Siden starten i skoleåret 1998/99, er der gennemført 3-5 studierejser om året og det med så stor succes blandt de næste 2.000 deltagende elever og deres arbejdsgivere - at jeg har besluttet, at jeg vil opleve aktiviteten så snart det er muligt i min kalender - og takker endnu engang lærerteamet for at invitere mig!

Teamet har lige i uge 40 gennemført den 39. tur efter det gennemprøvede koncept - og jeg glæder mig meget til at kunne deltage og møde politikkere, embedsmænd, lobbyister og en udenrigskorrespondent, i Parlamentet, Kommissionen, Ministerrådet, Regionsudvalget og Den Danske Repræsentation samt NATOs politiske og civile hovedkvarter.

Herunder ses vores elever ved forhandlingsbordet i Ministerrådet.

A script written by the BBC and the government to be broadcast in the event of a nuclear attack has been published.

Harry Shearer, the voice of The Simpsons' newsreader Kent Brockman, read the warning for Radio Five Live in the style of 1970s newscaster Walter Cronkite.

"By leaving your homes you could be exposing yourselves to greater danger. If you leave, you may find yourself without food, without water, without accommodation and without protection," it added. "Radioactive fall-out, which follows a nuclear explosion, is many times more dangerous if you are directly exposed to it in the open." Source

The following is a youtube video response:

Dal 6 al 12 ottobre si svolgerà in Veneto la fase centrale dell'esercitazione NATO denominata Noble Light 2008. Nel corso dell'iniziativa militare, il Multinational CIMIC Group South di Motta di Livenza otterrà la validazione della sua capacità operativa conseguita nel 2006.
Il CIMIC - Civil Military Cooperation - è un reparto multinazionale della NATO a guida italiana, in grado di ricercare, addestrare e proiettare unità di specialisti nel soccorso e nella ricostruzione di aree sconvolte da conflitti. Esso è l’unico comando operativo dell’Alleanza in questo settore d’intervento. Per le proprie attività, il CIMIC si avvale anche di specialisti funzionali tratti dalla vita civile e richiamati in servizio (medici, architetti, ingegneri, avvocati…) per disegnare il quadro d’intervento e contribuire alla creazione di un ambiente sicuro. Ultimo compito del CIMIC è la pianificazione del passaggio dei poteri alle autorità civili, reintegrate nei compiti istituzionali. Il memorandum di intesa tra le nazioni coinvolte nel progetto (oltre all'Italia, Grecia, Portogallo, Turchia ed Ungheria) è stato firmato il 26 febbraio 2004.
L' esercitazione simulerà uno scenario di crisi nel quale si troveranno ad operare organizzazioni militari e civili, e consentirà al personale del Cimic Group South di esercitarsi nelle funzioni specifiche che poi metterà in atto, come avviene nella realtà, nei vari teatri operativi.
Il personale del CIMIC Group South - ospitato nella caserma ‘Mario Fiore’ di Motta di Livenza (Treviso), Riviera Scarpa 75, nota in precedenza come ‘Vittorio Veneto’, quando accoglieva i reparti dell’11º reggimento genio dell’Esercito - ha operato ed opera in Irak, Kosovo, Libano ed Afghanistan. Il primo intervento sul campo è cominciato il 29 giugno 2003 con la partecipazione di una unità CIMIC all'operazione ‘Antica Babilonia’ nella provincia irachena del Dhi Qar. Da quella data, sino a oggi, una decina di distaccamenti CIMIC si sono avvicendati su una base di turnazione prevista ogni quattro mesi.
Tutte le prerogative del CIMIC verranno illustrate nel corso del Vip day organizzato presso la caserma di Motta di Livenza per il giorno 9 ottobre, durante il quale alle numerose autorità civili e militari come a tutti gli ospiti sarà offerta la possibilità di verificare concretamente come esso opera, le sue finalità e le modalità attraverso le quali si mettono in pratica quei progetti che consentono di supportare la missione offrendo un aiuto concreto alle popolazioni delle aree di crisi.

"It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army."

Brig Carleton-Smith said the goal was to change how debates were resolved in the country so that violence was not the first option considered.

