Updates on Libyan war/Stop NATO news: October 31, 2011
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Libya War Reaffirms Global Air Power Dominance Commitment Of “World’s Sole Superpower”
Daalder, Stavridis Hail NATO’s Unprecedented “Victory ” In Libya
Assad: Western Attack On Syria To Set Entire Region On Fire
U.S. Plans NATO Of The Persian Gulf
Iran: NATO’s Plot To Dominate Region Hatched 10 Years Ago
U.S. To Expand Military Power In Persian Gulf
Turkey: NATO Missile Radar Opponents Plan More Protests
Afghan War: NATO Loses 16 Soldiers In One Day
Germany Trains Azeri Troops For NATO’s Afghan War
U.S. Drone Attack Kills Six In Northwestern Pakistan
Imran Khan Rallies 100,000 Pakistanis Against U.S. Missile Strikes
5 Killed, 45 Wounded: Kenya Bombs Refugee Camp In Somalia
NATO Furthers Humilates Ukraine Over Integration Demands
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Libya War Reaffirms Global Air Power Dominance Commitment Of “World’s Sole Superpower”
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?
Al-Manar
October 30, 2011
Nato’s Libya Experiment Encourages US Aircraft Production
-”From humanitarian relief operations to potential regional conflicts or even global war, air power is the crucial underlying factor that helps make the United States the world’s sole superpower.”
AFP published a report Sunday in which it explained that supporters of US military dominance and air power have taken the outcome of Nato’s intervention in Libya as evidence of their position, after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had diminished their effectiveness.
Nato’s military operations in Libya that helped in ending Moammar Gaddafi’s regime yet killed many civilians along it were perceived positively by US air power advocates who considered that regardless of the growing pressure the US defense budget is under, it should invest in new fighters, bombers, tankers, and drones.
AFP quoted retired Air Force General David Deptula as saying: “if America wants to retain its military edge around the world, it has to ensure that it enjoys air dominance.”
“From humanitarian relief operations to potential regional conflicts or even global war, air power is the crucial underlying factor that helps make the United States the world’s sole superpower,” he told AFP.
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Daalder, Stavridis Hail NATO’s Unprecedented “Victory ” In Libya
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/opinion/31iht-eddaalder31.html
International Herald Tribune/New York Times
October 30, 2011
NATO’s Success in Libya
By Ivo H. Daalder and James G. Stavridis
Monday, Oct. 31st, seven months after it started, NATO’s operation in Libya will come to an end. It is the first time NATO has ended an operation it started. And it comes on the heels of an historic victory for the people of Libya who, with NATO’s help, transformed their country from an international pariah into a nation with the potential to become a productive partner with the West.
Seven months ago…NATO took command of a significant force of dozens of ships and hundreds of airplanes and commenced military operations…
This was a true alliance effort. The United States played a leading role, first by taking out Libya’s integrated air defense system, then by providing the critical enablers that allowed other NATO countries and partners to shoulder their significant share of the burden. Meanwhile the U.S. provided the vast majority of the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets to monitor Qaddafi’s forces and equipment…the targeters that turned this information into targets for NATO forces to strike, and the aerial refueling that enabled our partners to stay up long enough to locate and destroy those targets.
The crucial and irreplaceable U.S. contribution to the overall effort was to enable other allies and partners to fully participate in the operation. In all, 14 NATO members and 4 partner countries provided naval and air forces for NATO’s three missions.
Together, these 18 countries bore the heaviest brunt of the alliance effort. While U.S. planes flew a quarter of all sorties over Libya, France and Britain flew one third of all missions — most of them strikes — and the remaining participants flew roughly 40 percent. The non-U.S. NATO and coalition partners flew 75 percent of the sorties overall.
Ten years earlier, in NATO’s war in Kosovo, the United States was responsible for dropping 90 percent of all precision-guided munitions, with other allies responsible for the remaining 10 percent. In this operation, the percentages were reversed: Allies struck 90 percent of the more than 6,000 targets destroyed in Libya. And they did so with a precision that is historically unprecedented.
Importantly, this was a collective effort. France and Britain played an extraordinary part in the operation, leading the pack in providing air and naval assets and striking over 40 percent of all targets. Italy, too, made an outstanding contribution. Not only was it the fourth largest contributor to the strike mission, it was an indispensable host to hundreds of aircraft at seven airbases.
Smaller allies also punched above their weight. Denmark and Norway together destroyed as many targets as Britain; Denmark, Norway, and Belgium dropped as many bombs as France. Canada, too, was part of the strikers coalition. And Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, Greece and Romania played useful parts, enforcing the no-flight zone and arms embargo at sea. Those NATO members that didn’t contribute forces still supported the operation by staffing the command structure; not one of the 28 members balked at the challenge. Even Sweden, not a NATO member, was a crucial partner, contributing its own naval and air forces.
