http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/substitute-plane-with-u-s-soldiers-leaves-\
prague/409514


Czech News Agency
November 27, 2009


Substitute plane with U.S. soldiers leaves Prague


Prague: The substitute plane taking home the U.S. soldiers who had an emergency
landing at Prague-Ruzyne airport in the night of Thursday left Prague shortly
before 02:00 today, airport spokeswoman Eva Krejci told CTK.

The original plane carrying over 200 U.S. troops was heading from Iraq back home
to the United States when the captain asked for unplanned landing on suspicion
of smoke in the cockpit, the server iDnes.cz reported.

John Vance, spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Prague, told CTK on Thursday it
was a commercial flight hired for the U.S. soldiers.

"Twenty minutes after midnight the aircraft safely landed on the Prague
airport's runway. The soldiers were accommodated in a nearby hotel," iDnes.cz
wrote.

The Prague airport staff, including firefighters and an ambulance, went on alert
over the emergency landing.
....
===========================
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http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5AQ3IP20091127


Reuters
November 27, 2009


Poland agrees rules for hosting U.S. armed forces


-Poland, perturbed by Russia's more assertive foreign policy, has long
complained that it hosts no U.S. troops or major military installations despite
a strong track record of sending troops to help in U.S.-led missions in Iraq and
Afghanistan.


WARSAW: Poland and the United States have agreed the legal details of deploying
U.S. troops in Poland after lengthy negotiations, Deputy Defense Minister
Stanislaw Komorowski said on Friday.

The "status of forces" agreement (SOFA) opens the way for deployments of a U.S.
Patriot missile battery in Poland next year as part of plans to upgrade the NATO
member's air defenses.

"(Polish) Prime Minister Donald Tusk has accepted the result of the negotiations
I conducted with the Americans," Komorowski told Reuters.
....
Poland, perturbed by Russia's more assertive foreign policy, has long complained
that it hosts no U.S. troops or major military installations despite a strong
track record of sending troops to help in U.S.-led missions in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

The Patriot deal struck last year between Warsaw and the previous Bush
administration and now backed by U.S. President Barack Obama envisages an armed
Patriot battery being sent to Poland from Germany several times each year until
2012.

Polish forces would use the battery to upgrade their defense systems. Komorowski
told Reuters earlier this year that a U.S. battery would be permanently based in
Poland from 2012 and that Warsaw would also aim to buy its own anti-missile
systems.

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden visited Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania
last month in an attempt to assuage their fears that the Obama administration
was more concerned about 'resetting' ties with Russia than about regional
security.

Tusk told Biden Poland was ready to take part in a revamped missile defense
system. Officials say this could involve hosting SM-3 interceptors targeting
short and medium-range missiles under the system, which replaces Bush-era
missile shield plans.

(Writing by Gareth Jones and Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Louise Ireland)
===========================
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http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/geopolitical-crossroads-pentagon-nato\
-complete-conquest-of-balkans/


Stop NATO
November 28, 2009


Geopolitical Crossroads: Pentagon, NATO Complete Conquest Of Balkans
Rick Rozoff


----------
Bosnia and Montenegro being incorporated as full NATO members and Macedonia
following suit would expand the world's only military bloc to 31 nations, almost
twice that of ten years ago when it first began its drive into Eastern Europe.
And with Serbia and Kosovo, which even before becoming a member is the world's
first NATO political entity, included the Alliance's numbers will have more than
doubled since 1999, a decade after the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the
end of the Cold War. All seventeen new acquisitions would be in Eastern Europe,
and the majority of NATO member states would be former Warsaw Pact members or
Yugoslav republics and a province.
----------


NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited the capital of Montenegro
on November 26 and that of Bosnia the following day.

A Balkans news source wrote of the visits that Rasmussen would "discuss the
possibility of approving Montenegro’s action plan for NATO membership" and
"discuss strengthening NATO and BiH [Bosnia and Herzegovina] cooperation." [1]

Ahead of the Balkans tour Rasmussen was in Germany to meet with Chancellor
Angela Merkel and recruit more troops for the war in Afghanistan.

The NATO chief has been even busier than usual of late, simultaneously
recruiting troops from nations throughout Europe for Afghanistan on Washington's
behalf, working on the bloc's new Strategic Concept, drumming up support for a
continent-wide, U.S.-led interceptor missile system and preparing for a NATO
foreign ministers meeting on December 3-4.

The Balkans fit into all the above aspects of what has in recent years routinely
been referred to as 21st Century, global and expeditionary NATO, one feverishly
seeking new "third millennium challenges" and invoking "a myriad deadly threats"
[2] as pretexts for increasing its already widening role in five continents and
the Middle East.

Several days before Rasmussen arrived in the world's newest (recognized) nation,
Montenegro, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security
Alexander Vershbow was in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo to preside over the
fifth meeting of defense chiefs of the US-Adriatic Charter, set up by Washington
in 2003 to fast-track Balkans nations into NATO.

The first three members enlisted by the U.S. were Albania, Croatia and
Macedonia. The first two were formally inducted into full NATO membership at the
bloc's sixtieth anniversary summit this April and Macedonia also would have been
dragged into the Alliance except for the lingering dispute with Greece over its
name. Bosnia and Montenegro were added to the Charter last year and Serbia - and
breakaway Kosovo - are to be next. With Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia becoming
full member states at the Istanbul summit in 2004 and Greece and Turkey members
for decades, all of Southeast Europe has been transformed into NATO territory,
from the Adriatic to the Black and from the Aegean to the Ionian Seas.

The November 17 meeting in Bosnia was attended by, in addition to the Pentagon's
Vershbow (who was U.S. ambassador to NATO during the 1999 war against
Yugoslavia), the deputy defense minister of Albania and the defense chiefs of
Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro. Also present were the defense
ministers of Serbia and Slovenia, Dragan Sutanovac and Ljubica Jelisic, the last
two nations in a category labeled "guest and observer countries."

"Vershbow reiterated US support for the early approval of BiH and Montenegro's
applications for the Membership Action Plan (MAP). He also said full NATO
membership for Macedonia will be backed, as soon as the issue of its name is
resolved." Additionally, the defense chiefs "agreed to sign a joint statement on
enhancing co-operation through regional centres in the Western Balkans."  [3]

An Associated Press dispatch at the time of the Adriatic Charter meeting
mentioned of the December 3-4 assembly in Brussels (which will also be a forum
for enlisting thousands of more NATO troops for the Afghan war) that "An
upcoming meeting of NATO foreign ministers will provide a boost for Bosnia and
Montenegro to become the 29th and 30th members of the trans-Atlantic alliance."
[4]

Bosnia and Montenegro being incorporated as full NATO members and Macedonia
following suit would expand the world's only military bloc to 31 nations, almost
twice that of ten years ago when it first began its drive into Eastern Europe.
And with Serbia and Kosovo, which even before becoming a member is the world's
first NATO political entity, included the Alliance's numbers will have more than
doubled since 1999, a decade after the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and the
end of the Cold War. All seventeen new acquisitions would be in Eastern Europe,
and the majority of NATO member states would be former Warsaw Pact members or
Yugoslav republics and a province.

The Pentagon has already secured seven new military bases in Bulgaria and
Romania [5] which border the Black Sea in the Northern Balkans, including the
Graf Ignatievo and Bezmer airbases in the first country and the Mihail
Kogalniceanu Air Base in the second. The airfields have been used for
"downrange" military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and the Romanian
installation now hosts the Pentagon's Joint Task Force – East.

The U.S.'s colossal Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo is now ten years old and the use
and upgrading of Croatian and Montenegrin Adriatic harbors for U.S. Navy
deployments is an imminent possibility.

The further the fragmentation of former Yugoslavia proceeds, the more thoroughly
the region will be transformed into a string of so-called forward operating
bases and "lily pads" (Donald Rumsfeld's term) for military action to the east
and south.

The 2006 Western-supported dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and
Montenegro, itself a transitional mechanism devised by Javier Solana, NATO
Secretary General during the 1999 war and since then the European Union's High
Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, completed the breakup
of the former Yugoslavia into its six federal republics. The unilateral
declaration of independence from Serbia by Kosovo in 2008, not only backed but
engineered by NATO and its civilian complements, the government of the United
States and the European Union, began the second phase of the dismemberment of
the nation: The breaking apart of former republics into mini-states. [6]

Behind Kosovo lie Vojvodina, the Presevo Valley and Sandzak in Serbia, where
ethnic separatism, cross-border armed attacks and outright terrorism have raised
their heads, respectively.

Macedonia faces the same alarming prospect. Attacks by adjuncts of the so-called
Kosovo Liberation Army - the National Liberation Army (NLA) of Ali Ahmeti - from
inside Kosovo in 2001 placed the new nation on the precipice of all-out war and
violent fragmentation.

Last week Menduh Thaci, head of the Democratic Party of Albanians, called on his
sponsors in the West to reduce Macedonia to an international protectorate.
Speaking of a current political crisis largely of his making, Thaci said "I am
convinced that the only way out is an urgent international protection, which
will be a preventive measure for possible events." The next step is for the name
of the nation to be changed or adjusted and for whatever it will then be called
to be brought into NATO. Both the Greek government and pan-Albanian forces in
Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, South Serbia and Montenegro will be satisfied with
the result and NATO will acquire its 29th (or 31st) member state. [7]

Montenegro, barely three years old, will soon deploy the first contingent of its
armed forces to serve under NATO in Afghanistan. When it arrives it will join
troops from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Slovenia.
The last seven nations also provided soldiers for the military occupation of
Iraq after 2003. Montenegro didn't exist as an independent state at that time,
so its initiation as a NATO candidate country will be in Afghanistan.