He said: "If the Taleban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this.

"That shouldn't make people uncomfortable." [#]

An honest statement. The insurgency in Afghanistand and Pakistan cannot be crushed by western forces. That is a basic fact of this conflict and a fact that the West refues to acknowledge. Therefore, this is a welcome statement.

But this brings us to the question: how can this conflict end? This insurgency can only be defeated through indigenous opposition - when the local people themselves decide to lead the fight against the militants and the role of foreign forces is eliminated or at least curtailed. For that matter, it is pertinent to ask what is the curtain scene for the global war on terror? What is the ultimate objective for the American agenda in the region?

The war on terror was proclaimed with two objectives: to catch and kill Osama Bin Laden and his associates and to destroy the infrastructure of Islamic extremism threatening the US.  To achieve these two objective a military approach was adopted and a "war" was declated. Now, it is possible to achieve the first objective through this approach - yes, OBL and his close associates can be killed. But will that solve the problem? Will that mean that the war has been won?

In all honesty, the American administration is not even serious about the second objective. So the focus is on killing a few men and that is supposed to miraculously solve all the problems. Here is a newsflash: it won't. Today, its Osama Bin Landen - tomorrow, it will be someone else. There is no end possible to this war. And that is a fact missed by most.

Just musing.

            Curiozitati . Un avocat al baroului de la Rabat (Maroc) a depus o plangere contra seicului Abderrahman Al-Magraui, preot salafist, ce a emis o fatwa prin care se permite fetelor musulmane casatoria de la varsta de 9 ani. Clericul se apara sustinand ca la aceasta varsta felele sunt sexual la fel de performante ca cele mai in varsta. Si invoca numele profetului Mahomed a carui prima sotie, Aisha, avea doar 6 ani la nunta, casatoria fiind „consumata“ cand ea avea 9 ani. In fata unor asemenea argumente grele, judecatorul tribunalului islamic a fixat termenul de pronuntare peste trei luni, aratand ca problema necesita studierea a numeroase texte si o reflectie aprofundata…

            Un muzicant negru din Brooklyn (New York) este in aceste zile preferatul presei si televiziunii americane. Nu pentru talentele lui muzicale, ci pentru ca doreste sa stranga fonduri pentru campania lui Barack Obama. Numele muzicantului de culoare este…John McCain. Situatie care-i poate inspira si pe politicienii din tara noastra : gasirea unui cetatean cu numele Traian Basescu, care sa faca propaganda pentru alegerea ca prim-ministru a lui Popescu-Tariceanu sau a lui Mircea Geoana. Sau invers…

            In fotbal suporterii se declara gata sa moara pentru echipa lor. Luand „a la lettre“ aceasta idee, clubul de fotbal din Hamburg a cumparat intr-un mare cimitir al orasului un spatiu de 300-500 morminte, ce este rezervat suporterilor decedati. Aceasta zona a cimitirului a fost amenajata in chip de teren de fotbal, avand la capete doua porti din beton de dimensiuni reglementare. Probabil ca cei ce vor fi admisi in aceasta parte a cimitirului, vor fi ingropati cu steagul clubului, cu trompetele si tobele lor. Pe lumea cealalta, regasindu-se impreuna, vor face un vacarm de ii vor scula pe mortii din vecinatate. Un meci pentru eternitate, in care nu va mai fi nici un cartonas galben sau rosu, ci doar unul : negru.

                                                     *

            Helmut Schmidt despre invazia ruseasca in Georgia. Fostul cancelar social-democrat al Germaniei da un interviu in ultimul numar al saptamanalului „Die Zeit“ ( 01.10.2008) din care extragem esentialul :

