Messages In This Digest (20 Messages)

6.: CIA Operating In Yemen Since 2008 From: Rick Rozoff

7.: EE.UU. recluta en todo el mundo para la guerra afgana From: Rick Rozoff

8.: Colombia Preparing Provocation, Attack: Venezuela From: Rick Rozoff

9.: Afghanistan: U.S. Forces "Like To Kill Us" From: Rick Rozoff

10.: U.S.'s Lieberman: Yemen Is Tomorrow's War From: Rick Rozoff

11.: U.S. Global Geopolitical Plans Run Up Against Russia In Caucasus From: Rick Rozoff

12.: Pentagon Readies "Ethical, Autonomous' Battlefield Robots From: Rick Rozoff

13.: U.S. Arms Merchants, Pentagon To Unleash Battlefield Laser Weapons From: Rick Rozoff

14.: Spanish NATO Troops Man Massive Afghan Base From: Rick Rozoff

15.: Spanish Afghan War Casualties: 90 Dead, 150 Seriously Wounded From: Rick Rozoff

16.: British Afghan Death Toll: 244, 107 This Year From: Rick Rozoff

17.: NATO Trains Iraqi Internal Security Forces From: Rick Rozoff

18.: Afghan Soldier Shoots American, Italian Troops: NATO From: Rick Rozoff

19.: NATO Tankers Damaged In Pakistan Attack From: Rick Rozoff

20.: Russia To Develop Strategic Weapons To Counter U.S. Missile Shield From: Rick Rozoff

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1.: Pentagon Deploys Construction Teams For Afghan Marine Buildup

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:17 am (PST)

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=50316

U.S. Department of Defense
Navy Newsstand
December 28, 2009

Additional Seabee Battalions Deploying to Afghanistan
By Daryl C. Smith, Commander, 1st Naval Construction Division Public Affairs

-"Since World War II, the Seabees have supported the Marine Corps in every major conflict. This is our legacy, and we are proud to be part of this important mission."

NORFOLK, Va. - Two battalions of Navy Seabees will deploy to Afghanistan in coming months as part of the 30,000 additional U.S. forces deploying to the region.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 will deploy from Port Hueneme, Calif., and NMCB 133 will deploy from Gulfport, Miss. Each NMCB contains about 580 Seabees.

Seabees are a vital enabler required for the buildup of additional troops in support of President Barack Obama's strategy in Afghanistan. The Seabees' mission is to help provide infrastructure such as bases, berthing facilities, roads and airfields for the increasing number of U.S. forces in country.

Both battalions will deploy by March, but may deploy as early as January. As part of their normal rotation cycle, NMCB 4 and NMCB 133 were originally scheduled for deployment in February. NMCB 133 was scheduled to go to Afghanistan, and NMCB 4 was originally scheduled to deploy to the Pacific region.

"Since World War II, the Seabees have supported the Marine Corps in every major conflict. This is our legacy, and we are proud to be part of this important mission," said Rear Adm. Mark Handley, Commander, First Naval Construction Division.

....
The deployment of these two battalions will require adjustments to the deployment schedule of other Seabee units. These adjustments are currently pending approval by the chief of naval operations.

Various vehicles, equipment, tools and materials are also being prepared to be shipped from Gulfport and Port Hueneme to support their mission.

Naval Facilities Expeditionary Logistics Center (NFELC) and Seabee Readiness Group personnel are breaking out containers and preparing them for shipment from Gulfport, Miss., and Port Hueneme, Calif. Construction equipment is also being broken out from warehouses, de-preserved and operationally checked. This gear will be staged for shipment when it is ready. Some items will be shipped by air, but most will go by ship transport.

Many of the pieces of heavy construction equipment will be armored before they are deployed. NFELC has active contracts to armor construction equipment in Gulfport and Port Hueneme. Mobile Tactical Vehicle Replacements (MTVRs) are also being armored at other locations in California, North Carolina and Florida.

Troops are being outfitted with the latest in Personal Gear and Combat Equipment including ballistic protective eyewear, body armor, hydration systems, extreme cold weather gear and fire resistant clothing.

About 2,600 Seabees are currently deployed to about 20 different countries around the globe supporting a variety of...operations.

Seabees were among the first forces in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks to upgrade and repair airfields. Portions of two battalions have been deployed there since January 2009.
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2.: Border With NATO: Belarus, Russia Build Joint Air Defense System

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:17 am (PST)

http://english.ruvr.ru/2009/12/28/3312974.html

Voice of Russia
December 28, 2009

Medvedev approves ratification of Russia-Belarus antiaircraft system agreement

President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a law on ratification of Russia's agreement with Belarus to establish a single antiaircraft defense system, the Kremlin press service reported Monday.

The system's main tasks are intelligence and the protection of the external border of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

It should prevent any illegal crossing of air borders by aircraft and to protect the main strategic objects of the two states. The commander of the system will be appointed by the Russian and Belarusian presidents on recommendation of the Defense Ministers of the two countries.
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3.: Afghan President: West Slays 10 Civilians, 8 School Children

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:18 am (PST)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i_6PgWqX7BIpH5dIvcCCM6yLvumA

Agence France-Presse
December 28, 2009

'Ten Afghan civilians killed' in military operations
By Sardar Ahmad

KABUL: Ten civilians, mostly school children, have been killed during Western military operations in eastern Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai's office said Monday, citing "initial reports."

Karzai condemned the killings, which his statement said took place in Kunar province, which borders Pakistan, on Saturday.

"Initial reports indicate that in a series of operations by international forces in Kunar province....10 civilians, eight of them school students, have been killed," the statement said.

"President Karzai strongly condemns the operation which caused civilian deaths and has appointed a delegation to investigate the incident," it said.

A senior official in the Afghan government, speaking on condition anonymity, said the death toll could change because investigations are ongoing.

When contacted Sunday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had no information on any operations or casualties in Kunar.

A senior Western military official told AFP that US special forces have been conducting operations against militants in the border regions of Kunar.
....
Politicians representing Kunar walked out of an important parliamentary session debating appointments to Karzai's new cabinet to protest against the civilian casualties, television showed.
....
"In 33 out of 34 provinces, the Taliban has a shadow government," a Western military intelligence official told reporters on Sunday.

Omar "has a government-in-waiting, with ministers chosen" for the day the government falls, he added.

"Time is running out. Taliban influence is expanding," the military official warned. "Where the (Afghan) government is weak, the enemy is strong," able to exploit the corruption and unpopularity of Karzai's administration, he said.
....
Most recently, Karzai condemned the killing of six civilians during a NATO raid in early December....

Karzai's office said six civilians, including a woman, died when troops from ISAF conducted an operation in Laghman province on the night of December 2.
....
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4.: NATO To Send Bosnian Troops To Afghanistan

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:19 am (PST)

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-45021020091228

Reuters
December 28, 2009

Bosnia says to send troops to Afghanistan in 2010

SARAJEVO: Bosnia is planning to send troops next year to join the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Selmo Cikotic said on Monday.

