Archive
Eugenio Montale: Poetry in an era of nuclear weapons and Doomsday atmosphere
Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Eugenio Montale
From Nobel Prize in Literature lecture (1975)
The register of the names of those who, having given something to humanity, have received the coveted recognition of the Nobel Prize would be long. But infinitely more numerous and practically impossible to identify would be the legion, the army of those who work for humanity in infinite ways even without realizing it and who never aspire to any possible prize because they have not written works, acts or academic treatises and have never thought of “making the presses groan”, as the Italian expression says. There certainly exists an army of pure, immaculate souls, and they are an obstacle (certainly insufficient) to the spread of that utilitarian spirit which in various degrees is pushed to the point of corruption, crime and every form of violence and intolerance. The academicians of Stockholm have often said no to intolerance, cruel fanaticism and that persecuting spirit which turns the strong against the weak, oppressors against the oppressed. This is true particularly in their choice of literary works, works which can sometimes be murderous, but never like that atomic bomb which is the most mature fruit of the eternal tree of evil.
****
Evidently the arts, all the visual arts, are becoming more democratic in the worst sense of the word. Art is the production of objects for consumption, to be used and discarded while waiting for a new world in which man will have succeeded in freeing himself of everything, even of his own consciousness. The example I cite could be extended to the exclusively noisy and undifferentiated music listened to in those places where millions of young people gather to exorcize the horror of their solitude. But why more than ever has civilized man reached the point of having horror of himself?
…It alarms me that a sort of general Doomsday atmosphere accompanies an ever more wide-spread comfort, that well-being (there where it exists, that is in limited areas of the world) has the livid features of desperation. Against the dark background of this contemporary civilization of well-being, even the arts tend to mingle, to lose their identity. Mass communication, radio, and especially television, have attempted, not without success, to annihilate every possibility of solitude and reflection. Time becomes more rapid, works of a few years ago seem “dated” and the need the artist has to be listened to sooner or later becomes a spasmodic need of the topical, of the immediate. Whence the new art of our time which is the spectacle, a not necessarily theatrical exhibition in which the rudiments of every art are present and which effects a kind of psychic massage on the spectator or listener or reader as the case may be. The deus ex machina of this new heap is the director. His purpose is not only to co-ordinate scenic arrangements, but to give intentions to works which have none or have had other ones. There is a great sterility in all this, an immense lack of confidence in life. In such a landscape of hysterical exhibitionism what can be the place of poetry, the most discrete of arts, be? So-called lyrical poetry is work, the fruit of solitude and accumulated impressions. This is still true today but in rather limited cases. We have however more numerous cases in which the self-proclaimed poet falls into step with new times. Poetry then becomes acoustic and visual. The words splash in all directions, like the explosion of a grenade, there is no true meaning, but a verbal earthquake with many epicenters.
=============
The Lemon Tree
Translated by Lee Gerlach
Hear me a moment. Laureate poets
seem to wander among plants
no one knows: boxwood, acanthus,
where nothing is alive to touch.
I prefer small streets that falter
into grassy ditches where a boy,
searching in the sinking puddles,
might capture a struggling eel.
The little path that winds down
along the slope plunges through cane-tufts
and opens suddenly into the orchard
among the moss-green trunks
of the lemon trees.
Perhaps it is better
if the jubilee of small birds
dies down, swallowed in the sky,
yet more real to one who listens,
the murmur of tender leaves
in a breathless, unmoving air.
The senses are graced with an odor
filled with the earth.
It is like rain in a troubled breast,
sweet as an air that arrives
too suddenly and vanishes.
A miracle is hushed; all passions
are swept aside. Even the poor
know that richness,
the fragrance of the lemon trees.
You realize that in silences
things yield and almost betray
their ultimate secrets.
At times, one half expects
to discover an error in Nature,
the still point of reality,
the missing link that will not hold,
the thread we cannot untangle
in order to get at the truth.
You look around. Your mind seeks,
makes harmonies, falls apart
in the perfume, expands
when the day wearies away.
There are silences in which one watches
in every fading human shadow
something divine let go.
The illusion wanes, and in time we return
to our noisy cities where the blue
appears only in fragments
high up among the towering shapes.
Then rain leaching the earth.
Tedious, winter burdens the roofs,
and light is a miser, the soul bitter.
Yet, one day through an open gate,
among the green luxuriance of a yard,
the yellow lemons fire
and the heart melts,
and golden songs pour
into the breast
from the raised cornets of the sun.
Updates on Libyan war/Stop NATO news: September 25, 2011
====
Societies Cannot Be Reordered By Outside Military Force: Indian Prime Minister
Canada: Libya War “Success,” Extend Mission To End Of Year
Offshore Bases, Proxy Armies: New U.S. War Strategy
U.S., NATO Move Missile Shield Toward Russia’s Southern Borders
U.S. Missiles In Romania Pose Threat To Serbia, Russia: Professor
U.S., Bangladesh In First Major Joint Naval Exercise
Shooting In Northern Kosovo, Barricades Remain
Afghan War: NATO 2011 Death Toll Rises To 440
Three Italian Soldiers Killed In Afghan Road Accident
Troops, F-16s Remain: Dutch Defense Chief In Afghanistan
Eastern Partnership: West’s Duplicitous Drive To Absorb Ex-Soviet States
Arctic: Russia To Increase Military Presence, Wants NATO To Stay Out
Are U.S. And NATO Forcing Pakistani Army Into A Trap?
Pakistan Turns To China In Face Of U.S.-NATO Threats
U.S. And NATO Planning Massive Military Onslaught In Northwest Pakistan?
====
Societies Cannot Be Reordered By Outside Military Force: Indian Prime Minister
http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?736131
Press Trust of India
September 24, 2011
Societies Cannot be Reordered by Military Force: PM
UNITED NATIONS: In a veiled reference to certain events in the Mideast and North Africa, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said societies cannot be reordered from outside through military force.
Singh also said the international community has a role to play in assisting in the processes of transition and institution building, but the idea that prescriptions have to be imposed from outside is “fraught with danger.”
The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) session.
“The observance of the rule of law is as important in international affairs as it is within countries. Societies cannot be reordered from outside through military force. People in all countries have the right to choose their own destiny and decide their own future,” he said.
Singh further said actions taken under the authority of the United Nations must respect the unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of individual states.
Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters the Prime Minister’s views that societies cannot be reordered from outside through military force was not intended to any one specific situation.
It was a generalised response to a trend that was seen in Libya when the UNSC passed a resolution where there was an intended campaign of extending one-sided support, he added.
====
Canada: Libya War “Success,” Extend Mission To End Of Year
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Commons+vote+Monday+whether+extend+Libya+mission/5453476/story.html
Vancouver Sun/Postmedia News
September 24, 2011
Commons to vote Monday on whether to extend Libya mission
By Lee Berthiaume
Parliament will vote Monday on whether to grant another extension to Canada’s involvement in the NATO-led Libya mission.
Government House leader Peter Van Loan made the extension request in the House of Commons on Friday, asking that “given the current military situation and the success of the National Transitional Council and anti-Gadhafi forces to date,” parliamentarians support an extension of up to three months. Approval is considered a foregone conclusion as the Conservatives have a majority in the House and cabinet can approve military deployments without parliamentary approval. In addition, the Liberal party is expected to support the motion.
“We’re almost done,” Liberal House leader Marc Garneau said Friday.
…
====
Offshore Bases, Proxy Armies: New U.S. War Strategy
ADN Kronos International
September 23, 2011
Somalia, Libya may be sign of US military action to come, expert says
The toppling of Muammar Gaddafi’s [government] was an apparent victory for rebels who fought together for six months with Nato support. Less obvious is that its success may signal Washington’s military strategy of minimising the risk of losing American lives by using naval and air forces in conjunction with “proxy” militaries during global interventions, according to a report by independent military correspondent David Axe published on the website of The Diplomat, a current-affairs magazine.
Dubbed “offshore balancing,” the strategy has been used for years in Somalia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the African country after the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu when 19 US and UN troops died during a disastrous humanitarian mission. The televised images of dead American servicemen being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu and the protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has caused the war-fatigued American public to sour on dropping troops into new conflicts.
“Instead, the United States pursued separate air, naval and proxy ground campaigns that, today, have combined into a major demonstration of offshore balancing – but not without some serious hiccups along the way,” according to Axe.
…Washington…backed Ethiopia with air cover when it invaded Somalia in 2006. The move radicalised the Islamist movement…
The US shifted tactics. While supporting a coalition of African troops led by Uganda, it used offshore special forces to fly in to Somalia and strike…
“Make no mistake: The United States is at war in Somalia, and will likely only deepen its involvement as the present famine worsens. But that won’t mean large troop deployments as in 1992. Today’s intervention is unlike anything that was possible 19 years ago.”
The use of proxy armies and offshore bases for special forces has cost the US little in terms of its own blood, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a protracted conflict.
The US’ offshore balancing in Somalia is five years old and “could continue for years,” according to Axe. But this is one US conflict that seems like it might never end. As an exercise in offshore balancing, US assistance for Libyan rebels might end up seeming deceptively easy, inexpensive and, at just six months, shockingly brief.”
The apparent lesson from Libya is that offshore balancing is easy for Washington. Somalia reminds us that it’s not always so – that even wars fought mostly by ships, planes, Special Forces and foreign proxies are still wars. They’re ugly, complicated and risky.”
====
U.S., NATO Move Missile Shield Toward Russia’s Southern Borders
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/24/56548936.html
Voice of Russia
September 24, 2011
Short-sighted policy
Valentin Zorin
-The recent steps towards the deployment of a missile defense system in Europe and moving it closer to Russian borders meets the needs of the US military-industrial complex, which plans to make a gold mine out of this program, so devastating for the country’s economy.
Hopes for reasonable and realistic policies from the Washington big-league are dwindling, despite the “reset” in US-Russian relations and a number of constructive steps in this direction. A few days ago, the United States and Romania signed an agreement to deploy a US missile base on the territory of Romania. Simultaneously, Washington and Ankara signed a memorandum on the deployment of an American radar station in Malatya in the southeast of Turkey. The United States has thereby put finishing touches to the legal procedures behind a considerable expansion of American military presence at the southern approaches to the Russian borders.
Assurances on the part of Washington politicians that a missile defense shield, created despite Russia’s objections, poses no threat to Russia don’t impress anyone in Moscow. Russia is not so naïve as to doubt the anti-Russian nature of a string of American military bases in close proximity to Russian borders. Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had good reason to express disappointment about this so-called “reset” recently by saying that after Russia had made its position on missile defense crystal clear several times and the two countries agreed that there would be no anti-missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic, Washington announces the deployment of such missiles in other countries of Europe.
The “reset” declared by the Democratic administration as it took office three years ago was prompted by the demands of the day, rather than Washington’s well-wishing intentions towards Russia.
President Obama acted on the assumption that despite years-long efforts, the American missile defense system proved inefficient. The US leader was fully aware of a government report which concluded that missile defense experts had failed to achieve the results they had been paid for and that the missile defense system they had been trying to create was a flop.
The sum paid exceeded 1.5 trillion dollars, which set off government auditors. Judging by the outcome, this money landed in the bank accounts of military and industrial corporations, rather than in outer space. At first, Obama admitted that. Breaking the unwritten rules of the Washington elite, he said openly that the Pentagon’s current demands reflected the needs of the military-industrial complex and its lobbyists in the corridors of power, rather than the genuine needs of the country and its people.
He was never forgiven this lapse. Today, he keeps silent on this issue, pressured by the lobbyists. The Republican majority in Congress are forcing him into discarding what he used to proclaim. He had to make hefty concessions to the right-wing Republicans to avoid a financial default at the beginning of August. And his agenda in the run-up to presidential elections in November next year looks defensive.
The recent steps towards the deployment of a missile defense system in Europe and moving it closer to Russian borders meets the needs of the US military-industrial complex, which plans to make a gold mine out of this program, so devastating for the country’s economy.
But dropping one’s principles and going profit is a short-sighted policy, doomed to failure.
====
U.S. Missiles In Romania Pose Threat To Serbia, Russia: Professor
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=09&dd=25&nav_id=76551
Vecernje Novosti
September 25, 2011
NATO shield poses threat to Serbia, expert says
BELGRADE: The U.S. missile bases in Romania could represent a threat to Serbia since it could end up being collateral damage in a possible missile attack.
Only two days after the agreement had been signed to set up the U.S. missile shield in the U.S. Deveselu Air Base, Washington signed an agreement on September 15 to build an identical base in Poland.
Russia has stated it will take reciprocal measures and direct its missiles toward the bases hosting the NATO missiles.
“We are living in a period when a new cold war is being waged. There are numerous reasons to set up the missile shield along Russia’s borders, and the most important one is to prove the economic and military power of the U.S. and NATO countries to everybody in the international community. A strategic consequence of the missile shield is to impose a need on Russia to build a new missile defense system which costs a lot, with an aim to economically drain it. The second important goal is an internal polarization of population in Russia,” Faculty of Security Studies Professor Slobodan Mišović told daily Večernje novosti.
“Setting up the missile shield less than 200 kilometers from Serbia has a large negative affect on security and increases our country’s vulnerability,” the professor explained.
“This is especially the case because our antiaircraft defense systems are outdated. The setting up of the missile shield is a provocation to all the countries in Southeast Europe and the Balkans, because it requires far bigger financial expenses if you want to maintain security at the necessary level. It will probably create additional conditions and pressures in our country because of the membership in NATO and in the European collective security and defense system,” he pointed out.
Mišović believes that the missile shield in Romania will force Serbia to make a difficult choice – to decide not to invest in defense and additionally reduce security or to increase financial expenses.
“NATO will not pressure Serbia into formally joining the Alliance after the missile shield is set up in Romania,” he said, adding that the purpose of the missile shield was to exert psychological and economic pressure on Russia, not to start a nuclear war.
“However, the one that has power has a big problem because it is always tempting them to use it. In case of a large-scale conflict Serbia could easily become collateral damage, not only because of the missile shield in Romania but also because of the U.S. bases in Kosovo. However, much a bigger danger for the entire Southeast Europe in that case would be if the Klozoduy Nuclear Power Plant was hit,” the professor was quoted as saying.
====
U.S., Bangladesh In First Major Joint Naval Exercise
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=62903
Navy NewsStand
September 24, 2011
US, Bangladesh Navies Complete At-Sea Portion of CARAT Bangladesh
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) Lowell Whitman, Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training
BAY OF BENGAL: U.S. and Bangladesh Sailors completed the at-sea portion of the first Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) held in Bangladesh on Sept. 23.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100), guided-missile frigate USS Ford (FFG 54) and mine countermeasures ship USS Defender (MCM 2) participated in exercises at sea with Bangladesh navy ships (BNS) Bangabandhu (F 25), BNS Bijoy (F 35) and BNS Sangu (P 713).
…The at-sea period culminated with a mock naval battle between two surface action groups (SAGs), each composed of U.S. and Bangladesh ships.
“The SAG vs. SAG underway was a highlight,” said Capt. William Lovely, deputy commodore, Task Group 73.1. “Two SAGs are competing against each other, trying to ‘kill’ each other and it became a very competitive event that was very, very special to the group.”
…
CARAT Bangladesh began Sept. 18 and is the first dedicated naval exercise between the U.S. and Bangladesh, and represents a milestone between the two countries…
CARAT 2011 is a series of bilateral exercises held annually in Southeast Asia to strengthen relationships and enhance force readiness between the U.S. and partner nations.
====
Shooting In Northern Kosovo, Barricades Remain
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=09&dd=24&nav_id=76541
Tanjug News Agency
September 24, 2011
Shooting in Kosovska Mitrovica, barricades remain
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: A fight broke out in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica Friday night involving at least six persons, two of whom suffered serious injuries.
The incident also involved shooting and the police qualified the event as a serious violation of public peace and order.
46-year-old A. Đ. was arrested and remanded in 48-hour custody for the use of weapon, while the police are still searching for two more persons.
Kosovo Police Deputy Regional Director Ergin Medić told Tanjug that one of the two persons, who were seriously injured in the fight, was taken in the Kosovska Mitrovica Hospital for treatment.
According to him, the police found six 7.62 mm caliber bullet casings at the scene and the investigation into the incident will continue.
The situation in other parts of northern Kosovo and near the barricades was peaceful during Friday night. The administrative crossings in north Kosovo are still blocked. Besides EULEX, Kosovo customs officers were also deployed at the checkpoints but with no operational role.
Kosovska Mitrovica Municipal Court judge Zehra Vrbovci remanded 13 Serbian truck drivers in a 15-day custody late Friday.
The drivers were arrested under suspicion they entered Kosovo illegally and took part in setting up the barricades.
Vrbovci stated that there was a reasonable suspicion that the 13 suspects had illegally crossed an administrative crossing, and that therefore they were likely to pay a fine not less than EUR 250 or spend up to three months in prison. She said that the main hearing would be held early next week.
====
Afghan War: NATO 2011 Death Toll Rises To 440
http://arabnews.com/world/article506272.ece
Associated Press
September 25, 2011
NATO service member killed in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan: NATO forces say an insurgent attack has killed one service member in Afghanistan.
The alliance says the attack occurred Saturday in the south of the country. NATO did not release other details.
The death brings to 440 the number of international troops killed so far this year in Afghanistan.
Also, Afghan officials say four Afghans were wounded in suicide bombings in eastern and northern Afghanistan.
====
Three Italian Soldiers Killed In Afghan Road Accident
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C09%5C24%5Cstory_24-9-2011_pg14_6
Agence France-Presse
September 24, 2011
Three Italian soldiers killed in Afghanistan road accident
KABUL: Three Italian soldiers were killed in a road accident in western Afghanistan Friday, media reports said after Italy’s defence ministry announced one dead and two seriously injured.
The accident “took place near their base” in Herat around 0930 GMT and the causes of the incident “were being examined,” said General Massimo Fogari, a military spokesman, by telephone from Afghanistan, according to Sky TG24 television.
The names of the soldiers, who were involved in training Afghan forces, would not be released until their families have been notified, the ministry said.
Italy expects to reduce its forces in Afghanistan starting next year. Rome has deployed some 3,800 soldiers as part of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force which totals 130,000, two-thirds of them American.
====
Troops, F-16s Remain: Dutch Defense Chief In Afghanistan
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/defence-minister-visits-dutch-troops-kunduz
Radio Netherlands
September 24, 2011
Defence minister visits Dutch troops in Kunduz
Defence Minister Hans Hillen has visited Dutch troops in on a police training mission in the Afghan province of Kunduz. The objective of the visit is to demonstrate his support for the Dutch troops and their work.
Minister Hillen travelled with the Dutch Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff General Peter van Uhm. It was the first time either of the two men had been in Kunduz.
The minister and general also visited Dutch troops in the Afghan capital Kabul and in Mazar-e-Sharif, from where four Dutch F-16 fighter planes and 120 soldiers will support the training mission.
====
Eastern Partnership: West’s Duplicitous Drive To Absorb Ex-Soviet States
http://www.thenews.pl/9/7/Artykul/55695,Belarusian-FM-invited-to-Warsaw-Eastern-Partnership-summit
Polish Radio
September 24, 2011
Belarusian FM invited to Warsaw Eastern Partnership summit
The Belarusian foreign minister, Sergei Martynov has been invited to the Eastern Partnership summit billed for the end of next week in Warsaw, Poland’s head of diplomacy Radoslaw Sikorski has announced.
“In leading the [EU Council] rotating presidency, and in agreement with the High Representative for EU External Affairs [Catherine Ashton], I have invited Sergei Martynov,” Sikorski told journalists at the close of this week.
