The New Dark Age

29 June 2011 — Stop NATO

• Afghanistan: NATO Loses Three Drones In As Many Days
• Two NATO Soldiers Killed In Southern Afghanistan
• Next U.S./NATO Afghan War Commander: 100,000 Foreign Troops To Stay
• NATO Chief, North Atlantic Council To Visit Georgia
• Germany: Fighter Jets Scream Overhead As NATO Rehearses Next War
• Saudi Troops To Stay In Bahrain
• Pilots Trained In United States: Morocco Becomes 25th ‘F-16 Ally’

Afghanistan: NATO Loses Three Drones In As Many Days

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/06/28/52526944.html

Voice of Russia
June 29, 2011

ISAF drone crashes in A’stan

A NATO drone crashed in Afghanistan on Tuesday – already the third unmanned
aircraft to go down in the past three days, RIA Novosti reports.

Tuesday’s crash was in Kunar province and the previous two in Kapisa and Gerat
provinces.

The ISAF confirmed the incidents in a press release, noting that none of the
drones had come under ground fire.

A Taliban spokesman, meanwhile, said all the three had been shot down by rebels.

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Two NATO Soldiers Killed In Southern Afghanistan

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=150467

Azeri Press Agency
June 28, 2011

Two US-led troops killed in Afghan war

Baku: Two US-led foreign soldiers have been killed in separate incidents in troubled southern Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, NATO says, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The US-led military alliance says one of the soldiers was killed in a militant attack and the other one in a bomb blast.

The coalition has neither disclosed the nationality of the soldiers nor the exact location of the incidents.

At least 276 US-led foreign forces have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year.

Over 2,557 foreign troops have been killed since the US-led war began in Afghanistan a decade ago.

As the US-led forces casualties continue to rise in Afghanistan, public opinion in the United States and other Western countries is increasingly turning against the Afghan war.

The security situation has steadily deteriorated across Afghanistan over the past few years despite the presence of around 150,000 US-led foreign troops in the country.

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Next U.S./NATO Afghan War Commander: 100,000 Foreign Troops To Stay

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=64491

U.S. Department of Defense
June 28, 2011

Allen Vows to Emulate Petraeus’ Leadership
By Lisa Daniel

-Allen recently became a special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after serving as deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters. He was the deputy commanding general of Multinational Force Iraq – West and commanded the II Marine Expeditionary Force in Anbar province, Iraq, from 2006 to 2008.

WASHINGTON: If he becomes the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John R. Allen said he’ll seek to equal the strong leadership of his predecessor, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus.

‘If confirmed, I will seek to emulate General Petraeus’ resolute leadership,’ Allen said today during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Petraeus appeared before the committee last week for his confirmation hearing to become President Barack Obama’s CIA director, replacing Leon Panetta, who becomes defense secretary on July 1.

…

Allen noted that 68,000 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of NATO forces will remain in Afghanistan after the surge forces redeploy. He added under questioning that it will be enough to continue counterinsurgency operations there, and that if confirmed, he will monitor the drawdown closely.

‘It is my intention, as commander, to monitor that progress,’ he said. ‘Should I become concerned that our ability to accomplish our objectives is threatened, I will give forthright recommendations up the chain of command.’

Allen recently became a special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after serving as deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters. He was the deputy commanding general of Multinational Force Iraq – West and commanded the II Marine Expeditionary Force in Anbar province, Iraq, from 2006 to 2008.

If confirmed as commander in Afghanistan, Allen said he looks forward to serving again with Ryan Crocker, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and the new ambassador in Afghanistan, and will ‘fully synchronize’ military and civilian efforts there.

…

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NATO Chief, North Atlantic Council To Visit Georgia

http://en.trend.az/news/politics/1897876.html

Trend News Agency
June 28, 2011

NATO official to arrive in Georgia in November
N. Kirtskhalia

Tbilisi: Issues of conducting the NATO Council in Tbilisi have been considered today by Chairman of the Georgian Parliament David Bakradze and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The parties discussed the issues of NATO ambassadors’ and the NATO Secretary General’s visits to Tbilisi, the First Channel of the Georgian Public Broadcasting reported.

According to the preliminary data, the NATO Council will be held in Tbilisi in November. The Secretary General will chair the meeting.

This will be Rasmussen’s second visit to Tbilisi as NATO Secretary General. He was in Tbilisi in September last year.

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Germany: Fighter Jets Scream Overhead As NATO Rehearses Next War

http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123261897

U.S. Air Forces in Europe
June 28, 2011

Extensive planning effort pays off at Allied Strike 2011
by Capt. Tristan Hinderliter
USAFE Public Affairs

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany: Fighter jets scream overhead here as the execution phase of Allied Strike 2011 is in full swing this week, capping months of extensive planning that has brought together nearly 350 people from the U.S. and 14 NATO partner nations for the largest Close Air Support exercise in Europe.

‘The planning effort was massive,’ said Capt. Ruven Yarbrough, exercise deputy director from the 4th Air Support Operations Group in Heidelberg, Germany. ‘It was a giant undertaking, but one that we could do…’

This is the fifth iteration of the annual exercise, which has grown exponentially each year. Planning for this year’s exercise really started right after last year’s exercise, although most of the planning has happened in the past nine months…

As part of the planning process, exercise organizers looked closely at the after-action reports from the previous year, building on the good and improving on or cutting the bad. In addition to the Joint Terminal Attack Controllers the exercise is designed to train, many other career fields integral to the exercise were involved in the planning process, including Weather, Security Forces, Combat Communications, Intelligence, Logistics, Transportation and others.

