Messages In This Digest (13 Messages)
- 1.
- Somalia, Yemen: Will U.S. Pursue Four Front War? From: Rick Rozoff
- 2.
- Pentagon Pushes Integrated Missile System In Persian Gulf From: Rick Rozoff
- 3.
- NATO Readies More Estonian Troops For Afghanistan From: Rick Rozoff
- 4.
- Bulgaria: Israel Follows Pentagon, NATO Into Black Sea From: Rick Rozoff
- 5.
- Serbia: 200 Intellectuals Demand Referendum To Block NATO Drive From: Rick Rozoff
- 6.
- Russia, China, Iran redraw energy map From: linguisticresearch
- 8.
- Georgian Opposition Party: U.S. Staged "Color" Coups Worldwide From: Rick Rozoff
- 9.
- Report: U.S. To Provide Taiwan Interceptor Missile-Capable Warships From: Rick Rozoff
- 10.
- Ex-General, Lockheed VP Cites Russia, China To Boost Missile Shield From: Rick Rozoff
- 11.
- Call for Signatures Protesting Base Construction that will Destroy C From: Rick Rozoff
- 12.
- Mr. Obama: No War Is Just From: Rick Rozoff
- 13.
- John McCain: Hero Of Georgia From: Rick Rozoff
Messages
- 1.
-
Somalia, Yemen: Will U.S. Pursue Four Front War?
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:07 pm (PST)
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20100111/157512538.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
January 11, 2010
Will Obama put U.S. boots on the ground in Yemen?
Andrei Fedyashin
-Adding up all four fronts - if the United States ventured an attack on Yemen and Somalia - America would have to invade a territory equal to three-fourths of Western Europe; and it is hardly strong enough for that.
Moscow: U.S. President Barack Obama said he has "no intention" of sending troops to Yemen to combat militant groups there, in an interview with the People magazine, dated January 11.
He also said America so far had no plans of invading Somalia either, although the two countries practice an alarmingly soft approach to al-Qaeda, and Yemen is growing into a problem in the global fight against terrorism.
Admittedly, instead of "military injections of democracy," the United States will increase allocations for the anti-terrorist support of Yemen's government (to $130 million a year) and will also provide other kinds of support such as training local police. This approach is certainly better than bombs and the resulting devastating consequences for the entire Horn of Africa region.
The most ardent Republicans have been urging Obama to do something about Yemen since the failed bomb attack on a U.S. airliner headed from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian student who brought the bomb on board, was allegedly acting on Al-Qaeda's orders and had been trained in Yemen.
Joe Lieberman Senator from Connecticut, who declared himself an independent democrat several years ago but supported republican John McCain in the 2008 election, even urged Obama to make a preventive strike against Yemen.
America must have learned a few lessons from the difficult campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan; or maybe not - only time will tell. Speaking about Yemen as a growing terrorist threat, Obama said: "I have no intention of sending U.S. boots on the ground in these regions."
However, as is often the case with presidents, Obama made sure he did not cancel other options. Why should he drive himself into a corner? He also made his statement conditional on a very important factor, saying he was not going to send troops "while the local governments remain effective partners."
The proviso sounds bizarre. Anyone familiar with the current situation in Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, would not believe that its government could be an "effective partner" for Obama. Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, first elected in 1999, then reelected for a second term until 2013, is in control of about 40% of the country, which has already amnestied several Al-Qaeda fighters, where corruption has reached an incredible scale and a guerilla warfare is flaring in the north.
As for Somalia, any "effective partnership" with that country's government is out of the question, since it is in control only of the capital city at best.
Therefore, Obama's statement would have been highly confusing if the international community didn't know the background of his current "fronts." The U.S. president certainly has too much on his plate at this point to open a new front in Yemen, not with ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and an additional "antinuclear" front in Iran.
Yemen's territory of 528,000 sq km is bigger than Iraq, although smaller than Afghanistan. Most American analysts agree that invading it could lead to disastrous consequences and could send international terrorism and Muslim anti-Americanism surging to unprecedented heights.
....
Most analysts agree that an invasion of Yemen would entail an inevitable attack on Somalia, because Al-Qaeda would quickly redeploy its main forces across the strait, to territories out of any government control.
Adding up all four fronts - if the United States ventured an attack on Yemen and Somalia - America would have to invade a territory equal to three-fourths of Western Europe; and it is hardly strong enough for that. Neither is it daring and decisive enough, considering the predictable surge of anti-American sentiment in the Islamic world after such a move.
===========================
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==============================
- 2.
-
Pentagon Pushes Integrated Missile System In Persian Gulf
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:08 pm (PST)
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100112/NATIONAL/701119837/1010
The National (United Arab Emirates}
January 11, 2010
US wants GCC to share defence data
Mahmoud Habboush
-Lt Gen Hostage said....he was "very optimistic" that the Gulf states would work with the US on organising a missile defence system "as quickly as possible".
ABU DHABI: A top US official said yesterday he has discussed with GCC officials the possibility of setting up a shared early warning system and enhancing the region's ballistic-missile deterrence.
"I am attempting to organise a regional integrated air and missile defence capability with our GCC partners," said Lt Gen Michael Hostage, commander of the US Air Force Central Command.
