Stop NATO news: November 24, 2011
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Thanksgiving: Happy Holiday 1936, 2011
NATO Encirclement: Russia Strikes Back With Missile Warning
Chicago NATO Summit Can Be Point Of No Return For Missile Crisis
Russia’s Tough Talk On Missile Defense Reveals Impatience With U.S.
Not Even Possibility Of NATO Dialogue With Russia On Missiles: CSTO Secretary General
Russian Opposition: NATO Biggest Evil On Earth, Sack Defense Minister Over U.S. Missile Shield
Syria: France, Turkey Push Foreign Intervention
NATO, Arab Powers Ready To Impose Libya-Style No-Fly Zone Over Syria
Syria: U.S. Deploys Aircraft Carrier, NATO Prepares For War
Russia Determined Not To Repeat Libyan Scenario In Syria
Analysis: Syria Is Not Libya
NATO Air Strike Kills Seven Afghan Civilians, Six Children
Videos And Text: Kosovo Serbs Repulse Latest NATO Attack
21 NATO Soldiers Injured In Assault On Kosovo Serbs
Deputy Prime Minister: Serbia Should Prepare For War Over Kosovo
NATO Attack On Kosovo Serbs Attack On Serbia: Interior Minister
NATO Troops Launch Fresh Assault On Kosovo Serbs
Russia To Find Way To Support Kosovo Serbs: Envoy
U.S. Guided Missile Destroyer In Portugal For Antisubmarine Warfare Drills
Full Spectrum Operations: U.S. Trains Botswana Armed Forces
Pakistan: NATO Tanker Bombed, Main Road Blocked
Saakashvili: Reagan More Urgent In Georgia Than Ever Before
Georgia To Enlarge Military Budget Again
U.S. Congressman Taunts Russia On Georgia’s NATO Membership
NATO Deputy Secretary General In Azerbaijan
Pakistan To Take Up Deadly U.S. Drone Strikes In United Nations
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Thanksgiving: Happy Holiday 1936, 2011
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NATO Encirclement: Russia Strikes Back With Missile Warning
http://rt.com/politics/ballistic-russia-strikes-missile-041/
RT
November 23, 2011
Going ballistic: Russia strikes back with missile warning
-[F]ormer commander of the missile attack prevention army Lt. Gen. Nikolay Rodionov said the measures voiced by President Medvedev are capable of neutralizing the threats resulting from the deployment of the American missile defense system…These measures “are aimed at wrecking the US plans to strike Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles deployed in the European parts of the country,” he said.
-According to political analyst Igor Khokhlov, this policy of surrounding Russia and the former Soviet Union with missile bases actually dates back to the 50s and 60s.
-Despite the fact that the US calls for an anti-missile defense system, Moscow’s concern is that Russia will be totally encircled and that it has the potential be used as an offensive system…”Such threats actually increase the chances of a nuclear war or even accidental nuclear war. And the further way we get from that doctrine, which assured the peace, the more dangerous the whole international environment is becoming.”
Russia proceeds from the necessity to maintain its strategic defense potential, says Russia’s Ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin.
Russia’s primary interest is in protecting its citizens, says the NATO envoy.
“We cannot afford to trade on the security of our citizens,” Rogozin said.
“So if anyone puts an eye on it or casts a doubt on it, counter measures should certainly be worked out. And today the president named those measures.”
Rogozin went on to predict that there would be some tough talking during the forthcoming meeting of the NATO-Russia Council on December 8.
“Our colleagues from NATO will have to respond to the question: Why, if you call Russia a partner, are you building the potential to undermine Russia’s security?”
Meanwhile, former commander of the missile attack prevention army Lt. Gen. Nikolay Rodionov said the measures voiced by President Medvedev are capable of neutralizing the threats resulting from the deployment of the American missile defense system, according to Interfax.
These measures “are aimed at wrecking the US plans to strike Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles deployed in the European parts of the country,” he said. “At the same it, it is a signal to our western partners to do everything possible in order to avoid a new arms race, which is inevitable given the implementation of US missile defense plans.”
Rodionov noted that when speaking about the deployment of strike systems in Russia’s west and south, Medvedev “undoubtedly” meant Iskander missile systems – “a high-precision weapon” which is “practically invulnerable to air defense systems.”
…
America says it is concerned with protecting its own homeland, yet it is deploying missiles along the Russian border. According to political analyst Igor Khokhlov, this policy of surrounding Russia and the former Soviet Union with missile bases actually dates back to the 50s and 60s.
He added the United States has pulled the rug out from under its European allies by surrounding Russian territory with missile bases.
“Russia has adequate responses, especially with its new generation of missiles like Iskander, which can be put in Europe and will endanger the European allies of the US. The European allies of the US, who joined this program, are putting their own populations at risk because before these events there was no danger from Russia, and now Russia has a response to America putting its missile bases around its territory,” he said.
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Russian political analyst Dmitry Babich told RT the timing of President Medvedev’s statement was not accidental.
“There are several reasons why the statement was made now. First, we should not forget that we are in the midst of an election campaign right now in Russia and also the American electoral campaign, so probably Russia could view this as the last moment when something can be renegotiated on missile defense and on the START treaty,” he stated.
According to Babich, the Republican opposition in the US will push Obama to be tougher on Russia.
“They have already threatened to renegotiate the START treaty. They think that it is too beneficial for Russia, though I would argue that it is correct,” he added.
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Despite the fact that the US calls for an anti-missile defense system, Moscow’s concern is that Russia will be totally encircled and that it has the potential be used as an offensive system. According to political analyst Aleksandar Pavic, verification is very hard in these things.
“They can very easily and quickly be turned into offensive systems. We have to remember in 2002 US president George Bush unilaterally withdrew from the anti-ballistic missile treaty. This was the treaty that kept stability, not just in Europe but throughout the world for more than 30 years. Such threats actually increase the chances of a nuclear war or even accidental nuclear war. And the further way we get from that doctrine, which assured the peace, the more dangerous the whole international environment is becoming,” he stressed.