Poland’s foreign minister underlined, however, that a condition for dialogue with Belarus is the release of all political prisoners. “Poland wants Belarus to join the family of free, European nations,” Sikorski underlined.
Ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit, Radoslaw Sikorski met, Friday, with opposition activist Andrzej Poczobut, an ethnically Polish journalist from Grodno.
Poczobut underwent trial in Belarus this year for alleged defamation of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in a number of articles the journalist had written for Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza daily, among others.
This week, courts in Grodno upheld its sentence of a three-year suspended sentence for Poczobut.
Speaking to journalists, Sikorski said that only the freedom of Andrzej Poczobut and other anti-regime activists would allow for dialogue between Minsk and Brussels.
Summit to create conditions for EU-Belarus round table
The Eastern Partnership summit is billed for 29-30 September, and is one of the chief events of Poland’s six-month EU Council presidency, which began in July.
Inaugurated by Poland with the backing of Sweden in the EU arena, the Eastern Partnership was launched in 2009 to bring six ex-Soviet states closer to the workings of the 27-nation bloc.
The countries which are part of the Eastern Partnership – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – are not slated to become EU members, but are open to integrate with the politics, economy, and law of the EU.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk informed on Wednesday that he had been given the go-ahead from German Chancellor Angela Merkel as to the summit’s objective.
“I am persuading European leaders – and convincing Berlin has not been as easy – that in cooperating with the Belarusian [political] opposition we may create the conditions for possible round table talks in Belarus,” Tusk declared.
The Prime Minister also added that Poland is best prepared to help in the creation of such a round table forum in the country’s eastern neighbour.
====
Arctic: Russia To Increase Military Presence, Wants NATO To Stay Out
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
September 20, 2011
Russia to up military presence in Arctic, wants EU to stay out
Moscow: Russia will increase its military presence in the Arctic – a region NATO should stay out of, a senior Kremlin official said Tuesday.
‘Our northern border used to be closed because of ice and a severe climate,’ said Anton Vasilev, a special ambassador for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
‘But the ice is going away we cannot leave 20,000 kilometres unwatched. We can’t leave ourselves in a position where we are undefended,’ Vasilev said, in an interview with the Interfax news agency.
Global warming and demand for new energy sources make necessary new and clearer international agreements on the division of Arctic region’s resources and usage he said.
Only Arctic Council nations – and not outside agencies like NATO or the European Union – should set the groundwork, he said.
‘The Arctic should be for the use of all … but should be up to those of us who live there to establish the rules of the game,’ he said.
The Arctic Council is a inter-governmental forum including Canada, Denmark, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the US.
The Kremlin in 2007 asserted a claim to Arctic Ocean mineral exploitation limits extending almost to the North Pole. If approved by the United Nations, Russia would gain exclusive undersea drilling rights to an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom.
The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf is studying the Russian claim, and counter-claims by non-Arctic nations saying national borders should only extend 200 miles into the Arctic Sea, and that sea bottom northwards should be international waters.
‘We are hoping for an early resolution of this,’ Vasiliev said. ‘We (the world) need these issues settled.’
Russia’s government led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called developement of the Arctic, particularly its off-shore oil and gas fields, a top national priority. The region is thought to contain more energy resources than Saudi Arabia.
Putin on August 30 presided over the signing of a deal between the Russian state-owned company Rosneft and the international energy giant Exxon on a half-trillion dollar Arctic Ocean oil and gas project.
The Russian Prime Minister was scheduled on Tuesday afternoon to speak at an international forum on Arctic territorial issues in Arkhangelsk, a Russian Arctic Sea port.
Russian army officials in July announced plans to field two brigades of marine infantry to the Arctic, which would become the largest ground force deployed to the region by any nation.
====
Are U.S. And NATO Forcing Pakistani Army Into A Trap?
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=69216&Cat=2
News International
September 24, 2011
Is US forcing our army into a trap?
Brig (R) Farooq Hameed Khan
-If after spending billion of dollars that brought the US economy to the verge of collapse and the much-trumpeted Obama’s surge strategy, Kabul and Afghan countryside still remain vulnerable to daring Taliban daylight attacks, then Pentagon has a lot to answer for to the angry American public.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s latest warning that his country will do everything it can to defend US forces from Pakistan-based militants staging attacks in Afghanistan reflects the growing US frustration over its failure to overcome Afghan resistance even after ten years of waging a bloody war in Afghanistan.
Coming in the wake of the September 13 deadly attack by Afghan militants against the heavily fortified US embassy, NATO/ISAF HQ and the country’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Kabul’s high security zone, Panetta’s threat pointed towards heightened Pak-US mistrust and the possibility of unilateral US retaliation against the alleged Haqqani Network in North Waziristan.
While Taliban claimed responsibility for Kabul strike, the Americans were quick to blame the Haqqani group. US ambassador Cameron Munter’s unprecedented statement about evidence linking the Haqqani network to the Pakistan government, which blamed the ISI indirectly for Kabul attacks, openly violated diplomatic norms.
Admiral Mike Mullen during his meeting with Army Chief General Kayani on the sidelines of a NATO conference in Spain also called for action against the Haqqani Network. In a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC, Mullen was more direct in asking the ISI to sever ties with the Haqqani group and said that the presence of Haqqani sanctuaries in North Waziristan potentially jeopardised the outcome of the war.
While Americans basked in the glory of the May 2 Abbottabad strike, the recent spate of militant attacks against US/NATO troops in and around Kabul exposed the poor security situation in the Afghan capital. It also raised questions regarding the ability and effectiveness of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and police to defend Kabul and other parts of the country against Taliban /militant attacks.
The Bagram Air Base, said to be the most secure place for US troops in Afghanistan, was attacked by Taliban on May 19 this year. A day earlier, a suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy in Kabul, killing five US troops, taking the death toll of American soldiers past the 1,000 mark. A Taliban bomb attack on September 11 against a coalition base in the eastern province of Wardaq left at least 77 American soldiers wounded.
If after spending billion of dollars that brought the US economy to the verge of collapse and the much-trumpeted Obama’s surge strategy, Kabul and Afghan countryside still remain vulnerable to daring Taliban daylight attacks, then Pentagon has a lot to answer for to the angry American public.
The US obsession for action against the Haqqani Network is not new. The Pak Army has resisted the US demand for a crackdown on the Haqqanis in North Waziristan for almost two years now. The Army believes that it would decide its operational priorities in FATA keeping in view ground realities, act according to its own timeframe and will not accept US dictation in this respect.
With its resources already overstretched, the Army’s emphasis remains on consolidating its operational gains in South Waziristan, Bajaur and other FATA agencies like Mohmand and Orakzai where anti-militant operations and sporadic skirmishes with militants’ remnants still continue.
The Army recently completed Operation Koh-e-Sufaid in the Kurram agency aimed at clearing the region of militants involved in kidnapping and suicide attacks on security forces and installations as well as re-opening the strategic Thall-Parachinar road.
The top US military leadership’s accusation of Pakistan influencing the Haqqani group’s actions is perhaps an exaggeration. It goes against our security interests to guide the Haqqanis to attack US/NATO Headquarters in Kabul at a time when Pakistan seeks earnest efforts to remove obstacles in the complex peace process and help bring stability to war-torn Afghanistan.
It is strange that the US is bent upon blaming the Haqqanis when Taliban claimed responsibility for the latest Kabul strike. If the US drones could kill Al Qaeda militants in North Waziristan, what stops them from targeting Haqqani fighters operating within Afghan territory? It is also incomprehensible that Haqqani fighters could travel all the way to attack US/NATO forces deep within Afghanistan and return to their bases on the Pakistan side without being intercepted or challenged by allied troops.
Sirajuddin Haqqani recently announced his group’s willingness to join the Afghan peace process if the Taliban joined the same, which should be a positive signal to the Americans. He also declared that Haqqani fighters no longer operated from North Waziristan and had moved their bases inside Afghanistan. This appears plausible in view of the US drone attacks that reportedly targeted Haqqani leadership in North Waziristan in the past as well as pressure from Pakistan’s security establishment to make a total shift.
But Pakistanis are also furious over the ‘deliberate failure’ of US/NATO and Afghan forces to stop a series of cross-border attacks by Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants into Dir and Chitral, in which dozens of our paramilitary troops, government officials and innocent civilians were killed. The US/NATO forces’ withdrawal from Kunar and Nuristan facilitated the TTP militants’ regrouping across the Pak-Afghan border. In effect, US/NATO succeeded in activating another front for the Pak Army, forcing it to deploy additional troops in Dir and Chitral.
The Pakistani civil and military leadership appears in no mood to budge under US pressure. Rather, the Americans were warned to refrain from another Abbottabad-style unilateral military action on Pakistan’s soil, as it would have disastrous ramifications for the already heavily-strained bilateral ties between Islamabad and Washington. Any US attempt to escalate the situation would neither serve the cause of peace in Afghanistan nor facilitate an honourable US exit from the region.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, too, has rejected US media reports that in her latest meeting with Secretary of State in New York, Hillary Clinton gave an ultimatum to Islamabad to launch an anti-Haqqani offensive. However Pak-US political and diplomatic engagements must continue to restore trust and confidence between the two ‘most allied allies.’
If the US desires to bring the Taliban and Haqqanis to the negotiating table, it must weaken or defeat them within Afghanistan to the point that the Americans can deal with them from a position of strength. With the increased intensity of Afghan resistance witnessed in recent months, such a situation seems nowhere visible on the horizon.
Why is the US making Pakistan the scapegoat to cover up its own strategic failures and blunders in Afghanistan? Why should the Pak Army attack and alienate the Haqqanis with whom we have no dispute? Any offensive in North Waziristan could also endanger Pak Army’s peace agreements with various tribal groups, thereby disrupting the Army’s strategy to isolate the TTP and other hostile militant bodies.
Washington’s targets are undoubtedly both the Pak Army and the ISI, its old allies that it now perceives as stumbling blocks in its grand designs. The Haqqani hype provides yet another opportunity to defame both. The Pak Army must not fall into the American trap in North Waziristan, which could get it entangled into a complex situation with heavy blowback in our cities/towns.
====
Pakistan Turns To China In Face Of U.S.-NATO Threats
The Nation
September 25, 2011
A friend, indeed!
As always, China, our genuine, age-old friend and a towering world power that does not throw its weight around for the recognition of its status, has asked the US to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Beijing deemed it necessary to remind the US of this basic principle of international law following the steep rise in tension between Washington and Islamabad, which unless defused could give the US an excuse to take an irrational step that could have dangerous consequences.
In utter disregard of Pakistan’s role in the fight against terror, Admiral Mike Mullen had levelled the baseless charge of ISI’s active support to the Haqqani Network militants, who the US wants the world to believe are operating from North Waziristan against the NATO forces across the border, and Defence Secretary Panetta had warned Pakistan that if it did not take armed action against these ‘militants’, it would itself do so.
The Chinese are also sending their Deputy Prime Minister, accompanied by a high-level delegation, to express their solidarity with Pakistan at this critical time.
At the same time, it seems quite clear now that, as Prime Minister Gilani had told Iranian President Ahmedinejad in a recent visit to Tehran, the government has finally made a paradigm shift in its policy towards the US.
Recent events have laid bare the American designs in the region that are indisputably against Pakistan’s national interests, leaving no room for Islamabad to continue with the policy of a close alliance with the US.
Following Foreign Minister Khar’s blunt warning that if accusations against the ISI of waging a proxy war did not stop, the US stood in danger of losing Pakistan as its friend and ally, COAS General Kayani has given vent to his anger and resentment against such statements.
Obviously, recalling the discussions he has had with Admiral Mullen on scores of occasions they had met, the General revealed that the Admiral knew very well which countries had contacts with the Haqqanis. He categorically denied that the ISI was fighting a proxy war against the NATO-led forces as well as the allegation of its support to the Haqqanis, and wished that the blame game came to an end.
We have had enough of the American trickeries – commitments of abiding friendship alternating with threats of aggression and even actual violation of sovereignty. It is high time we changed the course of foreign policy and unhesitatingly committed ourselves to the revival of the spirit of deep understanding and economic and military equation with Beijing that had previously prevailed between the two countries. China has never been found wanting and has invariably lent its support to us. With this message and a nation determined to defend its sovereignty against the US aggressive designs, the present danger will pass off in course of time.
====
U.S. And NATO Planning Massive Military Onslaught In Northwest Pakistan?
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=116143
Pakistan Observer
September 25, 2011
Panetta’s warning to Pakistan
Column from Dallas
Saeed Qureshi
-It may be instructive to know that Haqqani group was in the lead of the American proxy war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. But when the United States turned against Taliban, they joined the latter to liberate Afghanistan from NATO, branding it as an occupation force.
The newly appointed United States’ Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has castigated Pakistan for not taking military action against the so-called Haqqani group now arrayed against NATO military forces in Afghanistan. In his hard-hitting statement, the American defense secretary displayed an overly aggressive posture that was loaded with dire consequences for Pakistan if she did not abide by the dictates of the United States. Leon Panetta in his September 15 stunning dictation has sternly asked Pakistan to cut off ties with the Haqqani network and help eliminate its leaders. He warned that if Pakistan did not comply, the United States would act unilaterally against the group.
Mr. Panetta’s assertive statement can be termed as a veiled warning in that he implied that if Pakistan was reluctant to oblige the United States, then NATO would extend its fight to North Waziristan.
They would not mind if it would be a grave infringement of international law and a violation of the territorial integrity of an ally.
Unmindful of the sovereignty and national interests of Pakistan, America seems to be poised to bomb North Waziristan, a sector of FATA that has remained immune so far from the military operations of the Pakistan army.
The Pakistan army is already fighting in South Waziristan to flush out Taliban insurgents. Such a military onslaught by the United States and NATO might drag on for an indefinite period of time. It would, however, result in further undermining the already precarious security situation in Pakistan, because of incessant terrorism on her soil by the militants. Even the Haqqani group might join the militant Taliban in an unmitigated spree of vendetta attacks throughout the length and breadth of Pakistan. In the event of a full-scale war that NATO and United States would launch, terrorist attacks and suicide bombing on Pakistan’s mainland would be accentuated. Pakistan is already under unremitting terrorism from anti-Pakistan Taliban, wreaking havoc all over and destroying its social peace and economy.
The United States considers the North Waziristan-based Haqqani network run by Mualvi Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin Haqqani to be a resilient adversary of United States and at the same time an ally of Taliban and pro-Pakistan. Presumably Pakistan has been reluctant to expand her anti-Taliban military operations to North Waziristan because of the fond hope that in the event of American withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Haqqani group would protect Pakistan’s interests in that war-ravaged country. But of late, the group is reported to be operating from Afghanistan as it feels safer there than staying in North Waziristan situated within the so-called FATA (federally administered areas). The Haqqani network is believed to be behind the series of brutal attacks that were launched against the NATO forces including the September 12, 2011 attack on the US Embassy and nearby NATO bases in Kabul that lasted for 19 hours.
…It may be instructive to know that Haqqani group was in the lead of the American proxy war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. But when the United States turned against Taliban, they joined the latter to liberate Afghanistan from NATO, branding it as an occupation force. Instead of resorting to a knee-jerk reaction and punitive retaliation through military means, the United States could cultivate the Haqqani group for liaison, rapport and link with the anti-American Taliban. This has become all the more pressing a need for America after the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani on 20 September 2011, by Taliban.
Burhanuddin was trying to bring about a kind of rapprochement between the Taliban and the United States to pave the way for a face-saving exit of NATO and the United States from Afghanistan. The United States should realize that there is a limit to Pakistan obliging the United States and endure pressure from the NATO commanders to keep fighting for the sake of the occupation alliance. If Pakistan cannot expand her anti-Taliban war to North Waziristan and the United States in concert with NATO embarks upon a solo fight, then the exit of the United States from Afghanistan would be stalled indefinitely. It is not the Haqqani group that was responsible for 9/11 attacks on American soil but Al-Qaida that has been considerably mauled by the United States in the aftermath of that horrendous happening. The Haqqani group can be won over and used for forging a link with Taliban and thus end their hostilities against the occupation forces.
It is high time for the United States to use the carrot rather than the stick and try to woo the rival factions of Taliban to get out of the quagmire of Afghanistan well in time. To use Pakistan as a scapegoat for the military failures of NATO and American troops is a fallacious approach and cannot be rewarding in the longer run. Pakistan as a mercenary or ally of the United States against terrorism has already rendered supreme sacrifices by way of its shattered economy, the high death toll of its soldiers and the massive disruption of peace within.
To put more burden on her and harp on the tune to “do more” would be counterproductive. Such a pressure tactic would be tantamount to forcing Pakistan to continue fighting against her own people and making them an eternal enemy that might result in the break-up of Pakistan. Pakistan cannot and must not expand the war theatre beyond South Waziristan. Rather, Pakistan should also withdraw from South Waziristan as a gesture of goodwill and reconciliation towards Taliban and to signal that it was time for the cessation of hostilities. This policy of pacifism would also benefit the United States because a friendly, cohesive and united Afghanistan under a national government would also be friendly towards the United States. Why should Taliban be perpetually punished for a crime that was committed by Al-Qaida? The United States in return can win the people of Afghanistan through aid and by joining reconstruction efforts of that massively ravaged country like it did in Germany in the post World War II era.
====
‘U.S. military mindset produces monsters’
Press TV
September 24, 2011
‘US military mindset produces monsters’
Interview with Rick Rozoff, Manager for Stop NATO, Chicago
An analyst believes the actions of the US “kill team” charged with murdering Afghan civilians for sport is not isolated, but part of a systemic military mindset
Press TV talks with Rick Rozoff, manager of Stop NATO in Chicago, about the mindset of the US military leadership and U.S. government indiscretion that is cultivating a carte blanche impunity toward the value of the lives of the civilians of Afghanistan and Iraq. The attitude filters from the top down, resulting in atrocities against innocent people by ground forces. Following is a transcript of the interview.
Press TV: Certainly this whole episode has been embarrassing for the U.S. Does that mean these “kill teams” still won’t pop up in Afghanistan, in Iraq?
Rick Rozoff: There’s all too much reason to believe that this is not an isolated incident, that in fact U.S. and other Western troops in Afghanistan have been given carte blanche to operate with comparative impunity. I fear that we may see more again along the lines of the monstrous and grotesque story you’ve just described.
Press TV: How much of the mentality, which allows soldiers to act out in such ways, is based on the leadership’s opinions of Iraqis and Afghanis?
Rick Rozoff: That’s a very astute question. Rather than singling out a 21-year-old infantryman for being solely responsible for this horrendous crime – and degradation and mutilation of the corpse of the teenager, the youth, he killed – the blame rests much higher up.
If the situation were reversed I can assure you that the U.S. would invoke so-called command responsibility and make sure the military commanders responsible for the troops in this sort of situation were held accountable.
We have to keep in mind, for example, that in the past two years, since 2009, U.S. special operations – so-called night raids, in particular – in Afghanistan have tripled, over the last two years.
There was also a report in June from a US-based non-governmental organization called Refugees International that stated, over the same period of time – over the last two years – 250,000 Afghan civilians have been displaced from their towns and villages because of similar special operations and attacks on the villages and the towns – these are helicopter gunships attacks; so-called night raids and so forth.
So, what we’re witnessing unfortunately is widespread and systematic abuse of Afghan civilians and the case in point we’re discussing now is one of the more atrocious, but I fear not a completely isolated development.
Press TV: Do cases like this provide hope that private contractors such as those from Blackwater, now known as Xe, will be held to account more often in cases where they do kill innocent people?
Rick Rozoff: One would hope so, but I live in Chicago in the U.S., the president of the US went to the White House from Chicago, and we might recall in his Nobel Peace prize acceptance speech in December of 2009, on the occasion of receiving a prize for peace, he openly boasted of the fact that the US is “the world’s military superpower.”