…Four key Arab partners — the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Morocco — participated in the effort…
As Operation Unified Protector comes to a close, the alliance and its partners can look back at an extraordinary job, well done…And as the alliance ends its operations, NATO remains committed to Libya’s future, ready to help as needed and requested.
Every operation offers lessons to be learned. The Libya operation exposed some shortfalls in allied capabilities, and highlighted the importance of allied commitments to addressing these shortfalls. It also made clear the need for like-minded partners around the world…
Demonstrable need. Regional support. A sound legal basis. These are what made intervention necessary. NATO is what made successful intervention possible.
Ivo H. Daalder is the U.S. permanent representative to NATO. Adm. James G. Stavridis is supreme allied commander, Europe, and commander of the United States European Command.
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Assad: Western Attack On Syria To Set Entire Region On Fire
http://en.rian.ru/world/20111030/168261519.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
October 30, 2011
Assad says Western action against Syria ‘could burn the whole region’
MOWCOW: Western intervention against Syria, which has been rocked with protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, could cause ‘an earthquake’ that would ‘burn the whole region,’ Assad said in an interview with The Sunday Times.
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Western countries “are going to ratchet up the pressure, definitely. But Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen. The history is different. The politics is different,” Assad told the paper.
“Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake … Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans?” he asked.
Assad said the West was nurturing plans to divide Syria.
“Any problem in Syria will burn the whole region. If the plan is to divide Syria, that is to divide the whole region,” he told the paper.
Assad admitted that “many mistakes” had been made by his forces at the early stage of the uprising, but added that only “terrorists” were now being targeted.
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U.S. Plans NATO Of The Persian Gulf
http://rt.com/news/us-military-iraq-iran-171/
Voice of Russia
October 31, 2011
US envisions NATO of the Gulf
-[W]ith Qatar and the United Arab Emirates participating in the latest NATO-led campaign against Libya, this new “security architecture” will mostly likely expand to carry out a similar function throughout the Middle East.
-[A]s the United States moves towards integrating the six states of the Gulf Co-operation Council into a security alliance that would increase both US and Saudi domination in the region, Iran could very well find itself the next victim of a US-led “humanitarian intervention.”
The end of the Iraq war will do little to sway America’s desire to strengthen its foothold in the Middle East. As the US seeks to beef up its military presence in the Persian Gulf via a NATO-style military alliance, Iran has much cause for alarm.
After eight years of fighting, one trillion in US taxpayer dollars, and 4,481 US troops killed, Barack Obama is making good on his campaign promise to pull out the last remaining troops in Iraq by the end of the year. But as regional allies believe a US reduction of troops could lead to “instability or worse,” the US is busy working out a contingency plan to keep its grip on the region.
According to a New York Times (NYT) report, the United States is seeking to “foster a new ‘security architecture’ for the Persian Gulf that would integrate air and naval patrols and missile defense.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton echoed this point recently while visiting Tajikistan:
“We will have a robust continuing presence throughout the region, which is proof of our ongoing commitment to Iraq and to the future of that region…,” she was cited by the NYT as saying.
More specifically, while the Obama administration rebuffed Iraqi requests to keep up to 20,000 US troops on the ground past the end of the year, the NYT report noted the US is currently engaged in “negotiations over maintaining a ground combat presence in Kuwait,” as well as “considering sending more naval warships through international waters in the region.”
The new plans could result in a security apparatus that would resemble NATO.
Facing close to a half trillion dollars in defense spending cuts, the Obama administration’s desire to expand military co-operation with the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – will more than likely help the US spread the burden of both intelligence-gathering and more traditional combat operations while remaining firmly behind the wheel.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior US official told the NYT: “It’s not going to be a NATO tomorrow,” but the idea is to move to a more integrated effort.”
And though it still might take some time to develop a highly complex alliance centering on collective defense for the region, with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates participating in the latest NATO-led campaign against Libya, this new “security architecture” will mostly likely expand to carry out a similar function throughout the Middle East.
‘Cut off the head of the snake’
When it comes to security in the region, few have any doubt that the target, as always, is Iran.
In a letter written to the chairman of the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, 12 Republican senators argued “the complete withdrawal of our forces from Iraq is likely to be viewed as a strategic victory by our enemies in the Middle East, especially the Iranian regime,” as cited by the NYT.
In this context, the alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington on US soil could in fact provide the justification to step up its military presence and co-operation in the region even as the war in Iraq comes to an end.
Since leaked US diplomatic cables published in 2010 by WikiLeaks revealed that Saudi King Abdullah has “frequently exhorted the US to attack Iran to put an end to its nuclear weapons program,” calls to invade Iran have only intensified among US hawks.
