore, come out with kneejerk statements calling for India’s breakup, which in turn makes the Indians consider China a natural enemy. Amazingly, in the past 2500 years, China and India never had even a skirmish, until the British arrived on the scene and planted the seeds of border problems.

Climate bogey: After polluting the environment for more than a century, the West now wants India and China to reduce emissions. It’s a thinly disguised attempt to slow these rapidly growing economies. India’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has done an about turn and now his views seem to align with Western interests, which led to key Indian negotiators quitting in disgust. Newsweek, the Pentagon mouthpiece masquerading as journalism, was sufficiently pleased with Ramesh to label him the “global rock star of climate change”.

Dollar gambit: Wouldn’t you feel almighty if you obtained a license to print US dollars off your home printer? While the rest of the world has to earn a living the hard way, the Americans just print dollars to pay their bills. Need a few hundred billion dollars to pay for the war in Iraq? Want to buy Venezuelan oil? Russian titanium? No problem. The US mint cranks the lever and billions of dollars start rolling off the presses. In fact, in recent years even that pretense has been given the heave-ho – now trillions of dollars are generated electronically in the accounts of the US Federal Reserves. It’s as simple as that.

There is another way the dollar trade works against the interests of non-Western countries. Countries like China and Russia invest their earnings in US treasury bonds; these dollars are used by the Americans to maintain their global military supremacy, build increasingly modern weapons, and reward their allies with cash, weapons, and security umbrellas.

WTO: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called it “archaic, undemocratic and inflexible” and dominated by a small group of developed countries which indulge in protectionism. One of its aims is to pry open the agricultural markets of Asia, including India. Incidentally, India has the highest number of farmer suicides in the world.

Nixing nuclear tech: The 11th commandment: Thou shall not acquire nuclear technology. Indian and Japanese nuclear scientists perfected the fast breeder reactor (which generates more nuclear fuel than it uses) so they never have to look outside for hard-to-get uranium). However, most likely under US pressure, both nations have quietly shelved their technologies.

Space crunch: America’s space ambitions are currently grounded because of deep cuts. India has the world’s largest number (177) of satellites in space. NASA is aware of it; it is looking at joint ventures with the Indian Space Research Organisation which has reliable rockets and something like 20,000 engineers and scientists. Few are aware that during the 1990s, India requested the Russians for a role in the International Space Station, but the Americans said no. Now NASA wants a free ride on Indian rockets, and India’s feckless politicians are happy to oblige.

According to former Panama ruler General Manuel Noriega, who now languishes in an American prison despite doing decades of dirty work for the CIA, “if there is someone willing to buy a country, there is someone willing to sell it.” Worryingly for emerging nations, there are plenty of collaborators like Noriega in their amidst willing to sacrifice national interests for a few million dollars in a Swiss bank account and green cards for their families.

In the first era of colonialism, the then dominant Eastern nations opened up their economies and territories to comparatively backward Western nations over a span of several decades, finally ending up as their colonies. Under the guise of globalization and ‘free’ trade, Colonialism 2.0 could happen in much the same way.

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Three NATO Soldiers Killed In Southern Afghanistan

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/08/28/3-nato-soldiers-killed-in-southern-afghanistan/

Voice of America News
August 28, 2011

3 NATO Soldiers Killed in Southern Afghanistan

NATO said Sunday three of its service members were killed in southern Afghanistan.

A NATO statement said the first soldier died in an insurgent attack, another one was killed by a roadside bomb and the third died during a military operation.

Also Sunday, a group of suicide bombers attacked a NATO reconstruction base in Qalat, the capital of southern Zabul province, but failed to breach its defenses.

Officials said that one of the assailants blew himself up outside the gate of the base, another one was captured and the third one managed to escape. Two civilians were wounded in the attack.

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U.S.-Based NATO Command Implements New Strategic Concept Measures

http://www.act.nato.int/multimedia/archive/42-news-stories/719-act-designs-measurements-of-nato-performance

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Transformation
August 24, 2011

ACT designs measurements of NATO performance
Written by Ken Ruml, JALLC intern Wednesday

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) recently completed a report proposing a simple set of defence measurements to foster political will to improve defence capabilities that will form the basis of discussions by Defence Ministers during the October 2011 Ministerial Meeting.

In response to a tasking from the NATO Secretary General, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, General Stephane Abrial tasked the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) in February 2011 to provide the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning with a proposed set of metrics that would reflect the need expressed in NATO’s Political Guidance. The guidance was derived from the new NATO Strategic Concept agreed by heads of state in Lisbon to measure actual output to NATO from Nations’ defence capabilities.

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The aim of the measurements is to identify principal capability shortfalls and to foster resolve among Allies at the political level to rectify them. A secondary aim is to encourage further discussion within NATO on Alliance defence capabilities.

The new measures complement the existing usability initiative, which measures deployability and sustainability of NATO land and air forces and sets targets for Allies to reach into those areas…

NATO International Staff in charge of Defence Policy and Planning based at NATO Headquarters, together with national defence counsellors, will staff the JALLC report and forward a final proposed list of metrics to defence ministers for approval at their October 2011 meeting. Ideally, the measurements will then form an integral part of the NATO defence planning process.

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