25 October 2011 — Stop NATO
- NATO Bombed Libyan Oil Fields To Ensure Post-War Control: Expert
- Afghan Lower House Rejects Military Agreement With NATO
- Kabul: Afghans Protest Against Permanent U.S. Military Bases
- NATO tests 360-Degree Interceptor Missile In Florida
- Pentagon Chief: 50 More Years Of U.S.- Japan Military Alliance In Asia
- Targeting China: Pentagon To Shift Military Forces From Greater Middle East To East Asia
- U.S. Forward-Deployed Amphibious Assault Ship In Philippines Drill
- NATO Caucasus, Central Asia Representative On Way To Georgia
- Turkish Tanks, Jet Fighters Move Into Iraq
- U.S. Military Academies Training More Cyberwarriors
NATO Bombed Libyan Oil Fields To Ensure Post-War Control: Expert
http://en.trend.az/regions/met/arabicr/1948935.html
Trend News Agency
October 24, 2011
Foreign companies to fight for Libyan oil
A. Tagiyeva
Baku: Foreign companies will begin fighting for Libyan oil and gas fields; particularly they will be the companies of countries that were active in the struggle to overthrow Gaddafi’s regime, said a leading economist at the Egyptian Al-Ahram Center for Strategic and Political Studies, Ahmed al-Sayed Al-Naggar.
‘Countries such as France, Italy, UK and USA will compete for the exploration and development of oil fields,’ Al-Naggar told Trend by telephone from Cairo.
According to the expert, during the struggle to overthrow Gaddafi’s regime, ‘NATO intentionally inflicted air strikes on oil fields, as a result of which the mining infrastructure of the country was practically destroyed. This was done so that Libya would be in need of foreign investments and Western aid in the energy sector after the war’.
‘The new government of Libya is unlikely to nationalize Libyan oil, since they do not have sufficient capacity for its production. Libya needs foreign investments to restore the oil industry,’ said Al-Naggar.
Al-Naggar also believes that along with major Western companies, smaller firms are also expected to participate, since there are plans to explore new oil fields, which will create a chance for those who have not previously participated in the country’s oil sector.
Libya is the eighth in terms of crude oil production among the 12 OPEC countries and the third in Africa after Nigeria and Angola. The main importer of Libyan oil is Italy, followed by Germany, France and Spain.
Libya’s proven oil reserves are estimated at 45 billion barrels. Before the war, Libya produced 1.5 million barrels of oil per day.
The head of Libya’s National Oil Corporation, Nuri Beruin, said in September that currently Libya produces oil only on the Sarir field, but over the next six months, the oil production will begin on country’s all oil fields and will reach from 800,000 to 1 million barrels per day.
Meanwhile, the former head of the Corporation, Shokri Ghanem, said Tuesday that Libya will be able to enter the pre-war level of oil production not earlier than 18 months from now.
With regards to oil prices, according to Al-Naggar, the restoration of oil production in Libya will to some extent affect world oil prices, but major changes in the prices is not expected, since full recovery of production and supply of oil will take a certain period of time.
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Afghan Lower House Rejects Military Agreement With NATO
http://en.rian.ru/world/20111024/168068676.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
October 24, 2011
Afghan lawmakers reject military agreement with ISAF
KABUL: Afghanistan’s lower house of parliament rejected on Monday an agreement on technical and military cooperation between the Afghan government and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the Pajhwok news agency reported.
The military-technical agreement between the interim government in Afghanistan and ISAF was signed in December 2001 but submitted to the lower house of Afghan parliament only in September 2011.
The majority of lawmakers stated on Monday that the agreement with ISAF violated the country’s sovereignty.
The decision could seriously undermine the efforts of the current Afghan government led by President Hamid Karzai to strike a strategic cooperation pact with the United States later this year.
ISAF has been deployed since 2001 under the authority of the UN Security Council which authorized the establishment of the force to assist the Afghan government in the maintenance of security in the war-torn country.
Under the agreement, the ISAF has complete and unimpeded freedom of movement or action throughout the territory and airspace of Afghanistan.
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Kabul: Afghans Protest Against Permanent U.S. Military Bases
http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/10/24/hundreds-oppose-idea-permanent-us-bases
Pajhwok Afghan News
October 24, 2011
Hundreds oppose idea of permanent US bases
By Khwaja Basir Ahmad
KABUL: Hundreds of people on Monday staged a protest demonstration in the capital Kabul, opposing permanent US military bases in the country.
