Messages In This Digest (15 Messages)
- 1.
- Clinton: Russia Must Cave In On NATO Expansion, Missiles, Arms Treat From: Rick Rozoff
- 2.
- China Suspends Military Contacts With U.S., Threatens Sanctions From: Rick Rozoff
- 3.
- NATO Kills Four Afghan Soldiers, Wounds More From: Rick Rozoff
- 4.
- Afghanistan Demands U.S. Troops Be Tried From: Rick Rozoff
- 5.
- Ukraine: First Round Winner Indicts 'Orange' Legacy From: Rick Rozoff
- 6.
- Georgia: NATO Firm In Expanding Into The Caucasus From: Rick Rozoff
- 7.
- Bill Clinton: First U.S. Post-Cold War Warrior President From: Rick Rozoff
- 8.
- Report: CIA Chief Holds Secret Talks In Egypt, Israel For Yemen War From: Rick Rozoff
- 9.
- Kosovo: EU To Deploy Troops Against Serbian Enclave From: Rick Rozoff
- 10.
- Clinton Pushes NATO-EU Military Integration Under Lisbon Treaty From: Rick Rozoff
- 11.
- Washington Normalizes Diplomatic Ties With Honduran Junta From: Rick Rozoff
- 12.
- U.S. Escalating Interceptor Missile Buildup In Persian Gulf From: Rick Rozoff
- 13.
- Taiwan Government Welcomes U.S. Missiles, Other Arms From: Rick Rozoff
- 14.
- Afghan War: Azerbaijan Doubled Troops, To Open Transit Corridor From: Rick Rozoff
- 15.
- NATO To Use Persian Gulf State's AWACS In Afghanistan, Somalia From: Rick Rozoff
Messages
- 1.
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Clinton: Russia Must Cave In On NATO Expansion, Missiles, Arms Treat
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:35 am (PST)
http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=115037
Azeri Press Agency
January 30, 2010
Clinton says it is up to Russia to cooperate
Baku: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday challenged Russia to cooperate with the Obama administration and with NATO to ensure European security against new threats such as terrorism, cyber attacks or natural disasters.
Citing a wide array of differences between Washington and Moscow, Clinton called for Russia's leadership to drop its opposition to a European missile shield and its demands to renegotiate a Cold War-era treaty limiting the deployment of troops and conventional weapons on the continent.
In a speech at France's Ecole Militaire in Paris, she said Europe should not be divided as it has been in the past and that Russian ambitions to maintain a zone of influence in former Soviet satellites, some of which are now NATO members or aspirants, were obsolete.
"We object to any spheres of influence in Europe in which one country seeks to control another's future," she said, referring specifically to Georgia and territorial disputes over its enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which Russia recognizes as independent. [That is, Clinton objects to any European nation aspiring to a "sphere of influence" on the continent. All of Europe belongs to the U.S. after all.]
Russia has made several proposals on European security cooperation that some believe are aimed at limiting NATO's influence. But Clinton said security matters are best dealt with through existing frameworks.
Negotiating new treaties, as Russia suggested, "can a very long and cumbersome process," she said.
And all European nations should be eligible for NATO membership, she said, rejecting Russian objections to the expansion of the alliance toward its borders.
"We strongly believe that the enlargement of NATO and the EU has increased security, stability, and prosperity across the continent and that this, in turn, has actually increased Russia's security," Clinton said.
Also key to European security and stability is the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, which Russia unilaterally suspended two years ago, she said. The treaty governs where and how many troops and conventional weapons can be stationed on European soil.
"This valuable regime is now in danger of crumbling," Clinton said, urging Russia to join in discussions to ensure the treaty is once again the "cornerstone" of conventional arms control.
....
[S]he reiterated that the U.S. was in favor of a missile shield for Europe, something that Russia has long resisted even after the Obama administration scrapped former President George W. Bush's plans for it.
....
===========================
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- 2.