But some military officials from the region questioned the benefits of such an arrangement.
Retired Gen Khalid al Buainnain, the former chief of the UAE Armed Forces, said GCC states were asking such questions as: "What are the benefits? Why would they need a new partner since they have their own capabilities?"
.....
Lt Gen Hostage said he is hoping to connect the electronic systems, as well, so that data can be shared instantly among the Gulf countries and the US bases in the region.
But Gulf military sources have said the US had not made a concrete offer in terms of sharing data, and that the US would be the only beneficiary of the new early warning capabilities the Gulf nations have acquired at high cost, mostly from US firms.
When asked whether the US early warning systems in the region were enough to cover the whole region or would need to tap into the resources of other countries in the region, Lt Gen Hostage responded: "I see all I need to see. My GCC partners see much of what they need to see. I can offer them more."
....
Lt Gen Hostage said....he was "very optimistic" that the Gulf states would work with the US on organising a missile defence system "as quickly as possible".
....
----------------------------------------------------------
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/us-sharing-missile-data-with-gcc-1.566715
Gulf News (United Arab Emirates}
Janaury 12, 2010
US sharing missile data with GCC
By Samir Salama
Abu Dhabi: The United States is providing GCC member countries immediate access to intelligence on missile launches to help its Gulf allies defend themselves, a top US official said on Monday.
The shared early warning system, which links GCC countries to sophisticated US intelligence satellites that can spot a missile launch instantly, is working at the tactical operations level, Lieutenant General Mike Hostage, commander US Air Forces Central Command, told Gulf News.
Hostage, who is responsible for developing contingency plans and conducting air operations in a 20-nation area covering central and southwest Asia, was speaking on the sidelines of the Middle East Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Conference.
Hostage, however, pointed out certain challenges were facing the intelligence sharing between the GCC countries and the US at the policy level.
He did not elaborate because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The early warning system enables the Gulf countries to have a direct link to what US sensors are able to pick up, thus obtaining near real-time information on air and missile attacks to enhance each nation's ability to defend itself.
....
"Ballistic missile threat is a common concern and the answer must be common. The GCC needs a national and multinational ballistic missile defence (BMD) to counter long-range proliferating regional ballistic missile threats," [General Al Buainain] said.
....
===========================
Stop NATO
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==============================
- 3.
-
NATO Readies More Estonian Troops For Afghanistan
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:08 pm (PST)
http://www.estonianfreepress.com/2010/01/estonia-to-increase-forces-in-afghanistan
Estonian Free Press
January 8, 2010
Estonia to Increase Forces in Afghanistan
Emilio Spanu
The new American strategy for Afghanistan consists in sending more troops to the Asian country.
The war, started by the former Washington administration, is going to involve soon 100,000 American military....
Estonia is one of the countries that participate in the war, and now 150 soldiers from the Baltic country are involved in the conflict and it's likely that more troops are going to be sent.
According to Eesti Paevaleht Online reports, the Estonian Defence Ministry is considering to send to Afghanistan a small unity with special skills.
The mandate received is to send up to 170 military, and the Estonian government is not planning to exceed this number.
At this moment, the 150 Estonian military involved in the conflict are in an area that is controlled by UK troops.
Estonia has been taking part in the conflict from 2003 and there are no yet fixed dates when the new military will be sent to Afghanistan.
===========================
Stop NATO
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==============================
- 4.
-
Bulgaria: Israel Follows Pentagon, NATO Into Black Sea
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:08 pm (PST)
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n206356
Focus News Agency
January 11. 2010
Joint military trainings between Bulgaria and Israel under discussion
Jerusalem: Bulgaria and Israel have discussed the possibility of Israeli aircraft using Bulgarian military bases for training.
This became clear within the sidelines of the two-day visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to Israel and his visit with his Israeli counterpart Benyamin Netanyahu, FOCUS News Agency special messenger to Israel Denka Katsarska reported.
Israel has one of the most developed military industries worldwide. Later today is due to be signed a memorandum on military cooperation between Bulgaria and Israel.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2010-01-12&article=31778
Standart News
January 11, 2010
Israel Delivers All-terrain Vehicles to Bulgaria
Israeli pilots may train at Bulgaria's airbases
Siana Sevova
Israel may deliver to Bulgaria eight cross-country military vehicles of the Desert Cat type.
This emerged on the first day of Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov's visit to the state of Israel. Mr. Borissov and Defense Minister Nikolay Mladenov had a look at prototypes of the two kinds of cross country vehicles, which the Bulgarian government has purchased for the army. The abilities of the two types of all-terrain military vehicles were demonstrated before the Bulgarian delegation, yesterday.
It is expected that the eight cross-country vehicles, four of each kind, will be supplied to Bulgaria in March.
The visit of the Bulgarian PM to Israel started with a meeting with the country's PM Benjamin Netanyahu. During their talk, the two discussed options for Israeli fighter pilots' training at Bulgaria's airbases.
Later that day, Bulgaria's Defense Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, had a talk with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak. The two were expected to sign a memorandum of military cooperation between Bulgaria and Israel.
