Stop NATO news: February 24, 2012
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Afghan Killed As Protesters Attempt To Overrun NATO Base
Germans Abandon Base Amid Afghan Protests
NATO Agreement: Canada Plans German Air Force Hub Despite Protests
Tbilisi: U.S., Georgia Defense Chiefs Push Deepening Cooperation
U.S., Japan Discuss Sales Of 42 Joint Strike Fighters
Pakistan: 10,000 Tribesman In Anti-U.S. Drone Attacks Protest
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Afghan Killed As Protesters Attempt To Overrun NATO Base
http://en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1996380.html
Trend News Agency
February 24, 2012
One Afghan killed as protesters attempt to overrun NATO base
One Afghan was killed on Friday as protesters tried to overrun a Hungarian base in northern Afghanistan, officials said.
“More than 1,000 people are protesting right now in front of a Hungarian PRT base in provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri city,” said Zamanuddin Husaini, the deputy police chief of Baghlan province, DPA reported.
“The police fired into the air to disperse the crowd. Eleven people, including four police and four soldiers, were injured in the clashes,” he said.
“They were able to get past the barbwire and remove the blast walls.”
PRTs, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, are NATO-led joint military and civilian initiatives working in the areas of development and reconstruction.
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Germans Abandon Base Amid Afghan Protests
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120224-40957.html
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
February 24, 2012
Germans ditch Afghan base after Koran burning
After 300 protesters massed outside the German Taloqan base in northern Afghanistan, the commander withdrew the 50 troops to the larger Kunduz base camp 70 kilometres away, abandoning the camp around a month ahead of schedule.
A Bundeswehr spokesman said the troops had taken all military vehicles with them, but it remained unclear whether the soldiers would return at a later date to complete the clear-out. The relatively small camp is said to be difficult to secure, since it is in the middle of the town of Taloqan, capital of the Takhar province, with a population of 200,000.
State broadcaster ZDF reported that stones had been thrown at the camp, which was also attacked in May last year, when several people were shot dead. Taloqan is also the town where an Afghan police chief and two Bundeswehr soldiers were killed in an attack on the governor’s palace last year.
Unrest has escalated dramatically following the alleged burning of several copies of the Koran by US soldiers at their Bagram base earlier this week…
Several people have been killed during violent protests since then, and two soldiers from the NATO-led international mission ISAF were shot dead by an Afghan soldier on Thursday.
US President Barack Obama’s official apology to his Afghan counterpart Harmid Karzai has done little to quell the protests, which have been joined by thousands of Afghans across the country.
The Taliban has sworn revenge for the incident and called on Afghan soldiers to abandon their posts, promising to welcome all deserters as “heroes.”
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NATO Agreement: Canada Plans German Air Force Hub Despite Protests
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1135692–canadian-plans-for-a-military-air-force-hub-in-germany-go-ahead-despite-protests?bn=1
Toronto Star
Febraury 23, 2012
Canadian plans for a military air force hub in Germany go ahead despite protests
Richard J. Brennan
-In 2009, the Canadian Forces operated European Operational Support Hub at the United States Air Force base at Spangdahlem, Germany, in order to move supplies and military personnel to Afghanistan. The proposed location will serve as a more permanent location.
-According to a National Defence release, the support hub would provide Canadian Forces with a flexible and cost-efficient location to deploy and sustain international operations…
Canada is pushing ahead with plans for a military logistics base near Cologne, Germany, despite civilian protests, including those from the city’s mayor’s office.
A spokesperson for Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s office said Canada has every right under a NATO agreement to use the military side of the Cologne-Bonn Airport regardless of the protestations.
“Canada’s decision to make use of Germany’s airport is based on the long-standing NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which gives the militaries of NATO partner nations legal authority to use one another’s facilities,” he told the Star Thursday.
He said Canada has the full support of the German defence ministry to use the Cologne-Bonn Airport.
Both Cologne Lord Mayor Juergen Roters and Michael Garvens, the civilian chair of the airport board, have rejected Canada’s plans, saying the airport is already far too busy and a constant source of noise complaints.
The airport, a major transport hub in Europe, is divided between civilian and military operations.
A spokesman for Lord Mayor Roters said he is dead set against the Canadian plan, especially since he was never consulted.
“He won’t agree…because we have a serious problem with the neighbours of the airport with the problem of noise pollution,” Gregory Timmer told the Star Thursday.
“Everything coming to the airport, especially to the military part of the airport will create more noise, so the resistance of the neighbours will be stronger and stronger. That’s a problem for the airport in total.”
The Cologne-Bonn Airport allows unrestricted night flying, which only exacerbates the noise complaints, Timmer said.
MacKay last week announced the location of the new Canadian Forces’ European Operational Support Hub at the airport.
“It is a pleasure to build on the long-standing relationship that Canada has developed with Germany as Allies through NATO, and in operations such as in Afghanistan,” he said during German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere’s visit to Ottawa.
In 2009, the Canadian Forces operated European Operational Support Hub at the United States Air Force base at Spangdahlem, Germany, in order to move supplies and military personnel to Afghanistan. The proposed location will serve as a more permanent location.
A day after MacKay made his Feb. 14 announcement, Gavens issued a news release stating that “with respect to the additional noise exposure, especially during the night times, we reject these plans.”