And I’m afraid that kind of arrogant attitude of being above the law, and obeying the law when one chooses, filters down through the ranks into occupation troops in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq and the inevitable implication I suspect is that we can get away with it because we are Americans.
Frank Harris: Henri Barbusse and the war against war
====
Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
American writers on peace and against war
Henri Barbusse: Selections on war
====
Frank Harris
Excerpts from Henri Barbusse
From Latest Contemporary Portraits (1927)
The World War with its twenty millions of murdered human beings needed an avenging spirit, some one who would tell the truth and picture the horror, some great soul flaming with pity. Le Feu (“Under Fire”) of Henri Barbusse is the book we needed. Sensational books are nearly always bad books: this is a sensational book that is great because of its truth.
One would have thought that such a war would have produced a hundred reporters who would have shocked the world by merely telling what they had seen – the plain facts; yet only one man has attempted to do so.
***
This man could surely stand in our time as the best type of the reformer. To him the war against war is the highest object of life. He told me that he wanted a big International of all former soldiers in all countries; it seems that there are a quarter of million members already in England and Germany and even more in Italy. “I want,” he says, “to create a pacifist organisation which shall embrace the whole world: I want to touch the soul of all peoples, and so create a friendly and brotherly feeling even among our late enemies; a solidarity of enthusiasm which shall make any future war impossible.”
Updates on Libyan war/Stop NATO news: September 24, 2011
====
Libya: 23,682 NATO Air Missions, 8,865 Strike Sorties
EU Defense Chiefs: Learn Lessons Of Libya War For Future Operations
BRICS Insist On Central Role Of UNSC In Libyan, Syrian Settlements
Pakistan: 52 Drone Strikes Kill 463 So Far This Year
U.S. To Deploy Predator Drones In Turkey: Prime Minister
Security Threat: Iran Calls For NATO Naval Forces To Leave Persian Gulf
GUAM: Azerbaijan-Georgia-Moldova-Romania Pipeline Plans
42 New Warplanes: U.S. Commander Eyes “Interoperable” Japanese Fighter Fleet
NATO Not Welcome: Russia Bolsters Arctic Forces
Five NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghan Attacks
Afghan War Casualty: U.S. Has Lost Pakistan To China
Australian Experts: NATO Has Lost South Asian War
Might Of Powerful Nations Cannot Prevail: Sri Lanka
EU-U.S. Trans-Caspian Pipeline Keeps Iranian, Russian Gas Out Of Europe
====
Libya: 23,682 NATO Air Missions, 8,865 Strike Sorties
http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110924_110924-oup-update.pdf
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
September 24, 2011
NATO and Libya
Allied Joint Force Command NAPLES, SHAPE, NATO HQ
…
Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR:
Air Operations
…
Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 06.00GMT) a total of 23,682 sorties, including 8,865 strike sorties, have been conducted.
Sorties conducted 23 SEPTEMBER: 111
Strike sorties conducted 23 SEPTEMBER: 36
…
====
EU Defense Chiefs: Learn Lessons Of Libya War For Future Operations
Agence France-Presse
September 23, 2011
EU must learn lessons from Libyan crisis: defence ministers
European Union defence ministers urged the 27-member bloc Friday to learn lessons from the Libyan conflict which revealed several glaring weaknesses in European armies.
The Libyan war is a “success” but it “has highlighted the limitations of Europe’s capabilities,” Polish Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said at a two-day meeting with his EU counterparts in Wroclaw, south-eastern Poland.
“Lessons have to be learned from Libya, about what capabilities need to be invested in, given there have been some shortfalls,” added Gerald Howarth, Britain’s Minister for International Security Strategy.
His French counterpart Gerard Longuet said it was necessary to “draft without delay a list of what we know and don’t know how to do, of what we can or cannot do.”
He added that officials from Britain and France, two leading countries in the conflict, would meet October 12 to “exchange mutual experience.”
The weak spots most often mentioned at the meeting in Poland, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, included a lack of in-flight refuelling aircraft, a shortage of ammunition, and shortfalls in information about the conflict.
…
====
BRICS Insist On Central Role Of UNSC In Libyan, Syrian Settlements
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/24/56668150.html
Voice of Russia
September 24, 2011
BRICS favours UNSC central role in Libyan, Syrian settlement
The Russian delegation to the ongoing session of the UN General Assembly continues making active diplomatic efforts on the fringes of the world forum in New York. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met his counterparts from the BRICS countries (Brazil, India, China and South Africa). The Voice of Russia has the details.
The BRICS foreign ministers focused on the situation in Libya and Syria, but also took up other issues of foreign policy interaction by the informal alliance of the five countries.
The parties to the meeting agreed that the UN Security Council should play the central role in dealing with a post-conflict settlement in Libya, with the BRICS nations due to learn a lesson from the Libyan crisis. According to Sergei Lavrov, it is important to strongly insist on the Security Council’s central role in guaranteeing international peace and security. To avoid abuse of sanction resolutions, the Council should press for utmost clarity in such issues as the nature of resolutions and the terms of their imposition, Lavrov said.
“We aren’t happy about the developments in Libya, Sergei Lavrov says. The basic objective that the UN Security Council set was to protect the civilian population. But civilians in Libya continue to be killed in great numbers. I think it is in the interests of the Libyan people to find ways of ending their strife and start negotiating a settlement. We proceed from the assumption that it is necessary to speedily start making efforts to attain the basic objective, set by the Security Council, that of protecting the civilian population. Russia and our BRICS partners have repeatedly pointed out that we are concerned about the way resolutions 1970 and 1973 are being implemented.”
The BRICS countries’ concern about the way NATO was implementing the resolutions in question, and more importantly, about the lateral [liberal, open-ended] interpretation of these resolutions by the western countries was specifically prompted by the fact that the current situation in Syria is likely to follow the Libyan scenario. That is why the BRICS foreign ministers pointed out their resolve to remain as one, at the Security Council, about their stand on the Syrian issue. Imposition of sanctions on Damascus may provoke the Syrian opposition into stepping up their confrontation with the authorities. But Sergei Lavrov also pointed out the need for an urgent implementation of the Syrian government-promised reforms, so the population could see the results of declared intentions in practical terms.
…
The BRICS foreign ministers have urged the UN Security Council to come out against any violence in Syria and insist that all parties to the Syrian conflict should sit down at the negotiating table.
The foreign ministers agreed that the dialogue among the BRICS countries is growing more intensive and concrete in character. Russia sees its participation in the alliance as one of its top foreign policy priorities and will actively contribute to consolidating BRICS, the Russian Foreign Ministry says in its statement.
====
Pakistan: 52 Drone Strikes Kill 463 So Far This Year
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/24/c_131156676.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 24, 2011
8 killed in U.S. drone strike in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: At least eight suspected militants were killed when two missiles were fired by U.S. drones in Pakistan’s northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Friday night, reported the local Urdu TV channel WAQT.
According to local media reports, the strike took place at about 9:30 p.m. local time in the Mir Ali area of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, one of the seven tribal areas in northwest Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan.
….
Friday’s U.S. drone strike is the 52nd of its kind (counted on daily basis) in Pakistan in 2011. To date, a total of 463 people…have reportedly been killed in such strikes since this year.
The strike came shortly after the Pakistani leadership including the prime minister and Army chief expressed on Friday discontent with the recent remarks made by a top U.S. military official’s accusation that Pakistan’s secret agency ISI is supporting the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network in Afghanistan.
====
U.S. To Deploy Predator Drones In Turkey: Prime Minister
http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=155786
Azeri Press Agency
September 24, 2011
Turkey: US likely to deploy Predator drones
Baku: The U.S. will likely deploy some Predator drones on Turkish soil, the Turkish prime minister said Friday. Turkey has been pressing for the drones in an escalating war against Kurdish rebels, APA reports quoting AP.
The U.S. shares drone surveillance data from northern Iraq with Ankara to aid its fight against Kurdish rebels who have bases in Iraq. The two countries have been negotiating the possible deployment of Predator drones after the U.S. leaves Iraq.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday the two allies have agreed “in principle” over the deployment of the drones in Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.
Turkey has offered to purchase or lease the drones, Erdogan said.
“Our negotiations will continue,” Anatolia quoted Erdogan as saying. “The developments are moving toward an agreement.”
Turkey is operating Israeli-made Heron drones against the Kurdish rebels who have been fighting for autonomy in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. They have stepped up attacks on security forces in recent months, who have retaliated with airstrikes in the rebels’ suspected bases in northern Iraq.
…
In a nationwide crackdown on alleged Kurdish rebel sympathizers, police on Friday detained the mayors of the towns of Sirnak, Silopi and Idil in the Kurdish-dominated southeast, increasing the number of Kurdish suspects captured so far this week to more than 80, NTV television reported.
====
Security Threat: Iran Calls For NATO Naval Forces To Leave Persian Gulf
Agence France-Presse
September 24, 2011
Ahmadinejad calls for western navies to leave Gulf
Agence France-Presse
NEW YORK: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday called on NATO naval forces to withdraw from the Gulf, calling them a threat to security.
Ahmadinejad was asked about the potential for conflict in the Gulf at the final press conference of his trip to New York for the annual UN General Assembly.
“Any tool that can prevent clashes and potential conflict will be welcome. And I don’t think there is any need for confrontation,” he said.
“But I think the best long term solution to this problem is for the foreign forces to leave the Persian Gulf. There is no need in the Persian Gulf for the presence of the NATO forces,” the Iranian leader told journalists.
…
The United States and European navies have stepped up their presence in the Gulf in recent years. The United States has a naval base in Bahrain and France opened a base in Abu Dhabi, within 250 kilometers (155 miles) of Iran’s coastline, in 2009.
“The nations of the region are fully capable of establishing and providing their own security,” said Ahmadinejad.
“Perhaps some will pretend that energy security is at risk. For decades the countries in the region have been able to shoulder their responsibility for that security.
“I tell you in no uncertain terms today that NATO – Great Britain and American forces – if they leave the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, Iran will guarantee the route of energy trade in the region and the security in the region at large,” the president added.
====
GUAM: Azerbaijan-Georgia-Moldova-Romania Pipeline Plans
http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=155759
Azeri Press Agency
September 23, 2011
Moldova has a strategic interest in the AGRI project
Victoria Dementyeva
Baku: The Republic of Moldova has a strategic interest in the AGRI project due to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan via Georgia to Romania, Moldova prime minister said in an interview with HotNews.ro. He also said that early elections would be catastrophic for his country, discussed the 5+2 negotiations over Transdniester and dismissed the possibility to bring the communists into the Moldovan government.
Asked whether there was a possibility for the Republic of Moldova to be linked to the interconnecting project AGRI, as talks were held recently over Ukraine’s being connected to the future project, Filat said he had discussed the issue repeatedly and he was about to discuss it again with Romanian President Traian Basescu on Thursday. He said Moldova had a strategic interest in the project and that Moldova authorities were looking into the possibility of joining it.
Filat said that depending on a single source of natural gas supplies or electricity leads to serious issues including the energy security of the country. He said two projects to inter-connect the natural gas networks of Romania and Moldova and of energy networks should be worked on fast, so that they become operational by mid-2013.
…
====
42 New Warplanes: U.S. Commander Eyes “Interoperable” Japanese Fighter Fleet
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/24/us-japan-fighter-usa-idUSTRE78N03X20110924
Reuters
September 23, 2011
U.S. commander eyes “interoperable” Japan fighter fleet
WASHINGTON: The head of U.S. military forces in Asia and the Pacific predicted Friday that Japan’s choice of a new multibillion-dollar fighter fleet would reflect plans to stay “very complementary” with U.S. air forces.
Proposals are due in Tokyo on Monday from the three rivals for Japan’s so-called F-X deal – Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp of the United States and Europe’s Eurofighter GmbH consortium, made up of Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Japan is expected to buy 42 planes, a deal experts say could be worth $6 billion to $8 billion, including spares, pilot training and related gear.
U.S. Navy Admiral Robert Willard, head of the Hawaii-based, U.S. Pacific Command, stopped short of predicting that Tokyo would pick Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet or Lockheed’s radar-evading F-35 Lightning II over the Eurofighter Typhoon.
But he said Japanese defense forces “understand the importance of remaining interoperable with the United States, their ally that is home based in Japan or being hosted in Japan, as well as U.S. forces that are deployed in the region.”
…
Pressed to say whether the Americans would best the Europeans, Willard replied: “No, I wouldn’t go that far.”
But he said he was confident that Japanese commanders will make sure that whichever plane they buy “remains interoperable and very complementary to our capabilities.”
(Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)
====
NATO Not Welcome: Russia Bolsters Arctic Forces
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/23/russia-canada-arctic.html
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
September 23, 2011
Russians move to bolster Arctic forces
Gen. Walt Natynczyk meets Russians in Moscow for 3 days but no details released
By Brian Kemp
Just days after Gen. Walt Natynczyk, Canada’s chief of defence staff, left Moscow after meeting his counterpart last weekend, a Russian official announced that the country would be increasing its Arctic military presence, a move that could increase tensions in the resource-rich area.
Anton Vasilev, a special ambassador for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was quoted this week by the Interfax news agency as saying his country would be beefing up its presence in the Arctic, and that NATO was not welcome there.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in Iceland this week meeting with the country’s leaders, with the Arctic being at the top of the agenda, local media reported. Putin, according to the Moscow Times, then announced that Russia would be ordering three nuclear and six diesel icebreakers to be delivered by 2020, with the goal of expanding transportation in the Arctic.
In July, Russia said it would create two specialist brigades to be based in the Arctic. It’s not known if the latest announcement is tied to that declaration or if additional forces will be moved to the region.
…
Arctic a priority for Harper
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made a priority of increasing Canada’s presence in the North, as the countries that border the Arctic region eye the vast amount of oil and other resources in the area.
The North Pole itself is considered an international site and is administered by the International Seabed Authority. But if a country can prove its underwater shelf is an extension of its continental border, then it can claim an economic zone based on that.
There has been tension as countries wait for the UN to rule on legal claims in the resource-rich area. In that vein, a military presence is also seen as a way to stake an even higher claim in the Arctic region.
Since 1994, the Russians have staffed year-round a research base called Ice Station Borneo on the deep Arctic ice, only 60 kilometres from the pole. Their planes have sometimes approached Canadian airspace and jets have been scrambled to shadow them.
The Canadian Forces, on its website, said it has a “real, growing, and long-term presence in its Arctic region,” and has been in the North since 1898.
In August, Canada held one of its largest military exercises, dubbed Operation Nanook, in the North. The month-long operation involved more than 1,000 troops.
Canada, along with Russia, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the U.S. belong to a group called the Arctic Council, which was created by the Arctic nations in 1996 and is billed as a high level intergovernmental forum.
====
Five NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghan Attacks
http://channel6newsonline.com/2011/09/five-nato-soldiers-killed-in-western-and-eastern-afghanistan/
BNO News
September 23, 2011
Five NATO soldiers killed in western and eastern Afghanistan
KABUL: Five coalition service members were killed as a result of two separate incidents in western and eastern Afghanistan on Friday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
ISAF said three of its service members were killed as a result of non-battle related injuries in western Afghanistan while two others died as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in the country’s east. As usual, the multinational force gave no other details about the incidents, including the exact locations.
The nationalities of the service members were also not immediately disclosed by ISAF. “It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities,” a brief statement said.
Coalition casualties in Afghanistan have been rising sharply in recent years, with a total coalition death toll of 709 in 2010, making it the deadliest year for international troops since the war began…
So far this year, at least 454 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most troops are American and are killed in the country’s south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians. The deadliest incident happened last month when a U.S. helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan troops and an Afghan interpreter.
====
Afghan War Casualty: U.S. Has Lost Pakistan To China
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/24/56621921.html
Voice of Russia
September 24, 2011
U.S. lost to China – expert
Interview with Ahmed Quraishi senior research fellow at an Independent Pakistani think-tank Project Pakistan 21.
Since in this program we are discussing Pakistani-US relations, I have the impression that as the US is laying all the blame on Pakistan for its failures in Afghanistan, it is hardly convincing and it also gives me an impression that US positions in the region are becoming increasingly shaky. Is my understanding correct, do you support this, or perhaps I am wrong?
There is a clear understanding right now that the Americans are desperate in Afghanistan and they are very embarrassed after a series of security lapses in Afghanistan, when you had an attack on both NATO headquarters and the US embassy on the same day and a few days earlier you had a series of assassinations of senior Afghan officials who were allied with the US military in Afghanistan ‑ this is a huge security lapse and it is very interesting to see how the US government and the US military, and also the US intelligence community, have to lead forward and sort of undercut any potential questioning within the United States ‑ whether in the US Congress or in the US media ‑ about the performance of the US military in Afghanistan and lay the entire blame at Pakistan’s door.
It is very much clear for Pakistani officials that the American military and intelligence are Afghanistan is trying to use this series of attacks, these lapses which are a direct result of whatever the various Afghan militant groups or resistance groups – whatever you want to call them ‑ are doing in Afghanistan.
The Americans are using all of this to try to settle scores with the Pakistani government and the Pakistani military especially, and the ISI which is the Pakistani intelligence service.
Of course, the Afghans present a problem for the Americans, but somehow US officials are trying to create the impression that all of their problems in Afghanistan are the result of the Haqqani group and once this group is eliminated Afghanistan would somehow turn into a paradise, which is an oversimplification, and I am very much surprised to see that some very credible people in US public discourse ‑ whether in the media or in the think tanks ‑ not one of them is really questioning the certainty of the US military and of the CIA about the Haqqani group; it seems that the Americans are exaggerating the impact and effect of the Haqqani group.
I would like just to share with you an incident that occurred last week when the US ambassador here, in Pakistan, Mr. Cameron Munter, met a senior Pakistani official and again repeated these accusations that there is a proxy connection between the Haqqani group and the Pakistani ISI, and the Pakistani official – and this was reported a couple of days ago in the Pakistani media – the Pakistani official responded to the US ambassador by saying: “If we assume and if we believe for a second that the Haqqani group is really responsible for all of the troubles that your military is facing in Afghanistan, I have a simple question and the question is this – if the Haqqani group is based inside Pakistani territory, there is a lot of distance between the Pakistani territory and Kabul where all of these attacks and assassinations have taken place. So, my question is: when these terrorists were moving from the Pakistani border to Kabul, where was NATO, where
was the US military, where were the Afghan National Police, where was the Afghan National Army – where are all these people, where is the CIA, where are other allied intelligence agencies working with the coalition forces in Afghanistan?”
So, there is a huge security lapse over there and it just appears that somehow the US government is trying to shift the blame. Now, the Pakistani government somehow has been trying ever since the accusations started coming against the American side, it has trying to resolve this matter quietly, but firmly, in private. But as of yesterday we are now seeing government officials, the Pakistani foreign ministry and the Pakistani military, openly saying that we do not consider whatever the Americans are saying as incontestable, we do not even have evidence and it would be better for the American side to present any evidence that would show – number one, that the Haqqani group is actually on Pakistani soil, and number two, that there is actually a connection between the recent attacks in Kabul – the major, the huge, the embarrassing security lapses in Kabul – a connection between them and the Haqqani network as well, because it seems to us that the Americans
are trying to use this opportunity, these attacks, to put more pressure on the Pakistani government.
There is one issue between Pakistan and the United States which never is addressed openly or publicly by US officials and that is visas for CIA agents – the real contention between Pakistan and the United States is actually the question of giving visas to CIA agents – Pakistan does not want to do that. Pakistan unfortunately has been doing that during ten years of former president Pervez Musharraf and there was no written understanding on that – the agents just simply kept coming and when the issue became problematic a year or a couple of years ago, the Pakistani government and the Pakistani military restricted issuing such visas to CIA agents who normally come carrying diplomatic passports, so they are basically pretending to be diplomats posted to their embassies and various consulates when they are actually agents, working without the knowledge of the Pakistani government.