            Relatarile din presa despre Rusia nu-mi plac – spune batranul cancelar - si inca cu mult inainte de razboiul din Georgia. Asta imi aminteste de doctrina Monroe, din anul 1832, care contine doua principii ale politicii intereselor americane. Primul: europenii nu au ce cauta in America. Al doilea: noua nu ne pasa de cele ce faceti voi in Europa. Prima parte a acestei doctrine se aplica pana acum. Cand cineva se amesteca, de pilda Hrusciov in Cuba, se poate ajunge pana la un nou razboi mondial. Partea doua insa s-a uitat, caci intre timp America se amesteca politic in toate colturile pamantului. Pentru alte mari puteri, precum China si Rusia, asta e motiv de suparare. In clasa politica americana sunt persoane care cred ca acum e momentul de a patrunde in sfera de actiune a altor mari puteri, iar presa occidentala e influentata de ele. De pilda se discuta cu toata seriozitatea ca Georgia sa fie primita in NATO. Dar Georgia nu face parte din Europa, ci este o parte din Asia. In pactul NATO se vorbeste ca in el pot intra alte state europene, dar despre state asiatice – nici un cuvant.

            „Nu am nimic impotriva sa criticam Rusia - adaoga Helmut Schmidt - dar obiectez ca rusii singuri sa fie pusi in boxa acuzatilor. De la Gorbaciov incoace Georgia este unicul caz al unei interventii militare rusesti, dar in aceasta perioada America a intervenit in Serbia, Afganistan si Irak. In prezent cred ca germanii sunt cei ce ii inteleg cel mai bine pe rusi, ceeace se explica prin suferintele ce si le-au adus in trecut reciproc. Noi ne cunoastem bine unii pe altii, iar asta e valabil atat pentru Brejnev si Gorbaciov, cat si pentru Putin. Multor nemti le este acum mai teama de americani decat de rusi, lucru de inteles vazand razboiul din Irak, impreuna cu Abu-Graib si Guantanamo. Cand noul guvern american va pune capat acestor mizerii, nemtii isi vor schimba parerea. Am incredere in vitalitatea democratica a natiunii americane, de care s-a abuzat atat de ordinar in timpul administratiei Bush“.

Despite the fact that 50 percent of the French people oppose the deployment of thousands of troops to Afghanistan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced at the last NATO summit in April that he would send an additional 700 French soldiers to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, bringing the total to about 3,000.  Criticism of Sarkozy's policies increased following the death of the 10 French soldiers. He has also faced severe criticism for being too close to US President George W. Bush's administration.  >>>>>

“The task of Moscow is to tear Europe away from the control of the U.S. (NATO), to assist European unification, and to strengthen ties with Central Europe under the aegis of the fundamental external axis Moscow-Berlin. Eurasia needs a united, friendly Europe.” 

“The maximum task [for the future],” he underscores, “is the ‘Finlandization’ of all of Europe.”

“In Germany and France, there is a firm anti-Atlanticist tradition."

-- Alexander Dugin, writing in his 1999 textbook The Foundations of Geopolitics

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization won't give Georgia and Ukraine a road map to membership at a meeting later this year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.Meanwhile, Kiev took a step away from the West and closer to Moscow, as Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced gas deals with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and voiced support for Russian accession to the World Trade Organization.Mrs. Merkel's rejection of a NATO track for Georgia and Ukraine, at a news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in St. Petersburg, would effectively act as a veto. The Western military alliance operates by consensus.U.S. officials had hoped a NATO ministerial meeting set for December might be the occasion for the alliance to extend a so-called Membership Action Plan, or MAP, to the two ex-Soviet States. However, any quick move toward their NATO membership grew less likely after Georgia's five-day war with Russia in August.The U.S. State Department declined to comment, saying it hadn't seen or heard Mrs. Merkel's remarks.Russia opposes NATO expansion to include more countries of the ex-Soviet Union beyond the three Baltic states that joined the U.S.-led alliance in 2004. Russian leaders have claimed Georgia's NATO aspirations encouraged it to take military action that triggered the August invasion. Georgia and Western nations have called Russia the aggressor.Georgian Integration Minister Temuri Yakobashvili said it would have been better for Mrs. Merkel to wait to make her decision in December, and base it on NATO's reports on Georgia's progress toward meeting the alliance's criteria for MAP. "This is becoming a highly politicized, rather than a technical, performance-based decision," he said.

From Reuters:

The European Union and Ukraine can do a lot to deepen their existing ties before looking at the country's possible membership of [sic] the bloc, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday.

