29 November 2011 — Stop NATO

• Will America’s New Hypersonic Weapon Cause A Global Arms Race?
• Russian Warships Head For Syria
• SCO Partners: China, Russia Say NATO Attacks On Pakistan Unacceptable
• NATO Exceeds All Limits In Pakistan
• Russian Foreign Minister Condemns Deadly NATO Air Attack In Pakistan
• Pakistan Army Refuses To Accept NATO ‘Expressions Of Regret’
• Black Day: Anti-NATO Protests Spread Across Pakistan
• Russia Considers Blocking NATO’s Afghan Supply Routes Over Missiles
• Video And Text: NATO Orders Use Of Live Ammunition Against Kosovo Serbs
• NATO Military Commanders Push Bosnia’s Integration Into Bloc
• NATO Official, Azeri Defense Chief Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
• NATO Intensifies Military Partnership With Iraq

Will America’s New Hypersonic Weapon Cause A Global Arms Race?

http://www.policymic.com/articles/2590/will-america-s-new-hypersonic-weapon-cause-a-global-arms-race

PolicyMic
November 28, 2011

Will America’s New Hypersonic Weapon Cause a Global Arms Race?
Georgi Ivanov

On November 18, the Army ran a field test of a new hypersonic flight weapon, specifically testing for technologies that would boost the vehicle’s speed and help it glide smoother, as well as seeing how well it maneuvres and how precisely it could strike a target.

This new weapon has implications for Pacific and global strategic balances. It can deliver a conventional strike anywhere in the world within an hour. If put fully into use, it puts America in an advantageous position relative to China and Russia, not only in the Pacific, but also globally, in respect to the capacity for global strike capability.

The purpose of Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) program is to develop ‘a first-of-its-kind glide vehicle, designed to fly within the earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic speed and long range.’ It is also interesting to note that not only the Army is pursuing the development of such a vehicle. The Air Force and the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are undertaking similar research that would provide this branch of the military with a similar hypersonic flight weapon.

The collapse of the USSR left America without a comparable international rival, and while China’s spectacular growth may be a prelude to Beijing’s future predominance, as of today the Asian giant’s military is not considered a rival to American hard power capacities. In effect, AHW could give Washington a political and technological edge over potential rivals for some time.

Russia’s BULAVA project, a submarine-launched missile with multiple warheads that can be independently targeted, can be considered a competitor to Washington’s hypersonic project in terms of having global delivery capability with similar precision. However, with approximately half of the trials having been failures, it is probable that the technological maturation of the project may take longer than anticipated. Namely, because America seemingly has the capacity to run parallel research programs on the same project, it will likely achieve a quality final product sooner.

New weapons will raise the question of a global regulatory regime to prevent stockpiling or the establishment of Mutal Assured Destruction-like doctrines between the major powers. But there is no space for this kind of simplistic strategic thinking in a multi-polar world. In Asia, China finds itself in a much more intricate regional position than does America half a world away; this condition is enough to enforce a nuance to Chinese foreign policy that also must be applied by Beijing’s military policy planners in respect to developing new weapons…

New weapons will change the capabilities of the armed forces of the major states, and it is possible to say that more states will have global reach capability via hypersonic, or other yet to be developed weapons. A state’s strategic position is relatively enhanced, but at the expense of global vulnerability. It is precisely that mutual interdependence we need to keep when we talk about advanced weaponry because nobody has an interest in a hypersonic war.

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Russian Warships Head For Syria

http://rt.com/news/russian-aircraft-carrier-syria-363/

RT
November 28, 2011

Sea alert: Russian warships head for Syria

Moscow is deploying warships at its base in the Syrian port of Tartus. The long-planned mission comes, providentially, at the very moment when it could help prevent a potential conflict in the strategically important Middle Eastern country.

The Russian battle group will consist of three vessels led by the heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser, Admiral Kuznetsov.

Russian military officials insist that the move has no connection with the ongoing crisis in the region and was planned a year ago, the Izvestia newspaper reports. Apart from Syria, the aircraft carrier and its escort ships are set to visit the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Genoa in Italy and Cyprus, says the former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Viktor Kravchenko.

Nevertheless, he added that the presence of a military force other than NATO’s is very useful for this region, because ‘it will prevent the outbreak of an armed conflict,’ Izvestia quoted Kravchenko as saying.

