Messages In This Digest (18 Messages)

9.: Ukraine: Annual NATO Week Begins From: Rick Rozoff

10.: Taiwan Still Seeks U.S. Submarines From: Rick Rozoff

11.: U.S. Missile Shield Aimed Against Russia: Top General From: Rick Rozoff

12.: U.S. Interceptor Missile Plans Holding Up Nuclear Arms Reduction From: Rick Rozoff

13.: Georgia's Annual National Program: NATO Integration Proceeds Apace From: Rick Rozoff

14.: Afghan War: U.S., NATO Military Death Toll Reaches 64 This Year From: Rick Rozoff

15.: German Cabinet Approves 850 More Troops For Afghan War From: Rick Rozoff

16.: Washington: U.S. Priorities In The Caspian Sea Basin From: Rick Rozoff

17.: Afghan War Resembles U.S. Philippine War Of 1898-1901 From: Rick Rozoff

18.: Expert: U.S. May Ignite "Blitzkrieg" War In South Caucasus From: Rick Rozoff

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1.: Mediterranean: NATO To Stage Massive Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise

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

Mon Feb 8, 2010 7:03 pm (PST)

http://www.aco.nato.int/page272204122.aspx

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
February 8, 2010

Allied forces gather in the Mediterranean for NATO's largest annual Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise

Ten NATO nations will task seven submarines, 18 aircraft (including ship-based helicopters) and eight surface ships to take part in Noble Manta 10, NATO's largest annual Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercise from 10 to 24 February.

The exercise will take place in the Ionian Sea to the Southeast of Sicily. Forces are provided by Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Seven submarines, one each from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain, and two from Turkey are scheduled to join the exercise. Each submarine will have the opportunity of being a hunter as well as the prey. NATO surface ships from Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, an Italian frigate, an Italian auxiliary and a French frigate will also take part.

The exercise will demonstrate NATO's determination to maintain proficiency and improve interoperability in coordinated anti-submarine, anti-surface and coastal surveillance operations using a multi-national force of ships, submarines and aircraft. Furthermore it will aim to provide operational training in potential NATO Response Force (NRF) tasks, roles and missions, as well as exercising procedures for current and future operations and defence against terrorism.

Maritime patrol aircraft and ASW helicopters, contributed by Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, will operate from air bases in Sicily. More than 100 air missions are planned which on average will result in a crew briefing every three hours, day and night, throughout the exercise.

The exercise will be controlled from the co-located multi-national headquarters of Rear Admiral John M. Richardson, Commander Submarines Allied Naval Forces South and Rear Admiral David Mercer, Commander Maritime Air Naples, Italy.

"The Noble Manta series started in 2006. It constitutes NATO's main opportunity to train possible NRF forces in ASW operations. While its overall general aims remain constant, every year focus is put on specific aspects of ASW. This year Noble Manta will particularly concentrate on coordinated ASW and NRF-related tasks and missions." Rear Admiral Richardson said.
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2.: U.S. Deploys Aegis Class Guided Missile Destroyer To Mediterranean

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

Mon Feb 8, 2010 7:04 pm (PST)

http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-uss-cole-deploy,0,1985578.story

WTKR
February 8, 2010

The USS Cole deploys to the Mediterranean after weekend delay

Norfolk, Va. - About 300 Norfolk-based sailors are underway to the Mediterranean, anxiously waiting to find out how they will spend the next seven months. After being delayed over the weekend due to weather, the USS Cole left Naval Station Norfolk Monday afternoon.

The guided missile destroyer will conduct naval security operations and could end up fighting pirates.

But the commanding officer says the crew will not know about their exact mission until they arrive in the Mediterranean.

That's because the ship is equipped to do just about anything.

The Cole is scheduled to be at sea for seven months.
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3.: Qatar: NATO Continues Expansion Into Persian Gulf

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

Mon Feb 8, 2010 7:05 pm (PST)

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=341980&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Gulf Times
February 8, 2010

Nato official says Qatar relations 'fruitful'

Nato's deputy secretary general, Claudio Bisogniero, has termed the military pact's relations with Qatar as "extremely fruitful".

