Messages In This Digest (19 Messages)

1.: Afghan Government: U.S Troops Executed Civilians

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:34 pm (PST)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114976§ionid=351020403

Press TV
December 30, 2009

US troops kill civilians, says Afghanistan

The Afghan government says foreign troops have dragged 10 civilians from their homes and shot them dead in the open over the weekend.

A Wednesday statement issued by the office of President Hamid Karzai said that international forces carried out the attack in the eastern province of Kunar on Saturday. Eight of the victims were schoolchildren.

Military offensives in Kunar, which borders Pakistan, are being led by US Special Forces.

The killings sparked a public outcry resulting in massive demonstrations.

In the eastern province of Nangarhar, hundreds of university students staged a protest, chanting "death to Obama" and "death to foreign forces."

The demonstrators also torched a US flag and an effigy of US President Barack Obama.

Similar rallies took place in the capital, Kabul. The protesters called on the Afghan government to put an end to unilateral operations by western troops.

Figures released by the United Nations indicate a 10 percent rise in the civilian death toll from the US-led war in Afghanistan with a good share of fatalities caused by foreign forces.
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http://en.rian.ru/world/20091230/157425859.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
December 30, 2009

Afghan students protest against NATO over civilian deaths

Kabul: Hundreds of students in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province protested on Wednesday against the killings of civilians by NATO troops, demanding their withdrawal from the country, local media said.

The demonstrators reportedly blocked a major highway linking the Afghan east with country's central provinces, screaming out "Obama must die!" and "Karzai is so dead!"

They said NATO troops "did not establish democracy in our country, they just kill our religious activists and children."

The protest broke out after a Saturday's NATO airstrike in the eastern Kunar province killed a group of civilians, including several children, sparking a series of protests in the province's administrative center, Asadabad.

"The government must put an end to the holding of uncoordinated operations by foreign troops, otherwise, we will throw away our pens and textbooks and take up arms to fight against the invaders," students of the Nangarhar University who took part in the Wednesday's protest said in a statement.

Earlier on Wednesday, representative of the president's administration Asadullah Wafa, who heads a commission investigating the bombing, confirmed the deaths of civilians and said teenagers aged from 13 to 18 were among those killed.

A representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Tuesday the number of civilians' deaths caused by NATO military operations in the country has risen by 10% this year over 2008.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and a separate U.S.-led coalition, involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, have more than 110,000 troops in Afghanistan. The United States has by far the largest force, with over 70,000 troops.

Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months, with the radical Islamic Taliban group, which was toppled in a 2001 US-led campaign, staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and planting roadside devices as part of the battle with US and NATO troops.

In early December, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a televised address to the nation that the U.S. would send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in the first part of 2010 to defeat the Taliban and establish law and order. The first of the extra U.S. soldiers was to arrive in the country in mid-December.

Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen then said NATO members were also ready to send 7,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.
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2.: Afghanistan: Five U.S. Soldiers Killed In Convoy Attack

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:35 pm (PST)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114986§ionid=351020403

Press TV
December 30, 2009

Powerful blast kills five US troops in Afghanistan

A blast has reportedly hit a NATO convoy in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least nine troopers including five American soldiers.

On Wednesday, five US troops and four Afghan soldiers were killed in the blast that hit near a US military base in the eastern province of Khost.

The US military has confirmed the deaths and says the cause of the blast is still under investigation. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.

More than 506 foreign forces were killed in Afghanistan this year, 310 of which were US troops.

The United States currently commands over 110,000 US and foreign troops in Afghanistan and plans to deploy another 40,000 soldiers to the Central Asian nation.
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3.: Serbia To Be In NATO...Even If Not A Member: DM

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:36 pm (PST)

http://bsanna-news.ukrinform.ua/newsitem.php?id=11788&lang=en

Tanjug News Agency
December 30, 2009

Serbian Minister of Defense: Serbia to be in NATO, even if not member

BELGRADE: Serbian Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac has said that Serbia will be in the scope of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) even if it does not become a member of the alliance, like Austria, and added that the applying for the membership itself is not the issue at this moment.

"Serbia will be in NATO, even if it does not become its member, such as, for example, Austria," Sutanovac said in an interview for the Belgrade magazine Ekonomist when asked if it is possible that Serbia remains neutral given the fact that it is surrounded by countries which have already or are about to join NATO.

"This debate is sure to be opened in 2010, and we will have to organize talks on introducing Serbia into European integration which implies the European system of values comprising a Euro-Atlantic security policy," the minister of defense assessed.

"We want our system of defense to be organized in accordance with the world's best standards, and the best one at this moment is the NATO standard," he stressed.

Sutanovac underscored that Serbia should take a number of steps related to the Partnership for Peace, and that there is no plan to apply for NATO membership at this moment.

