16 December 2011 — Stop NATO
- Missile Shield To Destroy Strategic Balance: Russian Defense Minister
- U.S. Receives Final Approval To Deploy Missiles In Romania
- U.S.-NATO Missiles: Russian Baltic Radar Fully Operational In 2014
- Syria, Iran, Russia Targeted: Pentagon Chief Strengthens Military Ties With Turkey
- Global Turmoil Set To Worsen In Coming New Year
- Iraq: Fallujah Residents Celebrate Last Of U.S. Occupiers
- Pentagon Shifts From Broader Middle East To Confronting China
- Australia-Japan-U.S. Military Axis Deepened, Expanded
- Noose Around China: Australia, South Korea Boost Military Cooperation
- Malacca Strait: U.S. Marines In Malaysia, Singapore Exercises
Missile Shield To Destroy Strategic Balance: Russian Defense Minister
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/298892.html
Itar-Tass
December 16, 2011
Missile shield to break strategic balance – Serdyukov
MOSCOW: The deployment of the U.S. missile shield in Europe will break the strategic balance of forces and Russia will begin to take responsive measures after the first missile defense elements appear in Poland, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper published on Friday.
‘We cannot allow violations of the existing strategic balance which will result from the unilateral deployment of the missile defense system in Poland,’ he said.
‘As for today we have information the United States is planning to deploy anti-missile (Standard-3) complexes in Poland. Thus, a threat to our strategic nuclear forces will definitely come from there,’ Serdyukov said.
‘As soon as any missile defense elements appear in Poland we shall take adequate response measures. One of them can be the deployment of Iskander missile complexes in the Kaliningrad region. We shall definitely deploy them if the Supreme Commander-in-Chief orders us,’ the defense minister said.
He added the first response was the deployment in Kaliningrad of a missile attack warning radar. ‘Other measures declared by the president of the country will be implemented only as response steps adequate to the level of the emerging threat to Russia,’ Serdyukov stressed.
He added Russia will also equip its missiles ‘with a corresponding complex’ to break through the missile shield.
‘The same with all other tasks. Military science and industrial enterprises have the necessary designs. Their introduction will not demand major costs and time,’ the minister said.
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U.S. Receives Final Approval To Deploy Missiles In Romania
http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/298849.html
Itar-Tass
December 16, 2011
Romania gives go-ahead to U.S. missile defense on its territory
BUCHAREST: Romania’s President Traian Basescu on Thursday gave the final approval to build a missile interceptor site in the country as part of the U.S. missile shield which Russia objects.
Basescu signed into law the agreement reached between the United States and Romania in September to deploy the interceptors at the Deveselu air base near the border with Bulgaria by 2015. Romania’s parliament approved the deal earlier this month.
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U.S.-NATO Missiles: Russian Baltic Radar Fully Operational In 2014
http://en.rian.ru/news/20111215/170284350.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
December 15, 2011
Russia’s Baltic radar to be fully operational by 2014
Moscow: Russia’s new anti-missile radar station in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad will become fully operational by the middle of 2014, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily.
‘According to our estimates, it will take about one and a half years to put the facility into full operation,’ Serdyukov said.
The facility was opened in late November to counter the perceived threat from a joint U.S.-NATO missile defense system in Europe. President Dmitry Medvedev attended the station’s inauguration ceremony during his visit to the city.
When the radar enters full operation, it will be able to monitor simultaneously 500 targets at a distance of up to 6,000 kilometers, Serdyukov said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry plans to deploy S-400 surface-to-air missiles to beef up the facility’s security, Serdyukov said.
The full text of the interview will be published in Rossiiskaya Gazeta on Friday.
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Syria, Iran, Russia Targeted: Pentagon Chief Strengthens Military Ties With Turkey
http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66486
U.S. Department of Defense
December 15, 2011
Panetta to Reinforce Strong U.S.-Turkey Partnership
By Donna Miles
-In addition to being a strong NATO ally, Turkey is ‘extremely important to the ability to try to keep what is happening in the Middle East headed in the right direction,’ [Panetta] said.
