For Immediate Release
September 24, 2010
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending September 24, 2010
New York: Aafia Siddiqui Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 86 Years for Attempting to Murder U.S. Nationals in Afghanistan and Six Additional Crimes
Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years in prison for the attempted murder and assault of U.S. nationals, officers, and employees serving in Afghanistan. Full Story
New Haven: Connecticut Man Charged with Sending Numerous Anthrax Hoax and Bomb Threat Letters Nationwide
Roland Prejean was charged for allegedly sending more than 50 anthrax hoax and bomb threat letters to private individuals, post offices, state and federal buildings, judges, and other state and federal government officials around the country. Full Story
Norfolk: Portsmouth Man Indicted for Hiring a Friend to Murder His Ex-Wife
A federal grand jury indicted Larry Lingenfelter on multiple counts relating to his scheme to murder his ex-wife in order to avoid paying child support and to obtain custody of his triplet daughters. Full Story
Columbia: Former Lee County Sheriff Melvin Indicted
Former Lee County Sheriff Edgar Jerome Melvin was charged in a 47-count second superseding indictment with various violations including racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking, and other offenses. Full Story
Charlotte: Defendant in Murder of UNC Student Body President Sentenced
Demario Atwater was sentenced to life plus 10 years in prison in connection with the March 5, 2008, murder of UNC-Chapel Hill Student Body President Eve Marie Carson. Full Story
New Orleans: Former New Orleans Police Detective Sentenced in Connection with Shootings on the Danziger Bridge
Former New Orleans Police Department Detective Jeffrey Lehrmann was sentenced to three years in prison in connection with the cover up of two police-involved shootings on the Danziger Bridge in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that left two civilians dead and four others seriously injured. Full Story
Newark: Hacker Convicted of Unleashing a Virus and Attacking Media Outlets
Computer programmer Bruce Raisley was convicted of launching a virus infecting approximately 100,000 computers around the world. The virus directed computers to attack media outlets and republish stories that mentioned the perpetrator. Full Story
Atlanta: Woman Indicted for Trafficking Young Women from Nigeria to Work for Her as Nannies
Nigerian citizen Bidemi Bello was indicted on charges of forced labor, trafficking with respect to forced labor, document servitude, and alien harboring. Full Story
Chicago: City Inspector Convicted of Bribery in Probe of Crooked Permits
Jose Hernandez, a City of Chicago building inspector, was convicted on federal bribery charges for accepting and demanding cash bribes from a cooperating contractor and developers to approve inspections at residential and commercial construction sites. Full Story
Washington Field: Martinair Airline Executive Indicted in Conspiracy to Fix Surcharge Rates on Air Cargo Shipments
A jury returned an indictment against Maria Ullings, an executive of Martinair Holland N.V., for participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate certain surcharges on air cargo shipments to and from the United States. Full Story
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Thursday, September 30, 2010
[Poetry of Yoga] From Shaktidhara via Satyananda Yoga Academy via Satyananda.Net[Image]Reply[Image] [Image][Image]teddybear show details 4:00 PM (3 hours ago) MIME-Version: 1.0 Received: by 10.229.92.16 with HTTP; Wed, 29 Sep 2010 22:11:51 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <201009300006.o8U06LoP020193@mail5.tpg.com.au> References: <201009300006.o8U06LoP020193@mail5.tpg.com.au> Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:11:51 +1000 Delivered-To: sfrancesten@gmail.com Message-ID: Subject: Re: Copyright Issue From: yoga-prakash saraswati To: Shaktidhara - Satyananda Yoga Academy Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable greetings please specify and itemise the items in question On Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 10:06 AM, Shaktidhara - Satyananda Yoga Academy wrote: > To Whom It May Concern > > > > You have welcomed comments about your blog site. The content at this url > http://poetryofyoga.blogspot.com/2010/04/swami-satyanandas-satsang.html?z= x=3D2004a96d71476613 > > has been lifted from the Rikhiapeeth blog site. > > > > All literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works produced by Satyananda > Yoga=C2=AE organisations worldwide, and the staff of these organisations = are > subject to the protection of copyright. Copyright material includes all > Satsangs, kirtans and classes given by Swami Niranjanananda, Swami > Satyananda and Swami Satsangi irrespective of location. No copyright > material may be published, reproduced or distributed in any way. > > Can you please remove all content from your site that pertains to the > Rikhiapeeth blog site, including satsangs and information on upcoming > events. Please also remove any thing else from your website that breaches > the Satyananda Yoga=C2=AE copyrights. > > Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need an= y > clarification. > > Hari Om Tat Sat > > Shaktidhara > Satyananda Yoga Academy > > > > > > --=20 teddybear
--
Posted By teddybear to Poetry of Yoga at 9/29/2010 10:59:00 PM
--
Posted By teddybear to Poetry of Yoga at 9/29/2010 10:59:00 PM
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Say Prayers To End The Ungodly rule Of GillardPM And Her Goverment
Say prayers to end the ungodly rule of the GillardPM goverment--soon
Why are the Churches so silent ?
Why are the Churches so silent ?
Untruthfull GillardPM
Untruthfull Gillard PM knows that a carbon tax (of extra 10% gst) is not in Australia's interest
And will not stop climate change
Nor will a $7000.00 connection fee for every residence for the national broadband scheme
Tony Abbot and opposition know this and vote against it
What do you think ?
And will not stop climate change
Nor will a $7000.00 connection fee for every residence for the national broadband scheme
Tony Abbot and opposition know this and vote against it
What do you think ?
EFF Newsletter
Dear Friend of Digital Freedom,The U.S. government has made two proposals this week that threaten online speech and privacy in radical new ways. Either one, if passed by Congress, will fundamentally rewrite the rules of the Internet. EFF is fighting hard for your rights and needs your help.These proposals are the most frightening we've seen in a long time. The first is a bill called the "Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act," which would give the Justice Department new powers to censor websites accused of aiding "piracy." The second is an Obama Administration proposal that would end online privacy as we know it by requiring all Internet communication service providers -- from Facebook to Skype to your webmail provider -- to rebuild their systems to give the government backdoor access to all of your private Internet communications.EFF is battling these threats to Internet users' privacy and freedom of speech, and we need your support. More than half of EFF's funding comes from individuals like you, and none of our funding comes from government grants. That means that when EFF goes toe-to-toe against government attempts to snatch away your rights, we pull no punches in defending the civil liberties of all technology users and innovators.Become an EFF member today, and join the ongoing fight for privacy, free expression, and civil liberties on the Internet, as we face down these threats and secure a better future for us all.[Image] [Image]
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Witchfest International News Letter
Witchfest International 2010 News and Special Offers
[Image][Image]CoACentral@witchcraft.org to teddybear Sep 28 (1 day ago) Merry Meet All,
Welcome to the latest issue of the Children of Artemis newsletter.
WITCHFEST INTERNATIONAL on the 6th Nov 2010 is approaching fast so make sure that you have booked your tickets. The amazing value early bird discount tickets are only available until the end of September, so you have just 3 days to get the cheaper tickets. Tickets will still be available in October, but at the higher standard price. Now is the best time to book your Witchfest International tickets to get the cheapest price and ensure you get a ticket. You can book either online or to print out a postal form, For a booking form and more info please seehttp://witchfest.net/wf_international.htm
The number of tickets available for this event are strictly limited so it is advisable to book early. There are many talks and workshops given by the most famous Witchcraft/Wiccan authors and experts in the world, including Prof Ronald Hutton, Kate West, and Tylluan Penry. This site will be updated regularly with the latest confirmed speakers, artists and workshops. Check back soon!