Organised by the National United Front (NUF), the protesters, including former mujahedeen, students and teachers, gathered in front of the Kabul University at around 9am.
The protestors chanted: ‘Down with America and long live Islam, national consensus is the only way to resolve the conflict and we don’t want the presence of foreign troops in our country.’
Former lawmaker and NUF member Haji Farid said the presence of international forces had had a negative impact on national security over the past decade and would continue to do so in the future.
NATO-led troops flouted Afghan traditions by conducting irresponsible nighttime raids and house searches, Farid alleged, insisting insecurity had increased after the US-led invasion of the country.
Terming the upcoming traditional Loya Jirga slated on a strategic pact with the US as illegal, he claimed the gathering was aimed at granting approving foreign military bases in the country.
Jirga members would be nominated by the government, he alleged, suggesting the participants should be selected from amongst district council members.
Haji Farid said: ‘If the US is allowed permanent military bases, will it promise that it won’t leave Afghanistan in ruins? And will it give Afghanistan the nuclear bomb? The answer is a big no, and that’s why permanent bases should not be allowed.’
NUF member Eng. Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai said there was no need for permanent foreign military presence in the country. ‘We support the peace process, but the goal could not be realised with foreign forces fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan.’
He believed peace could be brought after the withdrawal of foreign troops, an end to war and neighbours’ incursions into Afghanistan. ‘After the foreign troops’ pullout, we are ready to mediate between militants and the government.’
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NATO tests 360-Degree Interceptor Missile In Florida
MEADS International
October 24, 2011
Lightweight MEADS Launcher Arrives at White Sands for Initial Flight Test
-Through improvements in range, interoperability, mobility and full 360-degree defense capability against the evolving threat, MEADS improves the ability to defend troops, friends and allies in critical areas around the globe.
-’The lightweight MEADS launcher is one of the most advanced mobile launchers in existence today, and it is easily adaptable to different nations’ vehicles,’ said NATO MEADS Management Agency (NAMEADSMA) General Manager Gregory Kee.
ORLANDO, Fla., MUNICH and ROME: After completing extensive system integration testing, the first Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) launcher has arrived at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., ready to demonstrate its advanced capabilities.
The lightweight MEADS launcher is easily transportable, tactically mobile and capable of rapid reload. It carries up to eight PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) Missiles and achieves launch readiness in minimum time.
Through improvements in range, interoperability, mobility and full 360-degree defense capability against the evolving threat, MEADS improves the ability to defend troops, friends and allies in critical areas around the globe.
At White Sands Missile Range, MEADS will demonstrate an unprecedented over-the-shoulder launch of a PAC-3 MSE against a simulated target that attacks from behind. The test will demonstrate a 360-degree capability that current air and missile defense systems cannot provide. 360-degree coverage is necessary to protect soldiers and critical assets from highly maneuverable cruise missiles and easily re-locatable short- and medium-range tactical ballistic missiles. Integration and checkout tests are continuing in preparation for a November flight test.
‘The lightweight MEADS launcher is one of the most advanced mobile launchers in existence today, and it is easily adaptable to different nations’ vehicles,’ said NATO MEADS Management Agency (NAMEADSMA) General Manager Gregory Kee. ‘With this upcoming test, we will demonstrate the ability to launch an interceptor 360 degrees from a single launcher…’
Using its 360-degree defensive capability and advanced radars, MEADS will defend up to eight times the coverage area of other systems while using far fewer system assets. This reduces deployed personnel, equipment and demand for airlift to a fraction of that for current systems.
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MEADS International, a multinational joint venture headquartered in Orlando, Fla., is the prime contractor for the MEADS system. Major subcontractors and joint venture partners are MBDA in Italy, LFK in Germany and Lockheed Martin in the United States.
The MEADS program management agency NAMEADSMA is located in Huntsville, Ala.
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Pentagon Chief: 50 More Years Of U.S.- Japan Military Alliance In Asia
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=65779
U.S. Department of Defense
October 24, 2011
Panetta Praises U.S.-Japan Alliance
By Karen Parrish
-En route to Japan, a senior defense official told reporters traveling with the secretary that the topics of discussion for those meetings will range from arms exports and ballistic missile defense to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology and U.S. troop basing in Japan.