On the Bulgarian delegation led by PM Boyko Borissov there are representatives of military plants, who are expected to take part in the discussions on the Bulgarian-Israeli cooperation in the sphere of defense and security.
===========================
Stop NATO
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==============================
- 5.
-
Serbia: 200 Intellectuals Demand Referendum To Block NATO Drive
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:09 pm (PST)
http://glassrbije.org/E/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9646&Itemid=26
Serbian Radio
January 11, 2010
Request for a referendum on Serbia's joining NATO
A group of eminent persons in Serbia has submitted a request to competent institutions for a referendum on the issue of Serbia's joining NATO.
In their request, read out by academician and writer Matija Beckovic at a press conference, the signatories stressed the military neutrality of Serbia would be no exception at all and that there was one more reason for such a status – the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999. They also claim that, by entering NATO, Serbia would recognize independence of Kosovo.
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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=01&dd=11&nav_id=64393
Beta News Agency
January 11, 2010
200 intellectuals want referendum on NATO
BELGRADE: A group of 200 intellectuals has asked the Serbian parliament to call a referendum on the country's possible future NATO membership.
"Serbia has many times, from the world's most important podiums, said it will 'never recognize an independent state of Kosovo', and that means that Serbia will never join NATO."
"'Independent Kosovo' is NATO's doing, it created this phony state and gave itself supreme and unchallenged powers [there]," the group said in its request, read during a news conference in Belgrade this Monday by author and member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) Matija Beckovic.
The letter adds that a "militarily neutral Serbia, true to herself and her own traditions, is no exception".
"Serbia also has another reason [not to join], that no other country has, and that is the criminal NATO bombing and destruction of Serbia and her people, while trampling on sacrosanct norms of international law. That reason has not been produced from times immemorial, nor is some other NATO, rather than this one, responsible for that crime," the intellectuals wrote, in reference to the 1999 attacks the Western military alliance staged against then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ).
This is a reason that the Serb people cannot ignore, without ignoring their own memory and their own dignity, the intellectuals further said.
Beckovic said that while Serbia's NATO membership is "discussed in every family in the country", there is fear that this could be done behind citizens' backs and behind closed doors.
"If that is not the case, all the better, but, once bitten, twice shy. It would not be a first for some institution to solve an issue of common importance. This question is such that no one party, government, or even parliament can solve. No nation would hand an issue of this kind over to someone else," he said.
Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) President Ljiljana Smajlovic, who signed the document on her own behalf, said there is a general national consensus about Serbia's NATO membership, and that is not visible because of otherwise deep political divisions.
"That consensus does not favor Serbia's NATO membership, and we are asking that the citizens be given an opportunity to express this consensus in a referendum."
She reminded that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was quoted as saying that "Serbia needs a debate" on joining the alliance.
"Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac says that the best answer about Serbia's NATO membership would be provided by the business and security people and that the real issue is whether it's best to have real estate worth more or less. High real estate prices are favorable to those who have lots of real estate. There is this manner of the people in power in Serbia to start off from whatever suits those who have a lot," Smajlovic said.
She pointed out that "whether real estate prices will go up or down" is not Serbia's major issue.
Member of the Council of the Broadcasting Agency Svetozar Stojanovic, who signed the document as a private citizen, also took part in the news conference today and reminded that Serbian citizens' will regarding the country's military neutrality was expressed only indirectly through parliament, which adopted a declaration to that end.
"It's surprising that people in power are making statements which are contrary to the parliamentary declaration," Stojanovic commented, and added that he believed Serbians would say no to NATO membership if given a chance in a referendum.
The document was, among others, signed by former PM Vojislav Kostunica, film director Emir Kustrica, SPC Metropolitan Amfilohije, Bishop Atanasije, and former Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic.
===========================
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==============================
- 6.
-
Russia, China, Iran redraw energy map
Posted by: "linguisticresearch" LinguisticResearch@gmx.de
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:12 pm (PST)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/LA08Ag01.html
*Jan 8, 2010 *
**Russia, China, Iran redraw energy map* *
By M K Bhadrakumar
The inauguration of the Dauletabad-Sarakhs-Khangiran pipeline on
Wednesday connecting Iran's northern Caspian region with Turkmenistan's
vast gas field may go unnoticed amid the Western media cacophony that it
is "apocalypse now" for the Islamic regime in Tehran.
The event sends strong messages for regional security. Within the space
of three weeks, Turkmenistan has committed its entire gas exports to
China, Russia and Iran. It has no urgent need of the pipelines that the
United States and the European Union have been advancing. Are we hearing
the faint notes of a Russia-China-Iran symphony?
The 182-kilometer Turkmen-Iranian pipeline starts modestly with
the pumping of 8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Turkmen gas. But its
annual capacity is 20bcm, and that would meet the energy requirements of
Iran's Caspian region and enable Tehran to free its own gas production
in the southern fields for export. The mutual interest is perfect:
Ashgabat gets an assured market next door; northern Iran can consume
without fear of winter shortages; Tehran can generate more surplus for
exports; Turkmenistan can seek transportation routes to the world market
via Iran; and Iran can aspire to take advantage of its excellent
geographical location as a hub for the Turkmen exports.
