The New Dark Age

28 June 2011 — Stop NATO

• Reports Of U.S. Military Plans Against Libya, Syria Cause Concern
• U.S. Aircraft Supercarrier Enters Mediterranean For ‘NATO Missions’
• Libya: International Criminal Court Cover For NATO Operations
• All Freedom-Loving People Must Condemn NATO Action In Libya
• Germany To Supply NATO With Arms For Assault On Libya
• UN: U.S. Gets 4,200 Ethiopian Troops To Patrol North-South Sudan Border
• U.S. Tests Cruise Missiles With Mock Nuclear Warheads
• California: New Naval Strike Missiles Tested For Deployment To Norway, Poland
• Pakistan: Three NATO Tankers Torched
• U.S. Africa Partnership Station: 37 Stops In 14 Countries
• U.S. AFRICOM Conducts Deployment Training In Burundi

Reports Of U.S. Military Plans Against Libya, Syria Cause Concern

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15186523,00.html

Deutsche Welle
June 27, 2011

Rumors of US plans for Libya, Syria cause concern
The idea of US Army boots on Libyan soil is causing alarm

-If an invasion was being planned, the amount of naval firepower now available in the region would give more than adequate support for any land forces being deployed on Libyan soil.

Among the rumors circulating of US plans for expanded military operations in Libya and a possible intervention in Syria lie certain truths which are cause for concern – despite the dismissals of analysts.

When the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1973 on March 17 of this year, it authorized the use of force by UN member states, granting them the right to ‘take all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack in Libya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.’

In the three months that have followed, the rules of Resolution 1973 appear to have been bent to allow the NATO-led mission to not only protect civilians in Libya but actively pursue the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, target his strongholds and effectively force him out of power.

This ‘mission creep’ has caused fractures and divisions within the international coalition that originally agreed to take on the UN’s Libyan operations.

The Arab League, whose involvement helped sell the mission to the Arab world, is becoming increasingly nervous about what it sees as NATO’s new goal of regime change. Meanwhile, those members of the Security Council that abstained from the Resolution 1973 vote are concerned by developments they fear may lead toward a land invasion of Libya and the contravening of the UN resolution.

Russia in particular has been angered by the deployment of military advisors and Special Forces operatives from the US, France and Britain to support the efforts of the Libyan opposition.

Russian warning

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters earlier this month after France and Britain had deployed attack helicopters to Libya for the first time that the prospect of land operations in Libya was against Moscow’s wishes. ‘We consider that what is going on is either consciously or unconsciously sliding toward a land operation,’ he said. ‘That would be very deplorable.’

Lavrov’s comments came just days before NATO agreed to extend its mission in Libya for a further 90 days and less than a week after French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama agreed on the fringes of the G8 summit at the end of May that Gadhafi could not be negotiated with and that ‘the shadow of tyranny’ must be lifted.

Soon after, a number of unsubstantiated reports based on anonymous military sources began flooding the Internet claiming that US forces were already being readied for a full-scale ground invasion of Libya.

The alleged military sources at the US Army’s Fort Hood base in Texas, where these preparations were said to be taking place, revealed to the Infowars.com website that the invasion was being planned for October. This report spawned a wave of similar extrapolations on the theme of a potential escalation in Libya

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US Navy deployments

Whether it is part of a future invasion plan or not, the existence of a recently re-deployed US Navy strike group in the Mediterranean cannot be disputed and its arrival could certainly have helped generate the buzz about a possible escalation.

The group, led by the Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, along with the guided missile destroyers Truxtun and Mitscher, the missile cruisers Gettysburg and Anzio and eight squadrons of aircraft, has been sent to strengthen the US Sixth Fleet which is based in Naples, Italy. Most of the NATO missions in Libya to date have originated from bases in that country.

If an invasion was being planned, the amount of naval firepower now available in the region would give more than adequate support for any land forces being deployed on Libyan soil.