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China Suspends Military Contacts With U.S., Threatens Sanctions
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:36 am (PST)
http://en.rian.ru/world/20100130/157722956.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
January 30, 2010
China suspends military contacts with U.S. over Taiwan arms
Beijing: China suspended on Saturday military contacts with the U.S. over its plans to sell $6.4 billion worth arms to Taiwan, the official Xinhua agency reported.
China's Defense Ministry condemned the plans, which the Obama administration announced to the Congress on Friday, to sell weapons to de facto independent Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.
The ministry said as quoted by the agency that "the Chinese side decided to suspend planned mutual military visits."
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman earlier on Saturday that the planned arms deal could affect bilateral ties, triggering "consequences both sides do not want to see." He demanded the sale be cancelled.
The United States seeks cooperation with China on a host of issues, including Iran and North Korea's nuclear ambitions, efforts to fight the global financial crisis and climate change.
The two countries' bonds are already strained by a standoff over Internet censorship, trade and currency disputes, human rights and Tibet.
Beijing briefly cut off military exchanges with Washington in 2008 after the then Bush administration announced plans for arms sales to Taiwan.
Beijing has not ruled out use of force against the island, which split from the mainland in 1949.
The U.S. arms package for Taiwan would include 114 Patriot (PAC-3) anti-missile systems, 60 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, 12 Harpoon Block II Telemetry missiles, 2 Osprey Class mine hunting ships and a command and control enhancement system, according to the Pentagon website.
----------------------------------------------------------http://en.rian.ru/world/20100130/157723449.html
Russian Information Agency Novosti
January 30, 2010
China threatens U.S. firms with sanctions over Taiwan arms
Beijing: China threatened on Saturday to impose sanctions against U.S. firms that will sell arms to Taiwan.
"China will impose sanctions against companies that will engage in arms deliveries to Taiwan," Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei told U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website said.
Beijing also announced the suspension of military contacts with the United States over its plan to sell $6.4 billion worth weapons to de facto independent Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory. China demanded the sale be cancelled.
The Obama administration announced a decision to sell Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and minesweepers to the island on Friday, fueling strains in relations with the world's third largest economy.
"We made the decision out of considerations of the severe harm of the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan," Defense Ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said in a statement cited by the official Xinghua agency.
"The U.S. decision seriously endangers China's national security and harms China's core interests," Huang said adding it will also "seriously disturb" bilateral relations.
The United States seeks cooperation with China on a host of issues, including Iran and North Korea's nuclear ambitions, efforts to fight the global financial crisis and climate change.
The two countries' bonds are already strained by a standoff over Internet censorship, trade and currency disputes, human rights and Tibet.
Beijing briefly cut off military exchanges with Washington in 2008 after the then Bush administration announced plans for arms sales to Taiwan.
Beijing has not ruled out use of force against the island, which split from the mainland in 1949.
Taiwan's administration, however, welcomed Washington's decision, regional media reported.
President Ma Ying-jeou, who took office in 2008 seeking to ease tensions and step up economic ties with China, was quoted as saying that the arms will be an "effective deterrent" in the Taiwan Strait.
The weapons could give the island "a feeling of greater security and promote closer cooperation with the mainland," the president said.
===========================
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- 3.
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NATO Kills Four Afghan Soldiers, Wounds More
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:37 am (PST)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/30/AR2010013000735.html
Washington Post
January 30, 2010
Four Afghan soldiers killed in friendly fire incident with NATO soldiers
By Joshua Partlow
KABUL: Mistaking one another for the enemy, NATO forces and Afghan soldiers battled in the morning darkness Saturday in a shootout that left at least four Afghan soldiers dead and prompted the Defense Ministry to call for the perpetrators to be punished.
A joint patrol of Afghan and coalition forces took gunfire around 3 a.m. while on a mission in the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province, according to statements from NATO-led coalition and Afghan militaries. After returning fire and calling in an aircraft attack, coalition forces later realized that the initial shooting had come from an Afghan National Army outpost.
The Afghan Defense Ministry condemned the friendly fire incident, which they said wounded other soldiers in addition to the four killed.