Lauding the support extended by Qatar to Nato since the Istanbul Initiative in 2004, the senior official said the country had always been very supportive of the issues taken up by Nato since then.

In a little over five years, Qatar has become an active participant in most deliberations held under the aegis of Nato, he said.

Bisogniero also reminded the gathering that HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani was the first leader to visit the Nato headquarters after the Istanbul Initiative of the four GCC countries, the other three being Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain.

Terming Qatar's role as one on "positive direction", Bisogniero said it could help yield results in establishing long-standing peace and security in the region. On the issues of energy security and nuclear proliferation, Qatar has always demonstrated its stand for practical co-operation on many occasions, he said.

Stressing that Nato is keen to strengthen ties with an active participant [such] as Qatar in deliberations, the envoy expressed the hope that the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] state would take a lead in political dialogues having a bearing on this region.

Welcoming the delegates earlier, Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Training Qatar Major General Ghanim bin Shaheen al-Ghanim said the discussions at the Doha meeting would help Nato chalk out plans to help the international community achieve global peace and stability in the region.
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4.: Romania: U.S. Taunts Russia With Expanded Interceptor Missile System

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

Mon Feb 8, 2010 7:06 pm (PST)

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htada/articles/20100207.aspx

Strategy Page
February 7, 2010

Romania Taunts Russia

-The U.S. wanted to put silos for the GBI (Ground Based Interceptors) in Romania, but Russia is very much against this, as they see it as diluting the intimidation effect of their ICBM force....The U.S. already has GBIs deployed in Alaska and three in California....The U.S. plans to install 5-10 GBIs a year over the next few years....The GBI can intercept ballistic missiles launched from as far away as 5,000 kilometers.

Romania has agreed to base American anti-missile systems on its territory. These will probably be land based Aegis systems.

So far, Aegis has achieved an 83 percent success rate during live test firings. So now everyone wants an Aegis ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) ship for protection. The Aegis system was designed to operate aboard warships (cruisers and destroyers that have been equipped with the special software that enables the AEGIS radar system to detect and track incoming ballistic missiles).

However, there is also a land based version that Israel is interested in buying. The development version of AEGIS was land based, and is still in operation. The U.S. wants to put anti-missile systems in Eastern Europe....Russia sees this as a subterfuge to weaken the effect of Russian ballistic missiles.

Currently, the navy has 20 ships with the Aegis anti-missile system (soon to be 27). There are over 100 American and foreign warships equipped with Aegis. Converting an Aegis ship to Aegis ABM costs about $12 million, mainly for new software and a few new hardware items. This is seen as a safe investment.

To knock down ballistic missiles, Aegis uses two similar models of the U.S. Navy Standard anti-aircraft missile, in addition to a modified version of the Aegis radar system, which can now track incoming ballistic missiles.

The anti-missile missile is the RIM-161A, also known as the Standard Missile 3 (or SM-3). It has a range of over 500 kilometers and max altitude of over 160 kilometers. The Standard 3 is based on the anti-missile version of the Standard 2 (SM-2 Block IV).

This SM-2 missile turned out to be effective against ballistic missile warheads that are closer to their target. One test saw a SM-2 Block IV missile destroy a warhead that was only 19 kilometers up. An SM-3 missile can destroy a warhead that is more than 200 kilometers up. But the SM-3 is only good for anti-missile work, while the SM-2 Block IV can be used against both ballistic missiles and aircraft. The SM-2 Block IV also costs less than half what an SM-3 costs.

The SM-3 has four stages. The first two boost the interceptor out of the atmosphere. The third stage fires twice to boost the interceptor farther beyond the earth's atmosphere. Prior to each motor firing it takes a GPS reading to correct course for approaching the target. The fourth stage is the 20 pound LEAP kill vehicle, which uses infrared sensors to close on the target and ram it.

The U.S. wanted to put silos for the GBI (Ground Based Interceptors) in Romania, but Russia is very much against this, as they see it as diluting the intimidation effect of their ICBM force. The GBI is a 12.7 ton ballistic missile that delivers a 140 pound "kill vehicle" that will intercept a ballistic missile before it begins its descent into the atmosphere. The GBI kill vehicle attempts to destroy the incoming missile, while avoiding decoys.

