30 August 2011 — Stop NATO
- NTC: NATO Ensured Victory, Must Stay In Libya
- Obama Doctrine: U.S. Libyan War Tactics Model For Syria, Others
- Under Fire From Atlanticist Forces, German Foreign Minister Endorses NATO Bombing
- Report: Algeria Closes 1,000-Kilometer Stretch Of Border With Libya
- Beginning Of New War: NATO Complicit In Attacks On Pakistani Posts
- Thaci: New Deal With NATO ‘Biggest Success Since Independence’
- U.S. Establishes Squadron To Train Air Forces For African Conflicts
NTC: NATO Ensured Victory, Must Stay In Libya
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/163189-nato-must-extend-stay-ntc.html
Peninsula (Qatar)
August 30, 2011
Nato must extend stay: NTC
-‘We effectively conducted 23,000 flights and destroyed 5,000 military targets in Libya. Nato forces participated in field operations which were accurately led round the clock and the week.’
DOHA: Libya’s National Transitional Council has urged Nato to continue with its presence in the country saying that it fears that a defiant Colonel Muammar Ghadafi might do something unexpected.
Nato is mandated by the UN Security Council to stay in Libya until September 27.
Addressing a meeting of chiefs of staff of the armed forces of the countries that participated in anti-Gaddafi military operations in Libya, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, NTC Chairman, said yesterday that…‘Libyan rebels couldn’t have achieved victory without the support of Nato and international alliance forces,’ Jalil said.
The rebels were no match for Ghadafi’s forces since he had massive wealth and military might, he added.
…
The meeting was held to discuss the current situation in Libya after the end of Gaddafi’s rule. Nato was represented at the meet.
Major general Hamad bin Ali al Attiya, chief of staff of the Qatari armed forces, the Libyan Minister of Defense Jalal al Digheily and the representative of Libyan rebels, Abdul Hakim Belhaj, were in attendance.
The meeting discussed Nato’s views and position on the ongoing events in Libya and the general military situation in the country.
Major-General Hamad bin Ali al Attiyah, also said that Nato’s stay in Libya was needed.
‘The ongoing developments and field indicators in Libya require Nato to provide military and security support…,’ he added.
The speech of Jalal al Digheily, the Libyan Minister of Defense, thanked Qatar, the Emirates, Jordan and Sudan for providing support to the rebels.
‘War is still going on to defeat Gaddafi, his sons and aides and the sleeper cells, the so called ‘revolutionary committees’…,’ he said.
‘We are still in need of the Nato’s logistic and military support to achieve our goals,’ he said.
Admiral Samuel Le Claire, commander of the Nato military operations in Libya, congratulated the NTC.
‘We effectively conducted 23,000 flights and destroyed 5,000 military targets in Libya. Nato forces participated in field operations which were accurately led round the clock and the week,’ he said.
‘We are committed and authorized to continue the military operation till September 27, 2011. We hope the vision will be obvious during the upcoming weeks and we will discuss the suitable ways to support Libya after the end of military operation,’ he said.
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Obama Doctrine: U.S. Libyan War Tactics Model For Syria, Others
New York Times
August 29, 2011
U.S. Tactics in Libya May Be a Model for Other Efforts
By Helene Cooper and Steven Lee Myers
-[T]he very fact that the administration has joined with the same allies that it banded with on Libya to call for Mr. Assad to go and to impose penalties on his regime could take the United States one step closer to applying the Libya model toward Syria…[A]dministration officials say that the coordinated approach to calling for Mr. Assad’s ouster and imposing financial penalties on the Syrian government show that they are already applying the Obama doctrine there.
WASHINGTON: It would be premature to call the war in Libya a complete success for United States interests. But the arrival of victorious rebels on the ***shores of Tripoli*** last week gave President Obama’s senior advisers a chance to claim a key victory for an Obama doctrine for the Middle East that had been roundly criticized in recent months as leading from behind.
Administration officials say that even though the NATO intervention in Libya, emphasizing airstrikes.., cannot be applied uniformly in other hotspots like Syria, the conflict may, in some important ways, become a model for how the United States wields force ***in other countries where its interests are threatened***.
‘We’ve resisted the notion of a doctrine, because we don’t think you can impose one model on very different countries; that gets you into trouble and can lead you to intervene in places that you shouldn’t,’ said Ben Rhodes, the director for strategic communications at the National Security Council.
Even so, he said, the Libya action helped to establish two principles for when the United States could apply military force to advance its diplomatic interests even though its national security is not threatened directly.
Mr. Obama laid out those principles on March 28, when he gave his only big address on the Libya conflict, in a speech at George Washington University that in many ways established the principles of the Obama doctrine.
During that speech, Mr. Obama said that America had the responsibility to stop what he characterized as a looming genocide in the Libyan city of Benghazi (Principle 1). But at the same time, he said, when the safety of Americans is not directly threatened but where action can be justified — in the case of genocide, say — the United States will act only on the condition that it is not acting alone (Principle 2).