‘They can have an influence on what happens in Egypt, what happens in Iraq, what happens in Iran, what happens in Syria,’ the secretary said.
-‘Turkey is coming on very strong in recent weeks in full alignment with our efforts and those of our key Arab and European partners,’ a senior defense official traveling with Panetta told reporters.
The secretary also said he will commend Turkey’s decision to host the forward-based radar for the NATO missile defense system.
ANKARA, Turkey: Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta arrived here today to reinforce the United States’ strong relationship with a critical security partner within the region and NATO.
Panetta traveled here after ceremonies in Iraq marking the end of the U.S. Forces Iraq mission, with stops also in Afghanistan and Djibouti.
In Ankara, the secretary will meet with President Abdullah Gul and Turkish defense leaders to thank them for their country’s leadership during a period of transition and change within the region.
‘Turkey represents a key ally in the Middle East,’ Panetta told reporters traveling with him.
In addition to being a strong NATO ally, Turkey is ‘extremely important to the ability to try to keep what is happening in the Middle East headed in the right direction,’ he said.
‘They can have an influence on what happens in Egypt, what happens in Iraq, what happens in Iran, what happens in Syria,’ the secretary said.
Panetta noted that Turkey has taken a strong position in condemning Syria’s violent crackdown on protestors and calling for President Bashar Assad to step down.
‘Turkey is coming on very strong in recent weeks in full alignment with our efforts and those of our key Arab and European partners,’ a senior defense official traveling with Panetta told reporters.
The secretary also said he will commend Turkey’s decision to host the forward-based radar for the NATO missile defense system.
Panetta also is expected to thank the Turks for their contributions to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Also during the visit, the secretary is expected to express the United States’ solidarity in its fight against the PKK terrorists and ways to continue that support as U.S. forces complete their drawdown in Iraq, the official said.
Echoing a theme he raised earlier this month, the secretary is likely to encourage Turkey to strengthen and, where necessary, build relations with key neighbors, including Israel, Armenia and Cyprus, the official said.
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Global Turmoil Set To Worsen In Coming New Year
Global Times
December 15, 2011
Global turmoil set to worsen in coming New Year*
-Political candidates in some countries will try to win votes by sacrificing foreign relations, and the hard-line foreign policies that they advocate or carry out may result in greater political tensions between the major powers.
For example, the US and China may clash over security issues in East Asia… To win a second term, US President Barack Obama may well introduce hard-line economic policies aimed at China.
Russia and the US may clash again over democracy, strategic stability, or Middle Eastern issues. Russia and Europe could have disputes over energy supply…The Japanese government may continue to take a hard-line policy approach to territorial disputes, which could bring it once more into conflict with China, Russia and Korea.
-Facing weak economies and high unemployment, and overridden with debt, it is also not inconceivable that developed Western states could experience violent conflict.
The consequences of the global financial crisis have overflowed from finance and economics into the political and social spheres this year, which has manifested in turmoil in both the international community and domestic communities throughout the world. The problems will only worsen in 2012.
For one thing, the difficulties facing world economic recovery may be even greater. US economic recovery is lagging and Europe has fallen into a serious debt crisis.
As the states at the center of the crisis are not able to resolve their own problems, the resolution depends largely on the direction and magnitude of assistance efforts from neighboring countries and institutions. On this issue, European states find it difficult to come together because of electoral and social factors.
As the largest economy in the euro zone, Germany’s will and capacity to rescue the stricken states is critical to resolving the crisis. The German public, however, has little interest in expending massive amounts of money on bailing Greece out. Should Italy or other countries be further affected by the debt crisis, however, it is unclear whether or not Germany will continue to provide aid.
Next year will also be one of global leadership change. The US, Russia, France and South Korea will all hold presidential elections. In China, the Communist Party will hold its 18th National Congress and select a new central leadership.