…

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Saudi Troops To Stay In Bahrain

http://en.rian.ru/world/20110629/164898915.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
June 29, 2011

No plans to pull out all Saudi troops from Bahrain – source

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has no plans to withdraw its entire security contingent from Bahrain ‘because the threats still remain,’ a Bahrain government source told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

A 1,500-strong force from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, dubbed the Peninsula Shield, was sent to Bahrain in mid-March to help quell Shiite opposition protests that swept the country since February.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia was preparing to pull out its contingent from Bahrain starting next week because the situation in the country had stabilized.

‘Part of the Peninsula Shield contingent will return to Saudi Arabia, but that does not mean all the troops will be pulled out because there are still some threats remaining,’ the source said on the condition of anonymity.

The current political unrest in Bahrain started in February with opposition protesters demanding far-reaching democratic reforms in the mainly Shiite country which has been ruled by a Sunni Muslim dynasty for more than 200 years.

Bahrain, which is home to the United States’ 5th Fleet, and its Arab neighbors from the Gulf Cooperation Council have accused Shiite protesters of having links to foreign militant groups such as the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Since the arrival of the Saudi-led contingent in the country and the introduction of a three-month curfew, the opposition has faced waves of arrests and deadly crackdowns. The curfew was lifted on June 1.

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Pilots Trained In United States: Morocco Becomes 25th ‘F-16 Ally’

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123261739

U.S. Air Forces in Europe
June 28, 2011

First Moroccan F-16 pilots to complete training in Arizona
by Maj. Gabe Johnson
162nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

-’We are modernizing our fleet and we’ve chosen the F-16, not only because it is a high-quality airplane, but also because of the close relationship we have with the United States,’ said Deputy Inspector of the Royal Moroccan Air Force, Brig. Gen. Abdelali Houari.
-As students, the pilots averaged three sorties per week and accumulated more than 150 F-16 hours each. Once home, they will be responsible not only for training others, but will also be instrumental in implementing F-16 operations at Ben Guerir Air Base.
Ben Guerir is a former U.S. air base located about 36 miles north of Marrakech and once served as a transatlantic abort landing site for the space shuttle. It’s currently undergoing upgrades that, according to Moroccan officials, are modeled after U.S. Air Force bases.

TUCSON, Ariz. – In July, the Kingdom of Morocco, a strategic partner for U.S. forces in North Africa, will become the 25th country to own and operate F-16s.

The pilots tapped to fly them are scheduled to finish training here in time to bring them home, July 30.

Four Royal Moroccan Air Force officers, former F-5 pilots, will conclude 15 months of instruction at the 162nd Fighter Wing, the international F-16 training unit at Tucson International Airport.

They are the first from their country to accomplish consecutive courses in basic qualification, flight lead upgrade and instructor pilot certification in the multi-role fighter.

A handful of Air National Guard pilots will accompany them as they deliver the first four of Morocco’s 24-aircraft purchase. The new planes, block-52 versions of the fighter, will be fresh off the assembly line and are a considerable step up in technology from the third generation fighters Morocco currently flies.

‘We are modernizing our fleet and we’ve chosen the F-16, not only because it is a high-quality airplane, but also because of the close relationship we have with the United States,’ said Deputy Inspector of the Royal Moroccan Air Force, Brig. Gen. Abdelali Houari.

‘We are really happy to send our pilots here to be trained,’ he said. ‘After a year and a half in the United States, our pilots are happy. Of course they want to return home, but they have gained a lot of experience here with the Arizona Air National Guard.’

Lt. Col. Steve Haase, the Morocco program manager for the 162nd FW, has worked with the Royal Moroccon Air Force for three years. He’s trained fighter pilots from all over the world and fully understands the scope of the students’ historic accomplishment.

‘It’s all them,’ he said. ‘It’s a big commitment to be the first F-16 pilots for Morocco. It’s a testament to their positive attitude and work ethic. They are excited about the F-16 and its capabilities; yet they understand how much work there will be to build up an F-16 base.’

As students, the pilots averaged three sorties per week and accumulated more than 150 F-16 hours each. Once home, they will be responsible not only for training others, but will also be instrumental in implementing F-16 operations at Ben Guerir Air Base.

Ben Guerir is a former U.S. air base located about 36 miles north of Marrakech and once served as a transatlantic abort landing site for the space shuttle. It’s currently undergoing upgrades that, according to Moroccan officials, are modeled after U.S. Air Force bases.

…

Six additional Moroccan pilots are in the basic F-16 course in Tucson with graduation planned for September. They too will return home to help manage Morocco’s growing F-16 fleet.

It’s unclear if more student pilots from Morocco will train in Tucson; however, according to Colonel Haase, the 162nd FW stands ready.

…

Since 1989, the 162nd FW has trained with virtually every nation that flies the F-16. In addition to Morocco, the wing trains with pilots from Singapore, Norway, Belgium, Chile, the South Korea, and the Netherlands.