North Korea Launches Short-Range Missile Again – Report

Source :  RIA Novosti

TOKYO, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – North Korea launched on Sunday another short-range missile, a day after firing three short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, Yonhap news agency reported, referring to South Korea’ Defense Ministry.

The missile was reportedly launched in the second half of the day from North Korea’s eastern coast and fell into the Sea of Japan. There were no reports about the exact time of the launch or the type of the missile.

North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles into the waters off its eastern coast on Saturday.

"A more detailed analysis will be needed but the missiles launched may be a modified anti-ship missile or the KN-02 surface-to- surface missile derived from the Soviet-era SS-21 that has a range of about 120 kilometers," Yonhap cited a Seoul official as saying.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said it had increased its monitoring of North Korea and was on standby to deal with any further developments.

The missiles are believed to have been launched from North Korea’s eastern coast and fallen in the Japanese Sea. Japan confirmed that North Korea had fired missiles, but said none of them had landed in Japan’s territorial waters.

Analysts suggested that the missile launches were part of military drills. Pyongyang routinely test-launches such missiles, but the latest tests followed several weeks of relative calm on the Korean Peninsula after tensions escalated earlier this year, following North Korea’s test of a long-range Taepodong 2 missile in December and its third nuclear test in February, to which the UN responded with sanctions.

After the start of the Foal Eagle joint military exercises between South Korea and the US in March, North Korea threatened to carry out a nuclear attack on the US mainland and on US forces in the region, and tested two short-range missiles off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. Later it denied entry to South Korean workers to the jointly run Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea, prompting South Korea to withdraw its remaining workers from the site.

Last week, reports emerged that two North Korean mid-range missiles, reportedly prepared for launch last month, had been withdrawn from their coastal positions.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday he was concerned over North Korea’s latest short-range missile launches and called on Pyongyang to return to six-party talks on its controversial nuclear program.

"I only hope that the DPRK authorities will refrain from taking further such measures. It’s time for them to return to dialogue, to reduce the tension, and resolve whatever grievances, complaints or concerns that they may have – try to resolve that through dialogue."

North Korea has been subjected to several rounds of UN Security Council sanctions since it declared itself a nuclear power in 2005. The reclusive communist regime broke off talks with South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia on its nuclear program in 2009, after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution condemning its missile tests.

NATO looks for allies to station military contingent in Central Asia

Source : StratRisks

Not much time is left until 2014, when the withdrawal of NATO anti-terrorism coalition troops from Afghanistan is expected to take place; however, it still remains unknown what type of military contingent will remain in Afghanistan and Central Asia thereafter and which countries of the region will be selected by the West for this purpose.

The fact that military contingents will remain not only in Afghanistan but also in the region is doubtless and is openly stated by officials. On Tuesday, the U.S. Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Robert Blake said the fact of the coalition’s presence in Central Asia is unequivocal, adding that it is still not decided on what other transit points and bases will be maintained in the region.

Afghanistan is one of the main reasons why Central Asia is so interesting to the West, but other regional players such as China and Russia are also interested in close cooperation with the countries of the region.

Coalition military bases used to be located in the countries of the region, such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, but were later were closed down. These two countries and Tajikistan will most likely be the main choice for dislocations of Western troops in the region.

Turkmenistan, consistent with its policy of neutrality and the unwillingness of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to entice foreign policy vector to take sides will not host a military contingent. Kazakhstan may act as a transit country, but NATO’s close long-term mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia is unlikely to give it hope for more.

However, things are not so simple with the remaining three countries. In mid-April, the President of Uzbekistan visited Russia, and some progress was witnessed then in relations between the two countries after a long cooling period. It is unlikely that the Tashkent leadership would go for talks with Russia if it has plans of placing Western military facilities on its territory in the near term.

Kyrgyzstan, with the former military base and present transit center Manas operating on its territory which must cease operation in 2014 due to the expiration of the lease agreement, also is quickly building up a partnership with Russia.

This can be seen by the frequent meetings of officials of the two countries, as well as desire to integrate alongside of Russia in the Customs Union. Bishkek has repeatedly said it would not renew the Manas agreement, which is a kind of message to Russia, in which it expresses its commitment to further cooperation with Moscow. It would be extremely illogical now to close down one transit center that brings economic benefits to the country only to open another one.

The situation is somewhat different with Tajikistan: some cooling has been observed in relations with its closest neighbor (Russia) and there has been an improvement of relations with NATO. Despite membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the presence of the Russian military and a Russian fiber optic node, Tajikistan is increasingly moving closer to NATO.

Western officials are increasingly visiting the republic, cooperation is developing in all areas, including through participation in NATO’s various programs. For example, two U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretaries of State will visit Dushanbe this week. Dushanbe does not receive tangible investment from Russia, despite the presence of military bases on the country’s territory of the Republic nor political support.

Perhaps if it were not for Tajik labor migrants, the country would long ago have completely turned away from cooperation with Moscow.

Assessing the situation and necessity for the presence of coalition forces in the region after 2014, one can conclude that the most appropriate partner for NATO today is Tajikistan. However, over time it turned out that countries in the region are able to redirect the vector of foreign policy in a very short time, and since there is still time left until 2014, unambiguous predictions on this issue are meaningless.

N.Korea Builds Barricades on Border with South

Source : RIA Novosti

SEOUL, April 24 (RIA Novosti) - North Korea has started building anti-tank barricade lines near the border with the South, the Yonhap news agency said on Wednesday citing a Chinese TV channel.

China’s Beijing TV showed footage of North Korean servicemen building structures from logs, stones and concrete. The report said the barricades were possibly intended to hold South Korea’s tanks and other military vehicles in case of a war.

The report suggested that the country’s leadership might be preparing for a military conflict.

Tensions have risen sharply on the Korean Peninsula since December, when North Korea tested a long-range Taepodong 2 missile, and in February carried out its third nuclear test.

The UN responded with sanctions. The start of joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States last month further irritated the North, which threatened to carry out a nuclear attack on the US mainland, as well as on US forces in the region.

In recent weeks, North Korea recommended all foreigners on the peninsula to evacuate to avoid the threat of war.

Nuclear Weapon Use ‘Suicidal’ for N.Korea - Colin Powell

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, April 18 (RIA Novosti) - The North Korean regime would be committing suicide if it used nuclear weapons, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in Moscow on Thursday.

“Any use of such weapons - or if we think that those weapons are about to be used…the North Koreans will be held to account,” Powell said on the sidelines of the Russia Forum 2013, adding the United States has “the capacity to destroy that regime.”

The threat from Pyongyang should taken seriously, he said, but “we shouldn’t get hysterical” about it because “in my own judgment, I don’t think they yet have a nuclear weapon that is deliverable.”

“I hope sooner or later they will come to their senses,” he said. “The regime would be committing suicide if it used those weapons.”

Tensions have risen sharply on the Korean Peninsula since December, when North Korea tested a long-range Taepodong 2 missile, and in February carried out its third nuclear test.

The UN responded with sanctions. The start of joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States last month further irritated the North, which threatened to carry out a nuclear attack on the US mainland, as well as on US forces in the region.

North Korean EMP Attack 'Unstoppable'

Source : War and Conflict

If North Korea were to launch a preemptive nuclear attack on the United States, it could use a long-range missile to orbit a satellite over the South Pole, putting it in line to fly over Omaha, Neb., and explode it at a 300-mile altitude where U.S. Aegis anti- ballistic missile systems cannot reach, sources have told WND.

In addition, these sources say, there is no way to determine whether a missile is carrying a dummy or real nuclear warhead, obviating the need to shoot down any missile that is launched from North Korea, given the public warning by Pyongyang that it intends to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the U.S.

The U.S. has positioned Aegis ships near North Korea and Japan6, but a political decision apparently has been made not to attempt to shoot it down if it is heading for open water.

Sources say, however, that a missile to be launched toward the U.S. would take a trajectory over the South Pole, and it is questionable whether the U.S. has Aegis assets anywhere along the southerly path such a missile would take.

In addition, the missile would need to be shot down almost after lift-off, since the missile would launch the satellite relatively quickly into an orbit of 300 miles, which was the altitude of its satellite launch last December.

North Korea, meanwhile, announced in a statement that it has drawn the “arrows” for “merciless retaliatory strikes” at the U.S. mainland, U.S. military bases in the Pacific and “all other bases where the U.S. imperialist aggression forces station.

“The powerful strike means of the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] have been put in their places and the coordinates of targets put into the warheads,” a North Korean statement said. “Just pressing the button will be enough to turn the strongholds of the enemies into the sea of fire.”

Bolivia’s president says US planning coup in Venezuela

Via : Strategic-Culture.org

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales says the United States is planning to stage a coup in Venezuela, condemning Washington’s questioning of the Venezuelan presidential election results as interference.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the Bolivian president said that the US is getting ready for a coup d’état in Venezuela.

He also rejected the White House’s moral authority to question electoral results worldwide, after Washington demanded Caracas to hold a full vote recount.

“I am certain that behind those remarks, the United States is preparing a coup d’état in Venezuela,” said Morales.

“I would like to express that this is a flagrant US interference in Venezuela’s democracy, as neither that spokesperson nor the US government has moral authority to question electoral results in any Latin American country or around the world.”

Morales also confirmed that he would attend Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration ceremony next Friday as a sign of support to the president-elect.