In this year of elections, political elites in all countries will pay greater attention to their domestic affairs. There will consequently be fewer foreign state visits, which is disadvantageous to the timely alleviation of conflicts between powers.
Political candidates in some countries will try to win votes by sacrificing foreign relations, and the hard-line foreign policies that they advocate or carry out may result in greater political tensions between the major powers.
For example, the US and China may clash over security issues in East Asia, the value of the yuan, balanced trade, or the level of openness of financial markets. Candidates for the US presidency will certainly attack one another on issues related to Sino-US economic relations. To win a second term, US President Barack Obama may well introduce hard-line economic policies aimed at China.
Russia and the US may clash again over democracy, strategic stability, or Middle Eastern issues. Russia and Europe could have disputes over energy supply and Russia’s domestic reforms.
The Japanese government may continue to take a hard-line policy approach to territorial disputes, which could bring it once more into conflict with China, Russia and Korea.
There could also be a rise in tension between China and Japan over historical issues.
Meanwhile, there is danger that North and South Korea will attack one another politically as they each prepare to change leadership.
In some countries, there may also be violent uprisings and armed conflicts as a result of social turmoil. The more intense the domestic social turmoil, the more opportunities for foreign interference and a greater likelihood that turmoil will overspill state boundaries.
This is precisely what has happened in the Middle East and Northern Africa, where political turmoil provoked an international war in Libya, and several serious violent domestic uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria, which have yet to end. Failure to handle these challenges could result in a long-term civil conflict.
Although it is less likely that other states will experience the violent conflict that has swept Libya and Syria, there is still the possibility that social contradictions could result in large-scale protests culminating in violence.
Facing weak economies and high unemployment, and overridden with debt, it is also not inconceivable that developed Western states could experience violent conflict.
*The article was an excerpt from the latest report, ‘Constructing an Orderly International System: Trends, Turmoil and Principles for Maintaining Order,’ released by the Institute of Modern International Relations, Tsinghua University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
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Iraq: Fallujah Residents Celebrate Last Of U.S. Occupiers
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20111216story_16-12-2011_pg4_8
Agence France-Presse
December 15, 2011
Iraq’s Fallujah glad to see back of US Army
-The second campaign was launched just two months before legislative elections, in January 2005. Some 2,000 civilians and 140 Americans died, in a battle considered one of the fiercest for the United States since the Vietnam war.
-‘It will be a day of joy for Iraqis when the last Americans leave Iraq,’ said Khalid Zidane Khalaf, 61. On Wednesday, hundreds of people in Fallujah marked the impending departure of American forces from Iraq by burning US flags and shouting slogans in support of the ‘resistance.’
-The actions of the US military convince Hamid Abid Ali, a history teacher in the city, that Washington is bent on revenge for the 2004 showdown and will ‘never allow Fallujah to live in peace.’
‘The American leaders should be brought before international courts and punished for the crimes they committed in Iraq,’ the 42-year-old thundered.
Battered, humiliated and temporarily cut off from the rest of Iraq, the people of Fallujah have paid a heavy price for two massive battles in 2004 between US forces and Sunni insurgents.
Now they can’t wait for the ‘occupiers’ to leave.
Despite parts of the city having been rebuilt, Fallujah remains deeply scarred by US military offensives in April and November 2004, two of the bloodiest campaigns of the war that turned it into a household name.
‘It is true that we suffered many losses, but we taught them a lesson they will never forget,’ said a man who said he took part in the fighting but declined to give his name. ‘They will tell their grandchildren of the great fighters of Fallujah.’
The city of about half a million people 60 kilometres west of Baghdad was home to some of the earliest anti-US protests in the aftermath of the March 2003 invasion. Back in May 2003, Fallujah residents were content to just throw their shoes at US soldiers. But in March 2004, four American employees of the US private security firm Blackwater, since renamed Xe and now called Academi, were brutally killed in the city.