"After the investigation is completed, the Defense Ministry wants to bring those responsible to justice," the ministry statement said in a statement.
....
The governor of Wardak, Haleem Fedai, sent a delegation out to the scene Saturday to collect information about the fighting.
....
The coalition forces statement called Saturday's attack a "regrettable incident."
....
Special correspondent Javed Hamdard contributed to this report.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/01/30/4027970.html
Voice of Russia
January 30, 2010
NATO fights Afghan Army units in Wardak
The troops of the NATO peacekeeping force in Afghanistan went into action against servicemen of the Afghan Army units in the Wardak province, northwest of Kabul, last night.
According to an official spokesman for the central Afghan province authorities, NATO troops called in air support following a fierce shootout.
Four Afghan Army servicemen were killed and six others wounded in an airstrike on an Afghan checkpoint. An ISAF official in Afghanistan has confirmed that the incident did take place, but refused to elaborate.
===========================
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- 4.
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Afghanistan Demands U.S. Troops Be Tried
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:37 am (PST)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117435§ionid=351020403
Press TV
January 30, 2010
Afghanistan calls for trial of US troops
Afghanistan's Defense Ministry has condemned the killing of four Afghan soldiers by American forces, calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.
In a statement released on Saturday, the ministry said that American troops killed at least four Afghan soldiers in Wardak province Friday night, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Provincial spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the troops with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) also injured seven other Afghan soldiers in face-to-face battles.
He added that the fighting occurred Friday evening in Sayed Abad district, in Wardak province. The cause of the clash has yet to be determined.
The ministry called for a thorough investigation into the incident, saying "the murderers" should be tried and punished accordingly.
The NATO-led ISAF confirmed on Saturday that an "incident" had taken place between Western and Afghan security forces, but declined to give further details.
"We are working with the Ministry of Defense to determine the facts of the incident," said US Army Lieutenant Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the force.
===========================
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- 5.
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Ukraine: First Round Winner Indicts 'Orange' Legacy
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:38 am (PST)
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14771308&PageNum=0
Itar-Tass
January 30, 2010
Ukraine's 'orange' govt pursued policies people disliked - Yanukovich
DONETSK: Ukraine's presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich appeared on television Friday evening to declare that the country's authorities over the past five years pressed ahead with a policy an overwhelming majority of the people neither supported nor understood.
In the first place Yanukovich said he had in mind the official policy towards Russia.
"Everybody was perfectly aware that if and when we arouse distrust of such partner as Russia, we shall have to brace only for negative effects. Including those in relations with the European Union," Yanukovich said.
In his opinion, Ukraine's default on its liabilities, its authorities' default, to be more precise, caused distrust on both sides.
"What is it the 'orange' authorities have achieved? When we had gas for 49 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, we were saying it's too expensive. Now we buy gas for 360 dollars and say that this price is unique. Pipelines bypassing Ukraine have begun to be laid. Nobody has invited us to join in. In the meantime, we can offer pipes and compressor equipment. We could have been full-fledged participants in those projects," Yanukovich believes.
He recalled that back in 2004 his government had drafted a project for an international gas consortium that would pump through Ukraine's pipelines twice the amount of gas going through it today.
===========================
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- 6.
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Georgia: NATO Firm In Expanding Into The Caucasus
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:39 am (PST)
http://www.messenger.com.ge/issues/2033_january_29_2010/2033_salome.html
The Messenger
January 29, 2010
Georgia will join NATO when it shows it can
By Salome Modebadze
Georgia will review which activities the Government must undertake to meet NATO standards in the near future, David Bakradze, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, stated before his meeting with Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO Secretary General, during his official visit to Brussels on January 27.
"The main issue of our meeting is future cooperation between Georgia and the Alliance. NATO is preparing a document which should speed up Georgia's accession process. But we should definitely talk about Georgian-Russian relations, the situation in the occupied territories of Georgia and the violations of human rights there. These are the issues important for NATO as a military-political alliance," Bakradze told the media.