With Serbia as an observer nation of the Adriatic Charter and with it having
joined NATO's Partnership for Peace transitional program in 2006, Washington and
Brussels will also soon call on it to prove its right to Alliance candidacy by
dispatching troops to the Afghan war front. As the U.S. and NATO are on the
verge of a qualitative escalation of the war in South Asia, the Serbian foreign
and defense ministries have announced the opening of a mission at NATO
headquarters in Brussels. "[T]he point of the mission will be to improve
cooperation and everyday communication with NATO, participate in the work of 100
expert committees, and improve...cooperation with '50 member-states' of the
'political' alliance." [8] Fifty states are almost exactly the number that have
provided NATO troops for the war in Afghanistan. Serbia could be the 51st.

Even for the representative of a battered, splintered, demoralized nation,
recent statements by current Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac are
offensive in their shameless fawning and obsequiousness.

He will soon be the first Serbian defense chief to visit the Pentagon in a
quarter of a century, a fact he is proud of, and recently said that his trip
will be "without a doubt, politically and militarily very important," as much of
the money - $500 million - Washington has bribed Belgrade authorities with since
the overthrow of President Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 "[was] used by the Serbian
military."

Sutanovac, who graduated from the George C. Marshall European Center for
Security Studies, jointly run by the U.S. Department of Defense and the German
Defense Ministry, and who is described as "speaking perfect English," added
these revealing details:

"The Serbian MoD [Ministry of Defense] has stable relations with the U.S.
military and we can say that cooperation in defense is the backbone of relations
between the United States and Serbia at the moment."

"Considering the fact that the U.S. defense budget is as large as the defense
budget of the rest of the world, it is crystal clear what the most important
thing is to U.S. foreign policy and international relations." [9]

The former Kosovo Liberation Army, then Kosovo Protection Corps (and now Kosovo
Security Force) offered troops to the U.S. for the war in Iraq shortly after the
invasion of 2003 and the NATO-equipped and trained Kosovo Security Force, a
nascent national army in all but name, will offer troops to NATO for the Afghan
war as it drags on indefinitely. [10]

During recent municipal elections in Kosovo, the first since its nominal
independence, one not recognized by 140 of 192 nations and by few outside the
NATO world (the exceptions including Afghanistan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, the
Marshall Islands, San Marino, Belize, Malta, Samoa, the Maldives, the Comoros,
the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and Palau), supporters of former KLA
chieftains Hashim Thaci - the Western-recognized prime minister - and war
criminal Ramush Haradinaj were at daggers drawn and "people used rocks to attack
a line of cars that transported Hashim Thaci....Thaci's party accused Haradinaj
of directly inciting and organizing [the] attack...." [11]

A Russian report on the Western-endorsed and -celebrated elections placed the
West's Kosovo strategy in a broader context:

"EU officials are the ones forcing the Serbian government to accept several very
unpleasant decisions - recognition of the municipal elections in Kosovo,
dissociation from Russia and the pullout of joint energy projects with Russia.

"As for democratic values in the EU policy with regard to Serbia, they are hard
to believe in, given the EU officials' open sympathies with the Albanian
militants of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Incidentally, the supporters of two KLA
leaders, former 'prime minister' Ramush Haradinaj and his successor Hashim
Thaci, caused a violent clash in one of the Albanian enclaves.

"It is worth reminding here that Haradinaj was allowed to leave the Hague
occasionally 'to rule' Kosovo during his trial, while Thaci was eventually
cleared by the Hague Tribunal of all charges of genocide against Serbs." [12]

Nevertheless the United States and its NATO allies, the self-proclaimed
"international community" and champions of democracy, human rights and so forth
wherever and whenever it suits their political purposes, continue to embrace the
Kosovo entity as a brother-in-arms in the new global order.

Former U.S. president Bill Clinton was in the Kosovo capital of Pristina on
November 1 for the unveiling of a particularly vulgar and meretricious
gold-sprayed statue of himself [13], the ceremony presided over by the former
head of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Hashim "The Snake" Thaci, the creation of
whose pseudo-nation is a cause of great pride in Western capitals.

The Associated Press reported on the event in Europe's drug-smuggling criminal
black hole:

"The statue portrays Clinton with his left arm raised and holding a portfolio
bearing his name and the date when NATO started bombing Yugoslavia, on March 24,
1999.

"Many waved American, Albanian and Kosovo flags and chanted 'USA!' as the former
president climbed on top of a podium with his poster in the background reading
'Kosovo honors a hero.'" [14]

That Albanian flags were flaunted reveals what NATO mercilessly bombed the
length and breadth of Yugoslavia for 78 days to achieve.

Three weeks afterward the mayor of a town in Albania - the distinction between
that nation and Kosovo is now a strictly academic one - announced plans to
follow suit and dedicate a statue to George W. Bush. Bush and Clinton have
jointly sired the Kosovo/Greater Kosovo aberration. "The small Albanian town of
Fushe-Kruje plans to erect a statue of former U.S. President George W. Bush to
commemorate his June 2007 visit, when he was feted as a hero in an outpouring of
love for America."

The town's mayor, Ismet Mavriqi, was quoted as saying, "If I had the final say,
I would very much like a three-meter statue, probably in bronze, that captures
his trademark way of walking with energy." [15]

The legacy that Washington and Brussels have left the people of Kosovo - those
remaining that is, as hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Roma and others have  fled
for their lives since June of 1999 - was detailed in a recent Reuters report.

It said that although "Over the past decade it has received 3 billion euros in
aid, according to the World Bank, and is expecting another billion by 2011,"
nevertheless "unemployment is 40 percent and average per capita income is 1,760
euros. That compares with average joblessness of just under 10 percent in the
European Union and an average salary of about 24,000 euros ($35,930)." [16]

Ten years of NATO-KLA collaboration have produced this human catastrophe.

This is the stability and prosperity that the West has brought to the Balkans.

That afflicted part of Europe has been the testing ground for NATO's expansion
into Eastern Europe and since into Asia, Africa and the Middle East, starting
with Bosnia in 1995 when NATO dropped its first bombs and deployed its first
troops outside the territory of its member states.

As early as January of 1996 the now deceased American scholar Sean Gervasi
warned that "There are deeper reasons for the dispatch of NATO forces to the
Balkans, and especially for the extension of NATO to Poland, the Czech Republic
and Hungary in the relatively near future. These have to do with an emerging
strategy for securing the resources of the Caspian Sea region and for
'stabilizing' the countries of Eastern Europe - ultimately for 'stabilizing'
Russia and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States." [17]

NATO now has solidified military partnerships, conducts regular war games and
has established permanent bases in several countries on and near the Caspian Sea
- Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, not to mention
Afghanistan.

It has absorbed three former Soviet republics - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -
and continues to insist that former Commonwealth of Independent States member
Georgia and current one Ukraine will become full members of the Alliance.

Thirteen years ago Gervasi also warned that "The United States is now seeking to
consolidate a new European-Middle Eastern bloc of nations....This grouping
includes Turkey, which is of pivotal importance in the emerging new bloc. Turkey
is not just a part of the southern Balkans and an Aegean power. It also borders
on Iraq, Iran and Syria. It thus connects southern Europe to the Middle East,
where the US considers that it has vital interests....With the war against Iraq
[1991], the US established itself in the Middle East more securely than ever.
The almost simultaneous disintegration of the Soviet Union opened the
possibility of Western exploitation of the oil resources of the Caspian Sea
region." [18]

Events in the interim have proceeded exactly as Gervasi indicated they would and
for the motives he attributed to them.

Having undermined the United Nations, violated international law, humiliated
Russia and moved NATO forces into the Balkans, the West was embarked in earnest
on its drive for global domination in the post-Cold War world. As NATO's first
war, the Operation Allied Force bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, was
dragging on and assuming ever more ominous dimensions, even before the
destruction of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by NATO bombs, then Russian
President Boris Yeltsin appeared on his nation's television and said: "I told
Nato, the Americans, the Germans, don't push us towards military action.

"Otherwise there will be a European war for sure - and possibly world war." [19]

That Yeltsin was the dependable friend of Washington that he was made the
statement even more foreboding. Less than a month afterward the Chinese embassy
was in ruins as the war raged on.

Europe and the world avoided a broader war ten years ago. But NATO, using the
Balkans as its global springboard, may yet succeed in triggering a conflict that
will not be contained and will not remain within the realm of conventional
warfare.


1) Macedonian Radio and Television, November 26, 2009
2) Thousand Deadly Threats: Third Millennium NATO, Western Businesses Collude
    On New Global Doctrine
    Stop NATO, October 2, 2009
   
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/thousand-deadly-threats-third-millenn\
ium-nato-western-businesses-collude-on-new-global-doctrine
3) Southeast European Times, November 20, 2009
4) Associated Press, November 18, 2009
5) Bulgaria, Romania: U.S., NATO Bases For War In The East
    Stop NATO, October 24, 2009
   
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/bulgaria-romania-u-s-nato-bases-for-w\
ar-in-the-east
6) Adriatic Charter And The Balkans: Smaller Nations, Larger NATO
    Stop NATO, May 13, 2009
   
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/adriatic-charter-and-the-balkans-smal\
ler-nations-larger-nato
7) Threat Of New Conflict In Europe: Western-Sponsored Greater Albania
    Stop NATO, October 8, 2009
   
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/new-threat-of-conflict-in-europe-west\
ern-sponsored-greater-albania
8) Vecernje Novosti, November 4, 2009
9) Politika, November 27, 2009
10) Balkans: Staging Ground For NATO’s Post-Cold War Order
     Stop NATO, February 9, 2009
    
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/balkans-staging-ground-for-natos-post\
-cold-war-order
11) Tanjug News Agency, November 12, 2009
12) Russian Information Agency Novosti, November 17, 2009
13) Kosovo: Marking Ten Years Of Worldwide Wars
     Stop NATO, October 31, 2009
    
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/kosovo-marking-ten-years-of-worldwide\
-wars
14) Associated Press, November 1, 2009
15) Reuters, November 21, 2009
16) Reuters, November 20, 2009
17) Sean Gervasi, Why Is NATO In Yugoslavia?
     http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/GER108A.html
18) Ibid
19) BBC News, April 9, 1999
===========================
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==============================

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2009/11/27/S-Korea-may-send-troops-to-\
Afghanistan/UPI-14101259370913/


United Press International
November 27, 2009


S. Korea may send troops to Afghanistan


SEOUL: The South Korean government is considering sending troops to Afghanistan
to serve as a security force for reconstruction workers.

