5 October 2011 — Stop NATO
- NATO War On Libya Attack On Africa, Venezuela Next
- Russia, China Veto UN Resolution On Syria
- Thirty Polish Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
- Georgia Continues Military Build-Up On Abkhaz, South Ossetian Borders
- Missiles, Warplanes: U.S., NATO Allies Arm Gulf States Against Iran
- White House Plans To Further Arm Taiwan Against China
- Kosovo: Serbs Hold Protest After Latest Deadly Attack
- Romania Assists Armenia’s NATO Integration
- Canadian Takes Charge Of NATO Nations Military Police
- NATO Plans Interim Interceptor Missile Capability
- ‘Mock’ Ground-Based Interceptor Missile Blocks Alabama Traffic
NATO War On Libya Attack On Africa, Venezuela Next
http://allafrica.com/stories/201110040889.html
Concord Times (Sierra Leone)
October 3, 2011
Africa: ‘Nato Intervention in Libya an Attack On Africa’- Hugo Chavez Foundation-SL
Victoria Saffa
The Sierra Leone chapter of the Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity has added its voice to those calling the military intervention by the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, in Libya as an attack on Africa rather than upholding human rights.
The president of the group, Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh, said the military bombardment and destruction in Libya could have been averted had NATO’s mission been purely humanitarian and not economic and political in nature.
‘Africa is under attack and the foundation believes that the non-stop 24-hour bombardment and the accompanying destruction in Libya would have been averted if the purpose of the NATO mission was purely humanitarian and not economic and geopolitical in nature,’ he stated.
The foundation, he said, has remained resilient and resolute since the NATO attack on Libya started because they strongly support the peace formula initiated by the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez and advanced by the African Union, AU for a peaceful resolution of the differences among the Libyan tribes.
Sankoh urged African governments not to allow foreign detractors to dupe them into what he described as a dangerous precedent being set ‘by forces that seek to overthrow the legitimate government of Libya through the barrel of the gun’.
He called on the United States and its NATO allies ‘to allow common sense to prevail’ and spare the people of Libya the horrors of what he described as carpet bombings being undertaken by ‘modern day crusaders in alliance with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-created Al-Qaeda terror machine’, saying they owe it a duty to humanity to uphold the principles of human rights and the rights of other sovereign independent nations to existence.
Sankoh also disclosed that NATO leaders were planning an all-out attack on Venezuela by conducting provocative actions to justify their actions to destabilize the country.
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Russia, China Veto UN Resolution On Syria
http://en.rian.ru/world/20111005/167391965.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
October 5, 2011
Russia, China veto UN resolution on Syria
UNITED NATIONS: Russia and China have used their veto right and blocked a draft UN resolution that threatened sanctions against Syria if President Bashar Assad’s government continued violence against the opposition in the country.
The draft resolution prepared by the European members of the UN Security Council and supported by the United States stipulated that the Assad’s regime should face the possibility of tough sanctions if it fails to stop its crackdown on opposition within 30 days since the adoption of the resolution.
The resolution was rejected late on Tuesday by a vote of 9-2 with four abstentions.
Russia, which stands firmly against any mention of sanctions citing the example of Libya where the NATO countries largely overstepped the UN mandate in a military operation against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, said the text of the document was ‘unacceptable’ despite several changes to the draft.
Russian envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin said at the session of the UN Security Council that the draft document reflected a ‘confrontational’ approach toward the resolution of the political crisis in Syria.
‘The document did not contain provisions on the unacceptability of an external military intervention,’ Churkin said.
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The United States and the EU have already imposed unilateral sanctions on Syria and have called for Assad to step down.
On September 21, U.S. President Barack Obama urged the UN Security Council to impose new sanctions against Syria over its crackdown on opposition protesters. On September 23 the EU imposed a fresh round of sanctions.
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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-10/05/c_131174902.htm
Xinhua News Agency
October 5, 2011
Russia, China veto UN draft resolution on Syria
UNITED NATIONS: Russia and China, two permanent members of the UN Security Council, on Tuesday vetoed a draft resolution, which meant to strongly condemn ‘the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities’ and threatened punitive measures against the Middle East country.