The meeting between the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament and the NATO Secretary General lasted half an hour but the two parties focused on the current situation in the occupied territories and the position of Alliance on the territorial integrity of the country. Both parties stressed that the fulfillment of the obligations laid down by the Bucharest Summit resolution is extremely important for Georgia so that the country can soon receive NATO membership.
The Secretary General said that NATO's commitment to offering Georgia membership, confirmed at the Bucharest Summit in 2008, remains firm.
Rasmussen and Bakradze discussed security issues and the risks presented by the presence of the Russian military contingent in Georgia. The Secretary General said that NATO will continue supporting Georgia in its reform efforts and thanked Georgia for its contribution to the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan.
"The commitments taken at the Bucharest Summit will certainly be fulfilled and Georgia will become a NATO member country," Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated at the meeting. The Secretary General stressed firmly that Russia should fulfill the terms of the ceasefire agreement and withdraw its Army from the territory of Georgia. "I have reaffirmed to the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia that the decision made by NATO at the Bucharest Summit remains in force. We have now discussed how to develop this process," Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the media after the meeting. "I have been to Georgia once, as Prime Minister of Denmark, but I will visit Georgia again as the NATO Secretary General in the near future," he added.
"The NATO Secretary General was firm in his statements. It is obvious that NATO will continue to support Georgia maintaining its territorial integrity. We have heard an absolutely clear statement from the Secretary General that Russia should fulfill the obligations outlined in the resolution, remove its Army and start normal political discussions," Bakradze told the media.
===========================
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- 7.
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Bill Clinton: First U.S. Post-Cold War Warrior President
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:40 am (PST)
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/fyi/clinton-the-warrior-president-83137172.html
Winnipeg Free Press
January 30, 2010
CLINTON, THE WARRIOR PRESIDENT
As a commander-in-chief, he has been vastly underestimated
By Richard Sale
[Excerpts]
-According to Alan Greenspan, Clinton was one of the most intelligent of American presidents, ranking with Reagan and Nixon.
-[H]e wanted to go to war against North Korea but was dissuaded from it, and he had demanded all-out war with Iran after the terrorist bombing of the Khobar Towers facility in Saudi Arabia. Further, Clinton used force in Bosnia, first by means of Croatian proxies, and then by NATO bombing raids....[H]e conducted an incessant air war against Iraq, dropping 2,000 bombs that reduced to a miserable shambles Saddam Hussein's entire air defence network.
-As early as 1994, Clinton assigned the CIA to develop a plan to topple Serbian [president] Slobodan Milosevic from power. This covert operation turned [Milosevic] out of power in the Serb elections of 2000 and was followed in 2001 by a SEAL team that kidnapped Milosevic and sent him to The Hague, the first head of state to be arrested as a war criminal. (This SEAL operation was carried out by the Bush team, but it was a Clinton plan.)
-No president after FDR except Eisenhower shared such a love of artifice and covert manoeuvre as did Clinton. He resolved to wage war by - in historian Andrew J. Bacevich's words - "decoupling the people from military affairs."
-In the case of NATO, he used the alliance to rethink the European chessboard, changing...to a force able to impose stability...not only in Europe, but in the Middle East and Central Asia. George W. Bush's invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 is due to Clinton's vision of NATO.
-Throughout the Kosovo conflict, Clinton ensured that America was by far the major player in the NATO alliance, and he kept the coalition from paralyzing allied target selection by using American planes not subject to NATO's jurisdiction.
*Richard Sale, the author of Clinton's Secret Wars (St. Martin's Press), is a historian and award-winning journalist covering intelligence and foreign policy. He wrote this for the Fredericksburg, Va., Free Lance-Star.
===========================
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- 8.
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Report: CIA Chief Holds Secret Talks In Egypt, Israel For Yemen War
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:44 am (PST)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117431§ionid=351020206
Press TV
January 30, 2010
CIA chief holds secret talks with Egypt, Israel
The Director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, has held secret talks with Egyptian and Israeli officials over expanded US intervention in Yemen.