Since the electoral authority declared Maduro the winner, the opposition has staged several violent protests, leaving at least seven people dead and over 60 others injured.

Defeated Venezuelan presidential candidate Henrique Capriles cancelled a planned protest march for Wednesday after Maduro vowed he would not allow the rally to go ahead.

Maduro won the Sunday’s presidential election by 50.8 percent of the votes against the opposition leader’s 49 percent.

On March 8, Maduro became Venezuela’s acting president, following the death of late President Hugo Chavez, who lost a two-year-long battle with cancer on March 5.

Maduro has promised to continue the socialist policies of the former leader.

Obama says DPRK has no nuclear missile capability

Source : Xinhua

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK) does not have the ability to arm a ballistic missile with nuclear warhead.

In an interview with NBC, when asked if Pyongyang has "the ability to put a nuclear weapon on a ballistic missile?", Obama responded: "Based on our current intelligence assessments, we do not think that they have that capacity."

But he also stressed that Washington is preparing for "every contingency out there."

"That's why I've repositioned missile defense systems to guard against any miscalculation on their part," Obama said.

He warned that Pyongyang can make "more provocative moves over the next several weeks." But Obama said he was in the hope that " we can move into a different phase in which they try to work through diplomatically some of these issues."

On Thursday, U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn said at a hearing that intelligence indicated the DPRK may have acquired the capability to deliver a nuclear warhead with its ballistic missile.

"DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles," Lamborn read from, according to him, an unclassified intelligence assessment by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). " However, the reliability will be low."

However, in the same day, Pentagon spokesman George Little said that it would be inaccurate to suggest that the DPRK has fully demonstrated the capability to launch a nuclear-armed missile.

Tensions have been heightened on the Korean Peninsula since the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 in protest against joint military drills between the Republic of Korea and the United States.

The DPRK has declared "a state of war" with the South and threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike for self-defense, and urged all foreign organizations, companies and tourists in the South to evacuate in case of war, saying the DPRK "does not want to see foreigners in South Korea fall victim to the war" as the situation on the peninsula "is inching close to a thermonuclear war."

NK boosts warnings as it marks Kim ascension

Source  :  Shanghai Daily

NORTH Korea delivered a fresh round of rhetoric yesterday with claims it had "powerful striking means" on standby for a missile launch, while Seoul and Washington speculated that the country is preparing to test a medium-range missile during upcoming national celebrations.

On the streets of Pyongyang, meanwhile, North Koreans celebrated the anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's appointment to the country's top party post - one in a slew of titles collected a year ago in the months after father Kim Jong Il's death.

In South Korea, the point person on relations with North Korea, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae, urged Pyongyang to cool down, engage in talks and reverse its decision to suspend operation of a joint industrial park just north of the border. "We strongly urge North Korea not to exacerbate the crisis on the Korean peninsula," Ryoo said.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a nonmilitary agency that deals with relations with South Korea, said its "striking means" have been "put on standby for a launch and the coordinates of targets put into the warheads." It didn't clarify further.

SK, allies brace for launch

Officials in Seoul and Washington say Pyongyang appears to be preparing to test-fire a medium-range missile designed to reach the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

Such a launch would violate UN Security Council resolutions barring North Korea from nuclear and ballistic missile activity, and mark a major escalation in Pyongyang's standoff with neighboring nations and the US. North Korea already has been punished for launching a long-range rocket in December and conducting an underground nuclear test in February.

Analysts do not believe North Korea will stage an attack similar to the one that started the Korean War in 1950. But there are concerns that the animosity could spark a skirmish that could escalate.

"North Korea has been, with its bellicose rhetoric, with its actions ... skating very close to a dangerous line," US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday. "Their actions and their words have not helped defuse a combustible situation."

The missile that officials believe Pyongyang is readying has a range of 3,500 kilometers and is designed to reach US military installments in Guam and Japan, experts say.

Bracing for a launch that officials said could happen at any time, Seoul deployed three naval destroyers, an early warning aircraft and a land-based radar system, a Defense Ministry official said in Seoul. Japan deployed PAC-3 missile interceptors around Tokyo. US Secretary of State John Kerry goes to Seoul today for talks with South Korean officials

S. Korea to intercept DPRK missile if it strikes territory: defense ministry

Source  :  Xinhua

SEOUL, April 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's missile defense system may intercept missiles possibly launched by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if they are to strike the South Korean territory, the defense ministry said Thursday. "We have Patriot missiles. The missiles cannot cover all the nationwide territory, but if (the DPRK's missiles) come within the area of our coverage, we can strike down (those missiles)," Kim Min- seok, spokesman at the Ministry of National Defense, said at a press briefing.

South Korea is currently operating the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-2 missile defense program, which has the capability to shoot down missiles and aircrafts at the altitude of 30 kilometers.

"Our military is holding the full readiness posture on concerns that North Korea (DPRK)'s missiles can threaten the safety of our territory and nationals," Kim said.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told lawmakers on Wednesday that the DPRK would highly likely test launch mid-range missiles "at any time from now on." Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said on April 4 that Pyongyang moved intermediate-range missiles, estimated to be Musudan, to its east coast.

The "Musudan" missiles, which are estimated to have a range of about 3,500 kilometers and reach the U.S. military base in Guam, were believed to be mounted on mobile launchers known as the transporter-erector-launcher (TEL).

The missiles were feared to be fired off around April 15 when Pyongyang celebrates the birthday of Kim Il-sung, the DPRK's founder and the late grandfather of the current leader Kim Jung-un.

Regarding the possibility for the DPRK to launch several missiles from different sites, Kim said that "no one knows how many missiles and what kind of missiles North Korea will fire off among Scud, Nodong and Musudan."

According to government officials cited by Yonhap News Agency, the DPRK was repeatedly moving the relocated Musudan missiles in and out of the facilities that were concealing them in the shed. Around five TELs, estimated to be loaded with Scud and Nodong missiles, were moving from place to place in South Hamgyeong Province.

The Scud missiles are estimated to have a range of between 300 and 500 kilometers, with the range for Nodong missiles estimated at 1,300-1,500 kilometers.

"We cannot rule out the possibility for Scud and Nodong missiles to be launched instead of Musudan given the relocation of missiles," said an official cited by Yonhap.

US radar in place to counter NK threat

Source  :  thenews.com.pk

WASHINGTON: A powerful US military sea-based radar is now in place to detect any possible missile launches by North Korea, according to a senior US defense official.

"The SBX is in position," the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP late Wednesday.

The official would not offer more details but confirmed the SBX, a floating X-band radar that resembles a giant golf ball, had reached a location at sea where it could track missiles fired by the Pyongyang regime.

US and South Korean forces remain on heightened alert amid expectations North Korea will launch a missile or multiple missiles before the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of the North's late founder, Kim Il-Sung.

The United States has already bolstered its missile defenses in the region to help protect allies South Korea and Japan as well as US bases in Guam.

Two US Arleigh-class destroyers have been sent to the western Pacific with anti- missile weaponry while ground-based THAAD interceptor batteries had been deployed to Guam, a US territory about 3,380 kilometers (2,100 miles) southeast of North Korea.

The US military also staged shows of force as part of drills with South Korea, with over-flights by B-52 and B-2 bombers as well as sophisticated F-22 fighter jets.

The floating X-band radar, which sits atop a platform similar to an oil rig, had been stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

The SBX radar, which is 85 meters (280 feet) tall and operated by civilian contractors, is supposed to detect missile launches over a range of at least 2,000 kilometers. (AFP)

U.S. warns DPRK against additional nuke test

Source  :   Xinhua

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday warned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) not to undertake another nuclear test or missile launch.

"Any future nuclear test or missile launch would be in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and would lead to further pressure and isolation," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said at a regular news briefing.

"So, we would strongly discourage against that course of action," he added, refusing to say what actions might be taken by Washington in the event of a fresh nuke test or missile launch by the DPRK.

Earlier in the day, South Korea's Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told lawmakers that there were signs that the DPRK was preparing for its fourth nuke test. Later, the country's Defense Ministry denied such a saying.

Tensions have been running high on that peninsula since the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 in protest against joint military drills conducted by Seoul and Washington.

The DPRK has even declared "a state of war" with the South and threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike for self-defense, naming military bases in the U.S. territory of Guam and the U.S. state of Hawaii as possible targets.

US Delays Missile Test “to Avoid Misperception”

Source  :  RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - The United States has delayed an intercontinental ballistic missile test planned for next week, media reported.

The test of the Minuteman 3, scheduled to be carried out in California, was postponed, possibly until some time in May, out of concerns that North Korea might misinterpret it, the BBC reported Sunday citing a senior US defense official.

The United States would like to “avoid any misperception or miscalculation” that the test could cause, the unnamed official said as quoted by the British broadcaster.

North Korea reportedly moved two missiles capable of striking the US Pacific territory of Guam onto mobile launch pads Friday, and advised foreign embassies to consider pulling staff out of Pyongyang.

At a March plenary meeting of the North Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country would adopt relevant laws to maintain its nuclear deterrence forces. He also said the country would simultaneously build up its nuclear forces and develop its economy.

On Wednesday, the North Korean army said it had received approval to launch a “merciless” attack on the United States, including possible nuclear strikes.

The statement followed a pledge by Pyongyang on Tuesday to restart operations at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, including a uranium enrichment plant and a reactor.