The draft resolution, presented by France, Germany, Portugal and Britain, won nine votes in favor, two against and four abstentions.
Russia and China have veto power on the 15-nation Security Council.
South Africa, India, Brazil and Lebanon, four non-permanent members of the Security Council, abstained.
Syria has been wracked by six months of unrest which it blames on foreign conspiracy and armed thugs. A recent UN statement put the number of civilians killed during the past six months in Syria at 2,600, while Syria blames on foreign-backed armed gangs who it says have killed 700 security forces personnel.
‘Today’s refused draft was based on a very different philosophy, the philosophy of confrontation,’ Vitaly Churkin, the Russian permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council after the vote.
‘We can’t agree with this unilateral, accusatory bent against Damascus,’ he said. ‘We believe it unacceptable the threat of an ultimatum of sanctions against the Syrian authorities.’
‘This approach is against the principle of a peaceful settlement of a crisis on the basis of a full Syrian national dialogue,’ he said. ‘Our proposals for wording on then unacceptability of foreign intervention were not taken into account and based on the well-known events in North Africa can only alarm us.’
‘The international community should provide constructive assistance to facilitate the achievement’ of the objectives of the Syrian-led inclusive political process and ‘in the meantime it should fully respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria,’ Li Baodong, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, said at the open Security Council meeting after the vote.
‘Whether the Security Council will take further action on the question of Syria should depend on whether it facilitates the easing of tension in Syria, whether it helps the defusing of differences through political dialogue, whether it contributes to maintaining peace and security in the Middle East,’ Li said.
‘Most importantly, it should depend on the compliance with the UN Charter and the principle of non-interference,’ he said.
Bashar al-Ja’afari, the Syrian UN ambassador, told the council that the draft resolution, if adopted, is a tool to wage foreign intervention of the internal affairs of his country.
The Security Council ‘strongly condemns the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities,’ the killed draft resolution said.
The Security Council ‘demands the Syrian authorities immediately cease violations of human rights,’ ‘cease the use of force against civilians,’ and ‘ensure the safe and voluntary return of those who have fled the violence to their homes,’ the draft said.
The Security Council ‘expresses its determination to review Syria’s implementation of this resolution within 30 days and to consider its adoption, including measures under Article 41 of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,’ it added.
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Thirty Polish Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 4, 2011
Thirty Polish soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Warsaw: One Polish soldier was killed and two injured when their patrol vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, Polish military officials said.
The 30-year-old Rafal Nowakowski is the 30th fatality since Poland joined the NATO mission in the war-torn country in 2007.
Some 2,600 Polish soldiers are currently deployed to Afghanistan but the country plans to reduce its mission by around 100 soldiers this year and to withdraw in 2014.
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Georgia Continues Military Build-Up On Abkhaz, South Ossetian Borders
http://en.rian.ru/world/20111004/167384729.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
October 4, 2011
Georgia ‘continues military build-up’ on Abkhaz, South Ossetia borders
Georgia is boosting its military potential at its borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on Tuesday.
Speaking after a regular round of Geneva Discussions on security in Transcaucasia, Karasin said there was ‘continuing activity of sabotage and reconnaissance groups’ in the breakaway republics, aimed at ‘destabilizing the situation’ in border areas.
Such activities, he said, undermine the confidence building process between Georgia and its former republics.
He also added that the time had come for Georgia to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent countries and develop proper relations with them.
Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008, following a five-day war with Georgia. The war began when Georgia attacked South Ossetia in an attempt to bring it back under central control.
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Missiles, Warplanes: U.S., NATO Allies Arm Gulf States Against Iran
United Press International
October 4, 2011
Arabs plan $63 billion air power buildup
-The composition of the massive U.S. arms package worth some $67 billion, largely for the GCC states, unveiled in 2007, emphasizes the focus by the Saudis and the Emirates on bolstering air power while acquiring theater ballistic missiles that can threaten Iran’s missile forces, its main military strike capability and its command centers.
-The third segment consists of upgrades for the Saudis’ Raytheon-built Patriot Advanced Capability-2 air-defense missiles.