According to Debkafile, the CIA chief paid secret visits to the Egyptian capital Cairo and Jerusalem Al-Quds on Thursday.
Panetta met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Defense Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and intelligence minister, Gen. Omar Suleiman to ask them to dispatch forces to Yemen to help the US troops.
Meanwhile, Washington has asked the Egyptian government to let the US use Egyptian airports for ferrying military equipment and launching air raids.
Panetta also met with Israeli officials in Jerusalem Al-Quds on the same day to talk about the latest developments in Yemen.
A large US base is under construction near the Yemeni Red Sea port of Hodeira, according to the report.
Washington became involved in secret joint operations in Yemen after President Barack Obama approved US military and intelligence teams to be dispatched to the country.
According to the Washington Post, operations began six weeks ago, involving troops from the US military's clandestine Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), whose main mission is tracking and killing suspected "terrorists."
The US agents are helping the Yemeni army develop tactics, while providing Sana'a forces with electronic and video surveillance, as well as three-dimensional terrain maps.
In addition to "highly sensitive intelligence," the United States is sending weapons and munitions to be used against what the White House describes as an al-Qaeda cell operating in the Arabian Peninsula, the article added.
Earlier in January, the White House pledged $121 million in aid to help the unpopular Yemeni government crush uprisings.
===========================
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- 9.
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Kosovo: EU To Deploy Troops Against Serbian Enclave
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:49 am (PST)
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=01&dd=30&nav_id=64861
Tanjug News Agency
January 30, 2010
EULEX to move into northern Kosovo
PRISTINA: EULEX personnel will be moving into northern Kosovo soon.
EULEX spokesperson Karin Limdal said that the European officials who have been visiting northern Kosovo have the task of supporting the implementation of the plan of International Civil Office (ICO) Chief Pieter Feith.
Feith's strategy for northern Kosovo calls for the support of the "international community" in direct links between Serbia's European perspective and the decrease of Belgrade's support for the "parallel" structures in the north of Kosovo.
The strategy was created by Feith and the temporary institutions in Pristina, and it is part of the decentralization process in Kosovo, with the goal of taking over control in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.
Italian ambassador to Priština Michael Giffoni, who the EU named the "coordinator" for northern Kosovo in October of last year, said for the ANSA news agency that the "situation in the north is constantly changing and much more complex than the situation south of the Ibar."
He said that "a mature approach must be adopted with a concentration on the possibility of dialogue between the communities, dealing with concrete questions and issues essential to the people."
"We need to find united points and stop creating myths about the status of Kosovo," he said....
===========================
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- 10.
-
Clinton Pushes NATO-EU Military Integration Under Lisbon Treaty
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:55 am (PST)
http://www.focus-fen.net/?id=n208451
Focus News Agency
January 30, 2010
Irish Times: Clinton calls for deeper ties between EU and Nato
-Mrs Clinton said EU's energy policy in particular would benefit from closer co-ordination with Nato. "They are no longer separated. It's hard to say that security is only about what it was when Nato was formed and the EU has no role to play in security issues."
-"It would be the EU's responsibility to create policies that would provide more independence and protection from intimidations when it comes to energy markets for its member nation. But I can also see how, in certain cases respecting energy, there may be a role for Nato as well."
-"Under the Lisbon Treaty, with more focus and specific leadership attached to foreign policy and development assistance, there will be a way to better co-ordinate."
-US military forces will remain on the European continent to "deter attacks and to respond quickly" if any occur, she said.
The US will maintain its "unwavering commitment" to article five of the Nato treaty, "that an attack on one is an attack on all".
Washington: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for closer co-operation between the EU and Nato, arguing that the Lisbon Treaty provides a platform for deeper ties with the military alliance, The Irish Times learned.
She reaffirmed the US's commitment to European security in a speech at the French military academy in Paris and stepped up pressure on China to support moves in the UN to impose new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.