Speaking of professionalization of the army which should be performed by the end of 2010, he underlined that he hopes that the plan for professionalization will be fulfilled on time.

Sutanovac pointed out that Serbia's system of defense in the whole will have 36,000 employees, 114 of whom will be state officials.

The minister added that the plan is to have 10,600 work places for professional soldiers and 2,000 places for those who will serve the army voluntarily.
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4.: Lockheed Martin To Sell Egypt 24 F-16s

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 1:59 pm (PST)

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4437627&c=AME&s=AIR

Agence France-Presse
December 30, 2009

Egypt Signs Deal To Buy 24 F-16s From Lockheed

-The Egyptian Air Force is the fourth largest F-16 operator in the world, according to defense industry reports. It began flying the F-16 in 1982, after years of using military equipment supplied by the former Soviet Union.

NEW YORK: Lockheed Martin is to sell 24 F-16 jet fighters to Egypt in a $3.2 billion deal, a company spokesman said Dec. 29.

"We understand that the governments of the United States and Egypt have reached an agreement over a contract for military sale to provide 24 F-16s to Egypt," Lockheed spokesman Joe Stout said.

The company hoped to get the contract signed "early next year," he said, adding that the figure "was the amount in the agreement between the two countries."

According to Lockheed, the F-16 is flown by 25 nations. More than 4,400 aircraft have been delivered worldwide from assembly lines in five countries.

The latest Egyptian deal, to "supplement" the current fleet, had been in discussion for some time but was officially notified to the U.S. Congress in October, Stout said.

The Egyptian Air Force is the fourth largest F-16 operator in the world, according to defense industry reports. It began flying the F-16 in 1982, after years of using military equipment supplied by the former Soviet Union.

Shares in Lockheed Martin closed 1.27 percent higher Dec. 29 at $76.66 in Wall Street trading.

Relations have improved under President Barack Obama's administration. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak flew to Washington in August for his first presidential summit in the United States in five years, following differences with the Bush administration.

Obama chose to address the Muslim world in Cairo in June, vowing a "new beginning" for U.S. ties with the Islamic world and promising to end years of "suspicion and discord."

Egypt receives about $1.5 billion annually in U.S. aid.
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5.: Ukraine Polls: U.S. Client To Be Crushed Barring New 'Color' Coup

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:06 pm (PST)

http://www.ukrainianjournal.com/index.php?w=article&id=9709

Ukrainian Journal
December 30, 2009

Poll: Yanukovych Ukraine´s next president

-Incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko will probably finish the No. 5 among 18 candidates with 3.7% popular support, the poll suggested.

KIEV: Ukraine´s opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych will most likely defeat Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in the runoff vote to become the country´s next president, the latest opinion poll suggested Tuesday.

Ukrainians will go to polling stations on January 17, 2010 to pick the next president, but the runoff between the two most popular candidates will probably be required on February 7.

"Without any doubts and questions Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko will come to the runoff," Iryna Bekeshkina, a senior analyst with Democratic Initiatives, said.

Yanukovych was likely to score 33.6% support in the first round of voting, followed by Tymoshenko´s 19.2%, the poll organized and paid for by Democratic Initiatives, a non-profit group, shows.

In the runoff, Yanukovych was likely to defeat Tymoshenko 44.3% vs. 28%, according to the poll.

"It is impossible to overcome the 16% gap in one month," Oleksandr Vyshniak, the head of Ukrainian Sociology Service, which handled the poll for Democratic Initiatives, said.

The poll was conducted between December 12 and December 26 among 2,010 respondents throughout Ukraine with the margin of error at 2.3%.

The new president will define the country´s foreign and defense policies for the next five years.
....
Incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko will probably finish the No. 5 among 18 candidates with 3.7% popular support, the poll suggested.

The figure shows Yushchenko has failed to boost his rating over the past two months by fiercely criticizing Tymoshenko´s economic policy.

The poll also underscores a steep rise of Serhiy Tyhypko, a former governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, who was likely to score 9.23% support to become the No. 3 most popular politician.

The figure may eventually help propel Tyhypko to the post of the prime minister under certain political configuration, analysts said.

Arseniy Yatseniuk, a 35-year old former speaker of Parliament, has received 6.1% support from respondents to become the No. 4 most popular candidate, according to the poll.

Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko recorded support from 3.4% of respondents, followed by Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn´s 2.6%, nationalist Svoboda leader Oleh Tiahnybok´s 1.6% and former Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko´s 1.3%.

At least 5.3% of respondents said they would vote against all candidates, while 11.1% said they are still to decide who to support among the candidates.
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6.: New Polish Military Doctrine: NATO, Strategic Partnership With U.S.