The Emirates is expected to soon finalize a $7 billion deal with Lockheed Martin for the high-altitude THAAD system, including 147 missiles.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Middle Eastern states, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are focusing on building up their power and air-defense capabilities, a military air market expected to generate $62.9 billion over the current decade.
This concentration on procuring military aviation assets is presumably linked to current force upgrades by the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council to counter…Iran…
This concern has been a boon for U.S. and European defense contractors who are faced with major cutbacks in military spending to supply the GCC states with the advanced systems they seek, even some that Washington had been reluctant to provide Arab states.
A recent analysis by Frost and Sullivan, a leading growth strategies consultancy, said that a procurement surge in 2011-15 ‘highlights ongoing big-ticket purchases, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.’
These are GCC military heavyweights and both have built up strong air forces, primarily [against] Iran.
These air arms are increasingly focusing on offensive, rather than purely defensive, operations, largely aimed at taking out Iranian missile launch sites and strategic command centers.
The composition of the massive U.S. arms package worth some $67 billion, largely for the GCC states, unveiled in 2007, emphasizes the focus by the Saudis and the Emirates on bolstering air power while acquiring theater ballistic missiles that can threaten Iran’s missile forces, its main military strike capability and its command centers.
The package includes the first-phase sale of 84 new Boeing F-15 strike jets to Saudi Arabia to replace the kingdom’s older F-15 air-defense variants, plus upgrades for 70 F-15 jets already in service.
The second phase involves the delivery of 72 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, the U.S. Army’s main anti-tank helicopter, along with 70 Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters.
The third segment consists of upgrades for the Saudis’ Raytheon-built Patriot Advanced Capability-2 air-defense missiles.
The Emirates is expected to soon finalize a $7 billion deal with Lockheed Martin for the high-altitude THAAD system, including 147 missiles. That would be the first foreign sale of THAAD, underling the U.S. commitment to establish a Persian Gulf-wide shield against Iranian ballistic missiles.
Discussions are under way for a similar sale to Saudi Arabia. Washington is urging the Saudis to upgrade their 16 Patriot Advanced Capability-2 batteries, which have 96 missiles, to PAC-3 standard.
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The Frost and Sullivan report, ‘The Middle East Air Market – Revenue Opportunities and Stakeholder Mapping,’ concluded that procurement of air assets has been spurred by the recognition that advanced air platforms are force multipliers.
‘The GCC countries are moving toward an integrated air-defense network to include air platforms, air-defense batteries and air surveillance systems under the Peninsula Shield initiative but the progress has been slow,’ the report observed.
Peninsula Shield is the GCC’s collective military force established in 1984, when the alliance was formed during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
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Although the Americans dominate the GCC military market, ‘there have been efforts to balance this relationship through procurement from elsewhere, including from Europe and Russia.’
Britain and France are the primary European arms suppliers to the GCC.
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White House Plans To Further Arm Taiwan Against China
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/04/usa-taiwan-china-idUSN1E7931MM20111004
Reuters
October 4, 2011
U.S. says mulling further Taiwan arms sales
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is weighing fresh arms sales to Taiwan as part of a sweeping effort to deter any Chinese attack on the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own, administration officials told Congress on Tuesday.
Such supplies would be on top of plans sent to Congress on Sept. 21 to sell Taiwan $5.85 billion in new hardware and defense services, including upgrades for Taiwan’s 145 F-16 A/B fighter aircraft, bought in 1992.
Beijing deems Taiwan arms sales a grave interference in its domestic affairs and the biggest obstacle to improved relations between the world’s two largest economies.
‘We are consulting with Taiwan on a full range of capabilities so they’re aware of the threat and they can undertake the defensive preparations,’ Peter Lavoy, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, testified before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
Lavoy declined to discuss details of a potential follow-up sale. But he said the administration was still considering Taipei’s five-year-old request for 66 new late-model Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 C/D fighters, valued at $8.3 billion, in addition to the pending upgrade of its F-16 A/B models.
Beijing’s sustained investment in armed forces across from Taiwan continues to shift the military balance in its favor across the Taiwan Strait, he said.
