http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/607831.html


Itar-Tass
December 22, 2012



Al-Assad overthrow not end war in Syria – Lavrov



MOSCOW: Western special services predict that the overthrown of Bashar al-Assad
will not end the war in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told
journalists on Saturday.

“Western special services say the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad will not stop
the bloodshed in Syria. This is a country where various ethnic groups and
religions coexisted for many thousands of years. To destroy all to overthrow
only one person...We observed such events in Yugoslavia and Iraq and we observed
what had happened in Libya because Al-Gaddafi’s head was needed,” Lavrov
said.

“One cannot simply say – the Arab Spring, democratisation, the drive for the
better life – how childish. A serious political analysis is really lacking,”
the Russian foreign minister noted.

He confirmed that Russia did not intend to give al-Assad political asylum.
“Russia said we had not invited al-Assad. We have no such plans. Certain
countries of the region addressed us: ‘Tell al-Assad we are ready to accept
him’. But we replied: ‘What does this come in? If we have such plan, address
directly’,” Lavrov said.

He recalled that al-Assad himself made a statement saying he was not going to
resign. Lavrov referred to al-Assad saying even if Russia or China invited him,
he would die in Syria.
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http://www.mod.gov.ge/en/news/1614


Ministry of Defence of Georgia
December 21, 2012


U.S. Advisor-Instructors Awarded


Today Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Alasania has awarded American
advisor-instructors.

Sergeant Major Gregory Wright, 1st Sergeant Vincent Heller and Gunnery Sergeant
Anthony Cuccurese were granted with the medal of General Kvinitadze for their
special contribution to pre-deployment training Georgian soldiers for the ISAF
mission. The awards ceremony was held at the training base Sounth Vaziani,
Algeti.

“Today we have visited the 33rd Battalion currently undergoing the trainings
with our American partners.  They will depart for Afghanistan in the nearest
future. Our soldiers are morally and physically ready and most important is that
they have relevant military knowledge to solve every task successfully. They
should always be aware to save themselves and carry out the most important task
- to provide international and national security”, declared the defence
minister.

The leadership of the GAF also attended the awarding ceremony. After the
ceremony, the defence minister had a tour around the training base and the
infrastructure.

U.S. advisor-instructors have positively assessed the preparedness of Georgian
soldiers. According to 1st Sergeant Vincent Heller, the Georgian soldiers are
highly motivated and distinguished for their professionalism.
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http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/patriots-to-be-in-turkey-by-the-end-of-2012.asp\
x?pageID=238&nID=37432&NewsCatID=338


Hurriyet Daily News
December 22, 2012


Patriots to be in Turkey by the end of 2012



ISTANBUL: Patriot missiles will be deployed in Turkey at the end of December,
NATO announced in a written statement according to private broadcaster NTV.

They will be reportedly deployed in the Mediterranean provinces of
Kahramanmaraş and Adana and in the southeastern province of Gaziantep.

The total number of batteries to deploy were determined as six.

The Patriots are expected to be ready to use from the second half of January.

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

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-301917-nato-announces-turkish-locations-for-patr\
iots.html


Sunday's Zaman
December 23, 2012



NATO announces Turkish locations for Patriots



İSTANBUL: Three NATO allies who have agreed to provide Patriot missiles to
augment Turkey's air defenses - Germany, the Netherlands and the United States -
have agreed on the locations where the batteries will be deployed, the alliance
said on Friday.

“Germany will deploy its batteries to Kahramanmaraş, the Netherlands will
deploy its batteries to Adana, and the United States will deploy its batteries
to Gaziantep,” a NATO spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.

The locations were “decided jointly with Turkey as the host nation and in
close coordination with the Supreme Allied Commander Europe,” NATO said.

...

Turkey asked NATO for the Patriot system, designed to intercept aircraft or
missiles, in November to help bolster its border security after repeated
episodes of gunfire and shelling from Syria spilling into Turkish territory.

NATO agreed to send Patriots to Turkey with Germany, the Netherlands and the
United States having offered to provide two Patriot batteries each.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Friday that the Syrian military had
fired more Scud-type missiles inside the country, justifying NATO's decision to
dispatch Patriot anti-missile systems to NATO ally Turkey - a deployment
criticized by Syria, Iran and Russia.
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======================================================================

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Dec-23/199666-turkey-to-resume\
-nato-cooperation-with-israel.ashx#axzz2Ft3t32EL


Daily Star
December 23, 2012


Turkey to resume NATO cooperation with Israel


ISTANBUL: Turkey has agreed to drop its ban on cooperating with Israel as a
third-country NATO partner, a diplomat said Sunday.

Ankara cut off such cooperation after the Israeli army raided a Turkish ship
carrying humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip in 2010, leaving nine
Turks dead.

The decision to renew NATO links came at a December 4 meeting in Brussels of the
28-member alliance on a proposal by its Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen,
the diplomat said.

The ban had "created a lack of confidence among the partners", he said.

However Turkey will maintain its ban on joint military manoeuvres, and Ankara
has reserved the right to bar activities with Israel on its own soil.

The agreement comes after NATO agreed early this month to deploy Patriot
anti-aircraft missiles along the Turkish border with Syria.

Turkey's relations with its former ally deteriorated sharply after the raid on
the Turkish ship in international waters in the Mediterranean.

Israel has rejected Ankara's demands for an apology and compensation.
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http://www.shippingtimes.co.uk/item_10426.html


North Atlantic Treaty Organization
December 20, 2012


Netherlands Submarine Crew in River Thames Visit
HNLMS Bruinvis crew awarded NATO medal for counter piracy mission


Yesterday, the crew of the Dutch submarine, HNLMS Bruinvis, were awarded NATO's
Africa medal for their work as part of NATO's counter piracy mission, Operation
Ocean Shield. The submarine made a scheduled visit to London, berthing at Canary
Wharf.

The medal ceremony took place at Canary Wharf and was attended by Rear Admiral
Ian Corder (RN) Commander of NATO's Submarine Force and Major General (RN Marine
Corps) Rob Verkerk, Deputy Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy. They were
joined by members of the merchant shipping community.

Before awarding the crew their medals with Maj Gen Verkerk, RAdm Corder said

"During your deployment you’ve sailed an extensive amount of sea miles. Your
operations have pushed both you and your boat towards the endurance limits of
the WALRUS class submarine. Your professionalism and enthusiasm gave both NATO
and the Dutch submarine service a position where they’ve used your
capabilities with all available confidence. With your integration in the NATO
counter piracy task force and your support to task forces you have contributed
in an extensive way to the counter piracy effort.

"Although the counter piracy mission may look different from more traditional
submarine missions, you’ve proven again the invaluable contribution of a
submarine in the NATO counter piracy effort."

...

The crew will remain in London for another day before heading home to Den Helder
where they will be reunited with family and friends shortly before Christmas.
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======================================================================

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/23\
-Dec-2012/defining-our-war


The Nation
December 23, 2012



Defining our war
Jalees Hazir


====

The problem with those eager to claim the US-led intervention in the region as
our war is that they use the acts of terror perpetrated by militant groups as a
justification to support the far more serious and barbaric strategy of terror
officially sanctioned by the superpower and its Nato allies. The one-eyed
liberal fascists seem to have no ideas of their own.

What brand of noble intentions could justify the brutal occupation of
Afghanistan for more than a decade? What kind of fictitious weapons of mass
destruction make the hell let loose on Iraqi citizens acceptable? What
definition of human rights and freedom allows the continued destruction of
Libya? Which human values sanction subversion of order in Syria?

Are they really ignorant of the nexus between militant groups scattered all over
the globe and the CIA that has fathered, adopted, nurtured and fanged them?