The U.S. already has GBIs deployed in Alaska and three in California. The GBI can receive target information from a variety of source, mainly a large X-band radar and space based sensors (that can detect ballistic missiles during their initial launch.) The Czech Republic has agreed to allow an X-band radar to be set up on its territory. The U.S. plans to install 5-10 GBIs a year over the next few years. Each GBI costs over $100 million (up to several hundred million dollars, depending on how many are built and how you allocated development costs.) The GBI can intercept ballistic missiles launched from as far away as 5,000 kilometers.
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5.: Raytheon Wins Contract To Upgrade Anti-Ballistic Missiles

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

Mon Feb 8, 2010 7:06 pm (PST)

http://govconwire.com/2010/02/raytheon-wins-contract-for-patriot-upgrades

GovConWire
Raytheon Company
February 8, 2010

Raytheon Wins Contract for PATRIOT Upgrades
Posted by Michael Cheek

Raytheon Company has been awarded a multi-million contract to provide upgrades to the PATRIOT Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical, or GEM-T, missiles. The contract, worth an estimated $58 million, was issued by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command to upgrade 124 missiles.

The upgrades to the missile system will improve performance against cruise and tactical ballistic missiles. Several components will also be replaced to increase the lifespan of the missiles.

Sanjay Kapoor, vice president for Patriot Programs at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), said "Patriot is combat proven and trusted by 12 nations around the globe, and the continuing upgrades speak to the critical role Patriot plays in those countries' air and missile defense capabilities."
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6.: Azerbaijan's President Reiterates 'Right' To War Against Armenia

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

Mon Feb 8, 2010 7:15 pm (PST)

http://www.azertag.com/index_en.html

Azertag
February 8, 2010

AZERBAIJAN HAS LEGAL RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF BY ANY MEANS, PRESIDENT

-"Azerbaijan`s occupied territories and Nagorno-Karabakh itself are our internationally recognized lands. And any event which happens there must be considered Azerbaijan`s internal affair, and not an international conflict."

Baku: Azerbaijan has the legal right, in accordance with the UN Charter, to use any means in order to defend itself, President Ilham Aliyev told Euronews.

Commenting on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani leader said "nobody wants war in the region".

"The fact we are in talks and have constructive position as well as our supporting the Minsk group`s mediating efforts proves our intentions."
The President said: "But the war is not yet over. We support peaceful negotiations. At the same time we must not forget that Armenia`s armed forces invaded our territories. We`ve never had any territorial claims against anyone. Azerbaijan`s occupied territories and Nagorno-Karabakh itself are our internationally recognized lands. And any event which happens there must be considered Azerbaijan`s internal affair, and not an international conflict."
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7a.: NATO Pressures Netherlands To Keep Troops In Afghanistan

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 5:39 am (PST)

http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-46023920100209?feedType=RSS&feedName=southAsiaNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FINsouthAsiaNews+%28News+%2F+IN+%2F+South+Asia+News%29

Reuters
February 9, 2010

Dutch mull longer Afghanistan stay at NATO request

AMSTERDAM: The Dutch government will look at options to extend its military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2010, the Dutch Defence Ministry said on Tuesday, as NATO increases efforts to contain the Taliban insurgency.

The Netherlands had initially decided to withdraw its 2,000 troops from Afghanistan before the end of 2010, but had left the door open in recent months to the possibility of a smaller-scale mission despite political division over the prospect.

"At NATO's request the cabinet will investigate the possibilities and desirability of a longer stay in Afghanistan," said a spokesman for the Defence Ministry.

Leaving Afghanistan was still an option, the spokesman said, adding the cabinet would aim to take a decision in the "short term".

"NATO has requested for a smaller and temporary contribution to the ISAF force, specifically targeted to training Afghan security troops and handing over responsibilities to Afghan authorities," he said.

United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday NATO allies could make up a shortfall of trainers by reshuffling rather than expanding their troop commitments.

The current Dutch mission, which started in 2006 and was extended in 2008, was scheduled to end in August with the last of the troops leaving in December.