Tensions began to rise on the Korean Peninsula after international sanctions were imposed on North Korea in response to a long-range rocket launch in December, which world powers condemned as a ballistic missile test. North Korea responded by carrying out a third nuclear test in February, which was followed by more sanctions.

North Korea has threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the US mainland and US military bases in the region.

Some of the threats came as US and South Korean forces carried out annual joint military drills, including near the maritime border between the two Koreas. The United States responded by deploying F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to the region.

The six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program involve North and South Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. The talks have been stalled since 2009.

North Korea Moves Second Missile to Coast: Report

Source  :   http://www.almanar.com

A report said on Friday that North Korea now moved two intermediate range missiles to its east coast and loaded them on mobile launchers.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited a top government official, who confirmed Pyongyang’s move.

"It has been confirmed that North Korea, early this week, transported two Musudan mid- range missiles by train to the east coast and loaded them on vehicles equipped with launch pads," the official told the agency.

The government official said the vehicles carrying the missiles had apparently been hidden in special underground facilities.

"The North is apparently intent on firing the missiles without prior warning," he added.

The Musudan has never been tested, but is believed to have a range of around 3,000 kilometers, which could theoretically be pushed to 4,000 with a light payload.

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even reach US military bases located on the Pacific island of Guam.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry, which had confirmed the movement of one missile the day before, declined to comment on the report.

DPRK moves missile to east coast: S.Korean defense chief

Source  :  Xinhua

SEOUL, April 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korean defense minister said Thursday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has moved an intermediate-range missile to its east coast for test- firing or military drill.

"It was not a KN-08 missile, but it can reach a significant distance," Kim Kwan-jin told lawmakers at a parliamentary defense committee meeting. "It cannot reach the U.S. mainland. The missile seemed to be moved for the test-firing or military drill purpose."

His comments came after Japan's Asahi newspaper said earlier that the U.S. spy satellite spotted the DPRK's freight train heading for its east coast. The train was loaded with a missile, estimated to be KN-08 that is believed to have a range of 10,000 kilometers and can strike the U.S. mainland according to the report.

According to South Korean officials cited by Yonhap News Agency, the missile was estimated to be a 'Musudan' missile that is projected to have a range of between 3,000 and 4,000 kilometers and can target the U.S. military base in Guam.

The officials said the DPRK will highly likely fire it off around the middle of April, when Pyongyang celebrates the birthday of Kil Il-sung, the founder of the DPRK and the late grandfather of Kim Jung-un.

The U.S. Defense Department said Wednesday that it will deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD), or a land- based ballistic missile system, to Guam as a precaution to strengthen the regional defense posture against the DPRK's ballistic missile threats.

Tensions have been running high in the Korean Peninsula since the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 in protest against the joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.

The DPRK declared that it entered "a state of war" with South Korea, saying that the state of neither peace nor war has ended in the Korean Peninsula. It has also threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike for self-defense, mentioning military bases in the U.S. territory of Guam and the U.S. state of Hawaii as possible targets.

N Korea Army has final approval for nuclear attack on US

Source  : Islamic Invitation Turkey

The North Korean Army says it has received final approval for a nuclear attack on the United States in response to Washington’s threats and its planned deployment of an advanced ballistic missile system to the Pacific island of Guam.

The General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) said in a statement issued Thursday that the threats by the US would be “smashed by… cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means.”

“The merciless operation of (our) revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified,” said the statement published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“The US had better ponder over the prevailing grave situation,” it added.

“In view of this situation, the KPA General Staff in charge of all operations will take powerful practical military counteractions in succession,” the statement said.

War of words escalated between Washington and Pyongyang after the participation of nuclear-capable US B-52s and B-2 stealth bombers in ongoing joint military drills with South Korea.

On March 11, Seoul and Washington launched their annual joint military maneuvers near the Korean Peninsula despite warnings from Pyongyang. The drills involved 10,000 South Korean soldiers and about 3,000 US troops.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said on Wednesday that Washington would deploy the ballistic Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) to Guam in the coming weeks.

The US has also sent two Aegis anti-missile destroyers to the western Pacific to intercept any strike against its soil.

“They (the McCain and the Decatur) will be poised to respond to any missile threats to our allies or our territory,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said on Tuesday.

Last week, North Korea said that its military should be prepared to attack “all US military bases in the Asia-Pacific region, including the US mainland, Hawaii, and Guam” as well as South Korea.

The announcement came days after South Korea and the US signed a new military pact in response to what they called even low-level provocations by Pyongyang.

DPRK announces to resort to counteractions against United States

Source  :  Xinhua

PYONGYANG, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday said it would "take powerful practical military counteractions" against the United States following the latter's provocative actions in the past days, reported KCNA, the DPRK's official news agency.

KCNA on Thursday ran the full text of a statement issued by the spokesman for DPRK's General Staff of the Korean People's Army ( KPA) in charge of all operations, which said the KPA Supreme Command had approved the decision.

"Days and months have passed on this land amid the constant danger of war but never had the whole Korean Peninsula been exposed to such danger of a nuclear war as today," said the statement, pledging that the DPRK's army and people "are all out" to defend the sovereignty of DPRK and to "prevent a nuclear war of the U.S."

South Korea warns of 'military action' to protect citizens

Source  : www.hurriyetdailynews.com

South Korea's defence ministry said Wednesday it had contingency plans, including possible military action, to ensure the safety of its citizens working in a joint industrial zone in North Korea.

"We have prepared a contingency plan, including possible military action, in case of a serious situation," Defence Minister Kim Kwan-Jin told ruling party MPs in a meeting.

"We should try to prevent the situation from going to the worst," Kim added.

North Korea blocked South Korean access to the Seoul- funded Kaesong joint industrial zone on Wednesday, but said it would allow the 861 South Koreans currently there to leave.

As of 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) only nine had crossed back over the border into South Korea.

The South's Unification Ministry said many had voluntarily opted to stay in Kaesong to ensure the smooth operation of their companies there.

North Korea blocks access to key industrial zone

North Korea blocked South Korean entry to a key joint industrial zone Wednesday, matching its angry rhetoric with action as Washington condemned Pyongyang's "dangerous, reckless" behaviour.

Any move on the Seoul-funded Kaesong complex -- established in 2004 and a crucial source of hard currency for North Korea -- carries enormous significance and the potential to send tensions soaring.

Neither of the Koreas has allowed previous crises to significantly affect Kaesong, the only surviving example of inter-Korean cooperation and seen as a bellwether for the stability of the Korean peninsula.

DPRK says to enter "state of war" against South Korea: KCNA

Source  :  Xinhua

PYONGYANG, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Saturday that it had entered a "state of war" with South Korea, the official KCNA news agency reported.

All matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime condition, the DPRK said in a statement.

The long-standing condition of the Korean peninsula of being neither peace nor war is finally over, said the statement carried by KCNA.

The statement, issued jointly by the DPRK government, party and other organizations, warned that any military provocation near the land or sea border of the two sides would result "in a full-scale conflict and a nuclear war".

Senior NATO Official Will Not Rule Out Conflict with N.Korea

Source  :  RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, March 29 (RIA Novosti) – A senior NATO official said on Friday that military conflict between the United States and North Korea was not inevitable, but that Washington and its allies are capable of deterring that outcome.

NATO deputy chief Alexander Vershbow told Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy in an interview that Kim Jong Un’s relative inexperience as leader of North Korea added an element of unpredictability.

“One can never be certain, particularly when they have a new young untested leader,” Vershbow said.

Tensions between the West and North Korea reached new heights after Pyongyang threatened to unleash military action this week in response to drills by thousands of US and South Korean troops across the border that were intended as a show of force.

The annual large-scale military exercises, codenamed Key Resolve, began on March 11 and involved around 10,000 South Korean and 3,500 US troops.

Officials in Washington said the exercise would demonstrate the readiness of the United States to deter against aggression on the Korean peninsula.

Vershbow said he believed that stance would yield a breakthrough in standoff with Pyongyang.

“The North Koreans have been famous for very extravagant rhetoric and belligerent threats, but at the same time the United States and its allies I think have a strong deterrent capability to prevent any military action,” Vershbow said.

“North Korea has gotten the message very clearly from the United States, from South Korea that any military provocation will be met with a decisive response,” he said.

Prior to the exercises, North Korea had threatened the United States with a preemptive nuclear strike amid warnings that it plans to terminate the Korean War Armistice Agreement. It also warned of retaliatory countermeasures if the United States and South Korea went ahead with the drills.

On Friday, North Korea placed its strategic rocket forces on standby to strike US and South Korean targets.

Vershbow, a former US ambassador to Russia, acknowledged North Korea’s significant military capability and its long-term policy of prioritizing defense over all other issues, but said it still remains unclear what offensive potential the regime possesses.

“They’ve tested long-range missiles, although they’re still very much at the early stage of deploying these missiles,” Vershbow said.

“How much damage they could actually carry out against the territory of the United States is not yet clear, but they certainly can do a lot of damage to South Korea,” he said.

Russia weighed in on the souring climate on Friday by criticizing war games around the Korean peninsula as a destabilizing factor that could lead to conflict.

In a veiled reference to the United States and South Korea, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged all parties involved in the Korean standoff to refrain from muscle-flexing.

"We are alarmed that along with the adequate reaction from the UN Security Council and the collective reaction of the international community, unilateral action is being taken around North Korea that involves increased military activity,” he said.