UNIQUE CHANCE TO SEE SPIRIT OF ALBION AT WITCHFEST
‘The Spirit of Albion’ was originally conceived as a devised piece by the Archway Theatre (Horley) Young Adults Workshop. The play was built around ten songs by Damh the Bard. The audience response was so positive amongst the Pagan community who saw the show that the decision was made to bring it to Witchfest.
MEET THE SPEAKERS IN THE MEMBERS BAR
A new event in the members bar at Witchfest, after the closing ritual, during sound checks many of the speakers and workshop leaders will be in the members only bar. This will give you a chance to meet and talk to your favourite authors and speakers. Make sure your membership card is up to date to ensure you can get in. If you are a member and do not have a card, send a passport photo to Children of Artemis, London, WC1N 3XX
There is still time to join CoA if you are not already a member. Gotohttp://witchcraft.org/members.htm for more details of the options.
DOCUMENTARY FILM WITCHCRAFT IN AFRICA
Children of Artemis are supporting a charity that is attempting to help those accused of Witchcraft in Africa. If the charity team get back in time, there will be a showing of a documentary about the reality of this modern day Witch hunt, what we can do to help.
For the latest news about Children of Artemis or Witchfest visit http://witchcraft.org andhttp://witchfest.net regularly.
Bright Blessings
Merlyn, and the CoA Central Team
[Image][Image]CoACentral@witchcraft.org to teddybear Sep 28 (1 day ago) Merry Meet All,
Welcome to the latest issue of the Children of Artemis newsletter.
WITCHFEST INTERNATIONAL on the 6th Nov 2010 is approaching fast so make sure that you have booked your tickets. The amazing value early bird discount tickets are only available until the end of September, so you have just 3 days to get the cheaper tickets. Tickets will still be available in October, but at the higher standard price. Now is the best time to book your Witchfest International tickets to get the cheapest price and ensure you get a ticket. You can book either online or to print out a postal form, For a booking form and more info please seehttp://witchfest.net/wf_international.htm
The number of tickets available for this event are strictly limited so it is advisable to book early. There are many talks and workshops given by the most famous Witchcraft/Wiccan authors and experts in the world, including Prof Ronald Hutton, Kate West, and Tylluan Penry. This site will be updated regularly with the latest confirmed speakers, artists and workshops. Check back soon!
UNIQUE CHANCE TO SEE SPIRIT OF ALBION AT WITCHFEST
‘The Spirit of Albion’ was originally conceived as a devised piece by the Archway Theatre (Horley) Young Adults Workshop. The play was built around ten songs by Damh the Bard. The audience response was so positive amongst the Pagan community who saw the show that the decision was made to bring it to Witchfest.
MEET THE SPEAKERS IN THE MEMBERS BAR
A new event in the members bar at Witchfest, after the closing ritual, during sound checks many of the speakers and workshop leaders will be in the members only bar. This will give you a chance to meet and talk to your favourite authors and speakers. Make sure your membership card is up to date to ensure you can get in. If you are a member and do not have a card, send a passport photo to Children of Artemis, London, WC1N 3XX
There is still time to join CoA if you are not already a member. Gotohttp://witchcraft.org/members.htm for more details of the options.
DOCUMENTARY FILM WITCHCRAFT IN AFRICA
Children of Artemis are supporting a charity that is attempting to help those accused of Witchcraft in Africa. If the charity team get back in time, there will be a showing of a documentary about the reality of this modern day Witch hunt, what we can do to help.
For the latest news about Children of Artemis or Witchfest visit http://witchcraft.org andhttp://witchfest.net regularly.
Bright Blessings
Merlyn, and the CoA Central Team
Monday, September 27, 2010
Is Stanley Morgan An Israeli front To Control LYC ASX ?
Is Stanley Morgan an Israeli front to grab control of LYC ASX strategic military communication rare earths in Australia
Maybe the Australian govt should look into the matter URGENTLY
Maybe the Australian govt should look into the matter URGENTLY
Naval Threat to Australia Exports Of LYC ASX Rare Earths-Military -Communication Strategic Material
With LYC ASX exports of RARE EARTHS to Malaysia for processing the now STRATEGIC MILITARY COMMUNICATION MATERIALS are at risk of being hijacked at sea
Someone like Israel who hijacked shipments of Uranium at sea for its nuclear programme
Or by pirates hired by a third party who wants the rare earths
The question is why cant the materials be processed in Australia and the finished product sold here in Australia in safety
And what can Malaysia do that Australia cant ?
Maybe LYC ASX and the Australian Fed Govy will look into the matter--SOON
And once processed in Malaysia the rare earths are open to being stolen
Like Jews who stole Uranium from USA etc etc!
Someone like Israel who hijacked shipments of Uranium at sea for its nuclear programme
Or by pirates hired by a third party who wants the rare earths
The question is why cant the materials be processed in Australia and the finished product sold here in Australia in safety
And what can Malaysia do that Australia cant ?
Maybe LYC ASX and the Australian Fed Govy will look into the matter--SOON
And once processed in Malaysia the rare earths are open to being stolen
Like Jews who stole Uranium from USA etc etc!
Business Spectator (On Android Phones) News By Alan Kohler(visit their website for more)
The Android conquest of TelstraAlan KohlerPublished 7:31 AM, 27 Sep 2010 Last update 10:43 AM, 27 Sep 2010
When Telstra’s share price fell to record lows last week the talk was all about the NBN, but perhaps the real source of Telstra’s woe is that it’s being trampled in the elephant fight between Google and Apple.
The NBN is worth 90c per share for Telstra and provides a clear future for the most difficult, shrinking part of its business – fixed lines. CEO David Thodey no doubt wishes Malcolm Turnbull would just shut up and pass the legislation.
But the bigger problem may lie in the more important, fast-growing Smartphone market: carriers like Telstra are being cut out as Google and Apple fight it out for the future.
The latest battleground is China, where there are 800 million mobile phone users. On Saturday Apple launched its iPhone 4 in Beijing and Shanghai for $A795 each and immediately sold out; the cheaper Google Android phones have been selling like hotcakes for a while, and apparently activations for both platforms have been running neck and neck.
At this stage the carriers, including Telstra’s Hong Kong unit, CSL, are getting a share of the action, but watch this space…
Telstra has known for 15 years that the future of telecommunications lies in content, but it never really knew what to do about it. For four years it looked at taking over John Fairfax, but that idea was eventually knocked back by the board, and then it just concentrated on owning half of Foxtel and building BigPond.
And then Steve Jobs came along with iTunes and all the carriers went: “Oh, so that’s what content means!” Apple sold the devices with an operating system inside, and then added everything else: music, movies, books, applications, games, ringtones, you name it. Carriers were put in their place.
As a result Apple became the world’s second largest company with a market capitalisation of $US267 billion – much bigger than BHP Billiton and breathing down the neck of Exxon Mobil to become the biggest.
Meanwhile Telstra has shrunk pitifully, and has become just a mobile ISP – selling phones and carrying the data bits. Mind you, that’s been a pretty good margin business and has been replacing the revenue lost on the fixed line network.
But now Google has arrived with another disintermediation – Android, the open source operating system for Smartphones. There are now scores of devices being sold with the Android system on board, while there is only one (admittedly pretty good) iPhone. Android’s market share in the US is already greater than the iPhone’s.