The Soviet Union, the Admiral recalled, created a special naval squadron to deter Western military forces in the Mediterranean Sea. To repair and supply its ships, Moscow needed its own maintenance base in the region, and that was how the base in Tartus came into being.

At present, the base is mostly used to support vessels of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Some 600 military and civilian personnel of the Defense Ministry serve there.

News of Russia’s naval deployment in Tartus came shortly after the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush anchored off Syria, along with additional naval vessels. The US battle group is to remain in the Mediterranean, allegedly to conduct maritime security operations and support missions as part of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. The US 6th Fleet is also patrolling the area, Interfax reports.

‘Of course, the Russian naval forces in the Mediterranean will be incommensurate with those of the US 6th Fleet, which includes one or two aircraft carriers and several escort ships,’ Admiral Kravchenko explained.

‘But today, no one talks about possible military clashes, since an attack on any Russian ship would be regarded as a declaration of war with all the consequences.’

The mission is set to start in early December, when the Admiral Kuznetsov begins its journey in the Barents Sea, accompanied by another vessel of Russia’s Northern Fleet, the heavy ASW ship Admiral Chabanenko. The group will then skirt the European continent from the west and enter the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Later, they will be joined by frigate Ladny of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. It will travel through the Bosphorus, with a stop-over in Malta’s Valletta.
Admiral Kuznetsov will be carrying eight Sukhoi Su-33 all-weather fighters, two Kamov Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters and several brand new Mig-29K fighters. The Mig fighters were built for India’s air force and are supposed to be ‘tested’ during their first assignment.

Military officials have stressed that all flights will be performed in open waters, away from the Syrian coast.

Unlike American aircraft carriers, designed largely as floating runways, Admiral Kuznetsov is a heavily-armed aircraft-carrying cruiser. Its primary armaments, among others, are 12 long-range surface-to-surface anti-ship Granit cruise missiles, a six-gun short-range surface-to-air missile system Kinzhal, eight close-in air defense Kashtan gun-missile systems and two UDAV-1 anti-submarine systems.

The Admiral Kuznetsov has already been twice to the port of Tartus during its assignments in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean in 1995 and 2007.

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SCO Partners: China, Russia Say NATO Attacks On Pakistan Unacceptable

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20111129story_29-11-2011_pg1_4

Daily Times
Agencies
November 29, 2011

Violation of Pak sovereignty not acceptable: China, Russia

MOSCOW/BEIJING: Russia and China on Monday said that violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity was unacceptable. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to brief them on the unprovoked NATO/ISAF attack on Pakistani territory and the decisions taken by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet.

She underscored that besides being a gross violation of established international norms, such attacks pose a threat to regional peace and stability as well.

The Russian foreign minister said that a nation’s sovereignty should always be upheld, even when hunting ‘terrorists’.

‘Leaders of NATO in Afghanistan should carry out a meticulous investigation into this incident,’ Lavrov told Khar. The Russian foreign minister underscored that Pakistan and Russia were partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and also partners in promoting regional cooperation.

A statement issued by the foreign ministry said, ‘The Russian foreign minister emphasised the unacceptability of violating the sovereignty of states, including during the planning and carrying out of counter-terrorist operations.’

Separately, Hina Rabbani Khar spoke to Jiechi and had a 40-minute conversation in which she informed him of the extreme outrage in Pakistan on the unprovoked attacks, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Jiechi expressed deep shock and strong concern over the incident and extended condolences to the aggrieved families. He said that Pakistan’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected, and called for a thorough and serious investigation into the matter. The deadly strikes on Saturday have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington.

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Russian Foreign Minister Condemns Deadly NATO Air Attack In Pakistan

 

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=290731

Interfax
November 28, 2011

Lavrov condemns NATO air strike on army posts in Pakistan

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for an investigation into NATO air strikes on army posts in Pakistan.

Talking to his Pakistani counterpart by telephone on Monday, he stressed that ‘violations of countries’ sovereignty, including during counter-terrorist operations, are inadmissible’.