"We expect to have a unit in ISAF next year," Cikotic told a year-end news conference, referring to the International Security Assistance Force. He said that his ministry has been drafting a new plan proposing to the country's presidency potential partners for a Bosnian unit in ISAF.

He did not elaborate but local media reported that a Bosnian unit could be part of either the German or Turkish contingent in ISAF. The Balkan country, which is not a member of the NATO military alliance, seconded 10 army officers to Danish and German contingents in Afghanistan this year.

Bosnia has united its rival ethnic armies that fought each other during the 1992-95 war and its NATO-sponsored defence reform....

Cikotic told Reuters that a unit slated for Afghanistan would have up to 100 soldiers.

Earlier this month, NATO declined Bosnia's application for its Membership Action Plan (MAP), saying it needed more democratic reforms and a more effective military. The country hopes next year to get into MAP, a roadmap for accession.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)
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5.: Eastern Partnership: 'Color' Ukraine, Moldova Put Squeeze On Dnieste

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:19 am (PST)

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14682015&PageNum=0

Itar-Tass
December 28, 2009

Ukraine, Moldova starting demarcation of common Dniester border

-On March 3, 2006, Ukraine introduced new customs regulations on its border with Transnistria. Ukraine declared that it would import only goods from Transnistria with documents processed by Moldovan customs offices as part of the implementation of the joint customs protocol agreed between Ukraine and Moldova on December 30, 2005. Transnistria and Russia termed the act an "economic blockade."
The United States, the European Union and OSCE approved the Ukrainian move, while Russia saw it as a means of political pressure.

CHISINAU: Ukraine and Moldova on Monday are launching the process of demarcation of their common border at the Dniester section. Itar-Tass was told at the Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration that the first boundary sign is expected to be set up here in the presence of the two countries' official delegations.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pyotr Poroshenko said during a visit in Chisinau in the middle of December that the demarcation will be started before the end of the year. He discussed this issue with Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat and Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leanca. Another issue of Poroshenko's talks in Chisinau was Kiev-Chisinau cooperation within the framework of the Eastern Partnership Programme. Thus, on the results of talks in Chisinau the foreign ministers of Moldova and Ukraine signed a joint appeal to the EU on the use of the financial mechanism of the Eastern Partnership for the creation of the Euro region "Dniester."

Last Friday, the border demarcation issue was also considered at Poroshenko's meeting in Kiev with leader of the Dniester Republic Igor Smirnov who insists on the equal participation in the demarcation of the Dniester section of the border. According to a report of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the sides also considered "ways of making the Dniester settlement process more dynamic and satisfying the cultural-humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian national minority living in the Dniester region."

Transnistria, also known as Trans-Dniester or Dniester region is a breakaway territory located de jure in Eastern Moldova as the autonomous region Stinga Nistrului ("Left Dniester bank"), mostly in a strip between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine.

Since its declaration of independence in 1990, and especially after the War of Transnistria in 1992, it is governed de facto by the unrecognised Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), which claims the east bank of the river Dniester and a small land located on the right bank of the Dniester River (in the historical region of Bessarabia), as the city Bender and its surrounding localities. The modern Republic of Moldova does not recognize the secession and considers territories controlled by the PMR to be a part of Moldova's sovereign territory.

After the dissolution of the USSR, tensions between the Moldovan government and the breakaway PMR escalated into a military conflict that started in March 1992 and was concluded by a ceasefire in July 1992.

As part of that agreement, a three-party (Russia, Moldova, Transnistria) Joint Control Commission supervises the security arrangements in the demilitarised zone, comprising 20 localities on both sides of the river. Although the ceasefire has held, the territory's political status remains unresolved: De jure part of Moldova, Transnistria is a de facto independent state. It is organised as a presidential republic, with its own government, parliament, military, police, postal system, and currency.

Its authorities have adopted a constitution, flag, national anthem, and a coat of arms. However, following a 2005 agreement between Moldova and Ukraine, all Transnistrian companies seeking to export goods though the Ukrainian border must be registered with the Moldovan authorities. This agreement was implemented after EUBAM started it's activity in 2006. Most Transnistrians are Moldovan citizens, but they are also many Transnistrians with Russian and Ukrainian citizenship.

On March 3, 2006, Ukraine introduced new customs regulations on its border with Transnistria. Ukraine declared that it would import only goods from Transnistria with documents processed by Moldovan customs offices as part of the implementation of the joint customs protocol agreed between Ukraine and Moldova on December 30, 2005. Transnistria and Russia termed the act an "economic blockade."

The United States, the European Union and OSCE approved the Ukrainian move, while Russia saw it as a means of political pressure. On March 4, Transnistria responded by blocking the Moldovan and Ukrainian transport at the borders of Transnistria. The Transnistrian block was lifted after two weeks. However, the Moldovan/Ukrainian block remains in place, and holds up progress in status settlement negotiations between the sides. In the months following the regulations, exports from Transnistria declined drastically. Transnistria declared a "humanitarian catastrophe" in the region, while Moldova called the declaration "deliberate misinformation." Cargoes of humanitarian aid were sent from Russia in response.

Ukraine opened an Embassy in Chisinau and a Consulate in Balti in 2005. The Ukrainian ambassador in Chisinau is Sergei Pirozhkov. The border between Moldova and Ukraine is 985 km. Ukrainians are the second largest ethnicity group in Moldova after ethnic Moldavians. There are 442,346 of Ukrainians in Moldova, which represents 11.2% of the population.

Moldavians are the fourth ethnic minority in Ukraine. As of 2001 Ukrainian Census, there were 258,600 Moldavians in Ukraine - which represents 0,5% of the Ukrainian population. For 70.0 % of Moldavian speaking Ukrainians, Russian 17.6 % and Ukrainian 10.7 % are the native languages.
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6.: CIA Operating In Yemen Since 2008

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:20 am (PST)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=114817§ionid=351020206

Press TV
December 28, 2009

CIA present in Yemen since 2008: Report
US Special Forces are training Yemeni forces

The US has opened a covert front against 'al-Qaeda' in Yemen by offering support to the country's military operations, a US intelligence sources says.

Citing an unnamed former CIA official, The New York Times reported late on Sunday that about a year ago the CIA sent many field operatives with counterterrorism experience to the country.

The report revealed that some of the most secretive special operations commandos have begun training Yemeni security forces.

The paper noted that the Pentagon will be spending more than USD 70 million over the next 18 months to train and equip Yemeni military, Interior Ministry and coast guard forces.

Yemen's national security chief had earlier declared that the country was receiving assistance from the US in the crackdown on what he called "al-Qaeda operatives" in southern Yemen.

Mohamed al-Anisi had told the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz that the Yemeni forces were cooperating with the US military on attacks against al-Qaeda camps.

The developments come as international aid agencies and some UN bodies including the United Nations Children's Fund and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees have voiced concern over the dire condition of the Yemeni civilians, who have become the main victims of the conflict in the country.

