10 November 2011 — Stop NATO

• Russia: IAEA’s Iran Report Replicates Iraq War Build-Up
• NATO Chief Tells Iran To Halt Uranium Enrichment
• NATO Allies U.S., Portugal To Collaborate Against Syria, Iran
• U.S. Interceptor Missiles In Northern Seas Gravest Threat To Russia
• Video And Text: Serbia Is Flashpoint In New World Disorder
• Georgia ‘Lot Closer To NATO’: Rasmussen

Russia: IAEA’s Iran Report Replicates Iraq War Build-Up

http://rt.com/news/russia-iran-watchdog-nuclear-953/

RT
November 9, 2011

Russia: IAEA report‘s goal to make Iran ‘guilty’

-The statement draws a parallel between the current situation in Iran and the unfounded rumors of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s supposed possession of weapons of mass destruction which led to a military invasion of the country and a long, drawn-out, financially and humanly draining war, detrimental to stability in the region.

Diplomats in Moscow say the UN nuclear watchdog presented no new facts concerning the Iranian nuclear program – but instead deliberately politicized the existing ones, largely ignoring Tehran’s willingness to cooperate.

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s official statement says the fact the IAEA’s director was able to visit several locations of interest previously restricted to Agency inspectors is being underplayed. That, together with the fact Tehran’s desire to work closely with the UN watchdog to resolve any outstanding issues should be present in the report and is conveniently absent, led Russian officials to the conclusion that the IAEA ‘had a set goal to deliver a guilty verdict’.

Russia also expressed concern that the report, though still officially unpublished, is already being used to undermine international efforts at resolving the issues around Iran’s nuclear agenda in a diplomatic way. A further step in this direction, Moscow warns, could lead to a confrontational turn in the negotiations.

The statement draws a parallel between the current situation in Iran and the unfounded rumors of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s supposed possession of weapons of mass destruction which led to a military invasion of the country and a long, drawn-out, financially and humanly draining war, detrimental to stability in the region. 

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NATO Chief Tells Iran To Halt Uranium Enrichment

http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/1954996.html

Trend News Agency
November 9, 2011

NATO Secretary-General urges Iran to halt uranium enrichment program
N. Kirtskhalia

Tbilisi: NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has urged Iran to stop its uranium enrichment program.

NATO does not pursue a separate policy on the Iran issue and cooperates in this matter with the international community, Rasmussen said Wednesday in the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

‘It is the international community that should take decisions regarding Iran’s nuclear policy and NATO will support these decisions,’ he said.

Rasmussen said that 50 countries of the world currently possess booster rockets [ballistic missiles], or wish to have them.

‘In these circumstances, we are developing a joint missile defense system that will protect the peoples of the countries united in the Alliance,’ said NATO Secretary General.

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NATO Allies U.S., Portugal To Collaborate Against Syria, Iran

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-11/10/c_131238267.htm

Xinhua News Agency
November 10, 2011

U.S., Portugal agree to continue cooperation on Syria, Iran

-In their last summit in Nov. last year in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO leaders adopted a new strategic concept for the next decade, recommitting the military bloc to a global military role…

WASHINGTON: The United States and Portugal agreed on Wednesday to continue their close cooperation at the UN Security Council over issues like Syria, Iran and the Middle East peace.

At their White House talks, U.S. President Barack Obama and his Portuguese counterpart Anibal Cavaco Silva reaffirmed the strength of the partnership between their countries, which they said is building on the ‘deep friendship and long-standing alliance’ between the two NATO allies.

‘We also agreed to continue our close cooperation within the UN Security Council, where Portugal currently serves as Council President, on issues of mutual concern, such as Syria, Libya, Middle East peace and Iran,’ the two leaders said in a joint statement.

…

Obama and Silva also reviewed plans for the upcoming NATO summit slated for May 2012 in Chicago. ‘We agreed that we would work together in the coming months to ensure that the summit advances our joint goal of ensuring that the alliance is fully prepared to meet the security challenges of the 21st century,’ they said.

In their last summit in Nov. last year in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO leaders adopted a new strategic concept for the next decade, recommitting the military bloc to a global military role…

Obama and Silva discussed ongoing NATO operations, in particular in Afghanistan, saying Portugal intends to maintain its contribution to the Asian nation.

As officials from the EU, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank are in Portugal to review progress in its debt bailout, the two leaders also exchanged views on the present world economic and financial situation. ‘The United States underscored its full support for Portugal’s implementation of its reform program backed by the IMF and the EU,’ their joint statement said.

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U.S. Interceptor Missiles In Northern Seas Gravest Threat To Russia

http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/11/09/60116007.html

Voice of Russia
November 9, 2011

Arctic: cooperation, not confrontation
Maria Chupina

-’It’s easier to fire cruise missiles at Russia from the Arctic. This is the only region where a missile defense system can be really effective. It’s impossible to shoot down Russian missiles from Europe. This is easier to do from ships deployed in the Arctic, if, of course, American anti-aircraft missiles are substantially upgraded.’

