26 October 2011 — Stop NATO
- Fidel Castro: NATO’s Genocidal Role (Part II)
- NATO In Libya: From Arab Spring To Sharia Autumn
- State Department Acknowledges U.S. Nuclear Superiority Over Russia
- Pentagon: Central African Operation Similar To Bosnian, Georgian Ones
- Pentagon Pivoting From Middle East To Asia-Pacific
- Pentagon to Expand Activities In Asia?
- Pentagon Chief’s Distorted Account Of Chinese Military
- U.S. Readies THAAD Interceptor Missiles For Deployment
- NATO MEADS Missile Interception Launcher Ready For Flight Test
- Emirates Seek French Military Satellite, 60 Warplanes Against Iran
Fidel Castro: NATO’s Genocidal Role (Part II)
http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=425455&Itemid=1
Prensa Latina
October 25, 2011
Reflections by Fidel Castro: NATO’s Genocidal Role (Part II)
Havana, Oct 25 (Prensa Latina) ‘NATO’s Genocidal Role’ (Part II) is the title of the latest reflection by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.
Prensa Latina is posting below the full text of Fidel Castro’s reflection.
REFLECTIONS BY FIDEL: NATO’S GENOCIDAL ROLE (PART II)
A little more than eight months ago, on February 21 of this year, I affirmed with full conviction, ‘NATO’s plan is to occupy Libya.’ Under this title I addressed the issue for the first time in a Reflection the content of which appeared to be pure fantasy.
I include in these lines the facts which led me to that conclusion.
‘Oil became the principal wealth in the hands of the large yankee transnationals; with that source of energy, they had at their disposal an instrument that considerably increased their political power in the world.’
‘Current civilization was developed on the basis of this source of energy. Of the nations in this hemisphere it was Venezuela which paid the highest price. The United States made itself the owner of the vast oilfields which nature endowed upon that sister nation.
‘At the end of the last World War it began to extract large volumes from oilfields in Iran, as well as those of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the Arab countries located around them. These came to be the principal suppliers. World consumption rose progressively to the fabulous figure of approximately 80 million barrels per day, including those pumped in U.S. territory, to which gas, hydro-electric and nuclear energy were subsequently added.’
‘The squandering of oil and gas is associated with one of the greatest tragedies, totally unresolved, being endured by humanity: climate change.’
‘In December of 1951, Libya became the first African country to attain its independence after World War II, during which its territory was the scene of significant battles between German and British troops…’
‘The total desert covers 95% of its territory. Technology made it possible to find significant fields of excellent quality light oil, currently providing 800 billion barrels per day, and abundant natural gas deposits. [… ] Its harsh desert is located above an enormous lake of fossil water, equivalent to more than three times the land surface of Cuba, which has made it possible to construct a broad network of fresh water pipes which extends throughout the country.’
‘The Libyan Revolution took place in September 1969. Its principal leader was Muammar al-Gaddafi, a soldier of Bedouin origin who was inspired in his early youth by the ideas of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. Without any doubt, many of his decisions are associated with the changes that came about when, as in Egypt, a weak and corrupt monarchy was overthrown in Libya.’
‘One can be in agreement with Gaddafi or not. The world has been invaded with all kind of news, especially through the mass media. We shall have to wait the time needed to discover precisely how much is truth or lies, or a mix of the events, of all kinds, which, in the midst of chaos, have been taking place in Libya. What is absolutely evident to me is that the government of the United States is totally unconcerned about peace in Libya and will not hesitate to give NATO the order to invade that rich country, possibly in a matter of hours or a few days.
‘Those who, with perfidious intentions, invented the lie that Gaddafi was headed for Venezuela, as they did yesterday afternoon Sunday, February 20, today received a worthy response from Nicolás Maduro…’
‘For my part, I cannot imagine the Libyan leader abandoning the country, eluding the responsibilities attributed to him, whether or not this news is partly or totally false.’
‘An honest person will always be against any injustice committed against any nation of the world, and the worst injustice, at this moment, would be to remain silent in the face of the crime that NATO is preparing to commit against the Libyan people.
‘The chief of that military organization is being urged to do so. This must be condemned!’
At that early date I had taken note of what was absolutely obvious.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 25, our Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez will be speaking in the United Nations headquarters denouncing the criminal United States blockade of Cuba. We shall be closely following this battle which will once again demonstrate the need to bring to an end, not only the blockade, but the system which engenders injustice on our planet, squanders its natural resources and is placing humanity’s survival at risk. We will pay special attention to Cuba’s arguments.