The United Nations, which according to its charter is set up "to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace," has failed to adopt any concrete measures to help end the bloody war.
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7.: EE.UU. recluta en todo el mundo para la guerra afgana

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:28 am (PST)

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/ee-uu-recluta-en-todo-el-mundo-para-la-guerra-afgana

Stop NATO
28 de diciembre 2009

EE.UU. recluta en todo el mundo para la guerra afgana
Rick Rozoff

Traducido del inglés para Rebelión por Germán Leyens
http://rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=97737

Los primeros de los 33.000 soldados adicionales de EE.UU. han llegado a Afganistán para una 'oleada' de Navidad y pronto se les sumarán hasta 10.000 soldados no estadounidenses que servirán bajo la OTAN en la ISAF (Fuerza Internacional de Asistencia para la Seguridad). Washington tendrá un personal uniformado de más de 100.000 y decenas de miles de nuevos contratistas militares en la zona de guerra surasiática, y con más de 50.000 soldados de la OTAN y de socios de la OTAN la suma de las fuerzas excederá los 150.000.

Con la excepción de una pequeña cantidad de soldados asignados a la Misión de Entrenamiento de la OTAN - Iraq en Bagdad, se ordenó a los Estados miembro, sobre todo a los nuevos, de la OTAN, y a los Estados candidatos, que trasfirieran sus fuerzas de Iraq a Afganistán hace aproximadamente un año y están enviando soldados de misiones en Kosovo, Líbano y Chad a la misma destinación. El frente de batalla afgano, por lo tanto, tiene la mayor cantidad de fuerzas militares estacionadas en cualquier zona de guerra del mundo. [1]

Soldados de países de la OTAN estacionados en Bosnia, la República Centroafricana, Chad, Líbano y frente a la costa de Somalia están asignados actualmente a misiones de la Unión Europea (barcos de guerra europeos también participan en la interdicción naval Escudo del Océano de la OTAN en aguas somalíes y el Golfo de Adén) y su trasferencia al frente de guerra surasiático indica la virtual intercambiabilidad de unidades armadas asignadas a la OTAN y a la Unión Europea. [2]

Desde el comienzo de la escalada de la guerra de este año en Afganistán y hacia el vecino Pakistán, personalidades públicas y medios occidentales se han ocupado frecuente y extensivamente de que la guerra es un –o el– test para la OTAN, ostensiblemente el mayor hito y crisol en su historia de 60 años.

Cuando el bloque, la única alianza militar del mundo, invocó su cláusula de ayuda mutua del Artículo 5 en septiembre de 2001 para apoyar a su principal miembro, EE.UU., en su invasión y ocupación de Afganistán, la Alianza acababa de vivir su primera guerra: la campaña de 78 días de bombardeo contra Yugoslavia a comienzos de 1999, el primer ataque militar generalizado contra una nación europea desde los ataques e invasiones de Hitler y Mussolini de 1939-1941.

Al activar el Artículo 5 –"Las Partes acuerdan que un ataque armado contra una o más de ellas en Europa o Norteamérica será considerado un ataque contra todas ellas [y] ayudarán a la Parte o Partes atacadas" – la OTAN se alistó para su primera guerra terrestre y su primera guerra en Asia.

También aprovechó su provisión de guerra efectiva para lanzar la Operation Active Endeavor [Operación Esfuerzo Activo] a comienzos de octubre de 2001, un programa exhaustivo, hermético, de vigilancia e interdicción naval en todo el Mar Mediterráneo que monitorea toda la actividad en el nuevo mare nostrum de la OTAN y que domina todos los puntos de acceso al mar más importante del mundo: el Estrecho de Gibraltar, el Estrecho de los Dardanelos y el Canal de Suez, conectando el Mediterráneo con el Océano Atlántico, el Mar Negro, el Mar Rojo y por lo tanto con el Océano Índico, respectivamente.

La alianza encabezada por EE.UU. obtuvo el control sobre esa vasta gama de vías navegables mediante la adopción de los pretextos estadounidenses posteriores al 11 de septiembre de 2001 de combate contra el terrorismo y las armas de destrucción masiva. El primero fue la justificación para la invasión de Afganistán, el segundo para invadir Iraq.

Tres años después de la inauguración de Esfuerzo Activo, que continúa con toda su fuerza hasta hoy, la cumbre de la OTAN en Turquía desarrolló la Iniciativa de Cooperación de Estambul que actualizó la cooperación militar con los miembros del Diálogo Mediterráneo del bloque –Argelia, Egipto, Israel, Jordania, Mauritania, Marruecos y Túnez– y propuso a los seis miembros del Consejo de Cooperación del Golfo –Bahrein, Kuwait, Omán, Qatar, Arabia Saudí y los Emiratos Árabes Unidos– para una relación similar, modelada según el programa de Cooperación para la Paz que preparó a doce naciones europeas orientales para su acceso a la calidad de miembro pleno de la OTAN durante la última década. [3]

En diez años el bloque militar ha expandido más allá de sus límites de la Guerra Fría, Norteamérica y Europa Occidental y Meridional, a casi toda Europa Oriental, incluidos Estados del antiguo Pacto de Varsovia y repúblicas soviéticas y yugoslavas. La división militar bipolar de Europa simbolizada por el Muro de Berlín [4], que terminó hace veinte años, ha sido reemplazada por una expansión unilateral del único bloque militar del mundo hacia las fronteras occidentales de Rusia, del mar Báltico a los mares Negro y Adriático. De ahí ha extendido su alcance mediante despliegues y cooperaciones hacia el sur del Cáucaso, África nororiental y central, y Asia central y del sur.

Si Afganistán es una prueba o el ensayo de la OTAN en su año 60, no lo es para la OTAN de 1949 sino para lo que importantes funcionarios de la Alianza y otros defensores han llamado en los últimos años una OTAN del Siglo XXI, una OTAN expedicionaria, una OTAN global: El primer intento en la historia de forjar una alianza militar internacional. Una red armada internacional que tiene a la autoproclamada superpotencia exclusiva del mundo y su arsenal nuclear como su fundamento y su núcleo.