"We have lots to do to reinforce ties with Ukraine without possible accession," Sarkozy told a news conference after an emergency EU summit on the Georgia conflict. (Reporting by Mark John, editing by William Schomberg)

Clearly, the Finlandization of the EUSSR is significantly under way. The Moscow-Berlin Axis is alive and well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 7, 2008
by Syed Saleem Shahzad
Asia Times
http://www.atimes. com/atimes/ South_Asia/ JJ08Df05. html

KARACHI - Although the Taliban and al-Qaeda have consistently rejected overtures to make peace with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces until they leave Afghanistan, the latest initiative led by Saudi Arabia, and approved by Washington and London, is on track.

Reports emerged this week that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently hosted high-level talks in Mecca between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban. If a middle road is found, next year's elections in Afghanistan could be held under the supervision of peacekeeping forces from Islamic countries, rather than those of NATO.

The first move in the peace process was made by Saudi Arabia last year when a Saudi consul based in Islamabad secretly visited the North Waziristan tribal area and met the al-Qaeda leadership. His mission was to convince them of the necessity of a peace process in Afghanistan and provide them with assurances of an amnesty. (See Military brains plot Pakistan's downfall Asia Times Online, September 26, 2007.) Al-Qaeda refused the consul access to its senior leaders, and anyway rejected the initiative.

Undeterred, Riyadh pitched the idea to the Taliban rank and file that if the forces of Islamic countries were involved in peacekeeping operations for the elections, it would create a climate of reconciliation in which both the Taliban and NATO would not lose face. The Taliban also did not accept this idea, but the proposal did generate low-profile debate and in this sense a peace process had begun.

Like the Taliban, the Western coalition was divided over peace formulas but decided to at least initiate a political process to resolve the seven-year conflict in Afghanistan. The British Embassy in Kabul sent some people to Helmand province to initiate talks with the Taliban, but the procedure backfired as the Taliban dismissed their commanders involved in the negotiations. And the Afghan government, under instructions from the US Embassy in Kabul, expelled European Union officials from Afghanistan for their involvement in the dialogue process.

Pakistan, meanwhile, despite American pressure, kept open channels of communication with the Taliban. All the while, the conflict in Afghanistan escalated, reaching new heights this year.

Kabul is virtually under siege and the Taliban have established pockets in Wardak (30 kilometers from Kabul) and Sarobi (50 km from Kabul) as well as in neighboring Kapisa and Parwan provinces. More ominously, the Taliban-led insurgency has spread to Pakistani territory where vast areas have been brought under its control, especially in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan. From a military standpoint, this is particularly worrying for NATO as most of its supplies pass through this area.

Against this backdrop of a seemingly unwinnable war, as Britain's senior commander in Afghanistan has commented, the stalled pace process was revived.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan was used as a cover for revived backchannel diplomacy in the Saudi holy city of Mecca. Afghan officials, former Taliban leaders and leaders of mujid Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan shared an Iftar fast-breaking meal with King Abdullah. Separate meetings were held with other top Saudi officials, including Saudi intelligence chief Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz.

One person who was present at the king's table was former Taliban foreign minister Wakeel Ahmed Muttawakil. He spoke to Asia Times Online by telephone from Kabul.

Asia Times Online: Did you meet King Abdullah?

Wakeel Ahmed Muttawakil: I traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform umra [pilgrimage] in the holy month of Ramadan ... and it is true [I met King Abdullah]. You know, the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan [as the Taliban's regime was known from 1996 to 2001] had good relations with Saudi Arabia and therefore I know everybody over there.

ATol: Your meeting with Saudi intelligence chief Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz is believed to be the real beginning of a dialogue process between the Taliban and Saudi Arabia over a truce between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

WAM: As I said, I met with many people during my stay in Saudi Arabia, but it had nothing to do with politics. Our reason to travel was to perform pilgrimage and prayers in Ramadan. Since I am known to the Saudi government, they invited me for Iftar.

ATol: Then was it a coincidence that immediately after your visit, Afghan President Hamid Karzai stepped up efforts to engage the Taliban and mentioned a Saudi role in that regard?