Officials said the number of civilian workers would probably increase to 120 and
that 350 soldiers would be sent, Yonhap News Agency reported. A camp would be
created for both groups in a northern province of Afghanistan.

"The Defense Ministry plans to submit a motion for the deployment to the
National Assembly's regular session next month and later send an on-spot survey
team to visit and review candidate destinations," a government source said. "A
final decision will be made after consulting with the NATO command."

The cabinet is expected to back the plan to send troops at its meeting next
week.
===========================
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http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=show_article_eng&id_article=112402


African Press Agency
November 28, 2009


Egypt to discuss with NATO, EU officials Tuesday


Cairo (Egypt): Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit will meet Tuesday in
Brussels, Belgium with senior officials of the European Union and North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, NATO.

An Egyptian diplomatic source told reporters on Saturday that Abul Gheit and EU
officials will address the situation in the Middle East, particularly the
mediation efforts of Egypt for Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and
Hamas.

The source added that Aboul Gheit will also speak with NATO Secretary General
Anders Fogh Rasmussen about cooperation between Egypt and NATO within the
framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue.
===========================
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http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2009-11-28-voa3.cfm


Voice of America News
November 27, 2009


U.S. - Bulgaria Relations


-Bulgaria has been a NATO ally since 2004 and a member of the European Union
since January 2007.
Bulgarian troops fought beside U.S. troops in Iraq and approximately 500 are
currently serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO mission there.
Bulgaria...has contributed peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Kosovo, as well as
in Iraq and Afghanistan. Secretary Clinton emphasized that the U.S. appreciates
Bulgaria's service and sacrifice in these missions.
-Foreign Minister Zheleva is seeking more U.S. investment, especially in
Bulgaria's energy sector. Ms. Zheleva said she would like to see American
companies consider greater participation in the construction of gas and oil
pipelines and in the building of a second nuclear power plant in Bulgaria.


Twenty years ago, democratic revolutions throughout Central Europe released the
region from the grip of Communism. Among these countries was Bulgaria whose
Communist Party voluntarily gave up its absolute hold on power in February 1990.
The country went on to hold its first free elections in June 1990, an event that
paved the way for Bulgaria's multiparty democracy of today.

The transition to democracy and a market economy has not always been easy, but
Bulgaria has made great strides. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
recently met with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Rumiana Zheleva at the State
Department on November 23rd. Bulgaria has been a NATO ally since 2004 and a
member of the European Union since January 2007.

Bulgarian troops fought beside U.S. troops in Iraq and approximately 500 are
currently serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO mission there. Bulgaria has
been a source of peace and stability in the region and has contributed
peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Kosovo, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Secretary Clinton emphasized that the U.S. appreciates Bulgaria's service and
sacrifice in these missions.

Secretary Clinton commended Bulgaria on its efforts to root out corruption and
to end impunity for public officials. The Bulgarian government has also made an
effort to bring greater transparency to the energy sector.

American companies have significant investments in Bulgaria. The U.S. is the
only non-European country ranked among Bulgaria's top 10 investors. Even so,
Foreign Minister Zheleva is seeking more U.S. investment, especially in
Bulgaria's energy sector. Ms. Zheleva said she would like to see American
companies consider greater participation in the construction of gas and oil
pipelines and in the building of a second nuclear power plant in Bulgaria.

Recognizing Bulgaria's desire to participate in the Visa Waiver Program,
Secretary Clinton said the U.S. will do all it can to assist Bulgaria in meeting
the necessary criteria.

The United States looks forward to expanding its military, business, and
people-to-people contacts with Bulgaria in the years ahead.
===========================
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==============================

http://news.penki.lt/news.aspx?Lang=EN&Element=News&TopicID=112&IMAction=ViewArt\
icle&ArticleID=219097


Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
November 28, 2009


Lithuania's Foreign Minister: NATO is the embodiment of transatlantic relations


-NATO should remain open to western countries, such as Finland or Sweden, to
eastern countries like Ukraine or Georgia, as well as to the Balkan countries:
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and other countries.



On 26 November, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Usackas
delivered a lecture “The New NATO Strategic Concept: Lithuania’s Vision”
to the participants of the Higher Command Studies Course of the Baltic Defence
College (BALTDEFCOL). The event took place at Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.

The Minister noted that NATO was the embodiment of transatlantic relations.
According to Minister V. Usackas, "NATO is the commitment undertaken by its 28
member states to defend each other and our common values: independence, the
freedom of an individual and the rule of law."

The Minister said that Article 5 was the basis of the organisation and it should
remain the cornerstone of NATO in the future.

“NATO must comply with the spirit of the 21st century, the organisation has to
be rational and to satisfy the interests of citizens. People should understand
why our troops are participating in the operation in Afghanistan or elsewhere,
and how their participation guarantees our security,” Minister V. Usackas
said.

According to the Minister, Lithuania speaks up for the open door policy of the
organization and for the continuity of NATO enlargement. NATO should remain open
to western countries, such as Finland or Sweden, to eastern countries like
Ukraine or Georgia, as well as to the Balkan countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Macedonia, Montenegro and other countries.

“NATO’s door should remain open for our allies that have shown great
interest in the alliance and are cooperating closely with us,” the Minister
said.

In his lecture, Minister V. Usackas also mentioned that the new NATO Strategic
Concept should take into consideration new treats: cyber-attacks, energy
security, terrorism, piracy, and so forth. The Minister emphasized the
importance of cooperation with NATO’s partner countries: Sweden, Finland,
Russia and others. According to him, Russia is a very important NATO’s partner
and we have many common interests, but Russia should not be singled out or put
above the other partners. The Minister also noted that Russia had to implement
its international commitments when aiming at closer cooperation with NATO.

The Minister and the officers discussed the new NATO Strategic Concept, Minister
V. Usackas answered their questions.
===========================
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http://news.antiwar.com/2009/11/27/obamas-afghan-escalation-speech-aims-at-more-nato-troops/

Though President Obama�s planned December 1 address announcing his Afghan War escalation plans is being presented chiefly as an attempt to sell the increasingly skeptical American public on the seemingly endless war, analysts suggest an ulterior motive.

Rather than the American public, whose opposition to the war seems to have virtually no impact on the government�s determination to continue it, many see the speech as aimed more at NATO allies and trying to secure an escalation from them as well.

President Obama is expected to announce a 34,000 troop increase, essentially all the military could withstand but well short of the 80,000 troops that Gen. Stanley McChrystal had sought. Officials seem to hope NATO contributions will make up at least some of that difference.

NATO will be meeting just two days after Obama�s speech, and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been pressuring members of the alliance to contribute the �maximum possible� number of troops to the war.

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space


http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/war/centcom-planners-study-massive-move-of\
-equipment-to-afghanistan/1054693

CentCom planners study massive move of equipment to Afghanistan
CentCom's logistics facing a do-or-die test



St. Petersburg Times
Thursday, November 26, 2009
________________________________

TAMPA — With President Barack Obama poised to ramp up troop levels in
Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command [CentCom] planners are in the midst of the
military's biggest logistical challenge since the Vietnam War.

How do you marshal billions of dollars in equipment to escalate one war in
Afghanistan while scaling back another in Iraq?

"This is probably the most complicated logistical operation we've done in our
lifetime," said Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dowd, director of logistics for CentCom,
which is based at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base.

In a wide-ranging interview with the St. Petersburg Times this week, Dowd said
landlocked Afghanistan presents greater difficulties than Iraq with its fewer
routes of supply.

CentCom is now conducting an assessment of air strips in Afghanistan, and Dowd
said engineers will have to expand them in order to resupply larger numbers of
troops by air.

"I'm a little concerned about" airfield capacity, Dowd said. "We've got to
expand and make it better."

At the same time, Dowd said, engineers will have to spend considerable time
removing mines in the rugged country dating to the Soviet invasion three decades
ago.

All of that activity comes as his office determines the fate of 2.8 million
pieces of equipment troops have brought to Iraq.

"It's really quite an art," Dowd said of this life-and-death logistical dance.

Obama is expected to announce next week an escalation of the U.S. effort in
Afghanistan that will send as many as 30,000 additional troops on top of the
68,000 already there.

Much of the U.S. equipment in Iraq will never return to the states.

Often, it isn't cost-efficient to do so, planners say.

Much of it will be sold to Iraqi security forces, Dowd said. Other gear not sent
to Afghanistan after refurbishment in Kuwait might be placed in storage
somewhere in CentCom's area of responsibility, which includes 20 nations in the
region.

This can be a daunting political challenge in the Middle East, where other
nations will not want any U.S. presence in their territories.
Some look back at the U.S. experience in Vietnam as a cautionary tale for Iraq
planners.

Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., told reporters earlier this year that he worried about
too much gear being left behind, which he said happened in Vietnam.

When he visited Vietnam after the war, "I remember seeing rows and rows of U.S.
equipment that we left behind. We must do a better job managing the redeployment
from Iraq," he said in a statement in July.

Dowd said his planners have been working for more than a year on a smooth
withdrawal from Iraq. He said he expects few major problems.
He said technology helps his office more efficiently move and track gear than
ever before.

Dowd acknowledged that planners have to learn from mistakes made in Iraq,
particularly in quickly building a military infrastructure providing for tens of
thousands of troops.

He noted problems with poorly installed and maintained electrical wiring. Some
troops were electrocuted.

"We jumped into some of these buildings over there," Dowd said. "We occupied
them. … But you wouldn't want to live in that house because of the way the
electrical wiring was done. We spend a lot of time making sure these locations
are safe."

To Dowd, the folks working under him who make sure the flow of supplies doesn't
stop are some of the unsung heroes of the wars.