In the same vein, Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador to Washington and would-be victim of the highly implausible Iranian assassination plot, went on to tell General David Petraeus in April 2008 that King Abdullah wanted to “cut off the head of the snake,” as cited by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Iran has frequently called on the Gulf States to not allow the United States to divide and conquer the oil-rich Gulf.
Following revelations of the alleged assassination plot earlier this month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said:
“If the US administration is under the impression that by doing this it can create conflict between us and Saudi Arabia, then I have to say the US administration is sorely mistaken.”
He went on to state:
“The US administration is not interested in Iran or in Saudi Arabia. They see their interests in having a dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia – they want to dominate our region,” as cited by Reuters.
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[A]s the United States moves towards integrating the six states of the Gulf Co-operation Council into a security alliance that would increase both US and Saudi domination in the region, Iran could very well find itself the next victim of a US-led “humanitarian intervention.”
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Iran: NATO’s Plot To Dominate Region Hatched 10 Years Ago
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007271368
Fars News Agency
October 30, 2011
Ahmadinejad: NATO’s Plot to Dominate Region Hatched 10 Years Ago
TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned about the western countries’ long-term plans to loot the regional states’ wealth and resources, and said NATO started its plans for dominating the region 10 years ago.
“The information and reports show that NATO decided to move eastwards to occupy this region over 10 years ago,” Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with a number of Muslim world reporters and journalists in Tehran on Saturday.
“And their main goal was revising the era of colonialism under new slogans,” he added.
Ahmadinejad called on all the regional nations to keep vigilant against such plots, and differentiate “freedom-seeking, justice-seeking and independence from NATO and Zionists’ interference”.
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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast in September [recalled] the western states’ dual approach towards the developments in the region, and said while the western countries launch a military raid on Libya to guarantee future oil deals and kill scores of civilians in their strikes on the Arab state, they ignore similar popular demands in Yemen and Bahrain, “and this double-standard approach of the West is unacceptable”.
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U.S. To Expand Military Power In Persian Gulf
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/10/30/59585733.html
Itar-Tass
October 30, 2011
U.S. to enhance military presence in the Gulf
The United States is planning to enhance its military presence in the Persian Gulf after pulling its troops out of Iraq.
The New York Time quotes U.S. diplomatic sources as saying that additional rapid response units will be deployed in Kuwait in case of a worsening situation in Iraq or confrontation with Iran.
The decision followed the Iraqi government’s refusal to extend the U.S. presence in the country and to grant U.S. servicemen immunity from prosecution.
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Turkey: NATO Missile Radar Opponents Plan More Protests
Today’s Zaman
October 30, 2011
Kürecik protestors denounce NATO radar, plan further protests
İSTANBUL: Local associations and residents of the Kürecik district of Malatya province met on Saturday to denounce the planned construction of a NATO missile defense radar.
Ercan Kısacık, president of the anti-radar Kürecik Cooperation and Consultation Foundation (KYDD), announced at a press conference his concern that the radar would cause health problems for local residents, stating: “The radioactive materials [in the radar] will bring destruction to people and nature. It will poison the water and increase the rate of cancer.”
Kısacık’s words were part of a small meeting to underline local residents’ continued opposition to the radar installation, which Ankara agreed to host this September as part of a defensive “shield” meant to protect NATO countries from ballistic missiles. Opponents of the NATO radar held protests throughout October and promised that another protest would be held on Nov. 19.
The protests against the Kürecik installation have been spearheaded by Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and head of the CHP Malatya branch Veli Ağbaba, who have organized protests and demanded that the radar plan be put to a local referendum. Opponents of the radar argue that the strategic information it gathers will be shared with Israel, while government officials deny that the NATO installation will share any information with Israel, which is not a NATO country.
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Afghan War: NATO Loses 16 Soldiers In One Day
http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=158436
Azeri Press Agency
October 29, 2011
16 foreign troops killed in single day in Afghanistan
Baku: The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) experienced a bloody day in Afghanistan as the military alliance lost 16 service members on Saturday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car next to a military convoy in western Kabul at around noon, killing 13 foreign troops and four Afghans, including three civilians and a policeman, according to ISAF and Afghan official statements.
An ISAF spokesman did not identify the nationalities of the dead service members, but all the victims were reportedly Americans.
Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have claimed responsibility for the deadly suicide attack.
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In an earlier attack in southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, a man in Afghan military uniform shot dead three Australian soldiers and a local interpreter during morning training of Afghan soldiers, an Afghan army officer in the southern region General Abdul Hamid Wardak said.
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Germany Trains Azeri Troops For NATO’s Afghan War
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1951564.html
Trend News Agency
October 31, 2011
Azerbaijani, German militaries to pass military trainings
M. Aliyev
Baku: Battalion staff exercises will be carried out for Azerbaijani and German soldiers, who will take part in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported on Monday.
The trainings are scheduled for Nov. 8-16 in Berlin and will be held within the framework of bilateral military cooperation program.