Lavrov called on the NATO command in Afghanistan to ‘thoroughly investigate the incident,’ the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

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NATO Exceeds All Limits In Pakistan

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=127474

Pakistan Observer
November 28, 2011

Nato crosses limits
SRH Hashmi

Karachi: For some time now, American leaders have been threatening Pakistan witgh dire consequences for not obeying their order to immediately launch a full-scale operation in North Waziristan, and looks like they have implemented it in part, with more such attacks to follow in case Pakistan limits its reaction to the familiar ‘strong’ protests and expression of indignation, with the maximum being the stoppage of NATO supplies for a few days.

This time, through, with a completely unprovoked attack on a Pakistani check post in the Mohmand agency, the Americans have martyred 25 soldiers and injured another 15, and the Pakistani government response is also proportionately stronger but still it is nowhere near what Pakistanis want.

All Pakistanis are incensed at the arrogance and uncalled-for brutality and it seems unlikely that they will accept letting the Americans off with a routine apology, a promise to try to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in future, and perhaps an offer of compensation. They will accept nothing short of a complete revision of our relations with the US, starting with the complete stoppage of NATO supplies going through Pakistan. There is not much point in letting NATO supplies, including fuel that they use to bomb us recklessly, pass through Pakistan. And here is US ambassador, Munter, apologizing over the incident.

A bit earlier, he apologized over the incident at the Sunehri Mosque where an American in his delegation violated the sanctity of the mosque by stepping in with his shoes on. He is not doing much these days except offering his apologies and trying to assure us as to what affectionate, sincere and helping friends we have in the form of the United States.

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Pakistan Army Refuses To Accept NATO ‘Expressions Of Regret’

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20111129story_29-11-2011_pg1_2

Daily Times
Agencies
November 29, 2011

Army refuses to accept ‘expressions of regret’

* ISPR says strikes lasted two hours and continued even after commanders at bases pleaded with coalition forces to stop

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday denied provoking NATO air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and refused to accept expressions of regret over the cross-border attack that has inflamed US-Pakistani ties.

While rejecting NATO’s claim that Pakistan forces initiated fire, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Athar Abbas said, ‘NATO forces should present proof if they were claiming that firing was started from the Pakistani side.’

Talking to a private television channel he said, ‘No fire was opened from our side and we responded only after the martyrdom of our soldiers.’

Abbas said that NATO had been provided maps of all Pakistani checkposts as reference and they had also been informed about their positions.

He also said that the attack took place 200-300 metres within Pakistan’s borders, adding that the area had been cleared of militants.

When the attack was initiated, the soldiers deployed on these posts immediately informed senior officers who took up the issue with regional headquarters at Peshawar and GHQ Rawalpindi.

‘They reported that the posts were being attacked. We received information of the martyrdom of 24 soldiers after mortar shelling was stopped from across the border,’ he added.

Abbas said the attack lasted almost two hours and that commanders had contacted their NATO counterparts while it was going on, asking that ‘they get this fire to cease, but somehow it continued.’

‘This could have serious consequences on the level and extent of our cooperation,’ he said.

He said that NATO could not make the excuse that they were chasing terrorists across the border because the area where the attack took place had been cleared. He said that the investigations were still going on about the two posts, namely Volcano and Golden beyond Salala.

He denied that any NATO soldier was injured as result of firing from the Pakistani side.

Responding to a question, he said that he would not speculate regarding the apology of NATO.

‘Our leadership is reviewing whether it was an unprovoked attack,’ he added.

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Black Day: Anti-NATO Protests Spread Across Pakistan

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=10615&Cat=13

News International
November 29, 2011

Nato attack protested across the country
 

ISLAMABAD: People called on the government Monday to end its alliance with the United States and get out of the US war on terrorism as protests against a Nato strike pushed into a third day. Twenty-four Pakistani soldiers were killed in the cross-border attack early on Saturday by Nato helicopters and fighter jets.

Members of civil society, lawyers, traders and students organised the rallies…in major cities of the nuclear-armed country of 167 million people, where opposition to the US alliance is rampant.

Lawyers went on strike across the country on the call of Pakistan Bar Council, demonstrating outside court buildings, chanting slogans against Nato and the United States, officials from bar associations across the country said.

‘We marched at the Islamabad High Court premises and expressed our anger against this attack, none of us went to the courts today,’ Ashraf Gujjar, president of Islamabad High Court Bar Association, told AFP after one rally.

‘The government should cut Nato supplies permanently, take back military bases from the US and plead that this case violates the borders in the UN Security Council,’ he quoted from a resolution passed by lawyers.

The Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) staged a protest demonstration terming the Nato strikes on Pak security checkposts an assault on Pakistan’s sovereignty and international human rights laws.

The members of the PHCBA and Peshawar District Bar Association took out a demonstration from the PHCBA Bar Room and staged a protest in front of the provincial assembly to condemn the Nato strike.

They burnt the effigy of US President Barack Obama and chanted anti-US slogans. The demo was led by PHCBA General Secretary Ameenur Rehman Khan. The lawyers also boycotted courts proceedings on this occasion.

In Lahore, the Supreme Court and Lahore High Court Bar associations held a joint protest rally at GPO Chowk against the Nato forces’ attack. The lawyers were chanting slogans against the US government and demanding the Pakistani government ensure the complete sovereignty of the country.

The Bars condemned the attack on the Pakistani checkposts and demanded the government approach the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against such brazen attacks.

The lawyers’ bodies held a joint session and unanimously passed a resolution demanding the Pakistani government permanently block the Nato supply line. They also urged the government to implement the decision taken by the Defence Committee of Cabinet in letter and spirit – including blocking Nato supply routes and getting the Shamsi airbase vacated.

The Bars also resolved that drone attacks must be stopped immediately; otherwise the drone aircraft must be targeted. The Lahore Bar Association (LBA) observed Monday as a black day to condemn the Nato strikes on Pakistani forces, demanding immediate action against the attackers.

The strike call was completely endorsed by the LBA. Lawyers wore black armbands and did not join proceedings of the cases. In Karachi, members of Karachi Bar Association and Malir District Bar Association also observed a complete boycott of legal proceedings at subordinate courts as protest.

The lawyers also blocked the national highway to Karachi, chanting slogans in the favour of the Pakistani Army, police said. Sindh High Court Bar Association President Anwar Mansoor Khan presided over a meeting that followed the boycott of legal proceedings by lawyers at the Sindh High Court and all subordinate courts.

‘This general body strongly condemns the purposive, motivated and unprovoked attack by Nato on the post at Salala, Mohmand Agency. This illegal action is an attack on the sovereignty of Pakistan,’ a resolution said.

‘This body further strongly condemns the Western media, especially the BBC and Fox News, for maliciously airing uncalled-for and provocative programmes and maligning the armed forces of Pakistan and the government of Pakistan, stating facts incorrectly, aimed at discrediting the Muslims of the world and Pakistanis in particular.’

The meeting demanded of the government to take forceful action against intruders, the murderers of 24 Shaheed [martyr] soldiers, and permanently stop supplies through Pakistan to Nato troops. It further demanded to stop cooperation with Nato at all levels, the closure of the Shamsi Airbase and other bases, and the cancellation of all defence agreements with them. The meeting called upon all Pakistanis to disinvest their investment from all Nato countries.

In Daska, lawyers staged out a rally in protest against Nato forces. Daska Bar President Muhammad Asif Bajwa led the rally that ended at Fawara Chowk. The protesting lawyers were wearing black armbands and carrying banners and placards.

They chanted slogans against the Pakistani government and USA-led Nato forces in Afghanistan. They expressed complete solidarity with the armed forces of Pakistan. Judicial work at all the courts remained suspended in Bahawalpur where lawyers showed solidarity with the Pak armed forces.

The Multan District Bar Association (DBA), led by its president Arbab Ahmad Syed, offered Ghaibana Namaz-e-Janaza of the martyred soldiers and held a protest demonstration at Chowk Katchery.

In Peshawar several hundred students blocked a main road, chanting ‘Death to the US’ and ‘Quit the war on terror’, an AFP reporter saw.

Scores of tribesmen also gathered in Mohmand to protest against the attack and demand that the government change its pro-US policy, Khalid Khan, an administration official in the district told AFP.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) also demonstrated against the Nato forces’ attack and conducted rallies in Hyderabad, Multan and Mirpur Khas expressing support and solidarity with the Pakistan Army.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at the Multan Press Club, MQM leader Raza Haroon said that in line with a directive of MQM leader Altaf Hussain, the party has replaced party flags with the national flag at all the regional office of MQM to show unity with the Pakistan Army.

In Multan, Jamat-ud-Dawa gathered a crowd of several hundred, burning an effigy of US President Barack Obama and US flags, an AFP photographer said.