This is not the only US Navy strike group on the move. The USS Bataan, which alone can land more than 2,000 marines, equipped with helicopters and vertical takeoff planes, artillery and tanks, along with two other amphibious assault ships, anchored in Italy in mid-May. Reports suggest that the Bataan and its flotilla then left for an undisclosed location off the Syrian coast, prompting further rumors of a potential US intervention in Syria.

Battle group

The independent news site DEBKAfile, again quoting anonymous US military sources, reported that the Bataan was moving into position as part of a potential mission involving US and Turkish forces to stop the anti-opposition crackdown currently taking place in Syria and to counter any response from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon to any such operations.

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Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Rob Mudge

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U.S. Aircraft Supercarrier Enters Mediterranean For ‘NATO Missions’

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2176122&Language=en

Kuwait News Agency
June 24, 2011

US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier transits through Suez Canal

CAIRO: US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ‘USS Enterprise’ weighing 93,000 tons passed through the Suez Canal on Friday on its way to the Mediterranean Sea to take part in NATO missions.

The US aircraft carrier was accompanied by Pitcher-missile cruiser Light Golf, and a supply ship. It passed the canal under tightened security measures enforced by the Egyptian Suez Canal Authority including halting the traffic of ferryboats across the canal, securing roads parallel to the canal as well as the Peace Bridge across the Suez Canal at Al-Qanatra, west of Ismailia city, said a source from the Suaz Canal Authority.

‘USS Enterprise,’ is the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

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http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/471103

Al-Masry Al-Youm
June 24, 2011

US aircraft carrier crosses Suez Canal

Egyptian shipping sources said US aircraft carrier USS Enterprise crossed the Suez Canal on Friday coming from the Red Sea en route to the Mediterranean.

They added that the ship, which is the US Navy’s oldest and longest aircraft carrier, was accompanied by a guided missile destroyer and a supply ship.

Shipping sources said Egyptian authorities tightened security measures on both sides of the canal to secure the ship.

The USS Enterprise carries 60 aircraft, weighing about 93,000 tons, according to the same sources.

It was not made clear whether the aircraft carrier was on its way to the Libyan coast to participate in NATO air strikes against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

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Libya: International Criminal Court Cover For NATO Operations

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110628/164879369.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
June 28, 2011

Libya says it intends to persecute NATO in international courts

CAIRO: Libya intends to persecute NATO in international courts for the Western military alliance’s attempts to physically eliminate country’s leader Muammar Gaddafi and members of his family, the Libyan Justice Ministry said in a statement.

The statement comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued on Monday an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, accusing him of torturing and killing opponents of his regime.

‘The so-called International Criminal Court is only a cover for operations of NATO, which repeatedly tried to physically eliminate the leader of the Revolution [Gaddafi] and his family members,’ the statement said.

The ministry added that such actions of NATO are ‘war crimes,’ which must be persecuted in international criminal courts.

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All Freedom-Loving People Must Condemn NATO Action In Libya

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-06/28/content_12789365.htm

China Daily
June 28, 2011

Condemn NATO action in Libya
Shi Qingli

Beijing: It has been more than three months since NATO began bombarding Libya. Bombs and missiles have blasted the soil of a sovereign country, killing thousands of civilians, and demolishing homes and workplaces. Libyans, to say the least, are living in horror.

I am pained by the brutal NATO attack and the misery of the Libyan people. I appeal to people across the world to unite against NATO’s action and join the efforts to restore peace in Libya.

Led by France, the United Kingdom and the United States, NATO’s military action against Libya is nothing but a terrorist attack. It is no different from the attack masterminded by Osama bin Laden against the US and its allies.

The bombardment of Libya on the pretext of restoring peace and justice has claimed thousands of innocent lives. The NATO attacks have killed not only Libyan government forces and rebel army members, but also civilians.

On May 23, for example, NATO carried out 21 air strikes on Tripoli, capital of Libya, killing and injuring many civilians. The NATO air raids have caused more than 20,000 casualties. NATO member states have committed a war crime and should be punished for their action.