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan: Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today cited the importance of America’s alliance with Japan in maintaining peace and security across the Pacific region.
During a town hall meeting with some 200 U.S. and Japanese troops gathered in the 459th Airlift Squadron hangar, Panetta said the U.S.-Japan alliance stretches more than 50 years and is, in many ways, the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Pacific.
‘And it will be for the next 50 years as well,’ he added.
In line with President Barack Obama’s strategic guidance, U.S. defense forces will maintain and build on regional relationships with Japan and other countries, the secretary said.
‘I just had the opportunity to be in Indonesia and meet with the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] defense ministers,’ he noted. ‘And I conveyed the same message to them: the United States will continue to work with all of them to improve our cooperation, to improve our assistance, and to make sure that we strengthen security for all nations in the Pacific region.’
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America’s strength, he said, lies in its people serving in uniform at home or in Japan, Afghanistan, Iraq or elsewhere around the globe…
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‘Make sure they never have anyplace to hide – whether it’s Pakistan, whether it’s Yemen, whether Somalia, whether it’s the Maghreb in North Africa,’ the secretary said. ‘We have to keep the pressure on and do what the president said we must do, which is to dismantle, disrupt and defeat al-Qaida and its militant allies. And we will do that.’
With the announced withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces from Iraq by the end of this year, Panetta said, the world must understand the United States will continue to have both a lasting security relationship with Iraq and a troop presence in the Middle East.
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Turning to Libya, Panetta said he commends NATO forces and their partner militaries for the successful conclusion of the mission there…
‘All of us can take a great deal of pride in the work that was done to achieve that mission,’ he said.
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‘Work remains,’ he said. ‘We’ve got to continue to confront terrorism, … nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea, … [and] a whole new battlefield of the future, called ‘cyber.’’
Those challenges, along with rising powers and continued unrest in the Middle East, will be met by an American military that is capable, agile and responsive to threats, the secretary said.
‘Most importantly, we have the opportunity to strengthen our presence in the Pacific – and we will,’ he said. ‘This is an important region. The security of the world, in many ways, is dependent on the security of the Pacific.’
Panetta said his main purpose in visiting the troops was to thank them.
‘You are the long arm of American military power,’ he said…
The new greatest generation in America, the one that has gone to war over the last 10 years, includes more than 6,200 who have died and 46,000 who have been wounded in the nation’s service, Panetta said.
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This is Panetta’s first trip to Asia as defense secretary. He is in Japan after a visit to Indonesia, and he will travel to South Korea later this week. The Japan leg of his trip will continue with scheduled meetings with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Foreign Affairs Minister Koichiro Gemba and Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa.
En route to Japan, a senior defense official told reporters traveling with the secretary that the topics of discussion for those meetings will range from arms exports and ballistic missile defense to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology and U.S. troop basing in Japan.
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Targeting China: Pentagon To Shift Military Forces From Greater Middle East To East Asia
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20111025story_25-10-2011_pg4_1
Reuters
October 24, 2011
No US troop cuts in Asia: Panetta
YOKOTA AIR BASE: Defence Secretary Leon Panetta ruled out troop cuts in Asia as part of US belt-tightening as he arrived in Japan on Monday, flagging concerns about a ‘reckless’ North Korea and Chinese military assertiveness.
Panetta, on his first trip to Asia since taking over the Pentagon’s top job in July, has been assuring allies in the region that the US military will maintain a strong posture in the Pacific despite looming defence spending cuts at home. ‘We are not anticipating any cutbacks in this region. If anything we are going to strengthen our presence in the Pacific,’ Panetta, a former CIA director, told a gathering of US and Japanese forces at Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo.
…Panetta said the complete US military withdrawal from Iraq this year and the gradual drawdown in Afghanistan would enable the United States to shift more attention to the Asia-Pacific region. They would also allow for more focus on concerns like the threat posed by cyber warfare technologies.
…Panetta’s stop in Japan follows a meeting in Indonesia with defence ministers from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations. After visiting Japan, he completes his week-long visit to Asia in South Korea.
In an opinion piece Panetta wrote for Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper, the defence chief noted that China was rapidly modernising its military ‘but with a troubling lack of transparency, coupled with increasingly assertive activity in the East and South China Seas’. In comments to U.S. troops in Italy this month, Panetta cited concerns about China as one reason the US military presence in the Pacific was so critical. ‘In the Pacific, we’re concerned about China. The most important thing we can do is to project our force into the Pacific,’ Panetta said.