In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, around 600 people in the town of Garhi Dupatta joined the relatives of a soldier killed in the attack, and chanted slogans against the US, police official Ishtiaq Gilani told AFP.

‘The government must retaliate and should suspend relations with the US until there is a fair and free investigation,’ Zafar Iqbal, 25, the brother of fallen soldier Tahir Iqbal told AFP from the protest.

Islami Jamiat Talbaba (IJT), Mardan chapter, held a protest rally outside the Mardan Press Club against the Nato forces. Addressing the protesters, speakers strongly condemned the Mohmand attack. The Awami National Party (ANP), Mardan chapter, also staged a protest rally against the attack.

Protesters chanted slogans against the US and Nato forces. Addressing the protesters, speakers strongly condemned the attack. PML-Q Khyber Pakhtunkhwa staged a protest rally to strongly condemn the Nato forces’ strike and supported the decisions of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC).

The Mehsud and Barki tribes in Fata also strongly condemned the Nato strike and vowed to fight shoulder to shoulder with the army in case of foreign aggression from any quarter in future.

A representative jirga of these tribes attended by maliks and chieftains was held at a political compound here where tribesmen termed the Nato aggression a complete violation of international laws and reiterated their pledge to fight till their last breath.

They jirga urged the government to revisit its anti-terror policy in light of parliament’s resolution on national security and the APC declaration. They also supported the DCC decisions. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Islamabad chapter, held a protest demo against the Nato attack at the Salala checkpost.

Pakistan turned back 300 trucks carrying Nato supplies and fuel into Afghanistan on Monday, government officials Syed Ahmed Jan and Mutahir Zeb told CNN. The main Pakistani association that delivers fuel to Nato forces in Afghanistan said it would not resume supplies anytime soon in protest against the air attack.

Nawab Sher Afridi, general secretary of the All Pakistan Oil Tanker Owners Association, said the association would reconsider only if the Islamabad government and the military accept an apology for the incident.

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Russia Considers Blocking NATO’s Afghan Supply Routes Over Missiles

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204753404577066421106592452.html

Wall Street Journal
November 28, 2011

Russia Considers Blocking NATO Supply Routes
By Alan Cullison

MOSCOW: Russia said it may not let NATO use its territory to supply troops in Afghanistan if the alliance doesn’t seriously consider its objections to a U.S.-led missile shield for Europe, Russia’s ambassador to NATO said Monday.

Russia has stepped up its objections to the antimissile system in Europe, threatening last week to deploy its own ballistic missiles on the border of the European Union to counter the move…

If NATO doesn’t give a serious response, ‘we have to address matters in relations in other areas,’ Russian news services reported Dmitri Rogozin, ambassador to NATO, as saying. He added that Russia’s cooperation on Afghanistan may be an area for review, the news services reported.

Threats to the NATO supply line through Russia come at an awkward time for the alliance. NATO has become increasingly reliant on the Russian route as problems in Pakistan — its primary supply route — have escalated. Over the weekend, Pakistan closed its border to trucks delivering supplies in response to coalition airstrikes Saturday that killed 25 Pakistani soldiers.

…

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Video And Text: NATO Orders Use Of Live Ammunition Against Kosovo Serbs

http://rt.com/news/kosovo-clashes-violence-victims-421/

RT
November 29, 2011

NATO troops shot, wounded in brutal Kosovo clashes

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Video

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At least two Kosovo Serbs and two NATO peacekeepers were injured in a fresh wave of violence in northern Kosovo, casting doubts on whether the conflict could be resolved in the near future.

The skirmishes occurred near the town of Zubin Potok, where Serbs were protesting NATO’s attempts to remove a barricade made of buses and trucks that was blocking a main road in the region. NATO peacekeeping troops responded by firing rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons at the demonstrators. They also used pepper spray and batons against the protesters while the latter hit the NATO peacekeepers with clubs and pelted them with rocks.

NATO has been claiming the two injured peacekeepers were under fire from the Serb demonstrators and is now instructing its soldiers to fire live ammunition if they come under attack.

Violence between Kosovo Serbs and NATO troops and Kosovar police flared up this summer after the self-proclaimed Kosovo government sought set up customs and border posts in the north of the country, where the overall minority Serbs make up a majority.