The NATO air strikes have devastated Libya, traumatized Libyans and horrified people across the globe. NATO needs to realize that this open aggression will stir Libyans against the West and prompt righteous people around the world, including those in NATO member states, to hate it.

Every bomb and missile that has landed on Libyan soil is like a seed of hatred, which will sprout sooner than later. The hands of NATO leaders are covered with blood.

To promote world peace, countries trying to solve international problems should adhere to the principles of equality, sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-aggression and non-interference in other nation’s internal affairs, and peaceful coexistence.

Libya’s internal affairs are for the Libyan people to decide and no country has the right to interfere. If NATO member states assume the right to interfere in Libya’s matters, then Libya is also entitled to do the same in their affairs. But that would make war inevitable and result in the death of more innocent people, making global peace a mirage.

I appeal to all freedom-loving people across the world to oppose NATO’s military action against Libya and restore peace and save innocent lives.

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Germany To Supply NATO With Arms For Assault On Libya

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE75Q1PR20110627

Reuters
June 27, 2011

Germany to supply NATO arms for Libya strikes-media

BERLIN: Germany will supply bomb components and other military ordnance to aid NATO in Libya in a concession to allies after Berlin’s controversial opposition to flying air strikes, Spiegel Online reported on Monday.

Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere has approved the measure, according to government sources cited by the online media, which would still mean Germany would not participate directly in any military action.

Spiegel Online said it was not clear what supplies Berlin would provide, but it said it could include complete rockets and high-tech guidance systems.

A spokesman from the defense ministry told Reuters that a request for supplies came from the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA), but declined to give details about the nature.

‘The general willingness to provide support was signalled,’ he said.

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Berlin hopes that providing arms will be seen as a gesture that it wants to end its isolation following its decision, which earned heavy criticism in Germany as well, according to Spiegel Online.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Christiaan Hetzner;
Editing by Michael Roddy)

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UN: U.S. Gets 4,200 Ethiopian Troops To Patrol North-South Sudan Border

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/06/27/52473945.html

Voice of Russia
June 27, 2011

Ethiopia to patrol Abyei peace

The United Nations Security Council has passed an American resolution to authorize Ethiopia to station 42 hundred peacekeepers in the disputed Abyei region on the border between North and South Sudan.

Meeting in Addis Ababa a week ago at the headquarters of the African Union, the sides in the conflict agreed to withdraw troops from Abyei.

This area is rich in oil. The dispute over it erupted after last January when a South Sudan referendum returned an overwhelming ‘yes’ to complete independence.

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http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=150371

Azeri Press Agency
June 27, 2011

Security Council votes to deploy Ethiopian peacekeepers in Sudan’s Abyei

Baku: Thw UN Security Council Monday unanimously adopted a resolution on sending 4,200 Ethiopian peacekeepers to Sudan’s Abyei area for six months, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The force, with the name of the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), will take into account the Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement on Temporary Arrangements for the Administration and Security of the Abyei Area, said the resolution.

The Security Council also decided that UNISFA shall comprise a maximum of 4200 military personnel, 50 police personnel, and appropriate civilian support.

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U.S. Tests Cruise Missiles With Mock Nuclear Warheads

http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20110627_5389.php

Global Security Newswire
June 27, 2011

U.S. Tests Cruise Missiles With Mock Warheads

The United States earlier this month carried out two separate flight tests involving a data-collecting Joint Test Assembly for the W-80 nuclear warhead, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said on Friday (see GSN, April 5).

A B-52 bomber from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota fired an Air Launched Cruise Missile carrying one of the non-nuclear assemblies in both tests, which each took place at the Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City.

Various data collection components in the Joint Test Assembly verified that the mock warheads behaved as intended in what was described as a comprehensive analysis of the readiness of the cruise missile system.

‘NNSA and DOD [the Defense Department] are committed to ensuring that all weapon systems perform as designed, and these successful tests continue to illustrate that commitment,’ Brig. Gen. Sandra Finan, an NNSA principal assistant deputy administrator, said in a statement…

The National Nuclear Security Administration produced the mock weapon for the Joint Surveillance Flight Test Program, an effort that the agency oversees along with the Pentagon. Test-assembly trials seek to replicate real warhead configurations and employ the maximum amount possible of actual armaments. The mock bomb was built at the Pantex Plant in Texas (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, June 24).

