The New Dark Age

10 February 2012 — Stop NATO news

• NATO Air Strike Killed Eight Afghan Children: Karzai
• Another U.S. Drone Strike Kills Three In Pakistan
• Pentagon Budget To Fund First NATO Global Hawk Drones
• Argentina Appeals To UN Over British Military Buildup In South Atlantic
• Leading U.S. Officials Flock To Bulgaria Amid Mideast War Threats
• Defense Ministry: Russian Military Closely Monitoring Situation In Syria
• St. Petersburg: Russia Activates New Radar Against NATO Missile System
• Japan Scrambles Fighters To Intercept Russian Bombers
• Belgrade: Change of Command Ceremony at Military Liaison Office
• NATO’s UN Liaison Officer Addresses West Point Cadets

NATO Air Strike Killed Eight Afghan Children: Karzai

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/02/09/65721886.html

Agence France-Presse
February 9, 2012

NATO airstrike killed eight children – Karzai

A NATO airstrike killed eight children in Afghanistan’s Kapisa province, President Hamid Karzai said Thursday.

The president ‘strongly condemned the aerial bombing by foreign troops that killed a number of children in Nejrab district’ northeast of Kabul on Wednesday, said a statement from his office.

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Another U.S. Drone Strike Kills Three In Pakistan

http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/02/09/another-drone-strike-kills-3-waziristan

Pajhwok Afghan News
February 9, 2012

Another drone strike kills 3 in Waziristan
By Qaisar Yosufzaion

ISLAMABAD: Three suspected militants were killed on Thursday morning in a US drone attack, the second in 24 hours, in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, an official said.

The CIA-operated aircraft fired missiles into a compound at 4am in the Adam Khor area near Miranshah, the main town in the region, political administration official Taslim Khan told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Three people were killed in the predawn drone attack, he said without saying whether the victims were civilians or fighters.

A local reporter, Malak Mumtaaz, said the compound was destroyed as a result of the strike and the victims could not be identified. He said the victims might be local people.

…

Drone attacks were halted for about a month after NATO helicopters targeted two Pakistani security posts in the Salala area of Mohmand Agency, killing 24 soldiers and injuring more than a dozen others on Nov. 26, 2011.

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Pentagon Budget To Fund First NATO Global Hawk Drones

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-09/pentagon-budget-said-to-fund-first-nato-global-hawk-drones.html

Bloomberg News
February 9, 2012

Pentagon Budget Said to Fund First NATO Global Hawk Drones
By Tony Capaccio

The Pentagon proposes in its new budget to spend $1.2 billion for the first three NATO-version Northrop Grumman Corp. Global Hawk drones and three additional U.S. Navy-version drones, according to an official.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization announced this month it planned to buy five of the unmanned aircraft, known as the Alliance Ground System, through 2017. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters Feb. 4 without elaboration that ‘we have protected funding for AGS in our new budget.’

The budget also calls for purchasing the next three Navy drones of the version known as the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance System, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the budget’s submission to Congress on Feb. 13. The Navy has two demonstration models, one of which is flying Persian Gulf surveillance missions. It plans to purchase as many as 68.

…

–Editors: Terry Atlas, Larry Liebert

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Argentina Appeals To UN Over British Military Buildup In South Atlantic

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29169

Global Research News
February 9, 2012

Argentina Appeals To UN Over British Military Buildup In South Atlantic

On February 7 Argentine President Cristina Fernandez accused Britain of militarizing the South Atlantic Ocean by deploying a cutting-edge warship and a nuclear-powered submarine off the coast of the Falklands Islands, known to Argentina and the rest of Latin America as Las Malvinas.

She pledged to seek assistance at the United Nations to remove British military forces from the region, warning that the heightened British military presence risks a potential clash between the two countries.