I will continue Wednesday the 26th.
Fidel Castro Ruz
October 24, 2011
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NATO In Libya: From Arab Spring To Sharia Autumn
http://abc.az/eng/news_25_10_2011_58957.html
Azerbaijan Business Center
October 25, 2011
NATO establishes its first Islamic state and surprises that
Baku: ‘The Arab Spring’ has been replaced in the Maghreb countries with ‘Sharia autumn’.
Democratic Libya, created by NATO member states’ bombers and task forces, has declared itself an Islamic state. The Transitional National Council of Libya has already announced that no other laws, except for sharia, will act in the country any longer.
The ‘Founding Fathers’ from NATO, engaged by internal debt problems and division of Libyan oil and gas resources, only sluggishly called the TNC to comply with democratic norms and human rights.
The peacekeepers on the aircraft carriers did not want to admit that ‘dictator’ Gaddafi, who trampled on NATO money and who actually created a unified Libya 40 years ago, warned that he fought Islamic militants. Instead, the father of the new Libyan democracy and a newborn girl, President Sarkozy, suggested Prime Minister of Great Britain James Cameron to shut up and to not pry into the affairs of the Eurozone.
In parallel, the Islamist party Ennahda (Revival) has won in the elections in Tunisia, from which the Arab Spring began. The party was supported by at least 40% of voters. As well as in Iran in 1979, this party is headed by a politician who was in 20-year exile.
Probably, the process of Islamization of the Maghreb will continue and cover at least Egypt, much to the surprise of NATO. Although, actually, all this happens within the conclusions made by the French Orientalists: when socialism goes, Islam comes. And all the overthrown regimes in the Maghreb, at least once, declared their socialist status.
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State Department Acknowledges U.S. Nuclear Superiority Over Russia
http://en.rian.ru/world/20111025/168112458.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
October 25, 2011
U.S. has ‘nuclear superiority’ over Russia
WASHINGTON: Data published by the U.S. Department of State on Tuesday indicates that the United States has some 300 more deployed nuclear weapons than Russia.
According to New START Treaty Aggregate Numbers of Strategic Offensive Arms facts sheet, posted on the State Department’s website, the United States has 822 deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers, while Russia has 516.
Russia is also at a disadvantage in the number of warheads on deployed carriers – 1,566 warheads against 1,790 American warheads.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which entered into force on February 5, 2011, commits the United States and the Russian Federation to reduce and limit the number of deployed and non-deployed strategic offensive arms to the agreed aggregate numbers.
Beginning April 6, 2011, inspections under the New START Treaty are regularly conducted in the Russian Federation and the United States with consistent data exchange carried out every six months.
To date, the U.S. has conducted twelve inspections while Russia has conducted eleven inspections. These inspections have taken place at ICBM, SLBM, and heavy bomber bases, storage facilities, conversion or elimination facilities, and test ranges.
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Pentagon: Central African Operation Similar To Bosnian, Georgian Ones
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=65810
U.S. Department of Defense
October 25, 2011
Official: Troops in Central Africa for Months, Not Years
By Lisa Daniel
WASHINGTON: About a hundred U.S. troops being deployed to Central Africa will be there for months – not years – and only until the national armies of the region are capable of dismantling the terrorist group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army, a senior Pentagon official told Congress members today.
…Alexander Vershbow, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee…
…He appeared before the committee alongside Donald Yamamoto, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, to explain the operation President Barack Obama announced Oct. 14.
The U.S. troops – mostly Army Special Forces – will work with the militaries of Uganda, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan to capture or kill Kony and other LRA commanders, Vershbow said.
…
U.S. Africa Command has provided training and equipment to central African militaries, and those militaries have been successful against the LRA, which is down to about 200 core fighters and about 600 supporters…
[S]ome U.S. troops already have moved into the affected area, Vershbow said. Most will stay in Uganda, but some will forward deploy with African troops, he added.
…
The cost and duration of the deployment is unclear, Vershbow said, but it likely will cost tens of millions of dollars and last several months.
…
The action is similar to those the U.S. military undertook in training and equipping Georgian and Bosnian militaries in recent years, Vershbow said.
…
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Pentagon Pivoting From Middle East To Asia-Pacific
CNN
October 25, 2011
Pivoting from Middle East to the Pacific
By Pentagon Producer Larry Shaughnessy in Tokyo, Japan
If there’s been one theme U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has tried to hammer home at every opportunity during his weeklong tour of Asia it is this: ‘The United States, as a Pacific nation, is and will remain a Pacific power in this region. We will always maintain a strong presence in the Pacific.’