DPRK's top leader ratifies plan for strategic rocket strike

Source  :  Xinhua

PYONGYANG, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has ratified a strike plan by the Strategic Rocket Force as U.S. B-2 stealth bombers flew over the Korean Peninsula, the KCNA news agency reported Friday.

"The time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation" Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying after an urgent meeting with top military officials early Friday.

He ratified a plan of the Strategic Rocket Force for firepower strike on the U.S. mainland, Hawaii and Guam, and South Korea if they "make a reckless provocation," said the KCNA

Kim said the latest U.S. move is "not a simple demonstration of forces" but "an ultimatum that will ignite a nuclear war at any cost on the Korean Peninsula."

Two B-2 Spirit bombers were sent to the Korean Peninsula Thursday for a firing drill but U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel denied that flying the bombers to the peninsula would aggravate the situation in the region.

Tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula since the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 as a countermeasure against the joint military drills of the United States and South Korea.

The DPRK also threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike for self-defense and unilaterally nullified the 1953 armistice that suspended the Korean War.

China calls for easing of tensions on Korean peninsula

Source : REUTERS

BEIJING (Reuters) - China called for an easing of tensions on Friday as North Korea put its missile units on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the comments at a daily news briefing.

(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Writing by Ben Blanchard)

US deploys nuclear-capable B2 stealth bombers over South Korea

Source : Islamic Invitation Turkey

The US military has deployed two nuclear-capable B2 stealth bombers over South Korea to conduct “deterrence” mission amid escalating tension in the Korean peninsula over North Korea’s threats of attacking its neighbor and the US.

The two jets flew out of Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri and dropped dummy ordnance on targets in South Korea on Thursday and completed the 13000-mile round trip in a “single continuous mission,” according to a press release by the US military.

“The B-2 bomber is an important element of America’s enduring and robust extended deterrence capability in the Asia-Pacific region,” the US statement said.

The deployment of the bombers will further inflame tensions in the region especially after infuriated North Korea threatened frequently over the past days to attack the US mainland, Hawaii and Guam as well as US military bases in South Korea and Japan.

According to a Tuesday report by the Korean Central News Agency, Pyongyang has put its military on combat-ready status for possible strikes against the US.

The latest threat came a day after the US and South Korea signed a military pact allowing the allies to respond even to low-level provocations from North Korea.

“This allows both nations to jointly respond to the North’s local provocations, with the South taking the lead and the US in support,” South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman, Kim Min-seok, said on Monday.

The annual joint military maneuvers by the US and South Korea, which wrapped up on March 21, added fuel to fire in the region where UN Security Council’s sanctions on the North over its third and latest nuclear test in February had already angered Pyongyang.

Following the sanctions, unanimously approved at the 15-member council, North Korea on March 8 scrapped its decades-old peace treaty with the southern neighbor and hours later threatened to launch a nuclear strike on the US.

DPRK threatens combat posture targeting U.S., South Korea

Source :  Xinhua

DPRK threatens combat posture targeting U.S., South Korea

English.news.cn 2013-03-26 17:24:06

• The DPRK said its rocket and artillery units have entered combat posture targeting U.S. and S. Korea.
• The Korean People's Army said that all the field artillery troops were to be put on the highest alert.
• The U.S. allowed B-52 bombers deployed on Guam to fly into the sky above South Korea.

PYONGYANG, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Tuesday its strategic rocket and long-range artillery units have been ordered to enter combat posture targeting the United States and South Korea.

The Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army said that all the field artillery troops, including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units, were to be put on the highest alert, the official KCNA news agency reported.

The units are combat ready to strike bases "in the U.S. mainland and on Hawaii and Guam and other operational zones in the Pacific as well as all the enemy targets in South Korea and its vicinity," the supreme command said in a statement.

The United States allowed B-52 bombers deployed in Anderson air force base on Guam to fly into the sky above South Korea on Monday, according to the statement.

America also allowed the conservative media of South Korea to say openly that the operational plan of "South Korea-U.S. combined forces" includes targeting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK with the use of lethal striking methods, it said.

Such moves clearly prove that hostility against the DPRK has "entered a reckless phase of practical implementation after going beyond the phase of threatening and blackmailing," the statement said.

"We will demonstrate with the practical military action (and) the firm will of the army and people of the DPRK to take counteraction to defend the sovereignty and dignity of the supreme leadership of the country," it said.

U.S. slams North Korea threats, warns ready for any contingency

SOURCE  :  REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Tuesday condemned North Korea's threats to target U.S. military bases, saying the United States was ready to respond to "any contingency."

"We're concerned about any threat raised by the North Koreans," Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.

"They need to stop threatening peace on the peninsula, that doesn't help anyone ... and we stand ready to respond to any contingency."

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Vicki Allen)

N Korea threatens US bases in Japan, Guam

Source  :  The Express Tribune

SEOUL: The North Korean army on Thursday threatened a possible strike against US military bases in Japan, in response to the use of nuclear-capable US B-52 bombers in joint military drills with South Korea.

The threat came a day after Pyongyang condemned the B-52 flights as an “unpardonable provocation” and threatened military action if they continue.

The Pentagon confirmed that B-52s, taking off from Andersen Air Force base in Guam, had flown over South Korea as part of annual joint exercises that Pyongyang insist are a rehearsal for invasion.

“We cannot tolerate the US carrying out nuclear strike drills, setting us as targets, and advertising them as strong warning messages,” a spokesman for the North’s supreme army command said.

“The US should not forget that the Andersen base… as well as naval bases at Japan’s main island and Okinawa, are all within the range of our precision target assets,” he said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula are at their highest level for years, with North Korea — angered by UN sanctions imposed after its nuclear test last month — threatening a second Korean War backed by nuclear weapons.

B-52s have taken part in South Korea-US joint exercises before, but the Pentagon said it had publicised their use this time to underline US commitment to defending its South Korean ally.

“If the enemy threatens us with nuclear weapons, we will respond with stronger nuclear attacks,” the North’s army spokesman warned.

Accusing Washington of orchestrating the sanctions resolution adopted by the UN Security Council earlier this month, North Korea has already threatened to launch “pre-emptive” nuclear strikes on unspecified US targets.

North Korea has missiles that can strike South Korea and Japan but has yet to demonstrate it has the capability to fire long-range missiles that could reach the United States.

Nevertheless, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced last week that Washington had decided to bolster missile defences along the US west coast so as to “stay ahead of the threat” from the North Korean regime.

In Seoul, analysts largely dismissed the North’s threat to US bases in Japan as the latest in a long-series of bellicose, attention-grabbing statements from Pyongyang.

“This is just more bluster,” said Baek Seung-Joo, who heads the North Korea Research Team at the Korea Institute for Defence Analyses.

“It really seems aimed at shifting responsibility for the current tensions to the US and South Korea conducting their joint military exercises,” Baek said.

The response from Tokyo was measured. A foreign ministry official voiced regret at the North’s “provocative action” but stressed that it would not trigger a strategic rethink.

“We have been doing all we can to prepare for contingencies, cooperating closely with our security ally the United States and with South Korea, regardless of the North’s comment today,” the official said.

In December, North Korea used a long-range rocket to successfully place a satellite in orbit.

Although Pyongyang insisted the launch was a purely scientific mission, most of the international community saw it as a disguised ballistic missile test.

Experts said the December launch marked a step forward for the North’s ambitious missile programme, but stressed it was some way from developing a genuine inter- continental ballistic missile (ICBM) with crucial re-entry capability.

There are also doubts — despite its nuclear test in February — whether the North has mastered the technology to miniaturise a nuclear warhead to fit on a long-range missile.

In a further sign of the current, heightened tensions, North Korea issued a public air raid warning Thursday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.

A Defence Ministry spokesman in Seoul said the alert, issued over state radio, appeared to be a drill as part of a series of military exercises the North has been carrying out in recent weeks.

NATO nurturing Syria contingency plan – top US commander

Source : www.thedailysheeple.com/

NATO forces are focusing on a “wide range of operations” in Syria, the US top commander in Europe told the US Senate. If called upon, the international coalition is ready to engage on the same level and in same way as it did in Libya.

Speaking to the Senate’s Armed Services Committee, Commander of the US European Command (USEUCOM) Admiral James Stavridis told lawmakers that NATO’s member governments were currently discussing “a variety of operations.”

He said the alliance has taken the position that it will follow the same sequence used in Libya. “We are prepared, if called upon, to be engaged as we were in Libya,” the 58-year-old admiral assured the country’s political elites.

It means that prior to the NATO involvement there would first be a resolution at the UN Security Council, a regional agreement and consensus among the 28 NATO member states.

Two years of fierce fighting between the Syrian army and the foreign-backed insurgency have been marked by the failure of either side to fully win. The bitter results of Syria’s civil war are well-known in Washington.

“The Syrian situation continues to become worse and worse and worse: 70,000 killed, a million refugees pushed out of the country, probably two and a half million internally displaced. No end in sight to the vicious civil war,” Stavridis told the Senate’s Committee.

In Washington’s eyes, the shortest way to end the bloody is to get rid of the government of President Bashar Assad. Helping to oust Assad could be done simultaneously in severaldirections: by imposing a no-fly zone along the Turkish- Syrian border with the help of NATO’s Patriot PAC-3 air defense complexes recently deployed there and by supplying rebels with arms or by ensuring an arms embargo on Damascus.