So far Google and the makers of Android phones have been working with carriers to sell their devices and Telstra has seen an explosion of Android devices this year, while also selling a lot of iPhones.
But this month the Taiwanese maker, Acer, is launching a new range of Android Smartphones with full qwerty keyboards and a retail strategy that bypasses the carriers. It means consumers can’t get them for $0 on a plan but will buy them direct from retailers and then choose their carrier.
Jean-Louis Gassée writing in the Monday Note says: “Google’s intent is clear: they want carriers out of the way.
“Schmidt, Brin, Page, and Rubin all think carriers are greedy bumblers, short-term thinkers, technically and culturally incompetent in matters of Smartphone OS and applications.
“Google wants to see Smartphones priced at $79, without subsidy, thus taking away the carriers’ opportunity to dictate features. At $79 and no contract, consumers can change handsets and carriers at will. This frees Google to have a direct relationship with the consumer, allowing their money machine – advertising today, entertainment and business services tomorrow – to run unimpeded.”
The Acer devices to be launched this month will start at $399, so not exactly 79 bucks yet, but prices are coming down and the Android phones are clearly undercutting iPhones. It’s no doubt only a matter of time before Android overtakes iPhone in Australia, and carriers here are further disintermediated.
The key to all this is content, as Telstra recognised but failed to act on so long ago.
To that end Google is now working on its own version of iTunes.
It already has an Android apps market (with 40,000 apps versus Apple’s 180,000 apps), but earlier this monthBillboard magazine carried a story that Google is well advanced on an iTunes-style music store that would operate on an annual subscription.
The world is moving very quickly to one where all the value is captured by Google and Apple and the carriers just work for them on low margins.
Telstra was right: it was all about content.
[Image]
[Image]
|
When Telstra’s share price fell to record lows last week the talk was all about the NBN, but perhaps the real source of Telstra’s woe is that it’s being trampled in the elephant fight between Google and Apple.
The NBN is worth 90c per share for Telstra and provides a clear future for the most difficult, shrinking part of its business – fixed lines. CEO David Thodey no doubt wishes Malcolm Turnbull would just shut up and pass the legislation.
But the bigger problem may lie in the more important, fast-growing Smartphone market: carriers like Telstra are being cut out as Google and Apple fight it out for the future.
The latest battleground is China, where there are 800 million mobile phone users. On Saturday Apple launched its iPhone 4 in Beijing and Shanghai for $A795 each and immediately sold out; the cheaper Google Android phones have been selling like hotcakes for a while, and apparently activations for both platforms have been running neck and neck.
At this stage the carriers, including Telstra’s Hong Kong unit, CSL, are getting a share of the action, but watch this space…
Telstra has known for 15 years that the future of telecommunications lies in content, but it never really knew what to do about it. For four years it looked at taking over John Fairfax, but that idea was eventually knocked back by the board, and then it just concentrated on owning half of Foxtel and building BigPond.
And then Steve Jobs came along with iTunes and all the carriers went: “Oh, so that’s what content means!” Apple sold the devices with an operating system inside, and then added everything else: music, movies, books, applications, games, ringtones, you name it. Carriers were put in their place.
As a result Apple became the world’s second largest company with a market capitalisation of $US267 billion – much bigger than BHP Billiton and breathing down the neck of Exxon Mobil to become the biggest.
Meanwhile Telstra has shrunk pitifully, and has become just a mobile ISP – selling phones and carrying the data bits. Mind you, that’s been a pretty good margin business and has been replacing the revenue lost on the fixed line network.
But now Google has arrived with another disintermediation – Android, the open source operating system for Smartphones. There are now scores of devices being sold with the Android system on board, while there is only one (admittedly pretty good) iPhone. Android’s market share in the US is already greater than the iPhone’s.
So far Google and the makers of Android phones have been working with carriers to sell their devices and Telstra has seen an explosion of Android devices this year, while also selling a lot of iPhones.
But this month the Taiwanese maker, Acer, is launching a new range of Android Smartphones with full qwerty keyboards and a retail strategy that bypasses the carriers. It means consumers can’t get them for $0 on a plan but will buy them direct from retailers and then choose their carrier.
Jean-Louis Gassée writing in the Monday Note says: “Google’s intent is clear: they want carriers out of the way.
“Schmidt, Brin, Page, and Rubin all think carriers are greedy bumblers, short-term thinkers, technically and culturally incompetent in matters of Smartphone OS and applications.
“Google wants to see Smartphones priced at $79, without subsidy, thus taking away the carriers’ opportunity to dictate features. At $79 and no contract, consumers can change handsets and carriers at will. This frees Google to have a direct relationship with the consumer, allowing their money machine – advertising today, entertainment and business services tomorrow – to run unimpeded.”
The Acer devices to be launched this month will start at $399, so not exactly 79 bucks yet, but prices are coming down and the Android phones are clearly undercutting iPhones. It’s no doubt only a matter of time before Android overtakes iPhone in Australia, and carriers here are further disintermediated.
The key to all this is content, as Telstra recognised but failed to act on so long ago.
To that end Google is now working on its own version of iTunes.
It already has an Android apps market (with 40,000 apps versus Apple’s 180,000 apps), but earlier this monthBillboard magazine carried a story that Google is well advanced on an iTunes-style music store that would operate on an annual subscription.
The world is moving very quickly to one where all the value is captured by Google and Apple and the carriers just work for them on low margins.
Telstra was right: it was all about content.
[Image]
[Image]
|
Business Spectator (On Android Phones) News By Alan Kohler(visit their website for more)
The Android conquest of Telstra
Alan Kohler
Published 7:31 AM, 27 Sep 2010 Last update 10:43 AM, 27 Sep 2010
When Telstra’s share price fell to record lows last week the talk was all about the NBN, but perhaps the real source of Telstra’s woe is that it’s being trampled in the elephant fight between Google and Apple.
The NBN is worth 90c per share for Telstra and provides a clear future for the most difficult, shrinking part of its business – fixed lines. CEO David Thodey no doubt wishes Malcolm Turnbull would just shut up and pass the legislation.
But the bigger problem may lie in the more important, fast-growing Smartphone market: carriers like Telstra are being cut out as Google and Apple fight it out for the future.
The latest battleground is China, where there are 800 million mobile phone users. On Saturday Apple launched its iPhone 4 in Beijing and Shanghai for $A795 each and immediately sold out; the cheaper Google Android phones have been selling like hotcakes for a while, and apparently activations for both platforms have been running neck and neck.
At this stage the carriers, including Telstra’s Hong Kong unit, CSL, are getting a share of the action, but watch this space…
Telstra has known for 15 years that the future of telecommunications lies in content, but it never really knew what to do about it. For four years it looked at taking over John Fairfax, but that idea was eventually knocked back by the board, and then it just concentrated on owning half of Foxtel and building BigPond.
And then Steve Jobs came along with iTunes and all the carriers went: “Oh, so that’s what content means!” Apple sold the devices with an operating system inside, and then added everything else: music, movies, books, applications, games, ringtones, you name it. Carriers were put in their place.
As a result Apple became the world’s second largest company with a market capitalisation of $US267 billion – much bigger than BHP Billiton and breathing down the neck of Exxon Mobil to become the biggest.
Meanwhile Telstra has shrunk pitifully, and has become just a mobile ISP – selling phones and carrying the data bits. Mind you, that’s been a pretty good margin business and has been replacing the revenue lost on the fixed line network.
But now Google has arrived with another disintermediation – Android, the open source operating system for Smartphones. There are now scores of devices being sold with the Android system on board, while there is only one (admittedly pretty good) iPhone. Android’s market share in the US is already greater than the iPhone’s.