Dutch troops, of which 21 have died during the mission, are mainly stationed in the Afghan province of Uruzgan and talk about a possible extension of the mission had divided the country's coalition government parties.

A possible extension could be in Uruzgan or elsewhere, said the spokesman. Details about how long a possible extension could be or how many troops it would involve remained to be looked at.

The decision comes at a difficult time for the Dutch cabinet. Last month it averted a crisis after a report was published challenging the legal grounds for Dutch political support for the Iraq invasion in 2003.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, of the Christian Democrat CDA, had said the Netherlands would be a NATO outsider if it did not agree to maintain a presence in Afghanistan, but he had also said the current size of the mission could not be maintained beyond 2010.

Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos of the Labour PvdA said late last year, however, that the government's plan to end the mission in August 2010 and to gradually withdraw the troops and material thereafter was "clear".

(Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by Charles Dick)
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8.: NATO Still Serious Threat To Russia: Security Chief

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 5:40 am (PST)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100209/157820917.html

Russian Information Agency Novosti
February 9, 2010

Russian security chief says NATO still serious threat to Moscow

Moscow: NATO continues to pose a serious threat to Russia, not least because of its desire to expand closer to Russia's borders, Russian security chief Nikolai Patrushev said on Tuesday.

"We have grave doubts [that Russia will be more secure due to NATO expansion]," the Russian Security Council secretary said at a news conference in RIA Novosti. "NATO represents a rather serious threat to us."

Since the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, NATO has expanded from 12 members to 28, absorbing the majority of Moscow's Cold War allies in Eastern Europe and some former Soviet republics.

Patrushev criticized NATO for its continued enlargement efforts, including its encouragement of Georgia's and Ukraine's bids to join the alliance.

He also blamed NATO for arming and preparing Georgia for an attack on South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and said NATO countries continued to supply Tbilisi with weaponry despite Russia's protests.
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gr_OMk2wB5C5iOGSkHhUBudaVTDg

Agence France-Presse
February 9, 2010

NATO remains 'serious' threat to Russia: official

MOSCOW: NATO remains a serious threat to Russia's security, the secretary of the country's national security council said on Tuesday.

"We deeply doubt that we will be safer as a result of NATO enlargement. For us, the alliance represents a threat and a fairly serious one," Nikolai Patrushev said, according to Russian news agencies.

His comments came after NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen voiced surprise Saturday that Russia had named the western alliance as its "chief external military threat" in a key recent strategy document.

Russia has long resented moves by former Soviet neighbours such as Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO and relations between the alliance and Moscow plunged to a post-Cold War low after the Russian-Georgia war in August 2008.

Patrushev accused NATO members of fuelling the risk of a new conflict in the South Caucasus and rearming Georgia.

"We are watchful of the fact that Georgia is continuing to be rearmed. What for? Why? Do they want there to be a new aggression? If not, then they should not arm them. We don't plan to attack" Georgia, Patrushev said.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministry Tuesday sought to downplay Russia's characterization of NATO as an enemy, stressing that Moscow's new military doctrine saw NATO enlargement -- not the alliance itself -- as a security threat.

"The security risk to our country is not posed by NATO itself, but its... 'attempt to bring military infrastructure of NATO members closer to Russian borders, including by expanding the bloc'," a spokesman said in a statement posted on the ministry's website.

President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday approved Russia's new military doctrine, which listed first among the chief external threats the fact that NATO was attempting to "globalise its functions in contravention of international law."
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9.: Ukraine: Annual NATO Week Begins

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 5:44 am (PST)

http://bsanna-news.ukrinform.ua/newsitem.php?id=12281&lang=en

Ukrinform
February 9, 2010

NATO Week gets underway in Ukraine

KYIV: The 10th Annual NATO Week has kicked off at the National Defense Academy of Ukraine, the Defense Ministry press-service has reported.

This year the event is dedicated to the Alliance's new Strategic Concept.

The purpose of the International Week is to promote the better acquaintance of Ukrainian military men, scientists from higher military education establishments, NGOs with modern trends, specifics of NATO's development and transformation, achievements of NATO-led peacemaking operations and military initiatives.