Timmer said it was his understanding that a group of Canadians visited the military operation at the Cologne-Bonn Airport “but nobody talked to the city, to the mayor or to local government, and that’s a problem.”
…
According to a National Defence release, the support hub would provide Canadian Forces with a flexible and cost-efficient location to deploy and sustain international operations and provide the opportunity to respond to crises in a timely manner, whether it’s humanitarian relief, peace support, or combat operations.
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Tbilisi: U.S., Georgia Defense Chiefs Push Deepening Cooperation
http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24480
Civil Georgia
February 23, 2012
Georgian, U.S. Defense Officials Discuss ‘Deepening Cooperation’
Tbilisi: Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia met on February 23 in Tbilisi visiting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, Celeste Wallander, and “discussed prospects of deepening bilateral cooperation,” the Georgian Ministry of Defense said.
It said that the officials discussed “how they can build on existing successful programs to help the Georgian military continue its reform and defense modernization efforts that supports Georgia’s self defense.”
Also on February 23 Georgian Defense Minister spoke on phone with U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who expressed his condolences over death of three Georgian soldiers in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, according to the Georgian MoD.
Earlier on February 23, the visiting U.S. delegation, which also includes Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, Deputy Director for Plans, Policy and Strategy at the U.S. European Command, also met with representatives of the Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, according to MoD.
During the first day of visit on February 22, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense met with President Saakashvili and traveled to Gori in central Georgia where she visited National Defense Academy.
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http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=24481
Civil Georgia
February 23, 2012
U.S. DoD Official Speaks of Defense Ties with Georgia
Tbilisi: Georgia and the United States are enhancing defense relations by advancing them into “new areas”, but it does not mean ceasing working on “the fundamentals of defense institution building” – something that has been focus of the U.S. assistance to the Georgian military in recent few years, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, Celeste Wallander, said.
Speaking before students and officers at the Georgian National Defense Academy in Gori on February 22, Wallander said that in addition to preparing Georgian troops for Afghan deployment the U.S.-Georgia defense cooperation had focused over the past three years on “areas such as the development of defense doctrine, the organization of the appropriate structures and systems in the defense ministry and in the armed forces, and the establishment of an effective professional military education program.”
“While your work in these areas is not complete, our own assessments, as well as NATO’s, indicate that your reform efforts have begun to build a military that is not only more interoperable with the United States and NATO, but also one that is beginning to meet Western and Euro-Atlantic standards of conduct,” said Wallander, whose remarks were made available on the U.S. embassy website.
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She also said that both the Georgian Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense were “very pleased with the announcement our two presidents made to enhance our defense cooperation.”
“But advancing our relationship into new areas of cooperation does not mean we will cease to cooperate in and focus on the fundamentals of defense institution building that have brought you success thus far,” Wallander said without discussing details of “new areas” of cooperation.
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U.S., Japan Discuss Sales Of 42 Joint Strike Fighters
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2012-02/24/c_131429580.htm
Xinhua News Agency
February 24, 2012
U.S., Japan discuss purchase of F-35 fighters
WASHINGTON: U.S. and Japanese officials have discussed Japan’s plan to upgrade its air force with the purchase of 42 F-35 fighter jets, U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
The topic was part of a wide-ranging discussion on political-military issues between the two allies when U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro met on Wednesday with Hideo Suzuki, director general of acquisition reform from Japan’s Ministry of Defense, at the State Department.
They also touched on efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas of defense technology research, joint planning, training and exercises.
“We are committed to working with our Japanese allies to help them develop the air power assets. Japan needs to meet 21st century challenges, contribute to its own self-defense and contribute to alliance missions in a manner that is both effective and efficient,” the State Department said.
Japan hopes to have the F-35 fighters, the fifth generation multi-role and stealth fighter jets made by U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin, delivered by fiscal year 2016 to replace its aging fleet F-4 Phantoms.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told his Japanese counterpart Naoki Tanaka late last month that the deployment of F-35 fighter jets would be partially postponed due to U.S. defense spending cuts, which raised concerns in Japan about a price rising of the jets.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said the total cost of the 42 F-35 fighters, including maintenance and operation expenditures, would exceed 1.6 trillion yen (20.8 billion U.S. dollars) over the next 20 years.
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Pakistan: 10,000 Tribesman In Anti-U.S. Drone Attacks Protest
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20122\24\story_24-2-2012_pg7_3
Daily Times
February 24, 2012
Thousands of tribesmen protest US drone strikes
MIRANSHAH: Thousands of tribesmen on Thursday rallied against US drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal belt, demanding compensation for damage and losses, witnesses said.
Markets remained closed during the rally in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency (NWA), the most frequently area targeted by drone strikes…
Up to 10,000 tribesmen gathered in the Miranshah bazaar shouting “Death to America” and “Stop drone attacks in Pakistan” at the rally organised by Pakistan’s largest religious party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), witnesses said.
“The United Nations (UN) should take notice of American drone strikes,” cleric Maulana Abul Rehman said while addressing the gathering. Maulana Saleem Gul, Maulana Muhammad Alam, Ahmad Saeed and several others addressed the protest rally in which they stressed the stoppage of drone strikes in the tribal region…The tribesmen demanded the government to relax the checkposts at the entry and exist points of the NWA. They condemned this week’s desecration of holy Quran at a US-run base in neighbouring Afghanistan. They warned that if US did not stop the drone attacks then countrywide protests would be launched.
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