We are witnessing a new pattern of energy cooperation at the regional
level that dispenses with Big Oil. Russia traditionally takes the lead.
China and Iran follow the example. Russia, Iran and Turkmenistan hold
respectively the world's largest, second-largest and fourth-largest gas
reserves. And China will be consumer par excellence in this century. The
matter is of profound consequence to the US global strategy.
The Turkmen-Iranian pipeline mocks the US's Iran policy. The US is
threatening Iran with new sanctions and claims Tehran is "increasingly
isolated". But Mahmud Ahmadinejad's presidential jet winds its way
through a Central Asian tour and lands in Ashgabat for a red-carpet
welcome by his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, and a
new economic axis emerges. Washington's coercive diplomacy hasn't
worked. Turkmenistan, with a gross domestic product of US$18.3 billion,
defied the sole superpower (GDP of $14.2 trillion) - and, worse still,
made it look routine.
There are subplots, too. Tehran claims to have a deal with Ankara to
transport Turkmen gas to Turkey via the existing 2,577km pipeline
connecting Tabriz in northwestern Iran with Ankara. Indeed, Turkish
diplomacy has an independent foreign-policy orientation. Turkey also
aspires to be a hub for Europe's energy supplies. Europe may be losing
the battle for establishing direct access to the Caspian.
Second, Russia does not seem perturbed by China tapping into Central
Asian energy. Europe's need for Russian energy imports has dropped and
Central Asian energy-producing countries are tapping China's market.
From the Russian point of view, China's imports should not deprive it
of energy (for its domestic consumption or exports). Russia has
established deep enough presence in the Central Asian and Caspian energy
sector to ensure it faces no energy shortage.
What matters most to Russia is that its dominant role as Europe's No 1
energy provider is not eroded. So long as the Central Asian countries
have no pressing need for new US-backed trans-Caspian pipelines, Russia
is satisfied.
During his recent visit to Ashgabat, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
normalized Russian-Turkmen energy ties. The restoration of ties with
Turkmenistan is a major breakthrough for both countries. One, a frozen
relationship is being resumed substantially, whereby Turkmenistan will
maintain an annual supply of 30bcm to Russia. Two, to quote Medvedev,
"For the first time in the history of Russian-Turkmen relations, gas
supplies will be carried out based on a price formula that is absolutely
in line with European gas market conditions." Russian commentators say
Gazprom will find it unprofitable to buy Turkmen gas and if Moscow has
chosen to pay a high price, that is primarily because of its resolve not
to leave gas that could be used in alternative pipelines, above all in
the US-backed Nabucco project.
<http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/images/pipelines2070110.gif>
Third, contrary to Western propaganda, Ashgabat does not see the Chinese
pipeline as a substitute for Gazprom. Russia's pricing policy ensures
that Ashgabat views Gazprom as an irreplaceable customer. The export
price of the Turkmen gas to be sold to China is still under negotiation
and the agreed price simply cannot match the Russian offer.
Fourth, Russia and Turkmenistan reiterated their commitment to the
Caspian Coastal Pipeline (which will run along the Caspian's east coast
toward Russia) with a capacity of 30bcm. Evidently, Russia hopes to
cluster additional Central Asian gas from Turkmenistan (and Kazakhstan).
Fifth, Moscow and Ashgabat agreed to build jointly an east-west pipeline
connecting all Turkmen gas fields to a single network so that the
pipelines leading toward Russia, Iran and China can draw from any of the
fields.
Indeed, against the backdrop of the intensification of the US push
toward Central Asia, Medvedev's visit to Ashgabat impacted on regional
security. At the joint press conference with Medvedev, Berdymukhammedov
said the views of Turkmenistan and Russia on the regional processes,
particularly in Central Asia and the Caspian region, were generally the
same. He underlined that the two countries were of the view that the
security of one cannot be achieved at the expense of the other. Medvedev
agreed that there was similarity or unanimity between the two countries
on issues related to security and confirmed their readiness to work
together.
The United States' pipeline diplomacy in the Caspian, which strove to
bypass Russia, elbow out China and isolate Iran, has foundered. Russia
is now planning to double its intake of Azerbaijani gas, which further
cuts into the Western efforts to engage Baku as a supplier for Nabucco.
In tandem with Russia, Iran is also emerging as a consumer of
Azerbaijani gas. In December, Azerbaijan inked an agreement to deliver
gas to Iran through the 1,400km Kazi-Magomed-Astara pipeline.
The "big picture" is that Russia's South Stream and North Stream, which
will supply gas to northern and southern Europe, have gained
irreversible momentum. The stumbling blocks for North Stream have been
cleared as Denmark (in October), Finland and Sweden (in November) and
Germany (in December) approved the project from the environmental angle.
The pipeline's construction will commence in the spring.
The $12-billion pipeline built jointly by Gazprom, Germany's E.ON
Ruhrgas and BASF-Wintershall, and the Dutch gas transportation firm
Gasunie bypasses the Soviet-era transit routes via Ukraine, Poland and
Belarus and runs from the northwestern Russian port of Vyborg to the
German port of Greifswald along a 1,220km route under the Baltic Sea.