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The April offensive aimed to quell the burgeoning Sunni insurgency but was a failure…
The second campaign was launched just two months before legislative elections, in January 2005. Some 2,000 civilians and 140 Americans died, in a battle considered one of the fiercest for the United States since the Vietnam war.
Seven years later, remnants of the devastation are still clearly visible. A multi-storey building, having collapsed in on itself, lies close to the bridge where the Blackwater employees were left hanging.
Behind it is a network of muddy lanes which form a dilapidated market, with the walls surrounding it bearing bullet holes. In that market, or souk, is a modest workshop belonging to Mohammed Weida, a tailor. ‘The Americans destroyed Fallujah — their presence was a curse’ for the city, the 53-year-old said, standing beneath a large hole in the ceiling. ‘We used to live well, but because of them, our situation now is miserable.’
Nearby, a schoolteacher wandering through the market insisted Fallujah’s residents would ‘never forgive (the Americans) for the harm they caused.’
‘It will be a day of joy for Iraqis when the last Americans leave Iraq,’ said Khalid Zidane Khalaf, 61. On Wednesday, hundreds of people in Fallujah marked the impending departure of American forces from Iraq by burning US flags and shouting slogans in support of the ‘resistance.’
Dubbed the first annual ‘festival to celebrate the role of the resistance,’ residents held up banners and placards inscribed with phrases like, ‘Now we are free’ and ‘Fallujah is the flame of the resistance.’
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Apart from the material damage to the city in the 2004 battles, the US military stands accused of harming the long-term health of local residents through the use of white phosphorous. They also complain of American forces having closed off Fallujah for several years, making it impossible for non-residents to visit, and ravaging its economy. The city has since been re-opened.
The actions of the US military convince Hamid Abid Ali, a history teacher in the city, that Washington is bent on revenge for the 2004 showdown and will ‘never allow Fallujah to live in peace.’
‘The American leaders should be brought before international courts and punished for the crimes they committed in Iraq,’ the 42-year-old thundered.
…
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Pentagon Shifts From Broader Middle East To Confronting China
Washington Post
December 15, 2011
China warily watches U.S. withdrawal from Iraq
By Keith B. Richburg
-‘In the past three or four weeks, the United States has launched so many initiatives so quickly,’ said Shi Yinhong, a professor and director at the Center for American Studies at Renmin University in Beijing. ‘The motivation is to deal with China. This is a really significant new phase in America’s policy toward China.’
-‘America is now shifting its focus from the Middle East and South Asia to East Asia, from counterterrorism to dealing with emerging powers,’ said Yuan Peng, director of the Institute of American Studies, part of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, which is affiliated with the Foreign Ministry…‘It’s already become a reality that you’re here — you’re back,’ he said. ‘The following question is, what’s that for? Is it for encircling or containing China?’
BEIJING: As the U.S. military on Thursday formally ended its intervention in Iraq and prepared to withdraw the last of its combat troops, China was watching warily and with deep concern about where those troops might go next.
The worry here is that an American military free of the nearly nine-year-long commitment to Iraq might now be freer to focus attention on the Asia-Pacific region, which China considers its back yard. In the past month, China has seen the Obama administration promise a pivot to Asia, with the establishment of a new U.S. military base in Darwin, on Australia’s northern coast, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to Burma, also known as Myanmar, which China considers an ally.
‘In the past three or four weeks, the United States has launched so many initiatives so quickly,’ said Shi Yinhong, a professor and director at the Center for American Studies at Renmin University in Beijing. ‘The motivation is to deal with China. This is a really significant new phase in America’s policy toward China.’
For the past decade, China has been free to focus on its economic development without concern about any major confrontation with the United States, as the foreign policy under the George W. Bush and Obama administrations focused almost exclusively on Iraq and the larger war against terrorism.
Now, with the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and the planned 2014 drawdown of troops from Afghanistan, Chinese officials are bracing to see whether President Obama’s announced refocusing on Asia presages an era of tense relations between China and the United States.