So far Google and the makers of Android phones have been working with carriers to sell their devices and Telstra has seen an explosion of Android devices this year, while also selling a lot of iPhones.
But this month the Taiwanese maker, Acer, is launching a new range of Android Smartphones with full qwerty keyboards and a retail strategy that bypasses the carriers. It means consumers can’t get them for $0 on a plan but will buy them direct from retailers and then choose their carrier.
Jean-Louis Gassée writing in the Monday Note says: “Google’s intent is clear: they want carriers out of the way.
“Schmidt, Brin, Page, and Rubin all think carriers are greedy bumblers, short-term thinkers, technically and culturally incompetent in matters of Smartphone OS and applications.
“Google wants to see Smartphones priced at $79, without subsidy, thus taking away the carriers’ opportunity to dictate features. At $79 and no contract, consumers can change handsets and carriers at will. This frees Google to have a direct relationship with the consumer, allowing their money machine – advertising today, entertainment and business services tomorrow – to run unimpeded.”
The Acer devices to be launched this month will start at $399, so not exactly 79 bucks yet, but prices are coming down and the Android phones are clearly undercutting iPhones. It’s no doubt only a matter of time before Android overtakes iPhone in Australia, and carriers here are further disintermediated.
The key to all this is content, as Telstra recognised but failed to act on so long ago.
To that end Google is now working on its own version of iTunes.
It already has an Android apps market (with 40,000 apps versus Apple’s 180,000 apps), but earlier this monthBillboard magazine carried a story that Google is well advanced on an iTunes-style music store that would operate on an annual subscription.
The world is moving very quickly to one where all the value is captured by Google and Apple and the carriers just work for them on low margins.
Telstra was right: it was all about content.
GillardPm Rudd Crean etc etc Not 3 Aussie Soldiers
ABC News reports that 3 Aussie soldiers are to face manslaughter and other charges over deaths in Afghanistan
It should be warmakers GillardPm-Kevin Rudd-Simon Crean defence minister etc who should be on trial as war criminals-not soldiers protecting themselves
It should be warmakers GillardPm-Kevin Rudd-Simon Crean defence minister etc who should be on trial as war criminals-not soldiers protecting themselves
Australia in biggest military buildup In History--WHY ?-Australian Public Kept Ignorant
Australia is involved in the biggest military build up in history
All the way with USA
The Australian public is kept ignorant
read the latest post of World Research and see what you think
All the way with USA
The Australian public is kept ignorant
read the latest post of World Research and see what you think
Global Research Newsletter(USA Military Expansion)(teddybear says is China the real cause of buildup?)
Rick Rozoff: America Threatens Russia - U.S. Consolidates New Military Outposts In Eastern Europe
InboxX
[Image]Reply[Image] [Image][Image]
Global Research E-Newsletter teddybear
9:07 PM (20 minutes ago)
Having trouble viewing this email? Click here [Image]
America Threatens Russia: U.S. Consolidates New Military Outposts In Eastern EuropeBases, troops and missiles along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean
By Rick Rozoff URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21167 Global Research, September 24, 2010 Stop NATO With NATO as intermediary, facilitator and Trojan horse, the Pentagon has established itself - with bases, troops and missiles - along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean.
Two weeks after the United States started its third rotation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Baltic air patrol on September 1, with the deployment of F-15C Eagle fighter jets operating out of the Siauliai International Airport in Lithuania, neighboring Estonia finished a three-year project to upgrade its Amari Air Base in order to accommodate more NATO warplanes.
The opening ceremony for the enlarged base, which with expanded runways is able to host "16 NATO fighters, 20 transport planes [and] up to 2,000 people per day" [1], was held on September 15.
The Estonian base, like its Lithuanian counterpart, is a Soviet-era one modernized and extended for use by NATO, which financed 35 percent of the expansion.
Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said of the augmented air base that "You could say that it wasn't just the Estonian Air Force that got a base, but our allies now also have a home, or if you prefer, a nest in Estonia where they can land and rest." [2] The head of the Estonian Air Force, Brigadier General Valeri Saar, said that NATO aircraft involved in the air policing mission in place for over six years could be stationed at the Amari Air Base in the future.
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, an American expatriate and former Radio Free Europe employee, made even stronger claims by stating the completion of the base will facilitate the deployment of fellow NATO members' troops and military equipment to his nation for prospective direct intervention: “It is obvious that a small country like Estonia would need the help of its allies in the event of a serious military crisis. Likewise, it is obvious that no matter how willing someone is to provide this help, they cannot do so without the proper infrastructure. Let’s be honest: until today our ability to accept the airborne help of our allies has been extremely limited.” [3]
A "serious military crisis" only makes sense in relation to Russia. The air policing operation that was launched in March 2004 when Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia were absorbed into the Alliance - the first former Soviet republics to enter the bloc - with the subsequent rotation of U.S., British, German, French, Turkish, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Belgian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian and Czech warplanes has never identified against whom and what NATO was allegedly protecting the three Baltic states' airspace.
As the stock villains - Iran and North Korea - cannot be invoked as threats to the region, Estonia's and Lithuania's joint neighbor Russia is the inescapable candidate.
Ilves also "underscored the fact that from 2012, when the complex as a whole is due for completion, NATO will have one of the most modern air force bases in the region at its disposal" [4] for the above-mentioned purpose.
By obtaining the use of the Siauliai and Amari air bases, NATO has secured facilities for air operations in five former Soviet states in total. The invasion of Afghanistan earlier brought the Alliance into air bases in Kyrgyzstan (Manas), Tajikistan (Dushanbe) and Uzbekistan (Termez). Comparable sites between the Baltic Sea and Central Asia - Georgia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus - are NATO's for the asking and are already being used for supplying the war in Afghanistan.
Airfields are not the only locations where increased NATO and U.S. military presence is being felt in the Baltic Sea region.
On September 13 thirteen NATO member states and partners began this year's annual Northern Coasts naval exercise in the Baltic Sea. Over 4,000 military personnel, more than 60 ships, and planes and helicopters from the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden are involved in the largest exercise ever staged in Finnish waters, near the Bay of Bothnia where last year's Loyal Arrow 2 NATO war games included "the biggest air force drill ever in the Finnish-Swedish Bothnia Bay.” [5]
A week after Northern Coasts 2010 began, U.S. Special Operations Command Europe launched the Jackal Stone 10 multinational special forces exercise at the 21st Tactical Airbase in Swidwin, Poland, from which it will move to two other locations in Lithuania. 1,300 special forces from the U.S., Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia, Romania and Ukraine are participating, the first time that special operations units of the seven countries have engaged in joint maneuvers.
At the opening ceremony for the exercises Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich addressed the participants, stating, "Special operations in the world today are becoming increasingly important in the conduct of combat operations. And exercises like this check the ability of allied and international cooperation, which is essential for the success of the Allies." [6]
The centerpiece of the exercise is the deployment of USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, which was sent to the Georgian port of Poti on the Black Sea in a show of strength by Washington shortly after the 2008 Georgian-Russian war. The president of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite, inspected helicopters used in the exercises, was given a tour of the USS Mount Whitney and said "Lithuania’s active policy has helped to [assure] that such defense guarantees will be provided to us." [7]
The war in Afghanistan is not the only application for the skills so acquired, although all 12 new NATO members in Eastern Europe - Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia - supplied troops for NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR), for the war in Iraq and for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
NATO Partnership for Peace allies and candidates Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine have provided forces for one or more of the above missions, in several cases for all three.