====



Acts of terror in and around Peshawar last week reminded us once again that we
are in the middle of a war. These recent attacks that claimed many innocent
lives made some commentators renew their advocacy of accepting the US-led
so-called war on terror as our war. On the other hand, the evil-looking tattoo
on the back of one of the killed terrorists was considered by many as evidence
to write off the entire menace of militant extremism as a US-controlled project
that will disappear in thin air with an end to the US occupation of Afghanistan.
It is important to move beyond these simplistic formulations in order to
understand the challenge we face and to define the war we’re trapped in.

The problem with those eager to claim the US-led intervention in the region as
our war is that they use the acts of terror perpetrated by militant groups as a
justification to support the far more serious and barbaric strategy of terror
officially sanctioned by the superpower and its Nato allies. The one-eyed
liberal fascists seem to have no ideas of their own.

They would like us to believe the false narrative spun by the US establishment
as divine injunction and dance to its belligerent tune like a good unquestioning
ally. They would like the state of Pakistan and its security forces to become an
errand boy for a two-faced Uncle Sam, implementing his dubious war strategy that
has brought death and destruction to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Are they so naïve, these ‘our-war’ cheerleaders? Their logic seems to
suggest as much. According to them, the US is fighting a global war against
terrorism and since Pakistan is being attacked by terrorists as well, we have a
common enemy and we should fight it together. Of course, for them, fighting it
together means taking orders and doing as we are told. They would like to take
the obviously hypocritical pronouncements of the so-called superpower on their
face value. Truthful to the US narrative, they would like to bundle together the
resistance in Afghanistan with the terrorism we face and convince us that the
only hurdle in defeating terrorism is our reluctance to cooperate
whole-heartedly with the US game plan.

Their complete faith in the US and what it says is a bit confounding. What brand
of noble intentions could justify the brutal occupation of Afghanistan for more
than a decade? What kind of fictitious weapons of mass destruction make the hell
let loose on Iraqi citizens acceptable? What definition of human rights and
freedom allows the continued destruction of Libya? Which human values sanction
subversion of order in Syria? What makes these ‘our war’ cheerleaders blind
to not just these, but countless covert and overt imperialist interventions by
the US around the world?

Are they really ignorant of the nexus between militant groups scattered all over
the globe and the CIA that has fathered, adopted, nurtured and fanged them?

Actually, we don’t need any tattoo to convince us that the US is involved in
spreading terrorism in the world. It is documented history. Its dangerous covert
games are no longer secret in any case as its leaders openly boast of funding
and arming terrorists that they dub as rebels or any convenient name that sounds
less offensive.

In the case of Pakistan, when CIA and Blackwater operatives were thrown out
after the Raymond Davis episode, the CIA head calmly told us that the agency did
not need its agents on the ground anymore as it had established an extensive
network of local assets in the country. Does this network include the TTP
contacts on Raymond Davis’ phone?

Certainly, we need to pull out of this imperialist war and work with other
neighbours of Afghanistan to rid the region of the US presence. Pulling out of
the US war is an important first step, and it will help us on two counts at
least. It will bring an end to the dangerous covert games the meddlesome
superpower plays under the garb of cooperation and friendship to begin with.
Besides, it will take away the flimsy ideological excuse used by militants, who
think it is kosher to kill innocent Pakistani Muslims because their country is
siding with the infidels.

More importantly, without the distraction of trying to do more in line with the
US devious demands, it will also bring clarity to our understanding of the
problem and, hence, help us in evolving an effective strategy to counter it.
However, to say that the menace of militant extremism will disappear with an end
to US occupation of Afghanistan is equally simplistic.

While it is true that growth of militant extremism owes much to CIA and American
proxies in the Middle East, its roots have grown deep in Pakistan over the last
three decades and it is supported by an environment of distorted and sectarian
notions about Islam that have become common in our society.

A multi-pronged response is needed to counter it. Other than a strong military
offensive against the mercenary hardcore terrorist groups, the government will
have to closely monitor the sources of funding, syllabi and activities of the
large number of seminaries that have mushroomed all over Pakistan. In many
cases, they are involved in spreading sectarian hatred and militant attitudes
that encourage impressionable students to use coercion and violence against
people who do not subscribe to their version of Islam. The government will have
to act against the blatant abuse of loud speakers in mosques and self-proclaimed
scholars of Islam issuing fatwas that incite hatred and violence against other
sects and communities. It is not difficult to prod youngsters weaned on such
ideas to commit acts of terror to please God.

In fact, the entire society will have to get involved. The media will have to be
more careful about what it dishes out in the name of religion. And the educated
Muslims will have to reclaim their religion from an ignorant clergy. It’s not
only about hunting and killing a handful of mercenary terrorists acting on
foreign commands. To defeat militancy in the name of Islam, the nation must
fight it on all fronts.

The writer is a freelance columnist.
====================================================================

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======================================================================

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-plays-israel-egypt-balance-in-nato.aspx?\
pageID=238&nID=37587&NewsCatID=409


Hurriyet Daily News
December 25, 2012


Turkey plays Israel-Egypt balance in NATO


====

Turkey has convinced unnamed NATO members to lift their vetoes on NATO
activities on a number of countries in the Middle East, the Caucasus and the
Balkans. Among those, it appears Egypt has a more important role to play than
others.

Turkey’s move to put Egypt into the NATO picture more than before, as a
counterbalance to Israel, might work as an anchor for Egypt to NATO, thus
Western standards. So playing an Egypt-Israeli balance might result in holding
Egypt in the Western camp instead of it falling under the influence of
centrifugal forces of the Arab Spring.

====



Yes, there is an Egypt story other than Mohammad Morsi’s victory in getting
his Islamic law-based constitution approved through a referendum in Egypt; it is
upgraded relations between Egypt and the Western defense alliance, NATO.

Egypt is not a member of NATO; nor is Israel. But a development last week hinted
that both countries might have turned out to be parts of a political bargain in
the greater NATO picture.

Yet Israel has been in a unique relationship with NATO, partly because of U.S.
foreign policy preferences. The U.S. is the main driving force of NATO, after
all, despite the need to have a unanimous vote on every decision in the
organization. Israel takes part in a number of NATO programs, especially those
in relation to the Mediterranean.

Turkey has decided to use that veto power in NATO to force Israel to make an
open apology on the killing of nine Turks onboard the passenger ship Mavi
Marmara during its voyage to break the embargo on Gaza in 2010, the most painful
one concerning Israeli participation in a NATO Summit in Chicago in May 2012
(HDN, Feb 18, 2012). In return, Israel has put a hold on the sale of certain
military devices to Turkey, which did nothing but push Turkey harder to work on
its own unmanned aerial vehicle and satellite systems.

Turkish officials do not confirm Israeli claims that the conditional lift on
Israeli vetoes are somehow linked with approving Turkey’s demand to deploy
Patriot anti-missile weapons against the possibility of an attack from the
civil-war hit Syria. Yet the news about Turkey’s lifting of vetoes on
Israel’s participation in NATO projects other than military exercises came
after a NATO decision – including Turkey’s vote, of course – to deploy six
batteries to three southern Turkish cities near the Syrian borde: two
German-operated batteries to Kahramanmaraş, two Dutch-operated ones to Adana
and two U.S.-operated ones to Gaziantep. In return, according to Turkish
sources, Turkey has convinced unnamed NATO members to lift their vetoes on NATO
activities on a number of countries in the Middle East, the Caucasus and the
Balkans. Among those, it appears Egypt has a more important role to play than
others.

Having had its regime changed through the Tahrir Revolution, Egypt is on a new
path now. On the one hand, a free vote is an important step toward Western
democratic standards. On the other hand, the first two outcomes of the free vote
have been an Islamist President – is it possible to call Morsi a moderate? –
and a constitution based on Islamic law.

Turkey’s move to put Egypt into the NATO picture more than before, as a
counterbalance to Israel, might work as an anchor for Egypt to NATO, thus
Western standards. So playing an Egypt-Israeli balance might result in holding
Egypt in the Western camp instead of it falling under the influence of
centrifugal forces of the Arab Spring.