Alice Slater from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation told RT it is unlikely the situation will lead to a new Cold War style arms race.
“I hope somebody will have some good sense because basically the US is a crumbling empire – it is in debt, it cannot fund its roads, it has wasted its national treasure on the military, and it is almost like it has to have a total shift into the 21st century. War is not the answer anymore and there are many problems America has to deal with. Hopefully this is a wake-up call,” she said.
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Chicago NATO Summit Can Be Point Of No Return For Missile Crisis
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20111123184122.shtml
RosBusinessConsulting
November 23, 2011
Meeting with Obama triggers Medvedev’s missile shield statement
Moscow: President Dmitry Medvedev made his statement regarding the European missile defense shield today after his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama during the APEC summit in Honolulu, Hawaii, in early November, the Russian president’s special envoy for missile defense issues Dmitry Rogozin said.
At the meeting, Russia again received no assurances that the missile defense system being deployed in Europe would not be targeted against it, he added.
Russian-U.S. antimissile shield negotiations could go on until May 2012 when the structure of the European anti-missile system is finalized at the NATO’s summit in Chicago, Rogozin said. Medvedev instructed to continue the talks until the no-return point, which this summit could be, he added.
Russia’s counter measures proposed by Medvedev will be taken gradually in accordance with progress in the deployment of the U.S. missile defense system. “Should our Western partners have second thoughts, part of our plans will not be implemented.”
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Russia’s Tough Talk On Missile Defense Reveals Impatience With U.S.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-11/24/c_131266230.htm
Xinhua News Agency
November 24, 2011
Russia’s tough rhetoric on missile defense shows impatience with U.S.
MOSCOW: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday announced with unusual rhetoric that Moscow may move offensive missile systems to its borders with Europe if missile defense talks with the United States and NATO fail.
Medvedev’s statement could mean that Moscow is losing patience with Washington on the missile shield issue, local observers said.
LOSING PATIENCE?
“Medvedev wants to demonstrate he is tough, determined, and ready to protect national interests. Earlier, only his envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin used such rhetoric,” said Alexei Makarkin, analyst from the Center for Political Technologies in Moscow.
“Now Medvedev formally made it clear that Moscow has been disappointed with the ‘reset’ of Russia-U.S. relations, which has failed to find common language on missile defense issue,” Makarkin said.
Local experts noted that reaching common understanding on missile defense should be a key component of the reset process, but the U.S. side has ignored Moscow’s demand for written legal guarantees that the U.S. missile shield in Europe will not target Russia.
Rogozin said Medvedev’s statement was intended to prompt Washington and NATO to take Russia seriously at the missile defense talks.
“We won’t allow them to treat us like fools…Nuclear deterrent forces aren’t a joke,” he said.
The Russian president also warned Wednesday that Russia may withdraw from the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with the United States if the situation with the European missile shield develops in an unfavorable way.
“If Russia really withdraws from the START treaty, this would be an exceptional move that may result in unleashing a new arms race,” said Igor Korotchenko, member of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Public Council.
“So it will be the last resort,” he added.
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Many Russian senior officials, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have repeatedly said that if the anti-missile talks with the U.S. and NATO fail, Russia would take measures, including the deployment of its strategic offensive arms.
The major difference this time is that Medvedev deliberated on the military measures, analysts explained.
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Not Even Possibility Of NATO Dialogue With Russia On Missiles: CSTO Secretary General
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=4&id=289830
Interfax
November 24, 2011
CSTO countries could merge air defense systems
-”I can state that we have been unable to engage NATO in a constructive dialogue. There is not even a desire to consider such a possibility.”
Legally binding agreements are necessary because Russia earlier saw noncompliance with oral agreements regarding NATO’s enlargement following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact…
MOSCOW: The member-states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) plan to unify the potential of their regional air defense systems, but the establishment of a common missile defense system has not been discussed so far, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha told journalists in Moscow on Thursday.
“There are plans to unify our regional air defense systems into a common system. The issue of a common missile defense system has not so far been discussed,” Bordyuzha said when asked whether a common missile defense system could be set up within the CSTO in the context of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s Wednesday statement on Russia’s steps in response to the deployment of U.S. missile defense elements in Europe.
Russia and Belarus have already set up a regional air defense system, and a Russian-Armenian regional air defense system should be set up soon, Bordyuzha said. “There is also an agreement to set up a Russian-Kazakh air defense system, which provides the possibility for other CSTO countries to join it,” he said.
Taking more questions, Bordyuzha said Medvedev made his statement after Russia had tried for a long time to persuade NATO and the U.S. to hold a constructive dialogue on these matters, with relevant agreements on missile defense legally formalized. However, he said, there was not even a hint of the other side’s desire to conclude such agreements.
“I can state that we have been unable to engage NATO in a constructive dialogue. There is not even a desire to consider such a possibility,” he said.
Legally binding agreements are necessary because Russia earlier saw noncompliance with oral agreements regarding NATO’s enlargement following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, he said.
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Russian Opposition: NATO Biggest Evil On Earth, Sack Defense Minister Over U.S. Missile Shield
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=8&id=289727
Interfax
November 24, 2011
Zyuganov suggests dismissing defense minister to freely reply to European missile defense project
-NATO “is the biggest evil on earth,” he said. “The alliance’s conduct in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya cannot be described other than an absolutely cynical outrage of the U.S.-NATO military clique. Now this machine is rolling toward Russia and placing its missile defense in direct proximity to the Russian western borders. Even an idiot can see that all this is being done against Russia.”
MOSCOW: Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov has called correct but late the reaction of President Dmitry Medvedev to the deployment of U.S. and NATO missile defense in Eastern Europe and has urged the dismissal of the Russian defense minister.
“The president made an absolutely correct statement, but he was several years too late. We, the Communists, had been insisting on such measures of Russia for a long time,” he told Interfax on Wednesday.