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:25 pm (PST)

http://www.thenews.pl/international/artykul122762_new-defence-strategy-given-thumbs-up.html

Polish Radio
December 29, 2009

New defence strategy given thumbs up

A new defence strategy elaborated by Poland´s Defence Ministry has been approved by the Cabinet.

Minister Bogdan Klich said that the new document fills a gap between the National Strategy from 2000 and the confidential defence directive prepared this year.

The strategy is composed of six chapters and states that the main point of reference for Polish foreign and defence policy is membership in Nato and the EU, as well as strategic partnership with the USA.

Minister Klich told Polskie Radio that so much had changed in the world, and in Poland, that the old document did not show the transformations or directions in which the Polish defence system should be going.

He also said he believed completion of work on the new strategy would be helpful to programme the development of the Armed Forces.
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7.: Battle For Antarctica, Oil: British Warfare Exercise In Falklands/Ma

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:35 pm (PST)

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2009/12/28/UK-mounts-warfare-exercise-in-Falklands/UPI-24401262032911/

United Press International
December 28, 2009

U.K. mounts warfare exercise in Falklands

-Some estimates have put the Falkland Islands' undersea oil deposits at 60 billion barrels, drawing speculative investment from London's financial district....
In recent weeks, Falklands government officials have approached Chilean oil industry executives....The military exercises took place during a tour of the Falklands by British forces ahead of the start of drilling in the basin in February 2010.
-Officials said the exercise was held as part of Britain's permanent joint protection force in the South Atlantic and was preparatory to the regiment's training for deployment in Afghanistan....The prospect of the islands transforming into a major source of oil revenue for Britain has raised the military's argument for more funding to beef up the forces in South Atlantic.

STANLEY, Falkland Islands: British forces mounted a warfare exercise involving navy and air force personnel in the Falkland Islands, scene of a 1982 conflict between Argentina and Britain and more recently of intense oil and gas exploration activities.

The two-day operation, code-named Cape Bayonet, simulated an enemy invasion in which the British air force's Typhoon multi-role fighter and navy ships took part, MercoPress reported.

The Falklands are a British Overseas Territory and recently attracted attention because of stepped-up activities centered on major offshore oil and gas deposits that scientists suspect may rival those of Britain's North Sea oil reserves.

Some estimates have put the Falkland Islands' undersea oil deposits at 60 billion barrels, drawing speculative investment from London's financial district....

In recent weeks, Falklands government officials have approached Chilean oil industry executives and reports this month cited Argentine interest in developing the fields, through a subsidiary of Spanish oil giant Repsol.

The military exercises took place during a tour of the Falklands by British forces ahead of the start of drilling in the basin in February 2010. The Ocean Guardian drilling rig from Scotland is on its way, after investors flocked to the project on the basis of scientific reports of major deposits of oil and gas - and an imminent oil boom.

Military-ruled Argentina invaded the Falklands in April 1982 and Britain, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, challenged the occupation attempt. The resulting war lasted 74 days and led to the deaths of 255 British officers and troops, three civilian Falklanders and 649 Argentine servicemen.

[S]uccessive Argentine governments, including incumbent President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, have reaffirmed Argentina's claim of sovereignty over the islands.

Officials said the exercise was held as part of Britain's permanent joint protection force in the South Atlantic and was preparatory to the regiment's training for deployment in Afghanistan.

Britain has strengthened its military presence in the Falklands since the war and has a major operational base at Mount Pleasant, 35 miles from the capital Stanley.

The protection force regularly conducts patrols throughout the island both as a show of force and as a reassurance to Falklanders. The prospect of the islands transforming into a major source of oil revenue for Britain has raised the military's argument for more funding to beef up the forces in South Atlantic.
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8.: Top Story Of 2009: U.S., NATO Escalate Afghan War Into World's Large

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:42 pm (PST)

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66957

Stars and Stripes
December 31, 2009

Afghanistan war as 2009 draws to a close
By Drew Brown

-[E]very step the president has taken represents an escalation of the war, now in its ninth year.
In May, Obama sacked Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of all U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, replacing him with McChrystal, a career special operations soldier....
-By the time the new U.S. forces are fully deployed next May, there will be nearly 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. NATO countries have pledged an additional 7,000 soldiers; the total number of foreign troops in the country will reach nearly 150,000.

When President Barack Obama took office in January, he inherited a drifting and under-resourced war in Afghanistan, being fought with roughly 35,000 U.S. troops.

Obama ordered 21,000 additional troops in March and then 30,000 more in December.

In a little over a year, he will have nearly tripled their numbers, taking ownership of what he calls "the war we must win."

And although his administration took three months to review Gen. Stanley McChrystal´s request for more forces, drawing criticism from the GOP that he was "dithering," every step the president has taken represents an escalation of the war, now in its ninth year.