China has deployed as many as 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles and growing numbers of medium-range ballistic missiles plus land-attack cruise missiles opposite the island, Lavoy added.
The planned F-16 retrofit, he said, would provide ‘real and immediate’ contributions to Taiwan’s security and amounted to the ‘best bang for the buck at this time.’
The United States will continue to build military-to-military ties with Taiwan, Lavoy said…
EXPANDING U.S. DRIVE
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The administration faced criticism from virtually all lawmakers present at the hearing for its delay in selling new F-16s even as Lavoy and Campbell outlined an expanding U.S. drive to help offset China’s growing military might with a greater U.S. presence in the region.
‘Taiwan needs our help,’ said committee chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican. ‘China is on the march in Asia, and its primary target remains democratic Taiwan.’
The panel’s top Democrat, Howard Berman, said Taiwan needed late-model F-16s to defend itself from China ‘and it needs them soon.’
Campbell said the Obama administration was updating the U.S. defense posture in Asia to be ‘more geographically distributed, politically sustainable and operationally resilient.’
The Obama administration also is actively exploring ways to raise the level of its meetings with Taiwan, he said.
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Representative Gerald Connolly asked whether Beijing’s stiff opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan played any role ‘whatsoever’ in the decision to withhold new F-16s.
‘It did not,’ Campbell responded.
(Editing by Xavier Briand and Mohammad Zargham)
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Kosovo: Serbs Hold Protest After Latest Deadly Attack
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=10&dd=04&nav_id=76696
Beta News Agency
October 4, 2011
Kosovo Serbs hold protest rally
GRA?ANICA: Several hundreds of Serbs held a protest in Gra?anica on Tuesday over murder of Aleksandar Putnik and wounding of his son Dobrica near Orahovac.
The Serbs started a protest walk at 11:00 CET. The rally ended in the Gra?anica Monastery where the protesters lit candles.
The protest gathering was led by Gra?anica Health Center Director Rada Trajkovi?. Serbs were carrying Serbian flags and banners written in Serbian and English.
They called on Kosovo officials to find the perpetrators of this attack and all other crimes against Kosovo Serbs.
There were no incidents during the protest and Kosovo police officers were providing safety. EULEX police were also present.
Putnik was killed on Saturday night in front of a restaurant in the village of Zrze. Police did not state what the motive was, but stressed that the investigation was underway.
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Romania Assists Armenia’s NATO Integration
http://news.am/eng/news/76598.html
News.am
October 4, 2011
Romania assisted Armenia in implementation of IPAP
YEREVAN: Romania assisted Armenia in the implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO (IPAP), Romanian Ambassador to Armenia Crina Prunariu said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Ambassador stressed that Romania assisted in the establishment of Armenia’s military doctrine. Armenian and Romanian MODs were in good relations and the Romanian side assisted also in the reforming budget on defense.
‘We also offered training for servicemen at the educational institutions in Romania,’ the Ambassador added.
Within the IPAP, a program of cooperation between Armenia and NATO, several stages of the reforms have already been implemented in the field of defense. The program was signed in December, 2005.
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Canadian Takes Charge Of NATO Nations Military Police
Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS)
October 4, 2011
Canadian Forces Provost Marshal Appointed Chairman of NATO Military Police Chiefs’ Committee
OTTAWA, ONTARIO: The Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM), Colonel Tim Grubb assumed the post of Chairman of the NATO Nations Military Police (MP) Chiefs’ Committee at a brief ceremony last week in Prague, Czech Republic. The ceremony concluded the committee’s annual meeting.
‘This appointment speaks to the integral part Canada plays in the international military policing community and the high regard with which NATO holds our soldiers, sailors and airmen and women,.’ said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence. ‘Canadian Forces Military Police have distinguished themselves both at home in domestic operations and across the globe in deployed operations – especially in Afghanistan. They have a great deal to contribute to this international forum.’
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‘This has been a defining year for the Canadian Forces Military Police and I am honoured to have been selected by my peers as chairman’ said Colonel Grubb. ‘I am committed to working with our NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) allies to further explore best practices of both the policing and operational roles played by Military Police in NATO.’