"There are young American folks who make this happen," Dowd said. "They don't
wear much rank on their lapels. But they're phenomenal."


Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@...
www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/  (blog)
===========================
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==============================

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRCpBt7qYpyqwVzA2fpEJfc8hUsAD9\
C97T5G0


Associated Press
November 29, 2009


Russia sends security pact draft to leaders abroad


MOSCOW: The Kremlin says Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has sent foreign
leaders a draft of a sweeping new trans-Atlantic security treaty he has been
proposing since he took office last year.

The treaty would prohibit signatories from taking any action that would damage
the security of other parties to the pact. The text released Sunday says it is
based on "the principles of indivisible, equal and undiminished security."

Russia has long been concerned about U.S. military influence near its borders
and claims that the expanding NATO alliance is a potential security threat.

Medvedev has been trying to sell the idea of an overarching new security pact to
a lukewarm European and U.S. audience.
===========================
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==============================

Geopolitical Crossroads: Pentagon, NATO Complete Conquest Of Balkans
November 28, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/28/geopolitical-crossroads-pentagon-nato\
-complete-conquest-of-balkans

Christmas 2009: U.S., NATO To Expand New Millennium’s Longest War
November 25, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/christmas-2009-u-s-nato-to-expand-new\
-millenniums-longest-war

Former Soviet States: Battleground For Global Domination
November 23, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/former-soviet-states-battleground-for\
-global-domination

Rumors Of Coups And War: U.S., NATO Target Latin America
November 18, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/rumors-of-coups-and-war-u-s-nato-targ\
et-latin-america

Pentagon’s Global Reach: Around The World In 12 Days
November 13, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/pentagons-global-reach-around-the-wor\
ld-in-12-days

Fort Hood, Veterans Day And Defending America
November 11, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/fort-hood-veterans-day-and-defending-\
america

Berlin Wall: From Europe Whole And Free To New World Order
November 9, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/berlin-wall-from-europe-whole-and-fre\
e-to-new-world-order/

1989-2009: Moving The Berlin Wall To Russia’s Borders
November 7, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/1989-2009-berlin-wall-moves-to-russia\
n-border/

Israel: Forging NATO Missile Shield, Rehearsing War With Iran
November 5, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/israel-forging-nato-missile-shield-re\
hearsing-war-with-iran/

Twenty Years After End Of The Cold War: Pentagon’s Buildup In Latin America
November 4, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/stop-nato/

Kosovo: Marking Ten Years Of Worldwide Wars
October 31, 2009
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/31/kosovo-marking-ten-years-of-worldwide\
-wars
===========================
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==============================

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/526a1d82-dd13-11de-ad60-00144feabdc0.html


Financial Times
November 29, 2009


French and Germans face Afghan pressure
By James Blitz in London


France and Germany are poised to come under intense pressure from other Nato
nations to step up troop deployments in Afghanistan after Barack Obama’s
announcement on Tuesday of a US troop increase.

As the president prepares to announce about 30,000 extra US troops for
Afghanistan, European diplomats say Washington is looking to the rest of Nato to
provide 5,000-7,000 more troops for the campaign.

Nato looks poised to announce next month that it has found about 3,000
additional troops for deployment in Afghanistan, including pledges from non-Nato
states such as Georgia and South Korea.

“However, there is still a gap of between 3,000 and 4,000 to be met,” said a
senior European official, “and the pressure is going to be on France and
Germany to help make up the gap.”

One of the main reasons for the pressure on those two countries is that most of
the other European Union states are set to increase troop numbers in response to
the new US increase.

“Britain will confirm an additional 500 troops this week and the indications
are that Italy, Spain and Poland could come up with similar increases,” said
one senior diplomat. “That will put pressure on Paris and Berlin to
respond.”

At Nato there are growing hopes that Angela Merkel, German chancellor, will
announce an increase of at least 1,000 troops in the new year, over and above
Germany’s current deployment of 4,365.

“However, there are sensitivities about timing in Germany,” said an official
from a Nato state. “The German Bundestag must vote in December to reconfirm
its existing deployment, so Chancellor Merkel wants that done and dusted before
they move on to anything else.”

The diplomat said Germany’s extra contribution could be announced at an
international conference in London on Afghanistan, which the UK government said
at the weekend would be held on January 28. “We could be looking at a
four-figure number from Germany,” the diplomat added.

But persuading France to send more troops could be a problem. Paris has 3,100
deployed in Afghanistan but Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, vowed this
year that he would send “not one soldier more” to the country.

“It would be fascinating to be a fly on the wall at the next Obama-Sarkozy
encounter,” said a British official. “The French stance on troop numbers is
not going down at all well in Washington, especially given all Sarkozy has said
about the importance of the transatlanic partnership. Frankly, France’s
current deployment is too small for a country with that big an army.”

Gordon Brown, Britain’s prime minister, announced at the weekend that the
London conference would see Nato governments agreeing timelines with President
Hamid Karzai for improvements in Afghan governance and security. Mr Karzai would
be expected to make commitments on training up Afghan troops and tackling
corruption at the conference, he said.
....
==========================
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==============================

http://eng.kremlin.ru/sdocs/themes.shtml#223080

November 29, 2009
Sunday

On June 5, 2008, the President of Russia put forward an initiative to develop a new pan-European security treaty, the main idea of which is to create � in the context of military and political security in the Euro-Atlantic region � a common undivided space in order to finally do away with the Cold War legacy. In view of this Dmitry Medvedev suggested formalising in the international law the principle of indivisible security as a legal obligation pursuant to which no nation or international organisation operating in the Euro-Atlantic region is entitled to strengthen its own security at the cost of other nations or organisations.

Based on the results of discussions that have taken place in the last year at various venues, Russia has prepared a draft European Security treaty. The Russian President has sent this draft to the heads of relevant states and to chief executives of international organisations operating in the Euro-Atlantic region such as NATO, the European Union, the CSTO, the CIS, and the OSCE. Dmitry Medvedev emphasised that Russia is open to any proposals on the subject matter of its initiative and counts on the positive response from its partners and the beginning of a substantial discussion on specific elements of the draft treaty, which text is given below.

-----------------------

http://eng.kremlin.ru/text/docs/2009/11/223072.shtml

November 29, 2009

EUROPEAN SECURITY TREATY

(Unofficial translation)

Draft

The Parties to this Treaty,

Desiring to promote their relations in the spirit of friendship and cooperation in conformity with international law,

Guided by the principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (1970), Helsinki Final Act of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe (1975), as well as provisions of the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes (1982) and Charter for European Security (1999),

Reminding that the use of force or the threat of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other way inconsistent with the goals and principles of the Charter of the United Nations� is inadmissible in their mutual relations, as well as international relations in general,

Acknowledging and supporting the role of the UN Security Council, which bears the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security,

Recognizing the need to join efforts in order to respond effectively to present-day security challenges and threats in the globalized and interdependent world,

Intending to build effective cooperation mechanisms that could be promptly activated with a view to solving issues or differences that might arise, addressing concerns and adequately responding to challenges and threats in the security sphere,

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1

According to the Treaty, the Parties shall cooperate with each other on the basis of the principles of indivisible, equal and undiminished security. Any security measures taken by a Party to the Treaty individually or together with other Parties, including in the framework of any international organization, military alliance or coalition, shall be implemented with due regard to security interests of all other Parties. The Parties shall act in accordance with the Treaty in order to give effect to these principles and to strengthen security of each other.

Article 2

1. A Party to the Treaty shall not undertake, participate in or support any actions or activities affecting significantly security of any other Party or Parties to the Treaty.

2. A Party to the Treaty which is a member of military alliances, coalitions or organizations shall seek to ensure that such alliances, coalitions or organizations observe principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, Helsinki Final Act, Charter for European Security and other documents adopted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as in Article1 of this Treaty, and that decisions taken in the framework of such alliances, coalitions or organizations do not affect significantly security of any Party or Parties to the Treaty.

3. A Party to the Treaty shall not allow the use of its territory and shall not use the territory of any other Party with the purpose of preparing or carrying out an armed attack against any other Party or Parties to the Treaty or any other actions affecting significantly security of any other Party or Parties to the Treaty.

Article 3

1. A Party to the Treaty shall be entitled to request, through diplomatic channels or the Depositary, any other Party to provide information on any significant legislative, administrative or organizational measures taken by that other Party, which, in the opinion of the Requesting Party, might affect its security.

2. Parties shall inform the Depositary of any requests under para.1 of this Article and of responses to them. The Depositary shall bring that information to the attention of the other Parties.

3. Nothing in this Article prevents the Parties from undertaking any other actions to ensure transparency and mutual trust in their relations.

Article 4

The following mechanism shall be established to address issues related to the substance of this Treaty, and to settle differences or disputes that might arise between the Parties in connection with its interpretation or application:

a) Consultations among the Parties;

b) Conference of the Parties;

c) Extraordinary Conference of the Parties.

Article 5

1. Should a Party to the Treaty determine that there exists a violation or a threat of violation of the Treaty by any other Party or Parties, or should it wish to raise with any other Party or Parties any issue relating to the substance of the Treaty and requiring, in its opinion, to be considered jointly, it may request consultations on the issue with the Party or Parties which, in its opinion, might be interested in such consultations. Information regarding such a request shall be brought by the Requesting Party to the attention of the Depositary which shall inform accordingly all other Parties.

2. Such consultations shall be held as soon as possible, but not later than (...)days from the date of receipt of the request by the relevant Party unless a later date is indicated in the request.

3. Any Party not invited to take part in the consultations shall be entitled to participate on its own initiative.

Article 6

1. Any participant to consultations held under Article5 of this Treaty shall be entitled, after having held the consultations, to propose the Depositary to convene the Conference of the Parties to consider the issue that was the subject of the consultations.

2. The Depositary shall convene the Conference of the Parties, provided that the relevant proposal is supported by not less than (two) Parties to the Treaty, within (...) days from the date of receipt of the relevant request.

