Stop NATO news: January 6, 2012

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Obama’s New Pentagon Strategy: Slash Benefits, Increase Arsenal Of Doom

NATO Chief Hails New U.S. Military Shift To Asia

At Least Eight NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan

Five NATO Soldiers Killed In Southern Afghanistan

Azeri Role In Afghan War: Trade-Off For NATO Support In Caucasus

Canadian Warship In NATO Mission In Mediterranean. Strait Of Hormuz?

Russian Warships Heading For Syrian Base

U.S., Israel To Hold Unprecedented Interceptor Missile Exercise

Pentagon Deploying Thousands Of Troops To Israel

Iran To Hold Largest-Ever Naval Drills Near Strait Of Hormuz

“Peacekeeping” In Thailand: Swedish NATO Officer Dies In Crash

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Obama’s New Pentagon Strategy: Slash Benefits, Increase Arsenal Of Doom

http://rt.com/usa/news/obama-panetta-pentagon-strategy-251/

RT
January 5, 2012

Obama’s new Pentagon strategy: strip benefits and buy more weapons

Video

=In order to cut costs, the new budget will thus eliminate positions from the armed forces and initiate changes to the pension and health care plans for military vets.
Those changes will help balance the Defense Department’s budget as the Pentagon unveils that it will continue to invest billions in cutting edge weaponry and cyberspace capabilities.
[T]he US will rely more heavily on an agile, dispersed arsenal of troops and increased surveillance space age weaponry presence.
-“Yes, our military will be leaner, but the world must know that the United States will maintain its military superiority,” [Obama] said.
Upon addressing the group himself, Defense Secretary Panetta announced that that superiority will come way of relying less on American citizens during wartime and more on reckless killing machines, specifically unmanned aircraft.
-The move to make shifts in the budget come only days after it was revealed that the US will soon have in its arsenal the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier, which will not only serve as the world’s most expensive battleship ever created — but the most expensive weapon as well at a price tag of $11.5 billion for the single ship.
-Obama’s address from the Pentagon’s briefing room Thursday morning marked the first time that any commander-in-chief crossed the Potomac to speak from the Defense Department’s headquarters.

Pensions and health care plans for US troops will be drastically reduced under a new budget presented by US President Barack Obama on Thursday. Not all aspects of the DoD will be annihilated, however.

The DoD will ditch medical benefits for troops but continue to spend on its expensive arsenal of doom.

President Obama joined Defense Secretary Leon Panetta from the Pentagon early Thursday in a rare public address from the two to talk changes made to the ledger in regards to the operation of the US military. As the US begins to scale back on foreign operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Obama administration is finding less of a need for the servicemen and women that have been on the battlefronts for the last decade. In order to cut costs, the new budget will thus eliminate positions from the armed forces and initiate changes to the pension and health care plans for military vets.

Those changes will help balance the Defense Department’s budget as the Pentagon unveils that it will continue to invest billions in cutting edge weaponry and cyberspace capabilities.

Citing the end of the war in Iraq and a drawdown of troops in Afghanistan, the president said Thursday that the US must strategize on how to successfully prepare for future conflicts. In order to do such, said Obama, boots on the ground will be needed less and less. Instead, the US will rely more heavily on an agile, dispersed arsenal of troops and increased surveillance space age weaponry presence.

President Obama said that the move to scale back personnel comes after decimating al-Qaeda’s leadership, progressing in Afghanistan and a successful mission to protect the Libyan people and assist in the overthrowing of the Gaddafi regime. Despite these victories, however, America must be prepared for future action elsewhere in the world.

“Yes, the tide of war is receding,” said Obama, but “what kind of military will we need long after the wars of the last decade are over?”

“Yes, our military will be leaner, but the world must know that the United States will maintain its military superiority,” he said.

Upon addressing the group himself, Defense Secretary Panetta announced that that superiority will come way of relying less on American citizens during wartime and more on reckless killing machines, specifically unmanned aircraft.

“As we reduce the overall defense budget, we will protect and in some cases increase our investments in special operation forces in new technologies, like…unmanned systems, in space and in particular in cyberspace,” said Panetta.

The Pentagon’s new agenda isn’t all slap-dash pension changes and billion dollar drone investments, though. Panetta also insisted that, despite rumors that the US will make changes to its doctrine to being capable of fighting multiple wars to concentrating on just one conflict, the secretary said that America will still be on the ready to fight multiple enemies at any single moment. Panetta revealed that the new plan will place American troops in diverse locals internationally so that the military could be ready to deploy on any country at any time.