The first leg of the project with a carrying capacity of 27.5bcm
annually will be completed next year and the capacity will double by
2012. North Stream will profoundly affect the geopolitics of Eurasia,
trans-Atlantic equations and Russia's ties with Europe.
To be sure, 2009 proved to be a momentous year for the "energy war". The
Chinese pipeline inaugurated by President Hu Jintao on December 14; the
oil terminal near the port city of Nakhodka in Russia's far east
inaugurated by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on December 27 (which will
be served by the mammoth $22-billion oil pipeline from the new fields in
eastern Siberia leading to China and the Asia-Pacific markets); and the
Iranian pipeline inaugurated by Ahmadinejad on January 6 - the energy
map of Eurasia and the Caspian has been virtually redrawn.
The year 2010 begins on a fascinating new note: will Russia, China and
Iran coordinate future moves or at least harmonize their competing
interests?
/Ambassador *M K Bhadrakumar* was a career diplomat in the Indian
Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea,
Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey./
- 7.
-
Sri Lankan candidate another CIA/facebook-Twitter-Youtube stooge
Posted by: "HCottin@aol.com" HCottin@aol.com kalinkanikkalou
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:17 pm (PST)
http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/01/army-general-turned-politician-sarat
h.html
Army General-turned-politician Sarath Fonseka : Tell me who your Twitter
friends are and I'll tell you who you are!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
"Vishvasaneeya Venasak" or US-backed soft coup d'état?
By Tania Noctiummes
(The views expressed are her own)
( January 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In a New Year Message being
circulated on internet in record time on a planetary scale, retired Army
General and Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka, declares his faith in "
voluntarism" and calls upon internautes for "their support to reach out to every
Sri Lankan, spreading the message of change for our great nation by
volunteering with our campaign, recruiting more volunteers to campaign in (their)
neighborhoods, signing up for our manifesto updates, Facebook updates,
email and mobile alerts, sending out emails to your fellow citizens
encouraging them to vote for change and to send us your valuable feed back to make
this movement for change a reality." The retired Army General also appeals to
internautes to "join the Fonseka Facebook fan page."
Curiously, Sarath Fonseka's campaign for "change" using new technologies,
notably Facebook developed with financing by the CIA enterprise In-Q-Tel,
is consonant with the new strategy of the US State Department for "regime
change" in countries that refuse servility to the US agenda, but without
giving the appearance of direct involvement. This "hi-tech" model was first
used in the Obama Presidential campaign and developed by architects of «
soft coup d'états » - Joe Rospars, director for the new media during the
campaign, Scott Goldstein, online director for Obama for America and Sam
Graham-Felson, director of blog.
With overt backing of the US State Department, this controversial new
strategy known as the Twitter Revolution using among its main weapons Twitter,
Facebook, and YouTube, has been applied in Venezuela by the US backed
students' movement manos blancas (white hands) and in the last virtual
demonstrations against President Chavez; in Moldavia during the anti-communist
protests; in Iran by anti-Government protestors and to organise DDoS attacks
against Iranian government websites; and in the Honduras, to support the
US-backed military coup d'état. Late December 2009 the Ukrainian NGO
Interenet-Ukraine launched a project aimed at monitoring 2010 Ukrainian presidential
election based on Twitter.
In a recent article, the reputed Venezuelan - US lawyer and analyst Eva
Gollinger describes this new strategy that seeks to merge US agencies, new
technologies such as internet (specially Facebook, Twitter, MySpace) and
youth with a view to mobilising young political leaders and promoters of social
movements to serve global US interests.
To implement this strategy, the Alliance of Youth Movements (AYM) was
created at a 2008 summit sponsored by the State Department, transnational
corporations involved in new technologies (such as FaceBook) and the Law Faculty
of Columbia University. Among the participants were members of the
Venezuelan opposition organization Súmate (financed by the CIA cover organisation
National Endowment for Democracy and USAID) and Colombian initiators of the
march No más Chávez (No more Chávez) and Un millón de voces contra Chavez
(A million votes against Chávez).
AYM defines itself as an alliance born in response to the appearance "on
the world scene, of a series of persons practically unknown, generally young
who master the most recent technologies and have done unbelievable things.
These persons have provoked great transformations of the real world in
countries like Colombia, Iran and Moldavia, using these common techniques to
get the young, and this is only the beginning." Its objective is to create "
a mechanism that allows supporting, educating and empowering these leaders
whose only office is an electronic address. They also do not have an
entity that can teach the traditional movements of the 20th century the
efficient use of instruments and medias of the 21st century to reach their
objectives."
From 15 to 16 October 2009, the State Department sponsored yet another AYM
summit in Mexico City bringing together young political leaders and
founders and representatives of new technologies such as Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube. The discussion focussed on how young people could become agents of "
regime change" using new technologies.
The summit was addressed via internet by Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton. Speakers included representatives of Freedom House, a notorious CIA
cover for the media, International Republican Institute (IRI) presided by
Senator John McCain, the State Department and the World Bank, as well as young
technology designers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Gen Next, Meetup and
YouTube. Main speakers were the three architects of soft coup d'états: Joe
Rospars, Scott Goldstein and Sam Graham-Felson.