Answering a question from her audience, Mrs Clinton said EU's energy policy in particular would benefit from closer co-ordination with Nato. "They are no longer separated. It's hard to say that security is only about what it was when Nato was formed and the EU has no role to play in security issues," she said.
"These, of course, are decisions for the Europeans to make with respect to the EU."
Mrs Clinton said she recognised that national differences must be respected, "even in the time of greater European integration".
However, the complexity of today's world was such that the development of common policies would serve the EU and Nato. In this respect the EU would concentrate on economic, development and political issues while Nato would deal mainly with security.
"Take, for example, energy security," she said. "It would be the EU's responsibility to create policies that would provide more independence and protection from intimidations when it comes to energy markets for its member nation. But I can also see how, in certain cases respecting energy, there may be a role for Nato as well."
While it was important to respect and honour "foundation institutions", she said questions should be asked about how they could function better.
Citing moves to reform Nato, Mrs Clinton said reforms at EU level would make co-operation with the military alliance easier.
"Under the Lisbon Treaty, with more focus and specific leadership attached to foreign policy and development assistance, there will be a way to better co-ordinate," she said.
Although "some questions" had been raised in recent months about the depth of Washington's commitment to Europe, she said European security was "an anchor" of US foreign policy.
US military forces will remain on the European continent to "deter attacks and to respond quickly" if any occur, she said.
The US will maintain its "unwavering commitment" to article five of the Nato treaty, "that an attack on one is an attack on all".
While China is resisting new UN sanctions against Iran, Mrs Clinton said Beijing was coming under pressure to recognise that a nuclear-armed regime would have a destabilising impact on the Gulf region.
She urged China's leaders to consider the longer-term implications of Iran's nuclear programme, adding that she would tell them the West understands "that right now it seems counterproductive to you to sanction a country from which you get so much +of the natural resources your growing economy needs".
===========================
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- 11.
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Washington Normalizes Diplomatic Ties With Honduran Junta
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:58 am (PST)
http://www.focus-fen.net/?id=n208448
Focus News Agency
January 30, 2010
Honduras, U.S. normalize diplomatic ties
Tegucigalpa: Honduras and the United States normalized on Friday their diplomatic ties which were affected by the political crisis caused by the coup against then president Manuel Zelaya in June last year, Xinhua News Agency informed.
Honduran President Porfirio Lobo said on Friday that "I am happy that with the visit of U.S. ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens, we are practically normalizing the ties with the United States of America."
During a press conference at the government house, Lobo, accompanied by
Llorens, said that "more than one million Honduran people living in the United States demanded a friendly tie" between both countries.
Meanwhile, Llorens said that "we always said that the elections (of Nov. 29) were an essential condition, but not enough, and the other element was the fulfillment of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Agreement."
"Honduras will be able to appoint its ambassador (to the United States) without problem. That will be done with normality," Llorens said.
Llorens added that his government will go through the procedures about Honduras' request to renew the Temporary Protection Program, which benefits at least 75,000 Honduran citizens living in the United States.
===========================
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- 12.
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U.S. Escalating Interceptor Missile Buildup In Persian Gulf
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:28 pm (PST)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/world/middleeast/31missile.html
New York Times
January 30, 2010
U.S. Speeding Up Missile Defenses in Persian Gulf
By DAVID E. SANGER and ERIC SCHMITT
-Mr. Obama's national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, took an unannounced trip to Israel this month, partly to take the temperature of the Israeli government and to review both economic and covert programs now under way against the Iranian program, according to officials familiar with the meeting.
-Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have bought more than $15 billion in American arms in the past two years, including missile defense systems. The United States is helping support a plan by Saudi Arabia to triple the size, to 30,000 people, of a Saudi force that protects the kingdom's ports, oil facilities and water-desalinization plants, a senior military officer said.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is accelerating the deployment of new defenses against possible Iranian missile attacks in the Persian Gulf, placing special ships off the Iranian coast and antimissile systems in at least four Arab countries, according to administration and military officials.