Attending the event is a group of NATO officials led by Lieutenant General Wolf-Dieter Loeser, Commandant of the NATO Defense College, as well as foreign diplomats.
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10.: Taiwan Still Seeks U.S. Submarines

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 5:47 am (PST)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020900549.html

Associated Press
February 9, 2010

Lawmaker: Taiwan still wants US subs

TAIPEI, Taiwan: A Taiwanese lawmaker says the island's navy commander told him that the island still wants to acquire diesel submarines from the United States, despite their absence from a recent U.S. arms package.

Lin Yu-fang of the ruling Nationalists said Tuesday the conversation last week centered on strategies for convincing Washington to change its mind on the submarines.

Defense Ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue also says the subs are still on the table.

The U.S. last month announced a $6.4 billion arms package to Taiwan, including Blackhawk helicopters and Patriot air defense missiles.

The announcement spurred a furious reaction from China. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory. The sides split amid civil war in 1949.
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11.: U.S. Missile Shield Aimed Against Russia: Top General

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 5:50 am (PST)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020900806.html

Reuters
February 9, 2010

Moscow says U.S. missile shield aimed at Russia

MOSCOW: Russia's top general said on Tuesday that plans for a U.S. missile shield are directed against his country.

"The development and establishment of the (U.S.) missile shield is directed against the Russian Federation," Interfax news agency quoted Russian armed forces chief of staff, Nikolai Makarov, as saying.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman, editing by Steve Gutterman)
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12.: U.S. Interceptor Missile Plans Holding Up Nuclear Arms Reduction

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 5:54 am (PST)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/09/AR2010020900870.html

Reuters
February 9, 2010

Russia says missile shield delaying nuclear deal

MOSCOW: Russia's top general said on Tuesday that differences with the United States over plans for a missile defense shield were holding up a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the two Cold War foes, Interfax news agency said.

Russian armed forces chief of staff, Nikolai Makarov, said the differences had so far prevented the signing of the arms treaty.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman, editing by Steve Gutterman)
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13.: Georgia's Annual National Program: NATO Integration Proceeds Apace

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 5:55 am (PST)

http://rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=35588&pg=1&im=main&ct=0&wth=

Rustavi2
February 9, 2010

NATO commission discusses 2010 national plan

A session of the State Coordination Commission for NATO Integration assembled today to discuss the 2010 annual national program and its implementation.

The program includes the plans, which Georgia is obliged to implement in the economic, education and defence sectors.

The document will be submitted for the NATO Security Council for confirmation after it is adopted here in Georgia.

Vice Premier and the State Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Giorgi Baramidze chaired the session, where he responded to the statement of the Russian Security Council head, Nikolai Patrushev, who said that NATO enlargement was the key danger for Russia`s security and that the goal of the alliance while reinforcing ties with Georgia and Ukraine, was to suppress Russia.

Baramidze downplayed the concerns of the Russian senior official and said that Alliance tried to impose partner relationships with Russia.
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14.: Afghan War: U.S., NATO Military Death Toll Reaches 64 This Year

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 6:00 am (PST)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5heSnG71txXdZZuSlT9m35Yoo07ug

Agence France-Presse
February 9, 2010

Afghan unrest kills US, NATO soldiers

KABUL: A US and another NATO soldier were killed in attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the alliance said.

The US service member was killed in an improvised bomb blast in southern Afghanistan while the other soldier, whose nationality was not disclosed, died in a firefight with insurgents in the east, it said.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) did not provide further details including the exact locations of the incidents. Much of southern and eastern Afghanistan are troubled by a Taliban-led insurgency.

The latest deaths, which follow those of three British and two Swedish soldiers, took to 64 the number of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the start of the year.

Last year, the deadliest since the US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001, 520 foreign soldiers lost their lives in violence, according to an AFP tally based on that kept by independent website icasualties.org.