‘To have our carriers there, to have our fleet there, to be able to make very clear to China that we are going to protect international rights to be able to move across the oceans freely.’ Panetta, in his opinion piece in Japan, also renewed his concerns over North Korea’s ‘reckless and provocative behaviour’…
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U.S. Forward-Deployed Amphibious Assault Ship In Philippines Drill
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=63416
Navy NewsStand
October 24, 2011
Essex Arrives in Subic Bay for Amphibious Landing Exercise
By Seaman Sade T. Lucas, USS Essex Public Affairs
SUBIC BAY, Philippines: Forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) arrived in Subic Bay, Philippines Oct. 22 to offload elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) for participation in Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX).
PHIBLEX is a bilateral training exercise between U.S. Sailors and Marines and the Armed Forces of the Philippines designed to improve interoperability…
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During the exercise, U.S. and Philippine forces will conduct air-ground and amphibious training. Exercises such as PHIBLEX allow the two nations to practice integrated operations through the full range of military operations…
The exercise is scheduled to run until Oct. 28. This year marks the 28th iteration of PHIBLEX and the 60th year of the Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty. U.S. and Philippine forces regularly work together in bilateral exercises such as PHIBLEX…
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NATO Caucasus, Central Asia Representative On Way To Georgia
http://rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=43547&pg=1&im=main&ct=0&wth=
Rustavi 2
October 24, 2011
James Apathurai to visit Georgia on October 27
-The sides will discuss all issues tied with Georgia`s integration into the alliance.
The Personal Representative of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus and Central Asia, James Appathurai, will visit Georgia on October 27, 2011, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nino Kalandadze announced at a briefing today.
Kalandadze said the visit confirms NATO`s political support to Georgia and its firm positions towards Georgia.
Appathurai will hold meetings with Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri, Vice PM Giorgi Baramidze, National Security Secretary Giga Bokeria and defense ministry authorities. The sides will discuss all issues tied with Georgia`s integration into the alliance.
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Turkish Tanks, Jet Fighters Move Into Iraq
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/10/25/59288134.html
Itar-Tass
October 25, 2011
Turkish tanks cross into Iraq
Turkish tanks and armored vehicles, backed by air power, crossed into northern Iraq on Monday heading towards a Kurdish militant camp, Reuters reports, citing Turkish security sources.
The incursion came as cross-border operations continued in the wake of last week’s attack by Kurdistan Workers Party fighters that killed 24 Turkish soldiers.
Turkey’s military chief of staff, General Necdet Ozel, said in televised remarks that Turkish air strikes had killed an estimated 270 Kurdish militants, wounded 210 and destroyed many arms stores in northern Iraq since August 17.
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U.S. Military Academies Training More Cyberwarriors
http://www.stripes.com/news/cyberwarfare-joins-the-curriculum-at-service-academies-1.158642
Stars and Stripes
October 24, 2011
Cyberwarfare joins the curriculum at service academies
By Chris Carroll
WASHINGTON: A cyberattack took place recently in a darkened classroom at the U.S. Naval Academy.
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Part of the Navy’s response…is the Center for Cyber Security Studies recently set up at the Naval Academy…
The head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, Army Gen. Keith Alexander, in March painted a grim picture in congressional testimony.
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Cyber Command, which oversees DOD cyberoperations and network defense, did not supply a representative to talk to Stars and Stripes about current staffing levels. But Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, the commander ultimately in charge of Cyber Command as head of U.S. Strategic Command, told reporters earlier this week that there remains a shortage of skilled cyberwarriors.
The other service academies are also working to fill the demand. Both the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy have had research centers up and running for years, and both require students to learn the basics of computer security.
Lt. Col. Robert Fanelli, a West Point professor who runs West Point’s cybersecurity academic track, told Stars and Stripes earlier this year that cadets learn cybersecurity essentials in a number of classes.
‘It’s nearly mandatory now for the cadets,’ he said…
Educators at the Air Force Academy, which has long had a cyber component in required computer science courses, say interest in the area is growing. More cadets are using the academy’s ‘cyber range,’ an isolated computer network for testing simulated operations, and more are enrolling in courses and programs that teach state-of-the-art cyberwar tactics and techniques.
The New Dark Age 