Shooting down Syrian aircraft in that zone would become a “powerful disincentive” to keep Syrian Air Force pilots out of the area, Stavridis promised Arizona Senator John McCain.

In addition to that, Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin got a positive answer to his question as to whether the US military is considering targeting Syrian air defenses.

Diplomacy with no teeth

While the Kremlin insists on a diplomatic solution to the bloody conflict, the Obama administration does not believe the conflict can be resolved by diplomats.

“It’s hard to imagine a peaceful outcome with Assad in power,” stated Anne Richard, the assistant secretary of state for Population, Refugees, and Migration, speaking at another Capitol Hill hearing on Syria.

Meanwhile, the fact that one million refugees have fled Syria – half of them in the last two months – has significantly affected the country’s neighbors. Up to 10 per cent of the Lebanese population now consist of Syrian refugees. People are also fleeing to refugee camps in Jordan and Turkey.

With no end in sight, the conflict is pushing members of the US Senate to take action – by helping the Syrian insurgency.

Expanding sanctions against the Central Bank of Syria has always been within the powers of the American legislatures. Yet other steps imply direct meddling into Syria’s internal affairs.

Senators Bob Casey and Marco Rubio advocate non-lethal aid to Syrian opposition groups. The move, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, would mean providing the rebels with body armor and communications equipment.

Still, the option of simply arming the rebels is also on the table.

“Down the road we may make another determination,” Casey acknowledged.

On Monday, Congressman Eliot Engel presented legislation enabling the US to train Syrian opposition groups.

Iraqi people would be better off with Saddam

Source : Voice of Russia

The prominent journalist Andrew Gilligan resigned from the BBC after reporting that Britain went into Iraq based on exagerrated claims about Saddam Hussain's Weapons of Mass Destruction. Writing in the Daily Telegraph this week he says that the war in Iraq has been a huge blow to the moral and international standing of the UK.

“I think essentially the problem with the occupation was that it was never properly resourced, it was never done with adequate numbers of troops and that is why the vast majority of people – perhaps 90% of the victims of the war – died. And the failure to do it properly was the direct consequence of the lies and evasions that were justified, in the first place, because people were disgusted at those, and nobody wants to get politically behind the occupation.”

But you've also, in recent columns, described Iraq as a humiliation for the British military.

“Yes, I mean, essentially the British military were defeated in Iraq, they essentially surrendered in Basra, in their part of Southern Iraq, and had to be rescued by the Iraqi and Americans armies. That's not very widely realized, but it is true. Because we were never willing to commit sufficient resources to the occupation, we ended up having to do what was effectively a surrender deal with the Mahdi Army, with the Iranian-backed militia that were present in Baghdad. And essentially we agreed with them that we would no longer enter the city of Basra in return for them stopping attacking us. And that's certainly kept the body countdown, which is obviously the main wish in London. But it also handed Basra to the Mahdi Army.”

You've also made the allegation that, in fact, that less than sterling performance by the British military that you described also damaged Britain's relations with the U.S.

“There's no doubt about that and there's quite substantial evidence for it and classified documents that I was leaked in 2009. They're basically transcripts of interviews which were done by the army itself with its commanders of the operation afterward and those commanders themselves the Americans treated them with contempt really. They didn't even talk to them. They didn't even have a secure U.S. commander, overall Commander General Rick Sanchez didn't even install a secure phone line, so he could talk with his British counterparts, so unimportant were them to him. And the fact is that the British came with it with a kind of smug census superiority. They knew how to do counter insurgency. And they knew how to talk to the native, unlike those brutal and clumsy Americans. The Americans were brutal and clumsy - horribly brutal and clumsy, to begin with, but they did learn and they did change and unlike us they didn't give up and they did surge resources and in the end helped in part, at least by the overreach of their enemies, helped in part by the overreach of al-Qaeda in Iraq which alienated the people it was trying to enlist. The U.S. eventually prevailed, sort of. Obviously Iraq is no picnic.”

There're people like yourself who had been critical of British involvement, and of course legions of people have been critical of Britain's willingness to go into Iraq in the first place and that is a sword still hanging over former Prime Minister Blair indeed. But everyone will then turn around and say, "But we did get rid of Saddam Hussein.” Was that not the objective? And was it not a positive accomplishment?

“There's absolutely no doubt that Iraq would be better off, had Saddam Hussein remained in power. 200,000 Iraqis would not be dead. Obviously there was a cost for him remaining in power, continued sanctions did kill quite a lot of Iraqis. But nothing like as many has died in the war.”

Would the Kurds support that view?

“The Kurds have their liberation already. They were free of Saddam and had been from 1991. They had an effectively autonomous state in the North. The fact is that Saddam didn’t threat anyone, except for his own people, and even the threat to his own people had diminished dramatically since the previous Gulf War. And the British government and the American government knew that and that was indeed precisely why they thought precisely that it'd be an easy victory, they didn’t estimate how difficult it would be.”

But given the violent opposition to Britain going into that war from the British public and indeed many sections of the British political establishment and given the damage it did to Tony Blair's reputation, what in the nutshell was the reason we did it?

“Well, I think, Tony Blaire thought it would be like Kosovo, he thought that there would be huge outcry from the British liberal class and there would be predictions of refugee columns and disasters and that kind of thing, but in the end it would go well, that casualties would be light, that the Iraqi regime would crumble without much of a fight and that the occupation forces would be welcomed. And he was wrong about all those things.”

France Provides Terrorists in Syria with Russian Igla Anti-Aircraft Missiles

Source : Fars News Agency

Missiles TEHRAN (FNA)- A Libyan member of the al-Qaeda terrorist group disclosed that France has supplied armed rebel and terrorist groups in Syria with Russian Igla anti-air missiles and even trained them how to use these systems.

"Qaddafi's regime had good relations with the Russians and purchased various weapons from them, including Igla anti-air missiles, which are similar to the US Stinger anti-air shoulder-launched missiles," Othman Trablosi said on Wednesday.

He said that after Qaddafi's regime collapsed and rebels came to conquer its army's weapons and ammo caches, the French army which supported the Libyan rebels with logistical and intelligence backups, collected 232 Igla missiles which were in the hands of the Libyan fighters who were busy with fighting Qaddafi's supporters.

"After that the French found some of the Libyan army officers who had been trained to use Igla missiles and in September 2012 they used these offers for training a number of al-Qaeda terrorists who ran operations in Syria," Trablosi explained.

"Then" he said "the French transited these al-Qaeda members and the Igla anti-air systems from Benghazi to the Southern provinces of Turkey on a Bulgarian cargo plane and then ferried them across the border into Syria."

He underlined that the French army exercises tight control and inspection over each and every step of the program.

France is playing a growing role in Syria unrests these days. Earlier this year, a documentary movie posted on a Lebanese website unveiled details of a plot by the French and Turkish intelligence services to assassinate President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials of Syria.

A video posted by Lebanese Asianews website, which has been produced by Khedar Awarake, a well- known Syrian media activist, includes part of the confessions made by those involved in France- Turkey joint plot to kill Assad.

The report said that the Syrian security apparatus defused Turkey and France's attempted assassination plot on the lives of Assad and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem.

The report noted that the Turkish and French spy agencies embarked on the establishment of a joint operation room to direct a well-concerted operation to carry out the mission after they failed in their earlier plot to overthrow Assad's government, adding that their mission had overlaps with security services of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the US on many aspects.

The report further unveiled that the new mission to kill Assad started by Turkey and France's joint effort to recruit high-ranking officials in Syrian governmental offices, including the office of Mualem and offices related to the presidential palace in Damascus.

The report also said that Turks wished to bring along French in their operation since Paris has strong relations with Kurdish parties and could help recruit the Kurdish staffs in Assad's offices.

The report at the same time noted that Syrian security services were able to thwart the plot due to their intelligence supremacy and close watch on the plot.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

Hillary Clinton's Open Admission: "We created Al-Qaeda"

Source : Axisoflogic.com

Editor's Comment:
Hillary Clinton's "confession" that the U.S. created Al Queda was anything but spontaneous and honest. In this videotaped announcement, she attempted to justify the decision to fund, train and employ Al Queda to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan. In the same argument she tried to justify US aggression against Pakistan. She also lied when she depicted their use of Al Queda only as a thing of the past. The implication of course is that the U.S. no longer uses these terrorist groups and mercenaries in their current aggressions in Pakistan and Syria, intent on the destruction of Iran. There is clear evidence that the US continued to use Al Queda, other terrorist groups and independent mercenaries in their destruction of Libya. They continue to use the same foreign assassins in Syria today.

Clinton's statements also have another important function. By admitting their past support of Al Queda in the open, government/corporate controlled media, she seeks to absolve the U.S. and blame other US regimes for the "mistakes that were made." Some ordinary folk in the U.S. and Europe will be duped by this clumsy media propaganda. Many others can see and know what is happening.

Today, the U.S. government is lying about the Assad government and the "protests" by the Syrian people. They are placing snipers in buildings, killing Syrians regardless of their religion or politics and blaming the Assad military for their own crimes. This is meant to demoralize the people and turn them against Assad. But it does not appear to be working. A large majority of Syrians see through this deadly charade, continue to support their president and want foreign terrorists out of their country.