The Summit reaffirmed US political and financial support to the student
movement of the Venezuelan opposition, demonstrating the sinister alliance
between Washington and new technologies.
Among "delegates" invited by the US State Department were persons linked
to movements of active destabilisation in Latin America: leaders of the
opposition in Venezuela such as Yon Goicochea and Geraldine Álvarez, known for
their links with Washington agencies; promoters of the march No Más Chávez
(No More Chavez!) convened via Facebook in September 2009; Marc
Wachtenheim of the Cuba Development Initiative, a project financed by the State
Department and USAID; Aryra Cedeño Proaño of USAID funded Corporación Foro de la
Juventud Guayaquil from Ecuador; Eduardo Ávila of Voces Bolivianas, a
Bolivian organization supported by the US Embassy and financed by USAID. Also
present were Sherif Mansour of Freedom House, Shaarik Zafar of US Homeland
Security, and eight other officials of the State Department.
Prashan De Visser was the Sri Lankan "delegate" invited by the US State
Department to participate. De Visser is President of Sri Lanka Unites (SLU),
an NGO whose goal is to train a new youth leadership and works with IDPs.
At a meeting on "Youth Leadership and Reconciliation" organised by the
American Centre of the US Embassy in Colombo on 31 November 2009, De Visser
talked on the challenges and opportunities for youth in the ongoing
reconciliation process in Sri Lanka after three decades of conflict. De Visser and
leaders of SLU are all Facebook, Twitter or YouTube fans. Patricia Butenis,
current US Ambassador to Sri Lanka infamous for her interference in the
internal affairs of states, had only just arrived. She had not wasted her
time! Who is Patricia Butenis? As US Ambassador to Bangladesh from March 2006
to June 2007, Butenis provoked general outrage by interfering in that country
's election process almost turning it into a US client state. She was also
accused of promoting the Islamist fundamentalist movement Jamaat-e-Islami
known for its terrorist activities. Long time protégé of neo conservative
stalwarts John Negroponte and Otto Reich, decried in Latin America for their
support to Nicaraguan Contras, the Cuban-American mafia in Miami and coup d
'états as a means of regime change, and who steered the US into a Middle
Eastern war unrelated to any plausible threat to US interests. Negroponte
and Butenis both served the Bush Administration in Iraq, the former as
Ambassador, the latter as Deputy Ambassador before being posted to Sri Lanka.
It is common knowledge that the retired General Saratha Fonseka is not
only owner of a Green Card, but has the green light from Washington for his
candidature. Now we also know that during his recent visit to Washington he
was converted to the US State Department's infamous Twitter Revolution!
No wonder the Army General-turned-politician does not speak of the
fundamental aspirations of the Sri Lankan people that he has the ambition of
leading to live in an independent and sovereign State free of any external
interference, free to determine their own social, economic and political system,
for food security, job security, humane living and working conditions,
improved well-being, equality and justice for all!
His abject failure to address the fundamental challenges of our times, a
global capitalist system in the worst crisis the world has ever witnessed,
the resettlement and rehabilitation of the hundreds and thousands of people
affected by an almost 30 year war that has just ended, a political solution
to the national question, and the development of a country that has at
last won the peace for which its people have made heavy sacrifices!
The US NGO shopping list style apology for a political programme proposed
by the aspiring-to-be-leader of the Sri Lankan people for a "prosperous"
nation of "Sri Lankans working together in unity and harmony" is based on
his declared faith in "voluntarism" of the individual, the neo liberal
panacea promoted by the US and its European junior partners as a substitute for
State responsibility in economic and social development and social
well-being, and in its imperialist quest to weaken and dismantle sovereign States!
Funds to finance promised salary increases, agricultural subsidies,
pensions, and vocational training for youth will come from tax slashes for the
private sector, which is already amassing profits on the backs of the working
class and the peasantry. Such a vision will only result in further
prosperity for an already wealthy elite, increased poverty and exploitation for
Sri Lanka's masses, irrespective of ethnic or religious origins, further
polarisation and resumption of a conflict that has destabilised the country
since gaining independence.
The one-time Army General advances a programme of destabilisation of the
State, a US agenda that will turn the strategically located island nation
into a client State.
While such an unpatriotic vision may be coherent with that of the UNP, the
JVP's adherence to it amounts to a betrayal of the Sri Lankan people!
Is it not then fitting and legitimate to pose the question as to the
veritable independence of this particular candidate?
- 8.
-
Georgian Opposition Party: U.S. Staged "Color" Coups Worldwide
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:24 pm (PST)
http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=140228
Interfax
Janaury 11, 2010
John McCain helped bring Saakashvili to power – Georgian Labor Party leader
-We again urge the U.S. Congress to investigate the activities of politicians who have staged...color revolutions globally, squandering billions of dollars, undermining the United States' authority and, ultimately, bringing the blood-thirsty Saakashvili and five percent Yushchenko to power."
TBILISI: The leader of Georgia's Labor Party Shalva Natelashvili has said U.S. Senator John McCain played a part in bringing current President Mikheil Saakashvili to power.