Those assurances come from a defense secretary facing major cuts at home.
‘It’s no secret that the United States faces some very tough fiscal decisions back home,’ Panetta said Tuesday during a news conference with the Japanese defense minister. ‘But let me reassure the people of Japan: The one thing that we have agreed upon is that the Pacific will remain a key priority. I will continue to strengthen our forces in this part of the world.’
So if the Department of Defense has to make cuts, and it’s clear it will, how will the American military be strengthened in the Far East? Perhaps by looking to the west.
The U.S. military will be out of Iraq by New Year’s Day and the mission in Libya with NATO could be over by Halloween. Even in Afghanistan, where no one is claiming victory, America’s troop presence is shrinking; 10,000 troops are to come out by the end of 2011.
Panetta called it a ‘turning point after a decade of war.’
Will the Pacific nations that count on the U.S. military benefit from that ‘turning point’?
Panetta hinted Monday that might be the case.
‘We have the opportunity now to be able to focus on those challenges,’ he told a gathering of American troops at Yokota Air Base near Tokyo. ‘Most importantly, we have the opportunity to strengthen our presence in the Pacific. And we will.’
But when asked at his Tuesday news conference about some details, he wasn’t clear.
‘There are a number of steps that we can take, it seems to me, to strengthen our position in the Pacific,’ he said. One of the few specifics he mentioned was more training exercises for U.S. troops and their Japanese counterparts.
…
‘Probably the greatest opportunities in the years ahead will be found in the Asia Pacific region, which is why we have renewed America’s leadership and pre-eminent role there,’ Clinton said in the speech October 12.
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Pentagon to Expand Activities In Asia?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203911804576653160176584104.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Wall Street Journal
October 26, 2011
Pentagon to Expand Activities in Asia?
Pentagon Will Add to Asia Operations
By Adam Entous
TOKYO: The Obama administration plans to conduct more military exercises in Asia and take other steps to expand its influence in the region, amid concerns about China’s buildup, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said.
The stepped-up military activity, to be planned with U.S. allies in the region, would be a component of what officials describe as a global ‘rebalancing’ of U.S. interests as Washington shifts more of its attention to the Pacific while winding down the war in Iraq and beginning to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
In his first trip to Asia since becoming Pentagon chief on July 1, Mr. Panetta promised to strengthen the U.S. military presence in Asia…
At a news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa, Mr. Panetta said the Pentagon was ‘looking at increasing exercises in the Pacific region,’ including training drills with Asian allies.
…
Mr. Panetta didn’t say whether the U.S. planned to deploy more aircraft carriers or station more troops permanently in the region. The U.S. has six carriers based in the Pacific.
Mr. Panetta has ruled out cutting U.S. forces in the region, but also made clear that the Obama administration expects its Asian allies to play a larger role to keep Chinese ambitions in check.
‘It is very important that we work with our partners in the Pacific region to try to develop their capabilities so that they, too, can improve the security that they provide to this region,’ he said.
He cited U.S. efforts to strengthen security cooperation with South Korea, Australia and other allies as a way to ‘more effectively address the many shared challenges that we face’ and to ‘encourage China’s emergence as a responsible and positive partner.’
Asking Asian allies to share the burden reflects President Barack Obama’s general approach to global security challenges. In the conflict in Libya, for example, he insisted that European states play a leading role.
At each stop, first in Bali, Indonesia and then in Tokyo, Mr. Panetta touted the coming shift in U.S. focus to Asia and toughened his tone on Beijing and Pyongyang.
In newspaper op-eds published this week, Mr. Panetta said China was rapidly modernizing its military with a ‘troubling lack of transparency.’ He likewise warned of North Korea’s ‘reckless and provocative’ behavior.
…
In Tokyo, Mr. Panetta said expanding the security alliance with Japan was a critical part of the Obama administration’s realignment in Asia.
…
Of about 47,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan, about half are in Okinawa.
…
—Yuka Hayashi contributed to this article.
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Pentagon Chief’s Distorted Account Of Chinese Military
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-10/25/c_131211850.htm
Xinhua News Agency
October 26, 2011
Pentagon chief distorted story of Chinese military
By Li Hongmei
-Abroad, the winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the removal of the U.S. ‘thorn in flesh’ with the death of Libya’s Gaddafi might mark a pivot turning point for the U.S. military, which must now focus on ‘looming threats’ such as the rising military might – an allusion to China.
