Messages In This Digest (5 Messages)
- 1.
- Saudi Arabia: Persian Gulf Of Strategic Interest To NATO From: Rick Rozoff
- 2.
- Stop NATO: Digest for June 14-19 From: Rick Rozoff
- 3.
- NATO Forges Strategic Partnership With Iraq From: Rick Rozoff
- 4.
- Kosovo's Thaci: Goal Is To Join NATO, EU From: Rick Rozoff
- 5.
- Georgia To Host Multinational NATO Exercise From: Rick Rozoff
Messages
- 1.
Saudi Arabia: Persian Gulf Of Strategic Interest To NATO
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:17 pm (PDT)
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/saudi-arabia- persian-gulf-of-strategic- interest-to-nato/
Stop NATO
June 19, 2012
Saudi Arabia: Persian Gulf Of Strategic Interest To NATO
Rick Rozoff
On June 18 Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen met with Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Nizar Madani at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
The head of the Western military alliance extended an invitation to the Persian Gulf kingdom to join NATO's partnership program in the region, stating "Saudi Arabia is a key player in the region and NATO would welcome the opportunity to engage the Kingdom's government as a partner in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative."
The latter was launched in 2004 during the NATO summit in the Turkish city which gave the partnership its name, part of a series of sweeping measures that also saw the largest-ever one-time expansion of NATO membership - the absorption of seven new nations in Eastern Europe, including the first former Yugoslav and first three former Soviet republics - as well as committing the bloc to upgrading its other Middle Eastern military partnership program, the Mediterranean Dialogue (whose members are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia), to that of the Partnership for Peace, which was used to elevate NATO's 12 new post-Cold War members to their current status.
The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) is aimed at the West's political and military partners in the Persian Gulf, the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. All but Oman and Saudi Arabia have joined the ICI.
Over the past six years NATO naval groups have visited Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Leading NATO officials have paid visits to and the bloc has held conferences in ICI member states.
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have troops serving under NATO command in Afghanistan, and Qatar and the United Arab Emirates supplied warplanes for NATO's six-month air campaign against Libya last year.
Now, with the U.S. and its Western allies refocusing on the Persian Gulf and the threat of Western military action against Syria and Iran mounting, it is clearly NATO's intention to recruit Saudi Arabia for the Persian Gulf partnership.
The Saudi diplomat, in addition to meeting with NATO chief Rasmussen, also met with the bloc's deputy secretary general, the Atlantic Council (which consists of the permanent representatives - ambassadors - of its 28 member states) and other alliance officials "who provided him with an overview of NATO's outreach and cooperation programmes with partner countries in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf region." That is, with the seven Mediterranean Dialogue and four Istanbul Cooperation Initiative members. (To date. Libya will be the next member of the first, with Syria and Lebanon to follow if the West succeeds in overthrowing the government of Syria. Iraq and Yemen are prospective members of the second.)
As the NATO website wrote concerning the visit of the Saudi official, "For NATO, the security of its partners in the Gulf is a key strategic interest to the Alliance."
Precisely how strategically important the Persian Gulf is to NATO and its leading member, the U.S., and in part why it is so was indicated on June 14 when Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro gave a briefing via teleconference on Global Economic Statecraft Day in which he demonstrated what the State Department in large measure exists for: To drum up business for American arms manufacturers.
His comments included:
"Global Economic Statecraft Day is a global event that we’re holding to highlight America’s commitment to put strengthening American jobs at the center of our foreign policy...Our work in the Political-Military Bureau, to expand security cooperation with our allies and partners, is critical to America’s national security and economic prosperity. And it is also an important part of the State Department’s economic statecraft efforts...[It is] the Secretary of State that is given the authority to oversee and authorize all arms sales in order to ensure they advance U.S. foreign policy."
He also boasted:
"Today, I can confirm that this is already a record-breaking year for foreign military sales, which are government-to-government sales. We have already surpassed $50 billion in sales in Fiscal Year 2012. This represents at least a $20 billion increase over Fiscal Year 2011, and we still have more than a quarter of the fiscal year left.
"To put this in context, Fiscal Year 2011 was a record-setting year at just over 30 billion. This fiscal year will be at least 70 percent greater than Fiscal Year 2011..."