The NATO Military Police Chiefs’ Committee is an advisory body comprised of Military Police Chiefs from NATO and PfP nations and specific Provost Marshals from within the NATO organization. This committee discusses issues of common interest, advises on the NATO Military Police Course at the NATO School, and provides direction to the NATO Military Panel on matters of doctrine. The chairman is selected by peer committee members and serves a two-year term.
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NATO Plans Interim Interceptor Missile Capability
Aviation Week
October 4, 2011
NATO Plans Interim Missile Defense Capability
By Robert Wall
LONDON: When defense ministers from NATO member states meet this week in Brussels, missile defense will be on the agenda. And while concrete decisions are not expected, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen hopes to be ready to declare some meaningful progress next year.
‘Step by step, NATO’s territorial missile defense is becoming a reality,’ he tells reporters in advance of the defense ministerial. He says he is hopeful that at the time the heads of government of NATO members meet next year in Chicago, the alliance will be ready ‘to declare an interim operational capability.’
Poland, Romania and Turkey already have agreed to host elements of the U.S.-European Phase Adaptive Approach — a key element of the NATO concept — and Rasmussen says others will be asked this week to prepare commitments.
More broadly, the ministers are likely to discuss the report from an Allied Command Transformation task force exploring potential areas of increased cooperation. Rasmussen has been pushing for more cooperation as part of his ‘Smart Defense’ agenda and says he will work with governments in the coming months to identify projects they may be ready to lead. Program decisions are not expected this week, he notes.
Moreover, a decision by NATO to terminate military operations over Libya remains in limbo. Although Rasmussen says NATO is ready to stop its efforts as soon as the situation on the ground allows, he does not expect this week’s meeting to reach that conclusion.
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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/30/c_131170077.htm
Xinhua News Agency
September 30, 2011
NATO missile defense to get interim capability by next May
BRUSSELS: NATO leaders will announce an interim operational capability for the military alliance’s missile defense system in Europe at the Chicago summit in May, 2012, the head of NATO said on Friday.
‘Poland, Romania and Turkey have already agreed to host key elements of this system. And my goal for Chicago is that we declare an interim operational capability for NATO’s territorial missile defense. We will then be able to receive early warning of missile launches directed against us,’ Anders Fogh Rasmussen said during a think tank breakfast meeting.
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NATO’s vision on missile defense cooperation has been rejected by Russia that warned NATO’s moves would undermine its nuclear deterrent, upset the balance of power and trigger a new arms race in Europe.
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‘Mock’ Ground-Based Interceptor Missile Blocks Alabama Traffic
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/mock_missiles_move_may_interfe.html
Huntsville Times
October 4, 2011
Mock missile’s move may interfere with early-morning traffic in Huntsville
By Kenneth Kesner
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama: Where else but the Rocket City could someone say they’re late for work because a 54-foot missile messed up their morning commute?
Beginning at about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, Boeing’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense team will move a fake but full-size Ground-based Interceptor missile, or GBI, they use for training at the company’s JetPlex facility to Redstone Arsenal. The mock interceptor will be part of a display for a Missile Defense Agency event this week.
The GBI is to depart Boeing on a tractor trailer, will enter Interstate 565 from Wall Triana Blvd. (Exit 8), and then travel eastbound to Memorial Parkway South. It will negotiate the right turn, travel south on the Parkway and enter Redstone Arsenal through Gate 1 on Martin Road. The transport will have a police escort to help with exit ramp maneuvers and traffic merges.
From the outside, this training GBI is identical to the real ones in the ground at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California…
The interceptor missiles are the business end of MDA’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense system – presently the nation’s only fielded defense against long-range ballistic missiles. Boeing has been prime contractor for the system since 2001.
GMD is made up of a network of radars, satellites and other sensors, command and control centers and more, connected by a fiber-optic communications network. The sensors detect and track an enemy missile and relay information among the military operators of the system. Ultimately, a GBI is launched to identify the ‘real’ threat from among decoys, intercept it in space and deploy a kinetic-energy warhead to collide with it and destroy it – a process once compared to ‘hitting a bullet with a bullet.’
The New Dark Age 
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