London recently announced that it was dispatching the HMS Dauntless, a Type 45 destroyer, Britain’s newest and most advanced warship, to the Falklands as well as a Trafalgar class nuclear-powered submarine equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles and Spearfish torpedoes. Another Type 45 destroyer, HMS Daring, was recently deployed to the Persian Gulf where two U.S. aircraft carriers, USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln, and their strike groups are also deployed, with the USS Enterprise carrier strike group to join them.

The British destroyer and submarine will reinforce Typhoon warplanes of the sort used against Libya last year, an air base with radar, a patrol frigate and a garrison of 1,700 soldiers, the latter almost the number of civilian inhabitants of the Falklands.

The deployment of Prince William on a military mission to the islands late last week further antagonized Argentina, with President Fernandez describing the royal scion as being garbed in the ‘uniform of a conquistador.’

Rick Rozoff contributed to this report.

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Leading U.S. Officials Flock To Bulgaria Amid Mideast War Threats

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29168

Global Research News
February 9, 2012

New Military Coalitions Directed Against Syria and Iran: Leading U.S. Officials Flock To Bulgaria Amid Mideast War Threats

U.S. Secretary of State visited Bulgaria on February 5 to discuss that nation’s contribution to NATO’s war effort in Afghanistan, the intensification of joint military training and exercises, pressuring the host country into dropping Russian-made arms in favor of Western ones and the further sabotaging of energy deals – natural gas and nuclear – between Bulgaria and Russia.

The topic of ongoing developments in the Middle East was also discussed. In 2006 Clinton’s predecessor Condoleezza Rice secured the use of several military bases in the nation, including the Graf Ignatievo and Bezmer air bases. A year earlier a similar arrangement was reached with neighboring Romania for the use of the Mihail Kog?lniceanu Air Base near Constanta on the Black Sea. The latter was employed by the Pentagon for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and since for the war in Afghanistan.

China’s Xinhua News Agency wrote ahead of Clinton’s visit that, ‘Analysts believe there is no doubt that Bulgaria will respond positively to Clinton’s foreign policy, even if they are related to the issues in Iran or Syria.’

A Bulgarian news source subsequently revealed that two days after Clinton’s departure from Sofia a delegation of U.S. officials including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for European and NATO Policy James Townsend, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs Marie Yovanovitch and Major General Mark Schissler from U.S. European Command visited the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

The Standart news agency wrote that the ‘extraordinary visit has additionally fed rumours about coming military operations in the Middle East and the formation of new coalitions of the kind existing against Iraq in 2003.’

In addition to recent complementary efforts to enlist the South Caucasus nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan in support of military actions against Iran, and perhaps Syria as well, the U.S. and its NATO allies are adding to air and naval bases in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf monarchies others from which to strike Tehran and Damascus.

Rick Rozoff contributed to this report.

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Defense Ministry: Russian Military Closely Monitoring Situation In Syria

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/10/c_131401471.htm

Xinhua News Agency
February 9, 2012

Russia closely watching Syria situation: military official

MOSCOW: Russia’s military leadership has been closely watching the situation in and around Syria, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said on Thursday.

He told Rossiya 24 television channel that the situation was worsening and Russia ‘can’t remain indifferent’.

Antonov noted that Russia and Syria have close military-technical ties, and Russian specialists have been deployed at various military sites in that region.

‘I think the region is quite promising from the point of view of military cooperation,’ he was quoted as saying.

He reiterated Russia will do its best to avoid military intervention in Syria.

‘We give backup to our colleagues from the Foreign Ministry who are tackling the problems (about the Syrian situation),’ he said.

‘Given the restive and turbulent situation in the Middle East, the Russian leadership weighs up every concrete step,’ Antonov added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be decided by Syrians themselves.

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St. Petersburg: Russia Activates New Radar Against NATO Missile System

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20120209/171237484.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
February 9, 2012

DefenseSt. Petersburg Radar to be Put on Alert in Feb.

MOSCOW: This month a new radar of the Voronezh class will be put on alert duty near Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg as part of Russia’s early warning system, a missile defense spokesman said on Thursday.