This is the real issue and the entire reason why the Americans are upset, why they are holding up military assistance throughout the country is basically this – they want to return to whatever arrangements existed five years ago, but that is no longer possible. Pakistani interests and policy direction are quietly changing, there is a growing realization – of course, the Americans call it anti-Americanism, but I do not think it is anti-Americanism, I think this is a misleading term American officials use normally to put their counterparts on the defensive.
It is not anti-Americanism; it is very simply that there is a growing realization in Islamabad that over the past eight years we have supported the Americans, at our own expense sometimes, but we have not seen in return a real appreciation from the American side. Of course, the US government keeps repeating that we are given billions of dollars in aid, much of this actually is not even aid, in fact, anything between 50 to 80 percent of that money was actually reimbursement for using Pakistani facilities and so forth in the American war in Afghanistan.
Of course, the Pakistanis believe that for the kind of support we have been giving the Americans over the eight years we did not receive at least, not money – it is not a question of money, it is a question of appreciating Pakistan’s goal and strategic interest. If there are two allies and they are working on a similar, on a single issue, both countries need to respect the interest of each other: the Americans are not doing that, they think the Pakistani government, the Pakistani military need to follow whatever policy lines given by Washington without questions asked – that is not possible.
Pakistan has its own interests and obviously in recent months those interests have been diverging more and more and they will not end anytime soon, but the Americans have begun to appreciate the fact that this is a country that has its own interests and if the Americans want cooperation with Pakistan, they would also have to respect Pakistani interests. You cannot send diplomats, CIA agents disguised as diplomats, and allow them free roaming and operation facilities in Pakistan and you cannot do whatever you want in a country that is a neighbor to Pakistan without consulting with all those people who are supposed to be your allies.
From what I have been reading and from what I have been hearing from you I get an impression that the frustration with the current US policy in Pakistan is really high and at the same time I know very well that the US has always been competing for Pakistan with China. So, is US losing to China in the region?
I think the United States has already lost to China quite a long time back. I can give you a very simple example: the current situation of flash floods in Pakistan this year and last year – the Americans have stepped forward with aid; in fact last year they did a lot, they are not doing the same, but they did a lot last year. So did the Chinese, and the Saudis, and the Turks, and others, but Pakistani public opinion actually highlighted more what, for example, the Turks, and the Saudis, and the Iranians, and the Chinese specially have done, more than highlighting what the Americans have been doing, and last year the United States initially was reluctant to intervene but later they did send helicopters and that was very helpful during the floods to save people in distant areas.
Then there was not really much appreciation for that in the public, mainly because of the other issues. They did deserve appreciation for that, they did send helicopters – no one can deny that. They really became frustrated, the US diplomats here, and quite later, I think, maybe two or three months after they started operations ‑ they were very frustrated, they were not receiving the kind of media attention they thought they deserved, so we saw the US ambassador personally visiting newspaper newsrooms and distributing photographs and videos and so forth. This is one example that gives the answer to your question: despite several positive things that the Americans have been doing in Pakistan, they do not receive any appreciation because they already have lost the battle for people’s minds and hearts.
====
Australian Experts: NATO Has Lost South Asian War
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/24/c_131157972.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 24, 2011
Australia is wasting resources in Afghanistan: experts
By Vienna Ma
CANBERRA: Australia’s military campaign in Afghanistan is a serious policy failure with no serious prospect of achieving, defense experts said in an interview with Xinhua recently, adding that the on-going spending on the war will constitute a drain on resource.
The comment came following the assassination of former Afghan president and Afghan peace negotiator, Burhanuddin Rabbani. The killing was the latest high-profile attack by insurgents, who are currently engaged in back-channel peace talks with the U.S. via Pakistani intermediaries.
An Australian foreign and defense policy expert at University of Newcastle, Associate Professor Wayne Reynolds, said the recent assassinations and the rising death toll among coalition soldiers indicated the insurgency is gathering pace and sophistication in Afghanistan.
He said it is possible that there is a much broader and uncoordinated insurgency then applying the Taliban label would suggest, and he expected the coalition force will continue to struggle with insurgents, who are motivated not only by opposition to North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) presence, but a plethora of local issues that have been long neglected in the strife-torn nation.
As of the prospects for peace in the country, Professor Reynolds casted a shadow over it, saying that it is considerable diminished by the uncertainty surrounding the profile of the Taliban leadership.
“It is also clear that there is considerable uncertainty about the negotiating framework for peace,” he told Xinhua in an interview. “While the elimination by the U.S. and NATO of Taliban leaders suggests a hierarchy it does not seem to extend to intelligence about the chain of command with respect to negotiators.”
Meanwhile, former senior Defense Department official and government advisor, Professor Hugh White, said the latest assassination showed that chances of Australian Defense Force completing its objectives in Afghanistan are “very low”.
“I don’t think we are likely to succeed in preventing the Taliban taking a prominent position. Even if they don’t completely overtake Afghan politics, they are going to regain a prominent position there after we leave,” he said. “I don’t think we are going to succeed in ensuring that Afghanistan doesn’t become a kind of destabilizing factor in the wide south Asian strategic balance.”
With the barely noticeable process has been done since the coalition force entered Afghanistan in 2001, Professor Reynolds said the occupying force is not only wasting human and financial resources, but also create ongoing co-lateral damage in Afghanistan and increasingly in Pakistan. “The events in Afghanistan suggest that on-going spending on ‘ boots on the ground’ will constitute a drain on resources, and come at the expense of developing other defense options such as aircraft, submarines and industrial infrastructure,” he said.
Australia currently has 1,500 troops in Afghanistan, mainly based in Oruzgan Province. So far, 29 Australian soldiers have died and 194 others have been wounded in Afghanistan since 2001.
Since Australia scheduled to hand security arrangements back to Afghanistan from 2014, Professor White said based on recent casualty rates, as many as 40 more Australians could lose their lives in the war before it ends.
“If when we leave in 2014 Afghanistan looks just as it looks today, which I think is the most likely outcome, then it is hard to see that any lives we lose between now and then will not have been lost in vain,” he said.
====
Might Of Powerful Nations Cannot Prevail: Sri Lanka
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/24/c_131156758.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 24, 2011
Might of powerful nations cannot prevail: Sri Lanka
UNITED NATIONS: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday called upon the United Nations to build a more equal international order, saying that “the might of powerful nations cannot prevail.”
Rajapaksa made the remarks here as he was speaking at the general debate of the 66th session of UN General Assembly, with the theme of the role of mediation in settling disputes by peaceful means.
“The might of powerful nations cannot prevail against justice and fair play,” the president said, adding that at the heart of dramatic changes of world order lies “the need to protect smaller countries in the developing world and to advance their interests vigorously.”
Rajapaksa said every country’s values, traditions and religious convictions cannot be diluted or distorted by the imposition of alien cultures under the guise of human rights.
“If this were done, it would amount to a violation of human rights in a fundamental sense,” Rajapaksa said.
By saying this, the president referred to cases of Palestine and Cuba. He said that it is a “profound disappointment” that the Palestinian people have not had a state of their own within secure borders, and expressed once again his solidarity with the people of Cuba.
“Even where sanctions are imposed, extreme care has to be taken to ensure that the people at large are not harmed by such action,” Rajapaksa said.
He urged the international community to take into account the vulnerability of developing nations and protect them by means of appropriate institutional arrangements.
“Dumping of commercial and industrial goods manufactured in developed countries imperils the economies of many Asian and African countries represented here,” Rajapaksa said.
He pointed out that developed countries’substantial subsidies to support agricultural production and other forms of protectionism, have caused serious distortion of the interplay of market forces, and reduced to a great extent the ability of farmers in many developing countries to access international markets for their export products on an equitable basis.
Rajapaksa also talked about the disproportionate environmental pollution by industrialized countries and the resultant impact on global warming and climate change.
He said that these impacts “cannot be remedied with any semblance of justice by imposing harsh restraints on developing countries which have contributed very little to aggravation of the problem.”
“These circumstances heighten the importance of social equity at the international level,” Rajapaksa said.
====
EU-U.S. Trans-Caspian Pipeline Keeps Iranian, Russian Gas Out Of Europe
http://en.trend.az/capital/energy/1936211.html
Trend News Agency
September 24, 2011
Trans-Caspian pipeline to prevent Iranian gas from reaching Europe
T. Konyayeva
-”[T]he project does not involve Iran and Russia although Russia has the largest proven gas reserves and Iran the second largest. Thus, they feel that they are left out of a significant gas project feeding Europe…This would have been an opportunity for Iran to break into the market. But of course the problem is international sanctions and the opposition of the United States and some European countries to Iran’s participation…The gas project extending a pipeline under the water without the participation of Iran would be de facto recognition of the usage of the sea by Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan without regard for Iran’s right.”
Baku: The Trans-Caspian gas pipeline will reduce Iran’s chances to become a gas exporter for Europe, experts believe.
“Protecting its national interest, as a potential gas exporter, Iran naturally cannot be supportive of other exporters in the market,” Professor Reza Taghizadeh, a member of the Trend Experts Council, wrote in an email. “The Trans-Caspian pipeline limits Iran’s capability to become Europe’s energy partner. Iran will support such a project only if its own supply of gas will be taken on board.”
Last week, the EU adopted a mandate to negotiate a legally-binding treaty between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to build a Trans-Caspian Pipeline System.
Later, Iran and Russia expressed a negative attitude toward this project. Tehran and Moscow think that the pipeline construction will damage the Caspian Sea environment.
The pipeline, with a length of 300 kilometers, will be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, where it will be connected to the Southern Gas Corridor.
Talks between Turkmenistan and the EU and other countries on the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline have been conducted since the late 1990s. Its construction is now difficult because of the unresolved status of the Caspian Sea.
In addition to economic reasons, Taghizadeh thinks Iran’s opposition to the Trans-Caspian pipeline has both political and environmental dimensions.
“The environmental concerns are undeniable because the Caspian Sea’s unique ecological system is excessively fragile. The Caspian Sea is closed, and vulnerable towards manmade hazards, such as excessive pollution resulting from further oil and gas productions,” he said.
Besides, the Caspian basin is located right on the earthquake belt, Taghizadeh added.
“Therefore, any quake under the sea water and around the region could break the pipe, releasing poisonous gases into the sea water and endangering marine life gravely before being controlled. The depth of the sea near the Iranian coastlines, which is about 980 meters, makes it no more palpable to take,” he said.
As regards to the political reasons, Taghizadeh believes that the Trans-Caspian pipeline would definitely compromise common ownership of the sea status, and in a way, could divide boundaries of the littoral states.
“However, Russia and Iran both prefer to stay connected and enjoy the benefits of being neighbours,” he said.
Taghizadeh thinks Iran would do its best to stand firmly against the Trans-Caspian pipeline before the legal status of the Caspian Sea is determined.
“At this stage Iran demands the assumption of a dynamic role in the Caspian Sea energy economy plus a fair share of its sea water and natural resources…,” he said.
In November 2003, the Caspian littoral countries (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan) signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea.
…
As to finalizing the legal status of the Caspian Sea, consultations are under way on this issue.
U.S. Northeastern University Professor Kamran Dadkhah also believes that the real reasons for Iranian and Russian opposition to the Trans-Caspian pipeline are economic benefits and political motives.
“First, the project does not involve Iran and Russia although Russia has the largest proven gas reserves and Iran the second largest. Thus, they feel that they are left out of a significant gas project feeding Europe,” Dadkhah wrote Trend in an email.
He believes Iran feels it is left out of this project as well as the Nabucco pipeline.
“This would have been an opportunity for Iran to break into the market. But of course the problem is international sanctions and the opposition of the United States and some European countries to Iran’s participation,” Dadkhah said.
A second reason for both countries to oppose the project is that the legal framework and boundaries of sovereignty over the Caspian Sea are not finalized, the expert believes.
“Iran feels that it has been cheated out of its rightful share in the resources of the sea. The gas project extending a pipeline under the water without the participation of Iran would be de facto recognition of the usage of the sea by Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan without regard for Iran’s right,” Dadkhah said.
…
The European Union’s talks with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the project of laying Trans-Caspian pipeline will begin in October, European External Action Service (EEAS) Director for Eastern Partnership Gunnar Wiegand told journalists in Baku on Sept. 23.
====
Tibullus: War is a crime perpetrated by hearts hardened like weapons
====
Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Greek and Roman writers on war and peace
====
Tibullus: Elegies
Book I, Number XI
Translated by Theodore C. Williams
War is a Crime
Whoe’er first forged the terror-striking sword,
His own fierce heart had tempered like its blade.
What slaughter followed! Ah! what conflict wild!
What swifter journeys unto darksome death!
But blame not him! Ourselves have madly turned
On one another’s breasts that cunning edge
Wherewith he meant mere blood of beast to spill.
Gold makes our crime. No need for plundering war,
When bowls of beech-wood held the frugal feast.
No citadel was seen nor moated wall;
The shepherd chief led home his motley flock,
And slumbered free from care. Would I had lived
In that good, golden time; nor e’er had known
A mob in arms arrayed; nor felt my heart
Throb to the trumpet’s call! Now to the wars
I must away, where haply some chance foe
Bears now the blade my naked side shall feel.
Save me, dear Lares of my hearth and home!
Ye oft my childish steps did guard and bless,
As timidly beneath your seat they strayed.
Deem it no shame that hewn of ancient oak
Your simple emblems in my dwelling stand!
For so the pious generations gone
Revered your powers, and with offerings rude
To rough-hewn gods in narrow-built abodes,
Lived beautiful and honorable lives.
Did they not bring to crown your hallowed brows
Garlands of ripest corn, or pour new wine
In pure libation on the thirsty ground?
Oft on some votive day the father brought
The consecrated loaf, and close behind
His little daughter in her virgin palm
Bore honey bright as gold. O powers benign!
To ye once more a faithful servant prays
For safety! Let the deadly brazen spear
Pass harmless o’er my head! and I will slay
For sacrifice, with many a thankful song,
A swine and all her brood, while I, the priest,
Bearing the votive basket myrtle-bound,
Walk clothed in white, with myrtle in my hair.
Grant me but this! and he who can may prove
Mighty in arms and by the grace of Mars
Lay chieftains low; and let him tell the tale
To me who drink his health, while on the board
His wine-dipped finger draws, line after line,
Just how his trenches ranged! What madness dire
Bids men go foraging for death in war?
Our death is always near, and hour by hour,
With soundless step a little nearer draws.
What harvest down below, or vineyard green?
There Cerberus howls, and o’er the Stygian flood
The dark ship goes; while on the clouded shore
With hollow cheek and tresses lustreless,
Wanders the ghostly throng. O happier far
Some white-haired sire, among his children dear,
Beneath a lowly thatch! His sturdy son
Shepherds the young rams; he, his gentle ewes;
And oft at eve, his willing labor done,
His careful wife his weary limbs will bathe
From a full, steaming bowl. Such lot be mine!
So let this head grow gray, while I shall tell,
Repeating oft, the deeds of long ago!
Then may long Peace my country’s harvests bless!
Till then, let Peace on all our fields abide!
Bright-vestured Peace, who first beneath their yoke
Led oxen in the plough, who first the vine
Did nourish tenderly, and chose good grapes,
That rare old wine may pass from sire to son!
Peace! who doth keep the plow and harrow bright,
While rust on some forgotten shelf devours
The cruel soldier’s useless sword and shield.
From peaceful holiday with mirth and wine
The rustic, not half sober, driveth home
With wife and weans upon the lumbering wain.
But wars by Venus kindled ne’er have done;
The vanquished lass, with tresses rudely torn,
Of doors broke down, and smitten cheek complains;
And he, her victor-lover, weeps to see
How strong were his wild hands. But mocking Love
Teaches more angry words, and while they rave,
Sits with a smile between! O heart of stone!
O iron heart! that could thy sweetheart strike!
Ye gods avenge her! Is it not enough
To tear her soft robe from her limbs away,
And loose her knotted hair?—Enough, indeed,
To move her tears! Thrice happy is the wight
Whose frown some lovely mistress weeps to see!
But he who gives her blows!—Go, let him bear
A sword and spear! In exile let him be
From Venus’ mild domain! Come blessed Peace!
Come, holding forth thy blade of ripened corn!
Fill thy large lap with mellow fruits and fair!
*****
Translated by A.S. Kline as Book I, Number X
Make Peace Not War
Who was he, who first forged the fearful sword?
How iron-willed and truly made of iron he was!
Then slaughter was created, war was born to men.
then a quicker road was opened to dread death.
But perhaps it’s not the wretch’s fault we turn to evil
what he gave us to use on savage beasts?
That’s the curse of rich gold: there were no wars
when the beech-wood cup stood beside men’s plates.
There were no fortresses or fences, and the flock’s leader
sought sleep securely among the diverse sheep.
I might have lived then, Valgius, and not known
sad arms, or heard the trumpet with beating heart.
Now I’m dragged to war, and perhaps some enemy
already carries the spear that will pierce my side.
Lares of my fathers, save me: you are the same
that reared me, a little child running before your feet.
Don’t be ashamed that you’re made from ancient wood:
so you were when you lived in my grandfather’s house.
Then faith was better kept, when a wooden god
poorly dressed, stood in a narrow shrine.
He was placated, if someone offered the first grapes
or placed the garland of wheat-ears on his sacred head:
and whoever gained his wish brought the honey-cakes
himself, his little daughter behind, with the pure comb.
Turn the bronze spears away from me, Lares,
and (accept) a sacrifice of a hog from the full sty.
I will follow in pure clothing, carrying the basket
bound with myrtle, myrtle binding my own head.
So I may please you: let another be brave in war,
and topple hostile generals with Mars’ help,
then he can tell me his military deeds while I drink,
and draw his camp on the table with wine.
What madness to summon up dark Death by war!
It menaces us, and comes secretly on silent feet.
There are no cornfields down there, no trim vineyards,
only bold Cerberus, and the foul ferryman of Styx’s stream.
There, with eyeless sockets and scorched hair,
a pallid crowd wanders by the lakes of darkness.
No he’s more to be praised whom, blessed with children,
a long old age keeps occupied in his humble cottage.
He tends the sheep, and his son the lambs,
and his wife provides hot water for weary limbs.
So let me be, and may my head whiten with snowy temples,
and recall old things from ancient deeds.
Meanwhile let peace tend the fields. Bright peace first
bowed the oxen for ploughing under the curved yoke.
Peace nurtured the vines and laid up the juice of the grape
so the son’s wine might pour from the father’s jar.
Hoe and ploughshare gleam in peace, but rust seizes
the grim weapons of the cruel soldier in darkness.
The countryman drives home from the wood,
himself half-sober, with wife and children in his cart,
but then they summon love’s war, and the woman
bewails her torn hair and the broken doors.
The bruised girl weeps for her tender cheeks, but the victor
weeps himself that his hands were so strong in his madness.
And impudent Love supplies evil words to the quarrel,
and sits indifferent between the angry pair.
Ah, he’s stone and iron, whoever would strike his girl:
that action draws down the gods from the heavens.
let it be enough to have torn the thin cloth from her limbs,
enough to have disordered the arrangement of her hair,
enough to have caused her tears: he’s four times blessed
whose anger can make a tender girl weep.
But he whose hands are cruel, should carry shield and pike,
and stay far away from gentle Venus.
Then come, kindly Peace, hold the wheat-ear in your hand,
and let your radiant breast pour out fruits before us.