Now the chief of state must dismiss the defense minister for taking the planned steps without any impediments, he said.
“It is necessary to reshuffle the Defense Ministry administration, to do the utmost for the modernization of the defense sector and to assign additional funds for defense orders, in short, to turn today’s declarations into reality,” Zyuganov said.
NATO “is the biggest evil on earth,” he said. “The alliance’s conduct in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya cannot be described other than an absolutely cynical outrage of the U.S.-NATO military clique. Now this machine is rolling toward Russia and placing its missile defense in direct proximity to the Russian western borders. Even an idiot can see that all this is being done against Russia.”
“This country has been playing with the U.S. and NATO for too long. We have been making concessions everywhere and got military bases close to our borders in exchange,” the communist leader said, recalling an old maxim, “Russia has only two reliable allies – its Army and Navy.”
The State Duma communist group was inspired with Medvedev’s speech. “We have finally heard from the president of our country what we have wanted to hear for a long time and what the Communist Party had demanded from the Russian administration,” First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee, Communist Party Central Committee Secretary Leonid Kalashnikov told Interfax.
He recalled that the State Duma communists bluntly opposed the ratification of the New START Treaty but it was ratified by the majority. “We warned back then that the missile defense actively promoted by the U.S. and NATO in Europe would nullify any commitment the sides undertook under the New START Treaty, but, alas, no one would listen.”
Russia should stop trying to persuade the U.S. and NATO that it needs a legally binding document to confirm that the European missile defense is not a threat to it, the deputy said. “We must behave with dignity at the negotiations with the U.S. and NATO. We must realize that they understand nothing but the language of force, the language of a strong state, and Russia is still a great nuclear power no matter what internal difficulties it may be experiencing,” Kalashnikov said.
He pledged the communists’ support to the steps planned by the Russian president.
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Syria: France, Turkey Push Foreign Intervention
http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=160171
Azeri Press Agency/Reuters
November 23, 2011
France calls for humanitarian zone in Syria
-”The French have tried to position themselves in a position of leadership, first with Libya and now here,” said Hayat Alvi, a lecturer in National Security studies, at the U.S. Naval War College. “Military intervention in Syria is a very different prospect of that in Libya, but we could well see an increase in covert action.”
-Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan criticized the “cowardice” of Assad, once a close ally, for turning guns on his own people. Erdogan spoke of the fate of defeated dictators from Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini to Muammar Gaddafi, and bluntly told Assad to quit.
Baku: France called on Wednesday for a “securitized zone to protect civilians” in Syria, the first time a major Western power has suggested international intervention on the ground in the eight-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, APA reports quoting Reuters.
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also described Syria’s exiled opposition National Council as “the legitimate partner with which we want to work,” the biggest international endorsement yet for a nascent opposition body that seeks Assad’s overthrow.
Asked at a news conference after meeting the SNC president if a humanitarian corridor was an option for Syria, Juppe said: “It is a point which we have examined and I will propose putting it on the agenda of the next European Council.
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Further details of the proposal were not immediately available. Until now, Western countries have imposed economic sanctions on Syria but have shown no appetite for intervention on the ground in the country…
“The French have tried to position themselves in a position of leadership, first with Libya and now here,” said Hayat Alvi, a lecturer in National Security studies, at the U.S. Naval War College. “Military intervention in Syria is a very different prospect of that in Libya, but we could well see an increase in covert action.”
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Syria’s bloodshed could pitch the Muslim world into “the darkness of the Middle Ages,” Turkish President Abdullah Gul said, some of the strongest language yet showing global anxiety as one of the core Mid-East countries slides toward civil war.
A day earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan criticized the “cowardice” of Assad, once a close ally, for turning guns on his own people. Erdogan spoke of the fate of defeated dictators from Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini to Muammar Gaddafi, and bluntly told Assad to quit.
In Brussels, an EU diplomat said European Union governments were considering a new range of sanctions against Syria that would bar investment in Syrian banks, trading its government bonds and selling insurance to state bodies.
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Ground forces commander Hayri Kivrikoglu inspected troops near the border on Tuesday, Turkish state television reported.
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http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=160086
Azeri Press Agency/Agence France-Presse
November 23, 2011
PM warns of ’full-scale civil war’ in Syria
Baku: Britain warned Tuesday that Syria is sliding towards “full-scale civil war,” the latest country to raise the spectre of the eight-month revolt escalating into full-blown conflict, APA reports quoting AFP.
Speaking after talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in London, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Today we have had important discussions on Syria where now a full-scale civil war is a real possibility.”
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Following Tuesday’s talks on the first day of Gul’s state visit to Britain, Cameron thanked Turkey and the Arab League for showing “welcome leadership,” according to a statement released by his Downing Street office.
“That gives us a way to stop the brutality of this morally bankrupt regime,” he said.
“The world now needs to get behind this with concerted pressure on the regime and positive engagement with the opposition movements who can represent Syrians in an inclusive transition, and we specifically discussed that today.”
Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday urged Syrian opposition groups to unify to become stronger as he met their representatives for the first time in London.
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NATO, Arab Powers Ready To Impose Libya-Style No-Fly Zone Over Syria
http://rt.com/news/syria-no-fly-zone-121/
RT
November 24, 2011
Specter of no-fly zone darkens Syrian skies
-In March, the Arab League moved to suspend Libya and called for a no-fly zone as Muammar Gaddafi moved to counter a full-scale uprising against Tripoli. Later that month, the United Nations Security Council passed UN resolution 1973, which allowed the international community to establish a no-fly zone and paved the way for the NATO bombing campaign that ultimately toppled the Gaddafi regime.
Arab states are reportedly set to impose a no-fly zone over Syria with US logistical support. But as the drive to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on “humanitarian grounds” continues, the Libyan scenario seems to be repeating itself.