"McCain continues patronizing and lobbying terrorist and dictator Mikheil Saakashvili," Natelashvili said at a news conference on Monday.
"With the Bush grouping, McCain is responsible for the anti-constitutional coup in Georgia, called 'the Rose Revolution' and for Saakashvili's coming to power," he said.
"This tragedy ended up with the loss of independence, with Georgia becoming a colony and with the state's breakup and destruction. We again urge the U.S. Congress to investigate the activities of politicians who have staged the Trotskyite [sic] color revolutions globally, squandering billions of dollars, undermining the United States' authority and, ultimately, bringing the blood-thirsty Saakashvili and five percent Yushchenko to power," he said.
During McCain's meeting with Georgian opposition leaders in Batumi on Monday, Natelashvli said that he had not attended the meeting because he had been campaigning against McCain for six years and did not want to see him.
===========================
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- 9.
-
Report: U.S. To Provide Taiwan Interceptor Missile-Capable Warships
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:53 pm (PST)
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4448311&c=AME&s=SEA
Agence France-Presse
January 11, 2010
Taiwan To Buy Perry-Class Frigates From U.S.: Report
-The China Times report came less than a week after the U.S. said it had approved the sale of Patriot missile equipment to Taiwan as part of a package passed by Congress more than a year ago.
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan plans to buy eight second-hand Perry-class frigates from the United States despite improved ties with once-bitter foe China, a newspaper reported Jan. 11.
The deal with the United States would add to the existing Taiwanese inventory, as it already has eight Perry-class frigates built on the island. (AFP) The island hopes to arm them with a version of the advanced Aegis Combat System, which uses computers and radar to take out multiple targets, as well as sophisticated missile launch technology, the Taipei-based China Times said.
The defense ministry said in a reaction to the report that aging frigates now serving the navy needed to be phased out, but that it had not yet decided on the type of vessels that would replace them.
"The overall strategy of the armed forces will be taken into consideration as the defense ministry evaluates the plan," it said in a statement, adding that the budget would be another factor to be weighed.
The United States designed the Perry-class frigates in the 1970s and most remain in service, equipped with various forms of modern technology. The deal would add to Taiwan's existing inventory, as it already has eight Perry-class frigates built on the island.
The China Times report came less than a week after the U.S. said it had approved the sale of Patriot missile equipment to Taiwan as part of a package passed by Congress more than a year ago.
When unveiled in 2008, the package triggered strong protests from Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory and has vowed to take the island back by force if necessary.
The United States is the leading arms supplier to self-ruled Taiwan, even though it switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
....
===========================
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==============================
- 10.
-
Ex-General, Lockheed VP Cites Russia, China To Boost Missile Shield
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:40 pm (PST)
http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/business/1263118616204930.xml&coll=1
Huntsville Times
January 10, 2010
Global missile threat growing
By Kenneth Kesner
Lockheed outlines various programs under way for 2010
As the number of countries with missile programs grows, developing and fielding tools to protect U.S. troops and allies around the world is increasingly important, said retired Army Lt. Gen. John Holly, vice president of Lockheed Martin Missile Defense Systems in Huntsville.
"It used to be that many people viewed missile defense as a luxury," he said. "It's no longer a luxury. It's a necessity in terms of protecting U.S. as well as allied interests and forces and people in their homelands."
Holly outlined the growing global threat as he and other Lockheed missile defense leaders gave an overview of the company's programs for 2010 in a teleconference last week.
China and Russia are continuing active technology and weapons programs, he said. And proliferation continues: More than two dozen countries have active ballistic missile programs, "and many of those countries, frankly, are not friendly to the U.S. interests," Holly said.
In 2009, North Korea and Iran continued development and demonstration of their missile programs, he said. And, excluding the U.S., NATO countries, Russia and China, there are now more than 6,000 missiles in the short- and intermediate-range inventory.
"This is not a very safe world," Holly said. "It is incumbent upon us to provide the kind of capabilities in industry to support our government in terms of preserving and protecting our national interests across the board."
Missile-defense-related programs throughout the company accounted for about 10 percent of Lockheed's 2009 sales, he said. Among those are the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Aegis Weapon System, Patriot Advanced Capability-3, Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Medium Extended Air Defense System and the C2BMC - Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications - programs.
Lockheed has provided ballistic missiles as sophisticated targets to the Missile Defense Agency since 1996, Holly said, with 33 of 34 mission successes, including three in 2009.
The Targets and Countermeasures division will continue working with the MDA test program in 2010 and will soon see the maiden flight of the intermediate-range LV2 missile target, he said.
===========================
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato
Blog site:
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==============================
- 11.
-
Call for Signatures Protesting Base Construction that will Destroy C
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:51 pm (PST)
From: Global Network <globalnet@mindspring.com>
Subject: Call for Signatures Protesting Navy Base Construction that will Destroy Coral Reefs
To: "GN List Serve" <globenet@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Monday, January 11, 2010, 9:39 PM
Call for Signatures Protesting Navy Base Construction that will Destroy
Coral Reefs In South Korea
The proposed Navy base on Jeju Island in South Korea
I try not to visit a place and then forget about the people and the struggle they are engaged in. Since my visit to Jeju Island, and the Gangjeong village last October, I have been closely following developments about the South Korean government's plan to build a Navy base where pristine coral reefs, fishing, and tangerine groves are now integral to the people's way of life.