Updates on Libyan war/Stop NATO news: September 23, 2011
====
NATO To Stay In Libya For A Long Time
Libyan Air War Continues: 23,571 NATO Sorties, 8,829 Strike Missions
Washington And The Middle East: Almost All Small Nations Challenging U.S. Hit By Strikes, Sanctions
American Military Delegation Visits Lebanon-Israel Border
Rasmussen: Chicago NATO Summit To Focus On Missile System, Afghan War
Russia To Counter NATO ABM With Sea-Based Missile Defense
FYI: Coming EU Collapse To Re-energize NATO
Chinese Foreign Minister Urges U.S. To Revoke Taiwan Arms Sales
U.S.-Trained Georgian Troops Ready For More “Newly Liberated Lands”
European Union Global Military Operations Parallel NATO’s
NATO Wraps Up Multinational Exercise In Indiana
Russian UN Envoy Decries Double Standards On Conflicts
State Department Officials Headed To South Caucasus
European Union To Finalize Plans For Trans-Caspian Pipeline
Saudi Arabia Calls For “Liberation” Of Nagorno-Karabakh
Belarus-Russia Drills Prelude To CSTO Air Defense System
NATO Loses Drone In Northwestern Afghanistan
Russia Warns Against Turkey-Cyprus Conflict
Ahmadinejad Criticizes U.S. And NATO Policy Of Perpetrating Wars
Why Are NATO Countries So Nervous About Iran?
====
NATO To Stay In Libya For A Long Time
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/23/56617171.html
Voice of Russia
September 23, 2011
NATO to stay in Libya
Igor Siletsky
-[A] lengthy war in Libya can destabilize the situation in neighboring countries, like it was in Afghanistan and Iraq – the more so, because the whole north of Africa is now gripped with revolutions.
NATO has prolonged its mandate for staying in Libya for another 90 days.
This was done without asking any permission from the UN or any other similar organization. It looks like NATO commanders just consider it unnecessary to waste time on asking for the UN’s permission. Why all this “bureaucracy”, if the war, as they claim, is very close to an end? At least, NATO’s official reports say that now, Gaddafi’s supporters are incapable of serious resistance.
However, analysts believe that the real reason why NATO has prolonged its mandate is that, in reality, it is too early to say that the Gaddafi regime is living its last days.
It is not the first time that NATO’s commanders say that the Libyan war is very close to an end – and, then, do something which shows that they have realized that they’d hurried a bit to say so. Still, they try to put a brave face on the sorry business. Recently, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, who commands the NATO operation in Libya, said that NATO’s mission in Libya is not yet over, but it continues quite successfully. According to Mr. Bouchard, only three regions in Libya are still controlled by Gaddafi’s supporters, including isolated enclaves around the towns of Bani Walid and Sirte (the latter is Muammar Gaddafi’s birthplace).
NATO commanders don’t know where Gaddafi himself is. However, he keeps on ordering his supporters not to surrender.
According to NATO’s estimates, in total, 200,000 Libyans are living on territories which are still controlled by Gaddafi’s supporters. At the same time, all Libya’s major cities have already returned to normal life, and law and order have been re-established there.
NATO does not intend to supply the Libyan oppositionists (who now in fact rule Libya) with weapons – this is not envisioned by the mandate. However, Lieutenant General Bouchard says, NATO would have nothing against this if any country, on its own initiative, supplies them with weapons.
NATO also doesn’t intend to persecute Gaddafi’s supporters who are retreating to neighboring Niger and Sudan. This is Niger and Sudan’s internal problem, Mr. Bouchard says.
However, many analysts say that NATO’s official reports about the success of Gaddafi’s opponents and their Western helpers are too optimistic.
“This is already the second time that NATO has prolonged its stay in Libya,” Russian analyst Veniamin Popov says. “This speaks of the fact that NATO is still far from reaching its aims in Libya.”
“It is too early to say that Gaddafi’s regime is already done with,” Mr. Popov believes. “His supporters are still resisting. At the same time, there is no unity between the members of the Transitional National Council, which also hampers their full victory.”
It looks like NATO has drawn no lessons from its unsuccessful operation in Afghanistan – in the Libyan operation, they are following the same dubious scenario.
Another analyst, Stanislav Tarasov, says:
“Let us remember the beginning of the Afghan operation. At first, international forces were introduced there on a resolution from the UN Security Council. Then, the UN announced that the command over the international forces in Afghanistan belongs to NATO. Now, these forces in Afghanistan are still being commanded by NATO – and hardly anyone can say that they have achieved great success. However, in Libya, NATO is acting according to the same scenario – and the fact that it is prolonging its mandate for another three months says that it is still far from success.”
Most analysts agree that, most probably, NATO will stay in Libya for a long time. Gaddafi’s supporters, weak as they may seem, still may keep resisting for long. Moreover, a lengthy war in Libya can destabilize the situation in neighboring countries, like it was in Afghanistan and Iraq – the more so, because the whole north of Africa is now gripped with revolutions.
====
Libyan Air War Continues: 23,571 NATO Sorties, 8,829 Strike Missions
http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110923_110923-oup-update.pdf
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
September 23, 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
Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR air assets continue monitoring missions over Libya.
Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 06.00GMT) a total of 23,571 sorties, including 8,829 strike sorties, have been conducted.
Sorties conducted 22 SEPTEMBER: 97
Strike sorties conducted 22 SEPTEMBER: 34
…
====
NATO Chief Names Chicago Summit Dates; “Won’t Leave Afghanistan”
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-2B3F9DAB-859B9747/natolive/news_78426.htm
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
September 23, 2011
NATO Secretary General announces Chicago summit dates
-In Chicago, “I hope and expect we’ll be able to declare interim operational capability. This will be a significant step forward, because we have been discussing the development of a NATO-based missile defence system for many many years,” the Secretary General said…Rasmussen said that he hopes to break new ground in NATO’s partnership with other countries and organisations, especially in North Africa and the Middle East…
NATO’s forthcoming summit in Chicago will take place on May 20-21, 2012, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced during a visit to the United States.
“We’ll have the next NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21 next year. This will be an important summit, following up on the decisions taken at Lisbon last year, but also breaking new ground,” the Secretary General said on the margins of the United Nations general Assembly in New York. NATO’s last summit was held in Lisbon in November 2010.
The full Chicago summit agenda has not yet been finalised, but NATO’s Enduring Partnership with Afghanistan – agreed in Lisbon – will be a key point…
The Chicago summit will make clear that, even after that date, NATO “will not leave Afghanistan behind: we’ll stay committed, with a focus on continuing to train and educate Afghan security forces, to continue to improve their capacity,” Rasmussen said.
In Lisbon, NATO heads of state and government agreed to create a system to defend NATO European territories and populations against ballistic-missile threats, and to begin talks on possible missile-defence cooperation with Russia.
In Chicago, “I hope and expect we’ll be able to declare interim operational capability. This will be a significant step forward, because we have been discussing the development of a NATO-based missile defence system for many many years,” the Secretary General said…
The summit is also expected to agree on new ways for NATO nations to prioritise, specialise and share multinational projects so that they can keep and improve their security capabilities, even in times of economic austerity – an approach known as “Smart Defence”.
And Rasmussen said that he hopes to break new ground in NATO’s partnership with other countries and organisations, especially in North Africa and the Middle East – a partnership which plays an important role in the NATO-led operation [against] Libya.
“There are many positive lessons learnt from our Libya operations. We’d also like to broaden the perspective and further strengthen these partnerships,” the Secretary General said.
The Chicago meeting will be the first NATO summit in the United States since 1999 when the Alliance celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in Washington.
====
Washington And The Middle East: Almost All Small Nations Challenging U.S. Hit By Strikes, Sanctions
http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/676205/US-stands-against-public-will-in-Mideast.aspx
Global Times
September 21, 2011
US stands against public will in Mideast
-The US is running a risk in its Middle East diplomacy. Its support for Israel is in apparent conflict with global justice at times.
However, the world often has to tolerate this. One important reason is that the US gets the tacit agreement of the authorities in Middle East countries. These governments actually become a buffer for the confrontation between US policy and public will in the Middle East.
-Since the end of the Cold War, almost all small countries that have challenged the US have been hit by strikes or sanctions.
As the Arab Spring continues to sweep the Middle East, Israel appears increasingly isolated. Palestine is taking advantage of the chance and seeking full UN membership. The US has declared its intention to veto the Palestinian UN bid, whereas more than 100 countries support Palestine’s request.
Over the past few months, the US largely supported the revolution in the Middle East. But its current decision to block Palestine from entering the UN could drive the Middle East back to old geopolitical fights.
Palestine’s request to become a UN member state is in accordance with its public will and the democratic wave across the Middle East. The US may face overwhelming protests and hostility from the Arab world for standing by Israel.
The US is running a risk in its Middle East diplomacy. Its support for Israel is in apparent conflict with global justice at times.
However, the world often has to tolerate this. One important reason is that the US gets the tacit agreement of the authorities in Middle East countries. These governments actually become a buffer for the confrontation between US policy and public will in the Middle East.
The US is facing a diplomatic predicament in the Middle East. This is an example of its global diplomacy in which interests conflict with justice. US diplomacy has an increasing number of double standards. It stresses both pragmatism and idealism at the same time. One US habit that rarely changes is that it requires obedience by other countries, especially smaller ones. Since the end of the Cold War, almost all small countries that have challenged the US have been hit by strikes or sanctions.
But this time, Palestine’s firm request and the support of many countries is very embarrassing to the US. With wide support across the world, Palestine now has a strong political position. Palestine’s bid strikes exactly at the tender spot of US diplomacy in the Middle East.
The US deserves a clear lesson in diplomacy. It should reflect on its diplomatic ideology and practice. The US involves itself in transnational affairs across the world, although international politics are becoming increasingly multi-polar. The US has to be more humble.
The US policy toward Palestine is problematic not only on a humanitarian level, but also on the level of public democracy. The US has been led by domestic pro-Israeli forces, rather than being guided by the reality on the ground.
The US needs to either make diplomatic adjustments, or to pay for its refusal to adjust. Palestine’s goal is courageous. The international community, including China, should join hands together and support its request. The US may stay stubborn but we should make our standpoint clear.
China’s support of Palestine’s request for full UN membership does not mean hostility toward Israel. Nevertheless, China has the right to make its own judgments and express its views on such major issues.
====
American Military Delegation Visits Lebanon-Israel Border
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/23/c_131154739.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 23, 2011
American military delegation tours Lebanon-Israel border
BEIRUT: A U.S. military delegation toured the Lebanese-Israeli border Thursday after meeting earlier the day with Lebanese Army Commander Jean Kawhagi, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The delegation, with a convoy of five armored U.S. vehicles, visited the Blue Line, a border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel, after talks with Kahwagi on tackling military cooperation and the implementation of U.S. military aid programs to Lebanon, NNA said.
The visit drew criticism from a lawmaker affiliated with Israel’s arch-foe, the Shiite armed group Hezbollah, according to the report.
“There is no way that the visit was in the interest of Lebanon,” Qassem Hashem, Lebanonese member of parliament, was quoted by NNA, adding that the delegation’s visit was a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
The Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel was approved by the United Nations in 2000 for the purpose of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon.
====
Rasmussen: Chicago NATO Summit To Focus On Missile System, Afghan War
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/09/nato-summit-chicago.html
Los Angeles Times
September 22, 2011
Next NATO summit to be in Chicago
NEW YORK: Officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have decided they will hold their next summit in Chicago on May 20-21, 2012, the same month that the Group of 8 industrialized nations will gather in the city.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO’s secretary-general, disclosed the dates in an interview. He said the alliance will be considering several issues, including its missile defense system and its mission in Afghanistan.
…
The NATO members will…discuss the future of their long-planned missile defense system, which they hope to be able to activate in May. Discussions may focus on NATO’s hopes for Russian collaboration in the system, though this remains only “a possibility,” Rasmussen said.
Protest groups have promised they will turn out by the thousands to demonstrate against the G-8 and NATO meetings.
====
Russia To Counter NATO ABM With Sea-Based Missile Defense
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110922/167048033.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
September 22, 2011
Russia to build sea-based ‘missile shield’ – diplomat
KIEV: Russia is planning to develop its own sea-based missile defense system, a Foreign Ministry official said on Thursday.
“According to our analysis, this system will be very efficient and meet the norms of international maritime law,” said Vladimir Kozin, a deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s information and press department.
Kozin did not give any further details on the future missile defense system. He was speaking at a video conference between Moscow and Kiev on European security.
The move is almost certain to be interpreted as Russia’s response to NATO’s European missile shield, which it says it needs to counter potential missile attacks from “rogue states,” such as Iran and North Korea.
The NATO “shield” includes U.S. warships equipped with Aegis ballistic missile defense systems capable of shooting down short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
Russia has retained staunch opposition to the deployment of missile defense systems near its borders, claiming they would be a threat to its national security.
Moscow has repeatedly warned NATO it would create both defensive and offensive means to counter any missile threat and to penetrate any missile defense if the sides did not agree to cooperate on the issue.
====
American Think Tank: Coming EU Collapse To Re-energize NATO
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/28104/?SID=50824a11d84c46b49aa469947308327b
Defence Professionals
September 22, 2011
Coming EU Collapse Could Re-energize NATO
Daniel Goure, Ph.D.
Early Warning Blog, Lexington Institute
Could the EU collapse? Unthinkable! Impossible! Yet, that is what was being said just a few months ago about the possibility that Greece would default on its debt. Now, as Europe struggles to put together a second bailout package for that country, the conversation has increasingly focused not on how to save Greece – and with it the Eurozone – but when and how the default will happen. The consensus now is not only will Greece default but it will be messy. The unthinkable has become the base case.
A Greek default, albeit actually good for that country, will trigger a massive economic, political and existential crisis for the European Union (EU). A default will put enormous pressure on other weak European economies, particularly Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy. This will cause a crisis among the European banks. But more significantly, Europe will be faced with a choice: save the Euro or save the EU. There won’t be the time to forge a true single fiscal and political union. The only way both to protect the viable economies of Northern and Central Europe and allow the weaker ones in the South a chance to recover is by the former group of countries to allow, even insist that, the latter group exit the Eurozone. This will fundamentally and irrevocably alter the character and purpose of the EU. In fact, should the economic contagion reach France, the EU will certainly collapse.
It is ironic that the Euro’s decline and the EU’s possible demise is likely to be a boon for NATO. Absent a strong and expanding EU, NATO will be the sole gravitational force exerting a cohesive influence across the continent. NATO already includes several countries who are not members of the EU; this number will grow significantly if a Euro crisis occurs.
Most important, NATO will have to stand guard over Europe during a time that may come to resemble economic and even politically the 1930s. NATO can help stabilize weak European governments under tremendous stress. It also can deter outside powers from seeking to take advantage of Europe’s temporary weakness. Finally, NATO provides the best means for leveraging what is likely to be a shrinking stock of trans-Atlantic military capabilities.
Despite its contributions to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya, it has become fashionable in recent years in some circles to dismiss NATO as a quaint anachronism. It may well turn out that NATO will prove to be the most important US security relationship of the 21st Century.
====
Chinese Foreign Minister Urges U.S. To Revoke Taiwan Arms Sales
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-09/23/c_131154718.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 23, 2011
Chinese FM urges U.S. to revoke arms sales to Taiwan
NEW YORK: Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi Thursday urged the United States to correct its error by immediately revoking its arms sales plan to Taiwan so as to safeguard the overall situation of Sino-U.S. relations as well as peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.
Yang made the remarks when he delivered a speech to members of the National Committee on United States-China Relations and the US-China Business Council here in New York on the sidelines of the annual general debate of the United Nations General Assembly.
Yang called on the U.S. to fully recognize the great sensitivity and gravity of arms sales to Taiwan, attach high importance to and seriously treat China’s solemn stance.
He also urged the U.S. side to stop selling arms to Taiwan and ceasing its military links with Taiwan.
Regardless of China’s repeated solemn representations, the U.S. administration announced Wednesday a new arms package worth 5.852 billion U.S. dollars to Taiwan, which includes the so-called ” upgrading” of F-16A/B fighter jets.
Yang said respecting each other’s core interest is the principle underpinning China-U.S. cooperation.
“We should cherish our cooperation, as it embodies the important common interests of our two countries,” said the foreign minister, adding “When it comes to major issues concerning China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, the United States should handle them with extreme care so as to prevent interference and setbacks in China-U.S. relations.”
The Taiwan issue concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, concerns China’s core interest and bears on the sentiments of the 1.3 billion Chinese people. It is always the most important and sensitive issue at the core of China-U.S. relationship, he said.
The United States, Yang said, once again took the wrong decision of making large-scale arms sales to Taiwan in disregard of China’s strong opposition and ignoring the improvement and peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.
“This has gravely violated the principles of the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, particularly the August 17 Communique, grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs and seriously undermined China’s security, its endeavor to achieve peaceful reunification and China-U.S. relations. It runs counter to the serious commitment made by the U.S. side itself. China is firmly opposed to this decision,” said the foreign minister.
“The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to take China’s solemn position very seriously, correct the mistake of selling weapons to Taiwan, immediately revoke the above-mentioned wrong decision, stop arms sales to Taiwan and U.S.-Taiwan military contacts, and take real actions to uphold the larger interest of China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits,” Yang noted.
====
U.S.-Trained Georgian Troops Ready For More “Newly Liberated Lands”
http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/1935707.html
Trend News Agency
September 23, 2011
President: Georgia has borne more than its share in the international effort in Afghanistan
E. Tariverdiyeva
Baku: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is proud that Georgia has borne more than its share in the international effort in Afghanistan – over a thousand soldiers are fighting in the dangerous Helmand Province.
…
Georgia has become a provider, not just a consumer, of international security, Saakashvili said.
…
According to Saakashvili, Georgia is ready once again to take on more than its share in this international effort.
“Our experience of radical post-revolutionary transformation over the past eight years could well be useful for the newly liberated lands,” President Saakashvili underscored.
====
European Union Global Military Operations Parallel NATO’s
Europolitics
September 22, 2011
Informal Defence Council
Cooperation and assessment of military missions on agenda
By Eric van Puyvelde
-Apart from the EU ministers, also participating are the commanders of EU military operations and representatives of the EU Military Staff, EU Military Committee, the European Defence Agency, the External Action Service and NATO Headquarters.
On the first day of the informal Defence Council, on 22 September in Wroclaw, Poland, the 27 ministers discussed the Union’s current engagement in military missions and operations carried out in the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). These include the EU NAVFOR Atalanta naval operation in Somali waters, the EUTM training mission in Uganda and the EUFOR Althea mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also debated questions related to the Southern neighbourhood, in particular support for Libya.
The second day’s agenda will focus on evaluation of the ‘Weimar initiative’ (to relaunch European defence, initiated by Poland, Germany and France in December 2010) and the ‘Pooling and sharing initiative’, based on the pooling and sharing by member states of military capabilities needed to carry out operational activities.
After the meeting, Polish Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak planned to meet representatives of the NATO member states and EU applicant states (Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Iceland, Norway and Turkey) to brief them on the debates.
The two-day meeting is chaired by the Polish minister on behalf of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, who is attending the UN General Assembly. Apart from the EU ministers, also participating are the commanders of EU military operations and representatives of the EU Military Staff, EU Military Committee, the European Defence Agency, the External Action Service and NATO Headquarters.
====
NATO Wraps Up Multinational Exercise In Indiana
http://www.dvidshub.net/news/77482/bold-quest-2011-wraps-up
Camp Atterbury Public Affairs
September 22, 2011
Bold Quest 2011 wraps up
Story by Michael Maddox
EDINBURGH, Ind. – Camp Atterbury-Muscatatuck Training Complex is no stranger to hosting soldiers with a multitude of unit patches from a wide variety of locations, but recently the installation has also been hosting military members from foreign services across the globe.