The West's post-Cold War military colonies are levied not only for bases on their territory but for troops and military hardware to be used in wars abroad.
When this May the Pentagon moved a Patriot missile battery and over 100 troops into Morag, Poland - 35 miles from the border with Russia's Kaliningrad district - it was not for NATO's first ground war in Afghanistan or against an imaginary missile threat from Iran. A Polish newspaper account of the ongoing Jackal Stone 10 special forces exercise - "US army to show its strength in Poland" - pulled no punches: "NATO is in the process of developing contingency plans to defend Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania against Russian attacks – the first time since the end of the Cold War that NATO has specifically identified Russia as a potential threat." [8]
Poland's fellow Visegrad Four member Slovakia hosted the NATO Military Committee, which consists of 450 military officers from all 28 member states, on September 17-19. The conference was attended by NATO's two top military commanders, Admiral James Stavridis (Supreme Allied Commander Europe) and General Stéphane Abrial (Supreme Allied Commander Transformation). General David Petraeus, commander of 150,000 U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, participated via video conference. The gathering focused on military operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo and on the new Strategic Concept to be adopted at the bloc's summit in Lisbon in November.
Slovakia joined NATO five years after its Visegrad partners the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland because its citizens consistently voted in federal elections in a manner displeasing to Washington and Brussels, evidently preferring the notion that a government ought to represent the interests of the nation rather than those of the U.S. and should uphold the rights of its own people over those of the American president and NATO secretary general. NATO demands political subservience as well as warfighting and weapons interoperability.
After a compliant government was installed and Slovak troops had been dispatched to Iraq, the nation was brought into NATO in 2004. Its forces, like those of 16 other new NATO member states and partners, were transferred to Afghanistan beginning in December of 2008, much as NATO is now redeploying troops from Kosovo to the same war theater. It is hard to believe that many (if any) Slovaks are convinced that sending their sons and daughters to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan in any fashion contributes to their nation's defense and security.
Slovak troops that have been sent to the three war zones have had the opportunity to renew acquaintances with their former fellow countrymen from the Czech Republic. The European Union has formed a 2,500-troop Czech-Slovak battlegroup.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Brussels on September 17 and confirmed that "Presence in NATO´s Afghan mission is a long-term priority of the new Czech government."
Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra recently disclosed that he had submitted a proposal to the Czech government for streamlining the procedure for deploying and maintaining troops abroad to circumvent oversight in the parliament where opposition parties can scrutinize the deployments. Vondra wants to shift troops from NATO's mission in Kosovo to its war in Afghanistan where there are now 530 Czechs deployed, and Necas "would like the current system of approving missions for one year only to be extended to two years...." [9] On September 23 Vondra announced that 200 more Czech troops are headed to the Afghan war front and that the nation's special forces are to resume combat operations there.
Popular and parliamentary objections will not be allowed to interfere with NATO obligations.
A government report of earlier this month detailed that Czech overseas military missions cost almost three billion crowns last year, up by half a billion from the preceding year. The 2009 expenditure for Afghanistan was forecast to be 1.73 billion crowns but rose to 2.32 billion crowns.
It was recently reported in an article called "Czech military strategy looks toward U.S." that former Czech defense minister and current NATO Assistant Secretary General Jiri Sedivy (the first Czech to be appointed to such a major NATO post) is heading up a team of 15 security and international relations experts drafting a white paper on the transformation of the country's armed forces.
"The new strategic concept of NATO will be one of the important works in creating" the white paper, a Defense Ministry spokesman recently stated, in fact asserting that "NATO initiatives will take precedence." He added that "The ambition is that three quarters of the armed forces of the Czech Republic are consistent with NATO standards." [10]
This past weekend a "two-day NATO Days military air show" was held in Moravia and attended by 205,000 observers. "One of the major attractions was a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber. The aircraft, which was deployed in the Vietnam war, in the Persian Gulf war, in the bombing of Yugoslavia and in the recent operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, is on the territory of Central Europe for the first time ever." [11]
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Ellen Tauscher has recently reconfirmed American interests in basing an interceptor missile radar facility in the Czech Republic to complement missile deployments in Romania and Poland. NATO plans radar sites near Nepolisy in Bohemia and in Slavkov (Austerlitz) in Moravia.
On July 27, 2009 officials from NATO and 12 participating nations - NATO members the U.S., Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Slovenia and Partnership for Peace allies Finland and Sweden - were present for the activation of the "first-of-its-kind multinational strategic airlift unit" [12] at the Papa Air Base in Hungary, which in the interim has been used extensively for the war in Afghanistan.
To Hungary's west, it was reported this week that the head of the Slovenian Armed Forces Union, Gvido Novak, sent a letter to President Danilo Turk informing the latter that the Slovenian government was "illegally sending troops" to participate in NATO operations in Afghanistan, that "the commander-in-chief...was unconstitutionally and illegally sending Slovenian soldiers to Afghanistan."
Novak's accusation came a week before the latest deployment of troops to Afghanistan and was based on the fact "that without a state of war being declared, the decision cannot be made without parliament, while the government is yet to send its proposal to MPs." His letter additionally warned that "the new Slovenian military mission to Afghanistan will not be peacekeeping and defensive any longer, and that it will be a war mission...." [13] Slovenes are also learning that the popular will and parliamentary procedures are overridden by demands imposed under NATO membership conditions.
After NATO's 78-day air war against Yugoslavia in 1999, 50,000 troops marched into Kosovo under NATO command and the U.S. build the colossal Camp Bondsteel and its sister site Camp Monteith there, the first foreign military bases on Yugoslav soil since World War II.
Earlier this week Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov announced that the draft of his nation's National Security Strategy is "in total harmony with the draft Strategic Concept of NATO" and, contradicting a recent claim by President Georgi Parvanov, said "We should not make wrong conclusions from the contents of the draft National Security Strategy - such as concluding that the Bulgarian armed forces can protect the country in a large-scale military conflict on their own, and without NATO's collective security system."
Angelov also stated: "I personally think that Bulgaria must stick to the US missile shield....Our commitment to active participation in the missile defense of the US and NATO in Europe must be part of the Strategy." [14]
After a seven-day visit to Washington beginning in late June during which he met with Pentagon chief Robert Gates, NATO Allied Command Transformation officials in Virginia and missile shield coordinator Ellen Tauscher, the defense chief "confirmed Bulgaria's firm position that it will participate in the US missile defense in Europe, and that the shield must be a crucial project for the entire NATO."
He also disclosed "that the United States has confirmed its plans for deploying its troops in Bulgaria and Romania in the so-called Joint Task Force East....Under an inter-governmental agreement, the US will be able to use together with the Bulgarian Army four military bases on Bulgarian soil, with a total of 2,500 soldiers, to go up to 5,000 during one-month rotation periods." [15]
Last month Angelov revealed why he does not believe that Bulgarian troops can defend their nation without NATO support - because their purpose is not to defend their country but to assist NATO in wars abroad - when he "announced that Bulgaria was going to change the functions of the Bulgarian troops in Afghanistan, and that instead of guard units it was going to send a 700-strong combat regiment by the end of 2012." [16]
At the beginning of this month Angelov flew to Poland to meet with Defense Minister Bogdan Klich for discussions concentrating on "the US missile shield in Europe." [17]
On September 19 the Bulgarian defense minister "expressed strong support for his colleague, Economy Minister Traikov, who invited US companies to consider investments in Bulgarian military plants." Traikov was in the U.S. at the time where he "invited Boeing to study opportunities for the privatization of the ailing Bulgarian military industrial giant VMZ Sopot." Angelov applauded the offer as an effort to "breathe life into the Bulgarian defense industry." [18]
A new member state doesn't only turn the nation's military bases over to the Pentagon and NATO and offer them combat troops for wars thousands of miles away, it is also compelled to cede national defense industry assets to the U.S. and its main NATO allies as well.