The Persian Gulf The deployments come at a critical turning point in President Obama's dealings with Iran....
Mr. Obama spoke of the shift in his State of the Union address, warning of "consequences" if Iran continued to defy United Nations demands to stop manufacturing nuclear fuel. And Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton publicly warned China on Friday that its opposition to sanctions was shortsighted.
The news that the United States is deploying antimissile defenses — including a rare public discussion of them by Gen. David H. Petraeus — appears to be part of a coordinated administration strategy to increase pressure on Iran.
....
Military officials said that the countries that accepted the defense systems were Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. They said the Kuwaitis had agreed to take the defensive weapons to supplement older, less capable models it has had for years. Saudi Arabia and Israel have long had similar equipment of their own.
General Petraeus has declined to say who was taking the American equipment, probably because many countries in the gulf region are hesitant to be publicly identified as accepting American military aid and the troops that come with it. In fact, the names of countries where the antimissile systems are deployed are classified, but many of them are an open secret.
The general spoke about the deployments at a conference at the Institute for the Study of War here on Jan. 22....
General Petraeus said that the acceleration of defensive systems — which began when President George W. Bush was in office — included "eight Patriot missile batteries, two in each of four countries." Patriot missiles are capable of shooting down short-range offensive missiles.
He also described a first line of defense: He said the United States was now keeping Aegis cruisers on patrol in the Persian Gulf at all times. Those cruisers are equipped with advanced radar and antimissile systems designed to intercept medium-range missiles....
As Iran's nuclear program proceeds — more slowly, American intelligence officials say, than the United States had once thought — Israel has hinted at various times that it might take military action against the country's military facilities unless it is convinced that Mr. Obama and Western allies are succeeding in stopping the program.
Mr. Obama's national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, took an unannounced trip to Israel this month, partly to take the temperature of the Israeli government and to review both economic and covert programs now under way against the Iranian program, according to officials familiar with the meeting.
American officials argue that the willingness of Arab states to take the American emplacements, which usually come with a small deployment of American soldiers to operate, maintain and protect the equipment, illustrates the region's growing unease about Iran's ambitions and abilities.
Gulf countries are also taking steps of their own to harden their defenses. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have bought more than $15 billion in American arms in the past two years, including missile defense systems. The United States is helping support a plan by Saudi Arabia to triple the size, to 30,000 people, of a Saudi force that protects the kingdom's ports, oil facilities and water-desalinization plants, a senior military officer said. The Washington Post reported both steps on its Web site on Saturday.
One senior military officer said that General Petraeus had started talking openly about the Patriot deployments about a month ago, when it became increasingly clear that international efforts toward imposing sanctions against Iran faced hurdles....
In discussing the Patriots and missile-shooting ships, General Petraeus's main message has been to reassure allies in the gulf that the United States is committed to helping defend the region, said the military officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the topic. But the general's remarks were also a pointed reminder to the Iranians of American resolve, the officer said.
===========================
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- 13.
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Taiwan Government Welcomes U.S. Missiles, Other Arms
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:31 pm (PST)
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20100131-195574.html
The China Post/Asia News Network
January 31, 2010
MA welcomes US arms
The United States has announced a US$6.4 billion (S$9 billion) package of weapons, including PAC-3 missiles, to be sold to Taiwan, drawing strong protest from China.
China yesterday reiterated its stern objection to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and suspended all military exchanges with the United States.
But President Ma Ying-jeou, who was in Los Angeles at the time of the announcement, said that with the weapons, Taiwan will be more confident of defending itself, which will facilitate the development of cross-strait ties, according to his spokesman Tony Wang.
President Ma also said Taiwan has always wanted to maintain good relationships with the United States.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) welcomed the U.S. government's arms sale announcement, which it described as clear evidence of good Taipei-Washington ties.
The Obama administration notified the U.S. Congress Friday of the arms package, which includes 114 PAC-3 missiles and technical support, worth US$2.82 billion, and 60 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, worth US$3.1 billion.