Military deaths have soared in Afghanistan, where about 113,000 international soldiers are deployed to fight back a Taliban-led insurgency aimed at toppling the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

The troops, along with their Afghan counterparts, are preparing to launch an imminent assault against the Taliban in the Marjah district in southern Helmand, which is expected to be one of the largest offensives of the war.
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15.: German Cabinet Approves 850 More Troops For Afghan War

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 6:02 am (PST)

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5230935,00.html

Deutsche Welle
February 9, 2010

The German cabinet approves deployment of an extra 850 soldiers to Afghanistan

The German cabinet has cleared the way for additional soldiers to be deployed to Afghanistan. The increase is Germany's contribution to implementing the strategy agreed upon at a recent Afghanistan conference.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved the plan at a meeting in Berlin on Tuesday. Once the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, gives its approval, an additional 850 German soldiers could be sent to Afghanistan, raising the total number of Bundeswehr servicemen in the country to 5,350.

Of the fresh troops, 350 have been earmarked as a flexible reserve for special situations like securing parliamentary elections planned for later this year.

Germany also plans to reinforce the troops training Afghan security personnel. In addition to police trainers and other experts, 1,400 German soldiers will be responsible for training the Afghans, up from the current 280.

In the framework of plans to offer Taliban fighters a financial incentive to put down their weapons, the government pledged to pay 50 million euros ($68.6 million) into an international re-integration fund over the next five years.

The new mandate runs until February 28, 2011; beginning in mid-2011, Germany plans to begin a step-by-step reduction of its troops in Afghanistan.
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16.: Washington: U.S. Priorities In The Caspian Sea Basin

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 6:07 am (PST)

http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=115677

Azeri Press Agency
February 9, 2010

US policy on Caspian Sea to be discussed in Washington
Isabel Levine

Washington: US policy towards the region of the Caspian Sea, including Azerbaijan, will be discussed in Washington DC this week.

According to APA's Washington DC correspondent, a number of prominent US experts and former officials dealing with the Caspian region will gather together to discuss US priorities on the Caspian Sea, as well as the current challenges.

The discussions will be held at School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University, on Thursday, February 11th.

Among the main participants will be Brenda Shaffer, professor in the School of Political Science at the University of Haifa; C. Boyden Gray, former U.S. ambassador to the European Union; Alexandros Petersen, associate director of the Eurasia Energy Center at the Atlantic Council; and Svante Cornell, research director at the SAIS Central Asia-Caucasus Institute.

The event organizers told APA that currently US analysts are interested in one question: "Does US have a Caspian policy?" According to the organizers, there is a need for US to focus on the questions around NABUCCO and issues of energy security. The US should pay attention to those questions.
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17.: Afghan War Resembles U.S. Philippine War Of 1898-1901

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 6:13 am (PST)

http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/123067.html

History News Network
February 9, 2010

David Silbey: The Philippine War is Not So Different from Afghanistan

-[T]he similarities between the Philippine-American War and the current conflict in Afghanistan should remind us of a time when the U.S. was more or less constantly at war in conflicts that never drew the all-encompassing attention of World War II. We may have returned to that era....American history has been dominated by war; so, too, may the American future be.

[David Silbey is the author of "A War of Frontier and Empire: The Philippine-American War, 1899-1902" and associate professor of history at Alvernia University in Reading, Pa.]

The war in Afghanistan feels foreign to Americans: a far distant land, a confusing and alien culture, and combat against a shadowy enemy. That feeling is mistaken. America has spent much of its history fighting wars like the one in Afghanistan. So much so, in fact, that Afghanistan would be familiar to an American in 1900, and conventional wars such as World War II would seem strange....

Yet while [the Spanish-American War] is remembered, it was a war that occurred as a result that had longer-lasting repercussions. As part of the peace treaty with Spain, America bought the Philippine Islands in the Pacific for $20 million. We found ourselves embroiled in a war there against the Filipinos themselves, who resented being bought and sold....

The American forces fighting in the Philippines were experienced at the kind of war that they faced. The American Army had spent much of the last part of the 19th century fighting a series of small wars against the Native Americans in the continental west. Those small wars demanded the same kind of counterinsurgency skills that the Philippines did, and so American officers and soldiers found themselves in a familiar situation in the western Pacific. So too for Afghanistan: American forces there have a wealth of knowledge garnered in Iraq.