Turkish warplanes with US logistical backing are reportedly set to implement the no-fly zone once the Arab League issues a decree calling for the protection of Syrian civilians in accordance with its charter.
Senior European sources told Kuwait’s al-Rai daily that the plan is designed to cripple the country’s military forces “in less than 24 hours.”
The no-fly zone would include a ban on the movement of Syrian military vehicles including tanks, personnel carriers and artillery, Albawaba news reports. The scheme is designed to neutralize Syria’s ability to carry out air strikes on cities.
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Rumors about imposing a no-fly zone over Syria come in the wake of Tuesday’s United Nations General Assembly resolution which condemned human rights abuses by the Syrian regime…
Although Russia abstained from voting on the resolution, its deputy envoy to the UN, Sergey Karev, said “a human rights issue should in no circumstances be used as a pretext for interfering in a country’s internal affairs.”
And while Western powers have long accused the Syrian regime of brutally suppressing its own citizens, Damascus has countered that the country is embroiled in a civil war.
Russia has long called for both sides in the conflict to lay down their arms, stressing that the international community has an obligation to facilitate dialogue between both sides.
However, critics fear that much as in Libya, the West will use the framework of humanitarian intervention to justify a full-scale invasion of Syria.
In March, the Arab League moved to suspend Libya and called for a no-fly zone as Muammar Gaddafi moved to counter a full-scale uprising against Tripoli. Later that month, the United Nations Security Council passed UN resolution 1973, which allowed the international community to establish a no-fly zone and paved the way for the NATO bombing campaign that ultimately toppled the Gaddafi regime.
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Syria: U.S. Deploys Aircraft Carrier, NATO Prepares For War
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/24/60966368.html
Voice of Russia
November 24, 2011
The George Bush aims at Bashar Al-Assad
Vladimir Fedoruk
The latest multipurpose nuclear aircraft carrier The George Bush of the US Navy has been redeployed from the Persian Gulf to the Syrian shores. The ship is capable of carrying up to 70 aircraft, including 48 attack jets. The aircraft-carrier is escorted by a group of vessels which contains a destroyer.
In this connection, experts are giving both a pessimistic and comparatively moderate prospect of developments near the Syrian sea border. Maxim Minayev from the Russian analytical Centre of Political Situations says:
“This is preparation for a military operation against Syria. These activities are reminiscent of a similar initiative when a group of NATO vessels were concentrated near Libya. Washington wants to collect a maximum dividend from the series of revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. With this aim in mind, Washington is likely to start a military intervention even without UN sanctions. Now we are witnessing the first stage of NATO naval contingents drawing up near the Syrian shorelines.”
Oleg Kulakov, an expert in Oriental studies from the Armed Forces University, is not inclined to feel too emotional about the situation.
“The reinforcement of the US aircraft-carrier fleet in the Mediterranean is more likely to be a threat. They are building up muscle in the region and this is undoubtedly an element of strong political intimidation. Military pressure is likely to be augmented by possible diplomatic demarche. However, all this does not mean direct military intervention.”
Meanwhile, whipping up tension around Syria is taking place along different lines as well. The day before The George Bush was redeployed near the Syrian coastline, the Al-Arabiya Saudi TV channel circulated a piece of news from the Russians Are Coming! set. It reported that three Russian Navy ships entered Syrian territorial waters. The TV channel referred to a source close to Syrian top authorities.
This news published by a Saudi newspaper was carried on by the Haaretz Israeli news source and a number of other regional media. The Russian Defence Ministry did not confirm this information in a conversation with The Voice of Russia.
However, there is a Russian naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, so it is small wonder that Russian Navy ships could be seen there. That port is the only Russian military base abroad at present. The agreement on keeping Soviet facilities there was signed by the Syrian government 40 years ago. At present there are only 50 Russian Black Sea Fleet sailors there. They have three piers, a floating repair shop, a peripherals warehouse and some utility rooms.
During last year’s campaign against Somali pirates the Russian aircraft-carrier The Admiral Kuznetsov called at the base in Tartus. The crew of The Neustrashimy destroyer spent several days at the base before their return from the Gulf of Aden to the home port of Baltiysk. There is a plan to upgrade the base in Tartus, so that it could receive heavy ships after 2012.
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Russia Determined Not To Repeat Libyan Scenario In Syria
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-11/23/c_131265557.htm
Xinhua News Agency
November 23, 2011
Russia determined not to repeat Libyan scenario in Syria
by Igor Serebryany, Zhang Dailei
-Due to Western sanctions on Iran and regime changes in Iraq and Libya, Russia has seen a drastic decline in both its arms sales and number of allies in the Mideast in recent years. Moscow apparently does not want to lose Syria as well, local experts say.
-Observers note meanwhile that Russia maintains a navy base in the Syrian port of Tartus. The installation is Russia’s only overseas military base outside the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) countries and in the Mediterranean sea.
Therefore, to defend Syria is, in fact, to defend Russia’s own geo-strategic interests in the Mideast, said Syrian presidential advisor Bassam Abdullah.
MOSCOW: As the UN Security Council prepares to discuss a new resolution concerning Syria, Russia keeps trying to define its own tough stance on the issue.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Friday that Russia opposes any military strike against Syria and its position in the Security Council on the issue would be “restrained and prudent.”
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday criticized Western calls for the Syrian opposition to refrain from dialogues with the government, describing the effort as “political provocation.”
Local experts believe that Russia should now mend the shortcomings of its diplomacy in the Libyan crisis and try to avoid stepping twice into the same river.
LEARNING FROM LIBYA LESSON
“Russian leadership attempts to distance itself from the Western position, partly because Moscow’s neutrality in the early stage of the Libyan crisis has born no fruits for Russia eventually,” Guren Gukasyan, a Mideast expert from the Russian Academy of Science, told Xinhua.
Irina Zvegelskaya, a professor at the Moscow-based Oriental Studies Institute, agreed that the Kremlin has learned from its unsuccessful diplomatic efforts during the similar crisis in Libya.