WAM: I said earlier that Saudi Arabia had very good relations with the Taliban in the past, therefore the Afghan government expects the Saudi government to play a role. Not only with the Taliban, Saudi Arabia had very good relations with Sheikh Osama bin Laden and other jihadi movements. So its role would be very effective.

ATol: Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan has also been approached by the Saudis. Do you have any knowledge in this regard?

WAM: I don't know anything in this regard, but I can guess that since the Taliban and Hizb-e-Islami are both part of the present insurgency, but still keep separate commands, Hekmatyar would have been approached separately. Like the Taliban, Hekmatyar also keeps very good relations with Saudi Arabia and with his connections with the Ikwanul Muslemeen [Muslim Brotherhood] he is even closer to the Saudis.

An earlier Taliban statement said:

The mainstream media is reporting about a "peace process" between the Taliban and the Kabul puppet administration which is being sponsored by Saudi Arabia and supported by Britain, and that there are "unprecedented talks" involving a senior ex-Taliban member who is traveling between Kabul and the alleged bases of the Taliban senior leadership in Pakistan. The Afghanistan Islamic Emirate leadership council considers such as baseless rumors and as failed attempts of the enemy to create mistrust and concerns among Afghans and other nations and mujahideen.

No official member of the Taliban is currently or has in the past negotiated with the US or the puppet Afghan government. A few former officials of the Taliban who are under house arrest [Mullah Zaeef, former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan] or have surrendered [Wakeel Ahmed Muttawakil] do not represent the Islamic Emirate.

The Taliban's denial and Muttawakil's reticence apart, it cannot be denied that something is afoot. This is no better illustrated than by Washington-backed Karzai at the weekend asking "terrorist" Mullah Omar to join the political process and saying that he would convince the international community about him.

***
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief.
He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@ yahoo.com

Debatt. I samband med bombningen av Jugoslavien 1999 omvandlades Nato formellt från en försvarsallians till ett redskap för en utmanande amerikansk framryckning, skriver Christer Lundgren, journalist och Jan Hagberg, försäkringsmatematiker.

Militärt hot. Efter att försvarsberedningarna i två decennier systematiskt blundat för följderna av USAs och Natos expansion och att det svenska territorialförsvaret successivt nedmonterats, talas det nu yrvaket om ett växande militärt hot från Ryssland – vars militära utgifter idag uppgår till fem procent av Natos!

Efter krigshändelserna i Kaukasus tog utrikesnämnden enhälligt ett kraftfullt uttalande mot Ryssland; något liknande togs aldrig efter Natos bombningar av Jugoslavien 1999 fastän de stred mot folkrätten, fördes utan mandat från FNs säkerhetsråd och lämnade ett illa sargat land efter sig.

Georgiens överfall på Sydossetien bagatelliseras; Ryssland, som försvarade den angripna folkminoriteten, anklagas, eller möjligtvis betraktas alla som lika goda kålsupare. Att USA – för egna intressen, för olja och militärstrategiskt inflytande – driver samma söndra-och-härska-politik i Kaukasus som i andra mångnationellt sammansatta områden, Afghanistan och Irak inte att förglömma, förtigs.

De folkrättsliga argument som anförts mot Rysslands ingripande i Georgien förlorar i trovärdighet mot bakgrund av den lättvindiga hållning till folkrätten som Sverige liksom det föregivna fredsprojektet EU uppvisat i samband med styckningen av Jugoslavien. Natos hänsynslösa 78 dagars bombkrig ursäktades till och med som en utveckling av folkrätten.

Aggressiv expansion

Sovjetunionens sammanbrott och Warszawapaktens upplösning öppnade en möjlighet till nedrustning och fred i Europa. Då sovjetiska trupper lämnade sina baser i DDR och Warszawapakten upplöstes, fick de ryska ledarna löften om att Nato inte skulle utvidgas in i det gamla Östeuropa. Men det maktvakuum som uppstått utnyttjades snart nog av Tyskland och USA för en aggressiv expansion.