The United States is also selling Taiwan two Osprey Class mine hunting ships; 12 ATM-84L and RTM-84L Harpoon Block II Telemetry missiles; 35 multifunctional information distribution systems low volume terminals (MIDS/LVT 1); and 25 MIDS On Ships Terminals.
The sale will take effect if the U.S. Congress does not voice any objections within 30 days of the notification.
But the package does not include the diesel-powered submarines or the F-16C/D jet fighters that Taiwan also sought to buy.
A MOFA spokesman said the Obama administration has often reiterated its intentions to fulfill its obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which commits the United States to provide the island with defensive weapons.
Taiwan's defense ministry also issued a statement welcoming the U.S. government's decision to sell the weapons under the TRA framework.
It said the move will boost Taiwan's confidence in its efforts to promote cross-strait ties.
The ministry also said the weapons will help modernize Taiwan armed forces, and it vowed that the military buildup program will continue in line with the country's policy and military strategy.
....
A senior Washington official said Friday he believes U.S.-China ties will not be affected by the arms sales to Taiwan, the Central News Agency reported.
The official was cited as saying that the sale is based on the TRA and comes at a time when China continues to increase its military threat against Taiwan.
....
Legislator Lin Yu-fang from Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang said the arms package will be sufficient for Taiwan to build up its anti-missile defensive network.
His colleague Tsai Huang-liang from the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, said the arms package marks a good beginning, but the defense network will still need the F-16C/D planes and diesel-powered submarines.
Tsai urged the Ma administration to continue seeking the jet fighters and submarines, which he said should have been the core of the latest arms sales.
The Interior Ministry said it will take over 15 of the Black Hawk helicopters for rescue operations.
===========================
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- 14.
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Afghan War: Azerbaijan Doubled Troops, To Open Transit Corridor
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:36 pm (PST)
http://www.news.az/articles/7925
News.AZ
January 30, 2010
Azerbaijan's military contingent in Afghanistan doubled in 2009
The commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project will help create potential for the speedy and safe transit of cargos to Afghanistan.
According to the news service for Azerbaijan's FM, the statement came from Azerbaijan's FM Elmar Mammadyarov who spoke at the international conference on Afghan issues organized on the initiative of Great Britain, the UN and Afghanistan in London.
"Azerbaijan contributes to the cargo transportation to Afghanistan with the use of existing infrastructure yet the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project will help create opportunities for the speedy and safe transit of cargoes to Afghanistan", he said.
According to the minister, in this sense Azerbaijan is ready to continue military assistance to ISAF [if] it leads to establishment of security, stability and development in Afghanistan.
"Since the first days Azerbaijan has joined the operation of international security assistance forces, thus demonstrating the solidarity with the Afghan people and the world community. In 2009 we doubled the number of our servicemen there and currently ISAF involves 90 Azerbaijani servicemen", Mammadyarov said.
....
Afghan servicemen will also train at the Military Academy and other military schools of Azerbaijan....
===========================
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- 15.
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NATO To Use Persian Gulf State's AWACS In Afghanistan, Somalia
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:39 pm (PST)
http://news.brunei.fm/2010/01/28/nato-looking-for-awacs-base-in-gulf-to-support-isaf
Kuwait News Agency
January 28, 2010
NATO LOOKING FOR AWACS BASE IN GULF TO SUPPORT ISAF
BRUSSELS: The chairman of NATO's Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, has said here that the Alliance is in discussion with a Gulf state to deploy AWACS planes for reconnaissance mission over Afghanistan in support of its ISAF mission and also for anti-piracy off Somalia.
"The Alliance is close to closing the basic issue with one of the Gulf country," he said in reply to a question during a press conference Wednesday following a two-day meeting of NATO'S military chiefs. Di Pialo did not mention the name of the country.
"We are looking forward to be in a position to follow on the temporary deployment that we have today in Oman with a more permanent long-term deployment," he said.
===========================
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