It may also help Israel to apologize to Turkey over the flotilla tragedy,
following the elections in January.

An interesting period worth watching closely is ahead of us.
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======================================================================

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_24/What-next-for-Afghanistan-after-NATO-s-schedul\
ed-pullout/


Voice of Russia
December 24, 2012


What next for Afghanistan after NATO’s scheduled pullout?
Boris Pavlishev


====

"The Americans are actually not after stability or putting an end to terrorism
in Afghanistan. They are after gaining a permanent strategic foothold in
Southwest Asia. Providing advice and training will be no more than a disguise.
In reality, the Americans will be digging in and building a launchpad for
further military adventures on the Asian continent."

====



On a snap visit to Kabul a few days ago, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
declined to clarify what is in store for Afghanistan after NATO’s announced
pullout in 2014. The American-led forces arrived in Afghanistan 11 years ago on
a United Nations mission to combat terrorism. In a recent interview with Afghan
television, Russian Ambassador Andrei Avetisyan said this mission is far from
accomplished, as is the task of equipping Afghanistan with modern armed forces.

This means that pulling out and leaving behind a few thousand instead of
hundreds of thousands of NATO soldiers can only perpetuate the terrorist
insurgency in Afghanistan. Then what is behind the much touted plans to clinch
an Afghan-American security pact?

If and when acted upon, this pact would likely leave only two key airbases,
Bagram and Kandahar, in American hands. The Americans and some of their NATO
allies would ostensibly retain only advisory and coaching roles. Moscow is
doubtful, saying that coaching a small army for a mission on which even NATO
failed is absolutely pointless.

Chairman of the Trustees Board of the Moscow-based Demography, Migration and
Regional Development Institute Dr Yuri Krupnov says he suspects an ulterior
motive:

"The Americans are actually not after stability or putting an end to terrorism
in Afghanistan. They are after gaining a permanent strategic foothold in
Southwest Asia. Providing advice and training will be no more than a disguise.
In reality, the Americans will be digging in and building a launchpad for
further military adventures on the Asian continent."
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http://www.stripes.com/news/kosovo-aims-to-form-military-force-and-join-nato-1.2\
01794


Stars and Stripes
December 24, 2012


Kosovo aims to form military force and join NATO
Steven Beardsley


====

“It is not absolutely clear if all allies are going to participate in those
new tasks, but NATO as an alliance will do it,” then-NATO Secretary-General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters in June 2008.

[I]ndividual nations were left to shoulder much of the burden for training and
equipping the force. Chief among them was the U.S., which remains Kosovo’s
biggest supporter...It provides between $5.5 MILLION and $7 million in annual
training and military sales, among other forms of assistance, according to the
U.S. Embassy.


“The U.S. is our strategic partner, and it will forever be our strategic
partner,” KSF commander Lt. Gen. Kadri Kastrati said. “Everything that we
are doing we do in coordination with [the] U.S. military attaché in Pristina
and our colleagues who work here in NATO Advisory Team or Office of Defense
Cooperation.”

====


PRISTINA, Kosovo: Nearly five years after Kosovo declared independence, its
international backers are encouraging the tiny Balkan nation to walk on its own.

One of its next steps may be to form a small army from an existing 2,500-strong
civil protection force — a difficult task for a young nation that still has
not secured full international recognition and is deeply distrusted by its
northern neighbor, Serbia, from which it declared independence in 2008.

Nearly 5,600 NATO troops, including close to 800 Americans, remain stationed in
Kosovo to help keep the peace with ethnic Serbs [sic] who refuse to recognize
the government of the former Serbian province, where 90 percent of the
population is ethnic Albanian.

“We have to produce security, not consume security,” said Rexhep Selimi, a
member of the Kosovo assembly committee that oversees the current force.
“That’s why we want to finish our job as soon as possible, so we can join
NATO.”

While the U.S. backs Kosovo’s nationhood, embassy officials in Pristina
declined to comment on Kosovo’s push for a military, saying only that the U.S.
supports the current Kosovo Security Force and a security sector review, guided
by U.S. military advisers.

“It’s what we think is a great opportunity for them to take a hard look at
where they’re going,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ray Wojcik, head of the
embassy’s Office of Defense Cooperation.

Kosovo’s declaration of independence in February 2008 came nearly nine years
after a NATO bombing campaign to end Serbia...It continues to divide world
opinion.

Russia, which as an ally of Serbia has refused to recognize Kosovo’s
independence, has veto power on the U.N. Security Council to keep Kosovo out of
the world body. Five members of the European Union, including four NATO members,
don’t recognize Kosovo, putting any aspirations Kosovo has for membership in
those organizations on hold.

Nonetheless, NATO’s Kosovo force helped stand up the civilian-controlled
Kosovo Security Force, despite the alliance’s internal divisions over
Kosovo’s status. The KSF specializes in demining, search and rescue and
IED-defeat, among other tasks.

“It is not absolutely clear if all allies are going to participate in those
new tasks, but NATO as an alliance will do it,” then-NATO Secretary-General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters in June 2008.

And indeed, individual nations were left to shoulder much of the burden for
training and equipping the force. Chief among them was the U.S., which remains
Kosovo’s biggest supporter, according to Wojcik. It provides between $5.5
MILLION and $7 million in annual training and military sales, among other forms
of assistance, according to the U.S. Embassy. The KSF budget hovers around $35
million.

The U.S. provided uniforms and radios, and it opened its schools to KSF members,
including the Army Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas, and the
service’s Command and General Staff College. It paired Kosovo with the Iowa
National Guard for a mentor relationship, and sent members to Grafenwöhr,
Germany, for NCO training.

Such training is now being incorporated into the KSF structure with U.S.
military help. At a September ceremony on a KSF base in the southern Kosovo city
of Ferizaj, U.S. Army advisers looked on as some two dozen senior NCOs graduated
a course run within the country, and largely by KSF trainers.

“The U.S. is our strategic partner, and it will forever be our strategic
partner,” KSF commander Lt. Gen. Kadri Kastrati said. “Everything that we
are doing we do in coordination with [the] U.S. military attaché in Pristina
and our colleagues who work here in NATO Advisory Team or Office of Defense
Cooperation.”

The U.S. military is also instrumental in the next phase of Kosovo’s force.
The Defense Institution Reform Initiative within the Department of Defense is
guiding the Kosovo government’s security sector review, which began in March
as a rethink of Kosovo’s security structure.

The review is significant in light of a recent change in the country. In
September, Kosovo’s international backers stepped aside to grant the country
full sovereignty over its laws. One, the law on the KSF, opens to restructuring
in June 2013.

Agim Ceku, the current minister of the KSF, and former prime minister, says a
defense force is a necessity.

“We are now not only building [a] state, but we are building society here,”
Ceku said in a recent interview.

“And I think military force is [an] important factor of national identity for
us.,” said Ceku, who fought in Croatia’s war of independence from the former
Yugoslavia and served as a general in the Kosovo Liberation Army, which took up
arms against Serbia in the late 1990s in a push for independence. He is
considered a war criminal by Serbia. “Military force is [a] very good
instrument for modernizing society. Here we can serve as [an] example, good
example, of discipline, service to a nation, commitment to duty.”

Both Ceku and Kastrati, the commander of KSF, envision a small force developed
to NATO standards and deployable for specialized capabilities such as demining
or search and rescue, similar to what the KSF does now.

...

Many Kosovo leaders and some analysts envision a future within NATO. In the
meantime, how the alliance would view a Kosovo military is unclear.

Even the status of the KSF remains contentious. NATO member nations are still
considering whether to approve a largely technical designation of the force —
that it reached its “Full Operational Capability” — granted by NATO’s
own Kosovo Forces commander last November. The U.S. supports it.

“It’s something that we try to build broader consensus around and moving it
in a positive direction,” said Michael Kreidler, political-military officer at
the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo. “But the consensus-building process in Brussels,
it’s agonizing.”