La guerra "asimétrica" en Afganistán que está ahora en su noveno año es una empresa seminal para la OTAN en diversos aspectos. Aparte de representar la primera guerra terrestre del bloque y su primera excursión colonial fuera del mundo euro-atlántico, la prolongada, y según todos los indicios indefinida campaña en el sur de Asia es un laboratorio y campo de entrenamiento, polígono de tiro y punto de convergencia para la consolidación estadounidense de una fuerza global militar de ataque y ocupación probada por primera vez en Kosovo en 1999 con 50.000 soldados bajo comando de la OTAN, luego en Iraq después de 2003 con decenas de miles de soldados de la OTAN, y nuevas naciones de la OTAN y candidatas al bloque. [5]

Ahora Washington y Bruselas han obligado a contingentes armados de cincuenta naciones de cinco continentes para que sirvan bajo un comandante, el general Stanley McChrystal, jefe de todas las fuerzas de EE.UU. y de la OTAN en Afganistán. Los nuevos Estados que contribuyen incluyen a países geográficamente remotos y diversos en otros sentidos, como Colombia, Bosnia, Georgia, Montenegro, Mongolia, Armenia y Corea del Sur. Todos, con la excepción de Mongolia, han sido escenario de guerras o podrían serlo en cualquier momento. Como han establecido numerosas declaraciones de dirigentes políticos y militares de naciones que suministran soldados a la OTAN para la guerra afgana, ese campo de batalla es un lugar y oportunidad ideal para obtener experiencia real de combate a fin de aplicarla en casa. La mayoría de los países en esta categoría limitan con Rusia en sus flancos noroccidental y suroccidental. [6]

El ministro de defensa de Austria, una de las pocas naciones europeas que todavía no son miembros plenos de la OTAN, se quejó recientemente de que funcionarios estadounidenses estuvieran presionando a su país para que suministrara más soldados para su despliegue en Afganistán, y tuvo que recordar a los lectores de uno de los periódicos de su país que su país sigue siendo un Estado soberano. Como informa Deutsche Welle, "Austria y EE.UU. disputan por la cantidad de soldados austríacos en Afganistán. El gobierno austríaco dice que siente una fuerte presión de EE.UU. para que envíe más soldados a la misión de la OTAN."

El periódico surcoreano Dong-A Ilbo escribió el 21 de diciembre que "la OTAN ha invitado por primera vez a una delegación militar coreana a una reunión el próximo año de países que envían soldados a Afganistán."

"El despacho de tropas coreanas, programado para julio, probablemente acelerará una amplia cooperación militar entre Corea y la OTAN." La fuente agregó que la evaluación de Corea por la OTAN está cambiando con el advenimiento del nuevo gobierno de Lee Myung-bak en Seúl, ya que Corea participa activamente en la cooperación internacional de seguridad, incluida su decisión de enviar tropas a Afganistán y de unirse plenamente a la Iniciativa de Seguridad de la Proliferación." La Iniciativa de Seguridad de la Proliferación (PSI) es otro mecanismo, vinculado al proyecto de la armada de mil barcos de EE.UU. así como a la Operación Esfuerzo Activo de la OTAN, para comprometer a más y más naciones de todo el mundo en una red militar internacional dirigida por Washington.[7]

Corea del Sur ya es lo que es identificado por la OTAN como País de Contacto socio, los otros son Japón, Australia y Nueva Zelanda, como fundamento para una "OTAN asiática" en rápida emergencia que incluye a Singapur y Mongolia –que tienen o tendrán por primera vez tropas sirviendo bajo la OTAN en Afganistán– así como las Filipinas, Tailandia, Brunei y futuras posibilidades como India, Bangladesh y Camboya y las cinco ex repúblicas soviéticas en Asia Central, así como Afganistán y Pakistán. [8]

Mientras avanza hacia el este, el bloque Noratlántico también lo ha hecho hacia el sur y ha comenzando a penetrar formalmente África, con una misión de transporte aéreo hacia la región de Darfur en Sudán en 2005 y despliegues navales frente a Somalia en el Cuerno de África desde 2007.

El principal aliado militar de Washington en Sudamérica y en toda Latinoamérica, Colombia, fuera de entregar siete bases militares al Pentágono en una acción que podría provocar una guerra con sus vecinos Venezuela y Ecuador, está enviando una compañía de soldados entrenados por EE.UU. a la misión de la ISAF de la OTAN. Aportarán su propia experiencia bélica a la nación surasiática y volverán a casa, como sus equivalentes militares georgianos y surcoreanos, también entrenados por EE.UU., mejor preparados para conflictos armados contra Estados vecinos.

Aparte de que Gran Bretaña, Francia y Holanda son obligados a prestar sus posesiones coloniales en Latinoamérica y ante sus costas a su aliado estadounidense de la OTAN para utilizarlas contra los países miembro de la Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (ALBA) Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua y Venezuela (Honduras post golpe se retira), se han tomado pasos en los últimos quince años para expandir los vínculos de la OTAN con otras naciones latinoamericanas. [9]

En 1995 Chile y Argentina (bajo el presidente Carlos Menem) enviaron tropas para que sirvieran bajo la OTAN en Bosnia, el primer despliegue militar de la Alianza fuera del territorio de un Estado miembro. Esta semana Chile aceptó la prolongación del estacionamiento de tropas en ese país –la misión ha sido trasferida de la OTAN a la Unión Europea– y un funcionario del gobierno declaró: "Hemos podido ver a Chile junto a la Organización del Tratado del Atlántico Norte en un país europeo, y la interacción de nuestras fuerzas armadas con ejércitos de primera categoría del mundo." [10]

La guerra y la trayectoria bélica de los candidatos a la OTAN y los Estados asociados de la OTAN durante los últimos quince años, se extendieron desde Bosnia a Kosovo a Macedonia y a Iraq, y finalmente Afganistán. Fuerzas armadas chilenas, gane quien gane la segunda vuelta en la elección presidencial, podrían terminar por ser enviadas a Afganistán.

Mediante el fortalecimiento de los lazos con Chile, que participa en la actual disputa multinacional por derechos en la Antártica, y con Sudáfrica, donde barcos de guerra de la OTAN han atracado y realizado ejercicios navales durante los últimos años, además de Australia que tiene el mayor contingente de los países no miembros sirviendo bajo la OTAN en Afganistán, la Alianza se posiciona para la rebatiña por el extremo sur del planeta [11] como lo está para la existente por la parte superior del mundo. [12]

Dos meses antes del desmantelamiento del Muro de Berlín y el fin efectivo de la Guerra Fría, se realizó la cumbre trienal del Movimiento de los No-Alineados en Belgrado, Yugoslavia. Estuvieron presentes los representantes de 108 naciones que se definieron como no-alineados en lo militar.

Veinte años después, y con más de veinte países adicionales en el mundo después de la desintegración de la Unión Soviética, de Checoslovaquia y de la propia Yugoslavia y la independencia de Timor Oriental, la presión por unirse a acuerdos militares, asociaciones, ejercicios y establecimiento de bases de EE.UU. y la OTAN es más intensa que durante la Guerra Fría.

El recientemente activado Comando África de EE.UU. apunta por sí solo a 53 naciones para asociaciones individuales y colectivas con el Pentágono. La guerra en Afganistán es la piedra de toque global más amplia hasta la fecha en la militarización del mundo. Washington presiona a todo el mundo para que contribuya con tropas, logística y fondos y emplea la guerra para establecer vínculos militares bilaterales y la interoperabilidad de armas y técnicas militares con naciones en todo el mundo.

La primera década del nuevo milenio ha sido de guerra, que comenzó en serio en Afganistán, y la expansión de bases y tropas estadounidenses en Europa Oriental, Oriente Próximo, África, Sudamérica y Asia central y del sur. Áreas que hasta ahora se habían salvado de la presencia permanente del Pentágono.