3. The Conference of the Parties shall be effective if it is attended by at least two thirds of the Parties to the Treaty. Decisions of the Conference shall be taken by consensus and shall be binding.

4. The Conference of the Parties shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 7

1. In case of an armed attack or a threat of such attack against a Party to the Treaty, immediate actions shall be undertaken in accordance with Article8(1) of the Treaty.

2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article8 of the Treaty, every Party shall be entitled to consider an armed attack against any other Party an armed attack against itself. In exercising its right of self-defense under Article51 of the Charter of the United Nations, it shall be entitled to render the attacked Party, subject to its consent, the necessary assistance, including the military one, until the UN Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Information on measures taken by Parties to the Treaty in exercise of their right of self-defense shall be immediately reported to the UN Security Council.

Article 8

1. In cases provided for by Article7 of this Treaty, the Party which has been attacked or threatened with an armed attack shall bring that to the attention of the Depositary which shall immediately convene an Extraordinary Conference of the Parties to decide on necessary collective measures.

2. If the Party which became subject to an armed attack is not able to bring that to the attention of the Depositary, any other Party shall be entitled to request the Depositary to convene an Extraordinary Conference of the Parties, in which case the procedure provided for in Para.1 of this Article shall be applied.

3. The Extraordinary Conference of the Parties may decide to invite third states, international organizations or other concerned parties to take part in it.

4. The Extraordinary Conference of the Parties shall be effective if it is attended by at least four fifths of the Parties to the Treaty. Decisions of the Extraordinary Conference of the Parties shall be taken by unanimous vote and shall be binding. If an armed attack is carried out by, or a threat of such attack originates from a Party to the Treaty, the vote of that Party shall not be included in the total number of votes of the Parties in adopting a decision.

The Extraordinary Conference of the Parties shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Article 9

1. This Treaty shall not affect and shall not be interpreted as affecting the primary responsibility of the UN Security Council for maintaining international peace and security, as well as rights and obligations of the Parties under the Charter of the United Nations.

2. The Parties to the Treaty reaffirm that their obligations under other international agreements in the area of security, which are in effect on the date of signing of this Treaty are not incompatible with the Treaty.

3. The Parties to the Treaty shall not assume international obligations incompatible with the Treaty.

4. This Treaty shall not affect the right of any Party to neutrality.

Article 10

This Treaty shall be open for signature by all States of the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian space from Vancouver to Vladivostok as well as by the following international organizations: the European Union, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Collective Security Treaty Organization, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Community of Independent States in � from � to �.

Article 11

1. This Treaty shall be subject to ratification by the signatory States and to approval or adoption by the signatory international organizations. The relevant notifications shall be deposited with the government of ... which shall be the Depositary.

2. In its notification of the adoption or approval of this Treaty, an international organization shall outline its sphere of competence regarding issues covered by the Treaty.

It shall immediately inform the Depositary of any relevant changes in its sphere of competence.

3. States mentioned in Article10 of this Treaty which did not sign the Treaty during the period indicated in that Article may accede to this Treaty by depositing the relevant notification with the Depositary.

Article 12

This Treaty shall enter into force ten days after the deposit of the twenty fifth notification with the Depositary in accordance with Article11 of the Treaty.

For each State or international organization which ratifies, adopts or approves this Treaty or accedes to it after the deposit of the twenty fifth notification of ratification, adoption, approval or accession with the Depositary, the Treaty shall enter into force on the tenth day after the deposit by such State or organization of the relevant notification with the Depositary.

Article 13

Any State or international organization may accede to this Treaty after its entry into force, subject to the consent of all Parties to this Treaty, by depositing the relevant notification with the Depositary.

For an acceding State or international organization, this Treaty shall enter into force 180 days after the deposit of the instrument of accession with the Depositary, provided that during the said period no Party notifies the Depositary in writing of its objections against such accession.

Article 14

Each Party shall have the right to withdraw from this Treaty should it determine that extraordinary circumstances pertaining to the substance of the Treaty have endangered its supreme interests. The Party intending to withdraw from the Treaty shall notify the Depositary of such intention at least (...) days in advance of the planned withdrawal. The notification shall include a statement of extraordinary circumstances endangering, in the opinion of that Party, its supreme interests.

----------------

http://news.kremlin.ru/news/6152

Проект Договора о европейской безопасности

29 ноября 2009 года, 15:50

Ключевые слова: безопасность, внешняя политика, международные организации

5 июня 2008 года Президент России выступил с инициативой о разработке Договора о европейской безопасности. Её суть � создать в области военно-политической безопасности в Евро-Атлантике единое, неразделённое пространство, чтобы окончательно разделаться с наследием �холодной войны�. С этой целью Дмитрий Медведев предложил закрепить в международном праве принцип неделимости безопасности. Речь идёт о юридическом обязательстве, в соответствии с которым ни одно государство и ни одна международная организация в Евро-Атлантике не могут укреплять свою безопасность за счёт безопасности других стран и организаций.

По итогам состоявшихся за последний год обсуждений на различных многосторонних площадках российская сторона подготовила проект договора о евробезопасности. Президент России направил его руководителям соответствующих стран, а также исполнительным главам международных организаций на евро-атлантическом пространстве: НАТО, Евросоюз, ОДКБ, СНГ, ОБСЕ. Д.Медведев подчеркнул, что мы открыты к предложениям по существу нашей инициативы и рассчитываем на позитивный отклик партнёров и начало предметного разговора по конкретным элементам проекта договора, текст которого приводится ниже.

----

ДОГОВОР О ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ

(Проект)

Участники настоящего Договора,

стремясь развивать отношения в духе дружбы и сотрудничества в соответствии с международным правом;

руководствуясь принципами, содержащимися в Уставе Организации Объединенных Наций, Декларации о принципах международного права, касающихся дружественных отношений и сотрудничества между государствами в соответствии с Уставом Организации Объединенных Наций 1970 г., Хельсинкском Заключительном акте Совещания по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе 1975 г., а также положениями Манильской декларации о мирном разрешении международных споров 1982 г., Хартии Европейской безопасности 1999 г.;

напоминая о недопустимости в их взаимных, как и в целом в международных отношениях, применения силы или угрозы силой как против территориальной целостности или политической независимости любого государства, так и каким-либо другим образом, несовместимым с целями и принципами Устава Организации Объединенных Наций;

признавая и поддерживая роль Совета Безопасности Организации Объединенных Наций, на который возложена главная ответственность за поддержание международного мира и безопасности;

признавая необходимость объединения усилий для эффективного реагирования на современные вызовы и угрозы безопасности в глобализированном и взаимозависимом мире;

имея в виду создать действенные и оперативно запускаемые механизмы взаимодействия для урегулирования возникающих вопросов и разногласий, снятия озабоченностей, выработки адекватной реакции на вызовы и угрозы в области безопасности,

договорились о нижеследующем:

Статья 1

В соответствии с настоящим Договором его Участники сотрудничают на основе принципов неделимой и равной безопасности, ненанесения ущерба безопасности друг друга. Любые меры в области безопасности, принимаемые каждым Участником настоящего Договора индивидуально либо совместно с другими Участниками, в том числе в рамках международной организации, военного союза или коалиции, осуществляются с учетом интересов безопасности всех других Участников. В целях реализации этих принципов и укрепления безопасности друг друга Участники действуют в соответствии с настоящим Договором.

Статья 2

1. Участник настоящего Договора не осуществляет действий или мероприятий, существенно затрагивающих безопасность одного или нескольких Участников настоящего Договора, не участвует в них или не поддерживает их.

2. Участник настоящего Договора, являющийся членом военных союзов, коалиций или организаций, добивается того, чтобы такие союзы, коалиции и организации соблюдали принципы, содержащиеся в Уставе Организации Объединенных Наций, Декларации о принципах международного права, касающихся дружественных отношений и сотрудничества между государствами в соответствии с Уставом Организации Объединенных Наций, Хельсинкском Заключительном акте, Хартии Европейской безопасности и других документах по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе, принятых в Организации по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе, а также статье 1 настоящего Договора, и чтобы решения, принимаемые в рамках таких союзов, коалиций и организаций, не затрагивали существенным образом безопасность одного или нескольких Участников настоящего Договора.

3. Участник настоящего Договора не допускает использования его территории, а также не использует территорию другого Участника в целях подготовки или осуществления вооруженного нападения против одного или нескольких Участников настоящего Договора, или иных действий, существенно затрагивающих безопасность другого Участника или нескольких Участников настоящего Договора.

Статья 3

1. Участник настоящего Договора вправе по дипломатическим каналам или через Депозитария обратиться к другому Участнику с запросом о предоставлении информации относительно принимаемых этим другим Участником существенных мер законодательного, административного или организационного характера, которые, по мнению запрашивающего Участника, затрагивают его безопасность.

2. О запросе, упомянутом в пункте 1 настоящей статьи, и содержании ответа на него Участники информируют Депозитария, который доводит эту информацию до сведения других Участников.

3. Ничто в настоящей статье не препятствует Участникам предпринимать иные действия, обеспечивающие открытость и взаимное доверие в их взаимоотношениях.

Статья 4

Учреждается следующий механизм рассмотрения вопросов, затрагивающих предмет настоящего Договора, а также разногласий и споров, которые могут возникнуть между его Участниками в связи с его толкованием и применением:

а) консультации Участников;

b) Конференция Участников;

c) Чрезвычайная Конференция Участников.

Статья 5

1. Участник настоящего Договора, по мнению которого существует нарушение или угроза нарушения его положений другим Участником или Участниками, либо у которого имеется любой иной вопрос, касающийся предмета настоящего Договора и требующий, по его мнению, рассмотрения его совместно с другим Участником или Участниками, может направить предложение о проведении консультаций Участнику или Участникам, которых он сочтет заинтересованными в рассмотрении вопроса. Информация о таком предложении одновременно доводится его автором до сведения Депозитария, который информирует о нем всех Участников.

2. Такие консультации начинаются как можно ранее, но не позднее (�) дней со дня, когда Участник получит соответствующее предложение, если в нем не будет указан более поздний срок.