‘America is now shifting its focus from the Middle East and South Asia to East Asia, from counterterrorism to dealing with emerging powers,’ said Yuan Peng, director of the Institute of American Studies, part of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, which is affiliated with the Foreign Ministry. ‘Maybe China will be the new focus. This is a very typical Chinese way of thinking.’
Yuan said the Iraq withdrawal ‘signals that counterterrorism as the only focus of your security strategy in the last 10 years has changed.’ Now, he said, ‘the focus of strategic thinking, the center of gravity, is shifting from West to East.’
‘It’s already become a reality that you’re here — you’re back,’ he said. ‘The following question is, what’s that for? Is it for encircling or containing China?’
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The Iraq war helped deepen lingering anti-Americanism here among some Chinese, who view the United States as a ‘hegemonist’ power bent on using its military for global domination. Experts said the sentiment was different during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, because that came after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda plotters based in Afghanistan — and people in China believed the United States had a right to respond.
Some here said the 2003 Iraq invasion, based on the false premise that [Iraq] possessed weapons of mass destruction, has made it more difficult for the United States to press its case against Iran developing a nuclear weapon.
But what was most unnerving may have been the prospect of seeing the United States send combat troops halfway around the world to overthrow a government…in the heart of the Middle East.
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Australia-Japan-U.S. Military Axis Deepened, Expanded
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2011-12/15/c_131309191.htm
Xinhua News Agency
December 15, 2011
Japan, Australia set to boost military ties in Pacific region
-Both officials agreed that more joint maneuvers held between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and Australia’s military contingents would be advantageous to both countries and that three-way training operations with the U.S. military should also be increased.
TOKYO: Japanese Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and Australia’s Ambassador to Japan Bruce Miller on Thursday agreed that the two countries should work together to further enhance military cooperation.
During the meeting, Ichikawa said he viewed the security partnership between Australia and Japan as being almost on a par with that of Japan and its key military alliance with the United States, local media reported.
For his part, Miller said that the association between the two countries in the recent past had been of mutual benefit to both parties, but agreed that relations could be further deepened going forward, the reports said.
Both officials agreed that more joint maneuvers held between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and Australia’s military contingents would be advantageous to both countries and that three-way training operations with the U.S. military should also be increased.
The two sides talked about general Asia-Pacific security issues and Miller informed Ishikawa of the specifics of a deal made between Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and U.S. President Barack Obama last month.
According to the agreement reached between the two countries, the U.S. will deploy 250 of its marines to northern regions in Australia as part of a broader roadmap that will eventually see some 2,500 U.S. personnel stationed there.
Japan’s defense minister said that he approved of the plan and that it represented a good move in terms of the region’s security, the reports said.
The pair agreed that a ministerial level summit on the matters discussed should be held forthwith.
Australia currently boasts the world’s 12th largest military.
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Noose Around China: Australia, South Korea Boost Military Cooperation
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/267478/20111215/australia-s-korea-forge-deal-closer-military.htm
International Business Times
December 15, 2011
Australia and South Korea Forge Deal for Closer Military Cooperation
By Erik Pineda
-The military deal was revealed following the earlier pact announced by U.S. President Barack Obama during his state visit to Australia, which allows the United States to station some 2,500 U.S. Marines in Darwin, on the north coast.
America’s action is seen as a move to contain the perceived growing dominance of China in the Asia-Pacific…
-Japan announced this week the likely acquisition of new combat planes for its air force, which experts said serves as a counter-balance against China.
South Korea strengthened military ties with Australia as the two nations formally agreed on Wednesday conduct more joint exercises.
The agreement was sealed while South Korean Defence Minister Gen. Kim Kwan-jin made a stop in Canberra this week to meet his Australian counterpart, Defence Minister Stephen Smith.
In a joint statement, they declared: ‘We are natural security partners, and we will continue to look for new opportunities to deepen our defence cooperation.’