Immediately afterward it was reported that a NATO team led by Frank Boland, director of NATO's Defense Policy and Planning Department, was arriving in Bulgaria "to review the level of implementation of the agreements between Sofia and Brussels," in particular to examine, adjust and approve the nation's aforementioned new National Security Strategy. [19]
In neighboring Romania, last week it was announced that Frank Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Policy and Verification Operations, was in the capital for a "third round of negotiations centered on Romania’s participation in the US missile defence system," [20] following the Supreme Defense Council approving U.S. Standard Missile-3 deployments in the country on February 4 of this year and official negotiations on the agreement led by Ellen Tauscher in Bucharest on June 17. On September 16 Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, fresh from a meeting with his American counterpart Robert Gates in Washington, said of U.S. interceptor missile plans in Eastern Europe: "They tell us their missile shield is not aimed against us, but we tell them our calculations show it is aimed against us." [21]
The year after Romania's NATO accession, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice secured an agreement with the nation for the acquisition of four military sites: The Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base and training bases and firing ranges in Babadag, Cincu and Smardan. The air base had been used in 2003 for the invasion if Iraq, a year before Romania joined NATO, and has been employed since for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2006 a similar pact was signed with Bulgaria for the use of the Bezmer Air Base, Graf Ignatievo Air Base and Novo Selo army training range. The seven military sites were the first the U.S. gained access to in former Warsaw Pact countries. They have been used not only for air operations but for the training of a Stryker regiment, special forces and other combat units for "downrange" conflicts like those in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon's Joint Task Force-East, "the largest U.S. military contingent operating in Eastern Europe," [22] spends much of its time training at Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base and Babadag Training Area.
It was announced last year that the U.S. will spend $110 million to upgrade a base apiece in Bulgaria and Romania as 2,000 American troops were completing military exercises with the armed forces of both countries that ran from June to the end of October.
With NATO as intermediary, facilitator and Trojan horse, the Pentagon has established itself - with bases, troops and missiles - along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean.
Notes
1) Estonian Public Broadcasting, September 15, 2010
2) Ibid
3) Office of the President, Public Relations Department, September 15, 2010
4) Ibid
5) Barents Observer, June 8, 2009
6) U.S. Army, September 22, 2010
7) Press Service of the President, September 21, 2010
8) Warsaw Business Journal, September 21, 2010
9) Czech News Agency, September 17, 2010
10) Prague Post, September 8, 2010
11) Czech News Agency, September 20, 2010
12) U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs, July 27, 2010
13) B92, September 20, 2010
14) Sofia News Agency, September 19, 2010
15) Sofia News Agency, July 3, 2010
16) Sofia News Agency, August 18, 2010
17) Sofia News Agency, September 5, 2010
18) Sofia News Agency, September 20, 2010
19) Standart News, September 21, 2010
20) Nine O'Clock News, September 17, 2010
21) Itar-Tass, September 17, 2010
22) Stars and Stripes, October 17, 2009
===========================
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PS teddybear says
is China the real cause of USA military buildup-not Russia
Is USA protecting Russia-not threatening it ?
Obama and allies including Australia are in the largesy military buildup ever
Where is the money coming from to pay for it all
USA is said to be broke living on credit and drug and arms money
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America Threatens Russia: U.S. Consolidates New Military Outposts In Eastern EuropeBases, troops and missiles along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean
By Rick Rozoff URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=21167 Global Research, September 24, 2010 Stop NATO With NATO as intermediary, facilitator and Trojan horse, the Pentagon has established itself - with bases, troops and missiles - along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean.
Two weeks after the United States started its third rotation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Baltic air patrol on September 1, with the deployment of F-15C Eagle fighter jets operating out of the Siauliai International Airport in Lithuania, neighboring Estonia finished a three-year project to upgrade its Amari Air Base in order to accommodate more NATO warplanes.
The opening ceremony for the enlarged base, which with expanded runways is able to host "16 NATO fighters, 20 transport planes [and] up to 2,000 people per day" [1], was held on September 15.
The Estonian base, like its Lithuanian counterpart, is a Soviet-era one modernized and extended for use by NATO, which financed 35 percent of the expansion.
Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said of the augmented air base that "You could say that it wasn't just the Estonian Air Force that got a base, but our allies now also have a home, or if you prefer, a nest in Estonia where they can land and rest." [2] The head of the Estonian Air Force, Brigadier General Valeri Saar, said that NATO aircraft involved in the air policing mission in place for over six years could be stationed at the Amari Air Base in the future.
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, an American expatriate and former Radio Free Europe employee, made even stronger claims by stating the completion of the base will facilitate the deployment of fellow NATO members' troops and military equipment to his nation for prospective direct intervention: “It is obvious that a small country like Estonia would need the help of its allies in the event of a serious military crisis. Likewise, it is obvious that no matter how willing someone is to provide this help, they cannot do so without the proper infrastructure. Let’s be honest: until today our ability to accept the airborne help of our allies has been extremely limited.” [3]
A "serious military crisis" only makes sense in relation to Russia. The air policing operation that was launched in March 2004 when Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia were absorbed into the Alliance - the first former Soviet republics to enter the bloc - with the subsequent rotation of U.S., British, German, French, Turkish, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Belgian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian and Czech warplanes has never identified against whom and what NATO was allegedly protecting the three Baltic states' airspace.
As the stock villains - Iran and North Korea - cannot be invoked as threats to the region, Estonia's and Lithuania's joint neighbor Russia is the inescapable candidate.
Ilves also "underscored the fact that from 2012, when the complex as a whole is due for completion, NATO will have one of the most modern air force bases in the region at its disposal" [4] for the above-mentioned purpose.
By obtaining the use of the Siauliai and Amari air bases, NATO has secured facilities for air operations in five former Soviet states in total. The invasion of Afghanistan earlier brought the Alliance into air bases in Kyrgyzstan (Manas), Tajikistan (Dushanbe) and Uzbekistan (Termez). Comparable sites between the Baltic Sea and Central Asia - Georgia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus - are NATO's for the asking and are already being used for supplying the war in Afghanistan.
Airfields are not the only locations where increased NATO and U.S. military presence is being felt in the Baltic Sea region.
On September 13 thirteen NATO member states and partners began this year's annual Northern Coasts naval exercise in the Baltic Sea. Over 4,000 military personnel, more than 60 ships, and planes and helicopters from the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden are involved in the largest exercise ever staged in Finnish waters, near the Bay of Bothnia where last year's Loyal Arrow 2 NATO war games included "the biggest air force drill ever in the Finnish-Swedish Bothnia Bay.” [5]
A week after Northern Coasts 2010 began, U.S. Special Operations Command Europe launched the Jackal Stone 10 multinational special forces exercise at the 21st Tactical Airbase in Swidwin, Poland, from which it will move to two other locations in Lithuania. 1,300 special forces from the U.S., Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia, Romania and Ukraine are participating, the first time that special operations units of the seven countries have engaged in joint maneuvers.