The base construction is soon set to begin in Gangjeong. The villagers are currently setting up a tent camp along the rocky shore line where the Navy intends to pour concrete to cover the rocks and tiny marine life to make their wharfs where the Aegis destroyers will be homeported. The ships, from the South Korean and US fleets, are outfitted with "missile defense" systems and will surely be used to continue surrounding China's coastal region. Jeju Island, now called the peace island, will thus become a prime military target.
The coral reefs have been named by the United Nations as key environmental treasures that should be saved. Building a naval base on top of these wonders of nature will not ensure they will be protected. The traditional way of life in this small fishing and fruit growing community will be severly impacted.
Last night the mayor of Gangjeong, Kang Dong-Kyun, spent the whole night sitting in the cold outside the Jeju government building in protest of the decision to go forward with the construction of the base. When I visited his town Mayor Kang carefully showed our delegation around the site for the proposed base and took us out to dinner at a local restaurant. He spent this time with us because he hoped that it would translate into more people knowing about the Navy base fight and hoped that support would build across South Korea and beyond to help stop these deadly plans.
As I now hear about their protest heating up, as they prepare to face the bulldozers of destruction, my heart goes out to them. I wish I could join them in sitting in protest against this base. This Navy base will have a direct negative impact on ourwork to restrain US military expansion in the region and will ultimately provoke more conflict with China.
With that in mind I now wish to compile a list of organizations and concerned individuals from around the world who wish to voice their protest with the US and South Korean governments about this Navy base. If you would like to be listed on this letter please send me your name. group name, and your city/state or country. Write me at globalnet@mindspring.com
It is the least we can do.
Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
www.space4peace.org
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/ (blog)
- 12.
-
Mr. Obama: No War Is Just
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Mon Jan 11, 2010 7:52 pm (PST)
http://www.thecanadiancharger.com/page.php?id=5&a=271
The Canadian Charger
January 4, 2009
Mr. Obama: no war is just
Dr. David Lorge Parnas*
Mr. Obama, like you, I have read the beautifully crafted speech that you delivered when accepting the Nobel peace prize. Unlike you, I do not believe what it says. In that speech, you fail to consider too many important facts.
Mr. Obama, in that speech, you remind us of the old concept of a just war.
You fail to consider that every war in history has killed and maimed good, innocent, people.
Every war in history has deprived parents of their children and children of their parents.
Every war in history has deprived non-combatants of their homes and their way of earning a living.
Every war in history has led to the displacement or disenfranchisement of non-combatants.
You must admit that this "collateral damage" is unjust and that, consequently there can be no just war. Those who have lived through a war know this; politicians protected by a team of thousands seem to forget.
Mr. Obama, in that speech, you correctly reminded us that, "Evil does exist in the world."
You fail to consider that in every war both sides think that their opponent is evil; no leader of a nation going into war thinks that he, or his nation, is evil.
Every war is started by someone who thinks that he is righting a wrong or preventing others from committing evil acts.
Individuals do sometimes recognize their own acts as evil, but they do so after they have committed the evil act, not before it commences or while they are doing it.
Unjust wars are always started by people who are convinced that their cause is just.
Mr. Obama, in that speech, you raised the issue of terrorism.
You fail to consider the definition of that term. "Terrorism" is defined as the use of violence, or the threat of violence, for political aims.
Nothing in that definition says that terrorism is restricted to non-state forces.
In fact, war, and the threat of war, fit the definition of terrorism exactly.
You went on to remind us that "modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale."
You fail to consider that this is good description of a "war cabinet" in an official building, deciding to launch cruise missiles or send thousands of troops to a foreign land.
When you condemn terrorism, as you should, you should make sure that you are not condemning your own actions.
Mr. Obama, in that speech you spoke of the sacrifice of people in uniform promoting peace and prosperity.
You failed to note that in every case you mentioned men and women in uniform brought death and destruction to the lands where they fought.
After each war there is a period of recovery in which people work hard to live and some even prosper. This does not eliminate the death and poverty suffered because of that war.
People accept that the death and destruction of the past cannot be undone and try to move forward, but only those who were not directly affected can forget the horror that war brings. Have you forgotten?
Mr. Obama, in that speech you stated that "A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies."
You fail to consider that a nonviolent movement could have prevented Hitler's rise to power and the formation of those armies.
It was the unjust way that the losers were treated after the First World War that allowed Hitler to subvert the Weimar republic and to incite a nation to allow him to build those armies.
You need only compare the way West Germany was treated after World War II with what happened after World War I to see how easily the forces of Nazism could have been made impotent and insignificant without a war.
Mr. Obama, in that speech you also asserted that "Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida's leaders to lay down their arms."
You fail to consider that the leaders of your country and its allies have repeatedly declared, "We do not negotiate with terrorists."
Terrorists turn to violence to achieve political ends. They are convinced that they, or those they think they represent, have been deprived of just treatment and that only force can get them justice.
They are likely to feel deep uncertainty if
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