Currently, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Complex is hosting Bold Quest 2011, a joint staff lead military coalition combat assessment exercise designed to test the interoperability of target identification systems of 12 NATO member nations to reduce friendly fire incidents. The exercise, which involves more than 700 foreign and U.S. military members, began Sept. 8 and will wrap up Sept. 23.
During Bold Quest military members from nations including Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States and NATO, have been working together to test equipment to ensure they are all speaking the same “language” during real-world coalition missions.
Bold Quest is an exercise that has been progressively grown in mission aspects and participants all working together toward one goal – keeping Soldiers safe, said John Miller, Bold Quest operational manager.
“Bold Quest is a recurring series of operational demonstrations in which we bring coalition war fighters, technicians and analysts together in problem solving partnerships that ultimately result in a major operational demonstration in the field. It’s testing under operational conditions to the maximum extent that we can replicate,” he explained. “This year we have expanded the work in the human dimension of coalition combat identification.”
…
Technology training and testing is one major part of Bold Quest 2011, according to Maj. Tommy Myrvoll, with the Norwegian Battle Lab, and Bold Quest project officer.
…
Maj. Markus “Starbuck” Stury, a pilot for the German military from the 33rd Fighter Bomber Wing, said Bold Quest has also allowed the Germans to fine tune coalition communication skills to prevent any friendly fire incidents.
“We fly our aircraft with the (identification) system, and we circle around in an orbit, then we run our system. As the computers are connected to the ground station and they send us information back, we can then make sure all of our data is correct before we deploy our ordnance,” Stury said. “With a bombing run, you don’t want to have errors, especially with friendlies close by.”
…
The training area, support and accommodations at Camp Atterbury-Muscatatuck have been the perfect venue for the Bold Quest team to accomplish their missions, said Miller.
“The venue meets all of our needs. It’s rare to find a place that does that,” said Miller. “It’s not just the air and ground space, but it’s the event control facilities that are available to us here at Atterbury as well as the proximity of the airfield.”
…
Hosting events such as Bold Quest just reinforces the capabilities of Atterbury-Muscatatuck Complex, said Maj. Gen. Cliff Tooley, assistant Adjutant General for the state of Indiana.
“Bold Quest is sort of a prototype of what we are designed to support, and that is the blending and training of forces with testing and technology with the intent of taking technology and making it more rapidly deployable to the field by interfacing it with the soldiers as early as possible,” said Tooley.
Tooley added, that adding in the coalition element just makes soldiers that much more prepared for future missions.
“Very seldom will we deploy upon our own, we’ll always engage with our partners in coalition efforts. When we respond to the emergencies of the world, we’ll do it with our partner nations,” he said. “All of those emergencies require that you come together as team quickly and you can only do that if you practice and rehearse before the event.”
Miller said this is the first time that the National Guard has provided the majority of the U.S. support to the event, and that the Guard members have exceeded all expectations.
…
====
Russian UN Envoy Decries Double Standards On Conflicts
http://en.rian.ru/world/20110923/167053528.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
September 23, 2011
Double standards inadmissible in conflict prevention – Russian envoy to UN
UNITED NATIONS: There is no place for double standards, dictated by the political situation or preferences of any countries, in conflict prevention, the Russian envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday.
“Why are efforts to get political process and national dialogue underway made in respect to some countries, like Yemen, and sanctions are adopted against other countries’ authorities and the opposition there is set for confrontation?” Vitaly Churkin said at a UN Security Council session.
“The experience of Iraq and Libya shows that ultimately only nations themselves can determine the fate of their countries, while exterior armed intervention in domestic conflicts creates the risk that the antagonism spiral will uncoil in certain parts of the world,” Churkin said.
The Russian envoy suggested that a complex strategy be developed to prevent the reasons for conflicts and ensure long-term political stability and economic development.
====
State Department Officials Headed To South Caucasus
http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/azerbaijan/1935892.html
Trend News Agency
September 23, 2011
U.S. top officials to discuss regional stability in Baku
V. Zhavoronkova
Baku: Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Eric S. Rubin will travel to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia on Oct. 16-22, the Information Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Baku Keith Bean told Trend.
Moreover, the Director of the Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Justin Friedman, will travel to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia from Sept.28 until Oct.8.
During the trip, the top officials will meet with the government officials and civil society leaders to discuss bilateral issues, as well as issues related to regional peace and stability.
During their stay in Azerbaijan, Rubin and Friedman will discuss the U.S.-Azerbaijan bilateral relations, stressing the strategic and shared interests underlying bilateral cooperation in security, energy and democratic reform.
====
European Union To Finalize Plans For Trans-Caspian Pipeline
http://en.trend.az/capital/energy/1935711.html
Trend News Agency
September 23, 2011
Negotiations to lay Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline scheduled for October
A. Akhundov
Baku: The European Union’s talks with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the project of laying a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline will begin in October, European External Action Service (EEAS) Director for Eastern Partnership Gunnar Wiegand told journalists in Baku.
“This project is important both in terms of diversification of energy resources import routes by the EU, and in terms of diversification of export routes for Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan,” Wiegand said.
…
Earlier, the EU adopted a mandate to start negotiations with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline. It caused dissatisfaction with Russia and Iran, who are against the construction of gas pipelines on the Caspian Sea.
…
====
Saudi Arabia Calls For “Liberation” Of Nagorno-Karabakh
http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=155760
Azeri Press Agency
September 23, 2011
Saudi Deputy Minister: “The occupied territories must be liberated unconditionally because it is a right of Azerbaijan”
Parvin Abbasov
Baku: Chairman of the Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Work with Religious Associations Hidayat Orujov met with Saudi Arabian Under Secretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da’wah and Guidance Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Ammar and Saudi Ambassador to Azerbaijan Fahad bin Ali Al-Dawsari, the press service of the State Committee told APA.
…
Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Ammar said Saudi Arabia has an unchanged and univocal position on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. He said the occupied territories of Azerbaijan must be liberated unconditionally because it is a right of Azerbaijan and “truth will triumph”.
====
Belarus-Russia Drills Prelude To CSTO Air Defense System
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/231304.html
Itar-Tass
September 22, 2011
Belarus-RF drilled air defence may turn in CSTO joint air defence
THE FIRING RANGE ASHULUK (Astrakhan region): A unique air defence system, which was created at the joint operative military exercises between the Armed Forces of Russia and Belarus, may become a prototype of a joint air defence system of the CSTO countries, Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Thursday.
“The military exercises at the Ashuluk firing range are unique that a multilayer air defence system was created and tested. This air defence system is made up of modern combat systems S-400, S-300, Tor, Pantsir and Buk,” the minister said after the Russian-Belarusian military exercises on Thursday.
Under the scenario of the exercises, “cruise missiles, airplanes and ballistic targets of the mockup enemy were seeking” to break through this multilayer air defence system, the minister said. “Amid strong radioelectronic jams all attacks were rebuffed thanks to qualified actions of the combat teams. The air defence system created at the military exercises may turn into a prototype of a future joint CSTO air defence system,” Serdyukov underlined.
====
NATO Loses Drone In Northwestern Afghanistan
http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/09/23/isaf-drone-crashes-sar-i-pul
Pajhwok Afghan News
September 23, 2011
ISAF drone crashes in Sar-i-Pul
By Yaqub Ali Madani
KABUL: An unmanned International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) plane crashed in the Suzma Qala district of northwestern Sar-i-Pul province, officials said on Friday.
…Police visited the area and saw parts of the aircraft, according to Inayatullah Azizi, the district police head.
With the NATO-led force yet to comment on the incident, the Taliban claimed shooting down the aerial vehicle, the first to crash in the province.
====
Russia Warns Against Turkey-Cyprus Conflict
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/21/56470613.html
Voice of Russia
September 23, 2011
Moscow calls on Cyprus and Turkey to avoid any sharp steps – Lavrov
Moscow calls on Cyprus and Turkey to avoid any actions which might aggravate the situation in relations between the two countries. This was announced Tuesday in New York by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov emerging from talks with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias.
“In the context of geological prospecting works on the shelf in the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus, our position is based on international law. The issue should be addressed within the legal framework of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea dated 1982,” Lavrov said.
The U.S. company Noble Energy has begun exploratory drilling in the Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus’ southern coast in search of hydrocarbons. Ankara responded saying the move could destabilize the situation in the region, reports ITAR-TASS.
====
Ahmadinejad Criticizes U.S. And NATO Policy Of Perpetrating Wars
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2011/09/23/371083.htm
Syrian Arab News Agency
September 23, 2011
Ahmadinejad Criticizes US and NATO Policy in Perpetrating Wars
R. Raslan/ al-Ibrahim
NEW YORK: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday criticized US and NATO policy in perpetrating wars, indicating the catastrophic situation of the Iraqi and Afghani people under occupation.
The Iranian News Agency (IRNA) quoted President Ahmadinejad in his speech at the UN General Assembly as saying that it is not allowed to undermine the UN position and turn it into a tool for certain parties.
The Iranian President raised questions about the powers behind imposing colonialism for over four centuries, triggering the First and Second World Wars, occupying land and imposing Zionism and over sixty years of war, homelessness, terror and mass murder on the Palestinian people and on countries of the region.
Ahmadinejad condemned the US use of nuclear weapons against innocent people, and its stockpiling thousands of warheads in arsenals.
He pointed out that Washington used the September 11 incidents as a pretext to attack Afghanistan and Iraq, killing, injuring, and displacing millions with the ultimate goal of bringing into its domination the Middle East and its oil resources.
What is the justification for the presence of hundreds of US military and intelligence bases in different parts of the world other than military occupation, President Ahmadinejad asks.
Some parties look for their progress and prosperity through destroying other countries and spreading poverty. They use power, proclaim themselves the custodians of all governments and abuse the international law. They weaken countries through military intervention and destroy their infrastructures in order to plunder their resources by making them all the more dependent, he said.
On September 11 attacks, Ahmadinejad said that “instead of assigning a fact-finding team, the US Administration killed the main perpetrator and threw his body into the sea.”
“Would it not have been reasonable to bring him to trial in order to identify the elements behind the safe space provided for the invading aircraft to attack the twin world trade towers!”, President Ahmadinejad concluded.
====
Why Are NATO Countries So Nervous About Iran?
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/23/56623477.html
Voice of Russia
September 23, 2011
Why is the West so nervous about Ahmadinejad?
Boris Volkhonsky, senior research fellow, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies
-When Mr. Cameron mentioned “violent prevention of demonstrations” and “detention and torture of those who argue for a better future,” should he not have put a mirror in front of himself? After Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons any mention of torture by a Western leader sounds at least dubious.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech WAS blunt, which was, at the same time, its weakest and strongest point. But isn’t it the blunt truth that is really getting on the Western leaders’ nerves?
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, as usual, sparked a mass walkout. 30 delegations including those of the U.S. and all European Union members left the audience in a demonstration of protest. This has not been the first incident of the kind – last year the U.S. delegation also left the General Assembly during Ahmadinejad’s speech. And taking into account that his presidential term ends in two years this is likely not to be the last occasion of the kind.
What angered the Western diplomats?
In his speech, Ahmadinejad called the West, primarily the U.S., arrogant powers, questioned their ability to “run or govern the world”, also questioned whether Islamist terrorists were behind the 9/11 attacks, called for scrapping the “prevailing world order” – including the U.N. Security Council as currently structured – in favor of a more evenly balanced system, and condemned military crackdowns on all those who do not succumb to the West’s pressure.
“Can the flower of democracy blossom from NATO’s missiles, bombs and guns?” asked Iranian President addressing an almost half-empty audience hall.
Later, in an interview to Associated Press, Mr. Ahmadinejad further elaborated on some theses of his speech. He accused the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, of being in the pocket of the U.S. and actually being guilty of the murder of three Iranian nuclear scientists allegedly killed by Israel-trained agents.
He also expressed doubts that two planes alone could bring down the WTC twin towers on September 11, 2001, and lashed at the U.S. policies across the Middle East – from Libya to Afghanistan.
At the same time, the Iranian President said that it was not too late for the U.S. president Barack Obama to fulfill his pre-election promises and improve ties with Iran.
Western powers were quick to react.
The spokesman for the US mission at the United Nations Mark Kornblau condemned Ahmadinejad’s remarks. “Mr Ahmadinejad had a chance to address his own people’s aspirations for freedom and dignity, but instead he again turned to abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and despicable conspiracy theories,” he said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, addressing the U.N. General Assembly just minutes after Ahmadinejad’s speech and the Western walkout, derided Mr. Ahmadinejad probably as fiercely as the latter had criticized the West.
“He (Ahmadinejad – B.V.) didn’t remind us that he runs a country where they may have elections of a sort but they also repress freedom of speech, do everything they can to avoid the accountability of a free media, violently prevent demonstrations and detain and torture those who argue for a better future,” said British Premier.
Further on, he called on the U.N. to be more prepared to take action against oppressive regimes.
In fact, the whole dispute has not demonstrated anything in any way new. The war of words between the West and Iran has been going on for years. Lately, the West resorted to the language of sanctions, but stopped short of a direct intervention in order to protect “those who argue for a better future.” Everyone understands that however strong the West’s desire for a regime change in Iran might be, such intervention would be disastrous and ruinous for both the attacker and the attacked country. Hence, both sides keep on balancing on the brink of a direct confrontation, never crossing the “red line”.
But certain things need commenting.
First, until now, there has not been a conclusive and comprehensive explanation of how the twin towers actually collapsed 10 years ago and who exactly, apart from the half-mythical Al Qaeda, operated and orchestrated the attacks. What angers the West, is the simple fact that somebody raises such questions contradicting the counter-myth created by the Western special services and media. And if this someone is the leader of a state only recently labeled as “rogue”, this only adds to the anger.
Second. When Mr. Cameron mentioned “violent prevention of demonstrations” and “detention and torture of those who argue for a better future,” should he not have put a mirror in front of himself? After Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons any mention of torture by a Western leader sounds at least dubious.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech WAS blunt, which was, at the same time, its weakest and strongest point. But isn’t it the blunt truth that is really getting on the Western leaders’ nerves?
====
Virgil: Age of peace
====
Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Greek and Roman writers on war and peace
====
Virgil
Eclogue IV
Translated by A. S. Kline
Pollio
Muses of Sicily, let me sing a little more grandly.
Orchards and humble tamarisks don’t please everyone:
if I sing of the woods, let the woods be fit for a Consul.
Now the last age of the Cumaean prophecy begins:
the great roll-call of the centuries is born anew:
now Virgin Justice returns, and Saturn’s reign:
now a new race descends from the heavens above.
Only favour the child who’s born, pure Lucina, under whom
the first race of iron shall end, and a golden race
rise up throughout the world: now your Apollo reigns.
For, Pollio, in your consulship, this noble age begins,
and the noble months begin their advance:
any traces of our evils that remain will be cancelled,
while you lead, and leave the earth free from perpetual fear.
He will take on divine life, and he will see gods
mingled with heroes, and be seen by them,
and rule a peaceful world with his father’s powers.
And for you, boy, the uncultivated earth will pour out
her first little gifts, straggling ivy and cyclamen everywhere
and the bean flower with the smiling acanthus.
The goats will come home themselves, their udders swollen
with milk, and the cattle will have no fear of fierce lions:
Your cradle itself will pour out delightful flowers:
And the snakes will die, and deceitful poisonous herbs
will wither: Assyrian spice plants will spring up everywhere.
And you will read both of heroic glories, and your father’s deeds,
and will soon know what virtue can be.
The plain will slowly turn golden with tender wheat,
and the ripe clusters hang on the wild briar,
and the tough oak drip with dew-wet honey.
Some small traces of ancient error will lurk,
that will command men to take to the sea in ships,
encircle towns with walls, plough the earth with furrows.
Another Argo will arise to carry chosen heroes, a second
Tiphys as helmsman: there will be another War,
and great Achilles will be sent once more to Troy.
Then when the strength of age has made you a man,
the merchant himself will quit the sea, nor will the pine ship
trade its goods: every land will produce everything.
The soil will not feel the hoe: nor the vine the pruning hook:
the strong ploughman too will free his oxen from the yoke:
wool will no longer be taught to counterfeit varied colours,
the ram in the meadow will change his fleece of himself,
now to a sweet blushing purple, now to a saffron yellow:
scarlet will clothe the browsing lambs of its own accord.
‘Let such ages roll on’ the Fates said, in harmony,
to the spindle, with the power of inexorable destiny.
O dear child of the gods, take up your high honours
(the time is near), great son of Jupiter!
See the world, with its weighty dome, bowing,
earth and wide sea and deep heavens:
see how everything delights in the future age!
O let the last days of a long life remain to me,
and the inspiration to tell how great your deeds will be:
Thracian Orpheus and Linus will not overcome me in song,
though his mother helps the one, his father the other,
Calliope Orpheus, and lovely Apollo Linus.
Even Pan if he competed with me, with Arcady as judge,
even Pan, with Arcady as judge, would account himself beaten.
Little child, begin to recognise your mother with a smile:
ten months have brought a mother’s long labour.
Little child, begin: he on whom his parents do not smile
no god honours at his banquets, no goddess in her bed.
Updates on Libya war/Stop NATO news: September 22, 2011
====
Pentagon, NATO Plot “Next Steps” In Libya
Endless War Against Libya: 23,474 NATO Sorties, 8,795 Strike Sorties
Bolivia’s Morales Sees Oil, Greed Behind NATO Mission In Libya
Ghana: 24 US/NATO Hands Off Libya, Hands Off Africa Members Arrested
U.S., NATO Allies To Shower $23 Billion On Libyan Clients
Obama’s Speech To UN Outrages Palestinians
U.S. To Provide F-16s To Iraq, Keep Military Trainers In Country: Foreign Minister
Northrop Wins Missile Defense Agency’s Precision Tracking Space System Bid
Turkish Opposition: NATO Missile Radar Part Of Shield For Israel
U.S. Drones Kill Ten As Yemen Heads Toward Civil War
Pakistan Lodges Complaint At UN Against Drone Attacks
Pan-Albanian Separatists Spread Kosovo Unrest To South Serbia
Romanian President On NATO-Russia Armed Conflict Over Moldova, Transdniester
China Protests New U.S. Arms Sales To Taiwan
Cross-Strait Stability Under Shadow Of U.S. Arms Sales
Russia To Refit Nuclear Missile Cruisers
U.S. Air Force’s Expanding NATO-European-African-Asian Nexus
U.S. Military Targets Africa: Interview
Pentagon Building Secret Bases In Indian Ocean, Horn Of Africa
Troubling News From Africa: AFRICOM Hatches New Operations
850 U.S.-Trained Mongolian Troops Headed To South Sudan
Contra Russia, Iran: Azerbaijan And “Europe’s Energy Security”
NATO Boosts Cyberwarfare Investments, Launches Multinational Effort
====
Pentagon, NATO Plot “Next Steps” In Libya
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=65395
U.S. Department of Defense
September 20, 2011
Panetta Begins Next-step Discussions with NATO Partners
By Cheryl Pellerin
WASHINGTON: As Operation Unified Protector winds down in Libya, the Defense Department and its NATO partners have had early discussions about future roles in that embattled nation, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said today.
Panetta briefed reporters here along with Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Our view is that this mission went well [and] that the role that NATO performed there was the right one,” Panetta said.
…
In the meantime, Panetta said, four military personnel arrived in Libya last week to help the State Department assess damage to the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.
“Within the last few days, we’ve deployed another 12,” the secretary said, to try to reopen the embassy “within the next few weeks…
As to NATO’s future role there, “that’s something we’re going to be discussing with NATO as we see events unfold in Libya,” Panetta said, adding that he’s begun discussions with his NATO partners, “trying to decide … what should be the next steps.”