“As we move towards this new joint force, we are also rebalancing our gloal posture and presence,” said Panetta. Specifically, “the rise of new powers across Asia and the dramatic changes” in the Middle East are of concern and will warrant the mobilization of American troops to be ready on the borders of North Korea and perhaps Iran. Such action will come during a time of “a very serious deficit and debt problem here at home,” acknowledged the secretary, however, who said that the economic problem poised on America was “a national security risk.”

“I do not believe that we have to choose between our national security and fiscal responsibility,” said Panetta.

“We are not confronting, obviously, the threats of the past. We are confronting the threats of the twenty-first century. And that demands greater flexibility to shift and deploy forces, to be able to fight and defeat any enemy, anywhere,” said Panetta. “How we defeat the enemy may very well vary across conflicts, but make no mistake, we will have the capability to confront and defeat more than one adversary at a time.

“As a global force, our military will never be doing only one thing,” added Panetta.

Despite this additional deployment and development of additional fronts and bases, also on the agenda, are serious blows to the pensions of veterans.

“We will continue aggressive efforts to weed out waste, reduce overhead, to reform business practices [and] to consolidate our duplicative operations,” said Panetta. Under the Modernizing the Military Retirement System proposal presented to the Pentagon in August, veterans who have served less than 20 years will see drastic changes to how the government provides for them after their time of service.

“We need to have a responsible conversation about how we are going to prepare ourselves for the future,” Panetta said earlier in the year. Under current military procedure, US vets stand to receive a retirement income of half of their salary after completing 20 years of service in the armed forces. The Modernizing the Military Retirement System, however, would put in place a 401k-style plan that would offer government contributions once vets reach regular retirement age.

Panetta only alluded at the changes to veterans’ benefit packages Thursday morning, saying that the final paperwork will be available later this month. He did, however, momentarily address the Defense Department staff that stands to be affected, saying, “I know you have been watching the budget debates here in Washington.”

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Speaking of flexibility and necessity of getting rid of “Cold War-era” weapons nevertheless didn’t keep the Pentagon from recently investing in some astonishingly expensive and arguably antiquated weaponry. The move to make shifts in the budget come only days after it was revealed that the US will soon have in its arsenal the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier, which will not only serve as the world’s most expensive battleship ever created — but the most expensive weapon as well at a price tag of $11.5 billion for the single ship. As RT reported in August, the US has also been in plans to secure $23 billion in space age drone aircraft planes as well.

Before ending his statement, Panetta succinctly outlined the plan by putting forthspecific changes: the diminishing of the US joint forces; the mobilization of troops specifically in the Middle East and Pacific; increased relationships with allies and strengthening the nation’s ability to strike quickly and confidently.

Panetta said that there is “some level of additional but acceptable risk in the budget plan,” and added that the administration was not left with easy choices in drafting it.

Obama’s address from the Pentagon’s briefing room Thursday morning marked the first time that any commander-in-chief crossed the Potomac to speak from the Defense Department’s headquarters. Upon closing his remarks and handing the room over to Leon Panetta, Obama said that the latest effort from the DoD “reflects the guidance” that he “personally gave” throughout the process of drafting the budget.

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NATO Chief Hails New U.S. Military Shift To Asia

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/usa/1976891.html

Trend News Agency
January 6, 2012

NATO chief hails new U.S. defense strategy

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Thursday welcomed the newly-unveiled U.S. defense strategy, which called for a shift from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region, Xinhua reported.

Following the announcement by U.S. President Barack Obama, Rasmussen made the remarks, apparently in a bid to dismiss scepticism about the U.S. defense strategy adjustment.

“The announcement follows consultation with allies,” he said. “As President Obama said, the U.S. will continue investing in NATO because the alliance has demonstrated time and time again – most recently in Libya – that it is a force multiplier.”

“In an unpredictable world, the United States’ affirmation that our transatlantic partnership remains indispensable to the security of all allies is key,” Rasmussen said.

However, while acknowledging the continued importance of NATO, the strategy suggests a reduced U.S. military presence in Europe and says Asia will be a bigger priority.

In keeping with the evolving strategic landscape, particularly the drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. posture in Europe must also evolve, according to the strategy.

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At Least Eight NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1977131.html

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
January 6, 2012

Eight NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan

At least eight soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force were killed in several attacks in southern Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

Earlier Friday, four were killed by a bomb in the region, and a fifth in a clash with insurgents, an ISAF statement said, DPA reported.