       
Moscow has been seriously worried over plans by the United States to deploy missile warships in northern seas. Meeting with servicemen of the Western military district on Tuesday, Russia’s ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin said that Washington was studying the possibility of temporarily deploying its missile fleet in the North, Baltic and Barents Seas. But, he added, there is nothing more permanent than temporary. Russia has been firmly opposing the militarization of the Arctic and suggests turning the region into a key platform for economic and scientific cooperation between the Arctic ‘five’ – Russia, Canada, the United States, Norway and Denmark. The Arctic is rich in hydrocarbons and offers vast opportunities for developing sea and air transportation.

But it looks like Washington has different plans for the Arctic.

Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, says that the United States has a significant number of warships equipped with the Aegis sea-based missile defense and anti-aircraft system.

‘This system can theoretically intercept Russian ballistic missiles in case of a hypothetical conflict between Russia and the United States. In this case, the presence of U.S. missile warships in northern seas can be regarded by the Russian military and political leadership as a factor threatening the normal functioning of the Russian strategic nuclear forces.’

The ground-based version of the Aegis will form the basis of the European missile defense system, which is being built by the United States and NATO…Russia continues missile defense talks with the United States and NATO, but its role in the new security architecture is the subject of heated discussions in the West.

Alexander Khramchikhin, Deputy Director of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis, thinks that the appearance of the U.S. missile fleet in northern seas is dangerous to Russia.

‘It’s easier to fire cruise missiles at Russia from the Arctic. This is the only region where a missile defense system can be really effective. It’s impossible to shoot down Russian missiles from Europe. This is easier to do from ships deployed in the Arctic, if, of course, American anti-aircraft missiles are substantially upgraded. Theoretically, it is the deployment of U.S. warships in the North that is most unfavorable for us. But it’s not clear, what precisely this deployment means and what it will look like.’

Russia does not want confrontation with the West. The Kremlin has repeatedly said that parity should be discussed at the negotiating table and not through muscle-flexing. But that does not mean that Russia will give up plans to modernize its defense potential in various regions, including in the northern seas. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has unveiled plans to strengthen the Russian Northern Fleet. Work continues to create a new Borei-class strategic missile-carrying submarine, Borei 955, and a Yasen-class nuclear-powered submarine, Yasen 885.

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Video And Text: Serbia Is Flashpoint In New World Disorder

http://rt.com/news/serbia-world-pavic-kosovo-957/

RT
November 9, 2011

‘Serbia is one flashpoint in a new world disorder’

Video

– ‘The same powers that are controlling NATO are controlling what is happening in Greece. They are behind the crisis in Greece, they are behind the crisis in Iran. What we are seeing right now is the sign of a new world disorder, and Serbia is one of the flashpoints.’

NATO peacekeepers have used tear gas to take control of one of the barricades in Northern Kosovo, built by local Serbs several months ago in an ongoing border dispute. Political analyst Aleksandar Pavic insists KFOR forces act as occupiers.

But the success of the KFOR troops was short-lived, after a new block was put up further down the road. The crackdown comes just days after the head of the UN drew attention to the increasing number of attacks on Serbs living in Northern Kosovo.

NATO troops were deployed to the region to keep the peace and separate the conflicting sides. However, by bulldozing barricades they seem to have taken a particular side. And as Aleksandar Pavic says, the alliance has been doing this for years, while there is a bigger picture behind its actions in Serbia.

‘They’ve broken their mandate, actually. They are doing the job of the Albanian-controlled government in Pristina, and they are doing it openly, in spite of their mandate from the UN, which is supposed to be a peace-keeping mandate, to keep the warring sides separated,’ he told RT.

Speaking of the latest events around the barricades, Pavic notes that the KFOR action is an ‘aggressive show of force’. ‘They are acting like an occupier, instead of peace-keeping,’ he added.

With all that, it is not just about Kosovo, the political analyst pointed out.

‘This is part of a larger picture, and I think people should be very much aware of that,’ Pavic said. ‘The same powers that are controlling NATO are controlling what is happening in Greece. They are behind the crisis in Greece, they are behind the crisis in Iran. What we are seeing right now is the sign of a new world disorder, and Serbia is one of the flashpoints.’

‘All the people who are active in all Occupy Wall Street and all the other streets throughout the Western world right now – the Kosovo Serbs are the forefront of this fight,’ Aleksandar Pavic concluded.

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Georgia ‘Lot Closer To NATO’: Rasmussen

http://en.rian.ru/world/20111109/168556946.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
November 9, 2011

Georgia ‘a lot closer’ to NATO – Rasmussen

TBILISI: NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday noted Georgia’s progress toward integration with the alliance and called for a continuation of reforms.

‘Since our Bucharest summit, Georgia has come a lot closer to NATO,’ Rasmussen said at a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission, adding that there is still ‘work to be done in a number of areas.’
       
NATO’s Bucharest summit in 2008 opened the door to eventual Georgian membership in the alliance, and Rasmussen reaffirmed that decision.

Rasmussen and a NATO delegation he leads arrived in the capital Tbilisi on Wednesday for a two-day visit.

Further reforms will be ‘Georgia’s ticket to membership in NATO,’ the secretary general said.