“Now Moscow would read the UN draft resolutions with double attention,” Zvegelskaya said.
…
The analysts pointed out that although Russia has less direct economic interests in Syria than in Libya, it considers Syria its key ally and a major Mideast weapons market.
Ties between Syrian and Russia were established during the Soviet era, when a large number of Syrians went to study at Russian universities. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia maintained its close relations with Syria.
Due to Western sanctions on Iran and regime changes in Iraq and Libya, Russia has seen a drastic decline in both its arms sales and number of allies in the Mideast in recent years. Moscow apparently does not want to lose Syria as well, local experts say.
Observers note meanwhile that Russia maintains a navy base in the Syrian port of Tartus. The installation is Russia’s only overseas military base outside the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) countries and in the Mediterranean sea.
Therefore, to defend Syria is, in fact, to defend Russia’s own geo-strategic interests in the Mideast, said Syrian presidential advisor Bassam Abdullah.
Russia knows, however, that it has limited tools to influence the situation in Syria, so it has to make two-handed preparations, analysts said, noting that Moscow invited the Syrian opposition to visit in June, September and November.
Russia fears that if Assad is gone, he would be replaced by “not-so-moderate Islamists,” and Syria would become a “permanent source of tension,” Zvegelskaya said.
But so far the Syrian opposition has not listened to Russian calls to start political negotiations with Assad, Zvegelskaya said, because it feels like it has strong support in the West.
Gukasyan agreed that Russia’s influence on the Syrian opposition is weaker than that of the West.
“The failure of the talks between Russian top diplomats and Syrian opposition held in Moscow in the last week demonstrated this weakness clearly,” Gukasyan said.
The UN General Assembly Third Committee adopted a resolution Tuesday condemning Syria for human rights violations.
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Analysis: Syria Is Not Libya
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-11/24/c_131266683.htm
China Daily
November 24, 2011
Syria is not Libya
BEIJING: The resolution approved by the United Nations General Assembly’s third committee, which is in charge of humanitarian affairs, on Tuesday, condemning “grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities” is of little help in solving the ongoing Syrian crisis.
The prolonged clashes between Syrian security forces and anti-government protesters, which broke out in March, have resulted in thousands of deaths, including those of civilians and soldiers.
With the help of external forces, the opposition has been growing increasingly stronger in its confrontation with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Army defectors and protesters have begun fighting back at government forces and even assaulted military bases. It seems that a civil war, which is the last thing the international community wants, is just around the corner.
With this in mind, regional or international endeavors must concentrate on the goal of easing tensions in the country and maintaining peace and stability in the Middle East.
Western-sponsored sanctions, or the threat of sanctions, against Damascus will only pour oil on the flames and grease the way for future military intervention in Syria.
By calling on the Syrian opposition to refrain from dialogue with the government, Western countries are sending the signal that they back the opposition to topple the government by means of violence.
Trying to repeat the “Libya model” in Syria is dangerous considering the geostrategic importance of the country in the Middle East and its intricate and delicate relations with neighboring countries, especially its close ties with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas, all of which are hostile to the West.
Syria has long been seen as the region’s most combustible geopolitical flashpoint. President Assad has warned that Western powers risk causing an “earthquake” and that “any problem in Syria will burn the whole region”.
Prolonged instability in Syria, not to mention regime change and a subsequent shift in diplomacy, will lead to the formation of new regional alliances and change the current balance of power in the Middle East.
The Syrian crisis is far more complicated than the Libyan one, and the international community should show extra caution in resolving it.
China has always believed that constructive dialogue and cooperation is the only approach to the restoration of domestic order and the protection of human rights.
Both the authorities and the armed groups among the opposition in Syria should first immediately put an end to the violence. The Syrian government should keep its promises to move forward on a process of comprehensive reforms.
To ensure an inclusive and balanced political process, compromise and concessions from both sides are of vital importance, and external mediation can play its due role in this regard.
The international community can play a constructive role in creating conditions for the easing of tensions in Syria. Any outside force inciting an escalation of violence will only further deteriorate the humanitarian situation in Syria.
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NATO Air Strike Kills Seven Afghan Civilians, Six Children
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15877558
BBC News
November 24, 2011
Afghan children in Kandahar ‘killed by Nato’
Seven civilians, including six children, have been killed in a Nato air strike in southern Afghanistan, local officials say.
District Governor Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi told the BBC the civilians died late on Wednesday in the Zheray district of Kandahar province.
…
Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the bombing.
The issue of civilian casualties at the hands of Nato forces is highly sensitive in Afghanistan.
A Nato spokesman Isaf, Sgt Christopher DeWitt, confirmed there had been a “firefight” between insurgents and Nato forces in Kandahar province, and that civilians had been killed.
…
The country saw 1,462 civilian deaths in January to June this year – a 15% increase on the same period last year.
…
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Videos And Text: Kosovo Serbs Repulse Latest NATO Attack
http://rt.com/news/nato-dismantle-barricade-kosovo-093/
RT
November 24, 2011
Tear gas, barbed wire, isolation: NATO tools for Kosovo raid
-“The red line for Belgrade would be Hashim Thaci’s decision to initiate an armed attack on Serbs in Kosovo. Thaci must know that any attack against Kosovar Serbs means an attack on Belgrade.“
Serbs protesters have thwarted attempts by NATO to dismantle a barricade in Northern Kosovo. And while NATO claims their decision to fire tear gas came as 21 of their soldiers were injured, Belgrade has warned Pristina against any further violence.
The Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic has called on the Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci to restrain his NATO-led forces from attacking Serbian civilians.
“The red line for Belgrade would be Hashim Thaci’s decision to initiate an armed attack on Serbs in Kosovo. Thaci must know that any attack against Kosovar Serbs means an attack on Belgrade,“ Dacic said in a statement aired on local television Thursday.
Dacic went on to warn Pristina it would be mistaken to think that fears of upsetting the current balance of power would exclude the possibility of war.