Another international concern about Kosovo standing up an army is the tense
security situation in Kosovo’s north, where ethnic Serbs refuse any
representation of the Kosovo government. Rioting erupted last year after Kosovo
police entered the territory to impose customs offices on the border with
Serbia.

Ilir Deda, chief of staff to Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga through this past
January and current director of the Kosovo Institute for Policy Research and
Development, believes that even with a settlement over the north, countries in
NATO that don’t recognize Kosovo may not come around to the idea of a Kosovo
military. He said Kosovo needs to focus on its most influential supporters.

“If it happens, it has the (U.S.) support and U.K. support,” he said.

It’s a feeling repeated by Kosovo officials like Ceku.

“They are now supporting the process here,” he said. “And this process we
are going to do together. I said I will not come up with any recommendation that
it is not coordinated with the U.S. and accepted by the U.S.”

beardsleys@...
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http://rt.com/usa/news/us-drone-strikes-year-773/


RT
December 25, 2012


US sets records with number of drone strikes in Afghanistan this year


The United States has carried out more drone strikes this year in Afghanistan
than it has during its eight-year-long air war in Pakistan, launching 447
strikes and killing thousands while also reducing its air surveillance.

At a time when the US is transitioning military power to the Afghan government
and planning its 2014 withdrawal, it broke a new record with the 447 drone
strikes it launched in the war-torn country in 2012. Not only did the US launch
more drones this year than ever before, but it carried out more strikes in
Afghanistan than it did in Pakistan in the past eight years, which is how long
the CIA has been conducting such strikes. About 338 drone strikes have been
launched in Pakistan.

The data, which was released by the US Air Force, shows that drone strikes have
been steadily increasing in Afghanistan, even after former terrorist leader
Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011 and the conflict has been winding down. Last
year, the US carried out 294 drone strikes in Afghanistan, which was up from 278
in 2010.

The average number of drone strikes per month has also been on the rise. This
year, the average was 33 drone strikes, while last year, it was 24.5 At the same
time, drone strikes have been increasingly criticized by both legislators and
the American public.

A December report by the Brave New Foundation condemned the use of drones, which
have killed hundreds of children – and possibly many more that were not
reported. In Pakistan, 178 children were reportedly killed by US drones.

“Obama does not kill children deliberately. But their deaths are an inevitable
outcome of the way his drones are deployed,” writes The Guardian’s George
Monibot, who finds it hypocritical for the president to mourn the deaths of 20
US children killed in a shooting in Connecticut, while ignoring the fact that
hundreds of children have died in drone strikes overseas.

US air surveillance in Afghanistan has significantly decreased, but still, drone
strikes have been launched at an even greater rate. Surveillance sorties, many
of which are flown by drones, decreased from an average of 3,183 per month in
2011 to 2,954 in 2012.

“The numbers are yet another powerful data illustrating the fact that unmanned
systems are here and they are here to stay,” Peter W. Singer, who runs the
Brooking Institution’s 21st Century Defense Initiative, told Wired.

Meanwhile, the media continues to publish harrowing accounts regarding the
effect of US drone strikes, both on the victims and those who are forced to
execute the deadly strikes.

The German publication Der Spiegel published an account of a former drone pilot
whose bunker was located in New Mexico, from where he watched the strikes on
video. After the drone pilot discharged a Hellfire missile into a mud house in
northern Afghanistan, he witnessed a small child step into the picture. Much of
the house was completely destroyed, and the pilot never again saw the child on
video. The pilot says he was scarred from the incident, and still thinks of the
people whose fate he decided that day.
“I felt disconnected from humanity,” he said.

But such occurrences are common in Afghanistan and Pakistan. While there may be
no numbers accurately reflecting the number of civilians killed in drone
strikes, they are in the thousands, and significantly on the rise in a country
that the US says it is withdrawing from.
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http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_26/Turkey-seeks-117-missiles-from-US/



Voice of Russia
December 26, 2012



Turkey seeks 117 missiles from US


Turkey has ordered 117 air-to-air Sidewinder missiles from the US amid a
spiraling conflict in Syria, the Defense Department’s Security Cooperation
Agency said Monday.

The agency has issued a notice for the US Congress saying the order worth $140
million included Sidewinder missiles and associated equipment. The Congress has
about a fortnight to cancel the deal, else the agency will be given the green
light to go on with the sale.

The order package allegedly consists of 117 AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block-II
missiles, 6 AIM-9X-2 Block II tactical guidance units, 6 dummy air training
missiles, 130 LAU-129 Launchers, containers, missile support and test equipment,
provisioning, spare and repair parts, as well as personnel training equipment.

Voice of Russia, Interfax
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http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_27/NATO-pitting-Turkey-against-neighbours/


Voice of Russia
December 27, 2012


NATO pitting Turkey against neighbours



“By following the lead of the West, we are widening the split between us and
our neighbours,” Turkey’s Saadet Party deputy chair Birol Aydin has told the
Voice of Russia.

According to Mr. Aydin, it was a NATO’s initiative to deploy elements of the
European missile shield in Turkey and to pull Patriot missile systems to
Syria’s northern border.

All of that wasn’t proposed by Turkey, the pundit said, claiming the North
Atlantic alliance made Ankara seek the deployment of Patriot missiles on its
turf.

Fatih Evyapan from the Anatolian Youth Association shares his viewpoint. He
believes the West is pitting Turkey against its neighbours, Syria and Iran. For
that purpose, NATO is creating its military infrastructure in Turkey, including
a radar system in Malatya and Patriot missiles on the Turkish-Syria border.
Their deployment means a direct intrusion into neighbouring Syria, he said.

Mr. Evyapan pointed out that the West had recently triggered a war between Iran
and Iraq and was bending every effort to fan a similar conflict between Iran and
Turkey.
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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-12/28/c_132069891.htm


Xinhua News Agency
December 28, 2012


4 killed in U.S. drone strike in NW Pakistan

� � � ���
ISLAMABAD: At least five people were killed and several others injured in a U.S.
drone strike launched in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on
Friday evening, reported local media ARY.

According to the local media reports, U.S. unmanned aircraft fired two missiles
at a house suspected of being a militant hideout in Shawal area of North
Waziristan, a militancy-plagued region along the Pak-Afghan border.

Details about the strike are not immediately available.

Firday's U.S. drone strike is the 39th of its kind in Pakistan in 2012. Since
the beginning of this year, at least 274 people have been killed in such
strikes.

Though most of the killed are believed to be suspected militants, the U.S.
drones do sometimes kill innocent people, which has led to strong opposition
from the Pakistani side.
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http://en.trend.az/regions/scaucasus/georgia/2103785.html


Trend News Agency
December 28, 2012



FM: New Georgian government to continue active cooperation with U.S within
Charter on Strategic Partnership
N. Kirtzkhali


Tbilisi: The new Georgian government will continue active cooperation with the
U.S in the future within the Charter on Strategic Partnership, signed in
Washington in January 2009, Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze told media
today.

"From the point of view of intensifying the relations with the U.S, it should be
stressed that Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is expected to visit
the U.S, presumably, in the spring of 2013," minister said.

The minister said that the working groups established within the Charter on
Strategic Partnership will be held in 2013. The annual meeting on the Charter
will be also held.

The Charter on Strategic Partnership between Georgia and the U.S was signed in
Washington on January 9, 2009. Four working groups on security, development of
democracy, economy and trade, and public relations were established within the
Charter.
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http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/612697.html


Itar-Tass
December 28, 2012


Dniester Republic wants Russian peacekeepers to stay


TIRASPOL: The Dniester Republic wants Russian peacekeepers to stay until a
political settlement is finally reached, Yevgeny Shevchuk, the president of the
unrecognized Dniester Republic, told journalists on Friday, commenting on the
proposal of the Moldovan leadership to replace "Russian Blue Helmets" by
civilian observers.

