The New Dark Age

18 May 2011 — Stop NATO

• NATO Conducts Over 7,000 Air Missions
• Libya: Dutch F-16s Carry Out 180 Missions
• Libya Says It Hit NATO Warship Shelling Misrata
• Libyan Model: NATO Upgrades Urban Warfare Capabilities
• Russia Opposes Repeat Of Libyan Model In Syria
• “Isolate Assad Regime”: U.S., NATO Allies Discuss New Syria Sanctions

NATO Conducts Over 7,000 Air Missions

www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_05/20110518_110518-oup-update.pdf

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

May 18, 2011

NATO and Libya

Allied Joint Force Command NAPLES, SHAPE, NATO HQ

…

Over the past 24 hours, NATO has conducted the following activities associated with Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR:

Air Operations

Since the beginning of the NATO operation (31 March 2011, 08.00GMT) a total of 7103 sorties, including 2755 strike sorties have been conducted.

Sorties conducted 17 May: 159

Strike sorties conducted 17 May: 53

…

A total of 21 ships under NATO command are actively patrolling the Central Mediterranean.

13 Vessels were hailed on 17 May to determine destination and cargo. 1 boarding (no diversion) was conducted.

A total of 954 vessels have been hailed, 41 boardings and 5 diversions have been conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.

…

====

Libya: Dutch F-16s Carry Out 180 Missions

news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/18/c_13881439.htm

Xinhua News Agency

May 18, 2011

Dutch F-16 fighter jets take part in NATO mission over Libya

THE HAGUE: Dutch F-16 fighter jets were taking part in a NATO mission over Libya, but were not involved in air strikes, the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported on Wednesday.

A statement issued by Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal and Defence Minister Hans Hillen said although the Netherlands is not against ground attacks to protect civilians, they see no military reason for Dutch planes to be involved.

The statement emphasized that Dutch pilots did not bomb ground targets themselves, but were trying to help their foreign allies by enforcing the no-fly zone.

The Dutch planes secured their NATO partners and provided information on troop movements and bomb damage to the command center, it said.

Since the start of the mission, Dutch F-16s have carried out 180 flights.

====

Libya Says It Hit NATO Warship Shelling Misrata

af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFLDE74G2CR20110517

Reuters

May 17, 2011

Libya says hits NATO warship shelling Misrata

CAIRO: Libya said on Tuesday its forces had hit a NATO warship while it was shelling areas in the western parts of the rebel-held Libyan city of Misrata.

Libyan state television said “our forces fired (at warships) and hit one directly and severely”.

It gave no further details. It was not immediately possible to verify the report.

(Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Maria Golovnina)

====

Libyan Model: NATO Upgrades Urban Warfare Capabilities

www.sacbee.com/2011/05/17/3632268/standardised-urban-warfare-training.html

Sacramento Bee

May 17, 2011

Standardised Urban Warfare Training is Essential for Future Conflict

By IQPC

LONDON: Joint urban SERE training capabilities will have a huge impact on the way that forces operate in future conflicts especially with regards to coalition missions like the one currently being played out in Libya.

Talking to Defence IQ, ahead of the Joint Personnel Recovery event in June, Major Bart Holewijn, Commander at the Royal Netherlands SERE School says that standard joint capabilities as outlined in the latest NATO doctrine, released in January, will ensure standardised training methods that would not have been considered six months ago.

“Training is now standardised which will very much help in PR missions and future NATO operations as people now know that these are the methods that we need to adhere to. It makes procedure easier to follow.”

…

With defence budgets being cut, Major Holewijn states it makes sense for countries to set up joint training ventures such as the one between the Netherlands and Belgian training schools that he heads up.

Major Holewijn will be leading a session at the Joint Personnel Recovery conference on 28th June 2011, looking at SERE training and PR policy development:

Joint Personnel Recovery will take place at Le Meridien Piccadilly in London on 28th – 29th June 2011…

====

Russia Opposes Repeat Of Libyan Model In Syria

www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=244588

Interfax

May 18, 2011

Russia will not support UN resolution on Syria if it is similar to that on Libya – Medvedev

SKOLKOVO, Moscow region: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will not support a UN Security Council resolution on Syria if it is similar to the one the Security Council earlier passed on Libya.

“I will not support such a resolution,” Medvedev said at a press conference on Wednesday.

“In fact, resolutions No. 1970 and 1973 have been trampled upon by the steps that some states have taken,” Medvedev said.

“While Russia supported one of these resolutions and agreed to the adoption of the other, that is, did not veto it, the following events have shown that such resolutions can be manipulated,” he said.

—————————————————————————

english.ruvr.ru/2011/05/18/50473154.html

Voice of Russia

May 18, 2011

Moscow will never back UNSC resolution on Syria – Medvedev

Russia will not back a possible UN Security Council resolution on Syria, President Dmitry Medvedev told a Skolkovo press conference outside Moscow on Wednesday.

“I will never support such a resolution, and even my closest friends will not be able to prod me to do so”, Medvedev said.

Political unrest shows no signs of abating in Syria, where protesters demand an immediate ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

Earlier this year, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the introduction of a no-fly zone over Libya.

—————————————————————————

en.rian.ru/russia/20110518/164090529.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti

May 18, 2011

Medvedev says Russia ‘won’t back’ UN Syria resolution

SKOLKOVO: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that Russia will not back a UN resolution on Syria.

Britain, France and Germany have been pushing for the UN Security Council to condemn Syria’s crackdown…

“I will not back this resolution even if my friends are going to beg me to,” Medvedev told a news conference at the Skolkovo School of Management near Moscow.

“It is sad that these resolutions can be manipulated,” he said.

Russia also abstained from supporting resolution 1973 which authorized air strikes to protect Libyan civilians against forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi.

====

“Isolate Assad Regime”: U.S., NATO Allies Discuss New Syria Sanctions

news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/18/c_13879696.htm

Xinhua News Agency

May 18, 2011

U.S., EU discuss more sanctions against Syria

WASHINGTON: U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that she and visiting European Union High Representative for foreign policy Catherine Ashton discussed more possible sanctions against Syria.

“Today, we discussed additional steps that we can take to increase pressure and further isolate the Assad regime,” Clinton told reporters after meeting with Ashton at the State Department.

She said the two expressed “serious concern” about the continued violence in Syria.

Clinton accused Syrian authorities of refusing to “honor the legitimate aspirations of their own people.”

“President Assad talks about reform, but his heavy-handed brutal crackdown shows his true intentions,” she said.

She also laid out three demands for the Syrian government: stop the violence and the arrests, release all political prisoners and detainees, and begin to respond to the demands of the Syrian people.

On April 29, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order imposing sanctions against Syrian officials and entities.