Mullen met with the NATO chiefs of defense over the weekend. “A number of them went out of their way to thank the United States for the support to enable them to be able to succeed to this point,” he said.
“The decision was made, obviously, to put us in a support role,” Mullen said. “That was, clearly, critical.”
NATO, he added, is “a critical alliance, has been, is and will be for the future.”
In New York today, at the first meeting of the “Friends of Libya,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO is committed to continuing its mission in Libya for as long as [it sees fit].
…
“The days of the former regime are clearly numbered,” Rasmussen said. “The recent positive developments in Libya are irreversible.”
He also welcomed the adoption of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2009, which establishes a U.N. mission in Libya, according to NATO…
“Our operation has been a success,” Rasmussen said.
“Allies and partners [Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Morocco, Sweden, Malta, etc.] alike have made a difference by mounting a complex operation in very little time…,” he said.
====
Endless War Against Libya: 23,474 NATO Sorties, 8,795 Strike Sorties
http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110922_110922-oup-update.pdf
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
September 22, 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, 06.00GMT) a total of 23,474 sorties, including 8,795 strike sorties, have been conducted.
Sorties conducted 21 SEPTEMBER: 124
Strike sorties conducted 21 SEPTEMBER: 44
…
====
Bolivia’s Morales Sees Oil, Greed Behind NATO Mission In Libya
Talk Radio News
September 21, 2011
Bolivia’s Morales Sees Oil, Greed Behind NATO Mission In Libya
Evo Morales, Bolivia’s socialist president, says NATO’s intervention in Libya is an act of “imperialism” motivated by the West’s desire to control natural resources.
In a press conference ahead of his address to the UN General Assembly this afternoon, Morales argued that the NATO bombing campaign against forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was part of a new strategy deployed by capitalist countries.
“They are trying to overcome their financial problems by whatever means [necessary to control] the natural resources of other countries.” he told reporters.
Morales says NATO and the UN Security Council’s refusal to intervene in the Israel-Palestine crisis – a conflict he maintains is comparable to that of Libya, without the important oil reserves –is evidence of the West’s double standard for military intervention.
“There have been efforts in Libya to remove the government, drop bombs,” he said “And what about in Palestine, where is NATO? Where Palestine is concerned where is the Security Council?”
Morales said he was disappointed by President Brack Obama’s opening remarks at the General Assembly.
“I see a double standard on the part of President Obama which is disappointing. He talked about lasting peace, durable peace – but that can’t be through [American] bases or military intervention.”
President Morales also referred to the America’s failure to move forward on the Kyoto Protocols and the continued existence of a large US nuclear arsenal as evidence that the American President was insincere in his commitment to climate change and nuclear disarmament.
====
Ghana: 24 US/NATO Hands Off Libya, Hands Off Africa Members Arrested
http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201109/73356.php
Joy Online
September 22, 2011
‘24 arrested demonstrators still in BNI custody’
Isaac Essel
-“The number of police officers they brought to effect the arrest, the water cannons, the armour tanks and those things that they brought, show you that the excuse they gave that because they are stretched in terms of manpower was not true….US/NATO bombardment of Libya is a bombardment of Ghana.”
Members of the US/NATO Hands off Libya, Hands off Africa Coalition whose procession was quelled by the police have denied reports that 24 of their members arrested on Wednesday have been released.
The coalition comprising some CPP youth, members of the Socialist Forum and the All African Revolutionary Party chose Dr Kwame Nkumah’s birthday which fell on Wednesday to protest the US/NATO bombardment of Libya.
Midway through their demonstration, the group clashed with the police who said the group had defied a court order against the demonstration, which led to the arrest of the 24.
Although earlier reports suggested that they have been released, a member of the coalition, Grandfather Ayitomeka, confirmed to Joy FM that the people were still being kept under detention at the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
“I am in the company of lawyers, we are heading to the BNI headquarters as we speak now, so what the police said [that the people have been released] was not true,” he told sit-in host of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Bernard Saibu on Thursday morning.
The police, who claimed they would be overstretched on the planned date, secured a prohibition order from court to stop the demonstration.
But Grandfather suspected foul play on the part of the Accra regional police command, saying their claim should be taken with a pinch of salt.
“The prohibition notice was served when they went to arrest the people…they got this prohibition order on the 16th of this very month. Five clear days, they kept it under locked and keyed, they have never served the group, never…they should prove to us [if they served us the notice].”
He said that as law-abiding people they would not have embarked on the demonstration if the police had served them with the notice.
“This is why we are suspicious of certain underhand motives; we are highly suspicious.”
He further noted: “The number of police officers they brought to effect the arrest, the water cannons, the armour tanks and those things that they brought, show you that the excuse they gave that because they are stretched in terms of manpower was not true.”
Grandfather further alleged that the action by the police “smacks of some ill motives on the part of the regional police commander”.
He explained that the demonstrators had a genuine cause for taking to the streets.
“US/NATO bombardment of Libya is a bombardment of Ghana,” Grandfather maintained, and enumerated the huge amount Ghana had spent to evacuate its nationals from Libya and other effects on the nation, adding “the war in Libya directly impact on the Ghanaians”.
====
U.S., NATO Allies To Shower $23 Billion On Libyan Clients
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1935388.html
Trend News Agency/Deutsche Presse-Agentur
September 22, 2011
New Libyan rulers to enjoy an unexpected windfall of assets
A. Isgandarov
-On February 25, 2011, President Obama signed an executive order declaring such an emergency with respect to Libya, finding that…the risk that Libyan state assets would be misappropriated…undermined Libya’s security and stability, constituting an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
Baku: Libya’s future rulers will be able to enjoy an unexpected windfall of 23 billion dollars worth of assets which were unspent by the regime of Moamer Gaddafi, dpa cited the Financial Times.
The unspent assets were found in Libyan state coffers this month, said the FT, quoting officials in Tripoli and London.
“These are internal assets found on the Central bank of Libya balance sheet that should put them in gravy until well into next year. It takes the pressure off them to get overseas assets unfrozen,” a British official told the FT.
For Libya’s new rulers, it was “the equivalent of discovering several billion dollars under the mattress,” the official added. The find would come close to doubling the domestic assets which have hitherto been estimated at 25 billion dollars.
Much of Libya’s estimated 160 billion dollars of foreign assets remains frozen under sanctions imposed against the Gaddafi regime.
On February 25, 2011, President Obama signed an executive order declaring such an emergency with respect to Libya, finding that…the risk that Libyan state assets would be misappropriated…undermined Libya’s security and stability, constituting an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
The president ordered a freeze on “all property and interests in property” of the government of Libya, its agencies, instrumentalities, controlled entities, and the Central Bank of Libya in the United States or otherwise in the custody or control of U.S. persons. (The order also blocked the assets of certain individuals.)
…
====
Obama’s Speech To UN Outrages Palestinians
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/22/c_131154562.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 22, 2011
Obama’s speech to UN outrages Palestinians
by Emad Drimly, Saud Abu Ramadan
RAMALLAH: Palestinians expressed on Thursday outrage and protest against U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, accusing him of defending Israel and neglecting Palestinians’ rights.
Dozens of Palestinian youths demonstrated in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday in protest of the speech of Obama, who had clearly opposed the Palestinian intention to submit a request to the UN Security Council for a full UN membership of an independent Palestinian state.
In a meeting between Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in New York early Thursday, Obama informed Abbas that the United States would veto the Palestinian request, while Abbas tried to convince Obama that the bid for a statehood is not an alternative to peace negotiations.
The demonstrators waved Palestinian flags in Ramallah and held banners with slogans accusing Obama of being biased in favor of Israel.
Issam Bakker, spokesman of a West Bank-based organization, told Xinhua that the U.S. attitude towards the Palestinian cause and their decision to get a state “shows the clear American bias to the Israeli occupation.”
In the northern West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian demonstrators protested against Obama’s speech and considered him “a partner with Israel in keeping the military occupation of the Palestinian territories going on.”
They called on the world “to give the Palestinians their freedom and independence.”
Amjad Abu Ra’ed, member of the Palestinian government employees’ union, said the union decided to go on a one-day strike in all ministries of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in protest of Obama’s biased speech.
Female demonstrators, members of the Palestinian Democratic Union Party (Feda), also waved Palestinian flags in the city and carried banners calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and rejecting Obama’s speech “which was a slap in the face of the Statue of Liberty in NY.”
Amal Hamad, a member of the Feda party who joined the demonstration in Nablus, said that “the Palestinian people have a consensus of rejecting Obama’s speech and the way how he was so biased to Israel, which denies our legitimate rights and carries out aggressive practices against us.”
In his speech, Obama said the Palestinians deserve a Palestinian state, but this can only be achieved through the talks with Israel. He also said he is convinced that there is no short way to end the conflict going on for decades and that peace can’t be made through speeches and resolutions in the United Nations.
Qais Abdul Karim, a leading member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and member of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations, slammed Obama’s speech, saying that “he neglected the rights of the Palestinians in gaining freedom and getting rid of the occupation.”
On Wednesday, the Palestinian presidency also slammed Obama’s speech. It said in a statement that the Palestinians would only be able to resume talks with Israel if the latter halts settlement construction and accepts an international reference for peace and the two-state principle.
Meanwhile, Reyad al-Malki, the PNA minister of foreign affairs, told Xinhua in an interview from New York that Obama’s speech “was unilateral,” adding that “we knew in advance Obama’s stance, but the surprise was that his speech was one-sided and was part of his election campaign addressed to Americans.”
Palestinian President Abbas’ Fatah Party said in a statement emailed to reporters that Obama’s speech “was very much disgusting and a withdrawal from his earlier oath he made. It was clear that he was under a heavy pressure of the Jewish lobby in the United States.”
“It was clearly understood from Obama’s speech that the Palestinian leadership, which earned the support of all the Palestinians, Arab nations and the world, was right to go to the UN and demand an independent Palestinian State,” said the Fatah statement.
Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman of the Hamas movement in Gaza, said in a statement sent to reporters that the U.S. president gives the Israeli occupation another opportunity “to continue its project of establishing the racist Jewish state on the lands of Palestine.”
The left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also issued a statement slamming Obama’s speech. Its central committee member Abdel Hamid Abu Jayab said in the statement that the slogans in favor of democracy and human rights chanted by Obama to the world “are just lies.”
====
U.S. To Provide F-16s To Iraq, Keep Military Trainers In Country: Foreign Minister
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1935215.html
Trend News Agency
September 22, 2011
FM: Iraq needs U.S. military trainers
A. Isgandarov
Baku: Iraq still needs U.S military trainers, even after the U.S troops’ withdrawal from the country by the end of the year, Al Jazeera quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying.
“Discussions are underway over signing a new agreement on military training between the U.S. and Iraq, as Iraq plans to buy F-16 multirole fighter aircraft and other U.S weaponry.
…
====
Northrop Wins Missile Defense Agency’s Precision Tracking Space System Bid
Northrop Grumman Corporation
September 21, 2011
Northrop Grumman Receives Systems Engineering Contract for Missile Defense Agency’s Precision Tracking Space System
REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – Northrop Grumman Corporation has received a contract from the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), a division of The Johns Hopkins University, to perform manufacturing and production readiness systems engineering for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Precision Tracking Space System (PTSS).
The company is one of six contractors selected by APL for the PTSS Integrated Systems Engineering Team (ISET). Northrop Grumman is working with APL in Laurel, Md., and other ISET member companies on systems engineering activities for the future space-borne sensor of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) designed to track ballistic missiles shortly after launch and through midcourse.
“As prime contractor for the MDA’s Space Tracking and Surveillance System demonstration program, we bring extensive systems engineering and integration experience in midcourse missile tracking to PTSS ISET,” said Doug Young, vice president, missile defense and warning, for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector in Redondo Beach.
“The STSS satellites currently are participating in integrated BMDS testing, meeting all test objectives and providing significant risk reduction for a future missile defense operational constellation,” he added.
…
The [Missile Defense Agency] said a system requirements review was completed in March 2011, and that a preliminary design review is scheduled for fall 2012. Launch of the first two development satellites is planned for 2016.
…
This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, http://www.globenewswire.com
====
Turkish Opposition: NATO Missile Radar Part Of Shield For Israel
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=79206
Cihan News Agency
September 21, 2011
Turkey’s CHP calls NATO radar “shield for Israel’, plans protests
-”This is not a two sided agreement. This is entirely oriented towards NATO, this is a NATO program. The agreement was not made a subject of negotiation with Turkey.”
Calling the plans for a radar in the Kürecik district of Malatya province a “shield for Israel,” CHP [Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi/Republican People's Party] leaders are planning to hold protests throughout the country this week in an attempt to raise controversy over the government’s recent agreement with NATO.
The CHP’s opposition to the plan has been spearheaded by the stiff words of CHP chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who has accused the prime minister of kowtowing to NATO and signing a deal that would share the radar’s strategic data with Israel. Kılıçdaroğlu recently promised protests throughout 81 provinces and vowed support for a referendum on the issue through the party’s Kürecik chapter.
A long debate, at home and abroad
The newest controversy over the site is just one chapter in a now lengthy debate, throughout which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to assuage fears over NATO plans at home while negotiating terms for the radar abroad.
Erdoğan has faced particularity strong criticism from Kılıçdaroğlu, who in a press conference stated, “The intelligence that the radar will provide will be used for Israel’s defense.” Elaborating on his belief that information sharing was part of the agreement, he asked rhetorically, “Who is saying this? American officials themselves.”
…
Kılıçdaroğlu has also criticized the government for supposedly stepping in line with NATO orders without substantial debate. “This is not a two sided agreement,” the chairman said as he answered questions from reporters. “This is entirely oriented towards NATO, this is a NATO program. The agreement was not made a subject of negotiation with Turkey.”
…
Controversy over Kürecik
Amidst a nationally escalating campaign to resist the proposal, the CHP has also been busy rallying the residents of Kürecik. Head of the CHP Malatya branch Veli Ağbaba has denounced the agreement and demanded that the radar plan be put up for referendum. On Wednesday, Ağbaba raised further alarm bells by stating that the site might make the community a target for missiles and could even expose residents to heightened cancer risk.
NATO has long viewed the radar installation as crucial to expanding its defense strategy in Eastern Europe. According to the NATO plan, missile interceptors in Romania and Poland combined with the radar in Turkey will create a broad system of protection for every NATO country against mid-range missile attacks.
====
U.S. Drones Kill Ten As Yemen Heads Toward Civil War
http://www.arabmonitor.info/news/dettaglio.php?idnews=34838&lang=en
Arab Monitor
September 21, 2011
US drones kill at least 10 while Yemen’s conflict heads toward civil war
Sanaa: Yemeni Republican Guards shelled districts of the capital held by defected armed forces, the Yemeni First Armoured Brigade commanded by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar as well as the Brigade’s headquarters located near the central Change (former Tahrir) Square, where demonstrations against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government are taking place. At least nine people are reported killed today by Republican Guards – the Yemeni special forces trained by US experts and commanded by President Saleh’s son Ahmed – during their shelling of a funeral.
Abdul Latif al-Zayani, the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council, wrapped up his mediation efforts and left Yemen today saying neither the Saleh camp nor that of al-Ahmar were ready for any agreement to prevent the conflict from escalating toward civil war. The other international mediator, UN envoy Jamal Benomar, said he would remain in Yemen and continue his efforts to reach a consensus between the two camps.
Meanwhile in southern Yemen US drones carried out two air raids on the town of Al-Mahfad in the Abyan province and two more on the village of Shaqra killing at least ten people, allegedly members of the al-Qaeda network. Late on Tuesday, the Washington Post said that the United States is building an array of secret new drone bases on the Arabian peninsula and in Djibuti to conduct strikes against al-Qaeda targets in Somalia and Yemen.
====
Pakistan Lodges Complaint At UN Against Drone Attacks
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C09%5C20%5Cstory_20-9-2011_pg7_2
Associated Press of Pakistan
September 20, 2011
Pakistan to lodge complaint with UN against drones
* Human Rights Ministry decides to file an official complain to Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
ISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Ministry (HRM) has decided to take up the matter of drone attacks with the United Nations under international humanitarian law and file an official complain to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Addressing a media briefing on Monday, Adviser to Prime Minister Mustafa Nawaz Khokar said the matter would be discussed with all stakeholders of the government. After taking them on board an official complain will be lodged.
He categorically made it clear that drone strikes are not acceptable. He said so far the debate has only circled around loss of collateral damage and not about the specific legislation of the strikes in the light of international humanitarian law (law of war).
He explained that apart from being in violation of Pakistan’s territorial sovereignty, there was growing consensus among international law experts that these strikes can be aptly described as “Target Killing”, or “Extrajudicial Killing” primarily because the targets are being ‘taken out’ without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law.
This view is gaining ground in the international legal fraternity and is supported by various international treaties as well as the United States’ own constitution.
Giving a brief description of the history of drone attacks, Mustafa Khokar said the first drone attack was struck at Jordan and the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings took serious notice and conveyed to the government of the US an explanation of their position in this regard. He opined that military action should be proportionate.
Mustafa mentioned that one does not have to be a legal expert to see that there is blatant disregard of international law, customary law, treaties and conventions by the American administration.
Moral and legal obligations are being flouted by the US administration, he said, adding that a complaint regarding drone attacks has already been lodged with the US several times but unfortunately it had not proved fruitful and the HRM has decided to take up this matter with UN.
Mustafa Khokar further said that a photo exhibition would start in London on Tuesday (today) titled “Gaming in Waziristan”, in which snapshots of drone attacks victims, including corpses of children and women, clothes, shoes and other belongings of these people would be displayed to unveil the reality in front of international forums.
The adviser said that the record of America and its allies is questionable, ranging from disrespecting environmental treaties to torturing detainees and now extrajudicial killings. He hoped that as the UN Special Rapporteur is considering the matter, Pakistan’s official communication in this regard might prove to be highly productive.
====
Pan-Albanian Separatists Spread Kosovo Unrest To South Serbia
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=132302
Sofia News Agency
September 21, 2011
Tensions Rise in Southeast Serbia as Ethnic Albanians Rally
-Back in 1999-2001, a paramilitary group called Liberation Army of Presevo, Medveda and Bujanovac modeled after the Kosovo Liberation Army was active in the region….In 2010, a poll found that a majority of the ethnic Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia were in favor of a “Greater Albania.”
Tensions in Southeastern Serbia have grown after several thousand ethnic Albanians rallied to protest against discrimination in the town of Presevo.
Residents of the three predominantly ethnic Albanian towns Presevo, Bujanovac, and Medveda took part in the rally, BGNES reported.
The demonstrators carried Albanian, US, and EU flags, and vast banners with their demands for the Serbian state authorities…
Wednesday’s demonstration is a follow-up of a rally organized in Bujanovac on September 13 that demanded the use of Albanian language by the administration and the recognition of diplomas acquired from the ethnic Albanian university in Kosovo’s capital Prishtina.
Presevo, Bujanovac, and Medveda are municipalities bordering Kosovo, the ethnic Albanian republic which declared independence in 2008.
Back in 1999-2001, a paramilitary group called Liberation Army of Presevo, Medveda and Bujanovac modeled after the Kosovo Liberation Army was active in the region.
The Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac even has a Facebook fan page…
In 2010, a poll found that a majority of the ethnic Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia were in favor of a “Greater Albania.”
====
Romanian President On NATO-Russia Armed Conflict Over Moldova, Transdniester
http://www.nineoclock.ro/wikileaks-basescu-was-worried-about-possible-russian-romanian-conflict/
Nine O’Clock News
September 20, 2011
WikiLeaks: Basescu was worried about possible Russian-Romanian conflict
In a meeting with US Senator Richard Lugar on August 27, 2008 in Bucharest, President Traian Basescu voiced serious worries that Romania could have been drawn in a military conflict with Russia in Transdniester, according to a US Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks and made public by Gandul.info.