‘Australia and the Republic of Korea are like-minded middle powers, and our bilateral relationship is underpinned by shared strategic interests,’ the ministers said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
Smith and his South Korean counterpart added that with the deal in place, joint exercises would be held more frequently with the aim of maintaining the balance of power in the region.
Further discussions between top Australian and South Korean officials should yield policies to address the two countries’ strategic concerns, both political and economic, the statement said.
Closer military cooperation is also embodied in the agreement, which officials said should pave the way for deepening collaboration in intelligence gathering and sharing as well as trade in military goods.
For her part, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who met with the South Korean defence head in Sydney on Wednesday, has affirmed that Australia is labouring to improve its military cooperation with Seoul.
Gillard noted that she and President Lee Myung-bak pledged in April to conduct a yearly dialogue to strengthen the military ties of the two countries.
The military deal was revealed following the earlier pact announced by U.S. President Barack Obama during his state visit to Australia, which allows the United States to station some 2,500 U.S. Marines in Darwin, on the north coast.
America’s action is seen as a move to contain the perceived growing dominance of China in the Asia-Pacific while the planned joint exercise of Australia and South Korea is a way of serving notice to North Korea that regional powers are monitoring its movements.
Japan announced this week the likely acquisition of new combat planes for its air force, which experts said serves as a counter-balance against China.
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Malacca Strait: U.S. Marines In Malaysia, Singapore Exercises
http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=64413
U.S. Navy
December 15, 2011
USS Makin Island Supports 11th MEU Theater Security Cooperation Missions
From USS Makin Island (LHD 8) Public Affairs
-’The economic interests of the United States, our allies and partner nations depend on unimpeded trade across the world’s oceans. Open trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region is extremely important to the world’s economy.’
During the exercise, Marines from the 11th MEU worked alongside their Malaysian counterparts to learn jungle survival skills and improve helicopter-borne assault techniques.
USS MAKIN ISLAND, At Sea: The Navy’s newest amphibious assault ship, USS Makin Island (LHD 8), played a major role in supporting theater security cooperation missions in the Asia-Pacific region by serving as the at-sea launching platform for U.S. Marine Corps forces participating in Exercise Kilat Eagle, Dec. 14.
Kilat Eagle is a cooperative exercise taking place in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) between the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and the Malaysian army. The exercise focuses on jungle training, air assault operations, a staff exchange and numerous platoon and company movements.
Sailors assigned to Makin Island’s flight deck worked long hours to launch 11th MEU aircraft and embarked Marines into Kuantan, Malaysia, in order to take part in the exercise.
‘The Navy and Marine Corps team plays a critical role in helping to establish international maritime security cooperation with our partner nations,’ said Capt. Jim Landers, USS Makin Island commanding officer. ‘Global maritime security is best achieved through international and regional maritime integration, awareness and response initiatives.
Landers said theater security cooperation exercises like Kilat Eagle enable mutual capabilities and capacity to carry out real-world operations.
‘The economic interests of the United States, our allies and partner nations depend on unimpeded trade across the world’s oceans,’ added Landers. ‘Open trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region is extremely important to the world’s economy.’
During the exercise, Marines from the 11th MEU worked alongside their Malaysian counterparts to learn jungle survival skills and improve helicopter-borne assault techniques.
‘Kilat Eagle reinforces our relationship with the Malaysian forces and provides a unique training opportunity for all parties,’ said Col. Michael Hudson, 11th MEU commanding officer. ‘We look forward to sharing all that this agile, forward-deployed Marine air-ground-logistics team has to offer.
‘This is a golden opportunity. The venues and expertise offered by our gracious hosts will allow us to train with the Malaysians while keeping us sharp for our deployment as America’s premier fighting force in the littorals,’ said Hudson.
Other 11th MEU personnel from Makin Island are participating in additional theater security cooperation exercises in nearby Singapore.
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The 7th Fleet AOR includes more than 52 million square miles of the Pacific and Indian oceans, stretching from the international date line to the east coast of Africa, and from the Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic in the south.
The New Dark Age 