There are no words to describe Hillary Clinton and the other architects and spokespersons of U.S. aggression in the Middle East outside the parlance of psychopathology and the reality of evil. One thing their murder and mayhem does show is that human beings are still capable of doing anything - and rationalizing anything. In their sick and evil minds they think that they have covered any and all contingencies that could possibly hold them accountable for their "Full Spectrum Dominance." Only time will tell.

Report: Saudis Buying Balkan Arms for Syrian Rebels

Via :   Naharnet

Source : Agence France

Presse Saudi Arabia has been supplying Syrian rebels battling the regime of President Bashar Assad with arms bought from Croatia, according to The New York Times.

Citing unnamed U.S. and western officials, the newspaper reported late Monday that the Saudi-financed "large purchase of infantry weapons" was part of an "undeclared surplus" of arms left over from the Balkan wars in the 1990s and that they began reaching anti-regime fighters via Jordan in December.

That was when many Yugoslav weapons started showing up in YouTube videos posted by rebels, it said.

Since then, The Times added, officials said "multiple planeloads" of weapons have left Croatia, with one quoted as saying the shipments included "thousands of rifles and hundreds of machine guns," as well as an "unknown quantity of ammunition."

A spokeswoman for the Croatian Foreign Ministry told The Times that, since the start of the Arab Spring, the Balkan country had not sold any weapons to either Saudi Arabia or the Syrian rebels. Saudi and Jordanian officials meanwhile declined to comment, the newspaper added.

The Times said Washington's role, if any at all, was unclear.

However, it quoted one senior U.S. official as describing the shipments as "a maturing of the opposition's logistical pipeline."

Rebels have been fighting Assad's regime since an uprising against his rule erupted in March 2011 and now control large parts of the country, especially in the north. According to the United Nations, the fighting has claimed 70,000 lives.

On Monday, Syria's opposition canceled a planned boycott of an international conference on the conflict, to be held in Rome on Thursday, after appeals from Britain and the United States.

The Syrian National Coalition said Saturday it was withdrawing from the 11-nation meeting and planned visits to Washington and Moscow in protest at the world's silence over the mounting civilian death toll in Syria.

Syria: European Union Snubs the Terrorist, Sectarian and Seditious Plans of the UK

Source :   Modern Tokyo Times

The United Kingdom faced a major setback when the European Union overwhelmingly rejected plans to funnel military arms to sectarian terrorists in Syria. Germany and over twenty other European nations rejected the demands of the British government. Despite this, the British Foreign Secretary tried to spin the final outcome because William Hague claimed to have achieved forward momentum. William Hague stated this despite nearly every European Union nation disagreeing with his desired terrorist rat lines.

It must be stated that the United Kingdom alongside other nations like America, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, were all responsible for arming international jihadists in the 1980s and early 1990s in Afghanistan. The United Kingdom also helped to create the “sectarian nightmare” of Iraq after joining the US led invasion of this nation. Following on from this, more than half the Christian population fled Iraq. Then the United Kingdom assisted America, France and international jihadists in Libya, whereby many Gaddafi loyalists and black Africans were massacred in the ensuing chaos which followed outside meddling. The upshot of the Libya debacle is yet another failed state like Afghanistan and Iraq whereby central power is very limited.

The government of the United Kingdom and the morals of William Hague are laid out in the open because of the friendly relations with Saudi Arabia and other feudal monarchs in the Gulf. After all, in Saudi Arabia apostates to Christianity face the death penalty, no non-Muslim places of worship are allowed, old men can marry young girls of 8 and 9 years of age, women face being whipped if they don’t cover up from head to toe – and a host of other brutal realities. However, this doesn’t concern William Hague and the government based in London because their only concern is to sell more military arms in order to prop up “institutional Talibanization in Saudi Arabia.”

Images of minorities being beheaded in Syria, countless alliances between Al Qaeda factions of various different Islamist groups and the Free Syrian Army (FSA), car bombings, cleansing of religious minorities, killing journalists – and a host of other brutal realities – doesn’t hit the radar in the United Kingdom. Instead, the British government desires to side with the forces of sedition, sectarianism and terrorism.

In a twist of “unreality” and “ridiculous logic” the British government is worried about the rise of British jihadists going to Syria in order to kill religious minorities and cause mayhem. Yet, instead of supporting government forces in Syria which are fighting international jihadists and terrorists throughout this nation; William Hague refuses to pin the blame on Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, for supporting terrorism and sectarianism. Therefore, the United Kingdom wants to support “a mythical peace force” in Syria in order to further pressure the Syrian government while this nation faces the daily threat of international terrorism.

The Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn stated that “With more arms, there are more killed, more atrocities.” Likewise, apart from France and Italy which sided with the British point of view – all the other European Union nations rejected the stance of William Hague. Indeed, even France is much more lukewarm now because of events in Mali. Given this reality, the view of the Luxembourg Foreign Minister was shared by Germany and more than 20 other European nations. This reality highlights how out of touch the British government is.

Guido Westerwelle, the German Foreign Minister, stated that Germany was against lifting the military arms embargo because “That would lead to a further escalation of violence and many more victims.”

The German media group Deutsche Welle reports that “The arms ban imposed by the EU, the US and other countries has been porous right from the start. Qatar and Saudi Arabia, in particular, are said to be supplying the rebels with money and arms. To what extent Turkey is also supporting the opposition is not clear, says Brzoska. Furthermore, Lebanese arms dealers are smuggling material into Syria. Brzoska also noted that secret supplies are channeled to the rebels from the West. “Already deliveries are coming from Western intelligence services, but not much is known about them.”

It is essential that a diplomatic solution is found because every day Syrians are being killed because of the meddling of outside nations. The situation needs to be contained by honest brokers and not by the threat of military force. Iraq and Lebanon are feeling the regional convulsions and Jordan is alarmed by Islamists at home. Similarly, many Tunisian jihadists are using the terrorist angle in order to crush secular forces at home – including killing a senior secular politician – while causing mayhem in Syria and Algeria. Therefore, it is essential that the United Kingdom is sidelined and that nations sponsoring the carnage in Syria are forced to stop their brutal actions.

http://www.dw.de/eu-controversy-over-arming-syrian-rebels/a-16609989

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

Israel instructs Obama: “Iranian and Syrian Sanctions are Not Painful Enough!”

Source : 

On 3/26/2013 Iran is expected to meet other world powers in Astana, Kazakhstan to discuss its nuclear program. Discussions that the occupiers of Palestine fervently hope will not be successful. It is toward this end that their key demand this week to the US Congress, the White House and the European Union is “to cast responsibility on the Iranians by blaming them for the talks’ failure in the clearest terms possible.”

According to the Al- Monitor of 3/19/13, Israel also demands that the countries meeting in Kazakhstan “make it perfectly clear that slogans such as ‘negotiations can’t go on forever’ are their marching orders to the White House, and they want the Kazakhstan attendees to act “so severely that the Iranians realize that they face a greater threat than just Israeli military action.” “The message must be that this time the entire west, behind Israel’s leadership, is contemplating the launch of a massive military action.” Unsaid is that “the entire West” is expected to confront Iran militarily while Tel Aviv’s forces will mop up Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Syria if necessary.

Pending the above arrangements, Israel this week is further demanding that the Obama White House issue another Executive Order dramatically ratcheting up the US-led Sanctions against Iran and Syria while it prepares for a hoped for “ game changing international economic blockade, including no-fly zones enforced by NATO.

To achieve yet another lawyer of severe sanctions, and at the behest of AIPAC, a “legislative planning” meeting was called by Congressman Eliot Engel, who represents New Yorks 17th District (the Bronx) and who is the Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (Florida’s 27th District), Chair of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. The session was held in a posh Georgetown restaurant and participant’s included representatives from AIPAC, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain plus half a dozen Congressional staffers.

Congressman Engel has co-sponsored virtually every anti-Arab, anti-Islam, anti- Palestinian, anti-Iran, and anti-Syrian Congressional broadside since he entered Congress a quarter-century ago. His campaign literature last fall stated: “I am a strong supporter of sanctions against those who repeatedly reject calls to behave as responsible nations. (Israel excepted-ed). I have authored or helped author numerous bills which have been signed into law to impose sanctions against rogue states including Iran and Syria.” Ros-Lehtinen and Engel led all members with AIPAC donations on the House side in last fall’s Congressional elections. They are ranked number one and two respectively as still serving career recipients of Israel-AIPAC’s “indirect” campaign donations.

Some Congressional operatives accuse Rep. Ros-Lehtinen of being a bit lazy and neglecting the bread and butter needs of her Florida constituents. But others argue that it depends on which constituents one has in mind. Her election mailings and her Congressional website claim that the Congresswoman “led all Congressional efforts tirelessly to generate votes to block what she views as anti- Israel resolutions offered at the former UN Commission on Human Rights.”

A big fan of US-led sanctions against Iran and Syria, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen introduced the Iran Freedom Support Act on January 6, 2005, which increased sanctions and expanded punitive measures against the Iranian people until the Iranian regime has dismantled its nuclear plants. Rep. Ros-Lehtinen also introduced H.R. 957, the Iran Sanctions Amendments Act, which she claims “will close loopholes in current law by holding export credit agencies, insurers, and other financial institutions accountable for their facilitation of investments in Iran and sanction them as well.” In addition, H.R. 957 seeks to impose liability on parent companies for violations of sanctions by their foreign entities. She also co-sponsored H.R 1357 which requires “U.S. government pension funds to divest from companies that do any business with any country that does business with Iran.” Her campaign literature states that, “She was proud to be the leading Republican sponsor of H.R. 1400, the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act. This bill applies and enhances a wide range of additional sanctions.”