In May, Obama sacked Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of all U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, replacing him with McChrystal, a career special operations soldier who led the effort to track down and kill al-Qaida-in-Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2006.
....
U.S. and allied casualties rose during the summer to their highest levels ever. At least 70 Western soldiers died each month from July through October, virtually double the rate of the previous summer. In the past year, nearly 500 foreign troops have lost their lives in Afghanistan, including more than 300 Americans.

On Aug. 30, McChrystal delivered a long-awaited assessment to the White House. It warned that without more forces, the mission would "likely result in failure."

He presented three options, with troop increases ranging from 10,000 to 80,000, and a corresponding risk, according to media reports.

By the time the new U.S. forces are fully deployed next May, there will be nearly 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. NATO countries have pledged an additional 7,000 soldiers; the total number of foreign troops in the country will reach nearly 150,000.
....
In laying out the ambitious agenda, the president has essentially bet that the war in Afghanistan will be either won or lost within the next year and a half. And whichever way it goes, 2009 will likely be regarded by history as the beginning of the end of our long involvement there.
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9.: Wesley Clark Wants "Boots On The Ground" In Yemen

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:51 pm (PST)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581452,00.html

Fox News
December 30, 2009

Gen. Clark: Time to Play Defense and Offense on Terror Threat in Yemen
This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," December 29, 2009.

[Excerpts]

Joining us now from Little Rock, Arkansas, General Wesley Clark, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and former Democratic presidential candidate.

General, thank you for joining us. Okay, earlier today, you heard the president speaking. He made another statement. Did he say everything you needed to hear from him?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK: Well, I was very glad that he said it was a systemic failure, that it's unacceptable, and that the investigation's continuing. And we're going to have to run the rabbit down the rabbit hole on this. There's clearly information out there as he said that wasn't handled properly. There are precautions that should be in place that obviously weren't in place. We were lucky on this. It's time to also go to the source. We need to do more in Yemen, obviously.
...
And it means working with our allies on that, too, because he did come through Netherlands. But you've also got to do some offense. So we need to be doing more obviously in Yemen. We don't know how many terrorists are there. We know from public sources that there's been some U.S. activity in the region. We know there have been visits by General Petraeus and others there. We don't know the nature of the assistance we're giving. Obviously, we're not giving enough. Maybe we need to put some boots on the ground there.
.....
But I want to do is take them out. I don't - I'm not worried about their mindset, whether they're afraid, or cocky. I just want to deal with them. And to deal with them is take them down. Take them down, take them out of business. I'd like to see....

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10.: White House Tries To Recruit Turkey For NATO Missile System

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:57 pm (PST)

http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=210983

Hurriyet Daily News
December 30, 2009

Air defense, fighter, copter deals await Turkish decisions in 2010

-Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has hinted his government does not view Tehran as a potential missile threat for Turkey at this point. But analysts say if a joint NATO missile shield is developed, such a move could force Ankara to join the mechanism.

ANKARA: Turkey is set to make crucial defense decisions in 2010 as the U.S. offer to join a missile shield program and multibillion-dollar contracts are looming over the country´s agenda.

If a joint NATO missile shield is developed, such a move may force Ankara to join the mechanism despite the possible Iranian reaction, analysts say.

Turkey is preparing for critical decisions next year on joining a U.S.-led air defense program to counter ballistic missile threats from enemy states and issuing multibillion dollar contracts to meet its military's next-generation fighter aircraft and utility helicopter requirements.

U.S. President Barack Obama´s administration has invited Ankara to join a Western missile shield system....

"We discussed the continuing role that we can play as NATO allies in strengthening Turkey's profile within NATO and coordinating more effectively on critical issues like missile defense," Obama told reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Dec. 7.

U.S. officials are also urging Turkey to choose the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) against Russian and Chinese rivals competing for a Turkish contract for the purchase of high-altitude and long-range antimissile defense systems.

A plan developed during former President George W. Bush's term to deploy radars and interceptors in the Czech Republic and Poland.

Instead, a new plan calls for the creation of a regional system in southeastern Europe, the Mediterranean and part of the Middle East. In phase one of the new Obama plan, the U.S. will deploy SM-3 interceptor missiles and radar surveillance systems on sea-based Aegis weapons systems by 2011. In phase two and by 2015, a more capable version of the SM-3 interceptor and more advanced sensors will be used in both sea-and land-based configurations. In later phases three and four, intercepting and detecting capabilities further will be developed.

Turkish dilemma

Defense analysts said if Turkey decides to join a U.S. or NATO-led collective missile defense structure, radars or even interceptors may be deployed to its territory, which borders Iran. Turkish officials say they will consider the U.S. proposal. Presently U.S. and NATO officials are working to integrate their missile defense concepts.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has hinted his government does not view Tehran as a potential missile threat for Turkey at this point. But analysts say if a joint NATO missile shield is developed, such a move could force Ankara to join the mechanism.