Late Thursday, another bomb killed three NATO soldiers, ISAF said without releasing further details. The military in Afghanistan leave it to the participating nations to announce the identities of any casualties.

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Five NATO Soldiers Killed In Southern Afghanistan

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/01/06/five-nato-troops-killed-in-afghanistan/

Voice of America News
January 6, 2012

Five NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan

NATO says bomb attacks have killed five service members in southern Afghanistan.

The international coalition said a roadside bomb killed four soldiers Friday, while a fifth service member died in a separate blast in the south. NATO did not give any other details.

Friday’s casualties bring the number of international troops killed in Afghanistan since the start of the year to nine.

At least 544 soldiers died in in 2011, making it NATO’s second deadliest year in the 10-year war.

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Azeri Role In Afghan War: Trade-Off For NATO Support In Caucasus

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/52132

News.Az
January 6, 2012

Azerbaijan’s support for NATO in Afghanistan ‘expedient’

-Western countries view Caucasian problems as secondary to Afghanistan. From this point of view, Azerbaijan should be interested in the resolution of the problems of Afghanistan so that Western countries turn their eye to the problems of the Caucasus.

News.Az interviews Zahid Oruj of the Azerbaijani parliament’s defence and security committee and deputy leader of the Motherland (Ana Vatan) Party.

Azerbaijan has replaced Sky Georgia in transporting cargo from Europe for the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan. What benefits can Azerbaijan hope for in carrying out this mission?

The Azerbaijani side should be actively involved in NATO cargo transit to Afghanistan. In general, I think that it is expedient to provide support for NATO on this issue, since this will help Azerbaijan take its place in such a strategic alliance as NATO and  make its contribution to the successful completion of what is happening in Afghanistan. Additionally, it will have a positive effect on Azerbaijan’s further expectation of NATO support. It would also raise the international standing of Azerbaijan.

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It should also be taken into account that Western countries view Caucasian problems as secondary to Afghanistan. From this point of view, Azerbaijan should be interested in the resolution of the problems of Afghanistan so that Western countries turn their eye to the problems of the Caucasus.

What negative factors may appear when Azerbaijan starts this mission?

I cannot agree that this issue should be approached only from the military standpoint. The issue is not limited to Azerbaijan’s participation in meeting the demands of the front that was opened in Afghanistan over a decade ago. This process also exposes Azerbaijan, which has found its place within the international coalition, to threat.

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How expedient was it for Azerbaijan not to allow the transit of NATO reconnaissance jets with the AWACS early warning system? Will this not affect relations between Azerbaijan and NATO?

Azerbaijan did not allow the flights solely for its own security in order not to allow the jets to see the country’s military facilities since this issue is not limited to the problem of allowing the flights via Azerbaijan. Permission for such flights means revealing the country’s military resources, while Azerbaijan’s military doctrine does not allow military secrets to be revealed to foreign states.

I think that the Western countries understand Azerbaijan’s position as well. This should not be viewed as a crack between Azerbaijan and NATO. It should not be viewed as Azerbaijan’s intention to hamper positive processes in Afghanistan either. Azerbaijan’s decision should be assessed as desire for protection from disclosure or from passing on their military secrets to foreign countries.

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Canadian Warship In NATO Mission In Mediterranean. Strait Of Hormuz?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/01/05/ns-charlottetown-mediterranean.html

CBC News
January 5, 2012

HMCS Charlottetown to depart for Mediterranean

-Carter said the Charlottetown and its crew are more than capable of moving from the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea and the Strait of Hormuz area if they’re called to help.

HMCS Charlottetown and its crew of approximately 250 will depart Halifax on Sunday for a six-month mission to the Mediterranean Sea.

The ship will join other NATO ships… counterterrorism effort in the Mediterranean.

Cmdr. Wade Carter of the Charlottetown said the mission is called Operation Metric.

“We’re going to be working with a NATO group, it’s a standing NATO group. We’ve done it many times in the past — this will be a very similar deployment to that,” Carter told CBC News on Thursday.

“It’s a rapid reaction force. It can react to events and crises as they unfold…”

Carter said he does not know of any plans for the Charlottetown to go to the Strait of Hormuz — a vital Persian Gulf waterway used by tankers carrying one-sixth of the world’s oil supply.

Iran has threatened to close the strait as possible retaliation to new economic sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program.

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Carter said the Charlottetown and its crew are more than capable of moving from the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea and the Strait of Hormuz area if they’re called to help.

“If there’s a crisis and they want us to deploy there, we will be ready to do that,” he said.