Dacic was quick to point out “historically, we’ve lost Kosovo several times, and then it’s returned to us.”
The Serbian minister’s strongly worded appeal is a response to overnight clashes in Northern Kosovo which NATO claims injured 21 of its soldiers.
NATO released a statement Thursday saying Serb protesters threw stones and drove trucks loaded with gravel into its troops. The alliance also claims one soldier was seriously injured, as the decision to fire tear gas and end the operation was taken…
Wedensday night’s disturbances came as Serbs thwarted attempts by a Kosovo Force (KFOR) contingent under NATO command from dismantling a barricade near the town of Zvecan in Northern Kosovo.
Late on Wednesday, KFOR forces stretched barbed wire across a road near Zvecan – a town located near the de facto Serbian capital of Kosovska Mitrovica -as they moved to dismantle the concrete barricade.
Shortly after NATO forces arrived, a siren went off which alerted local Serbs, who soon rushed to the area and began tearing down the barbed wire.
KFOR troops then deployed tear gas in a failed attempt to repel the hundreds of Serbs who had gathered to protect the barricades.
After the NATO troops withdrew from the area, the Serbs moved to further reinforce the concrete blocks.
According to RT’s Aleksey Yaroshevksy, some sources have said NATO forces also used rubber bullets, though no injuries have been reported.
Tensions in Northern Kosovo have been on the rise for months over disputed border crossings.
The government of the breakaway province wants to control the border with Serbia to enforce an import ban – a move resisted by ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.
In July, a policeman was shot dead whilst Kosovo police were trying to take control of the border posts.
At the time a temporary deal was reached between Pristina and Belgrade to allow the international peacekeepers to guard the border, but was rejected by local Serbs.
Kosovo proclaimed independence in 2008, though Serbia never recognized the breakaway move.
Political analyst Aleksandar Pavic told RT that NATO had destabilized the region by taking Pristina’s side in the conflict, a decision which overstepped their role as a peace keeping force under UN Security Resolution 1244.
“In 2008 Pristina unilaterally declared independence and NATO countries recognized that independence so the root of the problem is that we have Western Powers who are recognizing an illegally declared state and they are trying to make the Serbs down there live in this illegally declared state, and that’s why practically every day now, especially over the past several months, they’re overstepping their UN mandate,“ he said.
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21 NATO Soldiers Injured In Assault On Kosovo Serbs
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1677297.php/LEAD-NATO-soldiers-injured-in-attempt-to-clear-Serb-barricades
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
November 24, 2011
NATO soldiers injured in attempt to clear Serb barricades
Pristina/Belgrade – NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo (KFOR) said Thursday that 21 soldiers were injured in clashes with a crowd of ethnic Serbs when the soldiers tried to dismantle a roadblock in the northern Kosovo enclave.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Serb-dominated north of Serbia’s former province…
The soldiers took control over the roadblock and began dismantling it late Wednesday. But they withdrew under a hail of stones thrown by a crowd that continued to grow and approach ever closer, despite tear gas canisters lobbed their way.
KFOR command in Pristina said its soldiers withdrew…Nonetheless, KFOR reported 21 injuries sustained.
In recent months, Serbs have erected around 20 roadblocks in the north to prevent the government in Pristina from taking control over the borders to Serbia proper.
…Serbs fiercely resist any authority from Pristina and, nearly four years since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, still consider Belgrade their capital.
In a tense cat-and-mouse game, KFOR has dismantled several roadblocks since the Serbs put them up at crossings in September. Each time the barricades were renewed.
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Serbian leaders promised never to recognize Kosovo’s independence and have backed their compatriots’ resistance to Pristina’s rule.
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The most prominent turnaround was made by the Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, who told Thursday’s edition of the daily Press that a new war over Kosovo ‘cannot be excluded.’
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Dacic leads the Socialist Party, a junior partner in President Boris Tadic’s ruling coalition.
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Deputy Prime Minister: Serbia Should Prepare For War Over Kosovo
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=24&nav_id=77468
B92/Press
November 24, 2011
“We should go to war over Kosovo if necessary”
-“Dačić’s position is hard, but right in my opinion. Not a single state diplomacy is successful if it is not supported by military force. It takes two to have a war and there is a question what we would do if someone attacked us. If NATO does not want to go over the barricades by force, what would happen if Serbia set a clear line regarding some other issues as well?”
BELGRADE: Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci needs to know that by attacking Serbs in Kosovo he is also attacking Belgrade, Serbian Deputy PM Ivica Dačić told daily Press.
He added that Serbia could not stand by peacefully and watch that.
Dačić on Wednesday stated that nobody in Serbia must say that Kosovo was lost and that they would not go to war over it.
“A red line for Belgrade is Hashim Thaci’s armed assault on Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija,” he was quoted as saying.
“Thaci needs to know that by attacking Serbs in Kosovo he is attacking Belgrade as well. Serbia cannot and will not watch it peacefully,” the deputy PM pointed out.
He stressed that if Turkey could say that an attack on Sarajevo was an attack on Istanbul, then there was no reason “the attack on Kosovska Mitrovica is not an attack on Belgrade”.
Dačić assessed that rejection of a possibility of war would be a wrong message to Thaci because a “balance of fear” was necessary for the sake of security in the region. He explained that the “balance of fear” was the only reason why a war never broke out between the U.S. and the USSR.
…
Military-political analyst Miroslav Lazanski believes that the use of force is a part of diplomacy and points out that “this is one in a scale of statements in which Dačić is expressing his position on the situation in Kosovo”.
“Dačić’s position is hard, but right in my opinion. Not a single state diplomacy is successful if it is not supported by military force. It takes two to have a war and there is a question what we would do if someone attacked us. If NATO does not want to go over the barricades by force, what would happen if Serbia set a clear line regarding some other issues as well? If the Americans say ‘stick and carrot’, because the carrot itself is not enough, which in translation means that we need to show that we are ready to use the force we have at our disposal,” Lazanski was quoted as saying.