In a partly related matter, for Turkey's program to buy antimissile defense systems for the protection of critical targets, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are offering their PAC-3. Russia is proposing S400s, a more modern version of the S300, marketed by Rosoboronexport; and China is offering its HQ-9 systems made by China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp., or CPMIEC.

U.S. officials say the PAC-3's compatibility with all NATO systems would be a great advantage for Turkey. The Russian and Chinese options lack that capability. Turkey's Air Force exclusively has NATO weapons.

Talks on the three options are continuing, and Turkey is expected to choose a winner in 2010. Turkish procurement officials say the first phase of the program is expected to cost between $1 and $2 billion.

Next year, the United States also needs to decide whether or not to sell MQ-9 Reaper armed unmanned aerial vehicles to Turkey. The U.S. military extensively uses this armed drone against Taliban targets in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Fighters, copters and others

As part of the Turkish Air Force's strategic modernization plan to bolster its combat capabilities, Turkey already has selected the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II as its next-generation fighter aircraft.

Ankara presently plans to buy 100 platforms worth around $11 billion, but procurement officials say the number may rise to 120. Turkish defense companies are taking part in the U.S.-led multinational program for the F-35's development and production, and deliveries to Turkey are expected to begin around 2015.

Next year, Turkey will need to decide on the exact number of aircraft it will buy, and remain committed to that goal throughout the 15-year program. Also in early 2010, Turkey is expected to select a helicopter type to become the military's main utility transport helicopter platform over the next 15 years.

The U.S. Sikorsky Aircraft and the Italian-British AgustaWestland are vying for this multibillion-dollar contract under which hundreds of military and civilian utility helicopters should be jointly produced.

In 2009's largest defense contract for Turkey, Ankara signed in July a nearly 1.9 billion euro deal with Germany's HDW shipyards for the production of six modern diesel submarines for the Navy.

In September, the first test flight of the T129, the Turkish Army's new attack helicopter, took place successfully in Italy. At least 50 helicopter gunships will be co-produced with AgustaWestland under a contract worth around $2.7 billion.
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11.: Jordanian Officer Killed Serving Under NATO In Afghanistan

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:21 pm (PST)

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1522384.php/Jordanian-Army-suffers-first-fatality-in-Afghanistan

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
December 30, 2009

Jordanian Army suffers first fatality in Afghanistan

-NATO's website listed 90 Jordanian soldiers alongside other contributions to the multinational force.

Amman: The Jordanian Army announced Wednesday that one of its ranking officers was killed earlier in the day in Afghanistan.

'Captain Ali bin Zeid was martyred this evening as he performed his humanitarian duty along with other Jordanian troops operating in Afghanistan,' the official Petra news agency quoted an army spokesman as saying.

The statement gave no details as to the circumstances of bin Zeid's death, but said that he held the title of 'Sherif,' an indication that he was close to the ruling family. He is the first Jordanian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan.

Jordan is the only Arab country that has publicly contributed forces to the US-led military alliance in Afghanistan [the United Arab Emirates also has troops in Afghanistan], but authorities have so far refrained from disclosing the number of troops.

NATO's website listed 90 Jordanian soldiers alongside other contributions to the multinational force.
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12.: Five More Canadians Killed In Afghanistan

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:26 pm (PST)

http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/article/145060

Northumberland News
December 30, 2009

Five more Canadians killed in Afghanistan
Joanne Burghardt

KANDAHAR: As the year draws to a close we are once again mourning the deaths of Canadians in Afghanistan.

A Canadian journalist is among five people killed in a blast in Kandahar City Wednesday afternoon.

Michelle Lang, 34, was a reporter with the Calgary Herald and, according to the paper, was on her first assignment in the country having been there only two weeks. She was reportedly on a six-week assignment in Afghanistan filing daily news stories and blog posts for the Herald and Canwest newspapers across Canada.

Ms. Lang and four Canadian soldiers were killed while on a routine patrol in Kandahar City.
....
In all, 138 Canadian soldiers - 32 of them this year - and two civilians have been killed in the Afghan mission. Ms. Lang is the first Canadian journalist to be killed in Afghanistan in that time.

For Canada's Afghan mission it was the worst day for casualties since July 4, 2007, when six Canadian soldiers - four from the Princess Patricias - were killed in a roadside blast west of Kandahar city.
....
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gRn4q_Hvzh8I4kjsw07irmckzQrQ

Agence France-Presse
December 30, 2009

Five Canadians killed in Afghan bomb attack: military

MONTREAL: Five Canadians - four soldiers and a journalist - were killed in Afghanistan by a bomb that exploded as their armored vehicle passed by, a Canadian general announced Wednesday.