Notas

1) U.S., NATO Poised For Most Massive War In Afghanistan's History, Stop NATO, September 24, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/u-s-nato-poised-for-most-massive-war-in-afghanistans-history

2) EU, NATO, US: 21st Century Alliance For Global Domination, Stop NATO, February 19, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/eu-nato-us-21st-century-alliance-for-global-domination

3) NATO In Persian Gulf: From Third World War To Istanbu, Stop NATO, February 6, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/nato-in-persian-gulf-from-third-world-war-to-istanbul

4) 1989-2009: Moving The Berlin Wall To Russia's Borders, Stop NATO, November 7, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/1989-2009-berlin-wall-moves-to-russian-border

5) Afghan War: NATO Builds History's First Global Army, Stop NATO, August 9, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/afghan-war-nato-builds-historys-first-global-army

6) Afghan War: NATO Trains Finland, Sweden For Conflict With Russia, Stop NATO, July 26, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/afghan-war-nato-trains-finland-sweden-for-conflict-with-russia

7) Proliferation Security Initiative And U.S. 1,000-Ship Navy: Control Of World's Oceans, Prelude To War, Stop NATO, January 29, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/proliferation-security-initiative-and-us-1000-ship-navy-control-of-worlds-oceans-prelude-to-war

8) Global Military Bloc: NATO's Drive Into Asia, Stop NATO, January 24, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/global-military-bloc-natos-drive-into-asia

U.S. Expands Asian NATO Against China, Russia, Stop NATO, October 16, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/u-s-expands-asian-nato-against-china-russia

9) Twenty Years After End Of The Cold War: Pentagon's Buildup In Latin America, Stop NATO, November 4, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/stop-nato

10) Xinhua News Agency, December 22, 2009

11) NATO Of The South: Chile, South Africa, Australia, Antarctica, Stop NATO, May 30, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/nato-of-the-south-chile-south-africa-australia-antarctica

12) NATO's, Pentagon's New Strategic Battleground: The Arctic, Stop NATO, February 2, 2009

http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2009/08/26/natos-pentagons-new-strategic-battleground-the-arctic

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8.: Colombia Preparing Provocation, Attack: Venezuela

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:41 am (PST)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=adNsILAw6xdo

Bloomberg News
December 28, 2009

Chavez Says Colombia Preparing to Attack 'Fake' Venezuelan Base
By Steven Bodzin

Colombia is preparing to attack Venezuela in an operation that will be made to look like the objective is a base of Colombian guerrillas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said today in a speech to troops that was shown on state television.

Colombia is building a "fake" base to justify the assault, Chavez said.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/7469-colombia-to-be-a-threat-in-2010-chavez.html

Colombia Reports
December 28, 2009

Colombia to be a threat in 2010: Chavez
Adriaan Alsema

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez foresees 2010 to be a difficult year for Venezuela, mostly because of U.S. military presence in neighboring Colombia.

In an opinion piece published in several Venezuelan newspapers on Sunday, the leftist president announced "it will not be an easy year."

According to Chavez, an international conspiracy is "preparing the script to reverse the process of emancipation the Americas are undergoing."

The Venezuelan Head of State earleir expressed that he considers a signed U.S.-Colombia pact allowing the Americans to use Colombian military bases and airports in the war on drugs a threat for Venezuelan sovereignty.

Relations with Colombia worsened over the course of 2009.
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9.: Afghanistan: U.S. Forces "Like To Kill Us"

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:12 pm (PST)

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091229/FOREIGN/712289854/1002

The National (United Arab Emirates)
December 28, 2009

US forces 'like to kill us'
Sayed Karim

Villagers stand next to the bodies of civilians who they say were killed in a Nato-led attack in Laghman province on December 8. Rafiq Shirzad / Reuters

MEHTAR LAM, LAGHMAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN: When Hadyatullah heard gunshots near his home, his first thought was that they were the sound of thieves. By the time he realised he was wrong, the United States was at the centre of another storm surrounding civilian casualties.

"They like to kill us," he said. "Even if Osama [bin Laden] is in our village they should not open fire. First they should inform the people, then they should do the mission."

The raid in the eastern province of Laghman this month followed a pattern that has become sadly familiar in Afghanistan over recent years. As is often the case, international forces insisted militants were killed, but local officials and villagers claimed the dead were civilians.

Soon afterwards, hundreds of protesters chanting anti-US and anti-government slogans had taken to the streets and more hearts and minds appear to have been lost.

According to witnesses, US troops entered a number of houses near the provincial capital, Mehtar Lam, in an overnight operation. The victims included Mohammed Ismail, whose 10-year-old son, Rafiullah, described what happened: "When the soldiers came to our house, my father asked them, 'Who are you?' Then they shot him in the head and told us, 'Be quiet and tell us where the weapons are'."

Said Ahmad Safi, a spokesman for Laghman's governor, said insurgents had previously staged attacks against officials and foreign troops in the area. He acknowledged that 12 people – including a woman – had apparently died in the raid, which locals reported was carried out by US Special Forces.

"We criticise all operations that have civilian casualties," he said, adding that such incidents "create a lot of space between the government and the nation".

This is not the first time the tactics of foreign troops have caused controversy in Laghman. In January, another attack by US forces in the province is alleged to have killed a number of civilians, a fact also disputed by the coalition.

Discontent with the government and the occupation has inevitably fuelled support for the Taliban among the local population. Despite still being relatively secure compared with much of eastern Afghanistan, there has been growing rebel activity here in recent months as the insurgents edge closer and closer to neighbouring Kabul.

In one high-profile attack this summer, the deputy leader of the Afghan intelligence service was killed by a suicide bomber during a visit to the province.

The latest US raid has only added to the sense that the situation in Laghman is starting to deteriorate markedly. When news spread that 12 civilians had apparently died, a second tragedy quickly occurred when a protester was fatally shot by local security forces.

Najib-ur-Rahman, 25, lost an uncle and a nephew in the initial incident. He claimed that the troops were given false information that suggested militants were operating in the area.

"There is one difference between the American soldiers and the Afghans. The Americans killed our people at night and the Afghans killed them in the day," he said....

[W]ith 30,000 extra US troops due to arrive in the coming year, many of Laghman's residents are worried that ordinary people will be caught up in an increasingly bloody war.

Gulzar Sankerwal, chairman of the provincial council, said: "The Taliban do not fight face to face. This is guerrilla fighting so if more troops arrive, they will not solve the problem. When the commander in Kabul asked Obama for the extra troops, he knew the USA would end up with one achievement, and that is more civilian casualties."

More than 500 foreign service members have died in 2009 compared with 295 in 2008. Meanwhile, a UN report in the summer found civilian fatalities had risen by 24 per cent in the first six months of the year.
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10.: U.S.'s Lieberman: Yemen Is Tomorrow's War

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:21 pm (PST)

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/12/lieberman-next-stop-on-the-war-on-terror-express----yemen.php

TPM LiveWire
December 28, 2009

Lieberman: Next Stop On The War On Terror Express - Yemen!
Jillian Rayfield

Yesterday, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) told Fox News viewers about the latest country posing a threat to America: Yemen.