Sixty percent of the arms sales abroad so far this fiscal year resulted from a $30 billion weapons contract with Saudi Arabia signed last December for 84 F-15 fighter jets and assorted weaponry. Which is part of a $67 billion deal struck with the Saudis in 2010 for the multirole warplanes, 2,000-pound bunker-busting bombs, 72 Black Hawk and 70 Apache Longbow attack helicopters, Patriot Advanced Capability-2 and other missiles, and warships. The largest bilateral arms transaction in history.
And that in turn is part of an $123 billion arms package with Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates announced in the same year. The "Iranian threat" may be the most lucrative public relations scheme ever devised.
Last December 25 the U.S. signed a deal to sell 96 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor missiles to the United Arab Emirates, the first THAAD missiles to be deployed outside the U.S. It was also announced last year that the United Arab Emirates will become the first Arab state to open an embassy at NATO Headquarters.
On June 11 the U.S. and Turkey began the second round of this year's Anatolian Eagle air combat exercises in the second country, whose purpose is, in the words of the Pentagon's press service, "to conduct a variety of air missions to include interdiction, attack, air superiority, defense suppression, airlift, air refueling and reconnaissance."
The joint U.S.-Turkey Anatolian Eagle-2012/1 was held in March. The ongoing Anatolian Eagle-2012/2 also includes the participation of NATO and warplanes from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Italy.
A U.S. Air Force report, not mentioning Saudi Arabia's involvement, offered this description of the exercise:
"The Blue Force, consisting of the United States, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Turkey and NATO, will perfect their large force employment skills against the Red Force of F-16s, F-4s and F-5s piloted by Turkish pilots."
The same source quoted a U.S. Air Force official as contending, "If there's ever another (Operation) Allied Force, these are the people we're going to fight with side by side."
There can be little doubt about who the victims of the next Allied Force, the name of NATO's 78-day air war against Yugoslavia 13 years ago, would be in the current geopolitical context. Turkey borders Syria and Iran, which are the two main impediments to Turkey and Saudi Arabia further expanding their influence in the Middle East
Late last month the two nations, both invested in overthrowing secular, republican Arab governments from Libya to Syria and beyond, signed a military training agreement in Riyadh. The pact provides for training Saudi soldiers in Turkish (NATO standard) military schools for participation in joint military operations.
In initiating her campaign against Russia and China over Syria in February, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton invoked the Arab Spring and the Arab Awakening (the capital letters are hers): "They must understand they are setting themselves against the aspirations not only of the Syrian people but of the entire Arab Spring, the Arab Awakening."
What in fact she and her Western counterparts are promoting in the Arab world from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf is a lethal mixture of militarism, monarchism and theocracy.
============================================================ ========
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/messages
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
============================================================ ==========
- 2.
Stop NATO: Digest for June 14-19
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:55 am (PDT)
Stop NATO: Digest for June 14-19
Saudi Arabia: Persian Gulf Of Strategic Interest To NATO
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/saudi-arabia- persian-gulf-of-strategic- interest-to-nato/
U.S. Implementing Afghanistan And Kosovo Models For Syria
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/u-s-implementing- afghanistan-and-kosovo-models- for-syria/
Syria Strategy Looks Like A Bloody Repeat
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/syria-strategy-lo oks-like-a-bloody-repeat/
Russian Ships To Visit Syrian Port
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/russian-ships-to- visit-syrian-port/
Suspension Of UN Mission: Pretext For West’s “Next Steps” In Syria
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/suspension-of-un- mission-pretext-for-wests- next-steps-in-syria/
What Is NATO/KFOR Really Doing In Kosovo?