The current overhaul of Russia’s missile defenses is also due to the new strategic challenges presented by the U.S.-led missile shield plans in Europe.

‘A new generation missile warning radar in the Leningrad Region will be put on alert duty in February 2012,’ said Col. Alexei Zolotukhin, spokesman for the missile defense troops in the Russian Defense Ministry.

The radar in the Leningrad Region was built in 2006 and until recently was operated in a test mode, he said.

Two other Voronezh class radars are already operating in a test mode in Armavir in the Black Sea area and in Pionersky near Russia’s westernmost exclave of Kaliningrad. Another one near the Siberian city of Irkutsk will be put into test mode operation later this year.

The Voronezh class radars are a serious breakthrough compared to the previous generation radars of the Dnepr and Daryal class. The radar in Pionersky has a range of 6,000 kilometers and can simultaneously track around 500 objects.

Under the national defense program until 2020, the Defense Ministry is to replace all Soviet long-range radars and close all gaps in radar coverage on Russia’s borders.

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Japan Scrambles Fighters To Intercept Russian Bombers

http://en.rian.ru/world/20120209/171225017.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
February 9, 2012

Japan Scrambles Fighters to Meet Russian Bombers

TOKYO: Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force had to scramble fighter jets in response to flights by Russian military aircraft near Japanese airspace on Wednesday, Kyodo news agency said on Thursday citing the Defense Ministry.

According to the ministry, a total of five Russian planes, including two Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers, two Su-24 Fencer reconnaissance planes and an A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control aircraft skirted Japanese territory on Wednesday.

‘They flew over the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan off Hokkaido and the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan,’ Japanese officials said, adding that it was the first time a Russian AWACS plane was spotted near Japan.

Russia resumed strategic bomber patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans in August 2007.

Yesterday’s flights by Russian Air Force aircraft close to the coast of Japan were carried out strictly in accordance with international rules and took place over international waters, air force spokesman Col. Vladimir Drik said on Thursday.

‘All flights by air force aircraft were carried out and are carried out in strict accordance with international rules on use of airspace above international waters, and not violating the borders of other states,’ he said.

‘They were escorted by on their flights by Japanese Air Self Defense Force F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft,’ Drik said.

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Belgrade: Change of Command Ceremony at Military Liaison Office

http://www.aco.nato.int/mlo-belgrade-holds-change-of-command-ceremony-.aspx

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
February 9, 2012

MLO BELGRADE HOLDS CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY

Lieutenant General Leandro De Vincenti, Chief of Staff Joint Force Command Naples, presided over the Change of Command Ceremony at Military Liaison Office Belgrade 08 February 2012.

After 14 months in post, Brigadier General Mauro De Vincentis handed over his duties to Brigadier General Ornello Baron in a simple ceremony of great importance, attended by the Serbian Minister of Defence, HE Dragan Sutanovac, and Major General Bjelica, Deputy CHOD.

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NATO’s UN Liaison Officer Addresses West Point Cadets

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-77E847B0-556C1EE4/natolive/news_84295.htm

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
February 8, 2012

NATO’s UN Liaison Officer addresses West-Point cadets

West-Point: ’NATO delivers security’, theme of NATO’s Chicago Summit in May, was one of the topics of a series of briefings to West-Point cadets by NATO’s Military Liaison Officer to the United Nations, Col. Paul Van der Heijden.

In his briefings to young and senior cadets of the US Military Academy at West-Point, Col. Van der Heijden explained the unique political-military structure of the Alliance and described how NATO engages with partners around the globe…

In his special guest-lecture at the Winning the Peace-Lecture for the Senior Cadets, Col. Van der Heijden focused on NATO’s counter piracy operation in the Horn of Africa (Operation Ocean Shield), the Alliance’s counter terrorism operation in the Mediterranean (Operation Active Endeavour), the recently ended operation in Libya (Operation Unified Protector), and NATO-led operations in Afghanistan (International Security Assistance Force) and Kosovo (Kosovo Force).