Lieberman was particularly dire, warning that "if we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war."

On Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace asked Hoekstra and Lieberman what kind of attitude America should take toward Yemen.

Hoekstra replied that "Yemen is a hot spot, we need to do everything we can to work with that government."

He continued: "We have about 90 Yemenese left in Gitmo. They should stay there, they should not go back to Yemen. If they go back to Yemen we will very soon find them back on the battlefield going after Americans and other Western interests."

Lieberman agreed with Hoekstra:

"It would be a mistake to send these 90 people back to Yemen because based on the past of what's happened when we released people from Guantanamo, a certain number of them have gone back into the fight against us."

Lieberman went even further, referencing a recent trip to Yemen during which a U.S. official there said to him: "Iraq was yesterday's war. Afghanistan is today's war. If we don't act pre-emptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war. That's the danger we face."
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11.: U.S. Global Geopolitical Plans Run Up Against Russia In Caucasus

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:34 pm (PST)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/27/content_12711744.htm

Xinhua News Agency
December 27, 2009

Yearender: U.S., Russia vying for bigger sway in South Caucasus

- [T]he United States is using its strategic location to increase pressure on Iran and assist its operations in Afghanistan. It is also eyeing the region's abundant oil and gas reserves, which could help it reduce its dependence on energy from the Persian Gulf....Washington has gained access to the Baku airport for fueling stops by U.S. military aircraft and Azerbaijan's airspace for over flights during its war in Afghanistan...During his visit to Georgia in July, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden described the country as an "important strategic partner" and said Washington will not sacrifice Georgian interests to mend its ties with Moscow.
Biden said the United States would continue to offer comprehensive support to the Caucasus country, including its entry into NATO.
-Analysts noted that reconciliation between the two long-time rivals [Armenia and Turkey] will help Washington's strategies for Iran and Afghanistan and ensure the safe supply of Caspian energy.

TBILISI: The South Caucasus, a strategically important area and a key route for energy supplies from the oil and gas-rich Caspian Sea to Europe, has been the site of tougher rivalry between Washington and Moscow in the past year.

Moves of the three Caucasus nations, include Georgia's withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a U.S.-Georgia partnership deal and a landmark fence-mending accord between Armenia and Turkey, also fueled the race for greater influence in the region.

STRATEGIC INTERESTS

Washington has long been trying to squeeze out Russian influence in the Caucasus nations of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia - all former Soviet republics - while Russia views the region as a "buffer zone" for NATO eastward expansion and sees the region as having a direct bearing on its efforts to maintain stability in its troubled North Caucasus.

Meanwhile, the United States is using its strategic location to increase pressure on Iran and assist its operations in Afghanistan. It is also eyeing the region's abundant oil and gas reserves, which could help it reduce its dependence on energy from the Persian Gulf.

Oil-rich Azerbaijan has played a central role in regional energy projects. One of the projects, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which runs through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, is viewed by the West as an important move to break Russia's monopoly on oil and gas exports to Western Europe.

Washington has gained access to the Baku airport for fueling stops by U.S. military aircraft and Azerbaijan's airspace for over flights during its war in Afghanistan.

Moscow, meanwhile, is also forging closer ties with Azerbaijan. Earlier this year, Russia sought to extend a lease agreement with Azerbaijan for the Gabala radar station and has also strengthened energy cooperation with the country.

WEST-LEANING GEORGIA

Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in August 2008 when Tbilisi tried to retake South Ossetia, which, together with Abkhazia, broke away from central rule in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Tensions escalated when Moscow recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states two weeks after the conflict ended. Georgia severed ties with Russia in September 2008 and quit the CIS this year.

Shortly after the war, Washington announced a 1-billion-U.S. dollar economic aid package for Tbilisi to help with its war relief.

During his visit to Georgia in July, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden described the country as an "important strategic partner" and said Washington will not sacrifice Georgian interests to mend its ties with Moscow.

Biden said the United States would continue to offer comprehensive support to the Caucasus country, including its entry into NATO.

Russia's position on the issue has been vastly different. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in August that Russia intends to continue giving "total political and economic support to both South Ossetia and Abkhazia."

"Russia will not permit any reprisal attempts or any repeat of military ventures in this region," he said.

ARMENIA, TURKEY MENDING FENCE

In October this year, Armenia and Turkey signed a historic deal on normalizing ties and reopening their borders. Observers said the United States has played a crucial role in bringing them together.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton helped mediate the deal when signing of the accord was delayed more than three hours by last-minute disagreement between the two countries over the wording of a statement.

Turkey and Armenia have been bogged down over a century-old row over the killing of 1.5 million Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. Turkey denies Armenia's charge of a genocide.

And Turkey has sided with Azerbaijan in its territorial dispute with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In 1993, Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in a gesture of support for Azerbaijan.

Analysts noted that reconciliation between the two long-time rivals will help Washington's strategies for Iran and Afghanistan and ensure the safe supply of Caspian energy.

Meanwhile, thawing ties between Armenia and Turkey will make it difficult for Russia to justify its military base in Armenia as the base was allegedly intended to maintain stability on the Armenian-Turkish borders.

Yet, Russia still maintains close ties with Armenia both bilaterally and within the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a post-Soviet security bloc which consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Analysts noted that substantial improvement of ties between Armenia and Turkey seems likely in the near future, but the settlement of outstanding issues concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh region and Georgia's breakaway regions will take more time, and as such, the South Caucasus region will remain a focus for rivalry between Washington and Moscow.
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12.: Pentagon Readies "Ethical, Autonomous' Battlefield Robots

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:06 pm (PST)

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/12/army_robots_122709w/

Air Force Times
December 28, 2009

Robots to shape wars of the future
By Kathleen Curthoys and Matthew Cox

Robots may one day be more effective than human soldiers on the battlefield and they may have a sense of ethics — even a sense of guilt, says a robotics expert who has done a study with the support of the Army's research office.

Ethical robots that can use lethal force on the battlefield would adhere to international law and rules of engagement, Ronald C. Arkin told Army Times on Dec. 15. Arkin describes how this could work in his 2009 book "Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots." He is with the Mobile Robot Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Here's what the future of robots may hold: Human soldiers eventually may not be up to speed compared to "humane-oids" in the battle space, Arkin says. Future developments may lead to robotic sensors better equipped than soldiers to maintain situational awareness and process information quickly about situations in which lethal force might be used.

Mr. Spock can relate to certain advantages of having robots in the combat zone: They are free of human emotion, which can distort judgment, and they don't express anger or frustration. But Arkin envisions robots designed with some capabilities — if not exactly feelings — that would be constructive: Remorse, compassion, and yes, guilt.

Robots designed to have guilt operate this way, according to a research paper co-written by Arkin and colleague Patrick Ulam: The robots would be designed with an "ethical adaptor," while each weapon system they carry would be grouped according to its destructive power and each group of weapons associated with a specific guilt threshold.