In addition, last year Illeana introduced H.R. 394, which enlarges US Federal Court Jurisdiction regarding claims by American citizens their claims in U.S. courts. Unclear is whether she realizes that one consequence of her initiative would be to open even wider US courtroom doors to Iranian-Americans and Syria-Americans who today are being targeted and damaged by the lady’s ravenous insatiable craving for civilian targeting economic sanctions. But Ileana and Elliot appear to be fretting.

The easons are several and they include the fact that the US-led sanctions have failed to date to achieve the accomplishments they were designed to produce. These being to cripple the Iranian economy, provoke a popular protest among the Iranian people over inflation and scarcity of food and medicines, weaken Iran as much as possible before adopting military measures against it, and, most essentially, achieving regime change to turn the clock back to those comfortable days of our submissive, compliant Shah.

Zionist prospects for Syria aren’t any better at the moment. Tel Aviv’s to intimidate the White House into invading Syria have not worked. Plan A has failed miserably according to the Israeli embassy people attending the Engel-Ros Litinen’s informal conflab. Neither did the “how about we just arm the opposition” plan that originated last year with David H. Petraeus and was supported by Hillary Clinton while being pushed by AIPAC. The goal was to create allies in Syria that the US and Israel could control if Mr. Assad was removed from power. Moreover, the White House believes that there are no good options for Obama. It has vetoed 4 recent Israeli proposals including arming the rebels and is said to believe that Syria is already dangerously awash with “unreliable arms.”

The recent shriveling in Israeli prospects for a dramatic Pentagon intervention in Syria reflect White House war weariness. And also Israel’s predilection to bomb targets itself in Syria, as it did recently to assassinate a senior Iranian officer in the Quds force of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Hassan Shateri. Contrary to the false story that Israel attacked a missiles convoy, some unassembled equipment was damaged but that was not the primary target according to Fred Hof, a former U.S. State Department official. Gen. Shateri was.

Making matters worse for Tel Aviv, the Israeli military is reportedly becoming skittish due to its deteriorating political and military status in the region and its troops have recently completed subterranean warfare drills to prepare them for a potential clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the Jerusalem Post reported on 2/20/13. “Today during training, we simulated a northern terrain, that included what we might encounter,” Israeli Lt. Sagiv Shoker, commander of a military Reconnaissance Unit of the Engineering Corps, based at the Elikim base in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon explained. Shoker added that his units spent a week focused on how to approach Hezbollah’s alleged underground bunkers and tunnels in South Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley quietly and quickly. Israeli forces commander Gantz has been complaining recently to the Israeli cabinet that Hezbollah Special Forces are gaining much valuable experience in Syria fighting highly skilled and motivated al Nusra jihadists and his troops may not be prepared to face them on the battlefield if a conflict erupts. It has been known since 2006 that Israeli soldiers “are having motivation deficits” as Gantz and others have complained.

Algerian army kill eight militants in east

Source :   Xinhua

ALGIERS, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of eight militants were killed Saturday morning by the Algerian army in Timzrit of Boumerdes province, some 50 km east of the capital Algiers, official APS news agency reported.

Citing a security source, APS said the militants, who are yet to be identified, were killed during a search operation conducted by the National Army forces.

A load of Kalashnikovs and ammunition were confiscated in this operation, which is still going on, the source added.

Although security has improved in the North African nation compared with that of the 1990s, some eastern regions, including the provinces of Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdes, still witness clashes between security forces and terror groups.

N.Korea warns US forces of "destruction" ahead of war drills:

Source : Voice of Russia

North Korea on Sunday warned the top US military commander stationed in South Korea that his forces would "meet a miserable destruction" if they go ahead with scheduled military drills with South Korean troops, North Korean state media said.

Pak Rim-su, chief delegate of the North Korean military mission to the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, gave the message by phone to Gen. James Thurman, the commander of the US Forces Korea, KCNA news agency said.

It came amid escalating tension on the divided Korean peninsula after the North's third nuclear test earlier this month, in defiance of U.N. resolutions, drew harsh international condemnation.

A direct message from the North's Panmunjom mission to the U.S. commander is rare.

North and South Korea are technically still at war after their 1950- 53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

The U.S.-South Korean Combined Forces Command is holding an annual computer-based simulation war drill, Key Resolve, from March 11 to 25, involving 10,000 South Korean and 3,500 US troops.

Russia Warns of Mali Conflict ‘Escalation’

Vesti Kavkaza

Moscow is calling on the international community to step up its efforts in Mali to prevent the conflict there spreading throughout the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN special envoy to the Sahel region, Romano Prodi, discussed the ongoing fighting in the west African country in Moscow on Thursday.

French troops went into Mali last month to help the African state’s army battle Islamist rebels.

French and Malian troops fought Islamists on the streets of Gao, in Mali’s desert north, on Thursday, just weeks before Paris plans to withdraw some of its 4,000 troops in the country.

Afghan soldiers to train in Georgia

Source : Vesti Kavkaza

Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Alasania met Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. They discussed the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, security responsibility and training, Trend reports.

Alasania noted that Georgian peacekeepers will help Afghan soldiers after 2014. The minister offered to train Afghan security officers at Georgian education centers. Mohammadi thanked Georgia for support and said that the soldiers will visit Georgia for training.

How to save Libya from ‘Somalization’?

Source : Voice of Russia

January 2013, France sold 50 patrol boats to Libya in a move followed by Italy donating 20 armed personnel carriers to its former colony. In another development, a UK warship is due to enter waters off Libya in April 2013. Destroying the Jamahiriya, the EU began to arm the legally incompetent government of the country that is already on the verge of fragmentation that may occur in line with the Somali scenario.

Actually, the government, the power bodies and the army act as nominal structures in modern-day Libya. In reality, the territory of the country is divided between a whole array of groups formed in accordance with territorial, tribal, religious and other aspects. The new regime, endorsed by the West’s military efforts, is unable to keep the country from being disintegrated, says Rifayat Sayyed Ahmed of the Center for Strategic Studies in Cairo.

"As a matter of fact, the country is now being ruled by 45,000 well- armed and well-trained volunteers, who only report to al-Qaeda and The Justice and Construction Party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political party in Libya. Western commentators prefer to call these volunteers militiamen, while those who were known as revolutionaries disappeared and dissolved into militiamen’s ranks. Their ideology boils down to the lust for power and distribution of oil resources. We got an extremely militarized and bellicose community of potential terrorists in Northern Africa, something that adds significantly to the collapse of Libya’s statehood."

The simplified variant of the current state of affairs in Libya is as following. In Benghazi, the capital of the oil-rich Cyrenaica region, local elites act on an autonomous basis, while the town of Bani Walid is ruled by Gaddafi supporters. The industrial district of Misrata seeks to obtain the status of an independent enclave, with tribes from western Libya’s Tripolitania region sitting on a political fence. As for the government, it is based in the capital Tripoli. There are smaller powerhouses with well-armed volunteers in each and every region of Libya.

Many analysts liken the current situation in Libya to the latest events in Somalia, where a civil war between the dictatorial regime of Mohammed Siad Barre and the opposition started in 1988. Shortly after, this revolution was transformed into a full-fledged inter-tribal war that is still under way. The scenario of Libya being turned into a second Somalia is rather likely, Sergei Seryogichev of the Moscow- based Middle East Institute told the Voice of Russia on Friday.

"Generally speaking, the main problem in Libya is the absence of a single centralized power, Seryogichev said. In other words, a new dictator is needed so that he can replace the late Gaddafi, Seryogichev added, citing the West’s failed attempts to transfer its democratic model to Libya. Meanwhile, various political and tribal groups in Libya continue to capitalize on this model, pursuing their own selfish interests."

According to Seryogichev, speaking of democracy in Libya is irrelevant because the level of the country’s socio-economic development is on a par with the level related to medieval Europe’s feudal fragmentation period. Theoretically, Libya could be turned into a federate nation, a scenario that Seryogichev says will almost certainly see the continuation of a tribal war there. In the end, all this may lead to the international community losing Libya as a unified state.

Another option is to send occupation troops to Libya, a scenario that will never see the light of day. The West is unwilling to dispatch troops to Libya, where they desperately tried to retain power, suffering huge losses in the course of a guerrilla war. This means that only two variants may sadly be in place in Libya in the near future, namely, a dictatorship or the Somali scenario.

US Tested New Weapon, No Meteor in Chelyabinsk: Russian Politician

Source : http://www.almanar.com

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the head of the Russian Liberal-Democratic Party, said Friday that no meteor fell in the Urals – the US “has tested a new weapon” over the region, he claimed.

“You’re like some primitive tribe. What meteorite?” he said, adding that space is a “universe that has its own laws... When something falls – it’s man- made,” Russia Today news website quotes him as explaining.

Earlier in the week, US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly tried and failed to reach Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by telephone for two consecutive days. The State Department said that Kerry wanted to discuss the recent North Korean nuclear test, as well as the conflict in Syria.

However, Zhirinovsky claimed that the top US diplomat “wanted to warn Lavrov about the provocation and that it may affect Russia,” RIA Novosti reported.