Första måltavlan var Jugoslavien. EU:s erkännande av utbrytarstaterna Kroatien och Slovenien i Maastricht 1991 – utan att nationalitets- eller gränsfrågorna var lösta – var en ren beställning av de första Jugoslavienkrigen, som fick sin omedelbara fortsättning i Bosnien genom att främst USA stödde den extreme muslimske fundamentalisten Izetbegović. Serberna i Bosnien kördes över trots garantier i republikens författning. De övergavs även av den federala regeringen i Belgrad i dess, som det visade sig, gagnlösa försök att blidka USA för att rädda resten av landet från krig. 

I en slutlig stor etnisk rensning, Operation Storm, fördrev den kroatiska armén mer än 200 000 serber från Krajina i augusti 1995 – medan den västliga krigspropagandan vände omvärldens blickar mot Srebrenica. Fördrivningen av den serbiska befolkningen från Krajina liknar Georgiens krig mot befolkningen i Sydossetien. I båda fallen agerade amerikanska militära rådgivare bakom kulisserna. Men serberna i Krajina hade inget Ryssland som stoppade fördrivningen. De har förblivit flyktingar i Serbien.

I samband med bombningen av Jugoslavien 1999 omvandlades Nato formellt – med de nya medlemmarna Polen, Tjeckien och Ungern 1999 samt Estland, Lettland, Litauen, Slovakien, Slovenien, Rumänien och Bulgarien 2004 – från en försvarsallians till ett redskap för en utmanande amerikansk framryckning. USA vill även ha med Georgien och Ukraina, men de europeiska medlemsländerna bromsar.

Tydlig avsiktsförklaring

Skulle Ukraina anslutas till Nato, kan Natos baser stå bara några tiotal mil från Moskva. De amerikanska robotbaserna i Polen är en tydlig avsiktsförklaring, som en fortsättning på USAs ensidiga uppsägning av ABM-avtalet år 2002. För ryssarna väcker utvecklingen minnen från de tyska truppernas marsch mot Moskva under andra världskriget och de 900 dagarnas belägring av Leningrad.

Svensk utrikes- och försvarspolitik tycks styras efter de mest förenklade nyhetsbilder. Inom dessa för demokratin avgörande områden förekommer mycket lite av kunnig, kritiskt granskande journalistik. Även ”public service”-media SVT och SR följer i sina analyser närmast slaviskt USA:s militär-industriella komplex.

På kort sikt kanske Sverige – eller starka opinionsbildande grupper inom Sverige – har fördelar av att osjälvständigt inordna sig under stormakter som Tyskland och USA. Men genom att överge en nära tvåhundraårig tradition av alliansfrihet och delta i västmakternas aggressiva expansionspolitik äventyrar man långsiktigt Sveriges möjligheter att hålla sig utanför kommande krig i vårt närområde.

Christer Lundgren
Jan Hagberg

En utförligare version finns på Bengt Silfverstrands blogg.

Egal, wohin US-General David McKiernan in Afghanistan zurzeit blickt: Er sieht keinen Hoffnungsschimmer. Ob in der nordafghanischen Stadt Kundus, wo Taliban-Kämpfer immer wieder Anschläge auf Bundeswehr-Soldaten verüben; ob im Süden, wo rund 8000 britische Soldaten stationiert sind. Oder im Osten, wo die Amerikaner mittlerweile höhere Verluste als im Irak erleiden: Die Taliban sind überall auf dem Vormarsch. "Wir registrieren eine massive Zunahme der Gewalt vor allem im Osten, wo wir Amerikaner stationiert sind", stellt McKiernan fest. Für ihn gibt es nur eine Lösung des Taliban-Problems: Es müssen 15.000 zusätzliche Soldaten nach Afghanistan verlegt werden. Und zwar Soldaten, die ohne jede Einschränkung überall eingesetzt werden können. "Diese zusätzlichen Truppen müssen so schnell wie möglich nach Afghanistan", fordert der General. 