At the opening ceremony for the exercises Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich addressed the participants, stating, "Special operations in the world today are becoming increasingly important in the conduct of combat operations. And exercises like this check the ability of allied and international cooperation, which is essential for the success of the Allies." [6]
The centerpiece of the exercise is the deployment of USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, which was sent to the Georgian port of Poti on the Black Sea in a show of strength by Washington shortly after the 2008 Georgian-Russian war. The president of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite, inspected helicopters used in the exercises, was given a tour of the USS Mount Whitney and said "Lithuania’s active policy has helped to [assure] that such defense guarantees will be provided to us." [7]
The war in Afghanistan is not the only application for the skills so acquired, although all 12 new NATO members in Eastern Europe - Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia - supplied troops for NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR), for the war in Iraq and for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
NATO Partnership for Peace allies and candidates Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine have provided forces for one or more of the above missions, in several cases for all three.
The West's post-Cold War military colonies are levied not only for bases on their territory but for troops and military hardware to be used in wars abroad.
When this May the Pentagon moved a Patriot missile battery and over 100 troops into Morag, Poland - 35 miles from the border with Russia's Kaliningrad district - it was not for NATO's first ground war in Afghanistan or against an imaginary missile threat from Iran. A Polish newspaper account of the ongoing Jackal Stone 10 special forces exercise - "US army to show its strength in Poland" - pulled no punches: "NATO is in the process of developing contingency plans to defend Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania against Russian attacks – the first time since the end of the Cold War that NATO has specifically identified Russia as a potential threat." [8]
Poland's fellow Visegrad Four member Slovakia hosted the NATO Military Committee, which consists of 450 military officers from all 28 member states, on September 17-19. The conference was attended by NATO's two top military commanders, Admiral James Stavridis (Supreme Allied Commander Europe) and General Stéphane Abrial (Supreme Allied Commander Transformation). General David Petraeus, commander of 150,000 U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, participated via video conference. The gathering focused on military operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo and on the new Strategic Concept to be adopted at the bloc's summit in Lisbon in November.
Slovakia joined NATO five years after its Visegrad partners the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland because its citizens consistently voted in federal elections in a manner displeasing to Washington and Brussels, evidently preferring the notion that a government ought to represent the interests of the nation rather than those of the U.S. and should uphold the rights of its own people over those of the American president and NATO secretary general. NATO demands political subservience as well as warfighting and weapons interoperability.
After a compliant government was installed and Slovak troops had been dispatched to Iraq, the nation was brought into NATO in 2004. Its forces, like those of 16 other new NATO member states and partners, were transferred to Afghanistan beginning in December of 2008, much as NATO is now redeploying troops from Kosovo to the same war theater. It is hard to believe that many (if any) Slovaks are convinced that sending their sons and daughters to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan in any fashion contributes to their nation's defense and security.
Slovak troops that have been sent to the three war zones have had the opportunity to renew acquaintances with their former fellow countrymen from the Czech Republic. The European Union has formed a 2,500-troop Czech-Slovak battlegroup.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Brussels on September 17 and confirmed that "Presence in NATO´s Afghan mission is a long-term priority of the new Czech government."
Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra recently disclosed that he had submitted a proposal to the Czech government for streamlining the procedure for deploying and maintaining troops abroad to circumvent oversight in the parliament where opposition parties can scrutinize the deployments. Vondra wants to shift troops from NATO's mission in Kosovo to its war in Afghanistan where there are now 530 Czechs deployed, and Necas "would like the current system of approving missions for one year only to be extended to two years...." [9] On September 23 Vondra announced that 200 more Czech troops are headed to the Afghan war front and that the nation's special forces are to resume combat operations there.
Popular and parliamentary objections will not be allowed to interfere with NATO obligations.
A government report of earlier this month detailed that Czech overseas military missions cost almost three billion crowns last year, up by half a billion from the preceding year. The 2009 expenditure for Afghanistan was forecast to be 1.73 billion crowns but rose to 2.32 billion crowns.
It was recently reported in an article called "Czech military strategy looks toward U.S." that former Czech defense minister and current NATO Assistant Secretary General Jiri Sedivy (the first Czech to be appointed to such a major NATO post) is heading up a team of 15 security and international relations experts drafting a white paper on the transformation of the country's armed forces.
"The new strategic concept of NATO will be one of the important works in creating" the white paper, a Defense Ministry spokesman recently stated, in fact asserting that "NATO initiatives will take precedence." He added that "The ambition is that three quarters of the armed forces of the Czech Republic are consistent with NATO standards." [10]
This past weekend a "two-day NATO Days military air show" was held in Moravia and attended by 205,000 observers. "One of the major attractions was a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber. The aircraft, which was deployed in the Vietnam war, in the Persian Gulf war, in the bombing of Yugoslavia and in the recent operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, is on the territory of Central Europe for the first time ever." [11]
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Ellen Tauscher has recently reconfirmed American interests in basing an interceptor missile radar facility in the Czech Republic to complement missile deployments in Romania and Poland. NATO plans radar sites near Nepolisy in Bohemia and in Slavkov (Austerlitz) in Moravia.
On July 27, 2009 officials from NATO and 12 participating nations - NATO members the U.S., Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Slovenia and Partnership for Peace allies Finland and Sweden - were present for the activation of the "first-of-its-kind multinational strategic airlift unit" [12] at the Papa Air Base in Hungary, which in the interim has been used extensively for the war in Afghanistan.
To Hungary's west, it was reported this week that the head of the Slovenian Armed Forces Union, Gvido Novak, sent a letter to President Danilo Turk informing the latter that the Slovenian government was "illegally sending troops" to participate in NATO operations in Afghanistan, that "the commander-in-chief...was unconstitutionally and illegally sending Slovenian soldiers to Afghanistan."
Novak's accusation came a week before the latest deployment of troops to Afghanistan and was based on the fact "that without a state of war being declared, the decision cannot be made without parliament, while the government is yet to send its proposal to MPs." His letter additionally warned that "the new Slovenian military mission to Afghanistan will not be peacekeeping and defensive any longer, and that it will be a war mission...." [13] Slovenes are also learning that the popular will and parliamentary procedures are overridden by demands imposed under NATO membership conditions.
After NATO's 78-day air war against Yugoslavia in 1999, 50,000 troops marched into Kosovo under NATO command and the U.S. build the colossal Camp Bondsteel and its sister site Camp Monteith there, the first foreign military bases on Yugoslav soil since World War II.
Earlier this week Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov announced that the draft of his nation's National Security Strategy is "in total harmony with the draft Strategic Concept of NATO" and, contradicting a recent claim by President Georgi Parvanov, said "We should not make wrong conclusions from the contents of the draft National Security Strategy - such as concluding that the Bulgarian armed forces can protect the country in a large-scale military conflict on their own, and without NATO's collective security system."
Angelov also stated: "I personally think that Bulgaria must stick to the US missile shield....Our commitment to active participation in the missile defense of the US and NATO in Europe must be part of the Strategy." [14]
After a seven-day visit to Washington beginning in late June during which he met with Pentagon chief Robert Gates, NATO Allied Command Transformation officials in Virginia and missile shield coordinator Ellen Tauscher, the defense chief "confirmed Bulgaria's firm position that it will participate in the US missile defense in Europe, and that the shield must be a crucial project for the entire NATO."