Highly destructive weapons would have lower thresholds for guilt than less destructive weapons. When the guilt level exceeds the threshold for a weapon, the weapon system is deactivated, with the intent to reduce collateral damage. Arkin's example: An unmanned aerial vehicle has three systems: GBU precision-guided bombs, Hellfire missiles and a chain gun. The UAV engages the enemy with the GBU and finds the attack resulted in civilian casualties.

Then the ethical adaptor determines the guilt level should be raised and the GBU is deactivated. Next, the UAV uses a Hellfire, and there is more collateral damage so the guilt level is raised again. This time, the resulting level of guilt reaches the maximum allowed and all weapons systems are deactivated, according to the paper. There is a loophole — the operator can override the guilt sub-system.

Robots in combat might even snitch on soldiers. When working on a team with humans, the robots may have the potential to objectively monitor "ethical behavior in the battlefield by all parties" and report infractions, Arkin said.

The technology may be ready for ethical, autonomous robots to be fielded for certain types of combat operations within 10 to 20 years, provided there is sufficient study and funding, Arkin said. Further study is needed on the ethical component and the capability of discriminating between the enemy and noncombatants, he said. The Army hasn't announced whether it plans to use such robots.
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13.: U.S. Arms Merchants, Pentagon To Unleash Battlefield Laser Weapons

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:10 pm (PST)

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66915

Stars and Stripes
December 29, 2009

Military working to unleash laser weapons
By Mark Abramson

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany: The military is inching closer to using laser weapons on the battlefield after recent tests in which lasers were used to shoot down a drone aircraft and were fired from an airplane to damage a vehicle on the ground.

The Air Force recently test-fired its Advanced Tactical Laser from a C-130 Hercules, scorching a truck's hood. And last month the Army and Air Force teamed with Boeing Co. for a demonstration in which lasers on the ground shot down drones at China Lake, Calif., company officials said.

Laser weapon projects in the works include the Navy's powerful Free Electron Laser; the Advanced Tactical Laser; the Laser Avenger, which was used to shoot down the drones at China Lake; and the Army's High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator, or HEL TD.

"The technology is there," said Scott McPheeters, senior research engineer at the Army's Program Executive Office Missiles and Space in Huntsville, Ala. "What we need to do is get the systems put into more rugged configurations [to handle different environments]."

One of the reasons the Army is interested in lasers is because lasers travel at the speed of light, which means such systems have a quick reaction time, McPheeters said.

Some laser weapons the Army is working on could be ready in as little as six months, but fielding those weapons would take longer due to procurement and production processes, McPheeters said. The HEL TD could take two or three years to put together, he said.

Lee Gutheinz, Boeing's program director for High Energy Laser/Electro Optical Systems for Directed Energy Systems, described HEL TD as a "wheeled mobile laser cannon" with a range of eight to 10 kilometers.

Northrop Grumman Corp. and Textron Systems also are developing the lasers for the HEL TD, McPheeters said.

The Navy's pursuit of lasers includes a special center at its Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif., opened this month, to test a Free Electron Laser on loan from Stanford University, said Bill Colson, a professor and FEL expert at the Navy school. The Air Force has shown an interest as well, he said.

Air Force officials declined to be interviewed for this story.

The Navy has spent $120 million on FEL research since 1997, and hopes to develop such a weapon to knock anti-ship missiles out of the sky and defeat other threats to its fleet by 2025, a release said. Other uses mentioned include taking out smaller ships, including pirate skiffs.

"It doesn't destroy as much as a lot of other offensive weapons would, which is one of its advantages and disadvantages," Colson said.

Laser systems do have drawbacks, officials said. Dirty, gusty, cloudy or rainy conditions could hamper lasers' ranges and cause other problems.

To see the laser in action, visit the Boeing Web site at: http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/ic/des/videos/index.html
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14.: Spanish NATO Troops Man Massive Afghan Base

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:20 pm (PST)

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=149772&Itemid=1

Prensa Latina
December 28, 2009

Spain Without a Date to Leave Afghanistan

-[J]udging by the amazing Spanish base being built close to the airport of the capital of the Province of Badghis, the withdrawal will not come soon.
This base will have a capacity to accommodate around 300,000 soldiers and its cost will exceed 44 million euros. The base will have an extension of around 173 acres and a perimeter of 3 miles.

Madrid: The Spanish Minister of Defence Carmen Chacon avoided fixing a date for an eventual withdrawal of its troops that are still deployed in Afghanistan.

Chacon has recently visited the contingent of the Iberian nation which is part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to congratulate in person the Spanish soldiers and to mark Christmas parties and the New Year, the media highlighted Monday.
....
As part of her first visit to the occupied country, the official had a breakfast in the aerodrome of the Afghan capital with a group of more than 70 Spanish military personnel responsible for its management and administration since last October and until March 31.

She praised the soldiers for their dedicated work and conveyed regards and recognition from President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and King Juan Carlos.

The El Pais daily underlined that in constrast to US President Barack Obama's announcement, who fixed for the second semester of 2011 the date to initiate the withdrawal of his troops, Spain doesn't want to fix a date for its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
....
According to El Pais, judging by the amazing Spanish base being built close to the airport of the capital of the Province of Badghis, the withdrawal will not come soon.

This base will have a capacity to accommodate around 300,000 soldiers and its cost will exceed 44 million euros. The base will have an extension of around 173 acres and a perimeter of 3 miles.

Spain has 1,068 soldiers in Afganistan under the ISAF, 998 permanent and 70 temporary who in charge of managing the Kabul Airport.

The Spainish contingent is mainly deployed in Herat and Qala e Naw, in the western region of the country.

Another 511 soldiers will joing the contingent at the beginning of 2010 in response to a demand by Washington and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
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15.: Spanish Afghan War Casualties: 90 Dead, 150 Seriously Wounded

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:26 pm (PST)

http://www.theleader.info/article/21060/chacon-pays-surprise-visit-to-afghanistan/

The Leader (Spain)
December 28, 2009

CHACON PAYS SURPRISE VISIT TO AFGHANISTAN
Kevin Reardon

After the death of Cristo Ancor Cabello Santana in an attack on 7 October the death toll resulting from the Spanish mission in Afghanistan rose to 90 personnel. A further 150 soldiers have been seriously injured.

The previous fatal attack suffered by the Spanish contingent in Afghanistan took place on 9 November 2008, when a suicide bomber killed two soldiers of the Light Airborne brigade (BRILAT), Juan Andres Suarez García and Ruben Alonso Ríos.

The first victims of the Spanish contingent were the 63 servicemen killed in the crash of the Yakovlev-42 transport plane on 26 May 2003 in Trabzon (Turkey) when they were returning to their base in Zaragoza having completed their peace keeping mission.

Two years later, on 16 August 2005, 17 military personnel aboard a Cougar helicopter died when it crashed in Shindad (Afghanistan) whilst conducting a reconnaissance flight with another Spanish detachment.