"It's time to stop creating preconditions for a war. Regrettably, we can see
that representatives of Moldova's political elite couldn't refrain from
aggressive remarks about the Dniester Republic in the outgoing year. These
remarks are a source of concern for our people, in the first place," Shevchuk
went on to say.

He gave some figures, according to which about 40 incidents had occurred in the
buffer zone on the Dniester River this year. They were settled by the Joint
Control Commission that supervises the peacekeeping operation and commands the
peacekeeping battalions of Russia, Moldova and the Dniester Republic.

"This is another evidence that the peacekeeping operation is a serious guarantee
that the tragic events of 1992 when thousands of people were killed, wounded or
became refugees will never be repeated," Shevchuk emphasized.

He recalled that the Russian peacekeepers were staying in the Dniester region
under an agreement that was signed in Moscow in 1992 and allowed for solving the
conflict peacefully.

"First, under this document the Russian Group of Troops carries out a
peacekeeping operation. Second, the Russian Group of Troops continues guarding
munitions in the Kolbasnoye village of the Rybnitsky district, which is the
property of the Russian army," Shevchuk said, adding that the population of
the Dniester Republic would like to expand the Russian military presence in the
region in the foreseeable future.

This year, the Dniester Republic has marked the 20th anniversary of the
peacekeeping operation in the Dniester Valley. The Joint Peacekeeping Forces of
Russia, Moldova and the Dniester Republic as well as Ukrainian observers have
been guarding the security zone on the banks of the Dniester River since the end
of an armed conflict between Moldova and the Dniester Republic under an
agreement on the principles of the conflict's peaceful settlement singed on July
21, 1992. Moldova considers the conflict to be over and believes that the
existing peacekeeping format should be changed by replacing the peacekeepers by
civilian observers under the OSCE mandate.
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http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=386531


Interfax
December 28, 2012


Abkhaz diplomats act in secrecy because of Georgia's, U.S.', EU's intrigues -
foreign minister


SUKHUMI: The Abkhaz Foreign Ministry has to conceal a lot from journalists so
that Georgia as well as the U.S. and the European Union as its sponsors could
not take advantage of this information, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Vyacheslav
Chirikba said.

"We cannot say about everything that occurs in our ministry and outside it. I
cannot tell you about all trips that I have made this year and about all
contacts that we are establishing with political figures of various countries,
because our confrontation with Georgia, the U.S. and the European Union is very
bitter," Chirikba said.

"They are faultlessly tracking our telephone conversations, text messages, and
emails, and they do everything to break our contacts with possible diplomatic
partners. Therefore, we have to work in secrecy, however intriguing this might
sound," he said.

"I was in Italy recently, where I was supposed to read a lecture at a
university. Georgia learned about this somehow and did all it could to thwart
this lecture. But these petty steps don't do it any good. I still gave a large
press conference, at which I said all I wanted to say," Chirikba said.

Even though Abkhazia's contacts with foreign countries are being hampered, its
diplomats are working on all continents, i.e. Europe, the Americas, Africa and
Asia, he said.

The minister said he was sure that the number of countries recognizing
Abkhazia's independence will be growing.

Stronger strategic partnership with Russia and broad international recognition
are strategic objectives of Abkhazia's foreign policy, he said.
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http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90883/8073368.html


People's Daily
December 28, 2012


China must and is able to withstand pressure
By Ren Weidong


====

[S]ince the end of the Cold War, the U.S. global strategy has gone through two
major historical stages. In the first 10 years (in the 1990s), the strategic
focus was on Eastern Europe. The main strategy was presented by the NATO’s
eastward expansion and the European Union’s eastward expansion. In the first
10 years of the new century (2000-2010), the strategic focus is to expand in the
Middle East and Central Asia, with launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as its
main strategy.

====



Since the United States adjusted its global strategy to return to the
Asia-Pacific region, China-U.S. strategic relations and China's security
environment has undergone significant historical changes.

From a geopolitical perspective, since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. global
strategy has gone through two major historical stages. In the first 10 years (in
the 1990s), the strategic focus was on Eastern Europe. The main strategy was
presented by the NATO’s eastward expansion and the European Union’s eastward
expansion. In the first 10 years of the new century (2000-2010), the strategic
focus is to expand in the Middle East and Central Asia, with launching wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq as its main strategy.

Around the second 10 years in the new century, the United States has ceased its
strategic task in Central Asia and the Middle East for a while. Despite the fact
that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not going very smoothly, the United
States succeeded in overthrowing the anti-American regimes in Afghanistan and
Iraq and established pro-American regimes. Therefore, the strategic focus of the
United States shifting from Central Asia and the Middle East to East Asia
entirely followed its strategic steps as planned.

Since the adjustment of the U.S. strategic focus, a series of its strategic
initiatives in East Asia can be summarized as follows: Politically establishing
a united front line around China; making military deployments targeted at China;
and undermining the economic influence of China.

Out of hegemonic geopolitical need, the United States will not allow the
emergence of a unified geopolitical situation that is out of its control on the
other side of the Pacific.

In addition, the most developed and prosperous cities are gathered on the
coastal region of southeast China, therefore the region is vital for the Chinese
economy. As the main transportation mode for China's foreign trade and energy
supply is via the sea route, taking control of the transportation line from the
West Pacific Ocean to India via the Strait of Malacca means seizing the lifeline
of the Chinese economy. Therefore, it is necessary for the United States to put
its strategic focus on Asia, especially East Asia, which is fatal for China.

The strategic focus shifting to the Asia-Pacific region means that the United
States has targeted China as the main objective of its global strategy in the
current situation, pushing China to the position where it has nowhere to retreat
or hide, but only accept the truth.

From the historical experience of the Cold War between the United States and the
Soviet Union, there must be murder accompanied behind the containment. In
Africa, the United States excludes China's economic interests and political
influence; in the Middle East, it controls China’s energy throat; and in the
neighboring countries of China, it seeks and supports a force to contain China.
It even directly ruins the key to the security and the development of China in
East Asia. Together with internal penetration, evolution and division of China,
what the U.S. did is not simply containment with a purpose of stopping
expansion, but a curb with the purpose of manipulation or even choking.

There are only two ways for China to choose: Either withstanding the external
pressure, taking an independent place in the multi-centered world pattern in the
future; or following in the steps of the Soviet Union, and experiencing survival
ravages. The sharpness of the struggle is self-evident, but with 5,000 years’
cultural heritage and 63 years’ revolution achievements, China will be able to
overcome the challenges.
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http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_29/Relatives-of-2009-NATO-air-strike-victims-in-A\
fghanistan-sue-Germany/


Voice of Russia
December 29, 2012


Relatives of 2009 NATO air strike victims in Afghanistan sue Germany


Families of those killed in a NATO air strike in 2009 that targeted the Afghan
province of Kunduz have filed a lawsuit against the German government. 79 people
have taken legal action at a court in Bonn, demanding from the German
authorities $ 4.3 million in compensation.
In September 2009, the command of the German contingent of the NATO forces in
Afghanistan initiated an airstrike on two oil tankers in Kunduz province, which
had been seized by Taliban militants. According to the command, this posed a
potential threat to the safety of the German soldiers.

According to the German authorities, 91 people fell victim to the strike, while
the plaintiffs' lawyers claim 142 victims.

Voice of Russia, Interfax
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http://www.news.az/articles/turkey/74557


News.Az
December 29, 2012


Ankara considers Azerbaijan's active participation in NATO programs necessary
�

Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu proposed an initiative of correcting the NATO program
the Partnership for Peace.

"We consider it necessary for the Central Asian countries, Azerbaijan, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, as well as Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, to take a more active
part in NATO programs", Davutoglu said in the interview with Samanyolu TV
channel.

The new program of partnership is already being developed.

"The program has been supported by not only Turkey but also other countries. We
have attained a bigger diplomatic success in this issue", the Turkish Foreign
Minister said.