3. Любой Участник, который не был приглашен принять участие в консультациях, вправе принять в них участие по собственной инициативе.

Статья 6

1. Любой участник консультаций, указанных в статье 5 настоящего Договора, вправе после их проведения предложить Депозитарию созвать Конференцию Участников с целью рассмотрения вопроса, бывшего предметом упомянутых консультаций.

2. Конференция Участников созывается Депозитарием, если предложение о ее проведении поддерживается не менее чем (двумя) Участниками настоящего Договора, в течение (�) дней после получения соответствующего запроса.

3. Конференция Участников является правомочной, если в ней участвуют не менее двух третей Участников настоящего Договора. Решения Конференции Участников принимаются консенсусом и являются обязательными.

4. Конференция Участников принимает свои правила процедуры.

Статья 7

1. Если произойдет вооруженное нападение на Участника настоящего Договора или возникнет угроза такого нападения, незамедлительно осуществляются действия, предусмотренные пунктом 1 статьи 8 настоящего Договора.

2. Без ущерба для положений статьи 8 настоящего Договора Участник вправе рассматривать вооруженное нападение на другого Участника как вооруженное нападение на него самого. В порядке осуществления права на самооборону в соответствии со статьей 51 Устава Организации Объединенных Наций он вправе предоставить Участнику, на которого совершено вооруженное нападение, с его согласия, необходимую помощь, включая военную, до тех пор, пока Совет Безопасности Организации Объединенных Наций не примет мер, необходимых для поддержания международного мира и безопасности. О мерах, принятых Участниками настоящего Договора при осуществлении права на самооборону, незамедлительно сообщается Совету Безопасности Организации Объединенных Наций.

Статья 8

1. В случаях, предусмотренных статьей 7 настоящего Договора, Участник, на которого совершено вооруженное нападение или в отношении которого существует угроза такого нападения, информирует об этом Депозитария, который незамедлительно созывает Чрезвычайную Конференцию Участников для определения необходимых коллективных мер.

2. В случае отсутствия у Участника, подвергшегося вооруженному нападению, возможности информировать об этом Депозитария, любой другой Участник вправе обратиться к Депозитарию с требованием о созыве Чрезвычайной Конференции Участников, в каковом случае применяется процедура, предусмотренная в пункте 1 настоящей статьи.

3. По решению Чрезвычайной Конференции Участников на нее могут быть приглашены третьи государства и международные организации и иные заинтересованные стороны.

4. Чрезвычайная Конференция Участников является правомочной, если в ней участвуют не менее четырех пятых Участников настоящего Договора. Решения Чрезвычайной Конференции Участников принимаются единогласно и являются обязательными. В случае если вооруженное нападение совершено Участником настоящего Договора, либо от него исходит угроза такого нападения, голос этого Участника не включается в общее число голосов Участников при принятии решения.

5. Чрезвычайная Конференция Участников принимает свои правила процедуры.

Статья 9

1. Настоящий Договор не затрагивает и не будет толковаться как затрагивающий главную ответственность Совета Безопасности Организации Объединенных Наций за поддержание международного мира и безопасности, а также права и обязательства Участников, вытекающие из Устава Организации Объединенных Наций.

2. Участники настоящего Договора подтверждают, что их обязательства, вытекающие из других действующих на дату подписания настоящего Договора международных соглашений в области безопасности, не противоречат настоящему Договору.

3. Участники настоящего Договора не принимают международных обязательств, которые не совместимы с настоящим Договором.

4. Настоящий Договор не затрагивает права любого Участника на нейтралитет.

Статья 10

Настоящий Договор открыт для подписания с � по � в�� всеми государствами евроатлантического и евразийского пространства от Ванкувера до Владивостока и следующими международными организациями: Европейским союзом, Организацией по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе, Организацией Договора о коллективной безопасности, Организацией Североатлантического договора, Содружеством независимых государств.

Статья 11

1. Настоящий Договор подлежит ратификации подписавшими его государствами и утверждению или принятию подписавшими его международными организациями. Соответствующие уведомления об этом передаются Депозитарию, которым является Правительство� .

2. Международная организация в уведомлении о принятии или утверждении настоящего Договора очерчивает сферу своей компетенции в отношении регулируемых Договором вопросов.

Упомянутая международная организация незамедлительно сообщает Депозитарию о любом соответствующем изменении сферы своей компетенции.

3. Государства, указанные в статье 10 настоящего Договора, которые не подписали его в период, указанный в той же статье, могут присоединиться к настоящему Договору путем передачи соответствующего уведомления Депозитарию.

Статья 12

1. Настоящий Договор вступает в силу через десять дней с даты сдачи на хранение Депозитарию двадцать пятого уведомления в соответствии с его статьей 11.

2. Для каждого государства или международной организации, которые ратифицируют, принимают или утверждают настоящий Договор или присоединяются к нему после сдачи на хранение Депозитарию двадцать пятого уведомления о ратификации, принятии, утверждении или присоединении, настоящий Договор вступает в силу на десятый день после даты сдачи на хранение Депозитарию таким государством или организацией соответствующего уведомления.

Статья 13

1. К настоящему Договору после его вступления в силу с согласия всех Участников настоящего Договора может присоединиться любое государство и любая международная организация путем передачи соответствующего уведомления Депозитарию.

2. Для присоединяющегося государства или международной организации настоящий Договор вступает в силу через 180 дней с даты сдачи на хранение Депозитарию документа о присоединении при условии, что за указанный период ни один из Участников не направит письменного уведомления Депозитарию о своем возражении против такого присоединения.

Статья 14

Каждый Участник вправе выйти из настоящего Договора, если он решит, что относящиеся к содержанию настоящего Договора исключительные обстоятельства поставили под угрозу его высшие интересы. О намерении выйти из настоящего Договора Участник сообщает Депозитарию не менее чем за (�) дней до предполагаемого выхода. В уведомление, направляемое Депозитарию, Участник включает заявление об исключительных обстоятельствах, которые этот Участник рассматривает как поставившие под угрозу его высшие интересы.

29 ноября 2009 года, 15:50

http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/US_to_Station_Troops_in_Poland_for_First_Time_911\
29


AllGov
November 29, 2009


U.S. to Station Troops in Poland for First Time
Noel Brinkerh


In a move intended to assuage the Polish government, the United States will send
for the first time a small detachment of soldiers next year to Poland to man
***an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) battery intended to guard against a Russian
attack***. Officials in Warsaw have been clamoring for greater security
assistance from the U.S. not only for protection against the longtime adversary
from the east, but also as payback for sending Polish troops to Iraq and
Afghanistan to help the U.S.
....
The Patriot deployment is a leftover from the Bush administration’s plan to
install long-range ABMs in Poland to defend Europe against missile attacks from
the Middle East. President Barack Obama scrapped that idea in an effort to
smooth relations with Moscow, while retaining the smaller deployment of the
Patriot, which has considerably less range.
===========================
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http://en.rian.ru/world/20091130/157033908.html


Russian Information Agency Novosti
November 29, 2009


Zelaya calls on Honduran people to say "no" to dictatorship


BUENOS AIRES: Ousted Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya has called on the Honduran
people to say "no" to the "dictatorship" by boycotting the elections being held
in the country.

"The people will tell "no" to the dictatorship," Zelaya told the TeleSur channel
on Sunday, adding "I am sure that more than a half of the voters will not come
to polling stations."

The ousted Honduran president described the election as "farce and fraud."

"Hundreds of candidates refused to take part in this election, such
authoritative organizations as the United Nations and the Organization of
American States have not send their observers [to monitor the election]," he
said, adding "Hondurans will not support it [the fraud]."

Some 2.8 million Hondurans of the 4.6 million eligible for voting are expected
to take part in Sunday's polls. Turnout was light early on Sunday at some
polling stations in poor regions, but voters lined up in middle-class areas.

Zelaya supporters have openly vowed to disrupt the vote because the leading
candidates, Porfirio Lobo and Elvin Santos, belong to the two main parties that
voted overwhelmingly in Congress to support Zelaya's ouster.

The de facto government maintains that the elections are the only way to
overcome the political crisis. Neither the deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, nor
the interim leader, Roberto Micheletti, take part.

Some 3,000 Honduran and over 300 international observers are monitoring the
polls.

Along with the president, the voters also choose three vice presidents, 128
lawmakers and 298 mayors.

Zelaya also told TeleSur the National Congress is not competent to consider his
reinstatement.

"The Congress, which supported the coup, has no authority [to take a decision]
concerning my reinstatement. All the more after holding the election. Under such
conditions, I will not accept it [the reinstatement]. Dignity is not for sale,"
Zelaya said.

The Congress is expected to consider the issue during its plenary session
scheduled for December 2.

Zelaya was bundled out of Honduras on June 28 by the military, acting on
instructions from the Supreme Court and parliament, over efforts to seek an
unconstitutional second presidential term.

He was flown to Costa Rica, and his place was taken by Micheletti, the
parliamentary speaker.

The ousted president secretly returned to the country on September 21 and took
refuge in the Brazilian Embassy.
===========================
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==============================

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112478§ionid=351020706


Press TV
November 30, 2009


Former guerrilla wins Uruguayan presidential election


Former guerrilla fighter Jose 'Pepe' Mujica has won the presidential election in
Uruguay.

As the exit polls announced his victory with 51 percent of the vote, Mujica, of
the Broad Front coalition, addressed a huge crowd in Montevideo and pledged to
follow the economic policies of popular outgoing President Tabare Vazquez.

His win further cements the hold of a leftist government credited with improving
economic conditions in one of South America's smallest countries.

His rightist opponent, former president Luis Lacalle, conceded defeat.

Mujica, 74, a co-founder and former member of the leftist Tupamaros
movement, has not hidden his admiration for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Some 2.3 million people were eligible to vote in the run-off on Sunday that came
after the first round of the election in October in which neither candidate won
an absolute majority.
===========================
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http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112409§ionid=3510203



US to deploy 9,000 marines to Afghanistan


The US military will soon send up to 9,000 marines to southern Afghanistan
doubling the number of US troops present in the area, a report says.