…
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NATO Attack On Kosovo Serbs Attack On Serbia: Interior Minister
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/24/60962772.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
November 24, 2011
Attack on Kosovo serbs is attack on Belgrade – Serbia’s interior minister
Serbia’s Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic has said that an attack on ethnic Serbs in Kosovo would actually mean an attack on Belgrade.
In his statement broadcast on the B92 TV channel, he reminded Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci that throughout its history Serbia had lost and then regained Kosovo several times.
Earlier, Mr. Dacic called for dividing Kosovo into Albanian and Serb parts.
Tensions in the Serb-populated northern Kosovo have been running high since early September when Kosovo’s Albanian authorities deployed their policemen and customs officers at the Jarinje and Brniak border checkpoints on the border with Serbia, which led to armed clashes between police and local Serbs.
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NATO Troops Launch Fresh Assault On Kosovo Serbs
http://rt.com/news/nato-dismantle-barricade-kosovo-093/
RT
November 23, 2011
NATO forces dismantle Serb barricade in Kosovo
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http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/stories/E/EU_KOSOVO_TENSE_NORTH?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Associated Press
November 23, 2011
NATO in Kosovo moves to dismantle Serb barricade
RUDARE, Kosovo: NATO troops in Kosovo fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of Serbs resisting the dismantling of a concrete barricade put up to block Kosovo authorities from controlling the Serb-dominated area.
An AP reporter witnessed NATO soldiers in riot gear attempting to remove a concrete barrier late Wednesday and stretching barbed wire on the road. Tear gas was fired after several hundred Serb protesters removed the barbed wire. NATO did not immediately comment.
Serbs in Kosovo’s north have been blocking roads since summer angered by Kosovo authorities’ attempt to send ethnic Albanian customs and police officers into the Serb area.
Many Serbs that live there reject the country’s 2008 secession from Serbia and say NATO is supports Kosovo institutions.
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Russia To Find Way To Support Kosovo Serbs: Envoy
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/23/60927581.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
November 23, 2011
Russia to find way to support Kosovo Serbs – Rogozin
The application of more than 20,000 of Kosovo Serbs for the Russian citizenship is an unprecedented and very alarming situation, Russia’s envoy in NATO Dmitri Rogozin said Wednesday.
“Russia will find a way to support the nation which is spiritually close to us and which found itself in such a difficult situation”, Rogozin said.
Earlier this month 22,000 Kosovo Serbs put their signatures under collective application for the Russian citizenship as they find that Serbia is not providing them with the required support.
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U.S. Guided Missile Destroyer In Portugal For Antisubmarine Warfare Drills
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=63993
U.S. Navy
November 23, 2011
USS Mitscher Pulls Into Lisbon
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Deven B. King, USS Mitscher Public Affairs
LISBON, Portugal: Guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57) arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, for a regularly scheduled port visit, Nov. 23.
…
The port visit comes after almost seven months of deployment, five of which were spent conducting operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR).
…
The visit also serves as a beginning point for an antisubmarine warfare exercise Mitscher is scheduled to participate in with the Portuguese navy, beginning shortly after the ship departs Lisbon.
Mitscher is deployed as part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and support missions.
The strike group consists of Carrier Strike Group 2 staff, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, Destroyer Squadron 22 staff, USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), guided-missile cruisers USS Gettysburg (CG 64), and USS Anzio (CG 68) and the guided-missile destroyers Mitscher and USS Truxtun (DDG 103).
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Full Spectrum Operations: U.S. Trains Botswana Armed Forces
http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=7457&lang=0
U.S. Africa Command
U.S. Army Africa Public Affairs
November 22, 2011
USARAF Officer Leads a Bilateral Military Intelligence Training for Botswana Defense Force soldiers
GABORONE, Botswana: Twenty-eight instructors from the U.S. and Botswana worked together to train 115 officers and Non-Commissioned Officers from the Botswana Defense Forces (BDF) during the second iteration of the Botswana Tactical Intelligence Course (BTIC-II), Oct. 5 – Nov. 18.
Maj. Bob Blair, the course’s Officer-In-Charge from U.S. Army Africa military intelligence, or G2 section, said this is the second stage of a three-stage capability build for the BDF. The first iteration ran from December 2010 to January 2011.
“BTIC is designed for junior military officers and NCOs with little to no military intelligence experience. This course prepares officers to serve as MI professionals on a staff or in an operational HQ [headquarters]. In addition, BTIC also promotes partner nation cooperation and coordination and provides a standard military process within the partner community,” Blair said.
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Petty Officer 1st Class Rory Rankin, intelligence specialist in the U.S. Navy, and one of the course instructors, said the course is featuring many firsts: The first use of multiple Joint Military Intelligence Instructors, the first shared responsibility of instruction between U.S. and partner nation instructors and the first integrated officers/NCO final exercise, all of which make this course a more memorable experience for instructors.
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Thirty-five officers participated in a five-week program while 80 NCOs followed an 18-day program in consecutive groups of 40. All 115 students came together for a week-long final exercise…
Headquartered in Vicenza, Italy, U.S. Army Africa is the Army Service Component Command for U.S. Africa Command…U.S. Army Africa enables full spectrum operations while conducting sustained security engagement with African land forces…
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Pakistan: NATO Tanker Bombed, Main Road Blocked
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C11%5C24%5Cstory_24-11-2011_pg7_8
Daily Times
November 24, 2011
NATO oil tanker bombed
LANDIKOTAL: A NATO supply oil tanker hit an explosive device in Landikotal on Torkham Road near the Michni checkpost here on Wednesday.
According to Khasadar sources, the driver and the conductor of the oil tanker fled unhurt from the scene. The superintendent of the Khasadar Force, Lahore Khan, along with his guards rushed to the site and supported firefighters to extinguish the fire.