And so, with Libya, the United States used its might — providing crucial cruise missiles, aircraft, bombs, intelligence and even military personnel — but it did so as part of the larger NATO coalition, led by the French and the British and including Arab nations.
…
In fact, American officials argued, the Libya strategy worked in large part because it was perceived as an international effort against a brutal dictator and ‘not a U.S. go-it-alone approach,’ as one senior administration official put it.
‘ ‘Made only in the U.S.A.’ would have risked it becoming Qaddafi versus the U.S.A.,’ the official said.
…
For now at least, the administration and its allies in the Libya action have stopped far short of threatening military force in Syria. Still, the officials argue that creating the broadest possible diplomatic pressure — what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week called an ‘international chorus of condemnation’ — could ultimately have an effect and, if Mr. Assad continues his violent crackdown on dissenters, lay the foundation for more aggressive action.
…
[T]he very fact that the administration has joined with the same allies that it banded with on Libya to call for Mr. Assad to go and to impose penalties on his regime could take the United States one step closer to applying the Libya model toward Syria. While military intervention in Syria is highly unlikely, administration officials say that the coordinated approach to calling for Mr. Assad’s ouster and imposing financial penalties on the Syrian government show that they are already applying the Obama doctrine there.
…
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Under Fire From Atlanticist Forces, German Foreign Minister Endorses NATO Bombing
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
August 29, 2011
Under fire over Libya, Westerwelle commends NATO bombing
Berlin: Facing calls to resign and derision in the media, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle slackened Monday his stubborn defence of Germany’s refusal to intervene militarily in Libya.
Through a spokesman, Chancellor Angela Merkel declared confidence in Westerwelle. But media suggested he might not last as minister, after a furore over Westerwelle’s refusal to concede that the ouster of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi did require military force.
‘We are pleased that the reign of the Gaddafi regime is at an end,’ Westerwelle told a conference in Berlin of 200 German ambassadors.
‘Precisely because we assessed the opportunities and risks differently, we respect France and our allies for applying Resolution 1973.’ French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe was in the room as a guest at the Berlin meeting.
Germany’s UN ambassador abstained at Westerwelle’s direction on March 17 when the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973, authorizing force to deny Gaddafi air superiority.
The abstention upset allies and was criticized by many Germans. A former foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, a Green, has called the abstention Germany’s biggest diplomatic blunder in six decades.
Last week, Westerwelle held fast, arguing that economic sanctions, not force, had been a major factor in ousting Gaddafi.
His refusal to admit that events had proved him wrong revived Westerwelle-bashing, which had gone quiet in the media after he gave up his leadership of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) in May.
Steffen Seibert, Merkel’s spokesman, said, ‘The chancellor and her foreign minister are working in full confidence with one another.’
Asked if she was now concerned about Westerwelle’s future, he said, ‘She is not worrying.’
In a newspaper guest article on Sunday, Westerwelle yielded a little, writing, ‘We are the glad that the Libyans managed, with help as well from the international military operation, to oust the Gaddafi regime.’
The new FDP leader, Philipp Roesler, disowned Westerwelle’s views by expressly praising the NATO intervention, but rebuffed calls to sack the minister. To avoid fanning the flames, the FDP cancelled a Berlin news conference set for Monday.
Media commentators said the FDP seemed concerned that dumping Westerwelle would hit its vote share in two state elections next month.
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Report: Algeria Closes 1,000-Kilometer Stretch Of Border With Libya
http://en.rian.ru/world/20110830/166290016.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
August 30, 2011
Algeria partially closes border with Libya – paper
Cairo: Algeria has closed a 1,000-km stretch of its border with Libya and put troops and police there on high alert, an independent Algerian newspaper said.
Al-Watan newspaper said that troops, police and customs officials received relevant orders late on Monday.
The Algerian Foreign Ministry said earlier that wife and three children of fugitive Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi had arrived in Algeria despite the warning issued by Western powers that countries neighboring with Libya should not give refuge to Gaddafi family members or loyalists.
The whereabouts of Col. Gaddafi, who ruled the country for 40 years, remain unknown since rebels seized control over his headquarters in the capital, Tripoli, almost a week ago.
Algeria has not yet recognized Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) as a legitimate power in conflict-torn North African state.
Algerian authorities have repeatedly called against international interference in the domestic conflict in Libya.
Algeria fears that the instability in Libya may be used by al-Qaeda to strengthen its positions in the neighboring countries.
Algerian media have reported on several occasions that there were many criminals and members of radical Islamist groups among the Libyan rebels.