If Russia made a move in Transdniester as it did in Georgia at the beginning of August 2008, Romania would have to face “tough options,” Basescu said.
In the cable, then US Ambassador Nicholas Taubman noted that “Basescu clearly worries that Russians may trigger a similar provocation in Moldova, which would practically require a Romanian military response, with broad implications for the EU and NATO.”
====
China Protests New U.S. Arms Sales To Taiwan
http://en.rian.ru/world/20110922/167024335.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
September 22, 2011
China protests against U.S. arms sales to Taiwan
BEIJING: China expressed its “strong indignation and resolute opposition” to the new round of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Xinhua said on Thursday.
U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke was summoned to the Chinese Foreign Ministry late on Wednesday, where Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun lodged protest over the U.S. administration’s decision to sell weapons worth $5.85 billion to Taiwan.
However, the U.S. cancelled its previous decision to sell F-16C/D fighter jets to Taiwan, saying it would instead upgrade the Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets.
“China strongly urges the United States to be fully aware of the high sensitivity and serious harm of the issue, seriously treat the solemn stance of China, honor its commitment and immediately cancel the wrong decision,” Xinhua quoted Zhang Zhijun as saying.
“The wrongdoing by the U.S. side will inevitably undermine bilateral relations as well as exchanges and cooperation in military and security areas,” he said.
The deal violates three U.S.-Chinese communiques, including the August 17, 1972 joint statement in which Washington said it would gradually reduce its arms sales to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rebel region to be reunited with the mainland.
====
Cross-Strait Stability Under Shadow Of U.S. Arms Sales
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-09/22/c_131154350.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 22, 2011
Cross-Strait stability under shadow of U.S. arm sales
BEIJING: U.S. arms sales to Taiwan might not only trigger a new round of rows between two big countries but also make for tensions in the region.
More weapons being sold to Taiwan will definitely have a negative impact on cross-Strait relations, and may erode trust built up over the past three years following more than six decades of separation.
From a direct flight agreement to the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), both sides of the Strait have overcome a lot of barriers, political and economic, to create a peaceful and favorable environment since 2008.
These efforts might be undermined, however, by the shadow of a big power from across the Pacific, which has always sought to engage with Asia – claiming it has national interests here.
In the past three years, the U.S. has signed off three arm sales to Taiwan, first in October 2008, then in January 2010 and now on Wednesday.
The United States repeatedly claims that the deals are to maintain a military balance across the Strait and security of Taiwan. But there is no doubt for others that the world’s biggest arms exporter is simply doing so to ensure its political and military stake in the Taiwan Strait, and pursue economic interests from the arms sales as well.
On several occasions the Chinese mainland has argued that Taiwan has exaggerated the military threats from the mainland so to help it lobby Washington for weapons.
And, provided the different size and population, military confrontation is not an effective or correct way to balance cross-Strait relations.
With 15 pacts signed in three years, people on the two sides have proven their wisdom and capability to settle problems between them.
The two sides of the Strait need to reach a common understanding that the security can not depend on how many weapons they have but the will and resolve to maintain peace and build up trust.
====
Russia To Refit Nuclear Missile Cruisers
http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20110921/167012600.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
September 21, 2011
Russia to refit nuclear missile cruisers – media
-The ships’ armament will get a major boost, with installation of advanced multi-module missile systems capable of firing a wide range of missiles and torpedoes, including P-800 Yakhont (SS-N-26) anti-ship cruise missiles.
The ships will also receive advanced air defense missile systems based on the land-based S-400 Triumf, and new point-defense systems.
Each cruiser will have a total missile carrying capacity of 300 missiles, making the ships among the best armed in the world.
The Russian Defense Ministry is planning to refit three mothballed nuclear-powered Kirov-class missile cruisers in a major boost for the Russian Navy’s combat strength, Izvestia newspaper said on Wednesday.
The Admiral Nakhimov, Admiral Lazarev and Admiral Ushakov nuclear missile cruisers were built in the Soviet era but have been decommissioned and laid up in dock for over a decade. The only active Kirov class cruiser is the Pyotr Veliky, the flagship of Russia’s Northern Fleet.
Izvestia cited a source in the Russian defense industry as saying the overhaul would include the hull and nuclear power plant repairs as well as a significant modernization of the ships’ electronics and weaponry.
“All these measures will allow us to extend the service life of these ships until 2030-2040,” the source said.
The ships’ armament will get a major boost, with installation of advanced multi-module missile systems capable of firing a wide range of missiles and torpedoes, including P-800 Yakhont (SS-N-26) anti-ship cruise missiles.
The ships will also receive advanced air defense missile systems based on the land-based S-400 Triumf, and new point-defense systems.
Each cruiser will have a total missile carrying capacity of 300 missiles, making the ships among the best armed in the world.
After the refit, the Kirov class cruisers will most likely be deployed with Russia’s Northern and Pacific fleets as part of large task forces set up to carry out a variety of combat missions – from “hunting” the adversary’s aircraft carriers and submarines to massive land assaults.
Work on the Admiral Nakhimov has already started and the cruiser is expected to re-enter service with the Russian Navy in 2015, according to sources quoted in the media.
====
U.S. Air Force’s Expanding NATO-European-African-Asian Nexus
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123272959
U.S. Air Forces in Europe
American Forces Press Service
September 21, 2011
USAFE commander highlights US, NATO partnership
by Staff Sgt. Mareshah Haynes
-”Every year in USAFE, we conduct about 1,765 military-to-military engagement activities with air forces of Europe and Africa,” said Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, who is also the commander of the NATO Air Component Command and director of the Joint Air Power Competence Centre. “It has become the principle stay at home mission of Air Forces in Europe when we’re not helping to fight and win the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe shared his views on the evolution of the partnership between U.S. and European Airmen during the Air Force Association’s 2011 Air & Space Convention and Exposition here Sept. 20.
Since World War I and the days of the Lafayette Escadrille, and even before, Airmen have trained and fought alongside service members from other countries and that practice remains today.
“Every year in USAFE, we conduct about 1,765 military-to-military engagement activities with air forces of Europe and Africa,” said Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, who is also the commander of the NATO Air Component Command and director of the Joint Air Power Competence Centre. “It has become the principle stay at home mission of Air Forces in Europe when we’re not helping to fight and win the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Welsh explained how the U.S.-European partnership translates to expanded capabilities on the battlefield. Out of 48 coalition partner nations fighting in Afghanistan, 37 of them are European.
“The last time I was in Afghanistan, I talked to an Estonian (joint terminal attack controller) who was supporting a Czech infantry battalion,” he said. “The day before, they had been operating as perimeter security for a Bulgarian security force that was operating in support of a U.S. counter-terror task force. They called in Dutch F-16s and Polish gunships for close-air support during the mission. “
The general said the battlefield looks a lot different now in terms of the countries who are on the ground in the fight.
The partnership continues outside of the battle space and the nations pooled their resources to be more effective and efficient. One such venture is the Strategic Airlift Consortium. Twelve NATO partners purchased three C-17 Globemaster IIIs and activated the multinational C-17 Heavy Airlift Wing based in Papa, Hungary.
“The first time I went (to the HAW) I met a Bulgarian aircrew member and he talked to me about how proud he was to be in this wing,” Welsh said…
Welsh said these joint capabilities potentially could expand into other areas like tactical airlift, air refueling and remotely piloted aircraft.
…
====
U.S. Military Targets Africa: Interview
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/09/22/56540098.html
Voice of Russia
September 22, 2011
US military targets Africa
Interview with Alexander Burilkov, researcher with the GIGA, Hamburg, Germany
Ekaterina Kudashkina
What could be political implications of the use of drones?
The biggest implications are that it dramatically lowers the cost of initiating a conflict, because it removes human casualties from the equation and also makes it much easier to deploy forces in an unfriendly territory. So what you are going to see from a political standpoint is that it is going to be the same argument as it was during the 1990s about firing cruise missiles instead of sending US marines, at least in the US. So it makes it more attractive to use force because it doesn’t require to actually expend any kind of “blood and treasure,” as they say.
How efficient, do you think, has this strategy been?
It’s not so easy to say, but at least in Afghanistan and Pakistan it seems that this had some impact on the psychological level. As you can probably see, it hasn’t actually been able to impact the course of the war on a strategic level. I mean at this point NATO is talking about negotiating with the Taliban, while in Somalia and in Yemen it really hasn’t had much of an impact. It helped Ethiopian forces in Somalia to fight back against the militants but too much so. Again, it seems that this impact is rather negligible in terms of results, but rather has an impact in terms of policy-making and deciding where to use force.
Does it somehow complicate the security situation on the ground?
It can, definitely. It makes it much harder to reach out to people and engage hearts and minds that are supposed to be the ground for any kind of strategy, because you have American forces who are claiming to provide security and at the same time people on the ground see these drone strikes not just on soldiers or Taliban or whatever, but often on civilians as well, because it’s really hard to actually choose targets correctly. And when you mix that with the fact that, at least in the view of American policy-makers, it’s much cheaper to deploy these, I think you are going to see a lot of ethical problems with this in the near future, as they are applied not just in Afghanistan or in Yemen but also elsewhere.
Does it somehow complicate the objective of intelligence gathering on the ground?
It is actually something that is always a problem in American intelligence circles – their obsession with technology. So if you look at it as a question of allocating resources, it certainly will, because it is seen as an easy option, putting an eye in the sky instead of actually engaging in intelligence gathering. At the same time, if you are talking about the kind of intelligence assets that would consist of people in organizations hostile to the US, which have proven to be very useful to have, these people might be less willing to cooperate and might actually be killed themselves by accident. So this is something that doesn’t make life easier. I mean it helps but it has its limits as well.
Do I get it right that it helps in a short-term perspective but it complicates things in a longer-term perspective? Is my understanding correct?
Certainly. And I think it is going to become even more controversial in the future because now they are talking about removing humans from the equation altogether, making these drones able to pilot themselves without any kind of input and actually deciding to fire the weapons on their own. So I think this is something that is going to become quite controversial, perhaps on the level of the use of land mines in the near future.
With new bases created in such places as Somalia and Yemen, do I get it right that we are now facing a prospect of the US military expansion in Africa?
I would certainly say so, and one thing that’s unique to drones is that they actually don’t require bases to be very close, because these planes are really light and cheap. They are actually made from paper and plastic rather than any kind of metals. You can deploy them maybe a thousand kilometers from where they will actually be active. So, again, from the perspective of cost, it’s much cheaper to deploy bases that field these drones rather than conventional aircraft. So, yes, I would definitely argue that you will see more US involvement in Africa through this.
Are we actually facing a new generation of warfare?
I would certainly argue so. Robots like drones, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, an ever increasing involvement of private military companies. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see private military companies offering drones to the highest bidder in the near future. I actually think that’s happening at the moment as well. I think it’s definitely a new type of war that is outside of state control, which has never been seen before.
====
Pentagon Building Secret Bases In Indian Ocean, Horn Of Africa
Stars and Stripes
September 21, 2011
U.S. building secret Mideast region drone bases, officials say
The U.S. reliance on drones in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa is growing, with a network of clandestine bases being used to strike al-Qaida cells in Somalia and Yemen, The Washington Post reports.
…
The U.S. government is known to have carried out drone attacks against high-value targets in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.
One of the more interesting locations for these secret drone bases is the Seychelles, an Indian Ocean archipelago, the Post reported. The pilotless drones showed in an experimental mission earlier this month that it could reach Somalia from this island nation located about 800 miles to the southeast.
Leaked WikiLeaks cables revealed the presence of these secret drone bases in the Seychelles and elsewhere, the Post reports.
====
Troubling News From Africa: AFRICOM Hatches New Operations
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11264/1176224-374-0.stm
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 21, 2011
Troubling news from Africa
By Dan Simpson*
[Edited]
Africa appears to be in the process of throwing up two new alarming problems, one of them piracy on the west coast, to add to that already rampant on the east coast, and generational fracturing within South Africa’s ruling party.
A third disturbing problem is that the approach to Africa by the administration of President Barack Obama is becoming increasingly dominated by the U.S. military, in the form of the U.S. Africa Command, created in 2008 during the administration of former President George W. Bush.
AFRICOM’s latest maneuver, undoubtedly part of an effort to prevent Defense Department budget cuts in upcoming cost-trimming exercises, has been the claim of its commander, Gen. Carter F. Ham, that al-Qaida seeks to coordinate its efforts in Africa. Gen. Ham’s contention is at variance with analysis of other observers. They see the pieces of al-Qaida acting increasingly independently of each other.
Gen. Ham says that the Shabab in Somalia in East Africa, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in North Africa and Boko Haram in Nigeria present a threat to the United States as they work to coordinate their activities. He cited no evidence to support his contention.
A quick glance at the map to see the distances between the three organizations’ areas of operation, the different characters of their memberships and their greatly varying objectives make Mr. Ham’s claim, at best, in need of documentation and, at worst, an indication that he is making his own Africa policy, independent of the rest of the U.S. government.
…
The U.S. Navy should in no case become involved [in the Gulf of Guinea]. A large number of American and other nations’ ships have been unable to end or even reduce east coast piracy much. Such deployments are very expensive and the United States cannot afford them at this point. Secondly, African oil-producing nations have the resources to tackle the problem without U.S. involvement.
There might be a temptation on the part of some Americans – including the Defense Department – to see the U.S. Navy today as somehow like the British Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries as it tried to suppress the Atlantic slave trade. This isn’t that. It’s protection of oil, with no humanitarian aspect.
We also should get over any idea that we are the British Empire of our times. Think, $15 trillion in national debt. Think, government divided to the point of impotence. Think, rusted American bridges, potholed roads and understaffed schools.
…
*Dan Simpson, a former U.S. ambassador, is a Post-Gazette associate editor
====
850 U.S.-Trained Mongolian Troops Headed To South Sudan
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/21/c_131152467.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 21, 2011
Mongolia to send 850 peacekeepers to South Sudan
See:
Mongolia: Pentagon Trojan Horse Wedged Between China And Russia
ULAN BATOR: The Mongolian government would send 850 soldiers to South Sudan as peacekeepers, Mongolian Defense Minister Luvsanvandan Bold said Wednesday.
“Sending soldiers to South Sudan, which is a newly independent country with a civil war, is a matter of honor,” the minister said.
Mongolia had been engaged in U.N. peacekeeping missions since 2002 and was now seeking a bigger role in U.N. peacekeeping missions around the world, he said, adding a total of 5671 Mongolian soldiers had served in peacekeeping missions worldwide.
…
In the past, Mongolian peacekeepers had served in conflict zones such as Iraq, Sierra Leone, Chad, Sudan, Kosov0 and Afghanistan, according to the defense minister.
“The responsibilities of Mongolian soldiers are also increasing. Previously, our soldiers were guarding military bases. Now they are guarding airports,” he said.
…
The country is upgrading its military rehabilitation center, with the assistance of China and cooperating with the U.S., Germany, South Korea and Turkey, he said.
====
Contra Russia, Iran: Azerbaijan And “Europe’s Energy Security”
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/22/c_131152497.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 22, 2011
Azerbaijian plays vital role as Europe’s energy supplier
BAKU: Azerbaijan was playing an increasingly important role in Europe as a gas supplier, the president of a state-owned oil company told an annual gas conference here Wednesday.
“Azerbaijan’s role in ensuring Europe’s energy security will increase every year,” Rovnag Abdullayev, from the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), said at Gas Infrastructure World Caspian 2011.
The Umid and Absheron gas fields, which had recently been discovered by leading European gas group Gas de France, showed the Caspian region possessed rich gas reserves, which enabled Azerbaijan to meet not only its domestic demand but also exports in the coming decades, he said.
Abdullayev said the company attached great importance to diversifying its gas export routes, such as via the planned Nabucco pipeline.
“We hope negotiations with Turkey will reach a successful conclusion, which will boost the construction of a new exporting route to Europe,” the president said.
SOCAR’s annual output would grow to 30 billion cubic meters in 2017-2018 and reach 50 billion by 2025 thanks to the latest discoveries of gas in Azerbaijan.
The Central Asian country, known as the oldest oil producing region in the world, witnessed an oil boom at the beginning of the 20th century.
Abdullayev said Azerbaijan had proved reserves of about 2.5 trillion cubic meters natural gas, however, the actual reserves might be much higher.
SOCAR, the 68th largest company in the world, runs the country’s two oil refineries and oil and natural gas pipelines throughout the country.
====
NATO Boosts Cyberwarfare Investments, Launches Multinational Effort
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-8C2102D9-787AB4F4/natolive/news_78418.htm
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
September 22, 2011
NATO boosts cyber defence investments, launches multinational effort
On 20 September, NATO formally launched the procurement process for the full operational capability of NATO’s cyber defences, due to be up and running by the end of 2012, as well as a multinational project that aims to lower the costs of cyber defence for NATO Allies.
The new cyber defence capability is one of 11 priority projects agreed at NATO’s Lisbon Summit in November last year, and – at a cost of over 28 million Euro – represents nearly a tripling of the Alliance’s investment in protecting its networks, as well as a strengthened ability to support NATO member countries.
“In Lisbon, NATO Heads of State agreed on a new strategic vision of modern defence, and agreed on key supporting investments,” said Ambassador Gábor Iklódy, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges.
“Importantly, the new capabilities will also strengthen our ability to support Allies in case of cyber attacks, when requested, with improved information sharing, and strengthened rapid reaction teams.”
Industry is now being invited to submit their best-value offers for the project, with more information available on the Web site of the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A), which is the NATO agency responsible for building the new cyber defences. The project includes the provision of innovative technologies as well as operational support.
“This is a complex project, with a short deadline – end of 2012,” said Georges D’hollander, NC3A General Manager, “We have given Industry 90-days to compile their bids – thirty days longer than the minimum required period – and will be hosting a bidder’s conference within the next thirty-days.
Sharing the burden of national capability development
A workshop, held on 19 September at the NC3A Agency in Brussels, agreed a number of areas in which nations are considering to work together to share the costs of cutting-edge research and development, as well as the development of new capabilities.
Under the project, nations will work to pool their efforts in the areas of cyber defence information sharing and cyber situational awareness, with a number of other nations expressing interest in joining the effort.
…
ACT (Allied Command Transformation) is the lead driver for multinational projects in the Alliance.
“Allied Command Transformation’s vision for this initiative is to bring the NATO and national capability development activities together, to work collaboratively, to share the results“, said General Jaap Willemse, from NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT), “So the challenge to nations is: Can we, today and over the next months – work together to improve everybody’s cyber defence for the future?”
Finally, national capability development will ultimately strengthen Alliance defences.
“In the spirit of the Secretary General’s call for “smart defence” through multinational efforts, the aim is to lower the cost of and facilitate national capability development,” said Suleyman Anil, from the NATO HQ Emerging Security Challenges Division, “In the interconnected world of cyber space, we are only as strong as the weakest link.”
====
Catullus: Appalled by fratricide, gods turned from man
====
Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
Greek and Roman writers on war and peace
====
Catullus
From The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Poem 64
Translated by Thomas Banks
Often in the death-bringing struggle of war, Mars
or Minerva, ruler of the swift river Triton, or Nemesis
in person urged on the armed hordes of men.
But after the earth was stained with unspeakable crime
and all chased justice from their desirous minds,
and brothers suffused their hands with brother’s blood,
…
then all things speakable, unspeakable, jumbled in evil madness,
turned the gods’ mind of justice away from us.
Therefore they do not deign to visit such throngs
nor allow themselves to be touched by day’s bright light.
Eteocles and Polynices
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