-His restatement of ‘China Threat’ also echoed a well-accepted American logic: We can wield stick at your doorsteps, but you should never flex muscles for self-defense.
BEIJING: U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta kicked off his debut visit to the Asian allies. The visit is Panetta’s first since he took over from his predecessor Robert Gates, and he appears keen to follow up on the Pacific vision defined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, showing a clear U.S. dedication to all-round engagement and diversified presence in Asia as part of its global repositioning strategy.
To reiterate the U.S. intention to ‘come back’ to Asia and to refocus on the region, and to soothe the nerves of its regional allies in the presence of a rising power like China might well serve as the new Pentagon chief’s paramount mission during his week-long Asia trip.
Panetta’s Asia tour is tightly-scheduled – he arrived in Japan Monday from Bali, Indonesia, where he met with defense ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. On Tuesday, Panetta is scheduled to meet with Japan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, as well as his defense and foreign ministers. On Wednesday he is to meet with U.S. sailors aboard a ship at the nearby Yokosuka Naval Base and then travel to South Korea for annual security consultations.
The U.S. defense chief marked a sharp change in tone from his predecessor Robert Gates who used to reach out to China to seek after an improved tie between militaries albeit strained by U.S. arm sales to Taiwan.
Panetta produced an opinion piece in Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper as he arrived there, warning of a ‘troubling lack of transparency’ over China‘s rapid military modernization, and expressed concern over China’s ‘increasingly assertive activity in the East and South China Seas.’
His comments came against such a backdrop: At home, the intense pressure to slash military spending as part of a deficit-reduction effort. Abroad, the winding down of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the removal of the U.S. ‘thorn in flesh’ with the death of Libya’s Gaddafi might mark a pivot turning point for the U.S. military, which must now focus on ‘looming threats’ such as the rising military might – an allusion to China.
The visit also coincided with a time when the U.S. is considering near-term possibilities of bolstering its position in Asia by increasing U.S. Navy port calls and conducting more regular exercises with Asian and Pacific nations.
As expected, Panetta used his first Japan trip to sound an emerging theme of the Obama administration: America will remain a global economic and military power despite coming budget reductions, and the Asia-Pacific region will be vital to U.S. national security strategy.
His restatement of ‘China Threat’ also echoed a well-accepted American logic: We can wield stick at your doorsteps, but you should never flex muscles for self-defense.
In actuality, China’s consistent good-neighborly policy is all based on considering neighboring countries’ security concerns and enhancing military mutual trust and cooperation with neighbors. In so doing, China can avoid being plunged into a ‘security dilemma’ itself and thereby it does not engage in regional arms race or try to pursue regional hegemony.
China is one of the few countries facing a complicated geopolitical environment. It has a vast territory with a land border of more than 22,000 kilometers and a coastline of over 18,000 km. Therefore, it is justified in modernizing its defense capabilities for its national security and to protect its peaceful development.
History has proven and will continue to prove that the build-up of the Chinese military is to safeguard its sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and its people’s peaceful life, rather than pursuing hegemony and external expansion.
The upgrading of the Chinese military is all in response to the need of the national defense. Panetta’s ‘anxiety’ that China will turn its growing economic strength into military might and thus pose a threat to the region is totally baseless.
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U.S. Readies THAAD Interceptor Missiles For Deployment
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
October 25, 2011
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Propulsion Systems Successfully Maneuver Missile Defense Interceptors to Destroy Ballistic Missile Targets
CANOGA PARK, Calif. – Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne’s Divert and Attitude Control System (DACS) for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor successfully positioned missile defense interceptors to simultaneously destroy two short-range ballistic missile targets in a demonstration of the weapon system’s ability to help protect troops and other U.S. interests around the world. The THAAD operational test was conducted by the Ballistic Missile Defense System Operational Test Agency, with the support of the Missile Defense Agency, at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii on Oct. 5…
‘Both interceptors scored direct hits,’ said Craig Larson, THAAD program manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne developed the Divert and Attitude Control System (DACS) for the THAAD interceptor. DACS is a high-precision, quick-reaction propulsion system that positions the interceptor to defeat an incoming ballistic missile. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is under contract with Lockheed Martin, the THAAD Weapon System Prime contractor, to produce the DACS.
THAAD is designed to protect deployed troops around the world, and other important assets and population centers against short to medium range ballistic missiles in the final phase of flight.