According to a few sources, forty-four thousand litres of fuel were burnt in the fire after the explosion…
The traffic remained suspended for many hours on the main road due to the high intensity of fire…
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Saakashvili: Reagan More Urgent In Georgia Than Ever Before
http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/1960974.html
Trend News Agency
November 23, 2011
Saakashvili: Reagan deserves place in downtown Tbilisi
N. Kirtskhalia
-The monument’s opening ceremony was…attended by visiting US Congressmen.
-[T]he Reagan Freedom Center…will be the first center outside the US to officially bear the name of Reagan and operate as an official partner of the Reagan Presidential Fund….”The Center promotes formation of a policy, which will…support further strengthening of Georgian-US relations and the process of Georgia’s integration with Euro-Atlantic medium,” the Center’s founders said.
Tbilisi: President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili today opened a monument to the US 40th President Ronald Reagan in Park Rike. Saakashvili says many, especially politicians ask: why Reagan and why in Tbilisi?
“Reagan broke the Soviet Union down 20 years ago and, as no one else, deserves a place in downtown Tbilisi, the heart of Georgia. Reagan is as urgent in Georgia today as never before. The leader of a country, which enslaved us, thinks the Soviet Union’s breakdown is the greatest geopolitical tragedy. Several days ago, there was the announced establishment of a Eurasian Union, unequivocally described as a new variant of the USSR. They restored the anthem of the Soviet Union but we placed the Reagan monument as a sign of difference between our values and theirs and we do not do it to spite anyone,” Saakashvili noted.
He noted that many generations of Georgians fought occupation. Saakashvili recalled that Georgians sent a letter to the US president in the beginning of last century but received no reply.
“The first President who replied to Georgia’s call was Reagan,” he said.
The monument’s opening ceremony was also attended by visiting US Congressmen.
Before the monument was opened in Tbilisi, there was the official opening of the Reagan Freedom Center. The Center was created on the basis of a partnership agreement between a Georgian initiative group and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Fund.
It will be the first center outside the US to officially bear the name of Reagan and operate as an official partner of the Reagan Presidential Fund.
“The Reagan Freedom Center is a non-profit, politically neutral organization that promotes realization of principles of freedom, democracy, effective government, and free entrepreneurship. The Center promotes formation of a policy, which will strengthen democratic institutes, stimulate democratic development and strengthen security, and support further strengthening of Georgian-US relations and the process of Georgia’s integration with Euro-Atlantic medium,” the Center’s founders said.
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Georgia To Enlarge Military Budget Again
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=3&id=289871
Interfax
November 24, 2011
Georgian government to enlarge this year’s defense budget to $427 million
TBILISI: The Georgian government plans to enlarge this year’s defense budget by 44.6 million lari to almost 705 million lari (slightly more than $427 million), Finance Minister Dimitri Gvindadze said at a parliament plenary meeting on Thursday.
The budget surplus amounted to 219 million lari this year and some of the funds might be spent on the armed forces, he said.
“We view as mandatory the additional funding of the Armed Forces for the sake of Georgian security,” he said.
The opposition demanded detailed reasoning of the government’s decision on the defense budget surge.
“We think that the Defense Ministry will be simply unable to use the additional allocations within a month, because the money is mostly meant for procurement and that cannot be done without tenders. So we do not rule out that the government has spent 44.6 million lari on its own pastimes and the spent funds need to be legalized now,” opposition deputy Jondi Bagaturia said.
He said it would be much better to spend the surplus on social needs and education instead of the armed forces and the police.
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U.S. Congressman Taunts Russia On Georgia’s NATO Membership
http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/1961098.html
Trend News Agency
November 24, 2011
Congressman: U.S. unequivocally supports Georgia’s NATO hopes
N. Kirtskhalia
Tbilisi: “The United States strongly supports Georgia’s hopes to join NATO,” member of the U.S. Congress David Dreier told journalists in Tbilisi.
“The United States strongly supports Georgia’s accession to NATO and I hope that Russian President Medvedev’s objection will not come true from this point of view,” he stressed.
Mr Medvedev said two days ago that if there had been no Russian intervention in 2008, Georgia and several other countries today would be NATO members.
“The day will come, and I hope it will happen soon, when we will see Georgia in NATO, and if President Medvedev doesn’t wish to see Georgia as a NATO member and that is his goal, I would like his wish to fail,” Mr Dreier said.
…
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NATO Deputy Secretary General In Azerbaijan
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1961481.html
Trend News Agency
November 24, 2011
Azerbaijani Defense Minister receives NATO Deputy Secretary General
Baku: Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev on Thursday received Hussein Dirioz, NATO Deputy Secretary General for Defense Policy and Planning.
The sides exchanged opinions on the prospects of development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and the NATO, the military-political situation in the region, and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Defense Ministry’s Press Service told Trend on Thursday.
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Pakistan To Take Up Deadly U.S. Drone Strikes In United Nations
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-11/24/c_122332575.htm
Xinhua News Agency
November 24, 2011
Pakistan to take up U.S. drone strikes in UN
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to take up the issue of strikes by the CIA-run unmanned aircraft in the country’s tribal regions, which the government, rights groups and tribesmen said killed innocent people, reported local TV channel Dawn on Thursday.
The U.S. drones routinely fire missiles into Pakistani tribal regions which American officials have claimed to be bases for the militants who launch cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.
Pakistan repeatedly asks the United States to stop the drone strikes but Americans have ruled out any change in the policy. The issue of drone attacks is one of the irritants in their bilateral relationship.
After the U.S. refusal to halt the strikes, Pakistan has decided to approach the UN to seek its help to stop these attacks, which Pakistan insists is counter-productive in the war on terror.
Dawn reported that the Pakistani government has started collecting data about the U.S. drone attacks and casualties.
The government has directed administrative officials in the tribal regions to provide details about the strikes to vigorously pursue the case.
Pakistan is discussing its new strategy to be adopted in the UN, the report said.
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