On Thursday, Moscow confirmed that on February 12 it had received Washington’s request to organize an urgent phone conversation between Kerry and Lavrov. The Foreign Ministry said, however, that State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland was “inaccurate with her statements” regarding their inability to get in touch with Lavrov for two days.

“Unfortunately, the conversation could not be held because of the intensive schedule of the Russian foreign minister and his working tour to African countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexander Lukashenko said.

EU launches military training mission in Mali

Source : The Daily Star

BRUSSELS: European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels are officially launching a mission to train the military in the African country of Mali.

The first people in the mission - about 70 - have already been sent to Mali so that they could begin working as advisers as soon as Monday's decision was made. EU officials say military instructors will be deployed before the end of March and training will start in April.

The mission is designed to help the government of Mali maintain control of the country.

French and African troops are working to wrest control of the vast northern part of the country from Islamic radicals and other rebel groups.

Is it too late to avert a Cold War?

Source : Voice of Russia

Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies at New York University and professor emeritus of politics at Princeton University, has given a breakdown of key problems in US-Russia relations that could eventually bring about a second Cold War.

In his article, the Russia expert draws the attention to an emerging crisis in Washington’s relations with Moscow, which he says have been unfolding Cold War-like ever since the 1990s. And the fault lies with the US, the pundit stresses.

“The recent spate of punitive legislation and abrogated agreements on both sides reflects a larger, and growing, antagonism,” Mr. Cohen writes, pointing to possible repercussions to America, one of which is less support from Russia in such vital areas of US national security as North Korea, China, Afghanistan, the Middle East and anti-terror cooperation.

There are four major components to the US foreign policy that Moscow has been far from happy about. These include the NATO expansion into Eastern Europe; the so-called “selective cooperation,” which is essentially obtaining concessions from Moscow without reciprocity; “democracy promotion” in Russia, which as often as not boils down to interference with Russia’s home affairs; and the general sentiment in the Kremlin that the US just doesn’t care about Russia’s national security.

Stephen Cohen warns the White House that, if not addressed, these concerns may trigger another spat of Cold War. To fix its relationship with Russia, President Obama needs to assure Moscow that NATO will no longer seek to extend membership to the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine.

Another important step is to cooperate with the Kremlin on the US European missile shield and give it at least some guarantees of America’s goodwill. “The program is enormously expensive, plagued by technical problems and needlessly provocative,” the expert stresses, adding: “Meeting the Kremlin partway would defuse today’s most militarized issue and avoid a nuclear arms buildup on both sides.” Another good point would be to stop US funding of Russia’s political non-profits, which he says have been all but productive in promoting democracy in the country.

If these steps are taken, there are good reasons to think President Putin would respond positively to America’s rapprochement. The result could well be the post-Cold War partnership expected more than 20 years ago that got lost along the way, Mr. Cohen concludes.

Voice of Russia, Washington Post

U.S. concerned over security situation in Lebanon

Source : Xinhua  English.news.cn

BEIRUT, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly underscored Friday that the United States remains concerned over the developments in Syria that affects security situation in Lebanon.

Connelly emphasized the "U.S. concern for the current security situation in Lebanon and called on all parties to exercise restraint and respect for Lebanon's security and stability."

In a statement released by the U.S. embassy in Beirut following a meeting of the ambassador with Lebanon's army commander General Jean Qahwaji, Connelly also stressed the United States' support in strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese army, "recognizing its importance... to secure Lebanon's borders and defend the sovereignty and independence of the state."

Connelly expressed the United States' "appreciation for the efforts of the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces to work together to maintain calm in Lebanon."

The ambassador renewed "the commitment of the United States to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon."

Iran's drones would serve Washington right - Rozoff

Source : Voice of Russia

NATO continues to surround the Russian Federation with their missiles, which according to Mr. Rozoff, may soon number in the thousands and NATO also continues to aggressively seek to "integrate" country after country into their "alliance". Rick tells us why the Western media has gone quiet on Syria and comments on the fact that Iran is now producing its own drones, which were reversed engineered from captured American drones. As always Rick has his finger on the pulse.

Robles: Can you give our listeners an update on the latest happenings with NATO please?

Rozoff: Yes. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is continuing its expansion, at least its efforts to expand globally. Within the last few days we’ve seen overtures made by leading NATO officials to previously neutral countries like Ireland, Finland, Sweden in efforts to recruit them into the alliance.

The Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen is in Ireland now, but prior to departing for Ireland, which historically has been a neutral nation during the Cold War, he gave an interview to the Irish Times where he extended an invitation essentially for Ireland to join NATO as a full member.

The Deputy Commander of Allied Command Transformation, the NATO command in the United States in Norfolk Virginia, within the last week or two as well, has welcomed Finland which borders Russia, as a strategic partner of NATO and talked about the further integration of that nation into the NATO sphere of influence and military operations.

And then the commander of the military forces, the top commander in Sweden a couple of days ago made a very provocative statement to the effect that if a war ensued between Sweden and Russia (How probable is that, right?) that Sweden wouldn’t last two days against Russia’s military might and that’s why Sweden needs to be in NATO.

So, as we are seeing there is a concerted effort to consolidate North Atlantic Treaty Organization control over the entire European continent, I mean they are not going to rest until every nation has been pulled in it as a full member. So, we have that going on.

And then we have, although not formally a NATO operation, we have the French military campaign in Mali in northwest Africa with the active assistance of the US, Britain, Germany and other major NATO powers. And so, you know, just off the top of my head, I mean that’s what is going on with NATO: it is consolidating its domination of Europe and it is extending its reach outside of Europe to the point where, an official with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, recently stated that NATO is basically, I don’t want to say a three-ring circus, but something to that effect, saying that there is a ring that is Europe and there is beyond that ring Asia and Africa (this is from Mark Jacobson an Atlantasist think tank expert).

So, we see the persistence of the US dominated military bloc’s efforts to extend itself. As a matter of fact, something I don’t want to forget, the current Russian Ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko said a couple of days ago at a meeting in NATO headquarters, that Russia would not tolerate NATO declaring itself and functioning as, I believe his words were “an international energy security guarantor”, which is another role that NATO has arrogated onto itself.

Reminder

Robles: Can you tell us anything about, there were reports last week that the infamous missile shield, including Romanian installations, was not workable? Have you heard anything about that?

Rozoff: Yes, there were reports to that effect and one wonders, you know, if these are calculated leaks or if they have any authenticity. I don’t know. But you might recall there were similar concerns expressed about the earlier George W. Bush Administration’s plans for interceptor missiles in Poland that are called ground-based midcourse interceptors. But the concerns that you’ve read or you are alluding to rather are premised on the fact that Iran is supposedly going to be able to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles that need interception in places like Romania and Poland, and I would argue that’s an absurd contention in the first place. So, the basic premises and the conclusions drawn from them would be similarly inaccurate. So, I wouldn’t give too much credence to those reports. The US is still going ahead them.

matter of fact in a recent statement by Anders Fogh Rasmussen “the NATO chieftain”, he boasted particularly about the missile defense “so called” or the interceptor missile system as being, as he put it, at the core of NATO’s defense posture.

He boasted about the deployment of 6 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Interceptor Missile Batteries to southeastern Turkey which have now come unde formal NATO command and control. And he also talked about European countries emulating or joining the US by providing warship with interceptor missile radar and with the interceptor missiles themselves.

We should keep in mind, and I don’t know how well it is known in Russia and elsewhere, is that the United States currently has 62 what are called Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers and 22 Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers, that is altogether 84 warships, that currently, at least the destroyers, can carry as many as 90 missiles apiece.

And it is precisely these ships that are now referred to as Aegis-Class or are in the process of becoming such: that is are equipped to carry, or will be carrying, standard Missile-3Interceptor Missiles of the sort that are going to be based on the ground in Poland and Romania from 2015 to 2018. But the 48 missiles that are going to be in Poland and Romania, 24 apiece, are a formidable challenge enough to Russia. But the fact that there may be several hundred, even thousands, of missiles placed on the US cruisers and destroyers is a much more serious consideration.

Robles: Can you tell us a little bit about what is going on with Syria right now? Everything’s gotten real quiet. After they’ve put those missiles in Turkey, the Patriots you just spoke about, and as we’ve said in the past in our discussions: when they go quiet something is up.

Rozoff: I know what you are talking about John. Watching old adventure films whenever the insects and the animals in the forest or the jungle became quiet, you became nervous. And a situation similar to that I’m sure is obtaining in relation to Syria.

We also have to remember though there is a changing of the guard in Washington. With the Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who more than anyone else I’m sure has been instrumental in pushing through a campaign of regime change in Damascus, out and John Kerry replacing her as the chief foreign policy diplomat in the US, similarly with the Pentagon with Defense Secretary and with the CIA Director.

So, there may be a short reprise for Damascus, for Syria at this point until the second term Obama Administration’s foreign policy team is in place in which case we may see even mounting offensive again.

Robles: There were reports we’ve just had that Iran captured a US drone, last year, and they reverse engineered it and are now producing massive quantities of their own drones.

Rozoff: It would serve Washington right if they did, I mean it truthfully would. The US has pioneered international drone warfare, this is something it has developed over the last decade, actually over the last 12 years. It is a new form of warfare, it is global in scope, it is deadly as we know.

You were listening to an interview with Mr. Rick Rozoff the manager of the stop NATO website and mailing list.