…
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NATO MEADS Missile Interception Launcher Ready For Flight Test
United Press International
October 25, 2011
MEADS launcher readied for flight test
ORLANDO, Fla. – The first Medium Extended Air Defense System launcher has arrived in New Mexico for an initial flight test following system integration testing.
MEADS is to demonstrate an unprecedented over-the-shoulder launch of a PAC-3 MSE against a simulated target that attacks from behind.
The test will demonstrate a 360-degree capability that current air and missile defense systems cannot provide. The 360-degree coverage is necessary to protect soldiers and critical assets from highly maneuverable cruise missiles and easily relocatable short- and medium-range tactical ballistic missiles.
‘The lightweight MEADS launcher is one of the most advanced mobile launchers in existence today and it is easily adaptable to different nations’ vehicles,’ said NATO MEADS Management Agency General Manager Gregory Kee.
‘With this upcoming test, we will demonstrate the ability to launch an interceptor 360 degrees from a single launcher, thereby providing more capability to the warfighter at a lower cost to protect our soldiers against a growing air and missile threat.’
The lightweight MEADS launcher is easily transportable, tactically mobile and capable of rapid reload. It carries up to eight PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement Missiles and achieves launch readiness in minimum time.
MEADS International, a multinational joint venture with headquarters in Orlando, Fla., is the prime contractor for the MEADS system. Major sub-contractors and joint venture partners are MBDA in Italy, LFK in Germany and Lockheed Martin in the United States.
The MEADS program management agency is in Huntsville, Ala.
MEADS International said integration and checkout tests are continuing in preparation for a November flight test.
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Emirates Seek French Military Satellite, 60 Warplanes Against Iran
United Press International
October 25, 2011
Emirates seek French military satellite
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates: The United Arab Emirates has reopened negotiations with France for a military surveillance satellite, underlining the Persian Gulf state’s concerns about Iran…
The move, however, could also be linked to the protracted negotiations to buy 60 Dassault Aviation Rafale multi-role fighter jets, a deal that could be worth up to $10 billion.
The satellite project was first mooted in 2008, shortly after the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, consisting of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, scrapped its HudHud program.
That at one point involved French-Italian Thales Alenia Space company, which would produce radar-optical observation satellites for a joint Saudi-Qatari-Emirates program. The project was abandoned in 2008.
On April 24, the emirates launched its fifth communications satellite into orbit, the first to provide secure and independent telecommunications for its armed forces amid a drive by Arab states in the gulf to boost their military capabilities against Iran.
The Emirates’ Y1A satellite was launched from the European Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, atop an Ariane 5 rocket.
It was built by Yahsat, the Emirates’ Al Yah Satellite Communication Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mubadala Development Co., which has headquarters in Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich economic powerhouse of the seven-member federation.
Mubadala, the government’s investment arm, is heavily involved in the Emirates’ drive to build up its defense industry.
The satellite was developed and built by Astrium, the aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautics Defense and Space Co. and Thales Alenia Space, which has headquarters in Cannes, France. That’s owned by Thales Aerospace of France and Finmeccanica of Italy.
The satellite, based on Astrium’s Eurostar E3000 platform, had been originally scheduled to be launched March 31 but that was delayed for technical reasons.
A second satellite, Y1B, should be launched before the end of the year to complete the $1.6 billion Yahsat program.
Y1A and Y1B will also provide commercial communications across the Middle East, Africa, South West Asia and Europe.
The emirates spearhead efforts by the GCC states to acquire their own military surveillance satellite system to bolster the early warning system they have been seeking to develop for several years.
The GCC states have been talking about a joint early warning system for a decade.
But, largely due to dynastic squabbles within the alliance established in 1982 at the height of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war this and other GCC military aims remain unfulfilled.
However, the growing tension between the GCC states and Iran could provide the spur for them to set aside their differences and work together to develop their common military capabilities and lessen dependence on the United States for early warning.
The development of the emirates satellite has strategic implications for the Gulf Arab states. The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology runs the satellite program.
…
The United Arab Emirates has established itself as the space technology hub in the region and has had dealings with foreign companies that specialize in military satellites.
In September 1997, the U.S. Hughes Space and Communications International signed a $1 billion communications satellite deal, at that time the Arab world’s largest satellite contract, with Abu Dhabi’s Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Organization, which groups investors in 14 Arab states.
Thuraya has sent three communications into orbit. It’s one of the region’s biggest telecommunications companies. Its main shareholder is the state-run Emirates Telecommunications Co.
The New Dark Age 