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

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/74556


News.Az
December 29, 2012


Azerbaijani servicemen to attend NATO trainings


Azerbaijani servicemen are to attend several NATO trainings.

According to the news service for the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan, under the
program of military cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan,
Azerbaijani servicemen will attend a training course at the US Academy of the
Marine Fleet in Rhode Island from 7 January until 26 June.

International courses of the English language for servicemen will be held in
Vilnius from 14 January until 17 May. The meeting of working groups within the
VERITY program is due in Brussels from 15 to 19 January.

The discussions of the situation in Central Asia after the withdrawal of
international coalition forces from Afghanistan in 2014 will be discussed in
Garmisch, Germany from 15 until 23 January.
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http://www.mod.gov.ge/en/news/1626


Ministry of Defence of Georgia
December 29, 2012


Meeting with Georgian Students of U.S. Military Institutions


The defence minister of Georgia met with eight Georgian students who study at
various military educational institutions in the USA. Irakli Alasania got
acquainted with learning conditions of the future officers and expressed
interest in their future plans. The meeting with the Georgian students was of an
introductory character.

“I am very delighted with the great knowledge our cadets get in the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, as well at the Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force
academies. These students are our ambassadors, our representatives in American
educational institutions...I am sure that their return to the Georgian Armed
Forces will enrich and make our army more capable”, stated Defence Minister
after the meeting with the students.

Georgian students have received education in various American military
educational institutions since 2007.

Before being sent to the American military academies, they conclude a
10-year-long contract with the Georgian Defence Ministry. After graduation they
continue service in the Georgian Armed Forces. The tuition period in the US
military educational institutions last for four years. Currently, 12 Georgian
students receive education in U.S. military academies.
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http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2012/12/30/kunduz-survivors-seek-compensation-lawyer


Pajhwok Afghan News
December 30, 2012


Kunduz survivors seek compensation: lawyer


KUNDUZ CITY: Relatives of those killed and wounded in a September 2009 NATO
airstrike in northern Kunduz province have sought $4.4 million in compensation
from the perpetrators, a lawyer for the survivors said, a claim denied by
families of the victims.

The deadly airstrike on Sept. 4, 2009 had been carried out by German troops
based in the province. The aircraft targeted two fuel tankers that had been
hijacked by Taliban fighters in the Omarkhel village of the Chardara district.

As the trucks stuck in mud, rebels called on residents to empty fuel into jerry
canes. A large number of residents rushed to the site to take fuel home. More
than 100 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded when the jets
dropped bombs on the crowd.

Abdul Hanan, who lost his two teenage sons and a brother to the incident, said
though he was a poor farmer, yet he was not ready to sell the blood of his slain
relatives.

After the incident, foreign troops paid $5,000 to each family of those dead.
Later, German forces and the United Nations Human Rights commissioner...visited
victims' families and pledged assistance.

“We have told them that we only want the individuals who ordered the airstrike
to be punished,” he said.

The defence lawyer for the families, Karim Popal, has recently said in a
statement that the survivors had sought $4.4 million in compensation from the
German government.

Noor Jan, 30, who lost his left arm in the airstrike, said it was difficult for
him to work on farms. "I have several times approached the provincial labour
department for help, but in vain," he said.

Germany has 4,300 soldiers in Afghanistan stationed in the country's north. So
far 53 German soldiers have been killed since the Afghan war began 10 years ago.
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http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/122323,Three-Polish-soldiers-wounded-in-Afgha\
nistan


Radio Poland
December 22, 2012


Three Polish soldiers wounded in Afghanistan


Three Polish soldiers were injured on Saturday morning after coming under attack
in the province of Ghazni, eastern Afghanistan.

The incident took place while the soldiers were on a routine patrol in the
southwestern part of the province.

The ministry states that unidentified “rebels” opened fire on the soldiers,
and the Poles then sought to defend themselves.

...

Polish forces have been stationed in Afghanistan since 2002, just months after
the Taliban regime was compelled to abandon the capital, Kabul, in November
2001, under heavy attack from American forces.

To date, there have been 37 Polish casualties, including one medic.

...
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http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/613659.html


Itar-Tass
December 30, 2012


Russian large landing ship heads for Syrian Tartus



MOSCOW: The large landing ship Novocherkassk of the Russian Black Sea Fleet left
the Novorossiysk naval base and is heading for the Syrian port of Tartus, a
source from the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces has told Tass.

The Novocherkassk is expected to sail through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles into
the Aegean Sea on Monday, December 31. It carries marines and several units of
military hardware.

The large landing ship, accompanied by a combat ship of the Russian Black Sea
Fleet, is expected to arrive at the maintenance base of the Russian Navy in the
Syrian port of Tartus in the first week of January, the source said.

He reminded the interlocutor that two more large landing ships, the Azov and the
Nikolai Filchenkov, sailed through the straits and into the Aegean Sea on
December 28 and joined a group of Black Sea Fleet ships.

From that area, the Russian landing ships with marines and military hardware on
board headed for Tartus accompanied by the guided missile cruiser Moskva. They
are expected to arrive in Tartus within the next few days.

“Thus, the large landing ship Novocherkassk has become the third landing ship
of the Black Sea Fleet that will call at Syria’s Tartus in January,” the
source summed up.
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http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/0\
1-Jan-2013/nato-copter-violates-pakistani-airspace


The Nation
January 1, 2013


Nato copter violates Pakistani airspace


North Waziristan: A Nato helicopter gunship violated the border limits of
Pakistan and flew in the Ghulam Khan area of North Waziristan for about five
minutes on Monday, government sources said.

Meanwhile, two mortar shells were also fired from across the Afghan border,
which hit Miranshah. No loss of life was, however, reported.
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http://paktribune.com/news/11-NATO-tankers-gutted-in-Nangarhar-fire-256155.html


Pakistan Tribune
Agencies
January 1, 2013



11 NATO tankers gutted in Nangarhar fire


JALALABAD: Nearly a dozen NATO fuel tankers were destroyed in an overnight fire
in the eastern province of Nangarhar, officials said on Monday.

The blaze broke out on Sunday evening in a market place near the customs
department on the Jalalabad-Torkham highway, police said.

Seven tankers were completely gutted and another four comprehensively damaged in
the fire, police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal told Pajhwok Afghan News.

It took three hours for firefighters to bring under control the situation, he
added.

Mohsin, director of Kabul Bahar Transportation Company, said the fire started
after a blast in the market.

"There were 11 tankers, seven of them were full of fuel and the two were empty,"
he said, putting the losses at $1 million.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the fire
incident. More than 10 US supply tankers were destroyed in the attack, he said.
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http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20130111292605300.htm



Frontline
December 29, 2012-January 11, 2013


Imperial stamp
John Cherian



The West, led by the United States, seems even more determined to effect a
regime change in Damascus, despite evidence of the crucial role being played by
Al Qaeda-affiliated groups in the ongoing fighting in Syria. In the second week
of December, U.S. President Barack Obama recognised the main Syrian opposition
coalition group, “the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and
Opposition Groups”, as “the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian
people”. Britain, France and the Gulf monarchies had already given the Syrian
umbrella opposition group the “stamp of legitimacy”.

The Syrian opposition, which is far from united, was arm-twisted by their
sponsors — the rich Gulf monarchies and the West — to come together on the
same platform, at a meeting in Qatar in November. In another meeting held in
Marrakesh, Morocco, in the second week of December, representatives from over
100 countries, including the Gulf monarchies, the U.S., Britain and France,
assembled under the “Friends of Syria” banner and reaffirmed their support
for the Syrian armed opposition.

President Obama, while bestowing the imperial stamp of recognition on the Syrian
opposition, said he expected the parties to act in a more cohesive manner and to
“commit themselves to a political transition that respects women’s rights
and minority rights”. Washington’s recognition of the opposition coincided
with the U.S. State Department’s blacklisting of the Jabhat al Nusra Front, an
Al Qaeda affiliate, which is doing much of the fighting in Syria and has been
involved in the suicide attacks that have resulted in the death of hundreds of
innocent civilians.