A Saturday report by The Washington Post said the deployment of the forces to
the Helmand province will take place just days after US President Barack Obama
is scheduled to announce his new war strategy in Afghanistan.

The Post also cites senior US officials as saying that some 1,000 army trainers
will follow the Marine's deployment as early as February.

Obama is scheduled to deliver his Afghan strategy from the West Point military
academy in New York State on Tuesday.

His plan is expected to call for as many as 40,000 more troops, as requested by
war commander General Stanley McChrystal, to join 68,000 US troops already in
Afghanistan.
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==============================

http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul120874_patriot-agreement-to-be-signed\
-dec-10.html


Polish Radio
November 28, 2009


Patriot agreement to be signed Dec 10


-The Status of Forces (SOFA) agreement opens the way for the missiles and US
troops to be stationed in Poland next year, Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw
Komorowski said Friday, as part of an upgrading of NATO air defences in Europe.


An agreement to station Patriot missiles in Poland will be signed with the US on
December 10 in Warsaw.

The Status of Forces (SOFA) agreement opens the way for the missiles and US
troops to be stationed in Poland next year, Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw
Komorowski said Friday, as part of an upgrading of NATO air defences in Europe.
He said the negotiations have been going on for the last 14 months.

SOFA rules include provisions for American troops to pay taxes in Poland and if
any crimes are committed outside the base then they would come be under the
jurisdiction of Polish law.

The head of the President’s Office Wladyslaw Stasiak says the head of state is
satisfied with the end of the contract negotiations and believes it lays the
foundations for further cooperation with Washington.

Vice President Joe Biden was in Warsaw last month to discuss the Patriot missile
plan and for Poland to be involved in a new anti-missile system as announced by
President Obama in September.
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==============================

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=11&dd=29&nav_id=63\
375


FoNet
November 29, 2009


Russian envoy: Kosovo in Russia’s heart


BELGRADE: Russian ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Konuzin said that Russia will
continue to help defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia.

“Kosovo echoes in the hearts of all Russians with the same pain as it does in
your hearts,” Konuzin said on Saturday at the election assembly of the United
Serbia party.

He said that relations between Belgrade and Moscow are on the rise.

Konuzin said that the recent visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to
Belgrade was “important for the united past” of the two countries, because a
number of agreements which speak of the development of a special friendship
between Serbia and Russia were signed, and because his visit marked the 65th
anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade during World War II.

He said that there will be cooperation between Belgrade and Moscow in the fields
of infrastructure, energy, traffic, defense, economy and stopping natural
catastrophes.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66358


Stars and Stripes
November 29, 2009


Construction booming at Vicenza
By Kent Harris


-Crews are working on multiple floors of three of the largest buildings — a
barracks, the brigade headquarters and a multipurpose building. About 30 other
structures will be built as part of the project that’s worth about $375
million.
When the facilities are completed, thousands of troops currently based in
Schweinfurt and Bamberg, Germany, will make the move to Vicenza.


VICENZA, Italy: By the time soldiers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team
return from a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan, there will be several
significant additions to their home base.

Two new schools, a child development center and a consolidated medical clinic
are all on schedule to open by next fall, according to base officials. There
will also be new places to work out in the fitness center and a revamped base
pool to swim in.

More than $465 million has been invested in about a half-dozen projects that are
under way or recently completed.

The largest of them — barracks, offices and support buildings for “Sky
Soldiers” at the Dal Molin airfield — is set to take the longest to
complete. Troops will probably deploy again before the facilities are ready in
fall 2012.

“Work is progressing rapidly,” said Kambiz Razzaghi, director of the
Transformation Construction Management Office, which is overseeing most of the
construction in Vicenza. Crews are working on multiple floors of three of the
largest buildings — a barracks, the brigade headquarters and a multipurpose
building. About 30 other structures will be built as part of the project
that’s worth about $375 million.

When the facilities are completed, thousands of troops currently based in
Schweinfurt and Bamberg, Germany, will make the move to Vicenza.
....
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http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20091130/157041509.html


Russian Information Agency Novosti
November 30, 2009


Poland to send up to 1,000 additional troops to Afghanistan


WARSAW: Poland could send up to 1,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to boost
its 2,000-strong military contingent in the country, the Polish Foreign Ministry
said on Monday.

The ministry has received a plan drafted by the Defense Ministry to increase the
military contingent in Afghanistan.

"There are likely to be less than 1,000 servicemen. A final decision will be
announced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk," Piotr Paszkowski said.

A total of 15 Polish servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan, and over 100
injured since 2001. The U.S. has 68,000 troops in the country, and other NATO
states have 45,000.

General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), earlier asked U.S. President Barack Obama to authorize
the deployment of up to 40,000 additional troops to fight the Taliban
insurgency.

The U.S. is also expected ask NATO countries to boost their contingents in
Afghanistan, to fill the gap between the 34,000 the Pentagon expects Obama to
send, and the 40,000 McChrystal has requested.
===========================
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http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5AT2FW20091130


Reuters
November 30, 2009


Brown "to announce extra Afghan troops on Monday"


LONDON: Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to confirm on Monday that
Britain will send 500 more troops to Afghanistan as NATO-led forces step up
their eight-year campaign against the Taliban.

Sources said Brown is likely to tell parliament that conditions for an increase
to 9,500, such as more help from other countries and enough equipment for the
mission, have been met.

The announcement, confirming a conditional pledge made in October, is expected
at around 3:30 p.m.

"The prime minister feels we have made real progress on burden-sharing in the
past few weeks," Brown's spokesman said.

U.S. President Barack Obama is widely expected on Tuesday to announce 30,000
extra soldiers for Afghanistan and Brown has asked other coalition countries to
send about 5,000 more troops.

Violence has worsened in Afghanistan this year, forcing a change in NATO
strategy to try to stabilise conditions and allow for the eventual withdrawal of
foreign troops from a war that is becoming unpopular on both sides of the
Atlantic.

Obama and Brown will hold talks via videophone later on Monday, Brown's
spokesman said.
....
[T]he United States and Britain want to see an acceleration in the training and
numbers of Afghan security forces to 134,000 soldiers by October 2010, but army
chiefs say many more Afghan troops will be needed.
....
(Reporting by Matt Falloon; Editing by Steve Addison)
===========================
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http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/US_Navy_Prepares_for_Militarization_of_the_Arctic\
_91130


AllGov
November 30, 2009


U.S. Navy Prepares for Militarization of the Arctic
Noel Brinkerhoff


-Naval officials want America’s sea-faring forces to be able to execute
undersea warfare, expeditionary warfare, strike warfare, strategic sealift and
regional security co-operation.

[See:
NATO’s, Pentagon’s New Strategic Battleground: The Arctic
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/natos-pentagons-new-strategic-battleg\
round-the-arctic

Canada: Battle Line In East-West Conflict Over The Arctic
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/canada-battle-line-in-east-west-confl\
ict-over-the-arctic

Scandinavia And The Baltic Sea: NATO’s War Plans For The High North
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/scandinavia-and-the-baltic-sea-natos-\
war-plans-for-the-high-north

Encroachment From All Compass Points: Canada Leads NATO Confrontation With
Russia In North
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/encroachment-from-all-compass-points-\
canada-leads-nato-confrontation-with-russia-in-north ]


While hoping for a future of cooperation with other nations, the U.S. Navy is
simultaneously planning for potential combat situations that may arise once
global warming has melted the Arctic Ocean’s summer ice within two decades. A
35-page memo from the Department of the Navy spells out a five-year plan
expressing the need to develop new technology and strategies in the event things
become contentious in the open waters of the Arctic Circle by 2030.

“This opening of the Arctic may lead to increased resource development,
research, tourism, and could reshape the global transportation system,” read
the memo authored by Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, vice-chief of Naval
Operations. “These developments offer opportunities for growth, but also are
potential sources of competition and conflict for access and natural
resources.”

Naval officials want America’s sea-faring forces to be able to execute
undersea warfare, expeditionary warfare, strike warfare, strategic sealift and
regional security co-operation.

Rob Huebert, associate director at the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies
at the University of Calgary, told the Ottawa Citizen: “If you read the
document carefully you’ll see a dual language, one where they’re saying,
‘We’ve got to start working together’ ... and (then) they start saying,
‘We have to get new instrumentation for our combat officers.’”

Huebert added that the United States isn’t the only power gearing up its navy
for a new ocean frontier. Russia is developing and testing its new Bulava
submarine-launched ballistic missile, while Norway and Denmark have been
bolstering their militaries with Arctic-capable ships and planes. Canada is
developing a military training center in the Arctic and building a new port that
will house icebreakers and a fleet of Arctic patrol ships.
===========================
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http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=4263


Baltic Course
November 30, 2009


Kosovo security force minister pays visit to Vilnius


Vilnius: At a meeting with National Defence Minister Rasa Jukneviciene, it is
planned to discuss bilateral cooperation between Lithuania and Kosovo and other
issues relevant to both countries.

The Lithuanian defence minister and the Kosovo security force head are to sign a
memorandum of understanding on cooperation which provides for the development of
bilateral relations concerning international security and stability, education
and training, crisis management, planning of international operations, civil
emergencies and other issues.

Later in the day, Mujota is to meet with Army Commander Major General Arvydas
Pocius. The Kosovo minister is also to meet with Arvydas Anusauskas, chairman of
the Seimas' Committee on National Security and Defence, and Deputy Foreign
Minister Evaldas Ignatavicius.

On Tuesday, Mujota will visit the General Jonas Zemaitis Lithuanian War Academy,
meet with Brigadier General Edvardas Mazeikis, head of the Academy, and attend
the graduation and award ceremony of the Academy's junior staff officers,
including a soldier from Kosovo.