Under the same program, there will be organized staff training for militaries of the air force and ground forces. The trainings scheduled for Nov. 9, 2011-to July 31, 2013.
Berlin will also host consultations at the expert level on bilateral military cooperation on Nov. 2-4.
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U.S. Drone Attack Kills Six In Northwestern Pakistan
The Nation
October 31, 2011
US drone kills six in NWA
NORTH WAZIRISTAN: As many as six suspected persons were killed in a US drone attack on a vehicle in North Waziristan Agency on Sunday.
The drone fired four missiles into a vehicle in Datta Khel tehsil, some 30 kilometers west of Miranshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan, killing six suspected people.
The sources said that the targeted vehicle was damaged completely. They said that the identity of those killed was not known.
Besides, it has also been reported that a house located nearby the site of the attack was also partially damaged in the missile strike…
Agencies add: A house was also partly destroyed in the attack, said intelligence officials.
It was unclear whether any of the six suspected militants who were killed were in the house at the time, or all in the vehicle. However, according to the locals all the slain people were peaceful tribesmen and didn’t have any connection with militancy or any such other activity.
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Imran Khan Rallies 100,000 Pakistanis Against U.S. Missile Strikes
Associated Press
October 31, 2011
Pakistani cricket legend rallies 100,000 people in significant display of political strength
ISLAMABAD: Cricket legend and opposition politician Imran Khan railed against the government and its alliance with the U.S. before more than 100,000 flag-waving supporters Sunday, establishing himself as a force in Pakistani politics.
Khan, 58, entered politics 15 years ago when he founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or the Movement for Justice Party, but up to now he has struggled to translate his fame into votes. The rally in the eastern city of Lahore indicated his message may have found new resonance at a time when Pakistanis are fed up with the country’s chronic insecurity and economic malaise.
“I have come here to register my hatred against this corrupt system,” said 29-year-old Nadeem Iqbal, who attended the rally.
A poll conducted by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center in June found Khan, the captain of Pakistan’s 1992 world champion cricket team, to be the most popular political figure in the country.
Khan’s rising popularity could be a concern for the U.S., given his harsh criticism of the Pakistani government’s cooperation with Washington…
He has been especially critical of U.S. drone strikes…The latest suspected strike killed six alleged militants Sunday.
Khan has argued that Pakistan’s alliance with the U.S. is the main reason Pakistan is facing a homegrown Taliban insurgency.
“Our leaders owned this war on terror for the sake of dollars,” Khan told the crowd assembled around the country’s most important national monument, the Minar-e-Pakistan. “Let me curse you. You sold out the blood of innocent people.”
Pakistan’s state news agency, The Associated Press of Pakistan, estimated the crowd was over 100,000 people.
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The suspected U.S. missile strike Sunday targeted a vehicle in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, said Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The U.S. refuses to acknowledge the CIA-run drone program in Pakistan, but officials have said privately that the attacks have killed many senior Taliban and al-Qaida commanders.
Pakistani officials often criticize the attacks as violations of the country’s sovereignty, but the government is widely believed to support the strikes in private. They are extremely unpopular among ordinary people who believe they mainly kill innocent civilians.
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Associated Press writer Rasool Dawar contributed to this report from Peshawar, Pakistan.
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5 Killed, 45 Wounded: Kenya Bombs Refugee Camp In Somalia
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/10/31/59642592.html
Itar-Tass
October 31, 2011
Kenya bombs refugee camp in Somalia
At least 5 people were killed and 45, mostly women and children, were wounded when Kenyan planes bombed a refugee camp in Somalia on Monday.
This information was published in the local media.
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NATO Furthers Humilates Ukraine Over Integration Demands
http://un.ua/eng/article/357833.html
Ukrainian News Agency
October 30, 2011
NATO To Consider Tymoshenko Trial When Evaluating Implementation Of Ukraine-NATO Cooperation Program For 2011
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intends to take into account the trial of former prime minister and leader of the Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Association party Yulia Tymoshenko when evaluating the implementation of the Ukraine-NATO annual national cooperation program for 2011.
James Appathurai, NATO’s deputy assistant secretary general for political affairs and security policy, announced this in an interview with the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia newspaper.
“The general secretary of NATO, through the press secretary of the organization, has expressed his disappointment at the Tymoshenko case. I think that members of the alliance will express their opinions on the implementation of ANP (annual national program), taking account of the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko,” he said.
Appathurai stressed that it was obvious that implementation of this program is not only an important priority for Ukraine, but also the basic format for development of further cooperation with NATO.
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As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Cabinet of Ministers approved an action plan for implementation of the Ukraine-NATO annual national cooperation program for in 2011 in July.
On October 11, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison for exceeding her authority during the conclusion of gas contracts with Russia in 2009.
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Everyone suffers and NATO gets away with murdering millions.