Doch McKiernan weiß: Er wird diese Truppen nicht bekommen. 8000 Soldaten hat ihm US-Präsident George W. Bush versprochen. Und dabei bleibt es. McKiernans britischer Befehlshaber-Kollege Carleton-Smith hat bereits am Wochenende die Öffentlichkeit vor überzogenen Erwartungen gewarnt und prophezeit, die ISAF-Soldaten könnten diesen Krieg nicht gewinnen. Und auch US-Befehlshaber McKiernan gibt zu: Die Situation in Afghanistan könne sich durchaus noch verschlechtern. Bevor sie sich vielleicht zum Guten wende.

Gespräche mit Taliban? 

Eine Aufstockung der Truppen reicht nicht aus, um Afghanistan und die Taliban-Hochburgen im angrenzenden Pakistan zu befrieden - das ist auch US-General McKiernan klar. Verzweifelt holt die Bush-Regierung am Ende ihrer Amtszeit den Rat unabhängiger Afghanistan-Experten ein, um neue Strategien zu entwickeln. Zum Beispiel von Seth Jones, Afghanistan-Experte der Rand Corporation. "Überall, wo bestimmte Stämme das Sagen haben - wie zum Beispiel im Süden - muss man auf lokaler Ebene mit deren Milizen  zusammenarbeiten, um für ein Minimum an Sicherheit zu sorgen", so der Experte. 

Quelle

Der Ostblock existiert schon eine Weile nicht mehr und die Landesverteidigung könnten wir doch jetzt eigentlich komplett über NATO abwickeln oder? Will noch jemand ernsthaft behaupten es wäre nicht sinnvoll die bestehenden Streitkräfte stark zu reduzieren und komplett unter NATO-Verwaltung zu stellen?

Für diesen Zweck würde bestimmt auch nur ein Bruchteil der derzeitigen Gelder ausreichen, die Wehrpflicht würde natürlich ebenfalls wegfallen, womit wir auch gleich eine Umstellung zu einer erheblich effektiveren und schlagkräftigeren Berufsarmee durchgezogen hätten.

Die anderen NATO-Parteien hätten damit sicher auch kein Problem, immerhin hätten sie damit eine stärkere Kontrolle über "unsere" Streitkräfte. Das einzige Problem an der Sache wären wohl die Zivildienstleistenden... wir müssten tatsächlich Leute fürs Altenheim und Krankenhaus anstellen die dann natürlich auch für solche Shicejobs ordentlich bezahlt werden wollen.

3000 Tote in Afghanistan. Bereits jetzt ist 2008 das verlustreichste Jahr seit dem Sturz der Taliban 2001. Mit steigender Opferzahl werden auch die Debatten über Sinn und Unsinn dieser Intervention lauter.

Amerikaner und NATO hatten sich alles so schön zurechtgelegt:

37 Staaten sollten der Bevölkerung mit Hilfe von 40 000 Soldaten Demokratie beibringen und gleichzeitig das Land wieder aufbauen. Trotzdem sind eine stabile Sicherheitslage und Menschenrechte auch heute nicht gewährleistet. Am Dienstag berät der Bundestag über eine erneute Verlängerung des Bundeswehreinsatzes der 3500 deutschen Soldaten.
PHOENIX Programmhinweis: 07.10.08, PHOENIX Runde, 22.15 Uhr

di Antonio Martino, 2007, Italia, 26’

Pancevo, una cittadina a quindici chilometri da Belgrado, è sede di uno dei più grandi complessi industriali dell’ex Jugoslavia. Durante la guerra del 1999, la NATO bombarda il complesso industriale causando un’enorme catastrofe ambientale. Grandi quantità di sostanze tossiche si riversano nella terra e nell’aria. La NATO non risarcisce i danni provocati alle tecnologie di queste industrie: gli stessi operai si trovano costretti a riparare i macchinari senza supervisione, e diventano vittime costanti di fughe di benzene ed altre sostanze tossiche che si liberano nell’aria. A distanze di nove anni, oggi a Pancevo - la città più inquinata d’Europa - muore in media un uomo al giorno.

Il documentario sarà proiettato presso il Cinema Lumière - Sala Officinema/Mastroianni, via Azzogardino 65/A a Bologna, sabato 11 ottobre alle ore 22,00.
Nell'ambito di Terra di Tutti Film Festival, documentari e cinema sociale dal Sud del mondo, 2° edizione 10/11/12 ottobre 2008.
Ingresso libero.