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California: New Naval Strike Missiles Tested For Deployment To Norway, Poland

http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/841/?SID=934f7d4123a9dcc7a3fe5eb7fe3d97c4

Defence Professionals
June 27, 2011

Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile Completes Final Milestone
By Nicolas von Kospoth

-Kongsberg and Lockheed Martin are developing a multi-role version of the NSM, dubbed Joint Strike Missile (JSM), which is to be integrated with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Being air-launched, the missile will have a greater range, estimated to reach 240 kilometres.

-After this month’s successful test in California, the first deliveries of series-production missiles to the Royal Norwegian Navy and the Polish Navy later this year will be important milestones to underline the system’s operational fitness.

Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) anti-ship and land-attack missile has come one large step closer to entering service with the Royal Norwegian Navy after a series-production unit of the fifth-generation missile system performed successfully during a live-fire test earlier in June. The test firing was again conducted at the US Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division’s Point Mugu range in California, chosen because of the location’s versatile testing conditions over land and sea.

According to Norwegian defence manufacturer Kongsberg, the test ‘demonstrated the unrivalled capabilities of the missile,’ resulting in a successful strike against a sea target. The missile was launched from a land-based canister and performed a pre-programmed flight, including a range of demanding manoeuvres such as sea-skimming flight patterns. After having located the sea target, the missile successfully engaged and destroyed it.

The US Navy’s Point Mugu test site had already been the location of several NSM test firings, including in early 2007 when the Norwegian Navy decided upon the final approval for the missile system’s development phase, as well as in February 2009, which resulted in a successful strike by a surface-launched NSM against a sea target.

According to Kongsberg, the NSM is the only fifth generation long range precision strike missile currently available. Further, the company explains: ‘The missile is completely passive, has proven its excellent sea skimming capabilities, and with its advance terminal manoeuvres it will survive enemy air defences. The Autonomous Target Recognition (ATR) of the seeker ensures that the correct target is detected, recognised and hit, at sea or on land.’

The NSM is currently in series production for Royal Norwegian Navy vessels of the Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates and Skjold-class littoral corvettes. Furthermore, the Polish Navy in December 2008 and December 2010 awarded contracts worth a total of NOK 1.46 billion (approx. $265 million / €187 million) to supply NSM systems to the country’s land-based coastal artillery forces. Poland is the first export customer for the NSM and is considered an important reference for additional foreign orders.

The missiles are now in series production and deliveries to the Polish Navy, as well as the Royal Norwegian Navy, are scheduled for late 2011 through 2014. The land-based systems for the Polish coastal artillery are to be integrated onto trucks built by Polish-based Jelcz SA.

Further, Kongsberg and Lockheed Martin are developing a multi-role version of the NSM, dubbed Joint Strike Missile (JSM), which is to be integrated with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Being air-launched, the missile will have a greater range, estimated to reach 240 kilometres. The missile will receive significant modifications to fit into the aircraft’s internal weapons bay and will allow for engaging ground targets, in addition to naval targets.

In mid-April 2011, the Norwegian Government decided to present the continued development phase II of the JSM to Parliament in order to achieve approval of the system’s further development. JSM development began in 2008 and received official support from the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (NDLO) in 2009 when a NOK 166 million contract was inked for continued development. According to Kongsberg, there is consensus between the company and the NDLO for a JSM phase II development contract worth NOK 535 million.

After this month’s successful test in California, the first deliveries of series-production missiles to the Royal Norwegian Navy and the Polish Navy later this year will be important milestones to underline the system’s operational fitness. Despite being an independently developed system for a more challenging purpose, the JSM air-launched variant might receive a vital push from the upcoming key events in the NSM programme…

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Pakistan: Three NATO Tankers Torched

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=54885&Cat=2&dt=6/28/2011

News International
June 28, 2011

Three Nato oil tankers torched in Mastung, Dasht

MASTUNG: Unknown armed men set ablaze two more Nato oil tankers in Mastung and one in the Dasht area in separate incidents on Monday.