News of the Philippine War reached home almost as rapidly as does news from Afghanistan. It was an age of the telegraph and the mass-market newspaper. Both ensured that Americans were quickly informed of news from the islands. When Company C of the Ninth U.S. Infantry was ambushed and massacred at Balangiga on the island of Samar on Sept. 28, 1901, the news made the New York Times two days later, hardly slower than our same-day reporting on Afghanistan.

Both Afghanistan and the Philippines committed America to a new part of the world. Taking the Philippines made the United States a power in Asia for the first time, and shifted the focus of the western United States from the east to the Pacific waters. In Afghanistan's case, it has been a growing and probably long-term presence in Central Asia, mixed in with young nations like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and Georgia, created in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse, and jostling for position with such traditional regional powers as Pakistan and India....

...[T]he similarities between the Philippine-American War and the current conflict in Afghanistan should remind us of a time when the U.S. was more or less constantly at war in conflicts that never drew the all-encompassing attention of World War II. We may have returned to that era, one in which American forces are always involved in small wars around the globe.

The trickle of daily deaths- an IED here, a sniper there - will probably not grow to a roaring flood, but also may not really stop, a leaky faucet never quite repaired. American history has been dominated by war; so, too, may the American future be.
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18.: Expert: U.S. May Ignite "Blitzkrieg" War In South Caucasus

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

Tue Feb 9, 2010 6:24 am (PST)

http://www.today.az/news/politics/61199.html

Today.AZ
February 9, 2010

Azerbaijani political expert: U.S. may be interested in "blitzkrieg" in Karabakh
Z. Ahmadov

-As to the United States, it has advanced the idea of creating a "Greater Middle East" from Baghdad to Karachi. Theoretically, it may be interested in a "blitzkrieg" in Karabakh. The South Caucasus and the Caspian Sea basin play a very important role in U.S. plans of a "Greater Middle East", and the U.S. may be interested in the violation of the existing status quo in the Caucasus....The United States knows very well that the power which will control energy flows from East to West will rule the modern world. That is why, on the one hand, Azerbaijan's significance is great, but on the other hand, in some circumstances the U.S. might be interested in some "blitzkrieg" in Karabakh.

Day.Az interview with Azerbaijani political expert Rasim Agayev.

In your opinion, how great is the possibility of resumed military action in Nagorno-Karabakh?

I do not see a situation that could prompt the parties to resolve the territorial dispute by force. Such a solution to the conflict is not favorable for Armenia, because it has occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory.

As for Azerbaijan, I think that Azerbaijan will not start the war. Although Azerbaijan makes such statements from time to time, I think that they are aimed mostly at the powers whom Azerbaijan calls for stronger action to resolve the Karabakh conflict. I think that the recent statement by U.S. National Intelligence was associated with this.

I believe external forces may be interested in a war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia does not need it at the moment, because it has somewhat damaged its credibility after the war with Georgia, but on the other hand it already has high influence in our region. The EU does not want war, too, because it does not support a military solution.

As to the United States, it has advanced the idea of creating a "Greater Middle East" from Baghdad to Karachi. Theoretically, it may be interested in a "blitzkrieg" in Karabakh. The South Caucasus and the Caspian Sea basin play a very important role in U.S. plans of a "Greater Middle East", and the U.S. may be interested in the violation of the existing status quo in the Caucasus.

In this case, Armenia is out of the game, because important energy flows bypass this country. Azerbaijan, in turn, is in such an important geopolitical position that not only the fate of the South Caucasus, but also of Central Asia depends on it.

The United States knows very well that the power which will control energy flows from East to West will rule the modern world. That is why, on the one hand, Azerbaijan's significance is great, but on the other hand, in some circumstances the U.S. might be interested in some "blitzkrieg" in Karabakh.

Another reason for an escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be external destabilizing facts in neighboring countries such as Iran. This could potentially lead to the most unexpected consequences in our region.
....
Lately, Turkey has become some sort of secular and democratic leader of the Muslim world. Given the complex situation around the Iran's nuclear program and U.S. problems with the Muslim world, I believe recognition of the "Armenian genocide" will be a good solution.
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