During my hiatus, a lot has happened in the Maritime world.  Pirate attacks rose drastically, Russia sent several large naval vessels on a transatlantic voyage for Venezuela (the first since before the end of the Cold War) and the rapidly declining global economy is beginning to impact shipping companies around the world in a very negative way.

I hope to explore each of those topics over the next few days, and also hope to bring even more current news to your desktop.

In the meantime, I highly suggest you read this Navy Times article concerning the ongoing situation off the Somali coast with the Ukrainian cargo ship, the M/V Fania, which is loaded with Russian military equipment  bound for Sudan.  It has captured the global media, and is a highly charged situation due to the nature of the cargo involved and implications for the naval forces present should anything go wrong.

For the first time that I've seen, the authors of this article explore how a group of bandits from a less than third world country can stand ground against a plethora of modern naval ships and weaponry in such close proximity. The article reveals part of the hidden microcosm behind piracy, and the tactics pirates use to build support in the small communities of Somalia, including promising to build new schools and roads.

Interesting.  With the shear value of the ships and respective cargo they are holding hostage currently, they should have some fairly decent communities shortly.  This doesn't even account for the value of the ransoms they are demanding.

This most recent slide from the NATO Shipping Center which provides near daily updates on the status of the piracy situation near Somalia gives a visual representation as to the success the pirates have enjoyed.

Source: Reuters

By Kristin Roberts

The United States has asked Japan and NATO allies who have refused to send troops to Afghanistan to pay the estimated $17 billion needed to build up the Afghan army, according to U.S. defense officials.

The push to quickly increase the size of Afghanistan's army and spread the cost of the initiative underscores the financial and military strain the war has placed on the United States and NATO members, many also operating in Iraq and elsewhere.

"The faster we get the (Afghan army) to the size and strength they need to be, the less they depend on us for providing security, and God knows we operate far more expensively than the Afghan national security forces do," said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

"At a minimum it's going to cost $17 billion. That's a hefty price-tag and someone's got to pay it," Morrell said.

"This may be one of those cases where countries that have had a reluctance to contribute forces, in particular combat forces, may be able to take part in this mission through a financial contribution to the development of the Afghan National Army."

The new Pentagon push to share costs more widely reflects a realization among U.S. officials that some allies simply will not put troops into the war despite heavy pressure from Washington - something Europe has been telling the United States for more than a year.

But it also threatens to create just the type of two-tiered NATO alliance that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned against early this year.

FIGHT, OR WRITE A CHECK

Gates in February said NATO risked a split between allies willing to "fight and die" and those who were not.

Morrell last week cast it as "those who fight and those who write checks."

The NATO mission in Afghanistan will be discussed later this week at a meeting in Budapest. It will be the last NATO meeting of defense ministers during the Bush administration and Gates, who has repeatedly and publicly chided allies for two years to put more resources into the war, is expected to press the issue of cost sharing.

The meeting comes as the Bush administration conducts a comprehensive review of its strategy in Afghanistan, where security has steadily deteriorated despite a doubling of foreign troops over two years. Britain's commander in Afghanistan, in fact, has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won.

U.S. officials said NATO was not conducting any parallel review, although the senior commander has just submitted an updated and secret list of troop and equipment requirements.

The United States has 33,000 troops in Afghanistan. About 22,000 are part of NATO's force of nearly 48,000 troops. The United States contributes the most troops by far among allies, followed by Britain with about 8,000.

Commanders say they still need three more brigades, or about 10,000 to 12,000 troops. Those troops will most likely come from the United States next year, Morrell said.

The Afghan army plans to double in size to 134,000 soldiers over five years at a cost of $17 billion to $20 billion, according to estimates from U.S. officials.

The United States has already approached Japan about paying part of that bill. But Morrell said the request was made to Japan's previous government, whose prime minister abruptly resigned in September, and that the request may have to be made again to the new government in Tokyo.

He did not say what other countries were asked to pay.

(Editing by Anthony Boadle)