According to the police, an Afghanistan-bound oil tanker carrying fuel for Nato forces was on its way from Karachi when armed men intercepted and opened fire on it at the Ghanja Dhori outskirts of Mastung.

Meanwhile, another Nato oil tanker was also on its way when armed men riding a bike intercepted and sprayed bullets on it in the Dasht area some 25-km from Quetta. As a result, both oil tankers caught fire while one of drivers sustained bullet injuries. The injured was rushed to the hospital for medical aid.

In the Dasht area of Balochistan, unknown gunmen set ablaze another Nato oil tanker on Monday. According to police, a tanker carrying oil for the ISAF force stationed in Afghanistan was on it way from Karachi when unknown armed men intercepted and opened fire on it. Resultantly, the driver of the vehicle sustained bullet injuries.

Armed assailants later sprinkled petrol and set the oil tanker on fire.

Shortly after the incident, police reached the site and shifted the injured to the nearby hospital. The unknown armed men managed to escape. The Levies Force reached the site and started an investigation.

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U.S. Africa Partnership Station: 37 Stops In 14 Countries

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=61262

Navy NewsStand
June 27, 2011

Swift Crews Turnover in Preparation For APS
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ian Carver, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet Public Affairs

ROTA, Spain: The Gold Crew of High Speed Vessel SWIFT (HSV 2) exchanged command June 21 with Swift’s Blue Crew at Naval Station Rota in preparation for its upcoming Africa Partnership Station (APS) 2011 deployment.

With a rotational manning concept, crew turnovers are a common occurrence aboard Swift, substituting crews every four months, allowing Swift to remain forward deployed nearly the entire year, thus enhancing its operational impact to the fleet.

Swifts’ Gold Crew recently completed a 122-day deployment, covering more than 15,000 nautical miles, 37 stops in 14 countries during its participation in Southern Partnership Station (SPS) 2011 and the multinational training exercise African Lion 2011.

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Swift’s current mission is taking part in APS visiting eight West African countries to [host] maritime training courses for military and civilian members.

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U.S. AFRICOM Conducts Deployment Training In Burundi

http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=6838&lang=0

U.S. Army Africa
June 27, 2911

USARAF Conducts Deployment Capability Training in Burundi
U.S. Army Africa Public Affairs

-ADAPT is a four phase program, that occurs every 12 months and USARAF has already conducted training in Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Botswana, and Ghana.

Vicenza, Italy – …U.S. Army Africa’s Africa Deployment Assistance Partnership Team (ADAPT) conducted a deployment capability training event with uniformed members of the Burundian Defense Forces June 6-10, 2011 at the Bujumbura Military Airfield in Bujumbura, Burundi.

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ADAPT is a U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) program managed and executed by USARAF. The team was in Bujumbura to share best practices on deploying personnel and equipment via aircraft, and to enhance force projection capabilities of African militaries…

‘This is our first ADAPT with the Burundian military,’ Menzies said. ‘This event was based off of a pre-deployment site survey we conducted last year so the lesson plan was specifically tailored to meet existing Burundi training requirements.’

Menzies said another focus of the training is to foster positive relationships between the U.S. and African military forces.

‘This successful military-to-military ADAPT event demonstrates the important partnerships between U.S. Army Africa and African partner nations in increasing deployment capabilities and capacity,’ Menzies said.

Increasing deployment interoperability with U.S. forces in joint/combined operations, training and exercises is a focal point of this military-to-military training opportunity.

‘Training and having the capability to deploy personnel and cargo are crucial enabling components to a deploying force. As a matter of fact, Burundian forces soldiers are already applying the ADAPT training to their real world operations,’ Febles said.

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ADAPT is a four phase program, that occurs every 12 months and USARAF has already conducted training in Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Botswana, and Ghana.