The Al Nusra Front has claimed credit for 40 suicide attacks since November
2011. The U.S. State Department labelled the Al Nusra Front as a “terrorist
group” having very close links with Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). A State Department
official accused Al Nusra of staging more than 600 attacks in major city centres
all over Syria “in which numerous innocent Syrians have been injured or
killed”.

U.S. officials have been saying that radical Islamists are planning to take
control of the opposition. The West has tried to rectify matters by
restructuring the command of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA). The new
command structure includes senior figures who have ties to the Muslim
Brotherhood but are people with whom the West hopes it “can do business”.
However, many rebel fighters have rejected the new military command imposed on
them by the West. Muslim Brotherhood officials in Syria told the Western media
that the terrorist label given to Al Nusra was unjustified and that the “only
terrorist in Syria was Assad”.

“Islamists in control”

The fact of the matter, according to most observers, is that the Islamists are
already in control and are also doing the bulk of the fighting. Yet, the West
has found it opportune to give the motley opposition group the stamp of
legitimacy along with even more funding and sophisticated arms. The Obama
administration, it seems, has not learned any lessons from the recent Benghazi
episode. In Libya, the Islamist groups armed and funded by the West played a
crucial role in the overthrow of the government led by Muammar Qaddafi. It was
one such group that was responsible for the assassination of the U.S. envoy to
Libya. Al Nusra, although it now figures in Washington’s terror list, is a
member of the rebel Syrian National Coalition that the U.S. has recognised.

The recognition has also been interpreted as an “open declaration of war”
against Syria by the West. Many North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
countries have pledged to supply more heavy weapons and trainers to the rebel
groups. There are reports that the U.S. is on the verge of supplying weapons
like the SA-7 missiles for the first time. The missile can shoot down planes.
Almost on cue, the opposition fighters declared in the second week of December
that Damascus International Airport was a legitimate military target and that
civilian planes should no longer fly to the Syrian capital.

“Psychological warfare”

Patriot missiles supplied by the U.S. and its allies are on the verge of being
deployed on Turkey’s border with Syria. The Syrian government described the
move as part of the “psychological warfare” the West was carrying out
against it and stressed that it would not impact its determination to wipe out
the terror groups. All this seems to be a prelude to the establishment of a
“no-fly zone” over parts of Syria. The Patriot missiles are to be deployed
ostensibly to stop incoming missiles, but their real purpose seems to be to deny
the Syrian Air Force the ability to fly in the northern part of the country.
This will in effect create a no-fly zone where the rebel groups can operate in
relative freedom. Russia’s ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushko, criticised
the deployment of Patriot missiles on Syria’s borders. He said it was proof
that NATO “was getting involved in the conflict after all” on the pretext of
“provocations or some
  incidents on the Turkey-Syria border”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed “surprise” over
Washington’s official recognition of the Syrian opposition. He said Washington
was apparently betting on a military victory for the rebels. Lavrov went on to
add that the Obama administration had seemingly reneged on the road map agreed
to earlier in the year in Geneva, which had envisaged a negotiated end to the
conflict. As of now, the key Western countries involved in the regime change
mission, like the U.S., France and the United Kingdom, have said they will not
be putting “boots on the ground” in Syria. They will instead continue
training the armed groups in Turkey. French papers have reported that France has
sent military officers into Syria to assess the situation on the ground. “The
main task was to know who controls the battlegrounds around Damascus”, Le
Figaro reported. In any case, blatant military intervention inside Syria,
without United Nations authorisation,
  will be difficult to sell to the international community.

Chemical weapons

Before giving formal recognition to the rebels, Washington raised the bogey of
the Syrian government’s imminent use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) on
its own people. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a desperate government
in Damascus could resort to chemical weapons onslaughts to save itself, while
Obama sanctimoniously warned of a “red line” on chemical weapons, saying
that its use would not be tolerated. The Western media were full of stories of
how the government in Damascus was preparing to wage “chemical warfare” on
its own people. The stories were sought to be bolstered by references to the
1982 massacre in the Syrian city of Hama where more than 10,000 people died when
the army put down an armed rebellion. The stories appearing in the Western media
alleged that the Syrian government used chemical weapons at that time. Western
reporters who were on the ground then, like the veteran correspondent Robert
Fisk, have said that
  there was no truth in these allegations. Fisk said Syrian troops had resorted
to heavy-handed measures in Hama after the Muslim Brothers briefly took over the
city and massacred government sympathisers and their families.

Allegations that Saddam Hussein was on the verge of unleashing WMDs on his own
people were a prelude to the invasion of Iraq. A chemical weapons expert, Jean
Pascal Zanders, senior research fellow at the European Union Institute for
Security Studies, has said that the Syrian chemical weapons threat “is being
ratcheted up to justify military intervention in the not-too-distant future”.
The Syrian government, on its part, has pledged that it will never, under any
circumstance, use chemical weapons on its own people. At the same time, Damascus
has warned the international community that the Al Nusra-led militants have
seized a factory, the Saudi-Syrian Chemicals Co., near the city of Safira and
they now may have the ability to engage in chemical warfare and put the blame on
the government.

Human tragedy

The insurgency, fuelled mainly by West and its Gulf allies, has already claimed
the lives of over 40,000 people. Half a million Syrians have become refugees.
The prices of essential goods have escalated dramatically and hunger stalks a
land that was until recently self-sufficient in food. The state-run factories
producing bread have been pillaged by the rebels in cities like Aleppo. Half of
Syria’s 88 public hospitals have been damaged by the fighting, leading to
shortages of life-saving drugs and essential medicines like insulin.
Pharmaceutical factories that met 90 per cent of the country’s drug needs now
produce only one-third of what they were producing until last year. Many of the
factories were directly targeted by the opposition fighters. The other factor
that has led to an acute shortage of medicines is the punitive economic
sanctions imposed by the West, which prevent the import of raw materials.

These developments have only made the average Syrian even more sceptical about
the armed rebel groups that have descended on the country like locusts.
According to reports, the support for President Bashar al-Assad among the common
people remains steadfast. Even those opposed to the government are having second
thoughts about the opposition. Mohammed Zein, a 64-year-old vegetable vendor,
told the Al Jazeera channel: “Our country is being destroyed. If this is
revolution, I don’t want it. I have to stress that I am not a supporter of the
regime because they used to oppress us. But now we are being oppressed a hundred
times more.”

According to the British paper Daily Telegraph, the majority of the people in
Damascus are still solidly behind Assad. “One of the reasons that Bashar
al-Assad has not been toppled like the Arab Spring dictators of Libya, Egypt,
Tunisia and Yemen is that he has a strong base of support,” a recent article
in the paper stated.

The military situation, according to a senior Syrian diplomat based in New
Delhi, is still very manageable. He said the government so far had only deployed
less than 10 per cent of the armed forces to combat the insurgency. Another
senior Arab diplomat, also based in Delhi, said the government in Damascus would
face no serious threat for another two years. “However, public alienation will
increase if the fighting continues beyond that period,” he predicted.

Many governments in the region are still firm in the belief that there is no
alternative to the present government in Syria at the present juncture. Most
observers believe that if the government in Damascus falls, the entire region
will implode into a cycle of sectarian violence.
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http://www.todayszaman.com/news-302751-us-house-of-representatives-approves-tran\
sfer-of-missile-frigates-to-turkey.html


Today's Zaman
January 1, 2013


US House of Representatives approves transfer of missile frigates to Turkey


The US House of Representatives has approved a bill seeking permission to give
guided missile frigates to Turkey, Thailand and Mexico.

The bill was submitted to and passed by the House of Representatives on Monday.
It authorizes President Barack Obama to grant the US military permission to
provide guided missile frigates to these three countries.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign
Affairs, introduced the bill to the House on Dec. 11, 2012.