General Daniel Menard, the head of Canadian forces in Afghanistan, announced the deaths on Canadian television without naming the victims.

Public television station CBC identified the journalist killed as Michelle Lang, a reporter with the Calgary Herald.

"Yesterday Canada lost five citizens," Menard said. "Four soldiers and one journalist were killed as a result of an improvised explosive device attack on their armored vehicle during a community patrol in Kandahar City."

Menard said a Canadian civilian official was also injured in attack.

The soldiers were patrolling "to gather information on the pattern of life and maintain security in the area," he said.

"The journalist was travelling with them to tell the story of what Canada's soldiers are doing in Afghanistan," he said.
....
The deaths, which raised to 138 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, came just hours before a suicide attack that killed eight US civilians at a military base in eastern Afghanistan.

Canada has some 2,800 troops deployed in the Kandahar region, a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan. They are supposed to return home in 2011.
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13.: NATO Airstrike Kills At Least 8 More Afghan Civilians

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:49 am (PST)

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1522523.php/Civilians-again-killed-in-NATO-airstrike-in-Afghanistan

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
December 31, 2009

Civilians again killed in NATO airstrike in Afghanistan

Kabul: At least eight villagers were killed and two injured in an airstrike by NATO forces in Helmand province in Afghanistan, local officials reported Thursday.

A spokesman for the provincial government said a house near the provincial capital Lashkar Gah was hit in the airstrike. The spokesman did not provide further details.

On the weekend, 10 civilians including eight children were killed in NATO military action in the eastern province of Kunar.

President Hamid Karzai stated Thursday that according to the latest information from the investigative commission in Kunar, the victims were shot dead in their homes by soldiers.

Karzai called on the NATO-led military force International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to hand over the soldiers responsible for the action to the Afghan authorities.

ISAF has so far not responded.

Civilian victims in military actions against insurgents is causing continued resentment among the population.
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14.: Afghan Attack: "Pearl Harbor For CIA"

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:53 am (PST)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126225941186711671.html

Wall Street Journal
December 31, 2009

CIA Officers Are Killed in Afghan Attack

Eight Americans, including officers of the Central Intelligence Agency, were killed Wednesday in a suicide attack on a U.S. compound in Afghanistan, current and former U.S. officials said, in what could be the biggest loss of American intelligence personnel since the war here began.

"There was some tremendous talent lost," a former intelligence official said.

A U.S. military spokesman said none of the dead in the attack on Forward Operating Base Chapman, a U.S. military installation in the southeastern province of Khost, were soldiers. Some of the deaths could be contractors or other civilians. If it turns out all eight deaths were CIA officers, it would be the equivalent of "Pearl Harbor for the agency," the former intelligence official said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility Thursday for the suicide bombing at the base, the worst loss of life for the U.S. in Afghanistan since October.
....
According to a military official who works on Afghan issues, Chapman has grown substantially in recent months and is a base for both military and intelligence operations. Because of its size, the officer said, the suicide bomber is likely to have been able to penetrate multiple layers of security before detonating the explosives.

The attack came on a day of deepening dispute between Western and Afghan authorities over whether an international raid earlier this week had killed Afghan civilians, including children.

On Wednesday, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization disputed Afghan President Hamid Karzai's claim that international forces over the weekend had removed civilians, including school-aged children, from their homes in northeastern Afghanistan and shot them. NATO said troops had come under attack and returned fire.

Also Wednesday, NATO said four Canadian troops and one journalist from Canada were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb on a patrol a few miles outside the southern city of Kandahar. The journalist, Michelle Lang of the Calgary Herald, was on assignment covering Canadian military operations, said Major Steven Cole, a spokesman with the NATO-led forces.

The Taliban also claimed responsibility for the roadside bomb that killed the Canadians. It was the bloodiest single incident suffered by Canada's military in 2009.

Much about the attack at Forward Operating Base Chapman remained uncertain Wednesday night. Officials variously said the blast had occurred as the bomber exited a car, or after the bomber had reached the base's gym or its cafeteria.

The attack also wounded four Americans, a U.S. official in Afghanistan said. U.S. authorities said an investigation is under way.

Forward operating bases typically house hundreds of soldiers, and Afghan forces and private contractors also often live on such bases. FOB Chapman is just outside the provincial capital of Khost and is close to the Pakistani border.

The attack appeared to be the worst against foreigners since October, when 10 Americans - seven troops and three civilians - were killed in a helicopter crash following a firefight with insurgents.

It would also mark the first time a suicide bomber managed to strike inside a U.S. facility in the country, a sign of the insurgents' growing sophistication. Insurgents have been staging increasingly complicated assaults in recent months, including one where a militant infiltrated the country's police force and killed five British soldiers.