A CH-124 Sea King helicopter detachment will also be aboard the Charlottetown when it departs this weekend.

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Russian Warships Heading For Syrian Base

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/06/63468433.html

Itar-Tass
January 6, 2012

Russian warships headed for Syria resupply base

       
A Russian anti-sub destroyer and a frigate are headed for the Russian Navy’s resupply base in Tartus in Syria. The call will start on Saturday and last a few days.

The Navy denies a bearing on the political situation in Syria.

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U.S., Israel To Hold Unprecedented Interceptor Missile Exercise

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/151468

Arutz Sheva
January 6, 2012

U.S. and Israel Preparing for ‘Biggest Defense Drill Ever’
IDF and U.S. forces will team up soon for a major missile defense exercise, “the biggest one ever” according to military sources.
By Elad Benari

The Israeli military is gearing up together with U.S. forces for a major missile defense exercise, the IDF announced Thursday.

The Associated Press reported that the “Austere Challenge 12” drill is designed to improve defense systems and cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli forces.

While the drill follows a ten-day Iranian naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz, the IDF told AP the drill with the U.S. was planned long ago and is not tied to recent events.

Israeli and U.S. officials told AP the exercise would be the largest-ever joint drill by the two countries.

A few weeks ago, the Commander of the Third Air Force of the U.S Military, Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, arrived in Israel to prepare for the joint training exercise.

A spokesman for the IDF did not give a date for the drill Thursday, but a senior military official told AP it would be in the next few weeks, adding it would be the biggest missile defense drill ever held.

The Israeli official said thousands of American and Israeli soldiers from different units would take part. He said the drill would test multiple Israeli and U.S. air defense systems against incoming missiles and rockets.

The Islamic Republic followed its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz with another earlier this week, when Iranian army chief Ayatollah Salehi warned USS carrier John C Stennis not to return to the Persian Gulf after having left the area through the Straits of Hormuz in a “pre-planned, routine operation.”

The U.S. responded to the Iranian threat with a calm statement read by Pentagon spokesman George Little and which warned Iran, “The deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf region will continue as it has for decades.”

On Wednesday, the IDF staged a surprise drill at its base at the port of Haifa as Iran completed its drill.

Haifa base commander Brigadier General Eli Sharvit, ordered the surprise drill to check the readiness of Israel Navy vessels to depart from port and head out to sea to conduct operation, the IDF said. A majority of the Israel Navy’s operational strength is based in Haifa, which was bombed several times by Hizbullah terrorists in the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

Meanwhile, Martin Van Creveld, a military historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, estimated on Thursday that the joint Israel-U.S. drill was intended not only to practice military maneuvers but also to pressure Iran.

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http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/01/06/63457998.html

Vesti
January 6, 2012

US, Israel plan major naval drill

       
The US and Israel are planning to major naval drill  in the Persian Gulf, slated to be held in the next few weeks.

The exercises, called Austere Challenge 12, which both Israeli and US officials have described as the largest-ever joint drill by the two countries, are designed to improve missile defense systems and co-operation between the two countries’ naval forces.

An upgraded Hez 3 missile defense system of joint US-Israeli design, will reportedly be tested during the upcoming exercise, which comes hard on the heels of an Iranian naval drill in the same area, which saw successful launches of  two Iranian-made cruise missiles  with an effective range of up to 200 km.

The missiles are capable of reaching Israeli territory and US bases in the Middle East.

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Pentagon Deploying Thousands Of Troops To Israel

http://rt.com/usa/news/us-troops-israel-iran-257/

RT
January 6, 2012

Thousands of US troops deploying to Israel

Without much media attention, thousands of American troops are being deployed to Israel, and Iranian officials believe that this is the latest and most blatant warning that the US will soon be attacking Tehran.

Tensions between nations have been high in recent months and have only worsened in the weeks since early December when Iran hijacked and recovered an American drone aircraft. Many have speculated that a back-and-forth between the two countries will soon escalate Iran and the US into an all-out war, and that event might occur sooner than thought.

Under the Austere Challenge 12 drill scheduled for an undisclosed time during the next few weeks, the Israeli military will together with America host the largest-ever joint missile drill by the two countries. Following the installation of American troops near Iran’s neighboring Strait of Hormuz and the reinforcing of nearby nations with US weapons, Tehran authorities are considering this not a test but the start of something much bigger.

In the testing, America’s Theater High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile system will be operating alongside its ship-based Aegis system and Israel’s own program to work with Arrow, Patriot and Iron Drone missiles.