The motion requires Senate approval before it will come into effect. If Obama
acts on the motion, Turkey will be given two guided missile frigates, the USS
Halyburton (FFG-40) and the USS Thach (FFG-43).

During her speech to the House of Representatives, Ros-Lehtinen underlined NATO
member Turkey's critical role with regards to the Syrian conflict and its joint
efforts with the US in fighting pirates in Somalia and Aden. She said to grant
the frigates to Turkey is a must.

The bill, however, has elicited a harsh reaction from the Washington-based
Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), which lobbied to prevent the
provision of the naval vessels to Turkey.

The council stated that the bill is another example of the US giving
preferential treatment to Turkey in defense deals, adding that the bill should
not pass and the US should stop this preferential treatment.

Turkey seeks Sidewinder air-to-air missiles from US

Turkey has also asked to purchase 117 air-to-air missiles and the associated
equipment from the US to strengthen its air defense capabilities.

A statement released by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency on Dec. 24
said the agency notified Congress recently of a possible sale to Turkey of
Sidewinder missiles and the associated equipment, parts, training and logistical
support at an estimated cost of $140 million.

Turkey requested the sale of 117 AIM-9X-2 Sidewinder Block II All-Up-Round
Missiles, six AIM-9X-2 Block II Tactical Guidance Units, six dummy air training
missiles, 130 LAU-129 Guided Missile Launchers, containers, missile support and
testing equipment, provisions, spare parts, personnel training and training
equipment, publications and technical data and other logistical support.

The statement reiterated that Turkey is a partner of the US in ensuring peace
and stability in the region and that it is vital to US national interests to
assist its NATO ally in developing and maintaining strong and ready self-defense
capabilities that will contribute to an acceptable military balance in the area.

The agency assured Congress that the proposed sale of these weapons to Turkey
will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

According to US law, the administration needs to notify Congress of the sale of
arms to other countries and seek authorization. If the proposed sale is to a
NATO member country, Congress has 15 days to reject the sale or it will be
automatically authorized.

Turkey had earlier sought to buy armed drones from the US to be used in its
fight against [the] Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).., but the request was
controversial and some in Congress rejected the sale of the aircraft to Turkey,
possibly due to Ankara's deteriorating relations with Israel, a close US ally.
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http://rt.com/news/russian-navy-major-exercise-211/


RT
January 2, 2013


Russian Navy to hold biggest war games in decades


The four major Russian Navy fleets will hold a joint exercise in late January in
the Mediterranean and Black seas. It will be the biggest such event in decades.

Commands for the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific fleets have been
preparing for the exercises since December of last year, the Russian Defense
Ministry has announced. Warships detached for the event are currently sailing to
those regions.

“The primary goal of the exercise is to train issues regarding formation of a
battle group consisting of troops of different branches outside of the Russian
Federation, planning of its deployment and managing a coordinated action of a
joint Navy group in accordance with a common plan,” the ministry’s
information department explained.

The exercise will include several scenarios, including the loading of amphibious
troops from an unprepared coast in the Northern Caucasus onto transport vessels.

The announcement comes days after the launch of the nuclear-powered submarine
Vladimir Monomakh, the third Borei-class strategic submarine cruiser produced in
Russia. The vessel, armed with Bulava ICBMs, will become part of the country’s
nuclear deterrence force after completing sea trials.

The Russian Navy's five fleets each have their own headquarters. The strongest,
the Northern fleet is based in Severomorsk in north-west of the country. The
Baltic fleet is based in Kaliningrad, the western Russian enclave on the coast
of the Baltic Sea.

The Black Sea fleet is based in Sevastopol, Ukraine, from which Russia rents a
naval base. The Pacific fleet is based in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East.
The Caspian flotilla is the smallest in the Russian Navy, but is the strongest
naval force in the enclosed Caspian Sea.

Warships from the four main fleets conduct joint naval drills on a regular basis
to streamline command and control for  operations. Groups of ships detached from
different fleets also often sail for joint missions in the high seas. The patrol
in the Mediterranean in August 2012 drew worldwide attention amid rumors that
the ships would become involved in the Syrian civil war.

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

http://en.rian.ru/military_news/20130102/178543197/Russia_to_Hold_Large-Scale.ht\
ml


Russian Information Agency Novosti
January 2, 2013


Russia to Hold Large-Scale Mediterranean, Black Sea Naval Drills



MOSCOW: Russia will hold large-scale naval drills in the Mediterranean and Black
Seas in late January with the involvement of warships from the Northern, Baltic,
Black Sea and Pacific Fleets, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press office
reported on Wednesday.

“The Russian Navy’s drills of this scope will be held for the first time
over the past few decades and are designed to improve control, ensure and
practice multiservice force interaction of the fleets in the far-off maritime
zones,” the press office said.

The drills will be held in line with the Russian Armed Forces’ 2013 combat
training plan and will aim to “practice the issues of establishing a
multiservice grouping of forces (troops) outside Russia, planning its use and
conducting joint actions as part of a united naval grouping based on a common
plan,” the press office said.

The naval task forces from the Russian Fleets are currently heading towards the
designated areas of the naval exercises.

The drills will also simulate operations to load marine troops and paratroopers
from the rough coast of the North Caucasus onto amphibious ships and will help
the Navy’s personnel acquire necessary marine practice skills during the
performance of “combat training missions in the Black and Mediterranean
Seas,” the press office said.
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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/03/c_124176851.htm


Xinhua News Agency
January 3, 2013


5 killed in U.S. drone strike in NW Pakistan



ISLAMABAD: At least five people were killed in a U.S. drone strike launched in
the wee hours of Thursday in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of South
Waziristan, reported local media Dunya.

According to the local media reports, the strike took place at about 0:30 a.m.
local time when two of the four U.S. drones flying over the area fired four
missiles at a house suspected of being a militant hideout in the Angoor Ada area
of South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.

Details about the identities of the killed are not immediately known.

This is the first U.S. drone strike launched in 2013.

Last year a total of 39 U.S. drone strikes (counted on daily basis) were
launched in Pakistan, mostly in its northwest tribal area of North Waziristan,
leaving at least 274 killed.
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http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107132421



Fars News Agency
January 2, 2013


Foreign Military Intervention in Syria: Red Line for Russia


TEHRAN: Russia opposes any development in Syria which occurs as a result of
foreign military intervention and doesn't want to come out of the Syrian scene
empty-handed, a senior Iranian legislator said on Wednesday.

"Causing developments through military intervention and remaining empty-handed
in the developments in Syria are Moscow's red line," member of the parliament's
National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and Russia Expert Mehdi Sanayee
told FNA.

Noting that the deployment of Russian ground forces in Syria is seen as the new
step in the Syrian crisis, he said, "Russia tries to prove on the international
scene that it is committed to its strategy, which is opposition to and
confrontation against foreign military intervention and unilateral moves in
Syria and to show that it has not surrendered on them."

He referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks a few weeks ago which
were deemed to hint a change in Moscow's position on Syria, and said now Russia,
by deploying ground forces in Syria, wants to announce that it is committed to
its previous strategy.

His remarks came after the huge landing ship Novocherkassk of the Russian Black
Sea fleet left its port in Novorossiysk city on Sunday heading towards thw
Eastern Mediterranean to the technical support base at Tartus, the Syrian
national port.

The Novocherkassk is the third such craft dispatched since Friday to Tartus. An
unnamed official in the Russian general staff told the Interfax news agency that
several military vehicles and one naval infantry unit have joined the
Novocherkassk on Saturday.

Also, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich late December
rejected media reports that President Bashar Assad's resignation is the
precondition for any future negotiations over the Syrian crisis.

"No one has set any preconditions for (Assad's) resignation. There's no such
condition in the agreed-upon Geneva communiqu�," the Russian foreign ministry
official was quoted as saying by Voice of Russia.
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