Wednesday's blast came amid heightened tensions between NATO and Afghan officials over the U.S.-led raid in the northeastern province of Kunar over the weekend. An investigation ordered by Mr. Karzai found that 10 civilians were killed, including eight schoolchildren.

"A unit of international forces descended from a plane Sunday night into Ghazi Khan," Mr. Karzai said in a statement, and "took 10 people from three homes - eight of them school students in grades six, nine and 10, one of them a guest, the rest from the same family - and shot them dead."
....
The Afghan Defense Ministry denied that its forces had any role in Sunday's operation.

The Afghan allegations could deepen tensions between Kabul and Washington at a time when the insurgent reach is growing. Mr. Karzai has frequently criticized Western forces for civilian casualties, which he says gives the insurgency a propaganda boost and turns people against the government. U.S. officials say that such criticism undermines Western efforts to win popular support in the country.

The government's allegations sparked protests in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, one of the largest the country has seen this year. Hundreds of demonstrators blocked the city of Jalalabad, chanting anti-U.S. slogans and burning an effigy of U.S. President Barack Obama.

"We went out [to the streets] to show our anger against the barbarity of the Americans," said Moharam Moeed, a 25-year-old protester from Nangrahar University.

Many of the demonstrators were university students, said Noor Agha Zwak, the provincial spokesman. Some shouted "death to Obama" and "death to the foreign troops," witnesses said.

A coalition of students leading the demonstrations issued a statement saying "the government must prevent such unilateral operations otherwise we will take guns instead of pens and fight."

There have been a number of other anti-U.S. demonstrations this year.

Earlier this month, hundreds of demonstrators blocked roads in the eastern province of Laghman after U.S. forces killed nearly a dozen civilians there. Afghan officials said that the protests are adding to a growing feeling of anti-Americanism in many rural parts of the country's east and south, where the insurgency is the strongest.

-Anand Gopal, Peter Spiegel, Siobhan Gorman and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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15.: South Ossetia: U.S., NATO Allies Arming Georgia For New War

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu Dec 31, 2009 5:58 am (PST)

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?pg=3&id=139145

Interfax
December 31, 2009

S. Ossetia more defense-capable now than before August 2008 - Kokoity

TSKHINVALI: South Ossetia is much more defense-capable now than before August 2008, South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity said at a press conference in Tskhinvali on Thursday.

In commenting on opinions of analysts and Russian Defense Ministry specialists regarding the reality of new Georgian aggression against South Ossetia, Kokoity said he shares the opinion that there is likelihood of such aggression.

"The U.S. and a number of other states are rearming Georgia, and it has made up for the damage to its military potential quite quickly. Certainly, this poses a certain danger, but South Ossetia and Russia, with which we have signed relevant agreements, are closely following the situation and are ready for any turn of events," he said.

Intensive negotiations with European countries and NATO are under way so as to prevent the replay of the August 2008 war, he said.

"I would like also to draw your attention to the findings of a European Union commission led by [Heidi] Tagliavini, which, despite huge pressure, called Georgia the aggressor for everybody to hear. But even without that verdict, everyone knew perfectly that Russia and South Ossetia did not attack anyone, but we were simply defending our lives," Kokoity said.
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16.: Afghan War Zone Christmas: U.S., NATO Chief Visits Romanian Troops

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:12 am (PST)

http://www.financiarul.ro/2009/12/29/isaf-commander-visits-romanian-military-in-zabul/

The Financiarul
December 29, 2009

ISAF Commander visits Romanian military in Zabul

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Commander US General Stanely McChrystal visited the Romanian Sagay Ghar base in Zabul province, last weekend, when the Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Iuri Tanase and the Camp´s Commander Captain Catalin Cojocaru presented the situation of the security in the area the Romanian military and missions have charge of.

During the visit, the ISAF Commander talked to the Romanian military in the Sagay Ghar base...the Romanian Defense Ministry (MApN) sources inform.

The ISAF official thanked the Romanian military for the extraordinary manner they fulfill their mission in the operation theater in Afghanistan, for standing by the Afghan population and supporting the ISAF forces, and wished them a Merry Christmas.
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17.: Afghan Civilian Deaths To Soar With U.S., NATO Troop Surge

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:14 am (PST)

http://rt.com/Politics/2009-12-31/afghanistan-civilian-innocent-protest.html

Russia Today
December 31, 2009

Innocent Afghan losses will increase with troops surge

Anger's brewing in Afghanistan over the rise in the number of civilians killed during US military operations in remote, poorly inhabited districts of the country

Hundreds of Afghans took to the capital's streets and in the country's east on Wednesday in protest over Sunday's fighting where 10 died - including schoolchildren.