Lithuania recognized the independence of the Republic of Kosovo – the former
Yugoslav province – in May 2008 and established relations with the new country
in the same year.
===========================
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==============================

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/11/obama-to-press-australian-pm-o.html?\
wprss=44


Washington Post
November 30, 2009


Obama to press Australian PM on troops for Afghanistan


Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will visit the White House on Monday as
President Obama begins a week during which he will announce his war strategy in
Afghanistan and appeal to allies such as Australia for more help, The Post's
Scott Wilson reports.

The White House on Friday said the two men would "confer on a range of issues,
including Afghanistan and climate change in the run-up to Copenhagen," referring
to the United Nations environmental conference to be held in the Danish capital
next month.

Obama administration officials said that much of the discussion would focus on
whether Australia would contribute more troops to the Afghan mission. They
indicated that Rudd would be the first of several allied leaders whom Obama
intends to meet with on the issue in the coming weeks.
===========================
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==============================

http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul120933_poland-to-send-1000-soldiers-t\
o-afghanistan-.html


Polish Radio
November 30, 2009


Poland to send 1000 soldiers to Afghanistan


[108,000 U.S. troops, at least half serving under NATO; as many as 42,000 other
NATO member states' and partners' troops currently in Afghanistan; as many as
10,000 more on the way.]


Poland is planning to increase troop deployment in Afghanistan by one thousand.

The enlargement of the Polish contingent in Afghanistan is a response to the
call of General Stanley McChrystal - US commander in Afghanistan – to increase
the allied presence by up to 40,000 troops.

Originally, Poland’s government intended to send only 600 soldiers to
reinforce the present contingent consisting of 2,000 soldiers. However, the
Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Piotr Paszkowski assures that the number of
troops will be increased still further.

“We will send not more than a thousand soldiers to Afghanistan,” said
Paszkowski.

The troops will spend five years in Afghanistan unless the allied forces manage
to prepare Afghan army and police to take over control of the country earlier.
So far only the UK has made any definite announcements to respond to the call of
General McChrystal. The British will send 500 additional soldiers to
Afghanistan, which is fewer than expected by the US.

The government’s decision to enlarge the Polish contingent has been fiercely
criticized by the opposition Democratic Left Alliance party. The Parliament
Speaker and Former Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski claims that Poland cannot
afford to send additional forces to Afghanistan.

The Defence Ministry project on the enlargement of Polish troops in Afghanistan
has been forwarded to the Foreign Ministry and later will be sent to the
President Kaczynski who is expected to OK the project.

“The army itself needs to decide how strong the support should be,” said
Aleksander Szczygło, head of the National Security Bureau.
===========================
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==============================

http://www.caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/single_page/article/11/court_reject-\
1/?cHash=8d5826f473


Hungary Around the Clock
November 30, 2008


Court rejects appeal against Pecs NATO radar station


The Budapest Municipal Court has rejected claims against the construction of a
NATO radar station at the top of the Tubes in the Mecsek mountains near Pecs.

“The NATO radar project will soon continue,” Defence Ministry spokesman
Istvan Bocskai said. The Socialist Party’s Baranya county chapter opposes the
project, however.

The ruling is binding but an appeal for a review at the Supreme Court can be
filed within six days.
===========================
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==============================

http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/11/us-and-nato-sinking-in-afghanistan.html


Sri Lanka Guardian
September 30, 2009


The US and NATO sinking in Afghanistan
By Saybhan Samat


-Villagers were able to retrieve only fragments of their loved one’s body
parts after the Americans deployed one of their favourite strategies of winning
hearts and minds by dropping 1,000 pound bombs from the air.
-What have the US and the NATO achieved in Afghanistan? They failed to get Osama
bin Laden and Mullah Omer. They failed to secure the country. They failed to
introduce Western democracy. They failed to better the lot of women and girls.
They failed to halt the poppy trade, they failed in their reconstruction efforts
and they failed to win the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan. All in
all both the US and NATO have failed miserably. The only way out is to adopt an
exit strategy to look like a win.
-The US and NATO must continue to bleed before they realize [they must] withdraw
from Afghanistan with a nasty and bloodied nose. Its only a matter of time
before this occurs.



Colombo: It is now very clear that the US and NATO have achieved nothing of
substance in their adventure into Afghanistan and are sinking in the quagmire
deeper every day.

The US now desperately needs an exit strategy that looks like a win for two
reasons: First its reputation as a mighty military power that can’t be beaten,
and especially by tribal clansmen. Second if it withdraws empty-handed, how does
it explain the rising number of troop deaths and the billions that are still
being poured into a narco-state that is corrupt, in the middle of an economic
down-turn at home.

The insurgency in Afghanistan is spreading rapidly as the latest survey
conducted by the International Council of Security and Development (ICOS) shows.
Its latest research indicates that 80% of the country has a permanent Taliban
presence, up from 72% in 2008, and that 97% of the country has “substantial
Taliban activity.”

The organization has tracked Taliban movement throughout Afghanistan since 2007.
Even with such alarming figures the organization’s president, MS Norine Mc
Donald QC, told the internet web-site Huffington Post that she believed the
figure was “conservative.”

“Its bad numbers and bad news” she said. “They (the Taliban) have the
momentum, their strategies and tactics are working and our’s are not….. its
not a question of where they are operating its more a question of where they are
not.”

Increased resistance activity has led to more occupation soldiers dying and an
alarming escalation in airstrikes that have caused massive civilian causalities.
On September 4th, an air strike on two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban who
were dispensing fuel to locals in Kunduz resulted in more than 90 civilians
deaths. Villagers were able to retrieve only fragments of their loved one’s
body parts after the Americans deployed one of their favourite strategies of
winning hearts and minds by dropping 1,000 pound bombs from the air.

Combined with instability arising from the recent presidential election in which
allegations of widespread electoral fraud were made and the country even more
divided between the majority Pashtuns and the minority Tajiks, this is a sure
recipe for disaster. Hitherto, northern Afghanistan was relatively calm and
there was little resistance activity there but as the Kunduz episode shows, this
has now spread much further.

What have the US and the NATO achieved in Afghanistan? They failed to get Osama
bin Laden and Mullah Omer. They failed to secure the country. They failed to
introduce Western democracy. They failed to better the lot of women and girls.
They failed to halt the poppy trade, they failed in their reconstruction efforts
and they failed to win the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan. All in
all both the US and NATO have failed miserably. The only way out is to adopt an
exit strategy to look like a win.

This experience should teach the powerful nations not to in future invade
countries and force their ideologies and culture on the indigenous people and
exploit their natural resources. Afghanistan has historically been the graveyard
of empires. In modern times both Britain and Russia were compelled to withdraw,
burying thousands of their soldiers in Afghanistan.

If Obama is smart, he will take a page from the approach adopted by Alexander
the Great more than 2,000 years ago. His generals told him the Afghans were such
ferocious fighters that they would maul his forces. It was best to leave them
alone.

Alexander bypassed Afghanistan to take on the much easier prey in the Indus
plains. Whether Obama suffers the fate of the Russians or achieves Alexander’s
greatness will depend on what he decides to do next. Current thinking in
Washington does not allow for much optimism. The US and NATO must continue to
bleed before they realize [they must] withdraw from Afghanistan with a nasty and
bloodied nose. Its only a matter of time before this occurs.
===========================
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==============================

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hIWAh-SguIfO-8RCq3r8stEyYUvgD9\
C80F500


Associated Press
November 27, 2009



3 Ukrainians died in Afghan helicopter crash



KABUL: Three Ukrainians were killed when a helicopter operated by an
international military contractor crashed in eastern Afghanistan.

The owner and operator of the aircraft said Friday that the three crew members
were the only passengers aboard the MI-8 chopper that disappeared Nov. 23.

"Efforts are currently under way to recover the aircraft and the remains of the
crew," Air Freight Gulf said in a statement. "Investigations into the cause of
the crash are also under way, however early reports indicate the crew
encountered poor weather conditions on route."

The wreckage was discovered Friday during a joint search mission between NATO
and the company. NATO said Friday that the crash site of the MI-8 chopper was
located in eastern Afghanistan.

The helicopter had been chartered by Supreme Global Service Solutions for a
cargo mission in support of NATO troops.
===========================
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66390


Stars and Stripes
December 1, 2009


NATO to fund spy system
By Sandra Jontz



-The system would be beneficial for missions as far from the Mediterranean as
Afghanistan, and an asset to coalition navies’ ongoing efforts...off the
Somali coast and into the Gulf of Aden....Fifteen NATO countries will pay for
the system, while all 28 NATO member nations have been invited to contribute
manpower....


NAPLES, Italy — Fifteen NATO nations will provide funding for an air
surveillance command and control system to be located at the shared Italian-U.S.
Navy base in Sicily.

The Air Ground Surveillance system is expected to boost the military presence at
Naval Air Station Sigonella by about 800 troops, officials said.

The system consists of eight RQ-4B Global Hawk high-altitude, long-range
unmanned aerial vehicles. The ground portion will be developed by Canadian and
European industry, according to a NATO news release.

The NATO surveillance project is expected to cost between $1.5 billion to $2.3
billion. Plans are for the project to be in place by 2012.

The system would be beneficial for missions as far from the Mediterranean as
Afghanistan, and an asset to coalition navies’ ongoing efforts to quash piracy
off the Somali coast and into the Gulf of Aden, said Ludwig Decamps, head of the
Armaments Program Support Section of NATO’s Defense Investment Division.

The system would provide NATO forces with key technologies such as radar signals
that can be transformed into images to be analyzed by technicians, and an
unmanned plane that can track moving targets and at the same time zoom in on
those targets to provide analysts with detailed information, Decamps said.

Fifteen NATO countries will pay for the system, while all 28 NATO member nations
have been invited to contribute manpower, he said.

The 15 countries are Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia and the United States.

No decisions have been made on what infrastructure changes will be necessary at
Sigonella to accommodate the new system and additional personnel, NATO and U.S.
Navy officials said.
===========================
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==============================