…
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Beginning Of New War: NATO Complicit In Attacks On Pakistani Posts
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=111606
Pakistan Observer
August 29, 2011
It was NATO’s raid not Afghans
The attack from across the border in Chitral on Saturday once again highlighted the fact that some sinister campaign is in the offing to further pressurize and destabilize Pakistan. Though different accounts of the casualties are being given, officials have admitted the killing of 25 security personnel and the capture of two border posts by militants who simultaneously attacked seven check posts.
The attack by about 300 armed men is being given a new colour in that it was carried out by Afghan-based militants but one thing is for certain, that this was done with the backing of occupation forces in Afghanistan.
NATO and US forces are deployed all along the border with Pakistan and with sophisticated intelligence gadgets it is not possible for a big group of people to cross the Durand Line without their knowledge.
Cross-border raids from Afghanistan started in April this year and so far about 75 troops and civilians have been killed in at least six such attacks. Some people argue that the incursions were planned and executed by militant leader Fazlullah who is reportedly hiding in Kunar and Nooristan provinces, but one is certain in saying that he cannot maintain a sanctuary there without the backing of anti-Pakistan intelligence agencies.
It was an organised military-like operation which one cannot be imagined conducted by a stray group of militants and it is also totally unacceptable that they have the capability to fight for long hours or capture Pakistani posts.
In the past, too, similar attacks were carried out and the matter was raised with the Afghan government and the NATO command.
We are of the considered opinion that this type of attack from the Afghan side are indicators to the beginning of a new war. It is therefore essential that the security posts along the Afghan border must be beefed up with the additional deployment of manpower and armaments so as to give a fitting response to the aggressor.
At the same time we would impress upon the government that the incident should not be taken as routine and a diplomatic protest is lodged because it hurt the sovereignty of Pakistan and President Asif Ali Zardari must raise it with President Obama, urging him to direct the American forces to stop all types of incursions from the Afghan side of the border.
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Thaci: New Deal With NATO ‘Biggest Success Since Independence’
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n258123
Focus News Agency
August 29, 2011
Kosovo PM announces deal with NATO on border posts
-’This is a new beginning for Kosovo.’
Under the agreement, the disputed crossings would be named military security zones and manned by NATO’s KFOR troops, and would effectively remain closed for security reasons, [Thaci] added.
Pristina: Kosovo prime minister Hashim Thaci on Friday announced he had reached a deal with NATO over two disputed border posts, which could settle the crisis that has engulfed Kosovo’s majority Serb north, AFP reported.
The government in Pristina ‘has reached an agreement for preserving the newly established situation at the border,’ Thaci said.
‘Kosovo has finally managed to establish full control on its borders,’ he added.
‘This is the biggest success we have achieved since the declaration of independence of the republic of Kosovo,’ he said of the deal, which he had initially rejected.
‘This is a new beginning for Kosovo.’
Under the agreement, the disputed crossings would be named military security zones and manned by NATO’s KFOR troops, and would effectively remain closed for security reasons, he added.
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U.S. Establishes Squadron To Train Air Forces For African Conflicts
http://www.stripes.com/news/squadron-established-to-train-air-forces-in-africa-1.153604
Stars and Stripes
August 29, 2011
Squadron established to train air forces in Africa
By John Vandiver
-The formation of an Africa-focused squadron is yet another sign that the military is looking to do more in Africa. In recent months, AFRICOM has added an Africa-focused Navy Special Warfare Unit, and the Marines have authorized a task force focused on training militaries to counterterrorist groups across the northern part of the continent and around the Horn of Africa.
STUTTGART, Germany: A squadron of airmen with key skill sets, including air traffic control and civil engineering, is preparing for a mission to train air forces in Africa to deliver supplies and large numbers of troops into conflict zones.
The New Jersey-based 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron was established in April and is expected to become operational later this year in support of U.S. Africa Command, according to Air Force officials.
The squadron, which operates under the 621st Contingency Response Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, will provide training in loading peacekeepers onto aircraft, setting up air traffic control and using aerial intelligence gathering tactics, officials said.
‘It is going to be very useful. We’ve struggled in the past a little bit by not having assigned forces,’ said Col. David Poage, director of plans and strategy for the 17th Air Force, based in Ramstein, Germany. ‘It’s a step in the right direction.’
While not formally assigned to AFRICOM, the squadron has been formed to conduct missions primarily in Africa, with a focus on building the air mobility capacity of African militaries, Poage said. The training, which doesn’t involve flight instruction, covers the support skills required to deliver resources and personnel to remote locations.
Though missions have yet to be doled out, the main focus will likely be on lending assistance to nations that have militaries taking part in United Nations and African Union peacekeeping missions, such as the current AU mission in Somalia, Poage said.
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The formation of an Africa-focused squadron is yet another sign that the military is looking to do more in Africa. In recent months, AFRICOM has added an Africa-focused Navy Special Warfare Unit, and the Marines have authorized a task force focused on training militaries to counterterrorist groups across the northern part of the continent and around the Horn of Africa.
The New Dark Age 