Afghan war veteran Jake Deliberto from Veterans for Rethinking Afghanistan pointed out that currently there are more American contractors in Afghanistan than actual soldiers, even with the surge of troops announced by President Obama.

"When you increase the size of the troops on the ground you are going to have more violence and you´re going to have more civilian deaths, there´s nothing you can do to stop that, that´s the nature of war," said Deliberto.

"The `mayor of Kabul´ [Khamid] Karzai, as I call him, is really a corrupt and failed government that is trying to hang on by every threat that it has and the Afghan people are tired of corruption in the government and do not want to trust local security forces and certainly do not trust the coalition forces - it is sad but it is a reality," he said.
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18.: Afghanistan: Spike In Western Deaths Makes 2009 Deadliest Year

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:17 am (PST)

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=12&dd=31&nav_id=64146

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
December 31, 2009

Foreigners suffer heavy losses in Afghanistan

KABUL: Foreign soldiers and civilians have suffered heavy losses in Afghanistan in the last twenty four hours.

Four soldiers and one journalist - all from Canada - were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Kandahar province, a hotbed for the insurgency.

The attack brought Canada's military deaths in Afghanistan to 138.

The journalist killed was Michelle Lang, 34, who was working for the Canwest News Service. She was on her first assignment in Afghanistan.

Earlier, eight U.S. civilians were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a military base in Khost province near the Afghan border with Pakistan.

CNN cited a senior U.S. official as saying the eight were CIA agents.

The CIA has not yet commented on or confirmed the deaths.

Some people were wounded in the explosion, defence officials said, but no U.S. or NATO troops were among them.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the Khost base.

The base in Khost was working on reconstruction projects, a key part of U.S. President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize the country.
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19.: 2009: U.S. Afghan Deaths More Than Double, NATO Losses Mount

Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff

Thu Dec 31, 2009 6:22 am (PST)

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_afghanistan_2009_deaths_123109/

Associated Press
December 31, 2009

Afghan death toll more than doubles in 2009
By Jim Heintz

KABUL: U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan doubled in 2009 compared with a year ago as 30,000 additional troops began pouring in for a stepped-up offensive and the Taliban fought back with powerful improvised bombs.

A tally by The Associated Press shows 304 American service members had died as of Dec. 30, up from 151 in 2008. The count does not include eight U.S. civilians killed by a suicide bomber on a base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Also, the annual death toll of international troops, including U.S. forces, surpassed 500 for the first time in the war. The total this year was 502 compared with 286 in 2008, according to AP´s count.

Among other forces, Britain took the worst blow in 2009 with 107 deaths and Canada lost 32, including four who died Wednesday when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb. Other countries in the international military operation lost a total of 59 service members.

U.S. military officials acknowledge that the insurgency has the momentum and that more troops on the battlefield means the death toll is likely to remain high in the near term. Another 30,000 reinforcements are due in coming months, raising the American presence to 100,000.

In contrast, U.S. deaths in Iraq dropped by half as troops largely remained on bases and the United States prepares to withdraw from that country by the end of 2011. There, 152 American service members died, down from 314 a year earlier, according to figures compiled by AP from Defense Department information.

The sharply rising death toll in Afghanistan was an obstacle for President Barack Obama as he decided in November to send more forces to the war, which is increasingly unpopular in both America and Europe.

Afghan civilian deaths are more difficult to track, but according to the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, 2,021 were killed in the first 10 months of the year, nearly 1,400 of them by insurgents and 465 by U.S. and other pro-government forces.

Over the past eight years, at least 933 U.S. service members have died in the military campaign that was launched in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to U.S. Defense Department figures that include deaths in Pakistan, Uzbekistan and support operations elsewhere.

As the second surge gets underway, the potential carnage troops face from improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, is a major worry.

The AP count, based on daily reports from NATO´s International Security Assistance Force, found that 129 of the U.S. fatalities in 2009 - or more than 40 percent - were caused by IEDs. The homemade bombs are hidden along the roadside or near buildings and detonated by remote control or triggered when troops cross simple pressure plates.

The Taliban were slower than Iraqi insurgents to adopt IEDs, but they now appear to be the weapon of choice against the Americans´ superior artillery and armored vehicles, said a senior intelligence official with the international force. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

There were more than 7,000 IED incidents in 2009 - including explosions, the discovery and defusing of the bombs or civilians turning them in - compared to just 81 in 2003, the official said.

....
The intelligence official said that 18 months ago, the explosive charges typically weighed about 25 pounds, but charge weights in some recent cases have been upward of 1,000 pounds - enough to destroy an MRAP.
-----
Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez and Deb Riechmann in Kabul and Rebecca Santana in Baghdad contributed to this report.
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