He also disclosed "that the United States has confirmed its plans for deploying its troops in Bulgaria and Romania in the so-called Joint Task Force East....Under an inter-governmental agreement, the US will be able to use together with the Bulgarian Army four military bases on Bulgarian soil, with a total of 2,500 soldiers, to go up to 5,000 during one-month rotation periods." [15]
Last month Angelov revealed why he does not believe that Bulgarian troops can defend their nation without NATO support - because their purpose is not to defend their country but to assist NATO in wars abroad - when he "announced that Bulgaria was going to change the functions of the Bulgarian troops in Afghanistan, and that instead of guard units it was going to send a 700-strong combat regiment by the end of 2012." [16]
At the beginning of this month Angelov flew to Poland to meet with Defense Minister Bogdan Klich for discussions concentrating on "the US missile shield in Europe." [17]
On September 19 the Bulgarian defense minister "expressed strong support for his colleague, Economy Minister Traikov, who invited US companies to consider investments in Bulgarian military plants." Traikov was in the U.S. at the time where he "invited Boeing to study opportunities for the privatization of the ailing Bulgarian military industrial giant VMZ Sopot." Angelov applauded the offer as an effort to "breathe life into the Bulgarian defense industry." [18]
A new member state doesn't only turn the nation's military bases over to the Pentagon and NATO and offer them combat troops for wars thousands of miles away, it is also compelled to cede national defense industry assets to the U.S. and its main NATO allies as well.
Immediately afterward it was reported that a NATO team led by Frank Boland, director of NATO's Defense Policy and Planning Department, was arriving in Bulgaria "to review the level of implementation of the agreements between Sofia and Brussels," in particular to examine, adjust and approve the nation's aforementioned new National Security Strategy. [19]
In neighboring Romania, last week it was announced that Frank Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Policy and Verification Operations, was in the capital for a "third round of negotiations centered on Romania’s participation in the US missile defence system," [20] following the Supreme Defense Council approving U.S. Standard Missile-3 deployments in the country on February 4 of this year and official negotiations on the agreement led by Ellen Tauscher in Bucharest on June 17. On September 16 Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, fresh from a meeting with his American counterpart Robert Gates in Washington, said of U.S. interceptor missile plans in Eastern Europe: "They tell us their missile shield is not aimed against us, but we tell them our calculations show it is aimed against us." [21]
The year after Romania's NATO accession, then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice secured an agreement with the nation for the acquisition of four military sites: The Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base and training bases and firing ranges in Babadag, Cincu and Smardan. The air base had been used in 2003 for the invasion if Iraq, a year before Romania joined NATO, and has been employed since for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2006 a similar pact was signed with Bulgaria for the use of the Bezmer Air Base, Graf Ignatievo Air Base and Novo Selo army training range. The seven military sites were the first the U.S. gained access to in former Warsaw Pact countries. They have been used not only for air operations but for the training of a Stryker regiment, special forces and other combat units for "downrange" conflicts like those in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon's Joint Task Force-East, "the largest U.S. military contingent operating in Eastern Europe," [22] spends much of its time training at Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base and Babadag Training Area.
It was announced last year that the U.S. will spend $110 million to upgrade a base apiece in Bulgaria and Romania as 2,000 American troops were completing military exercises with the armed forces of both countries that ran from June to the end of October.
With NATO as intermediary, facilitator and Trojan horse, the Pentagon has established itself - with bases, troops and missiles - along the entire length of Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean.
Notes
1) Estonian Public Broadcasting, September 15, 2010
2) Ibid
3) Office of the President, Public Relations Department, September 15, 2010
4) Ibid
5) Barents Observer, June 8, 2009
6) U.S. Army, September 22, 2010
7) Press Service of the President, September 21, 2010
8) Warsaw Business Journal, September 21, 2010
9) Czech News Agency, September 17, 2010
10) Prague Post, September 8, 2010
11) Czech News Agency, September 20, 2010
12) U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs, July 27, 2010
13) B92, September 20, 2010
14) Sofia News Agency, September 19, 2010
15) Sofia News Agency, July 3, 2010
16) Sofia News Agency, August 18, 2010
17) Sofia News Agency, September 5, 2010
18) Sofia News Agency, September 20, 2010
19) Standart News, September 21, 2010
20) Nine O'Clock News, September 17, 2010
21) Itar-Tass, September 17, 2010
22) Stars and Stripes, October 17, 2009
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PS teddybear says
is China the real cause of USA military buildup-not Russia
Is USA protecting Russia-not threatening it ?
Obama and allies including Australia are in the largesy military buildup ever
Where is the money coming from to pay for it all
USA is said to be broke living on credit and drug and arms money
Mineweb News On Rare Earths(why morgan stanly been buying selling lyc asx)
(Teddybear says-visit mineweb.com website for more-get free newsletter)
Posted: Monday , 27 Sep 2010
China's rumored threat to ban rare earth minerals exports to Japan last week may spur the U.S. House to vote on a domestic REE program this week.
Author: Dorothy KosichPosted: Monday , 27 Sep 2010
RELATED STORIES
RENO, NV -
Last week's threat of China banning exports of rare earth minerals needed for manufacturing to Japan may help spur approval of the Rare Earths and Critical Materials Revitalization Act in U.S. House this week.
China and Japan have been embroiled in a dispute since September 7 when Japan arrested the capital of a Chinese fishing trawler after his ship collided with Japanese coast guard vessels near a chain of disputed islands in the East China Sea. The Diaoyu Islands are considered sacred Chinese territories.
China has already begun to restrict its exports of rare earth minerals to all countries in July. As former Chinese President Deng Xiaoping said in 1992, "The Middle East has oil, China has rare earth."
Japan imports 50% of China's rare earth elements, considered crucial for manufacturing superconductors, computers, hybrid electric cars and other high-tech products, such as smartphones.
Global REE production is estimated at 150,000 tons this year. However, they are rarely mined outside of China which is believed to have 57% of the REE deposits. China capped its exports at 30,300 tons for this year, a 40% decrease from 2009. Only 7,976 tons of REE have been allocated for the second half of this year with most of that supply having already been shipped.
The U.S. Trade Representative is considering filing a suit with the World Trade Organization concerning China's rare-earth export restrictions. The U.S. Congress has ordered the Government Accountability Office to look into the military's dependence on REE for defense technology.
In an interview with the Washington Post this past week, Ed Richardson, vice president of magnet maker Thomas & Skinner, said, "The most important issue here is that China is able to wield power like this."
"Just the reports that they night have done something like this has sent a chill through the industry," he said. "Here you have an incident over a fishing board and this topic comes up. It's startling."
Rare-earth metals have important defense applications because of their magnetic strength, which allows for miniaturization of components. A professional military journal, Joint Force Quarterly, has recently published a report asserting that "China appears to be holding an unlikely trump card" in its dominance of the REE industry.
The Pentagon is expected to release a report on the potential national security risks of rare-earth materials dependence next month.
The House Committee on Science and Technology Thursday approved the Rare Earth and Critical Materials Revitalization Act of 2010, which authorizes the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a rare earth materials program "that will restore a long-term, secure and sustainable supply of rare earth materials to meet the needs of the United States."
The program is also charged with seeking new or significantly improved processes and technologies for the rare earth materials industry.
Committee Chairman Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., said he was concerned about the U.S. being held hostage with it came to access to REE for new technology.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rare Earths announced last week that they awarded a contract to The Boeing Company to use remote sensing technology to map domestic REE deposits. Boeing is also planning to tour U.S. Rare Earths deposits at Lehmi Pass on the Idaho/Montana border, and at Diamond Creek Idaho. The defense contractor is considered a large consumer of rare earths materials.
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