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/what-is-natokfor- really-doing-in-kosovo/
Next Five Years: Global Order Poised Between Promise And Chaos
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/next-five-years-g lobal-order-poised-between-pro mise-and-chaos/
UN Suspends Syrian Mission As U.S.-Russia Tensions Escalate
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/un-suspends-syria n-mission-as-u-s-russia-tensio ns-escalate/
Syrian Intervention Matter Of When And Not If
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/syrian-interventi on-matter-of-when-and-not-if/
Arms For Loyalty: U.S. Global Weapons Sales Surge
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/arms-for-loyalty- u-s-global-weapons-sales-surge /
UN Suspends Syrian Mission As U.S.-Russia Tensions Escalate
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/un-suspends-syria n-mission-as-u-s-russia-tensio ns-escalate/
Libya: New AFRICOM And NATO Beachhead In Africa
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/libya-new- africom-and-nato-beachhead-in- africa/
Pentagon Finishes Contingency Plans For Invasion Of Syria
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/pentagon-finishes -contingency-plans-for-invasio n-of-syria/
Russian General Staff: Warships Ready To Go To Syria
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/russian-general- staff-warships-ready-to-go-to- syria/
Interview: Syrian Intervention Could Cause 100,000 Deaths
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/interview-syrian- intervention-could-cause- 100000-deaths/
Little Spin On Helicopters And Big Lie On “Arab Spring”
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/little-spin-on- helicopters-and-big-lie-on- arab-spring/
U.S. Exploits Syrian Situation For Showdown With Russia
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/u-s-exploits-syri an-situation-for-showdown-with -russia/
Russia Prepared To Respond To U.S.-NATO Interceptor Missile System
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/russia-prepared-t o-respond-to-u-s-nato-intercep tor-missile-system/
Syria: NATO Plans New Sykes-Picot, Middle East Chaos
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/syria-nato-plans- new-sykes-picot-middle-east- chaos/
Russia Rejects U.S. Charges, Accuses U.S. Of Arming Syrian Rebels
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/russia-rejects-u- s-charges-accuses-u-s-of- arming-syrian-rebels/
============================================================ ========
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/messages
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
============================================================ ==========
- 3.
NATO Forges Strategic Partnership With Iraq
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:55 am (PDT)
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-4E939237-3AAD9036/natolive/ne ws_88480.htm
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
June 20, 2012
NATO and Iraq transition towards strengthened partnership
In June, NATO opened a temporary Transition Cell in Iraq to smooth the path towards strengthened partnership and cooperation. NATO and Iraq have agreed to further promote strategic dialogue and strengthen Iraq’s security capability through capacity building, exchange, education and training.
Assistance to Iraq to develop effective armed forces started in 2004 under the NATO Training Mission in Iraq. While the mandate for this mission ended in December 2011, the Allies remain committed to bolstering Iraq’s capacity to provide for its own security and contribute to regional security.
At the recent Chicago Summit, Allied leaders welcomed the progress being made in Iraq and the establishment of the NATO Transition Cell to help develop the NATO-Iraq partnership.
NATO’s readiness to advance partnership by developing a structured framework for cooperation was reaffirmed at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010.
Following the adoption by Allies of a more flexible and inclusive partnership policy in April 2011, work started on preparing an Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme with Iraq. This is expected to be finalized in the coming months.
The newly opened Transition Cell is supporting the Government of Iraq in laying the foundations for a consolidated inter-ministerial coordination mechanism for the management of training and cooperation within the framework of the NATO-Iraq partnership.
Cooperation is based on a shared commitment to develop capabilities that address shared challenges and threats. It also reflects a common desire to support the professional education and capacity development of the Iraqi Security Forces.
============================================================ ========
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/messages
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
============================================================ ==========
- 4.
Kosovo's Thaci: Goal Is To Join NATO, EU
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:59 am (PDT)
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n280954
Focus News Agency
June 19, 2012
Our goal is to become NATO, EU members: Kosovan PM
Sofia: Kosovo is a friendly country to Bulgaria, visiting Kosovan Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said at a press conference in the Council of Ministers with his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov, FOCUS News Agency reported.
Our goal is to become members of NATO and the European Union, he added.
...
He thanked for Bulgaria being one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo. Kosovo’s success is a joint result of the EU, U.S., NATO and all international organizations, he said further.
...
============================================================ ========
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/messages
Stop NATO website and articles:
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com
To subscribe for individual e-mails or the daily digest, unsubscribe, and otherwise change subscription status:
stopnato-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
============================================================ ==========
- 5.
Georgia To Host Multinational NATO Exercise
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff" rwrozoff@yahoo.com rwrozoff
Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:07 am (PDT)
http://en.trend.az/news/politics/2038653.html
Trend News Agency
June 19, 2012
Georgia hosts preparatory conference of NATO exercises
N. Kirtzkhalia
Tbilisi: On September 22-28 Georgia will host international exercises "Georgia 2012" under the auspices of NATO. The exercise involves development of joint response methods to natural and manmade disasters.
In order to prepare these exercises on June 19-20 Tbilisi hosts the last preparatory planning conference, which brings together experts from 70 countries of NATO and its partners.
An agreement of mutual understanding between the Coordination Centre of NATO disaster response and the Interior Ministry of Georgia was signed during the conference.
This agreement involves exercises Georgia 2012 without interference.