The Serb population responded by burning one of the posts and attacking Kosovar police. NATO troops were then called in, but Serbs began setting up barricades made of mud, soil, rock and concrete barriers to block the main road arteries leading to the border. This led to several skirmishes over the past months involving NATO peacekeepers and Kosovo Serbs.

Just last week more than 20 Portuguese and Hungarian soldiers were injured in another operation to remove the barricades.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 but it was only recognized by 85 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, but not most of the countries, including Russia and Serbia itself.

…

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NATO Military Commanders Push Bosnia’s Integration Into Bloc

http://www.aco.nato.int/nato-addresses-federation-of-bosnia-and-herzegovina-parliament-.aspx

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
November 28, 2011

NATO ADDRESSES FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA PARLIAMENT

How fast Bosnia and Herzegovina will join NATO depends on political will and fulfillment of remaining requirements, one of which is resolution of the issue of registration of prospective defence property, which is a condition for the activation of Membership Action Plan (MAP), said NATO HQ Sarajevo Commander General Gary Huffman and Deputy Commander Colonel John Andreas Olsen during their address to members of the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) Parliament, on November 24th.

Senior NATO officials sent a message that BiH must be ready to make compromises, to develop a sense for moving forward and to forget the past. They presented a new Strategic Concept of the Alliance for the next ten years.

During a half an hour Q&A period, guests from NATO had to spend most of the time explaining provisions of the Dayton Peace Accords and role of NATO and OHR bestowed to them by annexes to the agreement.

FBiH Parliamentarians expressed high level of support for BiH’s NATO integrations processes, and urged NATO HQ Sarajevo to continue its support on the country’s NATO integration path.

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NATO Official, Azeri Defense Chief Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/49447

Azeri Press Agency
November 25, 2011

Azerbaijani Minister, NATO official discuss Karabakh conflict

Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev received NATO Deputy Secretary General for Defense Policy and Planning Huseyn Dirioz.

Press service of the Defense Ministry reported that they exchanged views on the development prospects of NATO-Azerbaijan military cooperation and the military and political situation in the region and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

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NATO Intensifies Military Partnership With Iraq

http://www.arrc.nato.int/training_mission_iraq/page168503820.aspx

NATO Training Mission-Iraq Headquarters
November 23, 2011

Joint Training Coordination Cell Implementation Working Group meets at the NATO Training Mission-Iraq Headquarters

Baghdad, Iraq: The Joint Training Coordination Cell (JTCC) Implementation Working Group met for the first time on Wednesday 23 November at the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) Headquarters.

NTM-I Deputy Commander, Maj. Gen. Giovanni Armentani, opened the session on behalf of NTM-I Commander, Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, Jr.. ‘I thank you very much for coming here today and let me say what a great pleasure and honour it is for me to warmly welcome you all to this first Joint Training Coordination Cell Implementation Working Group,’ he said.

The aim of the Working Group is to establish the conditions for the successful formation of an effective JTCC…that has to act as an Iraqi focus for coordinating training activities with NATO. The JTCC will be the future means by which the Iraqi authorities coordinate training needs, and eventually all Partnership requirements with NATO.

When fully implemented, the JTCC will coordinate pan-ministerial involvement in all NATO-sponsored activities, both inside and outside Iraq and will manage all aspects of administration for training courses, seminars, conferences and symposia.

The NATO Training Mission in Iraq (NTM-I) was established in 2004…The aim of NTM-I is to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions….

NTM-I is…a distinct training mission, under the political control of NATO’s North Atlantic Council. Its operational emphasis is on training and mentoring. The activities of the mission are coordinated with Iraqi authorities and the Office for Security and Cooperation-Iraq (OSC-I) Chief, who is also dual-hatted as the Commander of NTM-I. NATO has an enduring commitment to Iraq.

NTM-I advises and supports the Defence University for Military Studies, National Defence College, War College, and the Defence Language Institute with the other institutions in Baghdad. Other cooperation projects for NATO in Iraq are out-of-country training courses for Iraqi nationals at NATO schools as well as the Iraqi Police (Iraqi Federal Police and Oil Police) training led by Italian Carabinieri.

Currently, NTM-I is a small tactical force of NATO/PfP personnel, representing 12 member nations (as of November 2011): Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine (Partner for Peace), the UK and the USA.