Israeli military officials say that the testing was planned before recent episodes involving the US and Iran. Of concern, however, is how the drill will require the deployment of thousands of American troops into Israel.

The Jerusalem Post quotes US Commander Lt.-Gen Frank Gorenc as saying the drill is not just an “exercise” but also a “deployment” that will involve “several thousand American soldiers” heading to Israel. Additionally, new command posts will be established by American forces in Israel and that country’s own IDF army will begin working from a base in Germany.

In September [of 2008], the US European Command established a radar system in Israel.

With America previously equipping Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with weaponry to wreck any chance of an Iranian nuclear weapon program from close by, the US will now have added forces on the ready in Israel and Germany under what Tehran fears is a guise being merely perpetrated as a test-run. RT reported last week that the US is equipping Saudi Arabia with nearly $30 billion F-15 war planes, a deal that comes shortly after Washington worked out a contract with Dubai to give the UAE advanced “bunker buster” bombs that could decimate underground nuclear operations in neighboring Iran.

Since the US surveillance mission over Iran that left overseas intelligence with a captured American drone aircraft, tensions have only escalated between the two nations. After Iran threatened to close down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial path for the nation’s oil trade, the US dispatched 15,000 marines into the area.

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Iran To Hold Largest-Ever Naval Drills Near Strait Of Hormuz

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20120106/170640162.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
January 6, 2012

Iran to stage new ‘massive’ naval drills near Strait of Hormuz

-The newly announced Iraninan drills, codenamed The Great Prophet, may coincide with major naval exercises that Israel and the United States are planning to hold in the Persian Gulf in the near future. AP quoted on Thursday a senior Israeli military official as saying the drills would be held in the next few weeks.
The exercises, called Austere Challenge 12, which both Israeli and U.S. officials have described as the largest-ever joint drills by the two countries…

Moscow: Iran is planning to hold new “massive” naval exercises near the strategic Strait of Hormuz within the next few weeks, the country’s Fars news agency has said, as Tehran’s tensions with the West continue to escalate following threats of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program.

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted in the Fars report as saying the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps was planning to conduct “its greatest naval war games” near the Straight of Hormuz in the near future.

The announcement came just days after the Iranian navy completed its 10-day naval exercises near the Strait of Hormuz. The drills were held after the Islamic Republic threatened to block the waterway, where an estimated 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil passes, in response to Western plans to ban oil imports from Iran. The Islamic Republic derives some 60 percent of its budget revenues from oil exports.

The newly announced Iraninan drills, codenamed The Great Prophet, may coincide with major naval exercises that Israel and the United States are planning to hold in the Persian Gulf in the near future. AP quoted on Thursday a senior Israeli military official as saying the drills would be held in the next few weeks.

The exercises, called Austere Challenge 12, which both Israeli and U.S. officials have described as the largest-ever joint drills by the two countries, are designed to improve missile defense systems and co-operation between the U.S. and Israeli forces.

The United States on Saturday approved sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry, and the European Union will consider banning Iranian oil imports during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in late January.

The sanctions are designed to persuade Iran to drop what Western powers believe is a secret nuclear weapons program developed by Tehran.

Iran denies the claims, saying its nuclear program is for purely civilian purposes.

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“Peacekeeping” In Thailand: Swedish NATO Officer Dies In Crash

http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2012/article11914.html

Phuket Gazette
January 5, 2012

Swede NATO officer dies in Phuket crash
Atchaa Khaml

PHUKET: A 48-year-old Swedish man who reportedly worked for NATO died in a motorbike accident on Phuket’s west coast early this morning.

Pol Capt Somnerk Dumkewa of Kamala Police told the Phuket Gazette that his officers received a call reporting the accident at about 2:30am.

At the scene, on the street leading to the Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), officers found the man already dead lying near a red Honda motorbike.

His name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Capt Somneuk said the man had suffered a severe head injury. “He was dead when we arrived,” he said.

Police at the scene found blood on a broken window of a house close to the edge of the road, Capt Somneuk said.

“We believe the man was traveling at speed when he failed to make the curve. He hit a house that is right beside the road. We found blood on the side of the house and on glass from a broken window [on the front of the house],” he said.

The man’s body was taken to Patong Hospital.

“The Swedish embassy was notified of the death this morning,” Capt Somnerk said.

A fellow officer at Kamala Police Station told the Gazette that police had been informed the man worked for NATO, but added that it was not confirmed what role the man fulfilled with the international peace-keeping organization.

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