Aside from the aircraft crashes, the first serviceman killed in Afghanistan was Air Force doctor, Captain of the Air Force, Jesus de la Pascua Belaustegui, who died of a heart attack on 24 October 2005. The first military victim from an attack by the Afghan insurgents was the Peruvian soldier Jorge Arnaldo Hernandez Seminario, who was travelling in a vehicle that was hit by an antitank mine on July 8, 2006.

On 21 February 2007, a soldier, Idoia Rodriguez Bujan, also died as a result of an exploding anti-tank mine planted on a road in the Shindad district.

After Rodriguez's death Sergeant Juan Antonio Abril Sanchez was killed on 26 May 2007 in an accident with his High Mobility Tactical vehicle (VAMTAC). The Spanish detachment suffered a further terrorist attack on 24 September 2007 when two soldiers, German Perez Burgos and Stanley Mera Vera died with their translator Roohulah Mosavi.

Meanwhile in support of her troops the Minister of Defence, Carmon Chacon, paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Monday. She arrived in Kabul at 6.30 am (2.00 GMT) where she said she hoped to provide at least a little Christmas cheer to over 1000 Spanish military.

Chacon was accompanied by the Chief of the Defence Staff (CHODs) Gen. Jose Julio Rodriguez, arriving on board an aircraft of the Spanish Armed Forces in Kabul airport, where a group of Spanish 70 military has been responsible for the airport's management since last October.

For reasons of security the visit was kept secret and comes only a week after the Spanish contingent was attacked by insurgents, and days after an Afghan civilian was killed by gunfire from a Spanish military.

After spending an hour at Kabul airport, Chacon travelled on board a Hercules plane that took her to Qala e Naw, where she visited the PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) led by Spain in western Afghanistan.

Today, Spain has 1,068 military personnel stationed permanently in Afghanistan, split between the airport in Kabul and the PRT in Herat.

Earlier this year Spain sent an additional 511 troops to meet the demands of the U.S. administration and NATO as the country's increased contribution to the international community in Afghanistan.
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16.: British Afghan Death Toll: 244, 107 This Year

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:33 pm (PST)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8433153.stm

BBC News
December 28, 2009

UK soldier killed in Afghanistan explosion

A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The soldier, from 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed while on patrol in the Kajaki area of Helmand province during Monday afternoon.

His next of kin have been informed of his death, which brings the number of UK soldiers killed in the conflict since 2001 to 244.
....
Of the 244 deaths since the war began, 107 have happened in 2009 alone.
....
Christmas Day saw many troops in Afghanistan carrying out their usual front-line patrols.
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17.: NATO Trains Iraqi Internal Security Forces

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

Mon Dec 28, 2009 5:08 pm (PST)

http://www.blackanthem.com/News/iraqi-freedom/Change-of-Command-Ceremony-in-Gendarmerie-Training-Division21618.shtml

NATO Training Mission - Iraq
December 28, 2009

Change of Command Ceremony in Gendarmerie Training Division

BAGHDAD, Iraq: All NATO Training Mission-Iraq carabinieri gathered near the Baghdad International Airport for the Gendarmerie Training Division change of command ceremony here Dec. 27.

Col. Mauro Isidori replaced Col. Luciano Zubani as the GTD NTM-I commander.
....
NTM-I commander Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero awarded the NATO medal to Zubani and 15 other carabineers and thanked them for their dedicated service to the National Police of Iraq.
....
At the close of the ceremony, Zubani welcomed his successor, Col. Mauro Isidori.

Under Zubani's command, GTD of NTM-I successfully accomplished three courses that trained 2,564 Iraqi police students.
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18.: Afghan Soldier Shoots American, Italian Troops: NATO

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

Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:12 am (PST)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hW5PYptHgKyikZZqgN22A8Ba6kQg

Agence France-Presse
December 29, 2009

Afghan soldier shoots US, Italian troops: NATO

KABUL: An Afghan soldier opened fire on foreign troops wounding one American and two Italian soldiers in western Afghanistan on Tuesday, military officials said.

A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the US soldier was wounded, but few other details were available.

"I can confirm that an incident occurred today in western Afghanistan. I confirm an Afghan soldier opened fire on Italian and US forces," he said.

ISAF said the incident was under investigation.

An Italian military spokesman said the attack took place at 11:30am (0700 GMT) during a supply operation in Bala Murghab.
....
It was unclear if the incident was an accident or "friendly fire" and no other details were immediately available.

Last month, a rogue Afghan policemen shot dead five British soldiers in southern Afghanistan, in an attack later claimed by the Taliban.

The incident fueled questions about training programmes for the Afghan police and army, which are chasing massive government-set quotas and have been accused of dropping standards to achieve the numbers.

Italy is among more than 40 NATO nations to deploy soldiers in Afghanistan to fight alongside the Afghan army against the Taliban, who are waging an intensifying insurgency.

Around 113,000 foreign soldiers under US and NATO command in Afghanistan are due to be supplemented by another 36,800 during 2010.

Italy this month announced plans to add 1,000 troops, which would bring its Afghan contingent to 3,800, making it one of NATO's largest.

Six Italian soldiers, along with 10 Afghan civilians, were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in September, in what was one of the deadliest attacks on NATO troops in the more than eight years of the war.
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19.: NATO Tankers Damaged In Pakistan Attack

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

Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:13 am (PST)

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/04-quetta-sibi-highway-blast-qs-04

Dawn News
December 29, 2009

Blast damages Nato tankers on Quetta-Sibi highway

QUETTA: A man was injured and four Nato tankers were damaged in a blast on Tuesday which took place on the highway connecting Quetta and Sibi, DawnNews reported.

According to Sibi police, unknown assailants had planted a bomb beneath a Nato tanker parked on the national highway along with over two dozen other Nato tankers near a restaurant.

The bomb exploded causing injuries to one person and damaging four Nato tankers.

Police rushed to the site soon after the incident and recovered another powerful bomb which had been planted under another Nato tanker. The bomb disposal squad was trying to defuse the explosive. ===========================
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20.: Russia To Develop Strategic Weapons To Counter U.S. Missile Shield

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

Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:17 am (PST)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20091229/157413385.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
December 29, 2009

Russia to continue offensive arms to balance U.S. shield - Putin

VLADIVOSTOK: Russia will continue developing offensive armaments to counter U.S. missile defenses, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told reporters on Tuesday.

"We must continue developing offensive systems," the prime minister said in Vladivostok, adding that it will help "preserve a strategic balance" with the United States which, unlike Russia, is sticking to its missile shield program.

"If we want to exchange information, let the U.S. share its information on missile defense and we will provide information on offensive weapons," he said.

Putin described talks with the U.S. on a new strategic offensive arms reduction treaty as "positive."

The START 1 treaty expired on December 5. The new treaty is expected to be signed in early 2010.

Putin said the treaty should contain "certain rules on arms reduction," which should be "equally understood, easily tested and transparent."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama announced at their first meeting in April that the countries would replace the START I treaty as part of their efforts to "reset" bilateral ties.

The treaty's outline agreed by the presidents included cutting nuclear arsenals to 1,500-1,675 operational warheads and delivery vehicles to 500-1,000.
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